There was something undeniably beautiful in the way he moved.

When he fought his passion and anger shone through with each swing of his blade...
When he was relaxing his blue eyes sparkled with unknown depth and intelligence...
And the rare times he smiled...
Axel thought his heart would burst for the way those blue eyes looked when he smiled.
He thought he could just be happy with him as his friend, to be there for him and to hold him briefly when he needed comfort or shelter from the reality of his existence.

He thought wrong.

Axel sat alone on the edge of the clock tower looking out over Traverse Town waiting for the other boy to arrive.
His mind was racing wondering what Roxas' reaction would be when he told him.
He licked his dry lips and gulped, he took a deep breath and stood up deciding a quick practice might be a good idea.
"Roxas... Ah... Ehm... There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now..."
He frowned pacing back and forth across the clock tower.
"That's so damn cliché..."
He looked out towards the blue sky, the sky that was the same colour as Roxas' eyes.
"I like you... Like really like you... I've had dreams about fucking you for..."
He shook his head frowning again.
"That's not the right thing to say to him..."
Then he smirked to himself.
"Even if it's true..."
He sat down and bit the inside of his mouth contemplating how he really felt about him.
"Roxas... Before you came here... I was on my own... Well except for Demyx, of course me and Demyx hang out but... Life was missing something and I wondered what it was for a long time... And then you showed up... I wasn't sure what I thought at first, you seemed so... Lost... Then you started talking and I started to know you and before I knew it... We were best friends and shortly after that I started to realise I was crazy about you... "
He took a deep breath.
"The passion and emotion you put into everything makes me... Believe I guess... That we aren't as heartless as they lead us to think..."
He swallowed thickly.
"You make me feel like I have a heart..."
Axel's hand reached for his chest and grasped as something seemed to hurt inside.
He nodded as if to affirm his own words.
"You make me feel like I have a heart..."

He sat there waiting for hours watching the clouds float overhead...
But Roxas never turned up.
Sunset turned into twilight and twilight to darkness.
Axel left heavy hearted and returned to the castle.

It was his last ditch effort at making Roxas stay with him, his last bargaining chip in a losing streak...
His last plea for Roxas not to go back to Sora...

But when he saw Roxas was not at the castle he knew he was too late.

He looked into familiar blue eyes while fighting a fierce battle and was so stricken with their resemblance that he gave his everything to protect the boy who looked so much like Roxas.
So it seemed only fitting that the words he'd planned to say to Roxas should be heard by someone so he took a deep breath and felt his heart rush as he confessed the words to the dark haired boy who looked so much like the one he loved.
" I wanted to see Roxas. He was the only one I liked... He made me feel like I had a heart. It's kind of... funny. You make me feel the same..."
The brunette boy shed a tear and looked surprised as it trickled down his cheek.
Axel wiped it away before telling him how to get to Kairi.
He watched Sora walk away through the dark portal he created and smiled.

The world was fading out around him, but he was comforted by the fact that somehow Roxas knew...