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It starts with a book, as it always does.
Axel is looking for a certain book, and has been scouring the library shelves for what feels like hours to no avail. The paper is due until tomorrow night, but Axel has class tomorrow and then work after, so he knows he needs to get started tonight or else he’s not going to be able to get it done in time.
After twenty more minutes of searching—which is certainly not a procrastination tactic, no matter what his brain is telling him deep down—Axel finally bites the bullet and decides to ask for help.
He heads to the front desk, pretty sure he’s going to his ear talked off by the very cheerful elderly man who is way too obsessed with Frosty the Snowman in any time of the year. He avoids that guy like the plague whenever he’s in.
He’s not expecting the person at the front desk to be an extremely attractive student around his age.
The boy is dressed in a black and white checkered hoodie, a black t-shirt that has the face of Edgar Allan Poe with ravens and ‘Nevermore’ written on it. It looks like a tattoo. He’s got blonde messy hair that looks a little bleached to be natural, and black and red gauges in his ear.
When he looks up at Axel, there’s more piercings. He’s got a septum piercing, an eyebrow piercing on his right side, and shocking blue eyes that are looking at him expectantly—
“Can I help you?” he asks, voice full of attitude and what sounds like barely held back sarcasm.
“You’re not Mr. Olaf,” Axel blurts out. He immediately regrets it.
The pierced eyebrow arches higher. “Astute observation. Are you looking for something, or were you just looking to chat with Olaf? Cause he’s not in today—”
“No! No,” Axel doesn’t feel flustered. He doesn’t get flustered. But this boy is cute, and Axel definitely needs help. “Heh. Sorry. Just caught me off guard for a sec. I’m actually looking for this book, here—”
He passes the slip of paper over to the boy, who looks at it. The blonde blinks at him, looking a little bored. “Third row from your left, in the D’s.”
“See, here’s the thing,” Axel says. “I’m kinda in a pinch here. I’ve been looking all over the place for this book. It says there’s one left, and I need it for a paper that’s due tomorrow night. And when I say I’ve been looking everywhere…I mean everywhere. Could swear I checked that row too. Do you mind helping me look for it?”
The boy looks like he’s about to say something that’s going to be a no, but he sighs, getting up from his chair. “Sure. Come on.”
It’s not until he leaves his station and is near Axel that Axel realizes how short he is. He’s a good six inches shorter than Axel. Axel is a pretty tall guy—well over six feet, but this kid is shorter than average.
He catches the name on the badge that’s dangling from the boy’s lanyard around his neck and his eyes widen a bit in recognition. “Roxas. Oh hey! You were in my class last semester, weren’t you?”
Roxas rolls his eyes, looking at him. “Course you didn’t remember me. I was just the kid you were always trying to fail.”
Axel barely remembers him, truthfully. He’s TA’ed a few classes over last couple semesters, and freshmen level statistics classes were generally very large. He remembers the name more than the face, and he’s sure he’d want to remember a face like Roxas’.
“Hey! I wasn’t—” Axel frowns. “I was doing my job!”
Roxas snorts again, a little derisively, but shakes his head. “I can’t believe you’re a TA and you’re procrastinating on, what, a literature essay?”
“Sue me, I hate writing,” Axel says. “Numbers are always the same. Plug in a number into an equation, you always get the same answer. But trying to figure out the meaning behind the color of a door or who the Christ figure is in A Tale of Two Cities and writing eight pages about it? Kinda terrifying.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Roxas says. “It’s definitely Gandalf.”
Axel can’t help but laugh. “You’re awful.”
“Sorry, I’ll help you find the book, but you won’t get answers from me.” It takes a moment for Axel to realize that Roxas isn’t being rude. He’s teasing Axel. “I’m doing my job.”
Something warm settles in Axel’s chest. He has to stop himself from smiling and looking stupid.
They approach the stacks of fiction that mostly contain authors with the last name of D. Roxas looks much more focused, yet much more at ease. Axel can tell Roxas is in his element.
“Dickens, Dickens….” Roxas is mumbling. He’s crouched down to look at the lowest shelf.
“See, I told you, I—”
“Shhh,” Roxas stands and puts a finger to his own lips. “Silence in the library.”
Axel snorts, but lets Roxas do his thing. Roxas slowly is rising up and up, checking the other shelves. He grabs one of the weird round stepstools Axel has never needed nor used for anything other than a seat. Roxas stands up on it, and is looking at the top shelves now.
Axel wants to say he can do it, but then Roxas pushes himself on his tip toes and the t-shirt rides up just enough to expose a very well defined hip bone and abs. Axel blinks, then blinks again.
“You wanna know why I sucked so much?” Roxas asks, and Axel tears his gaze away to look up at him. “In your class?”
“Because you were falling asleep all the time?”
“No, that was you,” Roxas said, a small smile on his face, still looking at the books. “Don’t think we didn’t notice when you’d come in hungover. The reason is because I’m too queer to be good at math.”
Axel snorts. “Is that so? See, that’s a total myth. Because I’m a hundred percent queer, and I happen to be great at math. Literature? Not so much.”
Roxas gives him a side glance, then goes back to looking at the books. “Yeah, but I’m sure you’ve got other queer traits. Do you drive?”
“Yep,” Axel says. “Own my own motorcycle.”
Roxas falters, and this time Axel doesn’t miss the way he blinks a bit faster, before catching himself. “Okay. Good relationship to parents?”
“Mom and Dad are divorced, and I’m twice as spoiled,” Axel grins. “You?”
“My mom and dad are married still, actually,” Roxas says. “High school sweethearts. Okay. A plant addict?”
“My sister got me a succulent. I managed to somehow murder it. It’s like it spontaneously combusted when I looked at it.”
“Proud plant dad,” Roxas says. He looks more and more amused, and his fingers are skimming along the books absently. “Though one of them isn’t exactly....legal.”
“Ah, now that I can get behind,” Axel grins. Roxas looks cute on the stepstool, and is actually just a couple inches taller than Axel. “Is that it? Kinda making me question my sexuality here. I’m a good person. I don’t deserve to be labeled a heterosexual.”
Roxas bites his lip. He seems like he’s debating on saying something. In the end though, he settles on something else.
“And that you love iced coffee,” Roxas says. “Can’t have all five.”
“Ah, now see, that’s where my queer card came from,” Axel says. “Green tea, all the way. It’s healthy.”
“Tea is weak and disgusting,” Roxas made a face. “I have an iced mocha waiting for me.”
Axel spots the book they’re looking for. He reaches up with ease, plucking it out from almost in front of Roxas’ face. “Coffee stunts your growth.”
Roxas’ ears are turning red, and his cheeks are turning pink. It’s a nice look for him.
“Guess you found it,” Roxas says. He steps off the stepstool.
“Guess I did,” Axel says. He doesn’t want to leave, despite knowing he has to get started. “Can you check me out?”
He doesn’t miss the way Roxas’ eyes sweep over Axel’s body, from the ground all the way up to his eyes. “Sure. Follow me to the front.”
Axel might be a little in love already.
Roxas heads behind his desk, typing on his computer. He takes the book, scans it. “It’ll be due in two weeks. You can drop it off at the desk, or use the drop off box at the entrance.”
“Thanks,” Axel says. It’s a little awkward now, mostly because he wants to ask Roxas out. He just has no idea how. Or even if he’s reading too much into things.
Roxas slips the receipt into the book, handing it to Axel. Their fingers brush, and it’s absolutely electric.
“Carton,” Roxas says suddenly.
Axel blinks.
“Carton is the Christ-figure in the book,” Roxas continues. “As you’re researching, look into Carton and how it ties into the themes of sacrifice and utilitarianism. And that’s all I’ll say.”
Axel blinks, because shit, that’s about half of his thesis statement right there. He’s definitely a little in love already.
“Thanks,” Axel says. He turns to leave, but thinks about something, and turns back to Roxas. “Hey. I’m curious. What was the other fifth one?”
Roxas tilts his head.
“You were gonna say something else instead of the iced coffee thing. No queer has all five. So what was it?”
A sly smile crosses Roxas’ expression. It’s flirty, and speaks of promises that Axel desperately wants to make. “The ability to top.”
This time it’s Axel’s turn to have his face heat up as the mental image comes to mind. Coming to the library was the worst and best idea.
But Axel is good at collecting himself, so he just smirks back and looks at Roxas. “Guess you’ll have to find out about that one.”
Roxas is trying and failing to hold back a smile. Axel thinks he’s possibly the cutest person he’s ever met. Axel wonders if he has literal hearts in his eyes as he smiles at Roxas.
Axel leaves, despite the fact that it pains him. His heart is hammering in his chest. But on a hunch, when he’s through the double doors of the library and outside, out of sight, he opens the book and looks at the receipt.
A phone number is scrawled on the bottom.
If you ever want to study together - Roxas
Axel smiles all the way through writing his essay that night.