Well, this is it, guys. I'd say it's been fun, but really it was just an over-drawn out idea on my part full of headaches, LAGGING UPDATES, and an itty bitty creative streak. It wasn't all bad though, I love reading you guys' reviews and talking to you, y'all are so damn funny. Okay so without further ado, here is your promised Epilogue.

~Epilogue~

Three weeks after graduation.

"Don't be so fidgety, love. Everything is going to be fine," said Axel, who had one elbow hanging out the window, while the other was driving. He looked perfectly at ease, whereas I couldn't hold still. I was constantly switching which leg crossed over the other, or how far back I was leaning. Every time I thought about what we were heading to do, a new wave of acute panic rose up through my chest again.

"Easy for you to say," I gritted. "All your mom had to say was I was adorable and that she hoped I'd be in the family for a long time. My mom already knows you, Axe. Who knows what she's going to say?"

To recap the events of the last few weeks, yes, I came out to my mom during dinner. Her dreaded momma reaction had shaped up to be a snort, a pat on the shoulder, and a "figured it out, did you?" Sora and Naminé just regarded me with curiosity; Vanitas looked sorely disappointed that I hadn't received a religious ultimatum. Cloud and Ventus, however, exchanged looks with one another. From what Sora had told me later that evening, my two blonde brothers told mom of their bisexuality shortly after Van and I left the room. It made me happy to know that they could achieve peace of mind as well.

Anyway, today was the day that my mom was expecting my "brand new" boyfriend to come over for lunch. We had a story in place, and Axel was fairly confident that it would work.

"It's not like she has any way to prove that we were ever illegal," Axel pointed out, "As long as nobody spills the beans, she need never know."

When I didn't respond, his face fell slightly. "I thought you'd be happy," he whined, "Now we get to finally be together without worrying about who sees us or what kind of trouble we could get in for being together. I, for one, feel much better."

"Awe, come on, Axe, you know it's not like that," I said, taking his right hand off the wheel, forcing him to drive with his left. "You know I'm relieved too. I am happy. I'm just worried. After today, everything will be fine. I get to start work next week, then I'll be going to college, work on moving in with you," I listed, counting off my fingers, "And eventually we get to live happily ever after, no?"

"That's the plan," he said affirmatively.

I leaned back and looked out the window, smiling at the prospect of happily ever after. Maybe we wouldn't last. It was silly of me to count on us lasting, which is why we hadn't done anything dumb—like run away together. But it did sound oh so nice in my head. I figured that, for the time being, I could indulge in thoughts of fairy tale endings and the idea of a long, happy life with Axel. If things went well, we could be out of Twilight Town in three years, own a house in five, maybe adopt a couple kids in ten.

"You know that there are gonna be rumors going around about us forever," I said happily, thinking of the sheer number of comments I got when I changed my relationship status on Facebook from "single" to "in a relationship" with Axel Piersce. Let's just say, they all flipped shit. A couple girls proclaimed their undying jealousy and hatred of me, Kairi blocked me, I lost a couple of guy "friends" that I never talked to, but most of them just stated their congrats and how very suspicious we looked.

"Let the conspiracy theorists have their fun," said Axel, squeezing my hand, "They all just jealous 'cause they can't get them some Roxy-lovin."

"Or Axel lovin," I added, sending of both into fits of happy laughter. Oftentimes we laughed at things that weren't funny, for no reason at all. Just at stupid things. That was love I guess.

Our laughter ceased the moment we pulled into the driveway. After Axel cut the ignition we lingered, for just a moment, just sitting quietly and holding hands. Suddenly I felt so young again. For the first time in years, I was afraid of what my mom thought of me. The house I'd lived in almost my entire life had turned from a sanctuary to what felt like a death trap.

I was reminded of the time I was seven years old, having just graduated (yes, just graduated) from a tricycle onto a real set of wheels. Mother, like any good one, forbade me from riding through the back alley, and me, like any normal kid, had done it anyway. It was the shortest way to the sandlot, and I'd known the way. I hadn't thought she'd ever know. Anyway, long story short, I ran the bike in between two dumpsters, and I scraped my knee.

It's an odd comparison, but I felt seven again, showing up at the doorstep with a dumpster-wrecked bike and a scraped knee. I can remember the sheer terror I felt about going inside to tell her what I had done. The situation I found myself in now was completely different. I didn't deliberately disobeyed any specific rules she'd set for me, and instead of going and getting myself hurt, I discovered something wonderful.

But the feeling was still the same. I dreaded going inside, I dreaded the words that were to come. I was seven years old again, and Axel was my scraped knee.

"What was that, Rox?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, looking around at Axel.

"What?"

"Oh. Nothing. I thought I heard you say 'scraped knee,'" Axel laughed. I shrugged and took my hand from his, deciding it was high time to just man up and open the door. My mom was familiar enough with Axel's car; he'd come to pick me up multiple times a week every week for almost six months, discounting the last three. If she was watching from inside (which she probably was) then by now she should be able to place a pretty accurate guess as to who my boyfriend was.

The front door was open, so I had only to open the screen door to let Axel and myself in. My mom wasn't waiting in the living room like I thought she'd be, and judging by the noises coming from the kitchen, she was still making lunch.

"Mom, we're here!" I called, not sure if we were supposed to go into the kitchen just yet.

"Hi boys!" she replied, "Just sit down and make yourselves comfortable until I call you. Lunch isn't ready just yet."

I motioned for Axel to sit on the couch, but I went into the other room to see my mom anyway. I figured it'd probably be a good idea to give her some kind of warning. She was standing by the counter, facing away from me, humming and happy little tune and cutting up something or another. She was wearing a bright little sundress for the occasion and was still looking completely unfazed at the idea of having her gay son and his boyfriend over for lunch. She smiled when she saw me approaching, but did not stop slicing the cucumber seated on the counter.

"Hey," I started in an undertone, "I thought I should probably tell you, he's not what you're probably expecting, and you're gonna be a bit surprised. I didn't want you to like, freak out, you know, cause—"

She whapped me with her spatula, cutting me off. "Baby, as long as he's off drugs, out of jail, and mentally stable, I don't care if you're dating the King of England, as long as he makes you happy." She swept her honey blonde bangs away from her face so she could look at me directly. "Really, sweetheart, I'm not totally unreasonable. I know you enough to trust your judgment. If you're worried I'm not gonna approve of him because he has pink hair or something, don't."

She turned me around with her hands and patted my butt, something I'd always hated and something I'm sure she'll never grow out of. "Go on, get out of here. It's rude to make him wait by himself out there. I'll call you in when I'm done."

I mumbled a sheepish reply and went back out. Axel was lounging on the armchair, still looking totally relaxed. He had his head propped up on the palm of his hand, and his legs were hanging off of one arm, making him look like he was much too big for the chair. When I came further into the room, I saw that he was talking to—dear god, Vanitas, of all the siblings he could have run into.

"Hey, Roxy," said Axel when he noticed my presence. "You never told me your brothers buy drugs from my brother!" he twittered happily, "Ain't it a small world? Although now I'm gonna have to go pay him a visit; he's been tellin' us he hasn't been selling anymore. Anyway! What was that about, kiddo?"

I rolled my eyes, figuring it was long too late to yell at him for calling me things like 'Roxy' and 'kiddo.' "Just making sure my mom's not gonna have a heart attack when she sees you," I said neutrally. "And you," I shot to Vanitas, "better not be telling him all kinds of embarrassing toddler stories."

Axel perked up immediately, "Toddler stories? Ooh ooh ooh! Tell me some!" he begged, "And then in exchange, I'll tell you some about Reno."

Figuring that I probably set myself up for that one, I tuned out and just let them have their happy fun. I sat down on the arm of the chair Axel was in and waited for something to happen. I began focusing on things like Axel's laugh, and the warm breeze coming in from the window. I let myself appreciate the little things.

"Roxas, call your siblings down, would you?" Mom said, still in the kitchen, "Lunch is almost ready."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me, and I got up and stood at the foot of the stairs. "CLOUD, VEN, SORA, NAMINÉ!" I bellowed, "TIME FOR LUNCH."

Each of them had a different reaction coming down the stairs. Everyone knew what today was, and they were all anxious to see who this "new" boyfriend was, as if they didn't know already. When Cloud saw Axel, he silently gave him the 'sup?' nod and headed into the kitchen. Naminé, who was the only family member who had not seen him before, turned a light shade of pink and giggled before uttering a polite "hello" and following Cloud.

Sora's reaction was the best. He bolted down, taking two stairs at a time. He halted very abruptly when he saw Axel. He stood, open-mouthed, and looked back and forth between Axel and I. When Ventus appeared behind him, he groaned at last, "Roxaaaaas. You're dating my gym teacher? That's so awkward."

"Just shut up and go sit down," said Ven, "Hey, Axel. Roxas, you didn't happen to stumble across a leopard g-string? It's Terra's. He left it here."

I shook my head vigorously and shouted, "Even the sane ones are fucking crazy!"

After a few more quick shakes of my head and a deep breath, I turned to Axel, who was now standing behind me with an amused smirk on his face.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Are you?" he replied.

"Not at all."

Regardless, we joined hands and followed my brothers. The kitchen was already packed by the time we got in. Naminé had graciously given up her seat next to mine to sit in dad's, which was usually left vacant, and mom, it seemed, had pulled out a metal one from the basement, which Cloud was seated in. Every pair of eyes was on Mom as she turned her gaze on to Axel and me.

The surprise on her face was evident. We knew it was there. Her features tensed up, or hardened, more or less. She looked as though she'd been ready to say something, but the words were caught on her lips. We waited, all of us. Two seconds seemed like years.

Axel assumed the role of sheepish embarrassment immediately. He'd been practicing his faces, no doubt, and he played the part perfectly. "Hi again…" he tried in a false shy voice. He ran one hand through his hair and shuffled his feet around in such a perfect imitation of himself that even I would have been fooled.

Mom's frozen state of shock vanished as quickly as it came. She blinked rapidly, shook her head and cleared her throat. Her expression was totally unreadable. I caught the ghost of her welcoming smile lingering on her lips, but her eyebrows said confusion, and there were these little crinkles that she got around her eyes when you knew she was trying not to lose it.

She looked back and forth between us rapidly. "Well go on, then," she said, ushering us into our seats. "Your lunch is going to get cold."

Axel and I exchanged looks. We were going to have to do something, fast.

"Look, Mom, I can explain—" I started uneasily.

"I know you can," she snapped. As soon as the words were out, the crinkles disappeared, and I'd hoped we'd seen the last of her 'losing it.' She exhaled softly and shut her eyes. "I know that. Because otherwise, you wouldn't have brought him here, right? I said I trust your judgment sweetie, and I do. Please explain yourselves."

I was practically shaking. Which I would have been doing, regardless of what her reaction was. It could have been worse, I told myself, It could have been much, much worse. All we had to do now was convince her that this was in fact a good thing, and it wasn't too too bad.

I opened my mouth to start, but Axel beat me to it. "I know, they're kind of weird, aren't they?" he said, gesturing to his cheeks, "I had to cover them up for professional reasons, Mrs. S. But they've been there since before I even started teaching. Wacky, ain't it? Just comes to show that even nutballs like me can get their shit together and make something of themselves. The hair, by the way, is natural. I bet you were wondering…"

Open-mouthed, I stared at Axel with wide eyes. That is what he chose as an opening statement? Of all goddamn things, he had to start with his tattoos?

To my complete and utter shock, Mom just stood there and laughed, laughed her little heart out. I began to get concerned that she was approaching hysteria when she clamped one hand on each of our shoulders. Calming down took some time, but when it came down to it, I began wishing she'd just keep standing and laughing.

"Well, you certainly know how to make an impression, don't you?" she said tersely, nails digging into my shoulder. "Though I have to say I'm still very concerned about this! I know you aren't that much older, but good heavens, it's still a bit creepy in my book. I'm not even entirely sure that I know what your first name is! And not only that, think of the trouble the both of you could have gotten in!" She turned her glare, the glare I'd inherited from her, on to me, "I'm extremely disappointed in you, young man."

"Ma, wait, it's not like that!" I interjected quickly. "We didn't get together until after school got out."

I waited for the lie to register on her face. I knew that as long as we were coming clean, we might as well have told the whole truth. But the lie was for her protection, and for ours. She contemplated this for a moment, then jerked her head, allowing me to continue.

"See, we ran into each other like, a week after graduation," I explained, very quickly, "And we um, got talking. It turned out that neither of us liked the idea of never hanging out again. So that was whatever, and we were just chilling out for a while and then one thing lead to another and then—well…uh—"

"Then he kissed me," said Axel bluntly, who had taken to nibbling happily on an ear of corn on the cob, "This is great, by the way."

Even though it was all bogus, I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. Van, Ven, and Cloud knew the truth, but they didn't look in the mood to tell, not even Vanitas. They all observed my mother with curious eyes, waiting to see if she was buying the story.

"You totally went for it first, don't even try to deny it," I chastised, flicking him once on the forehead. This wasn't exactly what the plan we'd thrown together entailed, but it also made our lie seem more believable.

"Didn't," he countered, "I remember, you were all," he paused, assuming the role of a total complete fairy, complete with a lisp, "Oh my gawwwwd, Miss Congeniality is coming on Bravo later, we should like, totally go home and watch iiiiit."

Everyone at the table laughed, even Mom, even though she was obviously trying to hide it so she could keep her good mother persona. Axel continued, "So then I said, 'Miss Congeniality? I can't even stand Sandra Bullock.' And then he was like," gay voice again, "'Uckh! Are you kidding me? She won like, four Grammys for that! But whatever, we can do something else instead,' and I was like 'what did you have in mind' and then you were like, 'mmmmmmmmmmmmmwaah!' …And yeah, that's what happened."

"You insinuate that I talk like that ever again, you're gonna get my foot up your ass," I gritted, "And it wasn't Miss Congeniality, it was Blind Side. And it was a good movie! There was football in it and everything."

We began arguing with one another, by the time Mom cut in we were each talking over the other. "All right, all right, enough bickering, you two."

The argument had taken a turn towards the legitimacy of the movie Blind Side, which was in fact, a real conversation we'd been having earlier that week, so it was realistic enough. The suggestion had, incidentally, ended with us making out in the back alley for a half an hour. Regardless, I stopped and looked over to see Mom's reaction. She was unable to hide her small smile, and I felt the relief wash over me. We were in the clear, I think.

"How old are you?" she asked abruptly, speaking obviously to Axel.

"Twenty-five in a month, ma'am," he replied politely, "Also, my full name is Axel Lea Piersce. I've never been arrested, my IQ is one hundred eighteen. As you can see, I do have multiple tattoos, but no piercings. Let's see, uhh, I went to Traverse University, for teaching, obviously. Graduated like, eighth in the class, I think? I used to have a problem with pyromania when I was really young, and I used to smoke pot in high school. I can't stand rap music, and the wheels?" He gestured outside to where his red Camaro was parked, "Are not as nice as they look. I bought it off my uncle for four hundred bucks last year and it runs like shit. Pardon me, like crap."

After a second, he added, "I really like your son."

We held our breath. From here on out, it was either swim or sink. She either liked him or she didn't.

"The circumstances are obnoxiously suspicious," she said, tapping her nails on the table, "And I can't say I like it one bit. But…I do like you. Even if you are a bit old," she snapped the last syllable to me.

"Mom!" I whined rolling my eyes, "I turned twenty last week. I can legally drink in a year. I hardly see how that stuff matters anymore."

To my surprise, she replied softly, "I know, I'm sorry. Old habits. This is completely your decision. If Axel's who you want, well then I have no business saying otherwise. I'm almost certain you aren't telling me the whole truth. But there's no way to prove that, is there? And if there was, there's nothing I could do about it now." She stabbed a piece of her famous breaded chicken with her fork and dropped it onto her dish, "Now, with all the shitty serious stuff aside… It's nice to meet you again, Axel. I hope you can handle Roxas, because goodness knows, he's a handful."

I was too relieved to even bitch at her. I laughed giddily and started finally to pick at the chicken. Mom had prepared corn, chicken, and salad. It was all delicious and I could tell that she'd put a lot into making it. I hoped that when it was all said and done, she would be glad to have done so.

They started talking about me lots, which was all fine, because I knew they would. It was pretty much a ritual for moms and significant others to have embarrassing conversations about their loved one. For the most part I just laughed along with them, even when Vanitas and Cloud started getting into the really juicy stuff.

Despite my family's obvious insanity, Axel seemed totally okay with them. He inserted himself effortlessly, and even Sora warmed up to the idea of my dating his teacher long enough to have a happy conversation. The meal ran well past dessert, leaving us picking casually at the bits and pieces of the things we didn't eat and talking through it all about movies, politics, and even a little into the deeper stuff too. It reminded me of the rare nights that dad came home. We could put out dinner at five o'clock and stay talking and laughing and joking at the table until it was time to go to bed.

Lunch ran all the way to dinner time, at which point it was finally decided that it was time to call it a day. I opted to walk Axel outside by myself, hoping maybe to get a minute just by ourselves.

"So how's life at the Crazies?" I asked teasingly. I didn't want him to leave yet. It was summertime; I didn't feel like it was time to call it quits, I felt like it was time to start a bonfire and play with fireworks. Hopefully in a month or so I'd get my mom okay with the idea of me spending the night at Axel's place.

"Crazy," he replied. "I'm just kidding. I had a lot of fun. I think your mom is a wonderful, sweet woman."

"Don't be getting any ideas," I warned, "You're all mine."

Axel swept me into a bone-crushing hug. "You got it, sunshine."

His goodbye kiss was earthshattering, mindblowing, and spinetingling. Just like all of his kisses were. It was one of those things I loved so much about him; he never kissed halfway. Not even little pecks before bed or the cute, satisfied ones after sex. Each one was perfectly disarming and distracted me from whatever my rational brain happened to be thinking about at the moment. I let my eyes shut as my brain shifted into autopilot mode and kissed him back.

When we parted, he quietly said, "Love you. See you tomorrow."

Then he was gone. Well, not too far gone, but gone from my grip, anyway, off towards the red Camaro that held so many fond memories for us. He gave me a cute little wave before disappearing into its depths and driving away.

When I got back into the house, I ended up walking straight into the expecting arms of my mother.

"You two are adorable together! Isn't he so sweet? I'm so happy for you, Roxy!" she gushed happily, "I'm won't lie, I'm still a little miffed about the past but oh my goodness! Twenty-five with a career already; and honest, and so darn attractive! You really did good honey."

"Mom!" I gasped under the tightening constriction around my ribs, "Mom—choking!"

She let me go, then proceeded to lightly slap my arm for like, the millionth time that day. "What gives, huh? I swear, all the good ones are gay and/or taken by my son!" she huffed.

"…sure," I said awkwardly. I wasn't sure which was worse; the fact that she had probably seen us kissing, or that she was still married and absolutely fawning over my boyfriend. Yes, he was gorgeous, and funny, and sweet, and amazing, and… damn, I've got it bad, huh? Still though. He was mine. Hear? Mineminemineminemine. She was not allowed.

"Well, go on," she said happily, waving me away, "Now that you're 'out' officially, I'm going to call your father and tell him the good news. Gritty details left out, okay? It's Naminé's turn to do the dishes tonight, so you can go right upstairs."

"I—thanks Mom," I said honestly. I couldn't have asked more from her, really. We were safe. Axel and I, I mean. There was nobody left that we had to hide from. Not my family, not the law, not the school, not my friends, not even Kairi. Our relationship did not have to be defined by, and revolve around hiding. It was such a freeing feeling, I felt like I could fly.

Going into Senior year, I had definitely never anticipated it to go like this. I'd expected the first few months to be exciting, fun, and then after that the 'back in school' excitement would die down, leaving a boring winter, and then a busy ass spring in which I did all the tying up of loose ends and preparing to end high school forever, until finally I'd get such a bad case of Senioritis that I just could not wait another minute to leave. After graduation… I guess I'd never really planned that far ahead. I sort of imagined it to be like the end of a movie, like a car driving off into the distance, you know?

But Axel changed all of that. My Senioritis had come, in a sense, but from a source I never could have imagined possible. Instead of ending my story at the end of Senior year, I was banking on the year to endso I could begin it. Now I have all kinds of plans in mind for the future, plans I'd never counted on having. I don't like to think about what I would have done when it came time to start life after high school, if he'd never come along.

He changed things forever. And for the better, I hope. For the moment, at least, I got to be optimistic about the future, and contented with the present, something I'm sure not everyone my age experiences.

That night, I went to the usual spot, like I always did. I kicked Hayner's ass at Tekken, like I always did, and Pence beat me eighteen times in a row at darts. Olette seemed almost beside herself since there was no homework, summer's or otherwise, to pester us about.

Later though, she happily announced to us that she had a new boyfriend, and Pence followed her up by saying that he was soon going to be taking over his dad's ice cream parlor. I told them about how the day with Axel had gone, and Hayner, being Hayner, complained about how everyone had something exciting going on and he was just his boring old self.

It was surreal to me, that we were still just a bunch of mischievous, partying teenagers. While everything around us was changing, we were still the same people. In that one fleeting moment, I realized that the world wasn't really so complicated. As long as I had my friends, my family, and of course, Axel, I wouldn't have anything to worry about.

~The really real epilogue~

Roxas went to college, like he planned, moved in with Axel, like he planned, and went on to become a relatively successful columnist for Twilight Town's newspaper, like he hadn't planned. Axel kept his job at the high school, but went back to school to get a degree in English, a subject he and Roxas both agreed was "much safer."

Vanitas and Cloud checked into rehab on the same day. Shortly after, they began doing touring seminars together, about the travels of their emo fucked up lives to school kids around the country. Cloud quit touring before Vanitas, going on to writing about his experiences instead so he could settle down with Zack.

After graduating, Sora got a perfectly normal, perfectly boring job in the corporate offices of Dusk, Twilight Town's leading manufacturer of fireworks. He and Axel got along pretty well after that.

Olette married the boyfriend she'd told the gang about, a man named Zell, and became an assistant veterinarian at a big time clinic in Hollow Bastion, a city about an hour away from Twilight Town. She still meets up with the boys at the usual spot on the second Saturday of every month.

Autumn Kauffman cleaned up her act and became the manager of the jewelry store at the center of Tram Common. Axel ran into her at the shop some time later and asked her to help him pick out some very, very important merchandise.

Five years, six months, and two weeks after graduation, Axel proposed to Roxas.

Roxas accepted.

Hayner surprised everyone on a seemingly random Saturday some time after by announcing his engagement to Naminé, who'd founded and led Art for a Purpose, a non-profit organization that raised money for charities by hosting art galleries around the region.

Ventus ran away with Terra on a whim, returning only after several months had passed to attend Roxas' wedding. Terra came with him… along with their new girlfriend, Aqua, who was visibly pregnant, though they refused to say with which one, nor the nature of their relationship.

Pence lost weight.

Nine years, four months, and three weeks after graduation, Axel and Roxas were approved to adopt a baby girl of their own.

Axel named her Rikku, and was unconditionally and irreversibly wrapped around her little fingers, while Roxas remained unconditionally and irreversibly wrapped around his fingers. Roxas' mother swears she makes faces just like Roxas did, even though they'd assured her a hundred times that there had been no groundbreaking science that allowed he and Axel to have babies. When Rikku grew hair, it was an uncanny shade of strawberry blonde.

Roxas' father retired early, becoming a better grandparent to Roxas' and Ventus' children than he'd ever been a parent. He never did find out about his wife's mini crush on her son's spouse.

Every day for fifty-nine years, seven months, one week, and a day after graduation (discounting the one time Axel had the 24 hour flu) Axel managed to find a minute to tell Roxas he loved him.

Life went on.

gidhhfofhibbkyblyviblly That's All Folks! I really do hope you liked it, even if I didn't.

KingdomFlameVIII out

*EDIT!* ATTENTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN (lol as if I have a male reader). There is a Senioritis-themed Christmas sideshot, for your reading pleasure. It's called We'll Have Halloween On Christmas. So for those of you who thought this was over too fast, NEVER FEAR! THERE IS MORE!