Disclaimer: KHII is not mine... T.T
The dark air suffocated him. The unbearable knowledge of nonexistance stabbed him every time he thought about it.
He hated it.
He hated the white marble walls. He could see the rot just underneath their perfect exterior. He hated all the lifeless Nobodies in the castle, their heartless bodies so deceivingly human.
What was worse, he was one of them.
He was the one Roxas hated the most. Whenever he was around, the Key of Destiny felt his throat tighten. Whenever he entered a room, the blond teenager couldn't help but stare at his fiery spiked hair. His emerald eyes were mesmerizing; the thirteenth Nobody was almost certain that, should he get a good look, he'd see the Flurry of Dancing Flames' soul. Maybe, he thought to himself, he'd even see the swirling black hole where, in a normal person, a heart would be.
But then again, maybe not. The boy couldn't be sure of anything anymore. After all, he didn't even exist.
That was when he heard the soft creak of his door opening.
The soft creak of the door elicited a sharp glare from the teenaged Nobody currently sitting apathetically upon his bed.
The fire-haired Nobody involuntarily flinched. He hadn't wanted to make the boy angry.
He warily entered, afraid to speak. He knew he should leave, should never have entered; but now that he had, he knew he couldn't leave. The boy's large blue eyes drew him in, despite the vicious glare they currently expressed. Underneath the unwelcoming glare, Axel knew there was something deeper.
Or at least, he sure hoped so.
The older teen opened his mouth to speak, but closed upon realizing that he had nothing to say. The blond turned to face the opposite wall. Nobody VIII sighed, approaching the boy.
He rested one gloved hand on the other's small but surprisingly sturdy shoulder, attempting to commicate his kind intentions. The boy slowly but surely turned back around, a small tear forming in his ocean-like eye.
He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt like crying. It was weak, stupid, and pointless; but he didn't care. He felt angry and frustrated and unbelievably sad all at the same time. He vaguely wondered if he, having no heart, should be able to feel anything at all.
Staring up into the pale, tattooed face of the one he so ardently admired, he decided that he didn't want to know; rather, that he was afraid to know.
"Gomen nasai," he mumbled semi-coherently, wiping away what little tears he had allowed to escape.
He was crying. The strong-willed, curious, Nobody XIII, the Key of Destiny, was crying.
Axel felt an uncomfortable tension in his chestal section. Ignoring it, he decided that it was finally okay to speak.
"Don't be," he replied softly. "You're allowed to cry, Roxas."
He knew he should leave and give the younger boy his privacy, or at least take his hand off of the boy's shoulder. He didn't want to comply with either.
The red-haired pyro didn't leave. Roxas was glad. Weak as he was, he felt that a little support couldn't hurt. As if in approval, he put his hand atop the other's, squeezing it gently.
He sensed more than felt Number VIII shift uncomfortably, and smiled to himself.
However, his smile quickly disappeared as the older teen's hand disengaged itself.
Roxas pushed himself up as the other rose from the bed and started for the door. He stared blankly at the retreating shocks of red hair, contrasted against the dark, form-fitting fabric of the Organization coat.
"...Don't," he spoke in little more than a whisper. Sure that the Flurry of Dancing Flames hadn't heard, he sat and faced the wall, resigned.
Axel heard his quiet request through somewhat apprehensive ears. It was neither plaintive nor mocking. It was entirely serious, and did not sound at all like a request. It seemed more like an order.
He turned back around to face the blond Nobody, smiling ever-so-slightly.
"Okay. I won't," he stated simply, sitting beside the boy on his uncomfortable bed, pointedly averting his eyes from the other's, staring vaguely at the sparsely decorated room.
Shaken from his momentary hopelessness, the boy focused on the spikes of fire-colored hair so near his own blond ones. He knew that, as a Nobody, he didn't really feel anything. He only fooled himself. Sora was the real one. Not him. He didn't exist, so how could he have feelings? And yet...
There he was. The one with the fire hair and jewel eyes. The one with the strange yet alluring tattoos. The one he hated. The one he loved.
As soon as he thought it, he turned away. That wasn't possible. First, the boy sitting beside him was a guy. Roxas wasn't a fag. He didn't like guys. If he could love, if he had a heart, he'd love Namine. Not him. But he couldn't even love, so why even theorize about it? He didn't have any real emotions.
But still, what other way could he describe the rush of fear and happiness and confusion currently swirling around inside him? Weren't emotions a mental thing? So what if he didn't have a heart. It just meant he was in no danger of a heart attack.
As he thought frantically, a hand grabbed his delicate chin and forced him to face his best friend and best enemy. Intense emerald eyes stared into his own. All the confusing thoughts he'd been analyzing were instantly forgotten.
He found that he had been correct, to a degree: he could see something in the other's eyes, and it was far from platonic.
He didn't know why, but he felt that he should. No, that was a lie: he knew exactly why, and he found that he was not in the least embarrassed about it. He stared into the other's ocean-blue eyes, and pulled the boy closer, eyes half-closed.
"Roxas," he breathed quietly. The boy blushed furiously. The older boy smiled inwardly. "Don't hate us, okay? We're human, too. Including you."
And with that he closed the gap, however small, between them.
Roxas gladly complied with the other's action. He didn't know what to think anymore, or what he knew to be true.
But he was certain that he didn't hate Axel. And, he was now discovering, he was certain that Axel was a damn good kisser.
Owari
A/N: Sorry if they're a tad ooc. I tried as best I could. Read and review, kudasai! Oh, and Kudos if anyone can figure out the title!
