Author's Note: So, um…I don't know what to say really. I know it's been a while, but I don't expect anyone reading this to actually be back from when I posted the first chapter…in case that does happen – by some miracle – I apologize. To be honest, I just wasn't really in to Kingdom Hearts anymore and I don't really feel like writing a long-ass Author's Note just to word that nicely. But I do apologize!

In other news, I started playing 358/2 Days…since I'm now way behind in the land of KH…and it's proving incredibly helpful (and inspiring!) with this fic! Love seeing more of Axel and Roxas.

And for a final note, a reminder that – though it may not seem the case right now – this is an AU fic.

Now, enjoy!

DoublePlay

Chapter Two: "Precious Seconds"

Roxas groaned, smacking his lips together and running his tongue along the inside of his cheek. His mouth felt like it was full of sand and it hurt to swallow. The sun had been strong all day, his nose stung with what he hoped was not sunburn, and he had an intense headache.

"Would you stop that?" Axel rasped, coughing. He looked up at the sky, sighing gratefully when he saw that it was starting to darken.

"I'm thirsty," Roxas replied.

"Oh, yeah? Well it's a shame we don't have any water then, isn't it?"

The blonde narrowed his eyes at his friend, not exactly pleased by the sarcasm. "Yeah, shame," he snapped.

"Oh shut up," Axel whined, pressing his hands to the side of his head.

"We should have waited."

"Well someone was a little eager to leave."

"You could have stopped me. You should have known better."

Axel stopped, spun on his heel and pushed Roxas. The blonde stumbled backwards, but he didn't quite care enough to make an effort to catch himself and so fell to the ground.

"How is any of this my fault?" Axel yelled. "Hell, Roxas, what am I supposed to do? You don't like it when I tell you to shut up and stay in the manor, but then when I humor you and we run it's suddenly my fault that neither of us thought to bring water?"

Roxas pouted, still on the ground. "Or food," he muttered.

Axel laughed bitterly. "Or food."

"I wouldn't have even thought to leave if you hadn't brought it up," Roxas cleared his throat, hoping Axel would accept this small blame, but knowing he wouldn't.

"If you don't shut up this time, I will kill you. I swear I will."

"No. You wouldn't."

Axel paused. "No," he said, offering a hand to Roxas and pulling him to his feet. "I wouldn't."

"Jerk," the blonde said under his breath as he rubbed his sore backside. His companion snorted.

Since they had started bickering, night had fully set in, and Axel thanked God for this as he surveyed their surroundings. To the west, he spotted a thin stretch of wood, about another ten minutes' walk away. He pointed this out to Roxas.

"We can sleep there," he suggested. "We can rest in the shade in the morning; avoid the sun for a bit. Plus it's probably best if we're not out in the open…" he trailed off, and Roxas breathed out through clenched teeth. Nothing further needed to be said, and although he hated the idea of walking even a step more he knew it was wiser to head for cover. He nodded.

With a gusty sigh, sounding very much as if he were steeling himself for a particularly trying ordeal, Axel stepped forward. When he did not hear Roxas follow, he waved his hand and laughed when the boy groaned and finally managed to gather the strength to will himself onward.

There were many things he wanted to complain about during their walk, but Roxas had seen Axel's battle practices at the manor, and when it came to wielding fire magic, the redhead was simply unrivaled. It was just in his nature, Roxas supposed. There were times when he would catch sparks, small crackles of energy, flying at his friend's fingertips and Roxas was sure that Axel did not realize he was inches away from blasting something. After some consideration, Roxas came to the conclusion that this happened when Axel was gripped by one of a handful of emotions the blonde could not name, but certainly recognized as unpleasant.

His feet were throbbing, each step sending ripples of pain up his calves to flare at his knees. His throat and mouth were raw with thirst, his stomach was empty and churning, and his face radiated heat – definitely sunburned. But sure enough, those sparks were flickering by Axel's palms, and so Roxas wisely kept his mouth shut and watched his friend carefully.

Axel looked over his shoulder frequently, but his eyes did not once land on Roxas. They were watching the horizon, rapidly scanning the vast expanse of meadow they had been crossing since dawn. He was waiting for someone to pop up, for some member of the Organization to come and drag them back to the castle.

It was not at all like Axel to act like this, and when this thought occurred to Roxas his heart sped up and his already unsettled stomach suddenly felt heavy and solid. He wanted to vomit. Instead, as they finally stepped into the wood, he clenched his jaw, breathed in deep, and called softly to his friend.

"Axel," he whispered.

Axel turned slowly and fixed Roxas with a perfectly blank stare. The blonde flashed him a wavering smile and tried to think of something to say. He didn't, but Axel smiled back and laughed.

"C'mon, kid," he murmured, eyes dancing. "Let's find a spot to sleep in." He let Roxas slip ahead of him, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as he passed. Roxas's nerves jumped and burned beneath the touch, but then Axel's hand was gone and Roxas's heart fluttered. He suddenly longed to reach out, grab his friend's hand and place it on his shoulder blade once more.

Eventually they came to a small clearing and after a short conversation – consisting mostly of Axel's questions and Roxas's removed hums of approval – they decided to rest there for the night. Despite the redhead's talent for manipulating fire magic, he found it difficult to grasp the practical application of the element, starting many fires easily but watching them smolder out quickly. After a while, he gave up with a snort and a kick at the last branch to have been unsuccessful in holding fire.

"Well that's that then, I guess," he muttered, his voice gruff. He cleared his throat and Roxas suddenly wondered if the other man was hoping Roxas would not pay too much attention to his failure.

The temperature dropped long before Roxas could manage to drift off to sleep. He hugged himself, tucking his knees close to his chest and burying his face in them. He reached up for his hood and yanked it over his face. This effectively warmed him, but at the same time the closeness of the heavy fabric of his robe seemed to stunt his breathing and he quickly felt the need to remove the hood and breathe deep.

Nearby, Axel cursed softly. "Roxas?" he called after a moment.

The sound of his name on Axel's tongue, rough and blurred with sleep, made Roxas's heart feel too large for his chest. It took him a moment to get his throat working, but then he whispered back, "What?"

"Get over here," Axel demanded.

"No," the blonde retorted, finding the idea of moving at all incredibly distasteful.

"Fine. I'll go there, then"

Roxas sighed and turned over to face the direction from which Axel's voice had come. He narrowed his eyes and peered through the darkness, trying to discern some sort of shape or motion. The tree cover was thick, though, and star and moonlight were blocked, so when Axel's body collided softly with his own Roxas's heart skipped a beat.

"God, Axel!" he cried.

"Couldn't see you, kid." It was as close to an apology as Roxas suspected he would ever get from the other man. "It's cold."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Fire's…different, in practice."

Roxas laughed, "Yeah, sure."

"Oh shut up. Come here." Axel curled an arm around Roxas's waist, pulling the younger boy close until their bodies were pressed together, side by side.

"Axel, what…" the blonde could barely speak. His mouth was too dry, and on top of that every nerve in his body was thrumming and twitching. Roxas recognized that he was feeling something, but he couldn't even begin to understand it. It was at once almost painful and unimaginably pleasant.

"You're warm," Axel explained.

Roxas nodded, even though he knew his friend could not see. Eventually, the tremble of his hands and the flutter of his heart subsided and he was left only with the comforting warmth of Axel curled at his back. His last thought before sleep was of that crooked smile, those dancing green eyes, and the way his heart had shattered that morning as he'd imagined the door to the castle closing between him and Axel, shutting them off from one another forever.

He woke late in the morning, judging by the way the light filtered through the trees with such strength. The first thing he wanted was to close his eyes, go back to sleep, and never wake again, but then awareness trickled through the fog still gathered in his mind. At some point in the night he had turned and was now facing Axel, who was still asleep. Roxas swallowed hard. One of Axel's arms was wrapped tightly around his waist; the other was resting between them, snaking upwards to where his hand cupped the nape of Roxas's neck. The blonde's own hands were resting on each of Axel's shoulders, and their legs met and twined together at the ankle.

Roxas marveled at the fact that, despite his back being uncomfortably cold, as he watched Axel his heart pumped languidly and all he could focus on was their points of contact; how his skin flushed pleasantly under his friend's touch.

So we make each other feel things… he thought, watching Axel as he breathed through parted lips. Curious, Roxas rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and let his hands slide from the redhead's shoulders down to rest on his chest. He could feel it expand with Axel's every inhalation, and after a bit of maneuvering his left hand found a heartbeat. It was slow with sleep, but Roxas concentrated on its rhythm, memorizing it.

"Hey," Axel murmured after a while. His voice was softer than Roxas could remember ever having heard it before, and as the blonde looked up to watch him, Axel's tongue darted out to moisten his lips. His fingers flexed tentatively as he moved his hands to cover Roxas's.

Roxas felt his breath wither in his throat, listened carefully as Axel's quavered. The younger man wanted nothing more than to lift his chin and assess his friend's expression. When he did he found that Axel was watching him, blinking in long intervals. The redhead visibly struggled to regulate his breathing. After taking a long breath he tilted his head until his forehead touched Roxas's, then slid his fingers between the blonde's.

Roxas had the urge to pull away, to demand that before this queer interaction went any further – whatever that entailed – they try to hash out some sort of explanation for this whole situation. But something deep within him quelled the urge with an acute sense of foreboding. He knew that this was how they would need to learn about their emotions: through exploration. What's more, he knew that even if he and Axel had lived outside the Organization, had never forgotten their pasts or how to feel, Roxas would regret interrupting a moment like this.

Reluctantly, he moved his hands from Axel's chest and twined their fingers together. For a long while they did nothing but watch as they turned their hands over and over, caressing each other's palms and forearms. Tiny sparks of heat and a tingling crawl of Roxas's skin bloomed under each sweep of his friend's fingertips. The blonde moved his gaze slowly up the length of Axel's arm, over the slope of his shoulder, following the lines of his jaw to finally contemplate his mouth. Where the slant of his smirk usually resided, now sat the pucker of a confused pout, lips slightly parted. As Axel's breath ghosted over Roxas's own lips, a roiling, insistent need gathered behind the blonde's groin and was echoed, tumbling, in his chest.

Axel took notice of Roxas's attention to his lips and closed them into a thin, firm line. The redhead hesitantly retracted his touch from Roxas's arms and slowly stood. He turned away, shaking out his hands before running them through his hair. After clearing his throat he spoke in a hoarse, labored voice.

"We should probably get a move on," he said.

It took Roxas a long while to gather himself enough to respond. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we should."

Axel nodded, and Roxas stood to follow him out of the woods. His heart ached with a dull throb, feeling emptier than ever before.