Welcome to Gaia! ::

Slowly the beat-up Volkswagen pulled up to warm, sandy beach front. The parking lot of the beach was pretty rough. It looked like it hadn’t been repaved in at least five years, and the sand from the near-by beach loosely covered the edges of it. There was even a few brave beach grass colonies growing up through a few of the cracks in the asphalt and on the edges. As the driver of the car put the car into a park into one of the somewhat faded parking spots, blue eyes stared frontwards at the sun glistening over the golden sand and crystal waters. It was the perfect beach day.

With a tug on the door handle and a strong push, the door creaked open the shirtless blonde got out of the compact car. He was of average height, but looked young in the face like he might still be young enough to get taller. His hair was this sunshine blonde that flurried into spikes that all tilted to one side as if he had bedhead and didn’t brush his hair back down. It was messy, yet was very possibly that it was completely on purpose. Going downwards, the male had very sculpted features. His collarbone created a beauty wide “v” that held the muscular figure of his lightly toned shoulder blades and arms. His pecs were defined enough to hold true to his muscular physique, but not enough to look like any kind of bodybuilder. Farther down, his thin waist came inwards and followed the toned abs of his abdomen until it was pressed back out by his cut hip bones. He obviously worked out his abs and hip muscles more than anything else on his body.

Anything that was beautifully sculpted below that was hidden from view by the black, dark blue, and gray swim trunks that hung lowly on his gorgeous hip bones. With the abs that the blonde possessed and those naughty hip bones, it was almost certain that they should be renamed “Oh s**t” bars for the weak at heart that wanted to ride all that body. From under the swim trunks that went down to right around his knees, the blonde also had some amazingly cut calf muscles that could have easily belong to a runner’s body. Finally, on his feet he had a pair of black, beaten up flip flops that looked like they had seen much better days.

After exiting the car, the blonde reached up above the top of his little bug, and began to untie his surfboard from the roof. His surfboard looked like a piece of art from the days of pirates and adventure. It had a high-gloss finish, and from the design and condition it was in, two things were apparent. One, that he took very good care of it or didn’t take it out much, and two, that he paid a lot of money to someone to have a down-right fantastic board. His board looked to be about his height, if not a little short than him, and with the rounded point end at the front, it was obvious that his board was for catching waves and not just floating out at sea. The notation that he was also a surfer somehow made his whole appeal look even better.

Once the blonde had gotten his board down and grabbed what looked to be a knapsack out of his backseat, he started out onto the beach. The sand splashing up onto his toes made him think about the good old days. This beach used to be his life. He used to be here every single day during the summers, and then every weekend it wasn’t raining during the warm months. He practically raised himself on the sounds of the crashing waves against the shore. Now of course, he lived in the city about thirty minutes away from any real body of water at all… He missed the clarity of the sea. He missed the warm of the sun on his skin. He used to be so tan, most people mistook him for a light skinned islander or a filipino since his skin was this beautiful golden color almost everywhere. Now his skin was almost completely white again from where he hadn’t been out here in so long. He missed his home here…

The blonde walked down the sandy shore straight to the water and kicked his shoes up on the dry sand and threw his bag down next to them. He had to catch a wave. If he didn’t catch one right there that very second, he honestly believed his body might cave into itself. It was so natural that he was halfway out to the big waves before he remember that he hadn’t surfed in over three years. Was he even still going to be able to do it? Perplexed, the blonde suddenly stopped and sat up on the middle of his board just staring at the waves. Why did he give up this life for the city? For that place? For that life altogether? He left everything he loved behind for something he thought was going to be so much better… but it wasn’t.. None of it was better… What was he doing with his life even? He was twenty-one years old, and yet he was sitting right in the midst of his old life that he traded the day he graduated high school. Maybe he should just turn back and drive back to his apartment in the city… Maybe this was a mistake.

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“Ugh, Dem, I hate you,” whined a male voice a little ways down the beach, followed by a hearty laugh. There strolled two men walking together on the beach, a surfboard under one of their arms and a scowl on the other’s face.

Of the two men, only one of them looked like they even slightly belonged on the sand...or in the sun for that matter. He was tall, golden-brown, ripped, and pulled the beach-bum look off like no one’s business. He somehow made cut-off jeans and raggedy flip-flops look sophisticated in a way that didn’t make sense in any universe. It might have had something to do with the bright smile plastered on his face or the aura of confidence surrounding him. Along with confidence, he radiated so much energy that it seemed like a power-surge for the surrounding area was imminent.

His companion, however, seemed like he had no business being anywhere near the ocean...or sand...or the sun, for that matter. He was tall like his friend, but much slimmer. In fact, he was about half the size of him weight-wise, and his skin was pale as it could get. However, that could be due to the fact that he was a natural redhead and had a stupid complexion, a complexion that generally kept him well-layered whilst outside and avoiding direct sunlight like he would turn to ash, though he would really resemble a lobster for about a full week before all of the fried skin would peel. Then he would be stuck ghost-white once more and start the whole process over again. Summertime was his shedding season. The only reason he was even near the beach was because he decided to visit his best friend during his summer break on the island that he moved to after high school. Axel had made the decision, a wise one in his opinion, to stay in the city and go to art school.

“Oh, come on, man. The beach is great! You should be happy to be spending summer vaca with me! You need to get out and get yourself a tan, Axel! Then you’ll have all the ladies all over you! I, however, will be interested in only the male specimens that float my way,” the blond, “Dem”, said proudly with another laugh in Axel’s direction. The redhead only rolled his eyes at his friend.

Demyx had come out of the closet at graduation, of all places, to not only his classmates, but his family who had all attended the event. Not only that, but he had made the announcement on-stage, during his Historian speech which ended up being all about how the society was, and how it needed to change to be more accepting of other sexual orientations and other things not widely-accepted by their community.

His family disowned him then and there, and Axel was left to clean up the mess the blond was afterwards.

That’s why Axel hadn’t come out yet. Not even to Demyx. Not to anyone.

“Oh, please. You’re making me regret even coming to this stupid island. I wanna go home to my dark apartment in the city,” he whined back, at Demyx who just shoved him with his elbow and laughed off his friend’s whining.

“Come on. We’re gonna go surf,” Demyx told him with a grin and began jogging off into the water. Axel, dumbfounded, looked after him before slowly following and stopping right at the water’s edge.

“I don’t know how to surf, you crazy person! You’re gonna drown me! You know I don’t do well with water,” he pouted towards his friend who just waded back over to him and grabbed his arm, dragging him further into the water.

“You’re gon’ learn today. Quit whinin’, and get on the board. You’ve done that much before, you wuss,” Demyx pushed his friend and patted his board. Axel outright refused, backing up until he was sitting on the sand once more, checking to see if his tee shirt got as wet as his shorts had. Demyx just gave a sigh to his hopeless friend and got on the board himself.

“Fine! Suit yourself! I hope the sand crabs come up and pinch your toes!” he shouted back at him and began to paddle out into the beautiful water. Axel just flipped off his back and pulled his knees up, wiggling his toes in the horrendous sand. He gazed out at the water with a slight frown on his face. As much as he loved Dem, he missed his apartment. He missed being surrounded by his supplies and art and having an open studio to go work in whenever he wanted. He wasn’t like Demyx. He wasn’t an outside person, unless he was shooting photography. Damn. He should have brought his camera. Demyx wouldn’t even let him bring his phone. Though...his house was right off the beach. He was sure Demyx wouldn’t mind if he ran off real quick and grabbed his camera. Then he would have an excuse to not get in the water.

The redhead stood and hurried off towards Demyx’s house...which was visible from where he had been sitting on the shore. It took him about ten minutes to get there and back with his camera due to having to walk through sand, otherwise it would have only taken about seven. When he got back, Demyx was riding a wave majestically, and Axel couldn’t stop the smile on his lips as he steadied the camera in his hands, zoomed in on his friend, and snapped a few photos in succession. It was glorious even when he wiped out and got pulled under. Axel got all of it on his camera, and he was relaxed again.

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It was easy for the blonde to sit there, watching the waves roll in the short distance. There was something so relaxing about it, even though he internally was killing himself for being scared to surf. For the most part, he was also alone. It was a local beach so it didn't get a lot of tourists. Most of the people that were on the beach lived there or knew someone that lived there. He almost felt like the outsider since he didn't really have those connections anymore. No one here probably even remember him. He wasn't the same person anymore, after all. He used to be that beach bum that spoke with the ocean better than he could people. He was short of his age too, so most people thought of him as a little kid. It was weird to thinking about things like his growth spurt. Maybe he really was too different to come back here. To play this game of pretend.

The blonde stared off lost in the waves a little while longer until he saw a surfer swim out to a wave. Watching the other surfer fly by him on that wave was most exhilarating thing he had done the entire last year. It was like feeling a thousand fireworks going off in his soul all at once. His hands slipped down off of his knees and into the water, and he instantly was seventeen again. He hadn't even gotten the idea to leave yet. There was no pressures... There was nothing, but this. The surfer finished the wave, and the blonde felt the water pull back. There was a huge wave coming. He could feel it in his bones. The blonde pushed down onto his board and was pushing out to the wave.

Time was escaping the blonde like it was volatile. One second he was flat on the board feeling the wave pushing him up. The next he was on his two feet on the board, riding this fantastic wave. His hand was brushing against the inside of the wave like he was untouchable. He was even surprised as he found himself laughing with a bright smile on his face. For a surfer, you could wait all day for a perfect wave like this. It even began to tunnel perfect. It was like the ocean was giving a present to its long-lost prodigal son. Roxas could have rode that high inducing wave for the rest of his life and been perfectly happy.

The wave ended and Roxas found himself splashing down under the water. Pushing back up to the surface and looking around, it hit him that he did that. Expert surfers might have trouble with that kind of wave, and he just freaking did it.

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After Demyx wiped out and resurfaced, Axel scanned the water for any other good photos he could get. In his peripheral vision, he saw Demyx climb back up onto his board, and then a wave start swelling up on the horizon. The redhead couldn’t stop himself from grinning, knowing he was going to get some good pictures of him now. So he readied his camera, and began snapping pictures as soon as Demyx began riding the wave, the thing soon becoming massive and beginning to curl over. That’s when emyx wiped out, not able to ride the thing anymore.

He relaxed his grip on the camera, getting ready to lower it and stop photographing...when he noticed someone was still out there upright on his board, and riding this wave out. He quickly lifted his camera and took shot after shot of them. They were beautiful out there, almost getting caught up in the wave, but avoiding it gracefully. Even when the wave finally did catch up, Axel couldn’t even call it wiping out, because they did almost a perfect tumble off of the board and into the water.

As soon as the surfer was out of sight, Axel began scanning back through the images. He hadn’t paid attention before, but now he realized that it was a male riding that wave like he was a professional surfer. Axel didn’t know much of anything about surfing, but he did know that the guy had a beautiful stance and body stature as he rode through that tunnel of water, an Axel found himself inexplicably attracted to him. He was so caught up in his photos that he hadn’t even noticed a drenched Demyx jogging up from the water, surfboard under arm.

“Man, that wave was killer! I almost had it all the way through, too! God, I love life!” his blond friend laughed wholeheartedly as he stopped in front of him, and then seemed to realize that Axel wasn’t paying attention and instead looking at his camera.

“Oh! Did you get any good shots of me?” he asked in a bubbly voice as he shifted to peer at the screen. He blinked in surprise when he saw Axel had been shooting another blond instead.

“Holy s**t! That’s Roxas! I didn’t even see him out there!” he exclaimed practically in Axel’s ear, which brought him out of his stupor and flinched away, focusing up on Demyx now...who was running towards where this “Roxas” was bobbing above the surface, holding onto his board now.
“Roxas!” he yelled happily, waving his arm wildly in the air to try and get his attention way out in the water. He and Roxas had met as soon as Demyx had moved to the island, and were basically best friends at the beach for the month or so before the shorter blond moved to the city. Roxas had been the one to teach Demyx how to surf when he first got there, and Demyx all but worshipped the ground he walked because he was such an amazing surfer, and the guy didn’t even realize just how good he was.

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Roxas turned in the water as he heard his name. It was the other surfer... No that was, ******** what was his name... They were so close before he moved... But of course didn't even have the heart to call him after he moved. He was the sweetest, bubbly guy that Roxas had ever met, and the blonde remember how excited he was to learn to surf. Roxas wasn't even completely sure why the dirty blonde was so attached to him before. Roxas had told him that he was moving soon and that he wouldn't be able to get even the basics down before he had to switch instructors. But he was determined. The level of devotion he showed to becoming Roxas protege actually became borderline stalking. From the first time he saw Roxas ride a wave, that was it. The taller dirty blonde would just swarm around him to get him to teach him anything and everything that he could. Roxas actually found him adorable though, plus it wasn’t like he had anything else to do with his life at that point.

Life would have been so different, if he had stayed here. He could have finished teaching the guy… Lord only knows what sorry surfer took up the job after he left. Roxas was pretty much the only one that could handle his level of enthusiasm. Roxas, with a little more work, probably could have gone pro in surfing…. but none of that happened. In fact, despite that fluke that just happened. Roxas was pretty sure that he wasn’t half as good as he used to be.

Realizing by the dramatic flailing that the blonde on the beach was performing, Roxas knew that he wasn’t going to give up until he went over there. Scanning around quickly, Roxas located his board, and then pushed up on it so that he could actually swim back faster. Once it got shallow again, he swung his leg over the board and got back into the water before standing. It was a sight to see him now. He looked a lot better than Roxas remembered. He never told Roxas why he suddenly moved out here, Roxas didn’t ask. But when the kid first showed up on the beach, he looked like someone had shot his dog or something. Maybe that was why Roxas taught him even though he knew he was leaving. The guy looked like he needed something new to hold onto.

“Hey man, it’s been awhile hasn’t it?” Roxas asked as the two reached each other in the water. It was still shallow enough where they both could stand. Even with his growth spurt, he was still shorter than the dirty blonde, but at least Roxas was dwarf-shorter anymore. “You look like you have been taking care of yourself, and I saw you on that wave before, your form is pretty good. I guess you have gotten some more practice in.” Roxas stated with a small laugh. More than three years now stood there separating the two… and all Roxas could say was something nice about his form. What do you say to someone that would get down on bended knee for you before, but you completely left them? He was probably going through a lot of s**t, and using surfing as a coping mechanism… and Roxas left him. When Roxas really thought about it, he didn’t even tell the guy goodbye in the end. He just kind of left… Damn, Roxas was a shitty person.

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Demyx had the biggest grin on his face he could have without ripping it in half as Roxas greeted him.

“Roxy! When did you get back? I missed you!” he practically squealed and gave him an awkward one-armed hug, holding on as tight as he could before letting go. It was crazy seeing Roxas again after three years. He had just up and left and didn’t even tell Demyx, but he was sure he had his reasons. Hell, Demyx wasn’t sure he ever told Roxas why he was here in the first place, just that he had moved from the city right after graduation, so he just shrugged it off and flushed slightly when Roxas complimented him.

“O-Oh, yeah! Since you left, I couldn’t find anyone else to really teach me, not like I wanted another teacher after you. I just kind of practiced by myself and did what felt right to me, and now this is how far I’ve come,” he told the shorter male happily.

“So how have you been? How’s the big, bad city treating you? I sure don’t miss it,” he asked him and glanced behind him at Axel standing on the shore, camera raised towards them. As soon as Axel noticed Demyx turn and look at him, he lowered his camera with flushed cheeks and a sheepish grin. Demyx just rolled his eyes and turned back to Roxas.

“Hey, wanna sit on the shore for a minute? My friend’s here from the city, and he’s not too fond of the water. Plus, he has his camera, so that can’t get wet,” he invited with a smile and a nod towards the shore. “He actually got some pretty good photos of you riding that wave, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you scrolling through them. Just don’t get the camera wet, or he’ll flip. He’s actually from where my old home is. He’s on summer vacation from art school in the city, and decided to come visit his best friend,” Demyx rattled on as he began wading up onto the shore where Axel stood, now taking photos of some birds running along the shoreline.

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Roxas smiled at Demyx as he seemed to just keep on like he saw Roxas last week. At least Demyx was still sweet and just as bubbly, if not more somehow. Roxas honestly thought there were going to be tension between them, but there wasn’t even an ounce. Demyx was just too carefree to accept it for a moment.

“Wow, that is damn good, for self-taught.” Roxas told him with a caring smile as he briefly recalled the memory of trying to teach Demyx how to pop up on the board. When the dirty blonde first started to learn, he was just so lanky and he didn’t have any of the muscles for it. Roxas thought he might never get it… but again, Demyx never gave up.

“Oh me, umm, good, good, I guess I don’t have much to complain about it, except it isn’t here, is it?” Roxas stated softly with a brief laugh, before his attention was misdirected back to the shore when Demyx looked away. The other guy looked completely unfamiliar, so hopefully Roxas wasn’t totally forgetting someone else. Although, the other guy was so pale, he was sure that he couldn’t have known him from where here. The guy just did not look like he belonged at the beach.

“Uhh, sure.” Roxas stated after a moment. He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone taking random pictures of him, but he figured as long as they didn’t get out, it couldn’t really hurt anything. Roxas then proceeded to push through the water with Demyx and go up to Demyx’s friend. As he got up the shore, Roxas took his surfboard and all its glory and stuck it into the wet sand nearby, before turning back to Demyx and placing both of his hands on those devilish handles that he owned. Now out of the water, Roxas could really see that Demyx had changed a lot since the last time that he saw him. He looked like Roxas used to. He looked like he belonged. Roxas. Roxas had changed a lot too, but his changes were more for the appearances that he had to make. Demyx probably just changed from living on the beach now.

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Demyx laughed a little at Roxas's report on how hed been doing.

"No, the city definitely is not here. Why do you think I moved here? It’s so much better than that cement-filled, polluted pit of a city. This place, though...this place is beautiful and free and accepting of even the oddest people. It’s awesome,” Demyx rattled on as they neared where Axel was standing. The redhead looked up at them as they approached and let a smile slide across his face.

“I see you decided to come back after running off,” he teased his friend and then glanced over this Roxas guy. He was obviously well-toned, but he looked paler than he should have been considering his mad skills on the surfboard. He had to physically stop himself from grabbing onto those delicious hips that his hands were currently resting on, and he could probably get lost in those blue, blue eyes.

“Uh, hi. I’m Axel,” he greeted awkwardly, holding his hand out for Roxas to shake, not really knowing any other course of action. He was dumbfounded, which made Demyx send an odd look his way. Crap. He was catching on that something was off about Axel.

“Uh, anyway. That was great how you rode that wave earlier. Like, I got some pretty good photos of it, if you’d like to see? I didn’t mean to creep or anything, I just wanted to capture the moment. Amazing things don’t happen like that to me, so I kind of like to document the moments of others, and you looked like you were really enjoying yourself. I personally never really got the hang of surfing, even though Demyx tried. I’m just...not that into water or anything. I don’t even really like the beach that much, but I happen to have a knucklehead of a best friend, so…” he rambled as he fumbled with his camera, scrolling back through the pictures for a moment before turning the camera to Roxas.

“I’d actually like to, if you don’t mind, put a few of them in my portfolio maybe. I’m kind of studying expressions and emotions and the like, and all I could see when I was watching you was passion and...you, um, you looked really free. Like you belong out there,” he mumbled. “Kind of like...if you were to just disappear and become part of the ocean, you couldn’t be happier. Like...merpeople...and stuff..,” he added, feeling like a complete dork.

Demyx eyed his friend, not seeing the shy part of him come out for quite some time now. Axel had been one of the loners at school that would barely talk to anyone except art teachers and Demyx, but he had grown throughout the years at high school and became more social, forcing himself out of his shell. Now, it seemed like Axel had curled himself back in and closed himself off to the world. It made Demyx wonder if something had happened to his friend while he wasn’t by his side, or if it was just Roxas’s presence that was throwing him off. It bothered him to see Axel so reserved, especially while talking about his art. That’s what usually got him rambling, but not like this. This was like...nervousness.

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Roxas had to almost physical force himself not to laugh at the redhead by covering his mouth with his hand as he watched Axel give him the once over. This guy was checking him out, and Roxas’s only defense against the humor of it, was a sharp small bite to his own inner lip. Axel was completely into him, and it was made then blatantly obvious by the fact that his tongue got caught up in his own words. In the kind of reality that Roxas lived in any other day, he hunted down people like Axel. He purposefully baited them even farther into their obsessions over his looks to get more out of them. It was his job to spot and reel in any takers, if he wanted to make good. Now watching someone fawning over him on his day off, Roxas just wanted to laugh at the reality that his life in the city seemed to find him anywhere.

The blonde considered actually asking the guy if he was going to make it, but the dirty blonde next to him seemed concerned by the redhead’s actions… Probably didn’t know he was gay, if Roxas had to take his best guess at it. Of course, checking out the past mentor of your best friend didn’t exactly keep you hidden in the closet too well.

“It’s nice to meet you, Axel.” Roxas stated smoothly as he took the hand offered to him with a full wave of confidence about himself. It was probably wrong to tease the guy anymore, but Roxas was already considering himself a bad person in the situation for having no earthly idea what Demyx’s name was until Axel had said it mid-conversion. That was another moment that Roxas had to use his power of control on his own physical reactions, because he almost turned to the dirty blonde and said ‘Demyx, that’s it! That is what your name is.’

Decided on his mission, Axel gave him the perfect opportunity as the redhead turned the camera to him. Roxas, with a completely smooth motion, made a point to not only reach up to the camera with one of his hands to show interest, but to place his hand over the redhead’s on the camera, innocently. It really wasn’t anything flirtatious on its own, but the guy was already clamming up from nervousness. “I would say being able to take of a photo of surfer this clear on a wave is a specular talent all in its own. They look professional… but I guess they kind of are, since Dem told me that you are going to college for art, right?” Roxas asked softly as he glanced his deep, blue eyes up at the emerald ones and then over at Demyx’s. He was trying to play the whole conversion off like he never forgot the guy’s name at all. Of course, as soon as Axel said it though, all Roxas’s memories of him came flooding back perfectly, so maybe he could just get away with this slip up.

Roxas’s eyes glanced away towards the sand as Axel asked him if he could take the photos and put them in his portfolio. “I don’t know about that, my job in the city has strict guidelines against unauthorized photos of me being published for security reasons. I mean, if they were only used in a closed circuit, I’m sure that my boss wouldn’t mind that, but I assume that you want to use these photos in your professional portfolio.” Roxas stated still being sweet on Axel, without actually flirting with him. “Plus, this isn’t my home anymore. I may still be able to ride a surfboard, but that doesn’t mean that I belong. Belonging to somewhere… its deeper than just stopping by for old times sake. This place… This place to me is a far-off memory that’s like a scattered dream in my heart. Even if I wanted to line the pieces up, time and circumstance pushes me away.” Roxas stated in a softer, more truthful tone as he pulled his hand back from the camera.

Roxas’s crystal blue eyes then turned back out to the sea. The sun was still just as bright and the sea was still just as beautiful, but they both felt so detached from Roxas now having to thinking about it again. With a small chuckle, Roxas brushed his hand back through his blonde, wet locks and turned back to the two. “You know this is my first real weekend off in.. man I guess three years, and this place was the only place I could even remotely think of to get away. For someone that doesn’t really fit in here, you’d think I would have found somewhere else to pass the time.” Roxas jokingly mocked his own self.

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Axel fought with his hand to not twitch as Roxas laid his own fingers across it on the camera. He knew. He swore to God. There was no way this guy didn’t know with the way he kept looking up at him and subtly flirting. Axel could tell, and it was kind of driving him crazy.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m going to school for art. Starting my third year after summer vacation,” he explained briefly to him and took his camera back only into his own hands, ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach from the compliment Roxas gave him. His lips curved downward a bit into a slight frown as he found out he couldn’t use the photos of this glorious man in his professional portfolio because of the guy’s job.

“Oh, okay. Kind of a strict job you have. What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking? Model? I know a lot of modeling agencies are really tight on any images their contracted models release of themselves. But, what if I put them in my printed portfolio, and not on my web portfolio? I won’t put them on the internet at all, and the only people who will see them are potential employers who request to see my physical copy. If not, then I guess I’ll just have to get your permission to use them in my book of personal favorites that I keep to myself,” he suggested, ending the sentence with a lilt of flirtation, which Demyx narrowed his eyes at, his grin drawing into a thin line as he eyed his friend, who was too focused on Roxas to really notice the change in expression.

As Axel listened to Roxas talk about belonging somewhere, he felt his heart clench. Roxas didn’t think he belonged there anymore, but Axel saw differently. It was sad that he was thinking this way, because he was obviously interwoven with the sand and water and sun.

“Okay, well, you believe what you want to believe, but I’m telling you that you belong here. The reason you chose here to spend your weekend was because your heart yearned for it. You came back here because you’re freer than anywhere else you could think to go. You feel like you’re at home, and that you can do anything. I know, because that’s how I feel in my art studio. It’s how I feel when I’m hanging with Demyx, because he is the least judgemental person I know, and dammit if he’s not the reason I went for art school in the first place,” Axel slid his gaze from Roxas and grinned over at Demyx, who quickly smiled in return and threw his arm around the redhead’s neck, giving him a manly hug.

“Aww, you flatter me, Ax. You were just too much of a wuss and needed a good shove,” he teased, still feeling a knot in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the way Axel was acting towards Roxas. Axel just laughed and flushed pink.

“Anyway, Roxas, where are you staying? Because if it’s in a hotel, you are more than welcome to come bunk with me and Axel in my house up the dune,” he invited, jerking his head back in the direction of his house.

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Roxas glanced up in somewhat of a half eye roll as Axel asked him what he did for a living. That was definitely a touchy subject, literally. Having no real close relationship with either of them, he decided to lie. Either of them knew about his life in the city, and either of them would know him even close to well enough to know that he was lying. He lied to people every night at this job, so it was something that came naturally to him. “Yeah, good guess, I’m a model. I’m nothing too big though, I guess you could say that I do it for the paycheck more than the industry of it. The picture thing isn’t just about the copyrights of it, though. My job tends to attract unwanted attention towards me, and I’m supposed to keep outside pictures of myself to a minimum, so the wrong people don’t get any kind of information they aren’t supposed to. I like to think about it like I am a superhero and I have to protect my secret identity, you know loved ones and all.” Roxas said as he ended on a more playful note. He didn’t want Axel to get too caught up on his job. He really just wanted it to blow over.

“If you want though, I can maybe see about calling my boss later and see about getting you permission, if you are that attached to those pictures of me.” Roxas stated with a warm laugh. He found it so amusing that Axel was so attached to pictures of a person that he literally just met.

“Haha, where am I staying? Well right now, I was planning to just crash in my car or here on the beach, but I definitely wouldn’t want to impose on you two. I’m perfectly fine with being homeless for the night. I have always found sleeping outside very adventurous.” Roxas said in a playful, charming voice. It was hard to tell exactly how truth he was being with sleeping outside. The way that he was talking, it sounded like a joke, but he really did used to sleep out on the beach. Demyx could probably attest to his beach bumming. It seemed like the closer he got to moving, the more he wanted to ever leave this beach. Demyx even did some all nighters with him when he went night surfing with him a few nights.

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“Thanks. I’d appreciate it a lot,” Axel told him gratefully as he spoke about getting permission from his boss. He wasn’t going to get his hopes up because a lot of agencies, no matter how little-known their models were, were really picky about who could have pictures of them outside of family, of course. However, he was going to wait impatiently for a straight answer from Roxas.

“Aww, Roxy, you won’t be imposing! I haven’t seen you in forever! You can come stay at my house. It’s basically like sleeping on the beach. Plus, they don’t allow people to sleep out here anymore. You can be out surfing or whatevs, but someone got attacked and raped because they were asleep and couldn’t defend himself. They haven’t found the person yet, either, so it’s just safer if you come stay inside with us. Please?” he almost pleaded Roxas with a little pout on his lips.

“Wait...you didn’t tell me that. When did that happen?” Axel asked, pulling away from Demyx and looking at him with concern. Was his friend in danger here on the beach? Sure, he was much stronger than he used to be, but that didn’t mean someone else could be even stronger.

“Oh, like..six months ago? Stop looking at me with that worrying face, Bro. I’m fine. It hasn’t happened but that one night, that’s been reported, anyway. Perfectly safe. I keep my doors and windows locked, and everything,” the tall blond told him with a grin and patted his shoulder. Axel visibly relaxed a little more, but he still had a little frown on his face.

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“Oh that sucks, man, there always someone that ruins the good things for everyone else.” Roxas said shaking his head a little. It was really sad to think about someone corrupting the local beach here. There was other beaches that got all more people on them, and usually that was where most of the attention went. This beach only had a small section that was good for playing in the water and not surfing since the waves got big, but all the locals just like the secludedness of the area. People didn’t bother others here… or at least they used to.

“Well I guess, staying with you is my only logically option now, but if we are staying together, I have to show you something that you are going to be so excited about or at least you will be when you try it.” Roxas stated as he thought about his plans for the night. Yeah he was going to stay on the beach, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to have a good time while he was here. Turning his back to the two, Roxas walked away a few feet where his knapsack and flip flops were.

“Sooo, I had to do a little digging to find the guy again since I haven’t talked to him in years, but there is a guy that owns a bar just outside of town, and he used to live in one of the beach houses here, and I would to go there and drink because he would let me drink even though I wasn’t twenty-one. Anyways, he used to make this rum out of the fruit from around here. To be real honest, until I tried some of his rum, I didn’t even know the fruit was edible, but it makes some fantastic alcohol, if it’s not. I don’t know if I ever let you try some or not, but if you didn’t or haven’t, you are in for a treat, because I tracked that guy down, and bought a whole bottle off of him.” Roxas stated with a large grin as he made his way to his bag and pulled the large glass rum bottle from it.

“If I was to pick one thing that reminded me of all the years I lived here, this man’s paopu fruit rum would be it. He doesn’t even sell it or anything commercial, you just have to know the guy.” Roxas said in a very pleased voice as he looked down at the dark goldenrod liquid. Because of the line of work that Roxas did, he really had a hard time just cutting loose anymore. It was honestly hard to just self-motivate yourself into partying when you had to entertain people almost seven nights a week as it was. Alcohol was pretty much Roxas’s only way for him to actually feel good about trying to live a little on his own. It was probably unhealthy, but Roxas didn’t care.

“If I remember correctly, its hella strong too even though it is so sweet. I used to call it ‘Devil’s nectar’, because I did a lot of stupid stuff as a kid on this stuff.” Roxas laughed a little at himself as he set the knapsack back down and brought the bottle back over to them. The large bottle honestly looked like it came out of a pirate ship or something, but Roxas definitely wasn’t complaining.

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Both Demyx and Axel were instantly intrigued when Roxas said that he had something that they would be excited about. Though they were both a little tense towards each other at the moment, ironically for the same reason though the other didn’t know it, they were definitely down for something that Roxas made seem would liven up the night.

“Holy crap, Roxy. That’s Devil’s Nectar? That stuff that you always used to drink after a day of surfing? That stuff messed you up, man!” Demyx cheered, eyes dancing with curiosity and impatience. “Oooh, I wanna try some!”

Axel eyed the bottle warily. Demyx was super excited to be drinking the stuff tonight, but he was a little more cautious. How bad would they get messed up on this stuff? Would he lose control around Roxas and have Demyx start asking questions? ...And where the hell did this rum-maker find bottles that huge? Did he ransack a pirate wreck? Was he a pirate? This just all seemed a bit sketchy to him.

Living in the city, Axel had had his fair share of alcoholic mishaps--either made by himself or someone he knew or met. Therefore, he was very wary when it came to new drinks, especially one that Roxas claimed was super strong. He would have to watch himself tonight, because he wasn’t sure if he could just not drink. He would have to join in on the fun, just...cautiously.

At the same time, though, he was excited for tonight. Intoxication generally loosened the tongue, so maybe he could find out a little more about this beautiful male specimen before the night was over. He definitely wouldn’t object to some touchy-feely time either if Demyx was slammed enough.

Hell, maybe he would finally come out to Demyx tonight. Who really knew what the night would hold?

“Okay, okay, okay. So, did you wanna go put your stuff away now, or surf a little longer before the partying begins?” Demyx asked Roxas in an excited tone. It seemed no matter which way Roxas went with his answer, Demyx would he happy to follow him wherever he went. He was like a duckling, Roxas being his mom.

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Demyx grinned proudly and laughed lightheartedly when Roxas complimented his dancing. He was pretty sure he was joking, but he’d definitely take the compliment either way.

He noticed Roxas’s attention wasn’t on him, however, and rolled his eyes. Great. Now Roxas was going to tease Axel, using him as a method of jealousy. What a twerp. His suspicions were confirmed as Roxas leaned in and spoke quietly in his ear, Demyx glancing back at Axel and grinning as he spoke, noting the bewildered and slightly suspicious look on his friend’s, who was taking another drink from the bottle, face as he observed them.

“Oooh, definitely,” he practically sang back, arms sliding further around Roxas’s waist and gripping a little tighter. He laughed a little at Roxas’s antics. All to grab the attention of a guy he already had the attention of. Of course. He gave Roxas a playful, yet feral grin before he dove in to nibble on his earlobe.

“It’ll be payback for not freaking telling me he’s gay,” he whispered, lips moving down below Roxas’s ear. “Just don’t stain my couch. Or the guest bed, and we’re good,” he added as he moved up Roxas’s jawline, gripping his waist so they were flush up against each other.

That. Mother. ********/> Axel was pissed. He wasn’t sure which he was more pissed at, Roxas or Demyx, because they both knew he had his eye on Roxas. Roxas was obviously doing this for some sort of competition between the two of them. He was apparently desperate to win this invisible war, and it was just making Axel furiously jealous. Demyx...Demyx didn’t even have a reason! As far as he knew, anyway. He was just doing this for kicks, that shithead.

Axel’s grip was tight on the neck of the bottle as he watched Demyx kiss on Roxas’s neck and ear and jaw, and likely whispering either dirty things or making fun of Axel in his ear. He swore...once he got his hands on Roxas, he was going to destroy him. And Demyx...just for the hell of it, he might do the same to him. Ugh. He needed another drink.

He tipped the bottle back as he watched the two move to the beat and basically have foreplay right in the middle of the livingroom...where he was also residing...in plain view. And he could see Roxas looking over at him. Oh, he was gonna get it. Nervous Axel was gone. Now he was just downright determined.

But he would play Roxas’s little game. He relaxed his grip on the bottle and let it rest on his thigh as he stared Roxas directly in the face, calmly. Roxas wouldn’t win. He didn’t win last time; he wouldn’t win now.

At least...not yet.

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Roxas closed his eyes as Demyx started in on his neck. It actually felt really good… but Roxas was getting gone thanks to the alcohol. Everything was starting to feel pretty great. Roxas chuckled again. “... haha, you say that like he’ll actually get the courage to do it? I might end up with you just because he doesn’t have the confidence to stop you. What then? Do I have to be careful not to stain your bed, too? or do the rules change when I’m with you?” Roxas asked back in a low, hum of a whisper. To be honest, Roxas found them both attractive, and he just wanted to get his fair share from someone. Whether it was Axel or Demyx, Roxas couldn’t actually say he had a preference yet.

Axel had proven that he had the potential, but other than making out, he was basically just some hot talk. He didn’t even have the guts to dance with him in front of his friend. Axel, although extremely hot, had proven to back out of a situation, if it would out him. A fact that Roxas didn’t quite understand. He was a very sexy man, who was around people that accepted him. Why would he want to stay in the closet when he didn’t have to? It was like being offered everything you always wanted, but then throwing it on the ground instead. Axel had a whole lot left to prove, if he wanted to win.

Demyx… Demyx was someone Roxas honestly had a soft spot for. He was somehow quirky and adorable all while being hot and alluring at the same time. Demyx was the solid call, though. Demyx was gay and knew Roxas from their past mentor relationship. It was enough rapport for Roxas to convince Demyx to sleep with him, but since it had been long enough that they were both two different people, it wouldn’t be awkward the next day. It wouldn’t have the same attachments, because they both realized that Roxas was still leaving. Roxas felt like Axel was falling for him, which could be dangerous.

Then there was the part of Roxas… probably the drunk part, that wanted them both. He wanted his cake and to eat it, too. But with Axel being stubbornly in the closet, it would be a tough task to pull off. Roxas would probably have to lead them both to it, and find a way to make them think it was their idea in the first place.

Turning his head again, Roxas allowed Demyx to attack the side away from Axel. His eyes fluttered open and he looked over at the redhead. Pulling a hand off of Demyx’s back, he motioned for Axel to join them. As if to encourage him further, Roxas mouthed the words. “Why are you being so shy? Why does Demyx change your feelings?”

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Demyx let out a soft chuckle at what Roxas was suggesting. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that to Axel. Something was obviously wrong with the guy, and he obviously dug Roxas. Making out and messing around was one thing, but full-on taking advantage of the situation with no regard to Axel’s feelings? He couldn’t do that to his best friend. Whether or not anything serious could even come out of it.

“Well, unfortunately for us both, that won’t happen. At least until he tells me what the hell’s wrong with him. I thought he was just trying to hide him being gay from me, but...something happened. I dunno what, but he’s messed up,” he breathed out against his skin as he nibbled and sucked at Roxas’s throat, strong hand gripping at Roxas’s body.

Axel stared Roxas down as he beckoned him over, determined to not lose...and then he read his lips and instantly got a kicked-puppy look. He physically winced when Demyx was mentioned, grip tightening on the bottle until his knuckles turned white. God, how the hell was he gonna gripe and whine about how shitty life had been in the city since Demyx left, when that’s the whole reason he left in the first place?

Right now, though...right now he would just buck up and power through this. With the help of alcohol. Just like being back home.

He upturned the bottle, gulping down a good few shots, then almost slammed the bottle back down on the table before standing and making a bee-line straight for the two. He easily slipped his arm between Demyx and Roxas, surprising his friend into releasing the smaller blond. He practically picked the guy up and slammed him against the wall, one hand sliding down into the back of his swim shorts to grip his a**, hand so deep that the tips of his long fingers brushed against the crack of his a**, the other groping the back of Roxas’s head, fingers curled in his blond hair and pulling so his head was tilted up. He happily sealed their mouths together, tongue delving right into Roxas’s to feel around.

“Looks like it’s your lucky day,” he growled into his mouth, acidic eyes burning into Roxas’s deep sea blues. He ground his hips aggressively against Roxas’s, but he wasn’t hard. At all. He let out a growl of frustration, grinding again and again until he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder and his name said softly, a second hand resting on his other shoulder now, pulling him away from Roxas. Axel detached his mouth from Roxas’s to glare behind him, but the worried look in Demyx’s eyes made him stop. He was breathing heavily as he looked back at Roxas with wide, apologetic and possibly frightened eyes and then stumbled away, breath hitching as tears slipped down his cheeks silently. He felt his knees go weak beneath him, and he was being pulled into Demyx’s chest and hugged tightly before they buckled and he began sobbing softly, shaking hands gripping onto him tightly as Demyx shushed and comforted him, giving Roxas an apologetic look over the redhead’s shoulder as Axel apologized over and over to no one in particular into his chest

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A mixed expression moved across Roxas’s face. Why was Axel ashamed of being gay around Demyx? Did they have a history that he didn’t know about? To Roxas’s knowledge Demyx moved out here so he could openly be gay. He said that he wasn’t accepted in the city, so he wanted somewhere more free. Roxas understood that s**t. It was probably why they had become so close before. Roxas was out, and Demyx was too… well for the most part. He basically wanted to be free like Roxas.

If anything, Roxas expected Axel to be floclicking in the gayness. Even if he realized that he was gay only after Demyx left, they were open out here. No one judged them. When the redhead stood though, Roxas smirked. He thought that he had encouraged Axel to enjoy the company he was with…. he was wrong though. He had no idea how wrong he was. When Axel came over, Roxas had completely let his guard down. He wasn’t expecting the roughness. He didn’t think Axel would pull that in front of Demyx. He thought he was just coming over to dance with ********!” Roxas cussed as he was slammed up against a nearby wall. This wasn’t okay. Roxas pushed his hands up to shove Axel off, but Axel was too solid for him. Wasn’t he a ******** photographer, what the hell? How was he this strong? Roxas wanted to scream, but his mouth wasn’t working right. He cussed again then Axel yanked his head up towards him. In his state of rage, Roxas wasn’t even sure if Axel knew what he was doing. He sure managed to whack Roxas’s head on that wall good though. Maybe he wanted him barely unconscious. Roxas felt hot tears fill his eyes. There was no bouncer to even scream for. He wasn’t on the job. He wasn’t safe.

Axel ground him into the wall painfully… and Roxas knew this was wrong. Axel didn’t even like this. He was literally doing this to hurt him. Roxas pushed on him again with no avail. He tried to cuss and yell, but Axel had his tongue halfway down his throat. Roxas actually briefly thought he was going to get raped against this wall, until Axel retracted back. He didn’t know why he pulled back. He had shut his eyes tightly to try and forget it was happening. Hot tears of anger and confusion and pain now poured down the blonde’s face.

Demyx was looking at him like with pity. Roxas could feel the vomit trying to come up his throat. The blonde couldn’t deal. He literally couldn’t ******** take it. His feet started moving before he could even fully process what he was going to do. Roxas grabbed his surfboard, and he ran. Roxas wasn’t really great at dealing with s**t, I mean honestly there was a reason he left this place in the first place. Roxas ran down the beach until Demyx’s house had disappeared into the distance. He was crying still, and he turned the moment he stopped running and vomited. He felt dizzy. Maybe he shouldn’t have run off.

Roxas looked out to the horizon over the water. It was blurry and Roxas blamed the booze and the tears… He just need to be out on the ocean. He needed to be back with his true peace. Roxas, although drunk, in pain, and dizzy, paddled out on his surfboard. The moment he was out there though, he couldn’t see well enough to even pick out waves. ********. The blonde laid back on his board holding his head.

…. he was going to be sick again.

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Demyx cursed when Roxas ran out. Great. Now he had one friend sobbing in his arms, and the other freaking out somewhere on the beach. He knew which one he needed to be with right now, though.

“Axel. Axel, hey, listen. I’m gonna tail Roxas. You stay here. Go jump in the shower, and I’ll be back before you know it,” he chided his friend who gripped onto him tighter and began shaking his head. “Axel, you know you did wrong. Roxas is terrified right now. You go get in the shower, while I go deal with him,” he said with a more stern voice, which caused Axel to retract from his friend’s arms, that kicked puppy look on his face once more.

“Good. Shower,” he said, pulling completely away from him and pushing him towards the bathroom, then quickly grabbed his own board and ran out of the house, catching a quiet “Tell him I’m sorry,” as he rushed out, jean shorts and all. It wouldn’t be the smartest idea to surf in denim because of the weight, but this was a desperate time. Roxas was undoubtedly out on his board. That’s where he went when anything happened, Demyx had noticed when he was here before.

Now, Roxas could have taken off down either side of the beach, but by powers of deduction, Demyx figured out which divots in the sand were from Roxas’s rushed steps and set off after them. He had to run a good ways until he came up short, the divots turning into sloppy footprints in the damp sand and then disappeared at the shoreline. Just as he thought.

He looked across the water and spotted Roxas’s silhouette laying down on his board quite a ways from the shore. Demyx let out a sigh and ran in, hopping on his board and paddling out onto the water, straight towards his blond friend. After about three minutes of paddling, he came up beside Roxas and sat up on his board, looking over him with a frown. He was silent for a few moments, gazing out at the water before he said softly,

“I know it won’t help...and that he shouldn’t have done it either way...but I’ve never seen him like that. I don’t know what happened over the past three years, but something triggered that episode.” He looked over at his friend again, noticing how pale the guy was compared to the rest of his skin. “Are you gonna be okay?” he asked quietly, idly keeping his board right beside his friend’s, but made sure not to touch him. He was pretty sure Roxas would flip out if he even got a little too close right now.

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Roxas could heard someone in the water a little ways away. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from though. ********, what if Axel had followed him out here. Roxas felt his breathing pick up again, which made his head hurt even more. He gripped a little harder at his own blonde locks. Maybe he would get lucky and Axel wouldn’t be able to get him out here, because he couldn’t swim or some s**t. One could hope at least. Roxas couldn’t even sit up, let alone escape further. He had paddled out far enough it would take a good swimmer to get to without a board, so at least there was that.

Another board came up beside Roxas, and felt a sigh of his own pass his lips. It was Demyx. His body unclenched the new panic it had formed, but the feeling of puking was still there. Had he drank too much? No, he had drank wayyy more before. There was no way he was sick off the that little bit, it was just nerves. “...I p-ushhh him.. I get itt.” Roxas’s words were slurred more than the blonde even realized. Slowly the blonde pulled his hands away from his face, and it was obvious something was ******** wrong. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, but vacant like he was lost.

“I’ll mmmake it. I.. alwwways have beffore.” Roxas mumbled back before slowly trying to sit up. He managed to do it, but it was obvious he was having a s**t time with it. Once he was up again, Roxas grew ghostly pale. ********. He turned and puke into the water away from Demyx. “... fuccckkk..” He whispered afterwards. He was barely able to keep topside on his board as he stabilized after throwing up more of the alcohol. Maybe he had drank too much, he couldn’t tell right from left anymore.

He looked like he was seconds from passing out as he turned back to Demyx. “...Dem… I neeed a favoor..” His voice was weak and dazed.

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Demyx frowned at his friend as he began speaking. How was Roxas this messed up? He knew he had seen him drink more than he saw him drink tonight. Granted, he also started drinking before Demyx even entered the room, so maybe he drank too much too fast? Maybe it was a mixture of that and stress?

He just watched as Roxas teetered on his board, trying to sit back upright. He was gonna try to keep his hands off of him, but if he needed to, he would definitely keep Roxas steady. He wouldn’t let his friend drown.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do anything, Rox, but first I want you to lay down on your board again so you don’t fall off. I’m gonna get us back to the beach,” he told him friend, sending him a worried look as he began to quickly turn his board back toward the shore so he could pull Roxas back with him. That was his first mission, then he’d do almost anything Roxas wanted him to.

“Lay down, and I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

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Roxas shook his head for a second, and leaned over into his lap. “... I ccann’t.. uundrstand.. wha.. yer saying..” he was mumbling into the other’s lap now. Slowly, he pulled his arms around Demyx’s waist and gripped loosely at the taller blonde’s back. The blonde looked relatively stable attached to Demyx, but rolled slightly unable to keep his balance in between the boards. The weigh easily dumped off them off both boards as they flipped.

Roxas was a good swimmer. He had been swimming just about as long as he had been walking, even though he was disoriented, he still managed to float up. He quickly gripped on to his upside down board. He didn’t have the coordination to keep himself afloat though, or to get up on the board. He just cough a little as he tried to hold the board. “de...mmm..” He mumbled out trying to look around for his friend. “..demmm..” he tried again, before catching him in his blurred sight next to him. “...I-I.. I c-cant.. you’ll hhhavvee.. tooo takke mee backkk, on yer boarddd.” He mumbled before closing his eyes against the cool board. It felt so good to feel the coolness from the board and the water around him.

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“s**t!” he cursed as Roxas toppled them over. He forced himself to not intake a breath when his head slammed against Roxas’s upturned board, just because of the practice of wipeouts he’s had over the years. The first and foremost thought immediately was, Roxas. Roxas. Gotta get Roxas.

He forced himself to reorient and then broke the surface, looking around wildly for his friend. He breathed in relief when he saw him managing to hang onto his upturned board. He ignored the pain pulsating on his forehead and swam the little way back over to him, hearing Roxas struggling to call his name.

“It’s alright, Rox. I got you. I got you,” he assured him, gripping onto his friend so he didn’t slip back under and pulled his board, that was thankfully within arms reach, over to them, quickly flipping it over as he treaded water and tried to hold Roxas up at the same time. God, this was difficult, but he had to do it. He had to keep Roxas afloat. Just that thought pumped more adrenaline through his veins, and, with a loud grunt, he was able to haul Roxas, thankfully much lighter than himself and wearing his light swim shorts, up onto Demyx’s own board, making sure he was stable before he turned back to Roxas’s board, flipping it over.

He looked between the two boards and gave a sigh. His muscles felt like they were going to give out on him now, but he couldn’t have that. He was going to have to pull both boards with him as he swam to the shore and kept Roxas on his board. He took another deep breath, gritted his teeth, and gripped onto the ankle straps for both boards that neither of them really used. He kicked forward, tugging the boards with him as he made the slow swim back to the beach.

It took Demyx a good fifteen minutes to get them back to a depth that his feet touched the sand beneath the water. He breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to more easily pull Roxas along until they hit the sand. By then, Roxas was unconscious and thankfully had stayed on the board without really slipping around.

He made the quick decision to carry Roxas back and then come back for the boards later on. Roxas was much more important. So, aching muscles and all, he hauled Roxas up into his arms and walked back to his house. He laid Roxas on the couch, soaking wet shorts and all, and ran to grab a pair of his own boxers to change him into and a towel to dry him off with. He changed him and patted him down with the towel to dry him the best he could, then lifted him back up and brought him back to his bedroom, laying him down in the bed carefully and covered him up. He looked down at him for a moment with a small frown, rubbed at his own worn out eyes and then turned away, walking out of the room and closing the door. He quickly checked on Axel, who still seemed to be in the shower, Then he headed out, jogging down the beach to retrieve their boards.

He got back, slipped into his bedroom to change his shorts once more, and then checked on Axel again after glancing at the clock. He hadn’t realized just how much time had passed, and Axel was still in there. He approached the bathroom door and knocked, calling through and getting no response. He rubbed a hand down his face in stress then put a mask on his face to hide his exhaustion. He was glad the door was unlocked, because he was almost positive he would have cracked if he would have had to pick the lock, and the door swung open slowly. He stared down at the scene in front of him. Axel was curled up in the corner against the tub, the shower running. He was still fully clothed and hadn’t seemed to get much further than turning the shower on. Demyx reached into the shower and turned the water off slowly, bending down to pull Axel to his feet.

“C’mon, buddy. Let’s get you into bed. We can talk later,” he told the redhead who just nodded and allowed Demyx to guide him into the spare bedroom. The blond helped him take his shirt off to be a little more comfortable, and then get into bed, pulling the covers over him. Axel hadn’t spoken or even made any sound by the time Demyx left the room and closed the door.

The blond dragged his feet, moving to the livingroom to turn the music off as he ran a hand through his damp hair. Then he slipped back into his bedroom and slid into bed with Roxas. He fell asleep about half an hour after his head hit the pillow, arm curled over Roxas’s stomach and nose buried in his shoulder.

Tomorrow would be a better day. That’s what he told himself.

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As soon as Roxas’s hit that board, he was completely out. The darkness was a friend to the pain in the back of his head. Roxas wasn’t completely sure what happened after that point. He faded in and out at various points. He did know that eventually he was in a bed. It smelled of sand and the ocean like he was still out at sea. “..umm..” Roxas groaned into the covers that were around him. Pulling a pillow to his face, he thought he could sleep forever in the embrace of the ocean aroma. He lost track of time again.

He woke up again, and he could tell that he had lost a chunk of time. Someone was sleeping next to him, with their arms lightly wrapped around his hips. Rolling slightly, Roxas curled into the embrace. The smell of the ocean air increased, and Roxas immediately knew it was Demyx. “...ddemm.” He whispered through a haze. He didn’t know where he was. He only vaguely remember being on the beach and surfing. Then there was fire.. a deep red flash in his memory that gave him a chill all the way down to the bone. His arms pulled Demyx closer at the disoriented memory as he pressed his face to Demyx’s chest and shuttered.

He didn’t remember anything else from yesterday. It was all blank and fuzzy. The thought scared him, so he stopped thinking about it. He attempted to pick up his head, but that was the worst idea ever. It sent a shooting pain through his whole spine and he choke a little in shock. “ah.. Dem…” Roxas muttered as he seemed to gain more strength to speak from the shock of the pain. “....I-I.. think I hit my head… what happened yesterday..” He was barely whispering though he was trying really hard to speak louder. He felt so weak.

The blonde keep his eyes closed against Demyx’s chest. The pain seemed to lessen when he keep his eyes closed and didn’t move.

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Demyx hummed and stretched a little bit as Roxas spoke. It brought him out of his light sleep, and he held him closer to his chest, snuggling down into him. He frowned, face scrunching up when Roxas made a sound of pain and relinquished his hold on him a bit to look down at him. His frown deepened when he was asked what happened the day before. That wasn’t for Demyx to tell, because he honestly didn’t know what was going through Axel’s head. He wouldn’t be telling the whole story. They both deserved to hear it from Axel himself.

“I’ll get Axel to tell us later on what happened. For now, I need you to open your eyes and look at me. You might have a concussion,” he told him quietly and carefully pulled Roxas’s head away from his chest. “C’mon. Open ‘em up. Afterwards, I’m gonna check the back of your head and make sure you’re not bleeding any. You shouldn’t be, but we need to make sure,” he explained to him, giving him a small smile as he waited for him to open his eyes. He was hiding all of the worry and stress about everything that happened from the smaller blond specifically so he didn’t freak him out.

He was also worrying a lot about Axel. What had caused him to be so ******** aggressive? He probably scared Demyx with that almost as much as he scared Roxas. Axel had never done anything like that before. Axel was a kind-hearted soul, and today he’d probably be walking around quietly with his kicked puppy look. He’d probably try to apologize as soon as he saw them, which meant that Demyx needed to keep him calm so he could explain everything before he freaked Roxas out again.

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Roxas was having problem concentrating on what Demyx was telling him. Who the ******** was Axel? Roxas had no idea who even remotely that could be. He knew everyone down here, and no one was named Axel. Maybe they were new, yeah. Maybe that was it. Roxas must have gotten out of hand last night, and just drank wayyy too much. He was probably hungover, too.

Roxas slowly obeyed the command as Demyx pulled him back from the safety of his chest. His soft blue eyes were dilated and vacant looking like the night before, but slightly more attentive. He seemed to only be able to hold them half way open at best. "Dem.. This makes my head hurt... Are you done with..." He paused because he couldn't remember why he had to open his eyes. "With whatever we were doing..." He mumbled after a second. He didn't seem like he fully understood why he was there, but he didn't care either. He just wanted to sleep.

Roxas closed his eyes again. "You know... Forget it... I don't care what happen. Probably bad s**t... Let's just sleep." Roxas mumbled as he pushed back into the pillows on Demyx's bed. They were soft and calling to him with promises of sleep.

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Demyx chuckled softly as Roxas tried to go back to sleep. He was so cute. He gave a sigh as Roxas collapsed back into the pillows. “I think you have a concussion, Rox,” he told him softly and proceeded to slide his fingers through the hair on the back of his head to feel around. He grimaced when he felt a large bump had formed there, but it didn’t feel like the skin broke, which was definitely good. However, he wasn’t sure if it was okay for Roxas to sleep. Obviously he’d had the concussion before he slept the first time, but now that he saw the state he was in...Maybe, though, since he had already slept, it would be okay. You were supposed to rest and take it easy if you had a concussion, right?

He shifted a little in the bed before settling back down with the blond, pulling him close to himself and relaxing his body with a slow breath. He’d check on him tomorrow. For now, they both probably needed to rest anyway. Demyx could feel his muscles aching from the exertion he put on them the day before, and it made him unnaturally sleepy as well.

“Mmkay. I’ll see you in the morning, Rox,” he whispered against his skin and closed his eyes, drifting off fairly quickly.

Axel hadn’t slept more than half an hour all night, and that was saying something, because he was the king of napping. He couldn’t get through the day without falling asleep somewhere halfway through. But there was so much guilt inside of him that he just couldn’t bring himself to feel comfortable while Roxas was ******** up in the other room probably. Knowing Demyx, he had put Roxas in his bed and either slept in there with him or took the couch. He probably slept in there with him, though.

Eventually, Axel gave up on laying in bed and trying to pretend he was asleep. He needed to move around. He was getting twitchy with grief, and he needed to let out some of the nervous energy he had. So he got up out of bed and moved out into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. <********. He had no clue what even came over him last night. He was never that rough. God, he was even sure he fully remembered what happened, but he knew he hurt Roxas. Roxas had been ******** terrified of him. Just that though choked him up and made tears well up in his eyes. He leaned his elbows on the counter beside the gurgling coffee maker and pushed his face into his palms, letting out quiet sobs. God, he was a monster. He couldn’t get the image of Roxas’s terrified face out of his head, and the sight broke his heart. He never wanted to hurt anyone like that since he knew what it felt like on the receiving end.

That was something he hadn’t told anyone. Especially not Demyx. God. He didn’t want to see the look of pity on his friend’s face, but he knew Demyx was going to want to know anything and everything that could have led up to what happened the day before, and that very well could have been the main issue. It was definitely why he wanted to get away from the city for a bit. That, and the ridicule, which was ironic considering everything. Plus, the fact that he hadn’t told anyone what happened, including the ******** police, that he was holding it all inside of him. Maybe it just exploded out of him.

He came to the conclusion that he didn’t ******** know what the hell actually happened just as the coffee pot stopped working its magic. Coffee. Yes. He made himself a mug and made his way into the livingroom. He paused by the radio and stared down at it, sliding his fingers over the buttons. He turned it on, the calming sounds of the radio station Roxas had it set on flowing through the speakers. His breath hitched as the image of Roxas dancing to the music appeared in his mind. He gripped the handle of his coffee mug tightly and turned away from the radio, almost immediately coming face-to-face with the wall he slammed the little blond against. Tears welled up in his eyes again, and he turned and moved to the couch to curl up and die on it.



Roxas had pretty much immediately fell back asleep when Demyx didn’t make it a point to wake him back up. His limp body seemed to easily say curled into Demyx and the pillows around him. He felt safe and blissful in the sleep. But maybe that was because he didn’t remember what had happened yesterday. He didn’t have to worry or be scared, because it was just a blur of black and red. Of course, things were never as simple as Roxas wanted them to be. The consequences of last night would soon rear their ugly head, and Roxas would be in living hell again.

Outside of the room where the blondes peacefully slept, on the floor next to the couch there was a buzzing ring coming from Roxas’s knapsack on the floor. It was too soft to hear from the bedrooms. The only way you could hear the device shoved down into the bag was pretty much only if you were currently in the living room. It was crying for attention though, as it bubbled its way over the music filling the room with its electronica pitchy beats.

It wasn’t too alarming to have the phone going off, but it begged the question of who wanted to get ahold of the blonde this early. It was just a little after 5 and the sun hadn’t even come up yet. The person calling must have either urgently needed something or was panicky trying to reach Roxas from the night before. Either way, it seemed like an important phone call. And it kept ringing. It would go off...and then it would be only a few seconds before the call would start again. It must have repeatedly gone off for twenty minutes straight.

Time passed and the phone was silent after the twenty minutes. Untouched, it remained in the bag silent again. By the time six-thirty ran around, the phone started to go off again… but this time it only rang through only one time. Seconds after it finished ringing there was a powerful banging on the front door to the house. It sounded like a police officer… no it sounded like hell was attempting to beat down the door. It definitely loud and definitely angry.

Roxas startled awake from the banging. Damn the bedroom door was closed and everything, but the knocking…. no the beating on the door was that loud and sudden. He sat up much to his regret. “ahhh, ********…. What the ******** happened yesterday? Where am I?” Roxas questioned in a hiss format. He didn’t exactly recognize Demyx’s bedroom since he didn’t really get a proper introduce before blowing his head. Then again, he didn’t really get a great look before closing his eyes and hiding his face in his knees. It wasn’t even that bright and yet the little light hurt his eyes.

Roxas thought for a second that the sharp pain that was now erupting from the back of his head might have just startled him awake in some weird jump dream… but seconds later, the loud banging came again. “The ********…” Roxas attempted to call back, but his voice didn’t really get above normally speech. Yelling would definitely hurt right now.

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“Roxas, stay here,” came Demyx’s quiet mumble as he slipped out of bed, pulling a handgun from beneath his pillow, the magazine from between his mattresses. “There’s a trap door in the corner. My guitar’s on top of it. Get in there and stay quiet. I dunno what’s going on, but you’re not getting hurt because of it.” He quickly loaded it into the gun, cocked it, and took off quietly out of the room, door closing quietly behind him.

Axel slept straight through Roxas’s phone going off. With all the stress, it wore his body out, and knocked him out eventually to sleep through the night. He probably would have slept through until Demyx started roaming around the house...but instead he woke up to basically a heart attack in the form of someone trying to beat down the front door. He stumbled off of the couch in his fright and stared groggily at the large plank of wood that was shaking with the force of the beating. What the ********? If it were the police, they’d say so. Who the ******** was trying to get into Demyx’s house? This couldn’t have been good, and Axel refused to answer the door. Luckily Demyx had curtains up that were closed, so they couldn’t see him sitting on the floor before the couch.

And then he looked over as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye to see Demyx, gun in hand and cocked, which caused the bewildered Axel to be even more surprised. Demyx owned a gun? Demyx knew how to handle a gun? Demyx looked sure as s**t like he was ready to blow someone’s head off with the gun that was in his hand that was cocked and he knew how to use? When the ******** did this happen?

Demyx held up a finger to his lips to Axel before nodding down to Roxas’s bag. “Take that and go to my room. Close the door; don’t lock it. There’s a panic room under Sasha. Get in there and be quiet,” he told him lowly. Axel looked at his friend, who just suddenly became a completely different person, and furrowed his brow. Before Demyx hissed at him to get moving. And to hide Axel’s bag down there with him. Axel, in a flurry of confusion, grabbed Roxas’s bag from the floor and scurried off to Demyx’s bedroom, where he found a groggy, stumbling Roxas getting out of bed.

He closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, then moved Sasha and made to move the rug she was sitting on, but found it was glued to the floor. He furrowed his brow again and ran his hands along the floor, spotting a piece of cord running out from beneath the rug. He pulled it up, lifting the floor and the rug to reveal the hidden room. He tossed Roxas’s bag down into the small-ish room which was currently pitch black, then yanked his own bag across the floor, throwing it down there as well. Then he looked over at the confused blond.

“Roxas. Roxas, come on. Demyx wants us to go down in here,” he told him, moving over and ignoring the guilt overcoming him to help him over to and down the hatch. “Careful. Try to feel it out. It’s a ladder, I think,” he told him before going down after him, pulling the string down with him to shut and hide it. He felt his way down and then felt around for a light switch. He found one, and an eerie-blue light filled the room. He took a chance to look around and saw a shelf built into the wall full of canned and dried and preserved foods, not to mention a few dozen cases of water stacked along the bottom. There was another door that he suspected lead to a bathroom of some kind and a twin bed in the corner. Then he looked over at Roxas, who was even more confused than he was. “Rox...why don’t you lay down? You take the bed, I’m good. You need it,” he told him, twisting his fingers around because of his nerves. He was worried about Roxas and Demyx… At least Roxas, he could see. Demyx was up there with angry people, a gun in his hand.

Demyx let out a breath as he saw Axel rush out. He gave him two minutes before he stepped up to the door. “Back the ******** up,” he said in a stern, unwavering voice, ready to shoot if he needed to. “You don’t want to ******** cross me. Back the ******** up now, or I start shooting, and I know how to aim to kill through doors,” he warned, the banging on the door going quiet. “Who the ******** are you, and why the ******** are you here? The ******** do you want from me? I have a gun, and I swear to God I will not hesitate.” His voice was much deeper than his usual bubbly self, and much more intimidating as well. Like he’d done this before.

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Roxas didn’t move from his position on the bed as Demyx got up and instructed him to go hide. What the ******** was going on? Roxas tried to peek out from his knees and got a flash of Demyx leaving with a gun. ********? What was going on? He was with Demyx? Since when was he with Demyx? And since when did Demyx ever known a gun? The beach was never such a bad neighborhood that you needed to keep a gun on you.

Roxas, to be honest, was stunned. His head hurt, he couldn’t remember anything that was happening, and he was scared. He couldn’t be endanger right now. This wasn’t happening. Maybe getting into the panic room wasn’t such a bad idea. It was obvious s**t was going down, and Roxas couldn’t be in the middle of it. If something happened to him… It wasn’t a ******** option for Roxas. His head hurt so ******** bad though. He had barely made it out of bed before Axel came into the bedroom. Thanks to the memory lost, Roxas didn’t remember who the hell Axel even was, but because he also didn’t know who Axel was he didn’t want to hide with him. He didn’t want to be near him. He was terrified and he wanted to be taken home now.

“Don’t… Don’t touch me..” Roxas mumbled as he struggled to get to the hatch, but thanks to his condition, he really couldn’t do s**t. He couldn’t get down that ladder either. He didn’t think that Axel actually noticed since it was pitch black when he went down, but he actually fell most of the way down it. He just couldn’t keep his footing. Letting his feet give out when he got to the floor, by falling, he just collapsed back down into a ball next to the ladder.

“No, I want to know what the ******** is going on. I don’t know where I am, I can’t remember, and ******** head hurts.” Roxas cried as his mental state forced him into angry tears. He needed to know something. As he looked up at Axel though with hot tears he noticed his bag. His knapsack. His lifeline. Quickly he crawled over to the bag and hugged it to his body. “******** this, I can’t… I can’t end up dead.” Roxas cried as he started to dig through the bag. It took him a minute to get his phone out of the bottom of the bag, before he pulled it out and realized all the missed calls.

“********, how...how long have I been here?...” Roxas asked in a soft confused voice. He didn’t know what was going on, and now he didn’t know just how long he had been that way. After a second to reel back from all that could be going on, Roxas clicked the redial button on his phone. Hopefully he would answer. He needed him to answer.

On the other side of the door, a extremely large and bluff man stood about ready to kick that s**t down. Roxas had to be in there. The ******** kind of idiot did he think they were if Roxas thought he could go off the deep-in, and they wouldn’t find him. They always found their property, one way or another. The bodyguard couldn’t exactly say he was proud of killing, but he always returned from his missions successful, no matter how many heads had to roll.

When there was a stern, but completely serious voice on the other side, the tall, long black haired man stepped back from the door and reached for his gun on his belt. Dammit, here he thought Roxas had just gone back into drugs and was just cracked out somewhere. Now there was ******** with guns. Like hell, he was going to be responsible for having to go back and tell the boss that Roxas was kidnapped by a rivaling ring.

Normally he didn’t play the 20 questions game with the enemy, but he had to at least confirm that Roxas was in the place, before he could justify killing everyone else in the building. “Look, I’m just looking for Roxas. You give me, Roxas, I go the ******** away. My name is Xaldin Wards, and I am his bodyguard. Two nights ago after a shift, Roxas disappeared and although he had continued communicate via phone with me, sometime yesterday something happened. Roxas is very important to my boss and is an irreplaceable asset. I’m not allowed to leave with confirmation that he is okay, it’s my job, okay. I can even slide my credentials under the door.” Xaldin yelled back, now a few steps away and off to the side holding his gun. He didn’t have it completely trained at the door, but he could in a moment, if he needed to.

Moments later, Xaldin stopped as he heard his phone going off. “Look my phone is going off right now, it is probably him, so we don’t need to fire any weapons.” Xaldin called back as he holstered his gun and reached for his phone in his pocket.

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s**t. s**t, did Roxas not remember anything? Did he hit his head that badly? Axel felt the guilt pour over him now. This was his fault. ********. ********, Roxas was crying. What was he doing with his bag? His phone!

“Roxas, Roxas. Calm down, okay?” he said, quickly snatching his phone from him and hanging up on the call. “Demyx said to be quiet. You’re not gonna end up dead. Dem sent us down here because something’s going on. I dunno when he got a gun, but...but we’re gonna be okay, but we have to stay quiet,” he told him desperately. “Look, I’ll even stay over here,” he said, backing as far away from Roxas as he could. “And I’m sorry your head hurts. That’s my fault. I’m sorry,” he told him, sliding down against the wall to the floor as he held Roxas’s phone tightly in his hand.

“Don’t...don’t you remember anything?” he asked, a deep frown on his lips. “We’re at Demyx’s house. Destiny Islands. We...We met yesterday on the beach. You were surfing, and I was photographing y… ********. My camera,” he suddenly cursed, an expression of pain crossing his face right before he dropped his head down onto his knees with a groan. He sighed and looked up at Roxas again, tense with stress. “My name’s Axel. I don’t know if you remember me, but...we kind of made out last night.”

Demyx gave a soft sigh as the guy started to tell him why he was here. Great. He knew something weird was going on with Roxas. Especially the way he was acting towards Axel. What had he gotten himself into? “Okay, look, you sound like a nice guy and all, but credentials aren’t gonna give me s**t. Those can be faked,” he told the guy, voice now a little exasperated as he stepped closer to the door. “I believe that you do know him, though. And I’ll let you know that he’s safe. He’s an old friend.” He slowly unlocked the door and slid his fingers around the doorknob, giving it a quiet turn, gun still trained at the door where a bodyguard-sized man’s head might be.

He suddenly swung it open, two hands on his gun once more as he easily moved his aim just an inch further upwards so it was more aimed at the guy’s forehead than between his eyes. “And I’m currently protecting him from this strange, large man who just tried to beat my ******** door down like the big bad wolf. Please, tell me why I’m crazy. Now, give me a reason to put my gun down. Or, you know, a reason to blast your pretty face off. Whichever you prefer,” he said with a small shrug, eyes dancing behind his gun (and his unruly bangs), stoic expression still on his face. He was eyeing this man suspiciously. Honestly, he believed him, but you could never be too careful. If he ended up being a psycho and killed them all when he got inside, Demyx would be pissed.

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