Summary: "Just one more thing!" "This game isn't funny, Axel!" "Just one more thing and I promise I'll take it easier! Please, Rox?!" SLASH! AkuRoku, and hints of RikuSora!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, not even the plot!
Warnings: SLASH! and character's death!
Let's play a game!
Roxas couldn't see the world around him anymore; they were driving too fast. Buildings, people, trees, cars… it was all zooming past with such speed all he could see were the colours. The cold wind was tearing at his hair and made his eyes water: another reason he could barely see anything. Had they left the highway yet? Were they in town now? Roxas really couldn't tell; he was aware of nothing but the slightly cold wind, the rumbling of the motorcycle's engine, and Axel's thin, warm body in front of him.
Roxas was surprised by how different it was to hitch a ride with Axel without a helmet, compared to when he had one. This was the first time ever he rode behind Axel without a 'hard hat', as Demyx called them, and it wasn't until now that he realized just how loud the engine roared, and how strong the wind was. Apparently, the helmet protected more than just his head; his ears and eyes had been shaded as well. It made him regret the fact that he had even mounted the motorbike, and he reminded himself that he had to buy a spare-helmet as soon as he could.
The one he usually used had belonged to his older brother Cloud once upon a time. It was old, a little too big, and not exactly the latest model, but it worked just fine anyway. In the three years that Axel had had a bike, Roxas had never rode with him without a helmet, not even once; as if his mother's nagging wasn't enough, Cloud was an experienced motorcyclist himself, and the two of them had taken it upon themselves to remind both him and his twin, Sora, every day that a helmet was a cheap life-insurance.
Both Roxas and Sora had always been careful to obey their mother and brother, and never before today had the idea of not using a helmet even occurred to Roxas. But then again, there was a first for everything. And when Axel came to pick him up today, so they could go to the cinema together, Roxas had opened the closet in his and Sora's room, only to find the helmet gone.
Sora had gotten there first; he was supposed to go to the beach with Riku today, a fact that Roxas had completely forgotten. Ever since Riku had bought his bike six months ago, Roxas and Sora had been forced to share the helmet. They had often said that they would buy a new one, but for some reason, they never got around to do it. And now, here he stood, without a helmet, and a boyfriend waiting for him at the doorstep. Oh well, their mom and Cloud weren't home, and one time without the headpiece wouldn't make a difference, would it?
Axel had been a bit reluctant to let him come without a helmet, but had given in when Roxas pointed out that he often let Demyx, Reno and Riku ride with him without a helmet. Axel had objected that those three had heads thick enough to endure anything, but Roxas had stood his ground, and very soon, the red-head had given in. He knew he was a good rider; he wouldn't let anything happen.
Weren't they going a little too fast? Roxas wasn't sure, but he could have sworn that his boyfriend had just passed a red light. Horns were going off like wild behind them, and worry grew in the pit of his stomach.
"Axel!" He called over the red-head's shoulder, hoping Axel could hear him over the wind, and through his helmet. "Aren't we going a little too fast?"
Axel laughed and shook his head, making the red spikes sticking out from under his helmet tickle Roxas in the face. Unconsciously, Roxas tightened his grip around the older boy's waist, and pressed his chin into Axel's shoulder-blade.
"What's the matter, Rox?" He called back with the smile of a daredevil playing on his lips. "You've never complained before!"
That was true. Roxas had always loved riding Axel's motorcycle. There was something wild, free… almost sexy about the big, deep-red Ducati Monster 620, and even though Roxas had known Axel since kindergarten, and they had been together since Roxas was thirteen and Axel fourteen, he could no longer imagine the fiery red-head without the bike. It had become as much a part of him as those tear-drop tattoos under his eyes, or those piercing green eyes, or the spiky hair. Roxas was never afraid when Axel rode it, which was kind of strange, since Axel was anything but a safe driver. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of things with Axel that Roxas should have been worried about, but wasn't.
The fact that he was a pyromaniac, for example. More then once he had come over to Roxas' house wrapped in bandages and barely able to move because of the fire-burns and blisters covering his body. Roxas had seen him burn himself more times than one. But even if the logical part of his mind told him that Axel was ruining his body by playing with fire the way he did, Roxas knew in his soul that the handsome young man never would do anything that could seriously damage or kill him. Not when it came to fire, or his MC.
'I'd never do that to you, Rox!' he had said once and kissed Roxas deeply.
No, Roxas had never been worried while with Axel.
But Axel had never really gone as fast as he was going right now. Roxas dared stretch his neck to take a look over Axel's shoulder at the speed-indicator. The small red needle had just passed 160 miles per hour, and to Roxas horror, it was still steadily ticking upwards. Axel had never driven this fast before; especially not with Roxas. And for the first time ever while riding Axel's bike, he could feel his heart beat faster in fear. What the hell was the red-head trying to do?!
"I don't like this, Axel!" He called and pressed himself closer to his boyfriend's back. The warm body soothed him a little, but not enough to make his voice stop shaking. "Slow down! We're going to fast! This must be dangerous!"
Axel laughed again, and Roxas saw him let go of the handle with one hand to pat the arms wrapped around his middle softly.
"Don't worry, love, I've got it all under control! Trust me!"
"I do!" Roxas insisted and frowned. Why wasn't Axel slowing down, but speeding up? "But I still want you to slow down!"
The hand that had been patting his hands shifted up to Axel's own chin to fumble with the snap of his helmet.
"Tell you what," Axel said brightly over his shoulder, and Roxas whished he could keep his eyes on the road! "I'll slow down, if you take my helmet."
"What are you doing, Axel?" Roxas asked, confused out of his mind now. "Just slow down!"
"Only if you take my helmet," Axel said in a sing-song voice.
"Fine! I'll take the damn helmet!" Roxas snapped irritated, and as soon as Axel had loosened the snap, he carefully pulled the helmet off with both his hands, freeing the red hair as he went. Then he quickly slid it down over his own head, and fastened the snap with one hand. The other quickly returned to hug Axel's waist.
What the hell was the red-head up to? Was he playing a game? It wouldn't surprise the blond: Axel liked games; especially dangerous ones, with fire and other unhealthy things. He never backed down from a challenge; the more lethal something was the more eager Axel was to do it. But he never really involved Roxas in those games. Not the dangerous ones, anyway. (However, there were… other games he was more than delighted to let the blond participate in. cough cough)
No, he always made sure his 'little blonde foxy-Roxy' stayed out of any of the dangerous things he and Demyx and Xigbar and the others could come up with. At first it had annoyed Roxas to no end, and it still did sometimes, but he had accepted the fact that Axel was protective, and that he loved Roxas far too much to let him do stupid things like drink seven bottles of moonshine and go blind for three days. Not that Roxas was very interested in doing that.
Besides, Axel's over-protectiveness was one of the reasons why his mother and Cloud let him date the boy. Sure, they had known Axel for as long as Roxas had known him; much like when they were kids, they still hung out at each others' houses all the time, and were more than familiar with each others' parents and siblings, but over the years, Axel had developed a kind of bad boy-reputation, (make-up, black clothes, facial tattoos, motorcycle, smoking… yeah…) that had made Roxas' mom worry slightly for her son's sake. But as soon as she had seen how tenderly Axel still treated Roxas, her worries had been blown away. Cloud had been a little harder to convince, but he too had accepted that his baby-brother was, in fact, dating.
"Helmet's on?" Axel called over his shoulder now, and his hand had not returned to the handle, but was rubbing small circles on the top of Roxas' hand. The blond boy whished he could have kept his focus on the road.
"Yes! It's on, you big doofus!" he hissed into the red-head's ear. "Can you please slow down now?"
"Just one more thing!"
"This game isn't funny, Axel!"
"Just one more thing and I promise I'll take it easier! Please, Rox?!"
Roxas sighed and leaned his now helm-covered forehead against the older boy's back.
"Fine! What is it?!"
"Tell me you love me!"
He looked up again and stared at the back of Axel's head. The red hair, now free, beat against the visor of the helmet. Now what was this?
"You already know that!"
"So say it again! Come on, Roxas!"
The hand on his own squeezed lightly. Lovingly.
"I… I love you…"
He could see a smile spread on Axel's face.
"Again."
"I love you."
"Louder, Rox. Again!"
"I love you!"
"Scream it out! Again, Roxas!"
"I love you!" Roxas screamed at the top of his lungs, and moved in closer, reaching up so that he was practically screaming straight into Axel's ear. "I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I LOVE YOU!!!"
Axel was smiling as broadly as he could now. He leaned his head back so far it was almost resting on Roxas' shoulder, and he had his eyes closed. The wind made his red hair whip his face, but he didn't seem to notice it. Roxas blinked.
Was Axel crying?
"I love you too, Rox." The blond barely heard the words over the roar of the engine. The hand covering his own freed one of them from the vice grip around his waist, and he gently interlaced their fingers. "I love you so much…"
The next morning, people all over the country would read the news paper and shake their heads in sorrow when they came to page three.
There, in large, bold letters, one could read:
Young motorcyclist killed in tragic accident
And under that:
Yesterday, a twenty year old male motorcyclist was killed as he ran a red light at the crossroad by Destiny High and was hit by a traversal truck. The young man is said to have passed away immediately after the hit, suffering a broken neck and severe skull-injuries. The police have declared the event an accident, since the forty-year-old driver of the truck- whose only injuries were minor whiplash and shock- had no chance to avoid a collision.
According to careful examination of the remains of the MC, the breaks were busted and the gas pedal was stuck; which means that the young man was unable to slow down or stop.
The only survivor of the accident was the motorcyclist's nineteen-year-old passenger, who was brought to the emergency-ward within half an hour of the collision with three broken ribs, a busted lung, a broken leg and collar-bone, severe whiplash, and a concussion. Despite the injuries, the medics are positive that the young man will be able to recover quite well.
"The helmet truly saved his life," Dr Aeris Gainsborough said in a short interview. "If he hadn't been wearing it, I am sure there would have been two events of death today. As it is, his head was protected fairly well. Broken bones can be healed, but head-injuries are very serious. This young man is lucky to be alive. Someone must have been looking out for him today."
Every month, hundreds of people are killed or injured in the traffic. Most of them are young people who forget to be responsible. That is the greatest threat against security: irresponsibility. They forget the most important rule when it comes to vehicles and traffic:
It is never okay to play games.
Crappy ending, I know, but this was something I wrote in half an hour before going to bed. I couldn't come up with anything better.
This is my first KH fic, and I REALLY wanna know what you people think! Liked it? Terrible? Seriously, a review would make my day! So please!
R&R!!!