This is written for Tsuky-sama on dA. Yep. Love ya, daughter! Ooo, go check out her arts! She's amazing. X3 I have her link on my profile under the Muffin giftarts.

Enjoy!

Sunflower

Chapter 1

The Boy with Golden Locks

He was walking along the side of the streets under the stare of the gently setting sun. Taking in a deep breath, he released a deep sigh, letting out all his exhaustion for the day. Just a little more and he would reach the comfort of his home and then… his sweet, sweet bed. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep until the sun went up again the next morning. He really wished that the sun would never rise though… he really had no desire to go to work the next morning. But really, it was merely Monday and he was exhausted already. His work was dull, his boss was an ass, and he had no dates.

He honestly wondered what he was looking forward to in life.

He had given up in relationship early in his life... He tried going out with several girls in college, but they never ended up well—always a break up with all sorts of…reasons. Those girls were nice, of course. However, he couldn't help but feel like relationships were only filling his life with useless dramas. And at that time, concentrating on graduating, he really didn't need any kinds of drama. And thus, he distanced himself from girls. Who knew though… that as he distant himself, people also stayed away from him. Up until now, two years after graduation, he still couldn't find a life partner. His friends were all getting married… And they teased him by saying that "a man's life is a failure without a woman." Yeah…

And hence, the redhead scoffed. Feeling so… secluded from his life. It was not funny anymore. He really should find a girl or two, just to show those bastards who laughed at him. And a pretty one at that… just to give them a taste of what he could achieve. He would! Well, maybe not right away…

He walked on the long way that led to his house, carrying a heavy laptop bag and two plastic bags on his other hand filled with take outs. He had projects that he would need to finish and seriously… he really didn't want to cook and clean up after himself. Just thinking about it was tiresome.

Then, he paused about midway of reaching the gate to his residency area.

His eyes stayed at one place, captured by the presence of a boy there. He was taken aback…what was a boy doing there… so late at night? It was almost eight. Shrugging it off, Axel walked away.

--

Axel was frowning the entire day. Nothing went well and he had more work to be done. He wanted to get home fast to have a hot shower.

But then, he stopped halfway again. The same boy from yesterday… at the same spot. Axel was about to walk away and ignore the kid, but something compelled him to do the opposite.

"Hey…" Axel tried, calling silently. The boy's back was facing him, crouching there at the sideways, hugging his knees. He was seemingly interested in something… either it was the dirt, the bugs, or… the flowers. Wait, boys shouldn't be interested in flowers, right? "Are you okay?" the redhead tapped the boy's shoulder gently.

The boy finally looked up. Those brilliant blue eyes were the first things that captured the redhead's attention… Axel was captivated in those eyes. The boy narrowed his eyes quite a bit. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," he said, looking at the redhead with obvious distrust.

"Oh, uhm. I live around here. So, I guess I'm not a stranger?" the redhead tried, honestly worried about the boy's well being. The boy honestly seemed no older than twelve… or ten!

The boy stood up and laughed cheerfully. "You're funny. I'm old enough to think for myself, thanks. Good bye." And he stepped away.

"Huh, what?" Axel frowned, watching as the boy walked away to the other direction. He heaved a soft sigh and took out his key card. After hearing the beep, he opened the door. "Young kids these days…" he muttered and paused. "…that makes me feel like I'm eighty…" and he groaned.

--

Axel bet all his money with confidence that things couldn't get any worse than it was now. His life could be easily described with one word. Miserable.

Type, type, type, file in report, filing data, searching for one single case file in the mountains of files, scanning barcodes, making coffees, buying donuts…honestly, what could get any worse? He hated his job. He hated his life. He couldn't find other job anywhere else. And he was stuck there. Being an undergraduate without much experience certainly didn't help him much.

And then… after a tiring day's work, he had more work to do…and it was take home work. He didn't even get paid overtime for it.

And hence, a very tired and irritated Axel was walking down the same road that led to the residential area. All he wanted was to get home and sleep…but he couldn't even do that. He had to file and hand in the report early morning. He released yet another sigh.

"You seemed tired."

And he yelped, jumping back a bit when he found out that the same boy from yesterday was right in front of him. "Oh, it's you," he let out a breath, still feeling a bit frazzled and startled.

"You have black rings under your eyes." Then, the boy's bright cerulean eyes went down to look at what the redhead was holding. "You must be leading…such unhealthy life."

Axel was drained and irritable. The last thing he wanted was for some ten year old kid to lecture him about healthy life. "Back off, kid."

"Easy there," the blond laughed. Then, he walked passed Axel. "Hang on there, okay?" he asked, kind and gentle and walked away again, leaving the man standing alone.

Axel turned, watching the boy. "..." he smiled. "Thanks," he whispered. Then he stared at the same spot that the boy was looking at the other day and also today… he wondered what he was up to… There were only flowers there anyway…

--

The redhead fell asleep the other night and didn't finish his report. The next morning, he was scolded by his boss and he had to work even more to compensate for his inability. He had drunk eight cups of coffee so far. And it was only noon… he wondered how many cups of coffee he would need in order to stay up the entire night, pulling an all nighter to finish his piling work.

"Evening," the blond greeted when he noticed the redhead walking by. "You're later than usual. And you look even worse compared to yesterday," the boy with golden locks commented, observing the man before him closely.

Axel grunted. "I'm alright… thanks for the concern."

"You don't seem so and you definitely don't sound so." The blond stated bluntly.

"What are you up to?" the redhead questioned.

"The sunflower," the blond answered swiftly, as if it was the most complete answer in the world, smiling contentedly. "Well, I have to go back. I'm glad I decided to wait longer for you. It is nice meeting you. Keep up the good work!" he cheered, patting the man by the shoulder and ran away.

Somehow, this resulted in a smile on the redhead's face. No one had ever said anything about his work before.

And a sunflower?... there was none there.

--

Another busy day and Axel was looking forward to the end of the day. He honestly wanted to get home and get a good entertainment. He had been deprived of it. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to work overtime again that day. But it seemed… he couldn't avoid it. There was another pile of files for him to take home for the day.

"You always come home when the sun is almost set," the blond came up with the most random comment when the redhead was near him.

"Yeah, that's my work hour," Axel answered, stretching a bit. His body was killing him. It felt as if he was dragging a pack of dead meat around as he walked.

"Another tiring day?" the blond questioned, smiling kindly.

Axel shrugged. "What do you think?"

"It's Thursday. The weekend is near."

"Huh?"

"I thought that might cheer you up. Everyone is always looking forward to the two days off of the week. Don't you?"

Axel blinked, then smirked. "No, not really. I have a lot of work to do. I honestly doubt that I'll have any… day offs."

"Even though it's weekend?" the blond frowned.

"Yes."

"But I thought it's everyone's right to…" the blond pouted, seemingly upset.

Axel chuckled. "Well, that's work for ya. I can't really do anything about it."

"You're a nice man."

At that, Axel felt the heat on his face. "Huh?"

"Whoever you're working for must be proud to have you. Just remember to stay healthy okay? I have to go. See you again tomorrow," the blond gave a wave before running away out of sight again.

Axel watched, confused.

--

His workload had finally lessened a bit, but there was still a mountain of work waiting for him to be finished. Axel went home with the weight of the world on his shoulder. It was hard for him to even walk upright. Looks like his weekends would be spent working—and he thought university was hard.

Walking home, he somehow looked forward to seeing the boy again. He wondered what other intriguing subjects the boy would talk about for the day. He wouldn't be meeting the boy again for two days. After all, he wouldn't be out of his house during weekends.

To his disappointment, the boy wasn't there... there was no golden locks boy waiting for him at the usual spot. Then, he felt rather silly for anticipating the boy.

"Hey, sorry!"

It was a very familiar voice and as the redhead turned, he found the same boy running towards him. The boy stopped in front of him, panting.

"Had to take care of something," he said in between his pants.

Axel smiled gently. "It's okay. Calm yourself down a bit first."

"Alright." The blond took in deep breathes and grinned when his breathings were leveled. "So, you seem a little better today."

"You think so?"

"Well, you have a smile on your face. So, I guess," the blond smiled, shrugging, cheerful as ever.

"What are you doing around the area anyway?" Axel questioned again, always curious about what the boy was up to.

The blond simply gave a soft smile. "I'll tell you when you're able to meet me here when the sun's high up."

"I don't really like the sun," the redhead replied calmly, merely saying the truth.

"What? Why?"

"Simply because… well, I can't have more sleep when the sun is up. I really wish the sun won't be up sometimes. I really need more sleep," the redhead groaned in pain, obviously sleep deprived.

"But… the presence of the sun is a blessing," the blond frowned deeply, obviously disagreeing.

"I know," Axel groaned. "But it's tiring to go to work every day," he sighed. "I hate my job."

The blond raised his eyebrows at the comment. "Then, why are you still working there?"

"Because I have to. I have no other choice."

The blond smiled knowingly then. "Choices are always present. It's up to you to seize it. And changes are all around us. So, is it true that you have no other choice? Or is it because you fear change? Anyway, I'll be seeing you around, ok? Bye."

The blond disappeared again in the distance.

Axel was struck, silence.

--

The following Sunday, Axel finally got out of where he was living. He had performed an online research the day before, looking for employments. He found some good ones. Looking up for the location on Google Maps, he wrote resumés and went to submit his applications to several offices. He really hoped that one of them would accept him.

He really didn't know why he suddenly did all that though.

Maybe… he did fear change after all.

He could have searched for another job and do something about his life. But he always lamented and focusing on how much he hated it that he ended up getting stuck with it, never doing anything about it.

--

Monday. Same old, same old. Axel really looked forward to meeting the boy again though. But he didn't know what he wanted to talk about to the boy, really. Come to think, he didn't even know his name… Kids usually like sweets. Maybe…

And so, after work, Axel stopped by at the cake shop near his office. After waiting for about ten minutes in the line, it was finally his turn. He ordered a slice of chocolate cake with mango and strawberry toppings.

And as he had expected, the boy was there. At the usual same spot.

"Hey," Axel smiled gently and the blond mirrored the smile, standing up, facing him.

"You seem to be in a good mood today."

Axel nodded. "This is for you."

"Huh?" The blond tilted his head to the side, watching the small box in the plastic bag curiously. "That… a cake?!" he cheered up immensely, grinning like a little kid.

"Yes. To thank you."

"Huh?" the blond was confused. "I didn't do anything. I shouldn't receive such…"

"It's okay. I bought it for you," the redhead insisted.

The blond looked unsure, but he finally took it. "Thank you," he spoke shyly.

"No, thank you. You've got me to realize something. Being afraid of change isn't something that I've ever thought of about…" the redhead spoke, looking up to the sky.

"Oh…"

"It's been two years and this is the job that I got as soon as I graduated. So, I am really grateful. Maybe that's why I never searched for another job, reasoning that I wouldn't be accepted in other places anyway."

"You're a hard worker. I'm sure many would love to employ you," the blond commented. "Look up more to yourself."

Axel laughed richly to the sky. Cars were passing them by and the warm ray of the orange sun was gently touching his face. "You're a funny kid. You have some really encouraging words for a twelve year old."

At that, the blond cringed and frowned. "Wait, what?!"

Axel blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"How old did you say I am?"

"Twelve?" Axel spoke, careful and hesitant.

"Twelve year old?!" the blond hissed, obviously irritated. "Well, excuse me, old man," he snapped, pouting, stomping one of his foot.

"Whoa, hey. I'm sorry. You just look, you know…"

The blond was biting his lower lip, frowning. "I'm sixteen. And you can call me Roxas."

"Roxas," Axel grinned, trying out the name on his tongue. "I'm Axel. It's nice meeting you."

"Yep, same here," Roxas nodded energetically. "Whoops…"

Axel raised his eyebrows. "Cinderella is going to go again?"

"I am not…!" the blond blushed profusely. He stuck out his tongue and ran away. "Bye, Axel!"

"See you tomorrow," Axel waved, watching as the blond disappeared again from his sight.

"Don't eat too many take outs! Unhealthy!" Roxas shouted back.

The redhead grinned goofily. He took a minute to look at the plastic bag of Chinese take-out he was holding. Then, he shrugged. "Maybe… I'll cook tonight."

He smiled and walked to the direction of his house.

--

That's chapter one for ya. Hope ya enjoyed. Love ya, Syl!

Love.