damned_institute | Day 27: Breakfast

Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

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Axel didn't react to Sora's sudden outburst, idly grabbing a hold of his glass of orange juice to keep its contents from spilling when the table rattled. He waited until the latter had enough time to compose himself before giving him a look as if that would answer the brunet's question. However, it quickly dissipated and was replaced by a weak attempt at a smile, letting his hand rest on top of Sora's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Hey, there's no need for an apology. It wasn't like you didn't have your own problems to worry about." He gave a laugh, and a genuine one at that. There was a twinge of sorrow in the mixture, which ultimately grew into something akin to guilt for dumping this on Sora, but he was almost touched by the fact that the teen cared.

"And besides," He continued. "My roommate was there when they took me away, so he ended up forming a rescue team and led them where I'd been taken. Bastard even carried me all the way back to our room by himself after we all got separated."

Axel would admit that he’d been ridiculously lucky about that. He hadn't expected for Ashton to make a vow before he'd been dragged out, and was truly grateful that the man kept his promise. Yet this meant that his laundry list of favors was growing, but he guessed he could make a few exceptions.

At Sora's next question the redhead looked over at him carefully before he reached down and took the latter's hand and coaxed it over to his side of the table. Axel didn't bother to explain, simply pressing it firmly onto the middle of his chest and waited.

It was definitely a relief to hear that there had been people to help Axel after the fact. Sora was glad that Axel had such a good roommate, and that he hadn't been on his own once whatever had been done to him had finished. "That's good," he said quietly. "That's really good."

When his wrist was tugged across the table, though, Sora got a little more nervous. He didn't know what Axel was doing, but figured that if he went along with it, things would become clear.

The moment his palm touched the other's chest, he could feel it. A heartbeat, slow and steady and there. It was kind of comforting, even though it was technically out of place.

"What does it mean?" he asked with a blink. Was Axel not a Nobody anymore? Had he finally gotten a heart back? That didn't make sense, though. The people who did experiments in this place would never have done something so helpful, which meant that there had to be a catch. Either way, Sora wasn't getting his hopes up about this.

"I'm not too sure myself," Axel hesitated as he said this. "But what I do know is that it's not the real thing."

He let go of the brunet's hand, folding his own over his lap and gave an idle glance at ceiling. "It's kind of disappointing, actually. I mean, most of us have searched for years to try and find what we've lost, and then some psycho comes along and tries to play God by dropping a piece of metal in my chest. Talk about no respect for personal space."

Axel had the feeling he should've been more upset about the whole ordeal. After all, he now had the ability to convey emotions in some way or another, so he was expecting something more sporadic. Instead he remained as calm as ever, letting those memories flood in before grinning lightly.

"I guess I gotta give props to the guy for trying."

If Axel didn't think it was real, then it probably wasn't. While Sora couldn't imagine what it was like to not have a heart (his memories of his brief time as a Heartless were vague and unclear), he got the feeling that if Axel really had gotten his back, he would have known it was for real without a doubt.

At least in Sora's case, his heart filled him with so much emotion and feeling for his friends, his situation, everything. He knew that some people were able to experience things in a more muted way, but having emotions was not something that could be faked.

When Axel mentioned that his heart was metal, Sora made a face. That just wasn't right. "It's not fair for them to try and... and..." He couldn't really find the right words, and just ended up sighing.

"I don't know. The heart is something special. It isn't right for them to try and pass off something they created as the real thing." Dr. Finkelstein had also tried that, and all it had resulted in was a monster Sora had been forced to defeat. The heart wasn't something that could be manufactured - it was more complex than that.

...

"There's something strange with it though." Axel found himself murmuring cautiously after witnessing Sora's frustration. It had already dawned him after they arrived back to his room after the rescue operation, so it was something to point out while he was still on the subject.

"It could just be a placebo effect, but I think it works... in a way." It really didn't make sense in the scientific standpoint he was accustomed to, but the redhead couldn't turn a blind eye to the fact that he didn't feel quite as empty. Axel couldn't even blame it on Roxas since the teenager was nowhere to be found.

"It obviously doesn't work like the real thing, but when I get close enough to people..."

He frowned.

"I feel something."

So it... half-worked? Quarter-worked? Something like that. Even if it was all in Axel's head, that didn't really matter. He was still feeling something, and that had to be better than nothing, right?

It was an interesting thing to think about, even if Sora had no explanation for it. He didn't know enough about machines, so if the "heart" Axel had was mechanical, he couldn't provide any insights on the matter.

"That's weird," he responded, though his tone didn't imply that there was anything wrong with Axel's condition. It was just strange, and that couldn't be denied by either of them. "I guess it's good, though, right? I mean..." The boy paused and shifted in his seat. "Do you like it?" He couldn't imagine being able to feel again as being bad, but he didn't want to make any assumptions, either.

"Oh baby, I like it when you're the one to give it~" Axel responded in a disturbingly husky voice, waggling his eyebrows at Sora before pulling back and grinned. But he had to stop and think about the brunet's question, wondering if it was really a step above from what it had been like.

"It's not that bad." He finally answered, peering over at the rest of the Cafeteria as he spoke. "It was a lot easier to manage things before all of this, but maybe I can use this to my advantage as a tool to find the real thing."

The redhead had leaned back onto the table by then, resting his head into his hands and gave Sora a wide smile.

"You know, I've never cried in all seven years of my life. I wonder what that's like."

And just like that the intercom went off, signaling them all that they were about to be moved onto the next shift. His nurse arrived moments after, coaxing him to stand. But before he was whisked off completely, Axel looked over his shoulder and waved.

"It was nice talking to you, Sora."

Day 27: Breakfast

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