Empty Spaces

One-shot. Roxas asks Axel what it was like to have a heart. NOT YAOI.

A/N: I've been on this random non-yaoi Axel & Roxas one-shot kick for the past week, and I don't really know why. I should be working on my multi-chapter fanfictions, but... oh, well.

I took some creative liberties with this story, so try not to get all technical about the worlds and such. I also mention the amazing and heartbreaking movie Moulin Rouge, which I highly recommend that you see. There are spoilers in here for Moulin Rouge, so beware if you have not seen it and want to.

Disclaimer: Today, Travis will be doing the Disclaimer. Take it away, buddy.

Travis: Ahem. i AM the Random Idiot does not own any characters from the Kingdom Hearts series, which is copyright Disney and Square Enix, blah blah blah. She also does not own the movies Moulin Rouge and The Matrix.

(If you want to know who exactly Travis is (because he isn't an OC, hah), read my fanfiction Kingdom Hearts: The Quest for the Holy Grail)

Travis: Are you using me to plug your other fanfictions?

iAtRI: Uhh...

"I can't believe Superior is letting you do this," Roxas told Axel disbelievingly, shaking his head. "I mean, having a little fun while scouting out a world is one thing, but robbing a video store on a Saturday night in plain view? What got into you?"

Axel shrugged. "Please, I do this all the time," he boasted. "No one's going to find us here. Besides, they've probably decided that they were hallucinating."

"But to risk our cover for a movie? What were you thinking?"

"Didn't I tell you I do this all the time?" Axel pointed out. "When we scout out a world, we soak up the local culture. So I 'rented' a popular movie to see how the people emotionally react in situations. Find out their weaknesses, and exploit them. Plus, I've always wanted to see this one," Axel added.

Roxas snatched the movie out of his hands. "Moulin Rouge?" he asked. "I'm definitely sensing 'chick flick' vibes here. Why not grab something cool? I hear The Matrix is pretty intense."

"Hey, you want a movie, you filch it from Blockbuster," Axel snapped, grabbing his DVD back. "We of Organization XIII watch 'chick flicks' as you so eloquently put it, far more frequently than action movies. We kill things all the time—why would we want to watch it on-screen? Romantic comedies and dramas and tragedies offer a much wider range of passions to draw upon when gauging people's emotional weaknesses.

"Also, if it's a really good movie...we can forget that we can't empathize with the characters anymore." Axel had gone rather quiet.

Roxas looked thoughtful. "Really?"

Axel smirked evilly all of a sudden. "I walked in on Xaldin and Vexen bawling their eyes out watching The Notebook once. Great blackmail photo op. I still have the negatives." They both shared a laugh at that.

Axel walked over into the kitchen of their hotel room to make popcorn, and Roxas busied himself with locking the door thoroughly (couldn't be too careful, after all).

Axel walked back in, juggling two flaming chakrams and a steadily expanding pan of Jiffy© popcorn. "Who's got talent? The A-train's got talent!" he bragged. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"You might wanna keep an eye on that popcorn, Axel," he mentioned. Axel glanced at the pan just in time to see it explode in his face.

XxXxX

"Wow." Moulin Rouge had ended, leaving Axel quite impressed (considering he had seen many films of its genre) and Roxas in a state of shock. "I..." Roxas whispered. "I can't believe she died."

"Well, you should. We knew throughout the whole movie," Axel pointed out. "At the very beginning, Christian said that the one he loved was dead. During the movie, they kept saying, 'Satine is dying.' I'm pretty sure it was a given."

"But it was so..." Roxas tried to explain. "I mean, at the end, Christian and Satine were together, and the evil duke lost, and...and...the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return, and... I thought they won. I forgot that she was going to die. I thought...I was happy."

Axel grinned. "And you wanted to watch The Matrix."

They were quiet for a couple minutes. "Axel...?"

"Hmm?"

Roxas faltered. "Do you... Do you remember...what it was like...? I mean, do you remember your Other?"

Axel blinked. "Well...yeah. Why do you ask?"

"It's just..." Roxas trailed off, and put his hand, almost without being aware of it, over where his heart would be. "Sometimes... I can feel this empty space inside." He paused. "And... I just want to know what was there before, that's all."

Axel had no idea how to answer his friend. He was silent for a while. Than, he held up one hand and snapped his fingers. A tiny flame sprang to life above his hand. "See this?" he asked. Roxas nodded. "It keeps you warm, but if it gets out of control, it can burn you and those around you... but it's always better to have it than not to. That's it. That's what having a heart was like.

"But..." The flame, very small to begin with, flickered out. "It's just ashes now. Just white ashes..."

They both were very quiet. Then Roxas spoke again.

"If you blow on them soon enough, though, sometimes the fire can come back."

Axel rolled over on the couch. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Hope it's not too late."

THE END

A/N: The "empty spaces" line was inspired by a line from Stuart Little, if you can believe it. Apparently, I've been on this random movie kick. Review!