Roxas looked at his hands as he waited. Sora was with him, and they were both sitting in the waiting room of the Queen's hospital.

This was a real hospital, an expensive place and as completely unlike the rotten one Sora had been in as possible. It did have one similarity, though… the patients were mostly deathly ill. Not even the rich liked to go to a hospital if they could avoid it. Axel and Riku were being given the best care possible… but they could still die. No one was giving them any information yet. Roxas looked up as Sora gripped his hand, and smiled weakly at his brother. They couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened. If they only hadn't summoned the child of earth… but if they hadn't, would Axel and the others have defeated Xehanort? Would Zexion have died?

The silvery haired man hadn't made it. He'd been dead before the talumancers even reached him, and Roxas could only hope he was with Luxord again.

"You are Sora and Roxas?" A talumancer stopped in front of them. She was very petite, with silvery blond hair and eyes like summer sky. She smiled sympathetically at them as they scrambled to their feet. "I have some news for you."

"Please, is Riku okay?" Sora blurted out as Roxas just stared at her, waiting for the shoe to drop. Her smile warmed a touch.

"Riku is going to be fine, although he will be bedridden for weeks as the bones recover. The most serious part is a fractured sternum, so we are keeping a very close eye on him. That can cause heart problems. But so far, he seems to be recovering." Sora sank down, feeling faint with relief. "You'll be able to see him." The talumancer hesitated for a moment before turning to Roxas. "Axel is still alive, but he is in very poor shape. I cannot lie to you… We're not certain he will survive. We've given him massive blood transfusions and spells but his body seems reluctant to heal. You can see him, but he's very heavily drugged." Roxas nodded, feeling his eyes prickle with held back tears.

"He can't die yet. Not before I've had a chance to tell him…" Roxas murmured to himself as he followed the talumancer. She took them to Riku's room first, and Sora ran to his bedside with a glad cry. Roxas smiled faintly… he was sure that if Riku didn't have so many broken bones, Sora would be glomping him half to death. The silver haired aethalmage looked absolutely terrible, his silver hair in desperate need of a wash and his eyes surrounded by dark circles… but he smiled at Sora.

"This way." The talumancer interrupted his thoughts, and Roxas tensed as she led him to another room. Axel was there, being monitored by several magical tools, and he was as still as death. Roxas swallowed as he saw the waxy pallor of the aethalmage's skin. But as he watched, Axel's eyelids flickered, and he opened his beautiful green eyes.

"Axel?" Heart in his throat, Roxas walked to Axel's bedside. "Are you… can you hear me?" He'd been about to ask if Axel was okay, but that was clearly a stupid question. Axel blinked slowly, and Roxas frowned, wondering if the aethalmage could really see him. His pupils were huge, probably a side effect of the drugs.

"Roxas?" His name came out as a sigh of expelled air. "Found you… don't go?" Axel gave him a pleading look, and Roxas knelt down beside him, gently running a hand through the flame red hair.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." He promised the redhead, and Axel sighed, turning his head slightly to press his cheek against Roxas' hand. "Axel, I… I have to tell you. I love you." He'd been thinking hard about how he felt… and even if Axel could be a bit heartless at times, he really did love him. The thought of losing him was so frightening.

"Love you too." Came the reply, and Roxas felt his heart lighten. Sure, Axel was drugged… but that should only make his responses more truthful. Roxas smiled, and gently pressed a kiss to the stricken aethalmage's forehead. "Stay?" Axel looked at him pathetically, his eyes begging him not to leave. Roxas glanced around and pulled up a chair.

"I'll be right here." Axel nodded and closed his eyes, and Roxas watched the redhead sleep.

He would stay as long as it took for Axel to get better. He refused to believe there was any other conclusion.

"We have to do something."

"But what?" Seifer muttered to Larxene, glancing uneasily at the Queen. Queen Aeris was sitting in the garden, staring blankly into a beautiful koi pond… and she did not look well. In fact, she looked terribly depressed. It wasn't at all surprising, really. In the normal course of things, people simply don't lie to another for a year. Unless… you're very unlucky, and encounter a person with absolutely no conscience. And when it was over, it left you with the terrible question… who could you trust, if someone so close had lied to you so thoroughly?

"Okay, time to rephrase. YOU need to do something." Larxene gave Seifer a little shove, and he looked at her with a frown. "Come on. I've known you've loved her for years."

"Wha-?!" Seifer cut himself off before he could shout and draw the Queen's attention. "Larxene, you bitch. How I feel doesn't matter. I've always done my duty properly." Larxene's eyes narrowed, and she growled softly.

"Seifer, you're so stupid. I'm not saying you need to resign or something, you ass. You need to go out there and comfort her." Seifer stared at her. In the normal course of things, that was a completely improper thing for a member of the Guard to do. Of course… the situation wasn't exactly normal. "I would do it… I love her too… but Aeris is not into girls. I can only do so much, and I've already been doing it. She needs someone to love her, really love her right now."

"Larxene!" Seifer hissed, glancing at Queen Aeris. She was idly playing with her braid, still looking into the pond with dull eyes. "I'm not even noble. I could never marry her, I don't think I could even be her consort. And I don't… I don't want to be just a lover." That would have killed him, especially since the Queen's lover couldn't also be the Captain of the Guard. He wasn't Captain right now, of course… he'd given that back to Cloud, and gladly… but he still had his hopes for the future. When he was ready.

"Seifer, in case you hadn't noticed, she's the Queen. If she wants to she can ennoble you and force the marriage down the Council's throats. Besides which, they probably wouldn't object much if she made you a consort. Not after Xemnas." She pointed out, and Seifer frowned. But…

"I don't think she's ever noticed me." Seifer muttered. He'd always worshipped Queen Aeris from afar. She was the Queen and he was her knight… Larxene sighed, and shoved his shoulder.

"Probably she hasn't. Go get her attention. Even if she tells you to bugger off, it'll wake her up a bit." Seifer glared at her, and she shrugged. "We're in this for her, remember?"

"…Right. Thanks for throwing me to the wolves, Larxene." She grinned at him wickedly, and he had to resist the urge to punch her in the face. "Okay." Seifer took a deep breath. He was… terrified, actually. Strange how that worked. What was he going to say? There was no point in thinking about it. He walked out purposefully, and the Queen didn't notice him until he was kneeling beside her, a hand on her knee. She frowned down at him, startled out of her lethargy… that was too forward for a guard. Seifer met her eyes, his breath momentarily taken away. This was it?

"My Queen, I… I have a confession to make." Aeris looked bewildered and Seifer plowed on. "I love you. I've always loved you. I just… couldn't say it… I'm only a commoner and a Guard… but I love you, my Queen. You don't have to return it or, or anything, but I just had to tell you I… love you." It was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life, and Aeris was staring into his eyes, shocked, as if she'd never seen him before.

"Seifer," she said haltingly, and touched his shoulder. "You… mean it?" Tears filled her eyes, and before he realized what he was doing, Seifer violated every rule of etiquette between the Queen and a Guard, and scooped her into his embrace. She shivered, then suddenly burst into tears.

"I mean it with all my heart." He murmured, stroking her hair as she wept. He had no idea if there could ever really be something between them… Aeris would be recovering from her emotional wounds for some time… but he would be there for her. And that was enough.

Weeks later

"And we are going home. Thank god and pass the tea biscuits." Sora grinned and passed Riku a cookie, which he ate with gusto. They were back on the airship, and all their items were being loaded again. Axel was leaning against the railing heavily, but upright and recovering. The Queen hadn't requested that they leave, but Axel had thought it was prudent… and they were all longing for the comforts of home. Wet, cold little Theradin had never looked so good.

"Hoi the ship!" Someone landed on the airship in a burst of talumancery, and everyone gaped as a hood was shook back. "You take passengers?"

"Xigbar?" Axel blinked as the talumancer strode over to him, his ponytail whipping as the ship began moving. "Uh… we're going at the moment. What are you doing?" Normally, when a private citizen wanted to travel between Theradin and Aerinos, there was quite a bit of paperwork. And talumancers weren't private citizens anymore than aethalmages were, so they would actually require permission from the Queen. So this was unexpected, to say the least. Xigbar looked down at the landscape moving by, and grinned.

"I know, I timed it perfectly. I'm absconding." Axel stared at the freeshooter, who shrugged. "There's nothing to keep me here." He paused, gauging Axel, and realized that wasn't going to be enough explanation. "It's like this. I never wanted to be a talumancer. I come from a commoner family that happened to have a streak of it, and got the gift… but I wanted to be a merc like my dad. So when they grabbed me and put me in school, I fucked it up every way I could." Xigbar grinned wickedly. "While learning all the shit. They never asked how much skill it took to make a ribbon blow up. So anyway… they all thought I was useless and I got to do my own thing. But now Larxene knows I'm not useless, and my old teachers have gone through their notes and started figuring it out. And Zexion and Luxord are dead. They were my buddies. I've got no reason to stay and every reason to go… and I'd hoped that my new aethalmage pals might find it in their hearts to not mention this to anyone. What do you say?" Axel hesitated.

"I take it you don't want to work for the King, either?" Xigbar snorted. "Right… well, normally a free talumancer would have to swear himself to the King, but given what's already happened, we can cover for you. But can you swear, on your blood and power, that you won't act against the King?" A completely free talumancer was a possible threat, which was part of the reason they had to take an oath to the king to emigrate. Xigbar nodded, expression serious.

"I can do that. I have nothing against your King. I just want to be my own man." Axel nodded. He could respect that, although he didn't feel the same way. His own dedication to the King and country went too deep… but then, his father had taught him about it almost from birth. "Thanks Axel, I owe you one."

"No thanks needed. You can stay in our cabin." Roxas frowned at that and gave Axel a look. "Uh… well, maybe we'll find room in a conference room? Roxas, we're full up." Xigbar threw his head back in a loud laugh.

"Don't worry about me! I'll find something. You two lovebirds go make a nest." Xigbar strode down into the bowels of the ship to go look for a place to bed down as Roxas blushed. Axel grinned.

"Nesting sounds good, actually. You want to?" He said to Roxas, who shrugged with a smile. He wasn't tired, but Axel tired very easily right now… and they could always do something else besides sleep.

"Sure." Roxas pulled Axel's head down into a deep, intimate kiss. "I'd love to." Axel smiled, his green eyes warm and happy. They hadn't really discussed what had happened… but they hadn't needed to. All had been forgiven.

It was a good beginning to the rest of their lives.