This was meant to be done yesterday for Thanksgiving, but... that didn't happen. So you get it today. It's short and has a rather vague ending because I could literally take this in two completely different directions and I wasn't sure which I wanted to. The evil writer side of me wanted to do the tragic and sad ending, but the person who reads the reviews wanted to do something nice and fluffy for the holiday. If you guys like it I might write both endings and post them as separate chapters.
Come Out of the Shade
They were best friends.
They were in love with each other.
They were only best friends.
Riku never understood why Axel loved Roxas. Roxas wasn't like his brother. He wasn't happy and open and friendly. Roxas was quiet and introverted and, sometimes, just downright sad. Riku told Axel he was an idiot when the redhead told him he wasn't sure what that feeling in his chest was, but he was pretty sure it was love, and he was pretty sure it had to do with Roxas.
But Riku didn't see the Roxas that Axel did.
Maybe because Axel was the only person that did get to see that Roxas.
Roxas wore dark clothes. He wore black hoodies that he was always swimming in, and tight black jeans with studded belts. Not that you could really tell with the hoodies covering them. He usually had his hood pulled up over his head or he was sitting somewhere in the shade. His skin was pale from the lack of sunlight. Roxas didn't talk to anyone. He said a few words to Sora, but Sora was his brother, so of course he would talk a little to him. But most everyone else had never heard a word slip from the blond's lips. Many would say that the first thing they noticed about Roxas was the sad look in his eye. No one knew why he seemed to sad, but he always did.
But that was the Roxas that everyone else saw. The Roxas that Axel saw was different.
He wore clothes that emphasized how small he was, making him look fragile and innocent. His bright blue eyes shone from underneath the shade of his hood and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips most of the time, splitting into a beautiful smile when he was happiest. His skin was smooth and unmarred, pale against the dark clothes and blond hair. He didn't have much to say, but he spoke when he needed to and his laugh was perfection. When he looked away, the sadness creped into his eyes.
That was the Roxas Axel loved. The Roxas that only Axel got to see.
No one knew why Roxas was so sad. Why he stayed behind in the shadow. Why he shut out the world. Axel though many times to ask his best friend what it was, but chose not to. It was not his place, not his purpose. He wasn't there to fix Roxas's problems, just to give him peace while he worked through them himself. He would wait for Roxas to solve his problems before he complicated things with his feelings.
Sora wasn't exactly surprised when Roxas told him one day that he was in love with Axel. Everyone loved Axel, and Axel had always paid special attention to Roxas. Of course he would love him.
Axel was tall and slim, wiry muscles underneath thin fabric. He was student council president. He had all the girls at school eating out of his palm. He was handsome and beautiful at the same time. He was confident and friendly and outgoing and charming. He was kind and thoughtful and always knew what to say to Roxas.
But Axel was like that to everyone. Roxas was not special.
Roxas knew that Axel only took the time everyday to sit and eat lunch with him, to talk to him even if he said nothing in return, because Axel was a good person. He would do that for anyone. He did it because Roxas had no one else.
Roxas knew this. Axel would never love him the way he loved Axel.
Roxas and Axel were best friends.
Roxas needed something more than that.
Roxas needed someone to bring him into the sun.