Disclaimer; I do not own anything Kingdom Hearts related. This statement stands for the entire story.

Warnings; Story rated for language, sexual themes, and cancer. If any of those will offend you, it's best to leave now.

1 - cardinal moments

I remember the first time I ever heard his name.

"Hey, are you going to that fundraiser for Axel?" my friend, Olette, asked.
"Who's that?" I presumed he couldn't have been our age, as I didn't have the slightest clue who that could be.
"Axel Sinclair. He's Kairi's cousin. You know, the one with cancer."

And that's all I even remembered after to hearing his name. Kairi's cousin who had cancer.

"You must have seen him around the school before. He graduated last year."
"I don't even know him; how would I know what he looks like?"
"Well, he's pretty hard to miss. Tall with the loudest red hair ever."
"... again, I don't know him. I don't think I'll go."
"I don't know him either and I'm going. You should come too." She didn't push the topic anymore, and I stayed true to my word.

It wasn't until five months later that he actually entered my life.

Not only did he enter, but he became a part of it.

xx

I remember the first time I met him.

It was a hot day in early July, and I had been invited to Kairi's father's house for a day of video games, movies and food. Sora, my best friend and cousin, Riku, our friend / her boyfriend, and her cousin Axel were invited as well. I figured now I'd get to see why he was everyone's favorite topic.

Everyone had been there for a couple hours by the time I arrived, so I went to the first free spot, darting quickly in front of the television. Sora punched me halfheartedly and smiled. We hadn't seen each other in a little while; I was busy getting my driver's license and he was working. Riku gave a slight nod, eyes focused on the television as he madly mashed buttons on his game controller.

Smiling, I turned to look to Kairi who was sitting between the two older boys on the couch.

"Rox! Glad you could come!" she greeted, smiling brightly. Sitting up, she motioned to the redhead gaming beside her. "This is my cousin Axel. Axel, this is Roxas."

Axel took his eyes away from the television to look me straight in the eye. A grin took to his lips as he nodded at me. "Hey kiddo, it's nice to meet ya."

"It's nice to meet you too," was all I could manage. I was too busy taking in his appearance.

He had wild red hair, sticking out in all directions and lightly tanned skin. He was wearing an old pair of jeans and a faded green t-shirt and both hung loosely to his thin frame. His eyes were the most brilliant shade of emerald and had a small, upside down triangle tattooed under each. There was no denying that he was attractive.

My sexual preference might not be what is considered to be 'normal' or 'acceptable'. Personally, I don't think it should matter what you are, as long as you take good care of the one you love. Unfortunately though, finding someone to love you back when you're seventeen and gay isn't the easiest. Ogling a guy is about the closest I get to any action, but I try not to stare.

Trying not to check him out too long was quite the challenge until something odd caught my attention.

Stark white gauze was wrapped around his upper right arm. This was covering his PICC line, which was for receiving chemotherapy treatments. I swallowed hard, looking back up to his face. He had long since turned his attention back to the game, and I was thankful for that. Getting caught staring at his PICC line would not be the best first impression.

"It's unreal, right?" Sora whispered, eyeing me curiously. "How normal he seems? I mean, you'd never know that he was sick if it weren't for that on his arm."

"Yeah," I spoke quietly, glancing over to make sure the three on the couch couldn't hear. "He seems to be doing really well. That's got to be a good sign, eh?"

"I would think so. Plus, he's still got his hair. He said it's thinner than usual, but it's not like you can tell." Sora looked down at his socked feet for a moment. "I've know this guy since I was a little kid. He's always been the happiest, most helpful guy. I hope he gets through this."

Sora's bright blue eyes searched my face, looking for reassurance or comfort. I patted his knee then looked to the television where Axel, Riku, and Kairi were in the middle of a heated battle on the Wii.

"Me too."

xx

"Gah, stop cheating!"Sora whined, pouting at all of us.

"We're not cheating man, you just suck at this game." Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku, which gave the silver haired teen the chance to send Yoshi flying off screen. The brunet shrieked, although the rest of us playing gave him no mind.

"I swear to God, Riku, that I will use this last life to cause you to lose to Axel and Roxas." Riku could hardly suppress his laughter as Yoshi put Wolf into a spotted egg. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Let's keep this friendly guys." Axel spoke calmly, a serene smile on his face. "It's not as if either of you will win this round." Just as he said that, Ness(under Axel's control), threw a bomb-omb at both Sora and Riku's characters.

"No!" The two screamed in tandem as it exploded, effectively taking both of their last lives. Riku dropped his face into is hand and shook his head while Sora looked up at the ceiling, mumbling 'Why?'.

With a sharp whistle, Axel had me look him in the eye. "It's just you and me now, bud." Smirking, he turned back to the game at hand. "Are you ready to lose as well?"

"Heh, in your dreams."

xx

The afternoon passed quickly, with a lot of shouts, laughter and controller passing. The occasional 'I'll kill you!' threat was also tossed about, which only produced more laughter. It was nearing eight o'clock when Axel stood up and stretched.

"Would you look at the time kiddies, it's getting pretty late. I'm afraid I'll have to head out now as it's nearing my bedtime." He laughed, grabbing his sweat shirt and car keys. "Guess I'll be seeing you all later."

"We still hanging out tomorrow?" Riku asked, setting his controller down. From what I've heard, these two hang out a lot, and have since they were in elementary school.

"But of course! Who else can I whoop in Super Smash Bros. with one hand tied behind my back? Certainly not these folks here. No, they have skill." Axel barely dodged in time to avoid being hit by a couch pillow. "I'll text you later!" He called to Riku as he disappeared down the corridor.

"Sure you will." Riku mumbled, silver hair falling in front of his eyes.

I never told anyone until a few weeks later that I was disappointed that he left early. The rest of us stayed at the house for another couple of hours, and then called it a night. When I got home, all I could think about were those intense green eyes and fire red hair.

What could I say? He had me hooked.

I found out a little while later that he was too.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the prologue to this story, although I know it's very slow and quite short. The other chapters are going to have more content; there was nothing else I could add to this prologue. The other chapters are all planned out, they just need to be written. It should be somewhere along the 15 chapter range, possibly 17 (if things go as planned).

Please forgive the quality of this chapter. It's been about a year since I've written anything, so I'm a little rusty.

This is going to be a story based on an important time in my life. It is going to be a lot of things that actually happened to me, with some creative license in order to entertain you all better. I am hoping for this to be a coping mechanism for me, as it's been a rough year or so. I'll do my best to keep the characters true to themselves, but you might have to bear with me through parts.

Please comment/favourite or whatever you crazy kids do nowadays. (: