Work Text:
It was as if he got electricity through his body. It made his back stiff and his green eyes widen. This was not good, not good at all. In front of him stood a boy, a teenager, his friend’s son, and here he was feeling so many feelings for the mentioned sixteen year old that he was not supposed to be feeling. He knew that it was eight years between them and that what he was thinking was illegal. He also knew his friend had been concerned about the boy’s previous relationship and the age gap between the two of them. Yet he felt it, he thought about it and he knew he would continue to think about the blonde boy when he left. He only hoped he could stay away.
They danced around each other for months, with lingering looks and heated moments. Axel was sure not to touch the other, completely aware that he wouldn’t be able to stop the wreck if it started. He tried his hardest to stay away, but Roxas, the boy, was becoming better and smarter at making Axel spend time around him. He’d managed to let his father let him work at the company, and was working himself closer to working alone with Axel. The redhead himself was getting a little desperate; the other was getting so close. He needed to stay away. Yet it was as if he couldn’t, he couldn’t keep his eyes away from him in the lunchroom, he had to force himself to constantly hold something in his hands to keep them from wandering towards the teen and he was feeling himself wear down. Soon he might snap. Soon he might do something. He had to stay away; he had to get back in control.
Axel snapped one day, they were alone in one of the meeting rooms at the office after a team meeting, which Roxas had gotten to sit in on. (Apparently he was supposed to learn something from it, but Axel really couldn’t understand what he could learn from getting to listen to a bunch of men fighting over who would get the bigger and better deal and who would get the bad ones.) Roxas had been told to pick up and clean the coffee mugs, and Axel had been the last presenter so he was still packing away his stuff.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Roxas asked with the boldness of a teenager who hadn’t learned better yet. Axel groaned, all he wanted to do was get away from the blonde and hide in his office.
“I’m only doing my job, Roxas, as you should too.”
“No.” Roxas put the cups down with a slam. “You’re avoiding me because you’re too scared to do something about whatever’s between us.”
“No Roxas. I’m not doing anything because it’s illegal, immoral and just plain stupid.” Axel rolled his green eyes.
“It’s not stupid! I want it too so...”
“You” Axel interrupted. “Are sixteen and I’m twenty-four. It is illegal, because you can’t give proper consent. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, and you can’t grasp it.” Roxas tried to protest, but Axel kept going. “You’re too young, I’m in a position of power and I freaking work with your father. Nothing is going to happen between us, so stop trying.” With that he left the teen in the room and forced himself as far away from him as he could. He knew he had spoken pure logic, been smart about it, and he also knew that he was close to running back, grabbing Roxas and kissing him instead.
Roxas quit working at the same place as Axel the next week, clearly giving up on whatever he thought he was after. His dad said that Roxas had requested to see other parts of the company and work with new things. He sounded proud that his son was being so adult and responsible. He did mention that Roxas seemed a bit upset and not quite himself.
“He won’t tell me what it is though, but I think it has something to do with a person he wanted to get together with. He mentioned them a while ago, but it seems he was rejected. It’ll pass of course; he’s only sixteen after all.” Axel felt a little guilty over this, but he knew he was doing the right thing. Axel tried to put what attraction he had felt for Roxas far away from himself, and move on with his life. It was hard, and he found himself thinking about the boy more than once. Life went on though.
Axel had long since changed his job, but he still had some contact with Roxas’ father and knew that he had gone to college and graduated with a degree in English. He also knew that Roxas was in a relationship and that he was trying hard to make it in the publishing world. Axel admired that. Roxas had always made a mark at being hardworking and pretty stubborn. He was surprised when he got a call from Roxas one day, six years after they had met the first time.
“Hi, I’m not sure if you remember me, but my name’s Roxas and you used to work with my dad.”
“Yeah, um, I remember you.”
“Oh, right. So my dad said that you work with making cover art for books and the like now, and... he gave me your number.” Roxas paused, clearly trying to gather his thoughts and get to the point. “I’m looking to get into publishing, and I was wonder if you had any kind of pointers for me...?”
“Oh.” Axel tried to come up with something to say. “Well, that’s not really my area of work.” Roxas sighed.
“Well, um, sorry for interrupting.” He sounded disappointed.
“But I can talk to my contact at the company and see if she has anything... She might even need an assistant, since she goes through them like paper.”
“Oh, that would be great!” Roxas gave him his number and Axel promised to get back to him as quickly as possible.
Larxene was not to easiest person to work with, nor was she the nicest person in the world, but she was damn good at her job as a kind of extended editor. She did pretty much everything; from make sure the damn book got written to chose the font of the text. She was on top of the entire process, and she went through assistants very quickly.
“If they can’t keep up then they really have no use to me.” She kept saying to people who commentated on this. “If they can’t handle the heat, they can’t handle any part of this job.” Axel was a bit worried that she would shoot him down on helping Roxas out, but he gave it a shot anyway.
“Is he a hard worker?” She asked. “Never mind that, you really think he’d be able to handle it?”
“Yeah, he’s... persistent. Hard worker, doesn’t really know when to quit.”
“Hmmm...” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine. Tell him to come by Monday and I’ll see if he has what it takes.”
“Great, thanks.”
“I’ll punch you if he turns out to be a slacker.”
“I wouldn’t ask if he was.” Axel told her honestly. “I like being able to move.” She grinned. Yep, Larxene was a killer.
It turned out that she actually liked Roxas. He wasn’t as easily scared as a lot of her previous workers, and she liked that he did things on his own, because those things were good things and she didn’t have to tell him to do everything. She didn’t even explode when he did something wrong, only told him to fix it and he made sure he did. Once he even slept at the office to make sure he got it done.
“You know, Axel, you did good on this one. Too good.” She admitted as she went over his suggestions for covers. “I’m not going to be able to keep this kid for too long. He’s gonna have to take on his own writers soon.”
“Oh” Axel hesitated, not knowing how to react. “That’s good?”
“Maybe. He’ll have to prove himself first though. And I’m never gonna find another one this good.”
“Well, he’s one of a kind I guess.”
Axel took more water over his head when he agreed to go to lunch with the kid. He hadn’t met him more than a fleeting moment when he was leaving Larxene’s office and Roxas came in with coffee for her. He looked good, he wasn’t a kid anymore and Axel felt the same pull in his stomach when he saw him. He knew it was dangerous to agree, but he couldn’t turn him down. Just this one time, he told himself. One meeting only.
“You know, you didn’t tell me it was freaking Larxene Black you worked with.” Roxas said as they got their food at the restaurant. “She’s a legend. She’s great. No one get’s these kinds of chances.”
“Well, I figured I didn’t want to jinx it for you. You would have been way too nervous if you’d known.” Axel smiled. “Plus, you’ve got your foot in now.”
“Yeah... I really am grateful.” Roxas paused for a bit. “For this and for... what you did when I was sixteen.”
“Uhhhh...” Axel blinked. He had not expected this to be honest. He had thought they would both avoid the past, and ignore it. “I didn’t really do anything.”
“Look. I’m not stupid, and I know it’s hard to believe but I wasn’t that stupid then either. I know you felt something for me, and you weren’t the first grown man either. You were the first one to reject me though. And I didn’t really get it then, but I get that it was very destructive and it was getting in the way of my life. So thanks, for not giving in to me and letting me a teenager for once. It did help.”
“Yeah... I’m sorry I was harsh though.” Axel smiled, but it was a sad smile. “I am happy that you turned out to be a normal, healthy adult though. I couldn’t live with fucking you up.”
“All the other men sure could.”
“Well, fuck them. They probably can’t think further than their dicks.” Roxas laughed at this. “But I see why, you are very attractive, and damn you came on pretty hard. I knew you’d do well with Larxene.”
“I toned down a bit since. Most men don’t want a person who’s that on to them. They like the more delicate ones.”
“Nah. I disagree.” Axel shrugged. “It’s nice to be with someone who knows what they want and how they want it. It’s too much hassle to keep on pulling the words out of someone.”
“...if I came on to you now, would you say no?” Roxas’ voice was softer now, he sounded unsure. It made Axel take a good look at him and actually think his answer through.
“No, I guess I wouldn’t.” He sighed. “Although, if I met you at a bar I would probably think you were much younger than you are.”
“...That’s so rude.”
That one lunch turned into texting and talking on the phone and before Axel knew it, he was pretty much dating the younger man. The instinct came to him as he was cooking dinner for Roxas in his flat. He swore, but just then the doorbell rang and he knew it was the blonde. This might be doomed to fail.
“You’re acting weird.” Roxas said halfway through dinner, commentating on the way Axel kept dropping things and spacing out. “What’s wrong?” Axel thought he might as well just say it straight out, so he did.
“Are we dating?”
“...If you... want?” Roxas scowled. He clearly hadn’t thought about it that much. “If... you think this is something romantic?”
“I... I haven’t really thought about it, but I do like you. In a romantic way, and in a lustful way too.” Roxas grinned.
“Then I think we should finish eating and then make out on the couch. We really have been going slow.”
“Glacier.” They laughed. It was easy and carefree, and far from what Axel could ever have dreamed of.
Three years later Axel was still surprised at how well things had gone with Roxas. He remembered when they had first met, how he had felt and he still felt those kinds of shocks of emotions. He still did but to be honest, the nice comforting feeling of love was far better. The fiery feelings, the lust and attraction... he thought he would never lose that for Roxas. He hoped at the very least. The warmth and soft feeling of being completely in love and trust with the other... he knew that it would be for those feelings he would let him go if he needed to. Axel wasn’t stupid. He knew the years that had been good to them, they hadn’t had too many struggles and he knew they would probably end up in bigger problems. But he didn’t think about that. He focused on the day they had, their present. He didn’t want to think about the future like that, he wanted to treasure what they had.
“What are you thinking about?” Roxas asked as he looked at his boyfriend who was staring out the window at nothing.
“Oh, just... how we met.” Roxas groaned.
“Let’s not think about teenage me, I was a brat.”
"You were cute.”
“You were hot as heck though. Still are.” Roxas smiled. “Let’s go... do something more interesting.”
“...” Axel didn’t comment on that, he just let the younger pull him into the bedroom. Today was good.
End