He Will Be Loved

I'm like 99.9% sure this is AU with strong canonverse undertones and aftertaste. This is what happens when I listen to Adam Levine at midnight while having AkuRoku feels. Inspired by She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5.

This is my last AkuRoku post of the day! Hope you guys had a great 8/13!

"...I don't mind spending every day, out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay awhile.
And she will be loved..." She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5


Axel's eyes flew open. Not quite startled, not quite alarmed. But very much attuned to the tiny tap-tap-tapping at his window. Gentle plunks of acorns and small pebbles colliding with glass. He sat up quickly, pulled back the curtains and looked out. Even in the dead of night he could recognize the shadowy silhouette on the front lawn.

He was back.

Axel threw his sheets from his body and briskly stumbled to his front door, he had to bite back curses as he went. It was nearly 3 am and the last thing he wanted was to wake everyone. When he yanked the door open, the young man, a year younger than himself, stood. His diminutive frame soaked through from head to toe. Axel blinked in confusion. The rain had stopped an hour ago. How long had he been walking?

The blond stared back, stoic-faced, muscles tense, a dark hood over his head that hadn't been in place before.

"Roxas..." Axel breathed before he pulled the boy inside.

And just like that, the levees broke. They broke in a stream of undignified whimpers and soul-wrenching sobs. They broke alongside trembling limbs and clutching fingers. They broke with muffled screams and curses, damning the unfair weight placed upon him and questioning life's lack of instructional manuals.

And just like that, Axel was set to the task of tending to the blond teen's shattered remains of self-worth, clumsily trying to put them back together with lackluster glue in the form of shaky phrases of veneration. Even after a year of these sessions, he had not yet realized that pride was akin to porcelain, if nicked and scratched, it only became more prone to damage until altogether impossible to fix.

He watched the blond suck in stuttering, hiccupping breaths. He watched as the young man rubbed at his cheeks, watched as he carefully avoided the purpling skin around his eyes and lips. There was bound to be more littering his arms and torso.

"You're staying here." It was not a question.

Roxas nodded without a word and followed the taller man to his bedroom. Roxas did not question the small duffle bag near the door nor did he question the fact that it was packed with clothes that were just his size. Axel sat on the far end of his bed, back facing Roxas as he changed. In his mind he could hear his own words echo through his head: "Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!" The memory dredged up the acerbic taste of regret. He turned his head slightly as he felt his mattress shift.

Roxas slowly curled into a tight ball, knees tucked into his chest. Axel gingerly pulled the blankets over the young man as he crawled into bed next to him. He carefully wrapped the still trembling blond male's waist and pulled him close, not at all missing the quiet, content sigh. Right now, it did not matter what Roxas had endured out there. Whatever sanity shattering enigma had been uncovered was for another day.

Tonight, he would be loved.