Take a Little Hand
A.N. This chapter, I like. Axel is so sweet to Roxas. This sounds to be fluff more than anything, else, no? Please enjoy, and the title is from a very pretty song by none other than Yoko Kanno. Search for it one day, lovelies. Reviews are always welcome.
"I'll see you later, my starry sky. . ."
Roxas lay in his bed, his head resting on the soft pillow as his mind replayed the many events he experienced for the day. It was all just a blur in his eyes; everything he tried to rewind just ended up jumbled or completely erased, the only recollection that actually stood out was the fact that he had met Axel this day; the mention of his name made Roxas smile. Axel was an amazing person, a person that for some reason meant so much to him. He smiled once more, hugging himself in the covers. He couldn't help but be enthralled at the thought that Axel should return tomorrow. Despite the fact that everyone in town had vanished Roxas had Axel and that was more than enough company. In fact, he was all Roxas needed. Roxas nuzzled his head into his pillow, picking out every little thing he liked about his friend. The thought was rather enjoyable, but then a horrifying image tore its way into Roxas's peaceful thinking; Axel's wounds. Roxas shuddered, wrapping his arms ever so tighter around himself. As he commenced the task of cleaning Axel up, he observed scars, many scars on the other's body. The image almost moved the boy to tears.
'How could anyone suffer so much?' he thought sadly. 'There must be some reason. Maybe someone could be hurting him, but, why?' The boy suddenly balled his fists, furious at the notion that anyone would dare strike his friend.
"I'll see you later, my starry sky. . ."
The sweet phrase danced its way into the blonde's heart, silently telling him 'I'm okay. I'm not hurting. Everything is just fine.' Roxas forced himself to be content by this fictional reassurance and pushed himself to sleep; even though deep down, something about that statement didn't sound okay at all.
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Today was a special day. Today was the day Axel was to arrive again. Roxas recalled this with glee and swiftly prepared himself for his friend's arrival. He ran down the steps and pushed open the worn door to his home and made his way outside. The smile on his face dissipated as he remembered what had happened in Twilight Town; the people had gone; never to return, he would never see his friends again. He would never again see Olette's caring face, Pence's undying logic, and even Hayner, with his annoying, but encouraging speeches. Roxas would miss them; he would miss all of them. The boy sniffed, tilting his head to the sky. The scarlet painted heaven continued to shower the town with its beautiful color as if it never knew the place had been deserted. Roxas turned his vision to the ground and sighed. He was alone here now; well, for the moment anyway. He breathed in, soaking up whatever fresh air was left and exhaled, he decided that it was pointless to just stand at the gravel and mop. He had to continue with life, even if he was alone. 'Guess it could kinda be like that guy from that movie where all the people died.' He considered.
He walked and walked his thoughts in tow until he bumped into something, or rather someone. Roxas rubbed the now sore spot on his head. "Oww, I-I'm sorry, I- "Geez, watch where you're going, blondie." Roxas heard the insensitive comment and looked up, getting ready to give this jerk wad a piece of his mind when he saw a familiar face; Axel .The blonde's own immediately flashed a bright red and he looked away, thoroughly embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "I thought you were someone else. . ." he trailed off. Axel grinned. "No biggie. So what should we do today?" he asked. Roxas blinked, regaining his composure. 'What to do with Axel, well, I don't want to do anything stupid, that's for sure. Maybe the beach. He would love that.' He considered. The blonde perked up. "How about the beach?" The other pondered the suggestion before smiling in agreement. "Sure." Roxas's heart leapt at such a smile; but he quickly shut out anymore unneeded feelings. All he needed the other to be was a friend; and only a friend.
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"Axel...
I've never been much of a swimmer, you know that."
"Oh, cry
me a river. Just jump in. The water is fine"
"That's
what they all say."
"Come onnn, don't be a wuss. Just jump."
"No
way."
"Pleaseeee? For me."
"..Fine."
"So, do you always come here?" Axel questioned as the tide hugged the tips of his shoes. The blonde casually flicked sprinkles of sand into the ocean. "I used to; with my friends. It was fun." He replied with small smile. How he missed his friends. They would always come to the beach. Just the mere memories brought countless tears to his eyes. Axel saw the other and sighed; dealing with tears was not his strong point, but, he hated to see Roxas sad. Roxas deserved to be happy; happy whenever he could. So bearing this notion in mind, the redhead devised a plan. A simple plan; a plan that if all went well; would put a smile on dear Roxas's face in no time. Now was the time to put the plan into action. Axel scooted closer to his friend; keeping in mind to not look suspicious. "Hey, Roxas?" The blonde gasped, smearing the tears from his weary ocean blue orbs. "What?" The other reached an arm to Roxas's back. "You've got something on your back." "Huh? Where-!!" SPLASH! And there Roxas went, head first into the cool ocean water. Axel mouthed a silent 'YES!' as the startled boy managed to stand in the water. When the boy turned around, Axel exploded with laughter.
The blonde stomped the water, furious with the careless action the other just established. "AXEL!!" he yelled. This only made the redhead double over in laughter; the poor boy looked like a wet dog, soaked to the bone. He knew he was in hot water for laughing, let alone pulling the stunt, but who cared? Seeing Roxas 'angry' was better than seeing Roxas sad. The blonde sighed audibly. "That. Is. Not. FUNNY." He growled, but Axel continued to enjoy himself, laughing and guffawing until his ribs hurt. He didn't even pay attention to the dripping and soaked figure behind him, glaring at him with a very mischievous grin. "Hey, Axel. . ." he spoke. "Oh ha ha! Wait a minute, ha! I'm not fin- HEY WAIT A MINUTE! LEGGO OF ME!! HEEY!! SPLASH! And there Axel went, leaving an equally surprised Roxas behind him. When the other finally lifted himself from the ocean water he didn't seem to look exactly pleased himself; and this too, pushed the blonde to well deserved hysterics. "Ha ha! That's what you get!" he exclaimed through his laughter. Axel appropriately huffed in annoyance, puffing his now wet hair from his face. This hair was gonna take forever to fix. 'And it's all Roxas's fault.' He groaned.
"Now who's the idiot?" Roxas taunted, pointed and giggling at the soaked to the bone person in front of him. Suddenly, Axel smirked. He started to walk to the other, the added weight from drenched clothes uninvited in the equation. Roxas resumed his outburst, unaware of impending doom that was headed his way. He continued to laugh, snorting and guffawing at the hilarious sight of Axel drenched when he felt an intense pull at his arm. He gasped as he was lurched forward head first into the water once again. He popped his head from the surface, sputtering and spitting out unnecessary water. He looked up and saw Axel standing before him, a very satisfied smile splayed on his lips. "Who's the idiot, now?" Roxas's eyed narrowed. 'A challenge he wants now, I see.' Axel stared down at the other, then feeling his victory and leadership was restored, he bent down and offered the teen a hand. "Lemme help you up." The blonde eyed the hand with a dangerous smile. "Yeah, thanks." As their fingers touched, Roxas seized his opportunity at revenge and latched onto Axel's hand, pulling him forward and landing, not in the water, but, on top of Roxas.
This part of his plan was not expected. The blonde blushed immensely at the feeling of Axel's body against his. 'Not a good scenario!' he freaked. He tried to avert his eyes from the other, searching desperately for something else to ogle at. This act proved fruitless as the other touched Roxas's chin, forcing him to meet Axel's eyes. Roxas bit his lip, and his breathing started to pick up, his heart began to race. Axel leaned in closer to the blonde's face. Roxas could feel the other's breath tickle his lips; a feeling he liked. The redhead smirked, bringing his lips to the other's ear. "I. win." He whispered. Roxas's body froze. He couldn't believe what he was feeling. A cold chill sprinted across his system and he grew dizzy. If this was a dream, he would've liked to have woken up now. Axel pushed himself up, bending over to offer the other a hand. "Will you accept it this time, or will you just pull me in again?" he smiled. The blonde quickly shook his head. He took the other's hand and lifted himself up. Once they were on land, Axel sighed. "Well, looks like we had our pool party for the day." He grinned. Roxas looked up. "Oh, yeah, sure did."
"Aaand, I'm pretty wet by the way. Just look at me." Axel announced, squeezing the water from his coat. Roxas laughed. "Do you need a change of clothes?" Axel looked at the other, surprised. "Well, duh. I can't walk around in wet clothes, and I certainly can't walk around naked, now can I?" Roxas smiled; going naked may not be the best thing, but it would certainly be the most creative.
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"How is your wound by the way?" Roxas inquired as he rummaged through his clothes drawer. Axel lifted his gaze from a comic book and looked at the other. "Fine." "Good." Roxas resumed his searching until he found a faded blue shirt and shorts. 'Axel can wear these till his clothes dry.' He chimed to himself. "I've got clothes for you." The redhead looked up and saw his new garments, he wrinkled his nose. "A little on the small side, don't you think?" Roxas blushed. "Oh shut up. This is all I have." Axel shrugged. "Eh, beggars can't be choosers, I guess. How about underwear?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. Had Axel's undies got soaked as well? "D-did your underwear get wet, too?" Axel stared at the other, a laugh riding on his lips. "Well?" "Nah, of course not." Roxas sighed inside. 'Good cause if he did, I don't think I'd have any that could fit him.' Roxas stopped. 'What was that supposed to mean? That he's got a big—No! Never! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, bad thoughts!' he argued with himself.
He shook his head furiously; he couldn't allow himself to think such thoughts. Never. "Well, with clothes issues aside, I think I'll go change." Axel smiled as he plucked the garments from Roxas's hands. The redhead walked to the door and stopped, scanning Roxas up and down. "And, you should, too." With that, he pushed open the door to the bathroom and slammed it shut.
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This night, Axel was forced to sleep on the floor, not that anything was wrong with that, he always babbled. It was better for Roxas that he sleep on the floor, having the redhead and him in the same bed scared Roxas far too much, their moment in the water was tense enough, them in the same bed just could throw Roxas over the edge. Roxas contemplated this in the bed, his head rested against his pillow, feeling that his decision was the safest one. He looked up at the ceiling, feeling unable to shut his eyes, this was such an eventful day, but of course; everyday with Axel was bound to be exciting. Axel. 'He may be asleep, though.' The blonde thought. He wanted to tell him that he had had fun this day, and that he hoped for Axel to come back again tomorrow. Roxas pulled off the covers and leaned over his bed, trying his luck. "Axel. Axel." He whispered. "What?" the other whispered back. Roxas smiled, even at night Axel was such a character. "Um, I wanted to, uh, saythankyoufortoday." The blonde instantly gulped, his hand covering his mouth, preventing from saying anything else incredibly stupid. 'Gah! What was that?'
As embarrassed as he felt, Axel somehow how lightened the mood with his soft laughter. "As fast as you just say that, I actually understood you and I wanted to say that I had fun, too." He grinned. Roxas blushed, even in darkness Axel always shined. "Will, will you be back tomorrow?" Roxas asked sheepishly. There was no response. "Axel?" "Y-yeah! I'll be back! Don't you worry." Something about his reply troubled Roxas, almost like the saying he remembered. 'I'm okay. I'm not hurting. Everything is okay." The message transferred unwanted shivers in the boy as he pulled himself back into the covers. He disliked this silence between them. He wanted Axel to say something, to make him forget these negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. "Roxas." The sound of his name alone alerted the boy. "Y-yes?" "I'll always be here for you, don't ever forget that." The blonde bit his lip; the butterflies in his tummy fluttered and tickled his nerves. 'Axel, this man, shouldn't be more than a friend. So, I shouldn't think of him as one!' Roxas exclaimed silently.
"A-axel. . ." "Good night, Roxas. Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow."
Roxas frowned. This most certainly was an interesting day. 'Axel cares about me. I mustn't forget that. Ever.' And that said, he closed his eyes waiting for the waves of sleep to take him away.
Take a Little Hand
End.
