Title: Young Dudes

Genre: Romance

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I no own

Summary: AU. As he began to drive I prayed that this night wouldn't be a waste of time. That something would come out of it, at least a phone number, I thought while giving Axel a side glance.- Main Akuroku. Background Soriku. All characters will be a bit OOC.

Unbeta'd. Beware the errors!

"Blah" means talking

"Blah" means phone conversations/texts

I. A Well Respected Man- The Kinks

Paperwork, that's what my life had been reduced to, nothing but endless paperwork. To say I loathed it would the understatement of the millennia. I had the urge to jump out of the sixth story window, breaking through the glass and falling to my sweet death; it was very tempting. Luckily it was a Saturday, the last day of a work week for me and then I got the weekend to do whatever the hell I wanted. One whole day of freedom. I lived for Sunday.

"I don't get you Roxas," the guy a cubicle over, by the name of Xigbar, said. He was spinning in his wheelie chair while moving his pen to look like it was made of rubber. "You're twenty-two but you act like you're already hitting your midlife crisis."

"I don't get you Xigbar; you get poked in the eye once with a staple and now insist on wearing an eye patch every day to work. Are you pretending to be a pirate?" I asked, saving the last document I had and logging off of my computer.

Xigbar spun in an even faster circle, "you wound me Roxas."

My cubicles' old cord phone began to ring; willing myself not to strangle the person on the other end of the line, I picked up, "this is Roxas Strife; how may I be of assistance for you today?"

"You're such a yuppie," my cousin, Sora, laughed.

"I'm working Sor, what do you want?" I huffed, doodling a picture of me killing Xigbar with a spork on my pad of paper.

"We're going to a party tonight, no arguments, I don't wanna hear it," Sora said; I could hear the TV on in the background along with his dogs yipping.

"Where at?" I asked suspiciously, I turned around to look over at Xigbar, he was still spinning.

"Wakka's place, where else? Selphie's throwing it. You know it's gonna be fucking sweet," he answered easily, and by his tone I could tell there was a smile on his face.

"Fine, I'll go. Are you going to pick me up or am I the D.D tonight?" I asked, coloring in my doodle.

"Riku's driving," Sora said. "And don't start. He's not that bad."

"That guy's a dick," I muttered into the phone. "You're only saying that because he blows you."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that. See you around ten brah, bye-bye!" He hung up.

You may have guessed by now that my name was Roxas. Roxas Strife, a twenty-two year old who takes online college classes and worked for Shinra Inc full time. I'm currently single, and I lived with my parents, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, they own a popular club downtown called Heaven. If you haven't heard of it then you've been living under a rock.

"Big party tonight, huh?" Xigbar grinned from his seat, "I remember being your age. Ah, the parties, the sloppy drunk sex, the horny stoner sex, and every food tasted better then."

I ignored him as I shut down my computer. "See you Monday Xigbar." I said to him, grabbing my satchel and getting out of my cubicle.

"Bye Roxas! Enjoy your horny stoner sex!" Xigbar waved.

I got home and noticed both of my parents' cars in the driveway. I may work a full time job but I'm still a broke college student all the way, trying to pay off my car while saving up for my own place wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Opening the door, I was greeted by the smell of food and the sound of the TV.

"Roxas!" My sixteen year old sister, Garnet, grinned at me from her spot on the couch. Next to her was her boyfriend Zidane, both had Wii controllers in their hands, Mariokart was on pause. "How was work?" She asked.

"Hell," I grumbled, undoing my tie and toeing off my shoes at the front door. I left my shoes where they were and moved through the front room going a large archway. The double doors to the immediate left were open, giving me a perfect view of my father working in the den, on the computer looking at the club's finances. "Hey Pops," I greeted.

"Hey Rox," Dad replied, pencil never stopping its movement on the paper.

Ahead of me was the open kitchen where my mother was dancing around to her docked iPod and cooking dinner.

"Hey baby," Mom greeted with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Long," I answered, running a hand through my hair and giving her a strained smile, "How about yours?"

"Oh mine's is just getting started," Mom grinned. "Dinner's going to be ready soon so go wash up."

I walked out of the kitchen and through a smaller archway to the left which had a tiny square of a hallway, three doors (one to the left, one to the right and one before me) as well as a linen closet. Opening the door to the right I entered my bedroom and began to strip out of my work clothes, grabbing a clean pair of boxer-briefs and my towel I went to the door next to the linen closet, entering the tiny bathroom to take a quick shower and thinking about ten o'clock.

My parents left around eight for their club and Zidane left as well, my folks had a rule about people being over when they weren't home. It didn't matter how old we were, and the fact that Zidane was Garnet's boyfriend didn't help him out one bit.

"I'm going to take a nap," I yawned to Garnet. She nodded mutely; too busy playing bejeweled on her iTouch to notice anything going on around her.

As soon as I sprawled out on top of my bed I was out.

It was the feeling of someone licking and breathing on me that caused me to wake up sometime later, only to literally jump off the bed when I realized someone was licking and breathing on me.

Sora grinned from his perch on my bed, "'bout time you woke up, I've been trying to get your ass out of bed for like twenty minutes."

"Why didn't you just shake me?" I asked while rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"I did," my cousin stated, "I poked you, shook you, yelled and screamed. I figured doing some gay shit might wake you up. And it worked. You sure you're not hiding something from me Rox?"

"Fuck you Sora," I grumbled while looking for my shoes.

"No, that's Riku's job," He answered breezily.

"You're so gross," I groaned, slipping my feet into a pair of old black Chucks. "This party better be the shit man," I yawned.

"Oh yes, because your Saturday night plans were so exciting. Going to bed at eight and sleeping the entire night away, sounds like a barrel of fun," Sora hopped off of my bed. "Come on; let's go before Riku decides to come in here. I mean, three's a crowd sometimes and I'm not very good at sharing."

"You're fucking gross," I repeated.

Sora just shook his head and laughed, "No Rox, I'm fucking Riku. Get it right."

I put my wallet and phone in my pockets and followed Sora out of my room, rubbing my blurry eyes and frowning at Riku.

"'Bout time you two came out, I was beginning to wonder if there was some twincest going on," Riku grinned cockily, all white-blond hair, sea-green eyes, tanned skin and Adonis body. Sometimes his very existence annoyed me.

"We're cousins, and don't be fresh," Sora reprimanded.

The thing is, even though I had blond hair and Sora had brown, and I was pale and he was tanned, that was about as far of a difference as our looks went. We were nearly identical, which was creepy, that was how dominant our family genes were I supposed.

"You guys ready to leave right?" Riku asked while casually leaning against the counter. Garnet was in the kitchen as well, still on her iTouch.

"What time do you think you'll be back by Rox?" She asked.

"No idea, don't wait up for me," I told my younger sister.

"Have fun!" Garnet called out behind us as we left.

Wakka lived in a decent sized house inherited from his mother and it was right on the beach front. Selphie was the one throwing the party, and the girl knew exactly what she was doing whenever she felt like having one. She was Wakka's on-again off-again mistress of a girlfriend since he was currently engaged to this chick named Lulu.

"Lulu's okay with Selphie throwing this party for Wakka?" I asked suddenly as Riku parked his car on the beach where there were dozens of others.

"I heard she was out of town," Sora grinned. We all knew that he lived for this kind of gossip. We also all knew that when Lulu found out the shit was going to hit the fan. However, that wasn't our problem and thus we didn't need to worry about it.

It was just ten minutes shy of midnight when we arrived and people were already drunk.

"Sora! Roxas! Riku!" Kairi, Sora's ex-girlfriend, smiled sloppily at the three of us as she threw herself on top of Sora in a sort-of hug. "You guys made it, that's awesome!" Her auburn red hair was everywhere and her smile was a bit glazed over, she was drunk.

"Hey Kairi, let's go get you some water," Tidus, her boyfriend, smiled awkwardly at us as he untangled Kairi from Sora. "Hey guys. Selphie's around here somewhere. There's beer in the cooler in the back porch, the harder stuff's in the kitchen, and I think they're sharing a bong or something in the den."

Tidus was gone before we knew it.

"Well, this seemed fun, I'm ready to go back home now," I told my cousin.

Sora frowned at me, "Stop being such a little bitch. We're staying; you're not ruining my fun." He grabbed Riku's hand and dragged him towards the kitchen. I was going to follow but the crowd separated us and by the time I made it to the kitchen my cousin and his boyfriend were nowhere in sight.

Well this is just great, I lost my ride.

"Dude! Roxassss! You made it man, that's awesome," a blur of blond tackled me and draped off of my shoulders. Bright blue eyes and happy grin pasted on their face.

"Hey Demyx," I greeted, shifting under his weight, "Where's Zexion?"

"Pfft, that jerk off? Probably fucking some random slut upstairs. Who cares about Zexion? I'm here with Axel," Demyx slurred slightly. He was obviously upset, and it was Zexion's fault. Although, to be fair, his best friend had no clue of Demyx's affections, and the blond would probably never tell him.

"That's nice Demyx. Have you seen Sora or Riku?" I asked, trying to get him off of me with no luck.

"No. But you gotta meet Axel man, he's awesome," Demyx began to drag me by the scruff of my neck towards the front door.

"Damn it Dem," I sighed and allowed myself to get dragged through throngs of people. If anything I had my cell phone and knew where the car was. When Sora was done with his 'fun' he'd let me know.

On the front porch was a guy sitting on the stairs smoking a cigarette, he had a flame of bottled red hair and a lanky body type from the back.

"Axel, dude, this is Roxas, and he's awesome." Demyx muttered happily, it seemed as if he were trying really hard not to cry, the forced smile looked painful. I made a mental note that Dem was an emotional drunk and to never go drinking with him. Ever.

Axel turned and looked up at me, and even in the dim light from the house I could see his bright green eyes perfectly on his narrow face, along with the two black tattoos of upside-down tear drops on each of his high cheekbones. He looked a bit like a clown, or a mental ward patient on the loose.

We eyed each other up and I could already feel the waves of dislike rolling off of him towards me.

"Demyx," Axel took a drag of his cigarette, "I didn't tell ya ta bring Roxas out here. I told ya ta go and find Zexion, go and talk ta Zexion."

Our blond friend looked teary eyed, "But what if he's busy with someone?"

"Then go and make a scene. Don't stop 'til he listens ta what ya have ta say," The redhead said this as if it were the easiest thing in the world. And maybe to an inebriated Demyx it was, because he ran back into the house and heart of the party.

"Jesus Christ, that guy's been crying for over an hour, and he started before he was drunk." Axel stated, though whether it was to me or himself I wasn't sure so I just shrugged and plopped down next to him, watching the ocean.

We sat in silence for a good ten minutes before. The music from inside the house caused the porch to vibrate, and I could hear people screaming to each other about things. Out on the beach couples were making out on random cars, or people were still pulling up. I sighed as I stared up at the clear night sky.

"So, how ya likin' the parteh?" Axel asked; he had a southern twang to his voice which I hadn't noticed before. It was thick but not heavy, pleasant for the ears; although it was a bit nasally, but not annoyingly so.

"Honestly? I don't want to be here man. I'd rather be at home and asleep in my bed," I answered, for once not caring if that made me sound like a loser or a 'square' as Sora tended to call me at times.

Axel snickered. "Why? Ya worked taday?"

I leaned back on my step, "Yeah, I've been up since six and only managed a short nap before being abducted and taken here. I could care less about the drinking, smoking, and all that other bullshit. And the drama going on in there, none of it's my scene."

A moment later Demyx came back, a beer in hand, "I need a ride home man," he said to Axel, "I wanna get outta here, like now. Before Zexion notices."

Cigarette still in mouth, Axel stood up and glanced down at me, "Ya wanna come with?"

"I don't even know you dude, you could be some psychotic serial killer who's into blonds," I said while looking up at him. He had very long legs.

"You're right, I could be," He grinned wickedly, "But ya said that ya didn't wanna be here, and beggars can't be choosers. This can be your escape; I'll even drop ya back off here after we're done with Demyx."

Demyx had already stumbled towards where I assumed Axels' car was. I didn't want a drunken Demyx going off with someone I barely knew, so I pulled my phone out and sent Sora a quick text. I'm out; call me when you get home. Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I half jogged to catch up with the other two, both were way ahead of me.

"So you comin' with then?" Axel asked, smirk on his face as he unlocked the doors. I watched as he helped Demyx get in the back seat before slipping into the drivers side.

"Blast off!" Demyx cried from the backseat as we sped off towards his place.

Demyx lived in a crappy building that had dingy, buzzing, flickering, florescent lights in the hallways that led to the apartments. His place was a tiny two bedroom, but it was kept clean.

"Thanks for the ride man," He hugged Axel and then hugged me afterwards, "I love you guys."

"Ya ain't gonna do nothin' stupid are ya Dem?" The redhead asked, giving our wobbly friend a sharp look.

Double negative, I had wanted to say but held my tongue.

"Nah, just gonna sleep," Demyx sighed. "Whelp, night all." He went inside his apartment, leaving the door wide open as he threw himself on the couch. He was out as soon as his body hit the cushions.

Sighing, Axel took out his keys and locked up the door as we left.

"You have his spare?" I asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Course, I've known the guy since forever," He shrugged, "Ya feel bad about leaving him there like that?"

"Not really, I have a clear conscious," I answered.

"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory," He looked down at me.

I snorted, "Obnoxious much?"

"Not as much as I should be," He grinned, "Come on, let's go."

We were back on the road and driving through the bright city, there were people milling about everywhere, and with the lights it felt more like daytime then one in the morning.

"Dude, where the hell are we going? You needed to go down South Street," I turned my head to watch as we zoomed passed our street that would've led to the beach.

"Hm? Sorry, I was lost in thought," He said, stopping at the red light.

"Unfamiliar territory?" I smirked.

He chuckled, "Ya think you're so smart, huh? Don't piss me off Roxas, I'm running outta places to hide the bodies," He made a left. "We're gonna go see a psychic."

"There's one open past midnight?" I arched an eyebrow at him, knowing that I should've been scared shitless that this random guy was taking me to a strange place, but instead I was just curious. Also, I was vaguely wondering if this was going to be the night where the cops found my body in a ditch after my parents noticed I hadn't returned home.

"A psychic that's expectin' us is," He wagged his eyebrows at me. They, too, were dyed red. I idly wondered what color his happy trail was.

We parked in front of a brownstone apartment, one in a row of many, the only thing that even let me know it was a psychic's places was the illuminated purple sign that said so in the downstairs window.

"Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?" I asked nervously, following Axel up the walkway and stoop. "I mean, they're supposedly psychic, right?"

"If this chick asks us for our names then we leave," He told me.

"Have you been here before?" I looked around the neighborhood; it was pretty quiet for a Saturday night.

The redhead shook his head, "Nah, but I've heard good things about her." He rang the buzzer.

A moment later a petite blonde young woman answered the door, bright blue eyes sparkling with warmth as she smiled at us. "Hello boys, I've been waiting for you two all night. You're a bit later then I expected, come on in." She held the door open for us to walk through and closed it behind her. She was wearing a bright white sundress and pink bunny slippers.

The apartment was brightly lit and had antique furniture, reminding me of my grandmother's house. It smelled of Pine-Sol and laundry detergent. And somewhere in the house there was a radio playing old jazz.

"My name is Naminé," She introduced herself as we walked into the living room; the couches were covered in plastic. She sat down on the love seat and left the other for Axel and me, motioning for us to sit as well. "Would you like me to tell your fortunes separately or together?" She asked, the kind smile never leaving her face.

"First, you gotta tell us our names," Axel eyed her curiously.

She gave a small laugh, "You're Axel and he's Roxas." Her eyes were on us but they seemed to look past us. "Tonight you two should remain together, remember this because it will be important." She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes, "Are there any real questions you'd like to ask? Something that doesn't include the winning lotto numbers, please."

Axel looked at me and then glanced over at Naminé, "I'd like ta do this separately," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, I'll be outside," I huffed, getting up and leaving the apartment.

"Check your phone messages Roxas; someone has been trying to reach you!" Naminé called out behind me as I closed the front door.

I took out my phone and found a few missed calls from Sora as well as a text message. Creepy I slid my phone up and checked the text.

Where the hell are you!

I frowned and replied quickly: With Axel. Lemme alone, I'll call you once I get home.

Axel came back out not ten seconds after I put my phone away. "Sorry 'bout that, I needed ta ask her somethin' personal."

"Right. Dude, can we just go back to Wakka's now?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

"Actually, I was wonderin', you hungry?" He asked, taking out another cigarette and lighting it as we got into the car.

"A little," I admitted. "Are you going to buy me a meal to make up for this sidetrack adventure?"

He smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. His smile was nothing but perfectly straight white teeth, and it looked really good on his face. "Yeah, actually. I know a good diner close by."

I nodded; there was no harm in going with this guy to a perfectly lit up place, right? And I was a little hungry. "Okay, let's mosey."

We went back to the car and left Naminé's place. As he began to drive I prayed that this night wouldn't be a waste of time. That something would come out of it, at least a phone number, I thought while giving Axel a side glance.

TBC

MoonLLotus: Rule 1: never leave a place with a person that you don't know kids (i.e strangers) . It's stupidly dangerous.

Rule 2: I find Southern twangs undeniably sexy. It's not exactly a rule, but it's my opinion. But that's why Axel has one. Is it obvious that Roxas is slightly smitten?

On a side note, if someone recognizes this fic, that's because I had it posted like a year ago. I revamped it as best as I could and have now reposted it. Hooray. This chapter isn't exactly how I wanted it. I wanted it to be funnier, but I'm not a funny person, oh wells. Anyways, please review, flames are more than welcome.