Roxas' smile made Twilight Town look dull in comparison. That face that barely showed any emotion at all but hid so many...when it lit up with excitement made Axel feel like maybe he had a heart. He was a Nobody, but a smile like that couldn't be taken for granted.
Demyx had a great smile. It was big and it was happy, but it was empty. It longed for something more than it already had. Not Roxas. He was content with everything. Content was a good word for his smile.
Larxene's smile was pretty. But it only showed itself when she was tormenting someone else. Causing someone else pain. Not Roxas. He longed to see others happy and safe, and then he would show happiness. He wanted to protect, not hurt. A protective smile?
Luxord enjoyed his games, Vexen enjoyed his experiments, Xigbar enjoyed his nicknaming, but none of those smiles appealed to Axel. They were all the same. But Roxas' smile made everything different. It made Axel himself feel somewhat safer. Maybe that wasn't really his intention, but Axel enjoyed eating ice cream with Roxas. Maybe it was because he liked the salty treat, but mainly it was because he wanted to see Roxas smile when he bit into it.
He was cute, too. Especially when he would get ice cream on his face. Roxas would try to wipe it off, but then his fingers would get sticky, and that just made a mess. Axel would sigh and then wipe it off himself. It made Roxas blush, which was even cuter. Maybe he did go a little too far, Axel would think, but then Roxas would laugh slightly. Axel would laugh, too, and they would enjoy teasing each other and talking about their days. Roxas always had such captivating stories about Agrabah and Halloween Town and even that really crazy story about flying in Neverland.
But Axel had been to all those places. He could describe them perfectly, give interesting facts about them, and even name off the inhabitants. But in Roxas' words, there were genies and a great big desert and a monkey! Or, pumpkins and a great, big tall skeleton and those pesky children that threw pumpkin bombs at him! And a cute little fairy that made him fly and a pirate and treasure chests!
Axel couldn't keep himself from laughing at these stories. And when Roxas told about them, they seemed so exciting and magical, so enchanting and divine. When Saïx would give Axel the reports on the worlds, it certainly didn't compare to Roxas' accounts. Crazy as they may sound...
He acted just like a child. He would complain about going to bed, forget to brush his hair in the morning, ask for nothing but ice cream, and yet he was still smarter than most members. Though it wasn't very hard to be smarter than Demyx. Axel had to remind him to do a lot of things, and he still worried whenever Roxas would get onto his chair when they had a meeting. He was often teased about being a mom, but Axel could care less. Roxas didn't seem to notice and was quite oblivious to the vexers. Maybe he just chose not to care.
But since he was like a child, Roxas never shut up. In fact, he hardly gave Axel room to talk at all. He would go on about how he and Xion fought all of the large bodies by themselves. Roxas, of course, defeating the most, he would try to remember how long it took them to RTC, and how much munny he had earned. He would also try to tell him something else, but then Axel would be forced to shut him up. It wasn't out of annoyance, it was just that Roxas' ice cream was starting to melt. Roxas would try to hurry and eat it, but Axel would warn him about brain freeze. Of course, he would fall victim to it, but it did always make Axel laugh at the innocence of it all.
Roxas was certainly nothing that Axel had ever seen before. In fact, he didn't think that he'd ever see anything or anyone like him again.
He was upset when Roxas left the Organization. Why should he feel sad? Nobodies couldn't feel emotions, Axel was just remembering what it was like to feel lonely and betrayed and angry and infuriated and- he had to get him back! Roxas needed a lesson in what happens when you leave your best friend, but where to look?
In Twilight Town, Roxas seemed the happiest. It was only natural that DiZ would send him there. It made it easier to find him, but not even the Dusks could find the real one. All they could find were pictures with him in it. Roxas' smile wasn't the same. It didn't have the sparkle it used to have. It was sad. At least, it was in Axel's opinion.
At least Roxas was still as stubborn as ever. He wouldn't listen when Axel told him to come back to the Organization with him. No, Roxas wanted to stay in his fake Twilight Town with his fake friends and his fake ice cream and his fake everything. He was being used as a pawn, and Axel could do nothing to stop it. Not that he wasn't being used in the Organization, but Roxas knew and at least he had real friends. Axel tried to beat DiZ in his strength, but that didn't work. He couldn't beat him it wits. And if that wan't bad enough, Roxas didn't even trust him.
Maybe he remembered bits and pieces of Axel, but there was no way to go back to how things used to be. For one thing, Xion was gone, she was never supposed to exist in the first place. For another, Roxas would be in major trouble for even plotting against the Organization and even more for being late in returning. But if he didn't come back at all, Axel would be forced to...he couldn't even bear to think that thought. The word annihilate never seemed that bad to Axel, but when it involved Roxas, it was almost painful to say it. He tried to go easy when they fought. He wanted him to come back, but he also didn't want Roxas to hate him. Between the two, Axel could probably win, but it would be close. But when you go just a little easy on him, Roxas could beat Axel.
He wasn't the same Roxas. He wasn't the one that would sit at the clock tower with Axel and discuss daily events. He wasn't the one who got mad whenever Xigbar called him "kiddo." He wasn't the one that worked so perfectly and gracefully with the keyblade. In fact, he was barely even Roxas anymore.
"The Roxas that I know is long gone," Axel would say to no one in particular. He let the irony in it all wash over him and a bitter laugh would escape his lips. "Fine. I see how it is." He hated to admit it, but Roxas was now considered an enemy of the Organization. And as much as it pained him to say it, he had to get rid of him. It was either Roxas or him. If one failed to do their part, the other would be punished.
It wasn't a very hard choice, Axel mused to himself while fading. In fact, it was almost too easy to manage. He wanted Roxas to come back, but he had a bigger part to play. Axel even felt regret for kidnapping Kairi in the sick attempt of making Roxas be reborn. He was, he finally figured, desperate. He was desperate to return back to those times where he could smile his way through every day. But not any more. What would Roxas say to him? Would they really meet again in the next life?
Roxas now had a Somebody to go to. He couldn't be burdened down with the weight of others. Besides, he had Namine'. She was Kairi's Nobody, he was Sora's. They'd be perfect together, wouldn't they?
"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora asked innocently. It was a kind of question that maybe Roxas might've asked when they were in the Organization.
He hesitated a bit. "I wanted to see Roxas. He...was the only one I liked. He made me feel...like I had a heart." Yes, maybe Roxas could hear him right now. Maybe he could finally tell how Axel felt about all of this. Maybe he could finally realize who'd been hurting the most this entire time.
"It's funny. You make me feel the same..." Why had he said that? He barely knew Sora, and for the first time they met, Sora didn't even remember it. Axel would have most likely killed Sora had he not realized who Sora was.
"Kairi's in the castle dungeon."
He couldn't take it any more. He couldn't take the feeling of knowing that Roxas could be watching this, maybe not even feeling bad. Or maybe feeling like this was all his fault. Axel had to disagree. He didn't mind fading, if it meant Roxas getting to live on. But inside of Sora, what would happen to him? Would Roxas lose himself? No. Any Nobody would want to find their Somebodies. Right?
"Now go."
Axel couldn't bear to look at that face any longer. It was so similar to Roxas' it was scary. They had the same piercing blue eyes, but Roxas made them look so much colder. He couldn't take the kindness that Sora was feeling. It was almost suffocating. But he wanted to see something.
"Sora..." Axel muttered, calling the boy's attention. "Smile."
It was an odd question, but the brunette put on his happiest face. It was warm and kind, but it was certainly not Roxas' smile. This pleased Axel. Roxas would not lose himself. He had a different smile than Sora. He could hold his own will and feelings. If Axel had to choose which smile had the real heart, he would've chosen Roxas' in an instant. Maybe it was a show of favoritism, but it was the right choice.
Axel felt his body starting to disintegrate, but he wasn't scared. In fact, he was almost peaceful. Because behind Sora's smile, Axel could see one much more content and protective one that was stained with tears.