A.N.: So. . . Woot on how many reviews I've gotten!! I am so happy you guys actually enjoyed this... To be entirely honest, I never really thought it would go anywhere 'cause it was kinda intended to be my little bit of semi-smut. So uh, props to you guys for making it a hit XD
And the dedications of course. This is dedicated to my Sora MUSE whom I love with all my heart (yes, Maur I know I lack all basic human emotions and I know I'm a forceful rapist... that is beside the point) because she freaking made me get off my lazy ass and write this chapter. Unlike my other stories, which are planned our fairly well, this one just kinda kicks me in the head at three o'clock in the morning and says, Hey!! WRITE ME. So yes, thanks to Maur for not only making me write this but also beta'ing it for me. Oh yeah, she also posted our second chapter of REmo (Resident Emo for any noobs out there reading this) under The Medic. So read that. But yeah, this was supposed to be a dedication and I don't know what I'd do without Maur .
Also to my dear Beutelmaus who has been MIA as of late. Wherever you are, I love you darling!! Come back to me!!
Can't forget the cutest little Roxas girlie I know!! Mikomi-Kiyoko, get your internet back and beta for me!! I have so many things for you to read... and beta... and love... What am I going to do?!
Of course my reviewers, I would never forget you either XD For you psychos who review (slash Favorite Auothor slash Favorite Story) for me and have stuck with me, I am sincerely appreciative. I'm starting school again - unfortunately - so that means less time for writing. Plus I'm going back to work... but that doesn't mean I won't be posting!! In fact, I've surprisingly written a lot recently so keep an eye out for updates of Cerulean's Just Another Word for Blue, Campus Club Crusaders, and No Reason. In addition to that, there is a planned update of The So-Called End in honor of a certain break-up... bwa ha ha... And also the addition of two new fanfics I've written : The Station, and Gamertags and Screennames. So keep your eyes peeled, thank you for taking the time to read this, and enjoy SASL!!
Something About Shopping Lists
Chapter Three
Price Paid
It's been four days and x-hours since I saw Roxas.
…
And I'm going fucking nuts.
Is this how it's supposed to be? I mean, I can hardly concentrate on work, and it's not like my job is hard or anything. I just work the register or throw some vegetables into the proper bin-thingy. Shit, I've got it easy.
Worse than that, I don't know anything about this guy, with the exception of the fact that he has a twin brother who is always buying retarded vegetarian food. And said twin brother's best friend is Riku, whom they all live with.
… Is it who, or whom? I can't remember. Anyway, that's beside the point. The point is, uh… Well, the point is that I kinda miss the guy. I could've called him, but that's just not my thing. Calling people and talking on the phone, I mean.
"Hey, Axel?" I turn around, slightly annoyed as I was totally just monologing in my head, but whatever. Tidus, one of the cashiers, is holding a crumpled and possibly chocolate smothered piece of paper out to me. "This customer needed some help and I only run the register. Mind helping him?"
Yeah, yeah, whatever.
I nod my head and Tidus motions to a blond standing a few feet away.
"I'm in a little bit of a hurry," the blond says with a knowing smirk. "So let's get this over with quick, okay?"
We have very dirty bathrooms because Selphie doesn't actually clean them, so being in the bathroom and straddling the toilet while Roxas is sitting on top of the grimy yellow-ish white tank is not what I would traditionally call hot or sexy.
Today is an exception.
Roxas spreads his legs apart and pulls me into him, hands trailing over my sides for a moment before settling on my waist, and grins. "I told Sora he couldn't cook tonight because I am sick of tofu. It's wings tonight. Do you like wings?"
"Uh huh, love 'em," I purr into his ear before grazing my teeth over the bottom of his lobe. He shivers and I shiver back.
Weird response, I know.
"Wanna come?"
"Is it a date?" I ask as his hands mess with the back of my apron, untieing it, I suppose. Roxas makes a small noise in his throat, something between a grunt and a squeak, and I assume that's a yes.
The apron almost falls into the toilet, but I catch it in time and throw it on the floor. Yeah, not wearing that later…
"Did ya miss me?" he jokes with a teasing smile as I pull away for a moment and stare at him. God, I could fall into those eyes forever. Literally.
"Something like that," I answer before grabbing his face with both hands and kissing him. His legs find my waist while his hands find my neck and we share a long kiss.
I open my eyes that I had so kindly closed a few moments ago, wondering where all the tongue is, and then I realize that he's staring at me… Okay, creepy. I pull away and arch a brow.
"What's wrong?" I ask as I cock my head to the side and grant him a whimsical smile. "You okay?"
A brief look of tenderness passes through his eyes and I can't help but wonder why it looked so reminiscent of pain. I open my mouth to ask, but then we're kissing again and my brain's like, Adios, reason.
Except then I hear the door open and I tense up, eyes open and head turned to look through the tiny crack along the side of the metal door. It's… a customer. I let out a soft sigh, glad it's not my boss or something.
On occasion, I disappear into the bathroom and massively text people when we're slow or I'm bored. It usually ends with someone – typically Tidus – fetching me awkwardly. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I've got some kinda digestive problem. I think I even used it as an excuse for being really late to work once.
"So, you gonna come to dinner?"
Huh? Oh yeah, Roxas…
"Sure. When?"
"Well, I'm getting the groceries now," he says, hurriedly lowering his voice as the person in the stall next to us unzips his pants. "When do you get off?"
I try not to laugh. Oh man…
"Shut up," he hisses at me, slapping a hand over my mouth. "Perv."
Me? Yeah, wasn't that obvious, Roxas?
"Whenever I want," I respond as I peel his hand off my mouth. "I'm already working overtime right now, so I can clock out and we can do your shopping."
"That works for me." Roxas kisses me on the cheek and I hide my blush, turning around and opening the stall door. I leave the bathroom first, going to the back room and clocking out before changing. I'm glad I brought a change of clothes today – a nice change of clothes, too – and look at myself in the mirror.
Not bad. Brand new jeans that I totally paid too much for, considering they're covered in rips and tears, a black and white striped polo, and a matching jean jacket for the pants.
When I walk out of the back room I immediately spot Roxas staring at the silver-haired dude who always buys weird fruits and condoms. He has a slightly disgusted look on his face and practically screams when I pinch his waist.
"Shit!" he curses under his breath as he shoots me a dirty look. "Who is that guy?"
"Him? I dunno. He always buys weird shit…"
"He's holding condoms… and looking at fruit."
"Yeah."
Roxas's face pales and he grabs my hand. I stiffen and look around myself quickly. Tidus is staring at me. Shit. I pull my hand away and shove it in my pocket, the other one wiping away the trickle of sweat on my forehead. Roxas's eyes catch mine for a second and then he quickly averts them.
So he gets it.
"Umm… I'm gonna get a cart," he mutters as he all but stalks off. I stay where I am, waiting for Tidus to run over. I know it's coming, I can fucking feel him burning a hole in my back with those beady blue eyes...
"Hey!" he hisses in my ear. I turn and look at him, both hands in my pockets now as I lean back a little and give him an irritated glare. "Who's that?" he demands as he motions toward Roxas with one hand.
"A friend."
He doesn't buy it. "He… he grabbed your hand. Like… he was holding it," Tidus points out like I didn't already know. "Is he gay? Are you?"
For the love of… "Tidus, I think that it isn't any of your business, first off. Second, friends can hold hands. Maybe you're not comfortable enough with your sexuality, but I am."
I walk away and Roxas watches me, hands gripping the shopping cart in some sort of deathgrip. Yikes.
"You okay?" I ask for the second time today. He nods and we go through his list, which is pretty freaking easy in my opinion. Much easier than Sora's damn lists.
How I love shopping lists.
Chicken.
Hot wing sauce.
Corn.
Salad kit.
Pretty much the best list ever.
We check out after grabbing the few items we need and begin the short and quiet walk back to his place. We don't talk – I think he's weirded out about Tidus, which is understandable. I did kinda whip my hand away pretty freaking fast, but it is my job we're talking about.
Then again, I was the one who dragged him into the bathroom.
"What's Sora gonna eat?" I ask as he unlocks the front door.
"Salad. He can be a fucking rabbit tonight for all I care," he snaps as he kicks off his shoes and storms into the kitchen.
Alrighty then…
I begin to follow him, first removing my shoes, but stop halfway when I hear Roxas shriek, "I said no tofu in the house!"
"But Riku likes it too!"
There's some shuffling, a pan crashing to the floor, and the sound of groceries dropping. "Goddammit!"
I choose that moment to walk in and hope that Sora's still alive. Riku's standing next to Sora who's holding a bowl of something tofu-y smothered in brown sauce while Roxas is squatting on the floor picking up the groceries. Riku's aqua eyes catch mine and he smirks, but just a little.
"Hello, Axel."
I nod and smile at Riku, then at Sora, then pad my way across the floor to Roxas to help him pick up the scattered groceries. Chicken, corn, salad kit, sauce. Done. Easy.
"You okay?" I whisper into his ear, my eyes focused on Riku who's watching us rather intently. Okay…
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Got a problem with tofu?"
Roxas grins and shakes his head, blond hair falling into his eyes. Before I know what I'm doing, my fingers are brushing against his face and pushing the hair back. I blink, hand caught in the motion, and Roxas stares at me. Then he blushes, and I blush, and Sora starts choking.
"Ack… ack blech!"
"Sora!" Riku exclaims before slapping his hand against Sora's back. Sora chokes for another second before coughing the piece of tofu up and into his hand. He stares at it, then makes an unhappy face and throws it into the trash.
"Stupid tofu," he whines as he sits back down at the table and looks up at Riku. "Thanks for saving me!"
"Anytime." Riku's face is soft when he looks at Sora, I've decided. Maybe…
"So, who's hungry?" Roxas practically shouts as he stands up, the bag of groceries in his hand. "I am!"
Riku nods his head, eyes falling back on me again while Sora wrinkes his nose at the thought of chicken. Personally, I love wings. I love hot sauce. The two combined? Best food ever.
"Axel?" Riku says softly, interrupting the flying chicken wings in my head. "Can I talk to you?"
Roxas doesn't seem to notice as Riku and I step into the living room. "Yeah?" I ask with a curious arch of my brow. Riku clears his throat, one balled hand going to his mouth, then smiles at me.
I don't like that smile.
"So, you and Roxas are… friends?"
I do not like the way that came out.
"Yeah," I answer very nonchalanty. "Friends." To change the subject I throw in, "So you and Sora are… friends, too?"
Riku's face pales and he avoids my stare, turning his attention to the floor. When he looks back up he's back to normal; kinda devoid of all emotion, for the most part. "Yes, we're friends."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna go help Roxas," I say with a slight wave of my hand. I head back into the kitchen where Sora is staying as far away from the chicken as possible and Roxas is dipping them in wing sauce and throwing them into a deep fryer.
Sweet.
"Need any help?" I ask as I come up behind Roxas. He turns to face me, a smudge of sauce on his cheek. I resist the ridiculous urge to lick it off and instead hand him a napkin. He smiles and wipes it off his face, then turns back to the task at hand.
"I'm fine, why don't you talk with Sora and try to keep his mind off the fact that I'm eating a soul?"
"Sounds like fun," I mutter as I sulk over to Sora.
I am not looking forward to this conversation.
Yeah, so that conversation consisted of Sora describing to me the way animals are tortured and how they have souls and yada yada yada. Roxas ignored me the whole time, even with my sultry stares of please God fucking help me. He is a cold-hearted bastard.
I love it.
Desert was better… with Roxas serving some kinda vegan-friendly ice cream that actually wasn't half bad. Apparently vegan ice cream is like, rice-based, so it's torture-free and Sora-friendly. Not that I would tell Sora that I kinda enjoyed it, because he'd probably go on some kick to seriously convert me. No thanks, I'm good on the whole eating tofu for the rest of my life.
Right now's the best though. Just me and Roxas on their back porch staring up at the stars. I'm refraining from pulling out my cigarettes for the simple fact that right now I taste like carrot cake and I really wanna make out and not make Roxas kiss an ashtray-tasting mouth.
"Hey, Axel?" Roxas says softly, cutting into my thoughts of how exactly I am going to molest him this time.
"Yeah?"
He glances over, a half-smile on his face, and shakes his head. "Nothing."
"Oh, whatever. Just spit it out, blondie," I say before mussing up his hair. He doesn't say anything, he simply stares up at the stars and sighs softly as I settle for resting my arm on his shoulder and lean into him.
I don't like the silence now; it's heavy and uncomfortable and I feel the need to destroy this moment with something perverted and uncalled for. "So, I know that Sora and Riku are watching us through the glass, but I'm pretty sure you've got about three seconds to brace yourself before I hump you into oblivion."
Roxas blinks, then turns his head to look at me and a very firm fist smashes into my cheek and knocks me down on the ground and into a chair. His eyes are narrowed and I get the very distinct feeling that my joke was not taken quite as lightly as I had intended…
"Do you think about anything else?" he sneers at me before storming inside with unnecesarily loud stomping. I can feel the wooden porch shake as he slides the glass door closed with the strength of the Hulk.
Well, shit.
I rub my cheek and roll my eyes. Whatever. I can hear yelling inside, presumably Roxas's yelling, and then stomping up the steps. A second later the door opens and I cock my head to see who it is.
Sora.
Crap.
"Hey," he says meekly with a tiny wave. I smile, lips tight, and wave back. "Umm, so, Roxas is mad at you right now… and I'm trying to help… I think."
"Well, that's great and all, Sora, but I think the best way to remedy this situation is to fucking leave and ask you to please let him know I don't enjoy being punched in the jaw for making perverted jokes," I mutter as I stand up and shake my head. Sora reaches his hand out to touch me but I give him a dirty look and he shrinks back.
"I'm sorry he hit you," Sora apologizes.
I brush past him and into the house. "Hey, it's not your fault."
And it's not. Apparently it's mine because the kid can't take a joke. How am I supposed to know when he's PMSing? I mean, shit, I'm only human. I rub my face again, slightly irked that it may leave a mark in the morning, but at the same time…
Is it creepy that I kinda liked it?
I sigh deeply and light a cigarette once I've walked through the house and made my way outside to the front. It seems like this may become a habit. After hopping down the steps I turn around and stare at the house, cigarette hanging between my lips. Roxas is watching me from an open window and even from here I can feel the Death Glare.
Oh well. I wave and smile at him, taking the cigarette out of my mouth. Just to push the matter, just to make him hate me a little more tonight…
"Next time do it a little harder, 'kay? I like the aggressive type!"
I run away very fast before he decides to throw something out the window at me or sick Sora's semi-boyfriend best friend person thingy after me. Well, at least the entire night wasn't a bust.
I made him blush.