Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts characters and universe belong to SquareEnix.

Warnings: Spoilers of KHII. Written with shounen-ai intent, but it doesn't have to be taken as such.

Laugh

Axel was sure that the Proof of Existence room within the Castle that Never Was had intriguing origins. He was sure that there was some meaning to the arrangement of the room, and to the way it fanned out from the top of the room to the bottom of the room. He was sure that it – the castle itself – knew its inhabitants better than the inhabitants themselves – after all, there was only so much that a Nobody could know about him (or her) self.

Axel was sure of all of these things, and of more. Though of course, he had no wish to know the origin of Proof of Existence. He knew that it was one of the most depressing rooms in the castle – why did they need glowing blue lights to let them know they were still alive? And he knew that he avoided it at all costs, usually by simply using a portal to enter his own room.

Axel didn't have any wish to know of the history of the architecture of the room either. In fact, he only wanted to know one thing, and that thing was the reason why he was standing in this room, and not running out as fast as he could without looking back.

Roxas.

The boy had sealed himself within his rooms and made them inaccessible by portal – how, Axel had no idea – and Axel was beginning to worry about him. He had no idea what had spurred the boy to such actions – perhaps he was questioning too deeply into his existence again? – but he knew that it was up to him to get Roxas out of whatever slump he'd fallen into. That was what best friends were for, wasn't it?

The red-haired man glared at the glowing blue square below his feet. It was the twelfth in the room; embellished with a brightly glowing Keyblade, and the engraved words 'Key of Destiny.' And the portal above it was the alternate entrance to Roxas' rooms.

Though Axel would never admit it to anyone (indeed, he was having a hard time admitting it to himself), he became worried about Roxas when the blonde secluded himself like this – yes, it happened often. Or perhaps worried wasn't the word. Worry was a feeling, and he couldn't technically feel.

Axel shook his head to rid it of philosophies, then glared again at the glowing doorway and stepped through it and across the threshold into the antechamber of Roxas' rooms. As expected, the boy wasn't there. The antechamber was too impersonal.

Axel crossed the room, knocked once on the bedroom door, and then pushed it open, only to be stopped by the feel of the blunt, cold metal edge of a Keyblade touching his throat.

"Go away, Axel," Roxas deadpanned, applying a slight bit more pressure to the Oathkeeper. Axel let out a soft chuckle but didn't move. He trusted Roxas enough that he didn't think the boy would skewer him, though he couldn't say anything about bloodletting…

"What's wrong, kid?" Axel asked around the blade pressing into his throat. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but he didn't want to move – so far, Roxas wasn't really using force to send him out of the room. And they both knew that Roxas could beat Axel in a fight without tiring.

"Nothing. Get out," his voice was the same deadpan, and Axel frowned, then sidestepped the Keyblade and quickly moved up to Roxas, grabbing him around the waist before the boy could react.

"Like I believe that," he stated calmly as Roxas struggled against Axel's stronger arms. The Oathkeeper disappeared from Roxas' hand as he freed it to pry at the grip around his shoulders.

"Why do you do this, Axel? You know it's fake," Roxas bit out.

Axel let out a deep sigh. "You know what, Roxas? I don't care." He grinned and trailed one finger down Roxas' side. "And why don't I care? Because as much as they claim we can't feel, you're still ticklish."

He proceeded to prove to Roxas, just how ticklish the boy really was, and the blonde haired boy's thoughts of falsities were forgotten as he tried to get Axel to stop tickling him, laughing all the while.

"Thank you for being there to make me forget. Thank you for being there to make me laugh."

Author's Note

Fairly drabbley, pointless and… less than 1000 words. X.x Nothing I write is ever less than 1000 words.

Anyway, review please, because I need to know if I should bother writing any more of these shorts.