Awww, the last theme of this challenge! T.T Everybody sob. Laaame.
On the other hand, today is also my birthday. Gimmie cake. xD Although I'm sure I'll be getting plenty of it later. Mmmyes, cake. -drool- ANYWAY! Uhh yeah, last theme. xD I have no unearthly idea where it came from...blame Florida rainy season. Yeah, it messes with my head. Ahahaha. Although of course NOW it's not raining because Mother Nature doesn't like me. Wahhh. D: Woo, off-track some more! Enjoy this last AkuRoku theme...even with all of its weirdness!
Theme: Embrace
Rating: T
Rain, rain, go away, don't come again on any day.
Roxas huffed a sigh, slumping against the armrest of the couch. Large, heavy raindrops were splattering on the window he was gazing out of, obscuring the view so that he couldn't see more than a few feet outside. A distant rumble of thunder was heard, and Roxas inwardly hoped that this wouldn't turn into a huge storm. He wasn't a big fan of wild weather like this—it didn't help that his parents were out; either working overtime or schmoozing with friends—one or the other.
Another roll of thunder, this time louder, told the blond that this storm wasn't going to let up anytime soon. Ugh, this sucked. Roxas wasn't a big fan of storms, and it was even worse when he was home alone. Who knew when his parents would be home? Ack, sometimes he wished he had a sibling, so at least the house wouldn't feel so big and empty.
The storm was moving in close now. Roxas spotted a flash of lightning and out of boredom, started to count how far away it was when—
BZZT.
The power promptly went out.
Roxas drew in a nervous breath, hoping it was just a blip due to the weather, but there was another boom of thunder and a lightning strike—yeah, the power was pretty much out until the storm passed. Man, who knew how long that would be—another hour or the whole night?
Roxas shivered, even inside the black-and-red hoodie he was wearing and grabbed his cell phone. He had to talk to someone, anyone, just to shake him out of the nervous feelings swirling in his gut. He hoped the phone would still have service.
His first thought was to ring his parents, but he quickly squashed the idea. He knew his mom and dad cared about him, but they were always telling him to buck up. No doubt they'd feel bothered just because Roxas was feeling lonely and—okay, he'd admit it—a little scared because of the storm.
As the rain continued to splatter outside, the blond flipped through the contacts on his phone. At every name he came to, he made up an excuse as to why he shouldn't call them, mostly because he was afraid a number of his friends would suddenly gain over-the-phone-mind-reading-powers and laugh at him for being such a kid. Well, he knew Naminé wouldn't; she was way too sweet for that...and Sora was probably scared, no, terrified of the storm, but the lucky duck was most likely snuggling up with Riku and trying to invent a way to cook microwaveable macaroni and cheese by flashlight or something.
Hmm, snuggling. Roxas wasn't a very big cuddler, but who wouldn't want to be in someone's embrace during a storm while the house was dark? Even someone without a romantic bone in their body would like it.
Sighing to himself again, the blond scrolled through his phone until he came to Axel's number and promptly gave him a call.
Roxas and Axel had a really funny kind of friendship. Relationship. Friend-lationship, he finally decided. The two had met each other by pure chance in school (though Roxas had to wonder how he hadn't noticed Axel's bright, ketchup-colored hair) and it went down up, and sideways from there. The blond couldn't stand Axel at first—the redhead was always getting into trouble and was far too cocky for his own good—but he'd manage to worm his way into Roxas' life anyway.
Once he'd gotten over the initial shock of actually getting along with Axel, Roxas quickly found himself...well, attracted to the fiery redhead. He couldn't make sense of it in his head, but he knew the feeling was mutual. It was the strangest thing, since both boys had once been involved with females like they were 'supposed' to be—in fact, Naminé had been Roxas's first relationship ever—but somehow, the two ended up finding each other.
Not that they were in an actual relationship or anything—oh nooo. The one time they were alone and got the guts to start making out, Roxas' mother had walked in on them. The night ended with her screaming for her son to be "cured of his gayness with that flaming homosexual!"
Needless to say, Axel didn't come over much anymore.
However, now no one was home and the house was dark. Hopefully Axel would risk the pouring rain and lightning to come see him...
"Hey Roxas! What's cracking?"
'Finally you answered, stupid.' "Uh, nothing really. The power's out and nobody's here—"
"So you figured I'd come over and keep your sweet ass company?"
Roxas flushed profusely, suddenly glad that the house was dark so he wouldn't risk seeing how red his face was in any mirrors. He finally cleared his throat into the phone after a pause. "Well...whatever. It's not like I'm asking you to or anything."
"But you do want me to, right?" Ugh, damn that man. You could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
"...I didn't say I did."
"Heh, heh. I'll be over in ten minutes Shorty." Click.
"I'm not short!" Roxas cried to a dial tone. Hmph. Ten minutes? Axel lived a good distance away and had no car—how was he going to get over in ten minutes during a raging storm?
Ah, whatever. As long as he came over.
Exactly thirteen minutes later—Roxas knew because he'd been staring at the clock on his cell phone to keep his mind off of the impending doom outside—he heard a series of weird noises coming from around the house: first a sickening, metal-scraping sound, a loud splat (that really was the only way to describe it), more scraping metal, then—
DING-DONG!
Roxas jumped about a foot off the couch. He was expecting Axel, but that couldn't be him at the door. Besides, Axel wouldn't have made that 'splat' noise (he didn't want to think of what the metal scraping was all about). Axel would've made more of a crunchy noise, what with his extremely bony limbs and all.
So who had made all that noise? A burglar? A murderer? The Boogieman?
'Don't be stupid,' Roxas thought. 'A murderer or robber wouldn't be out in this weather.' The Boogeyman, however...
DING-DONG!
Did the Boogieman ring doorbells? Or maybe he had sent a zombie to ring it while he snuck up behind the couch. Or maybe—
BOOM!
Roxas again jumped about a foot in the air, effectively falling off the couch. He quickly stood up in a scramble of limbs. Well, now that he was up, he figured he might as well answer the door, which was still ringing. Even if it was the Boogieman or a crazy serial killer.
Roxas slowly shifted towards the offending door—he was still feeling kinda jumpy after that last clap of thunder—and gradually turned the knob. He peeked through the crack he had opened, feeling kind of stupid since he still couldn't see who was there.
"Hello?" he asked in a hushed whisper, which was pretty much drowned out by the rain pounding around the house.
Whoever was out there was apparently tired of waiting and yanked the door open. Roxas still couldn't see who it was—it was dark and there was no porch light since the power was out—until one extremely bright strike of lightning seemed to light up the world for a moment—including who was at the door.
"IT THE TWILIGHT TOWN LAKE MONSTER!" Roxas shrieked, making a mad dive for the cough and covering his head with a pillow. Maybe if he played dead, he wouldn't get eaten or whatever it was lake monsters did...
Hey, wait a second. Since when had Twilight Town had a lake?
"Roxas?" a voice called from the doorway, barely audible because of the storm. Nevertheless, the blond instantly recognized it.
He uncovered his head from the pillow and stared. "Axel?"
"The one and only." Axel gingerly stepped into the house and wiped his feet with a grimace. It seemed like a lost cause because the redhead was absolutely covered from head to toe in mud.
Roxas just stared, his mouth halfway hanging open. Well, no wonder he had taken Axel for some kind of swamp creature—especially with the hair. Ugh. Axel's normally bouncy and spiky hair was weighed down with dirt, making him look way scarier than normal.
Finally Roxas realized he'd been staring for quite a bit. He cleared his throat nervously. "How the hell did you manage that?"
"I fell."
"...What?"
"Yeah. I rode my bike over here and there was a puddle a lot deeper than I thought it was. That stupid metal deathtrap tossed me right into that nice mud puddle in your front yard."
"There's a mud puddle in my front yard?"
"Got it memorized?" Axel teased with a smirk. Roxas just rolled his eyes. At least now he knew what those horrible noises outside had been—and hey, good to know that Axel went 'splat' when he was tossed in the mud.
"So can I get a towel or something?" Axel suddenly asked, snapping Roxas out of his train of thought.
The blond made a face. "I would, but then my parents would get pissed and probably figure out that you were here."
"Uh, wash them?"
"Mom doesn't like me using the washing machine. I almost caused an explosion last time I did." The near-explosion had mostly been Sora's fault, but Roxas wasn't going to let anyone know that.
Axel bit his tongue to keep himself from asking. "Okay then, can I get a change of clothes?"
"We're not the same size."
"Your dad's?"
"Are you kidding? He'd notice!"
Axel sighed. Grrr, this kid had such a convenient excuse for everything. "Okay, what am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know. I asked you to come over, not get covered in mud."
A sly smirk crossed the redhead's face. "Aww, is Roxy-poo afraid of a little mud?"
"Of course not!' Roxas huffed. "And don't call me 'Roxy', you asshole."
"So you want me to call you 'poo'?" Axel laughed. "Whatever floats your boat."
"Shut up!" Roxas would've thrown a pillow at the older teen had he not been dripping with mud.
"Oh c'mon," Axel said, breaking into a grin. "You know you like it!"
"Hmph."
"C'mere and gimmie a hug!"
"Are you insane!" Roxas cried, scrambling up on the couch as high as he could manage, but no avail. Axel was already crossing the spotless white carpet and track muddy footprints with every step. His grin grew even more devilish as he leaned in a tried to grab the blond, but Roxas was too quick. He jumped off the couch and dashed to the other side of the room, trying not to cringe in horror at the mess Axel was making.
"Aw, c'mon Roxas." Axel pouted as best he could, which just made him look queasy. He held out his arms. "I mean, isn't that why you called me over, Shorty?"
Roxas diligently ignored the 'Shorty' comment with an eyeroll. "You know, I probably have some bigger stuff around you could wear. Let me look. Just...don't move," he added before flipping open his cell to use as a flashlight and disappeared down the hall.
After a few minutes of rummaging through his drawers, he found some suitable clothes and made his way back to the living room, bumping into a wall here and there. It was creepy how the house was so silent without the usual hum of electronics. He silently tanked the fact Axel and his mud-coated self was right in the living room.
When he returned to said room, Roxas saw the redhead standing in the same spot he'd left him, looking slightly bored. He perked up considerably when Roxas cleared his throat.
"I found you stuff," the blond said unnecessarily. "It's probably a little too big, but it's better than dirtying my house even more."
"Yeah, whatever," Axel replied. "Where am I putting my clothes?"
"Uhh..." Roxas frowned. He was going to suggest dumping them in the bathroom, but he realized that he didn't want Axel dragging his muddy self through the house and messing up the carpet into oblivion. Crap. Finally he heaved a sigh. "Put them outside, I guess, so you're not making a huge mess."
"You want me to change right here?" Axel grinned slowly. "Up for a little striptease, eh?"
"No!" Roxas cried, his face heating up for the second time that night. "I'll, uh, leave the room—or turn around, um—"
"Calm down." Axel was tugging at the bottom of his filthy, once-white T-shirt. "We're both dudes, so who cares? And besides, I'm wearing underwear," he added with a wink.
"R-Right." 'Yes Axel, but you don't make out with someone who's just 'one of the dudes', now do you?'
Roxas sank back down on the couch, trying not to stare too much as Axel peeled off his mud-covered clothing and chucked them outside in a crusty heap. He probably wouldn't have noticed if those clothes were thrown in his face—he was too enticed by the sight of Axel standing there in nothing but black boxers.
Roxas willed himself to stop staring. It wasn't like the redhead was the best thing to look at, with his bony hips and skinny limbs. He didn't even have any chest hair, psssh.
'I don't even like him that much,' Roxas thought.
Yeah, right.
Axel smirked as he picked up the pants Roxas had given him, knowing full well the blond was staring at his every move, but surprisingly not saying anything about it. He just slipped the lounge pants on, not caring that it wasn't a perfect fit.
Roxas cared, though. He cared a lot. Those pants looked ready to fall down at any second.
Somehow, he'd been so lost in staring that he didn't notice Axel had moved until the couch cushions shifted. Roxas jumped slightly when a skinny arm snaked around his neck.
He frowned. "You're not wearing a shirt," he muttered.
Axel burst out laughing. "We're alone on a stormy night in a dark room and all you can say is that I'm not wearing a shirt?"
Roxas ignored him. "Why aren't you? I brought you one."
Axel shrugged. "I chucked it outside after I used it to squeeze some of the mud from my hair. Hope you don't mind."
"Uh...I guess not." The shirt had been Sora's anyway.
"Good." The smirk was back on Axel's face; as if he were aware of just how sexy he looked shirtless. Which he probably was. Prick.
Roxas blinked, suddenly aware of how close Axel's face had gotten. Very close. Way close. Those striped tattoos became blurred and unfocused, then disappeared as blue eyes fluttered shut.
"Axel..." he murmured under his breath before those lips descended on his.
It was odd; the first time they'd kissed it was tentative and unsure, as though they weren't sure if it was allowed, but it quickly grew into a passionate, frenzied clash of tongues like they were sure they'd never be able to kiss again.
Now Axel's kiss was slow and sure, almost lazy like he knew all along it would happen again. Roxas had wanted this—maybe that really was the reason he'd called the redhead over—but he couldn't figure out if Axel was just messing with him or if he really wanted to be with him. Talking felt so mundane compared to this.
Just then, Axel ran his tongue across the seam of Roxas' mouth, causing him to gasp in surprise and cling tighter to the redhead. Axel smiled into the kiss, leaning Roxas backwards until they were both lying on the couch with the legs entwined and lips still connected. The only sound that echoed in the otherwise silent house was the noise of their wet, sweet kissing.
Neither boy noticed when the storm calmed and the gray clouds disappeared into the sky.
--
Before Roxas even opened his eyes the next morning, he knew he wasn't in his own bed. He was itchy, uncomfortable, and someone was snoring in his ear.
He yawned and tried to stretch, finding that his arms were trapped. He finally opened an eye, seeing nothing but a huge mass of red hair.
"Axel..." he muttered, more sleepy than annoyed. The redhead's arms were snaked around the blond's waist, and his head was on Roxas's chest while his long legs half-dangled off the couch.
Roxas smiled contently and snuggled into the embrace. He still didn't know what Axel thought of him, not really, so who knew when he'd get a chance like this again? He didn't even mind the snoring—for now, anyway.
He was just closing his eyes, more than ready to go back to sleep, when the sound of the front door slamming startled him awake. Axel gave a loud snort, which also woke him up.
Roxas's mother was standing in the middle of the room, face white as a sheet and her mouth open in horror. Roxas immediately tried to think of an excuse but the evidence was all against him: the muddy floor, the shirtless Axel, the way Axel's pants were halfway down his legs and holy crap, was that a hickey on his neck? Damnit.
"ROXAS! I THOUGHT WE CURED YOU OF YOUR GAYNESS!"
Axel quickly scrambled from the couch, yanking up the pants as he ran for the door. Before he hightailed it outta there, he leaned in and whispered, "I'll give you back the pants next time you're alone."
Zoom. Off he went, shirtless and all.
Roxas's mom, meanwhile, had regained color back in her face. A bright, angry red color, to be exact. She turned to her son, looking ready to explode. "THAT'S IT, YOUNG MAN! NO MORE GAYNESS FOR YOU!"
Roxas, however, knew better. Waaay better...after all, he still needed to get his pants back from Axel. Hmm...he hoped his parents wouldn't notice that mud hole in the lawn. Maybe Axel would fall in it again—Roxas knew he didn't have any other pants that would fit him. Besides, the redhead's boxers were the only thing he'd been wearing that didn't get dirty...
Well, with mud, at any rate.
------
ROXAS YOU'RE DIRTAY! XD Although he was kind of a wuss in this one. Ah, well. Even the toughest guy can be a wuss in the weirdest situations ;P And wheeee my dad came in and brought me balloons while I was writing this. xD And they're rainbow! Yessss, rainbow balloons. My life is complete. :D So that may be the end of this challenge, but I've got another one, this time RikuxSora, that I'm going to start putting up sometime next week. Look out for it! And once I'm done with that, I'll probably take up another AkuRoku challenge. They're waaay too much fun to write! Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed all these! You guys are seriously awesome, and you all deserve cookies...or some of my cake. Hehehe. I'll eat a piece in everybody's honor!
Mkay, I'm leaving tomorrow to Orlando for a little birthday vacation...woo rides! Ahahaha life is sweet. But yes, please leave me lots of lovely reviews
to come back to! You guys rule like that. ;D
Oh, and a little favor: I'm curious to know what your favorite theme was, so in your review, could you please tell me? I have a feeling I know which one, but yes...I wanna know:D