The Deal
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It was the perfect size. He can already feel it within his chest; hear it beating against his ribcage, pumping the blood and life into his body and sustaining the existence he never had…
And just like that, the glowing heart dissipates in the cloud of smoke that conjured it up.
Roxas feels his spirits drop as the smooth, conniving voice belonging to none other than the lord of the underworld himself worms its way back into his senses.
"So what do you say?"
With an aggravated sigh, Roxas turns his back to the flaming-haired man.
"As tempting as it sounds, the answer is still no."
The teen notices the temperature behind him rise dramatically (he obviously angered the other man) before it drops back down to normal.
"Look, Roxie—I can call you Roxie right?" Roxas feels a burning hand on his shoulder and inwardly flinches, "I'm making you the deal of a lifetime. I know you've always wanted a heart. So why refuse?" His other shoulder becomes occupied with another flaming-hot grip as the space next to Roxas' face burns with yet another intrusion.
"Hades," Roxas hisses, "Just because I'm blond doesn't mean I'm stupid."
The grip Hades has on the teen tightens; causing Roxas to avert his eyes. With an unsatisfied snarl, the lord of the Underworld pulls away—moving his arms so his hands lay on either side in front of Roxas.
"You drive a hard bargain, kid." Roxas can hear the sneer in his voice. "All I want is your other-half's Keyblade," A current of twisting, grey smoke contours the shape of the Keyblade between Hades' hands. "And in return," the smoke takes form of a heart again. "You finally get a heart."
Non-committaly, Roxas spreads out his hands the way Hades did. Staring at the neon pink glow of the heart between his palms, he silently wills it into his chest—He doesn't even notice the burning presence to the side of his head returning.
"But," Hades leers; smirking as the heart warps into a miniature silhouette of Roxas. "If you fail, then you will pledge your loyalty to me. So no heart, and eternally under the service of moi…" A small heart is cut out of the silhouette's chest and rises upward. As it floats away, the mini-Roxas drops to it's knees and sobs into it's palms before disappearing in the smoke. "I'm sure if Sora's as trustful as you say he is, the latter happening is one in a million, am I right?"
With a frown, Roxas drops his hands back to his sides. "Look, for the last time, I am not interested," Shaking his head, the teen continues, "I've already made that deal once, and it didn't go down well at all."
"Roxie, Roxie, Roxie…" Hades moves to pat Roxas' back reassuringly. "I have much more principal than that sea-witch Ursula! I mean, she uses potions, freaky concoctions and all that magic mumbo-jumbo, but I'm the lord of the Underworld! I can rearrange the stars if I want to!"
"You should try that with your furniture," Roxas mumbles; giving the said upholstery a dirty look.
Ignoring the spiteful comment, Hades continues. "Why don't you trust little old me huh? Sure I've done some pretty dishonest things in the past, but I've changed for the greater good."
"Oh, I'm sure," Roxas looks back at the man, "You don't know what I want. Neither did Ursula. You're all just trying to rule the universe for nothing." Stepping foreword, Roxas begins to leave—all the while feeling a burning glare upon his back.
"Or maybe," Hades murmurs loud enough for Roxas to hear, "I'm offering the wrong heart."
The teen stops dead in his tracks, causing a twisted grin to pull at the man's lips.
"I—" Roxas hesitates, "…I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I think you do…" Hades purrs, "What if, along with a heart of your own, I give you the heart of the one you're so desperately in love with?"
Roxas turns sharply to the lord of the underworld. "The one person I thought I loved is dead from protecting the very Somebody I belong to."
"Yes, but there is one person you know you love… isn't there? A certain Somebody…" Hades inwardly chuckled when Roxas' eyes widened. "…that doesn't reciprocate on your feelings?"
Startled, Roxas only manages to whisper, "How did you know?"
"I have my ways." Hades steps toward Roxas with one hand behind his back and the other stretched before him. "So how about this? You bring me the Keyblade…" Another glowing heart appears; this time, larger in size. "And not only do you get your real, genuine heart, but the heart of your little crush here," Within the depths of floating apparition, the smiling face of Sora appears—causing Roxas to flinch.
Hades' hand retracts, coming to join the other behind himself. The lord of the underworld leans back with a smug smile plastered on his deathly blue face.
Seemingly in a trance, Roxas slowly reaches out—but before he can touch the smoke-produced object, something in the back of his mind speaks up.
'Déjà vu.'
Just then, Roxas' expression contorts from shock into irritation. With a few sweeps of his fanhand, he waves the dark matter away before turning on his heel to leave once again.
"The answer is still no."
In an instant, a burst of heat fills the room and Hades cries in frustration; earning a smirk from Roxas. About halfway down the steps out of the bellowing lord of the underworld's throne room, Roxas calls back to him.
"Oh and, if you had more principal than Ursula, you wouldn't have tried to make the same exact deal with me."
There is a small pause—then another wave of angry heat rushes out. A string of curses are heard, followed by the loud shout of "That little blond-haired brat!" and then a shriek of "PAIN! PANIC! Get up here so I can maim you!!"
Roxas listens to the erratic scuttling as Hades' minions make their way past the teen and up the stairs.
"Coming your almighty lordship!" The fatter, purple one says as the skinny, blue one stops to glare at Roxas.
"Look what you've gotten us into now!" He half-wails, half-whispers, before following his companion up the stairs.
Just as Roxas stepped onto the slope connecting the first platform to the second, agonized screams and apologies drift noisily from the throne room.
After a few moments of walking (and listening to the high-pitched squeals of Pain and Panic being tortured), Roxas finally reaches the inner chamber of the Underworld. Upon entrance, he is immediately met by the cheerful sight of Sora chatting up a reluctant Auron.
"Hey," Roxas greets them.
The two look up (he can tell Auron is slightly relived), and Sora smiles brightly.
"Hey! You're actually unscathed! Was Hades in a good mood today or something?"
Roxas strides over before sitting by Sora with a sigh. "Well, not after he was done chatting with me…"
"What'd he want to talk about?" Sora inquires.
"Remember when Ursula tried to strike a bargain with me? You know… the Triton for a heart of my own?" Sora nods and Roxas continues, "Well, Hades pretty much offered the same thing, except he wanted your Keyblade. He didn't even realize that, being your Nobody, I have one too."
Sora sticks up two fingers, "Two actually," Roxas shrugs and Sora lowers his hand. "Man, I was seriously freaked out when Pain and Panic came down and told us Hades wanted to see you. Why do they always try to get you to be their errand boy, anyway?"
"They probably think I'm naïve or something," Roxas sighs, "Plus, they're so conceited they don't even realize even if I'm separated from you I can still live and feel—even without a heart."
"Who says you don't have a heart?" Sora interjects, causing Roxas to raise an eyebrow.
Without a word, Sora reaches over and presses a hand to Roxas' chest; causing the other teen to blush. A moment of silence passes before the hand is taken away and Sora smiles reassuringly.
"Don't worry, I felt it beating."
Still blushing, Roxas lifts his own hand up before gently touching his chest where his heart would be. Feeling a thump, Roxas jumps and looks at Sora with wide eyes.
"It… it is!"
In euphoria, he throws his arms around Sora's neck; causing them both to fall to the ground. All the while, Roxas is laughing and after a few seconds of shock, Sora joins in too before embracing the other boy around the waist.
Completely forgotten, Auron watches the two express their merriment; knowing deep down whatever was in the deal Hades was trying to make was bound to happen anyway.
And deep down, when Roxas feels Sora inadvertently peck his cheek as they're rolling on the ground laughing, he does too.
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MHC: Should I make an alternate ending where Roxas accepts the offer? I think it'd be fun.
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