Author's notes: AkuRoku day special for you lot! Bah... it's crap but... enjoy, anyway...
Pain of Nobody
"Hey, Saїx, did Roxas return from his mission?"
Saїx glanced up at the redhead, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The fire elemental was too obsessed with holding on to his false emotions. Why couldn't he just give them up? He was simply the protector of the Keyblader, and yet he insisted on pretending to be his friend. If Saїx hadn't known any better, he'd have said that Axel cared for Roxas a bit past a protégé or a friend.
"No, number VIII, XIII has yet to return from the Land of the Dragons."
"Fuck." Axel cursed. "Can I go make sure he's okay? Everyone else is back already." Even Demyx had returned from his mission to Wonderland. Perfect world for the, sometimes insane, musician, Axel believed. But Roxas wasn't one to come back late from a mission. "It's been at least two hours." After sitting on the Station Tower for about an hour waiting for the blond, he decided to come and see what was up. That was an hour ago, and Roxas still wasn't back.
"If you must." Came the response. Axel bolted into the black swirl floating just above the floor.
"Roxas! Roxas! Come on, Rox…as?"
Axel looked frantically around the Checkpoint for the blond, until his eyes settled on the pool of water in horror. If he had a heart, it would be beating loud enough to muffle out anything else. He ignored the pain the liquid caused him when he fell to his knees beside the limp human figure in an unrecognizable mess of shredded, black leather. By this point, the Flurry of Dancing Flames' legs were sore beyond belief, but he ignored them to carefully lift the boy into his arms. He was covered in black gashes to the point where it was hard to tell whether his skin or his clothing was torn up more. Axel cradled the boy in his arms for a moment, before summoning a corridor of darkness and vanishing into it.
"Axel, why are your pants… soaked…?" Demyx eyed the Key of Destiny in the Flurry of Dancing Flames' arms in surprise. "Holy cow! What happened to him?" Axel shook his head, closing his eyes to keep himself from crying. "You should take him down to the med ward a-sap!"
"I…wa-as o-o-on m-m-my w-hay…" Axel's breathing was uneven, shuddering as he attempted to stop himself from crying. He turned and continued down the hallway. He knocked on the door, which was soon answered by the one-eyed, silver-haired teenager.
"Axel?" Zexion arched an eyebrow at the red-head. "What's happened to the keybearer?" Axel shook his head.
"Save him, please…"
Zexion sighed, taking the unconscious boy from the distraught red-head's arms and closing the door. Axel fell to the floor, unable to stop himself from breaking down. He barely noticed when Demyx walked over to him and tried to cheer him up with a song or two.
"Axel, get up."
Axel groaned, finding himself curled up on the floor beside Roxas's bed. The blond was unconscious, some of his wounds healed, others on the road to recovery. Axel looked up at Saїx tiredly, the black circles under his eyes not helping him look very alert.
"Lea…" Saїx shook his head. "Stop worrying over him and get your job done."
"But… I care for him… a lot…"
Saїx shook his head. "Foolish. Give up on your emotions, Axel. They don't exist." He turned and left the room. Axel, however, didn't move. He stared at the wall until he found himself dozing off. He woke himself back up, and shook his head to try and keep himself awake. Finally, he forced himself to stand. The red-head chuckled at the sight of a sea shell beside Roxas's pillow. Xion must've dropped by before her mission. Axel sat down on the edge of the Key of Destiny's bed, and gently ran his fingers though the blond's hair.
Axel stirred to find someone running their fingers though his hair. He looked up, finding himself looking into the sapphire eyes of the Key of Destiny. He realized that he had fallen asleep about the time he noticed that he was lying on top of the said teenager.
"Roxas?"
"You haven't been sleeping properly." Roxas remarked weakly. Axel nodded. "Come on, I'm the injured one here, you should be taking care of me, not the other way around." There was a pause as Roxas seemed to ponder his own words. "How long have I been out?"
"A couple weeks? I haven't been keeping track of time." Axel answered, lying his head back down against the boy's shoulder. "You'd have to ask Xion."
"Axel?"
"Yes, Roxas?"
"Why have you been watching over me?"
"You're my protégé. What good of a guardian would I be if I didn't make sure you recovered?"
"Axel?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
Axel smiled. "Don't worry about it." He sat up, and looked at the pitiful sight of the badly injured blond teenager. He leaned down, brushing Roxas's fringe from his eyes to place their foreheads together. Roxas blinked at him, until the redhead's lips met his. He froze in shock, before returning the kiss.
"Love you." The redhead teased. He was slightly surprised when the blond only smiled.
"And I love you."