Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of Squareenix and Disney.

Much Too Late

The first thought in his mind when he wakes up is this:

It's cold.

Roxas finds it eerie, almost; the feeling is not so much the opposite of warmth as it is the absence of something his body remembers to be there.

It makes him shiver.

It is eerie, almost, because although he can't really remember ever being otherwise, the inexplicable sense of loss still lingers in his chest, persistently reminding him of what's missing. It bugs him, constantly, makes focusing too difficult a task when the distraction is always so close, always there.

This is before he meets Axel.

Or, to be more precise, before he starts seeing Axel as Axel instead of just Axel.

When they're up on the clock tower, when Roxas is having ice cream with him (and her) and they're laughing together over the silliest things, it stops being so terribly hollow and he can look past the feeling and concentrate on other things.

Then it's not so bad.

But soon, much too soon, they fight, and there is Axel looking angry and Roxas leaving (and she's already long gone) and Axel looking desperate and Axel helping Sora fight off the Dusks and then Axel—

And then he—


When he faces Sora the second time, everything makes sense. The connection between them has always been there. Always. Roxas can feel it, this close to him. He understands now, why Axel had lied to him (why she had left) and he wishes he had understood then.

But it's too late to regret, too late to apologise. All he has is the present; everything he has depends on Sora, and Roxas must take what he can get.

So, he reaches out and gives his heart one little push—

—and suddenly, it's warm again.