Alright, finally finished this! My first true AxelRoxas fic! Let me know what you think, please.

Axel wasn't usually the type of guy to spend a large amount of time at a florist's shop; typically, when sending flowers, he'd just go with roses or a nice mix of other colorful flowers. However, his most recent 'conquest' (though he could hardly call it such; doing so would result in immediate death by said conquest) was a delicate subject, and the sending of flowers required care and precision. The sentiment itself would probably get him a good scolding as it was, nevermind the fact that if he sent the wrong flower, he'd lose the person probably forever.

Okay, maybe not forever, but it certainly wouldn't help his cause.

So there he was, leaning against the checkout counter, flipping through a book of flower meanings, trying to ignore the incessant, annoyed tapping of the pink-haired boy behind the counter. He wasn't sure how long he'd been doing so – at least an hour, definitely. But, like he said, this was a delicate subject. It had to be implemented perfectly.

"Would you like some help?" the boy with the pink hair (and, no, Axel was not likely to stop his internal giggling about that any time soon) asked with more than a hint of irritation.

Axel shrugged. "Not unless you know of a flower that tells your very male best friend that you've known pretty much since birth that you're in love with him. Preferably something that wouldn't insult his masculinity, if you please."

"You're giving the guy flowers; just the thought is enough to insult his masculinity-"

"So says the guy who works at the flower shop. And don't get me started on that hair."

"My point is that this isn't going to be an easy task."

Axel chose to respond with only a withering stare. Really, it was painfully obvious this wasn't easy. He'd been standing there for like an hour, after all. On top of that, talking to the weird guy behind the counter was like talking to himself – except he was never this hostile to himself. He wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible so he wouldn't have to deal with Mr. Attitude Problem anymore.

Suddenly in professional mode, the pink-haired guy (his name badge read Marluxia, but Axel couldn't really care less) said, "As I'm sure you're well aware, there isn't a flower that specifically states what you've just said-"

"Obviously."

"-so you'll have that go with something a little more general. Roses are always nice-"

"Absolutely not. And not carnations, either. I have no desire to be maimed, thanks."

"Alright, then let's go with something a little less traditional. There's the gardenia, which means 'secret love' or the aster. Honestly, most flowers mean love of some sort whether it's secret love or true love or rejected love or even a proposal to elope." With a heavy sigh, he muttered, "This could take awhile."

"There's a flower for eloping? That's just…" He was about say 'strange', when an idea suddenly formed in his head. "Perfect, actually. Do you have any of those?"

---

A little over a week later, Axel had pretty much forgotten about the flowers. He had decided to visit Roxas at café where he worked as a waiter after class (maybe flirt a little, test the waters and all that).

Yuna, who worked at the register, grinned when she saw him. "Hey, Axel! You're just in time; Roxy's about to go on break." She paused thoughtfully for a moment then added, "You are here to see Roxy, right? You're not actually going to order anything?"

"Yes, I'm here to see Roxy – just don't let him hear you call him that. He's not a big fan of the nickname."

"I've noticed. So, how's the wooing going?"

Completely blindsided by the question (and her knowledge of the situation), Axel took a moment to show her just how much he could resemble a fish caught by a hook, minus the flailing, of course. "I don't… How do you even know about that?" he asked when he'd regained a small amount of his composure. He was proud to say that he managed to keep his voice from coming out squeaky.

"Oh, well, Demyx told Rikku, who told me. Is it working? Have you actually done anything yet?"

"Of course I've done something, and I don't know yet. And hey – there's Demyx, speak of the devil."

It wasn't so much of a coincidence that Demyx showed up at the café; they had planned to meet there to hang out with Roxas a little because they'd all been so busy lately they hadn't had time for friends. The coincidental part was that Demyx managed to show up just when Axel decided he needed to have a little chat with him about secrets and the sharing thereof. He was just about to the begin that lecture when he was interrupted by the little, blond waiter who may or may not have been the subject of his dreams lately.

"Wow, I neither see nor hear from either of you for – what was it? – a week, and now suddenly, you're both here at the same time. I feel so special. And a little trapped." With a suspicious glance from one to the other, Roxas raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's going on?"

"We missed you, Roxas!" Demyx replied with a grin. "One of us more than the other, but we both still missed you."

Laughing as he they headed toward a table close to the back of the room, Roxas said, "Well, I knew Axel missed me; he was desperate enough to send flowers."

Demyx chuckled a little before his brain processed exactly what Roxas had said. "He did what?" He turned to Axel. "What? You-you… Flowers?"

"Well, it was more like a little plant, actually, in a pot and everything, but yes, yes I did. And there was only one."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. Flowers are still girly, whether there's one or multiple. And by the way, the answer's no."

"The answer to what?" Demyx looked at the two in confusion. He knew Axel was planning to act on his feelings for Roxas, but he hadn't realized he'd do so that quickly.

"Apparently the flower Axel picked out means 'elope with me'. That's what Mom said anyway, and since she's the big flower guru or whatever, I'm inclined to believe her. I imagine that's why you picked that flower, isn't it?" Axel nodded his head in confirmation. "I'm surprised you didn't deliver it in person, just so you could see the look on my face."

"Elope, huh?" Demyx repeated, torn between laughing and grimacing. "If it were anyone but Roxas, I'd say that's kind of romantic. But seeing as it was Roxas you sent the flower to, that was pretty stupid."

Axel chose to ignore Demyx's comment. "I wanted to, but I was kind of afraid your mom would see it and castrate me. I knew she would know what it meant."

"She wouldn't have. She was at my place when it was delivered, but she was too busy giggling and going all girly over it. After I told her it was more than likely a joke, she just frowned and didn't say anything else about it."

He wasn't really surprised that Roxas's mom had been there. She didn't quite understand that Roxas moved into an apartment on his own after high school to get away from the overbearing, overprotective mother all the time, and Roxas wasn't about to tell her that and break her heart. "It was a joke. Mostly. Kind of. Well, the running away and getting married part was a joke, but…" Axel found he didn't really know how to finish that, but it didn't really matter. He and Roxas had been best friends and next-door neighbors since Roxas was in diapers; Axel knew he could pretty much guess what he was trying to say.

The small, though genuine, smile that Axel was rewarded with told him Roxas had done exactly that. His smile changed to a frown, though, when he glanced down at his watch. "I should get back to work." It was when he went to stand that he noticed one of their trio was missing. "Where'd Demyx run off to?"

Axel blinked a couple times, not having seen Demyx get up. "I don't know… Oh, there he is!" He pointed over to where Yuna was standing; in fact, Demyx was there, and they were both grinning and talking (conspiring, Axel would say) about something. Knowing Demyx, it probably had to do with him and Roxas. "I didn't even realize he left."

Obviously. Roxas rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to keep up with these things, you dork."

Roxas's smile softened the blow, and Axel definitely picked up on the tone of affection in his voice. Though he'd never admit it out loud, it made him feel a little like he was floating. "I may be a dork, but I'm your dork."

"I'm glad you finally noticed." Roxas leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I really have to get back to work now. I'll see you-"

"Later. I ran into your mother yesterday, and we got to talking. She insists we both go over there for dinner. I think I was supposed to tell you that earlier, actually."

"Really? I'm surprised she hasn't called me." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed a couple of buttons. "Oh, nevermind; she did. Okay then, I'll see you later."

They shared one last smile, Roxas stopped to talk to Demyx for a second, then it was back to work for him. Axel just sat for a moment, feeling he had accomplished more than he planned to that day, and knowing there were no more words needed between them. All that needed to be said was done so with the flower and the kiss; anything else would be superfluous.

When Axel finally left, Demyx was already gone, and Yuna threw him a smirk. His only response was wide, satisfied grin in return. That had been a lot easier than he thought it would be.