"Axel! Axel, where are you?" Roxas called to the Nobody. He was nowhere to be found. There weren't even footprints in the sand for Roxas to follow. Any trace of Axel was invisible.
"What are you doing?"
Even though the voice didn't sound anything like Axel's, Roxas quickly turned around in the hopes that it was Axel who'd asked. It was just Riku, standing there without emotion. It was amazing to Roxas how little feeling this regular person showed as compared to a Nobody.
Riku imagined Roxas as a puppy with its ears drooping, "Axel isn't here…"
"He'll be back."
"How do you know that?" Roxas looked down at his shoes.
He didn't give him an answer. Riku left him to return to God knows where. Roxas was alone with the setting sun. He looked to the slanted tree on the island. Xion and he had sat there while Axel leaned against the end. They all laughed about random things and enjoyed Sea Salt ice cream. Was that really the best time of his life…? Roxas shook his head to clear the thought. That couldn't possibly be true. He sighed, climbing on to the tree to have his legs dangle over the edge.
The sun had started to fade. It turned the sky pink, the water mirroring its hue. Roxas wondered if it looked the same at the clock tower. That was probably where Axel was. Was Axel watching the same sunset? He started craving the salty sweetness of Sea Salt Ice Cream…
"I guess you didn't find him, huh?" Roxas saw Xion out of the corner of his eye. She stood at the end, where Axel belonged, with a hand on the tree's gray trunk.
He kept his eyes focused on the sand in front of him, "No."
Xion's voice was gentle, understanding even, when she asked, "Do you want to look for him?"
Roxas could have said yes to be polite, but let's face it, the last thing he wanted to see was Axel's face. He could have lied… he didn't want to do that to Xion. She deserved better than that. Besides, him lying to her wouldn't make him any better than what's-his-face. So, he was honest, and replied with a dead "No."
Her smile, if he saw it, was sad, "Okay."
There was silence. Noises from the shore broke it. The pair gazed in its direction to see Wakka tugging along a tired Tidus. He tossed the kid into a row boat, and then grabbed the oars to make his way home. Wakka laughed at Tidus, clearly mocking him for being so passed out. The boys and their racket were swallowed by distance as they returned to the mainland. Xion smiled at the friendly scene. Roxas watched her; saddened that he most likely ruined her friendly scene.
Xion jumped on to the trunk next to him. She twined her hands together in her lap and focused her eyes on them, "Roxas, you and I have hearts, right?"
He mumbled, "Mhmm."
"… Am I in your heart?"
Roxas hardly heard her. His mind was elsewhere, wondering whether or not he should go to the clock tower early tomorrow morning and just beat the shit out of him. When Xion spoke, he only registered the fact that someone asked him a question. Whatever it was, he doubted it was anything important so he repeated, "Mhmm."
Xion was expecting something a little more heartfelt. It was like anonymously asking the love of your life if they loved you back. If all you got was a casual "yeah" then it was like saying "I like you, but only enough to see you as a friend and never really fall in love with you". What Roxas just gave her was less than that, practically amounting to nothing. He might as well have said, "No, get the hell away from me you pathetic clingy bitch."
She felt like crying and running away, but she held her ground. That was probably what Roxas wanted, right? Little did she know that Roxas was hardly aware of her right now and wouldn't care either way if she stayed or left. Why didn't she leave him already? Axel did.
"I'm going to bed, Roxas." Xion stood, "I hope you get your head back."
Another "Mhmm."
Before she left, she turned to Roxas. She made sure he was looking her in the eye (or at least it appeared that way) when she slugged him in the face. Her knuckles crunched on his cheek as they literally knocked him off the tree. Roxas stared up at her, surprised that she would hit him, and actually kind of curious as to when she got here. What was she so mad about? The poor boy was left to the pressure of having two friends mad at him as Xion stormed off to the tree house.
"What did I do…?" Roxas whimpered as he rubbed his sore cheek. He would have been mad if it wasn't Xion. He couldn't get mad at her. Besides, whatever it was he did, he probably deserved worse than a punch to the face. Xion's merciful that way. Even though Roxas didn't have a clue to what was wrong, he still felt guilty as if it was he who had betrayed her.
Poor Roxas. He had a dickhead of a "best friend", and what he had left of his real best friend was mad at him for God-knows-why. It was all too much for the kid. Sixteen years old, according to Sora being sixteen, and this boy had the weight of his world on his shoulders. It wasn't fair, Roxas thought, that as insignificant as he was, he had to put up with all this. Sora's the Keyblade Master, not him. Let him deal with pissed-off friends.
… Someone from the Organization had once told him that life was unfair. Roxas understood now. This person elaborated with "so suck it up and carry on". That's exactly what Roxas did. He accepted this as part of the whole deal of having a heart, and shifted his mind to focus on what could have made Xion so angry with him.
It wasn't like Roxas did anything on purpose. In fact, he made a point to never do anything that would annoy Xion—though for all he knew, he could've been a pest to her this whole time. He hoped that wasn't true. Roxas held her close to him; she's the only thing he's ever wanted to keep for himself. She's his best friend, the only one he really cares about. Xion was the only thing, aside from Axel, that made the Organization fun. They made it feel like home. Now, with Axel gone and the Organization surely out to kill them, Xion was his only home now.
"What did I do wrong, Xion?" he curled up on his side into a ball, the chilling air making him cold, "Please tell me, Xion… I don't want to hurt you… I never wanted to…"
The special Nobody fell asleep like this, his heart aching for answers, for comfort. Wasn't there anyone in the worlds that could care about him, help him? His body trembled as the cold stole his heat from him. Not even the thousands of stars, as beautiful as they were, watched over him. They all seemed to be watching the cloaked figure approaching Roxas from the bridge. It came over to Roxas and knelt down to his level. A black hand came down to pet his spiked hair.
"Oh, Roxas…" Xion pitied him. Now she felt bad; she just added to the stress that Axel caused. Roxas didn't need to worry about her on top of that, "I'm so sorry, Roxas… I wish I could help." She shook his shoulder a little, "Wake up. You can't sleep out here!"
Roxas didn't wake, though he leaned into the warmth of her palm. His hand came up to grab her arm. She gasped as he pulled her onto the ground with him and encircled her in his arms. Xion felt her face flush, and almost glad that Roxas couldn't see her in the dark even if he opened his eyes. It wasn't what Xion had planned at all. All she wanted to do was get him to talk to her and possibly get him to change his mind about Axel. The most she'd ask for is if he left that night to look for him. But then she found him asleep. And now she was on the sand with him. This was going a lot farther than intended.
Xion tried to escape his grasp, but Roxas was stronger than he looked and held her tighter. However, Xion wanted to avoid an awkward conversation where Roxas woke and found her glaring at him from his arms. That'd be beyond weird. So, Xion decided to sleep here. She'd just have to wake up earlier than him and go back to the tree house. Simple, right?
As it was uncomfortable like this, Xion shifted so she was facing Roxas. His arms still kept her pressed up against him. Xion could feel his heart slowly beating against her cheek. She pulled back enough to see his face. It'd never occurred to how peaceful; innocent even, Roxas looked in his sleep. He seemed precious this way. Xion dared to bring her hand up and stroke his face. A small smile spread on his lips. She smiled herself as she returned her head to his chest. The girl dove into slumber listening to Roxas's heart—the most secure sleep she'd ever had in her entire life.
