(A/N Spoilers for the games obviously. Post KH3, wrote this with inspiration from Days manga, too. I see a lot of fics with Axel kind of the one leading things on but I wonder what it'd be like the other way around. Enjoy, I hope!)

"Hey, Roxas!" A wide grin stretched across his face as Roxas turned towards him, trying and failing to hide his surprise at Axel's presence. Roxas's eyes lit up when he realized it really was Axel standing there before him. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon of Twilight Town and Axel was quite the sight against that backdrop.

"Welcome back!" Roxas managed to get out cheerfully after he stared for a moment. Axel had been away for what felt like forever, spending the last three months in Yen Sid's tower, training. It irritated Roxas that Axel hadn't just trained with him in Twilight Town, but when Yen Sid sent you summons, you didn't ignore them. "How'd the training go?"

Axel shrugged and called to his Keyblade. It was flashier than before and the flames danced even brighter than his previous summons. It was almost as fiery as the chakrams had been. Roxas would be the first to admit it was still weird to see Axel fight without calling upon the chakrams. A part of him missed seeing the discs materialize in his friend's hands. Axel's smile widened as he finished showing off his Keyblade and it vanished back into the night, sparks lighting up the sky as though fireflies were flitting about him. "It went well. I get to take a break."

"A break?! You gotta go back?"

Axel rolled his eyes and put on a grumpy face, but they both knew it was for show. "Yes, some of us really have to work at it. It's not like it was my first weapon, you know?" He scratched the back of his neck. "How's it been going here?"

"Well, I grew even more," Roxas beamed at him, indicating the shortening difference in their height spans.

An odd look flashed through Axel's eyes, but he chuckled anyway. "Yeah, you have. What do you know. You're practically an adult."

Roxas wasn't pleased. "I am an adult, Axel," he scolded, trying to tamper down on the irritation he felt rising within at Axel's comment.

Axel just snorted. "Sure. Let's get ice cream." With that, he burst into laughter, but they both headed to the ice cream shop. Roxas was still annoyed, but didn't comment further. He wondered if Axel would ever view him as an adult. Over the past year and a half, he was beginning to doubt it. There was a dull ache in his chest when he thought about it too hard or too long.

After purchasing the ice cream, they headed towards the clock tower, making small talk. As he sat down Axel asked about the others. "Is anyone else going to be joining us up here? Xion? Isa? Hayner, Pence, Olette?" He was used to having parties on the edge of the clock tower. Thankfully, no one had fallen off.

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know. No one's sent me any messages on the gummiphone and I wasn't planning to come up here today. I didn't know you'd be here." He took his phone out and shook it lightly. "You know, this thing you have? That you never use?"

"Ugh, that's too much effort," Axel complained, grimacing at the sight of the phone. "There's so much on it, I get confused."

Roxas chuckled. "Stop acting like some old man."

"Hey!" Axel hit him lightly on the shoulder and Roxas pushed his arm away playfully. "I guess I can use it later to let Isa and Xion know I'm back."

Roxas nodded as he put his phone away, trying to ignore that twinge of jealousy in his chest that always blossomed when Isa was around or when Axel just said the guy's name. He decided to tactfully change the subject. "Did you get to see Ven, Aqua, or Terra while training?"

Axel laughed with a shake of his head. "Why? Are you two wanting to parent trap Aqua and Terra again? I can't believe you and Ven did that to them. That was a good time."

"You never know."

"Weeeelllll," Axel said and drew the word out for emphasis. "You're going to be out of luck on that."

Roxas tilted his head. "What do you mean? You didn't see them?"

Axel shifted and that odd look returned to his eyes. "Yeah. I did. That's just it. Even though you've been growing, Ven…. hasn't. It's really strange."

Roxas blinked hard and long, unsure if he'd heard right. "W-what?! I know I was taller than him last time I saw him, but I just thought by now he would have. Are you serious?! He still hasn't grown at all since….." Roxas trailed off as they always hated saying the rest of that sentence.

"'Since Sora?'" Axel finished for him, heaviness in his tone. It had been nearly two years since they'd seen Sora. Riku and Kairi had both gone out searching but to no avail. Master Yen Sid had insisted they all continue to train and prepare for whatever was around the corner. He'd had a bad premonition and felt it would happen within two years and they were quickly coming up on that mark. Master Yen Sid had gathered them more than once in his tower to remind them that Sora had given his life for them so they had all better get to valuing it and holding onto it.

"Yeah," Roxas murmured with a nod, his chest tightening at the thought of Sora. There was an emptiness that would always be within him with Sora's passing. He frowned, his thoughts turning back to Ventus. "Wait. But Ven really hasn't changed?"

Axel shrugged and shook his head. "No, not at all. I asked about it and he's just as confused. Aqua said it might have something to do with the way he was asleep in the locked world for over ten years, but it's just really strange. He should be aging. You are. Xion is, Naminé is. Ven should be closer to mine and Isa's age."

That jealousy stabbed through Roxas again at the mention of Isa but he pushed it aside, focusing on the information regarding Ventus. "That is strange. Did you ask Master Yen Sid about it?"

Axel rolled his eyes and finished his ice cream. "Yeah, I asked the old man. He just talked in riddles and said it was because Ven was lightness and from a different time, whatever that means. I know he was comatose for over ten years, but I don't think that qualifies him as being from a different time. Or excuses him not aging. That's like some real magical mumbo jumbo stuff."

Roxas looked down at the stick in his hand, the ice cream licked clean off. Winner was written on it and he smiled fondly. "I'm a winner!" He waved the stick around and stuck his tongue out at Axel when they realized that Axel was not a winner. After tucking the stick away, the conversation turned back to Ventus. "I don't know. I wonder what he meant by lightness?" He flopped back onto the tower and stared up at the darkening sky and Axel followed suit.

"I have no idea," Axel admitted honestly. "I mean, Ven can be rather naive. But I don't think that's what Master Yen Sid meant."

"Hmmm." Roxas continued to stare up at the sky, watching as stars begin to appear in the sky. He couldn't help but think the night was perfect with Axel back and hanging out with him on the clock tower like this. A sense of peace settled over him. His heart felt so full.

o~0~o

The next day Roxas ran into Xion while walking towards the usual spot. She was swinging her Keyblade in practice swings. He grinned widely at her. "Xion!" he waved at her excitedly. "Xion, did you hear?! Axel's back in town!"

"He is?!" Xion asked, also feeling excitement at the prospect of seeing her friend again. She stopped swinging her Keyblade, letting it hang by her side. "It's been so long. Did you see him?!"

"Yes! I ran into him last night. I told him he should have used his gummiphone to let us know he was coming back."

Xion just smiled fondly at the thought of Axel getting frustrated with the phone and throwing it to the ground. "He's never been fond of the technology," she murmured softly, sadness in her eyes. Just like Sora. It was left unspoken, but Roxas knew what she was thinking. After a second, she added, "I wonder if Isa has seen him yet."

Roxas tried not to grimace at the name. "I don't know," be muttered. Xion immediately noticed the shift in his mood. She shook her head, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

"Roxas, your jealousy becomes more obvious every day."

"What?!" Roxas practically screeched, his face turning a bright red. "I'm not jealous."

Xion let out a bark of laughter, clearly amused at her friend's expense. "Yeah, you are. Your little crush is really cute, Roxas. And pretty obvious to some of us."

"W-what?" Roxas's face flushed a deeper shade of red and he wished he could sink through the floor. Xion had thrown hints at him before but he had always thought she was just teasing him.

"Come on, Roxas. Some of us are pretty perceptive like me,Naminé, Riku, and Isa."

Roxas made a face at the last name she ticked off. "Isa?!" He paused for a moment before looking even more offended. "And Riku?!" Of all the people to know! Naminé was fine by him, she was pretty much all knowing in his book, anyway. He really didn't like the idea of Isa or Riku being on to him. Especially Isa.

"Yes, Roxas."

After taking a minute to digest all the information, Roxas shrugged and sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter. Axel still thinks of me like some kind of kid that needs to be looked after. I don't think that'll ever change."

Xion swung her Keyblade in a swift arc straight at Roxas who immediately summoned his own two Keyblades with no thought and blocked her strike. "Xion?! What's gotten into you?!" Panic was in his voice as he could easily remember them being manipulated and pitted against each other through the mechanications of the Organization.

Xion grinned at him and drew her Keyblade back. "I don't think you need looking after, Roxas, and I'm sure Axel is aware of that."

Roxas lowered his own Keyblades but kept them at this side, still feeling a little wary. "I know that. It doesn't change that Axel doesn't think of me on the same level as him." And Isa. He left that unsaid, but Xion could easily detect the jealousy in his tone. Roxas sighed. "I don't know how to make Axel see me differently. We both know I'm the better fighter with the Keyblade. And just in general," Roxas added. "If anything, he probably needs looking after." There was a tightness in his chest again as he recalled just how self-sacrificing Axel had been through everything. It reminded him of Sora and that wasn't a quality Roxas was fond of even if it made them who they were.

Xion spun her Keyblade until it was facing the ground and then put her weight on it as she leaned towards Roxas. "Is it really that important to you, Roxas? Why do you want him to see you as something else?"

His face turned a bright red again as he wasn't expecting Xion to ask him so bluntly. "Because I…." He trailed off, unsure how to express why it was exactly. He knew why, at least his heart did, but he couldn't find the words to explain it. Not even to Xion who he trusted dearly.

Silence fell over them and Xion finally nodded. "I see. Maybe that crush isn't as little as I thought." She had always just seen it as Roxas idolizing Axel from their early days in the Organization. Axel had been the one to look after them, after all. She had started to notice little things like how pained Roxas was when Axel was away, but hadn't really stopped to truly evaluate it until now. It was all making sense now. She had always thought maybe there was more between them on Roxas's part, but then pushed the thought away, thinking she was just thinking too much into it.

That was the issue, though. As far as Xion could see it was one sided. Axel would go to the end of the world for nearly anybody he considered his friend. He'd done it for Roxas. He'd done it for Isa. He'd tried to help Xion even if it was detrimental to him. He'd saved Sora more than once. He always put others before himself. If he had truly embraced his assassin side, it'd be safe to assume he and Isa would have met their demise with the end of the Organization or even have become the leaders of the Organization. Roxas didn't protest at her words.

"Oh, Roxas," Xion said softly and didn't know how to offer any comfort because, at the end of the day, she couldn't help but agree with him. She doubted Axel would ever stop seeing them as the two kids he was assigned to baby-sit and keep out of trouble initially within the Organization. Xion didn't mind, she liked the relationship she had with Axel, but she also didn't want for anything else.

Roxas finally let his Keyblades vanish, an emptiness settling into his stomach at the words from Xion. She said no more, but she'd already said everything that needed to be said. Roxas sighed defeatedly. "I don't want to talk about it anymore." He paused and added, as an afterthought, "We'll probably have ice cream at the usual spot when the sun sets."

Xion smiled at him and tried to hide the pity in her eyes. "I'll be there. Definitely."