First and foremost trigger warning on this one guys. This is the first of the two parallel endings to Come out of the Shade. And oh god I just realized this is chapter 13. I'm sorry Roxas.
Roxas stared up at the large branches. They stretched out, away from the trunk of the old tree, reaching for the sun. He spied the perfect branch: sturdy, within throwing range… That was really the only requirements for this.
The rope in his hands was rough, digging into delicate skin.
The sun wasn't out. There was a pretty big storm coming in. Thunderstorm warnings threatened everyone to stay inside and away from open spaces or things that might attract the lightning.
It didn't matter for Roxas.
Swinging the rope in his hands, he threw it up and over the branch he had picked out. Surprisingly he made it on the first try, the other end of the rope falling on the opposite side of the branch, just within Roxas's reach. He made a loop and pulled the rope tight to the branch before climbing up the tree and making another loop on the other end.
As he ran his fingers over the rough texture once again, he stared into the sky between the leaves on the tree. Not a sign of the sun could be found.
"I'm sorry, Axel."
Axel had watched the dark clouds overtake the sky, sitting in his window, anticipating the beautiful lightning that would streak across the sky. He loved storms. Not as much as he loved the sunshine, but still. He was a little disappointed when the clouds broke and sun came out. According to the weather channel, the storm had blown right over their city.
Deciding since he couldn't have a beautiful storm to enjoy, Axel went out to enjoy the sunshine instead. He wandered around the neighborhood, thinking about Roxas. He always thought about Roxas when the sun was out because when he smiled, it was like the sun itself was smiling.
"Ugh, maybe I should just tell him." Axel groaned. "I don't want to put more on his plate though…" He scratched at his head in frustration. "Maybe… maybe I will tell him, but make sure he knows that if he's not ready for that or doesn't feel the same, we can just say friends. No hard feelings." Axel looked up to the sky once more, the sun peaking over the clouds. "Yeah… I'll do that."
He hummed along to a tune no one else knew as he wandered around, suddenly excited to see Roxas the next day. Without even realizing it, he found himself in Roxas's favorite park. He wandered the winding paths, not really noticing the direction his feet took him.
He didn't expect to find Roxas.
He didn't expect the clouds to return.
He didn't expect to see his best friend in the tree.
He didn't expect to see his love hanging by a rope.