Betwixt

5.

The air was thick with humidity as they trekked through the lush forests of the small island. Riku tried his best to get away from the sun’s rays as he parted branches to clear a path for Axel. It didn’t help that he was already irritated, (his father barged into his room dressed in a red speedo, declaring that summer was officially here), hot (he put his hair up in a pony tail only to have the sun blaring down on his neck), and hungry (his father decided to cook a spicy Mexican breakfast wearing only the red speedo. Riku slipped away when the man tried to do the Macarena).

This was of course Selphie’s idea. She suggested that giving a tour of the place where he and Sora grew up would hopefully give Axel some ideas as to how Riku might seduce the boy.

Riku stopped in mid-stride when he heard the zoom function of a camera. He sighed and turned around to see Axel aiming the device at his face.

Selphie’s idea was not working.

All Axel did was take pictures and ask ridiculous questions. It was grating on his nerves and he was tempted to just let a branch smack into redhead’s smug face.

“What’s that?”

Riku stopped to see what Axel wanted to know now.

“That’s a tree,” the teen replied dryly.

“Fascinating!” Axel took pictures of it.

They reached a small clearing of sand surrounded by trees. The leaves rustled gently and a cool breeze came in from the direction of the ocean.

“I may be wrong,” Axel said, picking up a small coconut. The redhead examined it, touching its small bristles. “But is this some strange rock?”

Riku’s eyebrow twitched. Axel looked at him, vibrant green eyes filled with curiosity and amusement.

“No, it’s a coconut.”

“Really?” Axel looked at the coconut closely. “You know, now that I think about it, it sort of does look like Sora to m—”

Riku left before the young man could finish the sentence.

Why did he let himself be dragged into this type of situation? It wasn’t like he needed help to begin with. He was doing fine before.

The image of the Sora coconut frowning at his stuttered confession flashed through his mind.

Okay, so he wasn’t entirely fine. But was that truly a cry for help? He’d imagine how pathetic he looked fumbling for words and sweating under the cold gaze of a coconut, but that didn’t mean Selphie and a complete horny stranger should know about his business.

And how was Axel going to help him anyway? The redhead was new to the neighborhood. He wasn’t an expert simply because Selphie managed to condense sixteen miserable years of unrequited love and strife into a short melodramatic story for him to make fun of.

He stepped over some bushes and made his way towards the beach. Riku turned around to see if the man was still behind him, but saw that he was gone. Where was he? It wasn’t like he could lose sight of someone with that hair color.

He turned right, walking down the beach. The waves ran up to the edge, eating hungrily at the grains of white sand. Riku passed a hand on the back of his neck and grimaced at the prickling sensation of the sun’s rays digging into his skin.

Riku saw Axel’s messenger bag on some bushes near the waterfall. He ran up the wooden ramp and looked around the area. There were no signs of flaming red spikes anywhere.

Riku looked toward the crashing water.

He wouldn’t.

He gulped at the idea of Axel hiding behind the inviting cool water. He always dreamed of Sora waiting for him there, trembling with anticipation. But the thought of Axel waiting, wet clothes sticking to his body, made him suppress a shudder.

Riku stepped into the pool of water. The icy liquid quickly seeped into his shoes as he treaded cautiously through. He inhaled deeply the scent of fresh water and swallowed thickly as he got closer and closer.

He stopped in front of the waterfall. The crystal water crashed down, forming bubbles at his feet.

His hand at his side twitched and he slowly brought it up towards the water. He took a deep breath and leaned forward. In a fraction of a heart beat, a hand shot out of the water and grabbed his shirt. Riku’s eyes widened as he was pulled in and shoved against the stone wall behind the water. He winced at the shooting pain that traveled up his back and groaned at the numbing throb at the back of his head.

“Isn’t this better than some boring tour?”

Riku came down from his dizzying haze and noticed that his arms were locked at his sides by Axel’s strong grip on his shoulders. He stared at Axel, stared at his bright green eyes, stared at how dark his blood red hair looked.

Riku felt Axel’s knee shift in between his legs and groaned when he felt the man nudge against his groin. Before he could protest, or push him away, Axel crushed their lips together.

Parting his lips, Riku gained access to Axel’s mouth. They kissed hungrily, noses knocking, teeth clashing, and tongues rolling around for dominance. Riku wanted to pull himself back, but soon found himself biting into the soft flesh of Axel’s lips. Axel pressed against him, hands trying desperately to run down Riku’s form. The teen choked back a moan when he felt the redhead’s hands finally reach his hips, where they unbuckled his shorts and dipped below the waist band. Axel’s hands quickly cupped his ass and pushed him upwards. Riku could feel his cock pressing against the confinement of his underwear and wrapped his legs around the redhead’s waist. He held onto Axel’s shoulders for leverage and pulled himself up, rocking himself against his body, rubbing and moaning as licks of pleasure nipped at his skin.

“Riku?”

A distant voice. He could hear it despite the sounds of his own breathless pants, Axel’s rapid breath, and the crashing water surrounding them. Riku buried his face into Axel’s neck, mouth biting and sucking a trail up and down a rapid pulse. Axel’s hands began to pull the silver haired boy’s shirt up, dragging the wet stiff material over tanned skin. Riku shivered as the water ran down his bare torso, a cool sharp sting in contrast to the hotness he was feeling before.

“Don’t you love me anymore?”

Axel dragged his tongue over a hardened nipple. Riku strained to hear the owner’s voice, but he could barely think through the pleasurable haze his mind was in.

“Riku.”


There it was again. Riku pulled himself back from Axel’s neck, shivering at the loss of more warmth.

“I thought you loved me.”

Sora.

Riku’s mind knew that much and he arched when Axel pulled his underwear down, his cock swollen and in desperate need of release.

“Sora, I do love you.”

“No you don’t.”

Axel brought his lips up again, kissing him slowly and deeply. Riku felt the redhead’s hand travel slowly down towards his pulsing cock.

“But I do Sora. Why would you think that?”

Axel began slow, fingers wrapping around Riku’s shaft, squeezing gently, stroking slowly. Riku threw his head back, breaking their kiss, and moaned when Axel increased in pace. Axel traced the beads of pre-cum down the shaft, covering his long fingers with it.

“Because of him.”

And Riku knew that now he couldn’t deny his feelings for Sora nor could he deny that he didn’t like where Axel’s fingers were going after the man slicked them with spit. He tensed when he felt one slide inside of him.

“S-top,” Riku shuddered as a second finger went in. Axel’s fingers begin to scissor inside of him, stretching him, preparing him for something Riku thought he just wasn’t ready for.

“S-stop.”

His nails dug into Axel’s shoulders when he felt the man’s fingers brush against that spot Riku never knew about but was now well aware of. His ass buckled and he shivered with pleasure.

“I said STOP!”

Riku pushed the man off and punched him before he could react. Axel flew backwards out of the waterfall.

Riku glared at the water in front of him. He panted heavily, the cool water drowning out the last wisps of Axel’s warmth from his body.

He shuddered again once the cold water began to take control. Punching Axel didn’t feel good.

It felt great.

He fixed himself up before stepping out of the water. He saw Axel hunched over examining his jaw and walked up to the man cautiously.

Axel looked up to him, green eyes dark with anger. “Don’t tell me you’re straight now?”

“What the hell is your problem?” Riku yelled, trying to hold himself back from punching the man again.

“I was trying to get you to lighten up and cool down a bit.” The redhead straightened up. He opened and closed his mouth, testing his jaw. “But I guess you aren’t into water sports.”

“You promised that you’d help me win Sora over.”

Axel stopped his self examination. “And you promised me a tour of the island.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Frankly, I don’t appreciate you cutting it short by administering random acts of violence.”

“You asshole! What happened back there was not part of the tour!”

“It should have been.” Axel snorted. “God knows we both needed it.”

Riku held the bridge of his nose and counted to ten.

“Well?” Axel asked crossing his arms. “I’m waiting.”

“For what?”

“An apology.”

“An apology? For what? For you almost finger fucking me behind a waterfall!”

“For punching me in the face, dumbass!” Axel finally lost his composure. His green eyes glowed with fury and his mouth bared clenched teeth.

“You deserved that!” Riku took a step towards him. “If anything you should be apologizing to me.”

“I’m not going to until you do it first.”

“The hell I will.” Riku growled.

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

They both glared at each other. The atmosphere between them crackled with electricity as their animosity for each other clouded the air.

“Apologize now, Axel,” Riku said breaking the silence.

“You punched me!”

Riku tried his best to storm off through the water. He passed Axel and purposely bumped into the redhead’s shoulder. He heard Axel mumble something that sounded like “dickhead”, but didn’t bother to retort. It was best if he didn’t sink to his level. He walked down the wooden ramp, not bothering to check if redhead was following, and made his way towards the wooden shack. He made his way up the stairs and through the door to access the top level. He sighed in relief at the sight of the paopu tree across the wooden bridge.


*~*~*~*


It’d been close to an hour since his fight with Axel and he was sitting, sulking with a frown, on his paopu tree.

Why was Axel so intent on getting into his pants? Riku understood that he was attractive (the existence of the froth foaming at the mouths of girls who looked at Selphie’s pictures of him in the shower was proof of that). What he didn’t understand was why Axel thought he was sexually experienced and ready to fondle. He was not the sex god everyone thought him to be.

His first kiss, albeit forced, was from Selphie and he’s had fantasies about Sora. Outside of that, Riku’s sexual resume was blank and thinking about it now, Riku was a little embarrassed. He knew Axel was there to help him step up his sexual appeal, but Axel’s sexual freedom intimidated him and to be frank, Riku didn’t think he needed the man’s hand up his ass to get him up to speed.

Still, he couldn’t believe he let Axel go that far. His ears burned with the thought of Axel’s hand stroking him again. No. He didn’t like Axel. He liked what Axel did rather than the young man himself. He was mad at himself for being letting himself go and being so naïve to believe that Axel actually wanted to help him.

It also bothered him that Axel made him feel so confused. One minute he was lost in the throes of lust and the next, the heat on his cheeks was not from the pleasure of having Axel’s lips on his but from the shame of knowing that his heart belonged to Sora. He didn’t like that Axel made him feel that way. He didn’t like that Axel was everything and nothing at once. The man was sexual, charismatic, unpredictable, but he just wasn’t Sora.

Riku needed someone he could trust, someone to anchor him down and bring normalcy to his life. He needed Sora.

He leaned his head back against the trunk of the fruit tree, head swarming with thoughts. The sound of footsteps mixed in with the rustling of trees. Axel walked up to the paopu tree, leaning on the base of the truck where it bent, elbows prompted, right hand cupping the side where Riku didn’t punch him.

Riku sat up and looked at the way the breeze teased the redhead’s unruly locks.

“Since you haven’t tried to castrate me on sight, I’m guessing you’re not mad at me anymore.”

Riku rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Axel chuckled.

There was silence again. Both teen looked out into the ocean, lost in their thoughts. Sitting there, letting the ocean breath brush against his face reminded Riku of all the times he and Sora would hang around the tree. They would look out, towards the setting sun, and talk about the worlds they would visit when they got their raft ready.

“I’m sorry,” Riku said, breaking the silence. He looked at Axel, expecting the redhead to say the same.

“Finally coming to your senses?” he asked, turning his head and looking at the teen with a smirk on his lips.

Riku’s eyebrow twitched.

“Besides the fact that I’m swallowing my pride to apologize to the likes of you, no. I fail to grasp your logic—”

“You punched me,” Axel chimed in.

“—when I’ve done nothing wrong.” Riku finished while glaring daggers at Axel’s smug face. “I’m expecting an apology back.”

Axel sighed. “In time.”

Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose. Axel frowned.

“Tell me Riku, why are you so uptight all the time?”

“I am not uptight!” Riku said, sounding uptight. “If there’s something wrong with someone, it’s you.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Axel stood up. “Me? Why I don’t know what you’re talking about little Riku-kun, I’m flawless,” he said running a hand through his hair.

“Just now, you’re not taking this seriously. You’re always playing around and it’s not funny to play with people’s emotions.”

“Do you think I was playing with you back there,” Axel said, his voice laced with a serious tone.

“That wasn’t the first time.”

“I didn’t think the closet incident was a big deal,” Axel said, shrugging.

Riku arrowed his gaze on the man, green eyes bright with anger. “It was a very big deal.”

Axel didn’t seem to notice the murderous intent floating around Riku. “You know what your problem is?” the man rubbed his chin. Riku noticed the small bruise by his left cheek. “You’re a hypocrite and you’re selfish.”

Riku snorted. “Aren’t I the catch?”

“You want change, yet you’re scared of it. And you’ll only accept change when it’s of convenience to you.” Axel walked around and stood in front of him. “You want to be with Sora even if it means hurting Kairi.”

“I had him first.”

“No one’s going to cry you a river with that childish attitude.”

“And what would you know?” Riku asked, jumping down. He hated looking up to Axel because that meant he had to look into his eyes and he did not want the feeling of his knees about to give out to come to him again. “You think you can solve any problem with sex.”

“Do you really think I’m trying to help you by getting into your pants?”

Riku glared when the redhead laughed.

“I’m just trying to guide you. How are you going to reassure Sora of his sexuality if you’re not sure of your own?” Axel moved to sit on the tree trunk. “I want to make sure you want to be with another male, Riku.”

Riku opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he saw the man sigh.

“Being gay isn’t a walk in the park and it isn’t something that you decide over night. There are people out there who will make life a living hell because of who you love. But you’re strong, so I don’t have to worry about that.” Axel looked out towards the ocean. “But what I am worried about is how secure you are with your feelings for Sora. You claim that he’s the air you breathe, but your actions say otherwise.”

Riku frowned. He didn’t think Axel would use his hormones against him. He was sixteen, male, and easily excited. Not fair.

“Before you make some illogical argument about how unfair I’m treating you, I would like to defend my honor by justifying my actions.”

Riku rolled his eyes.

“I am simply trying to encourage the sexual beast we all know is within you.”

Riku wondered if he could get away with jumping over the small cliff and drowning in two feet of water.

“Sex is overrated anyway.” Riku came back from his suicidal thoughts and looked at Axel. “Solving your problems with sex only ends up driving the person you care about the most away. Trust me, I know.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. He’d never seen the redhead look so sullen before. He wondered who the man was talking about.

“So will you trust me?” Axel asked holding out his hand. Riku hesitated a moment. Did he trust him? Axel’s smug look was now gone. It replaced with earnest eyes and straight lips.

Riku took his hand and shook.

“Sure.”

It felt like they were starting over. Riku almost smirked at the thought. The leaves above them rustled as another breeze blew past. A paopu fruit gave out under its ripe weight and fell in between them. Axel bent and picked up the yellow star fruit.

“What’s this?”

“That is a paopu fruit.”

“Is it good?” He asked, bringing the fruit to his nose and smelling its ripe aroma.

“They’re pretty good,” he said, watching Axel examine the fruit. He admitted the curious redhead looked cute at the moment “There’s a legend behind it. They say that if two people share it, their destinies will become intertwined, and they'll remain in each other's lives no matter what.”

Axel looked up from his inspection, eyes wide with bemusement.

“Really? So is it true?”

“I accidentally ate some from a fruit cup I shared with Selphie.”

Axel roared with laughter, head thrown his head, hands hugging the fruit to his chest. Riku frowned. He didn’t think that being cosmically connected for all eternity to Selphie was that funny.

Riku crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Axel to recover.

“I know the legend sounds cheesy,” he said, “But it gives us love sick people hope.”

“Think this works with long distant relationships?” Axel asked playing catch with the fruit by himself.

Before he could respond, Axel threw the star fruit his way. “Come on.” Riku caught it swiftly and was surprised to see that the yellow star fruit had red tips.

“This tour is over,” Axel said, walking towards the wooden bridge.

Riku pocketed the fruit and followed.


*~*~*~*


The afternoon was cooler, with the sun dipping below the ocean’s horizon. The sky became a twisted mixture of orange and blues as the night stars began to slowly appear. Axel and Riku walked side by side, a comfortable silence in between them. They neared their houses when a familiar figure dressed in yellow stood at Axel’s gate. Riku immediately recognized Selphie, as well as the large black book she was carrying. It was his art portfolio and he wondered how she got it after he locked it in a trunk in his closet.

“So, how’d the tour go?” she asked, walking up to them. “Oh my god, is that a hickey?” She went to brush her finger tips on the mark Riku’s punch made, but Axel pulled himself back. Riku felt guilty for going to that extremity.

“Yup, I couldn’t peel him off of me.”

On the second thought, no, no he didn’t.

“So what brings you here?” Axel asked, looking at the portfolio with interest.

“I just wanted to see if you were interested in requesting a commission.” She handed the book to him. Axel flipped through the pages, nodding when he saw something he liked.

“Selphie, what are you doing?” Riku hissed at her quietly.

“Business is slow,” she whispered back. “And film is expensive.”

His jaw clenched as he glared at her.

“These are pretty good.” The redhead’s fingers gently brushed the surface of one of the drawings. “So you’re just not a pretty face?” he said looking up briefly to wink at him.

Riku glared at the floor, flattered and embarrassed that Axel could still make his cheeks flare.

“Interested?” Selphie asked, going to Axel’s side.

“I want rates.”

Selphie cleared her throat and went into business mode. “Ten for small pieces derived from something you like, fifteen for original. The price goes up one munny depending if you want color or technique.”

“Selphie, I don’t think he wants to—”

“Sounds reasonable,” Axel interjected, flipping to a pencil sketch of a geisha about to paint her face, only to see a skeletal version of her face stare back at her.

“You don’t have to ask for anything, really—” Riku said to Axel, but was cut off by Selphie.

“The kid can work with almost anything, graphite pencils, inked brushes, pens, pencils, charcoals, pastels, markers, you name it, he’s done it.”

“Can he draw on clothes?”

Riku gave up. It was obvious they were ignoring him during the business deal that he would have to work in. Why were they ignoring him?

“Sure, sneakers are his specialty; ten munny for one shoe, twenty for a pair.”

“Hmm…sounds good,” Axel said closing the book. He looked at Selphie, who had a small notebook out. “I want some sneakers done.”

“Okay.” Selphie took his order down and flipped the cover off of the small calculator embedded on top.

“And a mural for my room.”

“What!” Riku shouted. He’d never done a huge project like that before.

“That’s going to set you back at least…” Selphie punched some numbers in the calculator. “…five hundred munny.”

“No problem.”

“Aren’t you going to at least ask me my opinion on this?” Riku asked, looking at Selphie writing a list of supplies. She turned to him and smiled sweetly.

“Riku, mommy’s working now, go inside, and play.” He frowned at her, but she just turned to Axel with a smile, immune to his death glares.

“So, call to set an appointment for next week, Riku will stop by, and you guys can discuss further details,” she said, giving him a business card. Since when did she get those made? And why was there a small doctored picture of him naked riding a horse? Oh god.

He forced himself not to ask about that horror and forced his feet to cross the street to his house. Selphie shrugged and waved a quick goodbye to Axel, who went into his house.

“Hey, wait up!” She yelled after Riku. He stopped at his door.

“Are you done selling me into slavery yet?”

“Not quite, I still need you to polish Squall’s swords once I marry him.”

Riku snorted and rolled his eyes.

“You know this means that I’ll have to spend the entire summer working at his house.”

“Seeing as you were going to be there working him under the sheets, now you have a perfectly legit excuse to be there!” Selphie chirped smiling.

Riku stared at her.

“Selphie, go home.”

“Aw, don’t worry, it’ll be fun.” Her face flushed with a bright shade of crimson as her eyes glazed and a lazy smile appeared in between her cheeks. Riku knew that he lost her then and swore he could see a drop of blood coming down from her nose. “The painting, I mean the painting will be fun,” she muffled, her nose and mouth covered.

Riku sighed. “Goodbye Selphie,” he said opening the door and closing it behind him.

He almost relaxed, but heard the sound of a bouncing ball and maniacal laughter. He looked to see his father, dressed in a purple leotard, with matching leg warmers and head band, and accompanied by magenta tights. The crazed man ceased his bouncing at the sight of his frightened (and scarred) son.

“Riku-kun!” He tripped over the large ball, but soon recovered and made it to his son. “How’s my little ray of elmo sunshine doing?”

“Fine” Riku said through gritted teeth. “And you?” He tried to keep a polite composure as he looked around the room for something (preferably shiny) to distract his father.

“Oh, I’m glorious! You know me; keeping my body fierce and my thighs thunderous as always.” The man flexed his non-existent muscles.

Riku reach into his pocket, hoping to find a coin of some sort. He pulled out the star fruit Axel gave him and shoved it at his father. He turned to run, but Papa held onto him firmly by the shoulder.

“Is this what I think it is?” Papa asked, eating the fruit with his eyes. His copper eyes lit up when he saw Riku roll his eyes.

“Oh! My son, the light of my life that makes me lose the hope of ever feeling young again, what marvelous gift have you bestowed me.”

Riku mentally slapped himself and regretted giving the hysterical man the fruit.

“Are you saying that you want to further our father-son bond? To intertwine our fates so that in the next life we meet as lovers?”

Riku’s eyes widened. DO NOT WANT.

“But my sappy little Riku-kun, do you not realize that we’re star-crossed.” Papa let him go and paused dramatically, hand raised in the air, as if reaching for the sky. “This love you have for me, although unavoidable, seeing as how glorious I am, is forbidden in society’s eyes.” He did an exotic hand trick and pointed at his son “To think, the idea of you, a boy of merely twelve—”

“I’m sixteen.”

“---would want to nestle in the soft pillows of my masculine bosoms is a blasphemous offense, makes papa shed a sorrowful tear.” Papa wiped a fake tear away. Riku managed move a tiny bit closer to the stair case.

“But have no fear, my son!” Papa erupted. “For the most natural love is the beautiful love between a parent and child!”

Riku winced. Papa stopped his dramatic posing and looked shocked when a revelation hit him.

“But mama will feel left out!”

Or saved, Riku thought as he rolled his eyes.

Papa placed his hands on his hips and raised his one foot up to look at though it was propped on something. “No worry, I’m sure you don’t have some twisted Electra complex where you try to kill mama in the hopes of winning my love!”

The man twirled twice and Riku leaned back to avoid getting hit by his long hair. Papa grabbed onto Riku’s hands and pulled him close.

“Our relationship will be magical! I’ll be the Zeus to your Ganymede and we’ll feast on nectar and ambrosia and live like gods!”

This was getting ridiculous. Riku pulled away from his father’s embrace and crawled towards the stairs. Papa was oblivious to his son’s disappearance as he fell to the floor, arms and legs spread open.

“Please Riku-kun!” A faint blush covered the man’s cheeks. “Not there,” he said closing his legs and hugging himself. “Papa bruises easily.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” Riku said rapidly, while running up the stairs.

“Riku-kun! Don’t think yourself dirty by your ravenous desires. Let Papa wash you and clean you of your shame!”

The sound of the bathroom door slamming and locking was Riku’s response.