Three days after his conversation with Demyx, Roxas decided to go back the clock tower again. A few days of avoiding Axel was enough, and he had a lot he wanted to ask his friend. He figured the topic of Somebodies would be an easier and safer topic than kissing. He had been avoiding thinking about the latter subject and, to his relief, had been relatively successful.

The only thing Roxas feared was the possibility that Axel might be avoiding him again, but he thought he could be patient if it meant he would get answers eventually, and he was determined not to let Axel under his skin. He hoped Xion would be around today. He thought she might find the topic interesting, especially since she didn't have memories of her past either.

Roxas had already completed his mission for the day, and it was nearing sunset. He sat on the clock tower ledge with his sea salt ice cream, listening for his friends. He became instantly nervous when he heard footsteps approaching.

He felt his pulse quicken. The footsteps clearly belonged to Axel. Roxas didn't turn around. He was panicking.

"Hey Roxas! Haven't seen you here in a while!"

Roxas was pleased to perceive some excitement paired with his name. It calmed him down a little. Roxas had spent the last three days preparing himself to act normally around his best friend. His preparations were abruptly forgotten when Axel plopped down next to him on the clock tower ledge. Axel was staring at him curiously as Roxas blushed. He was not handling their reunion as well as Axel was.

"You okay, kid?" Axel asked.

Although he was upset to hear himself called "kid," at least it reminded him of days past. It was a vast improvement from Axel's silence the weeks following their first kiss. Still, Roxas wasn't sure how to respond to normal anymore. He almost wished Axel were a bit more uneasy about seeing him again. He figured he should say something. Axel was still staring at him.

"Listen," Axel said, as he turned his eyes toward the setting sun. "I know we have some things to talk about. Mostly just apologies, which you know I hate, so we'll make it as quick as possible. Got it memorized?" Axel added, smiling briefly in Roxas's direction. Roxas liked it when he used the phrase "got it memorized?" It reminded him of when he'd first joined the Organization. Axel used to say it all the time as Roxas fumbled to retain everything Axel taught him.

"First of all," Axel said, "I want to apologize for the other night. I should have warned you not to come. Organization parties are always lame... And I shouldn't have taken you to my Somebody's house. That was a bad idea."

Roxas felt his stomach drop. The fact that Axel regretted the evening was even worse than pretending like it didn't happen.

"Well, anyway," Axel continued, "Demyx warned me I should try to avoid getting drunk around minors in the future. He said I'm a bad influence. That's nothing I didn't know already…. Anyway, sorry," he finished.

Roxas struggled not to show his disappointment. He reminded himself that even if Axel didn't care, Roxas would always have the memory of that night to secretly cherish.

"So… are we cool then?" Axel asked, glancing at Roxas, who nodded.

"I… also wanted to mention something else…." Axel continued.

What more was there to say? Axel had expressed himself clearly enough as far as Roxas was concerned.

"Well, I just want to be sure I didn't give you the wrong impression when I kissed you. I drank way too much, and I wasn't acting like myself. I just don't want you to be nervous about it. We're friends, and nothing has to change." He stood up on the ledge. "I promise it won't happen again."

Roxas felt utterly defeated. Nothing had gone according to plan. He felt even worse when Axel continued on as though he hadn't just broken Roxas's heart. "So... where do you think Xion is?"

Roxas didn't know where she was, but he hoped she'd show up soon so he didn't have to stay here alone with Axel.

That night as he lay in bed, Roxas thought of how easy Axel had just made everything. All the complications from the past month were gone. Roxas could forget about them forever, and it wouldn't make a difference. Now he could talk to Axel about anything he wanted. Well, anything except kissing or that night at his Somebody's house. Those subjects were forever off limits, and Roxas would certainly never bring them up again.

And even though he realized this was a good thing because now he didn't have to worry about their relationship or why Axel had ignored him for that week or why Axel had kissed him in the first place, Roxas knew this didn't solve anything. He would still spend his nights dreaming about kissing Axel and his days trying to forget.