Axel hummed tunelessly as he looked into his mug of beer. It took his mind off his sorrows for a bit.

He was in a very unusual bar for him. Usually he frequented very hip, very cutting edge bars with all of his friends from school. But his friends were gone. Gone off to Uni, gone off to trades, gone off to help in the family business. Only he was left behind to do… what? Even he didn't know. But those hip bars were unbearably lonely at the moment so he'd gone to be lonely in new surroundings. Axel tilted his head as he listened to the old country song playing.

She said, Baby things change. I said, but I feel the same.
She said, well let me explain, baby, how things can change.

I said, but that doesn't show how a love that could grow
Would become so estranged. She said, well baby, things change.

She said, na, na, na, na, na, now, now now baby, don't try
To figure this out or ask questions 'bout why.

Forever's a promise no love can survive. And trust with hearts just don't apply.
She said, 'cause baby, things change.

"I know things change, you don't have to tell me that." Axel said grumpily before downing his beer with a sigh and going to the bar for another. When he got back he frowned as he saw a tow-headed boy in the seat across from his. He was holding a notebook and looking vaguely at the wall.

"Hey, this is my table." Axel wasn't inclined to share. But then the boy looked up and Axel's eyes widened as he met big blue eyes. Beautiful and deep enough to drown in.

"I know." The boy said in a soft voice that Axel had to strain a bit to hear. "But you looked lonely. Do you mind if I join you?" He hesitated then made a quick decision. This kid seemed okay and his spiky gold hair was nice. He was really cute in fact.

"Sure, why not." Axel took a seat as the boy smiled and opened his notebook, idly sketching something. Axel tried to get a look although it wasn't very easy upside down. "Hey, are you drawing me?"

"Yes." The boy said simply. "You're very striking. I'm Roxas by the way."

"Oh. Fair enough." Axel knew his looks were striking, both from nature and the tattoos he'd had done on his cheeks. "I'm Axel. Pleased to meet you." He offered Roxas his hand and the blond smiled before taking it in a quick handshake. Axel noticed that his hand felt rough, as if the blond was accustomed to hard work. His own hand probably wasn't much softer. He'd spent the summer working construction and even with gloves that tended to toughen the hands. They sat in silence for a while, drinking their beers as Roxas sketched. The blonde finally broke the silence.

"So what are you doing here? This isn't a usual place for you." Axel tilted his head at that comment. It was a little odd but Roxas was probably a regular here.

"Just kinda depressed. Beer and country music is about the right speed." Axel said with a shrug, scratching idly at the table. Roxas blinked.

"Depressed? What are you depressed about?" Axel grinned tiredly at the surprise in the blonde's voice.

"Just everything." Axel gestured widely, taking the bar and the country music. "You want to know why I'm here, getting blasted and listening to western tunes? Because my friends are all gone to Uni. I'm the only one still here because my grades were shit and no University would look at me." Axel heaved a sigh. "Maybe I should join Lex, learn to be a plumber or something. At least they make good money. Or join the army, I don't know… fuck. No one would notice if I vanished tomorrow." Axel was looking into his beer and didn't notice the sudden electrified stillness from Roxas.

"Surely your parents would notice." Roxas said softly and Axel laughed before downing the rest of his beer.

"Parents! Haha… yeah, parents are something other people have. I'm an orphan. Got raised by an aunt but she died three years ago." Axel shrugged. "It's just me myself and I these days." Axel tried not to feel depressed at that but failed miserably. The alcohol was starting it's work but instead of blurring his sadness, it deepened it. "Just me myself and I…" A warm hand on his shoulder startled him and Axel looked up into blue eyes.

"Let me get you another beer." Roxas said and went to the bar. Axel almost protested but then shrugged. Free beer was nice and if Roxas was trying to get in his pants, so what? A fun night with a cute blonde might make him feel better for a while. Axel noticed that Roxas looked to have muscles under his denim shirt as he walked back with a couple mugs of beer. That was nice.

"Thanks. I'll get you the next round." Roxas just smiled as Axel drank deeply. Then the redhead blinked as a sudden wave of dizziness hit. "Oh…" Axel wobbled as he suddenly felt tired, incredibly, overwhelmingly tired. He wasn't that close to his limit, was he? He struggled to keep his eyes open as Roxas helped him up. Axel clung to the smaller man. "S-Sorry. Fuck." This was embarrassing. He was going to look like a moron who couldn't hold his booze.

"Don't worry about it." Axel's heart warmed at those tolerant words and he planted a big, soppy kiss on a startled Roxas.

"Yer so cute." He slurred out, his vision coming and going as Roxas helped him out of the bar. "Y'know that right?"

"Um… not really, but thank you." Came the soft reply. Axel would have insisted on Roxas' cuteness some more… but he was just too tired and the car seat was soft. He vaguely remembered he didn't own a car but he didn't really care. This was good. The sound of the car starting didn't alarm him. Roxas was just taking him home.

Curling up a bit, Axel let himself drift off to sleep.

He woke up the next day with an intense migraine and enough general aches and pains to make him wish for an entire bottle of Advil.

"Ahhh." Axel groaned softly, covering his eyes as the light stabbed at them. He shifted and blinked as he heard something clink and realized he was on unfamiliar sheets. "Eh?" Sitting up, he ran his tongue over his teeth and glanced around. He had an unbelievably foul taste in his mouth and needed some water. That concern though was put on the back burner as he realized he had no idea where he was.

He was in the basement of a wooden building, that much was clear. It was rather nicely furnished with a full bathroom, an entertainment centre with a few beanbag chairs, a bunch of weights and other equipment as well as the bed he was sitting on. It was an odd sort of room. Why would someone put a bed in a room like this? Axel shrugged and stood, feeling wobbly.

Clink. Axel suddenly became aware of cold metal on his wrist and looked down in disbelief. There was a chain coiled around his wrist, tightly enough that he was sure he wasn't going to just slip it off. His hands were rather large anyway. The chain was held in place with a padlock and Axel's eyes widened as he saw the chain was fixed to the wall. There was plenty of length to the chain, he'd be able to reach anything in the room but it was clear someone didn't want him leaving.

"What the FUCK?" Axel's exclamation seemed to draw attention and the door opened. Axel whirled as a spiky haired boy stepped into the room, smiling. "Roxas?!?"

"I'm afraid so." Roxas replied, his voice still that soft tone. It suddenly struck Axel as dangerous. "I'm sorry about the drug in your beer but it was the safest way to bring you here. You haven't lost your virtue… yet." Axel swallowed convulsively at that. Surely the kid hadn't brought him here to rape him! If nothing else it wasn't like he was tied down. On the other hand, Roxas could easily have a gun… "Would you like some water? Oh, and please don't try anything. There's no phone where you can reach and this place is quite isolated. If I died suddenly you would probably starve to death."

"Uh." That make Axel quickly reconsider his first ideas. "Water would be good. Are you some kind of psycho killer or something?" That thought was really scary. Roxas looked thoughtful.

"What would you do if I were?" He asked curiously as he got a glass of water for the redhead.

"Uh… cry a lot and beg for my life?" Axel said weakly as he took the water. Roxas smiled a bit at that reply.

"That would make an interesting role-play. But no, I'm not a killer. The only things I've killed have been farm animals and that's just what you have to do at slaughtering time." Axel nodded cautiously as he drank the water. It made him feel a bit better and he rubbed his head. He looked up as the bed creaked and saw Roxas sitting beside him. Blue eyes met green and Axel almost recoiled as Roxas tried to give him a kiss. The blonde smiled at his obvious repulsion and something odd flickered in those blue eyes, something Axel couldn't understand. "Not just yet. I'll give you some time to recover, I'm sure you can't enjoy anything with the way your head probably feels. Would you like something for breakfast?"

"Whatever you have. And I'm not having sex with you." Axel said more bravely than he felt. This was creepy as hell. Roxas laughed and shook his head.

"You say so now but I think you'll change your mind. After all…" The blonde leaned close to whisper in his ear. "You're lonely." Axel bristled but the blonde was already getting up to leave the room. "I'll be back when breakfast is done." Axel stared after him, then glanced down at the chain on his wrist.

What had he gotten himself into?