It had been a rough year for Axel with Roxas leaving and and all, not to mention his only real best friend pretty much hated his guts now. It seems that friendship just wasn't a thing that was meant for Axel, him being a Nobody not helping that issue at all. He had just gotten back from a mission in Agrabah, making his way to the main room, holding his mission report in his hands as he walked. Saix was standing in front of the large window, like always, just staring out at the moon in silence. None of the other members were there at the moment. He heard Axel enter the room, turning to face the red head with that same old blank and expressionless look on his face.

"I trust you've finished your mission correctly, number VIII?" The bluenette asked in a monotone voice, glancing at the papers that Axel was holding.

"Yes, of course. I did the mission just as you said." He sighed, handing the papers to Saix before he plopped down into a chair. Saix skimmed through the mission report before he sat it down with the other reports that had been handed in.

"That will be all, then. You may return to your dorm if you wish-"

"Don't you ever get tired of this?" Axel interrupted, glancing over to the other male.

"Excuse me?" Saix rose an eyebrow as he turned to look back at the red head, not really understanding what he was asked.

"Aren't you tired of this? Of all the missions, the paperwork, just all this? I mean, honestly... Every day is exactly the same. It's almost like time stands still here." Axel questioned, letting out a sigh. A long silence filled the room before Saix finally replied. But his answer to that question was predictable.

"The only reason we do this is so that we can complete Kingdom Hearts and become whole again."

"-And you honestly still believe that? Isa, we've been here for years, and we're nowhere near our goal yet!" Axel replied, frustrated with all this, just hoping things would've changed by now. Saix broke eye contact when his real name was said, shifting his gaze to the floor. Honestly, Saix had his doubts about all this, but he would do anything to get his heart back, to feel again. As Saix just stood there in silence, Axel moved out of the chair and walked over to him, placing his hands Saix's shoulders.

"C'mon, you can't act like you don't remember how things used to be! How we used to be!" Axel said as he gently squeezed the other's shoulders, trying to get Saix to look at him.

Saix merely moved Axel's hands away from his shoulders, not looking at him. "Of course I remember... I just try to forget."

Axel's nonexistent heart dropped when Saix said that last part about wanting to forget about the past, just standing there silently, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Isa, why would you want to forget!? Those were the best times in our entire life! -and you want to forget!?"

"Yes. I want to forget. The past is just that, the past. It's pointless to remember such things because it won't help me any in the present." Saix said bluntly, turning away from Axel. "If we still had real emotions, maybe things would be different." He added quietly.

Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing coming from his old friend's mouth. "...Are you serious right now? Isa, you were my best friend! I-"

"-And I wonder how long that friendship lasted. It seemed as soon as number XIII joined he organization, you despised my presence. -And now that he's gone, you're just crawling back to me for comfort. Well guess what? You're not getting it." Saix stated coldly, letting out a small growl as he crossed his arms.

"Is that what all this is about!?" Axel was in complete disbelief. Was Saix seriously jealous of Roxas? "Roxas and I were just friends!"

"-Are you sure about that? Because you spent an awful lot of time with him. Just like we used to do."

"Isa! You don't understand-"

"Then what don't I understand!? Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Roxas and I were just friends! We... We weren't even best friends-"

"You replaced me. Just admit it." Saix looked over to Axel, a coldness in his voice.

"No! I would never replace y-"

"Yeah, right. I don't believe you-"

Axel finally interrupted Saix, raising his voice slightly. "I would never replace you, because... Because I loved Isa! I loved you!"

Saix was struck silent when he heard that come from Axel, that expressionless look on his face changing to a shocked look. He wasn't exactly sure he had heard Axel correctly. Axel loved him? That just couldn't be true.

"You... do?" Saix managed to stutter out those two words.

"At least I did. But now that we don't have hearts, I can't really 'love' anyone." Axel glanced away when he said that, looking at the floor.

"I... I suppose you're right about that." Saix replied with a quiet sigh, also looking down at the floor. They were both silent for a long while before Axel spoke up.

"But," Axel started, gently placing a hand on Saix's cheek, getting him to look at him in the eyes. "I could always pretend."

Saix wanted to break eye contact so badly but just couldn't bring himself to do so, just staring into Axel's bright green eyes. -All he could see is Lea. In truth, Isa had always had feelings for Lea but he didn't want to ruin their friendship so he just kept them hidden. Little did he know at that time, that that was exactly what made them drift away. Saix didn't say anything as he looked into Axel's eyes, but what he did do spoke for itself. He slowly leaned in closer to Axel, slowly wrapping his arms around him as he softly embraced his lips with his own in a gentle kiss, knowing Axel wouldn't reject him. -And he was right, Axel didn't reject him, he instead kissed him back and closed his eyes. They shared a soft and gentle kiss, both in eachother's embrace. It almost felt as if they had their hearts again. Saix then broke the kiss and opened his eyes, looking at Axel and opened his mouth to speak.

"Yes, I don't see any problem with pretending..."