Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters, but I am completely responsible for their stupid actions in my stupid fanfics.
Anyway, yeah, another one-shot. Anyway, story behind this. I was walking home today from the car wash, and I passed by the park near my high school. At the park was one little girl on the swing, all alone. I think her mother was sitting on the bench on the other side of the playground, but that's not the point. The image got me thinking, and then I was reminded of Norikuu's (on deviantart) drawing, "Time Keeps on Going". So I started to formulate a fanfic.
Then, in the middle of my formulating, the song "We Are One Tonight" by Switchfoot came on, and I was further inspired.
So I came home and wrote this. :000
So yeah, kinda weird, but whatevs. Enjoy.
summer b l e u e
He was always the one on the swings. The lonely kid on the swings.
His brother and his two friends were always out in the green green grass, playing tag or lying on their backs, gazing at the puffy clouds in the cerulean sky. His friends were always about as well; the energetic boy rushing down the slide over and over, the perky girl on the jungle gym, the chubby boy playing in the hot sand, the quiet girl drawing under the shade of the big oak tree.
But he himself always found himself on that swing set, sweating as he pumped his legs to fly higher, always traveling back and forth. He always stared at the ground.
And he would slow down sometimes and just kick at the sand beneath his feet, staring out and watching his friends laugh and smile. He would just sit there, no one ever joining him.
The day the stranger boy came scared him. The boy was wild, smiling a sharp smirk, green eyes blazing almost as wildly as his crazy red hair. The blonde's sparkling blue eyes widened, taking in the stranger before jumping off the swing, running into the arms of his mother. The red haired boy sighed, latching onto one chain, watching the other boy as he wiped his tears against his mother's white skirt.
--o--
"What're you guys doing today? It's summer, right? Maybe we can hang?" the blonde said, flipping his bangs out of his glittering blue eyes.
"Sorry, Rox, gymnastics comp," the girl sighed, sympathy flooding into her green eyes. She hated missing out on 'bonding' with her friends. "Then Seifer's taking me out to ice cream."
"It's okay, Olette… What about you Namine? Pence?"
"I would love to, Roxas… But my art portfolio's due tomorrow," the blue eyed girl sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yeah, and I've got that sculpture to work on," said the chubby boy, pouting.
"So it's just you and me, eh Hayner?" Roxas grinned, jabbing his friend playfully in the side.
"Hell yeah! Drag race today! I'm gonna kick ass for sure! And you'll be in my passenger seat, buddy!" The blonde whooped, eyes growing excited. "Try not to shit yourself, like last time."
"Oh god, Hayner! Not again! You're gonna get yourself killed," Olette sighed, placing her face into her hands, the boy sighing and crossing his arms stubbornly.
"Really, you are Hayner… Sorry, but count me out," Roxas said, giving a weak smile and a wave. "Seriously, dude, why do you race?"
"Why? Because it's what I love. Something to live for!" The boy grinned, giving a thumbs up. Roxas' happy façade melted away.
Something to live for…
The blonde found himself in that lonely swing again. It was evening, the hot air growing cool, a warm wind still fluttering against his cheek. He kicked at the sand, staring at the ground. There were no sounds of children playing. Just the sound of the wind, the sound of footsteps.
"Hey, cutie," a matured voice sounded, the creaking of the swing set confirming the presence of another swinger. The blonde turned his head slightly to see the intense red spikes.
"Oh… Hey."
"It's been a while since you've last come. A couple months at least! Have things been going well, then?" the red head questioned, green eyes sparkling with true interest.
"Hey, I've got a question for you… Why is it that every time I come here, you always find me? Do you like live here or something? There's no way we just both come here by coincide—"
"Maybe it's fate," the older male flashed a grin. "It's been thirteen years since the first day I sat here, and I've been sitting next to you ever since… I think it's fate," the red head gazed off toward the reddening sky.
"Fate…" The blonde kicked at the sand harsher, his momentum picking up, swing beginning to sway back and forth. "Hey, do you have something you love? Something you live for?"
"Hm?" The red head shot a curious glance at the blonde, tensing up before shrugging it off, chuckling. "Sure, I guess I could think of something…"
"What is it?"
"Like I'd tell you, blondie," the older scoffed.
"Well fine. Is it something you're good at? Like a sport or hobby or something?" Roxas mused, swinging his legs back and forth, now flying at a steady pace.
"Well, I guess you could consider it a hobby… Though it's kind of a weird hobby," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head with his slender hand. "What's with all the questioning about me? I'm usually the one who does the asking—"
"I was just… thinking… My friends, they all have their talents… Namine and her art, Pence and his sculptures, Olette and her gymnastics… Hayner and his racing…" He flipped his golden locks out of his eyes, staring down at the ground as the wind blew in his face, his body flying through the air. "But I have nothing. I have nothing planned for my life… I'm going off to college soon, and I just feel like a loser, like I'm never going to accomplish anything in my life."
"Well, you got into that nice college, that's something! Academics could be your tale—"
"Memorizing the answers to test questions will get me no where in life. Life doesn't go by the book," Roxas raised his voice so that the other boy would be able to hear him as he rushed past.
"Hnnn… I guess that's true," the older sighed, clasping onto one chain, feet moving gently against the sand.
"I wish I could just… Make it stop. Everything. Just so I can figure out what to do," Roxas stressed, closing his eyes as he continued to pump, swing going higher and higher. "I just want to slow it all down…"
"Then you should stop pumping so hard," the red head stated softly, green eyes glazed over as he stared down at the soft sand below.
Roxas eyes grew wide, mouth hanging slightly ajar as he turned his head to look at his companion, the other being simply raising his gaze to stare at the darkening sky. The sun was gone. His legs stopped their efforts, the swing slowly losing momentum, Roxas' flight coming to a steady halt. He continued to stare, crystal blue orbs glued to the other male's features.
The red head turned to face his companion, shifting around so that he was straddling his swing. He grabbed one of Roxas' hands, the blonde's surprise showing in his face as his eyes widened to stare at the contact of flesh, only to die and become once again calm.
"So you want to know my something to live for?" he whispered, the wind no longer whirling. "It's a boy I met when he was only five years old. It's a boy that motivated me to come to this park almost everyday in anticipation to see, to talk to, to comfort," his eyes grew soft as he shifted his fingers around the other hand, eyes watching them. "It wasn't like this at first, I just thought I had found a new friend… But as he talked to me, more and more, I grew to… cherish him?" he grinned that crooked grin, flashing his green eyes to bore into blue.
"Look Roxas," he said, motioning with his head toward the sky. "The stars are coming out…"
The blonde tilted his head back, gazing for the first time in that swing set up instead of down. And it was beautiful.
"I've known you for so long… I've spilled my heart out to you so many times," Roxas sighed, continuing to gaze up at the stars. "But it's only ever been about me… I know nothing about you," he continued, fingers gripping the other's slender hand tighter. "Not even your name," he stressed, bringing his pained blue eyes to once again gaze into those brilliant emerald irises.
The man smiled, tattoos on his cheeks rising slightly.
"My name is Axel. Commit it to memory, love."
And as he rocked slowly on that swing set, he was no longer alone.