It was a peaceful night. It was warm with a nice breeze and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The perfect stargazing condition. That's exactly what I was doing, too; lying on the soft grass and gazing at the stars above. And the stars were beautiful that night. They seemed to be twinkling brighter than usual, even. I let out a content sigh. That's when someone joined me.

"Hey Roxy," Axel greeted me with a smile through the darkness of the night. He had just come out of the hotel we were staying at with our friends for a little weekend getaway.

I sat up, smiling back. "Hey."

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

He sat down beside. "It's beautiful out here," he spoke up after a few moments of silence.

I nodded. "It really is." I let out another sigh.

"Anything on your mind?" he wondered.

"Not really, no."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Really?"

I laughed a bit. "Yes really."

"All right, if you say so."

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you seem to always have something on your mind."

"Well, I don't now."

We fell silent again and just sat there, staring up at the stars.

"You know," I broke the silence this time, "the last time I did this was with my other friend when we were thirteen."

"Who?"

I shook my head. "No one you would know. But we had been lying on the monkey bars of a swing set, head-to-head. I remember him telling me how he wasn't watching the stars with me because he liked me, but because he just didn't want me to be alone. Or something along those lines."

"Well, that was nice of him."

"Yeah, but the thing is that he did like me. And I liked him, too. And everyone knew that except the two of us."

Axel chuckled as well. "Of course. That's how it always seems to work."

"We were actually each other's first boy crushes." I now chuckled shyly at that fact.

"That's cute, Roxy."

"Shut up." I closed my eyes. "It's kinda sad thinking about who he became. I mean, he sorta went down a bad path. And whenever I see him I can't help but to feel a twinge of pain from the memories."

"You wonder if he remembers them, too, right?"

I nodded again, my eyes remaining shut. "Yeah." The word was barely a whisper.

I felt Axel's arm wrap around my shoulders and I leaned into him. Then I actually began to cry a little. And we just sat there, him holding me and me spilling my tears all over his shirt. He didn't seem to care, though. He was there for me, just like I had always wanted.

Eventually, I calmed myself down. And when I had, I pulled myself away from him.

"Sorry about that," I said, wiping the remaining tears from my eyes. "Usually that doesn't get to me like that."

"No need to apologize."

I nodded. "It's getting late," I then pointed out. "Maybe we should get back inside." I got to my feet. "The others are probably wondering what's keeping us."

He jumped to his feet as well. "Hold on, now," he stopped me, taking hold of my hand. "What's the rush?"

"There is no rush. I just think we should get back inside."

"Are you okay, Roxas?" He stepped closer to me.

"I'm fine," I lied.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Something's bothering you."

"No. I'm fine. Really."

"Roxas, look at me," he ordered. I did as he said. "Tell me what's wrong."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about." I then pulled myself out of his grip and started walking away.

"Roxas!" he called after me. He jogged a little and managed to get back in front of me. "I can tell that something is wrong."

"You're the only thing that's wrong right now."

"Why won't you talk to me all of a sudden? You always talk to me."

"I just don't feel like talking at the moment."

"Please, Roxas."

"No, Axel!" I went to walk away from him again.

But he stopped me again. And this time, he kissed me. So I started kissing back, but quickly retreated.

"What is it?" he wondered.

"I can't," I whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because I just can't."

"That's not a reason, Roxas."

"You deserve better than me, Axel!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"Better than you?" he repeated. "If there is better than you, then I don't care for it." He stepped up to me, taking my hands in his. "I only want to be with you."

I swallowed hard, choking back tears. "Really?"

He smiled at me. "I would never lie to you."

"Why me?" I gasped.

"Because you're beautiful inside and out."

I shook my head. "You're wrong. Besides, I'll only ever depress you."

"And I'll help you, just like I have been doing. We'll get through this together."

I looked up at him and locked my eyes with his. I could tell that he was being sincere; he was always sincere with me.

"I don't want to be a burden," I finally admitted.

"You're not," Axel denied. "So don't ever think that." He kissed my forehead, wiping away the tears that had escaped my eyes again.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and he hugged me back. We stayed like that for a while and I absolutely loved it. It was just what I needed.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked after so much time had passed.

I nodded, smiling up at him. "Yeah, I do feel better, actually."

He smiled back at me. "Good. I'm glad to hear that."

I just continued to stand there, smiling like an idiot. I didn't know what else to say or even do, in that matter. But that was okay because he was also just standing there, smiling like an idiot.

"Roxas," he whispered, just barely breaking the silence once more.

"Yes?" I replied, my voice also quiet.

"I'll never let anyone or anything else hurt you," he promised. "And I will always be here for you."

"Thank you," I said back.

"You're always welcome, Roxas."

I smiled again. "No, but really; you don't know how much that means to me, Axel. Just knowing that I'll always have someone…" I trailed off with a sigh. "It's just what I need to stay under the stars. You are just what I need."