tampered | Log; Ongoing

When; evening July 29th-July 30th
Rating; PG-13. Axel can't control his mouth.
Characters;

otherpromise (Roxas)
Summary; Axel goes to stay with Roxas and hear the story of why Luxord and Saix stopped believing in the Organization.
Log;

Axel had, despite his cockiness, had a rather hard time finding his way back to the middle of The City where the carousel stood. Which, of course, he wouldn't be admitting to Roxas when he finally arrived at the boy's apartment. Of course not, Axel was above getting lost, as far as he let anyone else on.

In fact, it was then that he first realized that a portal didn't exactly work if you had no idea even which cardinal direction was toward your goal.

But, that was all irrelevant. He had finally made it to the open area around the carousel and he looked around. The sun was setting, so it was easier for him to get his bearings. He looked around, eyes fixing on the numbers emblazoned on the twelve buildings surrounding the carousel. Half of them were shining in the evening light, and he checked those to get an idea of where the others were--only to find that he had just come from the direction of building 7.

Feeling rather like he could kick himself, he turned back toward it and started off in that direction. He pulled up his hood so that any Organization member he may encounter wouldn't be able to automatically assume who he was. After all, where else would Axel go to stay on his first day in The City?

He pondered this, and the danger he could be putting Roxas in, all the way to the entrance to Building 7, hoping to whatever deity might be listening that he'd written the right building and apartment on his hand (not that it mattered, his handwriting was bad enough). So, including the wrong turns he'd made trying to reach the carousel square, it was a grand total of forty-two minutes before Axel finally showed up at apartment 113, knocking with the faintest of doubts that it would be Roxas who answered. After all, that 3 had smudged and now looked an awful lot like an eight. Though, he reminded himself, he could just as easily be called out on being vain.

[ooc; Pardon my obscenely unnecessary narrative. <_<;; God, I hope I'm doing this right...]

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"Sorry, Rox," Axel called as he started down the hall to his room where he'd discarded his boots and coat. "I'm not the one who told you to wear it, don't blame me!" He shouted as he yanked the boots back on, stuffing his pants legs into them haphazardly. He grabbed his coat, taking the towel off his neck and dropping it in the bathroom hamper before heading back into the main room.

He look down at Roxas, still curled up on the couch, and laughed. He pulled the leather over his lanky arms, shaking his head at the blond. When he'd pulled the zipper up to his collarbone, he offered Roxas a hand up off the couch.

"C'mon, I'm starved."

Axel pulled him up, half-heartedly releasing his hand and leading the way toward the door. His mind was somewhere else entirely, and it became evident when he missed the doorknob on his first attempt to open it.

He was too busy thinking about what they could get done in their little afternoon outing. While food had been his primary concern, such things like finding decent work and more clothes than the coat he'd worn upon arriving. Suddenly aware, he looked down at Roxas, stepping out of the apartment after him.

"Hey, Rox, you said I was here once before, right? Did I have an apartment? Or a job?"

Axel merely nodded at the inquiry and seemed far from assured by Roxas's words. In fact, he seemed to be more detached with his questions answered. He headed down the stairs, glad that he was managing to hit each one despite his lack of focus.

"I wonder if I should go see if it's still there. Maybe, it'll bring something back." He hadn't mean to say it out loud, and it took him a minute to realize that he had. Axel looked down at Roxas quickly to gauge his reaction, then averted his eyes back to the stairs.

Axel's bright eyes remained unfocused for only a minute more, and he smiled over at Roxas, successfully shaking the topic from his mind. It wouldn't do well for him to be constantly brooding as he had been. He laughed it off, nodding.

"Sounds like a plan to me. How about after breakfast we head in that direction and... ehhh... see if there's anything interesting on the way?" Looking around the city as they reached the end of the staircase, he wasn't quite sure there would be much worth stopping at, but Roxas seemed to think otherwise and he certainly didn't mind.

"Might've been there, but I don't recognize the name. I just got here last night, remember?" Axel reminded, shoving his hands gracelessly into his pockets. He took a few steps ahead of Roxas, stopping and looking up at the sky before turning back to him.

"So, anything else I should know before we get started in our next life?" He asked with a warm, yet somehow melancholy, smile splayed on his lips. The redhead offered a hand to him, extended in what could possibly be taken as an over-dramatic gesture, had anyone not known their pasts.

"I don't remember seeing any gardens, but what's so interesting about a bunch of flowers?" Axel laughed, shaking his head. "Sounds pretty lame, but whatever, we can go if you want to." Alright, so he wasn't being entirely truthful. A trip to a pleasant enough place with Roxas wouldn't be unpleasant. But, a memory of what had happened when he stepped on Marluxia's petunias was making him rather wary of the idea.

The redhead proceeded to tug his short friend through the streets of the city, bright eyes interested in what he was saying. It was much brighter, now, and easier to see. Though, for whatever reason, the dark air of it all still hadn't vanished entirely. It was almost as if the gods were projecting the discouragement everyone had in winding up there onto the surroundings. Or, Axel could just as easily have been overthinking things as usual, but his cynicism went unvoiced.

"Oh, stop worrying." Axel hushed, making sure to keep his tone as abrasive as ever, despite the softness of his words. "You want to go, we're going. Can't be too bad if you like it." He muttered off-handedly, discreetly taking in the surroundings as they headed through the city. While he wasn't turning his head to look up at some of the buildings, it was possible to see his eyes darting around to catch every dark corner the city had to offer.

"So, this place you were talking about," he realized, stopping to look down at Roxas. "Where is it?"

"Take it how you want," He replied with a vague shrug, scratching the back of his head through the tangle of spikes with his free hand. He looked down at Roxas, quick to change the subject. Axel had never been the type to admit when he respected someone--at least, not to their face. He always liked to assume they were clever enough to figure it out themselves, if they'd earned it.

"Glad we're at least close. So, what kind of food have they got there?" He asked in amusement, laughing slightly. "Doubt you've managed to find any seasalt ice cream around, though, huh." Not that Axel was too bothered by the idea. Sure, he'd suffered through bars of it because Roxas liked them, but it was far too salty for the redhead's taste.

"Help you find that flavor ice cream?" Axel asked, trying to mask his disgust with excitement. "Sure, I'll give you a hand. Doubt there's any around, though." At least, he hoped not. Though, he'd hate to crush the kid's ideals and admit he hated the stuff.

"But, hey, normal food is still food. I can't exactly complain." He pointed out with a laugh. Nostalgia hit him like a wave of cold realization. It was really a great thing, to be back with Roxas again. He couldn't express how much he'd missed having the kid around to simply talk to, like this.

"I know, I know, but it seemed like everytime I saw you, you had a bar." Axel teased, reaching over to tousle his hair. "I never said it was a bad thing. But, hey, looks like we can leave a lot of our old life behind, if we really want to, here. Isn't that what you wanted?" He asked hopefully, voice strained a little at the suggestion.

He started keeping an eye on the upcoming shops. Judging on Roxas' earlier statement, it would be sensible enough for the restaurant to come into view soon.

"Pandora's," he acknowledged, moving on. "This place sure has a lot of creative names for places, despite its crappy name. 'The City,' seriously, who thought of that?" He laughed slightly, seeming a little restrained due to his earlier question.

"There's a difference in letting them go and forgetting them." Axel murmured, and it seemed as if he was going to embellish on the idea. However, he took the chance to dodge it through his approval of their arrival. He grinned down at Roxas.

"Oh, great, I was starting to wonder if you were just trying to shut me up when you said it was getting closer," he teased, careful not to put any weight behind his words. He nudged Roxas jokingly with their joined hands.

"Careful, Rox, or you may wound me with your implications~" Axel mocked, clutching a hand to his chest for emphasis. He dropped it soon afterwards, letting himself be dragged along after Roxas. When they entered the cafe, Axel noted that it seemed pleasant enough. It would take some getting used to, though, going out for completely normal reasons with Roxas. There were no pressing things to get done for the Organization, no heartless to eliminate; only mundane pleasantries.

"Well, you were right. I'm definitely not complaining." He pointed out with a sly grin.

Log; Ongoing

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