Hello: This is my first attempt at a one-shot, and also the first time I have tried an AkuRoku: definitely one of the cutest pairs. Hope it's readable!

Dedication: This story is for Emmi Rayne, my first friend, and the one person who keeps me fanfic-ing. Thank you!! *hugs*

Disclaimer: Technically, since Square Enix never actually put Roxas and Axel together, I shouldn't have to give them credit for this, right? *gets set on by KH Mafia, which consists of Leon and Cloud - mmm Leon and Cloud* Fine, they at least invented the hairstyles. Even I couldn't dream something that insane up.

P.S.: I was thinking of adding more on the end of this - the continuation of the relationship, perhaps, since I have been reading way too many M-rated fanfics lately - so if you like this, please let me know, and maybe there will be a sequel!


Roxas Kirin had barely gotten up, and already it was a bad day. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his little sister, Namine, had woken him that morning by slipping an icecube down his shirt. Maybe it was that he had gotten so little sleep last night it felt as though he were walking through fog. Or maybe it was just because - once again - like always - he was waking up to an empty bed.

Really, it shouldn't be so easy to miss something you've never had.

Roxas pulled on a shirt. Blue, today, because blue always made him feel better: there was something about seeing the color of his eyes (a little bit sad) reflected in the shade of his clothing. He laughed a little, imagining what his buoyant sister would say to that - "Roxas! Stop being so emo! I really have to find you a girlfriend. Hmm, how about . . ." and then, horrors, she would start listing; as if setting him up would work any better this time than it had the last few hundred. You'd think that, having moved all the way across the country, she would have a few less single friends on hand.

"ROX-AS!" A voice screamed from downstairs. The blond sighed, and took one last look in the mirror, ruffling his spikes to give the appropriate "bed-head" look. Speak of the devil . . .


Namine was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. "Roxas, HONESTLY. We move to a new city, it's the middle of summer, and you just want to sit indoors all day? I bet you haven't even unpacked yet!"

"Did too," the blond muttered defensively. "Look, I found my clothes okay."

"That's just because mom took them out for you," his sister sighed. "I bet you were planning to stay in your room all day and sulk. Weren't you?" Before he had a chance to lie, she grabbed his arm. "Well, no way! We're going to find some fun!"

Roxas wondered vaguely, as he was towed towards the door, how someone so slim had so much strength. Did Namine take testosterone on the sly? He was about to ask, but changed his mind; spending the day with a hyper Namine was infinitely preferable to spending the day with a sulky one. At least the hyper form would bounce off after something shiny after a while. Their new home in Traverse Town was very far away from the former one in Hollow Bastion. Since Roxas' grandmother had died and left her apartment to them, his parents had decided to move the family, in the hopes that a better school system and the chance of better jobs would make life easier for all of them. So far, it had worked out okay for the adults - both his parents had found good daytime positions at a convenience store and a library. But for Roxas, it was hell. He already had enough problems making friends - now he was going to have to do it all over again?? Better just to be a recluse when he got to his new school. The blond sighed, dramatically.

"Roxas." Namine's mascara appeared in his face. She glowered at him through darkened lashes. "Are you feeling sorry for yourself again?"

"No!" Roxas turned away, pouting. Nobody gave him any sympathy. Maybe he should start wearing makeup like Namine - everybody seemed to pay attention to her. Speaking of Namine . . . Roxas glanced around, then back at his sister. "Namine, where the heck are we?"

The girl smiled cheekily. "Haven't the slightest! But you can't explore a new city without getting lost!"

The teenager groaned. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts he hadn't even noticed where his feet were going. They weren't quite in the center of Traverse Town: Roxas had already seen that once, on the day they arrived, so he knew what it looked like But this was definitely a lot more populated than the quiet street their new house was on. High buildings rose murkily into the sky on all sides. Shady figures moved about in the shadows of alleys, which were lined solidly with tenements. The air stank with tobacco and nicotine -

Roxas grabbed Namine's shoulder. "Namine, are we in the Gummi Zone??"

"Oh." The little blonde looked around, pertly. "Maybe?"

The sound Roxas made was not a squeal. He would like to make that very clear. But it did have a sort of maybe squeak-ish quality to it. Anyways, he had a right to make girly sounds of fright! They were in the one place their parents had told them not to go! The bad part of town!

"Oh god oh god oh god," Roxas moaned. "We're going to be raped, and killed, and then they're going to kill the rape, and then what are we going to do?"

Namine gave him a very odd look. "Roxas, do you actually know what rape is?"

Before he had a chance to respond, a wind blew down the alleyway. Roxas began to hear an odd sound behind him. It was a sort of rapid tapping. And it was approaching very fast.

"Namin - oof!"

The "Namin - " had been Roxas about to say something very unmanly, like "Namine, let's get out of here now!" The "oof" was him never getting the chance to finish that sentence, as he had just been picked up and carried along by something that looked like a black shadow with flame on top.

Roxas screamed. Loudly.

"Augh!" His abductor stopped, abruptly, dropping him to the ground. "What the hell did you do that for? I think you broke my ears!"

"You were going to RAPE me!" Roxas yelled, hysterically. "And then rape the rape!"

The black shadow looked at him oddly. "Do you actually know what rape is?"

It was at this point that Namine caught up to them. Characteristically, she completely ignored the fact that Roxas' attacker was about two feet taller than she was, and immediately started kicking and punching every part of him that she could reach. "You - " punch - "pervert!" kick - "what were you planning to do with my brother??"

The shape tried fending off her attacks for a few moments, looking steadily more confused under his flaming mop of hair. Finally, he grabbed Namine's arms and shut his eyes tightly. "WAIT!"

Namine stopped struggling. Roxas stopped cheering her on. The two of them looked at the tall kidnapper, expectantly.

Flame-hair sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, kid. I wasn't trying to abduct you. I was in a hurry, and you were in my way, and you just sort of got . . . carried along. Can you forgive me? And, uh, call off your sister?" He spread his arms wide, looking pleasant.

Against that Roxas could make no defense. He tried to think of one for a minute; then, failing, nodded slowly.

"Thanks." Flame-hair beamed, and set Namine down as if nothing had ever happened. He ran one hand through his flaming mop. "The name's Axel. Axel Korematsu Yoh, blood type AB, born 8-5-89, professional fortune teller and gentleman of fortune. Got it memorized?"

Roxas and Namine stared at him, speechless. Axel's smile faded. He lowered his outstretched hand. "What? Is there something in my teeth?"

"You're weird," Namine blurted out. The redhead stuck out his tongue.

"And you're rude. I didn't hear you offer your names."

Roxas took the lead. "I'm Roxas Kirin. Age 17, brother to this little brat here - and don't say you're not one," he cautioned, before she could respond. "You're the one who got us into this mess in the first place."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Axel Korematsu Yoh broke in. "Are you in a mess? I could help!" He looked, all of a sudden, very excited. "You know, to apologize for scaring you like that." One bright eye landed on Roxas. His expression shifted, unreadably.

"I wasn't scared," Roxas muttered. But he actually did want to accept Axel's offer. Neither of them knew their way out of the Gummi Zone, and he definitely did not want to be stuck there after dark. Then again, he was a man - he couldn't admit that he was lost!

Luckily Namine was there to help out. "I guess that would be okay. Actually, we're new in town, and we sort of don't know our way around. Could you get us out of here?"

"Sure!" Axel perked up immediately. "Just follow me." He turned around and strode off without even waiting for them to acknowledge. The guy, Roxas thought, was as incorrigible as stainless steel.

Come to think of it, it wasn't only Axel's behavior that was a bit odd. Roxas had been too busy to notice it until now, but the older boy's clothes were also decidedly out of the ordinary. He was wearing a floor-length black robe with one long zipper up the front. It flowed smoothly behind his feet as he walked, explaining why Roxas had at first confused him with a shadow. It was also very formfitting, setting off a deep chest and hips slim as a girl's. There was something rather sexy about that robe, thought Roxas - analytically.

Then there was the hair. The hair was . . . the hair. It was like a grand-prize winner on Hydrogen Bomb Friday. It stuck out even more than Roxas' spikes did, going in all directions at once, and sporting such a vibrant shade of red that it could only be natural. There were no words to describe that hair.

And then, finally, there was Axel's face. Roxas examined it carefully this time, when the teen looked back to make sure they were following. It was a very memorable face. That grin was ever-present, a bit crazy, one that set off his wide green eyes and high cheekbones. There were two odd tattoos below his eyes: as if he had cried, and the tears had stayed imprinted in ink.

Roxas scanned Axel's body. There was something off about the boy. Why did he wear those clothes? What was he doing in the Gummi Zone? More so, why did looking at him make Roxas imagine -

"Stop staring at Axel's butt and get a move on, Roxas," his sister called, breaking the blonde out of his musings. He blushed bright red and hurried to catch up, hearing the conversation as he went - "Was he really staring at my ass?" "Oh, you bet he was. Poor Roxas. I keep TRYING to get him a girlfriend, but he just doesn't like any of them! He has to be so sexually frustrated by now . . ." Payback for that crack earlier, obviously. Roxas walked on, trying to ignore the burning heat in his cheeks. He didn't even notice Axel's stare.


"Well, here we are," the redhead chirped a bit later. Roxas raised his head. They were home? Already? He eyed the open square around him in confusion. Then he groaned, in unison with Namine.

"Axel! This is Traverse Town!"

"Well, yeah," the tall boy said, confused. "Wasn't that where you wanted to go? You didn't tell me anything else, so I just assumed . . ."

The siblings exchanged embarrassed looks. Axel had seemed so confident that they had completely forgotten he didn't know where they lived. Now they were really lost - Roxas had no idea how to get back from here. They might even have to call their parents to pick them up! He shuddered to think of the lecture on responsibility that would follow.

"Hey, don't look so glum," their guide said, slinging one arm over Roxas' shoulder. "Like I said, I know this city like the back of my hand. And I read palms, so I see that a lot. I can get you home. But it's going to cost you a little extra."

Roxas looked up at him, wary. He was unused to being this close to another person. Axel's arm was heavy and hot underneath the cloak, and those green eyes were a little disconcerting from near by; but there was something in the redhead's smile - for once friendly instead of slightly insane - that made him push the boy away only gently. "Extra?"

"Well, I've already fulfilled my debt to you," the redhead explained. "So now you have to give me something in return. Let's say . . . " he pondered, "let's say an hour. Me and Roxas. Alone."

"What?" Namine straightened, annoyed. "Why Roxas? What are you going to do with him?" She sounded angry, but looking at her face, Roxas decided it was more hurt pride than protection. Obviously his sister had also noticed Axel's slim hips and smooth skin. And why had he noticed them, again? Roxas frowned, confused.

"Well, Roxas?" He looked up and noticed Axel staring at him, expectant. Hell. He wasn't going to run away! Axel could just explain in person why he was having this weird effect on Roxas!

"Sure. I'll go."

"You haven't answered my question." Namine stepped in front of Roxas, in full cautious-sibling mode. "What do you want with him?"

"I just want to talk," the redhead laughed. "Your brother seems interesting. And, I must admit, I rather want to read his fortune. That's all I'm asking: an hour of talk, and a free fortune-telling. What's wrong with that?"

Namine was obviously searching for something, but had to concede after a moment. "Fine. I'll be back here in an hour, exactly. And Roxas - " she turned to him, ferociously - "keep your phone on!"

The two boys watched the blonde girl storm away. Roxas heard a low whistle beside him. He turned to see Axel staring after his sister, appreciatively. "Now that is a woman."

Something inside Roxas twinged a little bit at the remark. He tried to ignore it, focusing on the flaming redhead instead. "So where, exactly, do you want to talk?"

"Oh." Axel grabbed his arm. "Actually, I know this great place down the road, called Cid's Cafe. Follow me!" He waved his free hand and started off - not, Roxas noticed, letting go of the blonde's skin as he did so. Roxas was towed along behind, having to jog slightly to keep up; but noting that Axel never got far enough ahead for that hand to tighten into anything more than a gentle touch. Roxas didn't like being touched. He didn't like the feel of other peoples' hands on his skin. But Axel's hand was warm and dry, and he didn't mind that.

Before Roxas could finish his analysis, the redhead was pushing open a door at the end of a sidestreet, which led into a small cafe. The sign outside read "Cid's". The wood and bricks on the outside were faded and chipped. Inside, it was like being on an airship, which Roxas had only ever seen in pictures - jointed wood furnishings, lots of odd instruments and compartments, and people dressed as oddly as Axel himself. Roxas felt very out of place.

Axel towed him over to a corner booth and dropped him in. Then, instead of climbing into the other side as the blond expected, he plopped down right next to Roxas. They were so close that the boys' tops touched - black leather against blue cotton, making Roxas feel embarrassed at having worn such a simple shirt. They must make a very strange pair, the seventeen-year-old thought: the small, sullen, blue-eyed blonde with the tall, vibrant redhead.

A waiter came over to their table to take their order. Axel whispered in his ear and he went away. Then the teen turned to Roxas.

"So."

There was an expectant silence. Roxas stared at him. "So?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Axel asked him. It was so unexpected that Roxas' breath stopped in his throat, and he choked.

"Do I - do I - what?" he managed between splutters.

"A boyfriend," Axel repeated calmly. "You know, someone you date. Your sister mentioned that you didn't have a girl, so I figured I would ask."

"What's it to you?" Roxas asked suspiciously. Then, strangely afraid of the answer to that question, he interrupted himself quickly - "No. I don't have a boyfriend. I don't really like - people."

The redhead threw back his head and laughed, making Roxas more annoyed than before. He began to pull on one straight blonde spike, waiting for Axel to finish whatever fit he was having. When the giggles finally stopped, Roxas looked up, and saw the redhead staring at him with an expression even more incomprehensible than before. "Really now."

Axel did not give his companion time to logic out that phrase. He picked Roxas' hand up from the bench between them, holding it gently between his palms. The blonde's fingers began to prickle. "So, Roxas who hates people, may I see what lies in your future?" Axel adopted a mock-mystical expression.

"Sure," Roxas muttered. He was beginning to regret agreeing to this hour. No, to be perfectly fair - and Roxas always was, internally - he was beginning to regret not regretting it. He should be incredibly ill-at-ease right now, having a conversation with a total stranger. But something inside him felt very comfortable with the redhead nearby.

"Let's see," Axel murmured, tracing a line on his palm. Roxas shivered. It felt as though his entire body was centered on the nerves in his hand. And did Axel really need to stroke up and down that many times to read his fortune?

"You will have a long life," Axel predicted. "You will control your own path. You will never suffer any great illness, and you will not have any children . . . but . . . Ah, thank you," he was interrupted by the waiter, who brought their drinks. Roxas took a long sip of his to calm the tingling in his stomach, and almost choked. Axel had ordered them wine. "You will go through several important changes in your life, nexi where you can choose to go one way or another. One of these," he tapped a point on Roxas' palm, "is very close. And - " now, for the first time, he looked up into Roxas' eyes. His lashes were almost as long as Namine's when brushed with mascara, the blonde noted, feeling rather disembodied. "And you will have a great love, if you should choose it."

"I have a choice?" Roxas asked, mesmerized.

"You always have a choice," Axel breathed, and for a long moment Roxas thought his hand was going to tighten and pull the blonde closer still. Then the fingers relaxed. Axel sat back. "Then again," he added, in a very different voice, "fortune-telling is an inexact science. It often seems that the very lines on a person's palm change according to the decisions they make. But this could just be due to different interpretations. For instance - "

Roxas wasn't listening. He was remembering the break in Axel's voice when he said the words "If you choose it." Like there was something Axel was leaving out. Something that had to do with the both of them, and a decision Roxas alone would have to make.


"You," Namine growled as the pair approached several conversations later, looking nearly feral with rage; "you are LATE!"

His sister screaming at him in the middle of the town square, right in front of someone who had the potential to be Roxas' first friend in Traverse Town? Not the blonde's idea of wonderful. Roxas backed away, waiting for his brain to recover from the shock so that he could come up with a good excuse.

Axel beat him to it. The tall redhead slipped past his companion, stopping right in front of Namine so that he could stare down into her eyes from up high. He raised one hand. It hovered near the girl's skin, barely brushing. "Namine, it was entirely my fault. I apologize. Roxas is quite complex to read, and I just . . . lost track of the time. Can you ever forgive me?" The upraised hand lightly touched the side of her face, just one finger, almost as to a lover.

Namine stuttered. She seemed to have suddenly become incapable of speech. Roxas inched around Axel so he could watch the redhead's face: Axel's eyes were intense, and vibrantly green, sparkling over a gentle smile. Something inside Roxas went "pang!" He grabbed his chest, confused. Was he having a heart attack?

Before the blonde could begin to hyperventilate, Axel dropped his hand from Namine's cheek and turned away. He looked towards Roxas and winked, conspiratorially, resuming his usual careless smile. The heart attack got worse. The teen swallowed hard.

"Roxas."

That odd black cloak shifted as Axel approached. He was headed straight for the blonde, and Roxas couldn't move: it was like being faced with a basilisk. The emerald eyes hypnotized him, turned him to stone. Axel was only a foot away. For a crazy second Roxas thought he was going to take him in his arms, or touch his cheek as he had Namine's. A tremor ran through his body.

But Axel didn't stop. The redhead brushed right by Roxas, so close that the fabric of his coat brushed Roxas' skin. A whisper drifted by the blonde's ear. "And that is how I get my customers."

Roxas turned, confused. He saw only Axel's retreating back. A white hand raised above hood of the cloak; Axel waved. His voice carried back to the siblings. "See you soon, blue-eyes!"


Roxas collapsed on his couch, exhausted. They had just barely made it home before five o' clock; Mom and Dad would be back any minute. That had been the longest journey of his life. Not only had they had to ask for directions several times after that bastard Axel abandoned them in Traverse Town Square, but Namine had not shut up the entire time about how GORGEOUS and absolutely MARVELOUS the redhead was. Roxas had wanted to snap her head off in annoyance. Usually he just tuned her out when she was talking about boys, but for some reason, her latching on to Axel really bugged him. Maybe it was because the bastard had ABANDONED them in TRAVERSE -

The doorbell rang, and Roxas jumped up. It had to be his parents. He was still covered in grime and dust, as if he had been wandering the streets all day, which he had, but they couldn't know that! He had to go take a shower, quick. Whichever parent it was could just use their key.

The bell came again, and Roxas groaned. It looked as though his dad had lost his key, again. The blonde moved slowly towards the door. He closed his eyes as he reached for the handle, bracing himself for the coming storm.

The wood squeaked as it swung open. Roxas couldn't see his dad's face, because he was keeping his eyes shut tight, but he could imagine the expression of surprised disapproval on the tanned skin. There was a rustle of clothing as his dad moved forward.

Then an unexpected pressure brushed Roxas' lips. His eyes flew open in surprise. Axel stood there, face incredibly close, green eyes burning into his.

"Hello, Roxas. Aren't you going to let me in?"


Fifteen minutes later, Axel was sitting on the Kirins' couch, drinking lemonade made by Namine. Said fourteen-year-old was hovering around the redhead, ready to serve in any way possible - and yes, she did mean any, if the smitten look in her eyes was any judge. Roxas was glad she was there. He didn't know if he could deal with being alone with Axel at this point, even though the man was not talking and Roxas hadn't looked at him since - um. Roxas was trying not to think about the um. He was trying to go to his happy place, which was a dark room somewhere far away. Questions kept invading his mind to make that harder. Why was Axel at his house? Why had he - Roxas used the version of events he had worked to convince himself of over the last quarter-hour - slipped and bumped his face into Roxas'? And what the hell had been the heat Roxas had felt all over his body after the - accident?

Any question but the first one would have been impossible to ask. The blonde broke the awkward silence, still not meeting Axel's eyes. "Axel, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you, of course." The older teen's voice sounded closer. Roxas' head shot up in fright, flashing to the thin angles of his face. No, Axel was not advancing on him again; he had just leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees. Roxas looked away before he could meet that emerald gaze. He could feel it burning on the skin of his neck.

"Axel, do you need anything?" Namine chirped, trying to turn the boy's attention back on her. Roxas heard the swish of long hair as Axel shook his head. Who kept his hair that long anyways? And how much gel did he have to put in it to make it spike out like that? Roxas was very proud of the fact that he used no hair products whatsoever, thank you. Just an hour in front of the mirror with several combs and a hairdryer.

It occurred to him that he had only met Axel that afternoon, despite how weirdly comfortable he felt around the redhead, as if they had known each other for a long time. He certainly didn't remember telling Axel his address in those hours. So how - "Axel, how did you know where we lived?"

"I told him!" Namine piped up, blushing deeply. "I figured . . . you know, if he might want to come around sometime . . . " and your phone number and the location of your bedroom too? Roxas wondered grumpily, then wondered why he was grumpy, and then got very confused. Again. Having Axel in the same room was playing havoc with his train of thought. Ever since Axel had slipped . . . and what was up with that answer, anyways? "To see you"? Did Axel already consider him that much of a friend? Before he could stop it, a small groan escaped from Roxas' lips; nothing made sense anymore.

There was a creaking sound from the other side of the room. This time, the blonde did not glance up, although he knew that Axel had gotten to his feet. Catlike footsteps approached Roxas' chair.

"Namine, I think I will have some more lemonade after all," Axel's voice purred from close by. Roxas heard his sister's "Sure!" trailing out of the room, until her noises disappeared into the kitchen. He didn't dare raise his eyes.

A large shadow dropped onto Roxas' knees. "Blue-eyes . . ." Axel murmured, voice oddly serious. "Roxas. Look at me."

The blonde hardly dared to raise his eyes. He didn't want to see the look on Axel's face - didn't want to disprove that illusion of "slipped and fell" he had invented at the door, or the thought that "friendship" was why Axel was here now. Roxas was a logical being. He found reasons for everything. But he just couldn't explain why his chest felt so warm when Axel was nearby, or why he kept wanting to touch Axel's pale skin. He hardly even knew the redhead. Why was it that having him nearby dispelled the desperate loneliness the blonde had felt that morning?

"Roxas." Axel's voice was a whisper. A gentle finger touched his chin. Reluctantly, Roxas raised his head.

Axel's face was inches away. His green eyes stared into the younger boy's, not blazing now but tender. Their depths seemed filled with a sadness, a loneliness. Suddenly much of Roxas' fear slipped away. It couldn't be that Axel felt the same way he did? Like any teenage boy, Roxas had dated before, but the fleeing romances and needy lusts had never seemed to fulfill him. He felt there was an essential divide between lust and love. The look in Axel's eyes - Axel, who had been subtly obvious about his feelings all afternoon, however much Roxas had tried to ignore it - was something more than just desire.

"Is it that we're both boys that bothers you?"

Roxas shook his head, violently. "I don't care about that. I just . . ." his voice was a bare whisper, his eyes fixed in the marble of Axel's neck rather than on those excruciating eyes. "I can't figure it out!"

Now Axel moved to crouch in front of him. "Mm, let me guess. No, look at me - " he raised Roxas' chin again to look into his eyes. "You don't understand. You think it's impossible to feel an attraction to someone else after only a few moments, or to want to know them better after only a few words. You don't believe in fortunes or in fate."

Roxas stared at him. It was as though Axel was reading his mind. "It's not - it's not logical!"

"Life isn't always, blue-eyes," the redhead sighed, reaching out to touch Roxas' cheek with the lightest of brushes. "Can you explain why you see the color blue as blue? Why neurons firing in your brain can create emotion? Or how light can be both a particle and a wave?" Roxas shook his head, more confused than ever. "Don't try to analyze everything. Just live for what you feel." The hand moved lower, stroking the planes of Roxas' neck. Axel was staring at him, emerald eyes intense. The tiny tattooes underneath them gave him an unearthly aspect. "Roxas, what do you feel?"

"I - " The blonde tried to think. His body felt as though it was on fire, stemming from the points at which that gaze and hand touched his skin. He felt -

"I feel good," Roxas whispered. He met Axel's eyes with his own, making him understand. The redhead gave the softest smile he had yet seen. Axel's hand shifted, tightened. Roxas met his face halfway, and their lips touched - briefly but sweetly, with an affection that Roxas did not even need to analyze. It felt as though a wave of tension was flowing out of the younger boy, to dissipate above him in the purified air.

Then a crash from behind made the two break apart. Roxas looked up. There was Namine, at the doorway of the kitchen, with lemonade all over her feet. There were Roxas' parents, right behind her, with the keys to the back door in their hands and astonished looks on their faces.

Roxas sighed, and took Axel's hand. This was going to take a lot of explaining. But - looking at the smile in Axel's eyes, feeling his heart relax - Roxas knew that his fortune was worth it.