From Me to You

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story they belong respectfully to Square Enix.

Warning: Themes of shounen-ai/yaoi/homosexual relationships and whatever, you know all that good stuff, AU and also some mild OOC-ness… mentions of drug abuse, pregnancy and abandonment. There will be various time skips as well. If any of this bothers you then you have the option of not reading.

Music: "You'll be in My Heart" by Phil Collins

A/N: I had a few thoughts after watching Law and Order: SVU and then there was one of my favorite movies, Disney's Tarzan :') I also kept thinking about this anime I had to stop watching due to school exams called Usagi Drop which I'm planning to pick up again if time will allow me to but basically what I'm trying to say is that I had very many influences while coming up with this story and I just wanted to share how I happened upon making all of this up—and once again I am rambling on so you can totally ignore this now if you want ^^;

5/21/13 – I've gone back and edited some grammatical mistakes to the best of my abilities and revised a few things for the sake of comprehension and necessity on my part.

-x-x-x-x-

It was still the dead of winter in the sleepy metropolis of Radiant Garden. Just two months ago, Christmas had been hanging in the air but now the bright lights, trees, eggnog and Santa Clause had all but dried up and disappeared. In place of all the previous holiday cheer, there were pink and red hearts, roses of all kinds littering the entire city and its populace like a whirlwind of confetti during a parade, all of which were screaming about the upcoming commercial holiday called, Valentine's Day.

Sadly though, there was no such love or care that could be spared to someone very small, someone tiny and helpless with no way to stop the cruelty being committed upon them. One of the New Year's most anticipated, love filled holiday was but a tearful period in the tiny life for one such person—a tiny life, that had only just been born several hours ago.

"Absolute filth…" A woman hissed under her breath as her feet moved quickly towards Radiant Garden's central park under the cover of night.

In her arms, she carried a small bundle wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, the material being the perfect instrument used to muffle the soft cries of her newborn son. She held the infant flimsily, uncaring if the new life inside would even be able to survive long enough to live through her attempt of finding a solution to dispose of him. All she knew was that her child was a hindrance, an unwanted thorn at her side that she needed to rid herself of as quickly as possible, no matter what method she had to resort to.

"Argh, I can't believe this…" She clicked her tongue, her voice filled with annoyance. "Would you just shut up you horrible brat! Shut up and be quiet!"

With heels clicking hard against the gravel floor, the woman felt confident in her mission since there was not a soul in sight. Despite her hasty yet dignified stride, there was still a thick cloud of uneasiness hanging in the air especially since there was still a chance that she could be caught in the act. But in her time of arrogance, that thought was easily pushed into the back of her mind, and the further she ventured into the darkness of the park, the more she felt assured that there would be no one around to neither question nor stop her from committing her taboo.

The young woman never wanted the child in the first place yet her lover at the time was adamant about her going through with the pregnancy in the hopes that they could become a proper family. Unfortunately, their 'relationship' fell apart at the seams by the time she hit her eighth month. Nine months of stressful pregnancy and having to deal with a hopeless druggie of a boyfriend were just too much for her to handle and with them no longer together, she didn't see a point in keeping the fruits of their failed relationship. Maybe giving up the kid for adoption would have been a better idea than what she was doing now but who in their right mind would even want such a child like hers in the first place? With all the drugs she had been on throughout the year, the kid would probably need some mental or health related assistance, something she couldn't afford so why bother trying to put a couple through the same predicament? That was her resolution.

Stopping in the middle of an intersection along the jagged path, she turned to her left and eyed the trash bin with narrowed cyan blue colored eyes. It could work she thought. Frowning, she then looked down briefly at the child, its cries growing slightly louder the longer it stayed hidden under the blanket. Sighing, she glanced left then right again just to make sure she was really, truly alone—it was now or never.

-x-x-x-x-

Roxas yawned loudly, his arms stretched out over his head to help give his spine a few much needed cracks after having sat hunched over his desk for more than three hours. The time was nine-thirty PM and just fifteen minutes ago he had been let out of his good old night class. Being a junior at Radiant Garden University was no easy task, especially with senior graduation just around the corner now that he was in his second term of his third year. Soon, very soon he would earn his long awaited bachelor's degree in literature and be a writer just like he had always wanted. It didn't necessarily guarantee that he'd be successful but at the very least, he'd be doing something that made him happy.

Passing through the gates of the park towards his apartment, Roxas' pace slowly began to quicken. The thought of only a year and a half left until he could finally graduate from the torture of university was all but exciting to him. There would be no more stress from exams or homework, no more boring lectures or professors to talk his ear out with their noses held high up in the air. He'd be home free in due time and just barely, he thought he could taste his dream now that he was inching closer and closer to it than ever before.

Suddenly feeling the urge to run, Roxas bolted across the granite path with a grin, his feet pounding heavily against the ground with each step he threw forward. His messenger bag tapped roughly against his hip as his feet moved at a sprint, with the cool wind in his face and blowing through his golden tresses. It was the closest thing to freedom that he could get and he was going to enjoy every damn second of it.

"Just you wait, Radiant Garden U! Soon, I'll prove to you how great I can be!" Roxas yelled into the night at the top of his lungs, voice raspy yet dripping with confidence as he gave out a laugh.

Just as Roxas was coming to a slow jog, the stifled sound of a crying infant perked his interest and he slowly came to an abrupt stop. The soft shriek sounded weak and had moments of fluctuation despite the faintness in its voice. It was as if the person had been screaming for half an hour, maybe even longer but Roxas couldn't tell for sure. One thing was certain though, and that was how severely the crying tore painfully at his heartstrings and there was no way that he could find it in himself to unconsciously walk away from it like the typical Radiant Garden bastards. Turning his body round and round, Roxas slowly closed his eyes and began listening carefully for the muted cries.

'Maybe the parent is having a hard time controlling the baby? But still, who in their right mind would even be out this late at night with their kid?' he thought to himself.

Roxas knew he shouldn't bother looking into the cause of his curiosity. The situation wasn't any of his business after all but the thought of the child—the way it was crying seemed as though the baby were calling out to him, begging him to stay and not leave it alone. Like a sailor, Roxas was drawn to the infant siren and before he knew what he was doing, his feet shuffled only to carefully move forward in pursuit of the crying baby.

The ache he felt in his chest was possessing as the blonde began his search for the tearful call. He feared for the worst the louder the sound grew and he knew then that he was getting closer to the source. Approaching the intersection of the park, he stood in the very middle between the four pathways.

The shrieks were here, but the baby was nowhere in sight to his dismay. No parent, no stroller and definitely no baby and yet the cries were coming from this particular spot.

If the baby wasn't here out in the open, then that left the only place he could think of to look—the trash bin. Turning to look at the large cylinder shaped tube filled with garbage, his blue eyes flickered and he concentrated hard at listening for the child. Just barely he could hear the echo of the infant's cry coming from inside the bin's interior and instantly he felt the color drain from his face. It was a horrifying realization, to think that someone would do this and in his head, his mind was screaming to call the authorities. Yet, Roxas couldn't bring himself to do it, not yet, not until his curiosity was quenched.

Who could have done this he asked himself over and over again. 'Who could have been so heartless as to abandon such an innocent life like this?'

Gulping down his nervousness, Roxas finally had enough standing around. Walking right up to the bin, he lifted the cover, unsure if he was really prepared to face the inevitable situation that he was in.

Dropping the lid beside his feet, his hands grasped the rims of the trash bin and he peeked inside to discover a tightly wrapped bundle that was struggling fiercely to get loose from its binding's. Lifting the thick flap of the blanket, Roxas finally met the infant, his lips falling short in a soft gasp of absolute shock.

Indeed, just as he had feared there was a baby, disposed of in the cold inside of a degrading bin of waste. Like the garbage it laid on top of, whoever decided to leave the child felt no love whatsoever and had every intention of abandoning the poor infant in the dead of February's wintery season to freeze.

Upon noticing that there was someone finally there, the infant's cries began to quiet until it became a soft sniffle. Under the dim street light, Roxas was met with the purest shade of green eyes he had ever seen in his life. Despite the tears that were still slipping from the edges of those small eyes, he was instantly enthralled by the child. Without another moment's hesitation, Roxas reached inside, blue eyes sparkling as the baby's tiny hands reached out for him.

Taking the infant carefully into his arms, Roxas looked down into the pale tear stained face.

'What a cute kid.' He thought to himself before whispering softly. "Hi there little guy."

Pressing the fragile bundle close to his chest, Roxas held the infant firmly, releasing soft coos of comfort to ease the thick anxiety that hung in the air. The child stopped crying almost immediately after Roxas picked him up, but now it seemed as though he was the one shedding tears instead of the baby in his arms. His chest was hurting, his heart throbbing painfully—all for the sake of the unknown newborn but Roxas didn't care.

"How could someone do this to you?" Roxas whispered sadly, his breath released harshly into the air as it accumulated into a soft cloud that quickly dissipated like a puff of smoke.

Looking into the child's eyes once more, he didn't notice how heavy his tears were as they rolled off of his warm cheeks, only to fall on the infant's face like droplets of rain water. The green eyed babe could only stare back at his crying face in wonder with his tiny hands fisted into tight balls. It couldn't understand the nature of the situation but seeing Roxas suddenly cry was all it took for him to begin whimpering and shedding more tears of its own again.

"Shh… Don't cry, please don't cry…" Roxas cooed through his shaky voice but it was all in vain. "You aren't alone now, I'm here, and I won't go anywhere little guy."

Cradling the small body, he slowly began to rock the infant in his arms, his voice turning into a soft hum that quickly lullabied the baby into a light sleep.

Once he saw the infant close its eyes, Roxas felt mildly satisfied but the throbbing sensation in his chest was still there and ached terribly. Looking around, he knew they couldn't stay out here all night and he was not about to abandon the poor thing like the twisted individual before him. Biting his lip, Roxas turned towards the direction of the twenty-four hour super market not too far from the apartment he shared with his older brother. He was going to need baby formula and some diaper's.

Smiling softly down at the calm infant, he held it carefully with one arm only to reach down with his other hand and graze his fingers across thin, baby soft red hair. For some reason, it felt natural for him to comfort this one baby. Already, he was growing attached and in his heart, he had a feeling that maybe, just maybe this was fate and that maybe this was meant to be. If whoever had done this didn't have the love necessary to raise the child, then he would do it. He would be the one to give this little baby all the love and care it needed.

"I won't leave you, I promise," He said as he leaned forward to press his lips against the child's temple.

-x-x-x-x-

Four Years Later…

"Ahh! S-sir!" Roxas screeched in horror, his voice trembling as his boss held him down against the desk. It was highly unprofessional and it made the blonde's skin crawl each and every time he was subjected to the older man's advances.

"Aw, but Roxy, I'm bored, entertain me." The redhead grinned above him, his lips turned up into a rather mischievous smirk, the kind of smirk that Roxas really hated about him.

"We're in the office! It's ten in the morning and this is no place for 'that' kind of activity! Now get off me you pig, before I really get angry!" the blond glared but his boss continued to smile down at him, unaffected by his assistant's bout of fury.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Roxy?" Axel whispered against the blonde's neck, pressing his hips a little harder into the other's lower body to pin him securely down into the desk.

'This is all to support Lea, this is all to support Lea!' Roxas chanted repeatedly in his head.

Unfortunately, the position he found himself in was a serious matter and no amount of optimism could distract him once he felt the redhead's long finger's inch towards his groin. A simple brush against the material of his slacks had Roxas gasping for air, his blue eyes wide with fear. Letting out a surprised scream, he jerked forward only to head butt his boss and scrambled out from under him as fast as he possibly could to get away.

Landing on the carpet with a loud yelp, Roxas panted nervously, his hand clutching the front of his dress shirt tightly while Axel held his head and groaned. Falling back into his leather chair, it was in the next second that Demyx came barging in through the doors after having heard Roxas' scream.

"Alright! What happened?" the older blond exclaimed hysterically.

Seeing the pained look on Axel's face and then seeing his cousin on the ground, obviously just having escaped from another one of the redhead's voyeuristic attempts to sexually harass him, Demyx sighed.

Demyx knew Roxas was grateful to him for the job but still, the older blond sometimes felt that his cousin didn't deserve the trouble Axel put him through even if he needed the income. Shaking his head, he figured that it was the Strife family's curse, honestly who could blame Roxas for being so handsome looking and charming? He wasn't just any typical blond haired, blue eyed male, he was a Strife and he had charisma in both his looks and personality. Well, maybe just his looks since his personality was still questionable but Demyx wasn't about to tell him that unless he wanted to get punched in the face.

"I bet your hard on is gone now, right Axel?" Demyx teased as he crossed his arms with a grin.

"Shut up, Dem." Axel replied while rubbing the ache he felt still pulsing on his nose.

Rolling his eyes, Demyx walked the short distance over to his cousin and yanked the smaller blond up onto his feet. Roxas was still shaking much to his dismay, so without another word Demyx escorted him out of the office and towards the break room.

"Man, this has got to be the fifth time this week that I've came running to your rescue."

"Really? Where were you the other ten times?"

"Ten! Wha?—"

Roxas chuckled, amused by the other blonde's speechlessness. "Yeah, ten."

"It's only Thursday and he's already close to hitting on you twenty times this week? Jeez, he must not be getting his daily dose of sexual relief from whatever woman is occupying his life and bed..." Demyx mused.

"Pft, tell me about it… and I have to suffer for it as a result…"

"Look, I know you probably don't want to hear this but have you thought about y'know, transferring? Maybe even finding a new job?" the older blond asked slowly, emphasizing his words carefully for his cousin to pick up the concern in his voice.

Arching a brow, Roxas stopped in his tracks. It was obvious that he hadn't taken those thoughts into consideration before, mostly because he was stubborn that way and would rather go through hell and back than give up half way in the game.

"I knew it." Demyx said with a sigh.

"Please, Dem I don't want to hear it. Yes, I'm not particularly fond of this job but it pays well and I'm able to put a little more away for Lea and help out at home with Cloud. Besides, I write on the side remember? I'm sort of a writer, so I'm not wasting my degree in literature."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but I can't help but worry about you, Rox. I mean, after a year of suffering under Axel the menace, I'd have thought you would pick up and leave like all the others." Throwing his arm around the shorter blond, he ruffled his hair which earned him a disgruntled growl from his cousin. "You are a real trooper my dear boy!"

"Dem…" he growled, causing Demyx to holler with laughter.

Tugging his cousin by the arm, they entered the break room in silence and settled down for a quick cup of coffee together before returning to work for the next couple of hours. Their conversation consisted mostly of Demyx doting on and on about his partner of five years, Zexion Lorenzo while Roxas shared cellphone pictures that Cloud had taken of him and Lea at Radiant Garden's central park zoo the weekend before.

The older blond loved how devoted of a father Roxas was to the little boy he found four years ago. Unfortunately, the entire Strife family had felt otherwise and had been afraid that Roxas would fail as a parent since he didn't have a mother or father of his own to teach him the ropes of parenthood, both having long since died on a rainy night out driving when he was just a baby. He was still in college at the time as well when he made the brash decision and it was ludicrous that the state gave into Roxas' request the very moment he asked for custody of the infant. The only parental figures in his life he had to fall back on was his older brother Cloud and their distant uncle, Cid Highwind but even so Roxas proved his family wrong and turned out to be a great dad to Lea in his cousin's eyes.

Roxas' college year's after having adopted Lea was probably the hardest period in his young life that Demyx had ever seen him experience. Balancing his job at the local café, school and taking care of a baby was an intense lifestyle but everyone, both close family and friends gave him support and the help he needed to graduate on time, thank goodness.

With the college chapter of his life over and done with, next came the hard part which was finding a real job. Working at the café while freelancing with the local paper could hardly be considered a career which was why when Demyx finally hit a six month period working under White Fire Publishing, he made it his mission to help raise Roxas' income for Lea. And it worked but at a high price, one where Roxas had no choice but to endure the cruelty of the company's vice president, Axel Trenton.

At the time, Roxas had been working under Demyx in his group on his side of the building, which was being an editor for the literature team. It was by mere chance that he and Axel met in the elevator on a Wednesday in March a year ago, and from the get go, the vice president had been smitten by the Strife's beauty. On that very same day, Roxas was moved from his cousin's supervision to the top floor as the redhead's assistant which had many employees stunned with shock and envy since Axel had stated that he would never take another subordinate again after the whole Kairi fiasco months before.

Since then, Demyx's cousin suffered the flames of hell without much complaint; maybe a curse or two just to spite Axel but overall he was forbearing for the most part. The younger blonde's only reason for tolerating such a profuse amount of spitfire from Axel was because moneywise, he was getting paid well enough to support his family and received benefits that would not only cover his wellbeing but also Lea's. This, Demyx really had to give his cousin some points to since he usually was quite the testy individual but if there was a way to give Lea a better life—no matter what sacrifices he had to make, Demyx knew that Roxas would be willing to knuckle down for the kid; just as long as his temper didn't fly through the roof of course.

Soon, the two finished their second cups of coffee and parted way in the hall to return to their designated work environments. By the time lunch rolled around, Roxas left the company building briskly at one PM as usual to pick up his son from preschool. No one knew why he left, except for Demyx himself and the girl at the front desk, Namine but Roxas liked to keep it that way—his personal and work life separate that is.

Denied as usual by his assistant for lunch together, Axel couldn't understand why his assistant was so adamant in keeping his schedule so organized and as free of the redhead as possible. It unnerved him sometimes how very reclusive the blond was since no one had ever been able to stand up against his charm but Roxas proved him wrong. Unfortunately, it made his assistant all the more desirable to him, making his insides churn with excitement whenever the twenty-four year old was around him. He wanted the blond wrapped around his finger, like a ribbon, secure and tight until the day he would have his assistant unraveled and begging for more.

-x-x-x-x-

The day was finally over much to Roxas' relief. Just an hour ago he declined Axel's invitation to the bar, again. Though he had been mildly threatened about being fired if he didn't join the redhead, he managed to defer the offer until the next weekend during their time off. Tomorrow would be his last day of work for the week and he was excited since if meant he would have some quality time to spend with Lea.

At the moment, his bundle of joy was at home with the uncles, Cloud and Leon. Though he would have loved to take Lea to work with him after preschool, his office was no place for a child, especially since his boss had little to no restraint already when it came to his degrading escapades towards Roxas, so why would Axel even think about toning it down with a child in the room?

As he neared the apartment he shared with his older brother and brother in-law, the sound of Lea's laughter caused him to stop for a moment in front of the door and smile. He imagined the child's toothy grin, the unconditional exuberance that constantly twinkled in his bright green eyes. Oh how he loved that boy.

Inserting the key into the keyhole, Roxas twisted the device until it clicked. Sighing nervously, he slowly began to loosen his shoes, swinging the door open until it allowed him enough room to stand in front of the walk way to move right on in.

Just as Roxas entered the apartment and closed the door behind him, Lea's pounding feet against the floor brought his eyes up and he stared at the little redhead with a wide smile—it was good to finally be back home.

"Daddy, you're back!" Lea exclaimed as he quickly ran towards the blond with small open arms.

Kneeling down, Roxas captured the lad. Hugging him close, he chuckled softly, pressing his nose into the child's bright red tresses. Lifting the four year old up, he made sure to lock the door behind him before entering the living room with Lea in tow.

Leon was found lying on the floor, an amused expression on his face as Lea promptly stuck his tongue out at the brunet. Cloud had his back turned to everyone, his attention drawn towards the stove while he stood there in the kitchen preparing dinner for everyone.

"Lea, is that really any way to treat your uncle?" Roxas laughed.

"Yes!"

"And why is that?"

"Because! Before you came in, Uncle Leon was wrestling me and, and he had me pinned down! You should have seen it! He was getting ready to sit on me! I would have been squashed into a pancake!"

"Really now?"

"Yes!" Lea exclaimed. Leaning towards his father's ear, the redhead began to whisper. "Don't you see how big of a butt Uncle Leon has? It's huge, he can turn anyone into a pancake just by sitting on them."

In that instant, Roxas bit his lower lip, hoping to stifle the laughter that was threatening to escape from his mouth. Turning away, Lea giggled while Leon just stared up at the pair with narrowed stormy blue eyes.

"You know, I heard that Lea."

"Heard what?" Cloud asked over his shoulder, his spatula moving quickly around the stir fry he was cooking.

"Lea said that if I sat on him, I'd squish him to the point of being a pancake because I apparently have a 'huge' butt."

This caused Cloud to snort. "I think he has a point, y'know—I mean you wear an awful lot of leather pants and it makes your buttocks rather big and plump so I wouldn't be surprised if one day you do manage to flatten someone into a pancake." Hearing his brother's comment, Roxas was all but helpless as he released a string of giggles.

"Are you serious?" Leon stood up; dusting his pants he walked off into the kitchen to stand beside his husband. Frowning, he crossed his arms but Cloud made no reaction to the brunet's displeasure.

"Yes, I'm being serious." Cloud replied.

"That's just cold."

"So, what? Are you going to cry now?" Eying his brother and Lea in the living room, Cloud smirked lightly as he let his free hand wander over towards Leon's side. Placing his hand right against the brunet's butt, he gave it a firm squeeze that caused Leon to shudder in place. "Yup, its plump alright—but at least I can still feel some firmness from when we were in college."

"Cloud…" Leon growled but all it did was make Cloud's smirk widen even more.

"Oh my god, really? Guys, get a room!" Roxas glared and that quickly set the duo straight as Leon rushed back out into the living room and Cloud rolled his eyes at having the moment ruined.

The rest of the night continued on with more jokes and poking fun at Leon. Dinner was spent happily together, with Lea telling another one of his tall tales about his playground adventures with his friend, Isa Ferguson. Afterwards when Roxas began doing the dishes, it was Leon's turn to give Lea his nightly bath. The two of them partook in a short splash war which Cloud quickly ended much to their disappointment but once they saw the large puddle they had made on the bathroom floor, they apologized quickly.

Despite Roxas' exhaustion, he was determined to be the one that tucked Lea into bed and read him his daily dose of bedtime stories every night. Tonight it was the adventures of Aladdin, one of the redhead's favorite tales. Though he had been excited at the beginning, Lea was slowly but surely falling into a deep slumber. By the time Roxas arrived at the very last page, the boy was found fast asleep in dreamland on cloud nine.

With the room quiet and filled with tranquility, it relaxed Roxas' previous nerves that had been caused by his overbearing boss. Kissing his son's temple, he lifted himself up off the bed to retrieve a towel that hung from his desk chair in order to take a much needed shower to reduce the stiffness in his worn out muscles.

A five minute soap and rinse later, Roxas was clean and ready for bed himself. Like every night before, he climbed into the king sized bed he shared with Lea. In the past, they use to have a standard bed but because the redhead made a habit of moving around in his sleep, sometimes even kicking Roxas in the gut, the switch to a king size was a smart investment on Roxas' part. Although he didn't really mind the nightly attacks before, the extra space they now had allowed Roxas to have enough room to scoot away from Lea if it need be whenever the four year old got a little interesting in his sleep.

Lying down on the mattress next to his four year old son, Roxas smiled softly at the peaceful expression adorned on the young child's face. He slowly ran his fingers through the short red hair that seemed to like to stick up everywhere whenever Lea laid his head down on the pillow. Even in the morning, the kid's bed head was one of the most adorable quirks that Roxas had ever seen in his life, along with that sleepy smile of his after waking up.

It was then, that Roxas suddenly began to wonder just how much longer he had left in the next year or two to enjoy moments like these before they disappeared for good. After all, Lea was growing up and even though he was experiencing such a wonderful time as a parent to the little four year old, Roxas couldn't help but feel sad all of a sudden now that the realization was hitting him.

Shaking his head, Roxas groaned softly out of a need to release some of the built up tension he was feeling emotionally. If he was given the choice to control whether or not Lea could grow up or not, he'd let the boy's life run its course because that was what he wanted—to raise Lea and give him all the love and care he could. It was inevitable after all, and it wasn't much of a surprise for him to feel so apprehensive about his child getting older either because didn't all parents experience this feeling of sadness? Maybe for him it was too early but Roxas was a special case, even he was aware of that and he loved and doted on little redhead like no other. Giving Lea one last glance, he leaned in close to give the redhead a final kiss goodnight against his forehead before turning on his side and letting his mind drift off into space.