Author's Note: To those who follow my stories here... My apologies for appearing dead. I promise I still love you.
Otherwise! Here is my first Kingdom Hearts fan fiction, a re-write of my favorite scene in KH 365 Days/2, the "sunset scene." This is how I think it really ended! Thus, be wary of the shounen-ai, if you didn't read the summary... Please review if you have the time, I really appreciate any feedback.

Some lines are taken directly from the scene, and are (c) Square Enix and Daisuke Watanabe.

A Red Sunset

By mrtysh

Sigh.

Roxas sat down in his usual spot on the Twilight Town clock tower, leaning against the hard brick wall absentmindedly. Axel is late, once again. He wished the man would hurry up – he needed his daily sea-salt fix.

It had been a long day. He'd gone to round up some hearts in Agrabah, and there were just so many. Roxas just wanted to lay back and watch the sunset... with Axel and Xion.

"You're early."

Roxas turned to see that familiar head of bright-red, jagged hair. He swore it never stuck out in the same way two days in a row.

"No, you're just late..." Roxas smirked at Axel.

The taller man sat beside the blond, handing him a sea-salt ice cream. Roxas immediately bit into it, savoring the unique, salty-sweet flavor.

"Today makes 255."

"What's that about?" Axel bit a large chunk out of his ice cream. Always so unceremonious.

"It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization... Man, time flies."

Axel smirked. "So, you got the number memorized, do you?"

"Yeah... Have to hang onto something, right? It's not like I have memories from before the Organization." Looking down into his lap somewhat dejectedly, Roxas added, "Don't you remember? I acted like a zombie."

"Right. That first week, you could barely form a sentence... But come on, you're still kind of a zombie!"

"Oh, thanks!" The pair chuckled in unison, Axel taking a moment to enjoy the sound of Roxas' laughter.

"Hey, Roxas. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red." He turned to face the setting sun, its vivid colors reflecting beautifully in his emerald eyes. "You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

"Is that why I can see you coming from a mile away? Hahaha!" Roxas doubled over in laughter, Axel not hesitating to join in after giving him a firm slap to the back. It's a wonder one of them didn't fall off the clock tower.

Roxas took to observing the gorgeous sunset. They came to sit on the clock tower almost every day, and they watched the day become night. But he never remembered it to be this beautiful. The orange and red hues were simply brilliant in the ever-changing skyline. When he saw that stunning light, he felt as if he could remain entranced by it for a glorious eternity.

Axel took the opportunity to finish off the last of his ice cream, discarding the popsicle stick. He, too, decided to watch the sunset and enjoy Roxas' company. He leaned back against the wall of the clock tower, allowing his feet to rest on the ledge that he previously perched on. Soon, the stars will come out and the sky will darken, cloaking Twilight Town in a secure and endless darkness.

As much as he loved the nighttime, Axel didn't look forward to it today, for it meant returning to the castle, and another night alone in his lifeless room.

"Seriously, where is she?" Roxas muttered.

Her.

Axel's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, the sun didn't seem as appealing. He sat up in a huff, wrapping his arms tightly around his knees on the edge of the clock tower.

Why does everything always have to be about her? ...Why can't he think about me? Axel thought, sighing.

Roxas remained oblivious to Axel's inner turmoil. He wondered about Xion a lot; they were friends, after all. Maybe she didn't see Roxas as a friend. He just wanted to know that she was okay.

A distressed sigh from the brooding redhead caught Roxas' attention. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you always have to talk about Xion all the time, huh!? What's so great about her?" Axel barked. He felt a slight twinge of guilt for suddenly sounding so harsh.

Roxas felt bewildered. "Is that how you feel? She's a friend to us, so I care about her. I just want to know if she's okay, Axel."

"Some friend she is! She's never here, while I'm here every damn day! But you only think about her!"

"What are you talking about?! Of course we're friends, and I care about you too!" the blond shouted back.

"Oh really!? If you care so much about me, why don't you think about me!?" He stopped shouting and simply breathed in, his heart and mind racing. Roxas either wasn't willing to reciprocate his feelings, or he simply wasn't making the connection. He needed one more hint...

Axel grasped the boy's cheeks and leaned in for a hasty kiss. The blond's astonished gasp was muffled as their lips smashed together awkwardly for a second before Axel tilted his head, moving to Roxas' bottom lip. He could taste the remnants of the blond's sea-salt ice cream.

He pulled away and dropped his hands to see the blond's cheeks tinted pink. Roxas just gazed blankly at Axel, and neither really knew what to say from there.

"...I'm sorry," Axel murmured, struggling to avoid the blond's stare. The stitches in the seams of his gloves proved to be quite fascinating. "I'm sure Xion is fine, Roxas. She's probably just tired."

"Oh... yeah, I hope so..." Roxas' jaw dropped slightly. He wasn't sure how exactly that happened just now, but he didn't mind it. He wanted to kiss Axel again.

"Uhh, Axel?"

Axel snapped his head up all too quickly. "Yeah?"

Before he could get another word in, Roxas leaned in. He touched their lips together lightly, but more gracefully than before. Axel had unbelievably soft lips, Roxas discovered as his own lips pressed against them. He felt the redhead lean into him, a hand resting on his shoulder.

Later, Roxas was the one to pull away. He didn't understand why he liked those kisses. Maybe because he cared a lot for Axel, who in turn cared a lot for him. There was a feeling in his chest he couldn't describe, a pressure he didn't recognize that felt... warm.

"I think you're right... about Xion. She probably went back to the castle to sleep already," Roxas smiled, casual as ever, and swung his legs around to face the clock tower, moving to stand. "We should head back, too. Thanks for the ice cream, again, Axel."

Roxas hesitated for a second, and then began to walk off in the direction of the portal back to the castle. After ten seconds of watching in awe after the frustrating, enigmatic blond, Axel scrambled to catch up to him. "You're welcome, Roxas."

Axel smiled to himself as they made their way back. For the longest time, he never looked forward to this walk. It meant that he would spend almost 10 hours just wasting away, either trying to sleep or pacing around his white-walled room mindlessly. Now... he would look forward to another day in the blond's company. No matter how many missions he has, he can always look forward to sitting at the clock tower with Roxas, because now he knows that they both care about each other, Xion or not... Maybe he would even steal another kiss sometime.

In some attempt to verbalize his inner content, Axel smirked and said, "I guess you're not so much of a zombie, after all, huh, Roxas?"

The blond laughed his soft laugh, stepping into the portal. "You're not so bad yourself."