Pets (Axel/Roxas, #14)
Title: Pets
Author: libekory
Claim: Axel/Roxas[/a snake]
Prompt: #14 ["poison"]
Warnings: The snake is maybe a bit more sensual than it should be.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix, Disney, and subsidiaries. No profit, no copyright infringement intended, for entertainment purposes only.
Pets
Axel came back from the jungle mission with dark curling off his clothes like smoke, a smile on his lips, the beginnings of a scar on his belly where the leather was torn, and a snake.
He saw it for the first time when Xaldin approached the redhead, broad shoulders rounded the way they always were, that constant veiled threat, and asked for a report. Axel's only response was to lower his hood and laugh, that strange hoarse laugh that only cheating death brings. He was tired but still high on the adrenaline of whatever he'd done, far too pleased with himself to give any straight answers, and when he reached up to run a hand through his hair with exaggerated carelessness, Roxas spotted the flash of color coiled tightly around his wrist.
The snake was a bright, poisonous green. And after that day, Axel never went anywhere without it.
"What kind is it?" he asked later, cornering his self-proclaimed "best friend" in whatever ridiculous name they were calling the library this week.
"It's a snake," Axel told him vaguely, but then his eyes darted to focus on Roxas's face, measuring, like he could smell the interest, and he sat up straight. Even smiled. "Does it matter?"
It did. Roxas wasn't sure why, so instead of answering he carefully flattened out his expression and turned his attention to that slender band of green. "Does it bite?" Maybe if he looked bored enough, Axel would back off.
Stupid thing to hope. The man set his book aside, and smiled again, only this time it was strange and stretched. The kind of smile that usually meant Axel thought they were about to have sex. Roxas would have corrected him, violently if needs be, but found himself distracted by the way the snake was suddenly moving, stirred by its masters movement and retreating from his long pale throat to -- slip beneath his hood, down his chest, and into his clothes.
Roxas knew he was staring. He shook it off, redirected his gaze to Axel's face, and again considered trying to beat the smug out of him. "What?" he snapped, more unsettled than he wanted to admit.
"Nothing," Axel said innocently, and that was the last word on the subject.
If only the snake were so easy to forget. He saw it every time they were together; he saw it in dreams, where it was longer, twined obscenely around Axel's bare body, lidless eyes watching him, a hiss, a flicker of tongue like pink thread. It haunted him.
It teased him.
Finally he could take it no longer. They were only playing cards -- a much safer pastime when Luxord wasn't involved -- but Axel had his coat open to the navel, and nothing underneath but that length of horrible blinding green. Moistening his bottom lip, Roxas dropped his hand (crappy cards anyway) and shoved Axel to the floor of his room, tearing open his coat, searching for the skin he imagined would be slick and cold.
"Roxas!" That bastard was laughing at him. They were both laughing at him. "If you wanted something, all you had to do was say the magic word--"
He bared his teeth. "Go on. Spell it out."
Axel widened his eyes, so big and guileless that he almost looked as innocent as he wanted to. "P-L-E-A--" He cut himself off in a small, startled noise as Roxas forced the coat down and off, revealing those treacherous coils, settled neatly around his waist, and -- the tail trailing even lower down, maybe winding around his thigh.
"S," Roxas tried to prompt idly, but his mouth was mysteriously dry and his voice sounded strange. He pulled at the leather of the redhead's pants, tugged them down, and watched as the snake shivered over pale skin, its whole body tightening. He swore he could taste its displeasure at being exposed.
But when he touched it, pulled off one glove and really touched it, he was surprised to find that it wasn't unpleasant to touch. Instead of being slimy, chilled, the snake was warm and dry. Probably leeching Axel's unnatural heat, the way he distantly remembered reading that reptiles did sometimes.
The way he did sometimes, when he slept in Axel's bed, glad for the clumsy arm slung across his chest and inching, secretly, closer to the fire that gave his light warmth.
"E," Axel finished, softly, watching his face, and when Roxas looked up at him, he noticed for the first time that the snake was the same color as his eyes.
Author: libekory
Claim: Axel/Roxas[/a snake]
Prompt: #14 ["poison"]
Warnings: The snake is maybe a bit more sensual than it should be.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix, Disney, and subsidiaries. No profit, no copyright infringement intended, for entertainment purposes only.
Pets
Axel came back from the jungle mission with dark curling off his clothes like smoke, a smile on his lips, the beginnings of a scar on his belly where the leather was torn, and a snake.
He saw it for the first time when Xaldin approached the redhead, broad shoulders rounded the way they always were, that constant veiled threat, and asked for a report. Axel's only response was to lower his hood and laugh, that strange hoarse laugh that only cheating death brings. He was tired but still high on the adrenaline of whatever he'd done, far too pleased with himself to give any straight answers, and when he reached up to run a hand through his hair with exaggerated carelessness, Roxas spotted the flash of color coiled tightly around his wrist.
The snake was a bright, poisonous green. And after that day, Axel never went anywhere without it.
"What kind is it?" he asked later, cornering his self-proclaimed "best friend" in whatever ridiculous name they were calling the library this week.
"It's a snake," Axel told him vaguely, but then his eyes darted to focus on Roxas's face, measuring, like he could smell the interest, and he sat up straight. Even smiled. "Does it matter?"
It did. Roxas wasn't sure why, so instead of answering he carefully flattened out his expression and turned his attention to that slender band of green. "Does it bite?" Maybe if he looked bored enough, Axel would back off.
Stupid thing to hope. The man set his book aside, and smiled again, only this time it was strange and stretched. The kind of smile that usually meant Axel thought they were about to have sex. Roxas would have corrected him, violently if needs be, but found himself distracted by the way the snake was suddenly moving, stirred by its masters movement and retreating from his long pale throat to -- slip beneath his hood, down his chest, and into his clothes.
Roxas knew he was staring. He shook it off, redirected his gaze to Axel's face, and again considered trying to beat the smug out of him. "What?" he snapped, more unsettled than he wanted to admit.
"Nothing," Axel said innocently, and that was the last word on the subject.
If only the snake were so easy to forget. He saw it every time they were together; he saw it in dreams, where it was longer, twined obscenely around Axel's bare body, lidless eyes watching him, a hiss, a flicker of tongue like pink thread. It haunted him.
It teased him.
Finally he could take it no longer. They were only playing cards -- a much safer pastime when Luxord wasn't involved -- but Axel had his coat open to the navel, and nothing underneath but that length of horrible blinding green. Moistening his bottom lip, Roxas dropped his hand (crappy cards anyway) and shoved Axel to the floor of his room, tearing open his coat, searching for the skin he imagined would be slick and cold.
"Roxas!" That bastard was laughing at him. They were both laughing at him. "If you wanted something, all you had to do was say the magic word--"
He bared his teeth. "Go on. Spell it out."
Axel widened his eyes, so big and guileless that he almost looked as innocent as he wanted to. "P-L-E-A--" He cut himself off in a small, startled noise as Roxas forced the coat down and off, revealing those treacherous coils, settled neatly around his waist, and -- the tail trailing even lower down, maybe winding around his thigh.
"S," Roxas tried to prompt idly, but his mouth was mysteriously dry and his voice sounded strange. He pulled at the leather of the redhead's pants, tugged them down, and watched as the snake shivered over pale skin, its whole body tightening. He swore he could taste its displeasure at being exposed.
But when he touched it, pulled off one glove and really touched it, he was surprised to find that it wasn't unpleasant to touch. Instead of being slimy, chilled, the snake was warm and dry. Probably leeching Axel's unnatural heat, the way he distantly remembered reading that reptiles did sometimes.
The way he did sometimes, when he slept in Axel's bed, glad for the clumsy arm slung across his chest and inching, secretly, closer to the fire that gave his light warmth.
"E," Axel finished, softly, watching his face, and when Roxas looked up at him, he noticed for the first time that the snake was the same color as his eyes.