Roxas and Axel were like a leopard and a tiger caged together in a tiny space. In truth, they had the entire multi-verse to roam, but both were too stubborn to retreat.
So, for the most part, they remained in the castle, where the insanity began to set in on them. The only ones still mostly unaffected by the looming reminder that they still weren't whole were Zexion and Lexaeus. Their patience seemed impressively infinite. Demyx often wondered how terrifying it would be if they should reach their limit; he knew Roxas and Axel had.
Although he'd gone to a wonderful new level of physicality with Roxas, he'd gained an enemy and tormentor in Axel. The Flurry of Dancing Flames wasn't afraid of either blonde; had no respect for Roxas, and, what's more, hated him.
"Hey, Demyx, come here," the redhead called, his teeth were bared in a feral smile. "Sit down and play that sitar for me."
Demyx hesitated. He could run, or he could obey. Or someone could intervene.
"Demyx, Xemnas wants you to go on reconnaissance to Traverse Town immediately."
It was Roxas. Demyx could have kissed him right there. Instead he nodded, and disappeared into a portal.
"I wasn't gonna hurt him, you can get the keyblade out of your ass," Axel muttered derisively.
"Leave him alone, Axel. Don't make me say it again," Roxas replied in a stiff bark. He stalked forward a few paces until he was looking right up into Axel's eyes.
"What's your problem?"
"I'm not a total piece of shit, like you."
"Oooh, I'm insulted."
"Look. You want to get at me? Do it directly. Leave him alone."
"What is it with you and protecting him? He's not a baby."
"Maybe it's because I care about him, Axel, did you ever consider that?" the blonde sneered. Axel scowled and looked away. He was silent for a long time. He couldn't care about anyone he didn't have a heart! It was a sickening blow below the belt! Roxas rolled his eyes in disgust and began to turn away.
"I'm glad I was so easy to replace," the man muttered. Roxas halted mid-stride, staring over his shoulder.
"You have someone other too," he whispered.
"That's different."
"Different?" Roxas burst out, turning all the way back to face Axel once more. "How is it different!"
Axel still wouldn't look at him, which probably hurt more than anything else. Wait, what the hell was he thinking? It didn't hurt. No emotions…Gods, that was frustrating!
"It just is."
Roxas stood there, shaking with impotent rage, and then slugged Axel across the jaw. He walked away, only pausing just as he was about to head down the hallway. He stared at Axel who was, simply standing in the center of the room, looking at the floor with some kind of unreadable expression on his face. Roxas almost went back to him, but instead marshaled his temper and yelled,
"Stay away from Demyx."
Day 25It wasn't often that he slept in his own room. Roxas needed him and he needed Roxas, for what? he wasn't sure. He would have said emotional needs…if they had emotions. For now, because he didn't want his head to explode, he would say they were purely physical in nature.
He almost never woke up before Roxas, and today was no different. When he opened his eyes, his head was pillowed on the other's chest. Roxas was just sitting there, quite awake.
"How long have you been up?" Demyx wondered around a smile and a yawn.
"A while," Roxas murmured. He moved his hand and stroked the musician's hair.
"Anything wrong?"
The keyblade's chosen gave him a confusing, unintelligible look, then returned the smile and nuzzled the top of his head. "No."
Day 29Larxene had snuck off in the middle of the night for the second time in a week, leaving Axel sitting in a cold, lonely bed. He didn't know what she was up to…yet.
Day 44Xemnas called them all together for their semi-monthly moon viewing. For once he had interesting news.
"As you all know, our plan hinges around the keyblade and its quest," the Superior murmured. He paused to take a drink from the glass he had at hand. "And you all know the boy who wields it has a strong connection with his friends. My Heartless counterpart was manipulating one of these friends. This could have worked well for us. However, I have a feeling his machinations are going to fail very soon. Do not despair. There is contingency plan. I've discovered that, the seventh princess, who has been highly contested for, was missing her heart for quite some time."
Vexen sat up very straight in his chair, staring at Xemnas with uncontained curiosity. Roxas, however, frowned. He was the newest member of the Organization and the keyblade wielder was a mysterious, but alluring figure in his life. He did not know who the boy was, yet still, he already harbored theories about their connection.
Xemnas turned his lazy smile towards the scientist. "Yes, you see how much this could aid us, Vexen." His gaze swept over the other Organization members. "The girl will be alone and confused," he let a great amount of passion sweep into his voice. "We must assist her. For we have such compassionate hearts."
The Nobodies sniggered.
Day 45When the task was put up, it was Marluxia who offered to design Castle Oblivion. Axel took note of his actions with a growing sense of suspicion. But now that they were spread out amongst the worlds, searching for the girl, he had no way of watching Larxene to confirm his theories.
Day 50He arrived on Agrabah and immediately the heat beat down on him, it was positively oppressive. He removed the coat and changed his clothes, under the pretense of blending in.
They both did.
The difference was, Roxas was supposed to be there; Axel was not. As Roxas combed the city looking for one wayward little Nobody girl, Axel followed the same route, trying to catch up to his fellow member.
Somewhere along the way they both passed Aladdin himself, but the boy didn't give either of them a second glance.
As he moved through the dusty streets and past the colorful stalls, Roxas felt a pang of…déjà vu. It was all so familiar, as if he'd been there before, and suddenly his heart was pounding. He ducked into a side alley and threw out a hand, catching himself on the brick wall. His body was too heavy and his vision blurred and his hand slid down the wall, abrading his palm. He was going to go crashing into the sand and some thief was probably going to slit his throat and take all the munny he had and…
Strong arms caught him up as he sagged.
"Roxas?"
Who was….Riku…?
"Roxas?"
Why was….Riku…?
"Roxas?"
"Uhn," Roxas groaned as his head lolled on his neck and his eyes rolled back. He felt the warm, gloved hand caressing his face. It wasn't the same leather glove that the Organization wore. It was different, rougher, a stiffer desert material.
"Shit, Roxas, are you all right?"
"Who is…Riku?" The arms tightened around him, tight and he… "I can't breath…" Tighter and he could suddenly see the marketplace again. He groaned once more and tried to get back to his feet, the arms held him close. "What?" he murmured in confusion.
"Are you all right?" It was Axel. Axel was holding at him and staring at him, looking concerned.
"When did you get here?" Roxas growled, trying to pull away, but failing.
"I followed the girl's tracks here, but then I found you having a seizure and asking about R—some guy named Riku."
Roxas gave him an oblivious stare. "What are you talking about? Let. Me. Go."
He didn't remember the last three minutes. He didn't, he wasn't…Oh, no. Axel moved one hand to cup the back of the blonde's head, the other settled at the small of his back.
"What's the rush?" he whispered.
Roxas squawked angrily. "We have to find this girl!"
Axel pressed their lips together, crushing the boy to him and attacking his mouth viciously. Roxas stilled completely in his arm, immovable as a glacier, until he began to melt like water.
"I'm with Demyx now," Roxas mouthed when he couldn't get his lips free. The words pierced straight into the Flame's absent heart.
"What is it about him? What does he have that I don't?"
"My trust."
Axel shoved him away, which he regretted when the blonde hit the wall. He reached out to apologize immediately, but the boy growled.
"Roxas…Roxas, please," the redhead entreated. He kept his hands to himself, for once, by burying them deep into his pants pockets; it took all his effort to keep them there.
"What do you want from me, Axel?" the boy asked, his body was alive with anger and hurt and…all the emotions that he wasn't feeling. It was physical, not emotional, exuding from his skin in waves.
"Can we at least be friends?"
"I don't know, can we?"
"I'm going to try, whether you want me to or not."
"With friends like you, who needs enemies, Axel," the keyblade wielder sneered.
I love you, the redhead thought without replying.
Day 58Marluxia found Naminé cowering in a dark, forsaken corner of Halloween Town. He brought her back to his castle, made her comfortable and then promptly began to scheme.
"Roxas, why don't you come with me to Castle Oblivion?" Axel begged, tugging at the blonde's coat sleeve.
"Because I cannot stand to spend any more time with Larxene than I already do," Roxas rejoined and tugged away, hiding his smile. Axel followed after him like a puppy, hanging over his shoulders pathetically.
"Roxas, c'mon, I spend all my time there, you spend all your time here,"
"With Demyx," the blonde whispered cruelly, Axel pointedly did not react.
"Yeah, yeah, with your toy. We agreed to end our stupid little fight, but we never do anything together now!"
"What's more important to you? Getting our hearts or 'hanging out'?" Roxas inquired, raising an eyebrow. And Axel had no choice, he just had to pout and think about how Roxas already made him feel like he had a heart…and that maybe he would say it some day soon.
"Yeah, go fuck Demyx, you asshole."
"If you insist."
Day 66Xemnas called them together, looking satisfied with himself. For once, he was not bringing them to assemblage in order to make them sit under the crushing force of their terrible, beautiful moon. He had news, and found the front hall as good a place as any to share it.
"My Heartless, as predicted, has failed in his mission. Although he did open the door to Kingdom Hearts, he was defeated and that door was shut by the King and one of the boys." He looked down lovingly at his servants, or he made it appear as such. "Somehow, the princess re-obtained her heart…Peculiar no? I want Naminé tested thoroughly. There must be something to it."
"Like, what about the rest of us?" Xigbar called up, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Now, you simply let the boy roam. The more Heartless he destroys, the more hearts we collect."
Out of the corner of his eye, Axel saw Larxene and Marluxia exchange a tacit look.
Day 67Axel began to panic when Roxas fainted. The blonde had been perfectly fine while they were sitting in the library, taking a rare moment to just talk. Then Roxas had stood up and promptly toppled over. Axel was on the floor right next to him, cradling him in his arms.
"Roxas?"
The boy made a pained sound and his face twisted.
"Roxas!" Axel tried again, slapping at his friend's face as gently as he could.
"Who is…Sora…?"
It stopped Axel's blood cold. He didn't need a heart for that.
Sora and all his consorts were a carefully kept secret. Before their falling out, Demyx had often confessed how much he hated lying to Roxas all the time, acting as if they didn't know Sora's name, or who he was, just that he was the keyblade wielder.
All Axel could do was pray that, when Roxas came out of this, he would have forgotten, just like before.
He clutched the inert body to his chest, and watched as Roxas' eyelids fluttered and his body twitched and…
"What did you do to him?" Demyx was in the doorway and Axel really did yelp as one of the damn water clones tore him away from Roxas.
"I didn't do anything! Damn it!" Drenched and frightened and annoyed and Axel lashed out, while one of the water forms picked Roxas up in its semi-solid arms and brought the body to the distraught musician.
"What happened to him?" the kid demanded. He hefted Roxas in his arms easily and it was so effortless for Axel to forget that, even though Demyx hated to fight, he still could, and well. He wasn't as weak as he demeanor alluded.
Axel was on the verge of defending himself when Roxas let out another little groan and curled in on himself. He appeared tiny and young and helpless.
"Get him to his room," Axel blurted instead, slicing a water form in half and advancing forward, every line in his body etched into stark relief by his urgency.
Demyx seemed dumbfounded for a moment, but then he turned on heel and headed down the hallway; the Flame followed behind.
As soon as Roxas was settled into his bed, both of his friends stood beside him unsure of what to do next. Both of them wanted to crawl in beside him and hold him close and never let him go and they were both well acquainted with that bed. It was almost too hard for Axel to accept the fact that he was the one meant to turn away. It was harder when he heard Roxas make a breathless noise; but he went on resolutely. Then he heard it,
"Axel, come back…"
Demyx made a sound like he'd been punched, but Roxas was quick to soothe his ego. He snatched at the sleeve of the musician's coat and tugged him down onto the bed. He laid his head onto Demyx's chest and closed his eyes once again. Axel watched the whole thing with green eyes, envious, dark and heavy with a sadness that he shouldn't have been able to feel.
It morphed into something completely different. Demyx suddenly understood what Axel couldn't say and Roxas couldn't accept.
Once the boy (they both loved) had fallen into an uneasy sleep, Demyx summoned the redhead over.
"How much do you love him?" the musician whispered knowingly.
At first all Axel could do was hiss and spit like a cornered cat. Yet, at length he answered the question. "I would bet against Luxord in a game of Russian roulette."
Demyx snickered. "Yeah, I can tell."
"Am I that obvious?"
"No. But…I love him too."
"Man, if I had a heart, it'd be breaking."
"We still have souls."
"You have a point, my friend."
"Oh, we're friends now?"
"Hells. Why not?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.