A/N: I know I shouldn't be starting another fic when I have so many unfinished ones, but this one kept me from sleeping. Mainly Roxas's POV, but a bit of Axel's. Roxas is 19 in this, whereas Axel is 21. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story & Night the wolf dog.

The Letter

Chapter 1

'Dammit, not again! I'm gonna be late for work again!' That kept running through my mind as I ran to my job at the bookstore. If I'm late again, I'll get written up for sure this time! I hate this! See, my boss, Zexion, is pretty lax about me being late thank to his boyfriend and my friend Demyx, but if I'm late too often, I'll get written up. Stupid wet dreams…

I skidded into the entryway of the bookstore, where I quickly ran to the break room, shed my hoodie and hung it on the coat rack and clocked in. when I got back to the front. I sighed in relief upon seeing the time; 9:05. Only five minutes late, but still. Depending on Zexion's mood, Demyx might be able to convince him to let me off the hook again. I was quick to take my place behind the register, where Demyx smiled at me as he put returned books on a cart to be put away later. I paid out all of the customers that had formed a small line, and once they were gone, the sandy blonde approached me. Since he and Zexion are gay, they know of my problem. That and they forced it out of me one morning when I was 30 minutes late and they needed to know why.

You see, I have a huge crush on my best friend, Axel Flynn. We've been best friends since we were toddlers, but he doesn't know that I fell in love with him back when we were in high school, when I was a freshman and he was a junior. We've always been super close, but the hardest part is that I know for a fact that I can't be with him. How do I know? Well, he's got an arranged marriage with one of our good friends, Larxene. His parents had set it up that way, and I only found out after my feelings for the redheaded pyro had developed. Fucking bullshit, in my opinion.

"Heya Rox, you alright?" Demyx asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking about it again," I sighed, starting to walk away with the cart to put the returned books away.

"Well, try not to worry about it too much, okay? I'm sure things will work themselves out," the sandy blonde grinned, placing his hand on my shoulder as he headed for Zexion's office. "And I'll make sure Zexy lets you off the hook again."

"Thanks, Dem," I nodded gratefully, and he left. After I finished putting the books away, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, but when it continued to buzz, I pulled it out of my pocket, seeing that I had a call from a number I didn't recognize. I tapped the green answer button anyway. "Hello?"

"Is this Roxas Fair?" a voice demanded urgently.

"Um, yes, but who's this?" I frowned.

"This is Leon with the fire department," the man's voice answered. "We just put out a large fire in your apartment, and your dog is being checked out at the vet's office. Where are you?"

"I'm at the Hollow Bastion Bookstore," I replied shakily, terrified for Night, my wolf dog. I've had him since he was born from our last dog, a female Siberian husky and wolf mix named Reidou. He was my best friend when it comes to animals. "Where can I meet you?"

"I can wait for you at the vet's office if you'd like," he offered. "Are you okay to drive?"

"I can get a ride," I told him. "I'll be there in ten minutes." As soon as I hung up the phone, I ran into Zexion's office, trembling with fear.

"Roxas?" the slate-haired man frowned, concerned when he saw me. Demyx hurried over to me when I came in. "What's wrong?"

"There was a fire at my apartment, and Night's being checked out at the vet's. Can I get a ride?" I explained quickly.

"I'll drive him," Demyx said immediately, and ushered me out to his SUV, helping me into the passenger seat of the blue Honda CR-V and then climbing into the driver's seat before quickly driving to the vet's office. When we got there, I jumped out and ran inside, asking for Night. I could hear him yelping and whining in the back, and it worried me. The tech nodded when she realized how worried I was, and then had me sit down while another tech left to get him. Within minutes, I heard him practically dragging the tech that had gone back there as he strained to get up to the front.

"Night!" I cried out, relieved to see him unharmed when he reached me, and he whimpered happily when I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his fur. He reeked of smoke, but as long as he wasn't hurt or burned, it was fine.

"Don't worry, he's okay. He just smells of smoke because of the fire," a kind voice told me. I looked up to see a brunette woman standing nearby, smiling softly at me. "I'm Aerith, the veterinarian here. Night's lucky to be alive, though. He was terrified of the fire and was straining to get out."

"He hates it unless I have it contained, like in a fireplace," I informed her. "Thank you for checking him out."

"Of course. It's my job, after all," she smiled.

"Roxas Fair?" the voice from the phone call said. I looked to see a brunette man walking over to me, and Night wagged his tail happily at the sight of him.

"Thank you for saving him, Leon," I said to him gratefully.

"You're welcome, Roxas. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for your apartment," he sighed. "Some stupid kids were playing with fireworks, and one shot through your window. Just about everything in there is ruined. There are still some salvageable items if you want to check. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Leon. It's not like it was your fault," I assured him, but sighed heavily. "I just have to figure out where to live now…"

"Roxas!" a very familiar voice shouted, panicked. I blinked in surprise when I saw my best friend running over to me, worry evident in his emerald eyes.

"Axel?!" I yelped, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Zexion called and told me about the fire, and said I could help," he answered. "Are you okay?"

"As okay as someone whose home is ruined can be, I guess," I shrugged a bit. Axel's jaw dropped, and then he clenched it tight.

"Well, then you're going to stay with me, no if's and's or but's about it," he stated firmly, and I blinked owlishly. Oh no. That is NOT going to help my wet dream situation!

"Axel, I don't want to intrude on you and Larxene," I mumbled. "I'll just stay in a hotel/"

"Nope. She won't mind and besides, I want to help," he growled, and I knew that nothing I said or did at that point would change his mind.

"All right… Thanks," I smiled slightly. I noticed Demyx watching from the sidelines, and he grinned at me when Axel wasn't looking.

"I'm gonna head back to the store and help Zexy out. You got this from here, Axel?" the sandy blonde asked, and the redhead nodded.

"Thanks, Dem," Axel told him, and then Demyx left. "C'mon, Roxas. I'll take you and Night back to my place."

"Do you mind if we go by my apartment first? Leon said some stuff was still salvageable," I questioned softly.

"Sure thing, Rox," my best friend smiled lightly, and then helped me to his truck, a red Honda Ridgeline. Night jumped into the back seats of the truck, and I patted him on the head when he licked my shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay, too, pal," I laughed softly when he wagged his tail.

"So he got the clean bill of health?" Axel guessed when he got into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, Aerith said he just smells like smoke," I nodded. "I'll have to bathe him once things settle down."

"Well, feel free to stay as long as you like," Axel grinned at me, and I nodded, knowing he wouldn't let me leave too soon anyway. When we got to my apartment, I was shocked at how much damage one stupid firework could do. Probably 70% of the apartment was burned. I went inside once the police let me past, and I gathered what belongings I could salvage that I needed. Fortunately, my laptop was fine, so I grabbed it, my flash drive, and my phone charger, as well as some clothes and sentimental items that weren't charred, burned, or whatnot. Once I was finished, I thanked the officers and left back down to Axel's truck, climbing into the passenger seat again and sighing.

"I didn't realize it was that bad," I whispered, and Axel hugged me lightly before driving to his and Larxene's house. When we arrived, Larxene was waiting for us in the driveway, her best friend Marluxia standing next to her. I guess Axel must have told her what was going on, because she was at my door within seconds, and hugging me tightly.

"Roxas, I'm so glad you and Night are okay!" she exclaimed. She pulled away so I could breathe, and then looked at me. "Feel free to stay as long as you want. Please don't feel like you're a burden."

"I'll try…" I smiled slightly.

"The damage is pretty bad, Larxene. Sounds like you'll need to take him shopping for some new clothes and such," Axel told her. "Besides, I'm sure Marluxia wouldn't mind joining in. I'd go with, too, but work is gonna kill me if I don't go back soon…"

"Don't worry about it, Axe," I assured him. "I'll be okay."

"All right, but I'll try to get off from work as soon as I can, okay?" he smirked, ruffling my blonde spikes. I swatted his hand away, and he laughed lightly. "I'll see you guys later. Take care of him!"

"We will," Larxene smiled, kissing his cheek, a gesture which made my stomach churn uncomfortably. Once my friend was gone, Night having jumped out first, Larxene and Marluxia helped me bring my stuff into the house. The blonde brought some water out for me, and I drank it while she showed me the guest room, where I would be staying. Mercifully, it had a bathroom connected to it. After I had put away the things I had saved, I decided to call my parents, Cloud and Zack, so I could update them on what happened. Larxene and Marluxia stepped out so I could, and I called them.

"Hello?" Cloud's voice answered.

"Hey Dad," I mumbled.

"Roxas? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Is Zack there?" I said instead, and he yelled for the raven-haired male before putting the phone on speaker.

"Roxas, what happened? Do we need to come over there?" Zack demanded through the phone.

"No, I'm okay…" I assured them. "Axel and Larxene are taking care of Night and me."

"Just tell us what happened, okay?" Cloud urged, and I sighed.

"There was a fire at my apartment this morning," I murmured, and I immediately heard my parents gasp.

"How was there a fire?!" Cloud demanded.

"The fire chief, Leon, said some kids were playing with fireworks and one shot through the window," I explained. "Most of my things were ruined, but I managed to salvage the important stuff. Night got a clean bill of health, too."

"What can we do to help, Rox?" Zack asked gently.

"Not much," I sighed. "Axel and Larxene are taking me in and she's going to take me shopping for new clothes and such here soon, but I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Is your crush on Axel going to make this difficult?" Zack inquired, concerned.

"I hope not," I muttered. "Like I said, though, I'll let you know if anything comes up. Love you guys."

"We love you, too, Roxas. Make sure to let Sora know," they reminded me, and I gave a sound of acknowledgement before hanging up. Then I decided to call Sora to update him. He picked up after three rings, his voice as cheery as ever.

"Heya Rox! What's up?" he chirped.

"Not much, just had to deal with my apartment burning down," I mumbled, and he yelped in horror.

"WHAT?!" he shrieked, making both Night and me wince. "What do you mean?!"

"Some kids playing with fireworks, and one shot through my window," I said simply.

"Are you and Night okay?" he asked worriedly. I heard Riku's voice on the other end, and my twin told me, "Hold on." There was a beep, and then he said, "Okay, you're on speaker now."

"Yeah, we're okay. Axel and Larxene are taking me in for a bit," I said.

"Please tell me you told Dad and Zack, right?" the brunette pleaded.

"Yeah, of course. I called them right before I called you," I answered.

"What's going on, Roxas?" Riku asked, and I told him. "Fuck, if I'd been there, I'd have throttled those little punks."

"Which is why I'm glad you're not," I chuckled lightly.

"Are you going to be okay with Axel?" the silverette inquired.

"I hope so," I muttered. "I already promised Dad and Zack that I would let them know if anything came up."

"Good. Keep us in the loop, Roxas, please?" Sora said.

"I will, Sor. Don't worry too much about me," I assured him. "I'd better get going now. Larxene and Marluxia are taking me shopping for clothes and other supplies. I managed to salvage some things, but not much."

"All right. Talk to you soon, Rox!" my twin chirped, and then he hung up. After I pocketed my phone, I went out to the living room, where the blonde and pinkette were patiently waiting for me. Night sat down next to me once I sat in the armchair.

"You okay, Roxas?" Larxene asked.

"Yeah, I feel better now that I talked to my parents and Sora," I smiled slightly. "It'll take some time, but I'll be fine."

"All right," the blonde nodded, and then smiled brightly. "Ready to shop?"

"Yeah, just let me grab my wallet," I said, but Marluxia stopped me.

"Don't worry about it. You're barely scraping along as it is," he reminded me. "We're covering you."

"Huh?" I uttered, blinking in surprise.

"You honestly didn't think we'd make you pay for everything, did you?" Larxene giggled. "That would just be cruel!"

"Thank you…" I murmured, lowering my gaze.

"You're welcome, Roxas," she smiled. "Now, come on, let's get in the car. Will Night be okay here alone?"

"Yeah, he'll just need some water to keep hydrated," I nodded. "Do you have a temporary bowl he can drink from?"

"You can use a cereal bowl if you want," she shrugged, and I nodded before fixing up the water bowl for my wolf dog. Once I set it in front of him, I scratched behind his ears.

"I'll be back soon, okay pal? And when I get back, we'll play some fetch," I told him, and he wagged his tail happily at the thought of being able to play. "See ya, Night!" And then I went out to the garage, where Larxene's light yellow Honda Accord was already running with the garage door open.

"Ready to go?" she asked, and I nodded once I was situated in the back seat with my seat belt on.

"Thanks again, guys," I told them.

"Don't worry about it, Roxas," they assured me. The drive was short, as the mall was close by the house, but it was quiet. Not awkward, though, thankfully. We went inside, and Marluxia led the way, being a bit of a fashion guy himself. He liked to watch designer shows and such, but shockingly wasn't gay at all. He was just more in touch with his feminine side was all. He helped me to pick out several outfits and a wide variety of clothes. They bought me shirts, pants, pajamas, socks, boxers, three hoodies, and six pairs of shoes, all of which I had to try on to see if they fit. After we dropped the clothes off in the car's trunk, we went back inside to get me the toiletries I needed, such as soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, a brush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, and other such things. They bought me some snacks at the grocery store for me to have in case I didn't like anything they had at the house, and we even stopped by the pet supply store to pick up dog food for Night, food and water bowls, treats, some toys, dog shampoo, a brush, and a big soft dog bed. Finally, we went back to the house after stopping to get lunch, and Night was eagerly waiting for me when we got inside. He barked happily when I pulled out a tennis ball for him, and I tossed it into the backyard so he could play with it.

"Why don't you go play with him, Roxas? We'll put everything away," Marluxia told me, and I blinked in surprise.

"Won't you need help, though?" I frowned.

"Nah, we'll be fine. Besides, Axel should be home soon, and I'm sure he'll want to join you outside," he assured me, waving me off.

"All right, if you're sure," I murmured, and then went out to join Night, who was watching me expectantly with the tennis ball in his mouth. Despite being 75% wolf, he acted more like a puppy than anything, even though he's already six years old. "Wanna play, Night?" I smiled at him, and he went into the play position, wagging his tail wildly. "Gimme the ball, then, boy!" He dropped the ball into my hand, and I chucked it across the yard. The silver wolf dog bolted after it, grabbing it in mid bounce, and then running back over to me. We repeated this process several times until he laid down on the grass, panting tiredly. I sat down next to him, feeling tired as well.

"All tired out, huh, boy?" I laughed a bit, and he wagged his tail slowly, showing how happy he was despite his exhaustion.

"I see you two were having fun," Axel's voice smirked from the back door. I looked up to see him watching us, and then he came over and helped me up.

"Night loves the yard, I guess," I smiled at my best friend.

"Good. I just hope he doesn't dig, or else Marluxia's gonna skin him if he touches the flowers," the redhead grimaced.

"Nah, Night's a good boy. He knows better," I assured him.

"Well, I came out to check on you and let you know that dinner's almost ready. I hope you like red chili," Axel told me, and I grinned.

"If it's how you like it, I'm gonna need some sour cream mixed in mine and a huge glass of milk," I said, making him laugh.

"Ah, come on, it's not that spicy!" he chuckled.

"Yes it is!" I insisted as we all went inside.

"Don't be a wimp, Rox," he smirked.

"I'm not, I'd just rather walk away without burned taste buds," I retorted. This continued all the way to the dining room, where Larxene had dished out bowls of chili with some hotdogs and Fritos for each person. There was sour cream, green onions, cheese, and milk on the table, too.

"Thank you, Larxene," I told her, and she smiled.

"You're welcome, Roxas," she replied, and then sat down once the pan of chili was back on the stove. We helped ourselves to the toppings, and I stirred a couple spoonfuls of sour cream into my bowl of chili before topping it with shredded cheese. I poured some over a hotdog on my plate, and ate the rest with some Fritos. I ended up downing three glasses of milk due to the spiciness of the chili, and I knew my face was red from the heat. Larxene's face was also a little bit red from the heat, and she had downed two and a half glasses of milk. She could withstand spiciness better than me, but Axel was the best at it. He proved it by not even having a slight tinge of red to his face, and only drinking half a glass of milk. And he'd eaten two bowls of it without anything to ease the spice, to boot!

"You are not human!" I huffed at the redhead, who merely grinned. "Seriously, there's something not right about you."

"Hey, I just have a high tolerance for spicy food," he shrugged.

"I'm with Roxas on this one," Larxene agreed with me. "Being able to withstand ghost pepper chili like this is not natural!"

"It's just how I am," he smirked. Larxene and I shook our heads at him in exasperation. After dinner, we cleaned up and I fed Night while getting ready for bed. After all, it was already after ten, shockingly enough. I decided to call Zexion while I got changed into my t-shirt and pajama pants to find out when he wanted me at work next.

"Hello?" the slate-haired male's voice answered.

"Hey Zex, it's Roxas," I said.

"Hey Roxas, are you doing better now?" he asked.

"Yeah, Axel and Larxene have taken me in against my will," I joked.

"As long as you're okay, that's what matters," he said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. When do you want me in next?" I questioned as I walked into the bathroom, my slippers barely making a sound on the wooden floor.

"I'm actually having Naminé and Xion cover your shifts this week. They don't mind in the slightest, so don't worry about it. I'll call you on Saturday to give you your schedule for next week, okay?" he told me, and my jaw dropped.

"Wait, you're giving me the whole week off?!" I yelped, shocked.

"It's not a huge deal, Roxas, I'll be giving you paid time off," he chuckled.

"You really mean that, Zexion?" I asked softly.

"Of course, Roxas. You're a good worker, even if you are a bit late sometimes," he laughed lightly. "Get some sleep, all right? Demyx should be by tomorrow or Tuesday to check on you. Have a good night."

"Thank you, Zexion," I told him gratefully.

"You're welcome, Roxas. I'll see you sometime soon," he said, and then hung up. I smiled at Night when I realized he was watching me curiously, and I patted his head.

"Looks like we'll be getting some extra time together, bud," I told him, and he wagged his tail joyfully. I let him outside to do his business one last time, and then we went back up to our temporary room to sleep. Now, despite living together, Larxene and Axel still slept in different rooms. Thank gods for that. I'd probably kill myself if I had to live in their house while my crush shared his bed with someone else. I brushed my teeth and hair before crawling under the soft, warm blankets, and Night curled up in his dog bed as I reached over and turned off the lamp. Shortly after I turned off the light, I fell asleep, exhausted.

A/N: Now, this fic is gonna go kinda fast, so I apologize in advance, but I don't really have any filler scenes. Anyhoo, I hope you all liked this! R&R, peeps!