Chapter 1

Please take note that this is my first fanfiction, comments are welcome.

There was a thump… followed by another. A quick yelp and an irritated grunt from the other party. Next came silence soon accompanied by much weeping. Zexion sat quietly in his mother's closet. He had no idea what kind of hell his mother had gotten herself into, but she had no intention of getting him involved. At least not physically. He was without a doubt mentally drawn in to her problems. This is what happened, in this small apartment. She did what she could but it was never enough. Especially with her kind of debt. These men often came to 'collect' as they so honourably put it. Zexion not being young as he once was knew what this 'debt' consisted of. Certain chemicals weren't so easy to pay off. Particularly after such a large sum had accumulated without some form of pay.

Light filtered through the Bi-Fold Louvered closet doors as Zexion continued to sit in the dark corner. He didn't move when she stopped sobbing, he knew better. He would let her come to him, that's just how she was. It was a personal thing, not that he blamed his mother. If he were in the same situation Zexion was sure he wouldn't want to be seen. The swish of her soft footsteps fled to the kitchen, the sound of the fridge opening echoed through the tiny abode. No doubt she was getting a package of frozen peas for the swelling. He could just imagine a swollen lip… perhaps cheek, a black eye and if she was lucky that would be it. Last time they had broken a rib or two. The slender male kept his location undisclosed to anything. Making sure his breath was silent, and that his body was still. His eyes were in a trance on the floor and didn't even notice that the doors had opened. A hand that belonged to his mother brushed against his shoulder causing Zexion to jerk suddenly. She had expected him to so this thus allowing her soothing voice, "shhh, it's okay!" His strange blue eyes fluttered in her direction, not looking directly at her. That he knew always made her feel self-conscious, "do you want to go to Roxas's house tonight?"

A small nod set the slim woman in the direction of the phone. She was the one who usually did all of Zexion's phone calls. Not that he was incapable of doing them himself rather, he didn't like making them. Talking was not the slate's forte, even though he was perfectly able, it was just tough. He had to many things rolling around in that mind to keep himself occupied, that he just didn't make much conversation. Roxas was perhaps the only exception.

Fifteen minutes later Zexion was standing in front of the pale grey building know to him as Roxas's house. His delicate hand made contact with the door three times, in turn making his knuckles red and sore. The slate haired boy had expected the blonde to open the door but in his stead stood a male with flashy red hair. Bright green eyes rivalled his ashen blues, "who are you?"

The question was blunt and sounded impatient, but the small boy remained silent. Even though his exterior looked confident, he was actually rather hesitant.

"Well?… Say something!"

The tall red head's intolerance heightened causing the small boy's brows to furrow together. Concern writ it self on his pretty face as he nervously looked at the ground. The torture soon ended when the blonde finally came by to see what all the fuss was about, "hey Zex!" An ever so tiny smile fit on his small face at Roxas's voice, "uh… this is Axel, I see you've met!"

All three of them made their way to the living room, Zexion took a seat on the beige couch that sat directly in the view of the television. Roxas immediately took a seat next to the young teen knowing something was wrong, "you okay?"

Zexion utilized his characteristic nod to respond, at this Axel smirked. He had to know what the hell was up, "what's his problem?"

A glare shot itself from the blonde's eye in Axel's direction. His hand then moved to run itself through Zexion's hair, for some reason the boy was much more tense than normal, "Zex's not much of a talker. It doesn't help that you're being an arrogant asshole!"

"How the fuck am I being arrogant?!"

"Oh god Axel, you're always arrogant, don't give me that line of bullshit!"

For a second Zexion was scared the two were going to start a fist fight. But it seemed that just as the squabble began it ended. Roxas turned his head towards the coy male, "you hungry?"

It took the Zexion a few seconds to debate in his mind if that was the case. In the end he nodded lightly, sending the blonde into the kitchen. Axel stood watching the boy for a while and soon took a seat next to him. He seemed to edge away, not to make room for the red head, to lose the proximity between them. Being the sharp kind of guy Axel was, he caught on to the fact that he had just breached the slate's personal space barrier and was caught between moving away or moving closer. Both seemed like good options; however, considering Zexion's overly talkative state, he moved to the side, "why so edgy?" A shrug was assumed by the shorter male who kept his gaze in another direction. It was then that the red head piped up again, "do you talk at all?"

Zexion faced the lanky teen and nodded quickly, not allowing for a very convincing argument. He then sighed in frustration again looking forward. This couldn't have been more awkward. A few seconds later Axel stretched out putting his arms on the upper part of the sofa. He eyed the boy from the corner of his left optical, slowly letting the hand on that side of his body fall on the boy's shoulders. Zexion instinctively became rigid as Axel spoke, "geeze, you need to relax!"

Truth be told, Zexion didn't want to relax, he was so unfamiliar with that particular action that it was kind of sad. The only time he even came close to relaxing was when Roxas and him talked for some time. Slowly but surly the blonde would get the slate haired boy to express more than just a, 'yup,' or , 'that's nice.' It usually took a good three hours of him rambling on or a weekend of fun. Even an arm around his stiff shoulders was too much contact, from a stranger no less. He thought he was doing a pretty good job of enduring the red heads bold action but utterly failed when Axel's hand rubbed the side of his arm. Literally jumping to his feet Zexion moved away from the couch, "what?!" The small male simply gave Axel a dirty glare, "what'd I do?!"

Zexion knew the tall red head was just playing dumb, but that didn't stop him from placing his body in the Lazy Boy just a few feet away from the TV. His knees made contact with his chest as his arms themselves around his thin legs. Axel got off the smooth stainless couch and waltzed over to Zexion, who flashed a quick glance at the approaching figure. He made a move to get off the armchair but was abruptly pushed back onto the cushioned furniture. Axel placed a hand on each arm-rest making sure Zexion was trapped, "and where would you be running off to so soon?"

There was a certain tone of mockery the darker haired male didn't like. Again his space barrier was broken as the tall boy leaned in. Axel seemed to be experimenting with Zexion's breathing space. Just as the red head came within six inches of the boy is when he snapped, violently swiping and thrashing his arms at Axel. Who pulled his own arms away to protect himself, he felt a few hits from the boy that stung, "OUCH! Stop it!"

The small boy didn't falter, only because Axel refused to back away and resume his position on the sofa. He was still too close for Zexion's taste, but the battering didn't cease. Only aiding in the red head's rising temper. He grabbed one of Zexion's arms rather forcibly to stop the hitting but only received an ear piercing scream, "god! Stop… stop it… I'm not going to hurt you!"

"What the FUCK are you doing Axel?" Roxas accused due to the situation's circumstance.

"Nothing… he just flipped on me! I was trying to calm him down."

Roxas quickly stepped between the male on the Lazy Boy and the red head, "just… go sit over there!" A visible scratch on Zexion's arm was quite noticeable, blood pooled in the gash causing the blonde's face to get red, "AXEL! What the hell… you scratched him?!"

"Hey, I've got bruises!"

"Oh please save it," Roxas snarled as he flipped back to deal with Zexion. Placing a hand over the slate's he slowly coaxed the distressed boy into the bathroom. The blonde brought out an antiseptic and some cotton swabs, "got you pretty bad eh?" Zexion hissed at the sting the sterile liquid caused. The blonde smiled gently, "don't worry, it means it's working."

A few Band-Aids later and they were back in the living room. Roxas passed his slate haired friend a delectable sandwich that made Axel's jaw drop, "how come you don't cook for me?"

"It's amazing where being attractive will get you," the blonde responded holding a grin that screamed for an argument.

"Attractive? Doesn't that describe ME to a T?"

"True, but Zexion's also got that magnetic personality! I'm sure you've noticed, couldn't stay away could you?"

Axel tried to say something… anything in his defence. But Roxas hit the nail dead on the head, leaving the red head verbally lost. Then it dawned on his vibrantly coloured skull, why not play along? "Well, I have to admit, with a body like that who couldn't?"

Zexion stopped mid bite of his sandwich to look at the tall male. He was clearly joking but that didn't stop the petite male from shooting a glare in his direction. Roxas's arms folded in font of his torso before he retorted, "keep your dick at bay!"

"Believe me, I'll try," the conversation ended with a wink.