Archive of Our Own ^beta

The first time that Roxas slept with Axel, it was a mistake. Literally.

He'd been laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, contemplating the latest mission when there was a knock at his door.

And then he was staring at a casually-dressed Axel leaning in the doorway of his room, hair mussed from clearly laying in bed, but green eyes as bright as usual and alight with the fervour that was Axel.

"Heard you had a rough night," Axel greeted, pushing his way in.

Roxas stood at the door, mouth slightly agape, still pondering the intrusion at three thirty-one in the morning.

"Well, close the door," Axel drawled. "I've come in, if you didn't notice."

Roxas huffed, more in indignation than anything else, and closed the door. When he turned around, Axel was sprawled out on his bed, propped up on an elbow and looking at him intently.

"So, what happened on the mission?"

Roxas frowned. "Why are you here so late?"

"You only got in at three."

"Are you keeping track of when I leave and get back?" Roxas asked, frowning. "That's... kind of weird, Axel."

Axel shrugged. "I'm your mentor. Go get changed and get in bed."

Roxas flushed. "I'm not getting in bed with you!"

Axel raised both of his eyebrows. "Well, I'm not getting out until you tell me what happened on your mission today and given that there's nowhere else to lay down except the floor, you may want to rethink your stubbornness."

"Or you could just leave and go to your own bed like normal people."

Axel's eyebrows, if possible, hitched up even higher. "Do you want me to leave?"

Roxas stared at him for a moment before sighed. "No," he muttered, defeated, relieved, and annoyed all at the same time.

"Besides," Axel said flippantly, "we're not normal and we're not even people. We're Nobodies. And Nobodies don't do it like everyone else."

"I don't know if you meant that to sound the way it did or not," Roxas muttered, slouching off to the bathroom to get changed.

His issued pyjamas were the same as Axel's, but, unlike Axel's, which clung to his body like a second skin, hugging every nook and cranny of those thin arms and long legs, Roxas's were big and draped over him. He didn't care - he liked his pyjamas big because it made sleeping more comfortable - but Axel rocked the pyjamas and Roxas... didn't.

It didn't help that the first thing Axel did when Roxas returned to his room was laugh.

"Shut up," Roxas muttered.

"Cute," Axel remarked. "You should have asked for a kid's uniform."

"Get many kids in the Organization?" Roxas retorted.

Axel sobered up. "No. Good thing, too," he added. "I have enough time invested in babysitting you. Now come over here and tell me all about this nasty mission Saïx sent you on." He offered his arms tauntingly.

Roxas sighed and crawled into bed, shoving Axel's arms away. "Stop. I'm tired." He settled down next to Axel, folding his arms beneath his head.

"Did you run into those kids again, in Twilight Town?" Axel asked seriously.

Roxas sighed. "Well... I saw them..."

***

Roxas had the recollection of telling the entire story of his mission to Axel, but the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the morning - alone. He had vague memories of being wrapped in something strangely warm, but he was alone when he woke up.

Asides from a note on the bed next to him: New mission, out with Dem. Ice cream later? VIII

Roxas smiled faintly, crumbling the note up and rolling over to catch some sleep until a new mission for him came in.

The second time that Roxas slept with Axel, it wasn't an accident, but it was necessary. Sort of.

"I'm... so... cold..." Roxas mumbled, shivering as he curled up tighter underneath his blankets. "It's so cold..."

Axel shook down the mercury in the thermometer. "You've got a low-grade fever. It's no surprise, given that rainstorm."

"Thought I was fine..." Roxas mumbled, shivering violently. His head was pounding. "Hate this..."

Axel sighed. "Saïx nearly had my head when I told him you were sick. This bites," he said, idly fingering one of his fiery locks.

Roxas coughed, curling further around the blankets. "Sorry to inconvenience you," he bit off as sarcastically as he could.

Axel waved a hand. "Apology accepted. Alright, move over there." He unzipped his coat and tossed it onto the chair, making for the bed.

"What...?" To be fair, Roxas felt so out of it to properly react, but his heart-rate did pick up when Axel pushed the blankets aside. "What are you..."

"You're cold. Being a Flurry of fire, I'm not. Simple solution," Axel replied, slipping under the blankets and curling up against him.

"Axel- oh. You're hot." Despite thoughts of having a fever, of being in bed with Axel for the second time, he pressed up close to him, stupidly wishing they didn't have a layer of clothes on between them because that would be warmer that way.

Axel laughed; Roxas could feel the vibrations. "Thank you," the redhead said seriously.

"Shut up," Roxas mumbled.

Axel sneezed.

Roxas froze. "Not you, too." Axel being sick had a lot more sting to it for the Organization than Roxas being sick. Axel actually... did important things. He guessed.

"No," Axel said, rubbing his nose. "Your hair tickles. You've got bedhead."

"Oh. Sorry..." Roxas murmured, curling up tight.

"Well, I know what it's like, so I can't complain too much," Axel remarked. His long arms easily circled Roxas's body, pulling him close. "Now, I can't stay here all day. It'll raise your temperature, plus, Saïx thinks I'm on a mission."

Now it was Roxas's turn to laugh weakly. "Don't want to get you in trouble..."

Axel gave a little huh in reply. "Hey, I am on a mission: getting my protégé better and back onto the streets."

Roxas mumbled protégé under his breath, but settled into the warm embrace of Axel's arms in preparation of nodding off to sleep.

The third time that Roxas slept with Axel, they didn't even have an excuse, either one of them.

It was similar to the first time, but different, because Axel wasn't there for any reason like to discuss a mission. He had just followed him back to his room after they'd showered from their night-time training, chattering on about their latest parameters and newest regime.

"Yeah, give me a second, gotta change," Roxas said, vanishing into his bathroom.

"Why don't you change in the showers?" Axel asked through the closed bathroom door. "Everyone else does."

"I didn't have my clothes," Roxas said, pushing his robe off and reaching for his pyjamas.

"You never have your clothes," Axel drawled. "Wait - are you self-conscious?"

Roxas felt his cheeks warm as he continued to get dressed. "No."

"Aw, Rox, don't worry about them. You're cute."

Roxas paused in pushing his arm through the sleeve. "What the hell does that mean? I'm "cute"?"

"You're..." Axel was clearly thinking. "Well, yeah, you're cute. You're a kid."

"I'm not a kid!"

Axel's laughter was like fuel to the fire.

"I'm not!" Roxas protested, grabbing his pants to pull them on. "I'm going to be sixteen soon."

"Yeah, how many months is that from now? Besides, we're Nobodies. We don't actually-"

"Sixteen," Roxas stressed, pushing open the door.

Axel was sprawled out on his bed like some lanky, red-haired cat, watching him with cheerful, bright green eyes.

"Get off of there!" Roxas demanded.

Axel's smile widened. "Okay, Roxas. I'll admit that you're maybe almost going to be sixteen in few months that I don't exactly know when your birthday is."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to get back on my good side."

"I'm never on your bad side; I'm your only friend here."

Roxas sighed. He had him there, without a doubt. Axel had taken him under his wing when he had first joined here and stayed with him since. "Yeah, whatever." He flopped into bed next to Axel. "Why don't you sleep in your own room?"

"Because I walked here. You were talking to me and I walked here."

"We're going to have to tell the Organization to get a double bed if this continues," Roxas said dryly.

"Oh, I would love to see Saïx's face if you suggested it," Axel said.

"I'm not suggesting it. You're his friend; you suggest it. Besides, you're the one who keeps coming in here!"

"You like it," Axel said cheerfully, mussing Roxas's hair.

Roxas swatted his arm away, smiling. "Knock it off. I'm tired."

"Then, sleep," Axel advised.

And, inevitably, in the caccoon of Axel's radiated warmth, he did. And when he woke up, his head was pillowed on Axel's shoulder and one of Axel's arms was around his shoulders and he found he didn't mind in the least.

The fourth time that Roxas slept with Axel, it was because he was unconscious. For part of it.

He remembered a mission with Axel and their target being powerful. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in bed - not his bed - with long, pale arms, bare from mid-arm because of their summer sleeping uniform, wrapped around him. It was stiflingly hot, maybe in the Castle, maybe because it was summer, maybe because this was distinctly Axel's room and Axel was always hot.

"Axel...?" Roxas mumbled, voice hoarse. "Axe..." he broke off, coughing.

Axel stirred and tightened his grip.

Roxas squirmed. "Axel." He was hot and sweaty and vaguely unaware of what had happened in regards to how he'd ended up here from the mission.

Axel peeled his eyes open, the alertness coming back when he saw Roxas awake. "Roxas. You're awake."

"I'm burning," Roxas stressed, squirming away from Axel's arms. "What happened?"

"Uh... well, you sort of got attacked when my back was turned," Axel muttered, his fingers unconsciously toying with his hair. (It was a habit, Roxas had realized, that Axel always messed with his hair when he was self-conscious - or, at least, the closest Axel got to it.) "I grabbed you and got out of there. Someone else went back to finish it off."

Roxas sighed. "Saïx must hate me."

Axel shrugged listlessly.

"Thanks for the support," Roxas muttered. He sat up enough to pull his sweat-soaked shirt up and over his head. "Is it always so hot in here?"

"I like it hot," Axel replied. His voice sounded strange, but Roxas didn't care enough to question it right now.

He just flopped back down next to Axel, closing his eyes as the cool part of the bed hit his overheated skin.

Axel stayed silent - which was weird for Axel, but Roxas was too tired and felt pained and vaguely sick to question it - but it suited Roxas just fine. He was tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

The fifth time that Roxas slept with Axel, he found out just what was going on.

"So, then, Xigbar shot them all down," Roxas was saying as he kicked his pants off, "and, of course, by that point, the target had already vanished." He flung his pants over the chair and pulled his shirt off. "So we had to - you know I wish the ice cream shop would have been open today, it would have been great because it's so hot in Agrabah - Axel?"

Roxas turned around, frowning at Axel's lack of response.

Axel's cheeks were tinted pink as he stared at Roxas - a new experience for both of them because Axel. never. blushed.

"Axel?"

Axel moved forward, gripping Roxas's wrists beneath his fingers and leaned down, pressing his lips directly against Roxas's.

Roxas started, his heart jumping to his throat and then falling to his stomach, where it started to pound wildly amongst the sudden butterflies.

Axel pulled away. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that." He cleared his throat, dropping Roxas's wrists to instead rub the back of his neck. His cheeks were still tinted, darker now. It looked... well... good. On him. The blush, that was. Okay, anything looked good on him. He was Axel.

It was impossible not to notice. Axel was gorgeous and alluring and mysterious and genuinely a good friend and that was what had drawn Roxas to stay with him throughout the months. So, he didn't react badly.

"No... no, Axel..."

Axel cleared his throat. "I'm... going to... just go drown myself in the lake now," he said. "Maybe see you for ice cream later."

"Axel!"

Axel glanced back at him. Roxas crossed the gap between them and reached up for his shoulders, pulling him down to his height to kiss him back.

The surprise on Axel's face was good enough to make up for any rude zombie comment the redhead had given him throughout their friendship. But, unlike Roxas, Axel didn't hesitate to kiss him back with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He tasted like cinnamon, Roxas noted with some satisfaction. He wondered why. He thought all of their toothpaste was peppermint-flavoured.

When they fell back on the bed, part-accident and part-intention, Roxas burst out laughing as he tried to catch his breath.

Axel looked affronted as he leaned over him, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "You're laughing after we're kissing. I should be insulted. Lucky I like you so much."

Roxas pushed against Axel's chest. "S-Stop... Have to... breathe..." he said in between giggles.

Axel grinned and rolled off, dropping next to him. "I don't understand. Why are you laughing?"

"Why are you smiling?" Roxas retorted.

"Because you are," Axel said simply.

Roxas chuckled and snuggled into Axel's arms. "Well. I didn't expect my mission to end like this."

"This has been my mission from the beginning," Axel said seriously, hugging Roxas to his chest.

The sixth time that Roxas slept with Axel, it was purely intentional and everybody in the Castle knew it. (Roxas was surprised he hadn't been... eradicated or something.)

Axel wrapped both of his arms around Roxas, holding him close to his chest. Roxas settled comfortably against his bare skin, closing his eyes.

"Any ideas with what to do with our day off?" Axel asked, running his fingers through Roxas's blonde hair.

Roxas hummed. "Dunno."

"Ice cream?"

"Mm."

Axel laughed. "What does that mean?"

"I'm actually kind of comfortable here," Roxas murmured, turning to push his nose into Axel's neck.

"You know, it's a good thing I'm patient," Axel commented, tightening his grip.

"Patient for what?"

"You."

Roxas smiled to himself, tilting his head slightly to press his lips against the thrum of Axel's pulse beneath his neck. "Don't get overzealous. We've only been together for a month."

"And it would be illegal," Axel added, head falling to the side. His pulse picked up exponentially.

Roxas laughed dryly. "Since when do you do things by the book?"

"Oh, I'll do everything by the book when it comes to you," Axel replied.

Roxas smiled wider and nuzzled his nose against Axel's neck. "Privileged?"

Axel nodded. "Indeed you are."

"Lucky," Roxas murmured.

"That you are," Axel replied. "And so am I."