Missing You
/Man… today was so weird./ Roxas sighed as he walked toward his house. /First, that crazy dream… then those freaky picture thieves that no one else could see… And where'd that key come from?/
He paused, startled by the brightness of the usually dusky sky.
"It's so bright..." he tried to squint against the dazzling light. "Unh... Feel... a bit..."
He fell to the ground with a loud thud, the last thing he heard before unconsciousness claimed him.
* * *
A figure stood atop one of the pointy roofs of Twilight Town, spiky red hair moving slightly in the gentle breeze. He waited patiently for a few moments before several Dusks materialized in front of him. He examined what they'd given him, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"Geeze, guys." He sighed. "What are you bringing me pictures for?"
Axel smiled to himself as his eyes traced the picture of the sleeping form of the renegade he was tracking.
/I'll find you, Rox. That's a promise./
He tore his attention away from the picture, randomly burning it to a crisp for good measure.
/Heh... Rox always loved it when I did that.../
"Now, then... Where's the real thing hiding?"
* * *
The following day, Axel decided to tour the replica town and reminisce until he found a lead on XIII's location. It didn't take him long to find the familiar clock tower, where he decided to spend the day. Axel remembered with a sad fondness the many nights he and Roxas had spent sitting on top of the tower, watching the perpetual sunset...
"Heya Rox." he greeted his friend with a grin.
"Hey Axel. How was your mission?" the blonde smiled back happily as they sat next to each other, feet dangling off the edge.
"Eh, you know. Same old, same old." Axel shrugged nonchalantly. "Yours?"
"It wasn't terrible. Just the usual… Kill some Heartless, collect some hearts, report to Saix, come here."
"Ah, but it's coming here that makes the other stuff that much easier to bear."
Axel smiled wryly as he thought back to a particular night that changed everything. It was weeks after the catastrophe at Castle Oblivion, and Axel hadn't reported back to Saix, causing the rest of the Organization to believe him to be dead, including Roxas.
"Axel…. I can't believe you're really gone…" Roxas shook his head angrily. "You promised you'd be back, so we could have ice cream together… How could you lie to me?" A gloved hand touched his cheek, surprised to find wetness there. "Are these… tears?"
In the shadows, a figure waited, watching the tears pour down the blonde's cheeks.
"Aw, Rox. You really missed me?" he smirked, stepping forward to confront the boy.
"A-axel?" he immediately jumped to his feet. "No way! I thought you were… you know. Gone. For good." Roxas quickly ducked his head, attempting to hide his tear-stained face.
"Rox? Are you crying?"
"N-no!" he shook his head defiantly. "Why would I cry? I'm a Nobody, remember? We don't feel."
"That's what they're telling us." Axel laughed lightly. He hesitated for the briefest of moments before covering the distance between them and wrapping Roxas in a hug. The blonde stiffened, but two smaller arms slowly snaked their way up his chest and around his neck. The two stood there for what seemed like an eternity, taking comfort in the warm embrace. It was Roxas who eventually broke the silence.
"What did you mean, 'that's what they're telling us'?" he asked.
"It's just…" Axel trailed off. "Sometimes… when I'm with you… It almost feels like I have a heart."
"Really?" Blue eyes met green in a searching glance. Axel nodded, causing Roxas to blush slightly. "It's the same way for me…"
That night ended up altering their relationship completely. They remained close friends, but their friendship deepened, morphing into something completely different. They continued spending most of their free time together, but would usually spend that time in each other's embrace, reveling in the imitation of having hearts.
* * *
Having no luck with finding Roxas the first day, Axel spent the second day touring the complex, maze-like marketplace, trying to find all of the hiding spots he and Roxas had utilized to stay out of public view... when trying to stay incognito on missions of course ((A/N: *winkwink**nudgenudge* Suuuuuuure))
"Crud… locals." Axel grimaced as a group of teenagers entered the marketplace.
"We can't let them see the MegaShadow… they'll flip." Roxas shot Axel a questioning look. "What do we do?"
"Simple. We hide." The redhead grabbed the blonde's hand and tugged him through the marketplace until they were in an abandoned alley behind one of the shops.
"I doubt they'll be coming over here anytime soon." Axel grinned confidently.
"Yep… Unfortunately, we managed to lure our target into our hiding spot…" Roxas groaned as a large pool of shadow moved around on the ground.
"Two birds with one stone, babe."
The two stood back to back as the shadow split into several smaller pools. Axel's chakrams appeared in his hands as Roxas summoned his Keyblade and the two stood in defensive stances, waiting for the first attack. A NeoShadow was the first to pounce on Roxas's side, while a GigaShadow materialized in front of Axel. Both Nobodies lunged simultaneously, Roxas slashing wildly at the creature while ducking to avoid attacks from several Shadows and Axel spinning his chakrams madly while summoning pillars of fire to erupt under his opponents. It wasn't long before the Heartless were vanquished, but they were still exhausted by the time the fight was over.
Axel moved to take a perch on a two and a half-foot wall and Roxas followed suit, opting instead to sit against the wall in front of the redhead. With a heavy sigh, Roxas leaned his head back to look up at Axel, the top of his head resting against Axel's chest.
"Hi." He said with a goofy smile.
"Hey." Axel grinned back, using a gloved hand to push a strand of hair away from the blonde's forehead. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Roxas's forehead, and the blue eyes slid shut.
"You know… if we had hearts… I'd think we were happy."
Ironically, the same place which brought Axel such painfully fond memories was the very place that told him where his missing friend was, or at the very least where he would be in the near future.
"Hm... The 'Struggle Championship', huh? I'd bet my chakrams that he'll be there, watching if not participating." Axel smirked. "See you tomorrow, Roxy."