Caught You [Completed Log]

[thirteenthhole]

Who?: Axel and Roxas
What?: Axel's figured something out, and thinks it's high time he made his best friend stop running away from him.
When?: Thursday night, actually. The 30th.
Where?: The cliffs
Rating?: PG-13 for Axel?



Teleporting, Axel had discovered, when performed quickly and in succession, was more of a drain on his heart's strength than fighting was. That, for an assassin like him, posed certain difficulties. He was fast, sure, but he also relied on his ability to rapidly flank an opponent and finish them off. Presently, he used it -- against his better judgment -- in order to search the furthest reaches of the campus for Roxas. It wasn't for a while until he at last thought to check the cliffs that overlooked the impassible sea.

The form of a teenage boy was easily noticed at the cliffs, not too close to the edge, looking out at the ocean's vast surface. He sighed... and shook his head a little bit. What was he doing here? He hadn't felt this... down since Axel had left. It was slowly hitting him that hurting Axel felt as bad as losing him did-- at least now, it did. With these new things bothering his heart, he didn't know what would happen to him if Axel were to disappear again.

Roxas sat alone, knees held tightly to his chest until he heard the noises of a portal. He shot up, jumping to his feet and spinning around quickly. There were only two people who could do that, and as far as he knew, Demyx was not prowling for him.

"Axel...?"

Axel had a pretty good idea of what would happen to him if Roxas vanished. He had half a notion. For him, it had been only three days to Roxas' three months, on the Outside. Three days of thinking 'Just one more, just one more and I'll go back.'.

The last wisps of Darkness were falling from around the Flurry of Dancing Flames' lean figure when Roxas said his name. He stood still a moment, frowning -- arms folded -- but not because of the boy (although it may seem like it).

He was waiting for his own heart to stop protesting the abuse. Damn. Stopping that inferno had required more rest than he thought it would. Axel ... really didn't like knowing he was weaker now, but valued the heart he possessed more.

"..."

The man remains utterly still for a moment. Then lunges with all the alacrity of a striking cobra, seizing with such force that, had his grip not been just so secure, he might have shoved him clear off the cliff and into the ocean below. Except it was up and then back, not forward, that the boy was pulled. Axel caught him, and held on.

"Silly," muttered the Eighth. "Just where the hell do you think I'm going?"

Roxas, pulled so suddenly into the arms of Axel, had very little mental production left going on. The only thing he could think was that he was confused, that his heart was skipping beats again, and that he'd never noticed how warm Axel was. His cheeks, much to his protest, turned a light red, and when the initial shock had started to move away, other thoughts began to trickle into his head.

How had Axel found him? Why was he so tired-looking and weak? How many portals had he used to get here, dammit?! He didn't look alright. He looked spent. And woried, too, even if he was trying his hardest not to show it. Since when had he gotten so good at figuring him out?

"... Straight to your death bed if you keep using your powers like this..." His voice was almost non-existent, as if he didn't know it was leaving his mouth.

"Me?" When the man chuckled, it was muffled by the boy's hair, the laughter as much heard as felt against Roxas' scalp. "Don't be stupid." Around Roxas -- no, for Roxas, he felt like he could do anything. Wade through the deepest dark and still that Light, his Light, would burn hard and bright like a star in the midnight sky. He had his limits, he knew; he'd beware of crossing them for Roxas' sake.

Say as much aloud? Again -- Don't be stupid. That's just not how Axel rolls.

Momentarily the man's embrace tightens, just a little, as if he didn't really want to do as he does next -- when he lets go, he drops his hands to the boy's shoulders. "We gotta stop meeting like this," he jokes, a playful mischievousness stressing words that contradict, in certain ways, the man's own actions. Those speak louder.

"Not gonna run, right?"

Those words were really more or less lost on him, only bringing out the slightest of smiles that let Axel know he was there mentally. He hadn't attempted to return the embrace-- this one had been much more intense than the one when Axel had shown up again. He hadn't returned that one, either.

Roxas looked to the side a bit, avoiding contact. "... After that, there's not much to run from, right?" He responded. He didn't really know what to say.

"... Why did you suddenly come after me like this?" The blond dared, not knowing yet of the slip-up that had given Axel the knowledge of Roxas' weakness when he'd left.

That things seemed a little one-sided had been such a constant factor in the ways they expressed their admittedly unique relationship (for Nobodies, anyway), it probably said something that Axel didn't exactly mind.

Put on the spot, Axel took it with a certain ... finesse. To admit what had brought him there would undoubtedly incriminate Sora, and Sora had... confessed that secret as a favor to him, to help Axel out. The least he could do was spare him a little trouble. Right?

"...You know, it occurred to me." He gestured, indicating the wide ocean, "Those three days -- your three months -- that I was gone? I couldn't take it. And that was just three days. I bet you're worried. Now that you've got a heart..."

"You're worried. That we're all gonna up and leave, and you'll be stuck here alone. Am I getting warm?"

Roxas brought his eyes back to him, unable to say much of anything. He looked at him, dumbstruck, thinking to himself 'how could he figure that out so quickly?' His lips pressed together, creating a thin line, and he looked down, fists clenching. Damn this heart of his, damn it to hell! It made lying so much harder for him.

"... You're getting there." Even if that wasn't the reason he'd been avoiding him these last few days. No, that was because of that stupid little kiss and the talk he'd had with Sora.

Ever since he'd told Sora not to tell him for him, he'd been unable to think straight when Axel was on his mind-- which was a lot of the time now. It bothered him so much to know that he was troubled over his best friend's mere presence. It felt like he was betraying him. He had liked it. He could almost say he wanted it, but he wasn't sure of that yet. That was why he'd been avoiding him, after all. He was... afraid to find out.

Axel was a pretty sharp guy -- but like Roxas, still new to this heart business. He adjusted better to his, somewhat, but still had a very distinctly Roxas-shaped blind spot. He didn't understand, couldn't understand until he spoke with Sora. "Getting close?" Gloved fingers twitched restlessly. He had another idea, possibly a very bad one.

He lost the momentary battle to resist testing limits. "Let's see."

Roxas had shied from him when he had reached for the boy last time. He seemed skittish, on alert. Hell, even... kind of shy. No small wonder. Axel tended to cross the line on a daily basis, was never really content unless he'd made some kind of impact, and the easiest way to THAT had always been with an invasion of boundaries.

He took the boy's face in his hands -- a brief respite from the cold wind with their heat -- and ...

...dragged the tip of his tongue up his cheek. He was checking for ...salt.

The response to this was automatic, a jolt backwards from the boy and a yelp as he stumbled, catching himself-- still a few feet from the cliffs-- before he fell backwards onto his rear like he had before. His eyes were wide now, his eyebrows knitted together in a look of... confusion?

"A-Axel, what are you doing?!" He shouted, cheeks hot, up to his ears. Man, things had been going somewhat well with how calm they'd been, and Axel had to go and... Ugh!

That wasn't to say Roxas minded so much when he did it. It was just that he wasn't expecting it, and that he was sort of afraid of not minding.

"Hold still," insisted Axel, abbreviated brows knitted in concentration. Why he was so serious about it was unknown; that he was already intently focused on trying it again by joining him on the ground -- and, even more unlikely of him, on his knees -- was probably outright disconcerting.
This, apparently, did not dissuade him from sinking black-gloved fingers again into blonde hair and giving the other cheek a slow brush of tongue.

Hold -still-, Roxas. This was important.

"Axel..!" He jerked his head away, grabbing the redhead's hands to keep him from snatching his face up again. He held them in between them, giving him a rather intense look of displeasure before he realized something.

He was holding his hands.

The blond suddenly freaked, dropping his hands and putting his own in the air as if he'd been holding a murder weapon and the police had caught him.

He might have looked a little comical, kneeling there with his own hands snatched in Roxas' smaller own, wearing such an intense expression of concentration... with the tip of his tongue stuck out.

When Roxas threw his own hands into the air in panic, Axel blinked at his own hands, flexed his fingers a little, and then shrugged.

He grabbed both by the wrists and leaned, intending on bringing Roxas' back to the ground. "I said," repeats Axel patiently, "Hold - still. Got it memorized? This'll only take a moment." He'll try again.

It's different this time.

In that he doesn't aim for his cheek at all, but the corner of Roxas' mouth. "Oops." Wait for it...

The ultimate irony: "Missed."

Roxas was brought down rather easily, cursing himself for leaving such an easy opening like that. How supid could he get?! The tounge touched the corner of his mouth-- he shivered.

"Ah-- Dammit, Axel!" He snarled, glaring up at him with an intent to kill. Though, there was something else in his eyes, a determination that seemed out of place for this situation. There was a hint of frustration, and just the tiniest bit of defeat.

"Stop torturing me! I can't stand it anymore, okay?! You win. So would you just... Ugh..." He wrenched one of his arms free and slid his hand up to touch the side of the redhead's neck. "Do it right or get off." The words were a bit forced-- but it was his pride breaking at admitting defeat that had restrained them.

He lifted his head off the ground just a bit, bringing them dangerously close...

Oh, not stupid at all, Roxas. Just a little distracted. Axel simply wouldn't be Axel if he didn't take advantage of every exploitable vulnerability. His eyes were laughing, even if he wasn't; it was a sort of mischief, darkly amused and tempered by his unusual brand of respect and regard. It wasn't easily granted, that -- now imagine as all his razor-sharp smiles and smug self-assurance is wiped away by a series of utterances that leave him staring, expression blank at Roxas.

Axel is silent for a good few seconds there. He might have been a little stunned.

Then he grinned, leaning in close enough to touch foreheads. They almost do.

"...You know, if I do it right, you're supposed to get off," suggested the Flurry of Dancing Flames lewdly. ...It occured to him, of course, that this was not what Roxas meant.

Or at least, he ... thinks that's not what Roxas meant. Even if hearing it did make him more than just a little hot under the collar.

He failed to appear appropriately repentant for it. However, the touch of Roxas' fingers on his neck did get a twitch that might have been a shiver; abbreviated brows furrow, and he wraps his own fingers around that hand, muttering, "You're cold." Cold to him, anyway -- it's normal for people's fingers to be a little cool when spending time in the wide, autumnal outdoors! At least Axel's grip made a good hand-warmer.

Roxas twitched a bit, but he shifted his fingers a bit despite the feeling of annoyance at his best friend, moving his fingers so that Axel's were lined between them. He closed his eyes, his other hand moving up and tangling into the other's hair.

"You're such a perverted pain in the ass... It's not my fault I'm cold. That's what happens when I sit by myself outside for a few hours." He pulled Axel's head down as he let his own hit the ground again, touching their foreheads together.

It was odd, he thought, how this felt. He was nervous, almost scared. But at the same time, he was happy. He couldn't decide whether this was right or not, but he didn't really care. For the whole week so far, he'd been avoiding Axel. That had bothered him.

That was changing now.

The fingers in his hair slid down to the other side of his neck, fingertips running along the skin gently. "... It's okay," His voice was nearly nonexistent. "For me to do this... right?"

It's all fun and games until someone goes and loses their heart, right? Axel had jokingly said that, once, when he was on the hunt, taking down yet another opponent of the Organization. Back then, he had turned to his friend and winked. Back then, it had meant his target was well on its way to becoming another Heartless for the Keyblade to destroy, another heart to release to Kingdom Hearts.

Right now it was an accurate description of how Axel was trying to explain to himself that he'd just been joking around, that Roxas had suddenly taken it seriously (the first sign had been twined fingers, oddly enough), that the 'joke' had backfired, and that was why he held his own breath. Just for a moment or two. He subsequently decided he, too, had had enough with messing around. Toss the bullshit aside, let's get straight to the point.

"...Who's the pervert?" chuckled Axel lowly, watching those closed eyes as he settled his weight on an elbow, planted just beside Roxas' head on the ground. "I dare say you like it." Let it not be said he won't favor a harmless petting; there are no complaints about the wander of fingertips over his neck, despite the fact that a man like him is very aware he could easily be injured had Roxas been... anyone less trustworthy.

He did, however, shudder in suppressed laughter -- that laughter is just barely audible in his otherwise nearly purred reply. "Man, what kind of question is that?, you could do anything, and it'd be just fine."

"I think the question is--" BITE YOUR TONGUE, AXEL. He shut up, suddenly.

"..."

"....."

Guh, it wasn't going to work. "Fuck it," swore Axel, taking the boy's face with a hand under his chin, thumb to one cheek, fingertips along the other. "I'm bad at holding back, anyway." So much for checking for evidence of tears, he was far, far more interested on claiming a kiss.

Roxas let the fingers at his neck slide up, slipping behind him and tangling in hair again as he sent a little shock through his own heart when he moved on his own to meet the redhead for their second, much more desired kiss. This time it was without the shock and blank mind. No, he was all too aware of the warmth exploding out over his body from their connected lips. It numbed his senses, his heart sending little bursts of a different kind of heat than usual, touching the very center of him.

'You could do anything and it'd be just fine.'

I guess that meant Sora had been right. Axel liked him, and now that he had confirmed it, it was so obvious to him that the redhead truly cared. 'I would've gladly gone to oblivion if it was for you', 'Fire's gotta have fuel, or it just doesn't burn. Heart's gotta have something to beat for. If not for yourself, then for someone else', 'What do I have to do to matter, huh?', 'Man, I just wanted you to miss me...'

... Damn, he was so stupid.

Roxas felt like an utter dumbass for not realizing it dead-on earlier, until after he'd been kissed and had had time to consider that little event. Even then, he hadn't fully thought of it as truth. It was merely suspicion. But not anymore. It was truth.

'I don't like sharing! I don't WANT to share!'

Well, now he wouldn't have to feel like he was. No one else would get this chance.

Had Axel not been so accustomed to taking risks, he'd have had second thoughts about this admittedly delicate situation he'd gotten himself into. Friendship. They've always had it. But even a strong connection such as that might be shattered by the wrong move. Roxas was daring to let him into that new heart of his, that same heart that was occasionally giving him so much trouble. He could easily break it, betray his trust. It would be easy, even if Axel was careful.

It wasn't that the Flurry of Dancing Flames didn't care about the risks. He just had a little of that all-important faith.

One way or another, things would work out. He had to at least try -- and there's no time like the present for anything.

That aside, it was also both distracting and very interesting, the way this kiss feels transformed when there's a little mutual participation. It would be a bald-faced and obvious lie had Axel pretended to be unaffected; even though he tried to deepen it, dared to explore with his tongue -- he couldn't help the quiet laugh that rose out of his throat, bade him grin against Roxas' mouth.

Axel had to break it off to bow his forehead against the boy's chest, still clutching one hand, and the other winding his arm under Roxas' back. He was laughing.

Not at him, no.

It was true.

Roxas' heart was still far from completely stable and set. He was easily hurt, jealous, upset. He couldn't help that. It was part of the price he was paying to be able to feel the things he wanted to: that little tickling sensation in his chest when he was happy, the prickling sensation Axel had brought forth a few times, the racing of his heart when he was like this. You know, here with Axel.

It was so beautiful, the web of despicable emotions that coursed through his veins and chained his heart to everything around him. It clung to ever tiny anchor it could, trying to give itself structure and foundation.

Damn these human emotions. Bless them to high heaven. With them, he could suffer endlessly. Without them, he couldn't truly enjoy something like this moment.

All it would take to destroy that web would be just a little flame. That was all it would take to make its silken threads shine, and to completely obliterate it. In front of that flame, there would be light and shadow. The good and bad about him. The glistening thread was so much more beautiful than the shadowed back to the blond, but he had to wonder... would Axel disagree?

Roxas blinked his eyes open, looked down at Axel now at his chest, and found himself blushing again. Something in him made him want to laugh, too, and he was smiling warmly and with more caring than he thought he had. "What... are you laughing at?"

Fickle things, these hearts. As previously touched upon -- Axel wouldn't give his up for anything.

Well. Unless Roxas needed it.

His laughter was weaker now, the sort of breathless, if a little giddy wheezing of someone who had nearly tired themselves out from laughing. Axel shook his head. "I dunno, I think I'm just--" What was it? He lifted his head a little, pretending to wipe a nonexistant tear of amusement from his eye, and winked at the boy. "Digging it, on fire, baby." It's... good. Yeah, that't it. He just feels... happy. Strange and uncomplicated thing, that. He can see the appeal.

He was... also still straddling him. And the ground was cold. He noted it with a small frown.

Good or bad, he liked Roxas. Sometimes they disagreed, sure. That's normal. What he didn't like was COLD GROUND. "Hmph. How can you -stand- it out here? I'm gonna freeze." Exaggeration, that. 'Hiding' from the cool air apparently involved nudging the tip of his nose against Roxas' neck. That he also happens to - all the while breathing a short laugh - nip there is purely coincidental. "Next time, let me pick the spot for an illicit rendez-vous, my tastes run a little hotter."

Surely you jest, Axel.

Roxas blinked once, twice. He was laughing... because just that little bit made him so happy? He stared at him in slight disbelief, more at the fact that he could make anyone that happy. evidence in the form of words and actions or no, this was still hard to comprehend.

"Maybe because I like temperatures below 100," He said sarcastically, though the hand not in Axel's was slipping to his shoulder now and his fingers were playing just a little. "You're so difficult some-- Ah--!!" His cheeks filled with red again, the nip taking him by surprise. Such weird feelings those touches gave him. Those ones he still didn't quite get.

"Axel--..." He started, stopping himself when he realized he didn't know what he was going to say. That he liked him? That he didn't mind if they went somewhere where Axel wasn't freezing...?

...

He settled for taking both of his hands away from the redhead and rearranging them, putting them around his neck and closing his eyes again. "... Sorry." For letting you get cold, for making you so worried, for avoiding you and hurting you. "... For being so tough to deal with."

Liking temperatures below 100? "Them's fightin' words," Axel chuckled. He didn't mean it, but it amused him in any case. The Flurry of Dancing Flames knew what real cold felt like. He was once a newbie in the Organization, too -- Vexen was a little curious whether the then-new Nobody might be able to effectively counteract his own icy powers. An experiment. ...It also meant he spent roughly 20 minutes stuck in a block of ice before the Superior started lecturing.

That was around when Axel first discovered that he really, really did not like the Chilly Academic.

For as much as a Nobody could truly dislike anything, that is.

He can feel Roxas' blush simply by how his skin warms noticeably. For that reason he's feeling a little extra smug when Roxas says his name. He's sobered more by the time he says it all. Axel shuts his eyes. "Hm." sounds more like a soft snort of laughter. He bumps the side of his head against Roxas', gently. "Silly."

"Not really that tough to deal with." At that, Axel began to get up, except he pulled Roxas upright with him, not so much ruffling his hair as... petting it, briefly. "Part of your charm, Roxas. You always keep me comin' back for more." And then his smile does falter, "How about we blow this place, find somewhere a little less..." He shivers with a miserable expression. "Exposed to the elements. I could use a drink."

The blond blinked a couple of times, getting himself up to his knees at least. He sat in front of Axel, then stood, looking around. There was no one here. "... What do you want? Something warm, I'm assuming?" He said, the blush lingering on his cheeks. That feeling-- he couldn't shake it. It was forcing its way through his veins, flowing through his entire being, hitting the center of his bones. It tickled him all over, made him feel hot. He felt the bottom of his chest lifting, stealing breath away. It was so weird, he couldn't explain it.

He kind of liked it.

"We can go wherever-- I don't care," He admitted, almost dangerously.

Don't look at him like that, you know how difficult you make it to behave?!

The side of one gloved thumb is bitten while Axel looks off to the side, doing a mental countdown from ten to one, in the hopes that the slightly uncomfortable pressure of his teeth gripping the pad of his thumb and a few moments not spent looking at Roxas might spare him the necessity of a long shower.

Possibly cold. He loathed those. Barking a laugh in spite of himself, Axel turns to Roxas, offering him a hand up. "Let's head back. On foot." The walk will help him clear his own head, for one. And spare his heart the discomfort of a portal.