It's snowing in Midgar, and Axel would like to go the fuck home right now. Not that snow usually bothers him - no, that's a lie. Not that he usually lets snow bother him, but, well. It's the icing on the cake. Straw that broke the camel's back. All that shit. Not that it really should be. Not like the job is any harder than normal - maybe if he's honest a little easier. All that research is good for something, after all. Only reason he ever does it, instead of pretending like he did for the books and doing it his own way. And really, after all that work, he should be dying to get into it, to do the thing he does best. Only it's snowing, and it really feels like the whole stupid thing ain't worth it, so he grabs some food, and holes up in his room for an evening. Not productive, on the work side of things, but... After a few hours, he figures out what's wrong. Maybe it shouldn't take him so long, but - well, he misses Roxas. And that - missing someone, anyone, that's - not something he's ever done before. Not ever. There's a few people he's fond of, sure, but that's not the same. He likes it when they're around, yeah, and he'd be sad if they died, but... It's only been what, a week? A week since he's been up here. And he misses Roxas. Really misses him. Not just wishes he was here - which he does - but feels somehow wrong, that he's not. Like he's left half his soul behind, or something. Axel has no idea how to deal with that.
"Hey," says Axel, pressing something into his hands and leaning down to kiss his jaw. "Here. Present for you." As quickly as he leans in, he's gone again, two steps in front with his hands behind his head, nonchalant. Roxas isn't fooled; he's gotta be feeling at least a bit weird about it. Neither of them are gift-giving people. He looks down at the object in his hand. It's a keychain, metal. Anodised mythril, Roxas knows the sort. They're kind of popular, and anyway, Olette had dragged him shopping to get one for Hayner for his birthday. (She'd been torn between the gunblade and the buster sword - both of them classics, sure, but... In the end, he'd convinced her to go with Excalibur. Equally famous and badass, and less likely to provoke Hayner's temper. He'd liked it, too.) So he knows a bit about them. He hasn't seen this one before, a miniature replica of one of Axel's own weapons, but they'd been looking at eastern-style swords, not. Whatever Axel uses. It's weird, even for assassin-class, and that's pretty much all Roxas knows. At the other end of the keychain are two keys. Not decorative or anything. Housekeys. They're anodised too, one red and one blue, because Axel's a brat like that, and. And. He's pretty sure one's for Axel's door, the other for the deadbolt. Roxas feels his mouth go dry. He looks up at Axel, but he's still looking forward, pretending to not notice a thing. He looks back down, and the keys are still there. He clenches his fingers, and they don't disappear. He threads his middle finger through the ring of the keychain, and closes his fist. Not hard enough that things start to dig in, but enough that he can definitely feel them. Axel's still not looking back, or slowing down, so Roxas catches up those two steps, to bump into his shoulder. Axel bumps back, but Roxas doesn't keep it going, presses his face there instead, because he can't stop grinning. It's kind of embarrassing. "Thanks," he says, when he can manage it, and that's when Axel finally looks at him. He's not grinning, for once; instead he's smiling, soft and kinda stupid looking. "Yeah," he says, butting their heads together lightly, as his hand snakes 'round to link their fingers together, the keys pressed up between their palms.