Saix hated waking up in Axel's bed. He felt contaminated, like Axel's scented hair gel was sinking into every pore. He sat up and stared at the man he had been sleeping with (literally and figuratively). Axel's eyes were closed but he was awake; his muscles were taught and his breathing irregular. His eyelashes fluttered nervously, casting shadows on his too-white skin.
"I'm leaving," Saix announced. He stood, cracking the kinks from his neck. He looked for his clothes, a difficult task in the messy room.
"Already?" Axel drawled. He fumbled blindly for the cigarettes and lighter beside the bed. It took him several tries to light the cigarette, something that always irked Saix, who appreciated proficiency. Axel rose, still naked, the sheets trailing from his shoulders like the deformed wings of some monstrous bird.
He crossed to the floor-to-ceiling windows, throwing back the dusty blinds. Like everything in the room they were musty and disused. Outside, sunlight played off the white walls of the buildings in Oblivion District. As usual, there was no one out on the streets. "Good morning, star shine," Axel grinned. "The earth says hello!"
Saix, buttoning his shirt, ignored him. "Yes. Now." He didn't owe Axel anything, let alone an explanation.
Axel took a long drag of his cigarette. "You see, Saix. This is why I hate to see you go. You have such a charming and friendly personality."
"Fuck you," Saix deadpanned and Axel laughed. He always did, and Saix never seemed to get the joke.
Axel leaned out of the window and flicked his cigarette into the street. "Well, fuck. It's the big man himself." Saix pushed past Axel and glanced down. Xemnas's sleek black car stalled in neutral outside Axel's building.
Saix pulled on his jacket and wrenched open the door. The rusty hinges shrieked in protest. "Marluxia isn't providing for you very well," he remarked.
"I get by. Besides, wasn't it your Xemnas who assigned me to work under Marluxia in this crapfest of a district?" Axel eyed him expectantly while trying to light another cigarette.
Saix wasn't in the mood to argue fine points and he hadn't miss Axel's loaded your. "Put some pants on, Axel. And take a shower. You stink."
_ _ _ _ _
Xemnas was waiting in the backseat of the car when Saix slid in. The dark leather interior was soothing after the stark whiteness of Oblivion. Xemnas waved a gloved hand at the chauffer to drive. "How did it go?" he asked as soon as they began moving.
"As well as can be expected, sir. According to Axel, Marluxia is considering an outright revolt." Saix lowered his eyes and tried not to fidget under Xemans's gaze. Spying (or information gathering, as Xemnas more delicately put it) left a bad taste in his mouth. It was a coward's weapon. Cheating.
But Saix's debt to Xemnas was one he could never repay. Even Axel's sarcasm and unwanted intimacies were a small price to pay form the man to whom Saix owed his life.
"Did Marluxia officially ask Axel to join this plot?" Xemnas leaned forward intently. Saix glanced down, hating the feeling of uselessness that often overwhelmed him. "I don't know, sir," he said softly, "Axel didn't say."
Xemnas seemed to realize how Saix felt (Xemnas always knew) because he put a hand on his shoulder. "Saix." He said nothing, staring at Saix who remained perfectly still under the scrutiny. "You may. give me a complete report when we are in Never Was." Xemnas paused for a moment and sat back, tapping the leather armrest with impatient fingers.
"We were to rule this city together, Marluxia and I. But Marluxia grew impatient quickly. He desired his own domain. I compromised and gave him Oblivion, on the condition that I was to remain his overlord. The position was meant for another…" Xemnas leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, for such a long time that Saix thought he might have fallen asleep.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Saix?"
"Nothing."
They rode the rest of the way in silence.
_ _ _ _ _
Axel waited until the sleek black town car was out of sight before flipping open his cell phone.
"Hey, Mar." Axel scowled, "Okay, Marluxia, whatever. Do you still want to know what he said?"
_ _ _ _ _
Roxas shifted from foot to foot, staring longingly at the ice cream bar in the vending machine. He counted the coins in his hand as if they could become a dollar fifty if he wished hard enough. Hayner yanked his arm impatiently.
"C'mon, Roxas. Let's go play struggle or something. You know, so I can finally get good enough to make the team?" Roxas surrendered to the unceasing tugging and let Hayner drag him away from his precious ice cream.
"Y'know, you could get on the team. Like that." Hayner snapped his fingers, or tried to, frowning when his fingers didn't obey him.
Roxas nodded distantly. He could make the struggle team, even the blitzball team if he really wanted to. But Roxas didn't want to. What Roxas wanted was to blend in. You couldn't do that if you were the star of the blitzball team. No, Roxas chose to be on the periphery, in sports and life.
"Earth to Roxas. Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" Roxas shrugged sheeplishly, "Sorry. What?"
Hayner rooted through piles of gym equipment, giving struggle bats experimental swings. Namine's totally staring at you. She digs you, man."
Roxas shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed across the field at Namine, her familiar blue-clad shadow hovering behind her.
Namine wasn't on any teams. In fact, Roxas didn't think he had ever seen her play sports once. She was pretty, he supposed, with hair like honey and sunlight. But Namine wasn't particularly noticeable except for one thing; she had a bodyguard. A blue-suited man with long, dark hair followed her everywhere she went. No wonder she didn't have any friends.
But then Hayner threw him a struggle bat and Roxas forgot all about Namine, which wasn't surprising really. People forgot Namine, even herself.