Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/723329.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Kingdom_Hearts, Devil_May_Cry
  Relationship:
      Nero/Roxas
  Character:
      Nero, Roxas
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe, Crossover_Pairings, alphabet_fic, Alphabet_Meme
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-03-16 Updated: 2013-05-02 Chapters: 15/26 Words: 11495
****** Twenty-Six Ways To Fall In Love ******
by voidxgear
Summary
     26 different times the relationship between Nero and Roxas grew and
     flourished a little more. Alphabet fic for a crossover pairing.
***** A is for Apple *****
Nero could hardly believe his ears when Roxas told him he'd never eaten an
apple before.
"Really?" He asked him with a cocked eyebrow. "What were they feeding you back
when you were with the Organization?"
Roxas scratched the back of his neck, giving Nero a sheepish look. "Whatever we
could get our hands on, I guess."
Nero had been working on the last apple he had left, having taken one bite out
of it, but tossed it to Roxas. "Try it." He said, then teased Roxas by adding,
"You need something to balance out all that ice cream you eat."
Roxas caught it with one hand. Of course, he'd seen apples before, he'd just
never tried them. Come to think of it, there were a lot of fruits and
vegetables still foreign to him. Sweets and meats had pretty much made up his
diet, but what if there were all these other foods he could really love and he
just didn't know it yet? He looked the apple over. On the outside, it didn't
look like anything special and he had no idea how it would taste.
With a shrug, he bit into it, looking as Nero looked back at him. The blond's
expression lit up almost immediately as he took in the apple's sweet taste.
"I've never had anything like this." Roxas said with a mouthful. "This is
great!"
"See what you've been missing?" Nero teased. "You should try bananas and
oranges if you haven't yet."
***
The next day, Nero was chilling in their apartment, watching TV after a long
day, waiting for Roxas to come back home. He was running late for some reason.
Just when Nero started to get worried, the door opened and the first thing Nero
saw was a pair of small arms carrying a large brown grocery bag.
"I'm home!" Roxas called, shutting the door behind him with his foot and
peeking around the bag to see Nero.
A puzzled Nero asked, "Grocery shopping? Didn't we do that just the other day?"
He got up and walked over to Roxas, mostly to help him with the heavy looking
bag. When he got to Roxas and looked inside the bag, he found it jam packed
with a variety of fruits. Apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, strawberries, and
more. "I guess you really liked that apple." Nero said with a laugh.
"These are great!" Roxas said enthusiastically. "And did you know tomatoes are
a fruit? Who would have guessed! I hope you don't mind me spending all the
money on these...."
Nero just laughed and took the bag from his hands, taking it into the kitchen.
"Not one bit, beautiful. Not one bit."
***** B is for Beautiful *****
From the time Nero first met Roxas, even before they really got together, he
couldn't help but notice how the atmosphere of the whole room seemed to mirror
whatever expression was on the blond's face. Simply put, if Roxas was happy,
his whole face lit up and so did the room around him and if Roxas was sad or
angry, everything seemed a little darker.
It wasn't exactly a secret that Roxas had trouble hiding his emotions. It was a
pretty foreign concept to him as he tended to express exactly what was on his
mind. His face, his body language, what he said and did all followed suit. It
was just the way he'd always been and the only way he ever knew how to be.
Nero was kind of the same way, but only because he'd gotten fed up with giving
a damn what anyone else thought about him. After awhile as he grew up, it
become more of, yeah this is who I am and I know I'm not exactly your cup of
tea but how is that my problem? But the fact that Roxas was so expressive
naturally, in all of his emotions, was something that Nero found endearing
right from the start.
So enderaing, in fact, that to Nero it even beautiful. Whether Roxas was in his
best moods or his worst moods, Nero's heart still pounded for him. He was still
beautiful.
Even so, he was especially beautiful when he smiled and laughed.
On their first date together, they got ice cream. It was at the suggestion of
Roxas, of course. Nero had no complaints. During the date, he had accidentaly
spilled a bit of his ice cream on himself. However, he just laughed it off,
wiping his chest off with a napkin as he said, "You're supposed to eat it, not
wear it."
For some reason, Roxas seemed to think it was the funniest thing, because he
just started laughing. As a result, he had spilled some of his ice cream on his
own shirt as well. "Aw, man!" He said as he reached for a couple of napkins
himself. "I guess we're both wearing ice cream, huh?" The blond was back to
laughing pretty quickly.
All Nero could do for a moment was just gaze at him. He didn't realize right
away that he was smiling, not until Roxas looked back at him with a slightly
nervous look. "Did I miss a spot?" He asked.
Nero shook his head. "Nah. I was just thinking....thanks for bringing me here,
beautiful."
Roxas blinked for a second at the nickname, however quickly recovered and
smiled, his cheeks a faint pink. "You're more than welcome."
And that was the first time Nero called Roxas 'beautiful'.
***** C is for Cold *****
It was a quiet winter evening, and Nero and Roxas were relaxing and watching a
movie. Nero was sitting back on the couch, his arm drapped on the top of the
cushins behind Roxas, who was sitting up straight, entranced in the film. As
the movie progressed, Nero noticed that Roxas started hunching and crossing his
arms. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was shivering too.
"You cold?" Nero asked. He wouldn't really know since he was still wearing his
jacket, but the temperature in the apartment did seem to drop a bit.
"A little bit." Roxas said, rubbing his hands over his bare arms. "Did it get
colder in here?"
Nero got up and walked to the other side of the room, to check the thermostat
on the wall. "Jeez, it says it's 60 degrees in here, what the hell?" He messed
with it for a few moments before groaning out of frustration. "Damn thing's
broken. I can't get it to change."
Roxas glanced at the clock on the wall. "Too late in the day to call
maintenance."
"And the temperature is supposed to get even colder overnight." Nero added,
frustration laced in his voice. "Piece of shit. Thing's probably old as the
city itself."
"I'll call them tomorrow." Roxas said in a disappointed tone, still visibly
cold.
Nero groaned again and plopped back down on the couch in his previous position
and glanced over at Roxas, who was clearly trying hard to keep warm as
possible. His tone softened as he spoke, holding his arm out to him. "C'mere."
He said. Roxas glanced at him and scooted closer, closing the space between
them. Nero opened up his jacket, putting it around Roxas as he held him close,
keeping his arm around him. "That better?" He asked.
"Much." Roxas said. He directed his attention back to the movie, now content.
About ten minutes later, Nero looked back down at him to see he'd fallen
asleep. He called his name in a whisper and got no response. Yup. He was
asleep. Nero carefully leaned down and kissed the top of his head. He was
starting to think that maybe they didn't need to get the thermostat fixed after
all.
***** D is for Dreams *****
While Roxas had proven that he was a pretty skilled fighter (he was even better
than some of the other knights in the Order to be truthful), Nero still
couldn't help but fret over him a little during the heat of battle. He couldn't
help it, it was just that with every close call, a future without Roxas flashed
before his eyes and, well, scared the hell out of him. He'd been with him for
long enough now that they had begun building their entire lives around one
another and Nero was realizing he never felt this strongly about anyone else.
He'd never been able to relate this much to anyone else, to be able to
communicate his deepest feelings and be really and truly understood. How did he
ever live without that before? If he lost it, he wouldn't know what to do with
himself.
It was one of the reasons why he liked to accompany Roxas on patrols. It wasn't
that he didn't trust Roxas, it was just that....things happen...sometimes out
of your control. Nero had a pretty good idea of what that was like, actually.
They were on patrols one evening in a more desolate part of the city, having
heard signs of demonic activity. For a while, things were pretty quiet, almost
too quiet. In fact, Nero began to wonder if they'd gotten a bogus tip until
various scarecrow demons started to appear. Roxas summoned both his keyblades
and Nero pulled out Red Queen, and together they started fighting them off.
Things were actually going pretty well for awhile. Roxas was fighting them off
just fine, which Nero expected because he'd fought them before. And Nero wasn't
having any trouble either.
A few moments later, he turned to see a mega scarecrow appear nearby Roxas.
Unfortunately, Roxas was pretty far away from him at this point, fighting off
lesser scarecrows and seemingly oblivious to the stronger foe.
"Roxas!" He cried, surrounded by other enemies. "Behind you!"
Roxas seemed to hear him, turning around to spot the larger enemy and going
after it with his keyblades.
"Watch out for the blades!" Nero warned. He had to get over there and help him,
but the scarecrows just kept coming for him, almost like they were trying to
hold him off. Almost like....
Roxas was doing pretty well, but he hadn't yet defeated the enemy when more
lesser scarecrows appeared and went after him, wildly swinging their blades.
This was about when Nero started to panic. Roxas turned away from the mega
scarecrow to go after the lesser scarecrows again and Nero's insides began to
tighten. "Roxas!" He called out again, struggling to get over there and help
him. But he was still being held off.
The mega scarecrow went into the ground, blades bared and barreled right
towards Roxas, who was preoccupied fighting off the hoard of the other
scarecrows.
Nero shrieked the blond's name once more.
He was too late.
****
"Nero! Nero, wake up!"
Nero woke up with a gasp, a look of panic and fear on his face. He was at home
in his apartment. Not fighting demons. Home. Roxas's face appeared above him,
looking concerned. "Hey, you alright? You were starting to scare me."
Nero sat up immediately and, without another word, pulled the blond into his
arms and held him close. He shut his eyes, taking in the feeling of having the
blonde in his arms safe and sound. Roxas was caught off guard for a moment, but
soon returned the embrace, holding Nero tight.
"It's alright, it was just a dream." Roxas said softly. "It's alright."
"Don't you ever go anywhere or I'll kick your ass." Nero said in a shaken voice
with forced laughter. He'd tried to lighten the mood a little. So much for that
sorry attempt.
"Go anywhere? Nothing could pry me from you with a crowbar."
"Yeah? You promise?" Nero felt particularly childish having to ask that,
but....
"I promise." Roxas said softly, rubbing his back soothingly. He pulled back a
little to look at Nero's face. Nero was sweating and still looked visibly
shaken, through it was clear he was trying to downplay it. Roxas brushed some
of the hair out of his eyes, trying to give him an encouraging smile. "You're
my good luck charm, remember? No way I'm going anywhere. Come hell or high
water." He placed a quick, gentle kiss on Nero's lips. "Alright?"
Nero started to smile. "Then that's all I need."
***** E is for Eyes *****
Roxas was never as much of a chatterbox with anyone else as he was with Nero.
Nero could get him to talk about pretty much anything, and Roxas would just
completely open up and they'd end up talking for hours. Roxas had long since
come to be perfectly comfortable around him, entrusting Nero with his deepest
feelings and secrets and not regretting it a second after.
And Nero loved to listen, which spoke for a lot since whenever most people
talked so much, it tended to bore him. But Roxas never bored him. He wanted to
know about Roxas, his past, his experiences, his feelings. He wanted to know
everything that made up the one he loved and whenever Roxas wanted to share it
with him, he was more than happy to pay attention.
Oftentimes, when Roxas was telling Nero about something he was passionate
about, it showed in his face. His expression, his eyes easily reflected how he
felt about whatever he was talking about. Roxas had some of the most expressive
eyes Nero had ever seen in his life. Bright and blue as the open sea, and they
could certainly be as peaceful or as deadly.
Something about this drew Nero in. Without even realizing it, he'd find himself
just gazing at his eyes while he was talking, losing himself in them. Roxas
would just keep going, and after awhile Nero wasn't sure if Roxas noticed or
not and he always felt somewhat embarrassed afterwards. But Nero was still
always, always listening.
Nero never felt as sheepish as he did the day Roxas finally called him out on
his gazing though. Roxas had been telling Nero about his first days in the
Organization, where he was first learning to use his keyblade and how a few of
the Organization's members had even gone as far as bullied him because he
wasn't learning fast enough. Looking back at it, Roxas was angry, and it showed
on his face. And to Nero, something about that was really endearing.
"....And then he just hits me to show me how powerful I can be at my limit
and.....Nero, you're doing it again."
Nero blinked at him. "Doing what?"
"You're staring at me."
Nero brushed his nose with the back of his wrist. "Sorry, I can't help it.
It's....it's your eyes."
Roxas looked confused, but not necessarily upset. "My eyes?"
"Yeah. When you talk, your eyes they just....I dunno, it's like they do half
the talking for you." Boy, did he want to crawl under the table right now. He
looked away, pretty sure his face was a solid crimson. "I just really like your
eyes....Sorry."
Roxas chuckled. "So that's why you stare at me all the time, huh?"
"Yeah....that's it."
Roxas leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You know what? That's really cute."
"It is not!" Nero protested.
"Is so." Roxas teased. "If you're allowed to like my eyes that much, I'm
allowed to think it's cute."
Nero tried to hide a grin and failed. "Alright, fine. You win this once."
Roxas laughed again. "Whatever you say."
***** F is for Fire *****
When Nero got word that a building was on fire right where Roxas was supposed
to patrol for demons one day, he didn't hesitate and made a beeline right for
that part of town.
He got there after the fire department, finding an abandoned factory building
up in flames. Whatever had started this, it had spread really quickly. If
anyone was inside, they couldn't have had much of a chance, if any. He
approached a firefighter, who was quickly hooking up the fire hose to a
hydrant.
"Is anyone inside?" He asked desperately. Roxas could be anywhere. Hopefully
anywhere but there. But just as he asked, he caught a glance of a certain blond
racing past a window on the top floor. He went pretty fast, but Nero knew. It
had to be Roxas. His heart dropped to his stomach. If the flames didn't get to
Roxas, the carbon monoxide would.
If he didn't get to him first.
Without waiting for an answer from the firefighter, Nero ran off. The
firefighter called after him, "It's too dangerous!" But he didn't listen.
Nero ran to a fire escape on the side of the building, taking it toward the top
of the five story building as quickly as he could. "Roxas! Roxas! Can you hear
me? Roxas!"
Flamed debris began flying down towards him, forcing him to move even quicker.
A couple of pieces came close, too close, but there was no way he could let
them catch him. There was no way he was walking away without Roxas. He'd seen
him running towards this side of the building. "Roxas!"
Finally, he made it to the top floor, climbing in through a window. The air was
thick with smoke and there were flames in various parts of the floor. Nero had
already started coughing by the time he tried to make his way through,
desperately searching for Roxas.
"Roxas! Roxas! Where are you?" He shouted.
Then, from the smoke, emerged the blond himself....carrying a small toddler in
his arms who was clinging to him desperately.
"She was playing." Roxas said. "Thought it would be fun to check the place out.
There was an exposed power line and--" He was cut off by his own coughing.
Nero's heart just about leaped from his chest. "Don't say anymore. Come on,
let's get the hell out of here." He said, stepping closer to Roxas. He
carefully took the little girl from his arms, cradling her close with one arm
and taking Roxas's hand with the other. She whined a little bit but clung to
Nero as well, and Nero could hear her crying. "We gotta get down from the fire
escape, fast!"
"I was just trying to save her, she was so scared." Roxas coughed.
"I know, beautiful. You did a good thing. Come on."
He led them back towards the window, however some of the roof began to cave and
some debris fell right in front of them. The little girl screamed in Nero's
arms and he and Roxas stopped just in time.
"Easy does it." Nero said. "Come on, we can do this." He continued to lead them
through quickly. They finally reached the window and Roxas climbed out of it
first and onto the fire escape, holding out his arms to take the little girl.
Nero carefully handed her to him and Roxas carried her as Nero made his way
out, onto the fire escape as well.
Nero looked down to see the fire truck had pulled up, with a ladder extended up
towards them.
"Hurry!" A firefighter down below shouted.
"I'll go down first." Roxas said. He looked down at the little girl in his
arms. "You go after me, and Nero will go after you, okay?"
"But what if I fall?"
"You won't. We'll keep you safe, okay? Come on. You can do it."
Nero chimed in agreement, "We'll catch you. Let's go, alright?"
Roxas carefully set the girl on her feet. "Just do like I do, okay?" He said,
then he carefully reached out for the ladder, beginning to slowly climb down.
The little girl looked to Nero, who tried to give her an encouraging smile.
"Come on, it's okay. See? Roxas is doing it. You can do it too." He stayed
close to her as she carefully reached out for the ladder, following Roxas in
climbing down. After she'd gotten down some, Nero followed them.
The three of them made it down safely. The little girl and Roxas were treated
by paramedics at the scene and checked out just fine. The paramedics notified
the little girl's parents and she was soon returned home.
When Nero and Roxas finally made it home, the first thing Nero did was pull
Roxas close, embracing him tightly.
"You scared the hell out of me back there." He said softly.
Roxas held him close, taking a deep breath and just glad to be in his arms
again. "I'm sorry. I was patrolling when the fire started and I heard her
scream. I knew she shouldn't have been there but....I couldn't let her go."
"I know. I'm really proud of you."
"Yeah?"
Nero pulled back to look Roxas straight in the eye. "If you hadn't gone after
her, that little girl would be dead. You're damn right I'm proud of you."
Roxas smiled. "Thanks."
"Just don't ever give me that kind of scare again, alright? I don't know what
I'd do if I ever lost you like that."
Roxas gave him a gentle squeeze. "I know. But...thinking of you, thinking of
what you would do...I felt like you were with me the whole time."
Nero just held him close. "Well, maybe I was."
***** G is for Gruesome *****
Most people treated Nero's devil bringer something like a handicap: they would
stare at it but wouldn't talk about it. Maybe they thought it wasn't obvious,
but Nero knew. He could feel their judging, sometimes even cold stares on his
arm. Well excuse the hell out of him if he'd been under the impression that
saving the entire population meant that he might not have to worry about being
looked down upon. So much for that. He felt as though people looked at him the
same way they look at someone who'd recently lost an arm or became confined to
a wheelchair. On his worst days, he'd hear some pretty mean comments uttered
under someone's breath. Maybe he was human, maybe he wasn't but considering
everything he'd done and how he was living his life, he was pretty sure he
deserved to not be treated like a demon.
Maybe it was because Roxas hadn't necessarily 'grown up', for lack of better
term, quite the same way, but he was never afraid of it, never felt threatened
by it even though he realized what kind of power it had. Was he curious? Sure.
But it wasn't a defect to him. It was a part of him. Nero had given him no
reason to see it as anything else.
One day, early on in their relationship, he decided to go ahead and ask him
about it. Sure, he knew it was demonic in origin, but how long had he had it?
If he hadn't had it for long, how did he get it? Did he miss having two human
hands?
Nero wasn't offended by these questions. He was somewhat amused, actually, at
Roxas just openly asking questions that no one else had either thought or was
were too afraid to ask.
They were at a park, sitting underneath a tree. Nero was sitting with his back
against the tree, Roxas seated in front of him. Nero had his arms wrapped
around him from behind and as he answered his questions, rested his chin on top
of the blonde's head, some of his spiky blond hair tickling his cheeks.
"I didn't always have it." He said. "Kyrie was in danger one day, got herself
into some trouble. I went to save her, and I got hurt. Stabbed in my arm. Hurt
like hell too. My arm changed. A lot happened but....in the end, I managed to
save her. But after that, no one really knew how to react to my arm, so it was
treated like an injury. I walked around for awhile in a sling and some doctors
were looking at it and hoping I would 'recover' from it. But then everything
with Sanctus happened and I realized....well, there was no recovering from it.
It was part of who I was. But not everyone seems to agree."
Roxas looked up at him with a curious look. "What do you mean? People still
don't like it?"
"Nah." Nero said. "I think it scares 'em. Not that I give a crap. They called
it names when it first changed, sometimes still do. Pretty sure 'gruesome' was
one of the nicer names I heard. Well this 'gruesome' arm ended up coming in
handy sometimes so they can shove it right where it hurts if you ask me."
Roxas frowned, looking back down and placing Nero's demonic hand between both
of his own. "I like it." He said. "So what if it's demonic? It can be gentle
too. It's not scary at all."
"That's because I'm not kicking your ass with it or throwing you across the
room." Nero said with a laugh.
"Fair enough." Roxas said with a chuckle. "Hey, I think I'll allowed to be
bias."
Nero gave him a gentle squeeze, smiling softly and wrapping his demonic hand
around one of Roxas's. "You sure are." He said quietly. "It means a lot to me
that you're not afraid of it or anything. You know that?"
"Well, you don't care that I was born as a Nobody, so I guess we can call it
even." Roxas said, and though Nero couldn't see his face, he could hear the
smile in the blond's voice.
Yeah, maybe they were even. Sounded perfect to Nero.
***** H is for Heart *****
When Nero first met Roxas, he was a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. He'd never
met anyone like him before and he certainly wasn't from anywhere near Fortuna.
In some ways, Roxas seemed very much like a child, naive to certain things that
Nero came to realize he took for granted. But in other ways, he was powerful
fighter and someone who knew exactly what he wanted out of life. What kind of
person was Roxas?
It turned out that Roxas was from an entirely different world. But that little
tidbit was just the tip of the iceberg.
It actually hadn't taken too long for Roxas to tell Nero the truth about who he
was exactly, or what he was. All it had taken was for Nero to treat him like a
person. Funny that, because it was exactly what Nero had wanted from someone as
well, and Roxas had done just that for him as well. Guess they were both
looking for the same things and found it from each other.
Roxas first explained to him what Heartless and Nobodies were, which was a task
in itself but Nero seemed to be following just fine. Nero wasn't sure what that
had to do with anything, but if Roxas were explaining it to tell him about his
past, it must be important so he listened.
"....I'm a Nobody." Roxas finally said. The last time Roxas had thought about
how such a thing would sound to an outsider was when he was first told he was a
Nobody. Seeing the look on Nero's face when Roxas said it reminded him of that
and for an instant, he was that naive, couple of weeks old boy all over again.
Roxas looked down, feeling slightly ashamed as he continued. "I came into life
without a heart. Organization XIII picked me up to use my skills wielding a
keyblade to help make something called Kingdom Hearts which was supposed to
make us all whole again. We were all Nobodies, and my keyblade was the only way
we could make Kingdom Hearts. It's a little complicated....but Nobodies....they
don't have hearts. That's why we....they struggled to be whole again. I've
never...had a heart of my own...."
Nero felt a tugging in his chest seeing Roxas looked so ashamed like that, and
it occurred to him that Roxas probably misinterpreted the look on his face.
Well, he needed to clarify that. "Roxas...there's no way you don't have a
heart."
Roxas looked back at him with wide eyes. "What? What do you mean?
"Just...everything you're feeling proves it."
"I was always told that my feelings were an illusion created by the memories of
Sora. Sora's the person I was made from...."
Nero shook his head. "There's no way. You can't fake something like that. It's
real, and so is everything about you. Roxas, I've been around things that don't
have hearts. I know what it is. You have a heart. Maybe you didn't come into
this world 'normally', and maybe I can't really explain it, but there's no
doubt in my mind. I've seen you laugh, I've seen you sad, all in the short time
I've known you. You have a heart. There's no denying it."
Roxas was so shocked at what he was saying that at first, he didn't know how to
react. No one had ever said such things to him before. Axel used to wonder if
maybe he had a heart sometimes, but the topic was always dismissed or dropped.
Nero on the other hand just sounded so sure of himself. Finally, he smiled
softly at him. "I don't know what to say....thank you. That means a lot to me.
No one's ever said that before....."
"That's crazy, because it's the truth."
"But if I had a heart....wouldn't I feel it?"
Nero crossed the space between them, sitting closer to him on the couch and
reacing for Roxas's hand, placing his hand over the blond's on his chest. He
waited for a moment, Roxas gazing at him with an almost puzzled look.
"You feel that?" Nero asked with a smile. "That little thumping?"
"Yeah...."
"That's your heart. Have you ever been really sad and felt a pain in your
chest? Or been really excited and felt something pounding really hard? It's
this. It's your heart."
Roxas started to smile again and it steadily grew as his whole face lit up.
Nero's own heart started to pound in his chest as he witnessed this. Nothing
was more beautiful than Roxas when he was this happy. Nothing.
Roxas kept their hands on his chest just to continue feeling the steady
heartbeat. "It's hurt before." He said with joy in his voice. "It's done all
those things you said. I never knew that was my heart. You mean....I've been a
whole person this entire time?"
"You're just as much of a person as me or anyone else, beautiful." Nero said
with a smile.
The blond started laughing, that ecstatic, happy sort of laughter where he
didn't know what else to do with himself. Nero put his free arm around him,
giving him a gentle squeeze. If he had known this the moment they first met, he
would have gladly took Roxas from the start that he had a heart. But it was
okay because right now, they could share this moment together.
Roxas was soon overwhelmed with the emotions from this revelation and threw his
arms around Nero in gratitude. "Thank you." He said softly. "I'm so happy about
this, you have no idea. It means so much to me....thank you...."
Nero wrapped his arms around him, unable to keep from smiling nonstop as he
listened to Roxas thank him for something so seemingly simple. But to the blond
it meant that world and that was all that mattered. "Anytime, beautiful. Just
promise me you'll never forget it."
"I won't, I swear. Not in a million years."
"That's all I ask."
***** I is for Intimacy *****
Intimacy is defined as a close and usually affectionate and loving personal
relationship with another person. Roxas had never understood intimacy and what
it meant until Nero had shown him.
Intimacy was more than just having sex, so much more. Intimacy was being under
the blankets late at night with Nero, their clothes piled up on the floor next
to the bed, as they held each other close. Intimacy was the way Nero gently
traced his fingertips across Roxas's skin, carefully memorizing every part of
him. Intimacy was the way Roxas gently kissed Nero's devil bringer the same way
he kissed his human arm. It was the way Roxas's body writhed from underneath
Nero as the knight thrust himself inside Roxas, knowing exactly how to move his
hips to make Roxas forget his own name. And it was the way they held each other
close after making love, tired and euphoric, falling fast asleep without
consideration to put on any pajamas.
All of these were things completely unknown to Roxas until he met Nero.
They had taken things slow at first, but Roxas soon came to the conclusion that
simply kissing Nero wasn't enough. There was a hunger deep within his bones,
something that made him crave Nero on a deeper level. Late at night they began
to shed their clothes and explore each other's bodies on an intimate level,
learning the things they made them feel like the rest of the world didn't even
matter. Slow kisses, gentle touches, air thick with euphoria eventually had
come to make up many of their late nights and it started to become an
addiction.
Roxas never knew he could feel this way and he was sure that no one else could
evoke these feelings in him. The way Nero touched him, the way he spoke to him,
every little thing he did on those late nights became fuel for a fire he could
never seem to put out, nor did he ever want to.
The first time they made love was something like a trial. While it was special
to them both, it was a time to get to know each other on the most intimate
level and find out what made them simply feel good.
The second time, though....the second time was even better.
The scent of the strawberry lubricant stuck with Roxas as Nero stroked it onto
the blond's erection. Nero watched as Roxas rolled his head back on the pillow,
giving a soft moan at the contact and the very sight of him like that just made
him hunger for him even more. The lubricant was also applied inside of Roxas,
Nero being as gentle as possible with his fingertips. As Roxas's body began to
adjust, he took pleasure in that feeling as well, his chest moving up and down
in pants. As a result, Nero lingered in doing this for a little while longer,
loving the feeling of watching Roxas take so much pleasure in this. It turned
him on too, and it also allowed him to get to know the blond's body even
better, which would make making love to him that much better.
When Nero finally switched his position, gently sliding inside Roxas, the blond
gave a fairly loud moan. Nero leaned down to kiss him in the process, letting
himself linger within Roxas for a moment, allowing his body to adjust. When he
was sure Roxas was ready, he gradually began moving himself in and out of him.
Roxas took to wrapping his arms around Nero, his legs wrapped around Nero's
hips. A blush painted his cheeks as he continued kissing Nero, eventually
beginning to move his hips in response to Nero's rhythm. When he began to do
so, Nero couldn't help but break their kiss to moan softly himself, a wave of
pleasure moving through his body.
He began to speed up his pace, resulting in Roxas making a series of soft
noises. Each of these little noises made Nero move even faster, feeling himself
throb from within the blond. Before Nero knew it, he was making a few pleasured
noises of his own.
"I love you so much." Roxas breathed onto Nero's lips, his body being rocked by
Nero's movements.
"Ah, I love you, too." Was the response whispered by Nero. Though he wasn't
thinking of it at the time, later on he looked back at the way Roxas had so
lovingly whispered that to him in the heat of the moment and it made him feel
truly loved. He knew that Roxas would only make such a confession at such a
time if Nero had made him feel truly special. Nero had taken such gentle care
with Roxas that it made their sex that much more, well, beautiful. But then
again, this was more than just sex. It was making love. It was true, absolute
intimacy. And it was a feeling so great that Nero had previously never knew it
existed at such a level.
Nero began to pump Roxas's needy erection in time with his thrusts, causing a
stronger reaction to come from Roxas. The blond held him a little tighter for
stability as Nero increased his pace, the smaller boy's body being rocked even
more. As he came closer and closer to climax, he began to moan louder and
louder, losing himself even more.
Roxas climaxed first, feeling the warm liquid spread over Nero's hand and
wrist, his body jerking in response. His back arched and he tightened around
Nero, causing Nero to climax with him at almost the same time. They lingered
with each other, riding out their climaxes and then coming down. Euphoria took
them over and for several moments they didn't even move, wanting to continue
staying wrapped up in each other's arms.
Eventually, Nero moved first and cleaned them both up. Afterwards, he crawled
back into bed with Roxas and two held each other close, feeling absolutely
blissful.
"That was amazing." Roxas whispered. "I'm....a little tired now...."
Nero chuckled, tracing patterns on Roxas's back slowly with his demonic hand,
still memorizing his every curve, every patch of skin. "Yeah, it was. Get some
sleep, beautiful. I'm right here."
"Can we be like this....forever?" It sounded like such an innocent question,
and maybe it was, but Roxas had never fathomed being able to love and trust
someone like this, to have them know you so intimately, to know your own body
almost better than you know it yourself. He never wanted to let that go.
"Yeah. Forever."
***** J is for Jaded *****
Between the incident with Sanctus and the time he met Roxas, Nero and Kyrie had
split up due to irreconcilable differences that had come between them as a
result of the way Credo had died. Well, that was the fancy way of putting it.
The one person he cared about most couldn't look at him the same anymore and
they couldn't seem to work past it. They did remain friends, sort of. It took
some effort, but they'd known each other their entire lives so cutting each
other off completely didn't feel right. But they couldn't be close
romantically.
At that point, Nero felt pretty jaded, because he'd invested so much into his
relationship with Kyrie and had cared about her more than anyone else he'd
known. He didn't think he'd be able to do it again and risk the same kind of
heartache. It was just....too much.
Then Roxas walked into his life.
Either he wasn't as jaded as he thought he was, or his mind had changed because
before he knew it, his heart did back flips whenever the blond was around and
he didn't want to let him go. As they started to bond, they realized they could
relate to one another, something Nero honestly never had before. Not even with
Kyrie. He still cared about her, sure, but he began to wonder if maybe
something had been broken so something even greater could come together.
Roxas made him feel better than ever, as though he'd become a greater version
of himself. As a result he became even better for Roxas. Or at least, he did
his best.
"You must have been really hurt." This was Roxas's response when Nero told him
about the past he had with Kyrie. There was a certain kind of understanding in
his voice, which was funny because Nero knew that he'd never had any romantic
relationships prior to meeting him. But he knew Roxas had his own heartbreaks
in his past. The pain of betrayal, the pain of losing someone. Nero supposed
there were similarities. For someone who was accused of not having a heart
(which wasn't true at all), Roxas was really empathetic.
As a response, Nero just pulled him close as they lay in bed together talking.
It was really late, and they should probably be sleeping, but sometimes they
got so caught up in each other they couldn't help themselves. "I was." He said
quietly. "But it doesn't matter now. I got you."
Roxas rested his head against his shoulder, shutting his eyes as he rested
against him. "Do you ever think about where we would be if we hadn't met each
other?"
"I try not to."
Roxas smiled a little. "Yeah? I dunno, it's just that.....I don't think
anything else would make me as happy as I am with you, you know?"
Nero kissed the top of his head and sighed softly. Roxas was so innocent
sometimes. Nero kind of loved that. "Roxas, I know for a fact I wouldn't be
happy if you weren't around. I'd probably be a jaded bastard with a stick up
his ass."
"I don't know about that." Roxas said.
"I do. But like I said, it doesn't matter. I got you, you got me. That's what
does matter."
"Yeah, you're right. That's the only thing that matters."
***** K is for Kindness *****
Kindness.
A little bit of kindness with Roxas went a long way. In his very first
memories, he could recall Axel giving him sea-salt ice cream for the first time
as a "icing on the cake" after their mission and it was the first showing of
any kindness to him. Up to that point he was getting literally hit and pushed
around and talked down to all because he was the boy with the keyblade. Even
though the friendship between Axel and Roxas began to deteriorate because of
the Organization, the kindness he'd shown Roxas had never really left the
younger boy. It'd help made him who he was.
His relationship with Nero was no different. When Nero met him, he was lost. In
more ways than one. First, he was separated from Sora. If you asked him why or
how it happened, he'd had no idea. Second, he was in a completely foreign
world, one he'd never been to and he was pretty sure Sora had never been to
either. Fortuna. It was a nice place, but why was he here?
He had nothing but his keyblades and the clothes on his back. He started
picking up a couple of odd jobs on the street and eventually made enough money
to stay at an inn for a little while. However, it ended up getting more
expensive than he could afford and he wasn't sure what he could do.
Up to this point he'd been lucky enough to not come across any demons so he
hadn't summoned his keyblade other than to check that he could actually still
wield it after a nightmare that he was getting attacked by heartless and was
defenseless. It was comforting to know that he could still summon one or two
keyblades if the situation came up. It was kind of nice though that even though
he was having troubles getting by here, that there weren't heartless popping up
everywhere.
One day he decided to explore the place some more and found himself outside of
the main part of the city. It looked like he was heading towards some kind of
forest when it happened. The strange creatures that he later learned were
demons appeared and caught him off guard.
He held his own for awhile in the fight, but they weren't an enemy he was used
to and their numbers were pretty strong. That was when he showed up. He wasn't
a knight in shining armor, but rather one in a blue coat carrying around an
impressive sword and a gun. Without much of a word to Roxas he jumped in and
came to his aid, fending off the creatures pretty easily.
Roxas thanked him, and when Nero asked him what he was doing out here he told
him he was just looking around. When Nero seemed suspicious that he was just
looking around a shifty area, he elaborated. He might be trying to get away
from the inn he was staying at because he was late on his payments and was
kinda broke. Nero seemed to acknowledge the sentiment and said he knew it was
pretty expensive there and wondered why Roxas wasn't staying in an apartment or
something. Was he here just visiting?
It's complicated, Roxas said.
Through a little more questioning on Nero's part, Roxas admitted the truth. He
didn't have anywhere else to go. He was lost.
The next thing Roxas knew, he was packing what very little he owned at the inn
he'd been staying at and moving to Nero's apartment.
Kindness. Nero had saved his life and given him a roof over his head.
It didn't stop there. They got to talking more and Roxas told him the truth
about who he was and exactly why he didn't have anywhere else to go. They
became attached. They became something more than friends that Roxas hadn't
previously knew how to define. Nero started taking care of him even more. He
bought him more clothes that he needed, made sure there was enough food for the
both of them, and just pretty much did whatever it took to make Roxas
comfortable.
Nero admitted that it was because he'd fallen for him, and if it were anyone
else, he would probably have referred them to the Order's care or something
similar. But he'd fallen for Roxas fast, and Roxas was finding that he felt the
same for him, too. It was a whole new discovery, these feelings, and they made
him happy. Nero gave him a happiness he'd never known.
The events shaped Roxas. Soon enough he asked Nero to help him get a job with
the Order, with the intent to help protect the city from the occasional demon
attacks. It felt good to help people. It felt good to make a difference.
It felt good to have a purpose of his own choosing. It was with this that Roxas
genuinely started to feel like his own person rather than a shadow of Sora.
All of this was because of Nero, and it had all started with kindness.
***** L is for Love *****
In the beginning of their relationship and for a little while into it, both
Nero and Roxas seemed more comfortable expressing their feelings for one
another through little actions rather than words. Saying "I like you" didn't do
it justice, and neither did most other phrases Nero could think of at the time.
Anything that seemed like it might actually fit was....slightly intimidating. A
bit much for an initial confession that his feelings stemmed beyond friendship.
And Roxas was...pretty much clueless as to how to express himself at this
level. So when Nero broke the ice with a kiss as his confession, that suited
Roxas just fine.
At the time, it was perfect. For a little while they didn't put any label on
their feelings or their relationship. They didn't need to, and it worked for
them. Feelings were expressed better through physical means, or through means
like buying little gifts for each other, and striving to give one another
whatever they needed or wanted to simply smile.
However, the more time they spent together, the deeper their feelings grew, and
the deeper the need grew to state exactly how they felt. To give it a name.
Nero had never told anyone in his life that he loved them. Not even Kyrie,
because even though he knew he had felt that way about her at one point, they'd
never gotten that far. For Nero, the day he would tell someone he loved them,
to actually say it, would be the day his life was changed forever. It would
mean that something new, something beautiful had opened up inside him that he
would share with the person he said it to, and them alone. Essentially placing
his heart in their hands. He'd felt this way about Roxas for a long time.
Saying it, however, was intimidating, and Roxas's naivete, while he didn't
blame him for it, could be a little confusing at times.
Lucky for Nero, even though Roxas didn't always have the right words to express
himself, he still liked to say exactly what was on his mind. It was the only
way Roxas knew how to be.
Roxas was never entirely sure what love was. Sometimes he thought hard about
what he had with Nero and wondered if that was it. The only time he'd ever
witnessed "love" was watching Belle and the Beast. He could recall Xaldin
telling him that love made someone weak, and Axel said it was something special
between two people that wasn't quite friendship. Well, what he had with Nero
wasn't quite friendship, it was definitely special, but it didn't make him
weak. It made him feel stronger. He even felt like it gave him purpose.
Since Nero made him feel so comfortable, he didn't question it too much until
someone at the Order questioned their relationship and sparked him to wonder
more about it. When the two asked if they were dating, both stammered and
fumbled in the words until Nero finally asked "What's it to you?" before the
topic was dropped again.
Roxas wondered about it for the rest of that day but didn't have a chance to
bring it up with Nero again until they finally climbed into bed at the end of
their busy day.
Nero turned off the lamp and got comfortable in bed, laying on his side facing
Roxas, who lay facing him as well. The only light shining in was a bit of
moonlight through the curtains, barely luminating their faces in the dark.
Sometimes Nero would just gaze at Roxas's face like that, whether he was asleep
or awake, because it gave the blonde's face such a lovely sort of glow...
"Hey, Nero?" It was the kind of tone Roxas used whenever he was curious about
something. There were times when Roxas was just full of questions and sometimes
reserved them for this time of night when they were alone together without
interruption. It was perfectly fine with Nero.
"Hm?"
"That guy that asked if we were dating....." Roxas sounded a little nervous,
which struck Nero as strange. Had it bothered him that much? If so, he and that
guy were going to have a friendly little chat later.
"What about him?"
Roxas bit his lip, looking a little unsure of himself. "Are we? I mean, we
never gave him a straight answer...."
Nero wasn't sure how to answer. "Well, we live together. It's....a little more
than dating."
"So...what does it mean?"
Nero blinked. "What does what mean?"
"The things I do with you, I've never done with anyone else. I know we're not
friends. But when I'm with you....something pounds in my chest, and sometimes I
just wanna kiss you, or just hug you. I like it when you hold my hand and other
stuff like that. When you tell me I have a heart or that I actually
matter....it just feels like there's something really strong in me. It's just
something really powerful. And when you tell me you're sad, I get angry at
whatever made you sad but then I get sad too."
Nero smiled. Roxas was naive, sure, and while sometimes it threw Nero off,
there were times where it was really endearing. He stayed silent for a moment
as Roxas continued to ramble on, desperately trying to put a meaning the things
he was feeling. Nero already knew.
"I've cared a lot about friends before, but with you it's different." Roxas
continued. "I mean, you don't kiss your friends like that. I guess what I mean
is, I know what this is, but what if I'm wrong?"
"You're not wrong." Nero said softly, reaching under the covers for Roxas's
hand and clasping it in his own. "Why don't you tell me exactly what it is, and
you'll see that you're right."
Roxas wasn't sure how Nero could sound so confident, but he trusted Nero, so he
ran with it. "I think it's.....I love you."
Unable to contain himself, Nero pulled Roxas close, holding him tight. He
couldn't help it. Roxas had no idea, but he'd just tore down a wall in Nero
that he'd been reinforcing throughout his entire life. Now that wall didn't
have a meaning anymore, and all it took was a few honest words from this blond
in his arms. "You're damn right you do. And you can't love somebody without a
heart, you know that? I love you, too, Roxas. Don't you ever forget that,
because it's never going to change."
Roxas didn't hesitate in holding Nero tight as well and he was suddenly very
glad that he'd decided to speak up about how he felt. Not only did Nero accept
his feelings and tell him it was exactly what he thought it was, he felt the
same about Roxas. He loved Roxas, and that felt incredible. It made Roxas so
happy he had to try not to choke up. "I won't. Just promise me we can always be
like this."
"I promise."
Too late, Roxas was choking up anyway. It was okay though, because he felt a
tear from Nero against his neck.
***** M is for Mirror *****
"You know, I think I understand what you see in him." Kyrie said with a soft
smile. It was a genuine smile, not forced at all. Nero could tell. Even with
everything that had happened between them, he'd known her for pretty much all
of his life and had learned to pick up on at least some of her cues. She was
okay with Roxas. She genuinely seemed happy for Nero. It was pretty surreal.
He scratched the back of his head, looking at her sheepishly because he pretty
much had no idea what she meant exactly and how clarification on it would make
him respond. ".....What's that exactly?" Could he even ask? He was so afraid
that he would say something stupid and ruin this. Afraid that maybe he was
walking on thin ice and the slightest thing he would say in the wrong direction
would just hurt her feelings again. It wasn't a feeling he liked in the
slightest. Not that anyone did, of course. It made him extremely uncomfortable
because she was probably the only person he had difficulty speaking his mind
to, at least he did anymore. He never had this kind of trouble with Roxas, and
of course anyone else he tended to just mouth off at.
She smiled, yet hesitated, before she responded.
***
Roxas was a strange boy. It wasn't hard for anyone to notice that he wasn't
like anyone else in Fortuna even though no one could pick out why. It was more
than the fact that he wasn't from Fortuna. He was quiet around people he didn't
know, reserved. He was polite with strangers to an extent and even friendly to
those that needed his help but if certain thin lines were crossed, he didn't
hesitate to speak his mind. He always seem to say exactly how he felt. In a
sense, he was like water, and could be as docile as a series of small waves
washing upon shore or as fierce as a hurricane.
That was pretty much exactly what Kyrie thought of Roxas and had picked up on
even shortly after meeting him.
He and Nero ran into Kyrie at Order headquarters one day, and Nero, in his
nervousness, went ahead and introduced the two. He'd already told Roxas about
Kyrie, which made the introduction....a little easier.
Roxas didn't seem nervous at all despite the potentially awkward circumstances
with Kyrie and Nero's past. He greeted her, even shook her hand and said it was
nice to meet her. Things were going well until a passing knight scoffed in
their direction, looking to Kyrie then to Roxas as they were shaking hands, and
said, "In your dreams....boy."
Kyrie winced but before she or Nero could speak, Roxas's friendly expression
instantly darkened and he called back to the knight, "Shut your mouth, jerk!"
Once the knight was out of earshot, Kyrie clasped her hands together and
started to speak, "I'm sorry, he's--"
"You don't gotta apologize for him." Roxas said.
Nero's arms were crossed, huffing in the direction the knight had left. "Took
the words out of my mouth."
***
Kyrie was in the church one day when Nero and Roxas were called in urgently to
take care of a little demon problem in the middle of town. She was asked to
stay there by the members of the Order where she would be safest for the time
being, so she was around to hear their orders being given. The two were briefed
where the demons seemed to be lurking in the heaviest amounts and immediately
set off to take care of it.
"And do it quickly!" The Order official called after them.
The pair responded in unison, even in the same pitch. "Yeah, yeah, I got it
already!"
Kyrie put a hand to her face to hide a small smile as the boys rushed out.
***
Even though the Order had greatly reformed after the incident with Sanctus,
many of its routines were still the same. There was still pressure to attend to
the masses to hear the same old things about Sparda as they used to.
For awhile, Kyrie didn't sing at the church and it was only awhile after her
break up with Nero that she finally started singing again and when she did,
everyone came to see.
Including Nero and Roxas.
Honestly, Nero wasn't sure how Kyrie would feel about him being there. He still
wanted her to know that he understood what happened between them, and even
though he'd been hurt too, he still cared. After all, they'd been friends since
childhood. There wasn't a sense in wasting all of that. Not if he could help
it. Of course, being Nero, and since the situation was still uncomfortable, he
chose showing up at the mass with Roxas in time to hear her sing as a way to
demonstrate this. Alright, maybe it was just a little subtle, but hopefully she
would get the message. After all, if he didn't care, he wouldn't be there,
right? And he came with Roxas, which spoke for something else entirely as
well....
Roxas liked being there, actually. Kyrie had a beautiful voice. He hoped he got
the chance to tell her that at some point, but he and Kyrie didn't talk very
much, because he was kind of worried that she resented him. He'd been polite to
her nonetheless, because she'd shown him nothing but kindness, though she was
reserved.
After she finished, the mass begun with one of the Order's high priests. The
boring part. Nero and Roxas both kind of wanted to leave but they knew they'd
catch heat for it later. It was almost worse than not showing up at all, which
they'd already done too many times.
In the middle of it, Kyrie came down the aisle took the empty seat next to
Nero. "What's wrong?" She asked in a whisper. It didn't exactly take a mind
reader to tell the boys were restless.
Nero huffed. "All this preachin's--"
"--putting us to sleep." The finished sentence came from Roxas, who looked just
as bored as Nero.
Kyrie gave a sympathetic look and Roxas leaned over in Kyrie's direction, Nero
between them, and frowned. "Do they ever stop to think they might not
understand Sparda as well as they think? I never hear them mention the most
important thing that made him who he is."
"What's that?" Kyrie asked.
"That he had a heart."
Nero just smiled and Kyrie noticed it instantly.
***
So what did Kyrie think that Nero saw in Roxas? Nero really had no idea exactly
how Kyrie would respond and it even made him a little nervous.
"Because...he's like your mirror." She finally said.
It certainly wasn't the response Nero was expecting, but it was even better. So
much better that, in fact, Nero was rather fond of the description. Roxas was
his mirror. He really liked that way that sounded.
"Yeah...yeah, I guess he is." He said with a smile.
He had closure between him and Kyrie and a wonderful new way to describe how
exactly he thought of Roxas. It didn't get much better than this.
***** N is for Nobody *****
Even though Roxas had been able to join the Order of the Sword with Nero and
start a brand new life, he was never truly able to forget his past. No matter
how hard he tried, there always seemed to be a reminder that he wasn't like
anyone else and he never would be.
He supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised that the Order eventually
started asking questions. After all, he had a very unique skill set and a
weapon no one in Fortuna had ever seen before, and the residents of Fortuna,
particularly the Order, had some some really weird things. So where did Roxas
come from? Who was he? Why couldn't anyone find anything from his past at all?
"Who are you?" Was the exact question posed to him by an Order superior after a
mission one day. He and Nero were about to leave headquarters and head home
after giving a report about how the day's events had gone.
Roxas turned back, raising an eyebrow, confused by the question. He and this
official saw each other on a regular basis. "I'm Roxas. What do you mean?" Next
to him, Nero slowly looked back at the official as well, gazing at him
suspiciously.
"Not your name. Who are you really? You've never told us anything about
yourself before you came to Fortuna."
Roxas's confusion slowly began to replace itself with a sense of anxiety. "I've
worked loyally for you for two months now. Don't tell me you're questioning me
now."
"The demon you took down today on your own was one that some of our most
experienced knights had fallen against. You're a kid. What makes you so
special? Your skill set makes it almost as though you're not even human."
Nero immediately pulled a fist back, a sudden onset of boiling blood rushing
through him. Roxas held out his arm in front of him to stop him, and Nero
stopped, but it didn't keep him from the dark glare he shot at the official and
a few of his own words harshly spitting out. "Who the hell do you think are
you, jackass?"
Roxas was plenty angry himself. "In case you forgot, not all of us in the room
are entirely human born, but it doesn't change our loyalties."
"I'm not questioning your loyalty." The official insisted, calm as ever. "I'm
questioning your origin, which you seem to make an effort to avoid explaining.
That avoidance is worrisome. Surely you have nothing to hide, Roxas, unless you
fear it could interfere with your career as one of our best knights."
Roxas hesitated. He was pretty sure he was being threatened on one level or
another, and losing his job with the Order meant that he'd lost a lot of the
rebuilding he'd done with Nero. Not to mention, he didn't want any of his
mistakes to hinder Nero at all, should the Order decide to involve him somehow
because of their relationship.
"Screw you, he doesn't have to tell you anything." Nero said, still
considerably angry. "He does your dirty work and never complains. Shouldn't
that be enough?"
"Wait." Roxas interjected. "I'll tell him."
"Roxas...."
The official crossed his arms, looking at Roxas expectantly.
"I'm....not from this world. I was...accidentally created from someone else.
That's the short version of it. You were right, I'm not really human. I'm a
'Nobody'."
"No." Nero said immediately, looking Roxas right in his eyes. "That's bullshit.
I don't care how you were 'made' or whatever, you're human. You're not a
'Nobody'. That's a bullshit term fed to you by the assholes who used you for so
long, a bullshit term a part of their bullshit agenda they fed to you to keep
you around so they could continue using you. They made you believe you were
nothing so you would believe you couldn't run, but you did, and now you're
here. You're not a 'Nobody', you're not nothing. You're Roxas, and you're
human, which is why this question about where you came from is just as much
bullshit as that is." His glare shifted back to the Order official, who stared
at him blankly, surprised.
Roxas was looking down, Nero's words ringing in his head over and over. "I....I
never thought about it that way....."
Nero turned and started to leave again, walking with heavy steps. "Come on,
beautiful. Let's go home. This mess doesn't matter."
Roxas quickly followed after him, deciding not to give the speechless official
so much as a glance afterward. Maybe Nero was right. Maybe he really was human
after all.
***** O is for Orphan *****
After a hard day of running around like headless chickens for the Order of the
Sword, Nero and Roxas laid together in bed, watching TV and just relaxing. Nero
half-sat up, leaned back against the headboard, and Roxas was curled up against
him, leaning his head against his chest. Perfect way to end a tough day if you
asked Roxas. He wasn't even paying attention to what was on TV, instead he lost
himself in his thoughts, unwinding from the day's events. He felt peaceful,
relaxed.
For several minutes, they were quiet, and Roxas wasn't sure if Nero was paying
attention to the TV or if he had zoned out just as he did, but either way his
thoughts had made him curious about something he'd been meaning to ask Nero
anyway.
"Hey Nero...."
"Hm?" Nero clearly sounded, and looked, exhausted but hopefully he wouldn't
mind Roxas picking at his brain a bit.
"I've told you about my past and everything. I kind of wonder....what about
you? I mean, your family, and all that kind of stuff?"
"Don't got one." Nero replied, only a faint hint of bitterness in his voice.
The bitterness would probably be more apparent if he wasn't so tired, but he
didn't mind Roxas asking all the same.
Roxas looked up at him, puzzled. How did Nero not have a family? Wasn't that
something all people had? People that didn't, you know, come to being like
Roxas.... "What do you mean?" He asked.
Nero shifted his position slightly, allowing himself to wrap his arms around
Roxas as he spoke to him, eyes on the TV even though he wasn't really paying
attention to it. "I've never known my parents. I grew up in the Order's
orphanage. They found me when I was a baby, they raised me. Most of the kids
didn't like me, except for Kyrie, which is how we became friends. I always knew
I was a little different."
Roxas frowned, looking a little sad. "So...you don't even have a family?"
Nero shrugged, though Roxas thought his eyes looked a little heavier. "I might
be related to the Old Ma--to Dante, somehow. But I've never bothered to track
him down and ask him about it. I mean, I've gone this long not knowing, you
know? But other than that....no, I don't have a family." He'd say Kyrie was the
closest thing he had to a sister, but things had gotten a little complicated.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's just my life."
"I don't know much about families, but it seems to me that if you love someone
enough and they become a permanent part of your life, they're pretty much
family, right?"
Nero bit his lip in thought. He wasn't really sure where Roxas was going with
this, if anywhere, but the way he phrased that did get him thinking. Roxas had
that effect on him sometimes, it was strange, but he kind of liked it.
Sometimes a different perspective was good to have. "Yeah....I guess so. I've
never thought of it that way, but sure. Sounds reasonable to me."
"Then...we're family."
For a moment, Nero didn't speak, hardly able to believe what Roxas had just
said. He kind of blamed that on the fact that no one, not even Kyrie, had told
him they were family before. No one ever told him they might even be "like
family" before. But here was Roxas, with a slightly naive idea to the way basic
things that most people take for granted work, saying Nero was his family.
Maybe it wasn't so naive, actually....
He smiled, giving Roxas a gentle squeeze. "Yeah. Yeah, we are, in a sense.
You're absolutely right, beautiful."
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