Axel's POV

The next day, Roxas was already waiting for me on the Clock Tower ledge. I sat down, and he smiled at me, saying,

"For once I beat you here."

I laughed a little. "Yeah… sorry I kept you waiting. I have a bit of bad news."

Roxas tilted his head in confusion. "What's up?"

I scratched the back of my head. "I… I lost the winner popsicle stick. I seriously have no idea what happened to it. I put it on the nightstand in my room, I swear! I looked all over my room, couldn't find the thing."

The blond boy placed his hand on my shoulder as I hung my head down and sulked.

"It's okay… these things happen. And, you know, you still get a prize, Axel."

I perked up, staring at him curiously. "Huh?"

Roxas grinned. "Just follow me."

Roxas and I got back down to street level, and I followed behind him, looking around town at various teens walking around chatting with sea salt ice cream. Before I could ask him how much further, Roxas stopped, and I nearly bumped into him, but stopped myself just in time. We stood in front of a fancy looking bistro.

"We're here." He said cheerfully.

"Taking me out on a date, huh, Roxas?" I teased. Roxas smiled, pushing me playfully.

"Not quite. C'mon, you'll see." He grabbed my hand with his, and I could feel myself blushing as our fingers touched and intertwined. He led me to an empty table on the patio, where we sat across from each other. When the waiter came, he asked what we would like. Before I could even begin to look at the menu, Roxas spoke up,

"We'll have one fresh strawberry tart and one chocolate creme brulee please."

"Good choice. Coming right up."

"Well if it weren't for the fact that you ordered so well, I might be upset you didn't let me look over the menu."

Roxas chuckled. "Just relax. I know you. And I know what I'm doing."

I couldn't help but feel at ease hearing him say that. It was pretty hard not to trust him.

"Soo, you've been here before?" I asked.

Roxas shook his head.

"No. But I pass it all the time on my way to meet up with you. And I hear they're known for their desserts. I figured we should do something different sometime. And when you told me about your popsicle stick, I figured now was the perfect time."

"Spontaneous... I like it."

"Gotta keep people on their toes sometimes." The blond responded playfully.

"I couldn't agree more."

The waiter soon came by with our desserts, placing them in front of us along with two glasses of water.

"Enjoy" Our waiter happily cooed before disappearing to help other tables.

"You're the winner, so you get the first bite." He smiled at me from ear to ear as he spoke.

"If you insist… don't gotta tell me twice." I first took a bite of the strawberry tart, and my eyes widened with gratification.

"This is… heavenly… " I murmured as I chewed. Roxas laughed.

"I'm glad. Try the chocolate creme brulee too."

I did as Roxas said, and had the same reaction, my eyes surely showing my glee between bites of the dessert that I'm covinced angels must have prepared back in the kitchen. As I swallowed, I pushed the two desserts toward him.

"Your turn. Like I told you, I'm splitting my prize with you 50/50."

The blond grinned and chuckled lightly through his smile as he picked up his spoon.

"Here goes."

Just as I had, he took a bite of the creme brulee, and then the strawberry tart, and his eyes glimmered with a pure happiness that only sweets could bring.

As we finished the last of our dessert, I said Roxas' name.

"Yeah, Axel?"

"Thank you… seriously… this cheered me up. I felt so stupid for losing that popsicle stick earlier… but now, I can remember this day fondly."

"No problem. I'm glad to hear it."

We soon headed back home, going to our individual bedrooms, and as I looked under my bed for the comb I'd dropped, I saw the wooden winner popsicle stick I thought I'd lost hiding behind some boxes I'd stashed. I held the popsicle stick in my gloved hand, staring at it for a while, and thinking,

Funny how I find you now. Oh well… didn't end up needing you, after all.

I placed it in one of my drawers, closing it before I got into bed. As I curled up in my blankets, I could hear heavy rain begin to pitter patter outside my bedroom window. I closed my eyes, letting sleep naturally take me as the day's events replayed in my mind.

In the morning, I stretched still entangled in my sheets,, and as I rubbed sleep from my eyes, I could hear that it was still raining, as the rain drops beat down into the concrete. I breathed a sigh of relief, remembering I didn't have work today. No way I wanted to go out in that.

I stood up, and showered before dressing in my red flannel shirt, black jeans, and black boots. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I realized just how normal I looked in casual clothes. It was quite a change from the usual leather Organization XIII get up. I almost didn't recognize myself. As I exited my room, I headed for Roxas', expecting to find him in the process of getting ready to go on a mission. I knocked, but heard nothing. I waited for a few minutes, and knocked again. Still nothing. Concerned, I slowly turned the knob, opening the door, and stepped inside.

"Roxas?" I called out softly. A figure on the bed stirred underneath various blankets. I sat on his bed, placing a lone hand out onto the figure under the sheets. I could hear him groan. I reached for a blanket, slowly pulling it back and revealing a very disheveled looking Roxas. His hair was all over the place, his face looked red, and he was still in his pajamas, a white tee shirt and gray sweatpants.

"You okay?" I asked. Roxas shook his head.

"I feel like… I'm gonna die…"

I placed a hand on his forehead. Just like I suspected, he was burning up.

"You're sick. You've got a high fever."

Roxas groaned, putting his head in his hands. I rubbed his shoulder to comfort him.

"It's okay. Just lay down. I'm gonna go get you a cold towel for your head. And some medicine."

Roxas grabbed my arm as I stood up. I stopped, turning to him.

"No. Don't go out there. You'll get caught in the rain… and end up getting sick too."

I smiled. "I'm just going to my room to get the medicine, don't worry. I'll be back soon."

He let go of me, and I left the room, feeling that smile on my lips for a while as I realized just how much Roxas cared about me. Him not wanting me to go out in the pouring rain and get sick was probably the sweetest thing anyone had done for me in who knows how long.

I returned to Roxas with medicine, a cold towel, and some hot chicken soup as soon as I could.

I placed the cold towel on his forehead, and Roxas sighed a breath of relief the second it touched his skin.

"Feels… good…" He mumbled.

"Good… now Roxas, I know you don't feel well. So don't feel the need to sit up all the way. But you gotta eat. So I'll feed it to you."

"Wha - no… I can do it my-" Roxas began to cough mid sentence, and once his coughing stopped, he groaned in discomfort. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey… it's okay. Don't strain yourself."

I lifted the spoon with a hearty portion of chicken noodle soup on it, blowing on it a couple times so it wasn't piping hot.

"Just open your mouth, okay? This will help you feel better in no time. They say chicken soup is the remedy to all illness, you know."

Roxas opened his mouth, his eyes half closed from exhaustion. I guided the spoon of soup into his mouth, and he swallowed. I continued to do this until the bowl was almost empty, and then asked him if he was ready to take some medicine. He shook his head in protest.

"What am I saying? Nobody is ever ready to take cold medicine. But trust me, you'll be grateful you did once it starts to kick in."

Roxas moaned in disagreement. I laughed. "I know, I know… but c'mon. I need you to shake this cold, okay?"

He sighed, nodding his head. Just like with the soup, I guided the cup of medicine to his lips, and he drank it, making a face of disgust as he swallowed.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Speak for yourself." I couldn't help but smile at that. He laid back down completely on his back, closing his eyes. I placed my hand on his shoulder, rubbing it.

"You've eaten your soup… taken your meds… got a cold towel for your fever… now all you need is rest…"

As I rubbed his shoulder, I soon noticed his breathing got slower, and he began to snore softly against the quiet room. I smiled, getting up slowly so I wouldn't wake him. As I closed the door, I gazed at his slumbering figure one last time.

Get better soon, Roxas.

On the way back to my room, Isa passed me.

"No missions today, Axel?"

I shook my head.

"Today's my day off. What's your excuse?"

He ignored my question, and continued to walk to wherever he was headed. I stopped walking for a moment, looking down at my hand, and held out my pinky finger, remembering Roxas' promise to me and I wondered... could a friendship really last forever?