Axel felt in a thousand fragments of color, and Roxas sometimes tried not to feel at all. Axel hated change, and Roxas put the star in starting over. Axel held his hair hostage, and Roxas had eyes that were wild, could eat someone up, and freeze them over; the windows to his soul were cold and covered everything with a ravenous blue ice. Axel was the ocean, resisting change and wearing away everything with his unpredictable predictable nature. Roxas was the city, building up and out. Bright, loud, amazing. The next few school days came and went drifting by in that lazy way that felt like an eon and an earful. Finally the weekend was upon them, and the redhead felt his heart flood as Roxas approached him. "Hey, want to come over and hang out at my house tonight?"

The words rang like bells from Roxas' lips this time, and Axel had to suppress his urge to confess to the blond there on the spot. Clearing his throat, he managed a casual, "Yeah, I'd love to come over. Just let me send my mom a text."

They were soon on the bus home, and Axel delighted in that foreign moment where he got off at the wrong stop even though the neighborhood was as familiar as could be. Walking home for Roxas must be a time of existential crisis and philosophical revelations for the blond had gotten no more than forty yards from where they had gotten off before asking, "Do you think The Database is anything like our world? Was Xion ever there?"

"From what Xion told me, it's a lot of white rooms connecting to a street in a large, large town. They all sit and wait. Never too far away from their screens or plugs in case they are needed." It sounded pitiful really. Axel couldn't imagine such an odd world. "She says there are a few humans too. The ones that survived the Upload in those early years. It's only one or two, though, and she says that they usually just bitch and moan to each other about what a bad idea it was." He chuckled a bit at that, "Imagine that: they regret the decision."

Roxas gave a nod, "So, I asked around about you after I left your house, because I'm…Well because I'm kind of a snoop, and I found out you're gay." Axel's posture straightened and his insides might have well just fallen out in a pile on the sidewalk. "Is this true?"

It was already almost twenty-five years after equality in marriage had been achieved, but his voice seemed to flee from him, and there in the silence, he answered. His words seemed to die on his lips, and it was almost like he had said nothing at all. "Yes." What if Roxas hated him now? What if he thought it was gross and was part of one of those homophobic families that still clung around?

The blond seemed to process this well and gave him a small smile, "Thanks for telling me. It's good to be honest and live as someone you are."

Axel died. Roxas was just too cute, nice, and understanding, and lord knows that he was smart. Unlike some of the other people that the redhead had met, Roxas wasn't lacking in any of the qualities he desired. The taller male knew it was common to settle in the gay community for something close to what you want, but Roxas was perfect. Roxas was exactly what Axel thought he deserved, "Thanks for taking it so well. Do you lean towards men any?"

Processing the question, Roxas analyzed his emotions and feelings. He'd usually felt more emotionally connected to men than women, and the few girls that he had taken out, hadn't excited him any, "I guess. I mean I'd give it a go if the right person came along. I'm still young, so I might as well give something different a shot. You never know if you like something until you give it a try."

"So bi-curious." Axel gave a small nod. He knew better than to dabble with people like that. They had the reputation of backing out, and the redhead didn't have the time to be heartbroken crying on the floor. He really should just abandon this nasty crush once and for all and just settle for being friends.

"Naw, I'd say bi. If I broke up with someone, it wouldn't be over gender. It'd be over personality incompatibility." The blond decided, "Just in the closet about it. I'm not really desperate to date due to my condition, ya know? I'm kind of dangerous even if the chance of getting it is astronomically small."

That had slipped the redhead's mind again. It was easy to forget due to the way Roxas acted that he was sick, "What if someone was willing to look past that or you got cured?" All he needed were those nanomachines, and Xion would be able to be fully functional and fulfill her original purpose.

"Then I guess I could date them? They'd just have to be really understanding that I'm an asshole sometimes, and I get kind of depressed occasionally." Roxas looked up at Axel and the cosmos collided as he understood why the redhead was asking all of this. "Axel…do you like me?"

He bit his lip as he thought about all that had just been said. He was putting himself at a risk for Panguin no matter how small. Roxas was sick; he could pass away. "I mean…yeah, I have for a while. I know we didn't talk much before this, but I've liked you on and off since elementary school."

Blue ice melted, "So when you were dating Carter Malverone-?"

"You know about that?" Carter had been Axel's first boyfriend, and he had a personality that was very similar to Roxas', "Character is everything, Roxas. I don't care about looks. He was pretty sweet, but he was a bit too much for me to handle. He was really gossipy too."

Roxas looked down at the ground and studied the differences between Axel's green converse and his dirty black Vans. Trying to handle the information the best he could, he swallowed thickly, "So…I mean, I have actually kind of liked you since we last talked. Not like, a lot, but…Do you wanna be my boyfriend? I think we could get along really well, and you're fun to be around. If you can tolerate when I'm feeling grumpy, I'll put up with any and all of your flaws."

Trying to keep his heart within his ribcage, Axel's face lit up with glowing grin, "I think I'd like that. I think I'd like that a lot."

Blushing, the blond mumbled, "Cool." He looked up to the other trying to seem as mature as possible, "So can I like…hold your hand?"

Offering it to the younger boy, Axel chortled, "Yeah, Rox. You can hold my hand." And with that, they walked home.

Reviews~ Layla thanks for beta ;3