Toxin: Halloween

Part Three

Roxas blinked up at the bright light over him. What the hell happened? he wondered, trying to sit up. The restrictions on his wrists, chest and ankles didn't let him. He remembered Demyx lunging for him… but everything after that was fuzz.

"He's coming to… stay back," he heard above him. Vexen.

"Are the restraints really necessary?" another voice sounded. "He's not dangerous…"

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Vexen said. Roxas could just barely see him moving around through the blinding light.

Roxas spoke up, his voice sounding unfamiliar to even him. "Can you… the light… it hurts…"

Vexen jumped at the sound, dimming the light down and looming over him. "Welcome back, Roxas."

"What happened? Why am I tied up?" And who's that with you…? He couldn't see the other man, and figured he must be behind him.

"You got into a fight, Rox…" the man moved over and he could finally see that it was Axel. "You and Demyx really got into it… he finally knocked you out, so we… we moved you in here…"

Roxas couldn't believe it. "So you tied me up? If I remember correctly, Demyx went after me first! Why isn't he strapped to a bed?!"

"He is… he's in the bed across the room. You're both in the infirmary. He still wants to beat your face in, so we had to restrain his hands."

"Damn right, asshole!" he heard the musician yell from the other side of the room. The loud sound hurt Roxas' head… he wondered how Demyx had managed to knock him out.

There was a bit of a struggle with Demyx from what Roxas could see, and he was quiet again. "What did I… why did he start a fight with me?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember? The whole castle could hear it, Rox… you started screaming back and forth about …well, about what happened earlier… and you kept insulting him and then you said something about Zexion and he just snapped…"

"And I fought back…?" Roxas wondered.

"He probably would've killed you if you hadn't…" Axel said softly, hanging his head a bit.

Roxas couldn't believe what he was hearing. Him and Demyx were good friends… or he thought they were, at least. But… his new personality wasn't the most friendly either.

"Wait… I feel normal…" he said suddenly, struggling to sit up. Axel raised the bed up into a sitting position and sat down on the edge, looking Roxas in the eyes.

"Vexen… I think it worked. I think the antidote worked!" Axel exclaimed, hugging Roxas to his chest. "His eyes are blue again, and he's not being a dick!"

He moved aside for Vexen to examine Roxas, and after a few minutes and some tests, he started unbuckling the restraints. "Roxas, do you feel the other personality at all?"

Roxas shook his head slowly, "No… no, I think it's gone… I feel… I feel normal again," he said, his breath hitching a little. He looked up at Axel, "I… I'm so sorry…"

"Vex, can you give us a minute?" Axel asked. He nodded and closed the curtain around them, giving them privacy and tending to Demyx. "Roxas… you don't need to apologize. I know that it was the toxin."

"But Axel, I was horrible… and God, the things I must've said to Dem…"

Axel sat down on the edge of the bed again and tried to find a way to hug Roxas that wouldn't hurt him. He was beat up pretty badly. "Nobody will blame you, Rox… that serum put some kind of monster inside you… It's gone now, that's all that matters. Now you just need to heal up and get your strength back, okay?"

Roxas looked down at himself and winced a little. He was covered in little cuts and bruises, and his whole body ached. "I don't like this bed… can you help me to mine?"

"Sure, bud…" he said, helping his friend up.

"Wait, let's go to Demyx for a moment…" Roxas said, limping towards the other blond man. "Demyx… I'm really sorry. I hope you know that it wasn't me saying all that."

Demyx looked up at him and his face softened a bit. "You're back…"

"Yeah… and I hope we can still be friends after all that. I… I don't remember what I said exactly, but I know I didn't mean it. I'm glad you and Zexion are together…"

"Thanks, man… I'm sorry I lost it… I kinda messed you up…" he apologized, looking Roxas over. "I don't usually get so mad, but…"

"But I brought up Zexion. I get it, dude, no need to apologize," Roxas assured him, glad he was making amends with everyone. "I'm just glad nobody else got hurt."

Axel shifted a little at Roxas' side, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. "Come on, Rox, you need to lay down."

Roxas was looking at him now, and noticed that he had his jacket zipped all the way up and his hood down. "Axe, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's get you to your room," he said, helping him out of the infirmary. He laid him down in his bed and sat down in the chair next to it. "I'm glad you're back to normal. But Roxas… where did all of that in the shower come from? I know it was the poison, but it had to have… do you…?"

"Yes…" he whispered, not wanting to look at his friend. "I always have…"

He heard Axel move, but he didn't know what was happening until he was straddling his hips. "Roxas… look at me…"

He turned his gaze up and met fiery green eyes, gasping softly.

"I'm in love with you…" the redhead whispered, his face inches from Roxas'. "The real you… this you."

Roxas squirmed a bit, blushing deeply. "Axel… I… I love you too…"

Axel couldn't help but grin. He missed the blush on Roxas' cheeks… he missed the way his voice shook when he was nervous. "You're perfect…" He leaned down and pressed his lips against Roxas', kissing him deeply. He liked being in charge again, he liked knowing that the boy underneath him was flushed red and squirming.

"Axel…" Roxas moaned softly, "You're… you're hurting me a little…"

The redhead stopped kissing him and slipped over to his side, helping Roxas turn and face him. "Sorry about that, Rox…" he said, suddenly a bit nervous.

"I didn't want you to stop…" Roxas said, leaning in and kissing him again, a much sweeter and kinder kiss than the first one they'd shared when he was still poisoned.

Axel groaned into the kiss as Roxas parted his lips, letting his tongue play against his love's. But he stopped a moment later and pulled back. "Axel, what's that on your forehead?"

He groaned and pulled his hood back down. "Nothing…"

"Show me." Roxas yanked the hood back down and stared at the purple and yellow bruise across his face. "When did you get that?"

"Must've been Lock…" he grumbled, trying to hide his face.

"That wasn't there this morning, Axe… did I do that?" he asked, shaking a little.

Axel sighed heavily, turning away from Roxas. "Forget about it…"

Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel from behind, pulling him into a spooning position and starting to sob into the back of his hood. "I'm sorry… please just tell me what happened…"

"I tried to break up the fight, and you turned on me… Scratched up my arms, chest and back trying to get away from me, and then clocked me in the head. I'm fine... I know it wasn't you…"

The blond's chest heaved with his crying… he couldn't believe that he'd hurt the man he loved so much. "Did Vexen look you over…?"

"No… I'm fine."

"Axel… let me see. Take off your jacket."

He didn't move, but he let the younger man gently roll him onto his back and unzip his coat, revealing a black t-shirt that looked slightly damp. Roxas slid the jacket off and tossed it aside, then slipped the t-shirt up over his head and gasped softly. His body was covered in… animal-esque scratches… Some were bleeding, some were just pink and raised. He looked down at his fingernails, surprised that the dull, trimmed nails could do something like that.

"Axel, these need treated… don't they hurt?"

The redhead just shrugged, keeping his eyes closed and seeming sleepy. Roxas rifled through his nightstand and found some Neosporin, taking a bit onto his fingers and beginning to gently rub it over the wounds. Occasionally Axel would cringe, but he let Roxas take care of him. When Roxas tried to roll him back onto his side, he allowed him to so that he could treat the cuts on his back. When Roxas was done, he began to rub Axel's shoulders a bit, worried that he was hurting.

"You… you don't have to do that, Roxy…" Axel whispered, surprising Roxas a bit. "I'm okay…"

Roxas just shushed him and continued rubbing, trying to relax the tense muscles of the other man. Axel let him slowly guide him to lay down on his stomach, so he could really relax. Roxas straddled his back, not letting his weight down on the man. A low groan from Axel assured Roxas that he was enjoying it, even if he didn't want to let on that he was.

His hands trailed from his shoulders to his back, rubbing his sore muscles sensually. "I love you, Axe…" he whispered, leaning down and pressing a sweet kiss against the back of his neck.

Axel squirmed under him, turning over onto his back so that Roxas was straddling his hips. "I love you too, Roxas… so much." He pulled the boy down into a soft kiss, savoring the taste of his lips.

"Axel… when we were in the shower… I remember… you got… aroused…" Roxas said quietly, blushing deeply. "Was that real…?"

The sudden comment surprised Axel, and he chuckled a little. "Yeah Rox… I hate to admit it, but you were pretty sexy…"

Roxas giggled a little, such a cute sound. "I was? I thought I was just being a jerk."

"Well, yeah. But you were also being damn sexy..."

This made him laugh more, smiling down at Axel. "Am I sexy now?"

"Not in the slightest," Axel said with a straight, serious face. But then it softened, and he laughed. "But you're fucking adorable." He kissed Roxas on the tip of the nose, making him blush a little.

"I think you're sexy…" the blond admitted, his cheeks flushing even more.

"Oh am I?" Axel asked, smirking slightly. Without realizing it, he began rubbing his hips up against Roxas'.

The boy gasped softly at the sudden friction. "Yeah… you are... Axe!" he exclaimed, feeling himself quickly becoming aroused. "Axel, stop that!"

"Why?" he asked, grinding harder up against Roxas. "Doesn't it feel good?"

He had a point. "Yeah… but are you… do you want to…?"

"Not tonight… we're both too sore… but yes, Roxas. I want to. As soon as we're healed up… I'm going to fuck you senseless."

Roxas nearly choked on his own spit, eyes going wide. "I… okay." He didn't know how else to respond.

Axel just laughed and pulled Roxas down, holding him close to his side. "I love you Roxas… and I'm glad I have the real you back."

"God, so am I… that was such a horrifying experience. I didn't have any control over myself…" he said, snuggling against his love. "I'm glad that stuff is out of my system…"

Axel nodded and glanced over at the clock, laughing a little, "Hey Roxas… Happy Halloween."

"Is it really…?" he asked, looking at the clock. It was a little past midnight. "I suppose the world isn't going to be inflicted with terror, huh?"

"Well. I think you were kind of a terror for awhile, but yeah, I think the world is safe from Oogie this year."

Roxas chuckled, "Hey, you did remember to get the formula from Doctor Finklestein, right? So he can't make it again?"

Axel's eyes widened. "Fuck."

The end! Happy Halloween!

Author's Note: Please continue on by reading Toxin: Christmas! It's a continuation of the story line, following a holiday pattern.