Disclaimer: I do not own any Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters.

Warnings: crabby, dramatic Roxas. future boy love.

Dream 1 – S-Y-A-D-5-5-2

"Hey Rox, do you know why the sun looks red as it sets below the horizon? It's because among the countless colours comprising light, red travels the greatest distance."

"I never asked you! Stop trying to show off."

The two of them laughed together and continued to eat their sea-salt ice cream on the clock tower. Roxas should have felt scared; he wasn't all that great with heights. But it was so comfortable. Just lounging around and laughing with his friend; it was such a carefree day: no worries, no fears, and nothing to do. The sun was high in the sky and bore down on them with no mercy. Only the ice cream could distract him from the bolstering heat.

"Man ~ talk about boredom with a big, fat capital 'B'."

Roxas ignored his friend, knowing that if he were to reply, he would be stuck entertaining his lazy friend.

"Hey, Ro-"

"Today makes the 255th day."

The redheaded man beside him paused in sitting up, his elbows now supporting the weight of his upper body. "…What's that all about?"

"The 255th day since I joined the Organization."

His friend laughed and leaned back down, hands behind his head. "What, you're actually counting them?"

Roxas scoffed and kicked the older man lightly. "It's better than what you do."

"… I don't do anything though."

"Exactly."

The two of them laughed again. Roxas, deciding to join his friend, laid down perpendicular to him, his head on his friend's stomach. He felt it tense before relaxing again. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, soaking up the last of the Sun's rays. Roxas sighed happily, he hadn't been this content in a long time. Secretly, he wished for time to stop so that he could stay like this for a little while longer. Just him and Axel. The warmth coming from his friend's body was too relaxing and all Roxas wanted to do was stay here and take comfort in all things safely familiar.

"Alright. C'mon Rox. We gotta go now before Saïx throws a bitch fit like the little berserker he is."

Roxas let out a quiet groan as he forced his muscles to move from his friend's comforting touch. Where was Luxord when you needed him?

01 – Catalyst

He realized that morning while lying in bed, that it was useless to hope to end these series of nonsensical dreams, all linking to one another (coincidence maybe?). He guessed that he should be grateful that these dreams were only once every thirteen days and not every single day. He would definitely go wacked-out-insane by then.

Roxas sighed as he lifted his blanket off of himself and brought his legs over the edge of the bed. If only it was the weekend; then he could shut himself in his house and no one would have to deal with his now-grouchy self. Glancing at the clock, the blond let out a long groan. Half an hour to get ready for school. Not nearly enough time for Roxas and his lazy morning routine. Another thing he hated about getting these dreams: he always slept more than he usually did. Normally he wouldn't mind but there was school to go to. On normal days, he'd wake up two hours or so before school started; when he dreamt, he usually woke up fifteen to twenty minutes until the starting bell would ring for school.

The slothful teen moved sluggishly to the bathroom, deciding to forego his shower in favour of not having to rush his way to school just to wind up late anyway. Brushing his teeth, Roxas idly raised his left hand to his hand, trying to make his hair as neat as it could be. As it was, blond spikes were currently in every direction possible, making him look like a blond version of his cousin, Sora. Scowling at that thought, Roxas rinsed out his mouth and spat in the sink. Glancing up at his reflection again and then in the general direction of the sun, Roxas stalked back into his room and opted to wear a cap to school. Anything to shield Roxas from the now-blinding sun that was shining through his open bedroom and bathroom window. He could only be grateful that it was spring, almost summer, and not winter where the snow made everything more blinding to the point where everyone had to squint to see… or maybe that was just him.

A few more minutes of lethargic preparation and Roxas was ready to leave. The blond was decked out in black, baggy jeans and a thin carmine cashmere pullover as it was already fall in Traverse Town. His favourite black Orgia XIII cap was placed firmly on his head, flattening the disarray of blond spikes that was Roxas's bed hair. Pausing at the bedroom door, he contemplated on whether or not he should bring a jacket. Staring at the chequered jacket draped over his chair for a split second, he shrugged off his suggestion and proceeded downstairs. Deciding to skip breakfast, the teen searched through the shoe rack for his pair of black shoes with the red Velcro. Slipping them on, Roxas opened the door and murmured to the empty house before setting off,

"I'm going."

School was bustling as always. Kids running up and down, enthusiastic shouts left and right, bodies bumping into one another. It never failed to irk Roxas. Where did these kids think they were? This wasn't a playground and definitely not a zoo. It was a place of… education. Cue shudder. People weren't supposed to bounce through the halls like bunnies on crack, they weren't supposed to put on indecent public display of affection, if whatever they were doing could even be categorized as affection, and they definitely weren't supposed to leave their classrooms eager for more learning and more work. No. This was school. School did not work that way. It wasn't meant to be a happy place; it wasn't supposed to make people joyful and energized. And no, Roxas was not a pessimistic emo. He liked to think of himself as a realist; someone who saw facts for what they were and events for what they happened. Not like the mindless bimbos that roamed the school halls in packs like a bunch of hungry animals. Hungry for fights, hungry for gossip, or maybe they were simply 'hungry' for the next good-looking person who walked past them, completely naïve to their predatory glances.

People these days. You'd imagine that there was some sort of difference between them and animals but nope. Humanity was clearly turning more animalistic by the week.

Roxas sighed, feet routinely making their way to his locker, 1308-B. The lockers were of a deep maroon colour, half of them full lockers and the other half, separated in the middle with a locker shelf in order to make one locker two. Unfortunately for Roxas, he was given the half-locker but, fortunately for him, no one was assigned 1308-A and so he just shoved his stuff in the top half anyway.

"Hey Roxas! Gooooood morning!" Banging his head on the locker door while groaning, Roxas braced himself for the impact he knew was Sora Ventus, the only person he was acquainted with who was that chipper in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

BAM!

Sora tackled him at full force, causing them both to topple over onto the floor. In the background, Roxas could hear kids giggling at him and Sora's boyfriend scolding him for acting like a child. Quick as lightning, the pressure on Roxas's back lifted as Sora threw himself at Riku with an "Aw Riku! Don't be jealous!" which effectively stopped any of Riku's reprimands. Pushing himself to a sitting position, Roxas watched Riku's futile attempts to push Sora away because really, it was hard pushing away something/someone you wanted to stay. But nonetheless Riku succeeded, leaving Sora to pout at the side.

"You okay there Rox?" Riku asked, offering his hand to the boy still on the ground.

Smiling, Roxas took it and pushed himself to his feet with his other hand. Riku Gallagher was the ace of the boy's volleyball team and a straight A student even with the minimum amount of studying. A natural genius and naturally good-looking, he had met Sora in their first year when their math teacher paired the two up saying, "Sora, you know the rules of this school. If you want to participate in sport activities or in any extracurricular activity that would take you from school often, you need a minimum average of 78. Sadly to say, you're a few percent off due to your abysmal math mark. Riku here has the highest marks in this class and if you, Sora Ventus, wish to play at the regional soccer tournament this spring, you had best pull up your grades. Remember, be nice to each other."

Oh. They were definitely nice to one another during the tutoring sessions.

Surprisingly –or unsurprisingly Roxas supposed– many people did not have any qualms about the two going out with each other. Of course at first, it was an absolute surprise and shock to the school but, no one could actually hate Sora Ventus with his kind sky-blue eyes and child-like enthusiasm or Riku Gallagher with his charming smile and tendency to be as helpful as can be. Maybe strongly envy, but hate? No way. They were the type of people who you would love to hate but couldn't bring yourself to do so.

By the time Roxas had finished taking out his books and closing his locker door, Sora was bouncing on the heels of his feet. "It's May it's May it's May! Practically one more month of school and we're…FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL!!!" Both Riku and Roxas cringed at the shouting Sora, just a mere feet away from them, waving his arms excitedly. "Can you believe it Rox? Riku? Doesn't it seem like it was just yesterday when we walked into this school, the coolest seniors ever to exist? Or or or when we acted in that play, 7 Stories? That was amazing; I don't think any other senior class could have topped us. Mm, and how about the time when the senior class went skiing and snowboarding a couple of months ago! Now that was total fun!" The two teens watched on as the brunet exhausted his mental scrapbook of memories, talking about everything from the time when the three all cross-dressed for a Halloween prank three years ago to the time where they decided to go on a road trip in the middle of the year. All three of them sported nostalgic smiles but Sora's gradually grew smaller and sadder as he went on. "But now… just like that. It's… it's going t-to finish. I feel… kind of sad."

Roxas rolled his eyes, hitching his bag more securely to his back. "Every beginning has an ending, Sora. And not all of them are happy. That's what we like to call a fairy tale."

Sora pouted. "That's not true! You're such a grouch. People do have happy endings; it's not only in fairytales."

"Yeah. That's what we call TV. You know that box with motion picture in it? Yeah? The one that only shows unrealistic shows with unrealistic events and unrealistic characters because it's unrealistic?"

"… You just said unrealistic about fo-"

"You're kind of crabby today Roxas. What's up?" Riku interjected, desperate to cut the tension that had suddenly engulfed the blond.

Roxas sighed, his head angling in order to see Riku. "Nothing nothing. Don't worry so much; that's why you have grey hair. I'll see you in Calc later yeah?" Without waiting for a reply, Roxas strolled into his class and straight to his seat in the back.

"It's not grey! It's silver, you ass!" Riku huffed and pouted at his boyfriend for a kiss to make it all better.

Sora gave Riku an apologetic smile and a chaste kiss on the lips. "See ya Ri!" He followed Roxas into the class after a quick wave. Sitting in the seat beside his cousin, he propped his chin on his right hand and asked, trying to pull off a casual air that was ruined by the lack of sparkle in his eyes, "Dreams?"

Roxas glanced quickly at Sora before looking back at his books, deciding quickly on what to tell him. He supposed that giving a little bit of information wouldn't hurt, especially if it was to his cousin who was closer to him than his actual immediate family. "What else?" He replied, hoping that Sora would drop the subject and leave it at that.

Unfortunately for him, Sora was always a persistent and curious child. Apparently, ensuring that Roxas didn't decide to off himself one day due to pressure and whatever else was also part of the brunet's morals. As if Roxas didn't feel pressured and monitored enough in his life. "Are you going to ever tell me about them?"

He shrugged carelessly. "Who knows? Maybe."

"Maybe as in 'soon'?"

Roxas sighed, knowing that his friend would continue to push and push and push until he got the answer he desired. "Yeah okay. Soon. Whenever, whatever."

Before Sora could reply, the bell rang and Ms. Rivers walked into the room, calling for attention. Everyone scrambled for their seats and Roxas spied Zexion stealthily sneaking into the room as Ms. Rivers faced the opposite direction. He couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics even though he should have been worried for him. Zexion was hardly ever late but if there was something wrong, his friend would tell him. Roxas wouldn't, couldn't push Zexion for answers like Sora would do. Friends and family deserved their own personal space and Zexion definitely felt like a brother to him. So the blond shut his mouth and bit his tongue, glancing at his desk in order to resist the urge to send concerned eye messages like he knew Sora was doing on his right.

He hadn't told anyone about the dreams though. Roxas, guilt rising in his chest, buried his head on top of his arms, effectively blocking his face from everyone else. He had these dreams since he was eight and when he first talked about them to his parents, they stared at him as if he was crazy. That was the reason why the two of them had a divorce; his father, thinking Roxas as crazy, took his older son Cloud and left the house after 6 months, 14 dreams, and countless of arguments. Roxas remembered that night like no other. His mother was crying and shouting at his father furiously, his dad yelling back at her just as angrily. Cloud had stood by the door with slumped shoulders, resigning himself to his father's decisions, blue eyes watching Roxas sadly.

Roxas sighed, squirming a little in his seat to get more comfortable. After that incident, he said no more about his dreams, evading his mother's questions about them. It wasn't until he was 12, during a sleepover, that Sora and Zexion had discovered that Roxas's nights were plagued by these dreams when they were woken up in the middle of the night to his cries and twisting. He had never actually told them what the dreams were though. The blond had only explained that every now and then, he had these really weird dreams but he was completely fine and no don't go and inform an adult about his 'condition.' After all, his parents knew about it and after that rejection, Roxas wasn't up for another one. Especially since his mother was still unnerved about the idea of her son being disturbed with random dreams that focussed on a man he never remembered when he woke up.

He never went to another sleepover again. Even when Xigbar Adams, of all people he acquainted with, had invited him to stay the night at his house, Roxas kindly refused after contemplating the possibility of waking up people again due to his troublesome dreams. No one but Sora, Zexion, and his family knew, and even then, they didn't know the details of it; Roxas wanted to keep it that way.

"Rox… Rox. Psst. Roxas. Wake up. Come on, Rivers is coming." At the sound of Sora's rushed whispers coming from his right, Roxas's head lifted to see that his teacher was indeed making her way towards him. Oh for goodness sakes. Couldn't a guy get any decent sleep anymore?

He tried to look awake and ready for her lesson. "Mr. Valefor. It's nice of you to grace us with your consciousness," Roxas nodded, already bored with the conversation. "If you wish to sleep, I suggest you leave and go home to do so. Even though it's almost the end of the year, there will be no slackers in this AP class. Do you understand me, Valefor?"

Roxas didn't even bother looking at her, having already heard this speech a dozen times if not more. "Of course miss. If I couldn't understand that then I never would have took AP classes in the first place," Roxas said, his growing irritation with the world showing unintentionally. "Please, don't let me get in the way of your lesson."

Exasperated with uncaring senior students, Ms. Rivers made her way back to the front of the class to begin her lesson on multiple alleles and polymorphic traits. When she reached the topic of incomplete dominance and codominance, Roxas realized that there were two new additions to his AP Biology class. There was a blond (a less vibrant yellow than Roxas though) teen with aqua eyes sitting right in front of Sora. The teen was tall with a wacky hairdo, a cross of a mullet and a mohawk was the best way to describe it but Roxas wasn't even sure if those were the right words for it. It was… unique, not something you would see everyday in a regular school with students who you've known for four or so years. As weird as it sounded, the blond loved wild hairdos, wild clothes, wild personalities, anything that brought a breath of fresh air into this old school and its jading school routine.

As the blond (or did dirty blond do the trick?) turned to initiate a whispered conversation with Sora, who was only too happy to oblige, Roxas couldn't deny the fact that the taller boy was able to pull the whole look off pretty well. He looked like quite the punk with his leather jacket and black jeans but his eyes were friendly enough, and so Roxas refused to feel intimidated by this unknown entity. The other new student was situated at the desk behind Roxas. The blond caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye when he turned to ask Sora when the blond student had come in. The teen had vibrant red spikes and piercing green eyes with dark purple tattoos of an upside-down teardrop under each of them. He had a tall, lithe frame, accentuated by the tight dark blue jeans and tight black long-sleeved shirt he wore. He was… definitely nice to look at, to say the least.

Roxas couldn't look away; there he was, slightly learning to the right, towards Sora, just… staring at the redhead with faint recognition. He couldn't tell where he saw the redhead before or how he knew the redhead; he just did. It wasn't until the redhead looked up from his notes to cock a curious eyebrow at Roxas did the blond blush and shift his gaze. He didn't glance back after that.

At last the bell rang, signalling the end of first period and the transition to second. Students gathered their belongings and made their way out of the class, either grumbling about the last-minute research essay Ms. Rivers had assigned for their final task of the course or excitedly talking about the new transfer students – in whispers of course. They didn't want to scare them off before they even had a chance.

Usually Roxas would have been out there with them, anxious to get second period –and in general, school– over with. Today, however, he sat at his desk in a daze, methodically placing his belongings in their proper place, taking his sweet time without even processing his actions.

"Rooxas, come on. I don't want to be late to my Psych class, Mr. Valentine is reeeeally freaky like a vampire almost and I doubt you want to get into more trouble with Mr. Evens than you already are." Roxas landed back in reality with a jolt, looking up and seeing Sora stand before him, tapping his foot impatiently. With a quick survey of the room, he realized that everyone but the few usual stragglers was gone.

Grabbing onto his bag and standing up quickly, Roxas gave Sora a quick smile. "Sorry Sor. I guess I kind of zoned out a bit."

Sora chuckled, patting his friend's shoulder as they walked out of the class. "You're such a zombie Rox. One of these days, I'm going to have all the fun while you just stand there, doing whatever zombies do."

As those words struck a familiar chord somewhere within him, Roxas was bombarded with an abrupt vision of a tall man, dressed in a black coat with bright red hair and emerald eyes, twinkling vivaciously with unknown secrets.