AN: Wahey, my laptop is fixed and back in my possession. I've missed it, this last week. Perhaps that's why I wrote so much, and can now post it all on here.
Axel/Roxas, not my characters etc etc. Prompt number 39 - "Dreams".
"We'll meet again, in the next life."
"Yeah. I'll be waiting."
As the figure in the black coat faded into nothing, Roxas woke with a start. This was the third night in a row he'd had the same dream, the third time he'd woken at that particular point, and the third time he'd checked his hands for those unusual weapons upon waking. Glancing at the clock, he groaned. It was still only 4am, but Roxas knew from experience that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. The most useful thing he could do would be to get up and tackle the pile of homework he hadn't done last night.
Switching on the kettle, he pulled out his books while waiting for the water to boil. He didn't function this early in the morning without copious amounts of coffee. When he saw what his English homework was, he almost laughed out loud. "Describe, in detail, a dream you have had recently." He'd only ever had one dream he could remember, and it was vivid in his mind, Picking up a pen, he started to write.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"The darkness in the town square was almost tangible, closing in around me. I raised my weapons again, unsure where I was finding the strength to keep fighting. My opponent, a tall, slim figure in a black hooded coat, dodged and ducked everything I could throw at him. Everything, that is, except one blow to the chest. He staggered, and fell to the ground. It was only then that I realised he didn't have to be an enemy - that we'd once been friends.
"We'll meet again, in the next life," he said, as his body faded from view.
"Yeah, I'll be waiting," I heard myself say."
During English class, Roxas had been asked to read out his description. Unusually, the class had listened, spellbound, to every word. As he finished, the door crashed open, and a tall, skinny redhead walked in.
"Hi, I'm new here, name's Axel."
The teacher directed the newcomer to the only free seat in the room, which happened to be beside Roxas. As he slid into the chair, he grinned. "So, what do they call you?"
"I'm Roxas."
"Nice to meet you, Roxy."
Normally, Roxas hated anybody shortening his name to Roxy, but for some reason, it didn't sound so bad coming from the redhead. Actually, come to think of it, that voice sounded strangely familiar.
"Roxas, I don't suppose you could show Axel around the school, could you? I believe his timetable is the same as yours."
"Uh, sure, no problem." Roxas couldn't exactly refuse the teacher's request, even if Axel's presence did make him feel somewhat uneasy, though he couldn't explain why.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The next lesson was chemistry. Roxas normally worked with Naminé. He hoped she wouldn't mind Axel joining them.
"I'm Naminé."
"Axel. Got it memorised?"
"I think it'll be fairly easy to remember."
Axel spent most of the lesson flicking a lighter on and off. Roxas almost jumped out of his chair when he noticed. "Take it easy, kid. I'm not going to set the lab on fire. Not yet, anyway."
Naminé leaned closer. "Calm down, Roxas. I don't think he means any harm."
"Ladies and gentlemen on the back row, I'd appreciate it if you talked less and concentrated more."
"Sorry, sir," came the unapologetic chorus.
Roxas tore a page out of his notepad, scribbled a message and slid it along the table to Naminé. "He reminds me of the guy in my dreams. The voice is the same."
Naminé looked up, shocked. She'd known about Roxas's dreams before that morning's English lesson - he'd told her because he'd been worried. "Perhaps your dreams are a premonition. You said you'd been good friends in the dream, right?"
Roxas nodded, knowing she was watching him. Naminé believed in premonitions and such like - her grandmother was reputed to have been a white witch. If that was true, Naminé certainly seemed to have inherited some of her ability.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
As the day continued, the feelings of familiarity seemed to grow even stronger. If there really was such a thing as past lives, they'd definitely known each other, and known each other well. Judging by the looks Axel was giving him, the redhead had picked up on it as well.
"See you tomorrow, Roxy."
"Yeah, see you."
Roxas and Naminé walked home more slowly than usual. "You two have met before, I'm sure of it." Naminé was convinced, and even Roxas, normally a sceptic, was beginning to believe it.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
That night, the dream was different. He too wore a hooded black coat, but this time, both his hood and the redhead's were pushed back. If they'd sounded similar, they looked absolutely identical, down to the spikes in the cherry blood hair. Even the tattoos under the eyes were there. They were having an argument, though Roxas wasn't sure what had started it.
"No-one would miss me." The words flew from his mouth, harsh and full of pain.
"That's not true. I would."
Waking at 4am was becoming a routine, was was the bleary-eyed trudge down the stairs and the enormous mug of coffee. Roxas thought about calling Naminé, but realised she wouldn't appreciate the early morning wake up call. He'd talk to her at school. There was no possible way these dreams didn't have some kind of meaning.
"Nami, we have to talk."
"Same dream again, Rox?"
"Different dream, but still the two of us." Quickly, he described it to her. He'd almost finished when Axel arrived, looking very tired indeed.
"Morning, Axel," Naminé cheerfully greeted him.
He yawned, then replied. "Morning, you two."
"You look about as tired as I feel," Roxas couldn't help commenting.
"You look like the kid I dreamed about last night."
"Sorry, what was that?"
"I dreamed about someone who looked like you. Short, messy blond hair... creepy place, though."
"I am not short." The sentence came out through gritted teeth. Roxas was sensitive about his height.
"Yeah, sure you aren't." Axel grinned, green eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Boys, that's enough." For someone who was usually very calm, Naminé could certainly sound incredibly stern at times.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
More note passing ensued throughout the morning, as Roxas and Naminé discussed their new discovery - Axel was also having the dreams. "If that doesn't prove there's a connection, I don't know what does."
During art, that afternoon. Naminé painted as though in a trance. Not once did she speak to, or even acknowledge the existence of anyone else in the room. When Roxas looked at her painting, he recognised the scene immediately. Two figures in close-fitting black coats, hoods up, faced each other. He knew he hadn't described the weapons to her, but they were there, exactly as he saw them in his dreams. The shorter figure wielded two key-shaped objects, one dark, one light. The taller figure had two circular, spiky weapons, flames coming from them.
"Chakrams and keyblades." Axel's voice, behind him.
"Excuse me?"
"The weapons - that's what they're called. And unless I'm much mistaken, that's you, and that's me." He indicated which person was which. Roxas nodded. "How could Naminé know what I've been seeing in my dreams?"
"Because... because it's what I've been dreaming too. I told her about it."
"Why her?"
"Naminé's a witch." Roxas was certain of it now. How else would she know details that he hadn't told her about?
Axel nodded. "It would appear that she is."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The dreams were different every night, images of Axel and Roxas as friends, in a creepy castle with glowing white walls. Gradually, other people started to appear in them too, with Naminé being the first. The three discussed the dreams every morning, gradually learning more about each other, and their friendship became stronger for it.
After one unusually vivid dream, Roxas sat in the kitchen with his customary coffee. Of all the things that could have happened, that was one he hadn't expected. Slowly, he picked up the phone and dialled Naminé's number.
"Naminé?"
"Roxas? It's stupid o'clock in the morning, what do you want?" For Naminé, that signified irritation.
"Sorry I woke you, Nami. I take it you didn't have that dream, then."
"Can't say I did, Rox. What was so special about it that you had to wake me up?"
Roxas mumbled something unintelligible.
"You're going to have to tell me if you want my help."
There was a long silence before Roxas worked up the courage to say something. "I think... we were a bit more than best friends."
"You and Axel? What do you mean?"
"I mean that he kissed me. And I didn't hit him or anything."
"It must be love." She couldn't help laughing.
"Don't even say things like that, Naminé. Right now, it doesn't seem funny."
"I'm sorry, Rox. Talk you you at school, ok?"
"Ok. Sorry for waking you up."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Roxas was desperately hoping the redhead would take the day off school. No such luck - he was there even earlier than usual. Roxas just knew the day was going to be very awkward indeed.
"Morning, Roxas." Something definitely wasn't right with Axel. That was the first time he'd ever called Roxas by his proper name. He was also wearing dark glasses, the emerald green eyes hidden from view.
"I guess I don't need to ask, do I? It's obvious you had that dream too."
Axel nodded, but didn't say anything. They barely spoke for the rest of the day, even when Naminé tried to prod and provoke them into conversation. "The silent treatment isn't going to make the problem go away, guys."
"Neither is talking it to death," Axel snapped, his temper finally gone. "Roxas and I are having a little identity crisis right now. It's a bit of a shock, to say the least, to find out that we used to be lovers in a past life!"
Roxas groaned and buried his head in his hands. He'd been hoping that the issue would go away if he ignored it for long enough, but now Axel had announced it to the world. He couldn't deny it any more - he and Axel had known each other before, they'd kissed and probably slept together - undoubtedly tonight would show that.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
He was right. That night's dream involved Roxas and Axel doing things the innocent young blond hadn't even realised were possible, let alone enjoyable. This time, when he woke up at 4am, he was gasping for breath, sweaty, and had a raging hard-on that didn't look as though it was going to go away any time soon. Not on its own, anyway. Reluctantly, Roxas headed for the bathroom. Hopefully, a cold shower would do the trick, although he hated cold water. He turned the dial to cold, and stepped under the spray, already shivering. After a few minutes, it was obvious that the cold was doing absolutely nothing. Slowly, Roxas turned the water to warm, sliding one hand down his body. It didn't take long.
Afterwards, he was embarrassed by the images that had been in his head - scenes from that dream, of him kneeling in front of Axel, of the two of them together, naked and unashamed of it, of...
He slumped into a chair, thumped his head against the kitchen table, and tried to banish the pictures from his mind. No matter how hard he tried, it just wasn't helping. He began to wonder if Axel really did look like that under his clothes - the dreams had been accurate before, so he supposed that was the case.
This time, it was Roxas's turn to get the early morning phone call.
"Hello?"
"Rox?"
"Morning, Nami. Bad dream?"
"Not exactly. I dreamed about you and Axel again, then decided to do some research in Grandma's books."
"What did you find?"
"Some photos I think you should see."
"Why don't you bring them round now?"
"Ok. Be there in a few minutes."
Naminé was out of breath when she arrived, as though she'd run all the way. She probably had. In her hands was an envelope. She opened it, and a pile of photographs spilled out onto the table.
"There is no possible way that you and Axel didn't know each other before. Look at these."
Some pictures showed Axel and Roxas together, clearly a very happy couple. Matching rings were visible on their left hands - a commitment of some sort. Others showed them as part of a group, or with a woman the spitting image of Naminé.
"That's my grandma, and that's her twin sister, Kairi."
Same face, different hair colour. There was no mistaking the resemblance.
Naminé studied Roxas carefully, as he looked at the images. "You're taking this remarkably well."
"Let's just say the idea doesn't seem quite so repulsive any more."
Naminé smiled. It was useless to deny fate, as they had been doing. Now, if Axel had accepted it, everything would be much better in the long run.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
As Roxas and Naminé wandered into school, they spotted Axel, sitting under the weeping willow tree that was their favourite spot. Naminé nudged Roxas in that direction. "Go on, talk to him."
No persuasion was needed - Roxas just went. Naminé watched until he'd sat down next to the redhead, then went inside. She knew, somehow, what was going to happen without needing to watch - let's just call it a gift.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"I thought you'd be avoiding me today." Axel was careful to avoid meeting Roxas's eyes.
"Should I be?"
"I figured last night would have made things even more awkward between us."
"I think I've got used to the idea."
Slowly, Axel turned to look at the blond. "So... you wouldn't mind if I..." One hand brushed through messy blond spikes.
Roxas reached out to Axel, pulling him closer. "This is all new to me - if you'd told me two days ago that I'd be doing this, I'd have called you crazy."
"I might be." Axel's lips brushed against Roxas's, far more softly than the blond had expected. There was a sweetness about the action, genuine emotions behind it.
Roxas's head felt as though it was spinning, and he clung to Axel for a moment.
"Roxy? Are you alright?"
Roxas nodded. "Yeah... I'm ok. I just... remembered everything about what happened before. In our past lives."
"We'll meet again, and all that?"
"That's it. We did meet again, after all."
AN: Aww, a happy ending for them both.