A/N: Heya! Finally got to post this chapter. Been really busy with stuff lately, making accommodations for going to comicon in New York! Totally excited. That and my boyfriend likes to play a lot of video games with me, mostly League of Legends. So I hardly find time to write anymore! I do love this story though and it's like, all I've been thinking about. I hope I can make it readable and well liked for you guys. I wanna thank you all for reviewing the last chapter too! Let me know what you think again, alright? Promise? Okay good. I love you all. :]

::-Coffee and Cigarettes-::

CHAPTER IV

Marlboro Reds

"What's your name?"

Slightly lost looking blue eyes regarded the girl who had sat down in front of him. For a moment, he thought that she wasn't really there and he had finally gone insane. But she wasn't disappearing, nor was she saying anything else.

He decided to answer her. "Roxas. And you?"

"I'm Naminé. Nice to meet you." She held a hand over the table.

Solemn features graced Roxas' face and he turned his head away from her outstretched hand. Instead of apologizing or anything of the like, he just made a small noise and stared out the window.

"What's the matter, Roxas?"

"Life bites, big time," he mumbled.

"Wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener."

He let his eyes drift towards her for a few moments. She was small and actually pretty cute with snow blond hair that flowed over her thin shoulders and a very inviting smile. He realized that she was about his age and also that she…was his waitress from only a few minutes ago. "Aren't you…working right now?"

She nodded her head and pulled out a notepad. "Yes, but I'm on break." She began writing, taking note of Roxas as she did.

He eyed her suspiciously. "What are you doing…?"

"Drawing you."

Apparently that was a justified response.

Roxas didn't really care though.

"Anyways, you can continue with talking. I'd like to hear about what's on your mind."

A sigh escaped his mouth and he started speaking to this girl. "I ran away from home, stole my Father's car, slept at a stranger's house, found out he's a drug addict, got kicked out by his pyscho boyfriend, and now I'm in a coffee shop talking to a random girl who decided to draw me…" he trailed off, eyeing said girl slightly.

She momentarily stopped drawing but continued when she said, "That sounds a little unorthodox."

"You're telling me…" He set his chin onto a warm palm as he sipped from his cup.

"So are what are you going to do now?"

"Haven't really thought about it yet…probably sleep in my car," he told her sardonically.

"I didn't mean tonight. What are you going to do, now that you've ran away?"

She didn't beat around the bush. Roxas couldn't tell if he liked that about her or hated it.

"I haven't thought about that yet either. I'm making this up as I go along. I'm basically a fucking hobo right now," he growled a little at her.

She didn't look offended though; she just pursed her lips and spoke slowly. "Wellll, that's defiantly something you have to figure out, Roxas. You can't just be homeless."

"Like I don't already know that!" He was getting angry. This girl wasn't helping him one bit.

"Why did you run away?"

He blinked his eyes widely. "What…?"

"Why did you do it?"

She continued drawing as Roxas spoke. "Because…my Dad told me to…"

"Why would he tell you something like that?"

"Because…" his eyes turned to the snow covered streets outside of the window, "because he hates me…because he's an alcoholic bastard who beats my mother…"

Naminé finally looked very shocked. "That's serious business, Roxas."

"Well what the hell was I supposed to do about it? My Mother is too scared to stand up for herself and she's even more terrified of leaving him. I hate him…I hate her…" His heart hurt. His head felt jumbled and dreamy. Kind of like none of this was really happening. Like he had just fallen asleep back at his house and he'd wake up in no time to realize this was all just some kind of fucked up nightmare.

"You love them, Roxas. You just hate what they have become…Look, see?" The blonde haired girl handed the boy her drawing. "You're sad. You're sad because you had to leave them. You're sad because you feel lost without them. You're upset and frustrated like you don't know where to turn because behind every corner there may be monsters waiting to harm you. But you've been harmed enough, haven't you?"

He was amazed at how she had just basically described his whole situation so quickly. And without even knowing who he really was or what it was he was going through exactly.

Not to mention the drawing was ridiculously well done.

But he did look sad…she had drawn him with his hand under his chin, looking out the window. Perhaps he was doing that the most while they had been talking. She even drew the coffee mug, steam and everything.

"You should pursue this, you're really good…" Roxas said, nothing else coming to mind.

"Think so?" She put a finger to her mouth and became thoughtful.

He nodded. "Yeah."

She just shrugged. "If you say so, Roxas. Oh!" she checked her watch, "my break is over! Guess it's back to serving more black coffee." She grinned and stood up but spoke once more before totally leaving the blond. "Come back if you need someone to talk to."

Roxas didn't know what to make of the girl…but maybe she had helped him. Just a little bit.

x-x

"Reno…"

"Nhghhh…shut it. You're tensing up," he growled.

"I've…seriously had enough…" Axel tried once again to convince the man that he was finished. He was done. He was tired. It was over and all he wanted to do was take some Advil and try his hardest to just…sleep.

"I said shut up."

There wasn't much he could do after that but let Reno have his way. It seemed like hours had passed until he stopped fucking the taller redhead. When it was finally over, Axel couldn't move. He could hardly form cohesive sentences either.

"I…get me some pills…Reno…"

"Get them yourself, you have legs."

"But you just…you asshole…" Axel tried moving and managed to get into the kitchen somehow. His backside was killing him. Everything on his lower half screamed in pain. He was almost about to down the whole bottle of pain medicine.

But that was when his eyes hit the box of Claritin on the counter and he suddenly remembered:

There was once a small, smiling blond in this kitchen.

But now he was nowhere to be found.

The question was…why?

He popped a few pills then threw them back into the cupboard and limped back towards the bedroom to find Reno lighting up a cigarette. He glared at the man. "I hate it when people smoke in here, you fucking now that."

"I'm not going outside, Axel. Get the fuck over it," he spat, blowing smoking into the air.

"Where is Roxas…?" he then asked, getting really fed up with the other man's presence.

He shrugged and flicked ash onto the floor with little respect for the fact that this was Axel's fucking room. "Hell if I know. Kid practically ran out of here the moment you shot up."

Green eyes went glossy as he felt his heart rate speed up in terror of this man actually telling the truth about the blond.

"You're…lying, he didn't…" He tried his hardest to remember but…he couldn't. It was a blur. He knew that Reno had fucked him…a lot. And that was it.

Reno glared at Axel who had a look on his face like someone had just taken his favorite toy away. It made him want to kill the indigent boy who was doing this to his boyfriend. That little rat.

"Forget about that kid, Axel. You have me."

"Don't tell me what to do. I don't even want to be with you," he derided truthfully. He knew he was sick and tired of Reno's abuse. Cynicism aside, he'd seriously had enough of his fucking pestilential arrogance.

In spite of what Axel had said, Reno burst into laughter, holding the side of his gut like he was about to pop a spleen. "You're funny, Axel," he finally spurted, putting out his cigarette in Axel's favorite coffee mug.

Anger was forming in his lower gut. Something he usually didn't have to deal with when he was high. Reno was a lowlife prick but he hadn't always wanted to strangle him as much as he did then.

"I would appreciate it if you left, Reno," Axel said, trying his patience.

Blue eyes sparkled. "Hmmmm…maybe when I wake up. I'm going to sleep." He lowered his head and in almost an instant, he was fast asleep on Axel's bed.

His hands were just itching for the flesh on Reno's neck but he didn't have the balls to actually do anything. Why? Mostly because Reno was really controlling which meant Axel hardly ever won fights against him. Besides, he didn't feel like talking to him anymore.

Knowing that sleep was probably in a far off land where dragons and unicorns existed, Axel instead slipped on his moccasins and decided to go for a walk. Even though he hurt, he couldn't stand to be around the other redhead any longer.

He put on a black parka over his bare chest along with some worn down jeans that had seen better days. As he left the apartment he could hear Reno's snoring from where he was standing.

I really have to do something about him one of these days…he thought.

Axel was very surprised to see Roxas' silver Cobalt still in the parking lot. His heart jumped and he sped quickly to the driver's side. When he leaned down and rubbed some snow off the window he could see a tiny bit of blond.

Roxas was still there. He'd just…decided to sleep in his car. Most likely because Axel had done something to upset him. Totally fucking great.

He knocked on the window but couldn't see Roxas' reaction. It was too foggy in the car. He tried again. Roxas used his gloved hand to wipe away some of the frost and steam that had collected on the inside of the window to reveal a small hole.

Now Axel could see him.

The blond huffed when he saw that man on the other side of the glass. Of course he had shown up. And just when Roxas had finally fallen asleep, despite the fact that it was practically snowing inside of his car. He rubbed his eyes a bit and squinted them at the redhead.

Before Axel could even reach for the door handle, Roxas used the automatic locks to seal them shut then turned back around to sleep again.

The older man started shouting and Roxas put his hands over his ears. Couldn't he see that he didn't want to speak to him…? He growled and used a chilled finger to write, "Go away," backwards on the window so that Axel could read it and understand.

"Open the door, come on Rox…What'd I do? Please just talk to me, I want to talk."

He was most likely still high…and Roxas wanted nothing to do with high Axel. Sure, sober Axel was kind of a pleasure to be around. But anything else was like Hell served in red cup with a side of flames.

He did not plan on getting burned anymore.

"You've been harmed enough, haven't you?"

Fingers tangled in his hair and he pulled, causing his skull to become tingly with pain. This whole situation was too much. He really wondered how long he was going to last up against the world like this.

"I'll wait outside all night, Roxas."

Good. I hope you freeze to death.

His back was towards the window, his whole body curled in on itself like a ball of flesh. He had found a tarp like blanket under the seats that he was using to keep warm. It helped but not much. It had taken almost two hours to fall asleep. All that time his mind wandered and so did his eyes. Right up to Axel's bedroom window.

Jealously clung to his heart like a magnet. He hated Reno for all he was worth. Hate wasn't even a strong enough word for what he was feeling. Something more like malice sounded better in his mind.

"You're probably really cold in there, huh?"

Probably not as cold as you are right now.

"I can go get you some blankets, if you want?"

Why was he being so nice? Sober Axel wasn't even this nice. "Just go away," Roxas finally spoke, loud enough so that Axel could possibly hear him.

Axel did though and this perked him up some. Finally the blond had spoken. "Hey, glad you're talking to me."

"Fuck off, Axel," Roxas yelled, shutting him down.

Cringing a little, Axel asked, "What did I do?"

"You…did heroin in front of me and made me watch…you let your stupid boyfriend beat me and you just watched…" he whispered under his breath. Of course Axel didn't hear him. He was still waiting.

"Did you say something, Rox?"

"I said go die!"

"Can we please talk, Roxas? Without this fucking sound barrier? I can hardly hear you."

The only way to get Axel to leave him alone was to talk to him. Fantastic.

He unlocked the doors with one lazy finger and it took less than a second for Axel to open it and swoop the blond out of the car.

"Fucking hell! Put me down!"

Axel ran with the boy in his arms, stumbling over his shoes and jeans but thankfully not dropping his luggage. Though it was even harder when his luggage started throwing punches at him.

Roxas' butt connected with the floor and he hissed, glaring daggers at the idiot who had just run up three flights of stairs with him in his arms then senselessly threw him on the floor.

They were both silent, Axel was smiling a little but the other male was far from any kind of smiling act.

"You're crossing the line, Axel," Roxas finally said when he scooted his way to the couch, leaning his back against it.

The redhead just chuckled a little. "I wasn't aware of any lines."

Roxas for once thought that his laughing was horrid and unjustified. He wasn't in any position to be laughing. He shouldn't have been allowed to smile either.

"Well I'd like to inform you that there is one right there, right now," he pointed to the ground about halfway between them. "Cross it and I'm done."

The smile left his lips and he nodded. "Alright. I'll play your game, Roxas."

Yeah. This was all just a game to him.

"You wanted to talk. So start talking." Roxas crossed his arms on his chest.

Axel suddenly looked around the room, confused and then…focused. But then slightly winded. He was so tired and the drugs were about to knock him out for good. "I just…wanted to know what I did wrong…"

"Well if you had any ounce of brain left you'd realize what your errors were. Or maybe the drugs have finally destroyed every last brain cell you have. I know they've killed all of Reno's. All but his sadistic ones," Roxas snapped.

"Reno said you left after I shot up," Axel replied, his voice fading in and out in his mind.

"Ha," Roxas scoffed, feeling hate rise in his gut, "you don't even remember, do you? Your boyfriend did this to me, Axel." He pointed to his face were a purple bruise was forming. "All because I was trying to help you. What a mistake that was."

"Roxas…" Axel had no idea what to say. His high had almost totally disappeared and he was left with a horrible empty feeling of guilt. He almost never felt guilty for anything. It was strange and foreign to him.

"Just…please leave me alone. I don't want to be around you while you're on drugs…" Roxas hugged his shoulders, leaning down to stare at the floor. It was much easier than looking at Axel. He felt awful for the things he was saying to him…but he was hurt far more than the redhead even knew. And that wasn't fair…

"Stay in the guest room. I won't bother you until I'm sober, alright?"

This shocked the boy. He didn't know that Axel would suggest something like that. He wasn't really ready for answering either.

"Listen…I won't have you sleeping out in the cold tonight. There's a bed in the room across from the piano. Sleep there, alright?"

Roxas was skeptical but the thought of an actual bed to sleep in sounded very welcoming. He couldn't possibly let the offer slide, even if he did kind of hate Axel's guts at the moment.

"Whatever…" he mumbled finally, fiddling with his coat strings.

The smile on Axel's face was genuine and it made Roxas want to cry. It reminded him of sober Axel. And he missed sober Axel a lot.

x-x

The morning brought with it a new day which in turn conveyed new troubles and things to upset Roxas almost to the point of ceremoniously puking his guts out all over the kitchen floor.

When he woke up and had ascended the staircase his eyes went directly to the redhead in the room, making food for himself. What Roxas soon realized was that it wasn't Axel whom was up and about, it was his evil enchantress.

Their eyes met and the blond felt like digging his nails into Reno's skull.

But the fact that Reno would probably kill him before he could even try made him decide to just stand still instead.

"I thought I got rid of you last night," Reno said angrily, keeping his cool just enough so that he wasn't screaming his head off like he wanted to.

Roxas glared. "Apparently Axel wants me here."

Reno snorted loudly, laughing like an old man with asthma. "As fucking if. If anything, he just wants to fuck you so badly that he's trying his hardest to keep you around for when the time comes."

This hurt Roxas' small amount of self-esteem he had going and he leaned over a little from the pain the words inflicted on him. "He doesn't…just want that. If he did he would have done it already!"

"Whatever. Fact is: he's not going to get any more chances. I'm calling the police as soon as he wakes up so he can watch when they come here to take you away."

This was expected from Reno. Roxas didn't understand why he was feeling so shocked. "You…can't do that…please don't. I can't go back home!" he screamed the last part, eyes watering at just the thought of seeing his parents again and having to face what he had left behind. His Father would probably beat him harder than Reno had.

"You really don't have a choice in the matter. As much as I don't give a flying fuck about your wellbeing, a runaway in Axel's home is just asking for trouble. He has drugs here; he can't hide a kid too. That just makes him more susceptible to the police actually figuring things out."

"But won't calling the police here just…"

"They'll take you and leave. I'm not worried."

Eyes spitting out tears that were unwelcomed, Roxas held a hand close to his rapidly beating heart. It was then that the front door was knocked on and Demyx and Zexion entered.

"Roxas!" The one in signature platform boots ran over to the boy and gave him a hug which surprised the boy so much he gasped in shock.

When he was released, Demyx smiled at him and said, "Zexion and I came over again. We wanted to apologize to Axel for yesterday. Right, Zex?"

Zexion nodded a little behind the dirty blond, looking sheepish. "I was a little overzealous and Demyx kind of made me realize that."

This made his blond friend smile almost unrealistically. "Where is Axel anyway?—Oh, Reno's here." His voice became annoyed when he said the redhead's name.

Reno pointed a spatula at the intruding two. "Yeah, faggots. Get the fuck out. Axel isn't even awake yet."

"Demyx, we should leave," Zexion whispered so that only the boy he was speaking to could possibly hear.

"I know…Reno sucks…" His eyes went to Roxas. He grabbed onto the blond's arm and smiled again. "Let's go hang with Sora and Riku then." He leaned in to whisper to Roxas then so the redhead wouldn't hear. "I'm guessing you don't want to be around Reno either, am I right?"

Roxas nodded fervently, he was suddenly so thankful for Demyx's imposition.

"Great!" he shouted, "Reno, we're taking Roxas for a bit. We'll be back!"

Before Reno could object, Demyx was out the door with the blond and Zexion following behind.

Roxas could have kissed the hippie.

x-x

There was a very short, very small boy in front of him. His dark brown hair was ridiculously spiked in ways you couldn't even imagine. "My name is Sora. What's yours?"

"Roxas."

The brunette smiled, it was uncanny how much it resembled Demyx's. "Wanna help me build a snow man? Riku is being a dork and won't help." He tossed a thumb over his shoulder towards a silver haired man who was sitting cross-legged on a bench about a yard away. Zexion had found his way to the other male and they were having a conversation it seemed.

"Zexion likes Riku 'cause "he's an intellectual like himself and it's reassuring to talk to someone who isn't a total idiot" or so he says," Demyx threw in.

They all started walking. "Well they probably have a lot in common," Roxas noted while his arm was being pulled by Sora. The boy reminded him of a little Demyx clone.

It seemed that Roxas' sentence upset the dirty blond slightly because he frowned a little. "You think…Zexion would rather be with someone like Riku…?" He sounded so insecure, something that was strange coming from him.

The blond shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "Nah, I think Zexion has a thing for mullets and platforms."

The smile resumed its natural shining and Demyx said, "I like you, Roxas. Let's be friends."

"I'd like that."

"Look! I've already started, guys!" Sora exclaimed, gesturing with his whole body towards a pitiful looking lump in the snow.

"It sucks," Roxas admitted, causing Sora's features to deflate.

"So help me make it better!" He crossed his arms and pouted.

"Well first off," Roxas started, eyeing the blob, "you need more structure. Demyx, start rolling a snowball. And Sora, you dig a hole in the snow."

"A hole? Why do we need a hole?"

"Do you want my help or not?" Roxas asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sora just grinned. "You like an expert snowman builder or something?" he snickered.

"It's a very serious job actually," the blond replied with a smile.

Sora and Demyx did what they were told and after a short amount of time they had a decent looking snow man. All it needed was a corncob pipe, a button nose and two eyes made out of coal.

"Someone find rocks or something! Our snowman looks like Slenderman!" Sora shouted, sounding frightened.

They quickly searched for things to plaster onto the face of the man made out of snow. Soon enough they had what you would call…a really decent looking snowman.

"Gosh, guys. I've never seen such a wonderful piece of art…" Sora sputtered, sounding as if he would burst into tears. It was like he had just had a baby. A baby made out of snow.

"Make a wish and maybe he'll come alive," Roxas said.

Sora's eyes popped. "No way."

"Demyx. How old is this kid?" he laughed while Sora puffed his cheeks a little.

"I'm seventeen, for your information," he told him proudly.

"Why…aren't you in school?" Roxas asked slowly, suddenly feeling a little paranoid.

Sora looked dumfounded. "It's Saturday. Duhhh. Wouldn't you be in school too? You should know, Roxas!"

His head lowered and then all Sora could see was the blond of his head. "I…yeah I guess you're right."

After they all realized it was too cold to stay outside all day, they ended up at the same coffee shop that Roxas had visited the night before. Of course the girl Naminé was working.

"Back for some more black coffee, Roxas?" she asked while holding her note pad, her hip slightly jutted out to her side.

"Yes please."

Roxas also ordered some food seeing as how his stomach was as empty as Sora's head.

He shortly realized that he was making friends much faster in this town than he had in his own. Being socially awkward he was usually too afraid to ask people to hang out. But here, it was just so different. He didn't have to worry that these people would be judging him. It wasn't like he even lived here. Nothing seemed permanent to him. Mistake could be made and things would still work out in the end. That was his mindset anyways. It was mostly just false security that he had set up around himself. But without it he wouldn't be the least bit happy.

I might as well enjoy my time here even if it won't last forever…he thought as he sipped some of his coffee, watching as Zexion glared at Demyx for trying to see if he was ticklish.

"Touch me again and I will hit you with this book. And it's practically a dictionary so I advise you against it," the one with glasses growled.

It was painfully obvious how hard Demyx was trying. Roxas knew that the boy liked Zexion, probably more than anything or anyone. He didn't know their personal life but he could tell that Zexion cared for the other, at least a little bit.

"Why are you reading when you could be talking to all of us?" Demyx asked, still poking the slate haired boy in the side.

"I find that reading calms me when I'm around you, Demyx. Stop it!" He bonked the book on top of Demyx's mullet and the boy stopped.

Sora laughed and the blond complained.

Roxas was happy. He figured he deserved this.

x-x

"There had better be a good fucking reason why Roxas isn't here." Axel was pissed. He had tried so hard last night to keep the blond around and he wakes up to find that he has disappeared once again.

Reno stared at him from the couch and he turned up the volume on the TV. "Can't hear you, Axel."

Fucking bastard.

He ran up to the other redhead and grabbed a fistful of his vulgar t-shirt. "You'd better fucking tell me where he is, goddamnit!"

"I killed him."

"Don't fuck with me, Reno!"

"I'm not. He's dead, Axel."

"You make me sick."

"You're really hot when you're mad."

Axel let go of the man's shirt and instantly began putting on his shoes.

"And just where are you going?" Reno drawled, standing up, making his way towards his boyfriend.

"I'm going to look for Roxas. You'd better be gone when I get back."

Reno slammed a hand on the wall, just missing Axel's head. "You're…choosing that kid…over me?"

"There's not even a contest, Reno."

Reno looked dumbfounded. "You're fucking bullshitting me."

"No, I don't bullshit much, that's usually your line of work." Axel took out his cigarettes and was about to light one when Reno snatched them from his hand and threw them onto the ground. He began furiously stomping the shit out of them, crushing every last one when the heel of his foot.

A whole pack of Marlboro Reds, smashed to hell.

Axel's eyes were as round as saucers when Reno started blurting out everything that entered his mind, "You can't fucking do that! You're with me; you can't get rid of me that easily! I'm not leaving you, not ever. You need to fucking understand that, you fucking bitch."

A first connected with the side of Reno's face and Axel's fingers were on fire. Reno deserved it though. It was worth the pain.

Soon the two of them were tangled on the floor and blood was spurting out of almost every orifice on their faces.

"Stop!" Reno grabbed Axel's hair and pulled harder than he'd ever pulled before.

The man gasped and tried to get out of his grasp but he was stuck. "Just leave me alone, Reno!" he cried, feeling his eyes start to water. This wasn't something he wanted to put up with on a daily basis, or ever. Reno didn't budge. He glared daggers at his boyfriend who spit blood onto his shirt. "LET me GO."

"Not a chance."

"I've had it with you!" Axel clawed at Reno's face that was just out of his reach. "I wanna see Roxas!"

"I'll kill that boy before you can ever be with him. I'll fuck him before you can too, Axel. I will — just watch me."

It was then that he realized that Reno was mentally unstable. He'd never really noticed before, it just never seemed to cross his mind. But ever since meeting the tiny blond he'd been so smitten with, Reno just seemed like second class to him. Something he could improve on. And it was more obvious now than it ever had been.

Getting rid of Reno was a priority. Waiting wasn't something he had in mind either.

"Please let me go…" he tried again, attempting to sound honest with the man.

Reno glared and glared and then finally released him. The two sat on the ground, feeling the cuts and scrapes they had received with soft fingers.

"My nose is broken…" Axel said lowly.

"Really…?" Reno sounded intrigued at least, like he cared. Something like that from him was a worthy sight indeed.

"Make me some coffee, please…" Axel sat up and went to the bathroom to tend to his nose which felt like it was being burned alive. Sure enough, it was swollen and purple, slightly bent which frustrated him more than the pain. He loved his nose the way it was and if Reno fucked something as simple as that he was certainly done. Forever.

The smell of coffee was painful but eased him slightly. With one last look and a few light touches, he left the bathroom with gauze plastered to his nose, one that he tried to tape as straight as he could.

Reno took sight of him and felt a small ounce of guilt. He didn't want to ruin Axel, he was his after all. And Reno never ruined things that were his.

"How's it feel?" he asked while he handed a cup to the injured man.

Axel huffed and picked up the cup without looking at his assaulter. "Like a fucking bitch."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Oh, you're sorry? That's a fucking first."

"Try to take me seriously, Axel," Reno pointed out.

This made Axel laugh. "You? Seriously? Give me a fucking break."

"I was trying to make you stop and realize that we're lovers! And you can't bail out on me!"

"You've done it to me hundreds of times," Axel spat.

"But I've always come back. That boy has some kind of fucking spell on you and I won't have him stealing you away from me. Not in a million years." Reno started smoking a cigarette and he handed one to Axel who glared and took it without question. Even if it was Reno's he wasn't about to pass up a smoke.

"You're…impossible…" Axel sighed out, smoke wrapping around his face.

"No. You're the one who's impossible. You love me, Axel. We love each other. Why fuck with something like that?"

"I don't love you…" Axel admitted sadly, his eyes lowered, focusing on his waning cig.

This shocked Reno, his heart started racing. "What…?"

"You heard me. I don't love you — I never have." Axel knew that this was a slight lie; he maybe once did feel some love for the other redhead. But never had he really planned on their fling to last as long as it did. He knew, deep down, that he was done with Reno the moment he laid eyes on Roxas.

Axel was surprised when he looked up and saw Reno's face covered in tears. His heart beat slowly, each one felt like the pounding of a steady drum.

Neither of them said anything for a while, Reno's cigarette was spitting out smoke on the counter, burning a small mark into the wood.

The blue eyed redhead's voice scared Axel when he finally decided to speak. "I will make you love me."

Axel finally expressed basically the only thing that was on his mind. "You're fucking nuts."

"Fuck you, Axel."

"No thanks." Axel was the most serious he had been in a while. Reno always made him the bitch. He wasn't going to be one any longer. He couldn't wait to finally fuck someone rather than have his ass torn apart. Someone being Roxas, as soon as he found the kid.

In response to Axel's words, Reno screamed and threw a mug on the ground. It didn't shatter though because it was plastic. This upset him even further. He wanted to break something! Mostly Axel's appendages. He'd already got the nose out of the way.

But he knew that would only ruin his possession further. No matter how much he wanted to rip apart the man, he couldn't out of sheer need of having him for later pleasure. "I can't be in the same room with you anymore," Reno confessed while he kicked the side of the counter. "You'll regret the day you let me walk out this door, Axel."

"Walk back through the door and then I'll regret something."

Reno screamed in fury and stormed out of the apartment, shouting curses mixed with Axel's name.

Axel felt freer than he ever had. But in his heart he knew he had hurt Reno. And for some reason…it hurt him too.

x-x

"So the Hallow Bastion Day festival is tomorrow. Are you guys going?" Sora piped up as all five of them began their way back to Axel's.

Demyx was the first to speak, excitement in his voice. "As long as we aren't called in to work then Zexion and I will totally be there!"

"Don't drag me to events without my consent, Demyx," Zexion scolded him.

"How about you, Rox?" Sora asked the blond directly.

He thought about it for a few moments before answering. "What is it anyways?"

They all looked stunned.

Roxas felt stupid for asking.

"Only the best festival ever! It's held once a year on the last day of February. It's basically something to welcome the coming of Spring. They sell lots of yummy stuff — Roxas you have to go!" Sora taken a liking to the blond even though he mostly just laughed at him, but Roxas actually found it flattering for some reason.

"I'll go, if you guys show me around," he told him a little awkwardly.

Sora was ecstatic and Roxas noticed Riku's glare from beside him. He kind of felt like maybe he shouldn't be so friendly with the small boy. For fear of the silver haired boy beating the crap out of him.

"Are you all going to stay at Axel's today?" Roxas asked when they all finally saw the apartment in the distance.

"Axel knows Riku and Sora. We're all friends!" Demyx said proudly.

"Hopefully Axel is in a good mood. I want a movie night with popcorn!" Sora exclaimed.

"I'll convince him if he isn't," Riku told the boy, smiling slightly behind his cold demeanor.

Sora just smiled.

Roxas reached for the door handle to Axel's apartment but it opened quickly so he couldn't do so. It swung in to reveal the redhead, shocked and eyes watering. He also had a sad excuse for a bandage covering his nose.

Before Roxas could even move, Axel scooped him up in the biggest hug he'd ever received. He could hardly breathe.

"Axel?"

"Oh my god, I thought you were dead."

"I'm not…could you put me down?"

Riku and Zexion once again took the seating while Demyx and Sora started setting up Axel's PS3. They were saying something about playing Call of Duty. Roxas had never played on a PS3 before but had heard of the game.

Instead of joining the group, Roxas went to Axel's room to talk. Axel told him about Reno and what he had said. The blond was silent as he spoke, listening intently but trying not to show much emotion. He was still angry with the redhead no matter how much he didn't want to be.

"Then the bastard broke my fucking nose," Axel growled, pointing to his face. "He left shortly after I told him that I've never loved him. He got really fucking mad. Tried to break my Lion King mug." He laughed a little and fiddled with his thumbs, the pain in his nose was immense but looking at Roxas somehow made things better. He didn't understand why he had missed the boy so much. Maybe it was just so nice to have a break from the violent and rash Reno. The boy was like a bright yellow dandelion in a field of blood.

Roxas's eyes were on the floor. He was sitting in a small chair while Axel sat on the bed. He refused to sit anywhere near that bed. "Your nose probably needs medical attention."

Axel looked surprised; he didn't expect that to be the first thing for the blond to say. "It'll heal."

"Do you want a crooked nose for the rest of your life?"

Axel cringed at the sourness of his voice and the fact that he had brought up what he was afraid of. No, he didn't want a fucking crooked nose. "I—yeah, I guess you're right, huh?"

"Let's go now. Leave everyone here and once you're better we'll all hang out," Roxas said while standing up.

Axel sighed and stood up as well but he didn't let the blond leave just yet. He wasn't finished talking or…something. "Roxas, wait…"

"What is it?" He looked so void of emotion. It upset Axel.

"What the hell…? You're so fucking mad at me…"

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "It's in the past. Let's not dwell on it."

"How's your face?" His fingers graced the small boy's cheek and Roxas froze.

He used a hand to catch Axel's wrist. "Don't…touch it. It still hurts." Awkwardness clung to the air and Roxas wished to escape it. "Let's just go."

Axel couldn't say much else. Of course the blond was angry at him. He'd let Reno beat him up without even second glancing. Axel had been high though, so it wasn't like he could have done much, but that was the main reason Roxas was pissed. He wondered for a moment if dating Roxas meant no more drugs. It made him almost wish for Reno to come back and shoot up with him again.

Almost…