A/N: Wow, I apparently still exist. TIME TO UPDATE OUT OF THE BLUE AND STARTLE ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO FORGOT ABOUT THIS STORY. XD
This chapter will be the end. I think all stories should eventually have an ending, don't you?
PS: Still don't own any of this. Curses.
AkuRoku Fairy Tale: The Final Chapter
"So… you live here," Roxas said slowly as he and 'Fred' made their way through the seemingly endless castle halls.
"Yup," 'Fred' shrugged. Nope, not a big deal at all.
"Have you lived here your whole life? What do you do in the castle?"
"Oh, I'm just some random generic servant guy, no one special!" 'Fred' laughed loudly at first, then the laughter trailed off nervously.
"Well, why are you so worried then? About the possibility of Prince Axel marrying you, I mean… Well, if you're just some servant he already knows, chances are he's probably not all that interested in you," Roxas shrugged. "Yeah… you probably don't even have to worry!"
Axel remained silent for a while, keeping his eyes downcast. "True, I'm definitely not his type. However, his crazy dad might decide to pick me… if the Prince doesn't decide before midnight."
"So even after the ball, you still aren't really safe, huh?"
Axel shook his head. Roxas gave him a sympathetic look.
"Well… what if you left?" Roxas suggested.
Axel blinked in surprise, managing to sputter out: "Are you asking me to run away with you?"
Roxas shrugged. "Would you rather stay here? You don't seem to like it here very much."
"It has its ups and its downs…I can't go though."
"Why the hell not?" Roxas huffed. "You're a random generic slave boy, no one will miss you!"
"My father would miss me. It wouldn't be right to leave now. He needs me here, and I have duties to fulfill… as much as it sucks to be responsible." He gave Roxas a lopsided grin.
"Well…what if we eloped?"
"…What?"
"Well, you don't want to marry Prince Axel, and I don't want to be forced into anything myself. That's one thing we have in common. And you seem like a good person who has some freakin' common sense… and let me tell you how refreshing that is."
Axel laughed at Roxas' joke before seriousness took him over again. "Are you sure though? You'd be stuck with me the rest of your life. I would want to make sure you're happy with that choice."
"Fred, out of all of the people I've met in my village and out of all of the ridiculous people I've met at this insane party… I think this is the best I could ever hope for."
Axel playfully batted his eyelashes. "Wow, you really know how to sweet talk a guy."
"Just being realistic."
But in Roxas' slight smile, there was something more behind it that gave Axel a bit of hope that it would all be okay.
"Then it's settled then. I pledge you my troth."
Axel took Roxas' hand, much smaller than his own, and wrapped his fingers around it.
"Er… ditto."
"Great! Now let's get you out of those clothes!" Axel flashed him a toothy grin.
"WHAT?" Roxas' face erupted with splotches of red.
"We were going to get you NEW clothes, remember?" He waggled his eyebrows at Roxas. "What did you THINK I meant?"
"It just sounded WEIRD, okay?!"
"Roxas, we're going to be married at some point. Eventually, you're going to have to learn how to be comfortable with the idea of our naked bodies touching and stuff."
"B-b-but…"
"But not yet. We are not getting married tonight. We are going to get to know each other first."
Roxas let out a relieved sigh.
"And since we're going to be married, I want to be honest with you. You're probably going to be angry with me about it, but I want to clear the air so that our relationship starts off with a strong foundation of truth and trust."
Roxas stared at his intended suspiciously. "Wait. Wait. Wait. Let me guess. You're the goddamn prince after all. That's how it's supposed to go right? All roads have been running toward this since the beginning—the stupid edict, the stupid fairy godmother, the stupid dress, the stupid ball full of perverts, trying to hide alone in the garden only to run into the nicest, best looking stranger in the whole damn place…"
"You think I'm the nicest, best looking guy here?" Axel interrupted, his voice lilting a bit.
"Shush it, don't interrupt me," Roxas snapped. Axel shrank back.
His eye was twitching. He was cursing FATE inwardly. Still…
He sighed. He felt like he lost and won at the same time. He found Prince Axel on accident, not really knowing who he was, and HE made the choice to propose, not Axel. He couldn't blame Axel for any of this.
"You know what? I'm not mad."
"No?"
"No."
Roxas slid his arms around Axel's neck. He stood up on the tippy toes of his heeled shoes and kissed him slowly.
"I like you, Axel. I liked you before I realized you were a prince," he whispered against Axel's parted lips.
"But if we had been in that ballroom, if you had plucked me out of the crowd arbitrarily, I would have punched you in the face." Roxas said this with all of the seriousness he could muster.
"Well, then… I'm glad things worked out like this." Axel leaned in to recapture Roxas' lips, returning the kiss.
They stood together for a long time, familiarizing themselves with the other's lips, their scent. Roxas was the first to pull away.
"Er… what time is it anyway?"
"Hmm… probably getting close to midnight, why?"
"Well… this dress is not going to last past midnight."
"Why ROXAS, I thought you wanted to WAIT."
"AHH! I do! I do! It's just… this dress is fairy godmother magic, and I'm pretty sure the rule with fairy godmother magic is that it GOES AWAY at midnight."
"Then let's go get you into some real clothes then!" Axel scooped Roxas up into his arms like a heroic savior.
"Guy clothes this time."
"As you command."
"Now THAT is more like it."
Yes, Roxas thought. It's good to have someone who listens.
THE END