I know I should be working on one of my multi-chap stories, but I was unpacking my new room and stumbled upon an old notebook that I wrote the first couple chapters of Bruises and Bitemarks in and after there was an outline for a story. It's loosely based off the song Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las.

Enjoy!

Love is a hard things to deal with, and the shitty part is that one day someone will come into your very happy life and ruin it. For the best of course. But did God or whatever ruler of our lives really have to make it this hard? The butterfly feeling in the pit of your stomach hurts. Watching them talk and laugh with someone who isn't you is more than painful. And that moment of truth when you finally put up your big boy pants and spew your obnoxious feelings that make you feel like an obsessive stalker to them. Will they reject you and practically tear your heart out and eat it right in front of your eyes, or will they accept you for the fuck-tard that you are and cherish you till they get bored and throw you away like a broken, worn out toy?

To think I was one of those idiots that this happened to. Me, Axel Faun, had fallen into this deadly trap known as love. Weird I know. I'm the last person you'd think would be capable of such feelings. But it's the sad truth. But I haven't gotten to the worst part yet.

The worst things about it is that I wouldn't change a god dammed thing.

~X~x~X~x~

It was a crisp fall day, and of course it had to be a school day or else none of this could have transpired and written my future. I was sitting at a table with a group of my friend's during lunch. None of us were eating. Demyx, my best mate, was jolting down notes to a song that was stuck in his head and he needed to get it down before he lost it. Larxene, Naminé, and Xion were gossiping like the girls they were. Riku was busy making bedroom eyes with some girl with auburn hair and violet eyes, and I doubt her boyfriend was happy about it since he was glaring daggers at my oblivious, silver haired friend. And as for me, I was sketching something random in my notebook.

It was a pretty boring and normal day for my group of friends and I was getting tired of it. With a loud sigh and slam from my notebook I bid my farewells and left the noisy cafeteria. I was at a loss of where to go next. I always hung around with my friends during lunch, but on that day I just couldn't. Maybe it was destiny's way of making me run into him. But I never liked getting philosophical about things.

I ended up going to the roof because A) It was against the rules and it was just in my nature to go against those who told me no, and B) Because it was the first sunny day in a while and my skin was crawling with wanting to feel the sun warm it with it's hot rays. Or of course it could have been option C) Destiny being the intervening bitch it is.

Anyway I digress. I went up to the roof hoping to draw a bit more, maybe of the scenery of the trees beyond the school property, or the sleepy town. But what do I find? A small boy with hair the color of honey crying his eyes out. Normally I would back away slowly and leave because comfort was out of my, well, comfort zone. This would be more in Demyx, Naminé, and Xion's area of expertise. But not me. Nope, not even close. If tears and feelings were involved I liked to be as far away from it as humanly possible. But hey today called for something different.

The boy didn't seem to realize I was there, so as quietly as I could I sat down next to him. Creepy, I know, but I didn't know what else to do. He didn't seem to realize I was right there so I cleared my throat. That seemed to startle him.

"Ack!" He yelled as he jumped a good foot away from me. His bloodshot colored eyes were wide with fright and his fist was clenched over his heart like he was trying to stop it from flying out of his chest. He was kind of cute, like in a frightened baby kitty kind of way and it made my heart do a little flip; the first signs of falling hard and fast. But I just pushed it aside.

"Hello. What's got your panties in a knot? Did someone steal your lunch money?" Smooth Axel. Very smooth. What the hell was I thinking? I'm surprised the upset teen didn't try to hit me because I was right on the marker.

The other teen just sniffed and sent me a glair that should have made me freeze and go cold, but instead it just made me laugh. I could do scarier in my sleep, "What's it to you? Why are you up here anyway? Don't you have friends to hang out with our something?" His voice was watery and raspy from all the crying and it honestly broke whatever little heart I had. Was he implying he had no friends? Yes. The answer is yes. He was all alone in this whole wide world. But I wouldn't know this till way later.

"Well yes and no." I answered with a nonchalant tone. At his confused look I decided to elaborate, "I have friends, but I just don't want to be with them right now. I wanted to come up here and be alone for a bit and do my thing."

His mouth made an O shape and realization hit him. Quickly he scurried towards to his discarded bag on his hands and knees before springing up and running to the door yelling something about being sorry for getting in my way before he disappeared down the long staircase back into the school. With how big this school was I wouldn't be surprised if I never saw him again since I was a senor and he was small and timid like a lower classmen. But luck wasn't on my side. Or was it on my side? Who knows? All that matters is that I managed to run into him again, and quite literally.

~X~x~X~x~

It wasn't even two weeks later when I would find the future object of my affection again. I was walking around the mall with Demyx on a lazy Sunday. I would have rather been in bed sleeping but my so called best friend dragged me out of my dark lair to help him shop for some new clothes. When I suggested taking one of the girls with him he just said they would probably gang up on him and dress him up in a dress or something. And knowing Larxene I knew he wasn't just making excuses, that woman could be a class A bitch and would do whatever she could for her own amusement and cheap laugh.

So anyway, we were walking around and I was busy texting Riku about the date we went on with that girl from the cafeteria and relying on my peripheral vision to help guide me around the crowds and kiosks. But my amazing multi-tasking abilities weren't as grand as I had hoped and I managed to topple over someone. We both landed on the ground with a loud 'Oof!' I was lucky to have a soft body under me to soften my fall, but the poor person under me wasn't so lucky.

Bright blue eyes were under me and spiky blond hair tickled my cheek. It was the boy from the roof. Surprise. Surprise.

With a grunt he pushed at my chest, "Get off klutz." The boy under me huffed. Now that he wasn't crying and our noses were practically touching I could finally make out the beautiful blue orbs that were lodged in his head. They were always such a captivating color. Not quite sky blue and not dark blue, somewhere in the middle and it would take all my will power to pull away from them.

"Ah, sorry. Sorry." I said as I got up and helped the smaller boy up as well. And damn he was short. His hairline just barely made it up to my jaw, but later in our relationship I would find this one of my most favorite things about him. It made me feel like he needed my protection from the world, and maybe that would be enough for him to never leave me. But I guess I was an idiot for thinking that.

Demyx seemed to be oblivious to my little spill since he was to back track to find me. I was still with the boy whose name I came to known as Roxas, a new student to Hollow Bastion High and a sophomore. Roxas Strife. The cute little underclassman who stole my heart.

Anyway back to Demyx. My best friend had apparently been talking to himself for a good ten minutes before he realized I was missing and was a bit tiffed at having to come track me down only to find me chumming it up with some stranger. I would have to hear him bitch and moan to all of our other friends about how I had ditched him for a date.

Yeah a date. I wish that's what it was. All we did was sit on a bench and talk a bit. Roxas started out quiet and reluctant to talk to me but I worked some of my magic and he started to open up to me. He told me he was from a sleepy little town known as Twilight Town. Just the name alone made me want to yawn. He was the youngest of four. Four! Can you believe it? Because I know I didn't. His oldest brothers, Vanitas and Ventus, were twins and both in my grade, and then there was Sora who was a junior. Sora would play a huge part in Roxas and mine's relationship.

I also found out that the day I found him on the school roof was only a month after he had moved, and he was crying because some douche-bag and his friends had ganged up on him and stolen all of his money and even an expensive watch he had gotten from his dad before he left his childhood home. Divorce, I found out, was the reason for his relocation and also the reason he held that watch with such love and care. His father had cheated on his mother with the girl next door, but I didn't make him tell me much more than that since I could tell it was a touchy subject for him. It took me months to even get that much out of him.

After Demyx found us I got Roxas's number with a promise to keep in touch and a promise to myself to hunt down his bully and get his prized possession back.

~X~x~X~x~

Seifer Almsley. That was the prick who was making Roxas's life hell. He was the kind of guy that acted tough but if his friends weren't around he would turn into a sniveling little girl. Lucky for me I found him at his locker with none of his gooneys around. I just sauntered over like the badass I am and simply introduced his face to the cold metal of the lockers. Getting the watch from his was like taking candy from a baby after that.

Next was the hard part. Did I want to text Roxas and inform him on my find or look for him around the school and show him? I skipped my class before lunch and went up to the roof as a little gift to myself for doing such a nice thing for a friend (and to hide out in case one of Seifer's friends decided to come after me, but we'll just keep that information to ourselves). I sat alone with my thoughts and the golden wrist piece. The watch was really nice. It was made out of gold and sparkled when the sun hit it. There was diamonds around the face. The numbers were Roman numeral style and for some reason I couldn't imagine Roxas liking something that had normal numbers on it. The watch in general was a bit on the heavy side and I bet it was hard for someone Roxas's size to wear all day long.

The bell for lunch rang and not a moment too soon since my stomach let out a fierce growl informing me of my need for nourishment. But that meant going all the way downstairs and wait in a long line for food that probably wasn't worth it. I decided to starve till I got home. The click of the door opening in closing surprised me. I shoved the watch in my coat pocket and stood to investigate.

It turned out Roxas was the person who had snuck up on me. He seemed just as surprised as I when we made eye contact, guess the cute blond wasn't expecting anyone to come up here and wanted some time by himself.

"Oh, I was looking for you." His bright cheery voice had caught me of guard. Turns out he had last period with Seifer and he wanted to tell me how his bully had gotten his face beat in and didn't try to bother him. The sparkle in his eyes made my stomach flip but at the time I just brushed it off as being hungry.

I was speechless. Roxas looked so happy and his smile was just so bright that it blinded me. Without thinking I grabbed Roxas by his hand and pulled him close to me till our chests were touching and slipped his father's watch onto his wrist. This seemed to surprise him. He looked confused for a moment and I could see the wheels turning in his head as he connected the pieces together.

Once everything made sense to him a quiet gasp left him as he pushed away from me. Roxas brought the golden accessory up to his face and carefully studied it. No detail went unaccounted for. Each diamond was traced with a gentle touch. Next it was my turn to be caught off guard.

Two small hands grabbed the sides of my face and pulled me down so I was leveled with Roxas, "Thank you." He quietly whispered in my ear before he pressed our lips together in our first kiss.

~X~x~X~x~

Our relationship didn't go anywhere after that. We stayed friends, but I was still in denial about my feelings and he wasn't doing anything to show me that he was interested in me too. Sure we texted each other late into the night and we would try to meet up a couple times a week and eat lunch together, but other than my friends making jabs to me every now and again there was nothing more to mine and Roxas's relationship.

It wasn't until one day I was walking down the hall and saw Roxas and Naminé talking. They looked so cute together, like the perfect couple. And the way they were laughing at each other's jokes, I don't think I've ever seen him laugh so much around me. I didn't know it at the time but the reason I wanted to go punch sweet, little Naminé in the face, and why I wanted to grab Roxas and run to our spot on the roof, was because I was jealous. I wouldn't have admitted it at the time though.

Later at lunch I was sitting at the usual table with my usual friends. I hadn't talked to Roxas all day and I had eaten lunch with him the day before and I noticed he had been acting funny. I had thought it had something to do with Naminé. The blond girl had been acting weird around me as well. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine, and she would only talk to me if I said something first but even then it was only one worded answers. Plus that sly smile she kept sending me when she thought I wasn't looking. At the time I had thought she and Roxas had started going steady and it was meant to be kept a secret from me. Boy was I wrong.

Right before the bell to signal lunch rang someone slid in the vacant seat next to me, "Hey loser." A familiar voice said. I turned to get a face full of Roxas. The blond was smiling at me and it had confused me. I thought he gotten lucky with Naminé but that was debunked when I remembered she didn't want any dick near her till she was properly married.

"Hey dick-butt." I responded. Mean? Maybe. But Roxas and I had gotten to a level of friendship where we could openly insult each other and know that the other wouldn't take offence. That was one of the reasons I loved him so much. Huh love. Funny how I can admit that now.

I studied how my two blond friends acted around each other and noted that they were sending each other glances and seemed to be having a silent conversation. I could feel the little green monster creep up on me once more but I wouldn't admit it was because I had feelings; I just brushed it off as feeling like if two of my friends started dating then they would forget about me and I'd be out two friends. Not because I had feelings for Roxas.

"So Axel," Naminé looked at me with her doe eyes, "Did you know I had history with Roxas? I was actually pretty surprised when he told me you two were friends."

"Well I've been telling all of you all that Axel picked himself up some arm candy. But do any of you listen to lil' old Demyx? Noooo." Demyx moaned from across me with a giant pout across his face. It had kind of been an inside joke in our little group, no one but Demyx (and I guess Naminé) had ever met Roxas up to this point so the rest of the group had called the dirty blond a liar about his accusations.

"I believed you Demyx." Xion piped up with an impish smile on her face like she knew something the rest of us didn't, "Why else would Axel be ditching us during lunch or smile like a retard at his phone all the time."

And that's how Roxas was officially introduced to my friends.

~X~x~X~x~

After that little encounter Roxas started to sit with us and soon he became one with our little click. I still had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever Roxas stood too close to Naminé but I would push the feeling aside and continued on with my day. Whenever I was alone with Roxas or we were texting I'd try to drop hints about him and Naminé seeing if he'd slip up and confess he had been dating the girl all along. I don't know why I wanted him to admit it so bad, but I just needed to hear him say it.

It wasn't until a month after he became an official member in our little group did I get any information about his relationship with Naminé. And how you may ask? Well I finally got invited over to his house for a sleepover and boy was that place insane.

When I rang the doorbell a boy that looked just like Roxas answered. I almost hugged him in greeting till I noticed the little things that set him and my friend apart. His hair parted the wrong way, eyes wrong shade of blue, and he had freckles splattered over his cheeks from being outside a lot, while Roxas preferred to sit indoors away from the sun. Also, him asking who I was was a big tip off that he was in face not Roxas. Turns out he was Ventus, Roxas's older brother and one of the twins. Vanitas and Sora were in the living room watching some brain dead cartoon that I would have probably enjoyed watching. Those two could have pulled off being twins better and Vanitas could have been Roxas's. And honestly I should have recognized Sora sooner or else none of the bad things would have happened.

I was showed to Roxas's room where the blond was lounging with headphones on. I doubted whether or not he even knew I was there. I showed away Ventus and quietly closed the door hoping Roxas was still in his own little world. I knelt down at the foot of the bed so I was kind of hidden and reached up and tickled the bottoms of his feet. The blond yelled in surprise and flailed around for a moment before he sat up and glared around the room. He must have missed my spikes jetting out from the base of his bed because he just shrugged and went back to playing on his phone and listing to music.

My phone went off shortly after and I had forgotten to turn off my ringer so a loud BING echoed throughout the room. That seemed to get Roxas's attention. He flipped himself over so his head was at the bottom of his bed and his feet were at the head. Bright blue eyes looked down at me and a smile that was trying to hold back a laugh stretched across his face, "Hey moron. What are you doing down there?" He asked as he booped the end of my nose with a slim finger.

I looked down at my phone to see the message that gave me away was from Roxas asking when I was going to get there because he was starting to think there was a ghost in his room. I openly laughed at Roxas's cute nativity and pushed him over so I could lay on the bed with him. It took us a while to find a comfortable position but we found one with me on my back and Roxas huddled under my armpit with his head on my chest. Now I know what you're thinking and no there was no intimacy. We were just watching a random video on YouTube and the screen was small so we had to lay close together.

Well okay I'll admit it started off innocent but then I just had to be stupid and ask about Naminé, "So, you and Nami seem to have gotten close." Roxas shifted a bit so he could look up better at me but didn't say anything so I continued, "I mean aren't you two dating yet?"

That didn't seem to sit well with Roxas since he sat up so he was hovering me with his hands pressing down on my chest to keep me in place. His eyes bore into mine. Roxas nibbled his bottom lip for a moment before he leaned down and pressed our lips together. He didn't instantly pull away like he did the first time he kissed me so I was able to feel how soft his lips were and how his hands twitched on my chest. I reached up and ran my hand through soft blond spikes and pushed our faces closer together to deepen the kiss and got some tongue involved. It was at that moment that I decided I liked Roxas and would make him mine.

When we broke for air I let my hand fall from Roxas's hair to rest on his shoulder. From there I was able to pull him down so his head was resting on my collarbone. We laid in a semi-awkward silence for a bit before I managed to choke out, "So, does this mean you're not going steady with Naminé?"

Roxas shook his head and moved so he ended up nuzzling my throat, "No but she's in on one of my biggest secrets."

That caught my interest. I couldn't help but think of how I was his best friend and not in on his secret. What if that meant that we weren't as close as I had hopped? "Oh? And what is your little secret?" I had asked with a mocked hurt tone.

Instead of answering me, Roxas just kissed me again. And again. And again. I was graced with dozen or so pecks to my lips, checks, and chin. That seemed to get his point across. Roxas liked me. He had a crush on me since the day I fell on him at the mall but didn't acknowledge it till after he found out I had beat up Seifer to get his prized watch back. He told me that Naminé had befriended him when he made the decision to sit next to her in history and she somehow managed to get through his defenses and got him to talk to her.

It was now my turn to confess to him. I told Roxas how I had always found him adorable and cute. How I felt over protective of him and needed to get Seifer off his case and win back his watch just to see him smile. How I wanted to kick sweet Naminé's teeth in whenever I'd catch her and Roxas having a private conversation and quiet laughs. I could feel my heart pound in my ears and blood rush to my cheeks. My chest tightened up and felt like it would burst. I had just figured out my feelings for the blond teen in my arms. What would happen to us now?

Roxas just laughed at me and called me an idiot. With a growl I flipped our positions so Roxas was now pinned down and I could easily smother the boy with kisses.

When we finally managed to separate we decided to build a small fort and cuddle while watching horror movies. And it was honestly the best technical first date I've ever had.

~X~x~X~x~

Months went by and Roxas and I had only grown closer and closer. He was like a breath of fresh air in my mundane life. He got along great with my friends, my family loved him and treated him like he was a part of the family (my mom even attempted to come to me and asked why we weren't engaged yet so she could finally have a cute son), and his mom and brothers didn't seem to have anything against me. Or so I thought.

One day during lunch Riku brought the cute auburn haired girl over and introduced her as Kairi, his new girlfriend. He bragged for the whole lunch break about how he had managed to steal her away from her last boyfriend after trying to win her affections for almost the whole school year. A round of congratulations rang out, but Roxas seemed weary of Kairi. I wish I had caught on sooner.

The rest of the day Roxas seemed to be on edge and it bugged me but whenever I tried to get any sort of answer out of him he'd just brush me off. Making eye contact was a mission in itself and I could slowly feel my heart sink farther and farther into my gut as I tried to think of what I had done wrong.

It took a week of Roxas practically avoiding me till he finally approached me with some news that had broken my heart. It was a snowy day. The sky was grey and heavy with clouds. My dad had taken his car to work that day so I got stuck driving my motorcycle through the frigid air that burned my nose. I had gotten a text from Roxas that morning asking me to join him on the roof during lunch; he had something important to tell me.

The day went by slower than usual and by the time the lunch bell rang I ran up to the roof so I could be with my boyfriend and straighten our little problem out once and for all. The wind was strong outside so I had to pull my jacket closer to my body for warmth with a silly thought stuck in my head how if I played my cards right I'd be able to bug Roxas into a bit of cuddling for warmth that may or may not end in us sucking face. Can't say the idea was a turn off.

Roxas was already up there. His hair danced in the wind and his eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. He was as beautiful as always. But something seemed off. His shoulders were tense, the sparkle in his eyes wasn't from just the sun. It was because the sun was reflecting off of tears that were building up at the corners about to spill. I ran up to him and pulled him into a hug and whipped his tears away.

"What's wrong? Is Seifer bothering you again?" I asked. If he was getting bullied again I swear if he was I'd personally see to it that Seifer wouldn't be able to walk anytime soon.

Instead of relaxing into my hug like he normally would, Roxas just pushed me away, tears now streaming down his face, "I can't see you anymore." He managed to choke out. He wrapped his arms around him like they were a mini shield to protect him from some invisible monster.

I felt my heart shatter. It was painful I'll admit. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Roxas wanted to break up, "Why?" Was all I managed to say. My throat went dry and I could feel my own eyes sting with tears, "What did I do Roxas?" He just shook his head and tried to walk around me but I grabbed him by the arm and made him face me, "Tell me. Did I do something wrong?"

"Axel it's not you I swear-"

"Don't you fucking feed me the 'it's not you it's me' bullshit Roxas! I'm not that much of a fucking idiot. We were happy. Why the change of heart?" By this point tears were flowing down both our faces and I wanted to punch myself for getting all sappy and sentimental over some stupid blond that imposed on my life.

"Sora. It's Sora." That's all he said before he ripped his arm from my weakening grip and bolted down the stairs. That was the last time I saw him.

I couldn't move. I ended up slumping to the ground with my head cradled between my arms and knees. I couldn't feel anything. Not the cold setting into my bones or the wetness from snow melting on me as it fell all around. All I could feel was my heart breaking. It's a real thing you know. It feels like shards of glass slowly falling out of your beating organ and falling into your gut. Not very pleasant. All I could think about was Roxas and his final words. Sora. What did he have to do with any of this?

Then it hit me. It wasn't just Sora. It was Riku and Kairi too. My stupid asshole friend had stolen my now ex-boyfriend's brother's girlfriend. What a fucking tool. If I could I'd punch that fucking asshole in the face. But one thing struck me as odd. That was Sora's problem and his alone. What did I have anything to do with it?

After sitting around in mushy, cold snow I decided I'd had enough of school today and would ride back home. I guess the roads were covered in black ice or my eyes were too filled with tears to be able to see properly because all I remembered was the sound of a car horn and everything getting more painful.

~X~x~X~x~

"And that's how I got here." I looked up at the intimidating woman in front of me when I was done telling my tale of woe. She had choppy, short, blue hair with a golden halo floating above her. Pure white wings jetted out of her back and would occasionally twitch with the urge to fly. Her demanding, dark blue eyes seemed to pierce into my soul and detect if I was lying or not and I hoped she could tell I was being sincere because my fate was depending on her judgment.

The angel, Aqua, tapped her finger against the desk she was sitting behind as she got lost in her thoughts. I got sent to here to plead my case over if I should wake up from a coma I was apparently in. It was her job to see if there was enough love and potential in a person's heart and help them come back from the brink of death. I was not ready to die. I had to see Roxas once more. Our last time together would not be a tearful break up.

"I have decided." The woman said in her confidant voice that made me feel like a small child, "I will give you a second chance. Go see this Roxas again, I feel like he isn't telling you something important." She waved her hand around and an old-school phone appeared out of thin air. Aqua spun the dial around a few times like she was dialing a number and brought the receiver up to her ear. After a few tense seconds I guess the other person on the other end picked up because she started talking in a hurried tone before placing the phone back down and smiling at me.

I didn't know what to expect, but the floor suddenly disappearing from under me was defiantly not on the list.

~X~x~X~x~

Everything hurt. I didn't want to move or breathe or think anymore. Maybe this whole coming back thing was a bad idea. I would never see Roxas again and I bet this pain would never end and I'll have to deal with the feeling of needles being jabbed into my chest forever.

"Axel?" I heard someone next to me whisper. The bed moved from someone moving to sit on the edge. The feeling of cool hands running through my hair and tracing my cheeks felt nice on my heated skin; guess I got a fever, "Open your eyes. Please? I need to talk to you and tell you I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't want to break up with you. I love you. So please, please, wake up."

Roxas? Was that Roxas? Why was he here? And he loves me? Could this have something to do with what Aqua said earlier? A groan escaped from me as I tried to open my eyes. I needed to see Roxas and make sure he was really here and that this just wasn't sum drugged up dream. Slowly I was able to open them and saw not one but three Roxases.

"Fuck." I moaned as a full force headache attacked me from the florescent lights. Guess my eyes were sensitive from being closed for however long I was asleep. When the pain went away I opened my eyes again and had to blink a few times to right my vision till there was only one Roxas sitting beside me, "Roxas?" I had to ask, just to make sure.

"Oh god Axel!" The blond teen practically jumped on me and wrapped his arms around my neck in a tight hug, and yes it did hurt, but I was too happy to have him here with me to care. I wanted to hug him back but the wires and tubes connected to me hindered the process and I was too weak to want to try. When he pulled away, Roxas smiled and let out a weak laugh, "I can't believe this. They told me you were a goner. How do you feel?" He rubbed the one of the tattoos under my eyes as he studied me like I would slip back into an endless sleep if he took his eyes off of me for a moment. And hey I was enjoying all of the cute boy's attention.

"I bit thirsty and sore, and I could use a few more hours of sleep." I answered honestly. With no hesitation Roxas reached over to the table by the bed and grabbed a cup with a straw sticking out of it. After pressing some buttons to adjust the bed so I was fully sitting up the straw was shoved near my mouth so I could drink without having to move.

When I drank my fill Roxas put the cup back and fixed me with a guilty look, "I'm sorry for what I said last time. I wasn't in my right mind and I let myself get persuaded into something I didn't want to do. But if you'll have me I don't want to break up. I still want to be your boyfriend."

I felt a large, stupid grin spread across my face. I reached up, ignoring the pain and cupped the suddenly shy boy's face, "Of course I'll still have you. I love you too." I pulled Roxas down and deeply kissed him, making sure I got a bit of tongue in just because I missed his taste so much.

Roxas pulled away with a disgusted look and playfully slapped my arm, making sure to avoid any of the tubes going into me, "Okay, ew. You need to go brush your teeth if you ever want another kiss from me again mister. Two months is way too long."

My jaw dropped at that, "Two months? I've been asleep for that long?" It sure as hell didn't feel that long. I'm pretty sure I only talked to Aqua for a few hours, plus the day I spent wondering around like a lost puppy trying to find out where I was and what was going on, "And you stayed here the whole time?" I asked as a second thought.

A cute blush spread across Roxas's face and I could guess the answer just from his coy look, "No, not the whole time. I went to school, but I'd come right after and do homework and talk to you during visiting hours and go home after. And mom wouldn't let me come on weekends, she said it wasn't good for my health to constantly be cooped up."

"Oh, well I'm sorry for keeping you cooped up." I said with a small laugh that made my lower abdomen hurt like a motherfucker, "So I'm sorry for bringing this up. But the day on the roof you said something about Sora. What did he have to do with any of this?" I asked as I gestured with a hand between us.

Roxas cleared his throat and grabbed the water off the table and took a large gulp. When he was hydrated he placed the cup back down and told me everything, "Riku stole his girlfriend."

"Yeah I knew that already."

"Sora…Sora convinced me that since you two were friends you guys were exactly alike and that you'd either cheat on me or leave for the next best thing. I didn't want to believe him and tried to tell him you were a good person and would never hurt me, but he just kept chipping away at me and I got scared. I didn't want to hurt like he was, so I followed his advice and left you." My throat went instantly dry and I felt like I haven't had anything to drink in years. Sora? Sweet innocent Sora was jealous of us? But Roxas wasn't done talking, "I saw the accident. I sat in the waiting room the whole time you were in surgery to fix your bones and stop all the internal bleeding," That would explain the pain, "I had some time to think and I figured out that I loved you and said screw you to Sora."

"You told Sora off?" I asked in disbelief. Roxas wasn't a push over, but I just couldn't imagine him going against his family's wishes.

Blond spikes bobbed as Roxas nodded his head, "Yeah. He came to pick me up while I was in the waiting room but I didn't want to go. I wanted to know what would happen to you, but Sora told me you were a lost cause and I should just go home and move on." Roxas chuckled a bit at the memory, "I slapped him and called him a heartless monster. Can you even imagine Sora as anything but heartless?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Besides what I've just been told, Sora was one of the sweetest people I knew. And if Kairi would leave him for a dirt bag like Riku than she was an idiot. And I mean all the offence to my friend.

A doctor walked in and interrupted our little reunion and kicked Roxas out so he could start my physical and check my mental state. Everything came back A-OK. A miracle they called it. A miraculous recovery. They insisted I stay for another week so they could track my vitals just in case, and to start my physical therapy. Roxas would come visit me every day and he would always bring something tasty to counter the gross mush they insisted on feeding me here. Was it even considered food?

After my week was up I was discharged and sent home where I did nothing but play catch up with school work. Demyx and Larxene would come over to try and help me, but those two never did their own work so they never had a clue with what was going on and how to actually help me, so we would always end up playing video games. Roxas would try to come by whenever he could and we still ate lunch together up on the roof. It felt like nothing had changed between us. If anything my little accident had brought us closer.

Towards the end of the school year I got an acceptance letter from Twilight University. Roxas was of course the first person I told. He quickly made the decision to move back to Twilight Town to be with me. He brushed it off as him missing his dad and childhood friends and that his current living situation was way too crowded for his liking. But I know that wasn't the reason.

That summer his dad drove down to Hallow Bastion in his large, old truck. With the three of us working on it, it only took a couple hours to pack up all of mine and Roxas's belongings and stuff it in the truck's bed. The rest of the day was dedicated to me and Mr. Strife, or Cloud as he told me he liked being called, taking turns driving back to Twilight Town.

Over the drive I got to talk to Cloud about a number of different things and found out we had a lot in common. I got along with him more so than with Roxas's mom. Aerith was a very nice lady and all, but she seemed kind of dull and passive. Not very fun to talk to. When we made it back to Roxas's childhood home I got to meet Cloud's new girlfriend, the girl next door, Tifa Lockheart. She was very nice and welcoming, just like Aerith, but she had more of a bite to her.

College went on without a hitch and Twilight Town was everything I thought it would be, quiet and lazy. It was nice and refreshing compared to Hollow Bastion. I really liked it and ended up staying even after I was done with college and opened up a small art gallery. Naminé came down a few times a year to help out and display her own works, which was just fine with me.

And as for Roxas? He stayed by my side the whole time. When he got out of high school he moved out of his dad's home and I left the dorms so we could rent a small place together. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough for the two of us and I'll have to admit, our first home was my favorite.

Throughout the good and bad we stayed together. Sora had flown down a few months after we moved to properly apologize to me for what happened. It turned out he had blamed himself for everything (and I personally don't blame him).

Yes, everything turned out for the better. I'll always be grateful towards Aqua and giving me this second chance. I don't think I'd be able to live in the afterlife without Roxas with me.

"Hey Ax, snap out of it." Roxas said in an annoyed voice as he snapped his fingers in front of my face. A playful grin plastered across his face, "Common we're going to be late!" He grabbed my hand and intertwined the fingers on our left hands together making cold metal clink against more cold metal.

I couldn't help but smile down at Roxas as he tried to pull me into the building where everyone was waiting for us. The sounds of loud music playing and people laughing filled my ears as the doors swung open. A loud cheer of "Congratulations!" Rang out from everyone there.

It's been a long journey and it's not quite over yet, but I'm glad I get to spend it with Roxas.

The End

Fun fact: Love Bites was the original title for Bruises and Bitemarks

If this gets enough love I may write another story from Roxas's POV.

Please review and tell me what you think :3