Gifts
Characters: Sora (destiny_hearts), Axel (nobodywatchthis), Ion (fonicprophet)
Setting: Sora and Roxas' Apartment
Time: Tuesday night
Description: Ion's staying over at Sora's because of his broken door, but meanwhile Axel comes over, wanting to know what to get Roxas for his birthday
Style: AIM
Warnings: Gay undertones abound, but really no warnings.
Sora ducked through the front door of his apartment, held it open, and leaned on it, panting. He pulled out his mobile to check the time, and sighed in relief.
Not too long, Ion manages to stumble into the apartment, falling forward onto the couch and leaning his head back to catch his breath, "Did... Did... Did we have to.. run?"
Sora held up his phone, and let the door fall closed. "Curfew is..." The door clicked shut. "Now. The last thing we need is to get in trouble for that..."
The door had barely closed before there was a knock at it. Not a particularly forceful one; Axel wasn't in a particularly forceful mood. He never was about enforcing rules, and that wasn't really why he was here in the first place. He'd sort of half been waiting for Sora to get home, so he'd gone ahead and followed him upstairs when they utterly failed at actually being quiet about getting back into the building.
"Muh?" Sora turned around and opened the door again. "Oh, hey, Axel! Don't worry, we made it with a whole two seconds to spare."
Ion, still catching his breath since he wasn't anywhere near physically fit enough to make it past even a simply flight of stairs without giving out, merely panted and turned his head to look towards the door. Not wanting to give a bad impression, he sat up and smiled, an attempt to be friendly, but he couldn't control the pace of his lungs.
"Actually," Axel said, "I didn't come to yell at you; I wanted to ask you about Ro--" He realized just then that Ion was there and smiling at him. He'd known, of course, that someone else was with Sora, but it was at that moment that he realized that meant that he couldn't just say whatever he felt like. "...about something."
"Oh, okay." Sora got it right away, he'd been talking around Roxas all day. "Come in, then."
"Good evening," Ion said, feeling a little better and smiling to the tall redhead as he entered the apartment. "I hope I am not intruding on anything. My apartment was broken into, and it was suggested I stay here for the night.."
Axel actually was slightly annoyed that he was going to have to sound like an idiot trying to talk around what he'd come up here for, but he managed to hide that. "Nah, you were here first. I just... it'll only be a minute."
"Sorry, Axel," Sora said. There were some things you just couldn't make sound normal, that's why he'd asked Ion for some private time before. But he couldn't do the same thing again... Ugh, it would almost be easier to just tell Ion, but he'd promised Roxas not to. "What's up?"
There was a certain atmosphere to the room that was easily picked up on. And he had caught Axel's near-slip. After earlier, his suspicions on the matter were beginning to take fruit more and more. But for now, he'd let them talk, "... I'm sorry. Sora? Where is your restroom?"
"Oh - these places are all the same, it's right down there on the left." Sora pointed. Well, that was lucky...
Ion stood to his feet, bowed politely to excuse himself, and then disappeared down the hallway. The sound of the door closing and locking soon followed.
As soon as the door was closed, Axel lowered his voice and said quickly, "Sora, I have no idea what to get Roxas for his birthday, so you gotta tell me something or else I'll end up getting him something totally lame. Like socks or underwear or something." Actually, the underwear might be fun. Or at least funny. But he didn't say that. He couldn't buy Roxas underwear.
"Oh, man!" Sora slapped his hand over a bright laugh. "Not underwear, he'd kill you! Or shave the word 'perv' into your head or something." Then it sunk in. "Wait, we get separate presents? That's an awesome idea!" He gave Axel an admiring and grateful look.
"Well, yeah you get separate presents," Axel said. Actually, he was feeling like a real jerk because he hadn't even thought about what to get Sora yet. In fact, he'd kind of forgotten that they must have the same birthday. "You're two different people, especially to me, and if I can't figure out what one of you would like, there's no way I could figure out what you'd both want..."
"Okay. But I'm not sure either." Sora flopped onto his couch. Unbeknownst to him, it was the same spot, on an identical couch, that Roxas always sat in at Axel's. "A book, maybe? No, that's too boring."
And that was the reason that Axel steadfastly avoided sitting on the couch. He crossed his arms a little awkwardly as he said, "What, doesn't he like to read?" A book had been one of his only vague ideas.
"No, he does. But a book - it's the kind of thing you get from your aunt, you know?" Sora scratched his head. "What do you two do when you hang out? Maybe something about that?"
Axel's brain ground to a halt for a second. In all honesty, not wanting to get Roxas something sappy was half the reason he was having problems coming up with anything. He thought it was a little early to look like some kind of lovesick loser with his gift choices. Not that he could say that to Sora. "We... just... sit around on the couch mostly." At least that was... part of the truth.
And apparently it was totally believable. "He's so boring sometimes," Sora sighed. "I don't know how people can just sit inside and..." Oh, wait a minute. "What about a camera? How much do those cost?"
"Doesn't matter," Axel said immediately. Well, it didn't. He didn't have all the money in the world, but he was pretty sure he was dumb enough to spend too much of it on Roxas. "You think he'd like that?"
"I'm not totally sure," Sora admitted. "He's never really said anything... but he likes looking at other people's photos and pictures and stuff. Maybe he'd like taking some himself."
"Even if it turns out he doesn't, I guess it's utilitarian," Axel said thoughtfully. "Actually, I think that'd be perfect."
"Cool! I wonder what he told you to get me?" Axel had already asked, of course, they'd hung out just yesterday. "Don't tell me," Sora added quickly. "I want to be surprised."
Axel managed to turn his reflexive facepalm into something that at least looked like him just rubbing his face because he was tired. "Wouldn't dream of it."
"So, when's your birthday?" Sora asked. Axel was totally getting two presents...
"It was a few months ago," Axel said with a shrug. "So you don't have to worry about it."
"Awww." It probably wouldn't come up again before they escaped. The boatbuilding wasn't going that slow. "Thanks, though, Axel. I needed something happy to think about."
"No problem," Axel said, feeling like a jerk suddenly. Well, he really shouldn't have to. Sora was a friend, but Roxas was more than that, so it was natural that his mind would be foremost on what to get Roxas. Didn't make him feel much better at the moment, though. "Hey, um... before I go... how do you like being blond?"
Sora hesitated. "Promise not to tell?"
"Not to tell anyone?"
"Well, mostly Roxas. Who else could you tell?" Sora rubbed at the blond hair. "It's really weird. I keep looking at my reflection and thinking 'who's that? That's not me.' But... if I feel like that now, wouldn't Roxas have felt like that before, all the time?"
"I'm pretty sure that's how he's felt his whole life," Axel said. Maybe it was a little too blunt, but there was no point dancing around the issue.
Sora nodded. "Yeah. So, so what if it feels weird? I had my turn. He can have the next fifteen years."
Axel's eyes widened a bit at that, and he said, "Well, I don't think we--" Shit. "...don't think he's expecting fifteen years out of the deal."
Sora gave a little guilty squirm. He didn't really want to look like someone else for years and years, and he'd have a hard time insisting on it. "Well," he said, "he deserves it." He brushed a finger across the collar of Roxas' jacket he was wearing. "And it'd look weird if I changed my style back and forth all the time."
"Well, 'less than fifteen years' doesn't really equate to 'all the time'," Axel pointed out. He walked over and tugged a lock of Sora's hair playfully. "Besides. You look cute this way. Enjoy it," he teased.
Sora's cheeks turned red. "Eww," he said, though there wasn't a whole lot of feeling in it. "Don't try saying weird stuff like that to Roxas. He gets really grouchy."
"He can cope," Axel said dismissively. He knew Roxas could, because Roxas did. In fact, he was fairly certain that Roxas liked being told he was cute.
Sora gave a skeptical little chuckle. Then he thought of something. "Ion's been in there an awful long time." He lowered his voice. "You can't be wimpy at pooping, can you?"
Eyes widening, Axel leaned back and shook his head. "Um, actually I think he's just uncomfortable with me around, so... yeah."
"Uncomfortable? Why?" Sora looked at the bathroom door, and then back to Axel. "I mean, yeah, you're a little weird, but it's not like you're..." Sora trailed off, not sure what it wasn't like Axel wasn't and not sure he really wasn't after all. "Um?"
Axel grinned, and he patted Sora on the shoulder as he prepared to leave. He'd already reached his quota of kids to frighten today. "I come up with all sorts of ways to make people uncomfortable. Maybe someday you'll discover a way that I make you uncomfortable."
"Never!" Sora said firmly. "You're the only cool person who works in this place."
While Sora had been saying that, something really awful and completely inappropriate about making Sora uncomfortable had come into Axel's head, and he burst out laughing instead of properly responding. Immediately he regretted it - since, of course, it made him look insane - and he quickly said, "Yeah, I know. But you'd be surprised."
Sora thought Axel was laughing at being the only cool person in the hospital. And anyway, who was he to talk about looking crazy? "But yeah, if you really think Ion's hiding from you, maybe you should go. He shouldn't be stuck in the bathroom."
Axel nodded, and he was prepared to leave, but he hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. "Hey, another thing. Just... out of curiosity, how easy is it for you to switch back and forth?"
"Huh?" That was random. "It's not that it's hard. It's just really weird to drop the other guy into something with no memories and no warning."
Axel nodded. He hadn't brought up the subject with Roxas, just because... well, it wasn't like he'd be very likely to ask Roxas to switch out for Sora at any point. "I got it. Just wondering. See you around, Sora."
Sora waved. "Later!"
Axel had to admit that he was relieved when he left. What he hadn't counted on when Sora started looking like Roxas was the fact that being around Sora would start to get weird. At least on his end.
Sora went over and knocked on the bathroom door. "Ion? Are you, um... okay? Do you need anything?" It had been a really long time...
With the sound of Sora's voice at the door, he cracked it open, "Oh. I am fine. You have a very nice fragrance in here though." He curiously sprays the air freshner and smiles. "... Oh. Did you need to get in here? I was not doing anything but allowing you to enjoy your company."
"Oh, that." Sora suddenly looked very embarrassed. "After Florian said my room smelled funny, I went out and, um, I didn't know what kind to get so I got the one Mom used."
"I see," Ion shook the can. "Well, you are almost out." It didn't help that more than half of the aerosol was wafting through the rest of the apartment now.
Sora wrinkled his nose. "Erm. I think I'm good for a while, actually."
"Did your friend leave?" Ion stuck his head out of the bathroom before walking out into the hallway. "He seemed like he had something to say, and I think he was uncomfortable to talk with me there." Ion turned his curious green eyes to Sora, "Did you two get to talk?"
"Yeah." And it actually had been much easier with Ion out of the way, which made Sora feel really guilty. "Um... I'll go make up your bed. You can borrow pajamas, too, if you want. They'd only be a little big."
A small smile curled up Ion's features, "That will be fine. Thank you."
Sora got the extra blankets and sheets - his own, actually, Roxas' favorites were on their bed at the moment - and made up the spare bed. He even tried not to make it look too sloppy, which he never bothered to on his own. "I keep hoping I'll get an actual roommate," he said, "but I never do. I wonder if..." I'm not allowed because I'm crazy. Sora shook off the thought and dug through his drawers. He actually only had one set of real pajamas, but an old t-shirt of Roxas' and a pair of Sora's sweat shorts would work fine. "Here you go."
With the extra clothes in hand, Ion thanks him and goes back to the bathroom, now saturated with lavendar freshness, and changes. "Thank you again, Sora," Ion smiled to him when he returned. "It has been a long day. I hope we can find my brother tomorrow. Until then, I am grateful you allowed me to stay.
"Yeah." Sora's worries about Florian suddenly came crashing back. "We'll find him, Ion! I'm sure we will."
"Yes, I believe so," Ion's attention drifted over to the bed and his eyelids began to sag as he remembered how tired he really was. "This is my bed for tonight? Then I believe I will go on ahead so I can wake up early and get started. Thank you again, Sora. Good Night."
"'Night, Ion."
The neatly made bed was picked off layer by layer until Ion got to the actual bed sheet, curling in under the covers as Sora walked out of the room and turned out the light. The smell was different - not better or worse, but not his - and it took him a moment to find an actual comfort zone before his closed eyes actually got heavy and he began to drift off to sleep. Visions of his two brothers plagued his closing thoughts, Florian more than Sync, and he sent out his own silent prayer that he be well taken care of and found soon. With that peace of mind, he then managed to fall asleep with ease.
Sora was really tired. He didn't want to do anything but sleep. But he absolutely had to write to Roxas, this would be the worst possible day to skip it. Sighing, he sat down at his computer and started to type...
Setting: Sora and Roxas' Apartment
Time: Tuesday night
Description: Ion's staying over at Sora's because of his broken door, but meanwhile Axel comes over, wanting to know what to get Roxas for his birthday
Style: AIM
Warnings: Gay undertones abound, but really no warnings.
Sora ducked through the front door of his apartment, held it open, and leaned on it, panting. He pulled out his mobile to check the time, and sighed in relief.
Not too long, Ion manages to stumble into the apartment, falling forward onto the couch and leaning his head back to catch his breath, "Did... Did... Did we have to.. run?"
Sora held up his phone, and let the door fall closed. "Curfew is..." The door clicked shut. "Now. The last thing we need is to get in trouble for that..."
The door had barely closed before there was a knock at it. Not a particularly forceful one; Axel wasn't in a particularly forceful mood. He never was about enforcing rules, and that wasn't really why he was here in the first place. He'd sort of half been waiting for Sora to get home, so he'd gone ahead and followed him upstairs when they utterly failed at actually being quiet about getting back into the building.
"Muh?" Sora turned around and opened the door again. "Oh, hey, Axel! Don't worry, we made it with a whole two seconds to spare."
Ion, still catching his breath since he wasn't anywhere near physically fit enough to make it past even a simply flight of stairs without giving out, merely panted and turned his head to look towards the door. Not wanting to give a bad impression, he sat up and smiled, an attempt to be friendly, but he couldn't control the pace of his lungs.
"Actually," Axel said, "I didn't come to yell at you; I wanted to ask you about Ro--" He realized just then that Ion was there and smiling at him. He'd known, of course, that someone else was with Sora, but it was at that moment that he realized that meant that he couldn't just say whatever he felt like. "...about something."
"Oh, okay." Sora got it right away, he'd been talking around Roxas all day. "Come in, then."
"Good evening," Ion said, feeling a little better and smiling to the tall redhead as he entered the apartment. "I hope I am not intruding on anything. My apartment was broken into, and it was suggested I stay here for the night.."
Axel actually was slightly annoyed that he was going to have to sound like an idiot trying to talk around what he'd come up here for, but he managed to hide that. "Nah, you were here first. I just... it'll only be a minute."
"Sorry, Axel," Sora said. There were some things you just couldn't make sound normal, that's why he'd asked Ion for some private time before. But he couldn't do the same thing again... Ugh, it would almost be easier to just tell Ion, but he'd promised Roxas not to. "What's up?"
There was a certain atmosphere to the room that was easily picked up on. And he had caught Axel's near-slip. After earlier, his suspicions on the matter were beginning to take fruit more and more. But for now, he'd let them talk, "... I'm sorry. Sora? Where is your restroom?"
"Oh - these places are all the same, it's right down there on the left." Sora pointed. Well, that was lucky...
Ion stood to his feet, bowed politely to excuse himself, and then disappeared down the hallway. The sound of the door closing and locking soon followed.
As soon as the door was closed, Axel lowered his voice and said quickly, "Sora, I have no idea what to get Roxas for his birthday, so you gotta tell me something or else I'll end up getting him something totally lame. Like socks or underwear or something." Actually, the underwear might be fun. Or at least funny. But he didn't say that. He couldn't buy Roxas underwear.
"Oh, man!" Sora slapped his hand over a bright laugh. "Not underwear, he'd kill you! Or shave the word 'perv' into your head or something." Then it sunk in. "Wait, we get separate presents? That's an awesome idea!" He gave Axel an admiring and grateful look.
"Well, yeah you get separate presents," Axel said. Actually, he was feeling like a real jerk because he hadn't even thought about what to get Sora yet. In fact, he'd kind of forgotten that they must have the same birthday. "You're two different people, especially to me, and if I can't figure out what one of you would like, there's no way I could figure out what you'd both want..."
"Okay. But I'm not sure either." Sora flopped onto his couch. Unbeknownst to him, it was the same spot, on an identical couch, that Roxas always sat in at Axel's. "A book, maybe? No, that's too boring."
And that was the reason that Axel steadfastly avoided sitting on the couch. He crossed his arms a little awkwardly as he said, "What, doesn't he like to read?" A book had been one of his only vague ideas.
"No, he does. But a book - it's the kind of thing you get from your aunt, you know?" Sora scratched his head. "What do you two do when you hang out? Maybe something about that?"
Axel's brain ground to a halt for a second. In all honesty, not wanting to get Roxas something sappy was half the reason he was having problems coming up with anything. He thought it was a little early to look like some kind of lovesick loser with his gift choices. Not that he could say that to Sora. "We... just... sit around on the couch mostly." At least that was... part of the truth.
And apparently it was totally believable. "He's so boring sometimes," Sora sighed. "I don't know how people can just sit inside and..." Oh, wait a minute. "What about a camera? How much do those cost?"
"Doesn't matter," Axel said immediately. Well, it didn't. He didn't have all the money in the world, but he was pretty sure he was dumb enough to spend too much of it on Roxas. "You think he'd like that?"
"I'm not totally sure," Sora admitted. "He's never really said anything... but he likes looking at other people's photos and pictures and stuff. Maybe he'd like taking some himself."
"Even if it turns out he doesn't, I guess it's utilitarian," Axel said thoughtfully. "Actually, I think that'd be perfect."
"Cool! I wonder what he told you to get me?" Axel had already asked, of course, they'd hung out just yesterday. "Don't tell me," Sora added quickly. "I want to be surprised."
Axel managed to turn his reflexive facepalm into something that at least looked like him just rubbing his face because he was tired. "Wouldn't dream of it."
"So, when's your birthday?" Sora asked. Axel was totally getting two presents...
"It was a few months ago," Axel said with a shrug. "So you don't have to worry about it."
"Awww." It probably wouldn't come up again before they escaped. The boatbuilding wasn't going that slow. "Thanks, though, Axel. I needed something happy to think about."
"No problem," Axel said, feeling like a jerk suddenly. Well, he really shouldn't have to. Sora was a friend, but Roxas was more than that, so it was natural that his mind would be foremost on what to get Roxas. Didn't make him feel much better at the moment, though. "Hey, um... before I go... how do you like being blond?"
Sora hesitated. "Promise not to tell?"
"Not to tell anyone?"
"Well, mostly Roxas. Who else could you tell?" Sora rubbed at the blond hair. "It's really weird. I keep looking at my reflection and thinking 'who's that? That's not me.' But... if I feel like that now, wouldn't Roxas have felt like that before, all the time?"
"I'm pretty sure that's how he's felt his whole life," Axel said. Maybe it was a little too blunt, but there was no point dancing around the issue.
Sora nodded. "Yeah. So, so what if it feels weird? I had my turn. He can have the next fifteen years."
Axel's eyes widened a bit at that, and he said, "Well, I don't think we--" Shit. "...don't think he's expecting fifteen years out of the deal."
Sora gave a little guilty squirm. He didn't really want to look like someone else for years and years, and he'd have a hard time insisting on it. "Well," he said, "he deserves it." He brushed a finger across the collar of Roxas' jacket he was wearing. "And it'd look weird if I changed my style back and forth all the time."
"Well, 'less than fifteen years' doesn't really equate to 'all the time'," Axel pointed out. He walked over and tugged a lock of Sora's hair playfully. "Besides. You look cute this way. Enjoy it," he teased.
Sora's cheeks turned red. "Eww," he said, though there wasn't a whole lot of feeling in it. "Don't try saying weird stuff like that to Roxas. He gets really grouchy."
"He can cope," Axel said dismissively. He knew Roxas could, because Roxas did. In fact, he was fairly certain that Roxas liked being told he was cute.
Sora gave a skeptical little chuckle. Then he thought of something. "Ion's been in there an awful long time." He lowered his voice. "You can't be wimpy at pooping, can you?"
Eyes widening, Axel leaned back and shook his head. "Um, actually I think he's just uncomfortable with me around, so... yeah."
"Uncomfortable? Why?" Sora looked at the bathroom door, and then back to Axel. "I mean, yeah, you're a little weird, but it's not like you're..." Sora trailed off, not sure what it wasn't like Axel wasn't and not sure he really wasn't after all. "Um?"
Axel grinned, and he patted Sora on the shoulder as he prepared to leave. He'd already reached his quota of kids to frighten today. "I come up with all sorts of ways to make people uncomfortable. Maybe someday you'll discover a way that I make you uncomfortable."
"Never!" Sora said firmly. "You're the only cool person who works in this place."
While Sora had been saying that, something really awful and completely inappropriate about making Sora uncomfortable had come into Axel's head, and he burst out laughing instead of properly responding. Immediately he regretted it - since, of course, it made him look insane - and he quickly said, "Yeah, I know. But you'd be surprised."
Sora thought Axel was laughing at being the only cool person in the hospital. And anyway, who was he to talk about looking crazy? "But yeah, if you really think Ion's hiding from you, maybe you should go. He shouldn't be stuck in the bathroom."
Axel nodded, and he was prepared to leave, but he hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. "Hey, another thing. Just... out of curiosity, how easy is it for you to switch back and forth?"
"Huh?" That was random. "It's not that it's hard. It's just really weird to drop the other guy into something with no memories and no warning."
Axel nodded. He hadn't brought up the subject with Roxas, just because... well, it wasn't like he'd be very likely to ask Roxas to switch out for Sora at any point. "I got it. Just wondering. See you around, Sora."
Sora waved. "Later!"
Axel had to admit that he was relieved when he left. What he hadn't counted on when Sora started looking like Roxas was the fact that being around Sora would start to get weird. At least on his end.
Sora went over and knocked on the bathroom door. "Ion? Are you, um... okay? Do you need anything?" It had been a really long time...
With the sound of Sora's voice at the door, he cracked it open, "Oh. I am fine. You have a very nice fragrance in here though." He curiously sprays the air freshner and smiles. "... Oh. Did you need to get in here? I was not doing anything but allowing you to enjoy your company."
"Oh, that." Sora suddenly looked very embarrassed. "After Florian said my room smelled funny, I went out and, um, I didn't know what kind to get so I got the one Mom used."
"I see," Ion shook the can. "Well, you are almost out." It didn't help that more than half of the aerosol was wafting through the rest of the apartment now.
Sora wrinkled his nose. "Erm. I think I'm good for a while, actually."
"Did your friend leave?" Ion stuck his head out of the bathroom before walking out into the hallway. "He seemed like he had something to say, and I think he was uncomfortable to talk with me there." Ion turned his curious green eyes to Sora, "Did you two get to talk?"
"Yeah." And it actually had been much easier with Ion out of the way, which made Sora feel really guilty. "Um... I'll go make up your bed. You can borrow pajamas, too, if you want. They'd only be a little big."
A small smile curled up Ion's features, "That will be fine. Thank you."
Sora got the extra blankets and sheets - his own, actually, Roxas' favorites were on their bed at the moment - and made up the spare bed. He even tried not to make it look too sloppy, which he never bothered to on his own. "I keep hoping I'll get an actual roommate," he said, "but I never do. I wonder if..." I'm not allowed because I'm crazy. Sora shook off the thought and dug through his drawers. He actually only had one set of real pajamas, but an old t-shirt of Roxas' and a pair of Sora's sweat shorts would work fine. "Here you go."
With the extra clothes in hand, Ion thanks him and goes back to the bathroom, now saturated with lavendar freshness, and changes. "Thank you again, Sora," Ion smiled to him when he returned. "It has been a long day. I hope we can find my brother tomorrow. Until then, I am grateful you allowed me to stay.
"Yeah." Sora's worries about Florian suddenly came crashing back. "We'll find him, Ion! I'm sure we will."
"Yes, I believe so," Ion's attention drifted over to the bed and his eyelids began to sag as he remembered how tired he really was. "This is my bed for tonight? Then I believe I will go on ahead so I can wake up early and get started. Thank you again, Sora. Good Night."
"'Night, Ion."
The neatly made bed was picked off layer by layer until Ion got to the actual bed sheet, curling in under the covers as Sora walked out of the room and turned out the light. The smell was different - not better or worse, but not his - and it took him a moment to find an actual comfort zone before his closed eyes actually got heavy and he began to drift off to sleep. Visions of his two brothers plagued his closing thoughts, Florian more than Sync, and he sent out his own silent prayer that he be well taken care of and found soon. With that peace of mind, he then managed to fall asleep with ease.
Sora was really tired. He didn't want to do anything but sleep. But he absolutely had to write to Roxas, this would be the worst possible day to skip it. Sighing, he sat down at his computer and started to type...