Saix had always been an early riser, at least by Axel's standards. He remembered, long in the past, all the times he'd gone to visit Lea, and been met by Lea's mother, and the news that his friend was still in bed. Saix got up in the morning, not in the early afternoon
( ... )
Axel didn't look amused at that suggestion. Being subjected to a naked Xigbar first thing when you wake up was tantamount to torture. Axel was secretly convinced that if anybody from Spira captured him, they'd forego experimenting on him and make a brand new myth to scare small children into tidying their rooms out of him. He shuddered
( ... )
At least getting their chocobos was a quick process. Two, already fully tacked up and waiting, were pointed at. Saix wasn't a natural rider, and didn't like them, and for the most part, chocobos didn't appear to like him, either. They stank like a chicken coop, their gait was uncomfortable to ride for several hours, and they often seemed to resist letting him mount them in the first place.
Like now, when the chocobo he was attempting to climb up onto decided to swing itself around and out of mounting range. Saix scowled, and yanked on the reins. His second attempt was more successful.
Once he was seated, he looked over at Axel. "Cooking them may be the only solution."
His own chocobo warked with alarm and unhappiness as he said it.
Axel laughed and pulled himself up onto his own, without much issue. He wasn't a natural rider, but he'd learned during his travels to the desert and had gotten quite good. He grinned over at his friend with a cocky 'hah hah, I'm better at this than you' expression on his face. Of course, Sod's Law came into play and quickly wiped the look away when the bird tossed it's head, clawed the ground and made a brief but concerted effort to throw him. Clearly, it was too early for the chocobo, too.
He sulked after that.
"Wonder what they taste like?" He asked, settling into the saddle and gripping the reins in two hands. "Probably icky, but in a desperate situation... you think you would?"
He gave it's flank a kick, urging it on at walking pace. He'd speed it up once they reached the boundaries of the village, but tearing through that early on a heavy mount could probably be considered rude.
Though it rankled Saix's competitive nature, Axel was the better rider. It was something Saix would only admit grudgingly, but at least, when pushed, he would admit it.
The ride back was inevitably faster. It was also harder on Saix's backside, but he bore it because it would be over faster, too. At least his chocobo didn't put up any resistance to going as fast as it possibly could. It probably wanted Saix off its back as much as Saix wanted to be off. Oddly, at high speed, Saix enjoyed it more, or at least a little, which was still more than he usually enjoyed a chocobo ride.
Axel arrived back first, but Saix pulled up not far behind and pulled his bird to a halt, already standing in his saddle. He climbed down as swiftly as grace would allow, making his way over to Axel with a distinct note of posterior discomfort evident in his gait, and said, "I get the shower first." He smirked, then, and headed towards the inn, adding, over his shoulder, "If you want that ice cream, that is."
Axel gloated when they got back, him ahead of his friend. A laugh and a cocky grin was all he threw at him, but his comment about the shower was enough to knock it off his face. He damn-near pouted and huffed when he said it, but shrugged soon after. He wanted to wash away the stench of chocobo and Pylraster blood, but he wasn't that desperate that he'd argue too hard.
Besides, Saix was paying for the ice cream. He could deal.
"All right, all right. I'll put the sail in the room and take back the birds while you wash up." He said, at least planning to make use of his shower-less time.
Saix took full advantage of the shower. The hot water soothed aching muscles, and the Pylraster's blood drained away. Unfortunately, he had to wash his hair three times before the stink of chocobo was out of it, but once it was, he lingered for a few extra minutes, just enjoying the luxury.
When he emerged, he was wrapped in only a towel, and wordlessly went to get dressed. He'd shown a distinct lack of shame the whole trip thus far, and after a shower, the first thing he put back on was always the leather collar. Showering was also the only time he took it off. Unfortunately for Axel, sharing a room with Saix will have taught him something else as well; Saix eschewed underwear.
With the collar and some trousers on, Saix roughly rubbed his hair dry with a towel. One the sound of the shower stopped, he stood up, looking mussed but clean, and went out to go and buy the ice cream.
He returned a little later with two ice lollies, and complained, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find sea-salt ice cream here?"
Axel could hardly wait to get into the shower after Saix had finished. The blood in his hair wasn't quite as noticeable as it was in Saix's, but the darker splashes still tainted and dulled his natural red.
Of course, the aesthetics of his hair was at the bottom of his list of concerns. Ridding himself of the smell of coppery blood and overgrown chicken was his main priority. As with his friend, it took more than a single wash to get the smell of chocobo out of his hair, but when he emerged in a towel and saw Saix with ice cream, his eyes lit up.
For the record, yes, Axel looked ridiculous with his hair down and loose and always would, but the promise of ice cream made up for the embarrassment.
"Well, Winhill isn't coastal and it's not a common flavour anyway." He said, sitting down on the bed as he towel dried his hair. "I'm surprised you can get it at all."
Axel grinned at him defending her a little, but not Vexen. Well, he was creepy to a lot of people. His fixation on science, that thin and very nearly gaunt appearance of his, those severe green eyes and the long curtains of dishwater blond... urgh. It all rang weird for Axel
( ... )
Of course Saix caught that warning look. He'd been expecting it; that look was confirmation of something Saix had suspected, but hadn't wished to address. Really, he still didn't want to address it, but if he didn't then it would hang over the delicate and tentative recovery of their friendship, threatening to tear through it.
If Axel had laughed and brushed it off, Saix would have backed away and left it a while longer. Since Axel didn't, Saix looked away, his gaze lowered. There was the trace of a sad smile on his lips as he spoke. "I know you care for Roxas," he said, "cared for him, even then." Despite their lack of heart, their inability to care, Saix had first hand experience of how that line wasn't so entirely clear cut, of how someone could remind you more vividly than another of what it had been like to have a heart
( ... )
Axel nodded quietly. He had cared for Roxas, more than he should have been able to. Friendship was supposed to be impossible for them with their lack of emotions, but Axel had cared, somehow. Against all the odds. Remembering it gave him a pang of... guilt? Loss? He wasn't sure, but it was a pang of something right in the chest.
A sad look crossed his face, but he forced cheer into his expression.
"Hey, it's not me you should apologise to." He told him, not that he'd ever get the opportunity to say it to Roxas directly. He was long gone, re-united with his 'Other' and never to set foot on Spira. Sora had made him feel the same way, like he had the heart he was missing, but it hadn't quite been the same. "Besides, you didn't tell me what you were implying."
If there was tension in the air after Saix's apology, a rare and valuable thing that shouldn't be dismissed easily because it's unlikely to happen again, it lifted with Axel's smirk.
Saix smirked in response before he replied, "That you had an unhealthily close relationship with a fourteen year old boy." His tone was almost light, obviously enough that he didn't seem wholly serious, at least about the unhealthy part.
He couldn't do much criticising; he'd been younger than Roxas' technical age when he'd fallen for his teacher, after all. Somehow, that fact wasn't helping matters.
"Though I suppose," he said, teasing again, "he was closer to your mental age, most of the time." The rest of it, Roxas was clearly the more mature of the two.
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Like now, when the chocobo he was attempting to climb up onto decided to swing itself around and out of mounting range. Saix scowled, and yanked on the reins. His second attempt was more successful.
Once he was seated, he looked over at Axel. "Cooking them may be the only solution."
His own chocobo warked with alarm and unhappiness as he said it.
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He sulked after that.
"Wonder what they taste like?" He asked, settling into the saddle and gripping the reins in two hands. "Probably icky, but in a desperate situation... you think you would?"
He gave it's flank a kick, urging it on at walking pace. He'd speed it up once they reached the boundaries of the village, but tearing through that early on a heavy mount could probably be considered rude.
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The ride back was inevitably faster. It was also harder on Saix's backside, but he bore it because it would be over faster, too. At least his chocobo didn't put up any resistance to going as fast as it possibly could. It probably wanted Saix off its back as much as Saix wanted to be off. Oddly, at high speed, Saix enjoyed it more, or at least a little, which was still more than he usually enjoyed a chocobo ride.
Axel arrived back first, but Saix pulled up not far behind and pulled his bird to a halt, already standing in his saddle. He climbed down as swiftly as grace would allow, making his way over to Axel with a distinct note of posterior discomfort evident in his gait, and said, "I get the shower first." He smirked, then, and headed towards the inn, adding, over his shoulder, "If you want that ice cream, that is."
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Besides, Saix was paying for the ice cream. He could deal.
"All right, all right. I'll put the sail in the room and take back the birds while you wash up." He said, at least planning to make use of his shower-less time.
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When he emerged, he was wrapped in only a towel, and wordlessly went to get dressed. He'd shown a distinct lack of shame the whole trip thus far, and after a shower, the first thing he put back on was always the leather collar. Showering was also the only time he took it off. Unfortunately for Axel, sharing a room with Saix will have taught him something else as well; Saix eschewed underwear.
With the collar and some trousers on, Saix roughly rubbed his hair dry with a towel. One the sound of the shower stopped, he stood up, looking mussed but clean, and went out to go and buy the ice cream.
He returned a little later with two ice lollies, and complained, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find sea-salt ice cream here?"
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Of course, the aesthetics of his hair was at the bottom of his list of concerns. Ridding himself of the smell of coppery blood and overgrown chicken was his main priority. As with his friend, it took more than a single wash to get the smell of chocobo out of his hair, but when he emerged in a towel and saw Saix with ice cream, his eyes lit up.
For the record, yes, Axel looked ridiculous with his hair down and loose and always would, but the promise of ice cream made up for the embarrassment.
"Well, Winhill isn't coastal and it's not a common flavour anyway." He said, sitting down on the bed as he towel dried his hair. "I'm surprised you can get it at all."
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If Axel had laughed and brushed it off, Saix would have backed away and left it a while longer. Since Axel didn't, Saix looked away, his gaze lowered. There was the trace of a sad smile on his lips as he spoke. "I know you care for Roxas," he said, "cared for him, even then." Despite their lack of heart, their inability to care, Saix had first hand experience of how that line wasn't so entirely clear cut, of how someone could remind you more vividly than another of what it had been like to have a heart ( ... )
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A sad look crossed his face, but he forced cheer into his expression.
"Hey, it's not me you should apologise to." He told him, not that he'd ever get the opportunity to say it to Roxas directly. He was long gone, re-united with his 'Other' and never to set foot on Spira. Sora had made him feel the same way, like he had the heart he was missing, but it hadn't quite been the same. "Besides, you didn't tell me what you were implying."
He smirked.
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Saix smirked in response before he replied, "That you had an unhealthily close relationship with a fourteen year old boy." His tone was almost light, obviously enough that he didn't seem wholly serious, at least about the unhealthy part.
He couldn't do much criticising; he'd been younger than Roxas' technical age when he'd fallen for his teacher, after all. Somehow, that fact wasn't helping matters.
"Though I suppose," he said, teasing again, "he was closer to your mental age, most of the time." The rest of it, Roxas was clearly the more mature of the two.
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