It's finally spring! I think that's about the only thing exciting that's happened to me so far in life. March just drags on and on ... and on.

Then I got addicted to Loveless, and anyone who likes shounen-ai would probably enjoy that series. So after seeing that, I decided that this fic was in for an update.

And the Naruto 347 chapter made me laugh hysterically. SasukexSai. Psh. xD

Roxas POV! Enter Demyx. We all love Demyx.


"Alone together in the darkness,
I learned the meaning of your tears.
I've taken a step towards my destination,
but I don't want to hurt anyone.

Today, the wind that blows over the ocean
Once again heads unhesitatingly towards tomorrow.
So why can't my heart begin to move?
What destiny awaits me?"

-- Takahashi Hitomi "Aozara no Namida"

Web of Night

Chapter 2

"R-Roxas? Is that you?" Bright blue eyes gaped at me in astonishment. Demyx. I remembered him. Number 9, the Melodious Nocturne. Act smooth, Roxas.

"Um... yeah. Listen, Axel, he's... hurt..." I stuttered. Smooth. I was suddenly gratefulthat the red-head was so skinny. He had passed out a block away from the castle and, at the moment, I was the only thing holding him up and I was wiped out from the fight with Riku... or Ansem... or whoever he was.

Demyx now turned his shocked eyes to the unconscious man slumped against me. I couldn't help but sigh tiredly, eyeing the mullet on the back of his head. I found it hard to believe that he still had that.

"Oh my god, you're right! What happened?" He wailed, running forward to grab Axel's other arm and pull it around his shoulder. We slowly started walking up the hallway into the heart of the castle. An eerie quiet echoed our footsteps. It was hollow. How fitting for nobodies.

At Demyx's question, I hesitated. He wasn't asking about why I had left the Organization, nor were any of the other numbers coming out, weapons flying. In other words, I wasn't dead yet like I was supposed to be. Had Axel not told them that I had left? Was my desertion still unknown? "Um... it's a long story, Demyx. How about we just get him up to his room first?"

The blonde nodded solemnly, looking serious for maybe a brief second before grinning again and launching into a babble fest. "Yeah, definitely! But I'm so glad you're here and that Axel managed to get you away from that DiZ guy! The Superior was seriously freaking out when he found out that you had been kidnapped! We all were, really. Then he sends Axel after you, only to find out that you had lost your memories! You should've seen Axel, he was totally bummed!"

So that's why I wasn't being executed on the spot. "I remember now, it's ok." I said softly, looking around as we walked, letting the memories flood my mind.

"I know! I'm so happy! I'm glad you're back, Roxas, I was so worried!' Demyx said solemnly, hefting Axel's weight slightly. The shifting red hair tickled my ear but I said nothing. Still, no one came out to meet us. The halls were barren, but this didn't seem to bother the sitar-player.

"Where is everyone?" I finally asked, unable to stand the emptiness any longer.

"It's the middle of the night, Roxas! Everyone's asleep. I was just going to bed when I found you two... I kinda lost track of the time playing my sitar..."

Something that I hadn't remembered was obviously Demyx's ability to chatter nonstop. We still had a staircase to ascend, then another hallway, and we would be in the living quarters of the castle. The very fact that I recalled that cheered me up a little, at least. I left the tiny fraction of happiness to swirl around in my head, along with the worry about Axel, exhaustion, and annoyance from Demyx.

Still... I was home. The thought wouldn't leave my mind. I was back where I at least could belong. I was back with Axel, Demyx... hell, even Saïx's face would be nice to see right now. Maybe.

So why couldn't I get my mind off Axel? Naminè had said we were best friends, but something seemed off about that. The problem with this whole memory-remembrance thing was that I had only recalled the general idea of my previous life. Yes, I knew who Demyx was, and I could still find my way around The World That Never Was, but the details were still missing. I couldn't remember the songs that Demyx liked to play at dinner or what I had done in my spare time here. It was frustrating, akin to reading a book with half the pages missing.

By the time I was done mentally ranting, Demyx and I had reached the wing of the Castle Oblivion where we lived. Naturally, it was in numerical order, starting with number 2. Xemnas, as I could recall, didn't live in the same wing as the rest of us. So number 8 was another few moments of walking. That didn't stop me from glancing at every door we passed. 2 was Xigbar. The Magic Bullet Shooter. Didn't he have an eye patch or something?

We continued walking, Demyx having fallen strangely silent. Number 3, Xaldin. Long hair, completely obsessed with pointy things. It was only when the fourth door was passed that a cold feeling passed my heart (what heart?) and another recollection snapped into its rightful place. The Chilly Academic, Vexen. The number had been covered with a white cloth. Vexen had been killed by Axel himself. A shiver ran through my body.

Suddenly losing the urge to name the rest of the members, I kept my head down the rest of the way. I barely even noticed when Demyx and I came to a stop, or how Axel became a great deal heavier. The blonde had let go of him to open the door, labeled clearly with a VIII.

The exhaustion hit me again and my knees began to quiver with the weight of Axel pulling me down. Demyx returned quickly and we walked in together.

The room was just as I recalled it, which was surprising, both that it was the same and that I actually remembered. With ridiculously high ceilings, the entire room would have been a sterile, marble white color. The large bed to the left had the snowy sheets, matching the colorless furniture and door leading to the private bathroom. Axel, however, had decided to really make the room his own. The perfect paleness was marred with scorch and burn marks all over the place. I didn't recall those lovely additions.

The only other color in the room came from a large window at the far wall, revealing a wide view of the Worls That Never Was.

"He did that after you had left." Demyx whispered as we lay the red-head down on his bedHe carefully brushed off a bit of ash from the nearby bedside lamp with a slender hand before turning his eyes back to me. "Just let Axel sleep it off, he'll be fine soon. I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning. 'Night, Roxas. Good to have you back."

I managed a weak smile, watching as the blonde turned and left. Sleep would probably be a good idea now. Pulling up a nearby chair, I sat down beside Axel's bed, watching him.

Good idea or not, I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Instead, I settled back in my seat, watching the steady rise and fall of Axel's chest. Had he really just blasted half his room with flames, just because I had left?

I couldn't understand why. If we were best friends, it wasn't that heart-wrenching, was it?

I found myself staring. He really did look terrible. Beat-up, tired, and worn out. Axel's usually vibrant, ruby hair was dulled and slightly matted. Still, even through so much, it managed to remain spiked. I kept going, stopping at the tattoos on his cheeks. What did they stand for? Once again, I felt the nagging feeling that I knew... but just couldn't remember.

It was growing irritating. I sighed, pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes. Why couldn't I just get the rest of those memories out? Something was holding them back, somewhere in a secluded part of my head. Like a giant boulder at the top of a hill, with that little annoying pebble underneath it that kept it at bay. I felt like screaming. I wanted to know. Not just the general, big picture. I wanted to know and remember everything.

Like what Axel really meant to me.

I looked up again, making sure that he was still breathing. How did someone so fierce look so peaceful when he slept? I smiled gently, reaching out to run a hand through his hair gently. Despite its ragged appearance, it was still as soft as I... remembered it?

I'm not sure how long I sat there, idly raking my fingers through Axel's hair and musing about my missing memories, but it wasn't the best time to go into auto-pilot.

Axel unexpectedly grinned, eyes opening to reveal his bright, green irises. I didn't even notice until he spoke, "Still as cute as ever, aren't you, Roxas?"

I jumped, hurriedly pulling away my hands and looking away. "I, uh... um... wait, cute? I'm not cute!"

A slight pout passed over his face as soon as my fingers tore away from his hands. "Aw, you stopped..."

What was he saying? Flabbergasted, I changed subjects, getting right to the point. "H-how are you feeling?" I asked, leaning forward and propping my hands on the edge of the bed.

I was met with a wide, Cheshire cat smile. "Better, now that you're here."

An unexpected flutter passed through my stomach. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're adorable. That's what."

I flushed, half in anger, half in unexpected pleasure. Now wasn't the time for that. I wanted some answers. "Why doesn't anyone know that I left the Organization? I should be dead now and you know it."

He had seen the questions coming. Closing his eyes, he stayed silent for a brief moment before speaking, "I didn't tell them. I couldn't. Probably because I couldn't accept the fact myself."

"So they just think that I was kidnapped?" I asked, pulling my chair closer.

"That's right."

I couldn't believe it. "But why?"

"Stupid question..." Axel chucked softly, shaking his head. "C'mere."

The idiot suddenly grabbed my wrists, pulling me into bed next to him and instantly trapping me by enfolding me into his arms. I yelped as I was dragged in, then stiffened, opening my eyes to see that I was pressed against his chest. This was bad. This was awkward. I tried to struggle and pull away, but the feeling of safety and comfort wouldn't shake off. My body was relaxing, and I could do nothing to stop it. Axel seemed to sense it, too, as he tiredly nuzzled my hair.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Wh-what?" I mentally scolded myself for starting to stutter again.

"While I was sleeping. I swear, I've never seen you so immersed before." Axel was practically purring.

I don't know why I said it, but the words had tumbled out of my mouth before I could even stop. "I was thinking about you."

He only laughed, leaning down to let his lips brush over my ear. I didn't notice him pulling me closer, or how his legs had tangled with mine. My entire body seemed to have shut down. Helpless.

"Oh, really? Nothing inappropriate, I hope."

He didn't just say that. He was half-dead, and he still had time to make sexual innuendo jokes? No. No. Crap. A flood of sudden heat rushed through my body. Especially in my lower areas. Not good. I finally found myself pushing away, angrily ignoring the blush spreading across my cheeks. "No! Why would I be doing that?"

Slapping away his hands, I stumbled out of the bed and stormed to the door.

"You should just get some rest, Axel." At the last moment, I turned around to glance back at him. It was obvious that I was still pink in the face, because Axel looked mildly pleased with himself.

He had slid his arms behind his head, smirking wickedly. "I'll do that, thanks."

With an angry scowl, I left and slammed the door behind me. I was furious. Both at Axel, and myself. More at myself, really. For reacting like that. We were best friends! I wasn't allowed to be acting like this.

As I was about to burst into the room, I faltered on the doorstep. This was my room. I lived here. The mini revelation put a damper on my fury. Calming down, my hand reached out and I opened the door, stepping inside. Not surprising that it was identical to Axel's, just without any scorch marks.

The bed was made, perfect and white. Except for the blotches of black; my clothes. Black pants, boots, sleeveless undershirt, and the infamous Organization XIII coat. Looking down at myself, the dirtied clothes from Twilight Town Roxas seemed to be completely out of place in such an empty place like this.

Time for a shower and a change.

Much later, I cautiously approached the mirror, eyeing the reflection. I hadn't donned the coat yet, but the black was strangely comforting. I turned around, checking every corner of my appearance. The shirt and pants were tightly fit, hugging close to my body. A lot different than my old outfit, for sure. Still... no going back now.

I glanced out my window, looking at the emotionless city. It didn't offer any comfort. Sighing, I walked across the room and sat down on the bed, staring down at the floor. "What... am I going to do now?"

I spoke out into the emptiness, not expecting a reply. I didn't get one, either. I looked over, spotting my bedside table. It had a single drawer. Out of curiosity, I wrenched it open and peered inside.

There was a little leather-bound album inside. Now I was really curious. A photo album would be the perfect thing to trigger my locked up memories. Leaning back in my bed, I flipped open to the first photo, ready to have my past life fly back at me.

Melodramatic as I was being, I didn't expect the first picture, and I snorted with laughter. It was Xemnas, his eyes half shut and his mouth hanging open. He looked drunk. The caption below it said, "The Superior looking cute."

I snickered. Axel, me, or whoever, had obviously taken the picture while the Number I was speaking, and he had, unfortunately, blinked at the same time. To my annoyance, though, I didn't remember when or why this photo had been taken.

The next picture was just as hilarious. Saïx was sitting at a table, a bowl of food before him. His cheeks were puffed out and he had a fearful expression on his face as he stared down into his plate. My laughter died quickly when my memories failed me again. I couldn't, for the life of me, recall why Saïx looked like that. It was the same for the other pictures, like Demyx crooning to a glowering Xaldin, or Axel frantically running away, holding Xigbar's eye patch.

"I can't remember..." I said slowly, closing the book. Was I doomed to never recall my complete past? Anger flared up in me as I turned to slam the book back down into the open drawer. Me being the ever graceful one, I missed and instead chucked the album into my lamp.

"Crap, crap, crap!" I scrambled to catch it. In my attempt, I ended up lying across my bedside table with the lamp held in my outstretched hands. Panting, I pulled myself up and was about to set the lamp in its rightful place when I spotted a splash of unexpected color on the bottom of the porcelain object.

It was the back of the photograph. "Don't forget" was written in my own familiar handwriting. Perplexed, I pulled the photo off of the bottom and flipped it over. The lamp fell from my trembling fingers, thudding onto the floor. I didn't even both to check if it broke. I couldn't.

Two very familiar faces took up the entire picture. It was me and Axel. And we were kissing. Axel had obviously taken the picture, as his arm was stretched out to one side of the frame. He had an eye open, gleefully, and somewhat defiantly, staring back into the camera. My eyes had closed. The Roxas in the picture looked... I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. He looked happy. So did Axel, for that matter. No matter how I turned it, the two guys in the picture seemed absolutely perfect.

And that was it. Everything came flooding back. I blinked; it was somewhat surprising that it all just sort of... flowed in, rather than crashing into my brain and causing an overload.

In the album... the photo of Xemnas had been snapped during a meeting. Axel and I had decided to make a collection of hilarious photos for ourselves. Saïx looked ridiculous because we had told him that Demyx had made the food. Demyx was singing Christmas songs to Xaldin, who had admitted not a moment before that "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was his favorite tune. Axel had stolen Xigbar's eye patch on a bet from Luxord. The red-head had later crawled back to me with a black eye, whimpering.

And our picture had been taken a few days before I had left. Axel had pulled out the camera and said that he wanted a picture for ourselves to remember.

"You're a genius, Axel." I whispered, running my fingertips across the glossy surface of the photograph, overwhelmed with just about everything. Biting my lip, my hands began shaking again with excitement. Naminè had lied. We weren't just best friends. We loved each other. Axel loved me. We were...

Lovers.

I suddenly stood and walked swiftly to my door and out, sliding the picture into my backpocket. The urge to go speak to Axel was hard to ignore. As I walked, I couldn't help but grin. Passing by the Number 9 door, I recalled how Demyx had sat there all night once after locking himself out. And that space by VIII... I turned pink, looking into the past to see how Axel had pinned me against the wall there, and... and...

This was harder than it looked, now. How could one just walk back into a relationship like this? I had broken a promise, even lied to Axel. Would he be willing to start over? Or at least pick up where we had left off? My hand faltered on the door handle. Could he forgive me?

Hardening my resolve, I opened the door and walked in. Without knocking, I noted. Oops. "Axel?" I was pleased that I hadn't stuttered. So far so good. My gaze swept through the room. He wasn't there.

"Axel?" I called again.

"Yeah?" Axel poked his head out from around the side of the door leading to his bathroom, curiously looking at me before emerging completely, clad only in pants. He walked toward me, drying his hair with a towel.

"What's up?"

I tried not to stare at his bare chest, and even managed to close my gaping mouth. Stop being stupid, stop being stupid, just say something.

"I-I... I..."

I... am an idiot.

Axel quirked an elegant eyebrow, trying not to laugh as he stood only a few feet away, throwing the damp towel over his shoulders. His sharp eyes looked me over, almost in approval at my change of clothes. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry." I finally blurted out, lowering my eyes.

"Why?"

"Because I forgot! I promised I wouldn't. And I thought that I hadn't, but I did! I didn't realize, I didn't even-I just..." The words weren't coming out right. Angry at myself, I simply pulled out the photograph and handed it to him.

I watched as his eyes widened and he mouthed the words written on the back. He glanced from it to me. I knew that look. He was excited, but didn't want to show it, didn't want to give in, in case I was going to let him down.

He swallowed, looking directly at me now with an unreadable expression. Funny how he seemed to be having the same trouble with speech as I was. "D'you... do you remember now?"

"Everything." I whispered, meeting his startled gaze.

"So you..." Axel said cautiously, taking a step forward, "You know about... us?"

The lump in my throat was choking me. I couldn't speak, but simply nodded, bowing my head. I started to quiver, fearful of what Axel was going to say.

"You idiot... why didn't you say sooner?" In two quick steps, Number VIII had stepped forward and yanked me into a crushing hug.

"I don't..." I murmured, my hands curled uselessly against his chest. It hurt, suddenly, when I found that there was no beat beneath my fingers. No heart. "I don't know."

His own fingers found their way beneath my chin and he tilted my head up to meet his eyes. He was grinning in that mischievous way again. I blinked. "Axel, what-"

My words were cut off as Axel leaned forward and covered my mouth with his. The kiss started off gently, slowly, but soon his tongue was sweeping across my bottom lip. I didn't resist, couldn't resist. My defenses were down, my eyes closed. With a shudder, I parted my lips for him, only him, eager to relive memories and create new ones. Reaching up, my fingers tangled back into his hair, still damp from his shower.

Axel continued feverishly pressing his lips to mine, pouring out the emotions into the gesture, as if any moment, I would disappear. I honestly knew where he was coming from with that. Finally, we had to pull away to breathe.

"I've been waiting an eternity to do that." He sighed, resting his forehead against mine, looking content.

"So have I." I smiled at him briefly before slumping forward. Everything faded as the exhaustion finally conquered me. Looks like I should've gone to sleep after all.

Restoration decreasing, now at 47 percent.