Title: Whiskey Lullaby
Author: Nikki Kiraga
Theme: Articles; Newspapers
Fic Number: 1/30
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Drama
Warnings: Death
AU/Canon: AU
Pairing: Axel/Roxas
Characters: Roxas, Namine
Words: 455
Summary: How long would he waste his time?
Note: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix, and the song "Whiskey Lullaby" belongs to Brad Paisley and Alyson Krauss.
---
How could this be happening? It wasn't supposed to end like this. And I most certainly shouldn't have found out this way…
I just stared at the newspaper. I'd read the article over and over again. Front page, big news in this small little town. We had one gang here, though they rarely did anything more than sell drugs. However, another gang came in, hoping to take over the town. That's when the war started.
I couldn't have known. I couldn't have helped him. I was away on business, eagerly waiting for the day I'd get to see him again.
I never knew that day would be his funeral.
When I got home, nobody spoke to me. In a small town, there are no secrets. Everyone knew about my Axel and I, how we loved each other, despite his flaws—the biggest of which being that he was involved in the local gang. Nobody but me knew about that… that is, until the war.
Now his face was on the front page. The list of victims, those who died in this wretched gang war. I began making bets with myself. How long would I continue going on without him? I knew I didn't want to. I had nothing left holding me here. So how long would I waste my time?
---
"Roxas?" A small blond girl slowly walked into the house. It was unlocked, that was strange. "Roxas, are you home?" She continued walking, heading for his bedroom.
The girl, Namine, wanted to comfort her dear brother. She'd seen him drinking a lot more, and knew that he was trying to wash away the pain. Axel was like a brother to her, too, so perhaps she could help.
As she stepped into the bedroom, she froze. There he laid with a note in his pale fingers and Axel's picture clutched in his arm. "R… roxas?" This time she was worried. She hurried to his side, placing her fingers on his neck. Under her fingers, under the cold flesh, there was nothing.
Namine trembled. "Roxas… no, not you too…" She turned as she realized there was music playing. It was the song he and Axel loved to sing together, just because of how beautiful and sad the song was. It was their special recording.
"He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said 'I'll love him 'till I die'
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby…"
