A Heart For My Nobody says:
Hey all! I have a favor to ask of you... I have mixed feelings about this story, you see. I wasn't going to post it at first, but then I figured that since it was AkuRoku day, I'd give it a chance.
What I'm asking from you is to just give me your feelings on the whole thing, good or bad. This could be just a temporary story on the site, but if enough people like it, I guess it'll stay. I welcome negative comments on this one too, because maybe I can fix it and make it better. Who knows? Anyway, thanks ahead of time. I hope if hear from a lot of you!
Roxas gasped for breathe. His lungs didn't want to work. The scene just played over in his head, again and again. Sora, falling to the ground, laying motionless. The sharp clink of the Keyblade as it stabbed down beside him, cracking the stained glass floor. There was no mercy behind Roxas' attacks.
I killed him, Roxas thought, still struggling for air in the heavy rain. He forced himself to take another step, his shoe dropping into a large puddle on the dark city floor. He stumbled and fell, hands hitting the wet metal beneath him. Droplets of rain broke hard on the ground, wetting the tips of his hair, his face only inches from the ground. Why did I … he choked as another memory flooded into his head. In this memory, Axel laid before him, staring him in the eyes. He was wounded and trying to hold onto his smile. No, Roxas wasn't there. He was seeing through Sora's eyes. He watched Axel die in front of him. That didn't happen! Roxas shook, his hand starting to slip on the ground, I saw that, though... Was it... the future...?
He tried to push himself back onto his feet, but a sudden pulse from his chest threw him off balance and he fell on his side. He remembered Sora's body before him; the heartless had come to take his heart as it stopped beating. He watched it: a heart, or a soul, drifting upwards as the shadows closed in all around. It was his. If Sora grew cold, that heart belonged to nobody else. It was his. He struck down the heartless, and was left alone with the last sign of life from the Keyblade master. He couldn't remember what was next. Did he take it? Another pulse came from his chest, and another. It was a heart beat, drumming fast in his panic. He was never this aware of a heart. Had he never had one? Was it always incomplete? It was... almost painful. A warmth flushed through his chest, and was then taken away by the rain.
Roxas continued to lay on his side on the ground. He watched as a puddle began to form around his hand, tinted red from the blood on his glove. He wondered who's it was. Could he have bled without a heart? Was his own blood any different from Sora's? He curled in closer on himself, retracting the hand to feel the beating in his chest. It felt like Sora was trying to talk to him. Why did I kill him? His eyes narrowed slowly, and then shut. He felt the rain gathering around his cheek, cold against the metal. Would Sora have killed Axel …? He heard a shift in the rain, and the scuffing of little feet along the ground, treading through puddles. His eyes opened again, and could see many stares coming back. Small yellow eyes gleamed from the shadows around him. The heartless had come back. They'd come back for the heart, and now it was inside of him. He staggered and slipped, trying to regain his footing. With a flail of his arm, a Keyblade appeared in Roxas' hand, and the shadows edged away, fading back into hiding. They would keep coming after him now. It wasn't safe to stay. He had gotten himself onto his knee, but his legs fought against him. Finding no strength to stand on his own, Roxas crawled to a nearby wall and used it to help himself onto his feet.
Axel... He wanted to see Axel again. One hand after another, he felt his way along the wall, trudging further into the darkness of the city that never was. Last time Roxas had laid eyes on Axel, his own eyes, he was in Twilight Town, and had no recollection of who Axel was, or what the Organization was, and no desire to know. But after his half of a heart joined Sora's, the memories found their way back to him, slowly but surely. Roxas squinted, trying to see the ground in front of him. His bangs were wet and hung in his face, and his eyelids were heavy. Nothing was clear in Roxas' memories right now, but he knew he had to see Axel. He knew that Axel had tried to stop him from running away, and that he ran anyway. He knew that Axel tried to save him from being imprisoned in a fake town, and he wouldn't even hear him out. He knew that a long time ago, he and Axel had embraced. Long before that fake town, and long before running away. They had embraced. They had shared a feeling for each other that no one like them was supposed to be able to feel. He knew that before he betrayed the organization, Axel just wanted to kiss him one more time, and he turned him down, saying that it would only make it harder for him to go. He Knew that Axel only wanted Roxas to stay. He knew that he didn't deserve Axel, but he wanted to see him again. Maybe it was greedy, but he had to see him again.
Roxas pulled himself again along the wall. In the distance, a faded blue light emanated from a large building. The light shined through the drips of water on his bangs as he tried to focus his eyes on the source. He could see it now through the rain. It was Memories Skyscraper, the tallest building standing in the center of the city. He heard the heartless shifting around in secret behind him, and he knew he had to keep moving. The blood pumping from beneath his chest began to flow through his entire body, and he managed to muster the strength to walk on his own, occasionally bracing himself on the wall with one hand. The blue light grew closer, until it gently lit the pavement before him. There it was. The skyscraper towered over him, and he saw another figure standing in its shadow. It was a man that he saw, with red hair, and wearing one of the organization cloaks that he used to wear. The man was looking right at Roxas, as awestruck as he knew he must look.
"Axel...?" Roxas wanted to know that he wasn't dreaming this. He wanted to hear Axel talk back. He wanted to know it was really him.
"R-Roxas?" Axel stuttered, not believing his eyes, "Y-you're...?" The boy ran at Axel, ignoring his own fatigue, and stumbled into his arms.
"I'm sorry!" Roxas yelled, pressing his face into Axel's cloak and wrapping his arms around the man, "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry!"
"Whoa, whoa..." Axel tried to keep his balance after catching the boy. He slowly touched his arms down on Roxas' back, "Slow down there, kid."
"I killed him." Roxas shook his head, his face still buried. Axel began to mouth the word who, but he was interrupted, "I killed Sora! I killed him..." Axel stayed silent for a moment, in shock. His eyes turned down on Roxas, watching him in this state. Axel had never seen him get like this before. He may have been crying, but there was too much rain to tell.
"Come on." Axel said, unsure of what to do. He held Roxas tighter. "Take a breath, okay? How did you get here?" Roxas looked up from the coat, finally staring Axel in the eyes. He could tell that they both missed each other's eyes.
"I... don't know." Roxas shook his head again, "I'm so sorry I left. I'll never leave you behind again." He stood taller, trying to get closer to the red-head's face. Axel felt the beating coming from the boy's chest. It wasn't like before. It was complete.
"Roxas," Axel said, only furthering in confusion, "You have a...?"
"Please," Roxas asked, staring the man in the eyes, "Kiss me." He started to blush, "Like you wanted to. Kiss me so I don't go away..." Axel didn't know what was going on. He hadn't touched Roxas, he hadn't seen him since that day in the alternate Twilight Town. What was he doing here? Roxas looked pleading, and he felt pleading. Like he could fade away at any moment, so Axel kissed him. It was a long kiss. Not deep, but long. When their lips touched, they didn't want to pull apart. They shut their eyes, and for a moment, it was like Roxas had never left. It was like the times were simple again, and Axel knew what was going on.
The two pulled back, slowly, once again staring into each other's eyes. Axel looked like he wanted to talk, but he didn't. Roxas felt his thoughts flowing back to him, and he felt the confusion returning in the air. He didn't want it to come back. Not yet. So he pressed his lips again into Axel's, stronger, moving the two of them back. Axel put his hands in the blond's hair, still stepping back until he felt a small cement wall against the back of his thighs. Roxas continued to press. They pulled apart for a breath and then returned, deepening the kiss. Somewhere along the line, Axel's leg ended up between Roxas', and as Roxas pressed, he felt something else press, building under the boy's cloths. The red-head pulled him closer, and he could hear the boy's heart beating, faster now. Roxas jerked his hips a single time against Axel. It didn't even look like it was on purpose.
"Ha..." Roxas tried to catch himself. The noise was involuntary as well, and he pulled away from the kiss, ceasing his movement. The boy just stood there, his eyes averted from Axel, and then he finally walked to the side and pulled himself up on the cement wall, taking a seat next to the man "I-I missed... kissing you."
"Me too." Axel agreed, still letting the whole situation sink in. He looked to the spot between Roxas' legs, where there was still a bulge, "How does it feel?"
"What...?" Roxas blushed, following Axel's view and shifting to cross his legs.
"Well, it's not like I'd know." He laughed at the reaction, "Nobodies can't feel, remember?"
"I don't think that's true..." Roxas frowned, and he looked preoccupied. Axel let a pause go by, but he couldn't wait any longer to ask.
"Roxas? What happened?" he looked to the boy, "How'd you get back?"
"I killed Sora." Roxas said again, and Axel was still in disbelief, "And then I was back. I didn't want to kill him, but..." the blond turned his eyes up from the ground to Axel, "I saw something. The future... I think." he continued, "I think Sora killed you."
"Wow," the man responded after a moment, "I didn't think the kid had it in him."
"That's not funny." Roxas glared, and Axel shrugged.
"Listen," he said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You're a part of Sora, so he can't be entirely dead." His eyes widened as he thought, "In fact, I think I know something that could save him!"
"You do!" Roxas perked up, "What?"
"There's a girl," Axel explained with a gesture of his hands, "Named Kairi. I tried to get a hold of her but she ran off and got captured by the other guys." Roxas remembered the name. He'd heard it while he was inside Sora. Kairi was a close friend of Sora's. "She helped Sora once before when he became a heartless."
"Where is she?" Roxas asked, actually hopeful. Axel frowned.
"You're not going to like it," he said, pointing, "but they're keeping her in the castle." Roxas looked off in the distance. The first thing he saw was the massive heart-shaped moon, Kingdom Hearts, and then underneath he noticed the floating castle headquarters of Organization XIII, and home of their leader, Xemnas.
"We have to get her out." he declared, still staring into the distance.
"Roxas..." Axel scratched the back of his head, "You're okay. We're here together again. You know that we could just leave this all behind us."
"I can't." Roxas stared at him, seriously, "I can't just leave after what I've done." He paused and thought back on his memories from inside of Sora, "Besides, Xemnas isn't gathering hearts to give them back to people. When he unlocks the power of Kingdom Hearts, we won't be safe from him anywhere." Axel lowered his head.
"I know..." he admitted, "I'm just worried."
"Don't be." Roxas smiled to assure him, "I'll be fine."
"Okay... I'm gonna go find Sora." Axel stood from his seat, "You stay here and rest up. I'll be right back." He started to walk away, and then turned back to take a last look, "Don't you disappear on me."
"I won't." Roxas said, and Axel walked off into the dark city. The square around Memories Skyscraper was quite. For some reason, the heartless seemed to be leaving him alone for now. He watched the rain fall, mostly shielded by the building above, and then he saw someone emerging from the shadows. He wondered at first if it could be Axel already, but he could soon tell that it wasn't. It looked like Xemnas, but the man's face was somewhat softer, and had feeling behind it. Then he remembered. He had fought a man once by the name of Riku, and defeated him. That Riku had returned later to fight him again, this time taking on a new appearance, and that new appearance was what Roxas was seeing now. Normally, he would have prepared to defend himself, but after spending so much time in Sora, he learned that the two were close friends. So instead of fighting, Roxas approached him cautiously with an idea.
"You." Riku stopped in his tracks, drawing a sword.
"I don't want to fight you." Roxas swung his arm dismissively.
"And why should I believe that?" Riku said, not backing down.
"Because I know where Kairi is!" The words surprised Riku, "And Sora, and I want to help you."
"...Okay..." He said, slowly releasing his battle stance, "I'm listening..."
"Sora..." Roxas began, thinking about his words, "Lost his heart. But I think Kairi can help him." Riku tensed.
"He lost his heart?" He said, his hands in fists, "Where is he!"
"He's safe." Roxas frowned, hoping his words were true, "But there's no point in going to him without Kairi!" Riku remained tense, and then he sighed, "Kairi's locked in that castle." Roxas pointed and Riku took note.
"Then I'm gonna get her out." He said, crossing his arms, "and then I'll be coming back to find you." Roxas didn't like how this almost sounded like a threat, "Keep Sora safe until then." With that, Riku created a dark portal to take him closer to his goal. Stepping inside, he vanished, and the portal shut, leaving Roxas alone again in the rain.
He continued to wait for Axel, and the rain started to pick up even more. Left only to his thoughts, Roxas began to pace after what had seemed like too long. Then, he stumbled. One of the feet he'd placed on the ground felt stuck, and he looked down to see an unnatural darkness, wrapping itself around the bottom of his leg. Is this a heartless? He thought, and he raised his arm to summon the Keyblade, but the darkness shot upwards and held his arm to his side. He squirmed around, struggling to move. The darkness was engulfing his body, constricting him. He lost the ability to breath as the shadow covered his face, and then he could see only darkness.
"I thought I felt your presence..." A deep voice said. It was familiar, but he couldn't focus enough to determine who's it was. He could no longer flail. He couldn't even move enough to gasp for air. Then, he felt a shift.
The gripping darkness loosened around Roxas, and he fell to the floor. The rain was even heavier now than before, and it poured loudly down on the metal surface beneath the boy. He looked up, staggering to his feet. He was in an entirely different area. It looked to be a circular rooftop, towering dizzying heights above the city below. This wasn't part of the city, it was Xemnas' castle. But what was he...? And there before him, Xemnas lowered through the air, letting his feet touch down on the ground. His usual black cloak was replaced by a white one covered in black designs. He glared and it felt like he was piercing Roxas with his eyes.
"So, you would betray us further...?" Xemnas watched him step back in fear, "Even now? Even in the time of our victory?" Roxas' foot felt the end of the rooftop behind him. Off the side, nothing could be seen but a great drop down to the faded lights of the city. "You could have had a heart." Xemnas sighed, taking a step towards him, "You could have finally been whole."
"I... I am whole!" Roxas held a hand to his chest, to where his heart was beating, and Xemnas looked on in interest.
"I see..." The man smiled a dark smile, "So the true Keyblade Master's heart beats inside of you now?"
"It's my heart!" Roxas grits his teeth, and the man laughs.
"It was never your heart!" His smile fades and his expression turns grim, "You stole that heart. Now allow me to take it back from you..." He took another step, but as his foot touched the ground it faded, and his body disappeared. Roxas felt a sharp pain against his back and he stumble forward, knees scraping along the metal. Xemnas had emerged behind him, seemingly from nowhere. "I will never let you interfere with my Kingdom Hearts." A second Xemnas stepped out of the first. "Never." Roxas looked back to see a third looming over him. He struggled to get to his feet, but the clone gripped him by the shirt and lifted him into the air. The other two approached and red energy formed around their hands, taking the shape of swords.
"No!" Roxas squirmed and managed to kick the man behind him in the stomach. Instead of reacting, that clone vanished and he fell again to the floor. Two sharp strikes against his shoulders knocked Roxas a few feet and onto his back. "Aargh...!" He gripped his left shoulder in pain. The energy sword had hit harder against that one. Squinting one eye closed, he watched the two clones approach slowly, staring him down. Suddenly, one of them faded and Roxas saw his shadow on the ground. Gasping, he turned his head upward to see the man floating above him. With just a gesture of his hand, Xemnas began a rain of red lasers down at the boy. Roxas rolled out of the way of the initial wave, but Xemnas persisted. Managing to dodge the fire, Roxas crawled onto his knees to try and regain a standing position, but as he tried, he was hit in the back of the calf near his ankle. He made a pained noise at the burning that ran up his leg.
He called forth the Keyblade to block an incoming attack at his neck from Xemnas' sword. The impact of the attack pushed Roxas up and back onto his feet, but he was struck down once again by the second clone, arching his back against the hit. The Keyblade fell to the ground as Roxas held himself on all fours. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and clenched his chest, coughing blood on the ground. His eyes were wide and nervous. He knew he couldn't do this, and he couldn't get himself to look back up at his attacker. Come on … he thought, gasping for air, Come on. Get up. Get up! He watched Xemnas' foot step into his view and anticipated another attack. However, something got to Xemnas first, knocking him away from the boy.
Wearily, Roxas' eyes found his savior. Axel stood tall at the edge of the building, black smoke dispersing the portal he created to get there. Xemnas and his clone both sneered, locking their eyes on Axel as well. Flames engulfed Axel's hands, forming into the two chakrams he would use to fight.
"You..." Xemnas composed himself to address his new foe, "Another betrayer come to die?"
"Roxas! Get out of here!" Axel yelled, preparing for battle. The Keyblade returned to the boy's hand and he shut his eyes, baring his teeth.
"No!" Roxas shouted, lunging and stabbing at the closest enemy. That clone disappeared and another stepped out of Xemnas. "I can fight!" Axel tensed.
"No, Roxas! Get–"
"Shut up!" The boy interrupted, "I'm not leaving you behind! Got it!" Axel's battle-ready expression broke for a moment. He just stared at Roxas, and then sighed into a smile. Roxas was never going to leave Axel behind. Not again. Even if it meant losing his new heart.
"Then you will both die." Xemnas said, becoming three. Two of them rushed at Axel, laser swords ready, and the last shot a blast at Roxas' head. The boy just barely managed to dodge the projectile, and he retaliated with a swing of his key. It didn't feel quite right. Did the Keyblade only obey him because he had Sora's heart? If that heart never belonged to him, then he really wasn't any different from the rest of the Nobodies, except if they got their old hearts back, they'd be the same person. If everything was how it was supposed to be, Roxas wouldn't be Roxas. He was never really meant to exist, but there was one thing that kept making him want to. He watched Axel fighting the two Xemnas clones. He watched, and he fought, and he thought about how Axel was only doing this for him. His Keyblade swung again, and Xemnas pulled back, stunned from the attack. "What are you fighting for?" Xemnas said to Axel from up above, breaking their combat, "You were never motivated in the organization. What has changed?"
"I don't need an excuse," Axel grinned, gripping the chakrams in his hands, "to take you down!" But Xemnas had already taken notice of the way Roxas looked up at Axel. He'd taken notice of how Axel put himself in danger to save Roxas. How he betrayed the organization to find Roxas when he left. It was all starting to fall into place.
"I see..." Xemnas smiled, turning his full attention on the boy, "So you still don't care. Then allow me to finish this!" In a blink of the eye, the two clones that had been fighting Axel rushed down through the air, rejoining Xemnas in front of Roxas. He used the momentum to dash at Roxas, slamming his palm into the boy's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He held Roxas there upon his palm, suspended in mid-air, and then he leaned his head closer in to the boy's ear and whispered, "Goodbye." An energy sword formed from the palm against Roxas' lower chest. With a gasp, he felt the blade impale his abdomen, escaping through his back. He heard Axel yell, but his ears were ringing and he felt his body spasm on the sword. Slowly, Xemnas lowered him and he slid off the sword, his back landing flat on the cold floor. The Superior smirked above him, and his vision started to blur. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. He thought. His eyes twitched, trying to stay open as the rain formed puddles on his chest. He could feel another liquid there. A warm liquid pumped from the wound and his body trembled again. This is... blood …?
Then he heard them, cold and merciless, coming to feast on the dying boy. The heartless had returned for the heart. Roxas tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. He curled his fingers slowly, but the Keyblade didn't come to him. Then, there was a pulling in his chest. It amplified the pain of his wound. He felt the beating of his heart slowing, and then he felt it no more. A gentle glow rose from his chest as the heart left his body. It pulled all the warmth away as it left, and all the air. Roxas could only gasp as the last bit escaped him. His muscles grew cold and weak. He could feel that in seconds he would be gone. Why did he do what he did? Was this all worth it? He was never supposed to exist anyway. This was how it would end. Slowly, he lifted his arm with the last of his strength. His fingers struggled to extend, to touch the warmth as it floated upwards towards the sky, but he could no longer reach it, and his eyes fell shut, leaving nothing but darkness.
"I'm sorry..." Roxas said, finding himself sitting in a world of complete darkness. I'm sorry... His voice echoed in his mind, the reasons floating around his head.
"It's okay." A boy's voice said. Sora sat down beside Roxas, letting his arms hang between his knees. It's okay. Roxas shook his head and Sora mimicked the action. I ruined everything …
"I ruined everything..." The blond boy said. Sora looked over at him, and then let his eyes drift away. I know.
"It's kinda weird," Sora said, his words were soft and sounded close, "but I know why you did it." I know, "I would do it too. I would do anything to save someone special to me."
"But... but I …" I killed you …
"My heart was still beating." He continued, looking again at Roxas, "Remember?"
"But it's gone." Roxas drew his legs closer to himself, "The heart... it's..."
"You're still moving," Sora pointed out, "Aren't you?"
"Am I?" I'm still moving.
"Only if you wanna be." Sora shrugged, "I can't really tell you."
"But..." Roxas shook his head again, "I messed everything up. Do I deserve to go back?" I don't deserve to go back …
"Yeah," Sora nodded, and the word echoed, "You do." He pushed himself up off the darkness, moving so that he stood in front of Roxas, arm outstretched for support. Roxas looked at the hand, and at the welcoming smile on Sora's face. "Come on. You can't just leave Axel behind, can you?"
Roxas reached forward and took the hand. The two boys faded into the darkness as Sora pulled him to his feat. There was only darkness again, and Roxas could feel the rain falling on his body. He could still feel something in his hand where he had held Sora's. Then he opened his eyes. The Keyblade had returned to him. That meant that the strong heart, Sora's strong heart still belonged to him. If only for a few seconds, the heart was his, and so was the power of the Keyblade. He watched the heart flying up into the sky, and behind it, he saw the grand, heart-shaped moon that was Kingdom Hearts. With the last ounce of his strength, he held the Keyblade firm in his hand, determined that his next action would change everything. A brilliant light burst from the tip of his blade, splitting the air as it passed through the escaping heart and shot into the center of the moon. The light continued to flow, and as it did, the Keyblade Master's heart began to shine as well, until it was a grand, glowing ball between the moon and the boy. Suddenly, the orb of light split into two, traveling both directions along the beam. One piece shot into Roxas' body, causing him to feint, his arm falling limply to his side. The other piece collided at the center of Kingdom Hearts. A large crack was heard, and then there was silence.
Axel, wounded and on the brink of defeat, stared up at the moon above. Xemnas watched, stunned and in horror, unsure of what would happen next. Suddenly, a greater light shined from the crack on the moon. The light grew and grew, and then, under the strain, Kingdom Hearts burst. Like a mass of fireworks or shooting stars, millions of hearts shot through the sky, taking route to the worlds from which they came. Several hearts fell down upon the city as well. Roxas' eyes shot open, and he felt a pulse start up in his chest. Quickly, he got to his feet and held the Keyblade in his hands. The number of heartless on the tower had increased by drastic amounts, and they started to circle him in hunger. There was nowhere to run to, but something off the side caught the boy's attention. He then turned his focus to his fallen partner.
"Axel!" He shouted, breaking through the heartless and running to the man. Xemnas did nothing but stare into the sky where Kingdom Hearts once was. He was broken like the moon.
"I guess... this is it, huh?" Axel tried to laugh, but it came out more like a cough. Roxas pulled Axel up onto his feet, supporting him under his arms.
"No." Roxas swallowed, a new determination taking over, "I'm not... going to leave you... behind!" He pulled Axel along and dove off of the side of the tower. The two fell, held in each others arms. Roxas pulled Axel close. This was all that mattered. He didn't care anymore whether he was supposed to exist or not. He didn't care if the heart that beat fast was really his. He only cared about Axel, and Axel cared about him. That was all that mattered. So he fell, and if he were to die then, he would have no regrets. However, he would not die then. Riku swerved up beside them on a flying vehicle, keeping it next to the two as they fell. He had taken on his original appearance again, probably due to the one he had with him. On the side seat sat a girl, holding her arm out to pull them aboard. That must be Kairi. Roxas thought, and he smiled, taking her hand in his.
Meanwhile, Xemnas broke from his daze, turning his eyes down from the sky. Something had just beat inside his chest. There was something there. Something warm. It beat again.
"Is this... a heart...?" He breathed, slowly bringing his hand to feel the pulse, "Kingdom Hearts... gave me my …" His words were interrupted by shifting feet around him. Hundreds of shadows scurried up the side of the tower, and they started to close in on him, smelling the heart inside. "No...!" Xemnas stepped back, but there were more heartless behind him, "This is... my heart!" The shadows began to swarm, scratching at his feet and pulling him down. "It's mine...!" He struggled, choking as the darkness consumed his body, "No...!"
Once they arrived on land, Axel and Roxas led the two friends to a room inside Memories Skyscraper. There, laying along the sheets of a bed, was Sora's body. Kairi gasped and ran forward. Riku kept his distance, but watched closely, hoping for a miracle.
"Sora!" She yelled, touching the boys chest, "Sora, wake up!" She grabbed the boy's hand and held it over her heart, watching him. Nothing happened, and Kairi looked like she was going to panic. She pulled Sora into a tight embrace, "Please wake up!" Riku stepped forward. He placed one hand on Kairi's shoulder, and the other in the boy's brown hair.
"Please." He whispered, and after a moment, there was movement beneath Sora's eyelids. Riku's eyes widened as Sora's opened. The brown-haired boy inhaled his first new breath of air, and Kairi let him out of the embrace to stare him in the eyes.
"Sora?" She said, almost in disbelief.
"What... happened?" Sora blinked in confusion, and Kairi caught him in another tight hug, his arms flailing out to the sides. Riku laughed, and Roxas watched the two with a smile. Then, Roxas looked at Axel, his face overcome with surprise. The red-head had his hand cupped over his chest, and he was smiling back at him.
"You..." Roxas stuttered as he stared at the man, "You have a...?"
"Ever since you destroyed that eyesore in the sky." He laughed softly, "I guess you made a good call." Roxas' surprise turned to thought as he stared at Axel's hand. Finally, he took the man by the sleeve and pulled on it.
"Come on." He said, tugging again toward the exit of the room, and Axel followed. A few halls down, Roxas took Axel into another room. Like the one that Sora was in, this room was a small one. Not much adorned the room, but there was a bed by the closed window. He sat Axel slowly down on the bed. The man had his hand on Roxas' chest, supporting himself as he sat, and he looked up at the boy, feeling the heart beat faster inside.
"What is it?" Axel asked, his voice hushed. Roxas blushed deeply, and lightly crossed his arms in front of himself, almost like a shield.
"I want to show you," Roxas forced the words out, but they were still soft, "How it feels." Axel didn't need to ask anything else. He was startled by the heat that washed over his own face as he blushed for the first time.
"You're blushing." Roxas said, ignoring the fact that he was too. Axel motioned as if he was trying to wipe it off.
"Yeah, well..." He said, trying not to turn any more pink, "This is all still new to me." Roxas smiled and made a sound like a laugh, but then his face returned to how it was before. He looked focused, but vulnerable. Then he kept his eyes locked on Axel as he crawled into the bed, laying the red-head down. Axel's legs dangled off the bed, and his eyes darted between Roxas', waiting, anticipating the boy's first move. Roxas could feel Axel staring at him, deeper then usual, expectant. He was straddling the man now. He didn't really know what to do first, but he wanted to do something, so he moved his leg over Axel's side and rested it between his thighs. Then, he leaned himself down and ran his chest over Axel's, until his mouth found the soft skin at the base of the red-head's neck. He kissed his neck, brushing his lips along the surface and breathing against him. He could feel Axel's breath pick up too. With another kiss, Roxas slowly pulled his leg forward, following Axel's thighs until he pressed against the leather of his pants. Axel's breath hitched. It was the first time Roxas had ever heard that happen. He felt the man's pulse, the new blood flowing, and making Axel hard against his leg. He gasped. Just knowing that he did that to Axel made him grow hard as well, and he started to rock back and forth, rubbing his leg between Axel's thighs.
He kissed at the neck while he rubbed, and the kisses turned to sucking. He made a small, involuntary noise. His pants were rubbing against Axel's hip, where he was stiff and sensitive. He arched his back into the rub, aiding the pleasure of his movement, and he let out another noise. Axel leaned his head towards Roxas' shoulder, breathing heavily on his neck. The boy responded with a breath of his own, and then he lightly bit at the base of Axel's neck, invoking a gasp and an arch of the back. Then he ran his hand down from the man's shoulders, tracing his fingers along his chest. Running them lower, and lower. His hand then found the bulge in the leather pants and, holding his breath, he wrapped his fingers around it. Axel made another gasping noise, and his hips jerked in response to the touch. Roxas moved his hand up and down the stretch of the pants, and Axel's hips began to move with him. Shifting, Roxas switched hands and moved his leg out from its spot between the thighs. He gripped Axel with his left hand, and with his right, he undid the large black cloak that covered the man. Receiving help from Axel, the cloak was discarded onto the floor, and the man's chest was left bare. Roxas quickly removed his own shirt and brought his lips to meet Axel's. As they kissed, the boy ran his hand along the bare skin just above the red-head's pants, occasionally running the tip of his finger underneath. Finally, he undid the button and moved his fingers to the zipper, pulling it down and causing another jerk of the hips.
Axel's tongue pressed into Roxas' mouth, twirling with his own, and he couldn't wait any longer. He ran his finger down Axel's underwear, and then back up to the top. Pressing under the elastic in his way, he pushed his hand in and felt Axel's warm, soft skin under his fingers. He wrapped his hand around the man again, and the swaying of both of their hips became faster, and Roxas pressed harder.
"Haa..." Axel shut his eyes tight, pushing into Roxas' hand and against the hardness on his hip. He moved his hand to the boy's pants and gripped him, squeezing with every movement. Roxas made a pleasured noise and sighed, moving his hips faster against Axel's touch. The blond breathed heavily and kissed again at his neck, but then he stopped. He stopped moving, he stopped gripping, and he stepped off of Axel, pausing at the end of the bed.
"Can...?" Roxas started to ask, but he decided to move forward without question. He took the sides of Axel's pants by his hips, and he grabbed the underwear as well. Axel blushed again, but he lifted his hips to aid Roxas in removing the last bits of clothing. His shoes dropped to the floor, followed by the pants, and as he removed his own socks, he saw Roxas staring at him, blushing another deep blush. Then the boy undid his own pants, removing the remainder of his clothing as well. Roxas reclaimed his position on top of Axel. Their skin touched. There was so much skin. Roxas felt the warmth as he pressed his chest down on the red-head's. He was so hard. They both were. He swallowed and took in a deep breath, returning to an upright position. Axel watched him, again waiting for him to make a move, but this time it was almost pleading.
Roxas reached underneath himself and took Axel in his hand. He felt his face go red. He gently rubbed the skin in his grip, and then slowly, and carefully, he lowered himself down. He felt Axel pushing against him, and then, inside of him. Roxas made a face and stopped. It was a little painful, but there was something behind it that felt good. Really good. And as the pain subsided, and Roxas relaxed into the feeling, he lowered himself the rest of the way, exhaling a long sigh. Axel looked frozen. Amazed at the feeling. Amazed at Roxas. And then, Roxas started to move. There was still a little pain, but the other feelings overthrew anything else. He felt himself stiffen further, and he didn't even know that he could. Axel took notice and moved his hand up to wrap around the boy's bare skin. The red-head started moving his hand, pulling and pushing against Roxas, drawing out all the noises that he could. For Roxas, all thoughts started to fade away, and there was only that feeling.
There was so much skin. So much movement. So much feeling. Roxas thrust Axel back and forth inside of him, and with every thrust he felt his skin pull back in Axel's hand. He moved faster, and Axel's hips moved faster, and everything started to blur. He moaned loudly now, and so did Axel. The feeling just built and built inside of him, until he felt ready to explode. He could smell their sweat, salty in the air. He could smell the rain outside as it tapped against the window. His feelings and senses were overrun, and a pressure built inside. And then, Axel's jerks suddenly grew frantic. He buried his free hand in the sheets of the bed, arched his back, and squeezed Roxas tight. Roxas kept moving against the jerks, and he felt his insides get hot. He felt Axel's pulse pumping inside him as he made a long, pleasured noise. The pressure became too much, and Roxas joined in making a noise as well. He jerked back and forth in Axel's hand, and released, warm over the length of the red-head's heaving chest. In a final, long exhale, the boy leaned forward, planting his hands on the bed on both sides of Axel's neck for support. Axel's eyes had been shut, but they fluttered open to watch the boy breathe heavily over him. As soon as his hand allowed for it, Axel released his grip on the sheets and ran that hand through the blond's hair. He considered his other hand. It was warm now, and it was wet and kind of sticky. The same feeling covered his chest.
Finally, Roxas moved off of Axel, and Axel pulled out of him. The boy laid on his side on the bed, grasping Axel's upper arm in both hands. He was still breathing heavily, but it was growing calmer, and comfortable. Roxas' hips twitched one more time. The pleasure was still running through his body, but now his head felt empty and his thoughts were fuzzy. He moved his head up on the sheets, and met Axel's eyes. Axel was sweaty, and red, and his eyes and smile looked tired.
"So," Roxas said softly when he could manage to talk, "How does it feel?" Axel just smiled at him, and then leaned over to kiss the boy on the head. Roxas didn't need any more answer than that. The two of them continued to lay there. Eventually, Axel had drifted off to sleep for the first time in front of him. Roxas moved his hand up onto the red-head's chest, and he felt the heart beating inside. It was such a nice feeling. Better then his own heart. Better then anyone's heart. He didn't know how it all turned out this way. He couldn't even explain how he was frightened and confused earlier that day, nor how he almost died and was saved by the very person he'd killed. There was something very magical about living day to day. He could think and think all he wanted about how something would happen, but he could never truly predict all the possibilities. That was what it meant to exist, he thought. To enjoy life as it passed by and to truly live out all the events. And if that was the case, he existed more in that day than most people probably did in their lives. He traced the shape of a heart with his finger over Axel's chest, and then placed his hand back down to listen and to feel the pulse again. Then, slowly, listening to Axel's beating heart, Roxas drifted to sleep. But from that point on, there was never only darkness. Never again.