Title: sick bed
Prompt: Sea Salt trio, no romance,
Characters/Pairings: Axel, Roxas, Xion
A/N: Ahaha, I love these three. So I was very happy to see that this is what my giftee for the Kingdom Hearts Exchange wanted. I hope you like this!
Summary: Sick in bed, Axel was expecting seashells and rocks from his friends. The usual gifts. He should have remembered there was nothing usual about his friends.
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"Achoo!" Axel sneezed loudly, an explosive sound in a quiet room. Rubbing his nose, he blindly groped his bed for a tissue. He pushed aside the used tissues that littered his bed; by now his nose was raw as hell and it was like stoking a fire every time he touched his aching skin. Maybe he should have taken Demyx up on his cream offer. The soothing aloe would have provided at least a little relief for his burning skin.
What time was it? Axel slowly rolled onto his side, his body shaking as he tried to sit up. His congested head only made it harder, each movement took a lifetime. The medicine was clearly wearing off by now, it'd be fine if he took a second dose. And then sleep, if he could stop hacking out his lungs long enough to rest.
A plan. That was a great plan. Axel pressed his hands against the mattress, and struggled into a seated position. He could work with this plan. He could—
"Axel?" Roxas poked his head into the room, a leaf tucked into his messy spikes. "You awake?"
Dirt smeared his friend's face and Axel grimaced. Did he really want do deal with this? He could see Xion peeking behind him, looking just as worn, and with a sigh he waved. Might as well get it over with. "I'm up."
"Great!" Roxas barged in, holding up a brown furry thing proudly. He grinned excitedly, thrusting it to Axel's face. "We got you a souvenir."
Not for the first time, he prayed that it wasn't alive. Something was wrong about the fact that he had prayed for this several times already. Something very wrong, but his mind wasn't up to figuring out what it was. Unenthusiastic, he stared pointedly at what looked more and more like an animal pelt. A slightly bloody animal pelt. "You didn't have to."
"You said that last time too." Xion went to the other side of his bed, shaking with excitement. Oblivious to Axel's poorly concealed irritation, she held up a dirty bottle filled with paper. "But it wouldn't be right otherwise."
He might have preferred them when they were emotionless robots. In the week he'd been sick, they'd left pine cones, seashells, rocks, an entire tree, several melted boxes of popsicles, and three wild squirrels, one of which had escaped and Axel could swear it lived above the bathroom now. It had been cute when Roxas had left souvenirs for Xion. Adorable when Xion had done the same for Roxas.
Completely annoying when the pair teamed up to do it for him. Why couldn't they give him small seashells like they did before? Without him, they were like a negative feedback loop, their ideas getting worse and worse with each iteration. Axel needed to recover, like yesterday.
"We went to the Beast's castle," Roxas explained, setting down the muddy fur on the bed. Though not a neat freak, a part of Axel died at the sight. "And then after we went to Neverland."
Well, it wasn't hard to guess where each gift came from. Starting with the biggest offender, Axel stared at Roxa's gift. It looked like a wolf's pelt, matted in blood. Axel stared at it, and then at his friend in concern. "You skinned a wolf?"
"No." Roxas glanced at the door nervously before leaning closer. That was never a good sign. "We…helped this lumberjack and he gave it to us."
"You made contact with a resident." Axel wasn't sure if he always had a headache or if it had only decided now to furiously beat in his head. Why did Saix let these two go on missions together? Alone? Without supervision?
"It was an accident," Xion added, setting down her glass bottle on his nightstand. She tucked a lock behind her ear, a nervous gesture. "And we made sure not to give any information."
Their very existence was information, Axel wanted to admonish, but that was Saix's job. Let him do the dirty work for once. Leaning back against his headboard, Axel stared at his two friends, and then at their two gifts. At the muddy fur and the dirty bottle. "And the bottle…?"
"We found it on the beach!" Xion tapped the glass, creating a sharp ringing sound. "There's paper in it."
"It could be a letter or a map leading to treasure," Roxas suggested.
"You've been with the pirates too long," Axel answered, dubiously. "I—" Suddenly, he wheezed, a coughing fit starting. His head hurt, it felt like he was coughing up a lung.
"Axel!" Roxas panicked, scouring the room for something. For anything. He picked up the tissue box and pushed it to his nose. "Use this."
That's useless, he thought, but his mouth couldn't do more than cough. How long was a cold supposed to last? It felt like ages since he'd been able to breathe without this stifling, heavy feeling on his chest.
Xion crumpled the bedsheets, concerned. "Do you need water?" Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to find an elusive glass.
"It's fine, don't worry so much," Axel gasped, aiming for a smile. Judging by her reaction, he didn't quite get it.
Alarmed, Xion grabbed his hand. "Are you dying?"
Roxas dropped the tissue box. "I…I…I'll get Saix."
Before he could run out, Axel grabbed the back of his cloak. "I'm fine, I just need to rest."
They both stared at him with wide, worried eyes and Axel couldn't help himself, he burst into laughter. Into wheezy, dying laughter that hurt his chest, but laughter nonetheless. Everything about this scenario was unnecessary and over the top. The organization didn't really care for one another.
Even Saix, the closest thing Axel had to a friend before Roxas, didn't take interest beyond Axel's capacity to fulfill his role. Maybe it was because they were all Nobodies, missing emotions and a heart to guide them. It made sense. Axel was no different; he'd never once poked his nose in the others' affairs.
And yet these two couldn't stop worrying. Axel had almost forgotten what it felt like to be cared for. To be cared about.
To have another person, to have two other people watch him in slowly growing horror, as though he was on his deathbed and this laugh was his last. Which it could—he wasn't going to rule it out with the way his chest ached.
"Don't get him." Axel took a deep breath, wincing as he slowly released it. "Just some water and something to eat. I'm starving."
Xion and Roxas brightened at the suggestion, their heads nodding furiously. Roxas clenched his fists determinedly. "Food. I can do that."
"Popsicle sticks?" Xion suggested and Axel was reminded once more of just who he was dealing with.
Maybe he should just sleep it off. He could last a few days without food. Probably.