Any Day ::AkuRoku::

Roxas had lost track of all the times that he'd told Axel that he hated Valentine's Day. He hated the colors; the cheap conversation hearts that tasted faintly like paper, the dramatized break-ups. All of it just made the spiky-haired blond want to cringe. Who was the sick, demented card company owner who decided to make a holiday devoted on such a fickle thing as love? Of course, most of these theories were devised before Roxas had met Axel. Axel, who, only a few months ago had made him feel like the most amazing person in the world.
Roxas snapped himself out of his thought process as Axel surfaced to the front of his mind once again during physics on Thursday morning. February fourteenth to be exact. His fellow juniors were already dishing out the chocolates, sappy poems, and cheap carnations. The roses would come later. Roses were private things, Roxas decided as he contented himself by drawing in the margarines of his notes on the laws of motion. You didn't give a rose as a public declaration of love. You'd give a rose because you wanted to be that old Romeo who was trying to make the receiver feel special. Not everyone else feel jealous.
But he'd still told his boyfriend to not get him anything.
In part, it was hard to be dating a senior. Roxas couldn't count how many times he'd seen conversations die as he walked down the hall to his locker. He was dating the school's basket-case senior. The one with a fiery temper and inability to stop smart-assing to his teachers. The blond had to give a small half smile as he thought about Axel, upstairs in his government seminar, probably reminding his right wing female professor that he was gay and there were much greater promises to Valentine's Day than candy and cuddly stuffed animals. Of course, he'd never ask that of Roxas, especially on his least favorite holiday. But he wondered if the redheaded boy was thinking as intensely about Roxas as he was about him.
It'd been ten months since the sly talking senior had asked Roxas if he wanted to go to a school party together. He remembered the way some girls who thought they were hard core glare at him for enticing the bad boy with his perfect GPA and strict curfew. The party had turned out to be a flop, so Axel had brought the younger boy to one of his favorite haunts, the old rundown park three blocks from the high school. They sat on the rusting merry-go-round and kissed because they'd already been talking enough. It'd still been cold enough that they had to share a jacket and a warm hug to stay warm. Roxas hadn't thought that anything could mean more to him than one of those kisses.
The bell rang, bringing Roxas back to the present. He had to pay attention, get through the day, and his reward would be the same as any other: Axel. Today was no different than the other 180 days they had to be locked up in high school.
But as Mr. Leonhart started his lecture on the nature of black holes, Roxas couldn't help but wish that he'd told Axel that maybe something small would have been nice...

Throughout the day, Roxas felt himself get more and more disappointed as he opened his locker to find absolutely nothing in there but musty books used by every other student before him. He'd hoped that Axel would have defied his wishes just like usual. No Axel, don't kiss me in front of my dad. No Axel, this is not the right time to make out till we can't breathe. No Axel, I don't want the panda at the bottom of the claw machine. But it seemed for once that the older boy was respecting what the younger had said. Nothing to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Normally, Roxas usually never got a chance to have a moment with Axel. They would greet each other in the halls between fifth and sixth period with kisses and quick teasing words. But that day the absence of Axel on the way to Sora's lunch hour was painfully obvious. Axel didn't have much on the way of friends, and the ones he had thought of Roxas as just a phase for the out-going redhead. But the older boy had made a very stressful point in the fact that Roxas wasn't anything less than his boyfriend, and that he would never think of him like a fad that would pass within the month. So there was no one to ask about Axel's sudden disappearance.
So while the junior watched his classmates share kisses and promises of a wonderfully romantic evening, he once again reviewed why he hated Valentine's Day. The cards, the hearts, the sappy banter. There was nothing good about this holiday, unless you really were having a terrible relationship and you used it as an excuse to get laid. Roxas's heart began to flutter at the idea, and he cursed himself for thinking along those lines. He hadn't been able to have time with Axel in bed for at least two weeks with his varsity swim schedule. What if Axel was planning...?
No. He couldn't let himself think about that while he sat at a table in a crowded (very public) lunchroom. The young blond knew that if he didn't watch his thoughts, he wouldn't be able to control himself. Just in time to save him from his imagination, Naminé came hurrying over to his table at the corner of the cafeteria. She was one of the few girls brandishing gifts to anyone that could see. Instead, she wore her standard white on white outfit that hung limply off her tiny frame and big glasses that showed she'd been up all-night and unable to focus enough to put in contacts. "Hey, Nam," Roxas said warmly. He was greeted by a strange "nugh" noise from the white-blond girl who busied herself with digging through her impossibly large periwinkle handbag as she scooted in next to her friend. "What were you doing up all night?" Roxas continued nonchalantly. The boy was used to the scattered-brained blond with all her mannerisms, especially her inability to actually answer your questions.
"What? Oh. Nothing... really. Just sketching another... mumble mumble..." The girl's words faded off as she delved deeper into the bag until she produced a folded up piece of nice writing paper with a triumphant "ha!". "Axel wanted me to give this to you," she finally explained, shoving the paper into the hand Roxas wasn't using to stab at his pathetic lunch food.
"What's it say?" Roxas asked fervently as he unfolded the note with hasty fingers.
"Why would I know? I don't read other people's things..." Naminé scoffed, though her friend knew otherwise. He gazed down at the note and read:

Roxas,

I know you're probably wondering where I am right now, so let me tell you. I'm stuck in a full-day lecture/lab in my chem.. class. I suppose for you it'd be an amazing thing to be able to learn all day about what happens when you stick a bunch of stuff together that you don't even have legal access to anyways, and see what happens. I thought I'd like it too, until I realized nothing all that interesting happens.
Right about now I should be inserting a comment about the "chemistry of love" and how we're going to be discovering that tonight, but sadly you didn't want anything for Valentine's Day. Sides, you have practice tonight, don't you? Oh well.

But I got you something anyways.

Axel.
PS I'll give it to you tomorrow.

"How can you tell your boyfriend you don't want anything for Valentine's Day?" Naminé accused with a frown. Roxas noted how she hadn't even glanced at the note since he'd opened it. She'd been opening her lunch sack and starting to devour a large tuna sandwich.
"I just hate how commercialized it all is... it makes me feel cheap," Roxas muttered, pushing his tray of uneaten food away. Sometimes it was just easier to give up on cafeteria food.
"Did you at least get him something?"
"Well... sort of..."
"Oooh! What?" The petite blond gazed at Roxas with wide, azure eyes and a fishy grin that came from more than just her tuna. Roxas gave her a analyzing stare before crossing his arms and leaning back against his chair.
"You already know what he got me, don't you?"
Naminé bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, I didn't mean to give it away that quickly. "Well... that still doesn't mean that I don't care what you got him!" she countered weakly, but still with just as much enthusiasm.
"It's private. Not something I can discuss."
Naminé’s eyes widened and her voice lowered as she tried to suppress her giggling. "So you're saying you either got him something to chain you down with or nothing at all?"
"Hey! Why do you assume either of those?" Roxas cried, giving his friend a playful shove.
"Because," Naminé laughed in a sing-song voice, "no one ever says that unless it has something to do with sex, or they're trying to hide the fact they forgot to get something at all."
Roxas opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but his narrow shoulders slummed in defeat and his cobalt eyes fell to the ground. "It's that obvious huh?"
"Oh, Roxas, you had told him that you weren't planning on anything..."
"Yeah, but the whole day I've been wishing I hadn't. Even worse, I was wishing he'd gotten me something too. And now look! He's got me something, and I didn't even get him a card..."
"Sometimes it's not what you give, Roxas. It's what you keep."
"Was that supposed to be a hint?"
"I dunno. Was it?"
"Not a very good one..."
"Ha!"

Roxas didn't see Axel after school as anticipated either. The seminar conflicted with another important class or something like that, and the message was relayed through Axel's friend Demyx this time. There was a lot less niceness in this message compared to Naminé’s cheerful note giving. Demyx gave Roxas a death glare before snipping, "Axel's got to stay after. Says he'll call." Roxas swore he heard a muttered, "Fucking juniors..." But like usual, the blond shrugged it off. He'd take crap from Axel's friends, just as long as he had Axel.
But it seemed tonight, he'd have to go Axel-less.
The walk home from school was only a quarter mile, but in the chill that had swept over town that week and no warm boyfriend to keep him warm, Roxas was wishing more than ever for this day to end. Tomorrow he could see Axel. Tomorrow, the hype would all be over about Valentine's Day. Tomorrow, it'd just be another old day in the year. While he was concentrating hard on this thought, Roxas had been walking through a crosswalk, unaware of the cars that were approaching him quickly.
"ROXAS!"
The shout was just a second too late. Roxas turned to see the car coming towards him, and saw just on the other side of the road a long slim figure with bright red hair the color of a valentine... The younger boy shut his eyes, relaying that image of Axel in his mind, knowing that he only had a moment before--
Thud!
Roxas hit the ground, but it came from an impact much softer and from a different direction of the car. His back hit a hard, icy sidewalk that was followed quickly by his head. "Oh..." he mumbled, feeling a warm rush flood his head all the way through to his hair. Slowly, he opened his eyes just as a car sped by, honking in protest of nearly killing the blond but not bothering to stop. Straddling the blond was a senior in a long black coat with purple tattoos etched under his narrow emerald eyes. "Roxas..." the redhead murmured, his arms shaking as he looked down at his boyfriend.
"H-happy Valentine's Day," Roxas said in a shaky, slightly hysterical laugh.
"Oh fuck, Roxas..." Axel shook his head and kissed the younger boy before he could say anything else. It was completely indecent to be making out on the concrete sidewalk of a busy city street in the middle of winter, and Roxas loved every moment of it. Their tongues danced with each other in a way much more needy than they had been with each other recently. Roxas just needed to know he was really there, and Axel needed to know that Roxas was really all right. By the time they broke apart, Roxas's head felt better, and so did his heart. Axel sat up and pulled the blond up slowly, who flinched and knew there would be a lot of bruises to put ice on that evening.
"I was going to surprise you and show up at your house," Axel muttered once he got his boyfriend standing properly. "So... er... surprise!"
For half a second, they just stared at each other. Roxas's dirty blond hair disheveled and flyaway, his pants slightly torn and salt from the roads covering him entirely. Axel with his breathlessness still fresh from thinking he almost lost his best friend and lover, shirt and jacket slightly riding up from falling on top of the blond and hands trying to stop shaking. Then, they started laughing. They laughed until it hurt and tears welled into the corner of their eyes.
"Axel... you have no idea how lucky I am to have you," Roxas sighed as he finally gained control over himself and took the redhead by the hand. They made their way up the street, Roxas a bit slower after such a fall. He felt his head. There was no blood, but it was tender at the touch. Axel wrapped an arm around Roxas's petite form and nuzzled the top of his head lovingly.
"So..." Roxas began, his lips parting into a wide smile. "What did you get me for Valentine's Day?"
Axel rolled his eyes and countered, "I thought you didn't like Valentine's Day."
"I don't. But I still want a present."
"I wanted to wait to give it to you tomorrow..."
"Axel, if you had waited to give it to me tomorrow, I'd have been road kill. It just goes to show you that you can't just wait for the "perfect day" whether it be Valentine's Day or not to show how much someone means to y--"
"Aw, fine," Axel interrupted and swung his boyfriend around to face him. He put his left hand gently on the side of Roxas's neck and kissed him long and slow under the street lamp as other couples (perhaps more traditional, but couples nonetheless) passed by. This wasn't like their needy kiss; it was taking the time to appreciate what they had. With his other hand, Axel slowly pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it into Roxas's palm.
"It's nothing I bought, don't worry," Axel murmured softly into the blond's ear. Roxas's questioning cobalt eyes stared up at Axel's intense emerald gaze for just a moment before he turned to look down at the piece of paper obviously torn out of a notebook. Still confused, Roxas unwrapped the folded piece of paper and glanced down at Axel's messy scrawl.

I love you. No matter what day it is.

Roxas couldn't say he had ever liked Valentine's Day as much as he did in that moment.