Why did you leave Roxas?

I asked myself this question for the thousandth time as I sat looking out across the vast expanse of The World That Never Was.

Why did you leave me all alone?

I felt like a selfish brat for wanting him to come back. I knew he hated it here, hated this job, this existence, this entire world. It stretched on and on, a sea of white marble and neon lights. Darkness blanketed this world like a fog. This was no place for Roxas.

Roxas…

The boy who's angelic smile could break a thousand hearts, who's kindness shimmered around him in a sparkling incandescence, the boy who I loved to no end, even though it was supposedly impossible. The familiar pain wracked my body and I coughed, clutching the place where my heart should have been.

"You'll make it worse, sitting out in the cold like this."

I turned my head to see my friend Axel leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He smiled sadly and came to sit by me. His face was tired, and he moved with a slow elegance that betrayed his weariness. Graceful, cat-like, beautiful even though his pale face was gaunt with hunger and lack of sleep.

"Any sign of him?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. He shook his head.

"I think I'm getting close though. I can feel him sometimes, like he's standing right behind me, but when I go to look he's not there."

He chuckled.

"Sora has no clue what's going on. Y'know, that Roxas is…inside him. Gives me that same look too."

"Kinda creepy," I smirked.

"Yeah, a little."

We sat in silence for a moment. Axel's eyes closed and his head drooped forward. His body slumped over and I caught him, laying his head in my lap.

"Not the smartest thing to do while sitting on the edge of a building, Axel," I joked, patting his head softly.

"Sorry," he mumbled sleepily.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take your next shift so you can get some sleep. No arguments, got it memorized?"

"My line," he breathed, falling asleep. I stroked his fiery hair and continued looking out. Both of us had been pulling double and triple shifts lately, doing our regular missions from Xemnas, plus the ones Roxas usually handled, and then some more since the other Organization 13 members had been killing each other. I was tired too, but I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I could see Roxas's face burned into the backs of my eyelids, and the pain took over again.

It wasn't like this before. I wasn't sick all the time, I was cheerful and hyper and would say more than a few mumbled words when someone spoke to me. Roxas, Axel, and I would terrorize the other Organization members. Okay, so it was more me and Axel than Roxas. We still had scars from the beatings given as punishment.

"Roxas," I sighed.

And suddenly he was beside me.

I almost fell of the castle in surprise. He grinned.

"Cheer up!"

His voice sounded far away.

"Roxas?" My voice cracked and I flung my arms around him, my sobs ringing through the dead silence of The World That Never Was.

"Shh! You'll wake Axel!" he warned, prying my arms from around his neck. I nodded and wiped my eyes sheepishly. For the first time, I noticed that Roxas seemed to be glowing. He smelled like the sea, and his hair was tangled and wind blown. He took my hand, and his hand was warm with infused sunlight. He laughed as Axel snored loudly.

"Roxas where have you been? Axel and I have been worried sick that we would never see you again!" I whispered hurriedly, afraid that he would suddenly disappear.

"I'm here, where I belong," he smiled, his voice echoing.

The cold, hard marble under us deteriorated into golden grains of sand. I gasped as I felt waves lapping up against my feet, and the sun shining down warmly from above. I looked around.

We were sitting on a beach, wearing regular clothes with our jeans rolled up to our knees. Axel was still asleep on my lap, but he looked healthier, his red hair more vibrant in the bright afternoon sun.

"Where is here?" I asked. Roxas smiled, his sapphire eyes sparkling playfully.

"Where we really do exist," he answered.

"Stop speaking in riddles Roxas! Tell me where you are so Axel and I can find you!" I almost yelled, exasperated.

"Why did you leave? You said no one would miss you, but that's not true! We've been working ourselves to death trying to find you. Not just for Xemnas, but because we love you, Roxas! You're all we have! All I have! I love you…"

I blushed and looked down at Axel's sleeping face, embarrassed at my sudden outburst. My face was probably a shade equal to the pyro's hair.

"I know," came Roxas's quiet voice. He placed a finger under my chin and made me look at him. "I'm sorry."

His face inched closer to mine. My eyes widened, but he stopped when we were barely an inch apart.

"And I love you too," he whispered, closing the distance. His coral colored lips pressed against mine, silky soft but urgent, molding to the shape of my mouth. I didn't want it to stop. It felt too final, like it would be the last kiss we would have for a very long time…

Roxas broke away a little while later. He stroked my cheek and pressed something into the palm of my hand, his gaze soft and sad.

"Remember me," he whispered, kissing my cheek. "I'll wait for you."

I felt the earth shake under us and I cried out, holding onto Axel with one hand and Roxas with the other. "No! Wait!" I tried to yell, but my voice was gone. I was falling, hurtling through an inky black void of nothingness.

I screamed.

I woke with a start, gasping for air. I was back on the roof of Castle Oblivion, and Axel was still in my lap, sleeping soundly.

It was only a dream, I thought sadly. I felt a tear slide down my nose and I clenched my hands into fists. Something sharp stabbed at my left hand. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, glancing down at Axel to see if he had been startled when I jumped. He continued snoring, not noticing a thing. The purple bruises under his eyes stood out against his pale skin, the corners of his mouth turned down in a tiny frown. I sighed and stroked his cheek to calm him, then brought my fist up to my face so I could see in the dim moonlight. I opened my clenched fingers and sucked in a breath.

In my palm sat a jagged, heart-shaped pink shell, grains of sand still clinging to it with the sweat from my palm. I turned it over, noticing a few words scratched into the interior. Tears welled up as I read the words. I blinked them away and clutched the shell to my chest, memories of past days echoing through my mind…

With love,

Roxas

A/N: I wrote this a long time ago, like two or three years, so my I'm a bit rusty since then. Please do forgive. ^_^'