log; complete
Who: Axel & Roxas.
What: Arguing. Then making out up.
When: The first night of Roxas' loss.
Where: Room 319.
Rating: PG-13ish?
It had been a trying day, but he supposed it couldn't get any worse. ...Roxas wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He still couldn't believe Axel had asked that question. He could tell from his face that he'd just been joking, which just made his own honest answer all the more humiliating. How was he supposed to face his best friend now? No wait... Former best friend, Roxas decided with a scowl as he headed out of Naminé's room and down the hall.
At least she'd been nice enough to not try and ask him embarrassing questions. Just where did Axel get off mocking him like that? Tch. He was really going to make him pay. ...Somehow.
Damnit he was so embarrassed he didn't even want to head back into the room...but he didn't want to be labeled as a total wuss for hiding away forever either. If he was lucky, Axel would be asleep. As he took a deep breath and opened the door to peek in, he was relieved to find the redhead on the bed with his eyes shut. Good. He had a few extra minutes to figure out what he was supposed to do.
Quietly, he kicked off his sneakers and began to pull his shirt over his head, only to pause and stare over at the bed. Was Axel actually asleep? There was a twitch of annoyance in his eyes as he stepped closer and leaned over. ...The bastard was totally awake. Roxas had known him long enough to tell. Was Axel now trying to avoid him? What gave him the right?
The mattress creaked under him as he rested his knee on it, and then swung a leg around so that he was straddling the taller Nobody. The spot he'd punched earlier was a little bruised... That left him feeling satisfied. But not satisfied enough. With a dark look on his face, Roxas snatched up the extra pillow, and then shoved it down onto Axel's face. He wouldn't seriously try to kill him, but he'd be happy denying him that air for a short while.
Axel had turned out the lights and gone to bed quite some time before Roxas come home. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep; for once, he was actually worried that his joke had gone too far and that Roxas wasn't going to come home. At least not that night. Heaving a sigh, he turned over and buried his face into the pillow. If Roxas wasn't there, he'd probably have a restless night of sleeping anyway. Staying awake was the only solution; he wouldn't get the sleep anyway, and he wanted to see if Roxas would come home and if he was okay.
He'd just pretend to be asleep and Roxas could get in bed and they'd forget the situation ever happened. Perfect.
When the door opened, he immediately felt relieved but kept his eyes shut, lying there as naturally as possible and hoping that Roxas bought the faking. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly and waited for the familiar weight beside him which eventually came. What didn't, was Roxas lying down.
No, he was taking way too long.
And then he was straddled. Oh god. Roxas did know he'd been joking, right? He had to!
At the last second, Axel opened his eyes just in time to see the pillow make contact with his face. He took a deep breath just in time, holding it in. If he could, he'd try not to struggle. Too much, at least.
Roxas frowned when Axel didn't try to struggle or throw him off or anything. He left the pillow there for a solid minute before he finally yanked it off, only to bring it down once more for a good smack to his face. He didn't know Axel could hold his breath for that long. He would have been impressed if he wasn't so busy being pissed off. His glower was nothing to brush off as he let the pillow fall back to the mattress again.
"You don't even make revenge enjoyable. Could you be a bigger ass right now?"
It took Axel a minute to regain his bearings again; he had started to get dizzy from holding his breath so long. He hadn't thought that the pillow would be there that long. Regardless, he rubbed his face a little, refraining from touching the side of the face the Roxas had decided to injure. Another sigh, and Axel rolled his eyes. "I'm not being an ass. I was staying awake to make sure you got home okay. So sue me for worrying about you!"
He shoved Roxas off from atop him and sat up before leaning over the blond and, in turn, pinning him to the bed. "And really, Roxas, if you were curious about something, you could have asked instead of waiting for some dumb loss." Axel stopped for a second, his throat closing up a little. He hated the part that was coming. "I'm.... y'know. Sorry. For upsetting you." God he hated apologizing. "I wasn't trying to. It was a joke, I didn't think you'd actually have to answer something when I was kidding. That was my bad." He tilted his head to the side and frowned a bit. "Don't hate me, okay? I was trying to lighten the mood, not make it worse."
He let out a soft oof as he was shoved off, then found them switching positions before he knew what was going on. With a soft sound akin to a growl, he reached up to knock his knee against Axel's ribs, though pointedly not enough to bruise. Still, he hoped it hurt a little. "You think something like this can tell when it's a joke or not?! And seriously, what kind of joke is that? I hate it when you make those jokes at my expense! I'm not here for you to make fun of, jackass!"
He was glad it was dark, because his face was still red from embarrassment. He'd been embarrassed all damn day, even the movie he'd watched earlier not being much of a distraction. "I don't hate you. But I'm really pissed off! You're not stupid, so why do you act stupid?"
Axel shrugged. "I think that you can tell if it's a joke or not, so it should effect the loss, y'know? Sorry for giving you and the castle too much credit." The knee to his ribs had hurt, but not enough to make him move. He couldn't be bothered. "And... damnit, stop being stupid. I know you're not here for my entertainment or for me to make fun of! I just told you I was trying to lighten the mood. I forget your humor isn't the same as mine so it just... leads to me fucking up a lot. I don't do it on purpose, it's just how I am."
Another deep breath and Axel was lessening his grip on Roxas' shoulders. "I wasn't trying to piss you off, either. And I act stupid 'cause then most people don't expect me to be smart when I am. So they underestimate me~ I guess I just let it carry over around you too often." He moved one hand back to run a hand through his hair for a second, another sigh. "I can't fix something I'm doing wrong if you never tell me that it bothers you so much."
Roxas had been breathing so hard he'd nearly hyperventilated, simply fro the adrenaline rush, though his breathing softened when Axel's grip did. As soon as it did, he gave him another kick, this time just hard enough to get him the hell off so that Roxas could abruptly sit up and scoot back. "I wasn't...sure it was a joke. It's hard to tell sometimes with you." Curling up in a rather defensive position, the blond glared.
"I've told you to cut it out before! I call you names! That isn't enough? I don't like those jokes! That's not something you..." Flustered, he hugged his knees. "That's not something you joke about. And don't act stupid around me. It's insulting. I know that you're a jackass, but one thing you're definitely not is dumb. That's one of the things I like about you."
It took Axel a second to recover. Did Roxas really just say he liked something about him? Damn. That was a first, actually. Generally it was "not-hate". Or some weird double-negative sentence that Axel barely took the time to understand because it was too much thinking instead of just getting to the point. He'd rather do that in any situation but sometimes Roxas made it hard.
"Hey," He leaned forward, closer to Roxas and hesitated a little before looping an arm around his shoulders in a half-hug. He didn't care if Roxas wanted to shove him off, but Axel wasn't about to go and say sorry again. Hell no. "Alright. No more jokes like that. And I'll stop acting like a moron." He turned his head a bit to look at Roxas and rolled his eyes. "Man, if I knew this relationship would be so complicated I'd have told the castle to keep this heart~" He paused. "And I'm joking. For the record. Okay?"
Roxas had been just about to shove Axel off the bed if he hadn't mentioned he was joking, so he stopped just as he'd been lowering his legs and getting ready to push. After an awkward moment, he dropped his hands back down to his lap, glancing off to the side. At least he wasn't knocking Axel's arm away. He'd hate to admit it, but he really liked being touched by him. It was the only reason he'd bothered returning so soon... Sleeping without Axel next to him was too hard.
"Whatever..." was his brilliant reply as he nervously fidgeted. It was the closest he could come to accepting Axel's apology
Axel moved and sat down beside him on the bed, arm moving down to rest loose around his waist. Roxas was the only person he felt comfortable touching anymore. Everyone else? Couldn't pay him enough to get him to go around hugging who the hell ever. Ino might be the only other exception, and only while upset. He was a little more limited when it came to giving enough of a damn.
The single statement left Axel feeling a little more satisfied. If only because he actually understood Roxas to some degree. At least better than anyone else did. He could, for the most part, decipher and translate Roxas-speak into something remotely normal.
After a second, he turned to look at him and tilted his head. "Don't kick my ass, okay? I figure this is the only chance I'll get to have you be honest about it anyway. If you had been... y'know. Wondering or whatever. Why didn't you just... I don't know. Say something?" He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you don't really talk about crap, that's more like me. Why didn't you hint at it or... I don't know. Take the initiative. Unless you're not actually curious, in which case this is all pretty much me looking like a moron." What else is new?
Oh God or whatever deity was the most popular for people to worship these days...why couldn't Axel have just let it drop? At least the Nobody had been smart enough to ask not to get his ass kicked, but that didn't mean Roxas would comply. ...At least for now he was too busy curling up and hiding his face against his knees again, but as soon as he recovered, it was definitely ass kicking time!
"You jerk!" Not really a good defense, but there it was. Still, Axel had asked a question, and he couldn't lie.... Damnit. "I already took the initiative in kissing you! Do I have to do everything around here?! You're the one with freaking experience in this. I don't even know what I'm doing, and you just act like I should know what to do!" Stiffening up, he lifted his head to glare up at the redhead. "Request denied! I'm kicking your ass! Any last words?"
Axel had to think and think quick because really, if he had any chance in not getting any more bruises that night (or worse, ending up in the clinic), he really needed a better idea than to keep talking. It just got him in more trouble but wait, hadn't he asked him to not kick his ass? Damn. Roxas was a jerk off when he wanted to be, wasn't he? He had a point, though. Axel couldn't argue that.
But Axel had to admit, when he was slightly embarrassed and completely pissed off, he looked rather... well. Axel grinned. Idea!
"Just so you know? You look pretty damn good when you're angry." Grabbing one of Roxas' shoulders, Axel pulled him a little closer and kissed him. He might not have had any real last words, but he certainly did want something before Roxas decided to kill him.
Roxas' jaw went a bit slack in surprise at that remark, and before he could try to stutter out a retort, he suddenly found his mouth effectively occupied. That bastard! He knew Axel was just trying to distract him, and he was disgusted to find it was working. But he could hardly help himself. All that pent-up rage and frustration and other such hormonal crap needed to be released somehow, and he hardly got in enough fights around here to make it worthwhile.
But recalling that reminded him just of what he'd threatened moments ago, and he snapped his eyes open before they could fully close, pressing his hand against Axel's chest to shove him away as hard as he could--right up against the headboard. "Those were awful last words!" Roxas snapped out, trying to go over ways to properly punish his friend. He could just throw him out the window. He probably wouldn't die, but might suffer a couple broken limbs. Maybe that was too severe.
Still, one of the other reasons he liked Axel was that he could take almost anything Roxas doled out. Sure the older Nobody had lost battles with him, but he'd always put up a good fight, and he recovered quickly. While he liked how polite Naminé was, and even though sometimes wished Axel could be that way, he knew deep down he preferred his friend like this. He didn't have to be careful around him, because Axel could fight back if he needed to.
...No that it mattered. Roxas would win. He was obsessed with winning, after all. "Got anything better? How about 'I'm Roxas' bitch, and I am ever so sorry I crossed him by asking dumb questions.' Sound good?" Despite his threat, he was grinning a little and doing his best to hide it.
Axel wouldn't deny it; he was actually fairly disappointed when Roxas pushed him away but smirked a little when he got shoved up against the headboard. He couldn't help but look rather satisfied with himself. "They weren't awful. Got you to shut up for a second, didn't they?" He leaned back away from Roxas, stretching and leaning into the headboard rather leisurely. As if he hadn't just been shoved up against it by his best friend.
New last words? He couldn't think of any. Axel could be creative and all, but not right then.
His attention was rather occupied elsewhere while Roxas was talking and missed some of what the other Nobody had said when he gave his suggestion. Instead, his smirk returned and he shrugged a little. "Don't like those ones very much." He hummed a second, as though he were deep in thought. "Roxas is my bitch and he'd be stupid to not let me kiss him again because he knows he liked it. Plus, he'll be sorry later if he doesn't." He grinned. "Unless you find killing your best friend more appealing than kissing. In which case we should probably get your brain checked."
Roxas narrowed his eyes, jaw clenching as he glared at the other for the zillionth time that night. "You realize saying that makes me want to not kiss you even more, just to prove you don't own me. I'm not your bitch." And then he rolled his eyes, dropping his hands down to rest on Axel's knees so that he could leisurely lean in a bit, just enough to let him properly see his little smirk.
"Besides, how many times have you threatened that I'll 'be sorry' or 'regret it' later? You almost never back up your threats. They're weak. What are you going to do? Let me kick your ass again?"
"For the record," Axel pointed out, rolling his eyes, "I'm well aware that I don't own you."
Oh, he had revenge planned. There had just never been an appropriate time for it. Although certainly that particular moment was bordering on almost appropriate for what had been going on that day. It was something Tyki had done on more than one occasion that Axel had it memorized by then. It was momentarily forgotten when Axel finally realized how close Roxas was to him.
Leaning over and closing the distance between them -- but not making any contact -- Axel grinned. "They're not weak. I just can't find the time to properly torture you without knowing we'll be interrupted." His grin turned into a rather malicious smirk. "You're not going to kick my ass. Because this time you really are going to regret it."
Roxas was beyond curious now. He couldn't help it... Any time Axel was plotting something, he was interested. "I'm not going to kick your ass," he muttered, not moving away, but not moving any closer. His brow was crinkled a little due to his curiosity, head tipping to the side just a touch. He was clearly debating on what to do, finally just whispering with another smirk.
"I'll kiss you if you tell me how you would make me regret not kissing you."
Well now, who could refuse an offer like that. Although Axel was half tempted to, just to be difficult. He grinned and shifted a little closer but not initiating anything, instead he sat there for a moment and glanced away as though he was seriously considering it. After a moment, his gaze finally slid back to Roxas, grin still present.
"How about I'll show you how I was going to make you regret it," his smirk was back and almost rivaled Roxas' current one, "and doing so won't hurt you any."
Clearly puzzled by that statement, Roxas drew away a bit, though not consciously. He had temporarily forgotten about the promised kiss simply because Axel's absurd claim had confounded him. "Huh?" Why would Axel show him now what was apparently supposed to be something that would make him sorry? And how could it make him sorry if it didn't hurt him at all?
Sometimes he really wondered about the mental health of his former partner. Maybe it was from all that playing with fire. He'd inhaled a little too much smoke or something and now some portion of his brain was a little retarded. In that case, would a good beating make him all better, or just make him worse?
This was another one of those many moments were Roxas had gotten completely lost in his thoughts.
"Don't ask, just agree and get it over with. Would have made good revenge, but I can't tell you without showing you since it's kind of the same thing."
Axel leaned back against the headboard again, folding his hands behind his head for a makeshift pillow. Roxas sure was clueless, but then again, Axel didn't often give him enough information to work with in the first place, did he? Oh well. Maybe one day Roxas would clue into Axel and how vague he was about almost everything.
"You think too much."
Roxas was snapped out of his daze by the remark, and he frowned a bit, as if insulted. "There's no such thing as thinking too much. I think just the right amount." Irritated, but letting his curiosity getting the best of him, the blond leaned in again to gently brush his lips against Axel's. The more he did it, the less embarrassing it was. "I'll agree. But only if you understand that if I don't like this so-called 'revenge' of yours, which if I do doesn't make it much of a revenge, you're gonna be in a world of pain."
Already he was trying to figure out what the revenge could be, though. Most types required taking Roxas by surprise, like putting hair dye in his shampoo or sticking his hand in a bucket of warm water while he was asleep. How could Axel possibly do anything that didn't equate to beating him when the teen was sitting right there expecting something?
And he was definitely tense, just in case he needed to defend himself.
"Sure you do." Stopped from any further smartass remarks with the brief kiss, Axel grinned. "Fine, fine. I agree to that. Just don't hit my face anymore, got it? One bruise is enough for my face." He reached up and touched it gingerly; he probably should have put ice on it or something but it hardly mattered after so much time had passed.
Moving his hands from behind his head to his lap, Axel simply sat there for a second, watching the other Nobody. Axel definitely could have found something else to say but for one of the first times in his life he was choosing to not give a sarcastic mark or say something that would just completely piss Roxas off. No, he just sat there and grinned; a self-satisfied, lazy looking smile. Even if Roxas did like the revenge, it would still end the same way and Roxas would still know why Axel had said revenge.
It all worked out in the end for him, really.
Roxas rolled his eyes but offered a little nod of compliance. Man Axel really could be such a vain woman sometimes, but Roxas also knew when it was probably best to keep his mouth shut, so he just kept that little thought to himself. Then he noticed...Axel wasn't actually doing anything. He was just sitting there and looking at him like he was dinner.
A moment passed, and the blond finally muttered out dryly, "Okay if this is your revenge, I'm hitting you in the face. Lots and lots of times."
It wasn't that Axel had been waiting to start his revenge. He was more debating on how to go about having one last shot at Roxas before doing anything. Because really, he had to say something about that half-assed kiss that Roxas had given him as part of the deal. Really? That was all he had been given? It was kind of lame, in his opinion. It had to be rectified before Axel did anything about the deal.
Axel smirked. "Oh, sorry." He leaned forward and mimicked Roxas' earlier kiss that had merely lasted a second. "I hadn't realized that your version of kissing was so girly." Bait.
Roxas' eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as he gave one of his shoulders a little shove. "Bastard!" Yeah, being called girly was enough to get his temper fired up, not to mention having any action of his called into question. Like he was an expert on which kisses were acceptable and which weren't!
Pushing Axel back against the headboard again, practically mashing their mouths together in a clumsy and angry kiss. He hoped he bruised the bastard, honestly, after a smartass comment like that. There was nothing gentle about it, and nothing sweet about it, because when he got right down to it...Roxas hated sweet things.
Well that was definitely an improvement. Axel pulled Roxas a little closer and pressed himself back against the headboard. That was the kind of kiss he was used to. Nothing light or cute or sweet. Just raw emotion into one simple action. Pushing back against Roxas, trying to gain dominance in the kiss, he nipped lightly at the blond's lower lip in retaliation for the bruise he'd have later from the kiss. It was inconvenient not having a shirt of Roxas' to grab onto, so Axel had to settle for his shoulder.
Pulling away, barely enough distance to be considered 'apart', he glanced up to Roxas and smirked. "That's more like it."
Roxas was pretty reluctant to let the kiss stop, though he tried to quickly hide that when Axel pulled away. It was easy enough to stop looking disappointed and quickly look angry again when the man just had to mouth off. Curling his hand into a fist, he glowered for a moment before grunting and punching the headboard just next to Axel's head. Ow. That hurt. But he'd needed to hit something right then and Axel made him promise not to hit his face.
"Jackass," he growled, not pleased at all at having fallen for bait.
"Mm, on occasion, I guess I am~" He grinned momentarily but glanced at the hand that Roxas had used to punch the headboard. Grabbing it, he took his free hand and opened the fingers to lay his hand flat, palm facing down. Watching Roxas' face, he allowed his hand to move, fingertips against fingertips before sliding down slowly to his palm, over it and grazing his wrist. Simply experimenting with touching him outside of a hug or a kiss. Axel needed to be sure that something outside of the normal wouldn't cause Roxas to freak out.
After a second, he slowly let his hands drop again. "Hey. You trust me, right?" He needed to make sure Roxas really did before he could do what he'd planned on. "And I'm not just asking that to be stupid. I really need to know that you do."
Roxas stared, slightly mesmerized at just what his friend was doing to his hand. It seemed like such a simple thing, but was so disturbingly intimate he didn't really know what to say. When he touched his palm, though, it tickled enough for him to squirm a little, and as soon as his hand was released he moved it to rub against his jeans a little. What the hell had that been about?
Before he could ask, Axel was already asking something else, and the weirdness just continued. Roxas was actually beginning to get alarmed by the weirdness. Was confusing him part of the revenge. "...Yeah. I trust you." He grinned, then. "You're the only one I trust."
Without saying anything else, Axel pushed one of Roxas' shoulders lightly, shoving him back against the bed and leaning over him, a knee on each side of Roxas' hips. It was a little weird; he'd gone to bed with his clothes on and Roxas was shirtless. He debated on removing his own shirt but decided against it. Too much work for that moment in time. Instead, he leaned down, eyes focused on Roxas' shoulder and neck.
He reached up, hand resting flat against the blond's chest, just below his shoulder. Despite not being able to summon his fire, he could still get the heat in his hands up beyond a normal body temperature. Axel focused so that his finger tips warmed up and he moved his hand up, fingers barely grazing the skin of his shoulder and moving up to his neck, tracing the vein and stopping over one of them to feel the pulse of his heartbeat.
Being flat on his back with Axel on top made him nervous, there was no doubt, but he had just told Axel that he trusted him, and he meant it. But trust or not, the unknown left him wary, and his muscles were tense as he watched Axel's hand hover a bit before touching his skin. Roxas didn't expect his fingertips to be so hot, and it made him stiffen a little in surprise. What the hell was he doing?
Having the heat so focused, once he adjusted, was somewhat soothing after a moment, and he relaxed enough to enjoy it. He bet Axel could give killer shoulder massages with that little trick of his, but he'd save that smart remark for later. For now he just hoped it wasn't painfully obvious how quickly his heart was beating, be it from nerves, excitement, or embarrassment. He pointedly could not take his eyes off Axel's hand, though. ...Well, until it moved to his neck. The light pressure there made him swallow dryly.
Axel was almost relieved at how compliant Roxas was being. Definitely wasn't going to complain, though. It just made what he was doing a few times easier.
The pace of his heart was a little obvious considering where Axel's hand had stopped on his neck and he couldn't help as his lips quirked up at the ends for a brief moment before falling back into a rather blank gaze. The only things left showing any sort of emotion were his eyes and if anything, it seemed like he was content for the time being. His hand moved again, fingers barely touching Roxas' skin as they moved from his neck to his shoulder, hovering over the skin before moving down his arm, pressing into the muscle there as he slid down along it.
Stopping at the elbow, he glanced at Roxas' face before leaning up and pressing his lips to the corner of the blond's mouth before letting his fingers continue down. Drifting over the inside of his forearm, they brushed over his wrist again, continuing down to his hand. He pressed their palms together, lining up their fingers. For their height difference, there wasn't much of a size difference in their hands.
The heated pressure drew mixed reactions out of him. He almost was ready to just about fall asleep because of how disturbingly...soothing and gentle it all was. But mostly it confused and intrigued him, as he was wondering just what Axel's ultimate goal was. The light kiss to the corner of his mouth made his own lips twitch a bit, almost into a smile but not quite. Now who was kissing like a girl?
When he felt the warm touch cover his hand, Roxas let his eyes flutter shut, unable to hold back the lethargic feeling for long. Even though it was the middle of the night, it felt like a hot summer day. Only...more electric and focused. Roxas had never been touched like this, and simply didn't know what to make of it.
Watching as Roxas' eyes closed for a moment, Axel grinned. Although making him relaxed enough to fall asleep hadn't been part of his plan, it was definitely good to know he could help Roxas mellow out a little by using a little parlor trick. He needed to chill out more often and at least Axel knew he could make that happen if given a minute or two.
Despite that, he wasn't exactly going to stop.
Axel moved his hand back up along Roxas' arm and stopped, briefly, at his shoulder before moving down. He traced the outline of one side of the blond's collarbone before letting heated fingers press down over his chest, feeling over his ribcage. Letting them drift off to the side and simply run over the skin lightly, he could still feel rib outlines as his hand moved. A little lower and the warmth was against his hip, thumb stroking over the bone for a second before his fingers glided back up along his side, stopping at the middle of his side and resting there for a second.
Whether he was simply figuring out Roxas' body or memorizing him in a way that was more intimate than usual, Axel soon forgot his plan of revenge.
What: Arguing. Then making out up.
When: The first night of Roxas' loss.
Where: Room 319.
Rating: PG-13ish?
It had been a trying day, but he supposed it couldn't get any worse. ...Roxas wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He still couldn't believe Axel had asked that question. He could tell from his face that he'd just been joking, which just made his own honest answer all the more humiliating. How was he supposed to face his best friend now? No wait... Former best friend, Roxas decided with a scowl as he headed out of Naminé's room and down the hall.
At least she'd been nice enough to not try and ask him embarrassing questions. Just where did Axel get off mocking him like that? Tch. He was really going to make him pay. ...Somehow.
Damnit he was so embarrassed he didn't even want to head back into the room...but he didn't want to be labeled as a total wuss for hiding away forever either. If he was lucky, Axel would be asleep. As he took a deep breath and opened the door to peek in, he was relieved to find the redhead on the bed with his eyes shut. Good. He had a few extra minutes to figure out what he was supposed to do.
Quietly, he kicked off his sneakers and began to pull his shirt over his head, only to pause and stare over at the bed. Was Axel actually asleep? There was a twitch of annoyance in his eyes as he stepped closer and leaned over. ...The bastard was totally awake. Roxas had known him long enough to tell. Was Axel now trying to avoid him? What gave him the right?
The mattress creaked under him as he rested his knee on it, and then swung a leg around so that he was straddling the taller Nobody. The spot he'd punched earlier was a little bruised... That left him feeling satisfied. But not satisfied enough. With a dark look on his face, Roxas snatched up the extra pillow, and then shoved it down onto Axel's face. He wouldn't seriously try to kill him, but he'd be happy denying him that air for a short while.
Axel had turned out the lights and gone to bed quite some time before Roxas come home. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep; for once, he was actually worried that his joke had gone too far and that Roxas wasn't going to come home. At least not that night. Heaving a sigh, he turned over and buried his face into the pillow. If Roxas wasn't there, he'd probably have a restless night of sleeping anyway. Staying awake was the only solution; he wouldn't get the sleep anyway, and he wanted to see if Roxas would come home and if he was okay.
He'd just pretend to be asleep and Roxas could get in bed and they'd forget the situation ever happened. Perfect.
When the door opened, he immediately felt relieved but kept his eyes shut, lying there as naturally as possible and hoping that Roxas bought the faking. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly and waited for the familiar weight beside him which eventually came. What didn't, was Roxas lying down.
No, he was taking way too long.
And then he was straddled. Oh god. Roxas did know he'd been joking, right? He had to!
At the last second, Axel opened his eyes just in time to see the pillow make contact with his face. He took a deep breath just in time, holding it in. If he could, he'd try not to struggle. Too much, at least.
Roxas frowned when Axel didn't try to struggle or throw him off or anything. He left the pillow there for a solid minute before he finally yanked it off, only to bring it down once more for a good smack to his face. He didn't know Axel could hold his breath for that long. He would have been impressed if he wasn't so busy being pissed off. His glower was nothing to brush off as he let the pillow fall back to the mattress again.
"You don't even make revenge enjoyable. Could you be a bigger ass right now?"
It took Axel a minute to regain his bearings again; he had started to get dizzy from holding his breath so long. He hadn't thought that the pillow would be there that long. Regardless, he rubbed his face a little, refraining from touching the side of the face the Roxas had decided to injure. Another sigh, and Axel rolled his eyes. "I'm not being an ass. I was staying awake to make sure you got home okay. So sue me for worrying about you!"
He shoved Roxas off from atop him and sat up before leaning over the blond and, in turn, pinning him to the bed. "And really, Roxas, if you were curious about something, you could have asked instead of waiting for some dumb loss." Axel stopped for a second, his throat closing up a little. He hated the part that was coming. "I'm.... y'know. Sorry. For upsetting you." God he hated apologizing. "I wasn't trying to. It was a joke, I didn't think you'd actually have to answer something when I was kidding. That was my bad." He tilted his head to the side and frowned a bit. "Don't hate me, okay? I was trying to lighten the mood, not make it worse."
He let out a soft oof as he was shoved off, then found them switching positions before he knew what was going on. With a soft sound akin to a growl, he reached up to knock his knee against Axel's ribs, though pointedly not enough to bruise. Still, he hoped it hurt a little. "You think something like this can tell when it's a joke or not?! And seriously, what kind of joke is that? I hate it when you make those jokes at my expense! I'm not here for you to make fun of, jackass!"
He was glad it was dark, because his face was still red from embarrassment. He'd been embarrassed all damn day, even the movie he'd watched earlier not being much of a distraction. "I don't hate you. But I'm really pissed off! You're not stupid, so why do you act stupid?"
Axel shrugged. "I think that you can tell if it's a joke or not, so it should effect the loss, y'know? Sorry for giving you and the castle too much credit." The knee to his ribs had hurt, but not enough to make him move. He couldn't be bothered. "And... damnit, stop being stupid. I know you're not here for my entertainment or for me to make fun of! I just told you I was trying to lighten the mood. I forget your humor isn't the same as mine so it just... leads to me fucking up a lot. I don't do it on purpose, it's just how I am."
Another deep breath and Axel was lessening his grip on Roxas' shoulders. "I wasn't trying to piss you off, either. And I act stupid 'cause then most people don't expect me to be smart when I am. So they underestimate me~ I guess I just let it carry over around you too often." He moved one hand back to run a hand through his hair for a second, another sigh. "I can't fix something I'm doing wrong if you never tell me that it bothers you so much."
Roxas had been breathing so hard he'd nearly hyperventilated, simply fro the adrenaline rush, though his breathing softened when Axel's grip did. As soon as it did, he gave him another kick, this time just hard enough to get him the hell off so that Roxas could abruptly sit up and scoot back. "I wasn't...sure it was a joke. It's hard to tell sometimes with you." Curling up in a rather defensive position, the blond glared.
"I've told you to cut it out before! I call you names! That isn't enough? I don't like those jokes! That's not something you..." Flustered, he hugged his knees. "That's not something you joke about. And don't act stupid around me. It's insulting. I know that you're a jackass, but one thing you're definitely not is dumb. That's one of the things I like about you."
It took Axel a second to recover. Did Roxas really just say he liked something about him? Damn. That was a first, actually. Generally it was "not-hate". Or some weird double-negative sentence that Axel barely took the time to understand because it was too much thinking instead of just getting to the point. He'd rather do that in any situation but sometimes Roxas made it hard.
"Hey," He leaned forward, closer to Roxas and hesitated a little before looping an arm around his shoulders in a half-hug. He didn't care if Roxas wanted to shove him off, but Axel wasn't about to go and say sorry again. Hell no. "Alright. No more jokes like that. And I'll stop acting like a moron." He turned his head a bit to look at Roxas and rolled his eyes. "Man, if I knew this relationship would be so complicated I'd have told the castle to keep this heart~" He paused. "And I'm joking. For the record. Okay?"
Roxas had been just about to shove Axel off the bed if he hadn't mentioned he was joking, so he stopped just as he'd been lowering his legs and getting ready to push. After an awkward moment, he dropped his hands back down to his lap, glancing off to the side. At least he wasn't knocking Axel's arm away. He'd hate to admit it, but he really liked being touched by him. It was the only reason he'd bothered returning so soon... Sleeping without Axel next to him was too hard.
"Whatever..." was his brilliant reply as he nervously fidgeted. It was the closest he could come to accepting Axel's apology
Axel moved and sat down beside him on the bed, arm moving down to rest loose around his waist. Roxas was the only person he felt comfortable touching anymore. Everyone else? Couldn't pay him enough to get him to go around hugging who the hell ever. Ino might be the only other exception, and only while upset. He was a little more limited when it came to giving enough of a damn.
The single statement left Axel feeling a little more satisfied. If only because he actually understood Roxas to some degree. At least better than anyone else did. He could, for the most part, decipher and translate Roxas-speak into something remotely normal.
After a second, he turned to look at him and tilted his head. "Don't kick my ass, okay? I figure this is the only chance I'll get to have you be honest about it anyway. If you had been... y'know. Wondering or whatever. Why didn't you just... I don't know. Say something?" He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you don't really talk about crap, that's more like me. Why didn't you hint at it or... I don't know. Take the initiative. Unless you're not actually curious, in which case this is all pretty much me looking like a moron." What else is new?
Oh God or whatever deity was the most popular for people to worship these days...why couldn't Axel have just let it drop? At least the Nobody had been smart enough to ask not to get his ass kicked, but that didn't mean Roxas would comply. ...At least for now he was too busy curling up and hiding his face against his knees again, but as soon as he recovered, it was definitely ass kicking time!
"You jerk!" Not really a good defense, but there it was. Still, Axel had asked a question, and he couldn't lie.... Damnit. "I already took the initiative in kissing you! Do I have to do everything around here?! You're the one with freaking experience in this. I don't even know what I'm doing, and you just act like I should know what to do!" Stiffening up, he lifted his head to glare up at the redhead. "Request denied! I'm kicking your ass! Any last words?"
Axel had to think and think quick because really, if he had any chance in not getting any more bruises that night (or worse, ending up in the clinic), he really needed a better idea than to keep talking. It just got him in more trouble but wait, hadn't he asked him to not kick his ass? Damn. Roxas was a jerk off when he wanted to be, wasn't he? He had a point, though. Axel couldn't argue that.
But Axel had to admit, when he was slightly embarrassed and completely pissed off, he looked rather... well. Axel grinned. Idea!
"Just so you know? You look pretty damn good when you're angry." Grabbing one of Roxas' shoulders, Axel pulled him a little closer and kissed him. He might not have had any real last words, but he certainly did want something before Roxas decided to kill him.
Roxas' jaw went a bit slack in surprise at that remark, and before he could try to stutter out a retort, he suddenly found his mouth effectively occupied. That bastard! He knew Axel was just trying to distract him, and he was disgusted to find it was working. But he could hardly help himself. All that pent-up rage and frustration and other such hormonal crap needed to be released somehow, and he hardly got in enough fights around here to make it worthwhile.
But recalling that reminded him just of what he'd threatened moments ago, and he snapped his eyes open before they could fully close, pressing his hand against Axel's chest to shove him away as hard as he could--right up against the headboard. "Those were awful last words!" Roxas snapped out, trying to go over ways to properly punish his friend. He could just throw him out the window. He probably wouldn't die, but might suffer a couple broken limbs. Maybe that was too severe.
Still, one of the other reasons he liked Axel was that he could take almost anything Roxas doled out. Sure the older Nobody had lost battles with him, but he'd always put up a good fight, and he recovered quickly. While he liked how polite Naminé was, and even though sometimes wished Axel could be that way, he knew deep down he preferred his friend like this. He didn't have to be careful around him, because Axel could fight back if he needed to.
...No that it mattered. Roxas would win. He was obsessed with winning, after all. "Got anything better? How about 'I'm Roxas' bitch, and I am ever so sorry I crossed him by asking dumb questions.' Sound good?" Despite his threat, he was grinning a little and doing his best to hide it.
Axel wouldn't deny it; he was actually fairly disappointed when Roxas pushed him away but smirked a little when he got shoved up against the headboard. He couldn't help but look rather satisfied with himself. "They weren't awful. Got you to shut up for a second, didn't they?" He leaned back away from Roxas, stretching and leaning into the headboard rather leisurely. As if he hadn't just been shoved up against it by his best friend.
New last words? He couldn't think of any. Axel could be creative and all, but not right then.
His attention was rather occupied elsewhere while Roxas was talking and missed some of what the other Nobody had said when he gave his suggestion. Instead, his smirk returned and he shrugged a little. "Don't like those ones very much." He hummed a second, as though he were deep in thought. "Roxas is my bitch and he'd be stupid to not let me kiss him again because he knows he liked it. Plus, he'll be sorry later if he doesn't." He grinned. "Unless you find killing your best friend more appealing than kissing. In which case we should probably get your brain checked."
Roxas narrowed his eyes, jaw clenching as he glared at the other for the zillionth time that night. "You realize saying that makes me want to not kiss you even more, just to prove you don't own me. I'm not your bitch." And then he rolled his eyes, dropping his hands down to rest on Axel's knees so that he could leisurely lean in a bit, just enough to let him properly see his little smirk.
"Besides, how many times have you threatened that I'll 'be sorry' or 'regret it' later? You almost never back up your threats. They're weak. What are you going to do? Let me kick your ass again?"
"For the record," Axel pointed out, rolling his eyes, "I'm well aware that I don't own you."
Oh, he had revenge planned. There had just never been an appropriate time for it. Although certainly that particular moment was bordering on almost appropriate for what had been going on that day. It was something Tyki had done on more than one occasion that Axel had it memorized by then. It was momentarily forgotten when Axel finally realized how close Roxas was to him.
Leaning over and closing the distance between them -- but not making any contact -- Axel grinned. "They're not weak. I just can't find the time to properly torture you without knowing we'll be interrupted." His grin turned into a rather malicious smirk. "You're not going to kick my ass. Because this time you really are going to regret it."
Roxas was beyond curious now. He couldn't help it... Any time Axel was plotting something, he was interested. "I'm not going to kick your ass," he muttered, not moving away, but not moving any closer. His brow was crinkled a little due to his curiosity, head tipping to the side just a touch. He was clearly debating on what to do, finally just whispering with another smirk.
"I'll kiss you if you tell me how you would make me regret not kissing you."
Well now, who could refuse an offer like that. Although Axel was half tempted to, just to be difficult. He grinned and shifted a little closer but not initiating anything, instead he sat there for a moment and glanced away as though he was seriously considering it. After a moment, his gaze finally slid back to Roxas, grin still present.
"How about I'll show you how I was going to make you regret it," his smirk was back and almost rivaled Roxas' current one, "and doing so won't hurt you any."
Clearly puzzled by that statement, Roxas drew away a bit, though not consciously. He had temporarily forgotten about the promised kiss simply because Axel's absurd claim had confounded him. "Huh?" Why would Axel show him now what was apparently supposed to be something that would make him sorry? And how could it make him sorry if it didn't hurt him at all?
Sometimes he really wondered about the mental health of his former partner. Maybe it was from all that playing with fire. He'd inhaled a little too much smoke or something and now some portion of his brain was a little retarded. In that case, would a good beating make him all better, or just make him worse?
This was another one of those many moments were Roxas had gotten completely lost in his thoughts.
"Don't ask, just agree and get it over with. Would have made good revenge, but I can't tell you without showing you since it's kind of the same thing."
Axel leaned back against the headboard again, folding his hands behind his head for a makeshift pillow. Roxas sure was clueless, but then again, Axel didn't often give him enough information to work with in the first place, did he? Oh well. Maybe one day Roxas would clue into Axel and how vague he was about almost everything.
"You think too much."
Roxas was snapped out of his daze by the remark, and he frowned a bit, as if insulted. "There's no such thing as thinking too much. I think just the right amount." Irritated, but letting his curiosity getting the best of him, the blond leaned in again to gently brush his lips against Axel's. The more he did it, the less embarrassing it was. "I'll agree. But only if you understand that if I don't like this so-called 'revenge' of yours, which if I do doesn't make it much of a revenge, you're gonna be in a world of pain."
Already he was trying to figure out what the revenge could be, though. Most types required taking Roxas by surprise, like putting hair dye in his shampoo or sticking his hand in a bucket of warm water while he was asleep. How could Axel possibly do anything that didn't equate to beating him when the teen was sitting right there expecting something?
And he was definitely tense, just in case he needed to defend himself.
"Sure you do." Stopped from any further smartass remarks with the brief kiss, Axel grinned. "Fine, fine. I agree to that. Just don't hit my face anymore, got it? One bruise is enough for my face." He reached up and touched it gingerly; he probably should have put ice on it or something but it hardly mattered after so much time had passed.
Moving his hands from behind his head to his lap, Axel simply sat there for a second, watching the other Nobody. Axel definitely could have found something else to say but for one of the first times in his life he was choosing to not give a sarcastic mark or say something that would just completely piss Roxas off. No, he just sat there and grinned; a self-satisfied, lazy looking smile. Even if Roxas did like the revenge, it would still end the same way and Roxas would still know why Axel had said revenge.
It all worked out in the end for him, really.
Roxas rolled his eyes but offered a little nod of compliance. Man Axel really could be such a vain woman sometimes, but Roxas also knew when it was probably best to keep his mouth shut, so he just kept that little thought to himself. Then he noticed...Axel wasn't actually doing anything. He was just sitting there and looking at him like he was dinner.
A moment passed, and the blond finally muttered out dryly, "Okay if this is your revenge, I'm hitting you in the face. Lots and lots of times."
It wasn't that Axel had been waiting to start his revenge. He was more debating on how to go about having one last shot at Roxas before doing anything. Because really, he had to say something about that half-assed kiss that Roxas had given him as part of the deal. Really? That was all he had been given? It was kind of lame, in his opinion. It had to be rectified before Axel did anything about the deal.
Axel smirked. "Oh, sorry." He leaned forward and mimicked Roxas' earlier kiss that had merely lasted a second. "I hadn't realized that your version of kissing was so girly." Bait.
Roxas' eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as he gave one of his shoulders a little shove. "Bastard!" Yeah, being called girly was enough to get his temper fired up, not to mention having any action of his called into question. Like he was an expert on which kisses were acceptable and which weren't!
Pushing Axel back against the headboard again, practically mashing their mouths together in a clumsy and angry kiss. He hoped he bruised the bastard, honestly, after a smartass comment like that. There was nothing gentle about it, and nothing sweet about it, because when he got right down to it...Roxas hated sweet things.
Well that was definitely an improvement. Axel pulled Roxas a little closer and pressed himself back against the headboard. That was the kind of kiss he was used to. Nothing light or cute or sweet. Just raw emotion into one simple action. Pushing back against Roxas, trying to gain dominance in the kiss, he nipped lightly at the blond's lower lip in retaliation for the bruise he'd have later from the kiss. It was inconvenient not having a shirt of Roxas' to grab onto, so Axel had to settle for his shoulder.
Pulling away, barely enough distance to be considered 'apart', he glanced up to Roxas and smirked. "That's more like it."
Roxas was pretty reluctant to let the kiss stop, though he tried to quickly hide that when Axel pulled away. It was easy enough to stop looking disappointed and quickly look angry again when the man just had to mouth off. Curling his hand into a fist, he glowered for a moment before grunting and punching the headboard just next to Axel's head. Ow. That hurt. But he'd needed to hit something right then and Axel made him promise not to hit his face.
"Jackass," he growled, not pleased at all at having fallen for bait.
"Mm, on occasion, I guess I am~" He grinned momentarily but glanced at the hand that Roxas had used to punch the headboard. Grabbing it, he took his free hand and opened the fingers to lay his hand flat, palm facing down. Watching Roxas' face, he allowed his hand to move, fingertips against fingertips before sliding down slowly to his palm, over it and grazing his wrist. Simply experimenting with touching him outside of a hug or a kiss. Axel needed to be sure that something outside of the normal wouldn't cause Roxas to freak out.
After a second, he slowly let his hands drop again. "Hey. You trust me, right?" He needed to make sure Roxas really did before he could do what he'd planned on. "And I'm not just asking that to be stupid. I really need to know that you do."
Roxas stared, slightly mesmerized at just what his friend was doing to his hand. It seemed like such a simple thing, but was so disturbingly intimate he didn't really know what to say. When he touched his palm, though, it tickled enough for him to squirm a little, and as soon as his hand was released he moved it to rub against his jeans a little. What the hell had that been about?
Before he could ask, Axel was already asking something else, and the weirdness just continued. Roxas was actually beginning to get alarmed by the weirdness. Was confusing him part of the revenge. "...Yeah. I trust you." He grinned, then. "You're the only one I trust."
Without saying anything else, Axel pushed one of Roxas' shoulders lightly, shoving him back against the bed and leaning over him, a knee on each side of Roxas' hips. It was a little weird; he'd gone to bed with his clothes on and Roxas was shirtless. He debated on removing his own shirt but decided against it. Too much work for that moment in time. Instead, he leaned down, eyes focused on Roxas' shoulder and neck.
He reached up, hand resting flat against the blond's chest, just below his shoulder. Despite not being able to summon his fire, he could still get the heat in his hands up beyond a normal body temperature. Axel focused so that his finger tips warmed up and he moved his hand up, fingers barely grazing the skin of his shoulder and moving up to his neck, tracing the vein and stopping over one of them to feel the pulse of his heartbeat.
Being flat on his back with Axel on top made him nervous, there was no doubt, but he had just told Axel that he trusted him, and he meant it. But trust or not, the unknown left him wary, and his muscles were tense as he watched Axel's hand hover a bit before touching his skin. Roxas didn't expect his fingertips to be so hot, and it made him stiffen a little in surprise. What the hell was he doing?
Having the heat so focused, once he adjusted, was somewhat soothing after a moment, and he relaxed enough to enjoy it. He bet Axel could give killer shoulder massages with that little trick of his, but he'd save that smart remark for later. For now he just hoped it wasn't painfully obvious how quickly his heart was beating, be it from nerves, excitement, or embarrassment. He pointedly could not take his eyes off Axel's hand, though. ...Well, until it moved to his neck. The light pressure there made him swallow dryly.
Axel was almost relieved at how compliant Roxas was being. Definitely wasn't going to complain, though. It just made what he was doing a few times easier.
The pace of his heart was a little obvious considering where Axel's hand had stopped on his neck and he couldn't help as his lips quirked up at the ends for a brief moment before falling back into a rather blank gaze. The only things left showing any sort of emotion were his eyes and if anything, it seemed like he was content for the time being. His hand moved again, fingers barely touching Roxas' skin as they moved from his neck to his shoulder, hovering over the skin before moving down his arm, pressing into the muscle there as he slid down along it.
Stopping at the elbow, he glanced at Roxas' face before leaning up and pressing his lips to the corner of the blond's mouth before letting his fingers continue down. Drifting over the inside of his forearm, they brushed over his wrist again, continuing down to his hand. He pressed their palms together, lining up their fingers. For their height difference, there wasn't much of a size difference in their hands.
The heated pressure drew mixed reactions out of him. He almost was ready to just about fall asleep because of how disturbingly...soothing and gentle it all was. But mostly it confused and intrigued him, as he was wondering just what Axel's ultimate goal was. The light kiss to the corner of his mouth made his own lips twitch a bit, almost into a smile but not quite. Now who was kissing like a girl?
When he felt the warm touch cover his hand, Roxas let his eyes flutter shut, unable to hold back the lethargic feeling for long. Even though it was the middle of the night, it felt like a hot summer day. Only...more electric and focused. Roxas had never been touched like this, and simply didn't know what to make of it.
Watching as Roxas' eyes closed for a moment, Axel grinned. Although making him relaxed enough to fall asleep hadn't been part of his plan, it was definitely good to know he could help Roxas mellow out a little by using a little parlor trick. He needed to chill out more often and at least Axel knew he could make that happen if given a minute or two.
Despite that, he wasn't exactly going to stop.
Axel moved his hand back up along Roxas' arm and stopped, briefly, at his shoulder before moving down. He traced the outline of one side of the blond's collarbone before letting heated fingers press down over his chest, feeling over his ribcage. Letting them drift off to the side and simply run over the skin lightly, he could still feel rib outlines as his hand moved. A little lower and the warmth was against his hip, thumb stroking over the bone for a second before his fingers glided back up along his side, stopping at the middle of his side and resting there for a second.
Whether he was simply figuring out Roxas' body or memorizing him in a way that was more intimate than usual, Axel soon forgot his plan of revenge.