HELLO READERS!

Happy AkuRoku Day! Peace on Earth and good will to all shippers! This is my first year officially celebrating AkuRoku day and I wrote a short fic for the occasion! Now, I need to do a bit of explaining. I ship RokuNami like a motherfucker. But I cannot deny that AkuRoku exists. Go ask Tumblr, they'll let you know with a flurry of yaoi (By the way, still looking for people to join Anime-Get-Your-Gun. Come join and kill some zombies with me!).

Anyway, this story is dedicated to my friend Kate. I didn't have a PS2 back when the first Kingdom Hearts came out. Years later we became friends and she was really into it. Into it so much she convinced me to get, and I haven't looked back since. I own all the PS2 titles now, cosplayed Roxas and Xigbar and am currently playing Dream Drop Distance. So thanks Kate, try to ignore any grammatical errors, okay? Do it for me. If not me, do it for Axel and Roxas. They probably don't want you going all English Major on their special day. :)

This oneshot is brought to you by a trick I started using when I had really bad nightmares.

"Always Be There"

Roxas awoke with a jolt, sitting upright in his bed. He looked at his surroundings while trying to get his breathing under control. He was in his bedroom in The World That Never Was and had just woken up from a terrifying nightmare. Gripping his sweaty t-shirt, he curled up into a ball trying to block out the images his mind had conjured in his sleep.

He started to tremble. He had never had a nightmare that had shaken him to the core like this. He assumed it was because of all the missions he was doing as part of his training. There was no way he could ask for them to ease on him though, and there was no way they would ever consider it because of a silly nightmare. If anything, they would see it as incentive to push him even harder. Roxas whimpered and hugged his pillow.

Suddenly the door to his room opened, making him grip his pillow tighter with fear. Standing in the silhouette of the light of the hall way was none other than Axel. The Flurry of Dancing Flames was usually up later than most members of the Organization and would sometimes come into his room because he was bored.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel called, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"A-Axel," Roxas whimpered. Axel took a few steps toward the distraught Nobody, mistaking his fearful reply as a sleepy one.

"Did you want to-Whoa, are you okay?" Axel asked, finally cluing in that his friend was clearly not okay.

"I-Its nothing," Roxas replied, slowly bringing himself back to sitting up and hugging his pillow tight to his chest.

Axel snapped his fingers. Orbs of flame appeared in a ring around the two Nobodies, glowing like candles. Roxas looked at them in awe. It was times like these when Axel put his powers on display that he wished he had been able to do more than use a Keyblade.

"I'm not Saix or Xemnas, so you can drop the tough guy act." Axel said with a grin, sitting on the bed next to Roxas. "What happened?"

Roxas looked down at Axel, ashamed at what was causing him such distress.

"Nightmare," He mumbled.

"A nightmare?" Axel blinked.

Roxas just nodded, fighting back tears. Axel placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Roxas to look back up at him, blinking tears in his eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid Roxas," Axel assured him, "We all get scared sometimes, even me."

"Even you?" Roxas asked, slowly regaining control of his breath.

"Even me."

"Like when?"

"Well there was this incident that happened before you joined our little club," Axel explained, "I was still learning to control my powers. One day, I was taking a stroll in the courtyard when I felt the sudden urge to sneeze. And as I let out my sneeze, streaks of fire erupted from my nose, incinerating Marluxia's favorite rose bush and reducing it to a pile of ash. And that was the day I found out that Saix isn't the craziest one out of all of us when he's mad."

"Oh no!" Roxas exclaimed, starting to giggle.

"Oh yes," Axel said, grinning, "Feeling a bit better?"

Roxas nodded slowly, "A little bett-"

Before he could finish, there was a thwack against Roxas's bedroom window. The noise made Roxas yelp in fear and bury his face in his pillow, which he was clinging onto for dear life. Axel rose from the bed and made his way over to the window in order to discover where the noise came from.

"Roxas, it was just a branch hitting your window," Axel declared, returning to the bed "C'mon, you're okay."

"Axel, I c-can't!" Roxas cried from the pillow "I-I'm too scared!"

"Well, how about you spend the night in my room?" Axel suggested.

Roxas looked up from the pillow, tears streaking down his face and his eyes puffy from crying.

"Y-You mean it?" he asked.

"Sure," Axel replied, ""It'll be like a sleepover. And since I'm with you, nothing bad can happen to you. So you'll have nothing to worry about, okay?"

Roxas just nodded. Axel, with some minor difficulties, managed to take the pillow away from Roxas long enough for him to scoop up the smaller Nobody in his arms. Roxas instantly clung to his chest and started to tremble. Axel made his way to the door and snapped his fingers, extinguishing the flames he created earlier. He shut Roxas's door and carried the small boy across the hall to his own room. He got them both inside and shut the door. Roxas looked up from Axel's chest to see his room. It was the same size as his with almost all the same furniture. But the bed was different. Axel, being bigger than Roxas naturally had a bigger bed; but the sheer size of it made it seem like it belonged in Xemnas's room. The sheets were a fiery red colour with emerald green pillows as opposed to the plain white bed in Roxas's room. Axel placed Roxas down onto the bed. He removed his boots and socks, and let his black coat fall to floor; leaving him in nothing but a pair of silk, red boxers.

"That's all you wear under your coat?" Roxas asked.

"Yep," Axel replied, "You try being dressed in all black and have to be near fire almost all the time. This is all I sleep in too. Speaking of which," Axel tugged on Roxas's sweaty shirt "You need to get that off."

"What?" Roxas asked, his cheeks starting to flush, "Why?"

"Because it's drenched with sweat," Axel explained, "And if you go back to sleep in that, you could get sick, Roxas."

Roxas nodded, understanding Axel's reasons. He slowly removed his t-shirt and tossed it next to Axel's coat on the floor. He shivered and wrapped his hands around his chest as the cool air hit his bare, clammy skin. Axel got onto the bed and pulled the sheets over both of them to the waist. He adjusted his pillows and then snapped his fingers again. Flames began erupting out of his hands, making Roxas jump; but he calmed down when he saw them shrink into his hands, giving them a red glow.

"Axel, what are you doing?" Roxas asked.

"Helping you relax." Axel replied, "You'll never calm down at this rate."

Axel brought one of his hands to Roxas's shoulder, making the smaller Nobody sigh. The heat that Axel was emanating from his hands felt so good against his skin. He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling. Axel smiled, placing another hand on Roxas's stomach and easing him on top of his chest.

"Now," Axel said, running a hand up and down Roxas's back "Tell me about the nightmare."

Roxas nodded, looking up at Axel. "I was on a mission. I'm not sure where I was, but it was really dark, other than the moonlight. I was with Larxene and Marluxia."

"You were with them by yourself? No wonder you're like this right now. That's definitely a nightmare," Axel joked.

Roxas laughed softly and sighed, enjoying the heat moving across his back.

"So what happened next?" Axel asked.

"Out of nowhere, a massive Heartless appeared," Roxas continued, "It looked like a huge dragon. We all just stood there, watching it when it grabbed Larxene in one of its claws. She tried to stab it with her kunai, but they wouldn't pierce its skin. Marluxia rushed it, but he was caught in his other claw. He was being squeezed so tight that his scythe broke in two. The Heartless brought both its claws to its mouth and swallowed them whole."

"It ate them?" Axel asked, earning a nod from Roxas. "You sure this was a bad dream?"

This earned another laugh from Roxas, but it was cut short and he looked down. Axel's brow furrowed at the mixed reaction from his humor. Keeping one hand on Roxas's back, he brought the other one under his chin. He tilted his head upwards so he was looking at Axel again, his blue eyes trying desperately to keep tears from coming out.

"This is the bad part?" Axel asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

Roxas tensed up and nodded. "It came for me next. I just stood there as its claw grabbed me. I must have dropped my Keyblade because I didn't feel it in my hands anymore. I kept squirming, but it just squeezed me tighter. The next thing I remember I was being lowered into its mouth." Roxas began to tremble, "And its teeth started to close around me." He was blinking tears, "And I felt them on my neck, and then….And then…."

"You woke up." Axel concluded.

Roxas nodded and started to cry again. Axel felt tears drip down from the boy's eyes onto his skin. He pulled him into a tight embrace, letting Roxas get it all out.

"Roxas, its okay," Axel assured him, "You're just exhausted from all these missions. And remember what I said before, there is nothing wrong with being afraid."

"I know," Roxas whimpered, "But this nightmare…I can't get it out of my head!"

Axel started running his hand up and down Roxas's back again. With his other hand, he wiped tears from his face. "You know what I think happened?"

"What"? Roxas whispered, letting his muscles relax under Axel's heat.

"I think you were having a good dream, but you must have turned the wrong way, or brushed against your pillow too hard or something. And you woke up at the worst possible moment, before you could see your dream resolve itself."

"Really?" asked Roxas. How could that have possibly been a good dream? He was being devoured by a Heartless!

"Yep," Axel replied, "And do you want to now how I think your dream would have ended?"

"How?" Roxas asked with a small smile.

"Well, Roxas, its quite simple," Axel grinned, "As you were being lowered to your doom inside the Heartless, a chakram would have come whirling through the air. It would have sliced the Heartless's head off sending the body crashing to the ground. And seeing as its claw was still holding you, you would have landed with no major injuries. You would untangle yourself and look up to see me catching my chakram. I would have shot you a wink, helped you to your feet, handed you your Keyblade; and we would have gone back home while Marluxia and Larxene rotted inside the Heartless's stomach."

Roxas burst into laughter and Axel joined in. He had succeeded in ridding Roxas from the fear that had held such a tight grip on him moments ago.

"Just remember," Axel told him, "No matter what it is that's bothering you. No matter how scared you are, I'll always be there to make it better." He tapped his temple, "Got it memorized?"

Roxas nodded and yet out a yawn.

"Well, feel like you can go back to sleep now?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Axel," Roxas said, his eyes getting heavier "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Roxas," Axel said softly before shutting his eyes. Within minutes, the two Nobodies were fast asleep.

Roxas's eyes fluttered open the next morning. He looked up to see Axel was still asleep, snoring softly. He turned to look out the window. The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Its rays were hitting Roxas's back, soothing him like Axel did the night before. He shifted back to his previous position, waking up Axel in the process.

"Morning," Roxas said.

"Hey," Axel said sleepily, "How did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully, thanks to you." Roxas said, nuzzling the older Nobody's chest.

Axel ran a hand through Roxas's golden, spiky hair "That's good. No more nightmares?"

"None," Roxas replied. He let out a sigh, enjoying Axel's fingers running through his hair. There was just something about his touch that made him feel safe and protected. Axel's words from last night were ringing through his head. 'No matter what it is that's bothering you. No matter how scared you are, I'll always be there to make it better.' Maybe this is what he meant by making him feel better. Whether it was or not, it certainly had a positive effect on the Nobody.

"Even better," Axel said with a grin, fully awake "Now, what do you want to do today?"

"Actually Axel," Roxas said sheepishly, starting to blush "Would it be okay if we stayed like this for a little while?"

Axel chuckled, wrapping his free hand around Roxas's back "As long as you like."

Roxas smiled. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of Axel's hands running over his skin like the night before. He let out a small purr, earning an equally small chuckle from Axel. They stayed like this until a loud knock on Axel's door brought them back to reality.

"AXEL!" came Marluxia's voice from the other side of the door, banging on it like crazy "WAKE UP! LARXENE AND I HAVE SOMETHING WE NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT!"

"Ugh!" Axel groaned, using a pillow to muffle the noise "Where's that nice, Marluxia-eating Heartless when I need it?"

Roxas started to laugh at Axel's misfortune "I think you killed it, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Axel replied with a grin, "I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Roxas said. He waited until Marluxia had left before speaking again, "Axel?"

"Roxas?" Axel asked, his signature grin on his face.

"Thanks," Roxas said, closing his eyes.

"Anytime," Axel replied.