Gardening for the Dead, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Title: Gardening for the Dead

Series: Kingdom Hearts

Genre: Romance, Humor, a bit of Drama thrown in

Rating: M for language and sexual implications

Song(s) listened to while typing: Take On Me by: A-Ha, Into the Ocean by: Blue October, Shout it Loud by: Scudelia Electro, Let it Die by: Foo Fighters

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or their original plot lines and situations. I only own the words of this story and this situation.

This is dedicated to my Roxas-Uke, who helped with the early editing (up to a point. she doesn't know the ending. XD) and whom I love like Saix loves cupcakes and Xaldin his sweaters. :B Happy Axel/Roxas Day!

Gardening for the Dead

Axel wiped his glistening forehead with the back of his wrist, the bottom of his white and red gardening glove brushing his flaming red hair. The tall, bright spikes limped in the humidity. He let out a huff of breath, wishing there were a light breeze, and stabbed his machete back into the earth with a grunt. Sawing at the grass, he was cautious not to scrape or nick the stone he was cutting around. He trimmed it, trying not to hack at it when the roots didn't separate nicely. When it was cleared enough from the slab, he shook off the dirt and dropped the pieces of grass into a bucket next to his left knee. He picked up a small brown brush beside the bucket and swept the leftover earth from the grave marker. Grabbing a water bottle he had filled up at a rusty hand-pump earlier, he splashed water to the granite surface, some of it mixing with the dirt and splattering on the front of his jeans. He sighed in annoyance. Using the brush again, he cleaned off the water and mud, making sure to dig into the etchings. He finally sat back on his legs and gave the grave an appraising look. His lips quirked into a smile. "Happy Mother's Day, Larx." Axel whispered.

"That your mom?" The voice was whispered as well, but the musical sound rung as if spoken in his ear.

His vivid green eyes widened as his head snapped in the direction of the sound. He relaxed at the sight of a short blond. Cerulean eyes of the inquisitor stared at him, waiting for an answer. Axel couldn't shake the feeling, but something seemed off. He remembered the question, and the soft smile returned to his features. He glanced back at the grave. "Naw. She was a real good friend of mine. She died in a car crash. Her Ex and kid won't visit her; I've got nothing better to do."

"How long?" Axel looked back, but didn't see the blonde's lips move.

"Just over a year ago. I heard from another friend that Marluxia and the twerp didn't come last year, so I figured she'd like the company."

"She does."

"What?" Axel's head whipped around, but found there wasn't anyone standing there.

"So then, I turn around, and there's nobody there! I started to think I was hallucinating." Axel waved his french fry in air as he spoke, then stuck it in his mouth.

"Oooooh!! I bet it was a ghost!" Demyx said, bouncing up and down in his seat, jostling Zexion, who was sitting next to him. "You should have Zexy go take a look!" He smiled at Zexion expectantly.

Zexion sighed and ran a hand through the slate-colored hair in front of his eye. "Not likely. I, for one, think that Axel was suffering from heat exhaustion. That would explain the person disappearing."

"I agree on the Axel-Is-Crazy part." Snickered Xigbar. He reached across the table they were sitting at in the small diner and snagged a couple of Lexaeus' fries.

"Well I don't!" Demyx crossed his arms and pouted. "Maybe it was another mom, wandering around the graveyard. She said that Larxy was happy!"

Axel grunted. "You know, I didn't say it was a she." When Demyx opened his mouth to ask, Axel talked over him. "I don't know. I didn't really look. I couldn't even tell you what they were wearing." He puzzled over this for a moment before Xigbar punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey! Why make such a big fuss out of it? It's not like it really matters anyway." As he was speaking, he tried to sneak his hand back to Lexaeus' plate, but glanced out of the corner of his eye, and halted his movement at the glare sent his direction. He stole some of Axel's instead, who didn't even notice.

"Yeah..."

One year later:

"Would someone kindly remind me why I'm here again?" Zexion massaged his temple with his fingers, already sweating in the scorching sun.

Demyx danced happily around him. "Because last year, Axel saw a ghost, and since you can see ghosts, you totally had to come along so we could see it this year." He smiled brightly at Axel, who rolled his eyes and got out his equipment.

Zexion sighed. "Demyx, I have seen one ghost, and that was my own grandmother. There was a study done that shows one is more likely to see one of your own relatives than someone you don't know. I might not be able to s-"

"So," Demyx ignored his boyfriend and bounded over to the redhead. "What'cha doing, exactly?"

"My brother calls it 'gardening for the dead.' You clean up their grave by cutting the grass and then wash it off, and they feel happy to be remembered, or something like that." He walked to the grave and set down a yellow kneeling pad, dropped the bucket next to it, and started at his work. Demyx stood by him and tried to watch intently, but every couple minutes he would glance around.

Finally, Demyx got tired of seeing Axel "mutilate the earth," as he put it, so he wandered back over to Zexion, who was sitting underneath the shadow of a tree nearby, looking much cooler than Axel felt. He had pulled out a book and seemed startled when Demyx trotted over.

Axel ignored both of them, concentrating on his task. When he had washed it of its dirt, he dropped his water bottle in the bucket and threw his gloves in after it. "Happy Mother's Day again. Hope you're doing well." He glanced back at the two under the tree, and saw Demyx had fallen asleep against the trunk of the small birch. Zexion was staring at a point by Axel's left shoulder, his expression surprised. Now that was curious. Zexion rarely let his emotions show, except to Demyx. Axel moved his line of vision to match the smaller man's, and then understood what brought about this change.

Axel blinked, took a deep breath of hot air and closed his eyes. "You going to vanish on me again?"

The blond cocked their head. "You were about to leave anyways; what does it matter that I left?"

Axel shivered at that same musical voice that sounded so close, yet so far away, then let out a loud laugh. "People don't usually disappear into thin air."

The guest shifted their feet. "The air isn't exactly thin. It's quite thick with this humidity."

Axel quirked an eyebrow, "Are you a deceased mom, or something?"

Uh-oh. Wrong question. Axel saw it the moment the words left his parched lips. The revenant was all clenched fists and gnashing teeth. "What!? I'm a guy!" He glared at Axel and shimmered with rage. Then he threw his hands up in the air. "I decide to be nice, visit some guy in the land of the living, since he cares enough take care of a friend's grave, and what do I get? An asshole. You know what? See if I care about asking to get my grave cleaned up. Thought it would be nice to see my own name again. But no." He huffed, and glanced back at Zexion and Demyx. "And next time, don't bring the Emo Kid and his hyperactive friend." He closed his eyes, and Axel saw through him.

"Wait!" But when he didn't look to be leaving any slower, he blurted out, "What's your name?"

That paused him for a moment. His eyes shot open, and he stared straight into Axel's. Clear as the ocean, those orbs were. Axel could get lost in them. If they weren't growing more opaque by the second. Time stood still for a moment, before he ground out, "Go figure it out. If you're smart enough. Here's your hint: murder." Then he was gone.

"Guh." Was the only sound that came from Axel's throat as Zexion ran over, a newly awakened Demyx trailing on his heels. He blinked slowly, the ground swaying beneath his feet. He let his knees collapse underneath him, and closed his eyes tightly. Demyx pulled back on his shoulders and let him rest his back against his knees. He took deep breath after deep breath, until he cracked one eye open at Zexion. "Still think I'm crazy?" He rasped.

Zexion pursed his lips before he and Demyx helped Axel to stand. "I never said you were crazy. I said that you were suffering from heat exhaustion. Which you are." They led him over to the car and pulled a lukewarm water from one of the seats. As Axel drank it, he continued, "But that was definitely a ghost."

After Zexion dropped him off at his apartment with a promise to drive his car back later, Axel let himself fall to his bed, bouncing once on the dark sheets and staring at the ceiling. "Murder, huh? I'll find you." He smirked. "Little twerp."

He put the back of his hand to his forehead, groaning when he felt the heat underneath his skin. He stretched and cracked his back, then grunted as he pushed himself up from his bed to the bathroom. He opened the mirror cabinet and pulled out a small white bottle of Ibuprofen and popped one into his mouth, letting it rest on his tongue while he grabbed a glass and twisted the tap for cold water. He grimaced after he swallowed, shaking his head and sticking out his tongue. "Bleh." He looked up into the mirror, glancing over his features. His eyes roamed from the top of his limping red spikes down toward his short eyebrows and his green eyes. He smirked at the upside-down triangles of purple outlined in black. He was proud of his tattoos. He splashed some cold water on his face and dried it off, leaving the bathroom.

He made his way to a desk in the corner of the room, chair squeaking in protest as he sat down. He grabbed the mouse and wiggled it around, waiting for his laptop to come back on from hibernation. After the fans whirred and Axel had a little scare, thinking his laptop was going to explode from the noise, the screen blinked on and he set his mouth in a determined line. He got his favorite search engine up, and tapped his right index finger on the mouse in thought. "What the hell do I even search for? Murder? I'd get about a billion results." He click on the search bar and typed in 'murder Twilight Town'. He grumbled as a few pop-ups littered his screen, muttering something about sending the Viagra ad to Xigbar. He scrolled down, squinting with concentration. "This is all crap. How many people have been murdered in this damn town!?" Granted, it was a large town, but there shouldn't be so many search results. He sighed and shut the top of the laptop, deciding that he would just go to the library and see if there was something in the old newspaper archives. That would limit the results enough to find something, right?

He shoved his chair back into the desk and walked to the kitchen. He needed something in his stomach, or it was going to start eating itself. He was skinny because of his horribly high metabolism. The doctors used to give him medication, but Axel always forgot to take it. He opened the fridge, smiling as a blast of cold air escaped its confines and drifted over his hot flesh. Choosing some leftovers, he nuked them in the microwave and set his plate on the counter-top. He leaned on the surface, which came up to his mid-torso, and ate, eyes unfocused. He put his plate in the sink when he finished, rinsing it off and promising himself to care enough to put it away later. He was pretty clean when it came to his apartment, just not with his clothes in his room. There was always a little mountain in the corner.

He swept his hand to the side and picked up the phone and dialed Demyx's number, reaching his voice mail. "Hi! You've reached Demyx! I can't come to the phone right now, because I'm probably getting plowed by Zexy!" There were muffles of a, "Demyx! Give me the phone! Stop that!" In the background. "So leave a message after the 'Ahhh!'" Another "DEMYX!" Was screeched. Axel shook his head and waited for the beep. "Hey, Demyx. Change your damn message. It's disturbing. Anyways, I'm stopping at the library and wanted to know if Zexion was working. I need some help finding the old newspapers. Call me back. Later." He set the phone back down, then it jumped to life, buzzing around the counter. He flipped it open. "Twilight Pizza, may I take your order?"

There was some of panting on the other end of the phone. "Axel, you're so weird. I didn't listen to your message, just picked up the phone. Zexy and I were just-"

"DON'T finish that sentence. Please. I just wanted to see if he was working today. I wanted to stop by and do some research." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Yeah. We're just in the back office. Zexy already had Lex and Xig drop off your car, so you can just drive over. It'll give us enough time to clean up."

"Ugh. Too much information. I'll be there-"

"Demyx, get your ass back over here and lay on this desk or I'm going to drag you over here and show you the meaning of 'pleasurable torture.'"

"Oh, god. I'm leaving now." He hung up to the sound of Demyx squealing, then moaning. He shivered and then slipped his phone into his pocket. "Fucking like bunnies. Goddamn bunnies."

He changed his shirt and locked the door from the inside, since the keys were in the car. He took the elevator down, knowing that taking the stairs would be pushing his luck. He rounded the corner and ran smack into another tenant. Neither of them fell, but they both gripped the brick wall of the building. Axel rubbed him forehead, feeling his headache come back. "Sorry about that." He looked up at the other man.

His feathery brunette hair looked windswept, though there was no breeze on this sweltering day. There was a slash of a scar between his eyes. This guy looked tough. He was wearing long tight black pants with zippers up the sides, three non-functional belts, and a short sleeved coat with fur on the collar. He had to be bad-ass to wear that in this heat. The man grunted at him, glanced at his face, then shouldered past Axel. Fighting the urge to yell something profane, Axel continued on his way to his car. Whenever someone needed their car dropped of, their system was to put the keys in fast food bag. He reached behind the left rear seat and found the Taco Hut bag, grabbing his keys.

When he reached the library, he made his way straight to the counter, asking the short brunette behind the counter where her boss was. She blushed and told him he was in the back office with a client. Axel sighed and went on his own little hunt until Zexion would come help him. He scanned the area for the newspaper section, locating it and trying to make sense of the system that was set up. After about 10 minutes of succeeding in confusing himself more than he thought possible, he was between the sections for 1975 and 1934. How did that make any sense?!

A clearing of the throat brought him out of his internal rant. He turned and saw Zexion with a smirk on his face. "Need some assistance, Sir?"

"Oh shut up. And stop looking so smug. I don't wanna know what Demyx does to get you to smile like that. I'm trying to find out when that kid died." He ran a hand through his hair, fixing the spikes a bit, and glanced back at the shelves. "What the hell is up with your system for the newspaper anyways?"

Zexion sighed. "Okay, the system goes by newspaper, time, and then historical events. That's what you're in right now. See this," he pulled out one by Axel's shoulder, "is when the mayor was arrested for embezzlement. Next to it is when the chief of police was forging checks so he could take his wife and mistress to Hawaii." He put the first one away and pulled out a second, gesturing at the front page.

Axel put away the paper he had pulled out and turned to Zexion. "People in this town are messed up. How come I've never heard about this stuff?"

"Maybe if you picked up a paper once in a while, then you would understand current events and things that are happening outside of our little group of friends. Where are we starting?" He sorted papers that Axel had put out of order.

"I was thinking about the last 10 years or so. Then if we can't find him there, then we could go back 10 more years, so on and so forth. He said murder, so I'm guessing that the story of when he was killed will be in the 'historical events' section." Axel tapped his foot. "What do I need?"

Zexion frowned. "He never said that he was the one murdered. There's the possibility that he was the murderer. He never said any specifics." He shuffled through the years in front of him and picked out some. "Hold out your arms."

"Shouldn't you be working?" He grunted as Zexion loaded a pile into his arms.

"I hired some new help. Guy's our age, but I don't really understand him. He seems like he doesn't like working here, yet insists on having as many shifts as he can have."

"You sure do pick 'em."

"If I have to read about one more celebrity visiting this place, I'm going to punch Lexaeus." Axel moaned and stretched his fingers. His neck was stiff and if the pages weren't covered in protective plastic, his hands would be covered in black ink. He propped his head up in his hand and turned another page of the Twilight Informer.

"I think it's the beaches that attracts them here." Axel looked up and saw that Zexion was still sitting up straight, not looking fatigued at all. Bookworm.

"Hey, yeah." He looked at the spread in front of him. "Since when do we have a surfing competition? It looks pretty big too."

"The first one was three years ago. You should know about it, since Demyx participates. He wondered why you didn't come to cheer him on last year. Xigbar will be joining him in the competition this year and is getting lessons from Demyx." Axel looked up and saw Zexion's eye twitch.

"Ooh. Jealous?" Axel smirked. "What about you? Or are you too short?"

Zexion glared as he pouted. "No. I just don't seem to have a knack for it. My balance is not at its best in the water. I don't care for it that much."

"That's not good, considering water is like, Demyx's element, or something." Axel moved his paper to the 'read' pile. "Where are we at, anyways?"

Zexion eyed his own pile. "We've finished the last three years, and in about an hour and a half, we should be finished with five."

"I just hope my eyes don't give out by then."

Axel pulled his keys out of his pocket as he entered the parking lot. "Thanks for helping out. I'm sure it was really boring."

Zexion fingered his keys as well. "No problem. It was actually interesting. I'm sorry that we didn't find anything, though. Better luck next time." He did a one-handed wave as he walked to his car.

Axel waved back, starting to his. He opened the door and got in, sitting back in the seat and closing his eyes. His back hurt from the uncomfortable chairs. That wood was not meant to sit in for long amounts of time. "Where are you?" He grimaced. Was he ever going to find him? What if it happened 50 years ago? This wasn't going to be easy. And why did this guy seem so agitated? Axel shifted his shoulders and turned the key in the ignition.

When he got home, he slipped under his covers. His eyes stayed on his ceiling. He huffed and turned to his side, clenching his lids shut.

And when he finally fell asleep, his dreams were filled with visions of piercing blue eyes and blond hair.

"This is pointless. You're not going to find this kid, even if he does exist." Saix had his chin resting in his palm, mouth in a hard line. He rolled his eyes at Axel when he flipped him the finger.

"You didn't have to come." Axel grumbled. He turned another page lazily.

"Of course I didn't. I came out of the kindness of my heart." He smirked, gesturing at himself.

"Or the coldness of your bed. I saw you eying the new hired help around here. I thought you were going to start drooling." Axel teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Doesn't matter anyway. He's too gorgeous to even look my way. Did you see his skin? That's natural tone. You can't get the kind of even complexion even at the top of the line tanning salons. And that silver hair! Yummy. I'd like to check him out." Saix smiled in a dazed way at the air behind Axel's head.

"And you have a head of perfectly fine silky blue hair yourself. You spend so much time and care on it that you take three hours to go anywhere. Just go up to the man and flirt. You never know." He tapped his finger on the table as he read, trying to concentrate.

"I don't even know his name! What am I supposed to do, go up to him and say, 'Hey, Sex God with the eyes that could dazzle straight men into gaydom, how about you and I have hot, sweaty, mansex?'"

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" A deep voice resonated from behind him, making Saix go stiff. "Because the answer would be, 'Yes, as soon as I get off work. Seven PM; meet me out front.'" The blue haired man turned his head and met the feral grin of a certain addition to the library's staff. "And Xemnas is the name. Gotta love the acronym." He winked at Saix.

He gave the man a smirk of his own. "Sure you're up for it? I'm into some stuff that makes Axel here want to gouge his eyes out-"

"And wash my mind with bleach."

"So what do you say," Saix stood and went face to face with the man, trailing his finger from his collar bone downward. "Xemnas?"

He caught the hand and brought it up to his lips. Swirling his tongue around the tip of Saix's index finger, the corners of his mouth curled up when he saw the flash in the other man's eyes. He let go and Saix's hand dropped to his side. "See you at seven." He turned and left, disappearing behind a shelf.

"You know," Axel raised an eyebrow as Saix sat down, "for acting all shy before, you sure changed your tune."

"Whatever." Saix flipped his hair over his shoulder. "You're just jealous you're not getting any."

Axel grunted and his left eyebrow twitched. "Am not." He shoved the paper he was reading away and picked up another. "Would you mind helping me!?" He glared at the man's harsh yellow eyes and glanced at the 'x' scar on his face before looking away.

"Yes, I would. I'm gone. Did what I came to do. See you around!" He waved as he left.

"Fat lot of help he is..." Axel ran a hand through his spikes and sighed.

Axel continued his research, stopping to eat the food Xigbar offered him. Zexion kicked them outside, complaining about the food policy. Demyx came over later and tried to help, but was distracted by the guitar magazines someone had left on a nearby table. Which led him into a lecture at an annoyed Axel about how guitars where twigs with string compared to the gloriousness of sitars. By the time Zexion came around to rescue him from Demyx, it was closing time, and Axel had to pack up the papers. The librarian offered to open up early tomorrow, which prompted his boyfriend to whine. So they parted ways, and Axel was left with more dreams of his ghost.

The next day the redhead was in his usual spot, concentrating on the words he was skimming. He nearly knocked his chair over when Lexaeus put a hand on his shoulder. Axel raised his head to meet the goliath's face. "You wanna help or something?" he asked hopefully.

The brunette nodded and sat down across the table from him.

Twenty minutes later, Axel was getting antsy. He stood up and stretched, lifting his arms above his head. "Bathroom break." Lexaeus nodded.

Axel walked to the men's room, waving at Zexion as he passed the front desk. After he took care of business, he shuffled over to the sink. As he reached for the soap dispenser, he caught movement in the mirror. His head snapped up and he blinked twice before he relaxed. He finished washing his hands, dried them off with the brown paper towels next to the sink, then moved to face his visitor.

"Don't."

When Axel opened his mouth to question the demand, he was spoken over.

"Talk to me while looking at the mirror. Since my body isn't here, I'm kind of..." he looked down at his stomach, and Axel could see the stalls through him. "See through. You won't be able to see me without the mirror. The only reason I could come here is because I already talked to you."

"So what's up, Ghost?" Axel crossed his arms and looked at the blonde's reflection.

"Could you not call me that?" He frowned.

"What do you want me to call you then? If you'd just tell me your name-"

"I can't! Do you know how much easier this would be!?" He threw up his hands as he yelled.

"Why not?" Axel narrowed his eyes. "Is it some kind of rule, or something?" He mocked.

"No!" He seemed to shimmer with anger, and Axel was worried he would disappear again; before he could get any information from him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He waited a quick moment before he opened them and locked his piercing green with cerulean. He tried to convey his sincerity and felt bad he had been rude to someone that had their life taken from them. "Then why," he whispered, "Why can't you just tell me your name?"

Eyes widened in the mirror, then lowered. Immediately, Axel felt a pang at his heart that something was causing that look of pain. He opened his mouth, but a small noise stopped him. "I can't..." Came a whisper. Their eyes met again when he raised his head, and Axel winced at another pang. "I can't..." Came a whisper. Their eyes met again when he raised his head, and Axel winced at another pang. "I can't remember."

Axel's lungs quit on him. "What?" He wheezed.

The blond walked, or floated, up to Axel's side and the redhead turned. He tried to think of the blonde's expression, his features, his eyes, without using a reflection. It might have been his imagination, but he could almost see him. A wisp in the air, the most translucent he could possibly be, but Axel could swear that he knew where he was; he was crying.

"When..." He sucked in a shaky breath. "When someone who's dead... when their grave is overgrown by weeds or grass, and they haven't passed on... They can't remember their name if they can't see it." He floated back to his former spot; Axel didn't use the mirror this time. "It's a quick process. Once the name isn't visible, you just can't remember anymore...It's just... stolen."

"How is that even..." But really, who was he to argue? He wasn't a ghost. And if they couldn't see their name, and couldn't really travel, how are they supposed to remember it? If that was true, then how would he remember how he was killed? "That doesn't make sense," Axel frowned. "How do you know other things, then?"

"How am I supposed to know?" He looked more upset. "I didn't make the rules! I don't even know if there are rules! All I know is that I've seen it happen over and over again. 'Ghosts' hanging around telling horror stories about how their names were forgotten as their relatives stopped coming to pay respect." He paused. "But there's a girl that died around the same time as me, and her friends visit on her birthday like clockwork, so she can keep her identity intact." He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he were jealous, but felt rude feeling such an emotion towards her. "Namine... I don't know why she's still here. Maybe she's waiting for me."

Axel scratched his head. "What, like waiting for you to pass on, or something?"

"Yeah. She's really sweet. Namine was sickly all her life, and just couldn't hold on." He looked sad for her.

Axel squinted his eyes in thought. "Does she ever appear to her friends? Just pop out and say hello?"

Eyes narrowed at him. "Never. She doesn't want to scare them. She has more tact then that."

Axel snorted. "And you don't. Appearing to people that you've never even met."

"Hey! I have-" He stopped.

"Have what?" Axel took a step forward.

"Um, nothing. I didn't-" He looked uncomfortable.

He took another step forward, trying to think of where the blond knew him from. "I would've remembered if I met you. So how do you know me?"

"I don't. That's not what I was going to say." He floated back a step.

"Then what were you going to say?" Another step.

The specter flickered, then waned. But Axel's arm shot forward out of habit, trying to grip the arm that was dissolving into thin air.

His hand closed around the other man's wrist, and they both froze. A gasp emitted from the blond, while Axel's mouth hung open. He didn't actually expect to catch him! Then he was gone. Axel's fingers curled into his palm with nothing to hold on to. He didn't move. He didn't blink. There was something that just happened. Not only did he grab something that shouldn't be solid, which by the way, WOAH. But he saw a flash of... That was it!

He ran out of the bathroom, ignoring the incredulous look that Zexion gave him. He skidded to a stop at the table he had been sitting at for what seemed like years. He shuffled through the pile that he was picking from, looking only at the front pages now. When he ran out, he circled the table to Lexaeus' side, confusing the brunette and scaring him a little. "I know who he is!" Axel shouted.

There was a grunt to his left, and a very angry looking Zexion marched over. "What do you think you're-"

"I know who he is." Axel sorted through the papers, flipping past a collapsing bridge and a sex scandal at a local high school. "Sorry about the running and yelling," he added as an afterthought. "I touched him, and I had a flash. I know what he was involved in. If I can find that, then I can find his name. Then he'll know who he is."

"Hold on a moment." Zexion adjusted the glasses he was wearing. "You touched him?" He shook his head, hair flopping to the side. "That's impossible."

"Well, I did. And that's why I know that he was the victim of that silver-haired guy. If we had started at ten years ago, we would have gotten there quicker. But instead, we started at a year ago, then went backwards." He grunted.

"You mean the Strife murder?" Lexaeus asked.

They both stared at him.

"How do you know about that?" Zexion leaned on the table with one hand while Axel continued his search.

He shrugged, looking a little annoyed. "I watch the news."

Zexion gave him an appraising look.

"Found it!" Axel smacked the paper on the table, upsetting a patron a few tables away. He didn't bother to apologize. A large picture of a man with chin-length silver hair being escorted into the courthouse was above the article his eyes were trained on. He ran his finger along the text, reading as he went. "The Strife family suffered a great loss Wednesday night. On August the thirteenth, Roxas Strife (17), younger brother to Cloud Strife (20), was murdered. Cloud's friend, Sephiroth Genova's (23) younger brother, Kadaj Genova (21) was the main suspect. Kadaj was said to have poisoned Roxas' drink, failing to murder his true target, the older brother Cloud. Kadaj pleaded guilty..." He trailed off.

"This was eight years ago." Zexion stated quietly.

"Roxas..." Axel whispered.

"Now you can go to the caretaker and ask for the lot number." He picked up the other papers, sorting and piling them so he could put them back on their shelves. "You can clean up the grave so-"

"He was only 17 years old..."

Zexion looked up, quickly, trying to judge the look on his face. "Axel..."

"17, Zexion. And he wasn't even the one the guy wanted to kill!" Axel sat down and put his head in his hands.

Lexaeus stood up, putting a stack of papers in his arms. Zexion pointed him to where they belonged, not taking his eyes off Axel.

"Axel," Zexion put a hand on the sitting man's shoulder. "This doesn't seem to bother him anymore. From what you've told me, it seems he only wishes to know his name. I don't know what he told you before you rushed in here, but I believe he has come to terms with his death."

He lifted his head, unscrunching his eyes. "...You're right." He laughed, and Zexion flinched at the false note it held. "Well, I better go and let Roxas know his identity!" He shot up out of his chair, walking briskly to the front doors and exiting.

"You think he'll be alright?" Lexaeus asked when he came back to help clean up more of Axel's research.

"I hope so. I think so." Zexion turned to pick up a pile.

Axel crossed the parking lot, mumbling to himself and not watching where he was walking. When he got into the elevator, he didn't bother to press a button, and failed to notice it started to move on it's own. When it stopped, a person walked in, pushing a circle and lighting up the words "ground floor."

"...Roxas..." Axel whispered to himself and closed his eyes.

"What did you just say?" A harsh voice interrupted his mumbles.

He raised his head to meet blue eyes that jogged something in the back of his mind. "What?"

"I asked you what you just said." Those eyes narrowed in a familiar way...

"Roxas!" He said, both answering the question and figuring out where he'd seen those eyes.

"H-How do you know him?" The voice was quieter now, echoing the disbelief in his face.

"I've... I've met him." Axel bit his lip.

"What do you mean, 'met him?'" The blond had hair similar to Roxas', a bit longer, but the short spikes bore resemblance to the floating apparition.

"He..." Axel had no idea what to say. He couldn't possibly tell... his name was Cloud, right? Yes; that was the name of the brother in the article. If he told Cloud that he'd seen his deceased brother hovering around, he'd think he was insane. He didn't know what he could lie about either. Where had Roxas gone to school? What places could he say he'd met him at? Cloud didn't wait for an answer.

"You saw him, didn't you?" Cloud sighed, looking sad. "I knew it."

"Excuse me?" Axel blinked.

"I thought he'd visit you. You went to the graveyard, didn't you?" Cloud stepped outside the elevator when it opened, still facing Axel.

"How do you-?" He followed him out.

"You've lived in this apartment since you were little, right?" When Axel nodded, mouth open, he continued. "Well, Roxas wanted to be friends with you, but he was older, so your mother didn't seem to like you and him together. That's most likely my fault though..." He smiled to himself, as if it were an inside joke. When he saw Axel staring at him, he said, "My boyfriend scared her off. She figured Roxas had the 'gay gene,' and didn't want you to be around that."

"Ah." Axel scratched his head. "Roxas lived here?... Oh. Now that makes sense." He tapped his finger to his bottom lip. "But how would you know he's all... ghost-ish?"

Cloud shrugged. "Happened to our mother. I figured it'd happen to him."

Axel shook his head. This didn't connect. "Then why has he forgotten his name? Why haven't you gone to visit him? Didn't you think he'd be a little lonely!?" He waved his hands in the air, upset that Cloud couldn't even go pay respects to his little brother.

"Hey! I'm not on trial here! I didn't know for sure that he was out there!" Cloud backed up a pace.

"You said you had an idea!"

Cloud looked away. "It... it hurts, okay? How would you feel if your brother was killed when you were the one that was supposed to have died?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Axel relaxed, feeling sorry for his accusatory outburst.

Cloud's eyes looked far away. "He just wanted a sip. I knew he shouldn't have had the wine, but... I thought, 'One sip couldn't hurt.' Except..." The blue orbs turned cold and his hands fisted. "It did. Kadaj..." He had trouble saying the name out loud, it seemed. "He said that the reason he did it was that he wanted more attention. He couldn't take that his big brother's attention was aimed somewhere else..." The sad expression returned. "At me."

"He was going to kill you because he was lonely?" Axel asked quietly.

"Yeah. His dearest big brother loved someone more than him, and he couldn't take that." He took in a shaky breath. "He turned himself in, though, when his plan went awry. He felt bad about... Roxas. He liked the kid." He shivered, then turned back to face Axel. "I just felt like it was all my fault, and Roxas... I couldn't face him."

"But you had to have known that Roxas wouldn't blame you. It wasn't your fault. The crazy guy; now he's someone to be pissed at. Roxas; the only thing he wants is to know his name. That's all." Axel moved to place a hand on the man's shoulder, but thought better of it.

"What do you mean?" Cloud was puzzled.

"Long story short, when a grave is overgrown and the person hasn't passed on yet, their name vanishes from their memory. Don't ask. I don't get it either." Axel shook his head. "That's the whole reason I met him. He asked me to find out his name for him."

"Have you told him yet?" Cloud looked intrigued.

"I..." Axel looked away, then back. "I was on my way." He opened his mouth, then closed it. He smiled. "Would you like to join me?"

Cloud looked surprised. "I couldn't," he whispered. "I abandoned him because I was afraid."

"He'd want you to be there." Axel whispered back.

The emotions conflicted on his face, but Cloud looked up with a small smile. "Alright. Wait here a moment. Or do you want to meet me there?"

"I'll meet you there."

Cloud went back into the elevator, and Axel exited the building, walking back to his car. He was waiting for when he could clean off the grave, so he left his tools in the car. He set off for the cemetery.

Axel asked the undertaker for directions, and took a map. He turned the wrong way once, but found his way back. He stopped the car and took a deep breath. What was he going to do once Roxas knew his name? Where would Roxas go? Would he... disappear? Axel didn't want that. Strange how strongly he felt about it. Now that he felt a connection to him, he wasn't just a ghost. He was a person that needed him. But... Roxas... Axel needed him too.

A knock on the passenger side window startled him. Cloud smiled at him, a familiar-looking brunette at his side.

Axel got out, collecting his things from the trunk, and met up with the other two. "Hey," Axel turned to the brunette, who looked a little on edge. "You were that guy that I ran into the other day."

"Sorry about that. I wasn't in the greatest of moods. It was my fault too." He lifted his hand in a gesture of apology.

"Did I just hear what I think I heard? Did you apologize, Leon?" Cloud laughed, but looked dumbfounded.

"Shut up. And for the millionth time, it's Squall!" He punched Cloud in the shoulder, but it was all bark and no bite.

"Right." He looked to Axel. "Ready?"

The worries came back, prodding butterflies to life inside his stomach. "Yeah." He tried to sound more sure than he was.

"It's right over here." Cloud walked through the grass, passing a tree and leading the way. After a few moments, he stopped at a very brown and dead-looking bush. He pointed at a small gray circle in the grass. "Just under here."

Axel knelt down, starting his work immediately. He ignored the tapping of a foot behind him, and cut into the weeds and grass, trying not to get a scratch on the stone. He hissed as he misjudged an angle and there was a screech.

"Hey." All three turned around, facing the owner of the same musical voice that brought him here in the first place. "Watch it. That's not cool."

"Roxas..." Cloud hesitated, not knowing what to do.

"Save the apologies. I'm actually surprised to see you here now. I'm glad you're doing fine without me." He smiled, and Axel's heart fluttered. He ignored it and went back to working.

"This..." Cloud turned and grabbed Leon's sleeve, dragging him forward. "Is Leon."

"Squall." He muttered.

"Nice to meet you, Leon. You treating my brother well?"

Leon smiled at this. "Best I can. Love him with all my heart."

"Good. He treating you well?" Roxas chuckled.

"Best he can." Leon laughed and Cloud growled. "I figure he loves me too."

"Hey! Try not to speak about me when I'm here!" Cloud nudged Leon.

Roxas went away from the couple and floated up next to Axel. "Thank you."

"No problem. Nice family reunion." He plopped a piece of grass and dirt into his bucket, not bothering to face him.

"I mean for everything." Roxas said quietly. Axel paused in his work. "I figure Cloud's told you that I knew you, since you're so distant." He sounded sad.

"That's not the reason." He stabbed the grass again, with a little more force than necessary.

"Then why?" Roxas demanded. "Why won't you look at me?"

Axel lifted the last piece of debris from the marker, and Roxas smiled like he was seeing a long lost friend for a moment, a spark coming back into his eyes that made them even more beautiful, before he focused back on the redhead. When he didn't look up, Roxas grunted and lifted Axel's chin with his hand, causing his eyes to widen. "What-"

"Works both ways." Roxas said.

Axel sighed and stood up, dusting off his knees. "You're going to leave. Now that you have nothing binding you here, you're going to 'poof' away and I'll never see you again."

Roxas floated until he was inches from Axel's face. "Who said there was nothing binding me here?"

In a moment, Axel stopped breathing, Roxas closed the space and pushed his lips to the taller man, and Cloud shouted, "HEY!"

When they parted, the hilarity of the situation hit Axel. He laughed, making Roxas split into a grin. "You know, you're five years older than me, and dead."

"Hey," Roxas stuck out his tongue. "I stopped living at seventeen. That makes you three years older than me, and a pedophile."

"Shut up." He kissed him again, and Cloud marched over.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing!?" He shouted.

"Chill, Cloud." Leon said. "The guy's dead. What trouble can he get into?"

Axel waggled his eyebrows. The two blonds smacked him.

"What are you going to do?" Axel asked Roxas a week later, sitting on a bench in the cemetery.

"What do you mean?" He laid his head on Axel's shoulder, concentrating as to not slip right through him.

"You're dead. I'm alive. You should be passing on."

"I guess..." He lifted his head, smiling that damn smile that nearly stopped Axel's heart. "I'll just wait for you to kick the bucket."

"Hey!" Axel shoved him away, but Roxas shimmered, and Axel fell through him.

"Would you rather I-"

"No." He got up and sat down on the bench. "I'll take this as it is."

They sat in silence, enjoying the breeze and listening to the birds chirp in the trees.

"Falling in love with a ghost. God, I'm stupid." Axel chuckled and dodged Roxas' punch.

Fin

Notes:

Demyx's phone message was brought to you by my Roxas-Uke. She came up with it. XD Same with the "Check him out" thing. XD

And if you want the special extra scene of awesome, jump over to my deviantart account, tsukikari9. :D

Review please!