Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ The Transience of Memory ❯ Resolution ( Chapter 18 )

Author's notes: Typical disclaimer I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts.

 

Final Chapter. Cry with me, yo.

 

 

 

Chapter 17:

 

 

 

Hayner breathed in deeply, loving the taste of salt that clung to the ocean air. He was in good spirits as he looked around, soaking in his surroundings. The sun shone fiercely in the blue and white dappled sky, a faint breeze taking the edge off its heat, lending its intensity to the heavily saturated colors that were everywhere. Brightly colored towels and umbrellas flapped up in the breeze. Wildly green leaves adorned the trees, fluttering fitfully. Waves broke in foaming white crests to accent the sparkling blue-green water. Heaven, he thought.

 

Hayner and Seifer walked past the many pavilions, and on to the beckoning ocean. They left their shoes by the old bike rack at the entrance, Hayner believing Seifer when he said no one would bother stealing them.

 

Hayner slanted a glance at the miscreant, admiring how his bleach blonde hair looked nearly white in the bright glare. The wind caught and played with the longer pieces, causing him to constantly run his hands through it in an attempt to keep it from falling into his eyes. He sighed with frustration, making Hayner laugh.

 

“Why do I keep letting you talk me into coming here?” Seifer asked ruefully. He felt naked without his skully.

 

“Cause you like it here, even though you complain.”

 

“Ha.”

 

“You just have to get used to people getting to see your hair,” Hayner said wisely. “… and thinking you're a wuss because of it,” he added slyly.

 

“Brat.” Seifer cuffed him lightly in the head. “I almost took you seriously for a minute.” He let a sour expression cross his face.

 

Hayner was unfazed.

 

“But really, who cares it you don't look like a complete thug out here? You can leave that stuff behind sometimes, can't you?”

 

“…” If only it were that easy. That simple. It wasn't something you could pick up and drop whenever you felt like it. Once you take a step into that world, there was no going back. You learned how to make it, how to survive, and it became part of you. You could no more lay it down, than you could take off an arm, or a leg. Once you became part of a gang, once you lived and breathed by their rules, you could never live any other way. It was in your blood.

 

“That seems like a resounding `no',” Hayner said glibly.

 

“... you wouldn't understand.”

 

“Well, then explain it sometime, and maybe I'll surprise you.” Hayner shook his head, dispelling the mild annoyance of being written off so quickly - he wasn't going to let that ruin his good mood. Seifer probably had his reasons for thinking that way, but they could deal with that later. “For now, let's just pretend you're a non-thug who knows how to relax and have fun at the beach like normal people.”

 

Seifer smiled. “Normal, like you?”

 

“Hey - I'm normal!”

 

“Heh. Sure you are, runt.”

 

“Eh, screw you,” Hayner said without rancor, knocking into the older boy with his shoulder as they walked.

 

Brown eyes scanned the beach intently, looking for the perfect spot to drop their stuff. Most of the umbrella-types were on the high side to the northwest edge or the dunes. What was the point of going to the beach if you're just going to hide under an umbrella all day? In front of them were most of the other people… friends, couples, families, several kids running around screeching shrilly at the top of their little lungs.

 

It was relatively crowded. Hayner looked to the south and saw that few people had bothered setting up a little further down, likely because they couldn't be bothered to walk the extra distance. “How about down there?” he asked.

 

Seifer shrugged. “Whatever you want.” Crowded, not crowded, it was all the same to him. He followed the blonde down the beach, past the excitement of boisterous voices and the squealing laughter of kids playing in the waves. The resident flock of seagulls took flight at their approach, croaking and chattering angrily as they launched into the air in a flurry of white wings. They settled heavily again once they realized they were being ignored. They were the fattest fucking birds Seifer had ever seen.

 

He followed the blonde, realizing with mild surprise that he actually did like being out here - the wind fingering through his hair with sultry, heated breaths as the sea rode in on cool and damp undercurrents within the very same breeze.

 

Eventually, he came to a stop. Hayner stood, feet planted firmly in the sand, the wind battering his wavy hair lightly, looking out to the ocean with an energized sort of calm that made absolutely no sense, yet fit him perfectly. He dropped his towel to the ground like an afterthought, decisively choosing the spot at random. He groped into the unfamiliar pockets of the blue trunks he'd borrowed from Roxas, fishing out his keys and new cell phone and adding them on top.

 

Seifer eyed the wadded slump of Hayner's towel, thinking how much sand was going to be all over it by the time he went to use it, and decided not to follow suit. He flung his own towel out, unfurling it to lie on the ground fully opened. He tossed his own keys and phone and such onto the corners to weight it down then removed his shirt.

 

“Aren't you not wanting people to see that?” Seifer asked as the younger boy pulled up the edges of his gray, borrowed shirt, referring to the nail marks and bruises that still looked so fresh on his light skin. Seifer had figured he'd leave the shirt on the whole time, seeing as he'd been so set on hiding the injuries before.

 

Hayner paused. “Meh. Who cares? I need to feel the sun on my skin.” He looked away. “The worst they'll think is that I'm into some kinky shit, right?”

 

“It's your call.”

 

Hayner's shoulders seemed to tense a moment, as his face was lost in contemplation. “Fuck it. They don't know me.” He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it on top of the towel heap.

 

Hayner rolled his shoulders and stretched beneath the sunshine, the tension flowing out of him as the rays seeped sensuously into his flesh, warming him from the inside out. The muted crash of waves lured his attention away from the sun, calling him forward.

 

He made a breakneck dash towards the clear spill of water, wet sand clinging to his feet as he passed over the compacted flatness that was within reach of the tide. He crashed into the sparkling water, letting himself fall haphazardly into its cool embrace.

 

Salt pricked at his eyes and burned in the thin red trails healing upon his stomach and chest. A slight pain, but a welcome one - it felt like he was being purified, the scars and fear in his mind washed away with every stinging movement of flesh. He broke the surface of the water feeling infinitely refreshed.

 

“What are you waiting for?!” he called out to Seifer. The thug was loitering on the beach, not a drop of water touching him.

 

“I was waiting to see if you were coming back up. I thought maybe something got you.” Seifer grinned at his annoyed look.

 

“Oh, nice,” he retorted as the miscreant stepped through the shallow waves, “so you'd just let it drag me under?!”

 

Seifer waded in to his knees. “No sense going in if it isn't safe.”

 

“I'll remember that, jerk. Now get your ass in here and race me!”

 

Seifer cupped his hand and launched a mighty splash of water at Hayner's head, catching him full in the face.

 

“GAH!” the blonde spluttered, frantically wiping at his eyes.

 

“Better watch yourself, brat,” Seifer said silkily, “I don't take orders that well.”

 

“I don't see why,” Hayner said churlishly, experimentally cracking open one burning eye and blinking it rapidly. “You're good at everything else.”

 

“Everything?”

 

Hayner felt a hand brush against his hip as if by accident, startling a jolt through him. Seifer was poorly hiding the amusement in his eyes, practically announcing his guilt. Hayner shot him a surly look. “Yes, everything.” The deviant started to get that look on his face, the one that meant trouble, so Hayner swam a few strokes backwards out of his reach. “Isn't there anything you're bad at?” he prodded. “Anything at which you completely, utterly fail?”

 

Seifer tread water, thinking about the various things he could and couldn't do. He couldn't come up with anything he wasn't at least passable with. “I don't think there's anything I'm really horrible at.”

 

Hayner looked crestfallen. “Oh, come on, there has to be something!”

 

“I can't sew?”

 

“Have you ever tried?” Hayner asked suspiciously.

 

“No.”

 

“Then it doesn't count.” He waved his hand dismissively in the air, flinging drops of water with the motion. “You,” he said pointedly, “are abnormal. Nobody is as good as you are at everything they ever try to do.”

 

“Who says I'm really good at anything?”

 

“ME. And I'm beginning to think you're a cyborg or something…” Hayner peered at him skeptically, as if searching for bionic parts that had somehow escaped his notice.

 

“And I'm beginning to think you're totally mental.” Seifer sighed, sounding put upon. “It's a good thing you're cute.” Right on cue, Hayner surged forward to attack him. The miscreant smirked and started swimming, cutting through the water in fast, even strokes. The race was on.

 

 

*******

 

Hayner flung his sandy towel out onto the ground and flopped bonelessly down upon it. Swimming always wore him out, and trying to keep up with Seifer was even more tiring. The thug was like a fish in water.

 

The towels seemed like insubstantial protection from the expanse of hot sand waiting to burn unsuspecting feet. Luckily, they were thick enough to insulate against it, and made for comfortable seating on the small dips and hills of microscopically pulverized shells. Hayner put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the ocean and the distant crying of the gulls. He fell into an easy doze, as the breeze whispered coolly across his dripping body.

 

 

Hayner sat up sometime later, yawning widely. “Damn it's hot out here.” He watched the late afternoon heat shimmer off the sand, felt it heaving in the air around him - drying the salt water from his swim trunks and hair, the only places still retaining any, leaving him feeling like a bleached bone adrift in an unending desert. His dry mouth begged for liquid.

 

“I'm gonna go get some water at the fountain,” he said to Seifer, after debating the necessity of moving. The waves hitting the beach with salty undrinkability mocked his thirst.

 

“Mmmmm.” The muffled response sounded more than a little like a contented moan. It caught Hayner's attention, making him linger.

 

Seifer looked half asleep as he lay on his stomach basking in the sun, his head resting in the cradle of his folded arms. His body was enticingly long and lean, stretched out like a display upon the striped towel. Hayner's eyes moved discretely over his strong shoulders and back, his tapered waist, and the curves of his muscled legs. His eyes lingered on the sliver of lighter skin just above the waistband of his shorts, where they had ridden down a fraction of an inch. Hayner resisted the urge to touch, wanting to slide his hands beneath as his mind helpfully imagined the view without clothing.

 

“You wanna come?” Hayner asked.

 

One lazy, frost blue eye opened reluctantly. “Always,” he said, purposely responding to the double meaning, and the blonde's slightly fixated gaze. Seifer's mouth turned up at the corner as Hayner licked his lips and glared at him. “But go on without me, I don't feel like moving.”

 

“Ok, be right back,” the brown-eyed boy said, not moving.

 

Seifer kissed at him condescendingly, barely holding off his lascivious smile, rushing Hayner on his way with a blush and a scowl. Seifer closed his eyes again, a genuine smile on his face. He was too cute.

 

 

*********

 

Hayner grimaced as he ran across the beach. “Goddamn this sand is hot!” He made it onto the concrete just as his feet were feeling raw and about to fall off. It was just as hot, and painfully so.

 

He searched frantically for a patch of non-heat-conductive ground as he hopped from foot to foot. His eyes spotted a sparse patch of grass. Thank god! It was scorched, mostly dead, rather brittle, and hardly covered the dirt it was `growing' in, but it offered at least a meager respite from the concrete and sand.

 

It was 30 yards or so to the brown building that housed the bathrooms - the water fountain was right on the front of it in an inviting block of shade cast by the wide shingled roof. The concrete pad of the building was mostly safe from the sun at this time of day, and promised to be cool to the touch. Hayner waited for his feet to feel fortified and ready for the next sand-torture sprint. Next time he was bringing his shoes.

 

The sun-deprived concrete felt like it looked, and was like a healing salve to Hayner's feet when he finally stepped upon it. He breathed a sigh of relief, and tried not to think about making the return trip.

 

But, first things first.

 

The simple metal water fountain looked like the holy grail.

 

Hayner pressed the button to dispense a clear arc of liquid life. He took long gulps, drinking as fast as he could, stopping only when the cold threatened to pinch his brain unforgivably. He used that time to splash a few handfuls of water over his face to rid himself of some of the salt left there when the seawater had dried on his skin. It was amazing how different the two types of water felt - the fresh water left him feeling revived, and less like a slab of dried meat.

 

He had just brought his mouth back down to the splashing water when he heard someone shouting his name.

 

“Hayner!” a voice called out jovially.

 

He rolled his eyes up and to the left as he drank, needing to look to identify the speaker as Zane. Swell.

 

“Uh. Hey man,” he greeted as the brunette approached. He stayed hunched over the water fountain, returned to sucking down the cool stream of water like a drowning man gasping for air.

 

Zane chattered at him in a friendly way, almost distracting him from the cold shadow that was Bo. Hayner felt a tension in his chest as those eyes locked onto him relentlessly. He wished he could just drink water endlessly, so he could avoid this confrontation, but he would soon be sick if he had any more. Damn. He fought the urge to clench his hands.

 

Hayner straightened and moved away from the fountain to face the two. The mohawked boy's gaze weighed heavily upon him.

 

Bo's eyes held an awkward mix of sullen anger and suppressed desire. The air still crackled unsteadily between them, like it did the last time they'd seen each other. There was a formidable bruise on his jaw from where Hayner's fist had so recently landed.

 

Zane trailed off, noticing finally that something was amiss. He looked back and forth between them, trying to make sense of the sudden suffocating tension in the air.

 

Bo's eyes widened almost imperceptibly when he saw the scrapes and bruises on Hayner's torso, visible now that the blonde was facing them. “When did that happen?” Bo asked quietly, not entirely masking the worry/anger/hurt in his voice, though his eyes were dark and noncommittal. Hayner started, and looked down at himself, having momentarily forgotten about the injuries crisscrossing his skin. He felt annoyed at the self-conscious need to hide them from sight.

 

“After I left,” Hayner replied. “You have charming friends.”

 

“Left where?” Zane asks, confused.

 

Bo spared him a glance before returning his gaze to Hayner. “The party the other night.”

 

“You threw it while I was out of town?” Zane's eyebrows shot up. He sounded incredulous and disbelieving.

 

Bo ignored him, and the look he gave Hayner was pained. “I didn't know they had it in for you. I'm sorry.” He took a step forward, staring at Hayner's chest like he could heal the skin with eyes. He set his jaw. “Which ones… did this?”

 

Hay folded his arms over his chest. “I outran all of them, except some guy with longish dark hair and an attitude problem. You know him?”

 

“Vaguely. He's new to that gang. Only been with them a few months…”

 

“So, tell me where I can find this guy,” said a deceptively calm voice.

 

“Uh - hi, Seifer,” Zane said anxiously, making Hayner jump in surprise.

 

Seifer!? Hayner felt his brain flailing. When the hell did he get here?!

 

Seifer nodded at the brunette and took a long drag off the cigarette in his cupped hand, his eyes focused intently on Bo. He blew the smoke out in a steady stream, tilted towards the sky.

 

“See, I've found this guy to be fairly elusive…” he said conversationally, menace in the way he held himself. “Not even my own people seem to be able to tell me what I want to know.”

 

Hayner realized suddenly that Seifer had never given up on finding the guy that had attacked him - he had mistaken silence for acquiescence. The gang leader had merely been biding his time until he could locate him. Hayner felt his guts knot up at the thought of all the ways this situation could go wrong. He stared at Seifer uncertainly, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

 

Seifer's face was blank, and could even be described as amiable, if you didn't know him better. There was a coiled energy in every move he made, belying the civility of his tone.

 

“I don't know anything,” the mohawked boy said mulishly, taking a step back. He looked a little uncertain beneath his display of nonchalance.

 

“I think you do.” Seifer took another drag and dropped his cigarette to the ground. He put it out with a slow twist of his bare foot.

 

Hayner winced as he imagined the glowing embers burning fiercely against flesh as they were smothered and crushed. He felt frozen as he watched Seifer starting towards the other boy. Everything seemed like it was happening so fast- yet in slow motion.

 

Seifer stalked forward, all threat and casual movement, encroaching upon the purple-haired boy's personal space.

 

Bo watched him close in, like a small animal transfixed by the dead eyes of a snake about to strike. The defiance in his eyes faltered, a flicker of something weaker passing over his face as he recognized the situation he was finding himself in. Indecision. Staring into the cold of pale eyes that marked his every breath, daring him to even twitch the wrong way, he started looking like being compliant might be the best way to avoid getting killed. What would he lose by saying what he knew?

 

Bo's mouth opened, preparation for the words about to form there.

 

And that was all it would take, Hayner realized with panic. A name… a location… and the ring of violence would flare uncontrollably, catching him at its center. It was insanity to think there would be no retribution.

 

“Don't you fucking tell him,” Hayner said harshly, trying to quash the desperation in his voice as he broke the silence. Jade green eyes flicked his way uncertainly. “You OWE me for that shit you pulled!”

 

“Tell me,” Seifer countered, his voice menacing, dragging Bo's attention back to him, “and I might just overlook that shit you pulled.” Just the thought of this punk laying hands on Hayner was pissing him off. He grabbed the front of Bo's shirt. “Unless a kiss was worth being castrated over?”

 

Bo paled.

 

“Oh, Bo, you didn't?” Zane groaned as he put two and two together. A party while he was gone, Bo inviting just Hayner… His friend had planned something to happen, and here it was blowing up in his face. Zane shook his head. He should've seen this coming.

 

“Seifer. Drop it,” Hayner said. His tone made Seifer look up. “I can't take this, if you're just gonna go out and do the same thing again… it'll just make things worse. You attack that guy, and his whole gang'll be out for me.”

 

Seifer felt frustration clamoring violently in his head. He'd wanted to beat the shit of this cocky kid with the mohawk, but he'd restrained himself so he could find out who it was who laid hands on Hayner - which is what he wanted even more. Rage surged through him at the thought of being denied both.

 

He realized Hayner wasn't wrong, that things very well could go the way he thought, but it did nothing to calm the adrenaline pumping into his system. It did nothing to ease the anger he felt at being told what to do, and seeing no other alternative but to comply.

 

His hand clenched in Bo's shirt, his other hand itching to form a fist. The cringe that rattled through the green-eyed boy as he flinched back gave Seifer a thrill of satisfaction that brought a sharp smile to his face.

 

Seifer gave him a look that promised they'd continue this later. He released him roughly and turned on his heel - leaving before his control slipped any further, and he gave in to the urge to beat the kid brutally. He could feel how thoroughly he would've enjoyed that.

 

 

Hayner stood there a moment in utter surprise, watching the gang leader take his leave without another word. He'd been able to feel the bloodlust in the air, the thick tension of it hanging like a smothering blanket. Even now, it lingered. He looked at Bo. It had to have been a lot worse up close…

 

“That was decent of you,” he offered. He hadn't fully expected Bo to listen to his plea not to say anything. It took balls to stare Seifer down when he was like that.

 

“So… you guys were together then?” Bo asked.

 

Hayner dipped his head. “Yeah.”

 

Bo put a hand over his face as he sagged against the rail behind him. “Christ. Why didn't you say anything?”

 

“Nobody was supposed to know… But it looks like I have to deal with this gang bullshit either way.” He sighed. “Look, just steer clear of Seifer. He has a bad temper and you're on his bad side.” Bo looked like he was trying to gather the scrapped shreds of his composure. Hayner felt a little bad for him. “I don't blame you for the stuff that happened to me,” since that wasn't your fault, even though all the other stuff was, “but touch me again like that and he won't let you off.”

 

“I think I got the message,” Bo said weakly.

 

Zane came over and hooked an arm through his friend's limp one, preparing to drag him off. He looked at Hayner with solemn eyes. “Thanks,” he said simply. “I'm sorry about-“ he gestured emptily, not really sure how to put words to it.

 

Hayner nodded.

 

Zane looked past him, at the way Seifer had gone. “You've got a loose cannon there,” he said, his demeanor serious. He urged Hayner on with a tilt of his chin. “Good luck.”

 

“Come on, asshole,” he said tiredly after Hayner left, pulling Bo along with him.

 

 

Hayner ran after Seifer, not seeing where he'd gone, wondering if he'd left the beach altogether. His steps slowed at the thought of dealing with the gang leader's formidable anger. Was he really immune to it? Safe from the violence he could see flashing in those cold blue eyes?

 

Hayner found him at one of the pavilions.

 

Seifer was sitting on the bench, leaning back with his elbows on the tabletop, smoking a cigarette and staring out at the ocean. Their belongings were sitting on the table beside him. He must've brought them up soon after Hayner had gone to get water. His long legs were draped out in front of him, one drawn up slightly.

 

Hayner slowly made his way over, dragging his feet. He hated this hesitancy that he felt when the other boy seemed mad - that he agonized so much over what to say. Were they really as precarious as all that? Where a handful of words could really be enough to disrupt everything between them? Hayner clenched his hand. Either way, he couldn't waver on this no matter what Seifer said or did. He circled around the side of the pavilion so Seifer could see him, steeling himself.

 

Eyes, pale and intense, slid a glance his way, watching his approach evenly.

 

Hayner faced the mercurial person in front of him that had come to mean so much to him in such a short time, unsure of what to expect. Something in the air, unlike the jumping static of before, rested uneasily. He felt himself wetting his lips. It was hard not to get sucked into the sweeping `V' of his legs, up those perfect abs and sculpted chest, hard not to notice broad shoulders, sensual lips. It was hard not to notice the relaxed grace, and the sex that emanated from him so naturally. His pale eyes were twin pools of desire, deep enough to drown in.

 

Hayner swallowed, confused when he didn't meet with the anger he'd anticipated, his stomach clenching in aching waves that he felt run down through his toes.

 

He found himself moving closer, reeled in by the open invitation present in every line of the gang leader's body. “I-I thought you were mad.”

 

“I am.” Seifer closed his eyes as he sucked in a deep lungful of nicotine-laced smoke, his brows drawing together slightly.

 

“…but?”

 

Seifer exhaled slowly, as if he were calming himself through the action. When the last trace of smoke was riding on the air, he sighed and opened his eyes. “But, you may have had a point.”

 

Hayner waited expectantly, hope swelling in his chest. He knew that Seifer would think relenting would make him lose face, that giving up on it would be breaking with his strict personal code. But here he was - holding back on the anger that must be chewing, gnawing at him inside, possibly changing his mind because Hayner had spoken against it. “And?”

 

Seifer's eyes were hooded, compelling and dangerous as they slanted towards Hayner. “I don't like it.”

 

“What-?” He blinked. “That's it?” Hayner felt deflated.

 

Seifer took one last puff at the stub of his cigarette and tossed it to the ground. This time he blew out the smoke petulantly. “I don't like it, but I see that I may have to let this go.” He scowled like it was really hard to say the words that came next. “It wouldn't be worth it if you got hurt again because of me.”

 

The words seemed unreal. He knew that once Seifer decided on something, he let nothing deter him. “You're really giving up on it?” Hayner prodded.

 

“Yeah,” Seifer said shortly. “But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.” I really wanted to rip the fucker's throat out. I just don't want the rest of them after you… and that's likely to happen if I take out one of their own.

 

Seifer's eyes met his, showing him how difficult it was for him to concede this, that he was doing it only because it was Hayner that had asked it of him. I've never done anything like this for anyone else.

 

Hayner felt a hand brush his chest, realizing he was within range as Seifer took the chained ring in his hand. He felt the hand become dead weight, dragging him down a few inches, closer to that tempting mouth. He tried to pull back a little, resisting when he suddenly remembered where they were. The world had swung back into focus with his relief.

 

“Careful,” Seifer said sexily, challenge gleaming in his eyes, “it'll break.”

 

Hayner's resistance was crumbling around him. Damn that voice. It never failed to make his stomach tight, his pulse leap in his throat, and his brain want to shut down. It never failed to make him want.

 

Seifer pulled on the chain, bringing Hayner down to him. He tilted his head up, catching the boy's lips with his, forcing them open in an aggressively intimate kiss.

 

Hayner felt his legs trembling with the effort of keeping himself upright as his body responded powerfully. He couldn't believe Seifer was making such a bold move where people might see them. Scandalous! He tried to escape the sweet torture, only to find himself held quite firmly in place. His resistance was futile when matching strength with the miscreant - he'd learned that quickly. He could pull and push with all his might, and Seifer would undo the efforts, make him submit, ravish him without batting an eyelash. It was terrible! It was… so incredibly hot, he admitted to himself.

 

Seifer released him from the kiss, mouth trailing along his jaw, to whisper in his ear. “If we don't leave right now, I'm going to throw you over this table and have my way with you,” he whispered huskily.

 

He nuzzled Hayner's neck, nipping the skin, and smoothing it with heated kisses.

 

“If we… don't leave now,” Hayner gasped, “I'm going… to let you.”

 

“What about Axel and Roxas?” Seifer asked as his hands teased at the waistband of Hayner's swim trunks.

 

Hayner tried not to answer immediately; to act like he had to give it thought, but the words fell from his mouth as soon as the question was posed. “We'll catch up to them later.”

 

 

*******

 

“Aw, I don't see them anywhere.” Roxas put his hands on his hips as he looked around one more time. He'd insisted on at least trying to locate Hayner and Seifer, even though there were very few people still out at the beach at this hour. It had been a long and fruitless search.

 

Axel swept his hands through his hair, collecting it at the back of his head so he could secure it in the black elastic band he'd brought with him. “Maybe they left already.” It was late in the day, past the peak hours of deadly heat, but it was still really hot out even if the sun was no longer directly overhead. It felt good to get his hair off of his neck.

 

“Hm. Yeah, I guess they would have come a lot earlier than now. We're a little late.” He looked up. The washed out sky felt empty, pure, infinite, the way it usually did after a cleansing rain. The glowing dome of it was paling, growing dim as the sun eased itself down the arc of the horizon. Tiny blazes of colors began to ignite in its wake. “But it looks like we made it in time to at least see the sun set.”

 

 

The boardwalk was deserted as Axel and Roxas made their way to the beach below. The wooden planks creaked pleasantly under their bare feet, the subdued roar of the ocean a soothing backdrop to the relative silence surrounding them. Wind shivered through the tall sea grass as they took the last few steps and their feet touched the sun-baked silicone heat of sand.

 

Roxas walked down the sandy beach, shuffling his feet through the fine granules, a peaceful expression on his face. He stopped at the edge of the water, closing his eyes momentarily as he allowed the water to lap quietly at his feet. “Have you ever watched the sun set?” he asked as he faced the wide expanse of water. He didn't turn around to ask, knowing Axel would be there.

 

Axel thought about that. Surely, he'd seen evidence of the watercolor wash of sky that preceded nightfall. Surely, he'd noticed when the sky seemingly burst into flames with a last riotous display of light before giving in to the impending darkness. But had he ever, even once, chosen to observe the phenomenon for the sake of itself? “I can't say that I have,” he answered finally.

 

“Me neither.” Roxas laughed lightly. “I guess I just never thought to.” He continued in a contemplative voice, “But now that I'm seeing it, I feel like I've been missing out on something good this whole time for no reason. I just didn't realize what was always right in front of me.”

 

Roxas looked over his shoulder at Axel, his expression one of carefree happiness, the sun casting its likeness upon his continence in glowing hues.

 

Axel dug his toes deep into the warm sand, as the world around them was slowly drenched in the orangey iridescence of the setting sun. He witnessed the birth of a smile that months ago would have been nothing but an impossibility upon that once so stoic face. He felt his heart beat solidly in his chest. He felt the heart the Organization told him he didn't have constrict with emotion.

 

A gentle breeze ruffled through Roxas' sun-dyed amber locks, spilling his bangs messily across his face and into his eyes. Roxas smiled that smile at him, and held out his hand as if he were offering the world.

 

Axel felt the weight of old memories slowly loosen, falling from his shoulders like a heavy cloak as he stepped forward to take the blonde's hand.

 

 

___________________________

~Fin~

 

 

 

 

A/N:

 

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed the longest damn thing I've ever written! XD

 

I'm pretty sure there will be some side stories to this fic, but I will be taking a bit of a break before that happens. There will definitely be more HxS for those. OR a new fic for them, or one shots. Who knows… but they will get something. ;D

 

If you are left with any questions…

Don't ask them in your comments here, as I will not be able to answer them.

Direct them to my journal page on either site:

Y!Gallery: http://yaoi.y-gallery.net/user/vash281

Deviant Art: http://uberneko-zero.deviantart.com

 

 

P.S. In response to a comment about the sea salt ice cream… I've never had it and I can only imagine that it would be really good. It's not my fault Axel has an issue with it. He is his own man. lol

He also dislikes green, which is one of my fav colors. *shrug* what can ya do? XD