"Hey Roxas, did you know that four-leaf clovers are genetic mutations?"

Roxas, a blond haired boy looked up at his companion with his cobalt eyes as the two walked down the sidewalk; a fine, fair eyebrow lifting ever so gently, gold locks sweeping in front of his icy orbs softly due to his head cocking slightly in a curious way. His lush pink lips were pressed together firmly, but opened with smooth grace as he replied cooly, "Well duh, Axel."

Said redhead held up his hands in surrender. "Just wanted to see if you knew, Roxy; there's no need to get all testy."

The blond rolled his eyes almost playfully as he responded, "Though I'm surprised you knew and retained this information, seeing as you nearly failed biology."

Axel frowned and glared lightly down at Roxas, who's eyes sparked amusement. "You know perfectly well that biology is not my forte."

"Of course I know. Why else would I mock you about it?"

"You wound me," Axel made a face, all but throwing one hand to his forehead dramatically, the other flying to his heart, mocking depression even though his eyes were shining playfully, trying with all his might to keep from grinning.

"It's my job," came the simple and cool reply, a smirk tugging at Roxas' rosy lips.

Silence passed for a few moments, the two enjoying each other's company without silence. At one point, the redhead made a complete 180 degree spin and was walking backwards, slightly ahead of his fair-haired best friend, so they could see each other's faces without turning their heads.

Axel looked at Roxas, his emerald green eyes swiftly looking over the blond's familiar face, noticing every detail with open arms, as the blond's face had long since been memorized and was a very, almost unhealthily familiar face. Finally he mumbled, loud enough to reach the blond's ears, "I should buy you a tree with only four leaves on it for Christmas this year and see how you like it."

The blond glared, but couldn't think of a retort, and resorted to further putting as much effort into the glare as he physically could, pursing his lips into a thin line. Along his cheekbones, a trickle of pink made their way, almost unnoticable. But to Axel, who had, of course, long since committed Roxas' face to memory, it was crystal clear, and he smirked triumphantly.

"Aw, is Roxy upset because he has an infatuation with four leaf clovers?" he sneered in a low voice, knowing already that he had, in fact, struck a sensitive chord inside the blonde.

Roxas ripped his eyes away from Axel's, his blush deepening slightly. He knew this as much as Axel knew how he nearly failed biology. Roxas did, in fact, have a—small, Roxas thought stubbornly—infatuation with four leaf clovers. He didn't know where or how it started. It could've started from seeing all those Lucky Charms cereal commercials that had sparked his interest on the small mutated weed. Perhaps it was all of the stories he heard as a child about four leaf clovers being lucky. All he, and practically everyone else that knew him (and with his twin brother, Sora, being a social little butterfly, it happened to be everybody) knew was that he adored the little oddities to no end.

Everyone had their obsessions and infatuations. Selphie, a spunky (and slightly overenergetic) brunette who had her place amongst their large group of friends, was a yaoi fangirl. Namine, a gentle soul who happened to be Roxas' other best friend, was obsessed with art and anything that had to do with it. Sora was addicted to sugar and Disney movies ("Only the classics, not those fucked up attempts at sequels and Disney Channel movie-remake show…things!" as Sora so often exclaimed); Riku (Sora's best friend) was addicted to Sora (though Sora had no clue, that naïve little goofball). Hell, Axel was a pyromaniac.

But being obsessed with a mutated weed that was heavily mentioned in Irish folklore about bringing good luck and rainbows and magical gay leprechauns who were running away from some retarded kids while eating cereal? It's a… rather unique choice of obsession for a 15-year old boy, to say at the least.

But an obsession nonetheless, and that's just what Roxas was: obsessed. He owned at least three shirts with a four leaf clover on them, had four leaf clovers doodled all over his notebooks… His favorite color was gray until the obsession started, and now it's any shade, hue, or variation of green, and through Namine, he knew at least a dozen different names of different greens.

One thing he didn't have, though, was a four leaf clover itself. And that was a fact that Roxas was determined to fix.

…The more Roxas thought about it, if he thought exceptionally hard, he could conclude that it was more an obsession of luck than anything. Whether it was the idea of luck or the wonder of what it's like to feel an extraordinary streak of luck, Roxas didn't know, and he didn't really know anyway, so he just kept these small inklings in the back of his head and kept up with a four leaf clover obsession.

The silence that surrounded them was slightly awkward. Both were lost in thought, Roxas about his clovers, Axel… about Roxas.

Even though Axel sometimes mocked him about it, Roxas… was just so different. Different from what others expect, different from what Axel himself expects. Axel couldn't place a word to describe what Roxas really was. He was… bitter, yes. Sarcastic. Contemplative. He liked contradictions: like that salty-sweet ice cream he was so fond of, or like dark chocolate. Axel could say he was a contradiction in his own way; he was bitter and cold and distant and enjoyed being by himself, but he was always there to give support or help or shelter or warmth. And Axel would—

"Axel! Watch—"

Axel had exactly .94789 seconds to snap out of his thoughts before he felt his back slam into something hard, elicting a sharp, pained yelp and a deep metallic, 'dong!'

"—out."

Next thing he knew, Roxas was doubling over laughing, while he flipped around and saw the pole of a streetlight in his path. His jade green eyes stung slightly, and a patch on the back of his head throbbed in pain, alerting Axel that he had hit his head as well as his back against the hard metal pole. He touched it gently, sheepishly, as he watched his friend clutch his sides in hysterics. It took only a few minutes for Roxas to calm down, straightening up while still chuckling under his breath, wiping tears away from his eyes, which were shining brightly with laughter and amusement. As Roxas' laughter died down, he reached up tentatively and met Axel's hand on the back of his head, caressing the spot lightly before pulling back, his lips still lifted in a playful smile.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned even though he was still radiating a beautiful smile that made Axel's heart melt.

The redhead quickly withdrew his own hand from his head, a half smirk-half smile painted on his lips. "Yeah, of course," he said, slightly embarrassed, and added sarcastically in an afterthought, "Thanks for watching my back so closely, Rox, and attempting to save me from injury."

"Hey, I wasn't paying attention! Be glad I noticed it at all!" Roxas protested.

"Chill out, Goldilocks, I was just messing with you," Axel said, reaching over and ruffling Roxas' bedheaded mess of hair almost as if to emphasize a point. "And I'm glad it was you I happened to be walking with; Demyx probably would've been dying of laughter right now and I'd need to call an ambulance for him even though I was the one who got injured."

Chuckling, Roxas replied, "True."

By this point, they had reached their destination: the local park. It was surprisingly big for a city like Twilight Town, but nobody was complaining. It was a large field with trees scattered sporadically, providing enough shade for large amounts of citizens from the constant sun. In one corner of the park was entirely kid-ified, with a large playset consisting of a huge twirly slide and steps and monkey bars and all that jazz, as well as a see-saw and yet another slide and one of those big circular things where children hop on and spin around and around until they get sick over all of their playmates; another corner had a swingset with three swings (there were four swings: the last one had broken a few years back but no one really noticed or cared anyway, so nobody ever got around to fixing it); and the last two corners were just grass, but there were picnic benches as scattered and sporadically placed as the trees throughout the park.

Axel and Roxas turned to walk into the park, and immediately headed toward the swings, which was in the corner farthest from them.

As they walked, Axel said conversationally, "Sometimes I wonder why we don't just go a different route to the park so we end up at the swings right then and there, so we don't have to walk all the way across the park."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Roxas replied, "Either way it'd take the same amount of time to get there, because we'd have to walk around the park instead."

"Yeah, but sometimes there are little kids who stop us and you know how they get, all asking us questions and crying out to us about something or another, like," his voice got all high pitched in an impressive impersonation of a seven year old girl, "'Oh my gawsh your hair is really red you know do you dye it my mommy died her hair once' and blah blah-blah blah freaking blah and—"

Axel stopped when he noticed that his smaller blond companion was no longer at his side. Frowning and looking over his shoulder, he noticed the blue-eyed boy squatting low to the ground, his tan little fingers gently brushing and picking over little areas on the ground, eyes concentrated even though his hair was slightly obscuring his vision. Of course, Axel thought with a small eye roll.

The pyro strolled over to where Roxas was squatting, and in a small huff, plopped down in front of him, watching his face as it scrunched up in frustration. Growing bored of just watching Roxas, Axel began mindlessly picking through the patch of clovers as well, all the while thinking.

Well doesn't this seem familiar? he thought, thinking back to eight years ago, when Axel was only eight; Roxas, seven.

Axel's mother, Ariel, had taken Axel and his sister, Kairi, who was the same age as Roxas, to the park to play. Axel and Kairi played with the other children (all of which, including the redheads, ended up being close friends and part of the same 'group' a couple of years later) on the playset. We were playing tag, Axel recalled.

Riku, a silver haired boy who seemed exceptionally close with the spikey chocolate-haired boy named Sora, was It in their little game of tag. Axel was fast, and he scrambled down the slide swiftly as he tried to run from the silverette, who was currently chasing Olette, who was wearing a yellow dress and had her dark hair in braided pigtails swinging high off the top of her head.

Looking behind him so he could see if Riku was following him, he began to run away from the playset, away from Riku, and toward the middle of the park. However, because he was looking backwards, he wasn't looking where he was going, and in a few seconds, found himself flying face-first into the grass and dirt, having tipped over something. Or in this case, someone.

As soon as he came down, he was hopping back up again, flipping around angrily to see what had made him trip. He opened his mouth to yell at whatever or whoever it was when his own jade eyes met bright cerulean blue ones.

Feet planted firmly on the ground and knees tucked into his chest was Roxas, squatting much like he still did. His light blond hair was tousled, glowing radiently in the sunlight that beamed down on him in a heavenly angle. His eyes were large and calm, and he looked up at the redhead with a small pout, looking concerned and curious with his head cocked gently to the side. He was small and lithe, and being curled up the way he was made him look even more fragile.

Axel's face softened considerably as he locked eyes with the blond. Within a moment, the game of tag was completely gone from the pyro's mind. He kneeled down next to the blond, who continued to stare at him curiously, never once breaking eye contact. Finally, in a small voice to match his small body, Roxas asked, "Are you okay?" His face grew more concerned as he waited for the redhead to answer.

Said redhead blinked slowly, remembering that he had just fallen flat on his face. "Oh," he said after a moment. "Yeah. I just… tripped is all."

The blond boy frowned deeper, an expression of sadness appearing on his features. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking down at the ground shamefully.

Axel felt like he was going to laugh. Or cry. This boy was just too adorable! "No, no, it's fine, I just wasn't watching where I was going. Are you okay? I didn't mean to trip over you…"

Roxas' head snapped up in shock. This boy, who had just tripped and fell because of him, was now apologizing to him? He… seemed really nice. "I'm okay…" he said slowly, still shocked.

Axel grinned a wide grin at him, and was pleasently surprised when he saw a small blush paint itself on the boy in front of him's face. "I'm Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?" he said, bringing a solitary finger to his temple and extending his free hand out to the smaller boy.

Roxas looked at the extended hand, then back to Axel, and back to the hand. Uncertainly, he extended his own hand and grasped the redhead's, shaking his hand as he said a little more confidently, "I'm Roxas."

When they pulled their hands away, Roxas looked down again, his hand skimming over the top of the ground slowly. A few minutes passed in a warm silence, Roxas watching the ground, Axel watching Roxas watch the ground. "Why aren't you over there playing with everyone else?" Axel asked curiously, gesturing toward the playset he had recently abandoned.

Looking up almost as if he had forgotten that Axel was there, Roxas shrugged, replying as if the subject at hand was obvious, "I'm looking for four leaf clovers."

Axel's green eyes widened as he said, "Really?! Those are real?!"

Roxas smiled, nodding.

Grinning back, Axel asked excitedly, "Have you found any yet?"

Roxas' face fell, and he replied solemnly, "No, not yet."

The redhead's face fell too, as he replied, "Oh." Things were silent again, the distant screaming of both Kairi and Olette being chased by the now-It Sora. The blond had gone back to examining the patch of normal clovers beneath him, and Axel was, once again, staring at him with his undivided attention.

The staring was slightly unnerving for the petite blond. He endured and tried his best to ignore it for a few more minutes until he finally looked up, his eyes immediately meeting Axel's, and he asked nervously, "What?"

Axel, upon realizing he had just been caught staring, replied sheepishly, "Oh, um… I was wondering if I could look with you. You know, for four leaf clovers and everything."

Roxas was taken aback by his confession. Axel actually wanted to hang out with him? He didn't think that Roxas was too boring? Roxas decided to ask him.

Axel smiled genuinely and answered, "I like you. We're friends, right?" he paused, to which Roxas nodded enthusiastically, which made Axel's heart flutter, "Then I don't want you to be lonely and all by yourself. And I want to help you find your four leaf clover!"

Roxas felt like he was about to cry from happiness. A friend. He actually made a friend. And a good friend, at that. He smiled gratefully and nodded, saying in a very soft voice, "Thank you."

Axel smiled even brighter and reached out a hand to ruffle Roxas' hair, saying, "Don't mention it, Roxas."

The blond blushed and they both turned their attention to the ground, looking over the patch and trying to spot any extra leaves attatached to a clover. They searched in silence, but both were comfortable in each other's presence. Off in the distance, Riku had become It once again, and all of the children who Axel had previously been playing with were screaming and yelling and having fun running around, but Axel was happy just to sit here with his new friend, Roxas, and make sure that he wasn't lonely.

After about ten minutes of searching in silence, the other children must've realized that Axel wasn't running around with them, because Axel heard a playful scream of, "Axel!!" as a two second warning before he felt a felt a sharp smack to his upper back.

Axel looked over his shoulder to see a tired Riku, who looked at him expectantly before panting, "C'mon Axel, you're It!"

Roxas, who had also looked up at Riku, frowned. Now that Axel remembered that he was playing a game, would he leave Roxas alone again? Roxas was upset at the mere thought- he didn't want to lose a friend.

"Sorry Riku, I'm going to stay here with Roxas," he replied, throwing Roxas a quick glance and smile before returning his gaze to the now dumbfounded Riku, who frowned.

"…Roxas can play, too," he said softly, with a hint of desperate regretfulness in his voice, as if he would deal with Roxas playing if it meant that Axel would come.

Axel smiled genuinely at Riku, and both Roxas and Riku thought he was going to accept that offer, Riku hopeful, Roxas upset. No! Roxas didn't want to play with them! If he wanted to, he wouldn't have excluded himself in the first place!

Axel simply said, "Maybe later, Riku."

The silverette frowned again, and, glaring disappointedly at Axel, who only smiled brighter and more insistently, walked back to his friends. Axel turned back around, smirking triumphantly, to see Roxas, eyes wide with shock and hopeful happiness and thoughtfullness.

"You could've gone to play with them, Axel. You didn't have to stay with me," Roxas mumbled, looking down.

Axel replied, "I know. But I told you already: we're friends, right? I want to stay with you."

Barely a moment passed when Axel felt arms swing around his neck and a smaller body pressed against his, squeezing him tightly. A ghost of a smile graced his softening features when he heard the blond whisper gratefully, "Thank you, Axel."

"Of course Roxy," he replied gently, wrapping his arms around Roxas' waist and returning the hug. "What're friends for?"

"Damnit!"

Axel was pulled out of his memories with a soft smile on his features, and looked up to see a frustrated Roxas. Axel said smoothly, "You okay there, Goldilocks?"

Glaring, Roxas replied, "I swear, I will never find one! Never! This is impossible!"

Smirking, Axel cooed, "Does Roxy-lox need some help?"

Roxas angrily mumbled incoherently, and Axel, grinning, took that as a, "Yes, Axel, please help me in my quest for a four leaf clover!"

Axel began scouting the patch with Roxas in, of course, silence. After a few minutes, Roxas had calmed down. Time seemed to pass slowly as they looked, mere seconds slipping into minutes, until Roxas heard Axel call out from his position a few feet away, "Roxy!"

Roxas' head snapped up, his icy eyes connecting with Axel's instantaneously. The redhead grinned and gestured for Roxas to join him, which the fair-haired boy did, albeit hesitantly. Axel grinned wider and held up his hand; inbetween his pointer finger and his thumb was a thin green stem, and protruding from the top were four round, fragile leaves that were a pure, calm green color.

Roxas' breath hitched and he bit his bottom lip, a nervous habit that he was dreadfully aware of. His eyes darted between Axel and the clover nervously, watching the way Axel's face began to fall. It's fine, it's not like he could've known, it isn't his fault, he just—

"…Roxy?" the pyro said, slightly nudging his hand forward to prompt the blonde to take the clover.

Meeting Axel's concerned green orbs, he bit his bottom lip harder, trying to put on a convincing smile while ignoring the stinging in his eyes and the lump that was forming in his throat. Shaking his head to himself, Roxas choked out, "Can I just see it?"

Taken aback, Axel frowned at him incredulously, handing over the clover to Roxas' slightly trembling hands. "Rox, it's for you. You can—"

Roxas shook his head. "You picked it, Axel."

Axel furrowed his eyebrows, frown growing. "Don't be stupid, Rox. Just take the damn clover," he insisted, not believing that his clover-obsessed friend was really denying his not-so-secret guilty pleasure. It was a four leaf clover, right there, and he was fretting over the fact that it had been Axel who had found it?

"You don't get it, Axel. You picked it. It'll only work for you. It defeats the purpose," Roxas mumbled dejectedly.

After a pause, the blond's words finally clicked in his head. He physically blanched, looking frantically from the clover in his hands to his best friend to the ground where he had just picked it.

"Shit," he said, screwing his eyes shut, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes. "I just seriously screwed up, didn't I?"

Roxas, now subconsciously fearing for his lower lip's safety, replied brokenly, "It's fine. You didn't—"

"No, Roxas," he growled, more at himself than to the person he was addressing. "It's not fine. You're… I just wanted to…UGH. I should've just showed it to you or… directed you or… I can't believe I just did that. Because that makes so much sense…"

"And you don't," Roxas sob-laughed at the redhead.

Axel paused, then, understanding what his companion was saying, looked directly into Roxas' glassy eyes, and said, "I'm sorry, Rox. I really am. You were this close to finally getting your four leaf clover…" He looked dreadfully at the offending clover. "I should just burn this. Flaming four leaf clovers, you know?" he laughed dryly, no real humor intended in his words, but he laughed anyway. Meeting colbalt eyes again, he stressed, "I'm so, so sorry."

The deep sincerity and honesty in the redhead's voice and eyes was enough to send a solitary tear dribbling out of Roxas' eye and cause his heart to flutter violently and his stomach to do almost painful backflips. Tentatively, Roxas moved closer to Axel and slowly wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay, Axel."

Surprised, Axel lightly returned the embrace, trying to hush the thoughts that arose from this, trying to ignore the pleasant tingling he felt where Roxas' fingers clung tight to him.

"…Shouldn't it be me who's comforting you?" Axel whispered into Roxas' shoulder.

Roxas mumbled back, "No. You're way too hard on yourself."

Axel smiled, resisting every urge to squeeze the poor blonde harder, to hold him as close as physically possible. "I really am sorry, though."

Roxas closed his eyes, reveling in the warmth that spread throughout his body from the tickling breath he felt on his shoulder, or the lanky arms of his best friend wrapped around his waist. "I know."

Despite his protests of burning the poor four leaf clover that had caused them both grief, he kept it, if only because Roxas asked (read as: threatened) him.

"Why do you want me to keep it?" Axel asked incredulously, holding up the clover in front of his face as they walked back home from the park.

"Just do it, Ax."

"But whyyy—"

"If you don't, I'll tell my mom to turn off the pool's heating next time you come over, and I'll throw you into the pool," Roxas said without missing a beat, a trace of a smirk playing his lips.

A full smirk on his face, Axel replied, ruffling up Roxas' gold spikes, "Oh yeah? And how exactly are you going to do that, Shorty?"

"Riku'll probably be there, I'll get him to do it."

Frowning at the threat, the pyro retorted, "But Riku hates you."

"But Sora doesn't hate me, and Riku definitely doesn't hate Sora."

Needless to say, Axel kept the clover. After he departed from Roxas on the way home and returned to his own home, he scourged the house to find an old, individual, plastic Pokemon card case, preciously pressed the clover onto a piece of paper, and slid it into the case with utmost carefulness. He tucked it into his jean pocket, to keep with him always, to remember not only how much of an idiot he was, but the gentle way they embraced in the aftermath, and so he would always be able to think of his smaller blond friend when he looked at the little four leafed oddity.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, where he didn't even realize it, Roxas only wanted him to keep the clover for the same reason.

"RAAAAAWK-SAAAAAAAAASSS!" came Sora's loud shriek through the locked door to Roxas' room. Our blond was currently pulling on a semi-tight light gray shirt (his jeans had already been fitted snugly on his abdomen), rolling his eyes at his twin's shrill ways of getting him to hurry up.

"ACK-SULL'S HERE!"

Freezing for only a moment, the short boy hastily ran a brush through his hair, grabbed his backpack from the corner of his room, and all but threw open his bedroom door and hopped out to the kitchen to see his tall, redheaded best friend sitting calmly in a chair, eating a bagel.

Their eyes met for a breif, tantalizing second before the bagel was long forgotten and Axel pounced on the shorter blonde, clutching the blond head like a lifeline and exclaiming, "Roxy!"

Growling half-heartedly and swatting the grinning redhead off him, Roxas straightened out his shirt and attempted to fix up his hair a little more. (Not that it did anything, as it was naturally and permanently stuck in its messy fixture.) "Are we ready to go?" he asked in a huff, trying to force down the miniscule blush that was threatening to stain his cheeks. The morning routine was always the same: finish getting dressed, walk into the kitchen, get pounced on by Axel, who simply adored mornings, and leave for school. But no matter how automatic it was, even though Roxas had long come to expect it, it still left him irritated and trying to settle his rapidly pounding heart and trying in futile to shove down the blush that followed.

Sora came bouncing into the room with a bright, cheerful smile on his face. Eyes lit up in delight, he grabbed Axel's hand, who grabbed Roxas' hand, and pulled the two of them down the stairs and towards the front door. "Ri-Ri and Kai-ri are here, guys, let's go!"

He swung open the door, and sure enough, Riku was leaning against the railing of the front steps, Kairi standing next to him. Sora let go of Axel the second he saw Kairi, and bounded down the steps, throwing his arms around her, rocking them back and for while exclaiming, "KAIRI!" who sheepishly returned the gesture.

The silverette frowned, a hint of jealousy in his voice as he said, "C'mon Sora, don't kill her."

Sora let go of Kairi, paused for half a second, and then bounded on to Riku. "RI-RI!"

In the house, Axel had halted to a stop in front of the open door, causing Roxas to bump into him. Looking back at his smaller companion, they both realized their hands were still connected. Blushing, they both pulled away, and Axel walked out the door and down the cement steps, following Sora, Riku, and his sister.

Roxas followed soon after. But as he made his way down the second step, he tripped. "WOAH!" he cried as he plummeted.

Upon hearing his friend's distressed cry, Axel flipped around to see what was wrong.

As soon as he flipped, the redhead was met with a flurry of silky blond spikes and the blur of two sapphire eyes hurtled towards him, and he felt himself falling backwards with the impact.

The other three had also heard Roxas' scream, and had also simutaneously flipped around. Sora, who was closest to the door compared to the other two, and who's twin it was who happened to be falling, made a mad dash, and he dove with his backpack outstretched in his left hand. Out of reflex, Riku realized that Sora was about to dive into the pavement of the pathway leading up to his own house, and grabbed the spikey haired boys free hand and pulled him back, causing the backpack to fly out of his hands and hit the pavement just near Axel.

Axel felt his backside hit the ground, then his back, then his shoulders, and braced for impact to his head…

…and he blacked out.

"Oh my god!" Roxas exclaimed, opening his eyes (they had closed during the plummet) and realizing he was lying on top of Axel, who's eyes were closed. Ohgodohgodohgodohgod…

The other three were there in an instant. Riku, being the oldest, knelt down and looked at Axel, examining his head. Checking his pulse, Riku sighed and said, "He just got knocked out." Sora's backpack was laying just centimeters away from Axel's head.

Riku helped Roxas, who had scrambled off of the redhead during Riku's diagnosis, carry the limp sophmore over to the lush grass of the front yard, where they lay him down, Roxas quick to sit down cross-legged next to Axel's head, gripping the older boy's shoulder reassuringly as he looked up at his brother.

"I'll stay with him until he wakes up. You guys go. Don't be late for school," he told them seriously.

Agreeing reluctantly, Sora, Riku, and Kairi waved as they walked down the sidewalk and out of view, leaving Roxas seated amiably next to an unconscious Axel.

Frowning, the blond propped up his chin with one hand, the other hand idly sifting through the long, naturally spiky locks of his best friend. Looking out to the street, away from the redhead, Roxas thought. His stomach was churning with guilt. He felt terrible about falling on his best friend. Damn his clumsiness. Look where it had gotten him: school would start in moments, and where were they? Sitting on Roxas' front lawn, one of them out cold, the other running his fingers through the unconscious other's hair—damn, his hair is so soft…

The blue eyed boy was so lost in thought, he didn't notice Axel stirring beneath him.

Eyes still closed, Axel's first thought that came to mind was, What the hell happened? Trying to clear his thoughts, he vaguely remembered walking out the front door of Roxas' house, and then… he was near-attacked by a flying Roxas? Oh right, Roxas tripped down the stairs.

Immediately following his first notion, Axel realized there were fingers playing with his hair. That's not right, he thought, even as he nearly leant into the gentle touch. Popping open one eye, he instantly saw the beautiful face of Roxas above him, eyes in deep thought, looking out towards the street. A small smile rested on his face as he closed his eye again, this time peaceful, enjoying the sensation of the younger's fingers in his hair. I could really get used to this, he sighed inwardly, relishing this moment of good fortune.

Moments passed, and with each minute, the hand became slower and slower to dance along the vermillion strands of hair as they stroked. Realizing this, Axel, without thinking, instinctively leant up into the touch when the hand stopped completely, resting millimeters away from the pyro's scalp. A yelp sounded from above, and the hand snapped away, causing Axel to realize he had ruined the moment and open his eyes, meeting Roxas' confused, but relieved blues.

"You're awake," Roxas smiled, standing up. He extended a hand to help pull Axel up, and when they were both fully standing and straightened out, he asked, "You okay?"

Axel chuckled softly, if not embarrassed from moments before, replying, "Yeah, my head hurts like a bitch, though."

As they started walking down the sidewalk towards school, Roxas replied in a soft, guilty voice, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"I forgive you, Goldilocks."

Rolling his eyes, Roxas paused before saying, "…You hit the pavement pretty hard."

Axel instinctively began to thread his fingers behind his head, but winced when he remembered (and felt) how he had just hit himself there. "I guess I'm pretty lucky," he said, not only referring to the condition of his head.

And… that's basically how things ran for the next few months. Something that wouldn't be classified as good luck would happen to one of them, and the other would be there instantaneously to comfort or take care of the other. Not that they weren't there for each other before the four leaf clover incident, but now… even more than ever.

For example, when Sora and his and Roxas' parents went to Hollow Bastion to visit close friends of Sora's, and Axel and Kairi stayed with Roxas for the weekend because their parents were, too, out of town, Roxas caught a terrible cold. Despite Kairi's female-induced mother hen-like nature, it was Axel who took charge and nurtured poor Roxy back to health. Though the pyro hated seeing his favorite blond miserable and sick, he secretly enjoyed being able to be close to his friend and comfort him in tender gestures. Roxas, of course, secretly loved these gestures of kindness from the redhead as well.

Though some would argue it was just a coincidence, Axel liked to believe it was the clover, which he had not yet failed to keep with him.

"I'm serious, things just seem to be getting better and better! It's like nonstop Roxy time!" he told Demyx one day, giggling like a hormonal teenage fangirl.

"I just think you've completely come to terms with yourself that you are long, long past flamboyantly gay for him. You guys have been inseperable since you first met," Demyx said, rolling his eyes for effect, but that didn't deter Axel from giggling like mad. Softly, the mullet-haired boy muttered under his breath, "There's also the fact he's just as in love with you as you are with him."

Yup, things were pretty great for Axel. But he wasn't the only one who was having a lucky streak.

It seemed that, whenever Axel was around, Roxas would end up in a lucky position, one way or another. Whether the circumstance of fortune was simply spending extra time with the redhead, or whether he gained something in a different way, he was experiencing luck. Something he had always wanted to experience via four leaf clover. Maybe Axel's screw up clover (which, Roxas accidentally found out, the redhead carried literally everywhere) was lucky to him after all, even though he wasn't in possession of it.

So, all in all, six months passed in an abyss of luck for the two. Things were great. They were both happy, and they were together, growing closer and closer, if it were possible.

Things were fantastic. Almost unreal.

…Until the car accident.

The sun was shining phantasmally, resting proud and high in a sky whose color could challenge Roxas' eyes. The sky was not clear, but the few clouds that floated overhead were pure and white and puffy and soft, tempting onlookers to reach up and stroke them in their cottony, fluffy nature. It was a cool day, the air slightly crisp, but not demanding enough for residents to wear heavy or unnaturally concealed clothing. The clear sky and brilliant sun enhanced Roxas' hair, so it was sparkling. Axel had to try not to look at it or he could risk being blind.

It was a perfect, quiet, normal afternoon.

…Those are the ones that you should be suspicious of.

Roxas and Axel were walking down the sidewalk as they had so many times before, leisurely strolling back home early from the park. Both were happy as clams, which was, in fact, a topic they were currently debating.

"…and that's where the expression came from," Axel said, grinning.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Roxas quipped back.

"Hey, don't blame it on me. It's true."

"And how, exactly, are you so sure that that's the reason why people started comparing their happiness to clams? What kind of clams are happy, anyway?!"

Axel was just cracking up. He was keeling over with laughter, his sides hurting. Watching the blond get so worked up was just hilarious… and also helplessly adorable. The blond's lips were in their trademark pout, the rosy little buds jutting out ever so slightly as his blue eyes stared wide. It was just too cute. It took an insane amount of willpower for Axel to not just grab the younger boy and hold him as tight to his body as he possibly could. That, or just jump him right then and there. But he'd doubt that the blonde would appreciate the latter, and he was just too busy laughing to do anything else about his feelings right then anyway.

Roxas, still pouting, though relaxing a little, watched as the pyro laughed. He raised an eyebrow delicately, looking at the redhead with wonder as to why what he had said was so funny. He didn't think it was that funny… he hardly thought it was funny at all. Seeing the confused and slightly irritated look on the blond's face sent Axel clutching his sides once again. Roxas rolled his eyes and continued walking down the sidewalk, having to pull the elder along to stick together. Axel… had such a beautiful laugh. It was loud, but not obnoxiously so, which is almost a little strange to think about when comparing it to the redhead sometimes. Despite that, it just… suit him so well. To be laughing so carelessly and melodically. It was contagious. Roxas wanted so much just to laugh right along with him, though he didn't. No, the younger just smiled softly as they continued walking.

They were so caught up in their laughter—and thoughts and confusion, on Roxas' terms—that they didn't even realize the ambulance speed by, sirens blaring and lights flashing dangerously, warningly, ominously. Nor did they notice a second one speed by not seconds after.

But they did notice the police motercycle, if only because it immediately saw them and pulled over, causing them to freeze for a moment until they realized who it was: Roxas' own mother, Tifa, pulling off her helmet and jumping off her motorcycle in a swift movement.

Roxas grinned cheekily and began to say, "Hey, m—"

His face faltered when Tifa wordlessly wrapped the two in a frantic hug.

"—mom?"

After another short squeeze, Tifa released them and looked up at them with puffy, glassy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "I'm so glad you two are okay," she said, almost breathlessly.

The two teenagers' faces fell, turning to alarm instantly as they stared wide eyed at here, bombarding her with questions.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"What's the matter?!"

Swiftly, in the span of 3 seconds, she wrapped her arms around them, gave them another tight squeeze, and proceeded to shove her helmet on her head. Only as she was starting back to the motorcycle did she reply breathlessly, "Sora was in a car accident." She ignored their shocked and worried and frantic looks as she started up her wheels, pointing in the opposite direction that they had been walking in, "Down there, just keep going, you'll find out where pretty quickly." And just like that, she was flying down the road, leaving the other two stricken with fear.

They shared a glance before simutaneously breaking into a sprint back towards the park, where Tifa had just pointed. They ran and ran, frantic and distressed, until, as Tifa had told them, they saw a flurry of ambulences and police cars and motorcycles, and spectators and citizens gathered around.

Roxas froze for only a second, before firing back up, snatching Axel's hand and pulling him faster, faster, faster towards the scene of the incident. Under another circumstance, both Roxas and Axel would've become blushing, blubbering idiots and distanced their hands as much as possible, but right now, they squeezed with every fiber of their being which wasn't concentrated on running, and though that wasn't a lot, the firm grip was still as tight as a pair of leather pants that were two sizes too small.

When they reached the crowd, they broke apart, Roxas hastily shoving his way through the seemingly endless mob of people, Axel not far behind, until he reached the inner ring and froze dead in his tracks.

"Roxas?" Axel said when he reached him, before turning his attention to the scene in front of them. "…Oh my God…"

In front of them was none other than Riku's car and another, unidentified car, the latter bruised with a large, sickening dent in the front, black paint scratched off on the driver's side, the driver's window cracked a little in the corner, and the entire side-view mirror nearly pulled off. The former, however, was terrorfyingly dented on the passenger's side, car door hanging open… Both cars were in terrible shape, though as Roxas surveyed the scene, the one thing that caught his eye was a familiar brunette spike visible from between two paramedics kneeling on the ground directly in front of the passenger seat of Riku's vehicle.

Without another thought, Roxas sprinted to the men in white, pushing them away and fending off their protests with an uncharacterist growl, "Move, it's my brother! It's my BROTHER!"

When he saw Sora, his face paled and his heart dropped. There, lying in a small puddle of red liquid that seemed to be generating from his head and right arm, was his spikey-haired, brunette twin, eyes closed and skin rapidly paling, scratches and bruises covering his porcelain skin. Roxas kneeled down, grabbing his brother's hand and holding it close to him, crying the other boy's name over and over, crying to look at him, to say something to him. He was met with silence, apart from the frantic noises of other people and sirens in the background; noises, loud noises, all around him, but none of them heard over the erratic beat of his heart and the silence radiating from Sora.

The paramedics were trying to clean Sora up as much as they could. They continuously checked for pulse and breathing, and were rapidly trying to get this done as quick as possible. But Roxas didn't miss the breif meeting of their slightly widening eyes after one was checking Sora's pulse. Neither moved for a moment, frozen, wide eyes locked and unforgiving, before they quickly called over for help.

Roxas saw it. He saw the truth that met between their eyes. Pale as a ghost, eyes suddenly dead, Roxas dropped his twin's hand, hearing nothing except his own heartbeat, wild and pounding in his ears. Everything was blocked out, silence surrounded him, until, from behind him, he heard a soft, familiar voice:

"Roxas."

Tears that had only been threatening to fall were now falling, cascading carelessly down the blond's cheeks as he turned around and threw himself against an awaiting Axel, clutching the redhead like he was the only thing in the world, as if his life depended soley on clinging to this familiar redhead whom he had known and loved for so long, not caring if the redhead saw him this hysterical, just holding, squeezing, and being clutched back even though trembling violently.

Cradling the blond in his arms, Axel leaned over and placed a small, delicate kiss to the blonde's temple, and whispered, so incredibly soft that Roxas could hardly hear it, "I love you."

"A-axel…" Roxas choked out in a distressed sob, burying his face in the pyro's welcoming chest, shaking and shivering and crying and sobbing and weeping and being taken in all at once by Axel, who stroked his back and his hair and attempted to make soothing sounds in his ear as he held the blue-eyed boy close, never letting go.

Everything had happened so fast.

One minute, Roxas was watching his brother, his own twin brother, die in the street, before finding himself being held in the arms of his friend, who had red hair and green eyes and two upside-down teardrop shaped tattoos and red eye liner and was tall and lanky and snarky and cocky, his best friend, the one who he loved with all his heart, who was carrying him down the street and back to the redhead's own empty house (his family was at the scene of the crash). Before he knew it, he was placed gently on the bed of the redhead's room, and vaguely registered the bed dipping where Axel sat down beside him, causing the blond to involuntarily lean into Axel's side. He instantly dropped his head to the taller male's shoulder, and they sat in the room in a silence that was as comfortable as uncomfortable.

Roxas' cries and wails had slowly began to turn into sobs, and finally, the only sounds he was emitting were ragged, sharp breaths. His breathing had calmed to an even pace when he gasped, alarmed, because two skinny arms had found their way around the boys shoulders, encircling him and pulling him into a lean, albeit skinny chest, a pointy chin resting on the top of his scalp, tucking the feathery blond spikes under the chin and against the older male's throat.

They stayed like that for a long time, no words exchanged, just pressed against each other in a quiet embrace, until Roxas' hands snaked up to Axel's shoulders and gently pushed him away, though keeping a grip on the bony frame like a lifeline. He stared straight up into his jade green eyes, which stared right back, a gentle mix of emotions swirling in each.

Axel stared down at his smaller companion lovingly, affectionately, and showing him that he would be there, that he was right there, and he would help, that he would be the blond's shelter. He also looked nervous, because he was completely unsure of how the blond felt about the previous gestures or the words he had said, or what the blond would do about them. He tried with all his might, looking into those heavenly blues, to see what might be running in that little blond head of Roxas', but no matter how hard he tried, he was met with the limitless sky in his eyes.

But after a moment, something seemed to stir in both of them, something that clicked, because at once they slowly leaned forward, resting their foreheads against each other while their eyes flittered closed and their lips met in a shy but mutually loving touch. Their lips tingled as they pressed further, remaining chaste and gentle and sweet, Roxas' grip on Axel's shoulders loosening to wrap around the redhead's neck, Axel's arms winding their way around the younger's back securely. They pulled away after a few more moments, breathing each other's air and gazing into each other's eyes.

Axel pressed a simple kiss to the blonde's cheek before scooting back a few feet, leaning back against the wall and abruptly pulling Roxas with him, arms still wrapped around each other. Roxas was lying on the taller, ear pressed against his chest and listening to the rapid heartbeat. Their thoughts were focused soley on the other, the silence around them now comfortable and loving, though still slightly hurt and confused.

"Axel—" Roxas started.

"Shut it Roxy, you'll ruin the moment."

Roxas bit his lip, fidgeting slightly. Axel tried to ignore it for the most part, but when he couldn't stand it anymore, he sighed, sitting up and flipping Roxas around so his back was against the bigger chest, and leaned down, whispering directly into the blond's ear, "How're you doing, Goldilocks?"

A lump grew in his throat and he was quiet for a long time. When he finally replied, he did so in a broken sob, saying, "My twin brother just died, you idiot…The hell do you think I'm doing?"

Axel gave him a sad, sympathetic smile, and squeezed him tighter, fighting back tears of his own to try and stay strong for his friend. He didn't need to see the blond's eyes to know that tears were threatening to stain his cheeks like they had before.

"I just… can't believe he's gone," Roxas choked, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes. "I-I mean… h-h-he was m-my twin, like… we were t-two halves of the same w-w-whole, and n-now he's just g-gone."

"I… think I know how you feel," the larger of the two said, cradling the now tear-stained, crying smaller male in his arms. "I bet you never knew this, but I had a brother, too. He died before I met you, a-and we were nowhere near as close as you and Sora were, but… it still hurt when he died."

Mumbling, Roxas replied, "I'm sorry."

Axel scoffed. "Don't be. Like I said, we weren't that close. And we were much younger, so we wouldn't have been that close anyway."

"…" Roxas screwed his eyes shut, throwing his hands down as he threw his head back, resting on Axel's shoulder. His hands curled and uncurled, clenched and unclenched, and he hummed angrily in the back of his throat. "F-fuck, I can't…"

Axel frowned at him, looking at him with worry and concern. Glancing at the restless hands, he quickly let go of the blond's waist and grasped the hands in his own, reassuringly gripping them in return to the squeezing.

"He's dead!" Roxas all but yelled. "He's dead, and it's because he was with Riku that he is! Because Riku was with him!"

The blond went on a rampage, beginning to lash out, going on endlessly about how it was Riku's fault, and the redhead sat there calmly and took it, knowing how hard this was on his little blond: everyone knew that Sora and Roxas, even as twins, were insanely close. They were opposites, they had different friends, they hung out with different crowds, but somehow, they were always, continuously, joined at the hip in some way or another. Even if they excused it as "freaky twin telepathy mumbo-jumbo shit," as Roxas had once so eloquently stated it.

Axel understood. He hated with every fiber of his being seeing Roxas this way, so hurt and broken and angry and miserable, but he knew that he needed to get this out, because he's found that holding something in will never do you any good.

Regardless, he finally stepped in when Roxas began to try and pull his hair straight off his head and started to shout out death threats to the poor silverette.

He held tight to the thrashing boy's wrists, and with a swift motion, forcefully pinned the blond to the bed, straddling his legs to deter kicking. He waited patiently until the blond's rage melted into sobs and he looked up at Axel with glassy blue eyes, filled with hurt and desperation, making the redhead's heart melt.

"Roxas… You can't kill someone because they were in a car accident with your brother."

Roxas mumbled something incoherently, making Axel lean down and ask, "What was that? Couldn't hear ya, Goldilocks."

"I said, I'd probably end up killing him anyway, with the way he mind-raped Sora sometimes."

Axel laughed at this, watching through squinted eyes as Roxas, adorabley, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and a ghost of a smile was painted over his lips.

Axel reached forward a hand and cupped the boy's cheek tenderly, replying when he had calmed down from his laughter, "Well I think being in an accident and having Sora die is punishment enough for that little jerkface, don't ya think?"

Roxas sighed, but looked away, pouting, and did not reply.

Axel smiled. That face was too cute to resist; he swooped down and placed a chaste kiss to the blond's cheek, which pinked at the gesture. "Though I do understand your frustration at him," he said smoothly into the pink cheek, "if it had been you in that car with him, I probably would've killed him too."

The blond softly turned his head and leant up, kissing Axel full on the lips before pulling away and, accepting the confession, he whispered softly, "I love you, too."

"I didn't say 'I love you,' Roxy," he said, grinning madly despite his words.

"You implied it," Roxas replied simply, and they both leaned in for another kiss.

Roxas and Axel held hands as they sat in the back of many rows of chairs, both completely adorned in black, listening to the numerous people walk up to the podium in the front of the room and say a few words about Sora, and how greived they were about his death. Their hands gripped tightly in reassurance and comfort, but both paid attention to the person who was talking, which so happened to be Kairi, telling of how she had become friends with Sora at a young age and how the two had always remained close friends, and how painful it was for her.

"She needs a little pain once in a while, moody little bitch," Axel said in low undertones so only Roxas, who was trying hard to suppress a smirk, could hear.

Sora was popular. And that was an understatement. Every chair that had been set out was taken; the funeral was taking place outside, in the local park, and because of it's spaciousness, many chairs had been set up. It seemed as if everybody in town had come to the brunette's funeral, which, surprisingly, wasn't shocking to anybody, except for, perhaps, Sora's parents, who knew their son was popular, but never knew that he was a celebrity.

Finally, it was Roxas' turn to walk up to the podium. He gulped and bit his lip nervously, looking to Axel for reassurance, whose lips twitched up in a small smile and whose hand squeezed his own back firmly. The blond nodded, standing up, and making the long painful walk up in front of the ceremony.

The walk seemed endless, and he felt every eye in the room on him, knew that as Sora's twin brother, he had every last person's completely undivided attention.

He bit his lip as he looked out over the audience. The entire speech he had planned out in his head about what he was going to say about his brother, about how his brother was and innocent and naïve but dependable and loyal and an amazing friend and an even more phenomenal twin brother- it all slipped from his head and he stood there, biting his lip, trying to remember what he had been trying to say, when he looked toward the ground in front of the podium.

His breath caught and his heart rose to his throat. It was as if the Heavens were shining down on the one patch of grass near the edge of the wood. His eyes widened almost skeptically as he just stared at it, eyes remaining glued to, no, almost attempting to penetrate, the ground.

There it was.

It was there.

He forgot about the hundreds of people waiting for him to make a speech, a eulogy from the heart of the brother, ignoring the strange looks and confused glances being directed towards him, the whispers wondering what was going on. He knelt down to the ground, around the podium, and he swore he stopped breathing for a second.

Right in front of him.

Standing straight out of the grass, on a fragile yet strong stem were four, individual, round leaves. A four leaf clover.

Fingers shaking slightly, he reached to the bottom of the stem, close to the ground, and plucked it, completely ignoring the sounds of people shuffling in their seats to stand up and get a look at what the hell he could be doing.

As he returned behind the podium, he held his clover out at arms length, just staring at it, tears prickling his eyes and a soft smile gracing his features.

After a long moment, he snapped out of his gaze and looked over the crowd, some faces staring at him questioningly, others, familiar ones, staring at him happily or unbelievably, but he ignored them all until his sights fell upon a head of flaming red hair and bright jade eyes.

Axel met his gaze, his hand blindly searching out his own clover and taking it out of his pants pocket, holding it up to his chest and looking at the blond hopefully, lovingly, proudly, a soft smile visible.

As he looked into Axel's eyes, even from a distance, it all hit him at once.

Smiling, he looked at the clover outstretched in his hand with tear-brimmed cerulean eyes, and he watched it as it float, flitter, fall to the ground. He reached out for the microphone of the podium and adjusted it to his lips and words all flooded into his mind at once. He knew exactly what to say, even though it was nothing like what he had originally prepared:

"Sora was…"

His eyes flitted back to Axel throughout the entire speech, Axel's eyes always already locked on him, and Roxas realized.

Maybe he didn't need a four leaf clover to have his luck. He already had something much better.

He had Axel.

A/N: I can't believe I wrote this much...

But actually, the only reason for this author's note is to say thank you to my friend Nami, who stayed up all night with me while I was frustrated trying to finish this. XD

You seriously rock hardcore, Nami. Thanks for encouraging me. C: