Broken: AkuRoku

A/N: Squeenix and Disney own Kingdom Hearts. Not me. This has been a disclaimer.

Axel trembled in his beat-up, maroon Doc Martins. He had shined them as much as he could that day. The redhead was dressed in clean black jeans, a pressed shirt, and a casual blazer, an attempt at impressing the parents that lived behind the door. He stood outside Roxas' house with guarded hope. He didn't know what he would see when his best friend walked out that door. He hoped that the friendly and happy blond would still be the same as before. It had been over a year since the last time he had seen the slightly younger boy. Axel was just starting senior year and Roxas was just starting his junior year.

However, Roxas had spent the entirety of his sophomore year at a catholic boarding school, a gay reformation school.

Roxas' mom and dad stared at him, peeking through their curtains and glaring. But, Axel was still concerned. They had ridiculously self-satisfied, shit-eating grins plastered on their faces. Axel would have his best friend back.

A hunched-over blond figure shuffled out the front door with its eyes downcast. Roxas had come out. Axel's mouth stretched into a wide smile at the sight of the familiar hair, spiky as ever. It gave him hope that his friend was still the same. "Roxas! I'm so happy to see you!" he called out with a smile. The chilly September weather bit at his nose and he was glad for the jacket in more than one way now.

Roxas lifted his head to look at Axel with blank eyes. The usually sparking blue gems were dead and flat. The redhead nearly took a step back. The shorter boy turned his eyes back to the ground and muttered, "Hey," before shuffling past him and toward their shared high school, only three blocks away.

Axel walked behind his friend in shock until they reached the school. A happy squeal broke him out of his reverie as a short, black haired girl flung herself at Roxas. "You're back! You're finally back! I've missed you so much! Axel too! Roxas, are you okay?"

The redhead smiled as the girl that completed their trio showed up. Xion had been his rock in the last year.

"I'm fine," Roxas said as he violently shook the girl off, continuing on into the school. Devastation was obvious in Xion's expression and it broke Axel's heart to watch. Right as Roxas walked through the double doors that lead into the school's halls, Axel bent over and enveloped Xion in a tight hug. "Don't take it to heart. We don't know what they did to him there," he whispered softly as tears threatened to leak from his tightly closed eyes.

Xion squeezed back, spreading love back to Axel, "I know. I'm just worried. What could have happened to turn him into that?" Axel just shook his head, having nothing to say. The girl sighed, "We'll save him. But first, you have to save yourself. Okay, Axel?" She gave a not so subtle glance at the redhead's covered arms. The blazer did more than make him look snazzy.

Axel smiled a practiced smile. "Don't worry. They're just covered because people ask too many questions. I'm fine," he replied and dropped a friendly kiss on Xion's cheek. She saw right through his lie, knowing there were fresh scars, if not fresh cuts, under the sleeves. "I just don't want to loose you too, okay?" she said quietly. One of her best friends just walked away from her, she couldn't risk loosing the other one.

"Promise," Axel said softly.

They walked into the school, side by side, then went their separate ways, making promises to meet up at lunch.

Once lunch time rolled around, Axel flung himself from the desk in his calculus class and ran to the grassy quad where Roxas, Xion, and himself always met for lunch. The past year with just Xion and himself was slightly lonely, but they were okay. He spotted the blond and brunette sitting side by side and his spirits lifted again. Maybe Roxas really would be okay.

Coming closer to the duo, Axel ran faster. Tears were streaming down the faces of both of the younger teens. The redhead quickly put a hand on each of their heads then smushed them to his chest. "Guys, what's wrong?" he asked worried, almost not wanting to be answered. Roxas peered at his friend through his tears and threw his arms around Axel's neck.

The blond chanted 'Imsorryimsorryimsorry' over and over again, his face buried in Axel's neck. Xion backed away before burying her own head in Axel's chest. The redhead held on to his best friends tightly, willing them to never leave. The minutes passed quickly and the bell rang, signaling the end of their time together. No food was eaten, and they hadn't moved from their spots.

Roxas pulled away at the sound of the high pitched ring. He quickly said, "tomorrow. Noon. Clock tower." Before running off to his next class. Xion gave Axel one last squeeze before running off to her own class.

Axel sighed and casually sauntered toward AP Japanese, walking into class five minutes late.

Axel ended up at the top of the clock tower an hour early. It was Saturday. For some reason, his school decided to start on a Friday, then give the kids a three-day weekend. Axel had spent a ridiculous amount of time at the top of it in the past year, contemplating the worth of his life. It was after he had confessed his like for Roxas and they shared a soft kiss that the blond's parents had found them, still attached at the mouth. Then Roxas was taken away.

That was May of last year. It was July 4th when he came up to the clock tower for the first time with no plans to meet his friends. Xion was with her family for the celebration and Axel was alone. He stood at the precipice, his tears falling over the edge. He wanted to jump. He collapsed to the ground, sobbing as the fireworks first started. He pulled a razor out of his pocket and pressed it to his arm.

Axel shook his head to snap himself out of his memories. There was still well over half an hour before the other two were due to show up. Axel rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and stared at the silvery lines that littered his skin. A year ago, his skin was unmarred. Time passed quickly again and Axel didn't even notice Xion and Roxas until they each took one of his hands.

Green eyes flew wide open as Axel registered that his arms were still exposed. Roxas just let out a sob and dropped to his knees. The blond kissed his boy?friend's tattooed cheek and whispered, "I'm so sorry…"

Before Axel could say anything in reply, a noise escaped from Xion. It was a cross between a sob and a laugh. "Look at you two. My boys…" she said with a smile, through her tears. "Actually, look at all of us… We're all broken… But we fit together." She looked at her two best friends.

"Roxas, they broke you in there, didn't they? They took away your drive, your spirit, and your hope for a bright future. Just because you are in love with Axel…" she choked back a sob as she spoke. "And Axel… You blamed yourself for what happened to Roxas. You hurt yourself so much. A-a-and I couldn't help you…" she broke down in sobs, clutching her friends' hands.

Roxas looked toward Xion with a sad smile. "You haven't had a proper meal in months have you?" he asked softly, already knowing the answer.

Xion shook her head. She hadn't eaten anything in two weeks. Her last actual meal was probably during Christmas.

Axel laughed a little, a nervous reaction to the tension that surrounded them. "Look at us. At least we're together again. I have my best friends. I have my boyfriend. We can fix each other, okay?" his voice wavered at the end of his small tirade. "We'll fix each other. Or we'll all just be broken together."

They huddled in a dog pile at the top of the clock tower, their future looking difficult, but promising.

A cutter.

A gay camp reject.

And an anorexic.

They would be okay.