If We Had Hearts: After Sora had selflessly sacrificed herself for Kairi and became a heartless, a nobody was created. Solitary, wandering, not sure how she became or where to go her Nobody walked the streets of Twilight Town only to be found by the Leader of Organization XIII. He gave her a purpose, he gave her a name: Roxas.

Author's Note: This story centers on Roxas and her life with Organization XIII and while Xion will make an appearance I'm focusing more on our two favorite nobodies Roxas and Axel.

Chapter 2: The Heartless Mission

My Sanctuary… Where fears and lies melt away… Music inside.

~ Day 10~

The room she'd been given was stark white, and looked out at the square of dark city buildings where she knew the heartless roamed freely. She wasn't sure what kept them from coming inside the castle, but Saix and the other organization members assured her that the Superior would never allow a breach.

Heartless… The creatures that had come after her in Twilight Town finally had a name. Luxiana, who had been put in charge of her the day before, had explained to her that heartless were creatures that were manifested in the darkness, whether by nature or design. A pureblood heartless were hearts that succumbed to darkness on their own and usually resembled something of a shadow, Emblemed Heartless had been created by a machine and took shape of creatures of the world they inhabited.

Her keyblade was the proper weapon to destroy them. With her weapon the hearts could be freed and collected for the purpose the organization had in store for them. Kingdom Hearts. Roxas still wasn't sure what that was or what even a heart was. She'd have to ask Axel, if anyone could tell her he could. Nevertheless she'd finally found her purpose, and she would do her job, she would do her job well.

The stink and sweat of the day was proof of that. The smell of her clothes made her nose wrinkle and she unzipped the coat letting it fall to the floor before stepping into the bathroom connected to her room. She eyed the shower carefully trying to remember the steps Larxene had shown her and shuddered a bit remembering the shock the blonde nymph had given her the moment her fingers touched the water.

This time however she was alone, and when she touched the water she felt the heat, and smooth ripple of water against fingers. She stepped in letting the water beat against her and sighed. Something tight inside her released like a lock and she collapsed into the stall just staring blankly up as the water pelted on her.

Her mind wandered to her lesson earlier that day. Her guide for today had been Zexion, and he'd done his best to explain that every member of Organization 13 was a nobody. Nobodies lack hearts, and therefore are incomplete. With the help of Kingdom Hearts they could become whole and complete.

"Nobodies don't exist…" she muttered to herself, the water soothing and softening her muscles, making her relax and slump onto the tile. Roxas wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but once awake she no longer felt the hot water. Instead she felt the cool chill of air. Someone was calling her name, and as she blinked open her eyes Axel's familiar face came into view. He had a look in his eyes she didn't recognize, one of concern and then relief as she stirred

"Thank goodness, for a minute I thought I'd have to get Saix or Vexen in here. That wouldn't have been pleasant." He tucked the towel tighter around her as she shuddered and lifted her up. "Hold on, I've got you."

"Axel… what are you doing?" Roxas' tone was sleepy and confused, but she recognized neither feeling, nor did she sense Axel's embarrassment.

"I'm getting you to bed, you can't fall asleep in the shower, Roxas, or you'll drown."

"Drown...oh… the water." She glanced back sleepily at the shower. "How did you know I was in there?"

"I knocked on your door to check up on you, but you weren't there, and I heard the water going. I called out but you didn't answer, so I walked in and… well… found you passed out on the shower floor."

"I didn't even know I fell asleep. The water was warm, and it was… nice. I liked it and I wanted to stay like that."

"You gotta be careful, a nice hot shower is fine but don't get carried away. Five minutes tops for a shower, relax, wash off the ick then get out. Otherwise like I said you're liable to drown." He set her on the bed and handed her her cloak. Roxas eyed it with a frown and just lay down on the bed in only a towel.

"Hey, come on get dressed. You're gonna catch a cold if you lay in bed damp and naked." Red tinted Axel's cheeks.

"I like being naked, that cloak is heavy, and…" she tried to think of the world but failed to comprehend what she wanted to express.

"Uncomfortable?" Axel offered and sat on the side of the bed. "I know, it's a little weird but you can't just lay naked. What if someone sees you?"

"So?" She rolled onto her back, those sleepy blue eyes looking up soft and yet somehow intensely at him. "You're seeing me now, aren't you? It doesn't bother me."

Axel's fingers tightened to fists and he rolled over top of her, their faces getting so close Roxas could taste his breath.

"It should bother you. I'm a guy, you're a girl. I shouldn't have to spell it out for you."

"We're nobodies, Axel. Things like sex, attraction, and lust don't apply to us. Zexion told me that."

Bullshit, Axel thought with a frown. That's such bullshit. He clenched his fists in her hair, the fresh scent of her shower stirring something in his gut. He may be a nobody but he remembered what attraction felt like, and it hit him hard in the gut.

"Want a bet?"

He nearly closed the gap, his mouth just brushing the bottom lip when a knock on the door had him jumping up as if he'd been splashed with cold water.

"Axel, if you're in there, Xemnas wants you and Larxene to go run a quick errand for him." Saix's voice made him grunt and he sat straddling Roxas on the bed his eyes hard and his breathing still rapid.

"Yeah, yeah, i'm going." He looked down at Roxas who hadn't moved an inch, but he saw her face had gone flush and her eyes a little wide. "We're not done here, not by a long shot." He jumped off her and strolled out the door. "Put some clothes on Roxie, don't be an open target."

Roxas watched him leave before sitting up in bed. She touched her face which had warmed from the intimacy, and her own breath was punching out. There was this twisting sensation in her gut and a tickling along her skin that made her shiver.

"We of the organization were born without hearts." She spoke to herself, repeating Zexion's lesson in her mind again. Her eyelashes fluttered and she touched her lips and chest. "So...if we don't have hearts… does that really mean we don't exist?" Her eyes lowered and despite knowing she couldn't feel and shouldn't be bothered by it… Roxas tugged on the cloak and laid down to sleep.

~Days 11 thru 14~

Over the next couple of days Roxas learned a great deal about her purpose with the organization. It helped to have missions to concentrate on everyday, and take things a step at a time. She found her own strengths and realized her weaknesses. She would travel back and forth between worlds, using portals of darkness that they as organization members could use to break through the roads that were blocked from world to world.

She hadn't really seen or heard from Axel because he'd been on his own missions. Roxas wondered why she was a bit disappointed in that, or why she missed seeing him. The last time they'd spoken he'd made her…

… made her what, exactly? She couldn't quite describe it. It was a new sensation, one she was sure a nobody shouldn't be able to express but it was there, clawing its way through to her belly and out of every pore in her body in a terrible heat.

She stepped out of the darkness portal and into Twilight Town… the sight of Axel made her eyes widen and without thinking she ran straight to him and grabbed the back of his cloak. His head turned and he flashed a smile.

"Hey, I was hoping I'd see you today." He turned and took the hand she'd grabbed hold of. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes." She said honestly catching him a bit off guard. He dropped her hand and scratched his cheek laughing.

"Blunt, aren't you." He glanced over as three kids ran past them laughing and shoting at each other. Roxas' eyes followed them, her lips pursed and eyes wide and taking in every movement.

"Who were they?"

"Probably just some kids who live here."

"Does everyone act that way?" She turned those wide blue eyes up at Axel.

"Like what?"

"You know, chasing each other, making all that noise." She turned her glance back to where the kids had disappeared down the street.

"Well yeah, if they have hearts, I suppose that's what they do." Axel replied a bit weirded out by the conversation.

"Hearts…" Roxas' expression turned sour. Axel eyed her and his lips twitched a bit. She looked pissed off.

"C'mon, let's get some ice cream." Axel suggested wanting to lighten her mood.

"Why?" She turned that cool blue gaze on him now.

"Why? Uh, well, cuz… cuz we're friends."

"Friends?" Her brow rose in confusion. "What's that?"

"Friends, eat ice cream together, and laugh and talk about stupid stuff… like those kids we just saw." He watched her gaze soften and widen and glance back at the direction of the downtown noise.

"Friends… huh." Roxas whispered and felt her lips curve a lil. She felt Axel take her hand and pull her along the street. He bought them a couple of ice cream bars and they took their usual spot on the clock tower. Below them the kids from before played and ran around, and the cry of the gulls and ocean echoed around them creating a soothing music to the ears.

Roxas pondered over everything she was experiencing, including the taste of the salty sweet ice cream on her tongue, and the warmth of Axel's body brushed up right next to her. His free hand still touched hers, his fingers drawing lazy circles over the back of her hand in a move neither of them gave much thought to. It just seemed… right.

"Hey Roxas…" Axel spoke up licking ice cream from his lips. "After your next mission, let's meet up for ice cream again." He waited til her gaze met his before continuing. "No fun just going back and forth between the castle and work, right?"

"Hmmm, yeah, right….we're friends, huh?" Roxas smiled softly and stared out at the sunset. It's warmth, and Axel's spread around her and she closed her eyes enjoying the sensation of it. She took a deep breath before biting down into her ice cream again. She felt Axel's fingers lock with hers and for the first time since before she could remember… Roxas was content.

~Days 15 Thru 22~

Axel kept an eye on Roxas when he could. She set out on missions every day, going through them easily, collecting hearts as she was purposed to do. He kept his promise and met up after every mission to eat ice cream and just talk. She'd ask questions, mostly about the world around them… or she'd just sit and contently listen to him as he griped about his own work.

She'd become a real true companion, and the friend he'd said they were. Still he couldn't get the image of her laying half naked in bed underneath him out of his mind. He'd done his best to just ignore the twists and tingles but something about her… the way she looked, the way she smelled, it all seemed familiar and intriguing. He flirt with her… but she was still a novice in that particular game. Most of the time she gave him a blank stare, or just a small smile of amusement to his compliments or teases.

He wondered what he'd have to do, to get her to respond to him a little better. Would he have to coach everything? Perhaps so… and even then would she be open to it?

He turned the various ideas over and over in his head before walking up to Saix after his latest mission. Marluxia and Larxene had finished for the day, and Axel was due to meet Roxas for ice cream again.

"Before you leave," Saix addressed all three of them. "You all have been assigned to Castle Oblivion detail. The superior is becoming impatient with the lack of progress we're making so he wants you three as well as Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus to spend a few weeks there and try and speed things up."

"Fun…" Axel groaned and raked fingers through his hair. "When do we have to leave?"

"Tomorrow… so I suggest you tell your little "friend" that you won't be meeting with her anymore." Saix grunted and turned his back on him. Larxene gave a wry laugh.

"Friend? Don't tell me he's talking about Roxas? Have you gone sweet on her, Axel?"

"That's really none of your concern, now is it Larxene?" Axel smirked back at her.

"She's a kid, Axel. Don't expect much out of her, she doesn't remember nearly as much as we do when it comes to the emotions of a heart."

"You make it sound as if you had one before… here I thought you'd always been heartless." Axel snorted and strolled out, his eyes narrowed in the darkness. The darkness suited him… it was empty, brutal, and it fit his brooding mood just perfectly. The longer he stayed, the more he wanted to just drift there, let it consume him.

Still, the light was too bright to ignore, though it stung his eyes he walked to it… stepping through dark and reaching his hands out to touch the light on the other side. The first thing he saw was Roxas' face, her eyes lit when she saw him and she flashed a smile at him. That smile was new, and growing on him more and more. The longer they were together, the bigger her smile got.

"Axel, i bought the ice cream today!" Roxas held out the bar to him. "Come on, the sun's already setting!" She took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Axel wondered why the movement also squeezed his chest too. He followed her all the way up to the clock, sat with her as he always did… and nibbled on his ice cream as he watched her take huge smiling bites.

"I'm gonna miss you…" he whispered and caught her attention. Her mouth still on the ice cream she gave him a wide blinking stare.

"Hmmm?"

"I said, I'm gonna miss… this ice cream thing we do." He cleared his throat and took a bite to give him a minute to respond. "I can fill you in since we're friends. I've been assigned to castle Oblivion."

"Castle Oblivion?"

"Yeah, the organization has a second castle in the lanes between. It's called Castle Oblivion. Got it memorized?" He touched his temple smirking. She answered his smirk with one of her own, but it quickly fell when his words sank in.

"I wish people would tell me these things… when are you leaving?" She clutched the ice cream bar in both hands watching the rest start to drip off.

"Tomorrow, first thing. I won't be able to meet up with you, at least for awhile." He scooted closer and tugged on the ends of her hair. "I'll be back though."

"Mmmm," She turned to him, their faces close again and his hands still in her hair playing with the ends. "I'll miss you." She admitted, not realizing her cheeks had flushed from the close contact.

"I know you will… but hey… how about I give you something to hold you off til I get back."

"Give me something?" Roxas tilted her head a bit in confusion. "Like what?"

"Close your eyes." He instructed, and waited for her lids to close before scooting in all the way. "Keep them closed." He whispered and with a quick inhale kissed her. Roxas' breath backed up into her lungs as the sensation of his mouth on her sent all those tingles fluttering through her. She nearly dropped her ice cream in the excitement and confusion of the kiss.

Axel had only meant to give her a peck, but the sensation of it was so… perfect. He parted her lips with his tongue let it deepen and he heard her gasp and murmur. His free hand stroked over her face and through her hair and he took big greedy gulps, helpling himself to her flavor and touch.

When he finally broke away they were both breathing a little heavily, Roxas' eyes finally opened and she stared at him confused, and stirred up. Those blue eyes were wet with arousal, though she couldn't adhere to the unfamiliar sensation, and her mouth trembled and was plumped from the contact.

"That should do it." Axel whispered and stroked her cheek before standing up. "Well I better be getting back and getting ready. Nothing but fun, fun, fun." he strolled past her, pausing briefly to glance back and see she was staring at the ground, flushed and so obviously bemused. His lips curved and he touched them with his fingertips laughing a bit. "Time for you to give this a thought."

Weeeee! Second chapter up. I wonder if I'm going through the days too fast… how did you guys like the flow of this? Let me know if you'd like any changes.

Next Chapter: Absence and Fulfillment