Happy 4th of July! Even though it's not he 4th anymore it's the 5th now.. It's for the 4th of July, as in that's what the whole story is about. Guess what! It's a one-shot too! What is this? Me a one-shot? A normal length one-shot? *dies*

But anyway. I originally started out to do a Naruto one, but I began typing it and nothing came, so I began to type this one and it just kinda flowed.

This is mildly based on something that happened to me and what I wish would've happen.. But hey, I guess that's what writing for right? To make what didn't happen happen.

Enjoy the AkuRoku fluff-ish? With a bit of emo-Roxas on the side.


"Roxas! Come on!"

Said blonde boy sighed at his twin brother's excited yell. He sat up in his bed, walked to the door and opened to calling down, "Go on, I'm not going."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Not even a second later, Cloud and Sora, his brothers, were standing in front him with confused looks. It had always been a tradition of the Strife family to go to the field by the waterfront to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July. The tradition was held even higher with the death of the three boys parents early this year.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Sora asked, a look of hurt written all over his face and is voice. Cloud's eyes held the same hurt.

"I just.. " the blonde sighed, not being able to take the looks on their faces. "Fine. Give me a minute." he said.

Sora's face lit up and he threw his arms around his twin in a giant hug before taking off down the stairs. Cloud ruffled his hair and quietly whispered, "Thank you." to his little brother before following the brunette down the stairs.

Roxas let out a huff before going back into his room. He picked up his iPod from his bed, phone from the night stand and his beach towel that was draped over his desk chair. Walking down the stairs he joined everyone in the living room.

Everyone being Cloud, Zack (Cloud's not-boyfriend), Areith, Leon (married friends of Cloud's) and Sora with his best friend Riku (not to mention his crush). They filed out of the house and to the waterfront. Sora tried to conversate with his twin, but the blonde wasn't really up for talking.

None of them really knew the reason he didn't want to go to the fireworks and Roxas wasn't really keen on telling them.

As he followed along, in his mind a memory kept resurfacing...

Roxas let out a sigh and ran a hand through his blonde, unstyled, locks as he glanced at his phone. "I'll be there in ten." he scoffed, "Seriously?" he said with a bit of a whine. He held his head in his hands.

His head shot up as gravel crunched, the sound of a car pulling in the driveway. Taking a deep breath, Roxas stood up and walked to the dark blue SUV that had pulled up. A redhead got out of the car, glanced at his phone and slipped it into his pocket before looking at the blonde, "Hey." he said quietly.

"Hey." the blonde said back just as quietly. They stepped closer and hugged, the redhead holding the blonde close. Slowly, the both of them stepped out of the hug.

"Who's car is this?" Roxas asked after a minute or two of silence.

"Reno's." the redhead answered.

They both stood there for a minute before the redhead broke the silence, "Where have you been for the past month?" he asked quietly.

"Axel.." Roxas begun, but his voice trailed off, "I've been here. And not really wanting to talk to anyone.."

"Why couldn't you have told me this?" he asked.

"I don't know.. I just.. I don't know." This really wasn't what the blonde wanted to deal with right now. "There's been a lot going on and.."

"I'm here to talk if you need it Roxy."

"What am I going to talk about Axel? How my parents are dead? How my twin's an emotional wreck? How Cloud hasn't said a sentence to anybody in two weeks?" the blonde shouted throwing his hands up, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Come here." Axel said before pulling the blonde into his arms, slowly running a hand through his blonde hair.

A few tears escaped Roxas' blue eyes causing him to pull away and wipe at the tears with his shirt collar, muttering, "I hate crying."

"Let's sit." Axel said gesturing to the car where we both leaned against the hood and sat in silence. "I don't know what to do.." he said breaking the silence.

"I don't either." Roxas said crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"Roxy.. I care about you too much just to let you go.. but.." he struggled with the next words, but Roxas knew what they were.

"I think it's best for you to let me go." the blonde said, the words tearing at him as soon as they left his lips, "You deserve to be happy and to be with someone that you.. can be with. And that's.. that's just not me."

"But what do you want?" Axel asked looking at the blonde, his green eyes piercing him like they always did.

Roxas let out a biter laugh, "I don't even know." he said with a shrug.

There was another silence.

Axel took a deep breath, "So you think that we should just.."

"Move on..." Roxas finished with a catch in his voice.

"I guess if that's what you want. Always know I'm here for you Roxy." he said as the both stood up.

"I know." Roxas said with a nod before hugging the redhead around his middle as he hugged the blonde back.

Both of them pulling away, green meet blue, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." the blonde said, the words cutting him. Never had the two of them actually said 'Goodbye' it was always 'See you later'. He turned around and walked away as he heard the car door open, close and the engine start up. As Axel was pulling out of the driveway, Roxas was opening the door to the house and closing it behind him.

When he closed the door, what happened just seemed to hit him and he began to breakdown. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the blonde's pride was greater than his need to cry. He made his way to the bathroom where he began to wipe his eyes and compose himself before walking into the living room where Zack sat watching TV.

Putting on his headphones, he opened his laptop and pressed play on his media player. 'Disenchanted' by My Chemical Romance began blasting into his headphones as things went on as they usually did...

The group made their way to their usual spot and sat out their towels. Roxas set his up a little further then the others and placed his headphones on his ears, pressing play on his iPod. Orchestra versions of Paramore began to blast in his ears.

Pulling out his phone, he opened up a blank text message and type:

"I swear that you don't have to go, I thought we could wait for the fireworks..." and sent the message off to Facebook to set as his status.

Looking around at his family and seeing them with somebody created a hallow feeling his his chest. He slid the headphones to around his neck, before calling out, "Hey, I'm going to walk around for a bit."

"Alright, just be back in time for the fireworks!" Sora said.

"I will." he said softly before standing up and sliding the headphones back over his ears.

His phone buzzed in his pocket twice signally a text message. Pulling it open and looking at the screen, Roxas froze, cause a few people to bump into him on the boardwalk. He turned so his back so to the railing so people could walk past and his 'Read' on is phone.

From: Axel

"I thought we could wait for the snow to wash over Georgia and kill the huuurrrttt..."

A small, slightly disbelieving, laugh escaped the blonde, "You still get my statuses.." he muttered before replying:

"I thought I could live in your arms and spend every moment I had with you..." before walking along the board walk. Soon the two of them had the song going full swing.

Roxas was walking slowly, singing the lyrics out loud, trying to remember what came next. It was then he heard another voice singing the same lyrics, a voice he knew very well, but never had heard sing.

Carefully, the blonde walked a little further and soon came upon a little dip in the boardwalk that hardly anyone knew about. There Axel sat on the railing, phone out head looking up as he ponder what came next, "I thought with a month of apart, together would find us an opening.." he hummed a bit and let out a sigh.

Taking pity on the redhead Roxas sung, "And moonlight would provide the spark and that I'd stumble across the key.."

Axel turned to face the blonde, so quickly that he almost fell of the railing with a half smile he sung, "Or breakdown the door to your heart.." Axel sung jumping off the railing and meeting Roxas halfway.

"Forever could see us- not you and me.."

"And you'd help me out of the dark.."

"And I'd give my heart as an offering.." the blonde placed the redhead's hand on his heart.

"Too late, I'm sure and lonely.."

"Another night, another dream wasted on you..'

"Just be here now against me.."

"You know the words, so sing along for me, baby. " the sung together.

"Hi." Axel said

"Hi." Roxas echoed with a small wave

They stood their in silence before Roxas threw his arms around the redhead's neck. The redhead was in shock for a bit, but held onto the blonde as tears began to fall. "I'm sorry." the blonde muttered in his neck.

"Ssshh. Roxy, it's okey." Axel said rubbing the blonde's back and kissing the top of his head.

"No it's not okey." Roxas said pulling away and looking up at him, "I shouldn't have ignored you and yelled at you like I did. I was just so hurt and sad and... I don't know how to deal with my feelings. I never had. Just like right now, seeing you hurts me but makes me happy and I'm crying and I just-" his words were cut off but Axel kissing the blonde.

The redhead held the blonde's face in his hands, "It is okey. And I know that you don't know how to deal with your feelings. It's part of what I love about you. When you're angry and happy you cry, when you're sad you throw things, when you frustrated you don't talk and I wouldn't want you any other way."

Hearing the redhead say that cause more tears to well up in the blonde's eyes, "We are some kinda fucked up, you know that?" he asked with a laugh.

"That I do, but that's what makes us, us. All our fucked up-ness and all." Axel said with a Cheshire cat grin.

"God, how I missed that grin." Roxas said with a laugh.

"And I missed my Roxy." Axel said picking the blonde up in a hug and spinning him around.

"Axel put me down!" the blonde yelled with a laugh hitting the redhead's shoulder.

Axel sat him down with a chuckle, "How about we go enjoy the fireworks?"

"Sounds like a great plan." Roxas said taking the redhead's hand and leading him back to the field.

"Roxas you made it- Oh hey Axel!" Sora said looking at the.

"Hey pipsqueak." the redhead said earning a tongue sticking out from Sora and a glare from Riku.

The group went back to their conversations they were having previously as Roxas and Axel sat on the blonde's towel. "This is a pretty nice spot." Axel commented.

"My mom found it my accident about 10 years ago." Roxas said with a small smile. "Her and dad were arguing about where the best spot was and they took a wrong turn and here is where they ended up. We've been coming here ever since and we'll continue to come."

"Well maybe you won't have to come here alone." Axel said looking down at the blonde with a smile.

"Maybe not." Roxas said with a laugh before reaching up and kissing the redhead just as the fireworks began going off, causing Roxas to jump and Axel to laugh. They watched the rest fireworks hand in hand, commenting on their favorites.

xXx

Soon the fireworks were over and it was time to pack everything up. Everyone began to fold their towels up and talk about how pretty the fireworks were. Axel helped Roxas fold his towel and dropped it on his head and the blonde playfully hit him in the chest.

"Alright, time to head home everybody." Cloud said.

"Hey," the older blonde looked to his younger brother, "I'ma walk on the beach for a bit." Cloud nodded and everybody got back on the boardwalk, Roxas and Axel parting ways from them to venture on the beach.

They walked the beach of a bit hand in hand, neither saying anything.

Roxas finally broke the silence, "You know I wasn't going to go to the fireworks." he said.

"Why?" Axel asked confused.

"Well it would've been the first year going without my parents and I knew everyone was bring their special someone it kinda hurt to having someone.." he looked up to the redhead, "Not having you."

"I'm glad you changed your mind." the redhead said with a smile.

"I am too." Roxas said smiling back.

"Hey! Look at what I got." Axel said in a sing-song voice pulling something out of his pocket.

"Sparklers!" The blonde shouted taking the sparkler from him.

Letting out a laugh, Axel reached for his lighter and let them both. "Better run little Roxy, or I'ma set your hair on fire!" he yelled before taking off after the blonde who let out an "Eeekk!"

The two chased each other till the two packs of sparklers were gone and they couldn't chase each other anymore. "I guess I should get home." Roxas said with a sigh.

"Come on." Axel said pulling him up off the pier and picking him up.

"Axel! Is this really necessary?" the blonde asked, glaring down at the redhead.

"Completely." he said carrying the blonde back up the beach and to his house.

"I guess this is goodnight." Roxas said once they were at his front door and Axel had sat him down.

"I guess so." Axel said.

"Night Axel." the blonde said kissing the redhead's cheek and walking in the house.

"Wait! Roxas!" the redhead shouted causing the blonde to turn around, "Are we back together now?"

Roxas gave a half smile, "Axel, when have I ever gave you a straight answer?" he said before closing the door and going up to his room.

He let out a happy sigh as he dropped his phone and iPod onto his bed. A faint tapping was heard, causing Roxas to tilt his head to the side. He finally figured the noise was coming from out side so he opened the window beside his bed and shook his head with a laugh, "What are you doing?" he asked with a shout.

"Waiting for my answer." Axel shouted back, lighting a sparkler and waving it in the air. "I'll stand out here all night if I have to."

Roxas laughed before he started to sing, "So breathe in so deep, breathe me in I'm yours to keep. And hold onto your words, cause talk is cheap. And remember me tonight when you're asleep.. Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again, don't make me change my mind. I wont live to see another day I swear it's true because a guy like you is impossible to find..."

Axel grinned and tossed up his lighter to the blonde.

"You're impossible to find Axel." the blonde said waving to the redhead before changing for bed. He crawled into bed, smiling at the black and white lighter with a flame on it as he fell asleep.


Oh man that was so sickenly sweet.. Even for me. Where did that even come from? Aahh, oh well.

So, you guys tell me what you think, 'cause I love talking to you guys. The Naruto one will, hopefully be up in like some about of hours (I would say tomorrow.. but it's kind of already tomorrow..)

Laterz. *two finger salute*