Disclaimer: Yep. Don't own. Why are these things even necessary anyway, I mean, the whole concept of makes it pretty obvious that the authors of the fanfics don't own the series... -shrug- Don't sue??
Warning: Not really any warnings. Maybe... Shounen-ai? Depends on what your mind wants to think... okay, so probably Shounen-ai... Oh well. FLAME ME! (I love the attention, it amuses me!)
These moments were what he continued to exist for. It was just him and Roxas. They weren't doing anything, they weren't even saying anything. Just sitting side by side, with only silence surrounding them. Words weren't always necessary.
They sat together on the edge of Roxas' narrow bed. Axel's legs attempting to wrap around Roxas' smaller ones as the younger boy tried to inconspicuously shuffle away.
Axel smirked in amusement at the younger boy's failed attempt to gain freedom, and proceeded to coil his arms around one of the blonde's, clinging to it in mock desperation.
"Axel…" they boy tried to free his arm from the older redhead's possessive clutch.
"Mine!" Axel declared loudly in reply, planting a gentle and unexpected kiss on the side of Roxas' neck. Almost as if he were trying to apologise. Roxas just blushed and tried to push Axel away with his free hand.
"Aww. Come on, Rox-as…" Axel dragged Roxas' name out in a half-teasing tone, "You know you lo-ve it."
Roxas blushed deeper. There was truth, however, in Axel's words. Roxas couldn't deny it no matter how hard he tried to push the thought aside. He realised all of a sudden, that there was more than one way he could have forced Axel to back away from him, and he hadn't even considered one of them. This thought left him to distractedly pick at a non-existent speck of dust on the blanket beside him as he tried to block out the feeling of Axel snuggling into his neck.
They were friends, after all, and Roxas didn't want to hurt Axel. Regardless of what he did or didn't feel, it was inescapable. All they had was each other, and breaking Axel's heart would leave them both alone and vulnerable, a thought that made Roxas more afraid than anything. But right now, Roxas thought something needed to be done.
"You know, Axel…" Roxas blurted out, pulling away from Axel, "Xemnas told me something."
Axel froze and his body tensed almost automatically.
"Shit!" He cursed. Uncertainty flashed across his normally confident features. He squeezed his eyes closed, almost to prepare himself for the onslaught he thought was to come. To detach himself from the world and set his mind and consciousness free in a place where it was okay to believe that everything would always turn out alright.
"You… You met with Him again!" It wasn't a question that Roxas expected Axel to answer. It was a statement; delivered so matter-of-factly that Axel was almost taken aback by Roxas' façade of detachment and lack of emotion.
Axel remained silent, only permitting a vaguely hurt expression to cross his face. He didn't understand why Roxas suddenly seemed so detached and distant from him.
"Don't trust Xemnas." Axel half-whispered desperately, "Whatever he said to you, just don't let it get to you."
Axel tried to pull Roxas closer to him. His efforts were blocked by Roxas' hands pushing back on Axel's chest, forcing him to keep his distance.
"No. Axel. I have to know. Why did you do it?"
Roxas fell silent for a moment, and when the redhead made no effort to talk, Roxas continued.
"I don't care if you don't ever tell anyone else why you did it, just tell me."
Axel was stuck. Roxas would end up feeling hurt either way. And he knew, remorsefully, that Roxas' pain was all his fault.
Axel was silent again. The only sound fame from their breathing as Axel focussed his thoughts towards what he was to tell Roxas. The tension between then was thick, and Axel could tell that even though Roxas hadn't stated anything, more then just temporary hurt and anger was riding on the answer to the question.
"Roxas," Axel started, "You probably won't understand this. It was to protect you."
Roxas' eyes were trained on Axel. Expecting him to continue.
Axel sighed when he saw the expression on Roxas' face, and began to go on with his explanation.
"You know that you're his nobody?" Roxas gave a single nod, "…If you see him, you'll become part of him. I couldn't let that happen. So I had to protect you."
Roxas glared, exactly the reaction that Axel was predicting.
"You thought you could protect me, from something that I wanted in the first place? I can't believe you went behind everyone's backs to do something that would stop me from making my own decisions!" The tremor of anger and frustration in Roxas' voice was more than evident, "I can handle things on my own, wether you choose to believe that or not. Don't act like you know everything, like you have the right to judge and decide for me."
The blonde boy rose from where he was sitting, striding angrily towards the door. Axel stood and reached out to grab Roxas' hand to draw him back. As the redhead's fingers closed around his wrist, Roxas tried to jerk his hand away, never ceasing to move towards the door.
Axel, however, wouldn't give up that easily. He tightened his hold on the blonde's wrist and pulled back sharply. Roxas, caught off balance, fell back into a now-standing Axel. His fall was broken by two arms waiting to support him.
Despite the anger and frustration he was feeling, Roxas blushed at the sensation of the older boy's hands on his hips. He hoped fervently to himself that Axel would fail to notice his cheeks had reddened. Axel was sure to get the wrong idea. Once again, Roxas cursed mentally at the part of him that he had no control over, the part that made him do such irrational things.
Axel lowered his head, pressing his lips briefly to Roxas' forehead in a chaste kiss. Roxas forgot about his discomfort, and his anger towards Axel. And just for a second, he let his guard down and his control slip, as his irrational side took over. Just for a short moment in time, where everything seemed to grow still and silent, his lips met Axel's for a kiss the redhead didn't initiate.
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Sora was mildly confused, when he opened his eyes upon feeing rays of morning sunlight dancing across his face, until he remembered Kairi and Destiny Islands.
When he found his way to the kitchen, Kairi was perched on the edge of the bench. Her feet idly drummed out an irregular rhythm as they swung against the cupboard doors, as she ate out of a small and brightly-coloured bowl of cereal she had clutched in her hand.
A cheeky grin crossed her face as she caught sight of Sora and his bemused expression. He stood, unsure of what to do, in the doorway. Kairi giggled, gesturing with the hand that held her spoon, for Sora to sit himself next to her on the kitchen counter-top. Sora apprehensively obeyed the silent command, despite the annoying niggling feeling of his subconscious telling him it was impolite to treat another person's house so disrespectfully. After all, it wasn't as if the house even belonged to Kairi's parents, but to the Mayor of Destiny Islands and his wife who had kindly taken Kairi in all those years ago when she had washed up on the beach from another world.
It wasn't until Sora was stiffly perched precariously next to the redhead girl that he noticed her curious choice of clothes. A white button-down blouse and blue tartan skirt were hardly normal and everyday attire, especially for Kairi who favoured pink above all else, as Sora knew from her exploits in trying to get him to wear 'just one pink shirt'.
At an enquiring glance from the boy on her right, she giggled again.
"I'm going to school, silly!" Kairi said between giggles, "You're coming too."
To Sora, after so long away from everything routine and predictable, School seemed like a foreign concept. At the same time, it seemed alluring, like the promise of something normal and unchanging. School, he continued to realise, wasn't really for people like him. He didn't feel like he could stay, like he should stay. He couldn't shake the unfulfilled feeling of something still not being right. Sora, more than anything, just wanted his life to turn out all okay again.
The kitchen and its occupants were bathed in rays of early morning light, the still-feeble rays blending with the co-ordinated colour scheme to form a pale orange glow across everything it touched. The girl looked towards Sora expectantly, as if she were waiting for a response.
But no comment came. Just his trademark grin, before he continued to be immersed in his own silent thoughts.
Kairi busied herself in various cupboards, producing cereal for Sora's breakfast. Somehow, to Sora, it just seemed like Kairi was doing everything she could to keep the exchanged of words as shallow as possible. She filled the room with an enthusiastic tirade of information and facts, about school, her life and the comings and goings on the Islands – most of which made little sense to Sora.
Authors Note: I'm baack. And I come bearing more chapters. So review or I KILL JOO! Nah, but I WILL cry. So be nice and click the little strange-colored button. You know you waaant to. Also, sorry for any OOC-ness in this chapter. I tried really hard, so point anything I might need to change or whatever out to me, and I'll love you forever.
In other news, I got Chain of Memories... Axel is in it, which makes it dead awesome. -nods- Now I own all three games. YAY!
Yeah. I did write this author's note already, but then the internet page died, JUST as I'd finished. So yeah, review to make my poor brain feel better. And THANK YOU to everyone who was dedicated enough to read this far. I LOVE JOO ALLLL!