Warning: Character death.
Disclaimer: All used settings, characters and objects are property of their respective owners.
Axel was, to say it politely, a jerk. He was horribly impatient, rude, mainly superficial, and had the horrible tendency to speak without thinking. That habit tacked "mean" onto the list, and emphasized the rest even further. He was far from perfect, so his balancing act on the fence between "good guy" and "scrooge" was as fine and thin as a strand of thread. Axel didn't care over what most others thought of him, however, because only Roxas was the one who could judge him, and the only opinion he cared about. Roxas was what made him a kind, presentable human being.
Roxas was Axel's polar opposite. He had the patience of a saint, was polite in the most frustrating of moments, planned things out placidly and viewed everything as mainly equal. Roxas volunteered at shelters and soup kitchens, and was, admittedly, the undisputed better half to the Axel and Roxas whole. As such, he was often seen with a smile that further explained why Roxas was Axel's entire universe.
The bizarre couple, much to everyone's surprise, was far from fresh and new. No, it was a proudly standing fact that Roxas and Axel had been dating for years; seven in fact. The unlikely pair met as lab partners in college, and through less-than-tame "study sessions" together, Axel dove for his chance and succeeded in landing a date with the sparkling-eyed blonde that he now cared for so deeply. Likewise, Roxas had always been romantically fond of his red headed counterpart, and hadn't hesitated in the least to accept Axel's invitation.
One special thing about this relationship was a symbolic piece of jewelry. Handmade in an elective crafting class, Roxas had given Axel a bracelet made with several large colored beads. It was far more serious and important than a promise ring, Roxas had explained, as it was a temporary gift. It was meant to hold the place of a more extravagant, more worthy bracelet of Axel's wrist that Roxas wished to purchase as a token of his endearing love for him. Despite how serious and determined Roxas was for his plan to follow through, Axel had attempted to assure him that it was unnecessary.
As of recently, Axel had been working a simple office job, and Roxas worked out of their shared apartment as a well appreciated children's author and taught part-time as a substitute teacher for the local school district in Hollow Bastian. The two had sufficient funds to please them, and had an undoubtedly pleasing love life.
At the sound of his buzzing alarm clock, Axel clicked it off, and groggily stared up at the blank ceiling above the bed. Eyes half open, he mentally cursed his job for needing to start so early in the day, as well as himself for believing that some late night lovemaking would have no negative effects on his sleeping patterns. A soft smile brushed his lips has he remembered the night before and he turned his head over to an empty bed, already knowing that Roxas was a morning person and woke up before him naturally, yet still being slightly disappointed.
Axel got up out of bed, sliding on his boxers and scuffling out of the bedroom. Making his first stop the bathroom, he answered nature's calling and then scuffled out to the living room. Leaning against the doorframe he smiled, silently watching Roxas as he typed away furiously at his laptop, wearing nothing except a sheet wrapped around lower half and square framed reading glasses.
"The coffee is still hot if you want a cup before your shower." Roxas said, not turning away his gaze from the laptop.
Axel moved away from the doorframe and stood behind Roxas where he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the blonde's shoulders, nuzzling his face into the bow of Roxas' neck. He sighed and nibbled lightly at the skin, resulting in distracted giggles from his other.
"Axel—haha—Axel, stop I need to finish this—hehehe—this manuscript by noon." Roxas argued, squirming in his seat.
"But how am I supposed to feel about you leaving me after last night for some stupid laptop?" Axel asked teasingly.
"Axel, don't call her stupid! You'll hurt Delores' feelings." Roxas scolded, softly petting the top of his laptop frame. Axel stood up straight, looking suspiciously at the computer.
"You left me for a woman? That's far worse. I'm heartbroken." Axel said, and pouted for emphasis.
Unfortunately his plans were to no avail. Roxas looked up at him in fake disbelief. He reached over and grabbed a throw pillow on the couch beside him, and whirled it into Axel's side as an attack, a smile slipping through on his face.
"Oh stop, and go take a shower before you're late for work." Roxas said.
"Fine."
Axel bent down to Axel's level again. With one hand closing the laptop, the other turned Roxas' head to face him, and captured the blonde's lips with his own. After a soft, tender kiss, he broke away and walked off to take a shower, shutting the door as Roxas scolded him further for shutting the laptop and procrastinating on getting ready for the day.
After he was bathed and dressed, Axel walked back out into the other half of the apartment where he passed by Roxas in the living room, and poured himself some lukewarm coffee into a mug, filling it with cream and sugar. He stirred his mug, leaving the stirrer on the counter as he brought his mug with him to the kitchen table to close and lock his briefcase. Gulping the coffee down, he left the mug as he finished gathering his things and slipped on his shoes and coat, turning to where Roxas sat, still half naked on the couch.
That's when he noticed. On any other day, Axel would turn and see Roxas simply glowing with rich color in his face and bright highlights in his hair. Today, however, he was flushed pale with drooping, dull hair and bloodshot eyes. Axel wondered why he hadn't noticed earlier.
"Hey, Rox, are you feeling all right?" Axel asked, placing all of his things that he had previously been holding back onto the table and walking over to where Roxas sat.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Roxas asked, pausing his work with the sound of concern in Axel's voice.
"You're so…pale." Axel said, bringing a hand up to Roxas' forehead to check for a fever. There wasn't one.
"Maybe I'm just a little tired." Roxas concluded quickly.
"Okay," Axel said, accepting that as an excuse for now. "Just get some rest after you're done with that manuscript. I don't need you catching some stupid little cold on me."
"Roger that." Roxas said with a smile.
Axel bent down, giving Roxas a firm kiss on the forehead before moving down to kiss him on the lips, then turning and leaving for work.
As Axel's day progressed, it was as if Roxas' poor coloring was a minor setback. On top of finishing early on the paperwork with the important business deal he was managing with a handpicked team from his boss, he was called in personally to be informed of a better-paying, well deserved promotion. After work, he decided to pick out something special for dinner that night, and took a quick detour to the supermarket on his way home, where he managed to buy the last package of steaks, and make it home in time for him to step inside the apartment building just in time for the light sprinkle of rain to turn into a downpour.
Retrieving the mail on his way, Axel wasted no time in rushing up the elevator to the apartment, rushing excitedly through the door.
"Rox, I'm home!" Axel called, just in case Roxas had woken from sleeping.
Axel slipped off his shoes, putting the steak in the refrigerator and placing his coat and briefcase on the kitchen table. Slipping open the first piece of mail he got, he couldn't help but grin with more excitement than ever. Not only had the contest he entered on the radio mailed him, but they also informed him that he had won the overnight stay in Twilight Town, the town that had locally coined the phrase, "where magic happens." Hardly able to contain his excitement any longer, Axel turned to the rest of the apartment.
"Roxy?" He called again.
He stood and looked around the open space, the silent air in the house prickling at the hairs at the back of his neck. If he had learned anything within the past several years that he had dated and lived with Roxas, it was that the poor boy was a light sleeper, and would have most certainly heard Axel's calls.
"Did he go out?" Axel wondered as he muttered the words.
Putting the mail down, Axel made a determined path to the bedroom at the back of the apartment, half relieved to find that Roxas wasn't there. Satisfied that the boy had most likely gone out, Axel relaxed and shuffled over to the bathroom, where all of his relaxation completely vanished.
Lying there before him was Roxas, face down on the bathroom for in a rather uncomfortable position, showing that he collapsed there unexpectedly. Worry and alarm rushing over him, Axel rushed to Roxas' side, shaking his shoulder.
"Roxas! Roxas, baby, wake up!" Axel exclaimed.
With no response, Axel moved his eyes from Roxas' closed eyes to his neck. With a sharp, worried inhale of breath, Axel towered two fingers down onto the boy's neck, shifting the fingertips until at last the feeling of pulsing blood shot out at him.
"Oh, thank God…" Axel whispered, releasing the air he had been holding.
Bolting to his feet, Axel rushed out of the bathroom and grasped his large hand around the phone, bringing it with him into the bathroom and dialing for help. He shook Roxas' shoulders roughly with one hand as the phone rang once…rang twice…
"Hollow Bastian operator, what is your emergency?" The woman on the other side asked.
"Hello, my boyfriend—I found him c-collapsed on the bathroom floor, b-but he's unconscious." Axel said, rushing and stuttering over words with panic.
"Is he breathing?"
"Yes."
"Is there any blood? Does it look like someone broke into your home?"
"No, everything seems fine." Axel said.
"All right, I'll be sending for help. I need your name?"
"Axel."
"And your location's address?"
After giving the operator his address, Axel listened to her instructions to stay with Roxas until help arrived. Not needing to be asked twice, he hung up the phone and bent down onto the ground as low as he could go without lying there, staring at Roxas' closed eyelids with worry. Once his doorbell rang with echoing pounds on the door, Axel rushed with relief to the door, opening it to lead the paramedics to the bathroom and answer questions they had. Rushing to get Roxas' wallet, Axel slipped on his shoes and followed the paramedics out to the hospital.
"Is he going to be okay?" Axel asked.
"Too soon to tell, Son." Said an older paramedic.
Forced to sit in the front seat of the ambulance, Axel stared out the windows anxiously. He nearly threw himself out of the car before it was stopped once they reached the hospital, and once Roxas was wheeled away into the emergency half of the hospital, he had to be forcefully held back by doctors passing by to stop him.
Finally forced to sit in the waiting room, Axel wished for Roxas' patience. He let his knee bounce rapidly up and down, his elbows digging into his thighs as he rubbed his face, covering it from view. Occasionally, he would comb his fingers through his hair and sigh deeply, gazing up at the clock through the separations in his fingers.
As time ticked by, Axel's patience was growing thinner than it had already been. He was never good at waiting for something, and now that it had to do with the health and overall well-being of Roxas, his patience had been completely thrown out the window and it was focusing as hard as he could to restrain himself from marching up to the receptionist, smacking her in the face and demanding to see his Roxas.
The last string of his self control snapped, causing Axel to growl deeply in the back of his throat in frustration and stand up abruptly. He looked pointedly at the receptionist, and lost all sense to realize that his feet were moving on their own, bringing him closer to her old and wrinkly face as a tall, lean doctor stepped in front of him.
"Are you with the Roxas boy?" The doctor asked cautiously, his words bringing Axel out of his dazed stupor.
"I—yes, I am." Axel managed.
"Very well; come with me." The doctor said.
Following the man in sea foam green, Axel folded his arms tightly, digging his nails into his arms with anticipation. Was Roxas all right? Did he find him in time? The questions seemed to start spinning in his head. Would he go home alone that night?
The doctor stopped outside of a closed door down a quiet hallway, turning to face Axel. Seriousness covered the man's face as he looked Axel in the eyes, yet his own were clouded with many thoughts at once, as if he was trying to find the words he needed to form to tell Axel whatever news there was.
"Just say it." Axel said sharply. "How is he?"
The doctor gave a deep sigh of defeat.
"He's fine, but needs to be under supervision for a couple more days." The doctor began. "It's a miracle that you caught him when you did tonight. You see, what we found is that your friend has what is called Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia, which is basically an arrhythmia, due to a problem with his heart ventricles."
"I don't understand." Axel said. Though the couple had started out as lab partners for their general education credits, Roxas had basically completed all of the work.
"Well, he has an abnormal heart rhythm, which we needed to look into with a CT scan, which confirmed our suspicions. We had to defibrillate him to help regulate his heart rate, and since we have our results back, we'll be able to prescribe him the proper medication, but still need to keep a close eye on him." The doctor explained.
Axel paused, looking down at his shoes as he tried to take it all in. Roxas was alive, which he was grateful for, but the fine print was slowly beginning to outweigh that happy fact. If Roxas was having heart troubles, there was no telling what would happen with him. Roxas had always had higher stress levels than anyone Axel had ever known with his writing job, and it never helped that their level of intimacy in the bedroom was rather high…
"Can I see him?" Axel asked, the desperation clear in his voice.
"Of course. He's just inside." The doctor said, opening the door for him. "He's currently resting, though."
"That's fine, thank you." Axel said.
Axel walked into the drab, white room. He stepped over to the occupied bed in front of him, pulling over a chair to the bedside opposite that of the one with Roxas' IV. He gazed over Roxas' face, and how his eyelashes grazed over his cheeks in a peaceful look of slumber. His eyelashes didn't hide the large dark bags around his eyes, however. His diaphragm relaxed and contracted with even breathing, and his arms rested at his sides, one with a hospital bracelet, the other strewn with tape and IV connecting to a large tube, running to a pouch of fluids hanging above.
Axel absent-mindedly toyed with his own beaded bracelet for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing Roxas' hand. He clasped it tightly inside his own, his heart breaking at the feeling of Roxas' hand being cooler than his own. Roxas always had warm hands…
"Roxas, please." Axel whispered, gazing sharply at Roxas' face. "You have no idea how much I need you."
Axel brought his other hand up from his lap. He held Roxas' hand within the two of his own, rubbing the blonde's gently between them to offer some warmth through friction, despite how he knew that it wouldn't be much help. Axel swallowed hard, his throat dry and cottony.
"Rox, come on. You can fight this." He whispered, squeezing Roxas' hand now.
He sighed, and his head sank as a nurse stepped through the door. He ignored her as she offered a greeting, and then went to checking in on all of Roxas' vitals. She measured his pulse, checked his IV, and then as soon as she came, she left without a word. Axel could hardly take the near-silence in the room, as the beeping of the monitor caught his ears and slowly began to drive him insane like some strange, sound-inducing likeliness to Chinese water torture.
After several hours, Axel knew with disdain that visiting hours were over. He halfheartedly listened as a nurse came in to remind him, and stood as she left. He flung his coat over his arm, using the other to squeeze Roxas' hand again. He gazed down at his lover, their fond memories flooding him and threatening him with tears. Axel swallowed and brought his hand up to Roxas' face, where he brushed it softly. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against Roxas' forehead, and stood up straight, heading to the door only to stop short in the door frame.
"A—Axel?" Came a weak whisper.
Axel spun around on his heel, turning to the pale form in the hospital bed. His heart began fluttering and pounding in his chest, both at the same time as a grin spread broadly across his face. Axel rushed to his side, throwing his things onto the floor and kicking the chair away as he leaned in close.
"Yes, Roxas—Roxas I'm here!" Axel exclaimed, taking Roxas' hand into both of his own once more.
Roxas' eyes blinked roughly with inanition, clearly struggling to keep them open. He turned his head to Axel, his sparkling blue eyes gazing up into Axel's tear stricken green ones. Roxas gave a weak smile, which only made Axel smile wider, holding their hands to his face.
"I finished…my manuscript." Roxas whispered.
Roxas' proud grin caught Axel by surprise, and the two shared a soft chuckle.
"You think that really matters when you have heart problems and you're staying overnight in a hospital?" Axel asked pointedly.
Roxas' eyes turned away as he took in the information for a moment. When his eyes focused, his eyebrows knitted together, squinting at the center, wrinkling the bridge of his nose. His eyes moved back to Axel.
"What happened to me?"
"Simply put; you had a heart attack, but it's part of this strange disease that the doctor was talking about, and he said that it could come back at any time and be…lethal. He has some prescriptions to assist in prolonging anymore attacks in the meantime, though." Axel explained.
"I'm staying overnight?" Roxas asked more desperately this time, clutching back just as tightly onto Axel.
Axel sighed and kissed Roxas' forehead, immediately understanding. Roxas had usually had troubles sleeping, something Axel found absolutely adorable and beneficial to himself. As Roxas had problems getting to sleep, Axel had become the cure since Roxas had moved into his apartment with him. Roxas never slept anywhere else than at Axel's side.
"Don't worry. I'll call in a personal day tomorrow and come in as soon as the visiting hours open. I promise." Axel said with a smile.
"But…" Roxas looked away, blushing with embarrassment before gesturing for Axel to lean in closer. "Come here.."
Axel obliged, and Roxas leaned up as close as he could with a nervous eye pointed in the direction of the door.
"What is it?" Axel asked.
"What about that special night you promised me from last night?" Roxas asked, resting his head as far as he could manage into the pillow, looking away with a blush.
Axel smiled, chuckling all the same as his cheekbones burned a light pink.
"I suppose that we'll just have to wait a while on that." Axel said. "I'm not about to do that when you're having heart problems of all things."
"I suppose you're right…" Roxas said, gazing back up at him.
"Excuse me, Sir? Visiting hours are—oh!" The nurse had returned, surprised as any to see Roxas' eyes now brightly open. "I'll get the doctor, but you really should be leaving now, Sir."
"Sorry, I was on my way out." Axel said, letting go of Roxas' hand.
"No! Don't leave." Roxas argued, and pulled down tightly on Axel's wrist.
"I promise, I'll be back first thing. You have your phone," Axel said, grabbing the cell phone from his things and setting it in Roxas's lap. "So feel free to call me once the doctor is through with you. I'll talk with you all night until you get to sleep, okay?"
He felt a reluctant release from Roxas' hand around his wrist, and Axel smiled. Roxas unwillingly returned it. Axel leaned down to him, kissing him softly on the lips before he turned and left, passing the doctor on his way to the hall. Turning with a wave to the blonde from the hall, Axel made his way to the nearest elevator, taking it to the ground level.
Once at the main reception office, he called for a taxi, and took a silent, lonely ride home. He entered his apartment with a solemn feeling, not bothering to turn on any lights despite the darkness. He threw his things aside without much care, and kicked off his shoes with a mellow force.
Dragging his feet with him, he shuffled into the bedroom, pulling off his shirt and pants and throwing them onto the floor. He peeled away the sheets of the bed and sat there a moment, gazing over at the cold, empty side of the bed beside him. He turned, pulling his phone out of his pants and placing it on the nightstand, lying down against his pillow and staring at the small blinking light of his phone through the darkness of the night.
With an affronting buzzing noise, Axel's alarm clock woke him to the dreary, rainy weather outside. He sat up in bed and turned it off with a clash of thunder. He pulled over his phone, checking it to see there were no missed calls or messages. With a disappointed sigh, he dialed the number for his workplace, calling in for a personal day. Then, shuffling into the bathroom, took a shower and got dressed.
Stuffing his cell phone into his pocket, Axel quickly rushed out into the main section of the apartment, stopping just short of the kitchen as he realized the scent of coffee wasn't in the air. More depressed than he had already been, he wasted no time in grabbing his keys and a jacket, and rushing out the door. When Axel made it to his car, he drove quickly down the road, stopping in at a donut shop for coffee on his way to the hospital, entering the doors just in time for the visiting hours to begin.
Making a beeline for the main desk, he rushed up, unintentionally slamming his hands down on the front of the desk. The tight-bun receptionist jumped at the noise, looking up at him nervously. Embarrassed, Axel withdrew his hands and stood up straight.
"H-How may I help you, Sir?" The receptionist stammered.
Wasting no time, Axel gave Roxas' name, asking for his room number. With a few quick jabs at the keyboard and multiple clicks with her mouse, found the information he needed. As soon as the words left her lips, Axel wasted no time in throwing out a quick thanks over his shoulder and all but sprinted off in the direction of the elevator, rushing inside and repeatedly jamming the button to Roxas' floor.
Making it to the room with haste, Axel rushed to a stop just outside, adjusting his clothes and his hair as best as he could, giving a deep sigh to gain his breath before calmly entering the room. Axel smiled at the peaceful sleep Roxas was resting in, slipping off his coat and slinging it over the side chair.
As Axel took a seat, the nurse from the previous night entered. She greeted him with a smile and went to work checking on Roxas. She studied the levels of his fluids, switching him over onto a fresh bag, then pulled out the sphygmomanometer, gently shaking Roxas awake. He groaned into consciousness and watched as she took his blood pressure and took his pulse before she gestured with her eyes toward Axel and left.
Before she even met the doorframe, Roxas immediately turned to the side of his bed, gazing up at Axel with the excited look of a child on Christmas. Roxas grinned instantaneously, reaching an arm out to Axel, who reached out in return, grasping his hand and lacing their fingers together, bringing Roxas' hand to his lips.
"Good morning, Rox." Axel said, his mood lifting tremendously. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Roxas replied weakly. "The doctor ran a lot more tests after you left, and set up my prescriptions. I'm on them now; they're these once-a-day horse pills. You should see them."
"I'll see them when you come home." Axel said.
Roxas cleared his throat slightly, and with a press of a button on the bed's remote, slowly sat up further. Axel brought his chair closer.
"Speaking of which, how was it sleeping without me? I was too tired by the time I was finally able to get to sleep, so I'm sorry I didn't call…" Roxas asked.
"Don't worry about it, but sleeping without you was torture like you wouldn't believe." Axel replied. "When are you coming home?"
"Doctor says later today." Roxas said. "And I have some ideas for stuff for us to do once I'm out."
"Don't strain yourself too much, Roxas, you're just getting out of the hospital, you don't want to hurt yourself as soon as you get out."
"Don't worry, we'll only be going to jewelry stores." Roxas said, giving Axel a big grin of encouragement.
Axel, surprised by Roxas' words, felt his eyes widen, the wonder racing through his head. He furrowed his eyebrows together, tipping his head slightly.
"Jewelry stores?"
"For your bracelet." Roxas explained, reaching out and touching the colored beads with his fingertips. "I promised you a better one, but I still haven't gotten around to it. Now with this stupid heart problem, I might not have my chance much longer—"
"Roxas, don't talk like that." Axel stated firmly, scolding Roxas for even remotely thinking of such a horrible idea.
"It's true, Axel. Don't try to deny it. You know, the doctor said himself that it was a miracle that you came home and found me when you did. I could've died, Axel, but you—you saved me." Roxas said, leaning closer on his side and planting a kiss on Axel's cheek.
"I know, I just—I don't want to think about that." Axel said, turning his gaze away a moment, before turning it back to his blonde, better half.
It was then that the doctor walked in, greeting the two with a broad grin and bright, caffeine-shot eyes. With several large medical terms, the doctor briskly ran through the results of each of the tests, some just resourceful reminders, and then continued to remind Roxas that he would need to remember the heart medication and pay mind to his schedule to take them very strictly. Axel sat there helplessly as Roxas nodded in understanding, somehow taking all of this medical jibber-jabber in and comprehending it into a meaningful, simplified manner.
"Okay, well, that seems like just about all of what I needed to say," the doctor said, and flipped through papers on his clipboard. "and your body is reacting well to the medication since we gave it to you, so you're very capable of leaving this place if you're up to it around noon at the earliest."
"Sounds perfect." Roxas said, beaming with excitement. Axel could just see him restraining from bouncing up and down in his seat on the bed.
"All right! I hope everything works out for you two. Have a good one!" The doctor said, and turned sideways to make his way to the door.
"You too." Roxas replied, and the doctor vanished around the corner, leaving him to return his attention back to Axel. "So what's new with you? I missed your daily newscast yesterday."
Axel smiled, and thought of news to tell Roxas while the back of his mind screamed exuberantly with joy that Roxas would be home and in his arms that night.
"Well, do you remember that contest I entered a few months ago that you claimed was a scam and completely ridiculous?" Axel questioned.
"Yes…" Roxas replied, weary of where the whole story was going.
"Well, as I grabbed the mail yesterday on my way home, they sent me a letter," Axel was beaming with pride. "and I won us a pair of tickets for an overnight trip to Twilight Town."
"You're joking." Roxas said, his smile hesitant.
"I kid you not, handsome creature." Axel grinned. "I would have brought them with me if I wasn't so eager to see you. In fact, I even got a promotion!"
Roxas gave a gentle laugh, rolling his eyes at Axel's attempts and working his charm on him, and congratulating him on the promotion, regardless. Without allowing the redhead further time to spout off poorly thought up pick up lines, he lifted his hand with curiosity.
"When are they effective?" He asked.
"I can pick them up from their address on our way home tonight and ask. I believe it's just tickets for the hotel—like a coupon—so they're most likely effective whenever we'd like them to be. With the exception being within the due date, of course." Axel replied.
"Let's go this weekend." Roxas said immediately.
Axel's eyebrows rose to his hairline, shocked to hear Roxas eager to take a trip. Roxas was never the traveling type. He preferred most of their dates to be at home with special take-in or a night coiled up in their bed sheets.
"This weekend?" He questioned, now sporting a cocked eyebrow.
"Yes. Let's go as soon as possible. You really want to go, don't you?"
"Of course, but are you sure we should go so far from home when you're just getting out of the hospital? What if something happens? I don't want to be so far away from help." Axel said.
Roxas waved him off and shrugged, "Don't worry about it. That's all the reason to go sooner. I know how much you love Twilight Town, and being such a hot tourist spot as it is, I'm sure they have medical facilities. It'd be stupid of them not to."
"I guess you do have a point."
"Of course I do. I'm always right." Roxas said, pecking the redhead on the nose with a childish grin. Axel returned it playfully.
"Oh, you are, are you?"
Just before Axel was about to make his move to tackle Roxas down and shower him with the torture of a million kisses, a loud throat cough prevented him. With an admiring smile and pink dusting her cheeks, the usual nurse entered and checked everything out with Roxas before checking her watch and leaning slightly inward toward him to engage her patient with real conversation.
"It's after noon now, Sir, and I was just wondering how you were feeling?" She asked.
Axel's eyes drifted from her eyes down to her cleavage before settling on her nametag. Before he could read it, Roxas gave him a firm smack to the shoulder, not once removing his gaze from the nurse in front of him.
"I feel fantastic." He said.
"That's great." She smiled. "Some color is back in your face and everything seems to check out all right if you would like to discharge now, or wait until later."
Axel and Roxas exchanged excited looks before they both turned to the nurse.
"Now, please."
The nurse giggled, disconnecting Roxas from the monitors and his IV before leaving to grab the paperwork while he changed. Axel assisted him, using his time to brush his fingers up his lover's body and receiving embarrassed glares of warning in return. When Roxas was completely dressed, he admired the taped cotton on his wrist until the nurse returned. He signed the necessary paperwork, and another nurse entered with a wheel chair.
"I'll wheel him if you don't mind." Axel said, holding out his hands. The nurse obliged, following to return the wheelchair back into the hospital after they left. Roxas waved goodbye to the kind nurses as they drove away.
"I'm so glad I'm out of there." He said with a sigh.
"Me too. Where would you like to go first?" Axel asked, glancing over as they stopped to wait for traffic to clear. Roxas' verbal answer didn't come soon enough has his stomach growled and gurgled loudly in the passenger seat. "Lunch it is."
The two stopped in at a popular restaurant that wasn't known for soaking its food in heart-clogging grease to dine, and once satisfied stopped in and grabbed the tickets to the trip before returning home.
"Okay I really need to shower." Roxas grumbled, throwing off his shoes as Axel followed his example.
"Need some help?" Axel asked suggestively.
"Not unless you want to drive me to an early grave." Roxas smirked, rushing off toward the bathroom, stripping off his shirt in the process.
"Hey, Rox, bad joke." Axel groaned, the seriousness of the joke a little too overpowering to be funny. "I'll be here if you need me, though."
"Sure thing."
Axel lounged, spread out on the couch as some word guessing game show played on the television. Steam seeped through from under the crack of the bathroom door as the blonde scrubbed himself clean, exiting the bathroom to throw on a pair of boxers and sweatpants before collapsing onto his love, cuddling as closely as he could while resting his head on Axel's chest.
"I'd like to solve? Butterscotch Candies?" said the contestant on the game show.
"Idiot. A normal person would think cookies. Butterscotch cookies." Roxas snapped back before looking up at Axel. "That guy is stupid."
"Butterscotch cookies?" Said the following contestant.
"See? He's such an idiot that he opens it up for that girl every time to win. It's totally rigged." Roxas said, holding out a hand to emphasize his point further.
"Careful, it's just a game." Axel said, rubbing Roxas' back to calm him.
"Yeah, well, it's a stupid game. I don't like it. The name is stupid too." Roxas said, and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Did you still want to go to Twilight Town this weekend?" Axel asked, changing the subject.
Roxas remained silent a moment, his silence used to give Axel a deep kiss rather than properly think it over like the redhead had hoped. Their lips broke apart enough for Roxas to speak, but his lips brushed against Axel's as he did.
"Definitely."
"Wouldn't you want to wait until you're more healed? I can make the nights worth your while." Axel said, adding on a conceited grin.
"You can do that this weekend, too." Roxas smirked. "Don't worry about it. It's not too soon."
"Yes it is, Roxas."
"It's fine. Leave it alone. We're going and we're going to have a good time." Roxas said defiantly. He spoke as more of a demand rather than a suggestion as he pulled away completely from Axel, getting off of him and walking off into the kitchen.
"Rox…" Axel groaned, rolling off and following him. "I'm just worried about you.
"I know, but-" Roxas' protests stopped short as Axel wrapped his arms around his middle, squeezing him close as he buried his face into the blonde's neck.
"You have no idea how worried I was. I thought I'd lost you and I never want to go through that again." Axel said, barely audible above a whisper.
"You're going to, eventually. There's nothing we can do to help that, Axel." Roxas said, leaning into him as he pulled him tighter.
"I know, I just don't want it to be so soon. Let it be a long time from now if not never again. Your heart is weak right now from this, Rox, and I don't want to be the cause of it happening again. Especially not with it being my fault for getting the two of us carried away in a night of passion. Your heart may go through that but my own heart breaks, tenfold." Axel said, placing a kiss on Roxas' shoulder.
Roxas turned around, silently pulling himself against Axel again, wrapping his arms around the redhead's neck. They stood there like that, enjoying the feel of the other's presence.
"It's okay. We'll get through this, one step at a time." Roxas whispered.
As the week progressed, Axel hesitated to do anything but go to and from work each day. He left no later than he had to in order to make it to work on time, and rushed through any errands if he had any in order to get back home as soon as he could. He remained attached to Roxas' side otherwise, rushing through—if not sharing showers with him so they wouldn't be apart. At night, he pulled Roxas as close as he could as their two bodies melted together.
Once Friday afternoon arrived, Axel rushed home as usual, rushing through the door and scooping Roxas up, spinning him around in the air before settling him down and kissing him deeply. Roxas grinned and giggled all the while, completely enjoying the special attention.
"Are you ready?" Axel asked, throwing off his tie and allowing it to land somewhere on the floor.
"I'm just finishing up my packing." Roxas grinned.
With rushed finishing touches on their packing, the two piled their things into the car and drove out to Twilight town, a few hours worth of road travel. They spent the time telling jokes, singing off-key to the radio and playing the usual road trip games.
When they arrived, Roxas wasted no time in taking as many pictures as he could all at once of every building in every angle he could. It resulted in Axel being the one to carry all of their baggage into the hotel while Roxas flashed his camera in every direction, to dazed and preoccupied to do anything more than follow Axel helplessly.
The entered their assigned room, checking out the view, testing the bed and scoping out the mini bar. Pleased with everything, Axel briskly rushed Roxas away for them to eat at an outdoor restaurant while the sun slowly set along the horizon. When they were finished, they topped off the night with a movie followed by falling asleep in their bed after drinking some wine.
The following morning, the couple slept in before dragging themselves off and enjoying a hot bubble bath together. Axel tried to continue to play his role of the romantic, offering massages before they began to prune.
Leaving the hotel, they decide to walk it, enjoying the scenery as they simply looked around at all the beauties that Twilight Town had for them. Once they grew bored of that, they tried the local desserts, relaxing along a side bench.
"Where would you like to go now?" Axel asked, his sea salt ice cream completely eaten almost as soon as he had tried it.
"I wanted to check out their shopping areas." Roxas said thoughtfully as he finished his ice cream and tossed the stick into a nearby trash can.
"Shopping it is, then. I think it's just down this hill." Axel said. He stood, pulling the blonde up and walking down the street, hand-in-hand until they made it to the shopping district.
They paused a moment, waiting for the small trolley to pass by before making their way to the different shops to look at clothes and other possible souvenirs. Finally, something caught Roxas' eye, as he saw it and immediately tore Axel away from his window shopping to rush off in the direction of a jewelry store.
Having little interest, Axel followed Roxas as he went along the displays, checking each and every piece of the woman's merchandise until he gasped with joy, pointing something out in a case behind her. She gladly turned, pulling out the object and placing it down in front of them.
"This is our finest. It's hand crafted." She said.
"Axel, give me your wrist." Roxas said.
Axel turned his attention to the task at hand, holding out his free wrist that wasn't being held onto by Roxas' excited hand. This wrist held Roxas' special bracelet he had made for Axel.
"What for?"
Axel could only watch as the beaded bracelet was pulled off his wrist, replaced shortly thereafter with the most beautiful charm bracelet he had ever laid eyes on. Its chain was golden and sparkling, but that was hardly what caught his eye. All around it were small colored orb charms, and they covered the bracelet as far around as it went.
"Do you like it?" Roxas asked.
"It's beautiful." Axel gasped. He twirled his wrist as the bracelet fit perfectly around his narrow limb.
"I'll get it for you, to replace the old one." Roxas said.
"Roxas, you don't have to—"
"I want to do this." Roxas interrupted, then turning his attention to the jeweler. "How much is this, ma'am?"
The woman looked at the bracelet before giving them a smile. "That bracelet is two hundred dollars."
"Roxas, that's far too much." Axel warned. "We can't afford it."
"Of course we can. We'll get the money back if you work some overtime and I do some signings and extra small novellas. It won't be a problem." Roxas assured with a smile, holding both of Axel's hands.
"No, Roxas. You're sick and I don't want to be away from you anymore than I have to. There's no way you're buying this."
"Axel, please, I really want to do this for you. It'll replace that silly old one I made for you in college." Roxas said, his smile starting to falter.
"The one you made me is perfect. You don't need to waste your money on me. I'm perfectly content without this." Axel said, but he knew that the look he had in his eyes earlier while he gazed upon the bracelet said otherwise.
"If you're certain." Roxas hesitated, taking the bracelet off and returning it to the woman.
"Absolutely. Don't waste money on me. I'm happy with you and your silly college bracelet you made me." Axel smiled, slipping the old bracelet back on.
"All right." Roxas said, disappointed.
They thanked the woman and left the jewelry store, looking around the square.
"Shall we return to the hotel?" Axel asked. Roxas simply nodded. "Okay, I'm not sure how to get back from here, but there's an officer over there so I'll ask him for directions."
"You go on ahead, I need to use the bathroom." Roxas said. Axel agreed and the two separated.
When they had reunited and returned to the hotel, Roxas set down his things beside his side of the bed while Axel stripped himself of his shirt. The two of them took showers and took advantage of the food in the mini bar to satisfy their hunger as they lounged on the bed, watching a movie on television.
When the movie ended, they sighed, lying in bed. They gazed at each other warmly and Axel moved, lying on his side as his face hovered just above Roxas'. Their eyes sliding shut, their lips pressed tenderly together before hesitantly breaking apart.
"I love you." Axel said, returning his lips to their former place on his partner's, rolling over to straddle Roxas' hips. They had remained shirtless after their showers, so no fabric was in the way of their hands exploring each others' chests. Roxas rubbed small circles all over Axel's child before gently sliding them down along his torso to the waist of his pants.
From there, Axel was brought back to reality. He pushed Roxas' hands away, breaking their kiss and sighing, pressing their foreheads together.
"What is it?" Roxas asked softly.
"We can't do this." Axel replied, flipping over to collapse beside the blonde. "I don't want to take the risk, I'm sorry."
Roxas sighed, looking over at him before reaching down and taking his hand, lacing their fingers until they were perfectly intertwined.
"That's all right. I understand." Roxas said, and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you."
"And I love you."
They moved in unison, pressing themselves together, arms wrapped around each other as they both rested until gradually falling asleep there.
They woke up the following day, late into the morning as the bell threatened to ring twelve noon. They tore apart, changing into clothes suitable for the day before they packed up the car. By early afternoon, they had checked out, and made their way to a casual restaurant to have lunch before driving home.
They ordered their meals, receiving the orders shortly after with smiling service as they smiled quietly across from one another.
"What is it?" Axel asked, smiling simply because Roxas was.
"I bought it for you." Roxas said, trying to be cryptic.
"You bought what?" Axel asked, oblivious as he took another hearty bite of his lunch.
Roxas grinned, leaning down and pulling out a box from his bag, holding it up proudly for the redhead to see. He set it down between the two, facing Axel before slowly lifting the lid to show the very same charm bracelet that they had been gazing at yesterday. Axel looked at it joyously a moment before his aura turned cautious.
"You bought this? Roxas, it was too expensive." He began.
"I told you, I really wanted to get this for you. I've been trying to find you one perfect enough since I decided to give you that old thing." Roxas said, gesturing ashamed at the beaded one on Axel's wrist. "Wear this instead?"
"Roxas…"
"There are no returns, so you have to wear it." Roxas grinned.
Axel caved, watching the blonde beam proudly and joyfully as he slipped the beaded bracelet into his pocket and replaced it with the gorgeous charm bracelet. He looked down at it fondly, rotating his wrist this way and that, the charms jingling as they knocked against each other.
"Thank you." Axel said.
"I knew you liked it, but price wasn't a problem and this is just what I've wanted to get you, especially after the whole incident earlier this week." Roxas said, reaching over and holding on to Axel's hand.
"If it makes you happy for me to wear it, I can't complain. I love it regardless." Axel said, looking at their hands touching with a warm smile.
"I even thought this out, too." Roxas said, and moved his other hand to point at the individual charms on the bracelet. "If anything happens, you can always look at each of the charms as an item to hold each of our happy memories we've shared. That way you can look back on them during the bad times. You'll have to choose the first, most amazing ones that come to mind though, because there won't be enough charms for all of them."
Roxas and Axel couldn't stop themselves from smiling as they look at each other. Axel couldn't find any words to say, though he wanted more than anything to start scolding Roxas on his subtle death comment. Instead, he tried to keep the moment they had by leaning forward and kissing the blonde as deeply as he could.
Once they returned back home in Hollow Bastian, things continued as normal. Axel cared for Roxas while not at work, while Roxas carried out his duties as a writer and fought off Axel to be independent. After a few weeks of no heart problems and lots of complains on Roxas' part, Axel caved and they made love. Much to Roxas' pleasure, nothing bad resulted from returning to sex, and as it had before, became a regular occurrence.
This particular day, Roxas had sent Axel off to work with a special lunch. Axel rushed through his day effortlessly, excited to return home to his lover and sweep the boy off his feet in his own way. The efforts were feeble though, as traffic held up as construction of the late summer began. Axel arrived home in time to escape the rain, stepping into the apartment and placing his things on the nearby table.
"Rox, I'm home!" He called with a grin.
Roxas stepped out of the other room, smiling weakly while holding onto his stomach. Axel tilted his head curiously to the side, pulling the boy to him, gently around the middle.
"I love you." Roxas smiled, placing a kiss on both of his cheeks.
"Are you all right?" Axel wondered.
"I haven't been feeling well today." Roxas mumbled. "That means nothing tonight. I don't want you catching this too."
"Whatever. I have the immune system of a champ." Axel grinned, but let it fall.
Roxas' face looked oddly similar to how it had the day that he had previously collapsed from heart problems. His skin was pale, drained of all color. His eyes were dull and the bags of fatigue swept under and around the blonde's eyes like a bruise. His lips didn't hold their usual pink at all, as their ghostly white blended in with the rest of his skin.
"We should get you to the hospital to get checked out. You don't look good." Axel said, concerned.
"That might be a bit too dramatic. I'm perfectly fi—ah…"
Axel caught the blonde has his knees buckled below him. He hunched forward, clenching his chest. His eyes clenched shut, tight with strain. His throat let out a groan of suffering.
"I knew it! I'm calling for help." Axel said, grabbing the phone on his way to set Roxas down on the couch. Met with the same familiar woman, Axel relayed the information and then hung up when she issued help on its way.
"Axel." Roxas groaned, his eyes filling with tears.
"Stay with me, Roxy. They're on their way." Axel pleaded.
In as much time as they had before, the paramedics had made it to their apartment and pounded on the door. Axel dared not leave Roxas' side and called to allow them to enter. They burst through the door, moving Axel reluctantly aside as they gathered the information about him and his condition that they needed before giving him some medicine and administered oxygen.
"The aspirin should help him hold off until we arrive at the hospital." One of the paramedics informed.
Following them out as they carried Roxas to their ambulance on a stretcher, Axel locked the door behind him and rushed to take his place in the passenger seat.
"It'll be okay Roxy, I'm right here." He called.
From the moment they arrived at the hospital, Axel was banished the waiting room. Horrified, he sat as far away from others as he could, hunched away in a corner chair. His head hung between his knees, his hands buried in his hair as he worried as each tick of the clock went past his ears, torturing him even further.
Axel waited and waited, looking up each time a doctor entered the room, but it was always for someone else. Eventually, he recognized the doctor from before, and hoped that he was still assigned to Roxas. The doctor found him in the corner seconds later, calling him over.
Rushing from his seat, Axel tripped over chair legs before stepping aside with the doctor. His grim look said it all before the words even left his mouth. Roxas didn't make it.
With a loud shout of anger, Axel's eyes instantly blinded themselves with tears. He turned instantly to the side, kicking the nearby chair and startling the woman nearby. Not even bothering with an apology he turned back to the doctor and slammed his fish against the wall.
"Sir, you're going to have to calm down." The doctor warned.
"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I just lost the only thing that meant something to me, and you expect me to be calm?" Axel exclaimed, before falling to his knees before the doctor in sobs.
"I'm sorry for your loss." The doctor said, kneeling down to be of assistance.
"You don't even know him! He was just a patient to you, not a friend, not a lover! You have no right to be sorry!" Axel snapped, smacking the doctor's hand away harshly.
The doctor remained at a loss for words. The receptionist called for assistance, and two large, burly men came in, escorting Axel to a separate room, much to his protest in his wishes to see Roxas. The men refused until he was more calm; until he was a lesser threat to others.
The rest of the night droned on in a sick, torturous hell. Axel called up family who joined him in morning at the hospital shortly after. When they finally saw Roxas, Axel brought himself to his love, cradling the body, soaking the clothing with his tears. He covered Roxas' face with kisses, squeezing him tightly one last time before his family pried him away, setting him down in a chair.
Axel looked down at his charm bracelet as the last piece of his broken heart crumbled away. He couldn't look back on the good times now, not when things were so horrible. He refused to believe that Roxas' sentiment of this ridiculous bracelet helping would be of any use, so he ignored it, refusing to look at it, but never having the heart to take it off.
Unable to handle it, Axel left the funeral arrangements to Roxas' family, as he should since the two were not married. He was comforted constantly throughout the process, though, never left alone and always consulted on different matters. He paid most of them no mind as he continuously replayed their last moments together in his head, the sickly look haunting him.
The funeral was large due to the many lives Roxas had touched. His large array of community service left most of the funeral funds paid for in return for his efforts. Axel remained along the front line beside Roxas' parents, who tried to remain firm and strong for Axel, but the mother's tight grip on his shoulder told him they were just as torn apart inside.
When the last of those in attendance had left the cemetery, Axel remained standing there with his fists clenched and his dark suite trembling with his body. He fell to his knees, pounding his fist on the ground in front of him.
"I told you not to leave me." Axel choked out, his head hung.
A warmth on the chilly day brushed over him in a similar way that Roxas would brush his fingers over Axel's hands and arms. Axel lifted his head to his wrist, expecting Roxas there, touching him softly, but was left with nothing but air to look through and the charm bracelet to look at.
Roxas looked down at the bracelet now, really looking at it for the first time since Roxas' death. He thought back to what Roxas had said about each charm being in remembrance of the most amazing memories that they had together, and that would help him through the bad times. Now, more stable in mind than he had been that night, Axel sat beside the large tombstone on the grass, the newly piled dirt at his toes as he studied each charm.
The first one would be, of course, their meeting. Axel was swept away the first moment he had set eyes on the blue eyed blonde, and had been ever since, well into their years of dating steadily. Choosing a blue charm the shade of Roxas' eyes, Axel continued from there. The second would be their first date. The third, their first fight. The fourth, their first time making love. The fifth, the time Roxas gave him the beaded bracelet. The sixth, moving in together. The list went on with the many charms until he saved the last one for their trip to Twilight Town.