***This is also in my other story, Every Day. But I wanted people to read it, since I spent so much time writing it.***
Roxas cried out in pain as his father hit him across the face, hard. The man had been beating the blonde for over half an hour and was still going strong.
Finally, his father seemed to be bored of the blonde and he left Roxas to cry, hurt and alone, on the floor.
-I-am-a-line-
Roxas held his best friend… no, he refused to hide behind that any more. His BOYfriend's hand. Axel was comforting the blonde as he cried.
"How could you let that son of a bitch treat you like that?" Axel raged.
"It was my father… I love him… but… he… I can't believe… and mom was so accepting…" Roxas gasped out between sobs.
Axel held the blonde boy in his arms, allowing him to stain his shirt with blood from his split lip and tears. The redhead glared at the floor.
He would make the man pay. Somehow, someday.
But until then he rocked the smaller boy in his arms. Until he was asleep.
-Uh… line?-
It had been two years since Roxas had come out to his father. He was living with his mother and stepfather still, but he didn't visit his dad anymore.
And his dad barley cared.
He and Axel were happily walking down the street, holding hands and smiling. Today was Roxas's birthday, and they had a great day planned out.
It started to rain.
They looked up at the sky and thought 'Well good thing all our plans are indoors'.
But then Roxas got an idea.
"Will you dance with me?" He asked Axel, holding out his hand for the redhead to take.
"We don't have any music…" Axel started, but Roxas pulled out his waterproof headphones.
Axel smiled despite himself. He hated rain, but he loved Roxas, and it was the blonde's birthday after all…
He took one of the headphones and they danced to a slow country song.
Roxas smiled as he looked deep into Axel's eyes.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you too." Axel smiled, leaning down to kiss Roxas's lips.
They separated and kept dancing, spinning in a slow circle as the rain fell on them.
Then, as Roxas was facing the street as they slowly rotated, he saw a little girl running around in the deserted lane, jumping in puddles with her hot pink boots that matched her raincoat.
The girl was coming closer to them as she hopped, and what Roxas assumed to be her brother, called out for her to not go too far away. The brother was sitting on a bench quite a bit away. He spared a glance at the happy couple, long enough for Roxas to see bruises on his face reminiscent of his two years ago.
Roxas and Axel continued to dance, getting caught up in the music.
With the thunder that rumbled in the background, none of them noticed how much closer the little girl had gotten to the dancing boys, and they didn't hear the car.
-Line-
Roxas looked away from Axel's eyes once again when he was facing the street. A car was coming straight at the little girl.
"Kairi!" The girl's brother screamed, running towards the girl as fast as he could, but anyone could tell that he wouldn't make it in time.
Kairi turned and froze in the headlights.
-LINE!-
Roxas gasped loudly and ripped away from Axel, the earbud falling from his ear as he crashed into the little girl, hurling her away from the danger.
"Roxas!" Axel screamed, running toward the blond with the headphones trailing behind him, still connected to Roxas's IPod in his pocket.
Roxas, when he had saved the little girl, had put himself in a stretched out position in from of the car, which was trying desperately to stop in time.
And most of the impact hit him square in the stomach.
-line-
The brunette boy that was the girl's brother's blackened blue eyes widened in horror as he saw the blood spilling over the pavement.
He reached into his pocked and grabbed his phone, calling 911 as he helped his sister off the ground. He covered her eyes before she could turn around and he sat in the middle of the street, holding her in his lap and covering her ears. She knew to keep her eyes closed.
"Is this like when mom and dad fight?" She asked, loud enough so she could hear it over the boy's hands covering her ears.
"Yes Kairi." The brunette replied, making his voice loud enough for her to hear. She nodded, her eyes still closed. She was used to this.
As this was happening, Roxas was groaning in pain and the driver of the car had gotten out and was wringing his hands.
"I swear, he came out of nowhere! I tried to stop." The man pleaded.
"I know." Axel said, "Can you shut up though please? I promise we won't sue you or anything."
"Axel?" Roxas asked, a bit of blood trailing down his cheek as he spoke.
"Don't talk Rox, you'll be fine. I promise." Axel said, holding the bleeding boy's head in his lap as the brunette watched and the man who owned the car went to the other side of the car and told his wife, who was in the passenger seat, not to look.
"I… I hope so Axel… I didn't get to spend all the time I wanted to with you." The blonde said, coughing and bringing up even more blood.
"You'll be fine… it'll all be okay." Axel said to the boy he held.
"I'm so tired Axel…" Roxas trailed off, his eyes drooping.
"No! No… You have to stay awake Roxas… what's today?" Axel asked, trying to think up things to make the blonde stay conscious.
"My… my birthday." Roxas answered.
"Yeah, it's your birthday Rox… And what are we going to do today?" He asked, keeping the blonde's attention.
"We're… we're going to Demyx's…. and then…. We're gonna go and get ice cream…. And go to Belle's Bookstore to bug Zexion…" Roxas trailed off.
The brunette looked like he was going to throw up. It was that boy's… Roxas's birthday? And he was dying… because of Kairi. The brunette felt horrible.
"Sora, can I look?" Kairi asked.
"No!" Sora said, his voice shaking.
"Okay." Kairi whispered back.
-line-
Cloud looked at his wife, Tifa, in the passenger seat. She had her eyes covered and was shaking. She hadn't seen anything, but she heard the boy scream when they hit him. She had her hands covering her eyes, a reflection of the little girl on the road, as her husband tried to comfort her.
She had alerted Cloud to the little girl on the street, too small to have been seen before from their angle, and they had both seen the blonde boy throw himself out to save the little girl.
It had stopped raining, but it was still gray and cloudy outside.
-Line?-
"Yeah Rox, we'll go bug Zexion. And what'll we do after that?" Axel asked, squeezing Roxas's hand tight.
"We'll go to my house for the surprise party. You were going to say you forgot something." Roxas said.
"How'd you know?" Axel asked.
"You think you can keep that secret from me? Demyx told me." Roxas said with a slight laugh.
"Okay, so what were we going to do at the party?" Axel asked.
"We were going to eat cake, and I was going to open my presents, and we were going to dance for real." Roxas smiled lightly, but moaned in pain again. His eyes were clouded with pain.
"Axel it hurts…" He moaned, moving his arm to hold his stomach.
"I know, Rox, I know. But you've got to stay with me, you hear? What were we going to do after that?" Axel asked.
"We were going to watch a movie… and you'd end up kissing me at a inappropriate time, like always." Roxas said with a slight laugh that brought up more blood.
"Like when do I ever do that?" Axel asked, pretending to be offended.
"Like when we were watching 'Alien' you started kissing me when the alien was ripping out of someone's chest." Roxas said.
Tears were falling from Axel's eyes now, mixing with the tears of pain on Roxas's face.
"Ax… don't cry… I'll be fine, remember? You promised." Roxas said, trying to make the redhead feel better. "I promise Axel. I'll get through this."
"Good, cuz you don't have a choice." Axel said with an attempted smirk, "What are we going to do after the movie?" He asked.
"You'd stay over with the others, and Namine and Xion would try to force us to get makeovers. And Demyx will play his guitar and Zexion will read through his book. And we'll all talk until midnight. Then everyone will pass out until we're the last ones up, like always." Roxas continued.
"Yeah. Dem'll pass out first and bring Zex along with him. And Xion and Namine will be out next." Axel added.
"Yeah. Then you'll hold me until I fall asleep too. Then you'll run your hand through my hair and tell me that you love me. Then you'll fall asleep." Roxas said, then he clutched his stomach and started to sob.
"Axel, it hurts so bad." He cried.
"I know Rox… but you saved a little girl, you know that, right?" Axel asked.
"She's okay?" Roxas asked, trying to look up to see her, but he groaned in pain again and let his head fall back into Axel's lap.
"Yeah she's great. Don't try to get up Rox. She's fine and her brother has her." Axel said, looking up at the brunette, Sora, for the first time.
-I'm-a-very-sad-line-now-
Sora saw tear filled green eyes meet his, reminding him so much of Riku. The redhead had been trying to make the blonde… Axel was trying to make Roxas… stay awake. Like Sora had just a month ago with Kairi. Sora didn't realize he was crying until Kairi looked up at him, mittens still covering her eyes.
"Is it raining again? I felt something." She said.
"No Kai." Sora responded, wanting to wipe his eyes, but needing to keep her ears covered.
"Can I please look? I've seen you…" Kairi trailed off.
"No. I… I don't want you to see this any more than I wanted you to see that." Sora said shakily.
"What happened to you?" Roxas asked him from Axel's lap.
"My… my father." Sora whispered, loud enough for them to hear, but not for Kairi.
"Oh… I'm sorry." Roxas said quietly, before a pained noise ripped from his mouth again and he told the redhead that it hurt again.
-line-:(-
They finally heard sirens as an ambulance came racing up the street.
"Axel. I love you." Roxas said urgently.
"I love you too Roxas. We're gonna go to the hospital now and you'll get better." Axel said.
"I love you more than anything. It was worth what happened two years ago. It was worth school. It was worth everything. I love you. I love you so much." Roxas said, even more tears falling from his face.
"I love you too Roxas… I love you more that you'll ever know. I need you to stay with me Roxas, I love you." Axel said, sobbing with his boyfriend now. One of the EMTs stopped working on Roxas, a look of disgust on his face.
The other EMT looked like she was going to slap her partner, but she took a deep breath and just worked twice as hard to save Roxas.
"I… love…" Roxas said, then he passed out.
"No! No! Roxas… you've got to stay with me, you've got to!" Axel yelled.
They were in the ambulance by now, Axel had climbed in while he was telling Roxas that he loved him.
The ambulance was speeding to the hospital, and the homophobic EMT still refused to help Roxas.
Axel was sobbing and clutching Roxas's hand as tight as he could.
"Listen asshole, I know that your I bigot and a bastard, I have to work with you every day. But you have to help this kid, otherwise, I'm telling the supervisors that you put this kid in danger and might cost him his life. And if he dies because YOU didn't help, you son of a bitch, I'll hunt you down and kill you." She threatened, getting in his face and holding him by his shirt.
"Yes Larxene." The man said, his eyes wide.
"And I know your gay for Xemnas anyways, Saix. So suck it up." She said, still working as hard as ever.
-Line-line-line-
Sora went to the man who almost hit his sister's car.
"Hey… uh mister?" He asked, trying to wipe his eyes so that Kairi couldn't see.
"Yeah?" the blonde man asked.
"Can you give me a ride to the hospital? I want to make sure he's okay…" Sora trailed off, unsure of how to really ask.
"Yeah get in. You need to call anyone? To get home?" The man asked.
"No… my dad won't care." Sora said as he got in and buckled up Kairi before himself.
"Why won't he care that his kid almost got run over?" The brunette woman asked from the front seat.
"He just won't." Sora said.
"But-" The brunette woman began again, but the blonde man cut her off.
"It's fine Tifa." He said.
"But Cloud…" She said. He gave her a look that said he'd explain later.
"I'm… I'm sorry." Kairi said from the back seat.
"No, we're sorry little girl." Tifa said, "We should've seen you… we should have been watching." Tifa sighed.
"No, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have let Kairi play in the street." Sora said, hanging his head.
They got to the hospital soon and got to the waiting room.
-line-line-line-
Axel held Roxas's hand until they forced him to let go. They made him go to the waiting room and he sat in a chair, staring at the door he had been forced through. He was waiting for them to let him back in.
He saw the doors open and he saw Sora, Kairi, and the couple that hit Roxas come in. They sat in the otherwise empty room, kinda close to Axel, but far enough away so that he could be alone if he wanted to be.
His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID.
Demyx.
"Hey." He said, his voice cracking.
"Axel! Where are you and Roxas? Are you okay? What's going on? You're really late!" Demyx rambled.
"Axel. You're late." Zexion's voice said. He seemed to have taken the phone from Demyx.
"I'm… I'm at the hospital. Roxas… he got hit by a car. I'd like to be alone, if that's okay. Can you tell the others and Roxas's Mom and Stepdad?" Axel asked, his voice shaking. Tears started to fall down his face once again and he sniffled.
"Axel… are you… crying?" Zexion asked.
Axel nodded, then realized that Zexion couldn't see a nod, and said a shaky "yes".
"Are you sure you want to be alone? Zexion asked.
"Yes. Please. I'll call you when…when I get news on Roxas." Axel stuttered, almost saying "When he gets better" but he knew that Roxas might not get better.
"Okay. Be safe." Zexion said, hanging up.
Axel put his head in his hands and tried to collect himself.
"Hey… um… Axel…" A little voice said.
Axel looked up to see Kairi, the girl that Roxas saved.
"Yes?" Axel prompted.
"Well… I wanted to say thank you. To Roxas. But… I can't see him right now, Sora doesn't want me to." She explained, "So can you tell him for me. And tell him I'm sorry."
"I… I will." Axel stuttered.
He put his head back in his hands and took deep breaths.
-line—or segment?- ray?-
Sora watched the crying boy, but averted his eyes when he heard what sounded like a sob. He wouldn't want to be watched.
"Sora… where did you get those bruises?" Tifa asked.
"Ummm…." Sora trailed off. He had told Roxas because he felt like he owed the truth to the boy, but he didn't really want to tell her.
"Tifa! You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Cloud said, looking at the bruised boy.
"No… no. We've put up with this long enough. This whole mess wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for…" Sora trailed off and took a deep breath, "My father. He… he caught me with my boyfriend a month and a half ago… and he never really got over it. And Kairi… she found me after he… beat me this time." Sora said, looking at the ground, "So I promised her that I'd take her to play in the rain next time it rained if she didn't tell anyone. But I want to get the hell out of there. And I want Kairi to come with me. He's been doing this to us since we were little… He… last time he beat Kairi… she almost died."
"Oh my God." Tifa gasped.
"That happened to Roxas." Axel said, surprising them all. They hadn't thought he was listening.
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.
"His father beat the hell out of Roxas when Roxas told him about… us. He ran away to my house and he decided to just live with his mother. He doesn't visit his father anymore." Axel said.
"Axel…" Cloud began, but the nurse let the tall redhead go to see Roxas. Axel ran after her, anxious to see Roxas.
-lines—are—forever-
"Axel." Roxas croaked as the redhead sat in the hard plastic chair next to him and took his hand.
"I'm right here, sweetie." Axel said, kissing Roxas's hand.
"Axel… do you regret… us?" He asked, blood still spilling from his mouth when he spoke.
"No. I never will." Axel whispered.
"Good. I don't regret you either." Roxas said with a smile.
"Roxas, please don't go… I couldn't stand life without you…" Axel trailed off.
"Axel… I'm going to die. Please live. For me. I love you. I love you." Roxas whispered.
"Roxas, no… you can't go… I won't let you! I love you Roxas… I love you so fucking much it HURTS. Roxas please." Axel began to sob again, completely breaking down.
"Axel, don't cry." Roxas said. He brushed a tear from Axel's eyes and smiled slightly.
"I can't stop." Axel sobbed.
"Axel… kiss me." Roxas said.
"But…"
"Kiss me. I'll try not to die. I'll try even harder, for you. Just kiss me." Roxas said.
Axel leaned over his blonde and pressed a chaste kiss to the bloodstained lips. His tears fell on Roxas's face and some of the blood streaked off.
"Roxas, please don't die… You'll be fine… We'll get married and we'll live in a house and we'll paint the walls any color you want… and we'll adopt a kid if you want." Axel began, trying to keep Roxas awake with the story.
"I want a girl… and a boy. I want an older boy so he can kick anyone who messes with the girl's ass." Roxas said, his speech slightly slurring.
"And we'll go out to dinner every Saturday." Axel continued.
"And we'll watch Disney movies every Friday night." Roxas continued.
"And we'll have Marluxia give us flowers and we'll always have them in the house." Axel said.
"And they'll be the Areith flowers." Roxas said, referring to their dead friend Areith's favorite flower.
"Yeah. And we'll have a pet."
"A cat, with green eyes like yours." Roxas said, his eyes drooping.
"Yes. Roxas? Stay awake." Axel said.
Roxas nodded.
"What else will we have?" Axel asked.
But Roxas was asleep.
And then he flatlined.
"No!" Axel yelled as the nurses went into action.
He was ushered out once again and was in the waiting room to be surprised by a new person. This person was a tall man, glaring down at Sora.
"I swear Dad, I did all that I could, but I was too far away to get her on time." Sora said, looking down.
"Then you should have been closer! And what have I told you about not letting her play in the rain?" The man yelled.
"I'm sorry sir." Sora said, looking at the ground. Kairi seemed to notice Axel at that second.
"Did you tell him, Axel?" the smaller redhead asked.
"No Kairi. I forgot, but I'll tell him next time." Axel promised.
"Tell who what?" Sora and Kairi's father demanded. Tifa and Cloud were no where to be seen either.
"Tell my boyfriend that she was sorry for him getting hit. And she wanted to thank him for putting himself in danger to save her." Axel said, daring the man to be mad at him for being gay.
"That boy was GAY?" Sora's father said, turning on his son, "And you let me go one praising him?" He slapped Sora across the face.
Axel, infuriated, grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.
"You ASSHOLE! Roxas doesn't need another homophobic person making people he knows miserable! All our lives this has happened. It's people like you that beat us up in high school. It's people like you that made Roxas's father convinced that Roxas was an abomination, when he was anything but that! And it's people like you that made that EMT stop working on Roxas when the ambulance got there, so fuck you! And from the looks of it, you've been hurting Sora. Now, I don't know him really, but he seems like a nice enough kid. And he cares a lot about his sister. And you treat him like dirt. You'd treat Roxas like shit too, if you had a chance. So get the fuck out of here before I call Child Services." Axel ranted, then he let go of the man.
"Boy, Kairi, let's go." The vile man said, looking at Sora and Kairi.
"No." Sora said.
"What?" The man demanded.
"No." Sora said. He was shaking now.
"Fine. Kairi?" The man said.
"I'm staying with Sora." She whispered.
"Whore, just like your mother." He spit.
"Don't you call her that! And don't you DARE talk about my mother!" Sora yelled.
"I'll do whatever I please." Sora's father said, slapping the boy.
"Hello, police? There's a child abuser in the ER… yeah… mmhhmm. Hurry. And he might be gone by the time you get here, but the kids sure as hell won't." Axel said into his phone.
Sora's father ran.
Axel tried to smile and held up an ipod. "Bluffing works. Thought you might want to make the decision to leave on your own." Axel said.
"Okay." Sora said quietly.
"Where's Tifa and Cloud?" Axel asked.
"They went to get coffee before my dad came in."
The nurse called Axel in again and he ran.
-lines-
"Roxas" He breathed.
"Axel." Roxas whispered, his voice hoarse.
"Kairi, that girl you saved, told me to tell you she's sorry. And thank you. And she and Sora, her brother, are getting away from their dad." Axel said.
"That's good." Roxas said with a smile.
"Roxas… I hate to tell you this, but they say you're getting worse." Axel whispered.
"I know." Roxas said softly.
"I… wish you wouldn't go. But it seems like your mind's made up." Axel whispered, looking at his hand intertwined with the blonde's.
"It is." Roxas whispered.
And there was another flatline.
-A-line-
Two years later, Sora had been adopted by Tifa and Cloud and was still going out with Riku.
Two years later, Axel had the house he and Roxas always dreamed of.
Two years later, he had the little kids that Roxas had wanted to adopt, Aqua and Terra.
Two years later, there was a party on the exact day Roxas had been hit.
Two years later, everyone from the original party, minus one, and plus Cloud, Tifa, Aqua, Terra, Kairi, Riku, and Sora.
Two Years later, on that day Axel was visiting a grave. With Areith's flowers.
Two years later, Roxas held Axel's hand as they put flowers on the grave.
Two years later, Marluxia had died a few weeks before.
Two years later, Roxas was still alive.
"You said you mind was made up, at the hospital that day." Axel whispered to his husband.
"I did, but I didn't say what it was made up on."
***Roxy Random-ness: Lines are things that go on forever. So do planes. But segments don't and rays only go forever in one direction. Now you know of lines! Geometry does have application in the real world!***