Reno scowled as he waited impatiently in front of the Castle that Never Was, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he scowled irritably. Today was supposed to be his and Roxas' day off and he had made plans to surprise his favorite blonde with a trip to Twilight Town for some of his favorite ice cream, but Xemnas had sent the teen on a routine mission at the last minute. Reno was sure Xemnas only did it to mess with him and make him angry, Xemnas liked doing that. Reno knew that Xemnas hated it when he and Roxas spent time together, their superior mistakenly thinking that the two were in a serious romantic relationship without his permission. It wasn't that Reno didn't like Roxas that way, quite the opposite in fact, but Xemnas had set strict rules about relationships that weren't just for sex in the organization. The rules had seemed very necessary after Xigbar had nearly shot Saïx to pieces when the blue-haired man had cheated on him with Larxene. Everyone knew that the strict rules were utter crap, Xemnas himself even disobeying them so that he could have a very confusing relationship with Marluxia, but since the rules were there everyone who wasn't directly told they could disobey had to toe the line without question. Reno hated the stupid rule that everyone but him was allowed to break.

Reno hated The World That Never Was almost as much as he hated Xemnas' double standards, the place seemed to reinforce the fact that he was no longer fully human. The only bright spark in all the time he spent in and around the Organization was the time he got to spend with Roxas, his formerly confused as hell Zero. Roxas was still confused as hell, but for different reasons. He now spent all the time where he was confused wondering why he didn't have memories and why he had something as special as the keyblade instead of being confused as to what his name and favorite things were. Roxas had a weird complex about the keyblade, thinking that he didn't deserve the weapon that was supposed to go to someone with a pure heart since he didn't have one. Reno always argued with him on that point, saying that Roxas had to have a heart because if he didn't, he wouldn't laugh so much. He always used Saïx and Xaldin as examples of heartless nobodies, pointing out the fact that they never found humor or pleasure in anything while Roxas absolutely loved ice cream and struggle and always laughed when Reno made fun of Seifer and his posse. At the thought Roxas would fall into talk about his favorite sport and the brooding would end.

At the naming ceremony Reno had felt a little forlorn while the name he had given Roxas was stripped away and replaced with what Xemnas wanted to call him, feeling as though that branded the short blonde as Xemnas' property. He felt like property as well, but he didn't mind as much when it was him being owned, he couldn't remember a day where he wasn't owned by someone else. First he had been owned by Shinra, and now he was owned by the Organization. There wasn't much of a difference really, if he discounted the fact that he only had one friend here instead of four. Rufus, Tseng, Rude, and Elena were all gone. Rufus, Tseng, and Rude becoming heartless' and nobodies' while Elena became the most cold hearted bitch Reno had ever know in his life. He doubted she remembered anything about Midgar anymore and he preferred to think that she didn't, feeling that the memory of that world would be sullied if she did. Even though she wasn't popular with him Larxene was very popular with the other men of the organization. Reno suspected that she would have been kicked out of the group long ago if she wasn't so willing to spread her legs. Tseng was probably rolling in his nonexistent grave.

Reno growled and shooed away the heartless that was sniffing at his foot, trying to understand why he was there when he shouldn't be. "Beat it blob!" He kicked at the thing and it scampered off, sinking into the pavement and crawling away.

"You should be nicer to them Axel." Reno brightened when he heard his name rolled off of a familiar tongue.

"Yo Roxas!" Reno stood up and dusted off his hooded trench coat, grinning like a fiery demon at his best friend. "Where ya been?"

Roxas frowned and punched Reno in the shoulder lightly. "Don't dodge the subject Axel! You should be nicer to the heartless! What if one of them is one of those old friends you talk so much about?"

Reno's shoulders slumped immediately at the reprimand, the image of Rude being a heartless sniffing at his feet too depressing to bear. Sad memories flooded his mind again, Rude's and Tseng's stoic but happy faces gazing at him from the corners of his mind.

Roxas realized his mistake as a very depressed Reno sighed and lowered his head. He chewed his lower lip and then gave his friend a brief but warm hug, a large blush covering his features when Reno raised an eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Whatcha wanna do today?"

Reno immediately brightened, his temporary melancholy falling away as his plan for the day was remembered even though the day was technically over. "Wanna go get some ice cream?" He noted Roxas' red face with a hint of amusement, the blush making him curious as to its cause. It wasn't like Roxas had never hugged him before and he had hugged Roxas on more than one occasion, but for some reason that last hug had been different from the others.

Roxas nodded vigorously and followed Reno through the portal the red-head conjured up without hesitation, the thoughts of salty ice cream and struggle lifting his mood and banishing his confusing emotions.

Reno frowned as they appeared in Twilight Town, the streets dark under the blanket of night. Roxas bumped into his arm and clung to it in confusion. "We've never poofed here at night before. Why did we come at such a weird time Reno?" Roxas hadn't called Reno by his first name in longer than Reno could remember and the slip made him smile. Roxas still remembered it even though he was supposed to have forgotten it. The blonde used it when they were alone or when he was aggravated with the red-head or frustrated with the strict rules of the Organization, but he never said it where the others could hear.

Reno shrugged and conjured a fireball in his free hand, the flame lighting the area around them. "Wanna go back or walk around for awhile?"

"Walk." Roxas gripped Reno's elbow and strained his eyes into the darkness, the fire blinding him slightly. "I don't want to go back yet, there's a breeze here."

Reno grinned and pulled Roxas along, traversing the streets they knew well with ease. They visited the town often and were fairly well acquainted with everyone that lived there, especially Hayner, Pence, Olette, and anyone who sold ice cream. Without all the people milling about Twilight Town seemed strangely empty, but neither of them cared. Reno and Roxas were simply content to be in each others company and enjoy the gentle breeze that refused to blow in the world that never was.

Roxas reckoned that he could have let go of Reno's arm at any point now that his eyes had adjusted to the thin light cast by the flickering flames in his favorite pyro's hand, but he couldn't bring himself to relinquish his tight grip. The fact that he couldn't unclench the hand that fisted Reno's sleeve made him blush furiously and made him thank Reno's Gaia that it was dark and his friend couldn't see the vicious red that attacked his features.

Reno sighed happily as he lead Roxas down the dark streets, grinning like mad as he toyed with the warm fire in his hand and made it dance. He could feel Roxas' hand on his arm but didn't feel the need to shrug it off, allowing it to stay where it was. For once Reno wasn't worried about anything, his entire being consumed simply with the actions of breathing and playing with the fire that danced around his fingers. "Sorry we didn't come when it was light out. I wanted to get you ice cream."

Roxas smiled good-naturedly and pulled the very distracted looking Reno towards the hole in the wall that would take them to the trees he loved to climb in. "It doesn't matter. Besides, I'll get fat if you keep feeding me both my ice cream and yours."

Reno sniggered and ducked through the hole in the wall, his hand held out in front of him so the flames wouldn't catch his trench coat on fire. "I don't know why but I can't make myself like the stuff. It's just too salty!"

Roxas laughed as he finally let go of Reno's arm and ran to a tree, pulling himself into its branches. "You're just too picky Reno."

Reno smirked and let his flame grow taller so that Roxas could see as he climbed to the higher branches. "You hardly ever call me Reno anymore Roxie."

Roxas flushed lightly as he pulled himself onto another branch with a grunt. "I'm not supposed to call you Reno. Isn't it bad luck or something?"

Reno chuckled and let his flame dance even higher, twisting the somewhat docile element into shapes he knew Roxas would like. A very warm bunny flickered as it cleaned red-hot ears with a flaming paw, making Roxas laugh as he pulled himself onto a branch. "Lots of things are bad luck. You spilled salt just the other day."

Roxas laughed and swung his legs gently, unable to climb any higher for fear of falling. "I threw some over my shoulder so my bad luck is nixed."

"Oh really?" Reno sniggered and turned the bunny into a large snake, coiling it to hiss hot air at Roxas. "I bet I could change that easy."

Roxas let the warm air rush over him with a word-induced shiver. He frowned as the snake licked at the branches around him when Reno made it dance hypnotically. "Reno you're setting the tree on fire!" Reno quickly panicked, the snake dissolving into a single flame that continued to lap at the supple leaves hanging off of the trees. Roxas scooted back on his branch to escape the heat that rolled off the growing fire. "Dammit Reno just put out the flame!"

Reno nearly slapped himself in the forehead for not doing that in the first place, quenching the fire in his hand easily. Roxas was scowling at him from the tree where several leaves still smoked and burned. "Sorry Roxie!"

"Don't sorry Roxie me! You just tried to burn up my favorite tree!" Roxas frowned and began climbing down from the tree, the still flaming leaves lighting his descent.

Reno frowned and conjured a much smaller flame in his hand. "I didn't mean to Roxas! You know how fire can get sometimes!"

Roxas dropped onto the ground and folded his arms in front of his chest moodily. His lower lip jutted forward as ashes began falling from the crisp, warm leaves above them. "You still burnt it." He pointed upward angrily. "Look! You made half of it charcoal!"

Reno sighed and put out the fire in his hand, unwilling to play with it if it let him see the look on Roxas' sad face. Unfortunately the moon was full that night and the shadows it cast set Roxas' features in an even more distinctive light. "What do I have to do to make you forgive me this time?"

Roxas laughed and leaned back against his tree, the thing labeled as his own even though it was impossible to truly own a tree. He chewed his lower lip in thought, looking at Reno through narrow eyes as he watched the red-head shift guiltily. A blush crept over his features as he thought up an unlikely answer. He cleared his throat and avoided suggesting what he actually wanted. "What do you think you can do to earn forgiveness?"

"I thought it was your choice? My pleas for forgiveness usually involve ice cream and hugs. There's no ice cream around and you don't look like a hug is gonna cut it this time." Reno gave an evil smirk as he watched Roxas blush in the dim moonlight. "Would you like me to try and kiss it better?"

Roxas turned a deep shade of scarlet before flicking his wrist and pulling up a swirling vortex of darkness that he jumped into without a second glance, his heart racing too fast for his chest to keep pace.

Reno gaped and tried to follow Roxas, but the portal closed before he could reach it. He frowned and slammed his fist into the tree sadly, the breeze Roxas had wanted to stay for mussing his hair. "Did I...Did I do something...wrong?"

Author's Note: I haven't worked on this story in almost a month! Probably over a month actually! Man, I feel so neglectful now! Sorry AIBO!

Anywho, hopefully you liked this chappie, if you didn't let me know ^^