Pairing: Roxas/Axel (Shonen-ai)

A/N: YAY! I posted up another KH Fanfic! :)

I hope you like it! Just a sweet little one-shot between Roxas and Axel. No particular timeline. Entirely Roxas's POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts characters or anything else. Storyline is mine.


Kiss Away My Nightmare

I sat in my room, my pillow pressed tightly to my chest, my breathing rapid, my clothes sticking to my trembling body for some odd reason, my mind so far away from the world around me. Whatever I consider a world anymore.

I felt...detached. The fact that I could feel anything... hate, detachment, anything... it surprised me greatly.

All I can say is... right now, I hate being alive.

Alive...can something like me even say that?

Can something like me truly feel alive?

"Axel... where are you...?" I whispered into my pillow.

My body hurts, but I'm not sure why. A lot of me hurts, but... it's really in that empty part of me that I cannot get rid of.. where I should have a.. a heart.

I winced as flashbacks of that nightmare hit me hard, and I curled more into myself, darn near suffocating myself. I didn't care.

Why am I so upset over a dream? Why was I even dreaming?

And why am I so scared?

Axel walked in, but I didn't see him or even hear him. And that's when things got very confusing for me.

"Roxas..."

There was always something about Axel that made me feel like I had a heart... like I had emotions. I never understood that to save my life.

He's just like me-a being who can't claim he's alive. But with him here, something seems...different.

It feels like I'm alive...he's so comfortable to be around, and when we sit around after missions or even while we're on missions... I just get this odd feeling that I do not understand, but it's so strong, I feel like I would disappear if I lost it.

I guess... I cannot let him go. I feel like I'll dissolve into that darkness I live in if I do.

"Hey, hey. Rox, what's wrong with you?" he asked me. His voice cut through the fog in my head and the first thing I realized... his voice...was unusually gentle...

"Rox, what is it?" he asked again, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders.

"...nothing... it's nothing..."

Axel sat next to me, not buying what I said. He hooked my chin and forced me to look at him.

"Roxas, I know something's upsetting you. You didn't show up to the briefing today, and you haven't been yourself lately. What's wrong? You can tell me, you know." he said.

I barely shook my head nothing before another sob wrenched its way up my throat and past my mouth. Cringing, I pressed my face closer to his cloak, clinging to him like a baby.

"Shhh. Just tell me what happened." he cooed, rocking me slightly.

If I could use one word to describe warmth right now, I'd say him.

It's just him. I mean, I know his element is fire, and a lot of time, he acts like he doesn't care. But...something about him... I don't know, there's something there that makes me feel so different. I wish I could make sense of it.

It's times like these I wish I had a heart.

"A-Axel?"

"Roxas?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, what?"

I smiled, just enough for him to see, then rested my head back on his chest. I needed to get rid of this fog in my head before I could tell him about that nightmare.

"Can...can you just stay here? Please?"

He mumbled something, then leaned against my bed, stroking my back as I started to quiet down. He hummed some song that I guess he picked up from a solo mission, or possibly Demyx, and for awhile, the place was quiet save for that humming.

"Rox?"

"Hmmm..." I mumbled, snapping awake. Good thing he called me... I almost fell asleep.

"Why were you crying?"

I whimpered, and after about five times of me stuttering like a fool, I finally got it out.

"I... I had... a n-nightmare." I forced out, my voice low.

He didn't say anything for a bit. Then, he asked, "What about?"

I sighed. "I... I don't really remember too much of it. But it's been happening a lot for a while now. All I remember... is being swallowed by all these Heartless. I couldn't summon my Keyblade to defend myself, and... and you... were getting attacked, too... you and Xion..."

I shook a bit as the memory slowly came back. "I fought without my Keyblade... it was hard, and I thought at some point that I was going to die. The last thing I remember seeing before I woke up... was you and Xion... taking blows for me... and Xion was dying in my arms, and you were hurt so badly, and I didn't know what to do, and... and..."

"Roxas."

I took a deep breath. "Axel... what's wrong with me...?" I asked, looking down at my hands.

"What's wrong with me?"

Axel removed his boot and propped his foot on my bed. "Roxas... nothing is wrong with you. You should know that."

"I think... out of all three of us... you understand the most what's it like to have a heart. I never understood myself what made you so special... why you feel so much more strongly than everyone here."

Axel smiled, tapping his finger to his skull. "Got it memorized?"

I had to smile. He really knows how to bring out the best in me. But there was something I needed to know. Something only he could verify to make me feel better.

"Axel?"

He looked at me. "Hmm?"

"Y-You...won't go away too, right?"

He blinked in utter confusion, then a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Roxas...you know I can't do that. I care about you too much." he answered.

Something fluttered in my chest when he said that. That pit in my chest... it felt so strange...

"What's the matter, Roxas?" he asked, a smug look on his face. I placed my hand over my chest. What is this feeling?

Axel this close to my face wasn't helping me, either. I was confused. I thought he was comforting me from my nightmare. What is he doing?

"I care very much about you." he breathed again, quite literally two inches away from my face. His hand rested on mine.

"A-"Before I could ask what he meant, he cut me off in the weirdest way.

He kissed me.

I froze. He felt so...so warm and soft and...wait. Wait.

He's my best friend! This...this isn't right! I'm a child! And he's a grown man!

But I...I like it.

Nothing extreme. Just a gentle, caring, loving kiss.

So warm...every light touch he left on my arm was so light, but left a warm, tingly feeling there. I felt so strangely confused but content.

He's my best friend...but perhaps... he could be something more...

"Axel...what was that for?" I stammered when we both realized that we needed to breathe at some point.

"You said you had a nightmare. Did I chase it away?" he asked me, that smug feeling still on his face.

I rolled my eyes, but laughed. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

He arched an eyebrow. "What?"

I rested my head back down before he had a chance to get away. He chuckled.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he said, his fingers playing with random strands of my hair. I smiled. I had to... with him here, my nightmares wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

"Shut up, Axel."

We both laughed, trying to keep it down so that no one else could hear us. Afterward, we talked about... I don't know what. We just talked. There was no more kissing, and I think for now... that's best.

Usually, since there is no way to keep track of time in this prison, I figured once Axel started to drift off, it was time for me to go to sleep, too.

Axel has no idea how much he's changed within me. I have no idea how long I've known him. The past few days have been stressful beyond all belief. Nightmares, and trying to figure out who I am as a person... as a Nobody without a heart.

I don't completely understand what Axel means when he says I feel more emotion then the other members. It'll probably take some time, and I might have more nightmares along with it.

I sighed, curling closer to Axel, who seemed to be long since asleep.

I think... as long as Axel is here, I won't be afraid to cry. In fact... I think the nightmares may be over now. I really do.

"Night, Axel." I whispered, reaching up and placing a light kiss on his slightly parted lips.

"And thank you. Thank you for everything."

Snuggling into his arms, I closed my eyes and let the sweet dreams of my friends and other things I've seen on my missions carry me off to sleep.

END