A/N: For Jenny.

Chalk and Circumstance

There had to be some sort of written decree that said life in a quiet suburban town wasn't all that exciting. Roxas' sleepy little city wasn't an exception. They had a theatre, a cinema, a few gas stations, some fast food places, a town hall, and a downtown just like any other insignificant place in the world. And unless someone thought the occasional illegal immigrant was something to cause chaos and disruption, there was nothing interesting going on. The kids went to school, hung around like they tended to do, and went about their business. The adults went to work and came home to a quiet house with their spouses and their dogs and white picket fences, everything in its place and so normal that it was unearthly.

Roxas' family was, again, not an exception. He had two older siblings; a brother named Sora and a sister named Naminé. His parents were happily married and had been for over twenty years. They had two dogs and a cat, all of which were nothing special. Their house was large enough to fit them all comfortably on a decent plot of land near the city center. Property taxes were high for the comfortable lifestyle they lived with their neighbors, but it was alright because the family was virtually debt free. Their house was historical to the town, having passed through four generations of their name before them, and was fully paid off. Roxas' father, Cloud, had been in the military when he was younger and his lifelong stipend for his service as well as his employment as the local pharmacist kept the food on the table and the bills paid.

Roxas' mother, Tifa, was able to spend her days a housewife. Her preference was to dabble in her hobbies, most of which were of the arts and crafts sorts, and had a plethora of memberships to the various venues around town with her wide circle of friends. She made a small financial cushion by selling her quilts and pottery every now and again but it wasn't anything to retire on. Overall, life was comfortable for their household. None of the kids did anything too stupid in the past or got into much trouble outside of schoolyard squabbles. Everyone around town knew who they were and were generally friendly. It was a quiet, normal lifestyle, typical of any stable society.

And Roxas was okay with that.

The only problem was, he wouldn't know any better if things were different. So long as they played the part and looked wholesome enough, he could be fooled into the deepest sense of false security. He didn't know about his father's gambling addiction. He didn't know his mother was having an affair. He didn't know his brother Sora was actually a college dropout already. And he didn't know his sister was sleeping her way through the dorms at her school. He only knew what he was presented with. The things he could see. It wasn't that he was incapable of handling the truth; it was that he was never told. His town, his family, and his friends shielded him from every possible bad influence and ridicule they could. They protected him because Roxas was different than everyone else. He was special and had to be treated as such.

Roxas was deaf.

Though 'deaf' wasn't an entirely accurate statement, but it's what he was labeled. He was completely deaf in one ear and on a good day, his other one was around twenty-five percent. Regardless, it made life difficult. He had a high powered hearing aid made of clear silicone that wrapped around the cuff of his good ear and made things a bit more bearable. If he focused and concentrated on someone speaking to him he could hear them well enough to try and respond. But most of the time, they had to raise their voice some for him to get it all, which made making friends a challenge.

Over the years, he learned to make technology work for him though. He could type faster than anyone he knew, he had permission from his school to take a small laptop with him wherever he went, he had a special computer that spoke what he typed so he could answer the phone, and all of the ringers on the phones in the house were loud enough for him to hear. His family members had taken extra measures to learn sign language instead of forcing Roxas to try and talk. He had an aide at his school that used the hand signs to translate his teacher's lectures to him so he could type up notes and study. It took his parents several years to convince the school that he didn't need to be in special education classes with the other kids that had mental disabilities. Roxas was fine outside his hearing problem.

Aside from the expected academic difficulties, Roxas had a hard time making friends. His aide was always there and they got along fine, but he really only got close to three others. He was relatively stunted in terms of extracurricular activities but found a small niche he could fit in. There was an eccentric Performing Arts instructor at his school that owned a dance studio on the side. She brought elements of dancing into all the plays the school produced, and Roxas was initially pulled into it by his friend Olette when he was around thirteen. At that time, the production the instructor had come up with had hardly any speaking roles and the story was told by music, dancing, and colorful props. From there, Roxas' fascination with this suddenly new form of expression blossomed. His parents allowed him to sign up at the instructor's dance studio.

His talent for ballet was evident. The instructor's favorite type of dance was an older style called ballet d'action, a form of interpretive dance that told a story with music and expression. Roxas was perfect for it. Olette was right there with him, she having signed up at the studio several years before he did. They were partners, and she even went so far as to learn sign language so they could talk freely. Roxas really liked Olette. He thought she liked him too. For the longest time she was a pillar of support for him. They danced together, studied together, hung out with their mutual friends and did everything he thought was normal for a burgeoning relationship. Then, after several years of second guessing himself, things changed.

He went to change into his next costume in one of the dressing rooms in the recital hall and found Olette already in there. Not only was she in the guy's dressing room but she was sprawled out on the couch with their mutual friend Hayner's face between her legs, panting away pleasurably. At least, that's what Roxas thought she was doing. His ears were covered in a pair of muffs that were not only part of his costume, but had a small receiver that tapped into the sound system so he could hear the music and get his timing right. Either way, Hayner wasn't raping her. That's how he discovered that they had been dating for several months already.

That was the closest Roxas came to having a girlfriend. No one really wanted to date the deaf kid, after all. Olette wasn't mean to him about it and she never rubbed her relationship in anyone's face. Roxas never expected to her to realize he had feelings for her, either. He never said anything and mostly blamed himself for it. Perhaps if he had spoken up, things would've turned out better. But, it was in the past. He moved on, but his school mates didn't. Being socially outcast because of his handicap and the apparent lack of female attention he got automatically labeled him as a homosexual by his peers. He was constantly taunted and teased for that label but also because his speech was mumbled and slurred and made him sound like he had cerebral palsy. So not only was he a 'faggot,' he was a 'retarded faggot' because the bullies were bigoted enough and didn't discriminate between mental and physical disabilities. Someone mumbles? They're automatically retarded.

But he didn't care. And the only reason he didn't care, is because he didn't know. His sexuality label didn't appear until high school but his younger years weren't so kind. He was beat up by the other kids on several occasions but by the time middle school and high school came around and the other kids wised up and stopped immediately starting a physical fight and settled for talking about him. That's when Roxas lost track of his teasing. He couldn't hear them and his friends and his aide purposefully didn't tell him about it all. He had no idea of all the hurtful rumors being spread about him like wildfire. Completely oblivious.

He was pitied, more than he was liked. His peers were cruel, but he had the advantage of being naïve. Regardless, it was only a few months before he graduated. Even if he had no idea of the negativity following him, he would escape it soon enough. College applications, dance practice, and the remainder of his school year took up most of his time, just like any other young adult. He spent most of his time at home in his room, which was on the top floor of their house in the attic. He had asked for the room specifically because he would have the most space and could practice dancing if he ever cared to. The only problem was that his electronics didn't like it all that much. The wireless router for the internet was two floors below him and his television was a little fuzzy from the cable being split too many times in order to reach him.

Today was no different.

He had come home from practice and plunked his thinks down in his room as he usually did and started up his laptop to work on his homework. He sighed in frustration as the machine petered around and tried to find the signal but without success. He eventually gave up and went to sit in the living room near the router itself. His brother Sora was already down there looking the tiny box and fiddling with the wires. He noticed Roxas when he entered and stood with a scowl.

"Don't try it, the piece of shit isn't working," Sora signed to him. Roxas set his laptop down so he could speak.

"Does dad know?" he signed in return. Sora shook his head.

"He and mom left for Vegas this morning, remember? I called for someone to come out and they said the technician would be here by six. I have to get to work. Will you be alright by yourself?" his sibling asked. Roxas fidgeted a bit but nodded.

"I'll be fine."

Sora left for work shortly after. Roxas took his school books and plopped himself in the bay window at the front of the house so he could see the driveway and any cars that came by. He had the phone with him as well just in case. It was a rare occurrence that he was home by himself when unfamiliar people were expected to show up. His family was social enough where they had a steady stream of visitors during the week and they were all aware of Roxas and his issues. He wasn't concerned about them, but someone new was something to be nervous about. The judgment; how he was perceived.

The technician showed up right when he was said to. Roxas greeted him with a light wave before he actually took in the man before him. He looked like everything a cable company technician would look like, with his belt of tools and spools of wire hanging off him, but the person underneath the clothing had him slightly confused. He looked hardly professional with a whimsical smile and wild red hair spilling out of his head in every direction only to be compounded by the swooping red crescents tattooed around the outside corners of his eyes. A longer tail of red hair trailed over his shoulder. Roxas was a little suspicious but the van he came in, his shirt, and his belt all had the company logo on it so he was sure he was just being judgmental.

"Hi there. My name is Reno, and I heard you guys are having some problems," the technician said. Roxas blinked a few times, hearing most of what the man said through a muffled haze. He turned his face to the side and showed him his hearing aid and Reno raised a curious brow. Instead of letting him repeat himself, Roxas simply motioned for him to follow into the house. Reno took a second to remove his shoes before heading in. Roxas lead him to the living room and pointed to the router before going to fetch his laptop. He showed the lack of reception between the two devices and the man nodded his comprehension before getting to work.

Reno fiddled with the electronics inside for a few minutes before heading outside to circle the house and check the connection to the building itself. He spent a lot of time outside, which Roxas found strange. He didn't go outside with the man but he looked through the windows and he seemed to be doing work and pulling at cables that ran down the siding. After he was finished, he came back in and the lights on the router sprung to life. Whatever he did worked, and Roxas was okay with that. While Reno was winding a spool of wire back into order, he stood in the living room looking around idly. Along the mantle of the fireplace was a series of family photos, including ones from Roxas' recent recitals and Sora's sporting events from when he was in school. Namine was in one, receiving a reward for one of her paintings, but Reno was the most interested in Roxas. He pointed to one of the pictures and looked to him.

"This is you?" he asked. Roxas immediately opened up a word processing document and typed away at his laptop.

"That is me," Roxas wrote. Reno slowly nodded and looked thoughtful. After he finished winding his wire, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and retrieved a couple of business cards. One was his own from the cable company, and the other was for someone named 'Axel' who apparently ran a talent agency. There were e-mail addresses where Roxas could contact them. Reno bid his farewells afterwards and left.

Roxas stretched and reached his hand out towards Olette as she spun towards him on the tips of her toes. Even with his earmuffs blasting the music into his ears he could really only hear the beat, but it was enough to know where his entrances were and when he was cued to do something. She clasped his hand in hers and let herself fall across him, dropping limply into his other arm as if she had died on contact. He caught her around the waist but fumbled a bit to keep her in place. She could feel herself falling and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and held steady. Her foot slid across the slick dance parquet flooring and she nearly flopped onto her butt but his other arm came around her waist and helped her sit without pain. She laughed.

"Whoops," she said and Roxas gave her an embarrassed smile. He helped pull her to her feet again and she patted his shoulder. No hard feelings. Accidents happen. Their instructor blew the whistle and the scene started again.

Halfway through practice, the doors to their studio creaked open and a swatch of red hair followed by a pair of bright green eyes peeked in. The instructor immediately went to answer the door. She pulled it open and was immediately presented with a stack of papers. The two of them held a hushed conversation between themselves before the instructor nodded several times, smiled, and held the door open for the other. It was a man, who had red hair that was just as bright, if not brighter than Reno's that swooped back behind his head before falling to his shoulders. He had an upside down tear shaped tattoo under each eye, but before Roxas could watch them anymore, Olette crashed into him, knocking them both to the floor.

"Gah! Roxas!" Olette whined as she tried to untangle herself and stand again. Roxas quickly stood and helped her up, signing over and over again how sorry he was. That he had been distracted by the guy who just came in.

"I sent an e-mail to this talent scout a few days ago and I think that's him. I was expecting him sometime this week," Roxas signed. Olette sighed and looked to where the scout, Axel, had taken a seat and was talking with their instructor.

"Talent scout from where, exactly?" Olette signed back to him. Roxas jogged over to his bag of clothing and dug around for the card he was given. He trotted back to his friend and handed it to her. She looked it over then looked to Axel again. She handed the card back. "Be careful."

"I will," he signed and went to put the card back with his things.

Olette was cautious. She understood how Roxas worked and how their peers treated him behind his back. Her friend's naiveté on most things big and scary was a little unsettling. Everyone shielded him from so much, she suddenly found herself second guessing their decisions. Perhaps letting Roxas in on a little of the verbal abuse around him would've done him some good in the long run. Maybe he wouldn't be so trusting. She only hoped that whatever the 'talent scout' wanted from him was legitimate. She didn't want to burst Roxas' bubble without being absolutely sure of the intentions. Their instructor didn't seem all that concerned by Axel. Perhaps whatever papers he gave her were the rights ones to prove his validity. Stranger things have happened.

Axel stayed for the duration of their practice and watched everyone with hawk-like eyes. He paid particular attention to Roxas whenever someone tried to communicate with him. But other than that, his attention wasn't exclusive to just him. Roxas couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not but chocked it up with being professional and unbiased. Everyone got cleaned up and changed and headed back out into studio where their instructor was picking up the mats and balance bars. Axel was nowhere to be seen and Roxas' heart ached a little. The missed opportunity was saddening. But his hopes were lifted when their instructor made it clear he was coming back and they just needed to wait.

"Go ahead without me," he told Olette as she milled around waiting with him.

"You're sure?" she asked. He nodded. She hesitated. "Alright. But seriously, be careful. Make sure he's not some weirdo and doesn't follow you home."

"Okay," he said with a short laugh. He walked her out to the hallway where they split up and she left. He could see down to the entrance and noticed Axel lingering around. He seemed gentlemanly enough and held the door for Olette with a smile when she made it down there before coming back in and heading to Roxas. He smelled of cigarettes, which immediately explained why he disappeared. He gave Roxas a kind smile and a little wave. Roxas reciprocated.

"Uuh…" the man started with a semi-confused face. He didn't have anything with him and was trying to search for a way to talk. Roxas immediately dropped his back to the ground and retrieved a pad of paper and a pencil. Axel took them gratefully with a smile and scribbled down a message. He handed it back when he was finished. "You're really good, kid. I'm holding open auditions at the community center this weekend if you'd like to come early and sign up properly. I can get you headed in the right direction to try and go pro, if you want."

"Really? I will! What time?" Roxas wrote back excitedly.

"Early. Can you get there by eight?"

"Yeah!"

"Perfect. See you then."

The community center was essentially a large building with an open area for seating as well as a stage. It was where a lot of his dance instructor's recitals were held and people from the neighboring towns flocked to see them. Roxas was there right on time with an extremely hopeful demeanor. He brought along his laptop so he and Axel could talk freely. The doors to the building were open and there was a van out back which he assumed belonged to the talent scout. There weren't any other cars around that Roxas could see and he parked his own near the van and headed inside.

The doors to the stage area were propped open and there was a sign announcing the open auditions in the hallway with an arrow on where to go. Roxas peeked around the doors into the room where Axel was already sitting at a folding table, surrounded by papers and a couple cups of coffee parked next to him. He was writing away diligently and seemed a bit bored. Roxas stepped inside and cleared his throat and the man startled some and looked to him. He relaxed immediately and smiled and waved him over. Roxas took a seat next to him and started his laptop.

"I'm glad you came. My videographer is running late and I was totally bored. You can have his coffee if you want. It'll be cold by the time he gets here," Axel typed then motioned to the spare cup in the holder next to him. His own cup was already a couple feet away with the plastic top taken off and steaming away.

"Videographer?" Roxas questioned. Axel nodded.

"The agency wants video of everything so they know I'm not full of shit," he typed. He picked up the coffee and set it in front of Roxas and the other took it. He sipped a little, finding that it was already cool enough to drink. He grimaced a little, preferring cream and sugar in his coffee rather than having it straight black. But he already committed to drinking it so he figured he'd suffer through it. Axel then handed him a stack of papers and a pen for him to read and fill out. They sat together quietly while they both worked away. Roxas vaguely wondered if he would need to be filmed as well.

About halfway through the cup of coffee and several sheets into the stack, Axel sat back in his chair and seemed to be waiting. Roxas didn't think much of it until he noticed the man watching him, very, very closely. It was only a few seconds before he could feel himself growing uncharacteristically tired. Between the adequate amount of sleep from the night before and the coffee, Roxas immediately felt like something was horribly wrong. A few seconds after the first wave of drowsiness washed over him the rest of it seemed to crash into him like a truck hitting a brick wall. He could hardly keep his eyes open and he could feel himself drifting off as Axel watched him.

He tried to stand and shake it off and back away from the man but Axel calmly stood and followed him as he tried to stagger away. By the time Roxas was several feet from the table, his legs couldn't hold him anymore and he flopped to the floor. Axel gently scooped him up and cradled his drowsy frame against his chest and leaned in close to speak directly into his hearing aid.

"Go ahead and sleep. It'll all be over soon," the man purred with a voice like velvet. Roxas' heart rate sped up as his drooping mind fought desperately to stay awake. His limbs were unresponsive as he tried to get away. Axel shushed him and nuzzled his hair affectionately, making Roxas' naïve mistake painfully clear to him now.

It was only a few minutes before the world went black.

"Are you sure there isn't an easier way to do this?" Axel groaned as he braced himself on the back of Roxas' car, digging his heels into the dirt and heaving backwards with all his weight. Reno was pushing with his palms facing forward as they rolled the vehicle to the edge of the hillside.

"Just shut up and push," Reno spat as he strained against the car's weight. It teetered unhealthily at the crest of the hill and he stopped pushing and ran back to their van. He took his gloves off and dug around the front seat for a gasoline canister and rushed back to the car. He opened the door with his glove and doused the interior with the liquid before lighting a match and tossing it inside. Axel kept pushing as his brother tossed the can aside and came to assist him. The car rolled down the hill quickly in a fiery mass for several yards before colliding with a large boulder. Black smoke billowed out of the ground as they hurried back to their van and drove away towards the countryside. "How is he?" Reno asked. Axel turned around in his seat to peek.

Roxas was bound and gagged in the bed of the van, still unconscious. He was surrounded by all the things used to deceive him. The folding table and chairs from the community center, as well as the sign for open auditions. The lock picking tools Axel used to get into the building, even all the supplies and fake decals Reno had used to pose as the cable guy. Roxas' laptop and clothing in his duffel bag were next to him. Axel watched him sleep peacefully with a glittering eye until his brother smacked him in the side and forced him to turn around again.

"Don't get all pedo on me," Reno snorted. Axel scowled.

"His paperwork said he's eighteen. I'm not creeping on anyone," he defended.

"Fine. Then don't get all queer on me."

"That's not fair."

"At least wait until he's awake to creep on him."

"I am," Axel sighed and slouched in his seat.

They drove for several hours before Roxas woke up. He groggily pulled his eyes open just as the van went over a large bump in the road that shook him around. He was immediately aware that his head ached something fierce and that he couldn't move his arms. He tried to breathe through his mouth but quickly figured out that it was a useless effort as well. He had a length of chain encircling his waist and his wrists were handcuffed to it. The chain on his waist was tethered to a collar around his neck by way of another chain. He had a full range of motion if he wanted to move his arms around himself but he couldn't lift them more than a couple inches away. He tried to move his legs and found his ankles tied together. His mind flew into a panic as he looked around worriedly, noticing everything that was with him in the back of the van. The pieces clicked together quickly and an overwhelming sense of dread came over him. The clattering of chains in the back caught Axel's attention and he excitedly launched himself into the back to sit with him. He didn't make any move to touch him other than pushing a piece of blonde hair around with his finger. Roxas flinched away and tried to sit up.

"Wait until we get home," Reno barked from the front seat. Axel pouted.

"I wasn't doing anything…" he trailed sadly, almost a whine.

"Good, let's keep it that way. Get back up here."

"Okay…" Axel sighed and crawled back over the seat to where Reno had ordered him. Roxas' heart was about to burst through his chest, he was so scared. He had never felt unsafe in his hometown before. He always though the bad things that happened on the news and crime shows were worlds away from him and his comfy bubble of peace. Never in a million years would he have thought differently. He felt so foolish for being so naïve. The images of whatever Reno and Axel had planned for him rushed through his mind, making his pulse speed faster and faster. Scared tears broke out from his eyes as he turned his face into the van's floor to try and hide himself. Axel stayed turned in his seat, watching the blonde with devoted interest.

After several futile attempts of Roxas trying to worm away somehow, the van finally stopped. Axel immediately jumped into the back again and covered Roxas with a blanket and pulled the folding table forward to lean against the front seats and create a wall to hide behind as Reno exited. The sun was going down and pulling the light from the sky. Roxas tried his best to roll away from Axel and possibly kick his way to freedom but the redhead was two steps ahead of him and held him in place. Roxas tried to scream but the gag in his mouth muffled any sounds into quiet harmless squeals. Frustrated tears sprung from his eyes as Reno returned several minutes later, the van having been refueled and a few snacks purchased. They started moving again and Axel moved the table back to where it was before and uncovered Roxas again and went to his seat.

Several hours passed. Roxas struggled every chance he could. Axel had to jump in the back a few times to roll him back to his spot in the middle of the bed before he crashed into the supplies on either side and hurt himself. But after all the effort, Roxas remained in place. The van turned off of the main drag and bumped along an uneven road for over twenty minutes before rolling to a stop. It was pitch black outside and the lack of street lights was unsettling. Never having left town before, Roxas couldn't even begin to guess where they were. Reno and Axel gathered up their wrappers and discarded cigarettes and left the van together. They were gone for several minutes while Roxas stewed in the unknown.

Suddenly, the back of the van flew open and Reno grabbed his ankles and dragged him across the floor and out of the vehicle. He slung Roxas over his shoulder and started marching towards a house. Axel was right behind them and he closed the van up and locked it. The area around the house seemed deserted. Roxas couldn't see very well but he could tell they were surrounded by tall grasses and underbrush. Or corn. Something tall and plant-like. The driveway was gravel and dirt and crunched under their shoes as they marched towards the building.

The house itself was very small. It was in decent condition but would've benefitted from a few upgrades. The carpet was there, but it was worn in a few places. The kitchen was outdated by at least twenty years and the furniture was old. The floorboards creaked and the paint on the walls was chipped in a lot of places. Reno immediately headed down into the basement where it was fitted to be another living space. It was unfinished for the most part, having a concrete floor and exposed beams on the walls, but there was living room furniture and a small bathroom behind a curtain as well as a bed, and tiny kitchenette. There was even a television and a computer set up on a desk on the far wall. But Reno bypassed all of it and headed for another door.

Behind the heavy metal door was another room. It was a solid concrete cube with a drain in the middle. There were two mattresses stacked in a corner with a blanket and pillow as well as a toilet and a shower. There was no separation between the two areas and the shower itself was simply a spigot with a knob for the water and a drain underneath. Between the mattresses and the 'bathroom' was a pole with another length of chain around it. The chain was just long enough to span the entire wall but not long enough to reach across to the door. Reno plopped Roxas on the mattresses and pulled the chain to him and handcuffed his arm to it before pulling out a set of keys and undoing the rest of his restraints. The twine around his ankles had to be cut and while he did that, Axel held Roxas down to prevent any struggling. Once secured in place, they allowed him to sit up.

"Can I stay?" Axel asked Reno hopefully as they headed towards the door. Reno shook his head.

"Let him sleep. Then we can see him tomorrow," he said. Axel sighed sadly and looked back to Roxas as they left, pushing the door into place and locking it securely.

Roxas was thoroughly confused. Reno and Axel didn't stop to explain anything. They left him in his tiny cubicle room with nothing but his clothes, raw wrists, and a dry mouth. He sat shakily on the bed for several moments, trying to understand what was happening. It was so surreal; he could barely wrap his head around it. He couldn't think of a reason they would want him. His family was comfortable, but not wealthy. He didn't think he did anything that stuck out and made him a target for a rapist and they hadn't given him any indication that they wanted him that way. Aside from Axel's touchy demeanor, that is. Maybe he filled some strange kink for one of them. The deaf/mute kid probably didn't scream much, right? That scared him.

He was thankful the plumbing worked and the water didn't seem toxic. He found he had a roll of toilet paper as well as a bar of soap. He relieved himself and let the shower run just enough to get a drink without soaking himself. Being chained to the pole wasn't helpful. The links pinched his skin annoyingly and he doubted he would sleep. He sat on his makeshift bed and huddled in his insignificant blanket, watching the walls and trying not to let his mind wander. He didn't know how long he sat there drowning in his own terrifying thoughts. He cried until he couldn't anymore, hugging his knees to his chest and shaking like a pathetic leaf. Why him? Why did he have to be taken away? All he wanted to do was his schoolwork and dance. Possibly even be normal. Was that so much to ask?

Axel came to visit him the next morning. Roxas slept maybe all of an hour on and off the entire night. But as soon as Axel came in, he was wide awake again and just as scared as when he first got there. The man didn't say anything to him. He seemed…off. He was different than he was the previous day. He didn't seem excited to see Roxas, nor happy in any way. He made no move to touch or pet him, nor did he stay. He came in, set a plate of food on the side of the bed and left. Roxas was confused again. He didn't touch the plate, afraid they would poison him or drug him somehow again. Axel came back for it after about an hour of waiting. When he saw Roxas hadn't eaten he gave the blonde a withering scowl and took the food and left. Roxas watched him leave and noticed him take a bite before the door was closed again. The blonde immediately regretted not having eaten. It obviously wasn't tainted if Axel ate it so willingly. He didn't know when the next meal opportunity was, either.

He stewed alone in his cave for what seemed like hours. Eventually Axel came back with a different plate of food and set it on the bed and left again. By this time, Roxas was starving and he ate it willingly. It wasn't poison as far as he could tell, and a little bland, but not bad. He contemplated hiding the fork he was given. If one of them tried anything he could stab them. Upon further thought, he was pretty sure both of them outweighed him by at least fifty pounds and he'd probably end up in a ditch somewhere afterward. He also didn't think either of them was that stupid. Go in with a fork but out without one? Hmm. Wonder what happened?

Axel came to retrieve the plate again as he had done earlier and was delighted to see it empty. Roxas had set it as far away from himself and towards the door as he could before retreating into the farthest corner of the room and making himself as small as possible. Axel picked it up, looked to him, smiled a bit, and left. The same process repeated itself for breakfast and dinner the next day. And the day after that. Reno didn't come to see Roxas at all and the blonde wondered what happened to him. He was a little relieved to think that maybe Reno forgot about him. So long as Axel fed him, he would survive, and the longer he survived, the more chance there was of being rescued. Roxas spent most of his days sitting and thinking. There was no way Sora didn't realize he was gone, which meant his parents were probably headed home from Vegas. He still couldn't think of a reason Axel and Reno would want him, and he wondered if they contacted his family at all. If they didn't, he wondered if there were any witnesses that could help find him. He didn't remember seeing anyone.

It eventually got to the point where Roxas was numb. After several days of fretting and worrying and practically jumping out of his skin when Axel came in the room, he stopped. He didn't care anymore. He wanted to be saved. But he didn't want to wait. He was floating in a sort of mental limbo where he tried to figure out if it was more beneficial to wait or to try and kill himself. Hanging was really his only option so long as the spigot for the shower wasn't unstable and the blanket held his weight. He considered it. Really, truly, thought about it. He didn't want to be one of those cases where he was gone for so many years that the police gave up and just waited for new evidence to come to them. It scared him more to be left with Reno and Axel than the possibility of death did. The uncertainty ripped him apart. Tears would no longer flow and his ambition to take care of himself dwindled. It was taxing to get up and use the bathroom properly and to bathe. He eventually stopped eating.

He was standing under the shower with his forehead pressed into the tiles, staring down at the floor. The water scalded his skin but he felt so cold. His fear was crippling and he took to sitting under the spray, curling his knees up to his face, and openly sobbing without any tears. The water turned off and he froze. The air caught in his throat and his waning cries squeaked out of his vocal cords. His eyes flew wide and he stared ahead of himself, unable to move. The fear was so immediate, so heart stopping, he was sure he was going to die. A hand slid over his shoulder and he startled, shaking in place. He quickly bolted the last few inches to the closest corner to hide himself, turning his back to whoever was there. He ducked his face into his knees and covered the back of his head with his hands. A thick cloth was draped over his shoulders, a large towel. Another hand appeared next to him in his line of sight with his hearing aid in the palm. Roxas reached a shaky hand out for it and hooked it around his ear. It was then he realized it was Reno.

"Get back to bed," he ordered, leaning in close for the blonde to hear. Roxas didn't move. He was still naked. "Get back to bed," Reno ordered again, his voice a bit louder and sterner. Roxas pulled the towel higher on his shoulders and hugged it around himself, hoping to send a hint. There was a long hesitation before Reno stood. Roxas let out a relieved breath, thinking the man was leaving. He was wrong. Reno grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet and practically flung him the several feet to the mattresses. The towel was lost almost immediately and Roxas staggered onto the makeshift bed. He quickly grabbed the blanket and covered himself, scooting back as much as he could until he hit the wall. He couldn't control his breathing as his fear paralyzed him. He hadn't seen Reno for days and suddenly he was there while he was naked.

Reno didn't make a move to calm him. He went to the bed and dropped onto all fours. Roxas' mind didn't allow him much thinking time. He immediately brought a foot up and attempted to kick Reno in the face. Bad move. The man caught his ankle and pulled him closer to hover over him. Reno settled his knees over the blonde's thighs and kept his legs trapped as he leaned down close to speak directly into his ear. Roxas struggled but Reno caught his wrists and kept him in place.

"I was just going to warn you against wasting my water but apparently you didn't want to listen to reason. You know, you have a lot more luxuries here than some other cases I've heard. Running water and food to eat I guess isn't enough. Ungrateful," he sneered. Roxas stared up at the man with wide frightened eyes. Reno took a few seconds to contemplate his next move. He held Roxas' arms down with one hand and used the other to pull the excess of chain up and wrap it around both of his wrists. The blonde's breathing sped up as the dread overcame him again. Reno moved his knees off of Roxas' thighs and quickly grabbed his hips. He flipped the blonde over onto his stomach. Roxas immediately tried to scramble away but he only succeeded in wedging himself into a corner face-first. Reno's hands on his hips kept him from wriggling too far out of place. There was a slight hesitation before Roxas felt something thick, warm, and cylindrical wedge itself between his buttocks.

"Reno?" Axel asked curiously, forcing his brother to hesitate further and look towards the door where his sibling stood. "What're you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Reno spat frustratingly before pressing himself against Roxas' entrance. The blonde screamed and clawed at the wall in a futile attempt to get away.

"What the fuck? You yell at me all the time to not be queer. You look pretty damn queer right now," Axel huffed. Reno grunted against the blonde's tension before forcing himself inside. Roxas screams turned ear piercing as pain rippled through his body. Reno gave him a second to be quiet. The blonde's cries turned to sobs as tears leaked from his eyes and he attempted to retreat into himself, curling up as tightly as he could. His back half stayed in place, obviously, but his hands covered his head, the chain clanking against his scalp, as he tried to bury himself in the mattress.

"Everyone's got an ass and a mouth, it's only queer if you suck him off too. Or kissing. Kissing him would be queer," Reno grunted and started to move. Axel watched them for a couple minutes. His brother's thrusts were rough and heavy, jerking Roxas back and forth with the force. The blonde's cries slowed to pathetic whimpers. His mind was slowly clouding over in shock as his body gave in to the abuse.

"Scoot over," Axel said and nudged Reno's shoulder. His brother stopped and grabbed Roxas' waist and pulled him around so they were on the mattresses properly instead of at an odd cattycorner angle. Axel plopped himself at the head of the bed and ushered Roxas' face into his lap with an ambitious giggle. The blonde was barely responsive to the repositioning and it wasn't until Axel's arousal was in his face that he realized what was happening. Bile bubbled up in the back of his throat, but before he could think any more of it, Reno started moving again and his pain was renewed. Roxas squeaked and mewled again, his breathing picking up until he could no longer get enough air through his nose. As soon as he opened his mouth to take a gasp of air, Axel seized the opportunity and shoved his length between his lips.

Something in the back of Roxas' mind clicked and he shut down. The pain didn't register, his suffocation didn't register, and the idea of biting Axel wasn't there anymore. His face was guided around by hands on his cheeks to do just what Axel needed from him. The blonde was unresponsive otherwise. His cries quieted, he limbs went limp, and his eyes hazed over. He closed them and waited for it to end. Reno finished inside him with a satisfied shudder. Axel followed soon after and pulled away just enough to leave a trail of his seed through Roxas' hair and over the side of his face. The brothers pushed Roxas aside so they could cover themselves again before taking a rest, completely ignoring him like he wasn't even there. Roxas stared ahead of himself, numb.

"So what made you start?" Axel asked, wiping a bit of sweat off his temple. Reno gathered his breath together and let out a sigh in one long stream through his nose.

"He pissed me off. Tried to kick me."

"Oh…" Axel trailed, giving his sibling a curious once over. "Are you okay now?"

"Yep."

"Good!" the other chirped with a wide smile. Reno laughed a little.

"I have to make a trip to the pharmacy. Need anything?"

"Aside from you not going at all?"

"Ax…"

"Yeah, I know," Axel sighed sadly. "But I'm better now."

"I have yet to see any improvement."

"But it's true!"

"It's true because you take them."

"No! I'm… I'm better. Why won't you believe me?"

"Because I'm not a professional. Until the doctor says you're okay, you can't stop. We've been over this."

"I know but—"

"If you know already, why argue? End of discussion. I need to shower before I go," Reno interjected before pushing himself up from the bed. Axel sighed and watched his brother leave. He looked to Roxas, who hadn't moved. He reached over and combed his fingers through the clean part of the blonde's hair, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, it was good for me too," he giggled.

For two days, Roxas didn't do anything. Not that he had much to do in the first place, but he made an extra effort to be as nonthreatening as he could. The only thing of worth that he did was attempt to scrub the filth from his body. He couldn't get the feelings of the sibling's fluids off of him and it drove him mad. But on the flipside, he was afraid to bathe for more than ten minutes at a time just in case Reno decided he was wasting water again. He didn't eat for fear of having to use the bathroom. His backside was extremely tender and he had hard time sitting without wincing and groaning a little. Every time he moved, he was reminded of the trauma. The pain. The mental anguish. He cried and wailed away every time his mind conjured up the images he was trying so hard to repress. On the third day, he couldn't take it anymore. He was starving and practically inhaled his breakfast in one fell swoop. He spent the rest of the day in fear of the toilet and what pain he may incur.

Around midday, something strange happened. Reno and Axel were arguing so loud outside the door that even he was able to hear them. They were close, so he was scared. He curled up in the corner under his blanket, shaking like a leaf. If wasting water made Reno fly off the handle so easily, he couldn't even imagine what legitimate excuses to get angry did to him. Perhaps he would even kill Roxas. It was a thought that brought him some peace. If he died, he wouldn't hurt anymore. But as he contemplated it, the door flew open and the volume increased. Roxas couldn't believe how clear the two men were, practically howling at each other.

"I don't want to! Roxas is in there already!" Axel squealed angrily.

"Get in the room!" Reno bellowed back, shoving his brother through the doorway harshly. Axel stumbled a bit but didn't fall. "You don't want to take them? Fine! Don't! But don't expect me to let you out!"

"I hate it in here! Why can't you just let me be myself?"

"You can be yourself in here! Take these!" Reno barked and reached off to the side of the doorjamb and retrieved an oversized tub of sidewalk chalk. He shoved it into his brother's hands and pulled the door closed with a loud slam. Axel immediately let out a distressed wail and flung the bucket at the door, clattering the oversized pieces of chalk all over the floor. Roxas was extremely confused but stayed in place hoping anger didn't make Axel retaliate like it did Reno. The redhead paraded around in circles, glaring at the floor with his hands balled up in fists at his sides like a toddler.

After a few minutes of fuming, Axel picked up the bucket and launched it across the room at the wall, letting out a frustrated scream before falling to the floor and banging it with his fists. Roxas flinched as the container bounced off the wall and landed near him in the bed. Axel ground his forehead into the concrete as his hands flew up to rip at his hair, his yelling turning into strangled sobs. He broke out into hysterical tears as his tantrum escalated and he flung himself around, bashing his limbs into the walls. Roxas had no idea how to react or what he should do. He had never seen a grown man act such a way before and the longer Axel continued, the more distressing it became. He eventually got so fed up with the incessant wailing that he took off his tennis shoe and launched it at the redhead. It thudded off Axel's back and the crying stopped immediately as startled green eyes turned to him.

"Stop it! Fuck!" Roxas barked at him with a light slur to his words. Axel sniffled loudly and wiped at his nose and eyes. The blonde then proceeded to ignore him. He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and head like a hood. Axel sat quietly for a few minutes, wiping his tears. He sighed and took a piece of chalk. He stood and picked a wall and started to write. Roxas watched as a multitude of numbers and mathematical symbols poured out of Axel's hand. The blonde didn't have any idea what any of it meant and he doubted anyone but Axel would. The redhead carried on for over an hour, covering several feet of the wall with nonsensical numbers and symbols before standing back and admiring his handiwork. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand before trotting over to the bed to Roxas. He reached for the blonde but the bucket caught his eye.

"Thinkin' helmet," Axel muttered to himself before he picked up the container and placed it dutifully on his head. He then took Roxas' arm and pulled him from the mattress. The blonde resisted and tried to yank himself away but Axel settled for pulling at his chain. Roxas yelped in pain as his raw and blistered skin was manhandled and tugged. He staggered along behind the redhead just to keep the pain away as much as possible. Axel tried to get him to go clear across the room but the chain wouldn't let him. The redhead sighed sadly before he stood with his blonde companion and looked his equations over.

"They're coming for us," Axel said, leaning into Roxas so the blonde could hear.

Roxas gave him a confused look.

"They don't know that I know but I know what they're up to. They have eyes everywhere and no one else can feel it but me. Reno says I'm paranoid and I have to take my pills but I don't like them. They make me tired and vulnerable. Lea says that he has a lot of the same problems with his friend. He says that he's being watched too, by someone else. That the pills are their weapons and they're going to get us," Axel explained with a very serious face.

Roxas backed away a few steps and went to sit on his bed.

"But! They don't know that I know! I know what Lea knows because he is me!" Axel twittered on and snorted loudly before bursting into a hysterical giggle fit. Roxas made it back to the bed and resumed his huddle in the corner. Axel chased after him and plopped onto the mattress with him, the bucket sliding to the side of his face. He discarded the impromptu helmet and set it aside before taking Roxas' face in between his hands. The blonde tried to pull away instantly but the redhead's grip tightened. "Lea says you look like him. Like Ventus. Ventus is his friend and he doesn't believe that they exist. Like Reno. I wish Reno would listen to me. I can protect him. I don't want anything to happen to him. I'm worried."

Roxas pulled at the wrists that held his face with little success.

"It hurts to know I'll be the only one to survive. Once everyone disappears, I won't have anyone to talk to. Will you be my friend? So I can protect you and have someone to spend my time with after they come? I promise I'll be your best friend forever and ever."

Roxas couldn't believe what he was hearing. Axel cracked a huge grin before he let go of his face and pet his hair affectionately.

"You will? I'm so happy!" the redhead cried as tears welled up in his eyes. The blonde stared at him wordlessly as Axel broke down into happy sobs. The petting became heavier and heavier and more and more uncomfortable. Roxas ducked to the side to avoid Axel's hand and the redhead stopped immediately. "What's wrong? I thought we were friends!" he cried before his suspended hand balled into a fist and Roxas was punched square in the nose. He cried out and covered his face. Axel gasped and abruptly hugged the blonde to his chest. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" he sputtered and nuzzled his face into the blonde's hair.

Roxas tried to shove him away but Axel's strong arms held him in place until he stopped resisting. The redhead sat him up and cupped his face in his hands and scooted closer to inspect Roxas' nose. He ran a thumb over the bridge of cartilage gently. The blonde's heart leapt into his throat in fear. Axel was unexpectedly unpredictable. He had no idea what he was capable of doing even if his punch didn't leave him bleeding. The redhead's expression crumbled.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to hurt you. Will you still be my friend?" he asked, just hardly above a whisper. His words were so muted and muttered Roxas couldn't even read his lips so he stayed silent. Axel leaned forward and ghosted a kiss over the tip of the blonde's nose before he let go of him and stood from the bed. Roxas rubbed his face, feeling for any damage. The redhead went to the door and knocked gently. Reno opened it a few minutes later with a cup of water in one hand and the other outstretched with a plethora of pills in his palm. Axel obediently took every capsule into his mouth and gulped them all down at once with the water. Reno stuck his finger in his brother's mouth to feel his cheeks for any hiding pills before he was satisfied and they left together.

Roxas was losing track of time. He couldn't remember when he last saw daylight and he lost count of his meals. He slept when he was tired and bathed when he felt he should. His clothes were wearing thin, especially his shirt, which had to be pulled down the length of chain in order to keep it dry when he showered. After a while, Reno came in and switched his chain from the abused wrist to the other one. Roxas was amazed at how red and purple the other had become. He didn't even feel it anymore. One thing was for sure though; the batteries in his hearing aid were giving out. He didn't wear it as much as he probably could have. It didn't matter. Neither of his captors had anything of worth to say to him.

Axel's visits outside of mealtime became more frequent. Roxas mostly ignored him as the redhead littered his walls with chalky pictures and numbers. His psychotic outbreaks were few and far between so long as he was compliant enough to take his medication. Axel got so comfortable with him that he eventually left the door open so Roxas could see out into his living space. From what the blonde could tell, Axel didn't leave the basement very much. It had everything he needed and any restocking came from Reno whenever it needed to happen. Axel seemed content with his life hiding away and letting his brother do everything, something Roxas couldn't understand. There were times though, that even Roxas felt a little bad for him.

Every morning, Axel would take his pills after breakfast and after Reno left to go do whatever it was he did all day, he would open the door for Roxas and then go sit on the couch and watch the news. His eyes would be so vacant the entire time he watched that he would eventually blank out entirely and just stare ahead of himself. Roxas often wondered if he was sleeping during those times, but Axel would stay that way from the morning until almost dinner time. Roxas understood why he only got two meals a day. Because the rest of the time Axel was off in a drugged out la-la land with his imaginary people and mathematical unicorns or whatever it was he thought about.

Reno didn't pay much attention to Roxas. Axel was the one who essentially took care of the blonde and the other sibling just made sure he was alive and everything was provided for him. Reno's anger issues didn't flare up for some time, and Roxas felt reasonably safe that he wouldn't be raped again. He figured out the things to avoid and the things to apologize for so that Reno stayed away and as peaceful as possible. Outside of a few arguments with Axel, it worked. But after so much peace, things could only change and get worse.

It was the middle of the afternoon, Roxas assumed, when it happened. Reno and Axel were arguing again with the door to his concrete cave open. The underside of the staircase into the basement was open and from his corner, Roxas had a clear view of Axel's bed on the other side of them. The two siblings yelled and screamed at one another loud enough that the blonde could hear them without his hearing aid. It escalated so much that Roxas braced himself for another round of Axel's affectionate psychotic petting but it didn't happen. Reno struck Axel across the face so hard that it floored the younger redhead. Axel was pulled to his feet by his hair and thrown into his bed by his furious brother. Reno climbed in after him and Roxas' heart sunk into his stomach.

After a series of squeals and several minutes of flailing limbs from Axel's behalf, the younger sibling was disrobed in a flurry of torn fabric. Axel wailed and howled away as he tried to claw himself across his bed to freedom. Roxas' jaw dropped as he watched, horrified, as Reno brutally raped his brother in much of the same manner as he did the blonde. Roxas' eyes watered in pity for Axel. He couldn't imagine living a life like his. Reno was much more violent with Axel though. The younger redhead cried out over and over again as his sibling struck him into submission. Eventually, Axel fell quiet save for a few whimpers that Roxas couldn't hear. Reno finished and left him with a handful of pills and a glass of water as if it never happened.

Axel didn't leave his bed for several days afterward. Roxas' door remained open, and it got to the point where everything was so quiet he just used the bathroom without worrying about it. Reno came back after a while and forced Axel out of the bed and to eat something. After that, things trickled back to the way they were. Roxas stayed in his room, as usual, and Axel took his pills and zoned out in front of the television for hours at a time. The only thing that changed was the frequency of Axel's visits. When he would rise enough to make food for Roxas, he would stick around and sit with the blonde. He was quiet for what seemed like ages. He eventually took to cleaning the chalk off the walls and floor, washing it away in a colored swirl down the drain in the middle of the room. Roxas grew more comfortable with Axel and didn't make an effort to shove him away. Unless Axel tried touching him, that is.

One day, Roxas decided to be daring. He was tired of his solitude and his mind eating away at himself. He waited until Axel was in one of his dazes before he made his move. He went around his room and picked up as many pieces of chalk as he could and put them in a pile by the bed. He then strained himself against the limit of his chains to peek into the living space beyond his door to see Axel. The mass of red hair that peeked over the top of the sofa gave him the good indication that he was there.

"Asel," Roxas said, trying to sound the syllables out as best he could. "Asel!" he tried again when he didn't get a response. He sighed and immediately felt foolish. He racked his brain for a moment before he remembered his previous tactic. He took off a shoe and launched it into the living space. It bounced off the back of the sofa and Axel startled and bolted upright. He looked around with wide eyes. "Asel!" Roxas yelped, catching his attention immediately. The redhead hurriedly picked the shoe up and brought it back to him with a confused face. Roxas took the shoe and motioned for the redhead to follow him to the pile of chalk. He sat on the floor and Axel followed suit.

"I have questions," the blonde wrote out on the floor. The redhead tiredly blinked at the words a few times. He shakily picked up a piece of chalk and started writing.

"Reno says I'm not supposed to talk to you too much."

"Reno's a dick."

"No, he takes care of me."

"He's still a dick," Roxas insisted. They scooted across the floor to a clean area.

"He's my brother. He's all I have. Do you have a question in there somewhere?"

"How old are you?"

"22."

"Twenty-two years of his shit?"

"He takes care of me," Axel repeated. Another scoot to a new place.

"He raped you. I saw it."

"It happens. He gets angry."

"Are you not sick of it?"

"I don't like it but it happens. I can't stop him," Axel said and dropped his piece of chalk and stood, clearly done with the conversation. Roxas grabbed his pant leg and tugged it, quickly scribbling on the floor.

"Sorry," he wrote. Axel sighed and sat again. His body language was tired, haggard, hardly a shell of his usual animated self. But he seemed normal to anyone who didn't know what he was usually like. "Why am I here?" Roxas asked. Axel hesitated for several minutes before writing.

"My medication and doctor costs a lot of money."

"My family doesn't have as much as Reno probably thinks."

"He knows that now. But your parents haven't even tried to call us. We gave them the note and everything and we haven't heard from them. They did two segments on the news shortly after you came here and then it stopped."

Roxas paled and stared at the dusty words as his chest suddenly felt like imploding. He had to take a deep breath and calm himself before he could continue.

"How much were you asking?"

"$500,000."

"Tha's it?" Roxas asked verbally, absolutely aghast. He was thinking millions or something unfeasible. He gaped at Axel wordlessly as they stared at one another for several minutes. If his parents sold the house they would be damn close to having the money they needed. Hell, if they sold most of their furniture and a car or two, it may have come close. It wasn't something that was ungodly unreasonable in the grand scheme of things. At the very least Roxas thought they would ask for donations or something from their massive amount of family friends. Surely the money was somewhere.

"It's enough to cover my bills and get us an apartment somewhere else," Axel wrote. He set the chalk down and sighed sadly, raking his fingers through his hair. He picked it up again after a while of stewing. "I'm sorry. If I wasn't so messed up, you wouldn't be here."

"If you guys know that my parents don't have the money, why am I still here?" Roxas persisted.

"Reno is scared. I'm scared. We know what we've been doing isn't good, but he doesn't see much of an option otherwise. But it's okay. He's come up with a new plan and he might let you go afterward."

"Might?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what his plan is."

Roxas sighed and dropped his chalk. The new information was almost too much to bear. The frustration of his parent's slow actions, coupled with the uncertainties of his future curled around in his stomach and made him nauseous. They sat together quietly for almost fifteen minutes while Roxas stewed. The blonde eventually broke down and started crying again. He felt hopeless and pathetic. That he wasn't worth a house or a few material things to his family. He had nothing. He probably wouldn't even graduate at this rate, if his graduation hadn't already passed him up. Axel fidgeted in his place for a few moments while the blonde crumbled apart. He hesitantly reached over and laid his hand on Roxas' shoulder, expecting it to be smacked away instantly. When it wasn't, he scooted a bit closer and curled an arm around his shoulders. Roxas let out a wail and hugged his knees to his chest.

Roxas tried his best to get past the fact that Axel had assisted in his rape. Some companionship (as loony as it was) was better than no companionship. Most days, the quirky redhead was pleasant company and they spent hours writing out conversations on the floor and walls together. Roxas found that Axel was completely aware of his psychosis. That Lea and Ventus weren't real and that no one was out to get him or control his mind. But when he was off his medication, there was no reasoning with him and Roxas had to just wait it out until he gave in again. Roxas tried to encourage Axel to obey Reno as much as he could so he would avoid another session in the bed, but Axel had his own plan. Albeit, it got him beat up more often than Roxas liked to think about, but Axel did it anyway. It was the way things were and had been for long before the blonde showed up.

Axel didn't have the keys to Roxas' locks that kept him tethered in place. There was also nothing strong or sharp enough in the basement that would help free him. The redhead himself, was also a prisoner. The door that led upstairs was locked constantly and only Reno had they key. The only time Roxas' door was locked was when Axel was having another episode and he needed to be contained. Short of biting his wrist apart, Roxas still didn't see much of a chance for an escape. He still contemplated suicide every now and again, but being able to talk to Axel helped calm him considerably. It was weeks before he stopped wallowing about his parent's neglect. He doubted he could ever face them the same way again after all they've allowed him to go through.

Over time, Reno's new plan for money came to fruition. His care for his brother dwindled as the crushing weight of debt pushed him further and further away. Axel still got his basic needs met and his medication, but it was beginning to come at a price. Reno would have large parties at their dinky little home and allow some of the visitors downstairs to do with Axel as they pleased. Roxas was kept locked away behind the heavy door during those times and had no idea for weeks before Axel told him. Drugs were the main drivers behind Reno's new source of income and the frenzied clients would need a bit of a release before being sent on their way again and Axel was just lucky and vulnerable enough to fit the bill. But, so long as he was medicated and not starving, Axel still truly believed his brother loved and cared for him. Roxas was horrified.

"It's not that bad," Axel wrote on the wall one day.

"He's selling you," Roxas defended, scribbling angrily with a very nonthreatening pastel green. There was always chalk to be had.

"It's my fault he needs to. He wouldn't do it if he didn't have to."

"At this point, I can't agree with you."

"You don't have to," Axel wrote and set the chalk down and went to go sit on the bed. Roxas grumbled to himself and went to go sit with him. The redhead heaved a long heavy sigh before leaning to the side and resting his temple on the blonde's shoulder. Roxas made no move to touch him and they stayed like that for several minutes before Axel reached for another piece of chalk. "Would you call me weird if I said I sort of liked it?" he wrote. Roxas stared at him.

He nodded.

"It's not the best thing in the world but it's more than what I've had before. I don't get to meet very many people or have any friends and if this is the closest I can get, then I'll settle for it. I don't expect you to understand," Axel wrote. He set the chalk on the floor again and rested his chin on his knees and rocked himself back and forth a bit on his toes. Roxas took a minute to try and relate. He could, but just barely. He wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity himself, but he didn't feel the need to accept prostitution as a way to make friends. He could understand the loneliness more than the means. He picked up the chalk.

"I don't know what to tell you," he wrote. Axel held out his hand and Roxas passed the stick to him.

"I don't expect you to understand, like I said. You're only my friend because you don't have much of a choice. It either me, or be alone. It's not much different than what I'm doing now. I made you do things for me that the other people make me do for them. Apparently I need to do those things if I'm going to get any friends."

"That's wrong on so many levels," Roxas retaliated, passing the chalk between them.

"For you, maybe. You have a family that cares enough to look for you. It's nothing like my life."

"I've been here forever. I don't think very much of my family anymore."

"Well, I like to think they're still looking for you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to believe that Reno took you down with us."

"Took me down with you? Did something happen?"

"Not yet, but how long do you think we'll be able to keep this up? I'm not stupid," Axel wrote and passed the chalk back. Roxas didn't know what to say to that. The redhead took the chalk back. "Are you lonely?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Even if I'm here?"

"More than one person would be nice."

"Did you want to visit with Reno?"

"No way in hell. He can stay upstairs."

"We don't have much else. We could—" Axel hesitated, thinking. "Do something? Make up a game?"

"Ideally we would be thinking up a way to leave."

"I can't. I have nowhere else to go," Axel wrote, his face etched with a deep scowl.

"There are shelters."

"Where would I get my medication?" the redhead asked. Roxas didn't have an answer. "Do you really think people at a homeless shelter would spend the money to medicate me so I can be normal enough to find a job and make myself useful?"

Again, Roxas didn't have an answer. Axel dropped the chalk on the floor with a huff and stood. He stomped away, leaving Roxas feeling incredibly guilty and sympathetic. The blonde's life at the moment was far from rainbows and kittens. It was hard for him to remember that his life, overall, was happy, if a little disadvantaged. He never hated himself for being a certain way even though he wished he could be like everyone else sometimes. He couldn't imagine having a defect like Axel's mental problems. At least his hearing deficit wasn't able to be medicated, so it made the people obsessed with fixing it less of a problem. Having to take medication just to be considered 'normal' seemed so much worse than having to talk with his hands.

"Something changed," Axel wrote, some time later.

"What do you mean?" Roxas responded.

"Reno isn't sending as many people down here to see me. And the ones that do come down stay way longer than the other ones did. It's really starting to hurt."

"Are they hitting you?"

"Not really, it's just that they last so long that I can't get them to leave and I'm getting sores from it all."

"Sores like open sores?"

"Rug burn?"

Roxas was confused. Axel didn't have very many marks on him other than a few bruises on his arms. The redhead caught him searching for signs for the alleged 'rug burn' and contemplated a bit. Without provocation, he scooted backwards on the mattresses enough to undo his pants. Roxas immediately covered his eyes, fearing the worst for the situation. He really didn't want to go back into isolation, having lost all trust he had in Axel if the redhead made a move to hurt him again. His mind flew into a frenzy as he tried to think of ways to escape or make Axel lose interest. But after only a few seconds of fearful thinking there was a gentle poke on his shoulder and the blonde cautiously looked over. Axel had exposed himself but covered as much as he could with his hands, only allowing just enough of a space to show a red abrasion on his shaft. It really did look like a friction burn of some sort. After Roxas got an eyeful, Axel covered himself again and zipped his pants into place.

"We need to leave," Roxas wrote. The redhead sat up again and took the chalk.

"You need to. There's no reason for you to be here."

"You won't come with me?"

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"I can't leave Reno. I think he's sick."

"No shit," Roxas blurted and rolled his eyes. Axel wrung his hands and sighed.

"I meant really sick. He's lost a lot of weight and he's really pale. And he smells funny sometimes."

"So?"

"He's my brother."

"He's disgusting."

Axel hesitated, thinking.

"I know," he wrote. There was another pause. "I'm not much better."

It was Roxas' turn to hesitate. Axel looked to him with a withering expression, one with pure remorse. The blonde wasn't willing to just up and forget what happened simply because he pitied Axel more than he did himself. He was appreciative of what Axel did for him since he came to be in their home, but between the rape and the actual kidnapping, it clouded over all the positives. Axel took care of him. Fed him, made sure he had the basic toiletries, and if he had the keys, Roxas had no doubt he would've allowed him to walk around his living space. But it wasn't the same as making a friend the normal way. Regardless of how comfortable they had gotten, there was always that hidden ghost of doubt.

Roxas was awoken when there was movement in the bed with him. His eyes popped open immediately when he felt someone else behind him. A split second later he was sitting up and looking for the source. Axel was there, trembling. He wasn't doing anything harmful except taking up space, but even then, he was making his best effort not to. He was squashed up into the corner, making himself as small as possible. When he noticed Roxas was awake he immediately grabbed for the blonde, pulling him close to speak in his ear without shouting.

"It hurts so much, Roxas. And Reno's mad and I don't… I just can't anymore…" the redhead whimpered. He sniffled loudly. "I'm trying to hide, but he'll find me. I know he will."

Roxas paled. It was only seconds before Reno burst through the door. It had been a while since he had gone near Roxas and within the half second of seeing him, the blonde could already tell there was something seriously wrong with him. Overall, he had lost a ton of weight, but his face was gaunt and strained. There were bruises in the crooks of his arms and discolored blotches trickling down onto his forearms. His hair had been fried and damaged to where it looked like it would crumble away. He was a terrifying shell of his formerly terrifying self. Whatever he was doing upstairs, whatever he was creating up there, was getting to him, and Roxas highly doubted its worth compared to a stack of debt.

"What did I tell you?" Reno bellowed, Roxas could feel Axel shake more behind him. The redhead's hands tightened on him and Reno stopped, taking in their positioning. "So this is what it is? You think you can just take their money and not finish the job and run off to your faggoty ass fairy friend for some fun? Is that what this is? Get out there!"

"But it hurts! Please don't make me!" Axel cried. Reno stomped onto the bed and reached for him. Axel flinched away and without hesitating, Reno grabbed Roxas instead. The blonde's blood ran cold as he was hauled to his feet and pulled off the mattress. The first thing Roxas noticed was how bad Reno smelled. It was obvious his personal hygiene had gone down the hole. For how long, Roxas couldn't say but it didn't make his touch any more desirable.

"But you can come in here and do it? For free? What kind of operation do you think I'm running here?" Reno spat at his sibling before pushing Roxas up against the wall. The blonde let out a yelp with the force, unable to brace himself.

"We weren't! I didn't! Stop!" Axel screamed. He was on his feet quickly and trying to pull Reno away from the blonde. Reno's arm flew backwards in a strong slap across Axel's face. The younger sibling staggered some but came back swiftly. Reno gave him a firm shove with one arm while holding the neck of Roxas' shirt with the other hand. Axel staggered backwards and slid on a wayward piece of chalk, causing him to flop to the ground. Roxas was thrown back onto the bed with a grunt. Reno looked to his brother expectantly.

"Well go on then," Reno said, an eerie calm having come over him abruptly. Axel looked between Roxas and his brother.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

"Have at it. If you want him so damn bad that you'd lay a hand on me, then by all means, take what you want."

"What… I want…" Axel droned thoughtfully, looking to Roxas again. The blonde shook his head fervently. Axel swallowed thickly, contemplating the situation. He looked to Reno, who seemed exceedingly impatient, if not on the verge of another lash out. The lopsided gears in his head formulated a plan and he crawled along the floor into the bed with Roxas. The blonde hurriedly backed away from him but his back met the wall. Axel came closer but Roxas tried to shove him away. The redhead caught his wrists and pinned them at his sides, leaning forward to press their lips together. At the first touch of skin on skin, Roxas flinched away and turned his face to the side, his breathing picking up as his fear doubled exponentially. Axel abandoned the lips idea and settled for pecking away at his neck, Roxas shuddering in disgust under him.

Another weight joined them in the bed and Axel froze, his eyes going wide. Hands reaching around his waist and undoing the buttons of his pants made him break out in a cold sweat. His breathing stopped, caught in his throat. Ancient defenses bubbled up under his skin and his mind went on auto-pilot. His hands left Roxas' wrists and immediately went for the front of the blonde's pants. Roxas picked and shoved at his hands in a frenzied attempt to stop him but Axel persisted until the first layer of cloth was pushed aside and the blonde's underwear was exposed underneath. Roxas broke out into terrified tears, the memories, and the endless possibilities of disease being transferred from Axel's gutter mouth churning his stomach.

Reno, positioned behind his brother, wasted no time in taking what he wanted. Axel's face contorted into a wordless scream as his hands abandoned Roxas and clenched into tight fists. The blonde tried to scoot away from him but Axel abruptly clung to him, pulling him to the mattress on his back. Axel's body shook with Reno's forceful thrusts. Roxas, mind racing, was trapped under him, hopelessly confused as to what the redhead's next move was. It was unexpected. Axel's arms slid around his chest and squeezed him tight, burying his face into the blonde's shoulder as he strained with all his might to hold back the screams, the tears, the horrified shrieks his body so desperately wanted to make. Roxas felt like he was in a vice with how hard Axel was squeezing him, his ribcage being compressed so tightly he could hardly breathe.

Reno lasted far longer than he should have. Instead of a standard fifteen minute or so romp, he stayed for almost thirty, abusing his sibling without so much as a batted eyelash. The entire time, Axel clung to Roxas as a safety net, his initial plan of distracting himself with Roxas' taste being blown out of the water as soon as Reno's patience was used up. After ten minutes of desperate squeezing, Roxas gave in and hugged Axel back as tightly as he could, hoping to relieve some of his stress enough to get him to let go. Axel didn't, but the blonde liked to believe he helped a little. Reno left quietly after he was finished, and there was a loud distinctive 'click' as he locked them both in the room. Once he was gone, Axel slowly pulled himself off Roxas and shakily pulled his clothes back into place. Roxas gasped the air back into his brutalized chest cavity and rezipped his pants up. Axel was quiet for all of thirty seconds, staring ahead of himself blankly, before he sucked in a deep breath and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry!" he wailed hoarsely. "If I had just stayed out there, you wouldn't have been hurt again! I'm sorry!"

Roxas scrambled out of bed for a piece of chalk. "I'm not hurt," he wrote, tapping Axel's shoulder to get him to look. The redhead sniffled back a noseful of snot and wiped at his sopping face. He sat, trembling, with his eyes on the blonde, a look of shame and absolute guilt on his face. The severity of what the redhead had done for him, slowly sunk in the longer Roxas watched him. He leaned over to write again. "Are you bleeding?"

Axel shrugged, staying in place, his eyes slowly dropping to watch the floor. Stray tears leaked out of them and fell undisturbed as his dilapidated mentality faded to numbness. If Axel had his own bed at that moment, Roxas felt he would've crawled in it and stayed there until Reno made him get out of it again, as per the usual hideous routine.

"Take a shower," Roxas wrote. "I won't look."

Axel hesitated before nodding and trying to push himself up. It took him a few tries of attempting to stand, and sitting, and trying again, and sitting again, before he stood and waddled himself over to the shower. Roxas busied himself with flipping the mattress over to the clean side, a few droplets of blood having dotted themselves on the padding, answering his question. He tried his best not to think about it and focus on how Axel literally saved his ass. Had he not provided a perfectly convenient position for Reno to vent his anger on, it may have been Roxas on the receiving end again. He made the bed as well as he could and tried to take up as little space as possible and still be comfortable, his back to the shower. He ran his length of chain around the top of the mattress so Axel wouldn't have to lay on it.

Axel didn't take very long, his usual routine of blanking out for days afterward being disrupted and throwing him for a loop. He hesitantly scooted in the bed with Roxas, redressed, but still dripping wet. The lack of towels was a problem. He purposefully put his back up against the blonde's and tried to curl up in a ball. Roxas was sure the redhead was going to crawl in and hug on him again, but he was surprised. He felt guilty for not being able to express how appreciative he was well enough and turned over to face him. He poked Axel's side, the redhead flinching visibly from the touch. He looked over his shoulder to the blonde confusedly and Roxas pulled on his shoulder to get him to roll over. Axel kept his eyes low and defenseless and picked at the fabric of his pants idly. Roxas lifted his unchained arm for him and scooted forward. Axel tensed up considerably and held completely still. Roxas pulled him forward, tucking his wild red hair under his chin and hugging him tightly.

It took almost an hour, but Axel finally relaxed enough to hug him back.

Roxas awoke the next day to an empty bed. Save for himself, of course, but Axel wasn't with him. The blonde assumed that Reno had come let him out so he rolled over to grab a few more minutes. His chain clattered a bit, alerting Axel, who was actually still with him, but was on the other side of the room having been distracted by a piece of chalk and countless numbers. As soon as he heard Roxas' chain move, he bolted upright and dashed away from his incessant doodles and went to the bed, far too excited with the possibility the blonde might be awake. Roxas didn't realize he was there, of course, but Axel seized the opportunity anyway. He scooted back in the bed and pressed his body up against the blonde's, curling his arms around Roxas' waist and snuggling into his hair. The blonde was awake in an instant then and tried to jump up but Axel's arms kept him in place.

It was then he realized the light was on. He peeked around the room, hoping the door was open as well. It wasn't, but almost every open space on the farthest wall was covered in numbers and mathematical symbols, which was almost just as scary. The numbers on the walls meant Axel wasn't medicated, which meant Reno didn't come back, which meant the door was still probably locked. Roxas' mind flew into a frenzy as Axel's cuddling arms smoothed up his stomach to hug his chest. So long as the hands didn't go down Roxas could worry about the touching later. He was more concerned as to why Reno hadn't come back. If Axel's medication had worn off it meant it was definitely well into the next day and Roxas hadn't just taken a nap and confused himself. He peeked over his shoulder to an eyeful of chaotic red hair. Axel noticed and peeked up enough to show an eye before a wide smile split his face in half.

"Hi there!" he cried happily and snuggled into Roxas' hair again with a soft coo. The blonde's skin broke out into anxious goosebumps. He tried to sit up again and Axel let him, watching his face with sparkling jovial eyes. The blonde had mixed feelings. If the redhead wasn't such a babbling nut when he was off his medication, he wouldn't have really been so bad. He was always much happier off them; a genuine sort of happiness that reached his eyes, unhindered by the haze of suppressants. Roxas wondered if the appeal of his company was so desired by Axel because he allowed him to touch him so long as things didn't get sexual. The redhead was forever leaning on him or had a hand on his shoulder, which the blonde learned to not resist if he didn't want to be assaulted abruptly. He just dealt with it and waited for Reno to come give Axel his medication, but it wasn't the worst thing he had ever experienced.

Roxas rubbed his eye with one hand and waved with the other. Axel beamed and threw his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

"I'm glad you're awake! I was waiting for you. I dunno what's going on but I think Reno finally believes me. He's probably in the bunker as we speak, waiting for them too. I haven't seen him all day!" Axel twittered. "Lea says Ventus went off to run reconnaissance behind their lines and hopefully by the end of the day we'll know more about what their moves are. They're on the move, that's for sure. They still don't know that I know but Lea knows and Lea is me so it sort of works a little bit somehow maybe. I really hope we can trust Ventus. I dunno what his credentials are, but I'm sure if he got himself under Lea's skin then I have to trust him. Because if I can't trust myself, then who can I trust? So really it all boils down to the squirrel camera outside in the big tree no one knows about. But we know it's there, right buddy?" he asked, beaming again with a proud air floating around him.

Roxas didn't hear a quarter of what he said but he smiled anyway. Axel laughed and stood to resume writing on the walls. The blonde sat and watched him for a few minutes before he decided he really needed to pee. This was a problem. He found himself a discarded piece of chalk and scribbled on the floor, snapping his fingers at Axel until he got his attention. The redhead came over.

"Stay over there. I have to pee."

Axel shrugged and went back to his wall. Roxas felt reasonably secure and went about his business. He finished, but just as he was about to tuck himself into his pants and go back to the bed, Axel's hands slid around his waist and the blonde was being leaned against again. Roxas froze. It took him a moment but he cleared his throat in an 'excuse me, not finished here' fashion, which prompted Axel to look over his shoulder. It was clear that the 'excuse me' turned into a 'need some help' on the way through Axel's brain because the redhead took it upon himself to tuck Roxas back into his pants and zip them in place. He patted the blonde's stomach before going back to resting against him again. Roxas lifted a foot and flushed the toilet, attempting to keep himself sane as the sheer awkwardness of the situation dripped over him like a sticky glaze. He tried to shuffle back to the bed, pulling Axel along. The redhead got the hint and sat with him. Roxas immediately scooted away a couple inches, his perception turning leery. Axel scooted with him.

"I sort of wish they would just get it over with. Just do what they need to do and get lost. I'm tired of waiting for them. Reno too, I can tell. He's tired of hearing about them just as much as I am," the redhead sighed and folded his arms, balanced them on his knees, and rested his chin on them. Roxas didn't make a comment.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous bang. They both screamed in surprise.

"It's them!" Axel gasped loudly, looking to Roxas. The blonde's heart was going a mile a minute, his eyes wide. The redhead gathered him up in his arms and hugged him to his chest. "Don't be scared! I'll protect you," Axel cooed and pet the blonde's hair affectionately. He rocked them both back and forth comfortingly, watching the room with suspicious eyes as if something was going to jump out of plain sight. Roxas really didn't want or need Axel's protection but let him have it anyway. He watched the door.

Everything was quiet for a while. How long, Roxas couldn't really say, but he thought it was getting warmer in the room. Then again, Axel had him enveloped in his arms still so it may have just been him. They relaxed when they didn't hear anything else for several moments. Axel eventually let Roxas go and they sat together. The redhead pushed himself up off the bed and walked the perimeter of the room, inspecting. He put a hand on the door and recoiled back immediately.

"Ah! Fuck!" he cried, holding his one hand in the other, looking at his palm. Roxas stood and tried to go see what the problem was but Axel didn't make a move to meet him halfway. The redhead looked contemplative for several minutes as the dilapidated gears in his head started turning. His expression blanked as his mouth dropped open some in realization. He hurriedly pulled his shirt over his head and went to Roxas. He grabbed the blonde's shirt and yanked it up his body. Roxas cried out and tried to pull away but Axel paid him no heed and tore his sleeve to get it off the chain. He took both fabrics and went to the shower and ran the water over them both, soaking them. Then he rushed back to the door and dropped the sopping mess onto the floor and wedged as much of them as he could under the door. There wasn't much space to fill, as the door was very tight and secure, but he sealed whatever there was before backing away again.

"Get on the bed and stay there!" Axel barked and nudged Roxas along over to the mattresses. The blonde did as he was told. He sat and huddled in the corner as he usually did as Axel went to the shower to run his hand under some water, hissing in pain. He kept his eyes to the door for several minutes before he was satisfied and went to the bed and sat with Roxas. The blonde hugged himself, watching the redhead carefully, waiting for him to jump or attack him. Axel didn't. His expression was fearful, if not a little bit serious. He held his hand out for Roxas to see. It was burned. It wasn't so bad that his skin was peeling off but it was red and irritated and would probably blister soon. The blonde looked at it confusedly for several minutes before he understood. The door was hot.

Which meant the house was on fire.

Being in a concrete cube suddenly didn't seem like such a bad place to be anymore. So long as the smoke didn't come in from under the door and the water remained working, they could survive for a long time. Sure, dying a slow painful death of starvation in a bed of their own waste material didn't seem like the ideal situation but hopefully someone would notice the billowing smoke from somewhere. Roxas had no idea what the surrounding area was like or if Reno and Axel had any neighbors, but surely a helicopter or something would go by eventually. He hoped. It was that very small train of rational thought that kept him from bursting into tears. He was terrified. Absolutely, truly, terrified.

Pieces of the house clattered on top of their cell, making a cacophony of foreboding noises and raising the anxiety level tenfold. Every time something fell and landed on them, Roxas would flinch and cover his head in reflex. Axel had an eerie calm about him as he watched the ceiling. A few moments passed and the light flickered out, making the noise stand out and turn haunting. The redhead caught the blonde's whimpers in between the crashes and thuds and scooted closer to him. Roxas flinched away from his touch out of habit but another bang turned his brain into overdrive, seeking out any comfort he could get to hide from the immense feeling of imminent doom. His worst fear was not the starvation, but if the ceiling cracked just enough to let the smoke in and the torturous suffocation from the fumes they would endure. He secretly hoped there was a gas line somewhere that would ignite and blow them to pieces. Quickly and painlessly.

Axel's moment of lucidity passed but his desire to keep Roxas safe (regardless of delusion) didn't change. He hugged the blonde tight and pet his hair as Roxas attempted to bury himself in the redhead's shoulder. The redhead wasn't all that thrilled either. He understood what was happening and that something had probably happened to Reno. He didn't know whether or not his brother intentionally set the fire or if this was an accident but he was sure that he and Roxas were going to die. After all of his sins, he thought Roxas deserved better. Had he been in charge, he would've freed Roxas as soon as he realized the blonde's parents weren't as wealthy as they appeared to be. He didn't even know how long Roxas had been there but it was long passed the statute of limitations. The crushing guilt made their fate seem fitting and he decided that he would make sure that, at the very least, Roxas would survive if they had a chance.

Mrs. Barr was a woman in her late sixties that generally kept to herself. She lived in a tiny house on a large field that could probably do with some repair work, but was otherwise sturdy. She didn't have neighbors as far as she could tell. Her house was about an acre or so away from a street that got very little traffic. Sometimes, unbeknownst to her, there would be a chain of cars leading into the vacant field opposite of her home, but it was always at odd times at night and she liked to get her beauty sleep. She woke up one morning, and teetered around her house going about her business. It wasn't until almost lunchtime when she realized the field opposite of her house was on fire. On fire of all things! She couldn't believe her eyes but she immediately called the fire department, fearing it would spread to her property.

The fire department came and it took them nearly two days to extinguish the flames. Lo and behold there was a house behind all of it. It was a burnt out husk of its former self but Mrs. Barr explained that she thought it had always been abandoned. Well, the fire department took her word for it and sort of brushed her off but it was obvious that the fire started there so they immediately suspected an arsonist or a group of squatters. The police were called and the fire marshal began his investigation the next day.

Debris was pushed around and they discovered a body that was not too far from what appeared to be a melted table with remnants of glass flasks, metal rods, and Bunsen burners strewn about. The fire started there. It was too early to tell and the area was quite small compared to some others the marshal had come across, but he suspected a methamphetamine lab. The body was removed under the pretense that the person had been the makeshift chemist and the investigation continued to see if there was any evidence of personal history that would link to a next of kin. The shell of the house was searched from top to bottom with no further evidence of the lab being found. But once they pushed around a few large chunks of debris, they found a heavy metal door with a large padlock. Thinking he had just hit the mother lode of essential evidence linking to a possible drug cartel, he hurriedly ordered for the door to be opened.

There were two more bodies inside an otherwise empty room.

One was tethered to a pole up against the furthest wall; a small blonde, presumably very young. The other, some years older, was a redhead. Both were very thin and frail, the redhead laying next to the blonde on a couple of old ratty mattresses, clinging to him for dear life. The walls around them were covered in numbers, mathematical symbols, and nonsensical squiggles. The writing went from the wall with the door and circled the entire room, the squiggles turning more prevalent the further in they went. Other than that, the room smelled a little like human waste but was otherwise relatively clean and structurally stable. Part of the crew rushed in while the coroner's office was called to set up an autopsy. But the call was stopped as soon as one of the members said to call the hospital.

Roxas and Axel were still alive.

Everything hurt. That was the first thought to flicker through Roxas' mind. His body ached from head to toe and that's when he realized he couldn't be dead because death was supposedly painless. That heaven was beautiful and pain wouldn't be a part of it. He had mixed feelings about that. He sort of wished he was, just so he could have some peace. He hated waking up on the wrong side of the mattress because then he would be sore all day and no one would come in and give a damn. He certainly didn't feel comfortable asking Reno or Axel to give his stiff shoulders a rub so he just had to tough it out. He let out a groan, despite his best efforts to keep it inside as he slowly started waking up.

It was so bright. Way too bright.

His eyes stung, his vision was blurry, and for a few minutes he thought he had somehow gone blind, but they adjusted. He was presented with harsh florescent lighting and a sterile white ceiling. To his left were a few beeping monitors that he couldn't hear, and to his right was an IV drip stand with a long tube leading down to himself. He didn't have the energy to move very much but he could wiggle his toes and move his fingers one of which held a clamp. A pulse oximetry. He wasn't on a ventilator, which was good, and as far as he could tell, there wasn't much else attached to him. He lay still for several minutes, not sure of what to think.

A nurse came in to check on everything and she noticed he was awake. She leaned over the bed with a kind smile and spoke to him, Roxas' fumbled mind not letting him read her lips very well. She seemed to be waiting for a response after she was finished and he attempted speech but his vocal cords were dry and unresponsive. She smiled again before leaving, returning shortly with a doctor. He poked and prodded at him, asking him questions he couldn't hear and eventually came to his side and gave him a sullen look. He spoke a while, Roxas watching him carefully. The blonde swallowed and cleared his throat to try to speak but he froze when he caught the tail end of the doctor's sentence.

"You may be paralyzed," he said. Roxas furrowed his brows, his determination to speak growing tenfold. He couldn't move very well to prove the man wrong but he could feel everything that was done to him so he couldn't possibly be paralyzed. In any shape or form. He just couldn't hear to react to his questions. A few minutes of struggling with his voice followed and he could finally squeak out a hoarse statement.

"I'm deaf!" he croaked with as sour of an expression as he could muster. The doctor's face immediately blanked to an 'oh' before he started speaking to the nurse. Roxas sighed and tried his limbs again, shifting them just enough to be considered a victory but being too tired to do much else. He wanted to go back to sleep and answer questions later but the nurse pushed the button on his bed and he found himself slowly sitting upright. His room was boring, as most hospital rooms tend to be, with boring generic furniture and a television he would probably have to pay for to use. There was a door out into the hall and one he assumed led to a bathroom but he was surprised at how he didn't have to pee. Then he looked down enough to notice, oh goody, a catheter. Wonderful. He could almost picture his doctor out in the hall yelling 'can anyone do sign language?' to all the surrounding patrons but Roxas doubted how well he could remember it. He hadn't used it in so long.

Turns out, it was far easier than he imagined. They brought in some heavyset older woman who could sign fairly well and she talked on and on to him while he sat there and listened but didn't respond. He was told how he was found and that his biggest problem was dehydration. He could vaguely remember his used to be prison and Axel finding that the plumbing had stopped working about a day into their wait together. They eventually got desperate enough to drink from the back of the toilet, the only available clean water, but that was short lived. After that, it was a slow painful wait that eventually got too tiring to do anymore. Then that's how the fire marshal found them. It was a fairly cut and dry story but Roxas could piece it together without the fat woman's assistance. He stared ahead of himself, ignoring her, his mind blanking over as he tried to fully understand what was happening.

He was free.

It seemed surreal and almost painful. He wondered if Axel was alright. He hoped Axel was alright. The redhead had taken care of him as much possible during their unintentional stay, allowing Roxas to drink more water than him, and holding him, offering comfort. He found that Axel's inane gibberish he wrote on the walls was a security code his brain came up with several years ago in order to fend off whoever it was coming to get them. That so long the code was on the walls, they would be safe. In some twisted sort of way, Roxas thought it was awfully generous of Axel to share the 'security' with him. He never saw Axel offer the same protection to Reno.

His translator touched his arm to get him to pay attention. He brushed her off.

"Where is Axel?" he asked her. She scrunched her brows together confusedly.

"I'm not sure who that is," she responded.

"The one who was found with me."

"He's here; I don't know what his particulars are or where his room is off the top of my head, though."

"I want to see him."

"Can we get your paperwork done first? We don't even know who you are."

Roxas sighed. He nodded. The woman left him and came back with a stack of papers and a pen. There was a top form of his basic information and he filled it out before pushing the rest away. She shoved them back to him, insisting he needed to fill them out, but he refused.

"You know who I am. I want to see Axel," he persisted. She left with his papers without responding to him. She returned several minutes later with a doctor. A different one. She mediated for them as he explained Axel's situation. Apparently the redhead was more critical than Roxas had been. Aside from the obvious dehydration problem, he had been malnourished for a long time, and the extent of his sexual abuse was grounds for a police investigation. Roxas was stuck on the 'malnutrition' part. He ignored whatever else the man told him. The police would investigate, big deal, but the malnutrition was new. Then Roxas realized he had never seen Axel eat anything outside of breakfast and his pills. But Axel always gave him two meals a day. The sudden realization and the guilt were overwhelming.

The next day was better. Roxas could move freely, though he was weak, and was eating small meals to restart his stomach after going unused for so long. He was improving dramatically and other than the scars on his wrists from his restraints and being a little thin, there wasn't any sign of physical damage. He was clean, he shaved, and someone even came in to cut his excessively shaggy hair. He wasn't allowed to wander around the hospital, hoping to find Axel. He sat in his room by himself quietly, watching the news because it was the only thing he could watch for free. The hospital scrambled around trying to find his family and around lunchtime, they came to see him.

Roxas was a little surprised to see that his mother wasn't with them. His father, Sora, and Naminé burst through the door in an excited frenzy and assaulted him with crushing hugs and countless kisses. Roxas was silent through it all, hardly making an effort to hug them back. He was numb and unresponsive, though he knew he shouldn't be. But underneath all that, he was angry; angry at them for not finding him sooner and for not giving Reno the money and allowing him to come home. But he didn't know their story so he didn't lash out at them right away. He allowed them their smothering for a few minutes, taking note of the tears in his father's eyes but not reacting.

"So glad you're safe," his father sighed into his hair as he hugged his youngest close. Roxas' siblings were too busy bawling their eyes out and holding each other to notice how much their father was trembling but Roxas knew. He was aware of their fear and accepted it, but he still wasn't happy.

"Five hun'erd thous'nd," Roxas mumbled, causing Cloud to pull away. His father held his face and watched him with confused eyes. Roxas picked up his arms and started to speak. "What's the matter? Was I not worth the house?" he signed, his face holding a deep scowl. Cloud paled and stepped back.

"You mother and I went to Las Vegas, as you know. But she served me with divorce papers when we got there. She took everything," he responded with a blank expression. "Don't think for a minute that I didn't fight for everything we had just so I could get you back. The debt I have from the lawyers will probably be passed on to all of you even if I live to be a hundred years old. I tried, I really did, but she wouldn't give me any leeway. I'm so sorry and I feel I've failed you in the biggest way a parent can."

Roxas didn't have an answer for that. Being an adult when one's parents divorce isn't as devastating as it would have been had Roxas been a child, but it was still upsetting. Again, he didn't know his mother was having an affair so he couldn't really comprehend why it happened but he didn't deny that it had. It opened a few new questions he had forgotten he didn't have the answers to.

"How long as I gone?" he asked, much less angry, and returning to his numbness. His father wiped at his eyes before responding.

"Almost two years. Did they hurt you? What happened?" he asked.

Two years. Roxas had his doubts. It certainly felt like an eternity since he had been gone but he thought he was just bored and wasting away and that made it seem longer. He was twenty years old without even realizing it. He hadn't even registered how much his hair had grown and the facial hair that happened. He had blocked so many stimuli in order to protect himself that it was unfathomable the time he spent away.

He took his time explaining everything to them. The only part he left out was how Axel helped Reno rape him in the beginning. All the sacrifices the redhead made later at the expense of his own health helped clear away what little hostility the blonde had left for him. He made sure to make his family understand how sick and abused Axel was and that whatever he did for Reno to help take him in the first place was out of fear for himself. His father seemed unsatisfied without pressing charges against Axel, but Roxas was an adult and technically had to make that decision for himself. Cloud tried to argue that when he was taken, Roxas was still technically a minor since he hadn't graduated high school yet, but Roxas protested.

"He needs help. Somewhere to stay and be taken care of. Prison isn't going to do that for him," Roxas signed.

"How can you want to help him? He took you away from us!" Sora interrupted.

"It's all Reno's fault. Axel didn't do anything wrong," Roxas repeated. He was frustrated with his brother for arguing with him and almost wanted to blame him for calling the cable company then leaving for work. If Roxas hadn't been left by himself, he might not have fallen for Reno's tempting offer of meeting the 'talent scout.' But, that was fodder for another argument if Roxas decided he would stoop so low.

"I want to see him. This guy you're protecting," Cloud signed.

"Stockholm's," Naminé muttered quietly so Roxas wouldn't hear. The rest of the family silently agreed with her.

It was another day before Roxas was allowed to see Axel. At the insistence of the blonde and his family, the doctors allowed them to visit. Roxas went in by himself first with a pad of paper and a pencil. He shuffled in and knocked on the doorframe quietly. Axel, who was already awake and sitting up in his bed, looked to him with surprised eyes. There was a forgotten tray of hospital food in front of him that had been picked at, but only just. With a proper shower, a good brush through his hair, and adequate rest, Axel looked much healthier but was far from a hundred percent. His hair didn't stick up nearly as much as it did before and he didn't seem quite so skinny. He was also calmer, more put together. Roxas was unsure if it was just because he was eating properly now or because their circumstances had shifted so much, but he was happy with the progress. Axel beckoned him closer once he was over the initial shock and Roxas pulled a chair over to sit with him. He started writing.

"You look better," the blonde wrote before handing the pad and pencil off to Axel.

"So do you," he wrote back.

Silence. Hesitation.

"I had a colonoscopy a couple days ago. That was fun. Never had one of those before," Axel continued. Roxas couldn't help himself and he snorted before starting to laugh. The redhead watched him with a small amused smile. Roxas calmed quickly, the reason behind needing a colonoscopy in the first place fogging over the abrupt humor. "I've never heard you laugh before."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. It's not funny."

"Don't be sorry. I don't mind. It's nice."

Another hesitation.

"So what now? Did they tell you anything?" Roxas wrote. Axel shrugged.

"Not really anything about us. Mostly just stuff about me and what's wrong with my head and my insides. They found my other doctor though. So he should help."

"When was the last time you saw your doctor?"

"About eight years ago."

"Wha'?" Roxas asked, horrendously confused. "How did you keep up your medication without going to see him?"

"I saw him when I was younger but after my parents died Reno started going instead of me and explaining what my problems were. He went once a month."

"Axel, that's not how things are supposed to work. You've been taking medication for a problem when your doctor hasn't even seen you. How do you know Reno wasn't just posing as you to get the prescriptions?"

"It doesn't matter. I still got my meds and he took care of me."

"For all you know, he could've been over medicating you keep you under contr—" Roxas tried to write but Axel ripped the pencil from his hand and threw it across the room.

"He's dead! It doesn't matter anymore! I'm by myself and I have nothing! It doesn't change shit!" Axel yelled, glaring over the side rail of his bed at the blonde. Roxas flinched away from him. Axel dropped back against his bed, folding his hands over his chest with an angry huff. The blonde sat quietly for a moment before going to retrieve the pencil and sitting in the chair again.

"I'm sorry. You're right," he wrote and leaned over the bed to force Axel to see. The redhead faced him again and started writing.

"The police are coming back today. They're trying to find my rapist but I can't bring myself to tell them it was him. He's still my brother, regardless of what he did to me. After I can tell them and get them to understand I'll admit what I did to you and then we probably won't see each other again."

"I don't want to press charges."

Axel gave him a skeptical look, pausing for a long minute before responding.

"That's stupid. Why would you do that?"

"Because I really don't think you did anything wrong," Roxas wrote.

"You're insane. Of course I did."

"Because Reno kept you whacked out on medication."

"No, because I'm an idiot and I don't think for myself."

"Right, exactly. Same thing."

They stared at each other for a long silence. Axel furrowed his brows together.

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Roxas insisted.

"Well what the fuck else am I supposed to do? I have no job or home or family or money. I have bills out the ass that I can't pay and the bank is going to give that a look before spitting on me and telling me to fuck off and die in a ditch. I don't have any credit cards, no credit score, and nothing to my name that I can put down as collateral. I may as well have been born yesterday."

Roxas didn't have an answer for him. He thought about it for a few minutes.

"You could go live in a home somewhere. Like a sanitarium."

"Great, the loony bin."

"Seriously."

"And who would pay for it?"

"The government."

"Taxes. Not the government."

"It's an unfortunate side effect of living in the free world."

Another silence. A nurse came in with a small plastic cup with two pills in it and handed it off to Axel with a cup of water. The redhead took them and gave the cups back. She took them and his discarded food tray without a word and left again. They sat together quietly. Both of them acutely aware of how few pills the hospital was giving the redhead versus the amount Reno did. It hung in the air, unaddressed, for several minutes.

"I don't want to go to the loony bin," Axel decided. "I'll ask about a rehab center or something."

Roxas was allowed to go home the next day. He didn't want to though. He didn't want to leave Axel by himself to fend for whatever was left for him. He spent most of the morning trying to avoid paperwork and pushing his family away enough so he could see the redhead one last time. Dressed in a pair of his brother's pants, his father's shirt, and his sister's tennis shoes, he broke free of the bureaucratic clutches and rushed down the halls to Axel's room. He was sleeping, but popped awake when Roxas poked him and blinked at him tiredly. Without prompting, the blonde threw his arms around the redhead's neck and hugged him. Axel hesitated but reciprocated. Roxas pulled back and looked around for a piece of paper or something to write on but couldn't find anything. He took Axel's hand and traced a finger over his palm, writing out the letters on his skin.

"G-o-o-d l-u-c-k," he wrote. Axel's other hand was bandaged from his burn but he held up a finger to tell the blonde to wait a minute before he reached over the side of the bed and pulled up a plastic bag with a bunch of brochures and advertisements in it. He dug around for one pamphlet and handed it to Roxas. It was for a treatment center for the emotionally disturbed. People who had been raped and abused by family members and colleagues without anyone to turn to took safe haven there. It was local, and in the next town over from Roxas' home town. The blonde smiled and tried to hand it back to him but Axel pushed it back into his hands. He motioned for him to lean closer so he could speak in his ear without shouting.

"Keep it. Write me."

Cloud wasn't kidding when he said Tifa had left him and took everything. Roxas was shocked to find that his father had been reduced to a dumpy little bungalow outside of the town center. Naminé had finished school and was living with some friends, but Sora was still living at home with dad, helping him pay the bills. Roxas didn't have much of a room anymore and what he did have were the bare essentials. Sora volunteered to move in the basement to let his brother have his room, leaving the blonde with just a dresser, a lamp, and a bed. Granted, it was much better than what he had before, but it still didn't feel right. He had had enough of basements and was grateful his brother was so perceptive but his new space was almost as cold and unforgiving.

There was talk of going to school, resuming life and moving on. Roxas was all for the moving on part, but he wasn't sure he was ready to tackle jumping into college. He would have to get his GED first or head back to high school for a year, and that became his main priority. He kept to himself as much as possible to study and prepare but he would sometimes catch himself blanking out. He would read, taking note of the time, but then look up twenty minutes later and realize he hadn't turned the page. He knew it's what he was supposed to be doing, but it was perhaps more difficult than being kidnapped. His motivation for the normalcy's of life was dead, and it bothered him. His father suggested a therapist for him and they made appointments for him, but it was at least a two month wait before they happened. Until then he was stuck in a bit of a limbo.

His friends came to see him the first weekend he was back. They had all gone off to college without him but he didn't hold it against them. They were all just as smothering as his family had been in the beginning, but like the rest of life, Roxas didn't do much with them. They slowly faded back into their normal schedules, talking to him maybe once every other week. It was an effort to go see him since he didn't have any of his fancy gadgets to talk to them over the phone anymore. He understood. He wasn't feeling up to company every day anyway.

He thought a lot about Axel. What he was doing, how he was getting along, and after a month of trying to get back on his feet, he decided to write him. The letter was short. Roxas didn't have much to say other than 'I have a new hearing aid and my friends remember me,' but he wished Axel well and sent it off using the address on the pamphlet. He got one back the same week with much of the same content but written as 'I've got new meds and I'm doing better.' Back and forth the letters went for several weeks (Roxas finding them to be one of the few things he actually enjoyed doing) before Axel responded with something that was relatively new.

"I want to see you."

Roxas stewed on that thought for several days. He didn't know what to say to it and what to think. He didn't know if he really wanted to see Axel or not even though the redhead insisted he was doing better. The letters were coming from the facility where he was staying so it wasn't like Axel was lying about getting help, but Roxas still had his doubts. He didn't tell his father or brother about it, and sat in his room and processed his decision for a while.

He borrowed his brother's car under the guise of going to visit Hayner for a day and left.

The entire drive to the facility was nerve wracking. He didn't tell Axel he had agreed to visit and hoped he wasn't infringing on anything dire. He made sure to show up during visiting hours though, so Axel would have the time to see him. He shakily made his way into the bland brick building with a pad of paper and a pen, feeling relatively foolish. He didn't even know Axel's last name let alone enough information about him to convince whatever attendant there he wasn't an enemy. But after a bit of a back and forth paper war with the woman behind the registry desk, she finally sent someone to go retrieve the redhead.

"Roxas!" Axel cried when he saw the blonde waiting for him in the visitor's center. Roxas was surprised at how much healthier he looked. Even more so than what he seemed at the hospital. He had gained a decent amount of weight and looked far more solid than the blonde has ever seen him, his hair had a healthy sheen and his skin was clear and glowing. The redhead swooped in and gave him a bone crushing hug as soon as he could reach him before pulling Roxas over to a couch to sit. The blonde was quiet, a bit in shock at how different, how good, Axel looked. The redhead was grinning from ear to ear with just enough genuine emotion in it to make it something enjoyable and nothing like his insane babbling smile he wore to pretend he was happy. It faded a little when Roxas hesitated too long and didn't make an effort to speak or write anything. Roxas realized he had been staring and hurriedly started scribbling on his pad of paper.

"I'm shocked at how different you look," he wrote and passed it over to Axel.

"They take good care of me here. Actual care. Nothing like what I thought was care. I know a lot of people now, and some friends. It's really nice," Axel responded with a beaming smile. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Roxas deadpanned and hesitated. Axel furrowed his brows.

"You don't seem very okay."

"I am. Nothing's wrong. I'm happy you're better though."

"I am better, but I had a lot of help. Have you gotten any yet?"

Roxas shrugged. Axel scowled.

"My dad made me some appointments but I have to wait for them. It'll be fine though. I'm not worried."

"Well that's not very helpful then, is it? It bothers me that you can't get it right away. It's almost like you either have to be healthy, or so fucked up that you have to live in a rehab to get anywhere. What about all the people in between?"

"I don't have control over it otherwise I would have done something by now. Really though, it'll be fine. Thank you for the concern."

Another hesitation. Axel stewed on Roxas' situation for several minutes before he stood from the couch and went to go talk to one of the attendants. The blonde waited for him confusedly. He came back quickly and without a word, grabbed Roxas' hand and started heading further into the facility. The blonde was, understandably, lost. They weaved through the halls, heading further and further in until the rooms around them turned more residential. Roxas started to piece together where they were headed and his heart rate sped up, suddenly fearing the worst of Axel's intentions. He was pulled into a bedroom, one that wasn't much more exciting than his own and the door was closed. There wasn't an overhead light but Axel flipped a switch and the lamp across the space flicked on, but Roxas would've argued it still wasn't bright enough.

"Sorry, I didn't want to get into something that might be too personal out in the public space," Axel said, leaning close so Roxas could hear. There was a reading chair next to bookcase by the lamp and Axel pulled it across the carpet closer to the bed. He sat on the bed itself while Roxas hesitantly sat in the chair, scribbling on his pad of paper quickly.

"They let you bring visitors to your room?" he wrote before passing it to the redhead.

"Not really. They don't encourage it but there's nothing in the rules about it. If you think about it though, it makes some sense. Everyone here was either abused or raped so if they have a healthy enough relationship where they feel comfortable enough to be alone with someone then it shouldn't be punished."

"I suppose that's true. Why did you bring me here?"

"To talk. I wanted to thank you. For not only not letting me be arrested, but for just being there. Regardless of the circumstances you showed me what a normal person is like and gave me an outlet to understand. It's my fault as much as it was Reno's that you were with us in the first place but I wanted you to know that something good came out of it, even if that something good was my own benefit. I didn't really deserve it and it's selfish of me to think that way, but it's true."

Roxas read what was written and stopped. He sat quietly, staring at the words. Axel took the pad from him after a few minutes.

"That's why I care that you can't get help right away. It really bothers me that I can't undo what I did and it just leaves you to fend for yourself. It's not fair. I want you to get back to normal as quickly as possible so you can be happy with your life and move on and possibly forget everything."

Roxas stayed quiet again, trying to absorb what Axel was saying. Forget? Forgetting the trauma would be difficult and he doubted he would ever fully be over it but he wasn't sure he wanted to forget Axel. He liked the redhead, medicated or not. He was a bit hard to manage at some points but right that second he seemed so much better, so much happier and a part of Roxas wanted to get to know him and be friends like someone normally would.

"I can maybe set you up with someone here if you like," Axel offered when it was clear Roxas wasn't going to respond.

"But I wasn't raped by a family member or colleague," the blonde wrote.

"True, but if someone's crying out for help to them I doubt they'd ignore it. They may want you to live here though if that happens. I don't know the details but it can't hurt to try. If anything you can take one of my sessions and see if you can get a recommendation for someone else. Would you do that if I can set it up?"

Roxas hesitated for a bit but nodded. Axel let out a relieved sigh and smiled. A sort of awkward silence fell between them, both parties unable to think of much else to say. There was so much to say that it felt like any attempt wouldn't do it all justice. They sat together for almost ten minutes before either of them thought of anything to say.

"Roxas," Axel asked. The blonde looked to him. The redhead's face was completely serious. "I really am sorry for all the pain I caused you." Roxas nodded and fidgeted a bit, unsure of what to say. Axel contemplated for a second before reaching a hand out towards him. The blonde tried to hand him the pad of paper but Axel batted it away gently, insisting for his hand. Roxas got the hint and timidly gave it to him. The redhead scooted backwards on the bed, tugging the blonde with him. Roxas shakily sat on the bed with him. Axel pulled him into a firm embrace, resting his cheek on the blonde's shoulder.

Roxas didn't know what to do.

"Is this okay?" Axel asked. Roxas swallowed thickly before forcing himself to settle down. He set the pad of paper aside and hugged him back in response, tucking his face against the side of Axel's neck. The redhead's posture slackened immediately in relief and he rubbed the blonde's back. They pulled away after a few minutes, Roxas' face a bright pink and Axel feeling insecure. The blonde picked up the pad again.

"What was that for?" he wrote.

"I just like hugs. It makes me feel like you don't completely hate me."

"Because I don't hate you. Not anymore."

It was Axel's turn to hesitate without anything to say. To Roxas, his body language was very anxious. The redhead stared down at the blank space for several minutes.

"Are we friends?" he asked finally.

Roxas thought about it and shrugged a little. He thought a little more, but eventually nodded. There was another long pause from Axel's end before he sucked in a deep breath and let it out his nose.

"Do you think we could be more than friends?" he wrote.

Roxas froze, staring at the redhead blankly. Axel caught his eyes and immediately turned a dozen shades of red. He hurriedly set the pad aside and scooted to the end of the bed to hold his face in his hands in utter embarrassment. He felt so incredibly stupid for having the audacity to ask such a question. It was a ballsy move on his part after everything he put Roxas through but he couldn't help wanting to cling to the blonde as much as possible. Roxas was like a little stable light in his otherwise fucked up dark room and the only one who gave half a damn about him outside of the facility. He knew he shouldn't have asked, he was ruining whatever little friendship they had, but he also didn't want to get so attached and desperate only to have them break apart later. It would save them both so much pain.

Roxas though, was just horribly confused. It was so out of the blue that he didn't know what to think. Aside from the obvious roadblocks between Axel and him, he simply just didn't have any relationship experience to go off of. He had never had a girlfriend, let alone a boyfriend. He had no idea what his family would think, he had no idea what his friends would think, and he most certainly didn't know what he wanted right that second. He considered Axel a friend, he really did. After all the apologies and the genuine remorse for what happened, he knew he would be able to forgive and move on with time. But he didn't have the time yet and had to make a decision.

And yet, the appeal of having someone to lean on that understood his problems was more than enticing. Axel was willing to help him with therapy and getting better. He would be there every step of the way and having that ingrained support system sounded okay. Roxas wasn't willing to admit to himself that having Axel, as an antagonist to his story, as that pillar of support was a healthy decision, but possibly seeing Axel as he was right then wasn't so bad. He kept that in mind as he moved to sit beside the redhead, bringing the pad of paper with him.

"I don't know what to think. Part of me is scared, and part of me is willing to try," he wrote. Axel tried to calm his rattled nerves long enough to read and come up with a response. His hands were shaking so bad he could hardly write.

"I just didn't want to ruin a longer friendship later down the line. I started thinking like this even before we got out together. But it was muddled around with everything else that was happening it was sort of on the back burner. Now, it's all I can think about. I wanted to end it now if there wasn't a chance because I didn't want to torture myself, but I would still get you some help with someone here even if you didn't. I would just stay away after that," Axel scribbled. His words sounded well put together but his body language looked so fragile, like he would crumble to pieces in the slightest breeze.

"I'm not really ready to say goodbye just yet."

"Really?" Axel blurted out loud, looking to the blonde fully, surprised. Roxas nodded.

"I've never done this before though. So you'll have to be patient with me," he wrote, wringing his hands a bit. He was still unsure, but he definitely didn't want to lose Axel completely. The redhead was overjoyed and hugged him abruptly, holding his face in place between his palms and laying a few chaste kisses in his hair. Roxas was feeling a bit crowded all of a sudden and gently shoved Axel's overzealous affection back enough to get his attention and force him to focus. Axel pulled back from him just enough to give some breathing room, his hands staying on Roxas' shoulders. The blonde, face flushed with anxiety, took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't okay. I shouldn't have done that. But… I'm just so happy you're not running away from me," he blurted, immediately understanding what he had done.

"'S okay," Roxas said quietly. He reached between them and rubbed a piece of red hair between his fingers. He thought carefully about his next move before cupping Axel's face and leaning forward. He timidly pressed their lips together. It was very brief and he pulled away quickly, chewing on his lip nervously, searching Axel's face for some sort of response. The redhead was shocked and blinked at him blankly a few times.

"Again?" he asked, eyes hopeful. Roxas laughed a bit and leaned forward for one more. They parted and Axel smiled, pressing their foreheads together and reveling in the closeness. Another kiss, and bigger smiles.

One more, and a grin.