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February 2019

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So, you got my number memorized?

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I dunno. I was just told that this was the feeding area.

And since there's usually one person doing the feeding, it's kind of easier to do it all at once. They'll listen, but only for a short time.

[Roxas shrugs. Thinking about it, separating them did seem like a good idea. Although he suspected the bigger ones like Tarn might push through anyway.]

[ Axel scoffs. He knows all-too-much about people who only listen for a short time, doesn’t he? ]

Surprised you even get that long.

[ There’s a snort at that -- and not from one of the Nobodies, either. ]

Now that there’ll be two of us, we can split up and feed ‘em in two spots, and let them sort out the rest.

[ And that’s that, in his mind. Axel folds his arms over his chest and shifts his weight. ]

So, when do we start?

Well, now, I guess, if you want. But I think they can also wait a bit.

[Tarn, however, is attempting his best puppy dog eyes to try and suggest that now is where his vote lies.]

[ This wyvern in particular clearly has a preference, yes -- both for food, and for Roxas, apparently.

But Axel's preference is still procrastination above much else. ]

Well then, wanna show me around?

Sure, if you want.

[He looks around, trying to find a place to start.]

That's the barn...I've been staying in there.

[ Whether or not the Grand Tour is important is essentially up to Roxas. All Axel knows is that he's not leaving until his best friend seems ready for that. And given Roxas's behaviors thus far -- first, asking him to stay, to live with him, and then their conversation after the redhead's run from home -- the taller Nobody can't begin to estimate how long from now that'll be.

May as well get to know the lay of the land. ]

Sleepin' in a barn, huh? [ His head shakes some. ] Can't say I saw that coming.

[ But, if that's where they end up, then that's where they end up -- right now, the important part is that they're together, no matter where. ]

It's not that bad actually. It's more of a storage area so I don't have to worry about sharing it with the Wyverns.

[He shrugs, heading over towards it.]

It's actually kinda fun.

[ Roxas’s definitions of ‘fun’ keep getting weirder, don’t they...

But, to the blond’s back, Axel will find himself unwittingly donning a smirk that melts into a fond smile after a moment, despite himself. Huffing out a small sound of amusement, he pursues, easily catching up with his longer strides. ]

Yeah, as fun as sleeping on a bale of hay can be. Right...

[ Clearly, he’s got some preconceived notions about the concept of sleeping in a barn loft. The things he does for this friendship. (Sora would be so proud.) ]

[New experiences man. He'd never slept in a barn before.]

There's a mattress in there to.

[ Someone needs to remind Roxas that not all new experiences need to be, well, experienced: Sleeping in a barn; taking a sword to the gut -- things like that! ]

Wait -- a mattress?

[ Guess who's gonna be rollin' in the hay. ]

[Roxas might argue otherwise, except for the sword to the gut.]

The owner's not making me sleep on the floor or anything.

[ ...Wait a sec. Either Roxas just missed the point, or...

Ah, forget it. If there's only one mattress, it goes to the blond. Axel can sleep where he falls, anyhow. It's unimportant.

That's for later, anyway. ]

So, how long are you planning on staying?

[Roxas shrugs.]

I don't know, honestly. Until I feel ready?

[ It sounds like a strange concept, but Axel actually knows a bit about that now, doesn't he? Feeling ready?

Granted, he didn't truly feel much beyond exhausted before, but X -- that weird stranger who'd haunted him like a ghost -- made a good point in asking if the redhead was "comfortable" going back.

It ultimately helped him make his mind up.

So, when Roxas gives that answer, there's an honest understanding from the other. ]

Right.

Well, I'm not gonna invite myself to the party; but if ya want me to stay... [ He trails off there, gesturing instead. Roxas knows what he means. He won't say any more. ]

That's kinda why I told you where I was.

[He knew Axel would come eventually. Even just to check.]

I mean, you don't have to stay the whole time I'm here. But, at least, a bit.

Please.

[ Of course he’d come. That’s a given. But it wasn’t beyond the realm of feasibility that Roxas had only wanted a drop-in, was it? Rather than an extended guest?

Well, regardless, Axel’s a bit surprised; more than a bit flattered. ]

Hey, don’t have to tell me twice.

[ He shrugs rather helplessly. He'll stay the whole time, even, if that's what Roxas seems to need. ]

We’re gonna be a little tight on space though, right?

[ Maybe he can arrange some boxes or something and camp out on them, if he has to. ]

Thanks Axel. Really.

I think we'll be okay. We might need to move some stuff around, but the owner should be able to help us out with that.

[ ...Thanks? Roxas is thanking him for staying...? That’s... not necessary, to say the least. Not like he's gotta twist this redhead's arm or anything. ]

Yeah, sure. [ Axel turns his face away, rubbing at the back of his head rather bashfully. ] No problem.

[ He’s really that busted up over the split, huh...? That does nothing to abate the curiosity over why he did it, then. But if he himself can’t fathom what a relationship would be like at all -- let alone happiness in a relationship -- then maybe an explanation would all be over his head anyway.

It’s a weird thing to think about, but maybe Roxas has experienced more of what life has to offer than Axel has, now, in the two years he’s been here.

But, back to the present. ]

What kind of stuff is even in there?

Mostly just farm supplies, wyvern riding gear, a few boxes of things. It's mostly a storage space but I think they can also use it for the baby wyverns, or if there's a storm or something.

So we'll probably just have to rearrange a few things, see if there's another mattress available.

[ You lost him at “farm supplies”, Rox. Axel's no stable boy.

In fact, internally, he may very well be running a hand down his face right this very moment. What has he gotten himself into...? ]

Hey -- you wanted me to stay, so we’ll make it work.

[ Finally, he shrugs. Even if they have to share a mattress, it won’t be the worst thing in the world, just... perhaps a little awkward, given all that’s gone on lately -- with Axel’s sabbatical and with Elize, both.

But he’ll keep quiet until they make their way up to that storage area to survey exactly what they’re looking at tangling with. ]

[The space is about what Roxas described. There's two levels to the barn, the bottom mostly filled with extra supplies and a few pens. The wyvern riding gear is hung up on the walls. There's a ladder to the loft where Roxas has been staying. It's also mostly boxes, save for the space that has been cleared for the mattress. It's relatively clean and homey.]

So yeah, here it is.

[ For someone who had expected hay bales, rakes, and pitchforks, the sight of this place is a relief. It's still a home on the (metaphorical) range, so to speak, but not nearly as uninhabitable as Axel had pictured in advance.

In fact, he's... made himself a sort of nest here, hasn't he? And in such a short amount of time. Impressive. He folds his arms, shaking his head some, but not in disdain or disapproval. Quite the contrary, in fact. ]

Gotta hand it to ya -- you definitely made something outta nothing.

[ But they'll likely spend the rest of the evening shifting boxes around to clear more space, at this rate. ]

Yeah, well, it wasn't that hard.

I had some time on my hands.

[Roxas won't mind. Stuff like that is suitably distracting.]

[ Suitably distracting. Yeah...

Axel wouldn’t mind a little of that, himself, given how many things have changed and in what sort of time frame it’s all happened. He’d call it an ‘emotional rollercoaster’, if he had genuine emotions to speak of. Perhaps in this instance he should be grateful he’s ill-equipped. (No matter what Sora or Squall say.) ]

Well, guess we’d better get to work.

[ He says with a stretch, sounding not particularly thrilled about it, but not unwilling, either. ]

Guess so, yeah. If we can clear out those boxes, we should be able to fit another mattress. I'm pretty sure Mr. Cade, he's the owner, I'm pretty sure he's got one.

[He looks around.]

I think there's some space for the smaller ones in the back but the bigger ones we might have to move down somehow.

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