Different

The pickings are never slim because of the myriad of themes exploring human context.

Naturally, a writer chooses love.

- - -

A Note from the Author: After growing up quite a bit, and also playing 358/2 Days, I felt that the injustice done towards Axel's and Roxas's characters within fanfiction and fanart is sorrowful. Many writers and artists out there continually portray them in a false light, and these two brilliant characters have been so deeply connected to my heart that I find it really sad. So for Valentine's Day, my interpretation of: Hypothetically, if Roxas and Axel were to have feelings for each other, how would it go? Let's start with something different ;)

Clichéd and commercial in its beauty, the tableau presented in elegant, rhythmic immobility caused him to stop in his footsteps to take in its image. Cold as the night was, Roxas simply had to pause because missing a second of this seemed impossible. Breath held, blue eyes filled with inexplicable rapture, he stood quietly a few paces away from a boy and a girl. Blessedly ignorant of the biting chill of the February evening, the two seemed perfectly content to sit side by side on a frost encrusted park bench, forehead to forehead, hand in hand, eyes closed tenderly in solemn reverence. The girl, no more than sixteen with wavy, dark hair, held the most beautifully serene half-smile that ever graced such a young face. It was that smile, which caused Roxas to stop, look, and wonder.

Contentment and love …

The young woman looked as if she could never want for anything again. In that small moment when time and orbit seemed to stop completely, she appeared to be the happiest girl in the world.

Not of jealousy, confusion, or bitterness did Roxas stop to watch. He was in awe. Something portrayed to be so blissful and falsely resilient on a screen could be beautiful and fathomless in reality.

So overwhelmed, he didn't seem to realize that in the seven seconds it took for the tremendous act to occur, the image had sealed itself within his heart and memory forever. Then, just like that, he blinked and the magic was over.

Roxas turned away and, hunched against the frosty breeze, walked the next block to his apartment building, thoughts swimming in his mind as he pondered.

- - -

Hearing the front door open, Axel's attention wavered from the modest television screen to the small vestibule of the apartment. Roxas was home. That meant one less dull winter evening. Axel's roommate had gone to his relatives for a month-long visit in the next town over, and for quite a while, the older boy found many a night spent alone, idling over university homework. When Roxas was around, the two of them spent their evenings downtown, watching television and gaming, or teaming up to tackle their troublesome schoolwork.

Axel lowered the volume of the television, slowly stretching as he lifted himself from the faux-suede couch. He sauntered over to the apartment door, spotting Roxas bending over to remove his shoes. His belongings, all packed in a meagre bag, lay casually against the wooden shoe rack.

"About time you got back."

Roxas looked up, having successfully removed his left shoe. Smiling slightly, he shrugged, reaching down again to take off his right shoe. "Didn't I tell you I'd be back today?"

Axel grinned irreverently. "You know me. These things never register. Bad listening skills, right?"

Pausing midway of placing his shoes on the wooden rack, Roxas gave his roommate a blithely reproachful glance. Eliciting a chuckle from Axel, Roxas turned away, smiling to himself as he picked up his backpack upon striding into the apartment.

As Roxas passed by, Axel chose that moment to block his way, towering cheekily over his shorter colleague. At Roxas's questioning raise of a brow, Axel leaned down, "What, no 'welcome back' hug?"

Laughing it off, Roxas brushed past him, muttering, "Since I'm the one who just got back, I would think it should be you doing the hugging …"

Axel positively beamed. "That works, too."

Shaking his head, Roxas crossed the expanse of the sitting room to a small hallway that led to his bedroom. Axel followed, languidly surveying Roxas from behind. He still looked the same, acted the same. After a mere month, Axel didn't expect much change in the boy. Roxas was life's variable of consistency. Quiet and reserved but affable, he seemed the perfect foil to Axel's character. Whereas Roxas possessed a naivety born of his passive nature, Axel was wise in the ways of the world, devil-may-care attitude taken into every stride. Axel was also multifaceted and difficult to read, while Roxas tended to be straightforward and naturally honest.

The fact that they were so vastly different from each other was incentive enough for Axel to make a pass towards the younger boy at every opportunity. In the beginning of their unlikely friendship, the prospect of breaking down Roxas's barriers became Axel's primary motivation to poke some fun. To know a person, a little tactical invasion was sometimes prerequisite. When it became apparent that Roxas had nothing to hide, the flirting had become an entrenched habit that Axel simply could not quit.

After all, if Roxas was not aware of his little crush, Axel could pass boring classes betting against himself when or if Roxas would ever see it. It saved him from thinking about things that actually mattered in the real world.

Roxas entered his room, flipping on the light switch, dropping his bag on the floor as he shrugged off his coat. Tossing the garment atop his clean mahogany bedspread, Roxas sat down at his desk, turning on his unpretentious laptop computer.

Axel watched him, casually lying on the bed. Without a doubt, this was Axel's favourite room in the apartment. Of course, the pickings for "favourite" were slim, but this particular area reflected Roxas's character in every way a room could embody a person: plain beige walls, meagre desk, books and CDs lining a small shelf beside the bed, a chest of drawers, and a window with burgundy shades. Everything in here smelled like Roxas, reminded Axel of him, and the fact that he had spent the past month vacuuming the room for no good excuse made him grin.

"Did anything interesting happen while I was away?" asked Roxas, turning in his swivel chair to face Axel as his computer booted up.

Axel placed his hands behind his head, looking away to stare at the ceiling. "Demyx almost broke a water pipe down in the boiler room. Don't look at me like that, I didn't participate. So, yeah. We went without hot water for a day before the plumber could come in to fix it." Axel shrugged. "That was pretty much the highlight of my month."

"Oh." Roxas surveyed Axel as he paused. "Well … Demyx is always getting distracted. I'm surprised he didn't flood the whole building."

Roxas said this with such a straight face; Axel had to laugh at the irony. "Oh, Roxy. You can be snide."

Roxas frowned at him. "Snide? You know it's true. If Demyx didn't have his head attached to his shoulders, he'd be losing it half the time."

Axel laughed again. "C'mon. Cut the guy some slack. He's pretty cool. Sometimes …"

Roxas appeared to give it a moment's thought, and then shrugged as he turned back to his computer. "If you say so, Axel."

The older boy grinned. Roxas, always with a kind word to say, could be so painfully cutting and direct. Never argumentative though, Axel pondered. He was level-headed like that.

Breathing in, Axel watched as Roxas checked his inbox. "How did your visit go?"

Roxas turned to him, grinning wide, and Axel knew for sure that he had some very interesting stories to tell.

"It went great. Everyone was there, and I got to hang out with my old friends. Brought back all the good memories. If I could have stayed longer, I would've. I like Hollow Bastion, but not as much as I love Twilight Town …. You know what I mean?"

Axel smiled. "Yeah. You're forgetting we come from the same place."

"Not from the same district," Roxas contradicted good-naturedly.

Twilight Town brought back good memories. Since childhood, Axel and Roxas both lived in the same town, but never encountered each other until high school. From then on, they had developed a devoted friendship that was not quite understood by many. The two were simply too different.

The conversation spiralled onward from Roxas's simple holiday stories, to reminiscing of high school times, and from there they talked about anything and everything that best friends could share.

At one point, there was a lull in the conversation. Axel was preoccupied with studying the pattern of Roxas's warm-toned comforter when his roommate interrupted his thoughts.

"Axel … can I ask you a question?"

"I dunno, can you?"

Roxas sighed in resignation, as he closed his laptop and stood from his swivel chair. He sat down on the edge of his bed. "May I ask you a question?"

Axel grinned. "Of course. When have I ever not?"

Continuing as if the attached comment was never spoken, Roxas placed his elbows on his knees, fingers laced together between his legs. Thoughts swimming, he took a breath, exhaled, then inhaled. For a moment, Axel thought he would brush off his question and move on.

"What do you think about love?"

Axel, for what seemed like the first time in his life, was genuinely astonished. On the usual day, it could be expected of Roxas to ask simple questions now and again. On occasion, he would ask profound ones, and naturally Axel would answer with ease. No matter how complex the matter seemed, he pulled through. This time, however, it was not a simple of case of yes or no.

Roxas was asking for his opinion.

"Why do you want to know?" Axel muttered, aware of his own increasing discomfort.

The younger boy shrugged, unaware of Axel's frown. "When you see two people who are obviously in love, you kinda start to wonder. And I've never been in love … so I thought I would ask you."

Axel had to silently ask why Roxas would go to him about this. "Well … love is …" He paused, and appeared to think for a moment. "Love is … complicated."

Roxas turned to him, blinking twice. "Well, yeah, I know that."

Scowling, Axel sat up, facing Roxas. "Is it really so important to find out?"

Roxas shrugged, his nonchalance affecting Axel in a way that should not have. "I don't really know. I guess I was just wondering …" It was his turn to pause, and Roxas found himself staring straight into Axel's handsome face. The intensity in his friend's green eyes formed an odd sense of self-doubt in Roxas's chest.

"I was wondering if you've ever fallen in love."

Axel seemed taken aback. Roxas failed to be surprised by his reaction. When it came to emotions, or any kind of sentimentally related topic of consequence, Axel was anything but forward. Roxas typically brushed off his frequently evasive behaviour. Now … he found that he did not want to simply dismiss the matter.

Abruptly, Axel flopped back down on the bed, turning on his side away from Roxas. Aware that he was thinking, Roxas silently waited, gazing at the long expanse of Axel's back.

For minutes, they were both still.

"Yeah."

Roxas blinked. "What?"

"Your question. The answer's yes."

That gave Roxas a moment to consider his words. Laying down on the bed, Roxas felt his back touch Axel's. Staring out the window, he could see flickers of light snowfall between the gaps of the blinds.

"What was it like?"

Axel grunted. "Uneventful."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas questioned, placing his arm beneath his head.

"It means it's unrequited."

"… Oh."

"Yeah."

Comprehending the heavy tension, Roxas bit his lower lip. For a moment, the thought crossed his mind to apologize for being invasive.

"Why would it be unrequited? I would think anyone who got to know you would be glad to … well. Be with you." As good an apology as it was going to get, Roxas grimaced, thankful that Axel could not see his face.

The older boy actually laughed. "Funny you should say that. Of all things …"

"How is it funny?"

Movement from the other side of the twin sized mattress caused Roxas to look up as Axel shifted, sitting up, looking down at him. The grave smile on Axel's face caused Roxas to stare deeply into his green eyes. If he thought he could have discovered what was bothering him, Axel thought snidely, then Roxas had it all wrong.

"It's funny because I've loved this person for the longest damn time, and I don't think the message is ever going to get across." Axel frowned, taking in Roxas's forcibly calm expression. The blond's blue eyes, however, were troubled.

Roxas opened his mouth, unmindful of their proximity. "Then why don't you confess your feelings?"

The suggestion, so simple, honest, basic, and excruciatingly naïve, was enough for Axel to haul Roxas up by the shirt and smother his lips with a searing kiss. Instead, he snorted and lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Because it would ruin a friendship, Roxas. Can we drop the subject?"

Confused, Roxas assumed the same position as Axel, eyes to ceiling. "I don't get why you're avoiding this …"

A hard reply came swiftly. "Because I'm not at liberty to discuss these sort of things."

"It's not that hard."

"And you would know because?"

Roxas scowled deeply. "Just because I've never been in love doesn't mean I can't spot an evasion."

Axel rolled his eyes, a pang of something mysterious searing itself into his chest. "That's exactly what I mean. You've never been in love."

"Don't patronize me."

Shaking his head, Axel got up. Scooting off the bed, he sat on the edge for a moment, pausing as if he wanted desperately to say something important. However, Axel simply stood up, his back to Roxas. "That's exactly what makes talking about this so difficult, Roxas. My feelings have been unrequited since the longest time, and you've never been in love. Do the math."

Roxas was left dumbfounded as his roommate silently closed the door behind him.

- - -

Left brooding in his own room, Axel was surprised when a small, hard object came sailing towards his temple. As it tumbled off his bed to the floor, his bedroom door snapped shut. Confused, he stared after the closed threshold for a moment, before letting his gaze fall to the rectangular package wrapped in brown paper, held together by string and tape.

Picking it up deftly, Axel shifted it from hand to hand for several moments. Curiosity won over the urge to hurl it out the window, and he slowly untied the rough knot, opening the taped ends of the coarse material. As the package unfolded like petals of a wilted rose, the paper revealed a worn picture frame. The photo it encased in a tender embrace was memorable, one of two young boys, seated up high in faded blue bleachers, smiling down at the camera, side by side.

A note fell from within the folds of the wrapping paper.

Give it time. Happy Valentine's Day.

- Roxas

H.W: Feedback and constructive criticism is always nice ^^ Happy Valentine's Day everyone!