There was fear in his eyes.
The same fear that Aksel felt burning his way like wildfire through his chest.
"You're just really cool and fun to hang out with Alex, and every second I've spent with you over the past six years has been the happiest of my life--which sounds really gay in retrospect--but I don't mind if it is! Because it's you, and uh--I'm most comfortable with you out of anyone--"
Alex shut up him by shaking his head and lowering it into two palms.
"Oh my god, Aksel..." He muttered through gritted teeth, muffled by his hands.
Aksel's focus fell onto his heart, which was sinking rapidly in his chest, looking at the other boy. He didn't want to cry, but he would be lying if he said it wouldn't feel nice to succumb to the stinging acidic pricks at the corners of his eyes.
Everything was crumbling down.
He could see Alexis right in front of him, sitting in a small, hunched over form so close to him, yet he had never felt so far away from someone in his life.
It was like Aksel was on an island and Alex was steadily sailing away, beyond his reach and control.
"Fuck. I gotta go," Aksel whispered, standing up and pulling his backpack over his shoulders.
It was too painful to look back at Alexis.
So instead, he rushed out of the park at his own pace.
"So, it didn't work out, huh?"
Aksel flinched at the sound of the familiar British voice, taking his head out of his hands for the first time in maybe an hour.
He'd been crying on and off to himself but hiding it from the rest of the gang ever since they Ubered back to the BnB. They didn't need to know.
The last he'd heard from Quackity was that he was going to Uber back to the hotel, knowing they were all meeting back there when it got dark.
Aksel didn't want to go back. He felt sick to his stomach.
"No. No, unless you count ruining a friendship of six years as 'working out'," Aksel mewled exhaustedly, picking at a bit of fluff he'd pulled from his shirt.
He watched Henry give him a pitiful look before sliding into the outdoor chair beside him, laying back to relax just as quickly in his regular fashion.
"Hey man, don't beat yourself up. I'm sure you guys can still be friends."
The words only added to the sickly swelling in Aksel's gut, making him feel like if he opened his mouth he would either scream in agony or throw up everywhere. So, he opted for a sigh instead, barely able to find the strength to look Henry in the eyes.
The two sat in silence for a second.
"Are you coming back for the fireworks show?" Henry asked quietly, as if the question had the ability to break backs if not spoken as such.
Aksel grimaced slightly, eyes falling distantly to the ground, shaking his head and curling his knees into his chest before securing them with his hands.
"Bro, I understand that your hurt, but Disney isn't just Quackity's big make-or-break. It's yours too, and more than that, it's yours together," Henry stated, leaning over to give Aksel's calf a reassuring punch.
The Estonian felt the impact and bored over at Henry with big, blue eyes that seemed much duller than before.
He was right. No matter how sick Aksel felt, he didn't want to regret not maximizing his time in Disney's very own land while he was in California--who knew when he'd be back here again.
He formed the words in his throat first, still feeling shaky and uneasy from the ill feelings of before that lingered.
"Okay. I'll go."
Henry grinned from ear to ear, raising his hands in victory.
"Besides," Aksel added when he saw the other's display, "I need to get you back for earlier."
The British boy's grin quickly fell.
The two laughed off their conversation--even if it was hard for Aksel to do so--before they both headed inside.
Though nobody knew what happened, everybody could sense Aksel was upset from his sudden lack of loud jokes and actively tried to avoid it. Aksel thought this was for the best.
"Aw, you're not staying anymore?" Ani pouted up at him, fixing her glasses.
He chuckled softly.
"Nah. Henry's gonna drag me back whether I like it or not," Aksel shrugged, eyeing a very hyper Henry off in a corner who was attempting to tackle--and failing--a very giddy Brandon.
Aksel couldn't help but smile at the duo, Ani following his gaze and doing the same.
At least someone is bound to get their happy ending, Aksel thought with a bittersweet mind.
"Well, looks like it's just me and the others. Have fun and enjoy the show, you better record it for me!" Ani chirped, tenderly patting Aksel's arm before walking over to the couch where her laptop was.
The Estonian smiled to himself. It was hard and a lot more broken than it had been but it was a start.
His friends here really did care for him.
A loud booming of high-pitch laughter as well as a soft thud sounded, making Aksel jump and glance back over to the two wrestling boys, only to find Henry on the ground, red-faced and panting between his laughter as Brandon tickled him senselessly into the floor, chuckling all the while.
How did he not notice how gay they really were before?
"Nick, stop twerking, kids are watching," Brandon scolded quietly. There was a chorus of laughter from all the boys around, Aksel included as he finished recording the other's shenanigans and put his phone away.
The night had come fairly soon and the park was littered in darkness, only beautifully themed lights guiding their way around the park. The restaurants all had delicious scents radiating from them, the smell of cotton candy and corn dogs lingering in the park after dark like a hazy dream. The smell made Aksel feel at peace.
Nick began to move his body closer to Brandon, still twerking.
"It's Disney, I'm just making kids dreams come true!" He insisted jokingly, backing his ass up to Brandon.
"Sorry but I don't know any kids who want to see this," Henry scoffed, raising his foot to propel Nick's ass away from Brandon, which worked effortlessly.
Aksel smirked. Possessive.
"Hey," he said in his most childish voice, waddling over to them, "I wanna see this! Just don't show my grandpa 'cause he's got a weak heart!"
Somehow--perhaps in the stupid accent or the way he walked--his joke earned laughs from the large group, which made him feel a slice of normality.
"You ARE a grandpa," Hooverr--Jack added with a roll of his eyes. They each laughed amongst themselves again.
Aksel's mind quickly thought of a continuation to the joke.
"Hey, that's not very nice! Why don't you step into the field of vision so I can see who you are?"
He adjusted his glasses to fit, squinting around at everyone.
Once more, the gang laughed but afterward fell into a momentary silence where everyone was checking their phones.
"Man, the fireworks start in fifteen minutes. Where is Quackity?" Kappa frowned.
The group felt the tension that rose from Aksel's body, Henry's eyes immediately training themselves to the tall Estonian, and Brandon's eyes following his.
Aksel could physically feel the knots in his shoulders as he went silent, glaring at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the whole park despite the number of colorful lights and the bright-lit castle.
"Maybe he's asleep. You know, he doesn't exactly have the best sleeping pattern," Henry argued in a voice that felt distant to Aksel, at least; everyone else seemed to buy it.
"Would it be racist to make a joke about siestas?" Kappa asked.
There was a simultaneous groan, Jack looking up at the man beside him.
"Yes. Why are you Australians so insensitive?"
"Hey, that's generalizing my people and that's insensitive so fuck off!"
Kappa folded his arms and the conversation continued but Aksel was out of it by that point, completely zoned into his own heavy heartbeat.
There were so many sounds around him. So many voices and artificial noises that felt so... underwater. Drowned. Untangible.
One particular sound that appeared was like ticking. Only it was getting louder.
Aksel paid no mind.
His friends let out a shout from over beside him.
However, what caught his attention was not the shout itself, but the response to it.
"Hey, one second."
And as Aksel slowly began to stir from his dissociated state, he felt something tug at his arm, now alert and confused as everything suddenly sounded back in place.
He didn't have time to protest or speak, only be dragged through a sea of excited people chattering away, watching and listening as all of them floated past his moving form, his eyes mostly glued to the hooded figure dragging him along.
They were so rushed and yet precise, small enough to weave throughout the crowd with ease and Aksel's core began to rush to life as he realized who this was and what was going on.
Alexis.
"Alex, what are you doing?" He asked, almost tripping over a stroller, throwing an apologetic look to the mother before raising a brow at the boy dragging him along.
There was no response, which worried and irked Aksel, but he allowed himself to be dragged with ease, his feet following in the direction almost automatically.
Eventually, the duo came to the clearing of people, where Alex glanced back at Aksel with a soft smirk on his face. Aksel only looked back curiously, bubbles filling out the space in his chest.
The smaller boy leading him then started to run, which in a causation effect almost had Aksel stumble right onto his face unless he moved his feet faster too.
"Where are we going?" Aksel tried again, frustrated. The thematic lighting seemed to whizz past them too fast for his liking, until finally they stopped and Aksel got a good chance to catch his breath and look around the almost empty land.
Toontown.
Alex had led him back to Toontown.
Right back to the same step they last saw each other.
Alex jumped up and pulled Aksel up with him.
Aksel was about to protest. His stomach twisted as he thought about his royal fuck up from earlier again. The thought of them alone made him feel heavy and his skin crawl, turning his head off to the sides and looking anywhere but at the other feeling totally worthless, but Alex stopped his protest dead in its tracks.
"Aksel, look at me," Alexis whispered.
Aksel's eyes strafed further away, eyeing the trees instead. He didn't want to do this.
His heart was beating so painfully loudly in his chest that he felt mortally pathetic and his eyes stung with hot tears. This was too hard.
"Aksel."
Two warm, thin hands perched themselves unexpectedly on either side of Aksel's face. They pulled his attention right back to in front of him. Right back to where Alex stood.
Aksel's eyes widened.
Now, he was looking down upon two deep, indulgent brown eyes that stared right back into his.
They were so close.
He thought his chest might explode.
Aksel was allowed to do nothing but stare, totally awestruck by the Hispanic boy looking up at him. The way that these lights hit his face so dynamically was like every other time and yet, it was so much more special. The way that they reflected elegantly in his chocolate eyes that pierced back into Aksel's own sent tingles down his spine. He was breathtaking.
Then, something unanticipated happened.
Within a split second; a mere blink of an eye, Alex closed his eyes and leaned forward.
And from the moment their lips grazed, Aksel's body became alive. Electric. On fire.
The only other thing Aksel could hear than his own thunderous heartbeat in his ears was the distant banging of fireworks. The multicolored lights lit up Alex's face in waves and that was the last thing Aksel saw before he too closed his eyes, pulling the smaller boy closer.
They were soft at first, Alex's lips. Testing, gentle, slow. Aksel moved his in time, feeling the thud from the explosions beneath his feet, memorizing every feeling, every taste he got from Alex.
Then, just as quickly as it came, they parted, holding onto each other with fragile hands.
There were a few seconds of time where they just glanced into the other's eyes, hearing the music and fireworks from the distance away. Then, Alex smirked shyly, lowering his head a little.
Aksel's chest was going to burst.
"Sorry," Alexis squirmed, biting his lip as he glanced back up into loving eyes.
"Sorry? For what?" Aksel asked, swaying gently now with the other, wanting to hold him like this forever.
"For not responding earlier. I really didn't know how to respond... I've never been the best with strong emotions," the smaller boy explained. He appeared so timid and awkward.
It was the most adorable thing Aksel had ever seen.
"It's fine, Alex. I've only been waiting for five years for this."
There was a pause from the other boy, followed by a playful glare.
"Only five years? Was I not good enough for the whole six!?"
Aksel laughed quietly, breathlessly. He wasn't sure if it was legal to feel this happy.
"Nah. You were a little shit for first one," he explained with a shrug.
Alex wiggled out of his grip and punched his arm.
"Loser!"
Aksel retaliated and grasped his elbow, yanking him in closer again.
"Idiot."
The two were a bundle of giggles by that point, closing the space between them and sharing another sweet kiss, one that ended with both smiling like dorks and gazing into each other's eyes once again, lit up by the final colorful parts of the firework show.
"I love you, Aksel."
"I love you too, Alexis. And I have done for six years."
|| A/N: hahaha it's over now. Did you enjoy? I was honestly thinking about how I was going to end it all day, it was plaguing me--I hope this is what y'all wanted!
Leave ship suggestions for possible next fanfics below? Another Quacksel but an AU perhaps?
Comments are always appreciated. Love you guys! Have a magical day, as they say in Disney.||