Aha! The oneshot! ~Phlail~ It took me FOREVER to think of this, and ff. net was being a bother, so I couldn't get it posted any time sooner.

So, normal disclaimer, and this is for Blood as Soft as Silk, who guessed right on my multi-chaptered fic. Hope you like it dear!

"So, Roxas." I tiled my head to the side, acknowledging Axel but not paying full attention to him, instead gazing downwards.

It was a long fall to anyone who had the misfortune to trip on the Clocktower, and I felt sorry for the poor soul who did. Axel and I had a bet going already, each betting on the other falling off first, just because Axel always saw me as clumsy and I always pictured Axel jumping off of it, just for fun. That would be something that Axel would do, opening a portal at the very last minute, just for laughs, even if they weren't real.

"What's on your mind? You've been quiet this whole time. Even you don't do that." I simply shrugged and he sighed, shaking his head. I could see the way those crimson spikes moved through the air, graceful for something attached to a pyromaniac's head. For a few seconds we remained silent, until finally Axel reached behind him and pulled out two things, both on a stick and a soft blue. The second he offered it to me I grabbed it, sticking it in my mouth. Sea-salt ice cream… I closed my eyes and smiled in happiness, ignoring Axel's chuckle at my reaction.

That's how it always was with me and Axel. Both of us would just sit on the Clocktower together, sometimes talking, sometimes just sitting there, remembering. I always liked those times the most, with just me and Axel. Axel… always made me feel real. Like I had a heart, like I wasn't just a Nobody. It was still fun with others, though. Namine would join us occasionally, whenever we could sneak her out, and Xion used to as well, before…

I stopped. That was one thing I never liked remembering.

"Do you believe in wishes, Axel?"

He glanced over at me, surprised. "I don't know, depends on what you mean. I've wished on everything possible, but none of them ever come true. Shooting stars, wishing fountains, everything." He leveled a calm glance at me, then looked away, scoffing. "They haven't come true, though."

"What'd you wish for?" I asked curiously, popsicle all but forgotten. That got a laugh out of the redhead as he took another bite out of the popsicle.

"You can't tell people what you wished for, Ro, or else it won't come true. You know that." I chuckled and finally looked away, taking a lick of the dripping popsicle in my hand.

"Yeah, I guess I do," I admitted, biting into the blue treat. We were quiet after that, even when the sun began to set and it was time to go back. We just got up, Axel opened a dark portal to the dining room, and we made our way though, just in time for dinner.

I didn't ask Axel about wishes for a while after that.

"Roxas!" Eyes widening, I ducked as the blue and white claymore came whirling at my head, then grunted in shock as my legs were knocked out from under me, making me collapse on the floor. In one more fluid movement, the claymore was aimed at my neck, the sharp edge cutting into my throat and drawing the slightest tinge of blood. I didn't even have time to react.

The claymore left my throat, and Saïx sighed, flipping the blue hairs that went into his face out. His golden eyes seemed to be scolding me before he even started talking. "Roxas, you need to pay more attention. Had I been a real enemy, you would be dead, and dead, you are useless to us."

I nodded, then stood back up. "Sorry, Saïx. It won't happen again." I apologized. Saïx merely looked bored.

"That's what you said the last three times this happened, Roxas. What is going on that you're so distracted?" I bit my lip, turning away.

"I'm nervous about my mission to Neverland," I admitted truthfully, which was surprising. Then again, I was talking to Saïx. That was surprising all on its own. Saïx was nice enough, but he was kind of intimidating, and the only one he really talked to was Xemnas.

Saïx just nodded. "Worried about the strength of the Heartless?" I bobbed my head in confirmation. "Don't be. We sent you because we knew you were capable of the amount there. Do not doubt your skills, though, or else you might not make it. Now get your Keyblades back out, battle position. We're practicing that drill again."

That was what I concentrated on for the rest of the hour. It had been a month since talking to Axel about wishes, and I was getting sent to Neverland alone. It wasn't like I normally had to have someone babysit me, but I had a bad feeling about Neverland, as if there was something that I wasn't being told or they didn't know about. Last time I got that feeling was Wonderland, and I nearly got blasted apart by that Trickster Heartless, so I had a right to be wary.

After the lesson, I made my way to Axel's room, where I knew he would be. However, I learned not to summon a dark portal into there; Demyx had barely escaped with his hair when he did it, and I didn't want to take any chances. Knocking on the door, I took Axel's grunt to be a 'come in' and opened the door, walking in and sitting down on the bed. Axel was laying on it face down, a habit he had gotten when I told him that laying face-up messed up his hair really bad. Of course, it didn't, but I enjoyed messing with his mind, if only because I always got the feeling he was messing with mine.

Finally he rolled over. "Hey squirt!" He greeted playfully, pulling himself up into a sitting position against his wall. "Heard that you have a mission today at five. Neverland?"

I nodded. "I have that bad feeling again… I'm going to laugh so hard if something comes out while I'm there and pulls the whole 'I will eat your soul' thing." Here, I narrowed my eyes at Axel. "Which, I never forgave you for."

Axel winced, putting his hands in front of his face in the peace sign. There was no mistaking the amused spark in his eyes, though. "Come on Rox, gimme a break. It was only a joke!" Then he paused. "A very good joke, but a joke nonetheless."

I rolled my eyes. "Just sleep with one eye open from now on, okay? Be expecting a prank to come your way, because I'm not letting you off the hook before I get you back," I promised, a bit of a devious tone entering my voice. He laughed, amused.

"Whatever. Hey, the mission was at five, right?" I nodded, confused by the sudden change of topic, and he gestured towards his clock. "Well, it's 4:55, so you might want to head off." And of course, he was right, as always. Sighing, I got up off the bed, then hesitated once more.

"Hey Axel?" I could tell the older Nobody was paying attention, even if he didn't give a verbal indication. "If I don't come back before six, will you come check up on me?" I hated asking him that, just because I hated relying on him, but…

"Of course, Rox." His voice was filled with amusement. "Just make sure it's not a corpse I have to drag back to the Superior."

I laughed and held out my hand, opening another dark portal, this one leading to Neverland. "I'll do my best." With that, I walked through, finding myself on a ship. Captain Hook's, by the looks of it, I thought to myself, right before I spotted the Shadows lurking underneath the bow. Smirking, I made my way over, wanting this over as soon as possible.

It wasn't that hard, either. All of the Heartless were easy to destroy, just a few swings with Oblivion and Oathkeeper did the job perfectly. Right before I headed back, I hesitated, remembering that this wasn't the only place in this world. I still had to check the Clocktower, a place that was just barely connected to the world. Sighing, I took the bottle I had forgotten about in my pocket and opened it, draining the bitter liquid in one gulp. Vexen had made it to recreate the effects of… something in this world. I didn't really pay that much attention to it, just the fact that it supposedly made me fly.

Sighing, I flew to the Clocktower, my lip twitching slightly as it reminded me of our tower in Twilight Town. Either way, even as I poked around every cranny, there wasn't a single Heartless in the area. Turned out, despite my senses tingling wildly, there was nothing else in the area. I laughed softly at my jumpiness, then turned around, preparing to open a portal and report the mission a success.

And stared straight into the eyes of the Grim Reaper.

…Okay, so he wasn't the Grim Reaper. And I couldn't see his eyes. But still, it felt like it. He was dressed in a black cloak, and I couldn't see anything of him other than that. So, basically, he looked more like a phantom then anything else, but I still likened him to a Grim Reaper, the way he just stared at me. Underneath his coat, all there was was a heart, wrapped in a red orb. Slowly, it lifted its hand, pointing a single finger at me. "…So…ra…"

My eyes widened in panic as white enveloped me, my vision blanking out before I recognized numbers above my head. 12… what about 12? Then, I gasped as it swung its arm out towards me, and backed up in shock as razor-sharp claws raked the air where I would have been, had I not moved. Summoning my Keyblades once more, I felt a pull at my being as the clock ticked down to 11. What would happen when it reached one?

-"Peter!" the brunet boy cried out in shock. He was out of magic, and out of luck as Peter Pan's number went down to two. The red-haired boy's face twisted in pain as the number ticked down again. One. "Peter, don't worry! We'll get you back!"

Peter opened his mouth, most likely trying to respond, but he was cut off as the number changed again. Zero. Peter cried out one more time as he vanished, completely out of the battle.

I swallowed, not bothering to think about what that was. The second my time reaches zero, I die. That was not a happy prospect.

I dodged another attack, this one a blizzard spell, as I tried desperately to summon a dark portal. Nothing. I couldn't concentrate enough before the phantom attacked me again, causing me to lose all previous efforts. Rapidly, I glanced at the clock as my time ticked down again. Ten. Axel said that he would be here at six; it wasn't even close to that time. No one else would care enough to look. I was on my own.

I was going to die.

Swinging Oblivion at him, I yelled in surprise as it rebounded off the ball, not doing any damage to the thing at all. Definitely not a good sign, especially since it left me wide open for attack. It lunged, and I cried out in pain as sharp claws raked across my chest, deep into the cloth despite my coat's defensive layering.

Gasping, I held tightly at my chest, trying to staunch the blood that was flowing rapidly through my fingers. Nine. Suddenly, as I checked my pockets for potions and found none, the numbers seemed unimportant to me. I'd only have to worry about it if I didn't die of blood loss first.

Soon, the battle became nothing more than a blur of numbers, mixed with me blocking and dodging attacks, trying desperately to find a weakness, or a place to hide so that I could call up a portal, anything. As the time ticked down, there was nothing, though. Three. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again to dodge another spell, hoping that someone could come and help me. I didn't want to die, not without finding Sora.

Two.

I guess that people were right when they day that your life flashes before your eyes before you die. Except, in my case, it was my non-life, my non-death, and I was thinking of all the things I had hidden away, forgotten about or didn't think of. I had always hoped that wishes could come true, and I still think they could.

I missed Xion, because no matter what she really was, she was a good friend, and I hated losing her.

I probably should have thanked Saïx, because however much he scared me, or seemed to hate me at times, he was a good mentor and taught things well. If only they worked on this enemy.

I never got to tell Axel that I loved him.

My shock at thinking that was almost enough to get me killed. I had never really thought about it. I mean, sure, I had wished for him to love me, but I knew better than to think that. Nobodies didn't have hearts; they couldn't love. I knew this.

So why was I deluding myself into thinking other wise with my wishes?

One.

At that point, my world went fuzzy. The blood loss got to me, and I could barely think, let alone comprehend anything outside of that. The last thing I heard was someone yell out my name.

"How is he doing? Is he going to be okay?"

"Major cut wounds on his chest and abdominal area. I disinfected them and sewed them together, but it might not be enough. He's lost a lot of blood." This voice was icy and clipped, sounding almost nonchalant about the situation, whatever it was.

The other voice was angry. I knew that voice. It was full of fire and heat, normally silky and arrogant. "Why didn't you give him a potion?"

Icy gave a sigh. "If I used a potion, it could have effects that could hurt Roxas. Besides, it would not return blood to his body, which would try to convert the potion into blood, therefore causing a mutation. I have to wait until his body creates the blood on its own before I use the potion."

Firey sounded like he was about to argue, then stopped. "Fine. If there's a change in his condition, let me know." Boots clanking on the ground was the only sign that he left.

The next time I regained consciousness, I could actually move. Wincing as a barrage of pain attacked me, I sat up, opening my eyes and squinting against the harsh light. At first, all I could see was blurs as a gasp let me know someone was there. "Roxas!" One of the blurs raced towards me, but stopped right before it collided into me. Blinking again, I recognized the red hair, along with the bright green eyes.

"Hey Axel," I managed, giving a slight laugh as he gave me a slightly offended look. "Looks like you almost had to bring back a corpse-" I was cut off as Axel's lips mashed into mine, and not exactly gently. He withdrew after a second, his eyes burning into mine.

"I nearly lost you, after that mission. I'm not going to let that happen again. Not without telling you." My eyes widened, and I felt my lips pull back into a smile before I grabbed Axel's head, pulling his lips against mine once more.

Whoever said wishes didn't come true was a complete, total idiot.

Okay! That is the end of that! Um… Nothing else to say. Blood As Soft As Silk, this is for you, and I hope you liked it!

Also, just a quick fun fact: Saïx's name is mentioned seven times in the story, and Xemnas' only once. Just thought you'd enjoy that!