eleven locks.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Roxas appears distracted the very moment he appears on the Plane, cradling a cup of tea. His head tilts to the side, his expression open and confused. He kneels down, gently sets the cup aside, then lays himself along the 'floor' so that he can press his ear to it. ]

That's... new. [ He pauses, winces, and places his hand over his other ear. ] All right, let's use our indoor voices now.

Comments

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Someone blonde swaggers into view.]

So you're back, too.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ He twitches, even with his ear covered, and looks up at Emil from his position along the floor. ] Yeah, I... [ And now he sits up, hand sliding off his ear.] How long? How long have I been gone?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[flatly] Only a day or two, as far as I can tell. Still turned a few lives upside down in the process.

What did offing yourself back there even prove? I thought you were supposed to be a hero.

He certainly looks up to you. It's probably how he got himself killed before.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ He winces for some reason, then frowns at him. My, Emil, you're acting strangely bratty today. ]

It was to save a friend.

... He? He, who?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

You still ended up hurting people. I saw her running away. [Not only is he bratty, he's Captain Hypocrite.] Real good job you did there.

[he ignores that question]

[lamb_of_gold]

[Somewhat distant]

Welcome back.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Roxas jumps, then lets his eyes slide toward Mu. That sort of greeting makes him look at least a little abashed. Given the options, he doesn't think he chose the wrong one, but still... ]

Uh... thanks.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Walking closer, but his voice is pretty quiet to begin with]

You should find Naminé.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

Naminé... I—yeah, I should. I know I should. [ He sits up, frowning to himself, taking some deep breaths. ] I will. In a minute.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Mu nods] She saw you fighting, but not the result.

[grand-gaia.livejournal.com]

Ah, Roxas are you alright?

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Slight jump, slight wince. ]

Yeah. Yeah, uh... I'm good. All things considered. Could you lower your voice, though?

[grand-gaia.livejournal.com]

[He figures Roxas has a headache or something]
Oh! Sorry....

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ You could say that. ]

Thanks. So... how long has this been going on?

[grand-gaia.livejournal.com]

Has what been going on?

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[No words, no voice... just the (well, normally it would be faint) sound of running footsteps, and then Naminé is in front of him. She immediately kneels onto the floor, so that they're level, and gives him a very tight hug.]

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ He looks up at the sound of footsteps, but doesn't have time to properly react before he's pulled into the hug. He knows immediately who it is, knows those arms, that scent of paper, crayons, and the town, and returns the hug with similar tightness.

It's sitting here, hugging Naminé and realizing how much his actions probably hurt her, that he also realizes he can hear the prominent thump-tump, shhh, thump-tump, shhh of something no person should be able to hear so easily. ]

Naminé...

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She's still clinging to him when she speaks, because she's just not willing to let go right now, not just yet. She's sniffling, tears in her eyes, but she's smiling faintly... because he's here now.]

Roxas... I'm so glad you're back. That you're okay.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Roxas tightens his grip, just for a moment, letting her know he's here. ]

Yeah, I'm here now, Naminé. Everything's okay.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[After a long enough moment, she sits back a little, just so she can face him better.]

Roxas... someone told me the fights can't be stopped. Do you... think that's true?

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[It's the arrival you've all been waiting for. Axel is one of the last people to greet the returning victim of the death match. It's a mixture of guilt and responsibility that finally brings him here, and it's those same sins that hold him in place when by all means he should be running to hug his best friend.

He looks like he's been out fighting, like he hasn't slept for a few days. Both of which are probably true.

Standing out starkly against the dark backdrop of his fighting clothes are the sharp curves and lethal shine of his keyblade (http://i49.tinypic.com/30if86x.png).]

Hey. You can have this back.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Roxas is already looking toward Axel as he approaches, probably much earlier than he should have noticed. He sits up, a little apprehensive of Axel's reaction (and wincing at the words), then surprised. ]

The keyblade...

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[That is kind of odd. Axel's face is unreadable, the perfect picture of manipulative bastard right up until he's close enough to see Roxas' wince. And then it all just... falls apart. His keyblade disappears in a puff of flame, and Axel's holding out the little Mickey-shaped charm that's most representative of the Kingdom Key.

His hand is shaking so damn much that he might as well drop the thing and get it over with. Above his shoulders, things aren't going so well either; he looks like he's been slapped hard enough to make him cry, but he's struggling, trying to keep it together.]

[dumbly] I... I don't want it. So you can have it.

[sunkenlight.livejournal.com]

[ Roxas stares at him for a moment, letting the image of his nearly-broken best friend sink in. Then, he stands, closes his hand around the charm, maneuvers Axel's arm out of the way, hugs him.

As if trying to make a joke (though it's hard to tell, with half his face against Axel's chest)... ] I doubt you could handle properly it without hurting yourself, anyway.

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[Axel's bottom lip trembles in a very un-Axel-like way, but he relents and hugs Roxas as tightly as he can without agitating any imaginary injuries. He sucks in a sharp breath as he resists the onslaught of emotions. It keeps him from sobbing, but there are still tears forming in the corners of his eyes, and it's all he can do to hide them in Roxas' shoulder.

He had a coherent response to that insult. Really. But it was lost with his composure.]

... crud.

[That's all he has to say to crying.]