Story Notes: Explicit sexual content below.

Barbershop Duet
Part 1

Summary:
Axel needs a haircut for an upcoming Halloween party. His regular barber isn't in, which leaves him in the very capable hands (and at the mercy) of Roxas.

Axel was right on time for his 10 o'clock hair appointment at DiZ's Hair Club. It was a small salon off a busy stretch of road, leading out of the city. Axel had been going to this particular shop for a decade and had come to know the owner, Ansem, quite well, since he was also Axel's regular barber.

With his bag of snacks in hand, he pushed the glass door open, eliciting a little jingle from the bell attached. He went to the reception counter and stood there, waiting for one of the staff to greet him. The shop looked to be busy. Four out of the six stations were taken up with clients getting their hair trimmed, or their facial hair shaved, and the seats in the waiting area were also mostly occupied with men and boys.

Axel's attention returned to the reception desk when he heard a small, pleasant, "Welcome to DiZ's. How can I help you?"

He looked over at the probably-a-good-foot-shorter-than-him guy, sporting platinum-blond hair, which cascaded and obscured the left side of his face, while the right side was undercut. He had a spider bite piercing on the right side of his lip, with two rings crisscrossed in place. The look was even more striking because of the black painted lips, which made the piercing and the white hair stand out. Thick, dark eyeliner and mascara made his azure blue eyes sparkle.

Axel had never seen this man before. He was sure he would have remembered him because he was hot as fuck. The guy wore the barber shop's uniform: long-sleeved white business shirt with embroidery scissors and the shop's logo on the breast pocket. He seemed to shirk Ansems' strict dress-codes though, by the way he wore his sleeves; rolled up to the elbows and a chunky black-and-white checkered leather bracelet on his left wrist.

"I have an appointment at ten, under Clare," Axel informed.

The man sucked on his lip ring, opened the hefty tomb—also known as Ansem's appointment book—and trailed his well-manicured finger down the page. Ansem liked to be paper-based. Axel was sure his very first appointment was still recorded in that book.

"Axel," the man said, looking up at him with a smile, once he found him in the book. "Please follow me to the back." He gestured toward the back of the salon and led the way. Axel thought he'd follow this guy down the back of an alley if asked to do so, especially on noticing the man's taut ass, dressed in—not the uniform black pants—but tight-fitting black skinny jeans.

Axel lingered on the man's hotness for only a few seconds longer before his mind wandered to how strange this all was. Normally Ansem greeted him but, as Axel looked around the stations they passed, he didn't see his barber anywhere. He didn't see him tending to any other clients, nor tidying or setting up the spot where Axel would clearly be spending his day.

"Where's Ansem?"

"He sends his apologies. He can't be here today," came the cool explanation, as the man came to a standstill by the black leather chair of the barber station.

Axel stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean 'he can't be here?' I made this appointment with him six months ago. How can he not be here? He's never not seen me." Anger and panic rose in Axel's chest.

The blond man cast a glance over his shoulder and shrugged. "An urgent matter came up. Please take a seat." A big and expectant smile flashed, stretching black lips wide.

Axel shook his head at the sudden disarmament of his annoyance. "Who's supposed to be looking after me then? God, please don't tell me it's Demyx. Anyone but him." Axel cast a quick look across the room.

"It's not Demyx. It's me." The man picked up a black plastic cape from a basket under the counter.

"And who are you supposed to be exactly?" Axel bristled. No matter how hot the guy was, this was not what he had signed up for, or expected.

"Roxas," came the simple response. This Roxas stepped up to Axel and held out the cape.

Gears turned in Axel's head with vague recognition at that name. "R-Roxas? The Roxas? Ansem's grandkid, Roxas?"

Roxas gave a very bemused sounding, "Yeah. Sit down, please."

Axel did so, stiffly. "Aren't you supposed to be like… five?" he stared up.

Roxas chortled whilst he lowered the chair to a more comfortable height for himself. "I haven't been five in twenty years." He shook the cape out, draped it around Axel, walked behind him, moving Axel's hair out of the way, and fastened the cape, tucking the collar in and smoothing it over.

Axel's mind reeled. "Ansem is really your grandfather?" He turned around to look at Roxas.

"Yeah. Is it that hard to believe?"

"I… well, I never knew how old you were. So… it's a bit of a shock? Plus, Ansem is really tall and you're… well, you're really short. I don't think I've ever been this low in the chairs here before," Axel could barely contain the grin.

Roxas quirked his eyebrow. Bemusement danced on his lips, which he seemed to try and repress in the way he sucked on his lip ring for a moment before he said, "Well, now, so are you. Welcome to my short world."

Axel laughed quietly and became transfixed by the way Roxas rubbed his lips together.

"So, what can I do for you today? Gramps did give me an overview, but just so I know we're on the same page."

That snapped Axel's eyes back up and made his mind focus. "Oh, uh… I need to get my hair redone. I come in twice a year. Get it cut and colored." Axel turned back to the front and looked at Roxas through the mirror. He also looked at himself, so low to the ground, draped in the black cape. He hadn't put any makeup on before leaving the house this morning, which made him feel a little exposed right now, particularly next to his very done up and spunky barber. He felt even more grizzly because of his manky hair, which he hadn't washed in several days to protect his scalp from the bleach, and he also hadn't shaved in a week, as apparent by the considerable amount of dark stubble covering his jaw and chin. It was supposed to be for his costume tonight, but right now, he just felt self-conscious.

He looked at his hair in its full shoulder-length glory; very thick, black roots showed when he swept his hair back. The once vibrant Hot Passion Red was now washed out and faded copper. "I don't want to cut too much off. Just trim the ends, re-dye it, and get some extensions put in. I've got a Halloween party to go to tonight, so this will complete my look."

Roxas nodded through Axel's explanation and looking at his hair, running his fingers through the manky tresses. "What're you going as?"

"A werewolf." Axel smirked a little.

Roxas chuckled. "Cool." He walked to Axel's side and pulled out a big book from under the counter, depositing it on the slick, marble surface of the benchtop. "These are the colors, right?" He held out a set of swatches Axel had remembered going over and picking out with Ansem a few weeks ago.

He inspected the three different shades of red he remembered having agonized over for quite some time. "Yep, that's what I'm going for." Axel gave the other man a cautious look as he continued, "I don't mean to be rude, but how long have you been doing this for? I am very particular about my hair and, to be frank, Ansem's the only one I really trust."

Roxas gave him a smile through the mirror and busied himself getting his tools ready while he talked, "I get that you might be worried. I've been cutting hair since I was four. To be fair, I wasn't very good at it. I used my sisters dolls as unwilling participants." Roxas pulled items out of a metal cart, putting bottles, scissors, brushes, and boxes of various things out on the counter before Axel. "She used to get so upset about it. We fought like cats and dogs, but eventually, she wanted me to give them different hairstyles."

He rummaged through the items in the cart until he found a particular comb and ran his fingers, and the comb, through Axel's thick, coarse hair. "I did get better at it though. And I gave my sisters Barbies the sickest afros, beehives, mohawks, and bangs. My sister's friends even came around wanting me to style their dolls as well." Roxas smiled as he sectioned Axel's hair off with clips that were attached to the side of the cart. "My parents always thought it was a phase I'd grow out of. I'm sure my sister prayed it was a phase I'd grow out of too," he laughed, "but I never did. When I was about ten, Gramps started buying me semi-permanent dyes and showed me the ropes. So you could say I've been doing this most of my life."

Axel watched Roxas working on him carefully. There were certain mannerisms that reminded him of Ansem. The way Roxas held the comb, pulled and brushed his hair. The way he nudged Axel this way and that to turn his head so Roxas could get better access to the sides and back. But there were wholly unfamiliar things too. The way Roxas put the comb or clips in his mouth and mumbled around the items. And the way blunted fingernails gently scraped against him was oddly nice, eliciting mild tingling sensations at the back of Axel's neck.

"Oh yeah, Ansem told me about all the kits he used to buy you and how you dyed the dog a pink and green for Christmas one year, or something," Axel pondered aloud.

The way Roxas smiled, and how his eyes shined…. Axel stared, captivated. And that laugh! when Roxas said, "He loves that story. He pulls out the photos every year over Christmas lunch."

It made Axel smile and titter. "I've seen a photo of that poor poodle too."

A hefty sigh seeped out of Roxas as he kept combing hair and working the smallest of knots out. "Is that the only photo he's shown you?"

"Yeah… are there other ones I should have seen?"

"Well, I know you're one of his favorite customers, so it wouldn't surprise me if he showed you the whole family album."

"Aww, really? I'm his favorite?" Axel batted his eyelashes at Roxas, which made the other man chuckle.

"I said one of his favorites. But yeah. I wouldn't have said yes to this if it wasn't important to Gramps that you get looked after properly. He's really sorry he couldn't make it today." The light seemed to fizzle out of Roxas' eyes. He scowled a little, concentrating harder on his job.

"I guess if he likes me enough to show me that photo I guess I should feel privileged that he entrusted me to you? I'm in good hands, yeah?" Axel cast his eyes up, though he had his head tilted forward a lot while Roxas worked on the very back of his head.

"I'd say the best." A cocky, self-assured smirk lit Roxas' face. It helped to fill Axel with some comfort. But he still felt very apprehensive about the whole deal.

Axel continued to watch Roxas work on his hair. When he could look up again he said, "Hey, can I ask you something I've always wondered about?"

Roxas rummaged around for items so he could get started on bleaching Axel's hair. "I guess?"

"Why pink?"

Roxas chortled. "I ran out of red dye painting socks on the rabbits."

That made Axel laugh loudly. "And why'm I entrusting you with my precious hair?" He looked over at Roxas, standing at his side.

Roxas leaned down, a big grin spreading wide across his soft-looking face. He stopped next to Axel's ear and said, "Because you don't have a choice. It's either me or Demyx."

Roxas' breath tickled Axel's ear and a little shiver ran down his spine. It was oddly intimate. Axel coughed to somehow make it feel less so. "That is so cruel. Tell me something else to make me feel better about this."

Roxas turned his head toward the mirror to look at Axel. "Like what?"

"Coloring dolls and animals is all good and stuff, but… you've done humans, right?"

Roxas laughed low in his throat, still next to Axel's ear, which made Axel shiver even more. Roxas sank to the ground, crouching to get a tube of lightener and bottle of developer out from the bottom of the cart, as he said, "I actually run my own salon over at Ridge and Linden. I had to close it to be here today."

"Oh wow." That news certainly made Axel feel better. "I'm sorry that I made you come all this way."

"Don't be. I'm doing Gramps a favor and it's not like I'm not enjoying myself." Roxas glanced up at Axel with a cheeky smile, which somehow made Axel feel hot.

He looked back up at the mirror and Roxas raised himself to a standing position. "So you run your salon all by yourself?" Axel asked.

"No, but my two friends who work with me are busy setting up a Halloween party today, so the shop is closed."

"Oh, cool. Will you be going to the party?"

"Me?" Roxas moved the cart and stood by the counter. He pulled some disposable gloves out of a container, slipped them on, and began pouring and measuring out the chemicals into a bowl, on a digital scale that sat there. "No."

"Why not?" Axel could still see Roxas' face, reflected in the mirror, showing a deep-set frown.

The scowl vanished, and a bland smile sprang in its place. "It's not really my thing."

Axel stayed quiet, not feeling in a position to pry. "Who does your hair?" he asked after a moment.

"I color and cut it mostly myself. The back though, I go and pay for that. Do you like it?" Roxas turned his head this way and that to give Axel a good view.

Axel observed Roxas and they made eye contact through the mirror for a brief second. He nodded and felt his face heat up, and could see it in the mirror as well. He really wished he had makeup on to hide his dumb blush. He broke the eye contact and looked down to Roxas' quirky smile; those black lips with that piercing that begged to be sucked on. Axel shook that thought out of his head quickly. He looked back up to Roxas' locks. "It's cool. Your look is really cool."

"Thanks. So you trust me to do you right?" Roxas winked.

Axel stared for a moment, his cheeks getting hotter, and words getting stuck in his throat. Was Roxas flirting with him? He could barely keep the delighted smile off his face and tried to cover it with a slow chuckle. "I'm not sure about trust just yet. But if Ansem sent you to look after me then… I gotta put my faith in the man, right? Plus, if you own a salon and it's doing well… I guess I can trust you."

Roxas' whole face lit up with a proud smile. He returned to his work, gently whisking the concoction together.

The familiar harsh chemical smell hit Axel's nose and stirred anxiety in his gut, making him wonder if Roxas actually knew what he was doing. Maybe that stuff about him coloring his own hair was all posturing. The more Roxas mixed the more apprehensive Axel became as he watched. "Are you going to mix the Olaplex in?"

"Yes." Roxas side-eyed him and made a big show of getting the large bottle of Olaplex and adding it to the concoction. Roxas kept mixing, varying his speed and checking the consistency of it periodically. When he deemed it done he set the whisk aside on some paper towels and grabbed a brush.

"You ready for this?" Roxas checked in as he stood beside Axel, the brush covered in goop.

Axel looked at the man, at the brush, at himself in the mirror. There was an undeniable worry sitting in his chest, but there was no other choice. "It's either you or Demyx, right?"

"'Fraid so," Roxas lamented with no real sorrow.

"Okay then." Axel gave a hard nod and braced himself giving Roxas permission to start.

The man worked diligently and efficiently, adding the Meche and applying the lightening solution to his hair and roots in sections. Axel told himself to stop stressing as he watched Roxas work through the mirror in silence for a while.

Roxas hummed quietly to himself while he worked. Axel stared at the posters around the shop and listened to the mild chatter of the staff and other clientele. The sound of scissors snipping and clippers buzzing soothed him, the music playing from the wall mounted speakers was soft enough to not be intrusive.

Axel cast his eyes onto his barber from time to time, and sometimes when Roxas caught him staring they'd smile at each other. There was something delicate about the way Roxas touched him, even in the smallest of dabs with the brush and the guiding nudges of his fingers. It instilled something inside of Axel. He wasn't sure what. Maybe a sense of calm? Maybe a trust that Roxas did know what he was doing?

When Roxas was done with the application process he began tidying up. "You still with me?" Roxas collected the bowl and brush he had been using.

"Yep. Haven't passed out yet."

Roxas gave him a thumbs up and walked to the end of the shop where he washed out the bowl and brush and left them to dry.

Axel busied himself, catching up with his friends via social media, snapping some pictures of his progress and compiling a photoset. He threw some hashtags in for fun— #stillalive #newhair #ignorethefoils #WIP #prayformyedges #mybarberiskindacute

Roxas eventually came back, checked on Axel's hair, and brought Axel over to the washbasin, located directly behind Axel's chair. The partitioned wall in this section blocked off the view to the rest of the barbershop, giving it a snug and relaxing atmosphere.

Axel tried to get comfortable in the reclining chair, spreading the cloak out and sinking his head down against the padding. He gripped the armrests, tapping his fingers against the material with agitation. Axel conceded that Roxas might know his stuff when it came to coloring hair, but what was about to happen next… well, Axel dreaded it. He had an aversion to people washing his hair. It was partly why he went to Ansem so much; he did everything right.

With trepidation, Axel looked up at Roxas, who was busy gathering all of the clumps of hair and Meche into the washbasin.

Axel closed his eyes and clenched his jaw when he heard the water turning on. His muscles tensed as Roxas ran his fingers through his hair, rinsing the product out with the little showerhead. A small tingle and shiver ran down Axel's spine… and that was it. No grossed out shudder like nails down a board, or a balloon squeaking. Just small flutters of tingling sensations. Axel breathed out a tiny sigh of relief and looked up at Roxas, who wore a bemused expression.

"Is everything okay? You looked like you were in pain."

"Ah… yeah, I'm fine. I was just… preparing for the worst. I've got a bit of a sensitive head."

"I bet you do," Roxas murmured with a chuckle and Axel stared up silently.

From time to time he let his eyes slip shut, focusing on Roxas' small touches against his scalp. The water and rinse against his scalp felt nice. Roxas' fingers teased and worked the Meche out and rubbed against Axel's scalp. First Roxas used one hand and then when all the Meche had been removed, used both to properly wash Axel's scalp. He worked the sweet and crisp scented shampoo into Axel's hairline, crown, and then down towards the base of his neck.

The pleasant pressure exerted on Axel felt divine. He found himself leaning into the touch. The shivering tingles exploded and raced down his spine as Roxas massaged him right behind his ears and the base of his neck. Axel had to work very hard at keeping the whimpering moan inside.

Ansem had given Axel plenty of shampoos and washes in the past. They had never felt like this; ungodly divine.

When Roxas called Axel's name for probably the third time, he finally registered it and woke out of his daze, brought on by the slew of tingles and shudders elicited by Roxas' hands. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Roxas staring down at him, sucking his lip ring. "You nearly fell asleep on me," Roxas said with a soft smile.

Axel felt a little embarrassed over having drifted so nicely. "Ah… you're really good at this," he gave his slightly abashed response.

"Thanks. I'm glad your sensitive head approves." There was a twinkle in Roxas' eyes as he smiled and his hands were on Axel again, squeezing the water from his hair.

Axel cursed himself for ever having said anything about it. If Roxas kept teasing him like this, he would need to find some way to retaliate.

After a few moments, Roxas shook out a towel and gently soaked up the water from Axel's hair, until it was just damp, and finished by wiping at Axel's forehead to get the splashes off.

Axel got up slowly from his reclining position and wandered back to his station, where he sat and chewed his bottom lip while Roxas used the blow dryer on his hair. Axel was pretty certain that Roxas' hands were magic. That had been the best massage he had ever gotten and Roxas' fingers kept up the ministration of tingling pleasure as they rubbed against his scalp even now. It would probably sound way too creepy if he said anything about it though. He tried to keep his breath level and the hum of satisfaction inside. He was concentrating so hard on this task that, when he looked at the mirror and saw Roxas watching him, a gentle smile playing on his lips, Axel felt embarrassed. Had he let a sigh slip out? Was he giving away how good it felt and how much he enjoyed himself? All he could do was shoot a smile back at his barber.

Roxas turned the blower off and ran his hand through Axel's hair, making sure he hadn't missed a spot anywhere, both regarding drying and in the lightening application. He also lifted up locks of hair showing Axel his roots. "Do I get your approval?" Roxas asked, a cocky grin dancing on his face.

Axel looked at himself in the mirror. His dark roots were now bleached to a slightly brassy tone that matched his faded coppery ends in shade. He stole a look at Roxas next to himself, getting caught up in how attractive he was; the slightly upturned nose, full lips, and alluring, big blue eyes. Roxas was too busy combing his fingers through Axel's hair, sending shivers down Axel's spine, to notice him staring. But he refocused on himself and the job Roxas was doing. "Getting there," Axel conceded.

"So you trust me enough to start coloring?" Roxas locked Axel down with his eyes.

Axel hemmed and hawed for a moment, dragging out his response of, "I guess we've come this far. No point stopping now."

Roxas huffed and rolled his eyes while wearing a smile. "Good to hear that you've resigned yourself to my care now."

"It's a pleasant resignation."

"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better," Roxas chuckled and walked away, fetching the dye colors Axel had specified. Axel checked himself out in the mirror. His roots were even, without a trace of patchiness, and while he swept his hand through his locks, he appreciated that even without the conditioning treatments, his hair didn't feel too damaged, despite the harsh chemical treatment. Maybe Roxas did know what he was doing. His hands definitely did something to Axel's body that he was eager to feel more of. Even if this dye-job was the worst thing he would ever experience, he thought it might be something he would gladly suffer through to get more head-rubs as he had just received.

"Be careful. If you look any more pleased I might start thinking you actually trust me and that you're just pretending not to," Roxas teased as he came back.

Axel ran his hand through his hair as casually as he could. "Just making sure everything is as it should be."

"Verdict?"

"It's… okay."

Roxas rolled his eyes again and chuckled slowly. Axel tried to bite down the smile. He really liked Roxas' laugh.

"Look over the colors for me? You wanted Hot Passion Red, Flamboyant Hot Sauce, and Scarlet Fever, right?" Roxas handed Axel each in turn and Axel inspected the brand and label to make sure they were correct.

"Yeah. Hot Passion all over, Scarlet Fever for highlights, and the Hot Sauce for the lowlights."

Roxas nodded, took back the tubes and got on with the job of mixing up the hair color. Gloves were put on again. Roxas squeezed out the colors from their tubes into separate bowls—one at a time, on the scale, and measured out the developer—mixing up each of the colors. He then disposed of the gloves and got to sectioning Axel's hair.

Once again, Axel was drawn into noticing Roxas' efficiency—something he had surely learned from Ansem and from running his own business. The gentle hair pulls, and Roxas' fingertips occasionally rubbing against Axel's scalp, made him feel pretty nice, but he also felt the niggle of nervous energy flowing through him. He berated himself for feeling so fidgety and anxious. Roxas proved himself competent enough, so why was he so jittery as Roxas came in with the brush covered in dye?

He must have looked nervous because Roxas laughed. "It will be alright. You are in my very safe and able hands."

They looked at each other through the mirror.

Axel knew to some extent how able Roxas' hands were but… "Can you—before you start—can you just gimme a moment?"

Roxas huffed out a short laugh and nodded.

Axel leaned forward and rummaged through his bag of snacks. Food always helped to distract him whenever he felt anxious. Plus, he also felt a bit hungry. He settled for the fudge and leaned back in the chair, ripping open the packaging.

"All good now?"

"Yeah," Axel said through a mouthful of fudge. "You want some?"

Roxas looked to open his mouth, only to instantly decline with the shake of his head.

"It's sea salt ice cream flavor," Axel added as an aside.

"Oh? I didn't know that was a flavor for fudge."

"Wanna try?"

"Ah…" Roxas looked at his gloved hands holding the Meche strip and brush.

Axel broke off a piece of fudge and held it out to him. "Here—open up. Promise I won't even tell Ansem that I fed you. He always looks at me like I'm snorting cocaine when I eat sugary things."

Roxas laughed wholeheartedly. "He does have a thing against too much sugar. I guess… one bite won't hurt me."

"It's never done me any harm," Axel grinned up at Roxas.

Roxas pressed his lips together as if deciding whether or not this was a good idea, but he also simultaneously leaned down. His eyes darted between Axel's eyes and the held out piece of fudge. Axel could swear there was a tinge of color to Roxas' cheeks that hadn't been there moments before. Roxas opened his mouth a little.

Axel wanted to whine in a high pitch; Roxas was super cute and alluring with his face so close to his own. Those black-painted parted lips gently blowing warm air against Axel's skin made him forget how to breathe for a second. If Roxas hadn't been so hellishly attractive, Axel wouldn't have thought twice about their close positioning, but as it presently stood, Axel thought about it, a lot. He popped the sweet treat in and watched Roxas stand up straight and munch on it for a moment in thought before his face lit up.

"That's amazing. You gotta tell me where you bought it from," Roxas said after he swallowed.

Axel grinned. "You know the World Bazaar at Limpton Square?"

"Yeah?" Roxas began sectioning off Axel's hair, brushing and saturating the dye into his hair, and separating each small section with a layer of Meche.

"There is a confectionary stall called Sea Breeze. They sell all kinds of sea salt flavored stuff. I got saltwater taffy, toffee, brownies, gummy bears, crackers, chips, and some amazing sea salt flavored cake with paopu fruit pieces in it."

Roxas laughed heartily. "Wow, if you bring all that stuff with you every time Gramps does your hair, no wonder he's worried about your health. Hello, Diabetes!" Roxas sang out.

"If I share half of it with you then I'll only get half the diabetes, right?" Axel grinned at Roxas cheekily.

"Right, I guess," Roxas chuckled. "I'm saving your hair and your health."

"My short hero."

"Short of stature, but a giant of heart." Roxas smiled broadly as he kept working on Axel's hair.

Axel agreed to that with a laugh and nod and devoured his fudge in a few more bites, but not before sharing some more pieces with Roxas.

Roxas kept working on Axel's hair. He asked at one point, "Why're you so particular about your hair anyway? Have you had really bad experiences in the past?"

"I was traumatized as a kid," Axel said solemnly.

"Really? How come? What happened?"

"Well, mom always took me to get my hair done at a lame chained salon at the mall."

"Like one of those budget places?" The abhorrent disgust was evident in Roxas' voice and in the way he scrunched up his face.

"Exactly like that."

Roxas shuddered. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. Your condolences are appreciated. So, anyway, I finally had enough of suffering through wonky bowl cuts, so I got a job when I turned sixteen and—after my first paycheck—I searched for the fanciest shop I could find. That led me here. The glass, the fancy writing, and the leather seats really appealed to my 'fuck the bright colors that say cheap' rebellious streak. So I came in here and Ansem took one look at me and he knew that I didn't have enough money, but also that I was super desperate. He took pity on me and gave me my first ever decent haircut. It was one of the best moments of my life, to not look like a Beatles reject."

Roxas laughed quietly at that.

Axel continued, with a smile, "And the next time I came back I made sure I had more money. And Ansem walked me through the wonderful world of hair dyes, so… I'm a customer for life, and… I feel… very connected to this place." He looked up at Roxas, with his gloved hands all covered in dye. The man wore the nicest smile.

"Gramps has always been good like that. He's kind—plus—he knows that's a way to ensnare new customers," Roxas laughed brightly.

Axel's breath caught in his chest. "Oh yeah. I'm completely ensnared," he said, not exactly 100% sure whether he was referring to his patronage or Roxas' laugh.

"So much so that you don't even know a superior stylist when he's standing right in front of you," Roxas winked.

Axel laughed, loving Roxas' view of himself. "We'll see how superior you are once you've washed me out."

"Alright then. Can't wait to hear you singing my praise."

Roxas kept working on Axel's hair, alternating between the three colors and working through the different sections. Toward the end, and a packet of sea salt toffees shared between them later, Roxas asked Axel about the extensions.

"I was just getting the tape-in ones. Is there any other kind I could get?" Axel felt transfixed by Roxas' stare and he loved how the hard look melted into bemusement. Roxas' tinkling laugh trickled deep into Axel's chest.

"Oh, Axel." Roxas threw his head back and laughed louder, drawing the attention of the other staff and clientele for a brief moment.

"What?" Axel couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Tears gathered at the corner of Roxas' eyes. "You're so… funny. Of course, there are other kinds of extensions. Just 'cause Gramps is only able to do the tape-in ones doesn't mean they are the only kind. Hey, can you dab me?" Roxas leaned down a little.

Axel reached over to the countertop, grabbing a tissue and dabbed at Roxas' closed eyes, brushing platinum locks away so he could see what he was doing. He made sure not to smudge any of the makeup and let his eyes trail over Roxas' features. His lashes, covered in mascara, were long and luscious, his skin smooth and clear with just the faintest regrowth of stubble, his lips plump and that lip ring—Axel wanted to nibble at it and take Roxas into his mouth. The other man's scent was very strong and noticeable this close together. Despite the fruity smell of the dye in Axel's hair, he could still smell Roxas' cologne and hair products. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Roxas smelled of warm, earthly things, and he wanted to bury his nose in the man's neck and breathe in deeply.

Roxas' eyes slid open and a soft smile bloomed. Axel jerked back a little, startled.

"Thanks," Roxas husked while his eyes lingered on Axel's lips for a moment before he stood back up.

Axel swallowed down the lump in his throat and barely breathed out, "Welcome." He cleared his throat and, with more strength, said, "So, you gonna fill me in on the other options?"

"Oh, sure." Roxas hummed and worked on coloring Axel's hair again. "So, tape-ins are quick to put in and easy to take out, and temporary, which I completely get why Gramps would do that, especially since he wouldn't get many of his clientele asking for extensions. I've got both men and women coming to my shop so I see a whole gamut of people, and have to do a bunch of different things. I can do weave extensions, micro-bead extensions… there's also pre-bonded extensions but… I wouldn't do that for you because it takes four hours minimum and we don't have enough time for that seeing how…" Roxas looked up to find the clock on the wall, "it's already midday and we have lots more to do still."

"I don't know what any of those are. Would any of them work better for me?"

"Well, you see, all these options take a while, but I could probably squeeze in micro-beading or a weave for you if you really wanted it. But before you decide lemme just tell you—micro-bead extensions are on like little beads I clasp onto your hair. They can get annoying because they can slip, so you might need to tighten them, and you'll have to come back to take them out. Gramps should be able to do that for you. Weave-extensions… usually take a bit longer than the micro-beading but I'm pretty quick with a needle and thread. I'd basically be braiding your hair and sewing the extensions into it. It's more secure and would be good for your thick hair. But you would have to go somewhere else to get those taken out. Pretty sure Gramps wouldn't know how to deal with them. How long do you want the extensions in for?"

Axel absorbed all that information and shrugged. "I'm not too particular about it. It's just for tonight really." The thought of not seeing Roxas again left a little hard lump in his stomach though, so he asked, feeling a little hopeful, "If I got the weave ones… could I come to you to get them taken out?" He looked up at Roxas through the mirror and received a quirked half-smile before Roxas broke the eye contact and sucked on his lip ring.

After a moment's pause, Roxas said, "You could, yeah. But if you don't care about wanting to keep them in for long I'd still recommend the tape-in ones. They're quick and easy and will stay in for four to six weeks if you care for them properly. Plus, they are a lot cheaper as well."

"Oh," Axel internally cursed himself for his earlier remark. "I've come a long way since the early days of working for a fast-food chain. I've got money to back up my hair plans now."

"Well, that's good to know." Roxas laughed and looked at Axel again. "I won't have to explain to Gramps why I didn't get you to pay in full for your hair."

"Don't worry, I won't get you in trouble with him. I'll pay in full."

"So you trust me now, huh? You won't be complaining to him about my service or your botched dye job, hmm?" Roxas wore a big grin as he teased.

"You got me there. I think you've almost won me over, without even needing to see the result." Axel gave Roxas a soft smile.

"Only almost? What will get me over the line?" Roxas looked amused and his cheeks rosied over slightly.

That question kicked up butterflies in Axel's stomach. He wasn't completely sure if the flirting was intentional or if he was just seeing what he wanted to see because… he really liked Roxas. Despite it only having been a couple of short hours, it already felt like they were good friends. He felt comfortable with Roxas, he was definitely attracted to him and felt like Roxas was definitely hitting on him too. There was something between them. Axel wanted to signal his attraction… in an inconspicuous way. He cleared his throat. He was pretty sure Roxas was already over the line for him, but he didn't want to come across as too easy either. "Probably whatever happens in the next hour?"

"I better make it good then, huh."

"Yeah. A lot hinges on it." Axel nodded solemnly before Roxas' laugh infected him and caused him to chuckle. Axel refocused, "I'll go for the tape-in extensions I think, just like I planned. The party starts at eight. I probably can't risk running too late for it. It's my friend, Kairi's, twenty-fifth birthday today. She'll hang me if I miss it."

"Oh cool, born on Halloween. It's like the world has gifted her an extra special day."

"Amen to that!" Axel grinned.

After a bit more time and banter about Kairi's birthday party and him explaining his long-standing friendship with her—and Axel stressing the friendship bit (just to be on the safe side)—Roxas finished Axel's hair and left him to process so he could dye the extensions.

Axel spent his time playing mobile games and slowly devouring his packet of sea salt ice cream flavored Cow Tail chews. He gave one to Roxas as the man passed by. Axel really liked putting things into Roxas' mouth and he left that thought there, lest he become too flustered by it.

He watched Roxas in the back, the chew sticking out of his mouth, and a look of concentration intensifying his hard stare, which he directed at the foil he used to wrap Axel's extensions up with. Axel couldn't help himself. He zoomed in with his phone and took a quick photo of Roxas' face in profile. He uploaded it and hashtagged—#cutebarber #notlying #damn #putmeinyourmouth

Roxas came around eventually, checking Axel's hair and gave him the okay to follow him over to the washbasin. Axel got comfortable in the reclining chair once more and dreaded, but also really looked forward to this. He was still mildly worried but willed himself to believe in Roxas. He was Ansem's prodigy in a way. Ansem must have taught him everything he knew—and Roxas had taught himself things as well. He would be fine.

Concern for his hair melted away as Roxas began rinsing the dye out and massaging his scalp. The sound of the water coming out of the nozzle of the showerhead, Roxas' humming, and those fingertips working out the Meche were all very soothing to Axel. He drifted on a cloud of relaxation and then when the dye had mostly been washed out, Roxas quietly asked, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah," Axel rumbled and smiled with his eyes closed.

"Good. Let me see if I can get over that line."

Axel's eyes snapped open. He saw Roxas' face close to his own, smirking down at him. Roxas withdrew out of Axel's field of vision and his hands began massaging Axel's scalp with a lot more energy than the first time they had been at the basin. Axel's eyes rolled back and he closed them against the force of pleasure, igniting shivers and shudders through his whole body. A sharp tingle ran down his spine as Roxas used his index fingers to glide along Axel's hairline in a downward motion, while his thumbs kneaded the base of his neck. The sensation buzzing down Axel's spine intensified. He tilted his head back, his throat freed up and the smallest moan escaped him. Axel's eyes sprang open and his muscles stiffened with embarrassment.

Had Roxas heard? The man's fingers stilled for a moment but then resumed and he didn't say anything. Axel couldn't see his face to gauge anything by his expression either. Maybe the music drifting in the air and Roxas' own humming had drowned it out. Axel tried to ignore that anything had happened and refocused on keeping his mouth and throat shut as Roxas kept massaging and humming to himself.

But it was really hard to keep his pleasure inside, because, damn, Roxas was really good. In fact, Axel could swear Roxas was doing a firmer massage now. He used the flats of his palms for broad upward sweeps stretching Axel's scalp in the nicest way possible. He did compressions on the side of Axel's head, squeezing and releasing. His fingertips moved in circular motions over his scalp, making Axel grit his teeth and press his lips together to keep himself from making a sound.

Soft words filtered to Axel's ears as Roxas swayed in and out of humming and singing.

—to be honest, I want to be bad
I want to destroy you—
I want attention—
I want all the ass, is that too much to ask?
I want—to be raw
I want to be ignorant, I want to know all

Axel listened intently to somehow distract himself from how good Roxas made him feel.

I'm thinking we should ride
To a place—don't know
To a place where no one's seen us before
—you and I
—go with the flow
Last thing that we should do is go slow (1)

"You have a nice singing voice," Axel ventured. He really needed a distraction and hoped the conversation would go some way in helping that.

Roxas hummed and said, "Thank you."

Axel wanted to compliment Roxas some more on his massage technique but, considering what had happened, he didn't want to bring it up again.

Roxas rinsed Axel's hair with more water and then began squeezing out the excess. Axel felt relieved over the beautiful pressure and tingle-inducing massage finally being at an end.

"Do you need to get up and stretch your legs or anything before I tone your hair?" Roxas asked with one final squeeze of Axel's hair.

Axel thought about that for a moment. It was nearly 2 o'clock. He figured a quick toilet break and stuffing himself with more sugar might help. "Yeah."

Roxas grabbed a towel, squeezed the excess water out of Axel's hair and styled the towel up like a turban, so Axel wouldn't drip everywhere.

"You're just doing that so I don't see what an awful dye job you did on me," Axel teased as he stood up, turning around so Roxas could unfasten the cape.

"You totally got me," Roxas took the cape and grinned up at Axel as they faced each other again. "Hurry up though. I'll give you five minutes."

Axel nodded, but before he turned away, said, "Ah… I might need more like ten minutes."

Roxas chuckled and made a disgusted face. "Sure. I'll meet you back here when you're done."

Axel gave him a broad smile and headed to the clean and fresh-scented washroom, in the very back end of the shop. He relieved himself and then stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment as he washed and dried his hands. The black towel hiding his hair made Axel curious. He trusted Roxas, and knew there wouldn't be much to see with his hair so damp, but still… his curiosity got the better of him. He touched the towel on his head, looking for where Roxas had tucked the ends in.

The door to the washroom opened. "Don't you dare touch that!" Roxas barked, pointing an indignant finger at him.

Axel's hand flew to his chest and his heart raced. "Holy shit, dude. You got cameras in here or something? Why'd you walk in on me right now?"

Roxas wore a boastful grin as he walked further into the small, two-stall and one-urinal washroom. "My Axel-is-up-to-mischief sense was tingling."

"I was up to no such thing," Axel rejected.

Roxas went past Axel, toward a urinal, and gave a very skeptical sounding, "Aah-ha. I caught you red-handed, Mister. And do you see how my hands are totally not red because that's how pro I am at dyeing hair?" Roxas held his hands out toward Axel as evidence.

"Sure, sure. Nothin' to do with you wearing gloves, 'm sure," he winked. "I bet you're spending so much time washing my hair to get all the color off yourself." Axel huffed with laughter and tucked the end of the turban towel back in.

"Nah." Roxas turned around to face the urinal, but craned his head toward Axel a little, without looking at him, as he said, "I'm doing it because I love hearing you moan."

An instant shiver ran through Axel's body, even as heat prickled his cheeks, and his pulse thrummed in his gut. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'll meet you outside." He quickly marched out of there as he heard the sound of Roxas unzipping his jeans.

Axel fanned himself as he went to his belongings and took a big gulp out of his water bottle, and then fished out more snacks. Roxas had heard. He should be so embarrassed… and he was. But… he was also turned on. He looked at himself in the mirror and at the way the blush wasn't coming off his cheeks. He took a deep breath and dug his phone out, hoping to distract himself for a moment to make the thrum in his body subside. He snapped another selfie with the towel on his head, the blush mostly having left him. #dyeingtoseetheendresult #barbergettingcuterbythehour

Roxas came out of the washroom. They smiled at each other and Axel grabbed his packet of sea salt ice cream flavored taffy, and a box containing paopu fruit cake, before he went back to the washbasin.

"Stoop down to my level, please," Roxas ordered, holding the cape out.

"Oh, I could never do that. You should learn to rise to the occasion." He chuckled and grinned as Roxas tiptoed to cast the cape about Axel's shoulders, rather unsuccessfully.

"Okay, maybe I'll take pity on you." Axel leaned down toward Roxas so they were almost nose-to-nose.

"Made you stoop, after all," Roxas smirked and winked. Taking the cape with him he slid his hands over Axel's shoulders and hooked them around Axel's neck as he fastened the cape in place. Roxas stayed there, his arms draped over Axel, both men staring at each other. Axel became enraptured by gorgeous deep azure pools with little flecks of amber in them, close to the iris.

"Sit down," Roxas said, with the slightest tilt of his head and a light tinkle in his voice. His hands slipped off Axel and Roxas took his seat at the head of the washbasin. Axel let out the breath he had held in and reclined, placing the snacks on his stomach and opening them before he leaned his head back.

Roxas unwound the towel and ruffled Axel's hair, detangling it and laying it out in the basin. "You ready for the semi-permanent color glaze now?"

"Yep. I had a good stretch, had some water, I've got my snacks," he patted the opened packaging, "I'm all ready for you and your amazing hands."

Roxas huffed with laughter. "Amazing, huh?"

Sounds of Roxas rummaging around and the snap of disposable gloves against skin sounded behind Axel. "Yeah," Axel said. Since Roxas had heard the moan—and he didn't have to see Roxas' face right now—he decided to be honest and unashamed about it. "If you ever want to quit the hairstyling business you could make an amazing masseuse."

Liquid began trickling down Axel's scalp. Roxas carefully applied the glaze from a squeeze bottle and worked his fingers through Axel's hair, combing and making sure every strand got covered.

"That's nice of you to say. But I really doubt I'm any good at it."

"Well, take it from someone who is in the industry—you give amazing hea—head massages." The embarrassment at what he had just said flushed through him.

Roxas' movements didn't slow or stop. He did chuckle low in his throat though and hummed. "You don't even know the half of it."

Axel's cheeks were small furnaces. He didn't know what to say. Didn't know whether to lean into it and flirt, as if this was his last day on earth with a drop-dead-gorgeous guy, or to just brush it aside.

Lucky for him, Roxas made the decision, "You know what I do for a living, but I don't actually know what you do."

"I'm a massage therapist."

"Oh, wow. Really?"

"Yeah."

"So you know your stuff when it comes to head massages and things like that, right?" Both of Roxas' hands were on Axel's hair now, having finished applying the glaze and moving on to carefully working it into every strand from root to tip.

"I do, yeah." Axel hadn't missed the slight inflection as Roxas had spoken. The guy was a total flirt. Axel wasn't easily smitten but maybe he could make an exception for Roxas.

"Could you recommend any places? I've got this stiff leg sometimes, when I wake up in the morning. I should probably get it checked out."

Axel smiled to himself. Roxas was a God of flirting. He tried to act cool and unfazed, "I can't really recommend any places. I've never had a decent massage in my life."

"Oh really? So you're saying I need to come to you if I want a decent rubdown?"

The smile on Axel's lips broadened into a smirk. "Yeah. The same way I'll have to come to you for a decent head rub."

"Oh?" Roxas' voice was low and held a seductive rumble. "My Gramps doesn't do it for ya?"

"Definitely not. You on the other hand…" Axel sucked in some air with the pleasant shiver Roxas licited inside himself, and chuckled, "your hands do things to me."

"What kind of things?" Roxas whispered right against Axel's ear, tickling him.

Axel could see the top of Roxas' platinum hair out of the corner of his eye. "Very nice things. Like giving me a stiff—"

"Roxas! Ansem's on the phone."

Roxas and Axel both turned their heads up to see a brunet man, who Axel knew as Jonathan, leaning against the partitioned wall.

"Excuse me." Roxas got up, stripping the gloves off and depositing them in the trash as he went to the front of the shop where the landline sat.

Axel sighed and slumped against the chair a little. His heart hammered a little harder than usual, and his penis throbbed with awakening arousal. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and smiled up at the ceiling as he fished around his snacks, finding, and eating salt water taffy and fruitcake while he waited for Roxas to come back.

It didn't take too long.

"Everything alright?" Axel inquired on Roxas' return. "Is Ansem worried about me?" he joked.

The jest wasn't reciprocated. Roxas looked rather stone-faced. "No." He sank into his seat with a sigh. "Where were we? I still need to do the right side here and then your extensions."

The sound of gloves snapping came from behind Axel and Roxas' hands were on him again in another instant.

The heat of the previous moment—the flirtatious jokes and buzzing tension—was gone. Something felt off. Axel couldn't help but wonder if he had said something wrong or if it had been the phone call that upset the other man.

"Roxas?"

"Why did you become a massage therapist?" Roxas asked.

"Um… well, you know how I said I can't recommend you any massage therapists but myself?"

"Yeah."

Axel frowned at Roxas giving such a to-the-point response with none of the previous allure tinting even this one simple word. He stared up at the white unremarkable ceiling. "It's kind of why I became a massage therapist. My mom's got chronic myofascial pain and no one's been able to help her with it. I just always hated seeing her in so much pain, so I wanted to do something about it."

A small sound left Roxas. "That's really sweet of you." He brushed his fingers through Axel's hair and Axel felt a little bit more liquid get applied to his head.

"It's the least I could do since she raised me. The bad haircuts aside, I always wanted to give something back to her."

A soft hum left Roxas. "Does it help her?"

"She says it does. And I am inclined to believe her because when she comes off the table after a session with me she can move a bit easier. I can see the relief on her face, y'know?"

Roxas gave another small hum and gently pulled on Axel's hair, working toward the back of his head. "That's really nice that you can give her some relief." His fingers stilled, but Axel could feel the light pressure of Roxas holding on to the ends of his hair.

"Hey, um… is everything okay?" Axel asked, more directly this time, tilting his head back a bit in hopes of catching sight of Roxas.

"Yeah. I'm just wondering… did you want me to tint your eyebrows at all? Gramps didn't make a mention of it. I can do it mostly while we wait for your hair to process, so it won't add too much extra time."

The change of subject threw Axel a little. His mind tried to grasp a memory of what getting his eyebrows tinted entailed. "Just bleaching and tinting, right?" he inquired.

"Yeah." Roxas leaned forward and came into view on Axel's left. "Won't cost that much more."

"What an upsell," Axel drawled with sarcasm. "Try harder?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, and a small smile returned to his rather grim-looking face. "Bright red eyebrows will make your emerald green eyes shine and stand out even more. No girl will be able to look away from you."

Axel saw an opportunity and went with it, "What about guys? I'm much more interested in guys." He looked up at Roxas, whilst licking his lips, to make sure there was no miscommunication between them.

Roxas leaned in closer to Axel and stuck his tongue out a little, playing with his lip ring. "Guys already can't look away from you." His blue eyes checked out Axel's face for a moment—lingering on his tattoos and lips—before Roxas chewed his bottom lip and straightened up. "So whaddya say?"

Axel had to take a calming breath. His chest felt tight with desire. "If it will make me look hotter to you, then sure."

Roxas smirked. "If I said you'd be hotter if you shaved, would you do that for me too?"

"The stubble is for my costume. So… I wouldn't shave for you today, but tomorrow? Sure."

Roxas laughed and somehow the tension in Axel seeped out. Roxas then went and got the things he needed for preparing Axel's eyebrows. He found himself a stool so he could sit next to Axel, put on fresh gloves, and began painting Axel's brows with bleach, while Axel chewed on some taffy.

"Y' wan' some?" Axel asked through the sticky candy, making his voice far more muffled.

Roxas looked at the packet laying on Axel's stomach with mild curiosity, "It's blue because it's sea salt?"

"Yep."

"Do you really love sea salt flavor that much or did Gramps tell you I love sea salt?"

Pleasant surprise widened Axel's face. "It's your favorite too?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. One, I didn't know you'd be doing me today. And two," Axel swallowed the remains of the candy in his mouth, "even if I had known, and you hated sea salt flavored stuff, I'd still have brought it with me. Love it. Can't get enough of it. So you gonna save me from dying of diabetes all by myself, or what?"

Roxas laughed a very generous amount. "So first I was gonna save you and now I'm destined to die with you?"

"Yep. How about it?"

"Will it get me over the line?"

"Roxas, my man, we will only know that once we are done with everything. But helping me with this will definitely nudge you a tiny bit closer," he teased. No way was he going to tell Roxas that he had crossed the line about three hours ago now.

"Oh, alright. How can I say no to that? Or candy?"

"You can't. Here," Axel looked down his body to the packet of taffy and pulled out a strip of the soft, sticky blue confectionary. He held it up for Roxas to get his face underneath it and lowered it into Roxas' upturned mouth, loving the sight of Roxas above him like that; head raised to the ceiling and at his mercy. When most of the candy was in Roxas' mouth Axel let go and the remainder dropped in. Roxas closed his mouth and looked back down at Axel with a great big grin.

"Good?"

Roxas hummed and nodded, chewing vigorously. Axel got another strip for himself and shoved it in his mouth.

Roxas, after a few more careful brushstrokes against Axel's eyebrow, moved over to the other side of Axel and began working on his other brow. Before he got too focused on applying the bleach he opened his mouth again and pointed at it with his gloved hand. "Aah-ah."

Axel laughed. "So that's it? I've become your personal taffy dispensing machine?"

"Yep." Roxas opened his mouth wider and made more demanding sounds.

Axel didn't need to hear that. He already got another strip of taffy out for Roxas and rolled it up. He shook with laughter for a moment but then, "You have a… you have two tongue piercings?" Axel ogled the two small metallic studs sitting adjacent from each other toward the middle of Roxas' tongue.

Roxas stuck his tongue out so Axel could see better and then, on retracting his tongue, said, "Venom piercings. You like them?"

"I…" Axel stared for a moment. His mind went to all sorts of places. Did Roxas have any other piercings? Was Roxas any good at giving blowjobs? Did he get the piercings so he could become even better at blow jobs? Blow jobs! Did Roxas have other piercings? Fuck he wanted to kiss him. "They're really cool," he said lamely.

"That's all you've got to say to me?" Roxas' eyes slipped half-shut and he gave Axel a sultry smile before he stuck his tongue out and slowly pulled it back in, his teeth catching on the plain silver studs before his tongue disappeared completely.

Axel swallowed and felt very hot under his cape. "Have some more diabetes." He pushed the rolled-up taffy toward Roxas' mouth, which opened wide to receive the blue roll of sugar. The taffy, however, had melted a bit and didn't fall off Axel's finger when he went to drop the candy into Roxas' mouth.

Roxas leaned forward a little and took Axel's finger into his mouth while he gave Axel a smoldering half-lidded look. Axel's gut churned and his pulse rushed at the feel of Roxas' hot mouth clamped shut around his finger. Teeth scraped against Axel, and that soft tongue rubbed against his knuckles. The smooth, but solid, tips of the piercings grazing along his finger sent a shiver down Axel's back. His penis throbbed and yearned to be where Axel's finger was right now.

Roxas released Axel's finger with a soft pop and he smirked so hard as he chewed on the candy. Once again, his cheeks dusted over, giving his pale complexion some color. That abashed innocent blush mixed with that sinful smirk made Axel want to groan with frustration and needy want. He was thrilled that they were in the back of the shop, and equally glad that there was a partition blocking them from being seen from the front of the shop.

The finger sucking, the teasing flirtations between them, and those smoldering eyes looking at Axel like that… there was no turning away from it. He couldn't avoid thinking about how incredibly attractive, funny, cute, and absolutely fuckable Roxas was. Axel had been trying to keep these thoughts and feelings largely at bay, out of respect for Ansem, but now all bets were off. Roxas humming in pleasure only reinforced and strengthened Axel's carnal thoughts and desires. He sucked on his lips as Roxas continued the bleaching process on his right brow. Axel ate some of the paopu fruitcake to distract himself from Roxas' close proximity to his face.

Roxas eventually left him, saying he was going to check on the hair extensions while waiting for the bleach to do its thing on Axel's brows. Axel wiggled in the reclining chair because his ass was getting a little bit numb. Once he found a comfortable position, he closed his eyes and tried to not picture Roxas licking him, with those piercings scraping against his cock. He didn't succeed.

Roxas returned after ten or so minutes, with a soft, "Hey," and proceeded to wipe off the bleach, after which he began tinting Axel's brows a vibrant red while they talked about their favorite bands, as a song they both liked came on over the stereo. Axel fed Roxas some of the paopu fruitcake after some protests and insistence from Roxas that he would go get some proper food after the deep conditioning process.

"Whaddya mean 'proper food'?" Axel complained as Roxas got behind him and started rinsing out his hair.

"Food that won't cause us diabetes or make us die."

"Oh, look who wants to live forever," Axel drawled, teasing.

Roxas hummed and rubbed Axel's hair. "You'd miss me doing this to you if I was gone, admit it." Roxas dug the pads of his thumbs into the back of Axel's head and began massaging.

Instant chills and shivers prickled along Axel's spine. He opened his mouth and pushed his head into the touch.

"I make you speechless?" There was smug satisfaction in Roxas' voice.

"I know you'd rather hear me moan," Axel got out through breathy huffs.

"Too right I would." Roxas redoubled his efforts with the massage. His fingernails scratched gently but firmly, his fingertips kneaded, rubbed, and lightly caressed. Roxas didn't stop at the base of Axel's head either. He ventured further down, along Axel's neck, slowly and purposely rubbing along the edge of the cape, where it fastened around Axel's neck. He dipped and pushed his fingers below the material and with the lightest touch traced Axel's collarbone.

Axel shivered. The hairs on his arms prickled and each firm sweep of Roxas' hands dripped desire down into Axel's groin. He wanted Roxas to keep going; to explore further; to work under his clothes. He wanted Roxas' tongue on his nipples, he wanted to suck and nibble on Roxas' lip ring, and rub his tongue against Roxas' venom piercings.

An errant finger rimmed along the edge of Axel's casual shirt he wore underneath. Axel focused on the teasing way Roxas picked at the collar, almost, but not quite, dipping below and pushing in further to feel up his chest.

One finger slipped below Axel's clothes for a brief second but then retracted. Roxas' hands came back up and out from under the cape and resumed massaging Axel's head. Fingers danced behind his ears, caressing the shells and traced down and across his sharp jawline, before returning to the safety of Axel's scalp.

Roxas hummed to himself again while he did all of this to Axel. It was a different tune to the one Axel had heard the previous times. Axel barely paid attention to it, though the sound of Roxas' melodious thrumming vocal cords was almost like sweet honey dripping into his ears.

Axel tried to keep the moan inside, but Roxas made it very hard for him because he was making Axel very hard. If Axel dared to open his eyes he thought he could probably see the embarrassing tenting situation under the cape. Not that it would be comically upright, but still enough to be noticeable by others. If Roxas saw, Axel didn't care. In fact, he hoped it would encourage him to somehow take things further.

Roxas kept humming and running his fingers through Axel's hair, administering the delicious tingles, shivers, and pulsing sensations into Axel's body. Words started to form in Axel's head as he recognized the song Roxas was humming.

Axel, starting in a low rumble, sang along to Roxas' tune—

My body needs a hero
Come and save me
Something tells me you know how to save me
I've been feeling real low
Oh, I need you to come and rescue me

Make me come alive
Come on and turn me on
Touch me, save my life
Come on and turn me on
I'm too young to die
Come on and turn me on
Turn me on

Axel snapped his finger, nodded his head and swayed as much as he could while reclining and getting his hair rinsed and head massaged. Roxas kept the tune going, but it was far more broken because of him laughing quietly. It was okay though because Axel had the tune well and truly running in his head by this point and sang with more volume—

Boy, I'm achin', make it right
My temperature is super high
If I scream, if I cry
It's only 'cause I feel alive

My body needs a hero
Come and save me
Something tells me you know how to save me
I've been feeling real low
Oh, I need you to come and rescue me

Roxas stopped humming and joined in with Axel's singing—

Make me come alive
Come on and turn me on
Touch me, save my life
Come on and turn me on
I'm too young to die
Come on and turn me on

Turn me on
Turn me on
Turn me on
Turn me on

Roxas stopped singing and Axel slowly sang—

You've got my life in the palm of your hands
Roxas echoed, "Palm of your hands," and rubbed a little harder at Axel's head.
Come and save me now
I know you can, I know you can
Once more Roxas echoed after Axel, "I know you can."
Come and save me now

Don't let me die young, I just want you to fire at my young
I just want you to be my docta, we can get it crackin' chiropractor, I, I, I, I

Axel grinned like a fool and Roxas quelled his laughter enough to join in as Axel sang—

I know you can save me
And make me feel alive
Make me come alive
Come on and turn me on
Touch me, save my life
Come on and turn me on
I'm too young to die
Come on and turn me on
Turn me on
Turn me on (2)

They both laughed as they came to the end of the song.

"You know that one, huh?" Roxas' voice dripped with jubilance. He came into view, wiping at Axel's eyebrows with a damp towel, to get the tinting off.

"Never heard it before." Axel feigned ignorance which made Roxas laugh loudly.

"Wow, you're magical," Roxas said, a manic grin on his face.

He cooed, "Totally."

"Can I have more cake?" Roxas asked.

"Sure." Axel found the container which had slipped down and rested beside him on the chair. He got a piece of cake out and held it out behind himself. A different sort of shiver ran down his body as Roxas' mouth surrounded the small piece of cake and his fingers. Roxas worked the cake toward his cheek and sucked on Axel's fingers unencumbered. Axel stroked Roxas' tongue with his index finger, feeling the piercings. He bit his lip and his breath came a little more labored. Roxas gave a sharp suck to his finger and then pulled back, releasing Axel and pressed a kiss to his fingertip. Axel didn't withdraw his hand though. He blindly brushed at Roxas' lip and gently flicked the crisscrossed rings of his spider bite piercing.

Roxas' tongue caressed Axel's finger and Roxas took him back into his mouth, sliding on and off and sucking on Axel a few times. A tight squeeze in Axel's chest forced a moan out of him and his penis throbbed and jerked.

Roxas pulled off him completely. "Right, you're done here. It's time to put in the second step of Olaplex."

Axel blinked, startled at the words. He withdrew his hand with uncertainty, returning it to his side. Had he done something wrong? Was Roxas mad? Roxas walked past him then, throwing him a cheeky smirk as he went. Axel groaned with frustration and let his body go floppy against the chair. Roxas wasn't mad. He was a giant cock-tease.

He breathed down his lust, cooling off, and tried to focus on something else. It didn't work. Axel's finger felt exceptionally cold with Roxas' saliva coating and cooling it in the air-conditioned shop.

Roxas returned, sitting behind Axel again and starting the treatment process. Axel heard the uncapping of the bottle, listened to the wet slicking sound of Roxas getting the product between his fingers—which made Axel's mind run wild with a lusty daydream—and then Roxas' hands were on him once more, pulling the conditioner through Axel's damp hair.

"You have a really nice singing voice," Roxas said gently.

"Thanks. We should start a barbershop choir."

"I'd prefer a duet."

Axel smiled at that. "Yeah, you're right. Anything more than two's a crowd."

Roxas hummed in agreement and massaged Axel's scalp again, pulling at his hair gently. Roxas worked the product into Axel's roots, his thumbs rubbing circles, and his fingers teasing at clusters of hair.

Axel yelped, a sharp pain cutting through the soft buzzing Roxas' hands left on him.

"Oh, shit. Sorry. Did that hurt?"

Roxas had pinched and tugged Axel's hair too hard. It made Axel's breath run a little ragged, but not from pain. "N-no. It's… the opposite, actually," he confessed. This far into what they were doing, it could surely not be construed as sexual harassment. Axel was enjoying himself and he was 99.9% sure Roxas was as well.

"The… o-opposite?… Oh!—Oh," Roxas breathed out with sultry seduction. "Do you… want me to do it again?" he asked, his voice a lot closer to Axel's ear now.

"Yes, please," his voice quavered with anticipation.

Roxas did, pulling at Axel's hair roughly with short, sharp tugs. Axel clenched his hands into fists and tried to stop himself from arching his back or bucking his hips. It was a little bit of pain mixed in with a lot of pleasure. "Harder," he rasped as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Roxas' breath tickled the shell of his ear, "Where are your manners?"

"Please," Axel whined low, begging with need.

Roxas hummed in satisfied pleasure and yanked Axel's hair with force.

Axel's stomach clenched and his erection throbbed. He could feel himself leaking, his boxers feeling damp against his skin. He let out a strangled sound of painful pleasure.

Roxas giggled. "You really need to keep it down," he whispered.

Axel tilted his head to the right, looking up at Roxas a little, the man's face very close to his own. "Is that a command?"

Roxas' bemused expression turned into a sultry smirk. "Yes."

"Do you get off on this kinda powerplay?" Axel husked, staring at Roxas' lips, which had lost their strong black sheen over the course of the day.

"I do."

"Am I making you hot, being at your mercy?" Axel leaned a little closer toward Roxas, his eyes darting between lips and eyes. "Am I making you wet? Hhard?" he breathed out.

Roxas leaned in a lot closer to Axel. He bit his lip and a small groaning breath escaped. Axel could feel the exhale on his skin. He flicked his tongue out, moistening his lips. His whole body throbbed, and his abdomen was hard as a rock with the strain of keeping himself from jumping the other man.

They breathed against each other, so close, their lips almost touching. Roxas let out a huff of air and sat up straight, clearing his throat. "I'll leave you for twenty minutes for the Olaplex to process. You need anything?"

Axel chuckled. "Running away, I see."

"Not running away. Doing my job. So, you need anything?" Roxas stood up and walked around a little, staring down at Axel with a smile.

Axel trailed his eyes down Roxas' body, imagining undressing him from the button-down white shirt, licking him, unzipping the black skinny jeans where he could definitely make out a bulge. Axel's eyes snapped up, meeting Roxas' heavily-lidded gaze. "Water, thanks," he said and smirked. "My bottle's over by my snack bag."

Roxas looked to be feeling the heat; his cheeks dusting over with pink once more. He nodded, cleared his throat, and walked over to the station, adjusting himself a little as he went. Axel laughed quietly and then a lot as Roxas threw the water bottle at Axel's head. He caught it with a, "Thanks."

"You want anything? I'm gonna order a burger from the Cheezy Burger Bro's around the corner and pick it up after I get you under the dryer."

Axel popped the top of his bottle and chugged some water before he answered with, "Burgers?" he exclaimed, incredulous. "That's your definition of proper food? You hurt my candy stash's feelings."

Roxas, with hands on hips, rolled his eyes and shook his head as he let out a playful sigh.

Axel chuckled. "You're not vegetarian or vegan or something like that are you?"

"No. Are you?"

"No. I'll have whatever you're having. You need some money?"

"Nah, I'll add it to your bill at the end."

"Thanks, babe."

"No worries, hun." Roxas waved and walked toward the front of the shop. Axel lost sight of him as he went past the partition. He stared up at the ceiling, a massive grin plastered on his face. He wasn't sure what was happening between them, but he was psyched about it. If he didn't walk out of here with Roxas' number he would be damned.

hr/

Axel passed the time playing more games on his phone. He even resisted snapping a selfie, just so he wouldn't see his hair and tinted brows. He really wanted to keep it a surprise for himself.

From time to time Roxas walked past, tidying up and also checking on the extensions. Axel pleaded with him to be given more snacks, as all the taffy and cake were all eaten up.

"No, you'll spoil your appetite for burgers."

"Urgh, you're such a mom," Axel joked with derisive sarcasm.

Roxas said nothing to that, walking away as his form of response.

Roxas returned after some time, taking his seat behind Axel once more, and turned the water on, testing the temperature before using the handheld shower hose on Axel's hair.

"Welcome back," Axel greeted.

"You miss me?"

Water hit Axel's hair and Roxas' fingers worked through his locks, rubbing at his scalp, restarting the onslaught of pleasant feelings; an instant feel-good shiver tingled down Axel's spine. "Yeah," he sighed. "Your salon must be really busy when you've got magical hands like yours," he happily blabbed, closing his eyes in relaxed bliss.

Roxas chuckled softly. "I've never had anyone react to me like you do."

Axel opened his eyes and hoped to catch sight of Roxas behind himself. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Not even when you do that thing with your thumbs?" Axel gasped and shuddered with delight as Roxas did exactly what he had been referring to.

A quiet huffing laugh sounded behind. A moment later Roxas murmured, "Well… to be honest… I've never done this to anyone before. Not quite like this."

Axel felt hot and cold all over and his whole body shivered and buzzed. He craned his head back, getting a slight look at Roxas' upsidedown face. He wore the sweetest abashed smile and didn't make eye contact with Axel. It was an uncomfortable position. Axel relaxed his body and stared back up at the ceiling. "Am I special?"

Roxas was quiet for a few moments, though his hands didn't stop rinsing and squeezing the product-laden water from Axel's hair. "There's…" Roxas sighed as if his heart was heavy. The next moment he got out, sounding very upbeat, "You're a lot of fun."

Axel felt a queasiness in his stomach. Hands left his head and then a towel was used on him, to squeeze his hair until it was slightly damp.

"I'll apply the deep conditioner now, and then put you under the hooded dryer and get us our burger meals. They'll be ready very soon."

"Okay. I guess I am feeling kinda hungry… hungry for something warm and juicy. Can't wait to see what this mystery burger will be like."

"I bet you'll like it. There's a Cheezy Burger Bro's around where I work. They make the best melted cheese bison beef stacks." Roxas discarded the towel and busied himself quickly sectioning Axel's hair.

"That sounds amazing."

"Oh, it is. You've never had a CBB?"

"No. I've heard of the chain, but there's none near me and between work and me loving to stay at home and sleeping, I don't get out much."

"What do you do at home besides sleep?"

"Video games. Netflix. I work most weekends and during the week everyone is too busy to go do stuff with, so I just… hang by myself. I know—I live a boring existence."

Roxas hummed. "I'm the same. Weekends are the busiest for us too. I only give myself one day a week off and… well, you said it. No one's around because they're all at their nine to five office jobs." Roxas finished sectioning Axel's hair and the sound of him pumping something into his hands could be heard. Hands were rubbed together and then Axel sighed blissfully as Roxas worked the citrus-scented deep conditioner into his hair, from root to tip.

"Which day of the week do you take off? Maybe we could hang out sometime?" Axel asked, hopeful, with his heart racing a little.

"You want to Netflix and Chill with me?"

Excitement bubbled inside of Axel. He wasn't sure in which way Roxas meant it but said, "Yeah. I'm down with whatever you'd like to do."

Roxas gave a thoughtful hum and quickly worked through Axel's hair, applying more of the product to his hands and working it over each strand. He eventually said, "There are some new shows my friends are raving about, but I never feel motivated to sit down and watch stuff by myself. So… maybe."

"Cool. Maybe is good," Axel smiled up at the ceiling.

Roxas didn't talk any more after that. He just sang along to whatever song played on the stereo, and Axel joined when he knew the lyrics too.

It wasn't much longer before a plastic cap was snuggly set on Axel's head and Roxas walked him over toward the front of the shop, where two hooded dryers stood. Roxas left him sitting there while he went out to grab them their very late lunch—or early dinner—depending on how one chose to look at it, as it was a little past 3.

Axel took a photo of himself and uploaded it along with #fryingmybrains, #nearlydone, #thinkIgotadate, #mybarberisstillcute

Roxas returned, carrying two thick paper bags and bringing the delicious scent of hot, fried, greasy food into the shop. Roxas sat in the chair next to Axel and they ate their burgers. Axel sang the praise of the deliciousness and they had fun chatting about common interests that they shared beyond music.

When their meals were consumed and sufficient amount of time had elapsed, Axel was freed from beneath the dryer and taken back to the washbasin where Roxas rinsed out Axel's hair, smiling down at him while sending crazy shivers down Axel's spine and then, with a towel wrapped around Axel's hair, they went back to the hairdressing station.

"You nervous about the big reveal?" Roxas asked, looking at Axel through the mirror as he stood beside him, his hands going up to the dark towel covering Axel's head.

"I…" Axel looked at Roxas and at himself. He somehow wasn't ready for this to end yet. It had been fun teasing Roxas and challenging him on his competency as a barber. If the way his eyebrows blazed with fiery red was anything to go by, he felt certain that his hair would be stunning. "I won't be able to give you my verdict until my hair is all dry and brushed out."

"I guess that's true. Should I spin you around so you get the full shock and awe of my amazing skills at the very end?"

Axel nodded.

Roxas spun Axel's chair around to face the inside of the shop. The towel was removed and Roxas ran his hand through Axel's locks, tousling his wet hair before using the towel to roughly pat the extra moisture out. He then trimmed the ends of Axel's hair, spraying some water on it where it needed it. Axel caught sight of flashes of red in his periphery. It made him smile. He could already tell he was going to love his final look.

It didn't take too much longer before Roxas was done with the trim. He then got the blow dryer out and a round brush from the cart. Warm air blasted and billowed against Axel's hair moments later. Roxas methodically dried Axel's hair, section by section, his fingers trailing Axel's scalp as he went along. Axel felt excited, but the prospect of his time with Roxas coming to a close shortly, also made him sad. Sure, he was still aiming to leave here with Roxas' number, and he had already brought up the prospect of a potential date with the other man, but he didn't want things to end just yet. He wanted the day to drag out more.

He watched Roxas leave to fetch the extensions, which were out of their foil wrappings and had been washed and dried at some previous point. They looked really great; vibrant shades of red; a warm orange, a rich vermillion, and a deep maroon.

"Wow. They look amazing," Axel gaped as Roxas carefully set the bundle of hair down on a clean part of the cart. Axel avoided looking behind himself at the countertop, where Roxas put the rest of the extensions, lest he see himself and ruin the surprise.

"You should see yourself. You…" Roxas shook his head slowly, his grin massive and his eyes sparkling.

"Admiring your handiwork, huh?" Axel quirked his eyebrows and smirked.

The apples of Roxas' cheeks turned ruddy, his eyes almost squeezed shut with delight. "Just…" Roxas sighed dreamily. In the blink of an eye, he straightened up and wore his business face again. "Alright! Just an hour and a half left before closing time. We can do this! I can get you out of here and going to your party on time!" He pounded his fisted hand into his other hands' open palm. Roxas went to stand behind Axel and worked on sectioning his hair into layered rows so he could tape down the extensions.

Axel's mind raced. He definitely didn't want this to end. "Um… Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I… maybe get those weave-extensions put in, instead?"

Roxas' hands stilled instantly. "What?" He stepped around, glaring directly into Axel's face. "Are you kiddin' me? You know how long that would take? I'd have to get the other types of extensions out—which are in my car—'cause Gramps doesn't have any stock. And then I'd have to re-dye them all and… no. You're crazy. You'll never make your party on time."

"Oh… so… you can't just… use the ones you've got and—what was it? Stitch them in?"

Roxas shook his head rapidly. "No, see these?" He picked up one of the extensions, "They all come with their specific fasteners on them. These ones are tape. I can't just swap and change them around."

"Oh."

"It's why I asked you before I started dying them," Roxas grumbled with aggravation.

"Oh… sorry." Axel felt significantly chastened.

"Why do you want the other type? What made you change your mind?" Roxas softened in the way he spoke and put the extension back on the cart.

"I…" Axel's eyes wandered while he tried to come up with a feasible excuse. His eyes settled on Roxas; his brow slightly wrinkled, the black of his lipstick mostly gone now, but his piercing still standing out, and his eyes vibrant and deep as the midday sky. Axel sighed. "I just want to spend more time with you."

There was no response from Roxas. His eyes dropped. The music in the background softly pumped, conversations murmured, clippers buzzed, capes rustled, and scissors clicked.

"I… I'm having a lot of fun with you. I really like you. And… I know it's weird because we just met, but… I want to get to know you a lot better." Axel's guts knotted as he got those words out in a mostly even tone.

Roxas' eyes slowly raised to meet Axel's nervous gaze. His lips were slightly parted and he looked a bit stunned. His mouth closed, he huffed out a little from his nose, and then gave the smallest smile, "You're that desperate to hang out with me that you'd willingly stay here for another couple of hours? What about your friend's party?"

"Well… I… I'm clutching at straws here."

Roxas ran the palm of his hand over his face and said, "Axel," with exasperation. He sighed and his hands went to his hips. With a bowed head Roxas said, "Yeah, look… this has been fun, but… whole new extensions? That's a bit too much. Let me…" Roxas straightened, giving Axel a hard look, "I'll just get these extensions in for you and then… then we can talk about… this spending-time-together stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Axel's heart hammered. Roxas hadn't outright rejected him, but he also hadn't wholeheartedly accepted him either. It made him nervous and a little bit excited.

Axel fiddled with his phone while Roxas taped the extensions in one layer at a time. There was a lot of brushing of hair, a lot of careful application of adhesive, and sparse utterances of expletives as Roxas added row after row of extensions to Axel's thick hair. From time to time Roxas relaxed enough to hum along to whatever song played in the background.

Yet the melodious tune didn't take away from the awkwardness Axel felt between them. He had probably overstepped, been too forthright. He should have teased more, hinted at. Axel tried to interject the fun between them again by singing along to a song he recognized. It wasn't long before Roxas joined in. After that, they started talking again normally about whatever came to mind.

Time ticked by. Axel noted twilight settling on the world outside through the glass shop front. The crowd in the shop thinned out and packing and tidying up started happening. Other staff members began wandering to the back of the shop more often to wash up and have small chats with Roxas, who was now busy trimming up the extensions and making sure everything blended in and looked as natural as possible.

By 5:30 the shop was closed, the roller shutters drawn down, and everything was getting a proper wipe down and sweeping. Demyx, sporting a mohawk and a tribal pattern shaved into the sides of his head, bounded by with garbage bags in either hand. He whistled at Axel. "No wonder you guys were making so much noise back here. Lookin' good, Axel. Amazing job, Roxas." He gave them a thumbs up and headed to the small corridor and headed out the back door to drop the garbage bags off in the trash cans outside.

One after the other, the rest of the staff left. Jonathan was the only one left. He did the rounds, checking to make sure everything was secure and tidy and turned the various lights and powerpoints off as he went.

"You want me to hang around and wait for you to finish?" he asked of Roxas as he passed by, carrying a final garbage bag.

That question alarmed Axel. He was still hoping to come up with something to keep himself under Roxas' hands for longer. To Axel's relief, Roxas responded with, "No. That's alright. I don't want to keep you."

A slight frown crossed the slender brunet man's face as if he was deciding something. He ran a hand through his neat crewcut 'do. "Can I… have a word with you?" With a slight tilt of his head, he motioned toward the very back of the shop.

Roxas sighed. "Excuse me, Axel." He put his scissors down and followed Jonathan.

Soft music still played, but wasn't loud enough for Axel not to hear the two men, particularly as Roxas didn't seem to care for being discreet, "What is it, Jon'? I'm busy with a client."

"I could hear how busy you've been, all day."

"Well, Gramps wanted to keep me occupied and that's what I'm doing."

Jonathan sighed. He cast a quick glance over to Axel, who instantly fixed his eyes on what was in front of him, and then Jonathan spoke in a far lower tone something Axel couldn't catch, but what Axel did catch was a reaching out and a brushing of fingertips against Roxas' hand. Axel grimaced.

Roxas pulled his hand away and gave a loud, "I don't."

The other man sighed and crossed his arms in front of himself. "Just for tonight, then. You shouldn't be alone. I can keep you company. We can watch that gory schlock movie you like so much."

"I'm fed up of everyone worrying. I've got it all under control. I'm fine."

Axel saw Roxas' irritation and felt it bubbling up in himself as well.

"You sure? I can—"

"Yo, Roxas, we need to get my hair finished, or we're gonna be late for my friend's party," he called out, taking a liberty he hoped would be appreciated by Roxas.

Roxas and Jonathan looked over at him and Roxas didn't miss a beat, "Yeah, sorry, won't be long. I know how much… Kairi hates people running late." Roxas gave Axel a soft and seemingly grateful smile. Axel returned it with a lot of heart.

Jonathan looked confused and between the two of them. "You're going out? With… him?"

"Yeah. Axel and me. It's a Halloween party."

"You hate Halloween."

"People change, Jon. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

Jonathan frowned and still looked confused. He glanced at Axel, who, this time around, gave him a big grin and wave. Jonathan glared a little harder but ultimately returned his attention to Roxas. "Alright then. You got the code to lock up with?"

"Yeah. Gramps texted it to me."

"Okay." Jonathan didn't move. He just kept looking at Roxas.

Roxas took a step toward the other man, intertwined their hands and finally said something Axel didn't catch.

Jonathan gave a nod and said, "Hope everything will be okay. All the best to you and your family."

"Yeah, thank you," was all Roxas said and they let go of each other.

Jonathan nodded at Roxas, gave Axel a polite wave and left through the backdoor. It shut with a soft click and the two men were left alone, at last. Axel actually heard Roxas sigh out a little.

"What was that all about? He seemed pretty clingy," Axel said as Roxas walked back over to him.

"He's my ex." Roxas picked up the scissors again.

A volatile distaste flushed through Axel. He had suspected, but it was still irritating to hear. At least the guy was an ex, and not someone current. "Seems more like a pushy jerk." Axel glowered at the direction the man had left in.

Roxas huffed out a small laugh. "Jealous, are you?"

"Maybe a little. What was all that stuff about keeping you company tonight?"

"He's a pushy jerk, as you said." Roxas started working on Axel's hair again, trimming it.

Axel hummed and frowned thoughtfully. "I hope it was okay for me to say that stuff about you coming with me to my friend's party."

"Yeah. Thank you, actually. I appreciate you getting me out of spending time with him."

"You're welcome."

Roxas kept working and Axel stayed quiet for a while, until, "Why did he look so concerned about you being alone?"

"I turn into a vampire on Halloween if I'm not with someone."

The seriousness in Roxas' voice made Axel turn around a little and look up at him, "What? No! You're shitting me!"

Roxas wore a stern expression and turned Axel's head around to the front, "Keep your head still while I work. And well, okay, you got me." Roxas' voice was in Axel's ear all of a sudden, "I turn into a vampire when I'm with someone. I like to suck."

Axel coughed and sat up a little straighter while a tingling sensation ran through his body.

Roxas let out a small chuckle and got back to working on Axel's hair. A bit more snipping, a few hair ruffles, and some very quick tingle-inducing touches later and Roxas announced, "The moment of truth. Are you sure you're ready for this?" he beamed down at Axel.

Axel took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way Roxas' shining, eager eyes made him feel on top of the world. "A lot hinges on this, but yeah, I'm sure," he labored as if this was an immensely difficult and grave matter.

Roxas' lips twitched with bemusement. "Okay. Close your eyes and I'll spin you around."

Axel closed his eyes.

"No peeking," Roxas teased and Axel decided to cover his eyes with his hands.

He felt himself spin around to face the mirror. Then Roxas brushed his hair out, raking his fingers through it. Axel smiled into the palms of his hands. Roxas was completely adorable with the care and pride he took in his work and with Axel. He felt Roxas move away from him a few moments later and then heard him say, "Alright, go on. I dare you to look at yourself and not sing my praise."

Axel took a deep breath, lowered his hands and then stared straight ahead with his eyes still closed. If he couldn't think of anything, Roxas would pack up and leave. Axel was still determined to get his number, but he just wanted a little bit more time. Just a little. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the shocking vibrant, beautiful red. There was depth and the shades he chose had all been blended together so well. He could see his mouth hanging open wider and wider with every passing tick of the clock. He got his arm out from under the cape and ran his hand through his hair and extensions. His hair felt amazingly soft and fluffy. It had a real shag to it. He turned his head this way and that. Roxas was right there with a mirror so Axel could inspect the back. He felt speechless. He looked amazing and Roxas… he looked at Roxas through the mirror. The man wore a massive, broad smile, showing his teeth and turning his cheeks rosy.

"It's amazing! You're amazing!" Axel spun himself around in the chair, grabbed the mirror out of Roxas' hands, setting it down on the counter behind himself and then grabbed both of Roxas' hands in his own and looked up at him.

"I've had the absolute most amazing time with you today. Roxas. Thank you."

Roxas' smile didn't falter. His eyes did though, looking away in embarrassment. Shining sky blue eyes returned to look at Axel and with a laughing tinkle Roxas said, "So I'm over the line?"

"You so are. You've been over the line since… since…" Axel tried to remember where it had all changed for him.

"Since I made you moan?" Roxas' lips quirked in a sultry smile.

"Since the bleaching," Axel admitted.

The smile didn't leave Roxas, though he did cock an eyebrow and leaned down toward Axel. He pulled his hands out of Axel's clasp and rested them on the armrests of Axel's chair. "Why Mister Clare, you mean to tell me you've been making me work extra hard to win your favor for nothing?"

Axel couldn't contain the giggle. "You wanted to win my favor, hmm?" He hummed suggestively and smirked, leaning up so he could get a little closer to Roxas' face.

"Ever since I saw your terrible regrowth and the fade of your dye. I'm glad I got to restore you to your former glory." Roxas chuckled and scraped his teeth against his bottom lip, sucking a little on his piercing.

Axel watched the motion, transfixed. His heart raced and his stomach tensed with need as heat pooled into his groin. He huffed out the pent-up desire. He was going to go for it. "Roxas, I… want to kiss you."

Blue eyes widened marginally and Roxas leaned back a little. His lips stayed parted and he looked… Axel wasn't sure. Had he overstepped?

"I… I'm flattered but I can't. I… you're a client of Gramps and I… I'm really not into stubble… so…"

Axel blinked and felt incredulous. "What if… the stubble wasn't there? Would that change your mind?"

Roxas rubbed his lips together and hummed. "I thought… it was part of your look. For tonight, I mean."

"It was, but I think me kissing you would be a much better look, don't you think?"

Roxas stood up straight and laughed.

Axel grinned a little. "And it would fix that issue of me wanting to spend more time with you."

"I guess it would. But… do you really have…" Roxas seemed to calculate in his head, "an hour to spare? That's probably how long it will take."

Axel cast an eye on the clock. It was a quarter to six. "Yeah. I can manage that."

"You're gonna sacrifice your killer costume just to get a kiss from me?"

Axel nodded.

Roxas' hand went to his chest. "Aww, that's so sweet."

"I'm full of diabetes."

Roxas laughed. "You're only half. I helped out, remember?"

"That's right. My hero. Thanks again, babe."

"No worries, sweet cheeks." Roxas ran the back of his finger down Axel's cheek. "Let me get the shaving stuff out." With that Roxas turned away and busied himself getting razor blades, cremes, towels, and other miscellaneous things out of various cupboards.

While Axel watched Roxas get busy, flutters of anticipation rolled through him. He was going to get a kiss at the end of this. Today could hardly get any better. He took a photo of himself and his luxurious mane and uploaded it. #sexywerewolf, #gonnagetluckytonight, #halloween, #moneywellspent, #mybarberisthebest

Roxas, sporting a black apron, pulled the cart up alongside Axel. "You really want me to do this for you? Ruin your costume? All for a kiss?"

Axel gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and made a dismissive sound in the back of his throat. "Now that my eyebrows are magnificently red, the beard doesn't really work. So, you'll be doing me a favor really."

"A favor that will cost you extra."

"Yeah, yeah," Axel dismissed with a wave. "Make me beautiful, baby."

Roxas huffed and rolled his eyes. He pushed his finger against Axel's forehead, forcing him back against the chair. "Close your eyes and enjoy," Roxas husked and Axel almost whined with how hard he wished Roxas was referring to something else.

He let his eyes slip shut as Roxas slightly reclined the chair he was on. A damp cloth wiped over his face and Axel couldn't help but smile at how gingerly Roxas swept the cloth over his tattoos, almost as if he was admiring them.

"Did they hurt?" Roxas asked.

"Nah. Not really."

"Any particular reason why you got them?"

"I wanted to look badass. Is it working?" Axel opened one eye to see Roxas' face all scrunched up and his tongue poking out a little.

"No," Roxas said and his face went back to its delightful normal resting position. "Hey, I said keep your eyes closed."

"And miss that adorable face? No way." Axel opened his other eye and smiled up at Roxas.

"Suit yourself." Roxas wiped the cloth over Axel's eyes, forcing him to close them.

"No fair!" he whined and heard Roxas chuckle a little.

Roxas kept wiping down Axel's cheeks and over his fuzzy stubble, down his chin-line, and around his neck. Axel kept smiling up at him. Roxas was turning visibly red.

"Quit starin'"

"Make me."

Roxas did because the next thing that happened was a hot towel getting wrapped around Axel's face, covering him completely but leaving his nose free to breathe. It was nice and warm against Axel's skin, making him sweat lightly.

"What about your piercings? Did they hurt?" Axel muffled around the towel after a while.

"Sorry sugarplum, can't hear you."

Every time Roxas used a term of endearment for him, Axel's heart swelled. He stayed quiet and relaxed for a while longer until the towel came off and Roxas' sweet face came into view again.

Some earthy smelling cream was on Roxas' hands, which he began spreading over Axel's face, using one of his hands as the palette and his fingers of the other as the application tools. Roxas' soft touch against Axel's forehead was divine. Roxas applied firm but gentle pressure to his skin and fingertips, danced leisurely over Axel's cheeks and brows, almost like Roxas was tracing and committing Axel's face to memory. The man was very focused on his work, but smiled at Axel whenever their eyes met.

"Besides your horrible hair salon experience, why are you so particular on only my Gramps styling you?" Roxas wondered aloud after a while.

Axel closed his eyes while he cast his mind back. "Well, Ansem…" Axel huffed a bit, not knowing where to start with this. "Um… well, you know how I said I was sensitive around my head?"

Roxas hummed. It sounded very suggestive and Axel flung his eyes open, hoping to catch a glimpse of a sultry smirk. He did, for a fraction of a second before Roxas put on a face of pure innocence. Axel continued, "So, I've always had trouble letting people touch me. It's always kind of uncomfortable and I have to grit through it. But with your grandfather, it's different. It's always comfortable. I had Demyx style me once and…" Axel couldn't keep the shudder at bay. "I could barely sit through it."

"Oh, so that's why you were so tense when I rinsed you off the first time?"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure how I'd go with you, but… I have absolutely nothing to complain about." Axel gave Roxas a soft smile, which the other man returned.

"I'm sorry you had such a bad experience in the past," came Roxas' sympathies.

Axel shrugged. "Nothing to apologize for. But that's the reason why I make sure to always book Ansem well in advance."

Roxas tapped Axel's chin and he lifted his head a little higher.

"But I think I'd really like to keep seeing you instead," Axel said up to the ceiling.

Roxas' fingers stilled for a second and then continued to apply the cream. "My schedule's pretty full. I don't accept too many new clients."

"Not even someone as sweet as me?" Axel batted his eyelashes. He couldn't help but smile at the way Roxas laughed softly and turned a little pink.

"Maybe… if I have a vacancy."

Roxas finished rubbing the cream in, fished around the cart a bit, pulling out another warm towel, and wrapped Axel's face once again. Axel sat and his mind raced, not knowing what to make of Roxas right this minute. Was he playing hard to get? The flirting, the touching… if Roxas didn't want him Axel knew he would be very disappointed. Maybe he was being too vague? Maybe Roxas wanted him to be straightforward and to the point? Even though before it hadn't seemed to work in his favor. Axel wrinkled his nose, annoyed that he didn't know the right course of action to take to land in Roxas' heart.

Some more rummaging sounds filled the space between them.

"I'd wait for you, forever, y'know," Axel said.

Roxas remained quiet, making Axel wonder if the man really couldn't hear.

"Maybe you won't have to wait all that long," Roxas muttered and pulled the towel off Axel's face once more.

Axel was all big smiles and soft feelings. "So you can hear me through that."

They both laughed a little.

Axel's eyes caught on the lip piercing. He wanted to suck on it… and on Roxas. "Will you tell me about your piercings?"

"They didn't hurt much. It's more the aftercare that was a pain. Have you got any?"

"No. Do you have any tattoos?"

"No." Roxas picked up a shaving brush, dipped it into a bowl filled with water, and whisked the bristles in a dish of shaving soap, creating a thick lather.

Axel smiled. "I'm really impressed with how much you can do. Barbering and hair styling. You're amazing."

"Thanks," Roxas' lips quirked. A few more quick flicks of his wrist and he was done with the brush, he squeezed the sandalwood-scented shaving cream out of the bristles with his fingers and applied the substance to Axel's jowls with his hands. Roxas held firm eye contact with Axel as he swept his fingers over Axel's skin, massaging the cream into the stubble.

Time flew by and Axel let himself sink into Roxas' touch. The other man pulled out a straight razor after he covered Axel's face in shaving cream and shaved against the grain. Axel felt the sharp blade slowly scrape over his skin, Roxas' fingertips brushed against him, and Roxas' soft breath sometimes caressed the apples of his cheeks. Axel felt such joy over being so close to Roxas and watching the other man concentrating so hard.

"If you keep smiling so much I won't be able to get a clean shave." Roxas looked into Axel's eyes, a small smile danced on the man's face, causing his blue eyes to scrunch up ever so slightly.

"Sorry. I'll think serious thoughts instead of how nice it is to look at you up close and personal."

That really brought Roxas' smile out and his cheeks dusted over ever so slightly. "Stop saying dumb things." He averted his eyes and wiped off the accumulated cream and hair on the blade against the towel draped over his arm.

"They're not dumb. They're the truth."

Roxas huffed and rolled his eyes.

Axel grinned. "You must get compliments all the time."

Roxas cleaned up the blade again, ran his fingers over Axel's face, which made Axel shiver, and then Roxas reapplied more cream to him.

"I get compliments on my work, not my looks… well, I do get people saying they like my hair."

"I like your hair. I like your eyes. I like the way you chew your lip and piercing."

Roxas instantly stopped doing that and wiped his hands clean on the towel.

"I even like the little eye roll you give me—yeah, that one." Axel chuckled and then tried to hold as still as possible as Roxas started shaving again, with the grain this time around.

"Stop it," Roxas muttered, seemingly embarrassed. His expression hardened and he refocused on shaving and cleaning the blade as he went over Axel's jaw, cheeks, and throat. "You know I've got a sharp blade right by your neck. I could cut you if you keep it up."

"You could. It doesn't change the fact that I really like you. I'd like to spend more time with you…"

Roxas remained silent, working the blade over Axel's skin. Axel's stomach dropped with worry. Had he put his foot in it? "Am I coming on too strong?" He looked up at Roxas, who chewed his lip again but on noticing Axel's stare, stopped.

Roxas stayed quiet, getting through the remaining shave relatively quickly. He wiped down Axel's face with a towelette and gently massaged Axel's jaw and temples and brow as he went. Then, a cold towel was wrapped around Axel's face for a few minutes. Axel listened to Roxas gently humming to himself and the sound of things being put away and washed up.

Axel didn't know what to make of Roxas' silence. Maybe he was pushing way too hard. Maybe he was giving off a vibe of desperation? He could understand that being unattractive.

The towel was removed. Axel gazed up to see all the stern and hard edges from before gone out of Roxas' face. The man wore a big smile, relaxing Axel considerably. He hoped it meant that he hadn't fucked things up between them.

Roxas' apron was gone and he leaned over Axel to undo the cape, taking it off carefully. Roxas then turned away from Axel, pumped some lotion onto his hands, spread it, and then—Axel's stomach flipped. Roxas lifted his leg, climbed up on the chair and straddled Axel's lap.

Axel swallowed and stared up at the other man, who smirked with satisfaction. Roxas reached up and caressed Axel's face. Gentle touches sent shivers down Axel's spine.

Roxas kept smiling, kept rubbing the lotion into Axel's skin, and then he began to sing—

Nowhere to run boy, run come here right now
Here right now, here right now
There's only one thing that I wanna feel right now
Feel right now, feel right now

You all over my skin, I'm anxious
Paint my body boy, I'll be your canvas
Don't talk to me, just show me your talent
Your talent, oh

Roxas leaned in close to Axel, almost touching his lips as he sang on—

One look and you're mine
Keep your eyes on me now
'Cause when the stars align
You might bring the beast out

Nowhere to run boy, run come here right now
Right now, right now
'Cause when the sun goes down, the beast comes out
Comes out, comes out

Roxas pulled away a little. His hands trailed down Axel's neck and started meandering down his body, rubbing Axel's pecs through his shirt before sliding down further.

Keep my eyes on you
Keepin' ties to you
Keep aside, I keep a sight, I be inside of you
Between your thighs I—

Roxas gripped Axel's hips and ground against him with his pelvis.

Axel stared up, slack-jawed and his erection throbbing.

We gon' slide by in that coupe
We gon' weave through all that traffic
I wear ones and I work magic
Too much passion can end up tragic
Just attraction, no attachment—

Roxas leaned in toward Axel once more, running his finger delicately over Axel's lips and his breath caressing Axel's moisturized skin.

Nowhere to run boy, run come here right now
Right now, right now
'Cause when the sun goes down, the beast comes out
Comes out, comes out

Roxas' finger kept brushing over Axel's skin and his face drew ever nearer. He didn't stop smiling as he sang in a lower and lower tone—

I'll take you down, down can you keep it up all night
Up all night, up all night?
Want you run run run baby give me what I like
What I like, what I like

Axel pushed his tongue against Roxas' finger as it traced his lips. He leaned forward a little and took the finger into his mouth, not caring about the bitterness that the lotion on Roxas' skin left in his mouth. He gently sucked.

Roxas' smirk broadened and his other hand found its way under Axel's shirt and squeezed his obliques.

You all over my skin, I'm anxious
Paint my body boy, I'll be your canvas
Don't talk to me, just show me your talent
Your talent—oh

Roxas was only an inch away from Axel's lips. Axel gripped the armrests hard to stop himself from running his hands all over Roxas' body.

Nowhere to run boy, run come here right now
Right now, right now
'Cause when the sun goes down, the beast comes out
Comes out, comes out

Roxas pulled his finger out of Axel's mouth and traced the edges of his lips again.

'Cause when the stars align
You might bring the beast out
One look and you're mine
Keep your eyes on me
Nowhere to run boy run, come here right now
Right now, right now

The teasing finger pulled away, stroking lightly against Axel's smooth and shaved skin. Roxas' blue eyes meandered over Axel's face, looking on with satisfaction. Axel's erection strained against his pants. He breathlessly asked, "Am I beautiful now? Can I be yours?"

"You always were," Roxas breathed, a hair away from Axel's lips and with the tiniest push, pressed their mouths together. The tiny peck unleashed the explosive lust both men had contained all day. Axel's arms flung around Roxas' sides, pulling the smaller man closer to himself and forcing their kiss to deepen and for their tongues to delve. Axel clutched at Roxas' muscular-but-slim frame underneath the uniform. He sucked on Roxas' tongue and his piercings with raw desire for forceful moments while Roxas' hands kneaded Axel's sides, feeling him up.

They breathed harshly against each other and Axel pulled off but not entirely. He dove in again, capturing and sucking on Roxas' bottom lip and that damn piercing he had hungered for all day. He grazed his teeth over it, tongued it, and pulled at it gently.

Axel inhaled sharply—Roxas' hands went under Axel's shirt, urgently rubbing at his stomach and pinching his skin. Roxas pushed against Axel, shuffling further along Axel's lap, forcing him to abandon the lip piercing as Roxas deepened their kiss, driving his tongue into Axel's mouth. Roxas' piercings scraped against the roof of Axel's mouth, making him shiver and buck his hips up a little. Roxas thrust his tongue in and out of Axel's mouth. Axel squeezed Roxas' sides and tilted his head back a little. Small murmurs of lusty pleasure seeped out of both of them, turning louder as their kissing intensified, stoking the hunger they held for one another.

Roxas pulled off Axel, puffing heavily. He licked his lips and finished the song—

Nowhere to run boy run, come here right now—right now (3)

Roxas slid off Axel's lap, which alarmed him. He grabbed Roxas' arms. "I want more," he huffed out, his gut so tightly wound that he almost felt sick with desire.

"Greedy, aren't cha." Roxas looked amused. He bent over, leaned in and slid his hands up and down Axel's thighs.

"Very greedy. I'm starving for you," Axel husked, his voice thick with desire.

"I'll fill you up then," Roxas rumbled. He quirked his lip up and pushed Axel's legs apart, sinking to the ground in between them. Axel watched, breathless. Roxas leaned in, opened his mouth, and while baring his teeth, caught the zipper of Axel's pants and pulled it down, and the flaps aside with his hands when he was done.

Axel stared, feeling like he was about to throw up with sheer excitement. Roxas rubbed his nose and chin against Axel's straining erection. Axel nearly couldn't see straight. A wicked grin flashed up at him and with a showy flourish, Roxas stuck his tongue out and licked along Axel's clothed shaft. The hard, metal studs, accompanied by the wet heat of Roxas' breath and tongue, made Axel moan.

Roxas smirked up at him, gave a cheeky suck to Axel's head over the fabric and pulled off.

"Oh, fuck," Axel grunted.

A rusty chuckle fell out for Roxas. He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip, hooked his fingers under the waistband of Axel's boxers and pulled the front down slowly, humming in deep satisfaction.

Axel's erection dripped and stood proud and free, reaching up almost to his navel. Roxas stared, licked his lips and raised his eyes up at Axel without lifting his head. "Big, aren't cha."

"You wanna see how much you can fit into your mouth?" Axel husked, his voice tight in his chest.

Roxas gave no verbal response. He instead leaned in and dragged his tongue along the underside of Axel's erection.

Axel gasped and trembled as the added texture of the venom piercing studs ran up his shaft, sending an intense shudder through him.

Roxas raised himself a little to get on top of Axel's penis. He opened his mouth wide and swirled his tongue around Axel's head, sending sharp pulses of pleasure through him. Roxas rubbed his piercings against Axel's slit and pulled at his foreskin with his teeth, rubbing the tip of his tongue around the ridge, playing with the frenulum before, at long last, engulfing Axel's head, fully, and sucking on it.

Axel gripped the armrests so tight. He threw his head from side to side and moaned, long and loud. Roxas kept sucking, and played with his slit some more; pushing his tongue and piercing into and against it.

Instinctively, Axel pushed his hips up.

Roxas pulled off. "Greedy and impatient. Great."

"Sorry," Axel said, feeling sheepish.

Roxas smiled… but it was a dangerous sort of a smile. He reached up, grabbing Axel behind his head and dragged him down. "I'm going to make you cum. I'm going to swallow you and make you my bitch. You like cock up your ass?" Roxas didn't leave Axel room to talk. He locked them into a fierce kiss, sucking deep and hard on Axel, leaving them both breathless once he pulled away.

"I want all of that. Make me your bitch. I'll be such a slut for you," Axel panted, grabbing Roxas' head between his hands and pulling him up into another kiss, but this time it was Axel pushing deep and rubbing fervently against Roxas' tongue.

Roxas squeezed Axel's erection and fondled his sac making Axel gasp and stop the kiss. Roxas chuckled and lowered himself back down, taking Axel into his mouth without any fanfare. Axel groaned and threw himself back against the chair. This time only one of his hands death-gripped the armrest, while the other ran through Roxas' hair, pulling at his locks and rubbing at the shorter hairs of his undercut.

Roxas' hot tongue, hard studs, and wet mouth stoked the flames inside of Axel. He moaned with wanton abandon, hardly believing that this was happening. It didn't take long for the tightness in Axel's stomach to spread out and tense everything else in his body. His penis felt so good, Roxas felt so good, taking him down to almost his base.

The studs massaged the underside of Axel's cock; Roxas' heat and friction wound Axel ever tighter. He squeezed his hand against Roxas' head, rubbed the other man behind his ear and pushed his hips up as he let out a gasp, cumming with an explosive shudder. He pried one of his eyes open to watch Roxas sucking on him, though more shallow now, around his head, swallowing down Axel's orgasm. It made Axel warm and tingly all over and he huffed out, his chest heaving.

Roxas gave a few hard sucks to Axel's head before he pulled off him completely and licked his lips. "Yum," is all he said.

"I've never—I've never had—a blowjob—like that," Axel panted.

Roxas stuck his tongue out briefly before giving Axel a wink and made a clicking sound with his tongue. He stood up after that and undid his tight jeans. "You're about to get something else you've never had, I bet. Turn around," Roxas grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Axel's eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. "Do you…." His eyes dropped to the front of Roxas' pants, where the other man was pushing the fabric flaps aside, and his pants down a little.

"Turn around. It'll be a surprise," Roxas coaxed while rubbing his bulging erection through blue briefs.

Axel stared. He swore he could see a bump… two! bumps around the head of Roxas' cock through the fabric. Still wide-eyed he pushed himself out of the chair and stood up. He towered over Roxas, somewhat shaky from his orgasm, and leaned down a little. Their arms wound around each other, pulling and pressing each other close, leaving no gaps between them, not even with their mouths, which smooshed together with intense fire and passion.

Roxas tugged at Axel's pants, pushing them down and Axel slid his hands down Roxas' back and onto the slight curve of his buttock. Roxas moved back a bit, Axel followed, not wanting the sucking of tongues and the rubbing of piercings against his mouth to stop. He heard Roxas grab for something and then felt cool slippery fingers spreading his ass cheeks apart, brush his sphincter, and push in.

Axel inhaled sharply, but kept kissing Roxas and hugging him tighter to himself. He loved the other man's small frame. He was so pocket-sized, but decided it would probably be best to keep that to himself.

Fingers expertly moved in and out of Axel and brushed his prostate occasionally. Axel gently pushed against Roxas' fingers whenever that happened. Axel also slipped one of his hands under Roxas' underwear and maneuvered his hand to the front, feeling coarse hairs and—

Roxas shoved Axel away from himself, his finger slipping out of his backside. "Ah-ah-ah," Roxas teased, grabbing the hand which had tried to grope him moments earlier. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"I know you've got a piercing down there. Can you at least tell me which one?"

"Oh, good. So you know that there are different types." Roxas grinned up at him. "You can tell me which one you think it is while I'm fucking you. Now, turn around."

Axel got a massive hard-on from someone so pint-sized telling him what to do. He turned around and climbed on to the chair, kneeling on it and bracing himself against the backrest. He threw a look behind himself and saw Roxas pull himself out of his briefs. Roxas looked up, saw Axel eyeing him and tucked himself back in. "No peeking." He slapped Axel's backside with the flat of his palm, sending a loud clap through the air and making Axel turn around with a wince.

The stinging slap left a tingle on his skin and a delightful buzz reverberating through him. "If you keep doing that so hard I'm gonna be peeking a whole lot more," Axel said, chuckling over the back of the chair. He heard Roxas hum and it might even have sounded a bit surprised. Roxas' hand was on Axel's backside a moment later touching him gently and then sending another massive clap through the air. Axel let out a startled yelp but it was also mixed with a moan of excited pleasure.

Roxas giggled, and smacked Axel's ass cheek again, sending a sharp sting through him. Axel hissed.

"Baby, I'm getting hard again," Axel grunted, feeling the stirring in his loins and the buzzing in his stomach.

"Shit, that's hot," Roxas murmured. He grazed his fingertips over Axel's cheek, where he had surely left a red mark.

Axel shivered at the gentle touch.

Roxas hummed in a pleasant sort of a way, retracted his hand and then there were some noises behind Axel. Roxas was pumping something (probably oil or lotion from amongst the hair stuff) into his hands and spreading the liquid between his fingers with a squelch.

Axel sucked in some air, feeling something hot and firm press up against his anus. He trembled, feeling weak with anticipation. Roxas rubbed his slick cock against Axel's opening.

"Mmm, your ass looks so fine. I can't wait to fuck you senseless."

Axel pushed back against Roxas. He felt it then, the hard bits of metal against his skin. It definitely felt like two piercings, one on either side of Roxas' head. Axel groaned. "Fuck, two? How're you so sexy?"

Roxas chuckled, grabbed Axel's hips and nudged himself inside of Axel's ass, spreading him wide open, careful inch after careful inch. Both men hissed at the tediously slow intrusion.

"Fu—ck," Axel groaned and squeezed the life out of the chair's backrest. Roxas' cock was fat and hard and, maybe he just imagined it, but he swore he could feel the extra stimulation from Roxas' piercing. It was intense and satisfying. His nerve endings throbbed and tingled. The new sensations pressing into his ass mingled with the buzzing pleasure from his previous orgasm, caused a heady dizziness to put a dopey grin on Axel's face.

"You like my cock?" came the cheeky question, through a strained tone.

Axel puffed and huffed, unable to come up with the words for what he was feeling. He nodded vigorously. This made Roxas chuckle louder and he pushed his forehead against Axel's back. "Alright. Brace yourself, sugar buns."

Axel did, and the next moment, Roxas, with an iron grip on Axel's hips, rammed into him at full tilt. Their voices rose in unison. Fuck's were grunted and yelped. The chair creaked, Roxas' hands held on like vices, and his cock a powerhouse of searing pleasure. Axel held on for dear life, his heart ready to burst, his erection stiff and dripping, and his ass stimulated and pulsing intensely with every thrust, buck, and shove of Roxas' hard cock and even harder piercings.

Roxas hammered into Axel, his breath running ragged. "Cum, you fucking beautiful slut," Roxas grunted, and one of his hands went to Axel's penis, grabbing his head and thumbing his slit.

Axel moaned, loud and deep, and pushed against Roxas' thrusts, giving the other man more leverage to fuck him ragged. Roxas worked his hips like pistons, ramming into Axel, and puffing loudly between strained groans. Roxas jerked Axel off, erratically. His other hand suddenly left Axel's hip and a loud smack rang out through the air, slapping Axel's ass. "Cum, bitch. Do as I say, you fucking sea-salt slut!" he sang out, his voice high-strung with the struggle of keeping the pleasure out of his words.

Axel's ass stung, his anus was assaulted by a slew of burning throbs that felt oh so good. His head got yanked back, pointing his unseeing half-lidded gaze right up to the ceiling, freeing his throat and loosening a tremendous groan from within as Roxas pulled a fistfull of hair at the base of Axel's skull.

Axel's moan cut short because Roxas let go of his hair and splayed his fingers out, like he had done during the washing, and massaged Axel's scalp, while he continued to fuck him relentlessly and jerked him off without mercy.

The hard and soft touches, the care and total disregard, Roxas' hot and cold powerplay drove Axel over the edge. A mixture between a shriek and a moan escaped Axel's throat as he lost his composure. The orgasm ripped through him, crashes of red-hot pleasure shot down his limbs and his penis pumped a few desperate squirts. Roxas' grip on Axel's cock tightened and his teeth dug into Axel's shoulder as he bit him and groaned with deep satisfaction. His relentless fucking of Axel's ass stopped and instead he rolled his hips with deliberation.

Both men's breathing evened out, but Axel shivered in time with the rhythmic rocking that Roxas administered. The stiffness of Roxas' cock was no longer filling Axel up, but those damn piercings! Axel groaned and pushed his hips forward, making Roxas finally slip out of his ass.

An adorable whine sounded behind Axel which made him laugh breathlessly. "That was," he huffed, "the best service," he puffed, "I've ever gotten." Axel slowly twisted and turned around in the chair. Roxas moved to give him space, but Axel threw one of his arms around Roxas's waist before the other man could get too far away, and pulled him up onto his lap as he slumped down onto the chair, feeling the wet patch against his back where his own spunk had dribbled out. He could feel his ass leaking with Roxas' ejaculation, not that he cared. He looked up at Roxas, who's chest heaved. Axel pushed his thumb against Roxas' chin to lower the man's face and started kissing him sensually by running his tongue along Roxas' lips, playing with the spider bite piercing, sucking on it, and getting Roxas' lower lip into his mouth and then sucking on Roxas' tongue and the venom piercing that were embedded.

Roxas' arms folded around Axel's head and his hands lightly massaged both sides of his scalp, making Axel moan into Roxas' mouth.

Roxas pulled away and tittered, wearing a soft smile. "You're so easy."

Axel squinted and pouted a bit. "I'm only easy for you and your magic fingers and cock and lips." He thumbed at Roxas' lip, gently fondling the piercing.

Roxas actually looked abashed. It did Axel's head in. How could Roxas be so confident, cocky, and sassy and then still pull off a shy smile? Axel bit his own lip, dragging his top teeth over it. "Roxas."

"Hm?"

"When do you want me to pick you up?"

Roxas gave a dumbfounded, "Huh?"

"Remember, you said you were coming to the party with me."

A slight frown wrinkled Roxas' brow. "You weren't serious."

"I was dead serious."

Roxas' frown deepened. "No, you weren't."

"Yes, I was."

Roxas leaned back from Axel, his hands on Axel's shoulders now, keeping him at bay. "Like… on a date?"

"Yes," Axel gave him a soft smile.

"You… you can't want to date me."

Roxas' reaction worried at Axel. "What if I did?" he asked, cautiously.

"Why would you? We just had sex. There's no reason to date now."

Axel stared, incredulous. "Y-you really think I only wanted sex from you?"

A stern expression sat on Roxas' face. He leaned a little further back, and shrugged one shoulder. "Well… yeah. Now I saved us both the trouble of figuring out we aren't compatible, and we don't have to waste our time."

Irritation ruffled Axel's insides. "I thought we were getting on really well. You wouldn't just have sex with someone you didn't like." An uncomfortable and queasy feeling swept through him at that thought and where it might lead to. "Right?" He asked, with trepidation.

Roxas sighed, heavy and deep, muttering, "No."

Axel also sighed, from relief. "Look, I didn't expect sex. I didn't plan on asking you out just to sleep with you and dump you. I think… I like you. I'd like to date you, and I'll promise that even if it's just a week, I won't make you feel like you're wasting your time." He looked up at Roxas, eager to placate whatever doubt swirled around in the other man's head.

Roxas wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather you didn't bother."

Those words were a cold dumping on Axel's head. "Can I ask why not?"

Blue eyes drifted away. Roxas pulled his arms around himself, quietly saying, "I'm not in the mood to date anyone right now."

"Oh…" That… actually didn't sound all bad to Axel. "I can respect that."

Roxas switched from looking down, to up into Axel's eyes. "You will?"

"Yeah, though… can I ask something?"

Roxas huffed, the teensiest smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "What?"

"Might there be an opening for me sometime in the future?"

Roxas blinked rapidly and then huffed with laughter. He said nothing, but shrugged.

"Well…" Axel kept pushing, because there was hope, so he needed to try and work it into his favor, "I'd still like to keep hanging out with you. Will you come with me to the party? I need to either protect you from turning into a vampire by keeping you company, or making sure I protect others from you, by making sure you only suck on me if you do turn into one. And no, you don't need to say it—I know what a hero I'm being right now. You don't need to thank me."

Roxas looked a bit dumbstruck and then started laughing in earnest. "You're so weird."

Axel grinned at Roxas' mood shifting. Maybe, if they could hang out for longer, Roxas might want to date him sooner, rather than later. "I'll wear that. Will you come with me?"

Roxas appeared to deliberate for a few seconds. He alternated between a frown and a smile, but the smile grew in intensity until he said, "Only if… this isn't a date."

Axel nodded. "Definitely not a date. I'm just keeping you company."

"Okay then," Roxas nodded.

"Cool. I'll give you my number and you send me your address, alright? I'll come pick you up at eight."

A tinge of red crept onto Roxas' cheeks. "I thought the party started at eight."

"I can afford to be fashionably late."

"You sure Kairi won't kill you?"

"If she does I'll be a zombie werewolf."

Roxas laughed loudly and Axel was all toothy grins. Roxas abruptly stopped though and looked thoughtful. "Um… actually, I don't think I can come with you."

Axel tilted his head to the side a little. "Why not?"

"I… don't have a costume. I don't care for dressing up."

"You got any dark clothes?"

"Yeah?"

"Good. Just put that stuff on and dress up like a vampire. It will be the best disguise for when you turn."

Roxas laughed. "Okay."

With that settled, they both got up, cleaned up, and Axel settled his bill, but not before asking to take a photo with Roxas, which he tagged— #alldone #bestbarber #cutestbarber #killerlooks

Author Notes:
(1) - Lurk by The Neighbourhood
(2) - Turn Me On by David Guetta
(3) - Beast by Mia Martina

I split this oneshot into two parts because it was very long. Click through to part two.
Comments appreciated.