alchemy mondays

“What’re you having?” Axel pointed at the concoction in Roxas’ hand. “You’re on your third cup, so it must be good.”

“I don’t know, actually. Some kind of mulled wine? It tastes like cinnamon and vanilla, whatever it is.” He moved to take Axel’s cup. “Do you want some?”

“Uh… yeah, actually. Sounds pretty tasty, I’ll try a bit.” He smiled as Roxas turned away. “But just a bit, alright?”

Another eye roll. “Yes, dear.”

“You’re a babe!” Axel shouted after him, leaning back against the wall and surveying the crowd around him. For all intents and purposes, it wasn’t actually a bad party; there were loads of people he knew, as well as enough of Roxas’ acquaintances to make him feel comfortable. He noticed Riku waving at him from his left and waved back, watching as his silver hair bobbed its way closer.

“Hey Ax, glad you could make it.” Riku smiled, clapping his hand onto his shoulder. “Roxas around?”

“He’s just gone to get us some drinks, so yeah he’s here.” Axel returned the smile. “He seems to be having a good time, so all’s right with the world. Nice shindig you got going here, dude.”

Riku chuckled, glancing behind him at the throng of students. “Yeah, haven’t done too badly this year. Sora was getting really worried that it’d bomb, but he’s so relieved.”

“I can imagine; poor squirt must’ve been shitting himself.”

“Not quite, but you’d think he was with all the panicking.” Another chuckle. “Oh, hey… did you, uh, bring the thing?”

Axel patted his jacket pocket. “Right here. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

“It’s going to be amazing - I can’t wait!” Riku grinned wide, but suddenly turned away from Axel. “Oh, Kairi’s calling for me. I’ll be back later for the big event.” He lifted his fist, which Axel promptly bumped with his own. “You got this, Ax.”

“I know, I know.” Axel pulled his usual cocky smirk, giving a quick salute to Riku as he left. “Oh, Rox! You’re back.”

Roxas handed him his cup, now half-full with warm wine. “Is that okay for you?”

“Yeah, that’ll be plenty.” He lifted it to his nose and took a deep inhale. “Woah, this smells really nice.” He took an experimental sip, smacking his lips together in a pathetic attempt at imitating a professional taster. “Has some low notes of cinnamon, with a light hint of vanilla that really kicks in at the back of the throat and warms the mouth.” Axel hummed, and glanced over to Roxas - who was currently trying to stifle a laugh. “It’s a rather nice flavour, and definitely comes recommended.”

He couldn’t contain it anymore, and Roxas let out a horrible guffaw of laughter that in turn caused Axel to lose his composure and start laughing himself. Roxas punched him in the arm before grabbing his bicep to steady himself. “Okay… that shouldn’t have been so funny but oh my god you have the best snooty voice.”

“Why thank you, esteemed colleague.” Roxas snorted again, and Axel chuckled. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. Have a drink, it might calm you down a bit.”

Roxas did as he was told, trying to hold back a grin. “You’re a massive dork, you know that?”

“You tell me everyday, Roxas. But you love me for it, right?”

A slight blush rose onto his cheeks as he buried his nose into the cup. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? Ouch, Rox, that hurt.” His pretend-to-be-offended face was a well practiced art, but Roxas wasn’t buying any of it. “We’ve been dating for how long, now?”

“Three years…” Roxas muttered into the cup, looking up at Axel. “Three long, suffering years.”

“You’re so rude to me!” Axel nudged at his boyfriend. “You won’t even kiss me on Christmas Eve…”

Taking another gulp of his drink, Roxas fixed him with a stare. “I don’t think you’ve earned one, that’s all.”

“Oh, really?” Axel raised his eyebrow. “Then what do I need to do to earn one?”

“You’ll just have to find out.” Roxas kicked away from the wall, throwing Axel a flirty smile as he disappeared into the crowd.

“Playing the tough game tonight, are we?” Axel muttered to himself, smirking. “I’m playing to win, though.” He reached into his pocket and toyed with the box inside before pushing himself into the room. After squeezing past a few groups of people he found Roxas by the drinks table, chatting with Sora and Naminé. Roxas nodded towards him, but otherwise didn’t disengage from his current company; Axel thought best to leave him to it, and instead turned to Demyx and Marluxia - friends he grew up with in band together. He hadn’t seen them in a couple of months, so it would be a good chance to catch up with them.

Twenty minutes of conversation later, people were being shooed away from the center of the room. Riku stepped into the newly formed circle, and proceeded to announce that Axel had something very important that he needed to say. This was it; his time to shine. With a quick clear of his throat, Axel walked into the middle of the space - suddenly feeling very nervous. He glanced around the circle before his eyes finally landed on Riku, who gave him a reassuring thumbs up.

“Sorry to interrupt your party, guys. But I, uh…” He scratched the back of his head, suddenly at a complete loss for words. Riku had sort-of put him on the spot, and no amount of speech practice in the bathroom mirror has prepared him for the live run. “Alright, let’s just get this over with.” He walked over to where Roxas was stood, taking his hand and pulling him into the space with him.

“A-Axel? What’s going on?”

“Just run with it, okay? Trust me.” He squeezed Roxas’ hand, smiling. “Look… 90% of the people in the room have probably worked out what’s going on, so I’m just going to get on with it.” Taking a deep breath, he looked Roxas straight in the eyes. “You and I have been friends for god-knows how long, and we’ve been dating for three ‘long, suffering’ years. We know each other inside and out, and I haven’t felt this comfortable being around somebody for a long, long while. So I think it’s only right…” He squeezed Roxas’ hand again, before dropping to one knee. “That we take our relationship to the next level.” He pulled the box from his pocket with his free hand, and in one swift motion flipped it open and presented it to him. “Would you do me the honour of being my husband?”

He heard a collective gasp from around him; apparently not as many people had caught on as he’d predicted. It was Roxas’ reaction that he was focused on, though; his eyes were tearing over, and his breathing was picking up. He kept glancing between Axel’s face and the ring in front of him, not quite believing what he was seeing.

“I… Oh my god, Axel… O-Of course I will!” He dived forward to throw his arms around Axel, trying to hold back his tears. “It’s beautiful… thank you!”

Laughing quietly, Axel hugged his now-fiancé tightly, rubbing soothing circles on his back. “It’s okay, you can cry later. I need to put this on you first!”

Laughing in return, Roxas pulled back and offered his hand; Axel slid the ring onto his finger and kissed his knuckles gently. The ring itself was white gold, inlaid with several multi-coloured gems. Roxas tilted his hand slightly, catching the light and gasping in awe. “It’s… I just can’t… Axel, you’re the best! You’ve definitely earned this.” He grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss, humming with satisfaction as the room burst into rapturous applause.