When Roxas woke up the next morning, he felt as if he was dying.
He tried to sit up but ultimately regretted it when the world started to spin around him. The blond braced himself against his mattress with one hand and felt his forehead with the back of his other hand. Roxas was pretty sure he was burning up with a fever. He groaned and slowly lay back down, pulling the covers over his head.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Axel called and tore the covers away from him. Roxas covered his face with his hands and groaned again.
"Put 'em back," he mumbled, and a shiver went through his body. Yep, he had a fever. "I'm cold, put 'em back, Axel."
The red head did as he was told, and Roxas looked up at him. Axel's green eyes stared back in questioning. "Hey, you don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?"
Roxas shook his head lazily. The back of Axel's hand rested gently against Roxas's forehead for a moment. "Damn, you're burning up. Hang on, I'm going to get Mr. Fair, I think he's got medicine in the office."
The blond mumbled a response as he heard Axel's retreating footsteps and the sound of the door closing behind him. Then, what sounded like a stampede coming down the stairs made his head pound. Roxas pulled the covers up over his head in response and wished for the world around him to shut up.
Something was poking his back. "Roxy? Are you awake? Do you need me to jump on you again?"
"Sora, go away, I don't feel good," Roxas snapped from under his blanket, but he didn't mean to sound angry.
"I just wanted to give Mr. Axel's headphones back to him," Sora mumbled. "I'll just leave them here then. Oh, and your phone, too. I called mommy, and she and daddy and Cloud say hi."
"Hi," Roxas grunted. He heard the sound of his phone hitting the wood of the nightstand and the drawer opening and closing.
"C'mon, Sora! Kairi's waiting!" The blond assumed that Sora's new friend, Riku, was calling for him.
Sora pulled back Roxas's covers just enough so that his head poked out. Sora planted a kiss on Roxas's forehead and smiled at him. "Feel better, Roxy!" And then he scampered off with the rest of the campers.
Moments later, Axel came back with Mickey trailing behind him. Roxas slowly sat up again, leaning against the headboard. Mickey handed him a thermometer, and Roxas stuck it under his tongue. After a moment, Mickey took it back and glanced at it.
"Gee, you have one heck of a fever," Mickey narrowed his eyes at the thermometer. "Almost 102 degrees. It'd be best if ya rested for today, Roxas."
The blond deflated. "Great. First full day of the job and I have to take a sick day."
"Aw, don't mind it, Roxas." Mr. Fair smiled at him. "You still have two whole weeks, one day off won't seem so bad. You should take some of these."
He held up a capsule of Advil pills and placed them on the nightstand along with a water bottle. "Feel better, sport." And with that, Mickey walked out the front door, leaving Roxas with Axel.
Axel's green eyes darted to the floor. "Hey, uh, I could give you my number, just in case you need anything while me and Dem aren't in here."
"Uh, sure," Roxas blinked and reached for his phone. He unlocked it and handed it to the red head. He typed in his number under a new contact and hesitated when he went to hand the phone back to Roxas.
"Is your wallpaper of you and your little brother?" Axel smiled and started to chuckle. "Oh how adorable."
If Roxas's face were to get any hotter, he felt as if his head would explode. He quipped, "Yes, it's super adorable, can I just have my phone back?"
"Alright, alright, sheesh," Axel replied as he surrendered the phone back to the blond. He placed it back on the nightstand. Axel turned and started to make his way towards the door.
"Hey, uh, Axel?" The redhead paused and looked at him over his shoulder. Roxas's hand went to the back of his neck. "Could you keep an eye on Sora for me today? This is his first time away from home and our parents, and since I can't go out today—"
Axel waved his hand to dismiss him. "Yeah, no problem. Don't you worry your pretty little head about him, alright? Just get some rest. And text me if you need anything. I'll be back later."
Roxas nodded. Axel looked at him for a moment longer and then closed the door behind him. The blond grabbed the water bottle and the capsule full of Advil. He took one of the little white pills with some water. He groaned as he lay back and pulled the covers over his head.
Roxas was asleep in no time.
XXX
Axel stared at his phone screen again, but still, no new notifications. He grunted and pocketed his phone for the twentieth time in the past hour. He had left Roxas to rest over two hours ago and hadn't heard from him. Axel bounced his leg.
He was in the rec hall, along with Demyx and some of the campers. Xion was on lifeguard duty today. Larxene was probably in the girls' cabin, doing absolutely nothing to contribute. The redhead rolled his eyes at the thought of it. His green eyes then darted to Roxas's little brother at the end of the table. He was animatedly drawing something on the paper in front of him with crayons. Sitting across from him were Riku and Kairi. The three of them were all smiles and giggles. Axel smiled a bit.
Axel watched as Sora hopped down from his chair, drawing in hand. He scampered up to Axel and brandished his masterpiece.
"Whatcha think, whatcha think?" Sora asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet. He turned it towards himself for a moment and showed Axel again. He pointed to each crudely drawn person in turn. "That's me, that's Roxy, and that's you!"
Axel chuckled. "Oh, really now? Am I really that tall?" Sora's drawing depicted Roxas and Sora to be almost the same height, with crudely drawn Axel towering over the both of them. The sun in the corner had a smiley face, as did the flowers on a strip of green.
"Well, you look really tall to me, Mr. Axel," Sora pouted as he dropped his arms to his sides. His face brightened with a hopeful smile. "Is Roxy feeling better yet?"
"Not yet, kiddo," Axel sighed. "I think he's still resting. But we can go check up on him in a little bit if you want to."
Sora nodded enthusiastically. He looked at Axel expectantly. The redhead sighed again and got up from his seat with a grunt, waving on Sora to follow him. The brunet tugged at his hand, and Axel assumed that the kid wanted to hold onto his hand. Instead, he scooped the little boy up and placed him on his shoulders. Sora giggled, grasping his drawing in one hand and grasping a fistful of Axel's hair in the other.
"Aw c'mon, kid," Axel groaned as he ducked through the doorway and onto the dirt path, making his way to the boys' cabin. "Don't screw up the do."
Suddenly, Sora got quiet and asked, "Mr. Axel, do you have a crush on Roxy?"
The redhead's eyebrows shot up. He chuckled. "What makes you say that?"
Axel felt the little brunet shrug. He started to ramble the way that little kids tend to do. "Roxy told me that he had a crush on a boy once but the boy didn't have a crush on him, and he didn't like Roxy. He had a girlfriend for a little bit too, but he didn't really seem to be happy, and I thought maybe you could have a crush on him so that he could be happy because I think Roxy likes you."
"Damn, you are an observant six-year-old," Axel mumbled under his breath. The redhead stopped in front of the cabin and placed Sora back on the ground. The little brunet stared back up at him, his blue eyes hopeful in that childish sort of way. Axel looked down at him and shrugged.
"Sure, I might have a crush on your big brother," Axel said flippantly. However, as the words left his mouth, he thought about it for a moment. Did he like Roxas? The whole him being a guy thing wasn't a problem, Axel had liked plenty of guys before, one of them being Demyx. His brows furrowed. He leaned down and ruffled Sora's spikes. "Just don't tell your brother I said that, alright?"
Sora giggled and made a motion that looked like he was locking his lips and throwing away the imaginary key. He smiled brilliantly. Axel smiled and opened the door to the cabin. The little brunet ran through the doorway and towards Roxas's sleeping form, waving his drawing in his hand. Axel took a few steps towards the two brothers. Sora poked at Roxas, and the blond groaned, pulling the covers away from his face.
Axel bit his bottom lip when he saw Roxas's flushed face. Sleep still lingered in his blue eyes. His gold lashes gently brushed his cheeks when his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. The redhead looked away for a moment, rubbing his hand at the back of his neck.
Fuck, that little shit is attractive, he groaned inwardly.
"Axel?" Roxas's voice was still thick with sleep and Axel wanted to bash his head into a wall.
Axel cleared his throat. "H-how're you feeling, Roxas?"
"Fine," Roxas said as he began to yawn. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking up at the redhead. "Is Sora behaving himself?"
"You bet. He wanted to check up on you because he was so very worried about his big brother," Axel replied, faking a pout when he mentioned how Sora was worried. The little brunet actually pouted and folded his arms across his chest, slightly crumpling the drawing in his hand. "He also drew a masterpiece that I think he wants to show you."
Roxas looked to Sora and the little boy sheepishly handed the drawing to his brother. The blond narrowed his eye at it. "Either I'm way shorter than I thought I was or Axel is a lot taller than I think he is."
Axel snickered and looked to Sora. "See, I told ya, kid."
"Hey, I'm trying my best!" Sora kicked Axel's foot, but it was more like a tap. Axel laughed even harder. Sora grunted in frustration and stormed out of the cabin.
The redhead composed himself and placed his hands on his hips. "I better go after the little rascal to see what kinda havoc he's wreaking. Do you need anything?"
"I think I'm alright for now, but thanks," Roxas smiled one of those cute half smiles at him. "But I'll, uh, I'll text you if I need anything. Promise."
Axel's heart fluttered for a moment. "Yeah, alright," he mumbled. He turned on his heel and almost slammed the door behind him.
"Shit, I am so fucked," Axel breathed as he leaned back against the door. He ran his hands down his face. "Holy shit, oh my god."
He stood up and shook his head. He looked around for Sora and saw the six-year-old retreat back into the rec hall. Axel made his way over to the double doors.
Axel had spent a good hour in the rec hall glancing between Sora and his phone. He bounced his leg again.
Eventually, he had stopped checking his phone as Roxas wasn't texting him. Axel couldn't help but feel bad that he was cooped up inside all day; he just wanted to make sure that Roxas was doing alright. That, and Sora's words were starting to sink in with him, now that he could really think about it.
Mr. Axel, do you have a crush on Roxy?
He had a girlfriend for a little bit too, but he didn't really seem to be happy, and I thought maybe you could have a crush on him so that he could be happy because I think Roxy likes you.
Axel was pretty sure the blond kid had it bad for him. What between the extreme amounts of blushing and the hand holding at the campfire the night before, it would be kind of stupid to say that Roxas didn't like him. Either that, or Roxas had some serious shyness issues. But Axel didn't think that was the case.
Demyx prodded his shoulder. Axel looked up at him. "Dude, what's gotten into you? You look out of it."
Axel shrugged a shoulder. "I think I might have it bad for Roxas."
XXX
It was getting late. Roxas had lay awake since Axel and Sora had come to check up on him. He had been goofing off on his phone for a good hour or so, but got bored of it quickly. He had brought a book with him, but Roxas couldn't focus on it long enough to actually get through any good chunk of it.
Axel had brought him a plate of food when the mess hall was serving dinner. Roxas hadn't eaten much of it, just picked at it. That was about an hour and a half ago. They had probably played the first capture the flag game and now the kids were probably finishing up their camp fire.
Roxas fought with himself to keep his eyes open. He was beyond tired, quite possibly a little loopy. His headache had been long gone, but he still got chills every once in a while. His face still felt flushed. He was drained, even though he hadn't done much of anything. The blond had taken an Advil recently to help with his fever, but there wasn't much else he could do other than sleep.
Suddenly, the door had swung open, and the campers swarmed up the wooden stairs. Axel and Demyx followed behind them, the door closing when they had entered. Demyx went to his corner of the room and started to change into sweats. Axel had started to do the same. Roxas tried to avert his eyes as the redhead rid himself of his shirt. It didn't really work too well.
"Axeeeeel," Roxas groaned. Axel side-eyed him over his bare shoulder. He slipped on his shirt and turned to face the blond, quirking a brow.
"What do you want?"
"I'm cold."
Axel rolled his eyes playfully. "What do you want me to do about it?"
Roxas yawned. "C'mere."
He rolled his eyes again but did as told. Axel stopped in front of Roxas, placing his hands on his hips. "What?"
"Come here."
"I am here, what the hell do you want?"
"No, here," Roxas mumbled as he patted the space on the bed next to him.
Axel flushed. "I am not sleeping with you; you're sick, I could get sick—"
Roxas's lower lip jutted out. "Pleeease? I'm freezing, and you're warm."
Axel caved. "Fine, move over, you dumbass."
Demyx snickered from his corner as the redhead laid back next to Roxas. "Axel, dude, that's so gay."
"Demyx," Axel said in the most monotonous voice he could muster. "I am gay. I was gay for you like two years ago, do you not remember—? You know what, forget it, you're an idiot."
Roxas's head fell on Axel's shoulder as the redhead went to shut off the lamp. Axel snaked an arm around the blond's torso and tugged him slightly closer. Demyx was still snickering.
"Goodnight, you homos."
"Goodnight, you asshole," Axel quipped as he laid his head back. Roxas's breathing was already steady, so he must've been asleep. Axel leaned his head towards the blond's so that his forehead was barely touching the top of Roxas's head. He sighed contentedly, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.