(Formerly known as 8xGot it memorizedx8)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. T-T
A/N: Happy AkuRokuShi Day! I've been trying to gather the courage to post something on here after many long days of lurking, and I figured today was the perfect day to do it! This is my first fic on here, so please don't be too harsh on me. ^^;
Enjoy!
-x-
The Grey Area is silent today. There is no hum of idle chatter, nor are there any members draped languidly across the sofas. Even Saïx is absent from his vantage point by the window.
For the group of three, the silence is strangely enticing, as if this room is wrapped in secrets that only they are privy to. They peer at the Mission Entry Report on the coffee table with curious eyes.
All three of them notice it, but Axel is the first to say it.
"Well, would you look at that," he points a spindly finger towards the top, a smirk etched onto his lips. "Looks like fate's playing tricks on us today."
"Yeah..." Roxas' brows scrunch together in concentration. "Man, how often is it that the date aligns perfectly with all three of our rankings in the Organization? And the one time we get selected to go on a mission together, too!"
"It's almost like this day was meant for us. Xion smiles softly, but her shoulders are sagging. She emulates Roxas' signature pout. "Too bad we have to spend it collecting hearts."
"...Or do we?"
Two heads shoot up to regard the taller male with equally scandalized expressions. "Axel!"
He merely rolls his eyes. "C'mon, this day only comes once a century," he says, wearing his easy smirk. "You guys need to learn to live a little."
"But what about Saïx?" Xion interjects. She lowers her head, no doubt envisioning the man's austere gaze.
"He'll be fine. All three of us worked overtime on our missions yesterday." Axel justifies his case with a wave of his hand. "And if worst comes to worst, we'll wriggle our way out of it. No big deal."
Xion relaxes visibly at this, though her doubt has yet to cease fully. They cast their attention towards Roxas.
"But..." the boy turns to them with knitted brows, "what would we do?"
"Depends," Axel replies. "Have anything special in mind?"
Roxas' eyes gain a soft hue as he mulls it over carefully. He gazes at an indeterminate point on the floor until the answer becomes clear. "I want to know... what it's like to be normal for once." He shakes his head vehemently. "No heartless, no duties, no Organization XIII..."
His thoughts are interposed by the sounds of stifled laughter.
"Hey! It was just a suggestion," Roxas says coolly, trying to mask the heat that radiates from his skin. He slides a brow upwards in challenge. "Unless you guys have something better?"
Xion offers a smile in apology; she has the decency to at least look contrite, unlike a certain redhead. "No, I think it's a good idea. I've always wondered about that too, actually." She bites her bottom lip. "The locals are always doing such weird things..."
"It's settled, then." Axel claps them both on the shoulders. "Let's get going before Saïx comes back." He raises a hand to summon a vortex, and the three of them stare into its swirling depths with alacrity. Axel's eyes seem to glow as he shifts to regard them fully. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Roxas says, eliciting a giggle from Xion.
"I second that."
Axel's grin is positively devilish. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he chimes, and the inky void swallows them up.
-x-
The familiar hum of Twilight Town's lazy tune is like music to their ears. They drink in the vast expanse around them in a new light, noticing all the opportunities that have manifested. Roxas and Xion quickly become distracted by their own whims; they begin to wander in opposite directions, only to be pulled back by Axel.
He releases his grip on the backs of their hoods with a sigh. "Come on, we can't just go out looking like this." He gestures plainly to their black cloaks. "We look about as sketchy as a group of gangsters."
"Right," Roxas agrees. He isn't sure what a gangster is, and he's not entirely sure why a cloak is considered to be 'sketchy' here—but he understands the gist of it. "So what should we do?"
They glance at Xion in question, but her eyes are focused on the lace-trimmed curtains of a window, high, high above. The three of them stare at the open window, until something finally clicks.
-x-
They ransack the home of a snooty middle-class family, courtesy of Axel and his brilliant ideas. The deed is silent and sneaky and the damage is a bare minimum, though the trio does leave with a fair change of attire.
They glance at Roxas's casual ensemble with an appraising eye. "The black and white checkerboard pattern suits you," Xion says.
"Thanks. It's a shame we couldn't find anything for Axel, though."
The fire-wielder offers a languid wave in response, sans his jacket and gloves in favor of the loose black halter top underneath. "S'alright." He notices Xion out of the corner of his eye and turns to regard her with a playful smile. "Hey, you look nice in that dress. Hard to believe that it was buried at the bottom of some girl's closet."
Smiling, she twirls around in a dark summer dress that billows at her knees. "Yeah... So we'll return everything before they come back, right?".
"Yep. No time to waste." He regards them with his arms akimbo, gazing out towards the bustling town before them. "Alright, what should we do first?"
Roxas and Xion briefly exchange glances, before a deluge of ideas spill forth from their mouths like two children reading their wish lists to Santa Claus. Axel barely picks out the words 'skateboard' and 'shopping' amongst the din.
"Wait a sec." The chatter subsides after a few moments, and they glance up at him in deference. Sheepishly, Axel scratches the back of his head.
"So…" he gesticulates artlessly with a free hand, "some of those activities require munny. Right?"
Roxas folds his arms and arches a brow, while Xion continues to gaze up at him innocently.
"And last week we pooled together our earnings to buy those super nice rings from the moogle... right?" They shoot him two blank stares, and Axel grows desperate. "You guys following me here?"
"No way," Roxas scowls. "We are not working on our day off."
-x-
Minutes later, they're working odd jobs around Twilight Town in hopes of scrounging together enough munny to satisfy their cravings for normalcy.
Roxas grudgingly takes up poster duty and runs around posting advertisements for the annual Struggle Tournament; Xion looks delicate, but the townsfolk will never forget the moment she sent that forty-pound cargo sack into the air with a single swing; Axel, an extrovert by nature, chooses to entertain the masses by unleashing a lengthy string of combos on a child's play ball.
They meet up again in the Sandlot later—5000 munny richer and grinning like a bunch of fools.
-x-
The true fun begins once the preliminary measures are over. They traipse around the town for a little while, content to walk around in plain sight of the locals, until they spot a tattered carmine curtain behind a fence.
"I wonder what's behind there," Xion blinks. "A secret hideout?"
"This is where those three teenagers like to hang out." Roxas lifts his hand and begins counting each name off with his fingers. "Hayner, Pence, and Olette."
"Well," Axel taps his chin mischievously, "coulda sworn I saw them shopping back on Market Street..."
They play darts in the trio's absence. Xion is a natural, Roxas is decent and Axel is downright terrible. They blame it on the unruly nature of the fire he wields; Axel scoffs and blames it on his superior height difference. Xion stands on a stool as she lands a perfect bulls-eye, grinning in the face of Axel's bewilderment.
Roxas trips on a pair of white and blue skateboards on their way out. He dusts himself off and lifts one of them up in curiosity: a white skateboard emblazoned with dark skulls.
"Bet I can beat you in a race from the train station down to Market Street," he teases, challenging Axel with his resolute gaze. The redhead grins and shoves him forward.
"Be my guest, Roxas. This'll be my chance to redeem myself."
Xion counts to three as they speed down the slope with vigor. She sprints after them in her ballet flats, eyes wide and nonplussed as she shakes with breathless laughter; Axel has done a fantastic job of careening off into the alleyway, and Roxas has managed to trip over his own two feet. They both scramble to gain momentum over the other and speed down the course on twin sets of wobbly wheels.
She runs after them with the wind in her hair and sunbeams in her eyes. Halfway through she tumbles into an alleyway and succumbs to the temptation of a teensy portal, eager to witness the results of their race. When she reaches the finish line, however, they're already in a sweaty heap on the ground, bemoaning their fates to 'a stupid tie'.
They mosey down to the heart of Twilight Town's Market Street once they've properly recovered. Shopping is the last activity the trio has planned today, courtesy of Xion and her girlish tendencies.
"Let's make a game out of it," Axel proposes with a twinkle in his eyes. He points to Roxas with the tip of his index finger and takes it from there. "I buy something for you, you buy something for Xion, and Xion buys something for me." He smirks. "Fair enough?"
"You're on," Roxas grins.
"Yeah. Sounds fun."
"Alright. Meet back here in half an hour."
They scatter like a group of industrious ants and scour the shops for the best gifts. There isn't much to choose from between a small clothing store, a jewelry stand, a bizarre shop with a green awning, and a couple of other kiosks, but they manage somehow.
Roxas returns with the most sincere gift: a moonstone necklace with a star-shaped clasp for Xion. He presents it to her outright and clears his throat in an attempt to justify himself.
"Uh, so I figured it would go well with your dress..." Xion knows he's trying to hype it up, but she can't help but laugh at the bemusement on his face. Eventually, he releases a sigh of resignation and laughs along with her. "Well, whatever. Girls like this sort of stuff, right?"
Axel's gift is by far the most useless—considering their current 'life' situations—but Roxas' reaction is simply priceless.
His brow twitches as Axel hands it to him in all of its glory, not even bothering to mask his extreme amusement. "You... you got me a Jesse McCartney CD? Is this some kind of sick joke?!"
The redhead claps him on the back, and he jolts forward in his stupor. "Come on, you sound just like him, Roxas; heck, you even kinda look like him." The trio takes a moment to peer down at the blond musician on the cover. Roxas proceeds to grumble all sorts of obscenities under his breath, but otherwise says nothing.
Xion presents her gift with a flourish, revealing a small tub of scented hair gel in her hands. "You don't have to hide it anymore, Axel," she teases. "I know your spikes aren't natural."
"Guilty as charged," he smirks as he swipes the proffered container. "A guy's gotta love stylin' his hair." The fire-wielder reaches over to ruffle his subordinate's golden spikes. "Right, Roxas?"
"Hey! Stop that." He glowers, though he cannot help but smile in the wake of his friends' beaming faces.
They pocket their treasured (or not so treasured) gifts, and Axel steals a glance at the time.
"Anything you guys wanna do before we RTC?"
"The beach," Xion says suddenly, clasping her hands against her chest. "I've always wanted to go there."
-x-
They board the last train of the day. It isn't necessary for them to do this, but none of them want to say otherwise; lest they shatter the delicate spell this fated day has bestowed upon them.
The train ride is short and pleasant. Roxas and Xion ogle all of the inner workings of the train with silent fascination, earning a few odd looks from the other passengers. Axel sits across from them with his elbows on his knees and simply remembers.
The train slows to a halt once they approach their destination. They hop off the steps and suddenly, that spark is alive again as they dig their heels into the sand and taste the salty-sweet air of the ocean.
The sunset looks more vibrant today—richer, as if the memories they've created have imbued the sunset with a strong power. Xion is the first to break the silence once they've reached the shore; she splashes them both with cool water.
"Gah!" Axel splutters, much to their amusement. His green eyes narrow in contempt, but his smile betrays him immediately. "Oh, you're definitely gonna regret that one!"
Xion merely giggles and runs away as the incensed male chases her across the sandy beach. Roxas enters the fray once he trips Axel with his foot; the redhead spirals face-first into the sand and vows to go after him instead.
Eventually they lose track of their personal vendettas and call a truce, to which Axel and his weary limbs respond to with gratitude. He spends the rest of his time lazing in the sand, watching as the sunset suffuses the ocean with scarlet. By the time Roxas and Xion finish building the Sandcastle That Never Was, he notices it—something scrawled in the sand.
/13/14
Axel fills in the number that embodies him with a gloveless index finger. His friends return moments later, plopping down beside him.
Xion's moonstone necklace catches in the dying light. She scoots forward to trace little stars around the date with her pinky finger. Slowly, she smiles and closes her eyes. "I hope these days will continue on forever."
Roxas tilts his head back to regard the roseate sky. "Me too."
Axel savors the final vestiges of the sunset in silence, brushing the numbers in the sand with bare knuckles.
8/13/14
His lips quirk upwards. "Let's do this again," he murmurs, "in the next life."
fin.
A/N: I apologize if I offended any Jesse McCartney fans out there o_o
Anyway, funny story about this fic... I started it two days ago, and then finished it at an ungodly hour last night in a desperate attempt to get something in for AkuRokuShi Day. So if the writing seemed kiiinda wonky at some points, please forgive me. xD
Any feedback would mean the world to me! Thank you so much for reading. :)