From my Balcony - Chapter Seven

Notes: I don't know when either of their birthdays are, just so you know. I made it up. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I hope I don't disappoint any of you since this fic is really rather boring.

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February

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"Hey, thanks again for coming with me today," Axel said as the pair made their way down the street, toward their shared apartment building.

"Sure," Roxas responded, "Next time I'll try not to be so reluctant to leave the house." Their pace was slow and they kept their eyes on the ground.

"Yeah, geez, no wonder your friends think you're boring," Axel laughed, losing sight of where he was stepping for a moment. "Whoa!"

"That was close. Whose back would that have been again, your second cousin?" Roxas laughed. When they had first departed for the movie theater Axel had started the game where if you 'step on a crack' you 'brake your mama's back.'

"No, that would have been my great aunt, thank you very much. I haven't gotten to my cousins yet." When Axel had proven to be very bad at his own game, he had added a new rule. Each crack you stepped on was a different family member, so the game had never ended. Roxas had only broken the back of his parents and one grandparent.

"You must not like your relatives," Roxas said.

"I guess you'll be finding out when you see them at thanksgiving, you loser," Axel retorted.

"You're still angry about that?"

"Of course! You shouldn't have said anything!"

"You're the one who brought it up with your parents. And you could have lied to me about it in that letter." Both of them had stopped looking at the feet and broke plenty of relative's backs in the process. Axel opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it.

"I wanted you to come," he mumbled instead. Roxas smiled and looked back down at his feet, immediately finding himself stepping on a crack. Axel wasn't looking, though, so he could still claim that his grandfather was safe.

That was why Axel didn't know that Roxas had already broken his own second cousin's back.

"So you're coming over to my place when we get back, right?" Axel said after a moment.

"Huh? What for?" Roxas looked up at the red head. Neither of them were looking at their feet again.

"For cake, of course. What's a birthday without cake, right?"

"Birthday? Wait, whose birthday?" Axel blinked.

"Mine, of course." When Roxas stopped in his tracks with a blank look, Axel laughed at him. "Haha! Oh yeah, that's right, I never told you." He turned and kept walking, expecting Roxas to catch up quickly. "That's why I wanted you to come to the movies with me today…" then Axel noticed that the blond had not been following him. "Roxas?"

"…I didn't get you anything!" Roxas burst out suddenly.

"Well, I figured, I didn't tell you or anything…"

"No, I have to get you something, I'll see you on the balcony!" Roxas said as he rushed off.

"Wait, what about the cake!" he faintly heard Axel call after him, but it was too late. Roxas was already running off in the other direction, wracking his brain, trying to think of what to get Axel.

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When Roxas emerged from his apartment his shoulders were slouched and his eyes were downcast, dejectedly watching his feet drag himself out onto his balcony. Axel was leaning against the wall next to him, nonchalantly watching the evening sky, just like they did every day.

"Took you long enough," Axel said.

"I couldn't find anything good." Roxas answered.

"I know how that is. You didn't come back empty handed, though."

"The only thing I knew you wanted was a big blow torch, but I can't afford one of those, so…. Here." Roxas held out a grocery bag and Axel took it.

"…Red hots?" Axel asked, with a laugh as he pulled the bag of candy out.

"I told you I couldn't find anything," Roxas started, but Axel laughed again and interrupted him.

"This is awesome! I was afraid you were going to get me a lighter or something."

"…really? Would that have been a bad thing?"

"I've got millions of lighters, I don't need more, no matter how cool they look."

"That's what you get for being so obviously obsessed with fire, I guess."

"Yeah, it's my own fault," Axel said as he open the bag.

"So did I miss the cake?" Roxas asked slowly after a moment.

"We postponed the cake. No sense in eating it without you."

"Oh. You could have just saved me a piece."

"… You really think the cake would have lasted?"

"Alright, you have a point."

"Just come over tomorrow and we'll eat it."

"Axel?" Roxas said, hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Axel said, with a smirk.

"…Happy birthday."

The red head's smirk turned into a full fledged smile instantly.

"Thanks."