The Rest

Embrace me

Surround me

As the rush comes

At two weeks, six days, fourteen hours, and thirty seven minutes, Axel had opted to help a nurse give Roxas a sponge bath. This was a male nurse, named Kyle or something that Axel didn't bother to remember, but he knew that he didn't want another guy touching his Roxas. Namely Roxas' junk.

"Please, sir, it's part of my job to do this." The nurse's eye was starting to twitch. Axel thought that it was rather funny.

"Yeah, well, you don't exactly look like you enjoy sponging down dudes. I, on the other hand, have no problem with washing my friend." Axel crossed his arms and stared him down. Kyle, though he appeared weak, stood his ground.

"Sir, look. If you would just let me do my job―" Kyle was getting aggravated, but Cloud happened to walk past Roxas' room at the right moment.

"Kyle, Axel, what's wrong?" he questioned, sounding quite exasperated. For the past two weeks, Axel had been curt to every staff member that tried to do anything to Roxas. Cloud had always come to his rescue. Nurses, Candy Stripers, random doctors, volunteers, practically anybody. The only people Axel trusted were Cloud, Aerith, and Roxas' neurologist.

Dr. Forrest was a woman, which was a highly admirable thing considering her career. She was also soft spoken, but outgoing when she needed to be. Her eyes and hair color were also remarkably similar to Roxas, which was always a plus in Axel's eyes. Then again, Cloud looked similar to Roxas as well. Was there a secret society of blue-eyed, light blond people following him around just to screw with his head?

Kyle glared at Axel and replied to Cloud. "This guy won't let me wash the patient by myself."

Axel glared back. "Hey, I just don't think that he wants to that much. I'm only helping him and my friend."

Cloud sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously tired of the redundancy of this situation. "Kyle, just let him wash his boyfriend. I'm sure that he'd want Axel to if he was awake."

Kyle's eye simply twitched as he walked away, muttering something about an "overbearing bastard."

At three months, eleven days, nineteen hours, and twenty-five minutes, Axel was asleep in a chair besides Roxas' bed. Demyx had come on his own accord to visit Roxas. He peeked into the small room, noting the smell of disinfectant and the hideous wallpaper.

Axel gave a light snore, which startled Demyx. He tiptoed forward to look at Roxas. The blond had a heavy dusting of stubble on his chin and his hair was slightly greasy, deflating the soft spikes. The constant beeps of the heart monitor made him seem even more tragic than he already was.

Demyx took a blanket from a nightstand beside the bed and draped it over Axel's scrunched form. He snuggled deeper into it, making the dirty blond smile sadly.

Demyx had seen Axel slowly transform from a cocky sex god into a quiet, broken soul. The two blonds had never spent much time in each other's company, but they were friends nonetheless. Maybe most important of all, he could tell that Roxas felt something deep for Axel.

When all three of them would spend time together, Demyx would observe the way Axel would look at Roxas, and the small things that Roxas would do. Strangely, Demyx had an unbelievable gaydar. Usually being straight doesn't give you the knack to spot those who aren't, but the dirty blond had inherited it regardless. He thought of it as a gift that he should use to help mankind.

What a load of crap. He tested it on everybody he knew, and the only two people who actually turned out to be gay were Axel and, surprise surprise, Roxas. Of course, he never told Axel or Roxas, thinking that he didn't know it himself. Demyx did have a rather... bubbly nature, you could say, but he was quite sagely.

So now Demyx was added to the crowd of people just waiting for Roxas to realize his orientation and Axel to snap. All five of them (the group consisted of Demyx, Axel's parents, and Roxas' parents) hoped it would be soon, since they didn't like keeping up with the silly façade.

Tired of the depressing environment, Demyx lightly ruffled Axel's hair and kissed Roxas on the forehead, silently wishing him awake. With that, he crept away from the sounds of Axel's snores and the heart monitor.

At five months, twelve days, nine hours, and fifteen minutes, Axel had finally broken down.

He screamed. He sobbed. He shook Roxas' unconscious shoulders. If Cloud and Dr. Forrest hadn't restrained him in time, he might have slapped Roxas across the face.

"Axel, please, just calm down. If you don't get a hold of yourself, security will remove you. Axel, we don't want to see you leave." Dr. Forrest's voice was slow and calming, which greatly soothed Axel. His breathing started to even out and the tears began to ebb. She, Cloud, and Axel were all three sitting on the floor, leaning on Roxas' bed.

Axel swallowed roughly and rubbed at his reddened eyes. "T-thank you, Dr. For-rest," he stuttered thickly. Dr. Forrest grabbed his hand and placed it between her smaller ones.

"Don't worry about it, Axel. And please, call me Naminé. It's pointless to be formal any longer." She started to smooth his hair onto his scalp, only to watch it spring up again. She paid no mind, however, and repeated the action. Cloud followed her lead and grabbed Axel's other hand, stroking the top of it.

Axel realized how idiotic and menstrual he must have looked, screaming and shaking a motionless form. He hung his head, only having Naminé tip his head back upright. "That's bad for your neck," she warned.

They sat like that for a few minutes, waiting until a nurse came to shoo Axel away. He stumbled from the room, a red and puffy mess. Cloud, not having said much during their encounter, called to Axel as he walked away.

"Axel! Maybe you should stay home tomorrow. You know, take a break for a day, go see a few friends?" Axel noticed that the skin on his forehead was furrowed together and there was a small crease between his eyebrows. He looked to Naminé, who's eyes seemed to frown in sadness. These people, these two doctors, they honestly cared. Nobody who bothered to have those facial expressions was faking it.

Axel scratched at his scalp and dragged a hand over his face, as if it would make the redness vanish. "Okay, I'll take a break. I'll see you on Friday, okay?" They nodded, expressions softening.

The redhead walked away slowly, already regretting saying that he'd take a day off.

At five months, thirteen days, seven hours, and forty-three minutes, while Roxas was choking, Axel was laying on the floor of Roxas' bedroom. Crying, to be exact. Lying next to him was a picture in a frame of Roxas and himself, among two strangers. It was one of those candid photos from an amusement park roller coaster that you buy in the overpriced gift shop that is conveniently placed at the exit of the ride. It was a vacation that they went on to celebrate Axel's high school graduation. The roller coaster was called "The Apollo."

The thing about the picture that stole Axel's heart was the fact that Roxas got so scared that he had grasped Axel's hand in his own. The fleeting look of fear was forever painted on his features as well, and it could have looked like holding Axel's hand was what scared him, but the redhead didn't care.

He was tired of being alone in that apartment, night after night for nearly six months. He was tired of having nobody to talk to, to listen to either. He was tired of not having the boy he loved near him. He wanted to hold Roxas close. He wanted to kiss those plump lips. He wanted to hear Roxas moaning his name, dammit! This was not what he wanted!

He was also tired of crying and feeling sorry for himself. You know, a voice in the back of his mind chided. You could just end it all with suicide. Take a few pills, slit your wrists, and it could be all gone. The pain, the loneliness, the empty feeling in your chest. Those could all disappear with two quick slices, Axel.

But, his conscience replied, I still do have things to live for. My parents, Roxas' parents, Demyx, and... Roxas. Suicide just isn't convenient right now.

Right now, you said. If not now, when?

When? his conscience repeated. When those things aren't around anymore.

Don't you mean when Roxas isn't around anymore? Your parents, Roxas' parents, and Demyx; they are practically infinitesimal when compared to Roxas. The boy means everything to you!

That's not true! His conscience was getting angry. It didn't want that pessimistic voice to start talking in the first place, so now it meant business. You don't know how much I love all of them! They've always been with me, so they hold a place in my heart that Roxas will never be able to fill! But they can't compare to him either. Face it, you are just wrong.

His conscience won that round, but he knew that the dark, negative voice would be back with a vengeance unless something changed.

Axel got up, wiping away the tears and placing the picture frame back on Roxas' dresser where it belonged. He would go see Demyx today.

At five months, thirteen days, seven hours, and forty-three minutes, Roxas' heart rate had spiked, blood pressure skyrocketed, and breathing was brought to a sickening halt as he struggled and choked. Luckily, the nearest nurses' station was prepared and received an automatic alert of these changes. Doctors and nurses rushed to his side from their various locations to fix his current ailment.

Within fifteen seconds, he was breathing on his own again. Clutching his chest, shoulders heaving, and eyes wide, he looked to his personal medical staff and said "Wha... what happened?"

At that moment, Naminé rushed into the room, having received a page at Roxas' waking, and looked into his eyes.

"Oh goodness, you're awake? I'll need to phone Axel and tell him the good news!" She practically glowed at Roxas, her happiness undeniable.

"Axel? Good news? Is anybody going to tell me what's going on?" Roxas was getting a little uneasy, having just found himself in the hospital with no explanation of how he got there. And the weather outside the window was weird as well; the last time he remembered, it was the middle of February, but it appeared to be June or July. What was going on?!

Naminé, having most of the authority on Roxas' case, stepped forward to his bedside. Before addressing Roxas, though, she turned to a nurse with a large bow in her hair. "Would you please go call Axel? He deserves to know more than anybody." The nurse nodded and left the room, along with the slew of doctors and nurses that were not needed any longer. The only ones left were Roxas, Naminé, and Cloud, who slipped in when nobody was looking. He was supposed to be in the ER doing sutures, but who would miss him?

"Roxas, my name is Dr. Naminé Forrest, and this is my colleague, Dr. Cloud Strife. You have been in our care since you arrived. Do you have any idea what happened to yourself?" Roxas liked how kind her voice was, but was a little unnerved at her eyes and hair, which were startlingly similar to his own. The same went for Dr. Strife, who looked like an older version of Roxas. Or an older fraternal twin, at least.

"Uh, the last thing I remember was being with Axel... and being crushed by that scaffold. Hey, is that why I'm in here? Because I got hurt? Is Axel here? Is he alright?" He tried to sit up, but found that his muscles were rather stiff, like he hadn't moved in months.

"To answer your questions, yes, you are here because you were injured in the accident. Axel is not here at the moment, but he is perfectly healthy. He was slightly injured in the accident, but has made a full recovery." Naminé really was a wonder. Few people could figure out how she stayed so calm and kind. "But Roxas, do you know what the date is?" Her eyes were strangely devious, like she was enjoying tormenting him.

"Isn't it February?" The blond in the bed was getting a little irked, because he wanted his damn answers and he wanted them now!

"Not quite." Cloud stepped in, taking the explanation over. "Roxas, it's the third week of July. You've been in a coma for over five months." At these words, Roxas' eyes widened in shock, and his hand went to his face, feeling the accumulation of five months worth of five o'clock shadow.

"Do you know why I went into a coma in the first place?" He sounded rather exasperated.

Naminé, being more educated of the issue, answered. "We believe it was when your head hit the pavement at the scene of the accident. Your brain was trying to protect itself from further injury, so it shut down and had issues starting up again. But you obviously made a full recovery, so that doesn't matter anymore!" She was positively beaming, happy that she had another successful case.

Aerith popped her head into the room and said "I called Axel myself, and he's on his way."

Ring. Riiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

"Shut up, you damn phone." Axel was trying to look fairly decent and not like a completely depressed idiot who was borderline suicidal. The phone wasn't helping with this.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

"I said shut up!"

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

"Damn cell." He picked it up without looking at the number. Oh well.

"Hello?" Axel seethed into the phone. Damn it and whoever was on the other end for calling him. Especially this early.

"Good morning, Axel. This is Aerith at Edward Gartner Memorial Hospital, and I have some fantastic news." She sounded as bright and cheery as ever, even in the early morning.

"Oh my God. Is it Roxas? Is he awake?!" Axel was fully awake now. Forget not looking completely depressed and borderline suicidal! He had to get to the hospital!

"Come down as soon as you can. Visiting hours don't matter in a case like this. Would you like me to contact his parents, or would you like to?"

"Can you do it? I don't trust myself to talk and drive at the same time."

"Of course. I'll see you soon, and so will Roxas."

Axel wasn't so mad at the phone anymore.

Axel was sprinting from the parking lot to the glass doors at the entrance. Aerith was there waiting for him, probably to pardon him from the visiting hours restriction.

"Come along. To the elevator," she smiled. Axel vigorously shook his head, pointing to the stairs.

"I can't wait. The elevator is... too slow," he panted, slightly winded from running inside.

Aerith chuckled at his eagerness and said, "Alright. Do what you need to. He's in the same room. I'll see you up there soon, okay?"

Axel nodded this time, and waved as he ran to the stairs. Taking them three at a time, he reached Roxas' floor in no time. If he was impressed with himself for the feat on the stairs, then him practically flying down the hallway must have been magical.

He stopped himself by grabbing hold of the metal door frame, doubling over and wheezing for breath. Damn his eagerness and overexertion. Roxas, who was occupied with talking to Naminé and Cloud, turned his head and softly exclaimed "Oh my God."

Dragging his head up, he peered at his blond. "You have... no idea how good... it is to hear your voice... again." He was still panting, but that would go away soon. What mattered now was hugging Roxas.

He left the doorway and sat on the bed. Screw being conventional and taking a chair, this was his Roxie. Cloud and Naminé quietly left, not wanting to kill the moment.

"You have no idea how nice it is to see a familiar face. They told me I was in a coma, but I'm still so confused." Roxas held his arm, signaling for Axel to come closer. He obliged, simultaneously hugging and crushing the blond. Roxas set his arms on the back of Axel's neck, to both keep them from being smooshed and to hug Axel back.

"Trust me, I had it worse. Five months without my Roxas was hell," Axel mumbled into Roxas' neck. The flesh was warm and supple, like he imagined so many times. He kissed it lightly, savoring the flavor that clung to his lips. Again, exactly how he imagined.

They remained that way for what felt like hours. It was around fifteen minutes in actuality. Roxas' arms slowly unwound themselves from behind Axel's neck. He brought his face to eye level and cupped his cheek.

"Did you really miss me that much?" It wasn't much more than a scratchy whisper, but it still sounded to glorious to Axel.

Click.

Axel turned around wildly, only to find Aerith and Cloud. With a camera. Oh dear.

Furious, Axel made to jump at Cloud and his God forsaken camera, but Cloud stopped him. "NO! Dude, I let you call me Jenny for months. The least you can let me do is get a picture of you and your boyfriend!"

Aerith giggled at Axel's angered expression, Cloud smirking alongside her. They waved and left for the nurse's station, probably to save the photo to a computer.

"What was that about?" Roxas quirked an eyebrow.

"They're just nuts. Well, I haven't found nicer people in my entire life, but they're still a little crazy."

A few days later, after countless MRIs and CT Scans and examinations and questions on how Mr. Roxas was feeling, he was set free. And fuck yes did it feel good to stand up and walk around in pants! Real, no breeze in the back, "I'm a big boy now" pants!

Roxas' parents didn't fly in from Florida to visit, but they did send extra money and their love (One via a bank account, the other via telephone). Of course, he didn't mind. Axel's parents did come to see him, which was almost as good as his own. They fawned over him and hugged him and did every parental thing in the proverbial book.

When Axel and Roxas were finally alone at home, Roxas prompted Axel for an answer to his question.

"Can you tell me what Dr. Strife meant? When he called me your boyfriend?" He was sitting on the couch, his shoes suddenly very interesting. Axel had been passing him, going to fetch a drink, but decided to forgo it for Roxas.

"Well, it's sort of a long story. But I guess I don't have a choice, right?"

He plopped down next to Roxas and held the blond's hand between his own hands.

"It all kind of started a few years ago. It was after we had become friends, y'know? I was happy as a Goddamn clam. Then, one day, I felt something different. Something... more." He couldn't look at Roxas, so he looked at Roxas' hand.

"I was already eighteen by the time I knew, so I couldn't tell you. It'd be illegal. And... I couldn't bring myself to. I was scared that you would take it the wrong way and reject me. So I kept it to myself. And it nearly killed me. Small touches, ordinary words, regular looks, they all mean different things when love is involved. On your birthday, it meant the world to me that you put your arm around me.

"Speaking of your birthday, that was the day I had chosen to tell you how I felt. I figured that it was the perfect surprise. The gift in the trunk was totally fake. There was never anything in there. It was only to confuse you, actually. All along, I had an letter in my coat telling how I love you. When I found out you were in a coma, I burned it. I couldn't bear to look at it. I felt it was my fault that you got hurt. It... tore me up, Roxas. I couldn't stand to look at that envelope saying how much I loved you when there was no way to tell if you would ever get to know." He felt the blond wipe a tear from his cheek with his thumb as he cupped his angular face.

He sniffed, trying to gain some sort of composure, and went on. "So, after you were knocked unconscious, we went to the emergency room. Cloud, er, Dr. Strife, he was the one to fix up a few cuts that I had. To distract me from the pain, he got me to talk about you. I ended up telling him about how I love you and how I was going to tell you everything and... the boyfriend thing just stuck. I don't know why. I kind of liked the fact that he would pair us like that.

"So, it's out there now. I... love you. Roxas Colton Warner, I love you." Axel swallowed his pride and looked into Roxas' eyes. His expression unreadable, he processed the information he was just given.

"I..." Out of all of the times for words to fail Roxas, this had to be the one that mattered. "I really don't know what to say."

Axel looked slightly crestfallen at Roxas' lack of reaction. "It's fine. You don't need to say anything." He tried to take his hands off the blond's, but found him holding one fast.

"Just because I don't know what to say means I'm rejecting you." His voice was small, like he was just as scared as Axel. "I don't know if I love you, but I know that there's something there. It's not infatuation. And it can't be friendship.

"I won't be able to truthfully say that I love you for a long time, but I can say that I am attracted to you. I like you. The sad part is, I fully realized it before we got hurt. Literally seconds before." A dark smile pulled at his lips. But it grew softer as the situation lightened.

"My God. This is so much like a damn soap opera! You're in a coma for five months and then when you wake up, we confess our love to each other! How did we get so cliché?!"Axel had gotten up and started yelling in disgust. If anybody hated soap operas, it was Axel. Roxas laughed at his idiocy.

"Stop yelling. And I didn't confess my love. I confessed my sexual attraction for you. Totally different."

Axel fell back on the couch. "Sexual, you say?" This would be intriguing...

"Yes. It means that I want to lick your neck. Not that I will." So very monotone.

"Oh, way to kill a moment." He snaked a well-muscled arm behind Roxas' back and grasped his waist, effectively pulling the blond into his lap. "But just because you won't doesn't mean I won't." His breath ghosted over the slim neck, making the flesh prickle with goose pimples.

Roxas visibly stiffened in surprise and began to protest. "Axel, no. I'm not ready for that yet. Please, just st—hn!" Axel, being all devious and such, hadn't listened to a word that Roxas said. He went on his merry way and begin to nibble at the warm cartilage of Roxas' ear.

Well, guess who just completely lost his composure and melted in a redhead's lap? That's right, Roxas. Time seemed to blur as Axel's lips caressed his neck. The elder didn't force the blond to do anything. Not that he did do anything. Eventually, Axel brought his head up and turned Roxas' body to face him. Only to stare, though.

He had never gotten a good chance to stare at Roxas. To really stare, not just look. His eyes flitted from feature to feature, noticing little quirks like the lines on his lips or how long his eyelashes were or the small scar on the end of his nose. Roxas took this opportunity to stare back, noting the short red eyebrows, the slight unevenness of the triangle tattoos, and the almond shape of his eyes. Wait, is that a little bit of eyeliner? Roxas really hoped it wasn't...

Axel cupped Roxas' face with both hands and brought his face closer to kiss him. Roxas closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, mimicking the movements of Axel's lips. The latter's lips moved faster, while the former went at his own leisurely pace. Roxas pulled away first, shoulders lightly rising and falling with his breathing and cheeks tinted pink.

"Axel," Roxas' voice was soft, but one would think that it sort of came with the moment. Axel hoped that Roxas would say something romantic or ask him to whisk him to their bedroom (As were many fangirls at this point. Random squees of joy could be heard throughout the city that night. Nobody ever figured out why.). "Are you wearing eyeliner?"

"Shit." Axel's head fell back and collided with the wall behind the couch. "Ow." Roxas shifted off of Axel's lap to sit on the couch beside him, his legs draped over the other's thighs. "Yeah, I think Demyx might have done that while I was asleep the other day." In Demyx's defense, he thought that it brought out the acidic color in Axel's eyes.

"Wash it off. You don't look good in drag. Actually, I don't think you'd look good in drag. But don't prove me wrong. Go wash. Now." Roxas pointed in the general direction of a bathroom.

"Fine. I don't like drag either. Girl clothes are weird, anyway." Axel lifted Roxas' legs, only to place them gently on the couch after he had gotten up. The blonde stared at the redhead's ass as he walked away. Oh yeah, he wouldn't be regretting this any time soon.

"Axel, I'm not really enjoying myself."

"Aw, Roxas, come on. It'll get better, I swear! Please, just wait it out, okay?"

"No."

"Too bad. It's high time we did this together."

"Fine. It's not like I really care."

"Well, you'll enjoy yourself soon enough. Can you get the oil?"

"Yeah, whatever." Roxas retrieved the oil, looking at the label. He waggled the bottle in Axel's direction.

"No, not that stuff, that's too cheap. It won't taste good. The glass bottle."

"Okay." Roxas replaced the inexpensive bottle of oil, in a plastic bottle, and grabbed the glass bottle as Axel instructed. The blond noticed a strange contraption on the shelf. He hadn't seen it before because it was hidden by the oil. It looked like it belonged on the Starship Enterprise. Roxas made a mental note to fear Axel when that... machine was used.

"Thanks." Axel took the oil and unscrewed the cap. Then sniffed it. Roxas looked slightly horrified. "Roxas," the redhead countered to the expression that said everything. "I just have to make sure that it hasn't gone bad. Nothing is worse than evil oil! Besides, this stuff wasn't cheap. I wanna make sure I got my money's worth."

"Okay then."

Roxas watched Axel work in silence. "Make yourself useful and grab the bacon before it burns."

If an observer had to make an assumption about their activities from their conversation only, they would guess that the couple was having sex. Or about to have sex. But if one was to watch them, they were making salad. With all the fix ins. The fangirls that were screaming in anticipation a few months back were now quite disappointed.

"Shit!" Roxas lunged at the stove, pulling the pan from the burner. "Eh, it's a little charred. But we can not use the little burnt pieces." Axel didn't like to use store bought bacon bits, so he fried his own whenever he made salad. "Can you tell me what the oil is for? And the... mushed raspberry goo that you have created in that bowl?"

"I'm making my own salad dressing. If I fry the bacon fresh, do you think I'd use some unnatural gunk from a bottle? Seriously, I can't pronounce half of the crap on the ingredients list of those things."

"Whatever. It better taste good, that's all I know."

Later, when all the "cooking" (Axel considered this cooking. Roxas thought of it as preparing food for a rabbit. A very red rabbit.) was finished, they chatted and munched away. Roxas was very pleased with the flavor, and Axel was pleased that he might be able to seduce Roxas in his food-induced stupor.

Soon after that, while Axel washed the dishes, Roxas munched on spare bacon tidbits.

"So, what now?"

"Well," Axel replied, rinsing dish soap from his hands and forearms, "We could watch a movie. Or just talk. Or," he dried his hands and turned to face Roxas with a coy smile. "I could really toss your salad."

"That's it, I'm locking myself in my room." Roxas could feel his left eye start to twitch.

But before Roxas could move too close to his room, Axel had tackled him and sent both bodies crashing to the floor. Which was, luckily, carpeted.

"Ow," they both chided in unison. This was the stuff that crappy Eighties sitcoms were made of, save the homosexuality.

"Tell me this, Roxas: Do you not want me? Or are you waiting for something? Like the Apocalypse, for example." Axel sounded hurt, like he had actually taken Roxas' words as earnest rejection.

"That's not it, Axel. Not at all. I... I just want it to be special. Not the result of some crappy pick-up line. I really want to wait until I know I'm ready."

They stayed there, uncomfortable as it was, just reveling in the words. Axel could tell that Roxas wanted to wait until he was in love too. That was a different kind of rejection. "Can I have an estimation on how long we have to wait?"

"Soon. I promise."

"How about now? That counts as soon."

"Wait a day. Then we'll see."

"I love you, Roxas."

"I know. It'll be soon, I swear."

Damn. Foiled.

A few weeks later, Axel had forgotten their little confrontation on the floor. Mostly because it didn't concern him while he was sleeping.

"Axel. Wake up." Roxas sat on the edge of Axel's bed. Really, this was getting silly. It was nearly noon. "Get up, you soulless, ginger idiot."

"M'not a ginger, dammit." Axel muttered. He wanted to keep sleeping.

"Axel, I wanna talk to you."

"M' I s'posta care?" Jesus, if you ever do anything for me, let me sleep. Please. I'll even send you some muffins. Just let me sleep!

"That's it." Roxas crawled on the bed to straddle Axel, beginning to pull at Axel's shirt. A wife beater. How classy. "If you don't open your eyes, I'll never tell you. Evar. At all!"

Axel opened one eye, eyeing the blond on top of him. "Did you just say 'evar'?"

"I said eyes," Roxas replied, ignoring the question. "Now open them both. I want you fully awake."

Axel opened the other eye, discovering a small crusty blob in the corner of one. He rubbed it away as he sat up, supporting his weight on one hand.

"Whaddya wanna tell me?" He noticed that he wasn't the most verbose person when he was tired.

"Axel, I..." He was excited and nervous and afraid all at the same time. The adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream felt... funny. Like a strange rush that made his muscles quiver. "I realized something this morning."

"Oh?" Axel hoped, but fate had a tendency to be a total bitch to him. Luck also had a giant grudge on Axel. Only gravity liked him that much.

"Y-yes." Roxas got off his hands and knees to sit with his legs crossed. He raised a hand, noticing how it shook. He really was nervous, wasn't he?

"Well, what did you realize? Something good, I hope."

"I... Oh God, I can't say it!"

"Aw, c'mon. Try. You could write it down."

"No, I can't write. I'm too shaky."

THEN JUST SPIT IT OUT, BLONDIE! "Please, just try? For me?"

"I... I... ifinallyrealizedthatIloveyouandIthoughtthatineededtotellyounomatterhowmuchyouwantedtosleep!"

"Wait, what? That sounded like crappy German techno played backwards."

"I... I said that I finally realized that I love you and I thought that I should tell you no matter how much you wanted to sleep. But you can just lie back down again. I'm... I'll go to the library downtown."

"No you won't." Axel grabbed Roxas' waist, dragging him down to lie adjacent to his own body. "I can see the dark circles under your eyes. This kept you up, didn't it? When did it hit?"

"Three or four in the morning. I was getting some water and I thought of how happy I was with how things are between you and me. It's... fantastic that you love me enough not to pressure me to have sex or love you back. And that you can rope me into doing things like making a salad for dinner when I don't want to, but I end up having fun anyway. You're this terribly perfect person, and I just... I love that about you. I love you, Axel."

"I love you too, Roxas. But I can't understand how being perfect for you is terrible. Enlighten me?" Axel was beaming with happiness. All of his efforts at pitching woo (he hated the term too, but it was the only one that fit) were not made in vain.

"It kind of seems unreal how great of a person you can be. Selfless and smart and kind and—" He would have continued, but Axel silenced his lips with a finger.

"Stop it. I am not that good. Don't even try to tell me otherwise, 'cause I'll tell you that you're wrong."

"Ugh, fine."

Roxas brought himself closer to the warm body, burrowing his face in a mass of blankets and Axel chest.

"Are you going to be able to breathe?" the chest rumbled.

"I don't think so." Axel's arms hoisted Roxas further up on the bed, bring their eyes to the same level.

"Let's just fall asleep together, 'kay? No strings attached." Axel smelled like peppermint and Irish Spring.

"Promise?"

"I promise." Axel leaned in and pecked Roxas on the lips, then pulled back and dragged Roxas' torso closer.

"Axel?"

"Yes, my lover?"

"I don't want this to end. Ever."

"Well, at least you're not saying 'evar.'"

"Shut up."

There's a coldness in the air

Yeah, but I don't care.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that Square Enix does. I really wish I do. But then again, there'd be a surplus of yaoi in it. And I'd make Mamoru Miyano voice Riku in the English version of all the games. Screw David Gallagher. I also don't own Motorcycle's awesome song.

Well, there it is.

I finished it.

Hurrah for me.

Sadly, I kept putting it off and forgetting and having writers block days. And then I got into horrible sleeping patterns. But that doesn't matter.

Sorry about how the salad scene is the implied lemon. I had my mind in the vegetarian gutter at the time, so that's all I could come up with.

Anyway, review if you like, and tell me if you found any errors or things that were confusing.

And for those who are wondering if I'm participating in AkuRoku day, I am! If you're curious, I'll tell you what I plan to write.

Author's Notes as of 9:34P on August 7th, 2008: 'HO SHIT! I HAVE REACHED 500 VIEWS!! Commence the celebratory dance!

Author's Notes as of 6:30P on August 15th, 2008: I just realized that I never explained what the "contraption" was during the sexy salad scene was. It's a mandoline. Just use Google Images if you don't know what that looks like. Ignore the ones that look like mini guitars/lutes.