Let it just be said, Roxas was always a rather clean individual. He disliked it when he was dirty, or if he smelled oddly. But never before in his life had he ever truly appreciated the wonder that was a bath.

He sighed happily as he lowered his exhausted body into the warm water. Before today, he had taken the comfort as a given, but he now understood the depth of the bath, and it was a truly wonderful thing. On top of that, Axel had a large porcelain tub, instead of a small, cold, uncomfortable metal one. He sank further down, happy to be in the water's warm embrace. Sadly though, he was not allowed to relax for very long. The brunette maid, Aerith, came in, much to Roxas' distaste.

"Go away." He snapped harshly at her. She stopped where she was, but did not leave. "I said to leave!"

"I'm sorry, but I was told to clean you." Was all she offered as she shuffled closer.

"No! You are girl!" Roxas yelled indignantly, only to find a small smile on the girl's face.

"It does not matter. Not here, anyway." She was at the side of the tub now, a small towel in her hand.

"No!" Roxas slid over to the other side of the tub, his back to her in an attempt to hide himself.

"Oh, hush, and come here. Quit making such a fuss about it. If you put this off too long, the water will get cold." Roxas shook his head stubbornly, scooting even closer to the other side. "Please?" It was her last attempt, and Roxas knew it. He had won.

"No." He spat out scornfully. She gave a defeated sigh, and then, to Roxas' glee, left the room. The blonde allowed himself a coy smile, then he relaxed back into the water, this time with full intentions to stay like this until the water got a chill.

Again, his endeavor was interrupted, and, without even turning to look at her, he shouted his words in irritation. This turned out to be quite the mistake.

"I said go away! Are you dumb that you can not understand words I say?" There was a pause before the blonde heard a familiar chuckle, one that made him jump.

"Is that right? No, I can understand you, though your English is a bit lacking." The blonde turned quickly and was met with the grinning face of his redheaded master.

"I-I... I did not mean..." He fumbled over his words, fear already lacing his heart.

"Hush. I am not going to hit you. I am, however, going to wash you." Roxas was reassured, and relaxed back into the water, before the second part of the statement connected in his mind.

"What? You? But..." He was promptly cut off.

"There will be no buts. I would not be doing this if you had let Aerith do it in the first place. But you refuse to cooperate with her, for whatever reason, so I am forced to do it myself." Roxas opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again and settled for simply glaring at the surface of the water. Or rather, glare through it, considering that it was perfectly clear.

The redhead approached, a glass bottle in hand as well as the small towel from before.

"Come here." The blonde looked up, and immediately flushed. The older was very close, and had gotten there rather quickly, and the water was doing nothing to cover Roxas' lower regions. The redhead made it obvious that he had noticed the flush. "Oh? Why so red? Did you already forget? I've seen you naked, twice, actually." This brought an even darker shade of red to the boy's cheeks, and led Axel to chuckle. "No need to be shy now. Come here, before the water get's cold."

After thinking it over, Roxas decided to comply. Axel seemed like the type that would make him stay in the bath until he washed, freezing or not. He really didn't want to try that theory out. He moved to the edge of the tub that was closest to the waiting redhead.

"There's a good boy." It was meant as praise, but it only served to anger the blonde. He offered only a glare in return. "Hmm... You really don't like me, do you?" The taller asked as he dunked a small bowl into the water to fill it.

"Why would I? You buyed me, and then hit me with a crop, and nearly laid with me." The man being scrutinized winced slightly, but brought the bowl up and dumped it's contents into the mass of blonde hair, effectively wetting it.

"Yes, I suppose that you do have a point. However, I do not plan on apologizing. You were not clever enough to escape capture, and were therefore sold into slavery. I am simply the one who purchased you. Had it not been me, it would have been another, and, in my opinion, you are much better off here. Despite what happened earlier, I am one of the kindest masters you could hope to have gotten. Frankly, those who are wise and know of this place hope to be bought by either me or my brother, for they know they will be treated well. I only punish when punishment is warranted, never otherwise. If you do as I tell you, you will not be punished. And, just so that we are clear, I have never had to use that crop before. You are incredibly stubborn."

The blonde continued to glare in response, blowing air out of his mouth as another bowl-full of water was dumped unceremoniously on his head. He huffed as the redhead emitted another chuckle.

"That pride of yours is going to be your downfall. I suggest you put it away for the time being." With that he took the stopper out of the glass bottle, and poured some of the contents into his hand. Roxas eyed the liquid suspiciously.

"What is that?" He asked bluntly. The man looked at his hand, then back at the boy.

"You don't know? But your hair is so soft... Hmm... Well, this is called shampoo. It was developed in Europe. It's like soap, but it is used in the hair. It works much better than bar soap." That said, he started to work it into the blonde tufts. It quickly started to bubble, much to the blonde's surprise, and, though he wouldn't admit it, delight. Axel smiled. "You like it? We can leave it in while I clean your body." He meant to be friendly, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The flush returned full force, and the scowl came with it. Axel chuckled.

"I am not a child." The blonde insisted. But he did not decline, so Axel grabbed the bar and wrapped it in the towel that he had brought in. He rubbed it under the water to get it to later, then brought it to the blonde's small chest.

Roxas decided, at that moment, that he did not like what was going on.

"W-Wait! No! I do not want you wash me!" The volume of the statement startled Axel, and he jumped.

"What?"

"I do not want..." He was cut off.

"I heard you. Alright, look, you will either let me wash you, or you will stay in the tub until you do. It's completely up to you, but you are getting clean, one way or another." The elder stated matter-of-factually. The blonde glared.

"I can do myself." And he put his hand out to receive the soap. Though doubtful, Axel put the soap into the waiting hand. Slightly relieved, Roxas squeezed it to keep it from falling into the water. To his dismay, it had the opposite effect, and the bar plunged into the now-lukewarm water. To be completely honest, he had no idea how to wash himself. Cloud had always assisted at bath time.

Roxas bent down to retrieve the slippery bar. He managed to hold on this time, and brought it, though hesitant, to his chest. He tried to rub it against his skin, but it slipped elusively out of his grasp once again. Growling with frustration, he fished it out again, and made the attempt a third time.

He was nearly in tears by the fifth time, and slumped into the barely warm water. Axel, who was still waiting, chuckled.

"Are you done?" The blonde, though reluctant, nodded. "Alright." He took the bar from the bottom of the tub, and wrapped it again in the towel. He brought it back to the chest that had yet to be cleaned, but it quickly disappeared. "What are you..." He was promptly cut off.

"I mean I was done bathing. Not that you could do it." He wrapped his arms protectively around his knees, and the redhead sighed.

"Very well. However, as I said before, you will stay in the tub until you are cleaned." He stated, then put the soap down, and made himself more comfortable. Roxas narrowed his eyes, but did not relent.

.-.-.-.+.-.-.-.

Twenty minutes later, Roxas was still in the tub, which was now filled with ice-cold water. He shivered violently, rubbing his arms in a bid for heat. Axel still sat, watching him with seemingly nonchalant eyes. Roxas looked down at his pale skin, which was taking on a slightly blueish hue, then back at the redhead. He had not been bluffing.

Going over his options, he honestly only saw one as possible. He was NOT going to be made to sit in this freezing water anymore. This simply was not worth it. Swallowing his pride, he moved over to the opposite end of the tub, and laid his head on the edge, conveying his defeat. He heard shuffling, and listened, trying to discern the sounds without looking up. He jumped when he felt a light pressure on his back. He realised that it was the soap, and sighed. Honestly, to his exhausted and chilled body, the soft cloth felt wonderful. His breath shuddered as the sensation traveled up and down his back, and whether it was from pleasure or discomfort, he did not know.

"You always make things so much harder than they need to be. If you had just let me wash you in the first place, you would not be so cold." The older offered quietly. Roxas sighed again. "Stand up."

He did, and nearly hissed as the air hit his wet skin. He urged the man, mentally, to hurry. His wish was seemingly granted, and before he could register where he had been touched, he was being pushed down into the water to rinse off. When he resurfaced, he was lifted out of the tub, and placed on the floor. A bit stunned, he looked up at the man who had so quickly executed this maneuver. The man in question leaned down and wrapped a large towel around the blonde's shoulders.

Finding warmth in the cloth, Roxas wrapped it tighter, pulling his legs in too, then settled for sitting in a ball on the floor. The redhead turned around and went to retrieve something that was closer to the door. At this point, Roxas did not care what it was, he jut wanted to get feeling back into his toes and fingers. He groaned in displeasure as he was lifted up and made to stand. The towel was removed from his shoulders, much to his anguish. He was swiftly reacquainted with it though, as Axel rubbed it against his limbs to get them dry. It was taken away again, and replaced by a fabric being pushed over his head. Realising what it was, Roxas lifted his arms and slid them through the long sleeves. Axel let the rest of the gown drop. It was just slightly too long, but Roxas was glad for that at the moment, as it covered his numb toes. As Roxas took the entirety of the gown in, Axel cleaned up from his bath.

It was pale blue in color, and made of a very light, breathable fabric that felt soft against his skin. The sleeves were long and loose, cinching at the wrist before fanning out into ruffles. It also cinched slightly at the waist, creating more ruffles at the bottom, which reached past his feet and onto the floor. The collar was high but open, cutting down to his collarbone. It was very much to Roxas' liking, but it did not do much for heat, which was what he needed at the moment.

"Follow me." The blonde got a start from Axel's words, but quickly obliged. He trailed behind quietly, wondering to himself where he could be going. He passed room after room, beginning to dread what waited for him once they had reached their destination. Last time he had been led to a room...

"Alright, here we are. Come in." His thoughts interrupted, Roxas gave a short nod, and followed the taller into the room. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very warm inside. His eyes were immediately drawn to the lit fire in the fireplace, and he gazed at it longingly. Axel walked to an empty chair near the fire, and sat. Roxas took the opportunity to look around the room. It was much like the one he had been in previously. The bed was the largest thing inside, and was extravagant. This room was, however, much larger, and held more furniture. There was an armoire, made of a fine wood, on the wall to the right. There was a large chair, currently occupied by Axel, next to the fire, which was across from the blonde. To his left was a large sofa, as well as a low table that had several candles on it. Looking around, Roxas realised that most of the room consisted of shades of red, but none of them seemed as brilliant as Axel's hair.

"These are my bedchambers. That door," he pointed to a door that was near the sofa. "Leads to my study. You may come here whenever you like, so long as I don't have guests. Do be careful though. The things in this room are rather precious to me." He glanced over the shoulder of the chair, at Roxas, who nodded. "Good. Come here."

The blonde, despite his reservation, complied, walking around to the front of the chair to face the redhead. He couldn't help but notice how much warmer it got as he neared the fire. He was surprised when he felt arms encircle his waist, and began to flail in an attempt to free himself.

"Quit making a fuss. I'm not going to do anything to you." The older reassured calmly. Roxas, exhausted and cold, gave in, and went completely limp in the man's arms. This earned a chuckle from the latter as he drew the boy close. "There you go. Just relax for a little while. Today has been stressful for you, obviously. Just relax, alright?" He whispered lowly, soothingly. Roxas only nodded weakly and snuggled closer into the older's warm chest, too tired to fight. "That's it."

Roxas couldn't hold back the pleasant sigh that escaped as he felt fingers gently raking through his damp hair. At the moment, he really didn't care that this was the man that had beaten him and forced him to sit in ice-cold water. Right now, all that mattered was that he was warm, and he was soothing. The blonde gave one more sigh, then allowed sleep to overtake his fatigued mind and body.

Once the blonde had lost consciousness, Axel allowed himself a small smile. He was much more agreeable when he was tired. He felt a little bad about how the first day had gone, but if this was anything at all, it was proof that there was hope yet.

The boy shifted slightly in his sleep, but quickly stilled once again.

Axel, though with a little guilt, placed a light kiss on the unconscious blonde's forehead, before resting his head in his head, and allowing sleep to claim his consciousness as well.

A/N: Alright, yes, I realise that it is very, very short. VERY SHORT. I felt bad, because we just had spring break, but I totally shunned my duties, and did not work on fanfics at all. So I thought I would type up a quick chapter for you guys, just to keep you going until the next installment.

So, can you tell I was feeling fluffy today, because I was. I wanted something sweet before we go back to the ra... Well, you can guess. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cute, despite the fact that Roxas froze his ass off. (Gotta make sacrifices for the greater good, yeah?)

Oh, right, for the shampoo: I'm not sure exactly when it was truly invented, I've heard different things from different people. However, for AkuRoku purposes, we'll say it was in the raw stages, okay?

No Japanese in this chapter... Sumisu Sensei would be disappointed with me... Oh well, I just wrote a whole Japanese script for that class, I HAVE RIGHTS!

And, this is gonna sound random, but I've been thinking... I might draw some character sketches, so that there will be a visual for the costumes and whatnot... If I draw those, I'll post them on my Devi... but I don't know. We shall see!

Well, can you tell I'm trying to take up as much space as possible? Yeah, alright, I'll shut up.

I don't own the characters, blah blah. You guys know the drill.