AN: Well, this story has been a long time coming. I've always wanted to write something with a bit of a Southern kick to it, and, combined with some good country music, I finally got up the energy to write it!

I hope you guys enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm really looking forward to continuing this, and reviews are the best way to get me to do that.

Also, I've put my email address in my profile so you guys can nag me if I get lazy on updates. Seriously, emailing/IMing/reviewing (which goes directly to my email) are surefire ways to get me to update the stories. This one is also significantly longer than most of the things I write, I'm hoping to keep the trend going throughout the rest of the story. So... here ya go! On with the story!

"Hey, Cid, isn't your nephew coming out tomorrow?" Cid, who had been reading the paper with the news turned up as loud as possible, felt a slight surge of panic as realization dawned on him- he'd forgotten his own nephew's arrival.

"Hot damn, guess he is. Rocky, right?" Aerith gave a small sigh of frustration.

"Roxas. Honestly, how do you function as a human?"

"Coffee 'nd those shit-for-patties you keep callin' sausage." He made sure to give a firm pop to his newspaper as he went back to reading. Aerith, who had already known to prepare for the boy, only gave a sarcastic smirk before heading into the kitchen to make sure the pots were clean. She, unlike her boss, was excited about the new arrival. It would be a chance to help take care of a child who had seen nothing but hardship throughout his life. She had only the information sent in a letter from a social worker in New York City and what little Sora could offer to work with, but she was proud nonetheless of the good job she'd done preparing for him.

Meanwhile, on a train that had just left the station...

Back In The Saddle
by
Taka Momos

Roxas stared blankly through the cold window his forehead was resting against as he let his mind wander from thought to thought. The only thing he had to break his thoughts, desperate attempts to escape the boredom of traveling, were the various "landmarks" that went soaring by.

Here he was, being dumped.

Dead tree.

He and his brother had grown up being thrown back and forth between his parents their entire lives, the nonsensical custody laws bouncing him from his uncaring father to his loving mother every month or two. At thirteen they'd been able to choose to live with their mother, effectively cutting their father out of their life.

Broken fence post.

His brother loved the country, his mother having taken them both a few times during their childhood to the state she grew up in. Needless to say, Georgia wasn't anything like the New York he'd come to love. So while his twin spent most of his time to the ranch he was headed to, he stayed and bathed in the city life. And, until his mother's death, that was fine with him.

Cow.

Roxas gave a second, much more surprised, glance to the brown bovine that was falling fast into the horizon behind the train. No matter how hard he tried, the thought of being so far away from any form of the civilization he'd become rather fond of still made itself known.

After having slept hours on an airplane and in an airport, sleep was in short supply to help make the last leg of traveling bearable. He hit his head against the window, hoping he could at least knock himself unconscious.

All Roxas could do was give a frustrated sigh when it didn't work.

He reached down into his bag and grabbed his MP3 player, doing his best to take everything that was happening in stride. He hadn't been to the ranch since he was eight... ten years ago. He remembered nothing about farm life. But he could adapt... sure, maybe he'd planned on getting a job at his mother's company, giving him an easy ride through life. Maybe he'd planned on having a nice penthouse to live in, letting staff take care of him. But his brother wanted him to try letting family take care of him, at least before he whittled away at his mother's bank account to try and get a firm foundation in life.

He never really had put any stock in family. But, as different as they may be, his mother had always loved them and trusted them, so maybe they really would help him. She'd always said that, if worse came to worse, they could always turn to her brother; they could always turn to family for help. Well, worse had come to worse, and he was turning to his uncle. Maybe it really would be alright. Maybe he could do it!

And then they passed a horse rolling on its back in the mud, legs flailing in the air...

He quickly flipped his music on, trying to recover from yet another culture shock.

Aerith stared up from the eggs she was cooking as the rooster crowed. She was usually the first one up on the entire ranch; it was her job to make sure all the hands were fed, to make sure Cid got his sausage (she made sure to burn them after his comment from the night before), to make sure, in general, that the house was ready to survive the day in, at the very least, close to the same condition it started out in. But today was special- Roxas would be arriving. Cid had refused to allow any hands to meet him at the station, he had instead asked his friend (who also happened to be the owner of the local bar) to pick him up so that the he and the hands could focus on preparing a particularly large shipment of cattle to be ready for transport. She remembered vividly how he put it-

"Otis's gonna give the kid a ride, we gotta be haulin' ass all day to get that shipment ready for the road and on its way by 2:00. Can't afford to be a man down today, and Otis had somethin' t' bring me anyways."

She had argued with him over the matter, being fully aware of the man's driving abilities. He, and he said it was pride, was the "All-Region Mud Racing Racer of the Year". Or, as she saw it, the man the police turned to when a high-speed chase hit a dirt road.

Aerith reached out the window and rang the bell, signaling for all the ranch hands to come for breakfast and be on their way to their duties. A roar erupted out of the barracks as they scrambled for the food she'd set out the large tables beneath the covered patio outside the kitchen. It wasn't long before a familiar, bright red headed mechanic was walking through the door.

"Aerith, Cid's whinin' about his sausages." She smirked evilly.

"Axel, tell Cid that if it's my shit-for-patties that keep him going all day, he can just learn to eat them until he either appreciates my cooking or gives me more money so I can get real sausages to work with." Axel cocked an eyebrow, but chose not to get involved in the matter, turning and heading back out the door to pass on the message.

After the sun had shot itself high into the sky, Aerith settled into her usual routine. The storm had passed, and she had until dinner before the entire farm converged on her tables for food once again. Lunch was easy to prepare for, people tended to drift in and out depending on their schedules. She was more than happy to cook their varied requests, being happy that it wasn't like lunch or breakfast where massive amounts of food were needed at one time.

She was cleaning the tables from breakfast, stacking cleaned plates and gathering the silverware, when a cloud of dust rising at least thirty feet into the air became visible from the road leading to the ranch.

Otis...

Most people sped down the straight roads, given that the large tracts of land between each ranch, and even more so from the ranches to town, were uneventful and easy to maneuver. But only Otis ever exceeded 200 mph. In a broken down, 1978 Ford F100 he kept alive with duct tape, no less...

Setting one last plate onto the table's stack, she headed out to meet them in front of the house. Cid had already begun making his way over, leaving behind three hands to get the cows on the truck he'd been helping with. The run-hard brown truck pulled up to the house, screaming from every bolt and screw as it did so. Through the cloud of dust, Aerith could hear a door open and shut, and the heavily accented voice of Otis.

"Hot damn! Broke m' ol' record by ten seconds!" Cid gave a throaty laugh as he greeted his old friend. Behind the two, the passenger door creaked open as the dazed Roxas, clutching helplessly to his backpack, staggered out of the truck. Still shaking visibly from the truck ride, Aerith was quick to be at his side, helping him steady himself. Sora bolted out the front door of the main house, tackling his brother and giving him one of his crushing hugs. Roxas, too stunned to keep up with his energetic brother, settled for small grunts of recognition as he stood from the dusty ground.

"Welcome to the ranch, Roxas! My name's Aerith, and if there's anything I can get you, please let me know. We already have a room ready for you, right next to Sora's and down the hall from Cid. We'll get someone to carry in your things in a few minutes, is there anything I can get for you right now?" Roxas did his best to focus his vision and think of something, anything that would help him.

"Water?", he begged weakly before choking on some of the dust still lingering in the air. Aerith gave a quick nod and rushed to get the water.

"So, how's the trip? Hope it wasn't too rough on ya!" Cid gave Roxas a firm slap on the back that all but knocked the boy down. Roxas gathered his strength to sturdy himself and answer.

"Uhh... not too bad. I guess the worst part was waiting in the airport. I slept on the plane, and the train ride wasn't too bad after a while, I guess..."

"Well, I'll have them get your stuff up to your room so you can sleep some of that travelin' off. You look like you got rode hard and hung up to dry!" Roxas nodded his thanks as he glanced with fear-filled eyes towards the large, bearded man in dirty overalls that had tried to kill him in his broken down truck. He had no clue how such a beat up heap of metal could possibly reach the speeds that it did. All he knew was that he had blacked out at least two times during the ride. His rough, well-built uncle, looking good for a man of thirty-three, called over a blond and brunette.

"Roxas, you know your cousin, Cloud, 'nd that's Squall. They'll get your stuff 'nd show you to your room." The three exchanged greetings before the two, much stronger than the weak-limbed Roxas, easily heaved his luggage out of the trunk and headed in the house, Roxas close behind. He didn't know too much about them, he hadn't seen them since his last visit to the farm. He knew that Cloud was one of Cid's son from one of his marriages. He didn't even know how many times Cid had been married, but he knew that it was a running joke in the family to bet on how long after the wedding the divorce papers would be filed.

He followed the two up to his room... his room... his room... it felt weird no matter how he said it. He had to admit though, the house was nice. Electric lamps designed to look like gas ones, almost the floors, walls, even ceilings were made of cut wood, the furniture, although with clearly worn fabric, was high-end oak, he was amazed at how well they'd pulled of the Western style. After countless left turns and two flights of stairs, the trio turned into what was obviously the hall to the master bedroom. The hallway, which ended with a large door he could only guess led into Cid's room, was lined with six doors, three on each side.

"Here's your room." They stopped at the first door on the right, setting his luggage down for him to unpack at his own pace. "Sora is in the room next to you, and the one across the room," Leon gave a slight nod backwards to the door behind him, "is a bathroom. Sora uses that one, me, Cloud, and Dad use the one at the end of the hall. Aerith usually takes care of all the laundry, just leave it near the so she can get it late-afternoon."

"Go ahead and get some sleep, we'll make sure someone comes to get ya before dinner." Roxas gave Cloud a nod of affirmation, and watched the two walk back down the stairs before turning to his luggage. He grabbed the suitcase with his clothes first, and opened his door to a pleasant surprise.

The room was decorated in the same Western style as the rest of the house, but it was the computer on the desk and the large TV and sound system that amazed him. A folded piece of paper laid on the keyboard, with a note written inside-

Roxas,

Hope you like your new room! I had Riku order this since he knows more about this stuff than I do, and I know how much you love computers. And I know the TV's nice too, but don't lock yourself up here and rot, ok? We WILL have you riding a horse before the week is done!

Sora~

Roxas had to smile at his brother's determination. Getting his brother's boyfriend to set up a kickass computer as bribery for riding a horse? He turned the TV on, and, unfamiliar with the channels, left it on some comedy show he'd never seen before dragging the rest of his luggage in. Not feeling like unpacking more than he had to, he threw some of his clothes into drawers and set his backpack by the computer, then passed out on his incredibly comfortable bed.

Axel made his way up the stairs to wake up the new kid he had barely been able to catch a glimpse of. He usually didn't judge people before he met them, but city people tended to rub him the wrong way. Especially city people from New York City. He'd grown up there when he was young, and was quick to move as soon as he could live on his own to escape the hustle and bustle and overall rudeness that the concrete jungles contained. Giving a second thought to what Cloud had said, he counted two doors on his right and knocked. When no one answered, he knocked louder. After no answer, he cracked the door and called-

"Hey, kid, you there?" He took a step inside and noticed the boy curled up on his bed, snoring lightly. A warm feeling erupted from his stomach at the sight. He looked helpless, nothing like he'd pegged the kid to be. He looked... cute. Axel walked over and gently shook his shoulder. He shook harder when the boy mumbled, a sign of lucidity.

"Kid, c'mon, wake up. Dinner's ready." Roxas finally sat up a little, rubbing at the sleep in his eyes. "Huh?"

"Dinner's ready. They sent me to come get you." Roxas turned to thank the man, but stopped when he met the bright green eyes. Slowly, his vision focused enough to include the fiery red hair. As he became more and more conscious, he realized that he had been ogling the man who had just woken him. He turned away quickly as a blush spread across his face.

"T-thanks. Uhhh... do you mind showing me how get back down? I'm not really used to the house yet..." Axel found himself smirking at the stuttering blond. He certainly wasn't the rude city kid he'd expected. He barely even had confidence, yet alone the backbone to stand up to a stranger.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon, if we don't hurry the others are gonna have eaten it all." Roxas nodded dumbly as he followed the redheaded man, finding himself drunk on the rich accent. He knew he should have been embarrassed for his thoughts, which were quickly turning from lovesick to hot and steamy, but couldn't bring himself to kick the feelings that were fogging up his head. They reached the bottom of the stairs and began winding through the hallways when the man asked him a question.

"So, what's your name?" Roxas had to stop and think of the answer, hoping that the man would just dismiss it as him still being groggy from his nap. "Roxas, what's yours?"

"Axel. Just ask around for me if you ever need anything, I don't really have to do very much 'round here 'cept fix the equipment." Roxas gave a quick thanks as the reached the dining room, already filled with people eating.

"Cid and your brother sit over at the table by the fireplace, they saved you a seat. See ya 'round, Roxas." Axel gave him a nod before heading over to the table he usually sat at, still rolling the name around in his mouth. Roxas...

Roxas, on the other hand, was doing his best to make his way through the loudly talking and laughing ranch hands sitting at their tables towards his brother, who he could see was sitting with Riku. Sora and Riku had been "going out" since they had started High School. They only ever saw each other when Sora was on vacation, since Riku stayed on the ranch and worked for Cid, his uncle by marriage. Apparently Riku's father was the brother of one of Cid's wives... Roxas wasn't sure, it was nearly impossible to keep up with his uncle's many familial ties.

"Roxas!" Sora's voice could easily be heard over the crowd's roar. He made his way towards the spiking mop of hair, and took a seat between the woman, Aerith if he remembered right, and Sora.

"So Sleepyhead, like your room?" Roxas gave Sora a quick smile and relaxed, happy to be around familiar faces.

"Yeah, and thanks for the computer. But you will not be getting me to ride a horse!" Sora laughed his warm, toothy laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, well see about that!"

The rest of the night was spent laughing at the dinner table, talking to his new "family". Cid decided that, since he was a "rail with legs 'nd toothpick arms", he wouldn't be of much use as a ranch hand. So it was worked out that, while he'd be given more than enough time to relax and get used to the place, he could help Aerith take care of the house. Not to "work", but at least enough to get him out of his room. He deemed Aerith as nice enough, Roxas figured he could like anyone who could deal with the antics of his uncle with such grace and tact.

After dinner, most of the hands cleared out for the barracks. A few, however, stayed inside to talk, both about business and casually, with Cid. Riku, being one of them, stayed down with Sora. Roxas, at Sora's prompting, stayed as well. After the business talks had ended and everyone was laughing, someone pulled out a guitar and began singing. Roxas enjoyed it, a few he even joined in on. It was a good time. And then he noticed the bright red hair.

The two made eye contact, but instead of looking away Roxas just smiled. And Axel smiled back.

The group talked and sang for about an hour before everyone wandered off to bed. Roxas, after unpacking, finally made it to bed around midnight. After having such a good time, Roxas had decided that maybe his new life wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Especially not after meeting Axel. He wasn't sure what it was that he was feeling, but he wouldn't mind getting to know more about him. He looked out his bedroom window before he fell asleep, soaking in the nighttime sky. It was a sky with thousands of stars more than the one he'd grown up under.

AN: So? You like? I have a simple policy- you review, I'll update.

It doesn't matter if it's just "Hey, cool, I like your story!" or "update soon", reviews of any kind will make the stories go faster.

I could really get into this one. I've been on a country music kick lately, and I wanted to write an AkuRoku anyways, so... out popped this one.

Hope you guys like it, and please review lol