No one knew by looking at him at Axel had body issues. The only person who did know was his boyfriend, Roxas, and that was only because they lived together and sometimes Axel's fears creep out while their intimate, or about to become intimate. He had tried to hide his poor self-image from Roxas in case Roxas agreed with him, but everyone has their moments of defeat and Axel could only use the "I can't take my shirt off at the beach, I'll burn!" excuse during the daytime.

He had his good days though, days where he'd look in the mirror after he was ready for work and think "Hey, I don't look ugly today," and the rest of the day he'd feel pretty good about himself. Some days Roxas would compliment him and he'd feel on top of the world too, and Axel always loved those days where he'd wake up and just feel good without even having to look in the mirror because it helped him believe that being beautiful doesn't make you happy.

Today wasn't a good day, though. The minute Axel opened his eyes he knew that today would be an awful day. Stepping in the shower, he looked down and shuddered at the disgusting body he saw; chest too thin, stomach somehow too big, legs too long, penis too ... well, it was a penis so it was just ugly. Sighing, Axel washed himself and made sure his nails dug into the especially ugly places, hoping that his nails were sharp enough to get rid of some of the fat off his stomach, or become a distraction from his painfully skinny chest.

Stepping out of the shower, Axel wrapped a towel around his waist and kept his head down, trying to avoid the bathroom mirror. Feeling the pressure start to build in his chest, he gave up and looked at his reflection. Eyes have dark circles around them, mouth is too thin, eyebrows too wide, tattoo's fading, hair too dark. He stared into his reflection's eyes, hoping the mirror would change, hoping that the mirror would some how make him beautiful. He never noticed Roxas look in, frown, and walk out.

Getting dressed was painful too, all his clothes were too small even though the proof suggested that they fit perfectly. But Axel thought he gained, and in his mind the clothes he was putting on made his stomach look horrible and his thighs look like tree trunks. Walking to work, Axel was sure people were laughing at him, and while he was at work he was sure people were talking about him.

That wasn't all that went wrong, of course. Faxes didn't come in, people didn't pick up their phones when it was important, there was an emergency meeting that everyone seemed to be prepared for except Axel. He had spilt coffee on his black work pants, had got his finger caught in his desk drawer, his computer had blue screened twice and on top of all of that he was late getting important document to the right people and he was sure they were going to be pissed. Looking outside, Axel wondered how this day could get any worse ... And then it started to rain.

Walking home, Axel wasn't sure if he was happy with his choice not to bring his jacket or pissed off at it. It would be less wet clothing to take off, but the rain mixed with the wind made it cold outside, regardless of springs lovely temperature. He had only been splashed twice on his walk home.

Opening the front door to their apartment, Axel looked down at the mat and noticed Roxas' shoes weren't there. Glad that one thing seemed to be going right, Axel took his shoes off and walked into their bedroom. Removing his socks, he glanced around the room and sniffed, trying to place the smell ... flowers, he thought, maybe ... or was it fruity? Shrugging, Axel removed his tie, button-up and black work pants. Taking another sniff, he tried to place the smell, but still couldn't do it. It was fruity though, not flowery.

Taking off his boxer briefs, Axel walked over to the closet and opened the doors, grabbing a towel to dry his hair off. Turning, Axel gasped as Roxas stood grinning from the bedroom door.
"It's tropical punch."
"What is?"
"The scent. Tropical punch. I remember you saying you loved the smell of it."
Nodding, Axel moved the towel lower, trying to figure out which parts of his body he wanted covered the most.

Before he could cover anything, Roxas was standing in front of him and had his arms around Axel's waist, pulling him close against his own body.
"What are you doing, Rox?"
"I was in the bathroom this morning ..."
"You're usually in the bathroom in the morning."
"I was in there when you were."
"I didn't see you?"
"I was in the doorway when you were looking in the mirror."
Axel blinked down at his boyfriend and frowned. He knew that Roxas disliked when he felt this bad about himself and it usually caused some type of argument, one that neither of them meant to start.
"Look, I've had a bad day and I'd really prefer not to talk about this."

Shaking his head, Roxas looked up at Axel and kissed his chest.
"Will you lie down if I ask you to?"
"No ..."
Sighing, Roxas nodded and stepped back from Axel, giving him a small, sad smile before exiting the bedroom.
"I'm making chicken stir-fry tonight ... And you're eating some."
Axel shut his mouth, ready to tell Roxas he wasn't hungry.

Their night went uneventful, but as it got later and later, Axel's mood lifted. He and Roxas ate dinner; which was excellent, they didn't fight and now they were watching Wipe Out. The day Axel had was already forgotten, but the feeling was still there. Roxas had spent a good deal of time running his hands through Axel's hair and hoping that his plan would help Axel, or at least start to help him.

Axel had fallen asleep with his head in Roxas' lap and Roxas didn't wake him up until 9:00 p.m.
"Ax, wake up, time for bed."
Muttering, Axel opened his eyes and glanced up, nodding to signal that he understood what Roxas had just said. Standing up, Axel and Roxas walked into the bedroom and prepared to sleep.

Undressing made Axel's mood resurface, and the fact that Roxas was in the room, seemingly watching him, made it a lot worse. Finally, completely naked, Axel reached for the bottoms he had laid out and blinked when Roxas stopped his hand.
"Roxas?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you let go of my hand?"
Roxas shifted under his boyfriend's gaze but didn't let go of his hand. Wrapping his other arm around Axel's waist, Roxas looked up at him and smiled.
"... What?"
"You're really beautiful."
"I told you I didn't want to do this tonight, Roxas."

Roxas tightened his grip on his boyfriend and buried his face against his chest.
"I would give anything for you to see what I see, Axel."
"I know you would."
"Can I show you?"
"Show me?"
"Yeah."
Axel looked away from Roxas' puppy dog eyes and frowned, confused about what Roxas meant by show him.
"How?"
"You'll see."
Looking back down, Axel nodded and released the grip he had unknowingly had on Roxas' arms.
"Thank you."

Making Axel get on the bed and relax was easy, but Roxas could tell his boyfriend hated the situation.
"Why are you shaking?"
The glare Axel sent Roxas could have melted an iceberg.
"Why do you think I'm shaking?"
Kneeling beside Axel's side, Roxas shook his head.
"I know why, but I don't know why."
He wasn't sure if he made sense, but it made Axel take his glare away.
"Will you please just get whatever it is you have planned over with?"
Nodding, Roxas got to the end of the bed and looked up at Axel, smiling to try and reassure him everything was okay.

"I love how you always seem to have nice feet; the skin isn't cracked or anything."
Picking Axel's foot up, Roxas placed a kiss to the arch in it.
"Eh?!"
Axel blinked and leaned up on his elbows, staring-wide eyed at Roxas. Roxas ignored Axel's reaction and kept going.
"I love your legs and how they're so long. Your legs are just amazing."
Kissing up to Axel's thigh, Roxas retreated and did the same to the other leg, finally kissing Axel's thighs. Grinning, Roxas winked up at Axel.
"I love your penis because ... well, we both know why I love that part of you."
Roxas smiled as he placed kisses all along Axel's soft member. Pausing slightly, Roxas thought for a moment before making Axel turn his bottom half to the side.
"I love your ass because of how great it is, especially when you're wearing tight jeans that hug your ass and legs."
Kissing Axel's ass and making sure to kiss his hole, Roxas smiled at the gasp he recieved in return. Making Axel return to normal, Roxas grinned up at his boyfriend, who was now biting his finger and blushing so hard that his cheeks matched his hair.
"I love your waist because it makes you fit perfectly in my arms."
Kissing Axel's waist, Roxas glanced up at his boyfriend, knowing he was about to reach a spot Axel was terrified of.
"And I love your stomach, no matter what you think of it. It's not big at all, and it's sad that you see it that way."
Roxas made sure to kiss a heart onto Axel's stomach.
"I love your chest because it always welcomes my head."
Placing more kisses on Axel's chest, Roxas paused and skipped over one of the most important parts of Axel's body.

"I love your shoulders because of how delicate they look."
Kissing down Axel's shoulders, Roxas shut his eyes and let himself get lost.
"I love your arms and how they always make me feel safe, no matter what's happening."
"I love your hands and fingers because they fit perfectly with mine."
Moving onto the other side, Roxas kissed his way up until he got to Axel's face.
"I love your nose because of how cute it is."
Kissing the tip of Axel's nose made Roxas grin wider.
"I love your tattoos because they're so ... you."
Kissing each tattoo, Roxas looked into Axel's eyes.
"I love your eyes because they show me everything."
Moving up, Roxas kissed the top of Axel's head and laughed as Axel's hair tickled his nose.
"I love your hair because it's so natural and really beautiful."
Leaning back, Roxas looked down and smiled at his blushing boyfriend. Returning to Axel's face, Roxas smiled and placed kiss onto Axel's lips.
"I love your lips because of the things you say, because of your voice, because of how they taste and their feeling ... there are many reasons I love your lips."

Roxas blinked as Axel bite his lip and turned his face away, worried he did something wrong.
"Axel?"
"Hm?"
"You okay?"
"Hm."
Moving beside him, Roxas took Axel's face in his hands and frowned as he felt the wetness on his hands and noticed the tears running down Axel's face.
"I did something wrong?"
Shaking his head, Axel looked at Roxas and tried to get his emotions under control, knowing that if he spoke now he'd sob.
"Thank you."
That was all Axel managed to choke out before he sobbed and hugged Roxas to him. Feeling relief wash over him that he had made Axel feel some what better, Roxas moved his head back and shook his head.
"I'm not done yet."
"You're not?"
Shaking his head, Roxas leaned up and kissed Axel's forehead.
"I love your brain and what it's able to do ... And I hope this shows you that you're nothing but beautiful in my eyes; inside and out. If you gained weight you'd still be beautiful. I hope your amazing mind can remember that I'll always see you in this light."

Axel didn't know if his mind could remember that, and he wasn't going to promise Roxas that he'd never feel negatively about himself, but he knew that every time he looked at something on his body he'd remember this night and it would come with a positive feeling and maybe this memory was enough to help him see what Roxas was seeing.

"You're done now?"
"One last thing."
Leaning back, Roxas looked down and smiled at his boyfriend. Returning to Axel's chest, Roxas looked up at a now leaning up Axel. Placing a gentle kiss above Axel's heart, Roxas looked into Axel's eyes and smiled.
"And I love your heart because you let me into it."