Roxas is told to wear his finest clothes even though he isn't going to be presenting himself to the Fire Lord as Sora will be. The Avatar's brother can't make the Northern Water Tribe look like heathens. The Avatar's brother can't damage the potential power that could come from training with the Fire Lord's own son. He's heard it all. Roxas rolls his eyes at the thought, tugs on the sleeves of his jacket, pulls at a loose thread. The Fire Nation palace is so much warmer than expected, and he's sweating through the layers of his clothes, which were fairly light to begin with.
Sora sends him an encouraging smile—"The blue of your tunic really brings out the color of your eyes!" he exclaimed, as though his eyes and outfit aren't also blue, but Roxas had smiled anyway, because you can't not smile when Sora's smiling—though he is forced to stand still with his mentors and tutors all gathered around him. Roxas stands outside of this semicircle, behind everyone so he is unseen, but still under the watchful gaze of one of the nicer bending masters.
(He is there to satisfy his own curiosity, really. He is allowed only because Sora wants him there, but he went because his fingers itch to know what it means to be in control, his body aches to move as the benders move. And Sora relates to that, more than anyone.)
The palace is decorated in golds and reds, draperies decorated with the royal emblem, portraits of the previous heads of the royal family. Their guide is pleased to point out all of these little details, the intricate designs of the metal on the walls, the statue melted halfway due to a previous Fire Nation Avatar's temper, the smell of burnt linens ("A story for another time! Or just ask the prince!") The ceilings are so high, and made of glass so the reds and oranges of the sun's setting light illuminate them.
Roxas feels out of place, an imposter in Water Tribe fineries wandering around.
"Stop looking so serious!" Sora exclaims, jolting Roxas out of his thoughts. He breaks the odd formation of their traveling companions and moves toward Roxas, ready for a hug. "It's not that big of a deal!"
Roxas feels the watchful (angry) eyes of Sora's masters burning through him. He's accustomed to their glaring. "It's a fancy place," he offers, shrugging a little but falling into Sora's hug. They're both sweating too much, so the hug isn't very comfortable, but he stays anyway, they both need this. "You're only a couple elements away from becoming a true master."
"Fire's supposed to be the hardest one, though!" Sora whines, squeezing Roxas tighter. "I don't know how yo—"
"Ahem!" One of the tutors clears his throat, narrows his eyes. Roxas frowns and brings his gaze to the floor. He feels even warmer than before, and his clenched fists burn.
I don't know how I'm doing it either!
Their palace guide turns and eyes everyone warily. Roxas glares back.
Sora picks up the change in mood and sighs dramatically. He pulls away from hugging Roxas (they both wince at how sticky it feels) and announces, "I guess I'm too much of a Waterbender at heart!"
With practiced grace, he shifts his stance and pulls water from the air and to his waiting hands. The sudden dryness of the air makes Roxas start coughing, but he forces the coughs to subside. After making sure Roxas isn't coughing anymore, Sora sends him an exaggerated wink before splashing the water at the group of trainers walking with them.
Their spluttering brings a small smile to Roxas's lips, and his body temperature seems to decrease at the calm Sora brings. He unclenches his fists and rubs his sweaty palms on his leggings.
It's fine, it's fine, everything's fine. . .
"You have the attitude of an Air Nomad sometimes, young Sora!" exclaims one of the women who'd been hit.
"Yeah!" Sora grabs Roxas's hand and runs forward with him. Roxas stumbles in surprise but lets himself be led. Anything would be better than with Sora's judgmental tutors, the bending masters Roxas so despises. "Guess so!" They trip a little as they run away, the indignant gasps and footsteps fading behind them.
They're running and running and running; it feels like they're not even in a foreign land, they're running free, lungs burning and sides aching. Maybe they could keep running, maybe if they run they can run away from the responsibility Sora was born into, maybe they could run from the problems Roxas has caused, maybe they could just—
Roxas doesn't know how they know where they're going, but in what feels like seconds they're slamming into the door to the throne room. Well, Sora stops in time, Roxas smacks into Sora, and they both fall into the door.
"Avatar?" The guards regard him with slight suspicion, but Sora smiles and straightens his posture with ease. With a smile from Sora, everyone relaxes, especially Roxas.
"Please. . . have the bending masters wait for me outside," Sora says, words only a little colored by his breathless panting. Roxas is breathless as well, coughing a little but not enough to cause worry. "My brother and I will be meeting with the royal family alone."
"Avatar Sora," one starts. Maybe he's wondering what happened to their guide, maybe he's wondering why Roxas is with the Avatar.
The other guard nods. "As expected. Your privacy will be maintained, so worry not. The Fire Lord does not like when people listen or interfere with her privacy."
"Uhhh, okay!" Sora flashes them both a grin and a thumbs up. Roxas hears footsteps approaching and looks to Sora, who wraps his arm around Roxas's shoulder. "We'll be going in now!"
"Did you plan this?" Roxas grumbles as they walk through the door. He hadn't been planning to be seen today.
Sora laughs and laughs and laughs, stretching his arms and pulling them back to relax his head in his palms. He is every bit the Avatar that will bring peace and stability to the world, in that moment, and Roxas feels immense relief and even hope. Maybe, just maybe, Sora can fix everything.
.
When Sora's Earthbending instructors had declared him ready to move to the Fire Nation, Roxas had initially been excited at the prospect. The Earthbenders were very straightforward in their desire for Sora to master Earth in all forms, and his inability to enter the Avatar state had been something they kept taunting him for and trying to remedy through physical force. Sora didn't handle their methods too well, and Roxas found himself in the middle of a scheme to force Sora into the Avatar state.
It had backfired so spectacularly (the only people who were supposed to know no longer had the means of telling anyone, but now. . .), Roxas wonders how Sora managed to convince the Earth Kingdom writers to not report about what had happened. When they'd taken a ship to the Fire Nation and the bending masters had scolded them for the incident, Roxas lost his hope in the Fire prince. There was no way one person would be able to change anything.
But Roxas knows how much Sora is hoping for his Firebending teacher to fix him. Sora wants to enter the Avatar state, but he also wants to learn control—It's burning! Spirits! The boat's burning, Sora! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know I don't know what I'm—Sora! Please, I'm so, so sorry!—more than anything.
.
The Fire Lord's face is kind when she introduces herself, but she sits on an elevated throne shadowed by flames, and the kindness seems to evaporate. "The prince," she pauses, looks to a figure sitting beside the throne, "will be your teacher, Avatar."
The prince is tall, towering over everyone when he brings himself to full height. He takes a step toward them, hopping off the platform with the throne, a small smirk on his lips as he regards the two Water Tribe boys. His gaze pauses for the briefest moment on Roxas—Roxas lets out a breath and brings his gaze to meet those green, green eyes—before sweeping past him and landing on Sora.
"So you're the Avatar," he says, and it's hard to tell if he's mocking the fact or just making a statement. His tone commands attention, and Roxas can't tear his eyes away. The prince is so close to them, but Roxas doesn't feel close enough. "So pleased to meet you."
"This is Axel, second in line to the throne, esteemed prince of the Fire Nation." The prince laughs, and it sounds bitter. He pulls himself back up to stand near the throne. "His older brother cannot be here to welcome you, unfortunately, so Prince Axel will have to suffice."
Prince Axel waves a hand, rolling his eyes. He has a practiced nonchalance about him, and it doesn't stop Roxas from wanting to know more. "What an intro!"
"You should've heard what they said for me in the Earth Kingdom!" Sora exclaims.
"Yeah? Are they assholes there, too?" The Fire Lord makes a disappointed sound, but Sora laughs, smiling at Roxas and then at Axel.
"You have no idea."
.
The Fire Lord is gone for several minutes before one of them says something.
Axel's eyes glow bright green, toxic green, lighting up brighter as his smile widens (as his gaze takes in Sora's glowing presence). Roxas feels his heart rate pick up at the sight, and he sucks in a breath, looking away to steady himself. He wants to melt into the ground, wants to fall into Axel, wants to run from the growing warmth of the room, wants to stay where he is and just want.
"You ready to train with a master?" He quirks an eyebrow as Sora nods enthusiastically, and Roxas watches them both. He wets his lips, means to say something, says nothing. Fire lights his clenching fists, and he shakes himself from his jealousy. He moves his hands behind his back and glares at the floor.
"Yeah!" Sora exclaims quickly. Too quickly. Shit. He can't have—
"Interesting," Axel says. Just hearing Axel talk makes Roxas look up again. Axel's smirking at him, and Roxas feels his lips turn upward in a dumb smile. He doesn't know what to say, but he wants to say something.
"I. . ."
(stupid, stupid, stupid, you're so stupid)
"What's interesting?" Sora interrupts, moving to grab Roxas's shoulder. The stupid look falls from Roxas's face.
Fuck, fuck, how did he notice? I thought it was subtle, I couldn't control it, I, I. . .
Axel's grin seems the slightest bit scary (devious, beautiful) and then flames rise around him. He raises a hand, palm up, and curls his fingers. "My friend Lexaeus told me something interesting." The name doesn't sound very familiar to Roxas, but he supposes everything about the Avatar could be considered interesting. He kind of wishes he could be interesting to Axel, too. "I hope he was right."
Sora laughs, but it's forced and uncomfortable, and Roxas hates that he makes Sora feel like this, he always makes Sora feel like this. He feels his fists clenching again and he quickly uncurls his fingers and tries to hug his brother. "Sora."
"You know, I'll be nice and give you some warning," Axel announces, pulling Roxas from his thoughts.
"What?"
"Warning!" And then Axel throws a ball of fire at them.
Roxas feels himself being shoved—"Sora!"—and then he lands on the floor. Sora, meanwhile, rolls out of the path of the fireball as Axel summons another. With a glare, Sora grounds his stance and pulls the earth from under his feet, pulling solid rock from the floor to act as a barrier for him to crouch behind. Axel's first fireball leaves a trail of fire behind it, reducing the area of fighting space they have in the room.
"What are you doing?" Sora shouts, and he smashes his foot against the ground and raises his hands, erecting another earth wall in front of Roxas. Dust scatters with the smoke from Axel's fire, and it's difficult to see. Roxas chokes on the air. Sora only has enough skill in two elements at this point, and nothing has been able to trigger the Avatar state for Sora, not even when their parents—
He can't think of any reason for Axel to react this way. Axel isn't even really fighting, he's standing in one place and throwing fireballs at them. (This makes Roxas draw in a breath at the thought of actually having to fight Axel, what would it be like, the adrenaline, the power, the beauty of dancing flames. . .)
Roxas doesn't know where he's supposed to go or what he's expected to do (and not do) in this fight. He's trying to catch his breath but coughing as smoke fills the room. It feels like he's hacking his lungs out, there's so much dust. It's the Earth Kingdom all over again, but this time Roxas isn't going to fall for it, he's not going to mess up, he's not going to ruin things for Sora.
He peeks around the rock wall to survey his surroundings. Sora has a large rock ready to throw at Axel, but he won't throw it unless he has to, he's not the violent type, Axel must have known that already, and Roxas is just in the way, he's always just in the way. He chokes on the dry air.
(Axel is in his element, eyes glowing and smirk wide and proud. The flames surrounding him make Roxas think he was meant to stand there, tall and glowing like a bright fire all his own.)
Did the Fire Lord plan for this? Is that why she'd left so quickly? Does Axel want to hurt Sora?
Axel's and Roxas's eyes meet, and everything pauses for a mere moment: Roxas feels even warmer (stupid, stupid, stupid), the heat from the room increases steadily, Axel's next fireball glows blue. It's getting larger and larger, and it takes a moment for Roxas to realize that it's moving toward him.
It's. . . It's moving toward him!
He jumps out of the way just in time, as the fire makes Sora's earth wall protection crumble, but the flames are so close, the heat causes him to stumble face first into one of the columns surrounding the room for decoration. His nose aches and his palms are scratched. Roxas hisses as he adjusts his position to try to see what's happening. He's sweating from the heat of the fire, which is spreading quickly. "Sora," Roxas lets out a heavy breath, "can I. . ." He coughs some more, eyes watering.
"Don't hurt him!" Sora shouts, and he's throwing large clumps of earth at Axel, who dodges most of them but also throws fire of his own. Dust and smoke make it difficult to see, but the fire glows bright. The air is too dry for Sora to pull water out of it, limiting Sora's ammunition to the earth, unless Sora can suddenly control fire.
Axel looks right into Roxas's eyes and forms another fireball. "This one's for you, Water Tribe boy."
Roxas stares forward (at the fireball heading in his direction, why is the prince aiming at him, why) without feeling the impact of the mound of earth that smashes into his side and shoves him out of the way. Axel's eyes were on him the entire time and as Roxas is forced off of the fireball's path, he sees that Sora managed a hit on Axel as well. He and Axel fall at the same time.
"How do you like that?" Sora shouts, throwing another large earth ball at Axel, who both rolls away and throws a blast of fire that disintegrates the rock aimed at him. The ground quakes at the impact and the fires continue to burn, but Sora is oblivious to all but how he is finally gaining the upper hand.
Roxas smiles a little, hissing at the definite bruise forming on his body as he tries to stand. He's sweating more than he's ever done, and he regrets the thick jacket over his blue tunic, slightly singed from the path left by Axel's fireballs, coated in dirt and dust. "Is it over?" He coughs and coughs, pulling up the neckline of his tunic to try and filter out the dust and smoke he's breathing.
Sora prepares another mound of earth, but this one has a pointed end meant to inflict damage.
"Congrats, Avatar," Axel declares just as the earth weapon is about to hit him, "you've passed!"
Sora pauses, though his earth weapon is still poised to strike.
"Is this some kind of stupid training exercise?" Roxas demands in realization, hating the scratchy way his voice sounds. He swallows back the urge to cough as the dust begins to settle. The air is so dry, it's difficult.
"Wait, seriously?"
Axel throws his head back and laughs. His laugh makes Roxas shiver despite the heat; he wants to hear Axel laugh again. "Why not?"
"Really?" Sora surveys the damage of the throne room skeptically. He lowers the earth he'd summoned but makes no moves to put out the fires Axel started. "But—" Axel isn't attempting to hurt them anymore, but Roxas is still wary and confused. (And his body aches, thanks to Sora.) "Then who just beasted that training exercise?"
"Yeah, yeah," Axel grumbles as he stands.
"Sora!" Roxas groans, and Sora rushes over, extending his hand to help. He coughs a little, but not as strongly as he has before, so Sora doesn't need to worry. "You didn't have to hit me."
"You were just standing there!" Sora smiles sheepishly. "It worked, didn't it? I'll heal any bruises later!" Despite the nonchalance of his words, he's rubbing Roxas's back in a soothing way.
"Does that extend to me?" Axel interrupts, brushes dust off of his clothes, hops down from the raised platform where the Fire Lord had resided with him earlier.
"No." Sora wraps his arm protectively around Roxas's shoulders, which Roxas allows because he's too tired to shove Sora away. "Why'd you have to go after Roxas, Axel?" Sora says something else afterward, but Roxas is too busy staring.
Axel is really, really tall, and really, really attractive. Roxas swallows and tries to make it less obvious that he's staring (he has to tilt his head upward to get the full picture, there's no way he isn't obvious), but Axel's kind of looking at him too and wow Axel's eyes are so green it looks amazing with how red his hair is—
"Roxas, huh?" Roxas's legs feel weak. "I thought I'd see some fire on your end." Axel shrugs and smirks, looking not even a little tired from whatever it was that had just happened. But Roxas's heart is racing and, fuck, Sora can probably feel how nervous Roxas is at that moment. (Sora's a bit dense, so he might not realize why, but fuck if Roxas is going to let it get that far.)
"Don't do that again," Sora says, hugging Roxas closer.
"It seemed like a good idea."
Sora stomps his foot so the earth under Axel's feet shifts, and Axel stumbles, almost falling before he manages to catch himself.
"Bad idea then, got it." He raises his hands in mock surrender. "I thought he'd defend himself."
Roxas starts to say something but ends up coughing instead at the dust Sora and Axel have managed to stir. He hates proving points like that without meaning to. I'm not weak.
Sora pouts. "Yeah, well, I didn't summon any fire. Again."
Axel places a hand on Sora's shoulder with mock sympathy. "There, there. I didn't see the fire I wanted to see, but," he meets Roxas's gaze again, green eyes shining bright as Roxas finally gives in and lets Sora support his weight ("Roxas? Do you need me to—"), "I'm sure that can change."
.
"Whoa! How are you. . ." The slightest bit of envy. Excitement. Awe. "I thought you didn't want. . ."
"I don't, but. . ."
"What are you doing?" Fury. Frustration. A wrist grabbed too tight, squeezed too hard, twisted away. "What's this again? You could cause so much damage, if you melt this home, if you wield that destruction in our Tribe you, you're no better than the dark spirit that—"
"It wasn't him!" Panic. Fear. "I swear, he didn't—"
A smirk, slowly stretching wide. "Of course. Just like he didn't burn yo—"
.
Roxas and Sora are given a nice bedroom with an adjoining bathroom to share for the duration of Sora's training. Technically, the room is only for the Avatar, and Roxas along with Sora's bending masters are meant to stay in a nearby visitor house, but Sora's far too kind, and he knows how uncomfortable the tutors make Roxas feel. To be fair, though, it's been public knowledge how much the Waterbenders dislike Roxas. Despite how much Roxas now hates the Earth Kingdom, the people there were much nicer. Roxas hopes he can see a few of them (Hayner, Pence, and Olette) again.
Apparently, everyone had been aware of Axel's plan to throw fireballs at them (which was why the tutors were supposed to be the ones with Sora when he met the Fire Lord, not Roxas). When they'd left the throne room, the bending masters were quick to run to Sora and check for injury. The Fire Lord was not informed, though, and she had been livid at the destruction of the throne room. Axel had laughed about it.
"The perks of being the Avatar," Sora declares with a wink, stretching then folding his arms back so he could rest the back of his head in his hands. He falls back and plops onto the bed, staying in the same position.
Roxas snorts, then frowns and touches his neck. His throat is still sore from the coughing fit that Sora's fight with Axel caused, and Sora's healing abilities only extend so far. Roxas no longer has the bruises and scrapes, but Sora can't heal what he can't see, and Sora hadn't been taught the finer details of healing because the Northern Water Tribe had strict rules about teaching men how to heal. Sora only knows what Kairi had been able to teach him. "Don't let Kairi hear you say that."
"You suck, Roxas!"
"Oh, thanks."
Sora sits up on the bed. "Do you think she gets my letters okay?"
"I don't know how messenger hawks work," Roxas says, thinking, "but if you haven't gotten any angry letters back, that's probably a good sign."
(Roxas hopes Xion gets his letters okay, and he hopes the lack of response is a good sign.)
"I don't just want it to be no letters!" Sora whines.
"How are the hawks supposed to find us if we keep moving?"
Sora ignores this. "I just want to hear how the tribe's doing"—of course;Roxas grits his teeth—"and how she's faring and if she's heard from Riku. . ."
Roxas sighs. Part of the reason Sora agreed to travel around the world to learn to master the elements rather than sending for the masters to come to the Water Tribe was because of Riku. When it had been made public that Sora was the Avatar, Riku had begun acting differently. Roxas had never been close enough friends with Riku to recognize the difference, and he'd been dealing with his own problems, but eventually even Roxas had begun to notice. Sora had been worrying for a while before he finally talked to Roxas about it—they didn't tend to share things with each other, not since Roxas had caused the accident—and by then, Riku had left the tribe entirely.
Sora and Kairi had become closer friends in Riku's absence, but they both missed their friend too much. When the opportunity came to leave, Sora took it, and Roxas joined him.
"Well, he wasn't in the Earth Kingdom," Roxas says at last, when he and Sora have shaken their thoughts away. Sora perks up a little.
"Yeah!"
"And if he was, he's heard that we were there," Roxas adds, bitterness obvious. Everyone must've at least heard rumors about what happened.
"You're right." Sora smiles, bright enough that Roxas forces his thoughts of the incident away and manages a small smile. "We're going to find Riku and we're all going home together and it'll be like before."
Roxas doesn't know what he'll do when they have to go back to the Northern Water Tribe. He doesn't want to go back (except to see Xion) but he has nowhere else to go.
Sora must sense Roxas's mood falling because he exclaims quickly, "Let's do something fun! Let's explore the palace!"
There probably isn't much to see since they had that tour earlier in the day with that palace guide, but the idea of running into Axel again makes Roxas's heart skip a beat. The guest quarters are probably far from where the royals stay, but it could be decent information to know.
"Define explore."
"Snoop." Sora wiggles his eyebrows.
"Like at home?"
"And like in the Earth Kingdom!"
"We could get in trouble," Roxas says, but his smile is more genuine this time.
"I don't think the prince would care. Besides," Sora's smile stretches into a grin (a grin Roxas ends up mirroring, a small reminder that they were twins), "we need to get back at him for earlier."
.
"This says Larxene was in the third Earth capital!"
"But isn't she the daughter of one of the Fire Nation governors?"
"And apparently the Earth Kingdom sent someone named Lexaeus back to the Fire Nation?"
"D'you think Riku might be involved? He's a Water Tribe prince. . ."
"Did you hear that?"
"Put everything back, I think they might be coming for me!"
"Can't have you miss your Earthbending lesson."
Notes:
This is my first Kingdom Hearts fic and my first fic in a long time, so I hope you like it!
I don't plan for this to be long, maybe 7 chapters at most, but we'll see where this goes. I have the major plot points already planned out, so this is going somewhere, I promise. Let me know what you think! I worry they're not very in-character, and I have issues with foreshadowing so I know a lot of things must be either really obvious or really confusing, so ask if you have questions or criticisms.
Thank you for reading!