sincere | It's [not] your birthday!! sorceressakemi

Happy extremely belated birthday,

sorceressakemi!
You wanted Axel/Roxas, with prompt "masked festival", so here's a dorky out of season fic~

They emerged into Twilight Town in the alley behind the sandlot, arguing about whether or not Xemnas would consider ice cream to be a dinner; a pretty familiar sort of visit, Roxas thought, until they rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a humanoid black feline hybrid. Startled, Roxas reached for his keyblades, and Axel's hand darted out to grab his wrist and restrain him.

"Don't get all excited," the redhead said, grinning and giving him a significant stare. "It's just a costume, remember?"

Roxas stared at him blankly, but on second glance, whoever it was (now giggling) did actually seem to be a human, only dressed in a black suit with cat ears and a tail pinned to it. She snickered and batted a hand at him playfully, and then skipped ahead to join her friends, who were dressed as a pirate and a ghost.

"What the hell is this?" he murmured.

"No idea," Axel said.

They ventured out into the town, looking around very cautiously at the people they passed. Many of them were dressed in costumes, traveling in groups and holding bags, laughing amongst themselves. Axel tugged up his hood and after giving him an uncertain look, Roxas did the same.

"Looks like a festival of some sort," was Axel's verdict. "Seems like people are getting dressed up and collecting candy. At least no one'll think we're out of place today."

"Candy?" Roxas repeated, studying their surroundings closer. The cat-girl and her friends had scurried up to someone's door and knocked, then when an older woman came to the door, they chorused trick or treat!, which made the woman chuckle and drop handfuls of candy into their outstretched bags. She had chosen treat, Roxas thought, which was probably wise. Some of the other people he had seen go by were carrying toilet paper and cartons of eggs, and if that was the 'trick'...

Hmm. "You think we'll look like the costumed people today?" Roxas said, mulling it over. "Let's go get some candy."

Axel smirked at him, more amused than anything else. "Oh, really? Just like that, let's get some candy."

Roxas frowned at him, eyes narrowing to slits. Axel just couldn't do anything without smirking about it. "Was that unclear somehow?" he asked flatly. "Did I stutter?"

"Not at all. I just think you're gonna get fat," he predicted.

Unfazed by the accusation, Roxas lifted his eyebrows, although Axel probably couldn't see it beneath his hood. "Unless I'm trying to get you fat," he said. "You're too skinny."

"If you'd asked any other member of the Organization, they'd--"

But I didn't ask any other member of the Organization. Wouldn't have in the first place. Roxas said dryly, "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't jump off a cliff if Saix did, so how is that relevant to getting candy?"

Axel held up his hands, defeated. "Fine. Never mind what Xemnas will do with me once you have to roll to get yourself out of bed. Let's go get you some candy! You don't get enough sugar, anyway..."

He made such a big deal out of it, as if the candy were the point and he suspected Roxas was going to gorge himself the moment he had his hands full, and that really wasn't the point at all. The point was to go up to the door like any normal person, and say "Trick or treat!" just like they did, and have the person who lived in the house only laugh and give them candy. The point was to feel normal for a little while, collecting candy and sitting down on a doorstep to observe their loot, laughing as they sampled their treats and watched cat-girls and pirates and ghosts and a strange skeleton man wander past them through Twilight Town. Like they belonged.

When Axel said, "Thank your lucky stars you're with the one member of the Organization who doesn't bleed out the ears at the concept of fun," Roxas smiled, and didn't say anything.

That was part of the point, too: to be with the one member of the Organization who made him feel like he belonged.

It's [not] your birthday!! sorceressakemi

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