Sleep

Axel was not an attractive sleeper, which had surprised Roxas the first time he had seen his friend sprawled out on the bed one night after they'd gotten back from a concert. Axel had grumbled his way past Roxas into his room and flopped down backwards on the bed – and Roxas had sworn he'd fallen asleep mid-fall.

Awake, Axel was all awkwardly elegant limbs, cocky strutting and swinging hips. He was graceful in a strange sort of predatory way, particularly with his sharp, dangerous smirk. But asleep Axel was gangly limbs flung out in every direction as he lay on his back. He snored – luckily not too loudly – an almost sort of purring snore which had made Roxas burst into giggles upon hearing it the first few times; He was essentially a giant cat.

Also Axel drooled... with his mouth gaping open, a trail of saliva dripping down to the pillow. So as one could imagine this, along with his gangly limbs and snoring meant Axel wasn't the most attractive sight when sleeping.

It was after a few months of being around his best friend while he slept, during the many nights that they crashed at each other's for whatever reason, Roxas noticed a change in his view of the sleeping redhead. Now he couldn't stop the small smile that spread across his face as he gazed down at the sleeping man. It was almost kind of sweet the way Axel was so peaceful and careless (for when awake there was always a sort of guardedness to the man, no matter how carefree he may seem) it was refreshing to see the guy so relaxed and innocent, and it became the only time Roxas didn't want to hit his best friend. If Axel had talked in his sleep it probably would have been an entirely different story.

There were times Roxas became curious, when he was curled up on a make-shift bed beside Axel, or lounging on the other sofa watching the taller man sleep. He wondered if Axel would purr like he almost expected him to if the blond stroked his hair. He wondered if Axel cuddled when he had someone beside him – for as close as the two were, and as touchy as Axel was when awake, they always subconsciously made sure to keep their distance when asleep. He wondered what the consequences would be if he curled up beside his friend for a few hours... it was always a tempting idea as the redhead was always warm, and Roxas was sure he'd be great to cuddle up to when it was cooler.

But he didn't, because it would be weird - especially if he fell asleep and Axel woke up to his short blond friend clinging to him. (Roxas, much to his embarrassment, tended to cling to people in his sleep, which was a habit that lingered from childhood when he and his brother shared the same bed).

Eventually the temptation became too much, and one night, after Axel had fallen asleep sometime during the second Lord of the Rings movie, Roxas hesitantly scooted closer, hoping the redhead wouldn't wake anytime soon, reaching a hand out to pet at Axel's hair. The redhead didn't react, so Roxas ran his fingers gently through it, Axel's hair was surprisingly soft, considering the way it looked.

And the hair petting became a constant thing, something Roxas was reluctant to admit to himself that he looked forward to. When Axel was asleep Roxas would edge over and begin petting the redhead's hair and after a few times of this Axel started to curl up against Roxas who felt very much like he was petting a giant cat.

Roxas didn't really expect to go unnoticed, he knew it was only a matter of time before Axel caught on to what he did to him in his sleep, and of course, Roxas was right.

It happened during another one of their movie marathons; Roxas was waiting on the sofa hugging a bowl of buttered popcorn protectively to his side waiting for Axel to get his ass back in here so he could start the movie. The redhead had finally reappeared, a packet of snickers in his hand – which he threw at Roxas' face, before he'd followed after, casually throwing himself down almost on top of the blond. Roxas had squeaked as some of the popcorn bounced out the bowl with the impact and had swatted Axel in the face with that stupid snickers packet. "Move over asshole." He growled, not liking being trapped in his corner while Axel had the rest of the sofa.

Axel had moved over.

He'd moved closer to Roxas, plopping his head down into the blonds' lap giving Roxas a little grin as he tore open the chocolate packet with his teeth, "Problem?" he asked innocently. Roxas just shook his head in exasperation and as per habit shifted slightly so he could wind his fingers through Axel's hair. He wasn't thinking, he just reacted as he was used to when near the redhead like this. And when Axel froze Roxas realised just what he was doing and froze too.

"Uh, shit, sorry..." He murmured pulling his fingers back and clenching his hands into fists, as though to stop his hands wandering again.

Axel titled his head backwards, looking up at Roxas and smiled, "It's cool; I just didn't expect you to do it while I was awake." He then winked at the blond who immediately flushed at the implications.

"I-I... what?" he breathed, feeling so incredibly embarrassed.

"Come on Rox, you thought I'd never notice? I woke up one night to find you petting my hair. I wasn't going to say anything because well, I like being petted, in case you hadn't noticed. And why ruin a good thing? You can continue petting me now by the way..."

Roxas frowned at him, the blush still burning his face, "I wish you had said something... I feel really awkward now knowing that you know..." he moved his hands back into Axel's hair regardless, his frown fading as Axel's eyes slipped shut and a small smile made its way onto his face.

"I just told you why I didn't," Axel murmured, "I didn't want you to feel awkward for doing it. It's never bothered me, babe."

Roxas squawked indignantly and smacked Axel for calling him 'babe', Axel knew Roxas hated pet names and anything of the like. Satisfied with his revenge he settled back into the sofa, continuing with the petting. "Yeah well, shut up and watch the movie or I'll stop." He grumbled pressing play.

Axel made the motion of zipping his lips and wriggled closer to Roxas, the smile growing on his face as his attention drifted to the now starting movie. Nope, he didn't mind at all.