HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This is sort of a filler chapter... but hey, what can you do? Its basically just setting up for the rest of the story, in which there will be less random wandering and more plot. I have a plot, believe me. I want to update ASAP, but cosplay is demanding and I'm trying to finish the ones I'm working on before Christmas, so updates may be very random. Thanks for reading!!!

At first, Axel had believed the kid was messed up in the head. You know, the kind that will run away and jump off a building if you don't give them the response they're looking for. He still wasn't sure about the smaller boy's sanity, but once the blond had started speaking; Axel had become consumed with interest. He still didn't believe two words and shit about what Roxas was saying, but he was a damned good story teller, so the redhead didn't mind.

"Hold up, so you're saying your girlfriend died, you sold your soul to bring her back, and then she ran off with your brother?" he asked with disbelief. "That's low," he mumbled, pointing out what Roxas had already thought was obvious.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders indifferently. It had happened so long ago that he hardly felt it mattered. Even if he did hold a bitch of a grudge for being stabbed in the back like he was, being angry had become more like a method of fueling some form, any form, of emotion in himself. It was like a routine check-up that told him he was still human, and could still feel pain. "I guess so. Larxene, the blonde woman I mentioned, told me a couple years later that they had gotten married." He sipped on a juice box that Axel had handed him from his backpack. There had been a brief quarrel over whether or not Red was actually 18 if he still carried juice boxes around with him, but Axel simply pointed out the fact that Roxas had already taken one and begun to sip.

"Wow. That's pretty awful of her. I mean, assuming you were an emotional wreck for a few years after all of this happened, she kind of just rubbed salt in the wound. I would hate to live with a bitch like that".

Roxas eyed his juice box, "Oh, it's not so bad. These days she and Marluxia leave me alone enough that I don't mind anymore". The blonde smirked, and reached into his pocket. The redhead raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Roxas pulled out a simple, silver cell phone and flipped it open. "Besides, I wouldn't put it past her to lie," Roxas looked up at Axel, "I knew my brother better than anyone else, and I was pretty dead ass sure he was gay for his best friend Riku".

Axel sputtered as he sipped his juice, trying not to laugh enough for it to come out his nose. That would have just been sad; the innocent stranger loosing face in front of the clinically insane, or at least that was how Axel saw it.

"I see… So, what did you do after that? You say it's been 102 years since all of that happened, and then what?"

Roxas closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket. "It's getting pretty late, and I probably have to work tomorrow". Roxas was lying, because he knew both that he definitely would have to work the next day, and that it wouldn't start until late afternoon or evening. Even though he didn't need, or want, to return to his shabby apartment and sleep, he had said too much already. Roxas wasn't worried about becoming personally attached to Axel for any reason other than the guilt he would feel if the redhead ended up getting killed over all this. But that alone would suck a lot.

The blond stood, and Axel gave him a confused look. "It was nice meeting you, and thanks for listening to me, but I should probably get going".

The redhead was now frowning, "That's it? No rest of the story for the poor old stranger?"

Roxas gave him a condescending smile, which only further confused the redhead. "I'm glad you liked the story, but I know that you don't believe it anyway, so who cares if we never see each other again? You'll forget me just like all of my friends and family did, and then you'll grow old and die while I watch from the shadows, still preserved in my 17-year-old form".

Axel felt a pang of guilt in his chest, but didn't know what he'd done to deserve it. "Does that mean you'll forget about me in a few days?" he asked after a few moments of contemplation.

Roxas smiled wider and shook his head, "Not a chance. All of my memories are precious to me, even the ones of people who most would consider insignificant in my life. Everyone deserves to be remembered for something."

Axel didn't know what to say. Roxas seemed so closed off, that the redhead felt it hard to get any answers out of him. "So why don't you make them worth remembering?" the redhead mumbled.

Roxas gave him a quizzical look, "You mean friends?" Axel nodded, and Roxas sighed. It seemed he would have to give some sort of explanation to get the redhead off his back. "I don't deserve friends. Like I said before, I probably don't deserve having you to listen to me either," the blond shrugged, "It's just the way I've decided to live my life".

Axel stared. How could this guy live like he did? 102 years of life as a 17 year old, and the only people he had to talk to were a pink-haired narcissist and a sadist bitch. Then again, none of that was real, so he shouldn't really care about the personal life of this stranger, but he did anyway.

"Thanks again, but I'm going. Bye". Roxas turned to leave, and was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm. He turned wide eyes up to Axel, who was looking at him with mildly confused concern.

"Umm," Axel wasn't sure what to say. This poor kid seemed like a drug addict, and he felt like God had handed him the job of nursing the blond back to health. He couldn't just stand by like some apathetic jerk. His parents had raised him better than that. "I liked your story," he said finally, drawing a look from Roxas that was dripping with 'you are an idiot'. Axel let go of the kid's arm and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I mean, if you don't mind, come here again tomorrow at the same time," he had been staring at his feet as he said this, but shifted his eyes to look into Roxas' blue ones, "I'd really like to hear more".

Roxas didn't answer. He wasn't sure what to say, seeing as it had been so long since anyone had bothered reach out to him, even when it was convenient. And here was Axel, an arrogant moron he had only met an hour or two earlier, who was going out of his way to get to know Roxas. The blond flushed pink.

Axel smiled, knowing he had hooked the fish. "I'll even bring juice boxes again".

Roxas swallowed. What the hell was this? He was an introvert, an outcast. HE HAD JUST BEEN MISTAKEN FOR A SICK HOBO BY THIS GUY! And he nodded. Despite all of the reasons not to, he agreed to meet Axel there the following evening.

The redhead grinned. His green eyes glowed with amusement over this win and, if he didn't have a reputation to uphold, he would have done some sort of victory dance. 'Oh yeah, definitely a nice catch' he thought to himself. Later that night he would come to wonder what the hell had caused his brain to revert to all the fishing analogies.

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Roxas stood in front of his door, facing his room, and stared at his bed. He kept replaying his evening with Axel over in his head, and couldn't comprehend what had driven him to agree to meet Red again. Roxas smiled to himself. He had even given Axel a nickname, albeit not a very creative one, and not that he would ever actually call him Red to his face.

The blonde hung up his sweatshirt on a coat rack, and kicked off his sneakers. He took a couple of steps into his room, scratching his head in frustration, but stopped before his bed when he looked down and spotted his old CD player in the corner, buried under a pile of clothes he never wore.

He felt as though he had just run into an ex girlfriend at a coffee shop he frequented. 'What the hell', he thought, and walked over to pick it up.

Throwing himself on his bed, Roxas slid the headphones into place and pressed play.

Hearts like violence

Break the silence

Come crashing in-

Into my little world

Painful to me,

Pierce right through me,

Can't you understand?

Oh, my little girl

"…" Roxas stared at the ceiling, and frowned.

All I ever wanted

All I ever needed

Is here in my arms

Words are very

Unnecessary

They can only do- *beep*

Roxas jabbed at the stop button and threw his walkman at his door, creating a very satisfying thud. Groaning, he rolled over on his bed and shut his eyes. 'Why did I think that would be a good Idea?' he thought to himself. It just so happened that the CD In his walkman had been borrowed from Kairi, and happened to make its way into the mess of everything else he had taken with him when he left home. Roxas turned and looked over his shoulder at the CD player, miraculously still intact. The blonde cursed under his breath and shifted lower on his bed so that he could get under the covers. 'Fuck music' he thought. However as he drifted off into sleep, a smirk decorated his face.

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"ROXAS!"

The small blonde rolled over on his bed, "five more minutes Mom."

"Dammit, boy, GET UP!"

"Roxas, I think it would be in your best interest to get up before I unleash her on you, she's in quite a foul mood today."

Roxas cracked one blue eye and groaned. He'd been having such a nice dream, and the woman standing in his room was nothing close to motherly. "What time is it?"

"It's about ten in the morning," Roxas raised an eyebrow, lazily, "and I know Larxene's usually in some state of consciousness between a food-coma and a hangover around this time, but we actually didn't go drinking last night and judging from your lack of quickness to catch on, you have yet to learn just how much of a morning person Larxene can be. The sarcasm was intended."

Roxas slid his feet over the edge of his bed and sat up, trying to stifle a yawn. "Normally being a morning person implies looking fresh in the morning, and happy to start the day," the smaller blonde made eye contact with the woman, "but I've got to say, you've never been a fresh sight for me to see, and you most certainly don't convey such pleasant feelings as happiness."

Larxene shrieked and lunged for the kill, but was stopped by Marluxia's hand. "Roxas, I would highly recommend that you refrain from tempting her, even if you think my use of sarcasm makes it too easy to pass on, because the usual outcome when I let her do what she wants has you ending up in the hospital. And we'd have to move. Again."

The boy rolled his eyes and stood up, passing them as he left his room, "Sure guys, I'll make you breakfast".

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By the time Roxas had both of his contractors fed, out the door, and had cleaned the kitchen, it was noon. Normally he didn't get his missions until four or five in the evening, so he had plenty of time to kill. Problem was, what does a person who's been living for near 120 years have to do that they aren't already sick of from countless other days of boredom?

Roxas pulled his arms through the sleeves of his leather jacket. It was one of the few things he owned that was fairly new, and it had almost instantly become his favorite jacket. He followed through the motions of his usual routine of walking out the door and turning to lock it with the key from his back pocket.

"Good afternoon boy, you sure are going out earlier than usual." Roxas jumped and span around, but grinned when he saw it was only Mrs. Lockheart. Squall, of course, was right by her side and yapping like all small dogs are programmed to do.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Lockheart!" Roxas beamed, and he meant it. It had been a good morning so far, despite his rude awakening by Marluxia's pet slut. His smile faltered though, when the old woman didn't answer him. "Umm, Mrs. Lockheart? Are you alright?" Her coal-black hair was hung neatly over one shoulder, but there were strands of grey in it that Roxas hadn't noticed before. He looked up at her eyes, and saw the clear sparkle of life that should have been there, but was now muddy and clouded in her brown eyes due to age. Her face, even though he could estimate what she must have looked like when she was younger, was reduced to merely its original shape and distorted her features with wrinkles. So this was what it meant to grow old.

Blinking, Roxas brought himself back to the present and caught Mrs. Lockheart giving him a curious look. "Roxas, you seem happy today. Good for you!" The older woman reached out and patted his shoulder before turning and scuttling out the door, waving on her way out.

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Roxas looked up to read the sign above the place he was standing in front of. "Cloud 9 Live Music and Drinks!" He thought 'Cloud 9' was an odd name for a venue, but who was he to judge? Nudging the door, the boy took his first steps into the place. It was dimly lit, and practically unoccupied except for the bartender and a guy in the corner playing an instrument.

A bell on the door rang, and the bartender looked up, revealing sandy blonde hair and a five o'clock shadow ringing his chin. "Greetings there, you must be looking for Cloud. Sorry to tell you this, but he doesn't start work until 6 tonight."

Roxas frowned, "Cloud? Does he own this place?"

The older man chuckled and set down the cloth he had been using to wipe the counter. In one fluid movement, he swung himself over it, leaving nothing but space and empty tables between him and Roxas. "I guess not then, and no. I'm the owner; I just gave this place the name to annoy the poor boy. He'll take over for me some day, but the condition in my will is that he can't sell the place, and he can't change the name." The man grinned as he walked forward and stuck out his hand, "The name's Cid. I'm Cloud's uncle." Roxas grabbed the hand and shook it, indicating his pleasure to meet the stranger.

"Oi, Cid! Who's the kid?"

Roxas grumbled at being called a kid, but answered anyway, "My name's Roxas. I just came by to hear what kind of music you guys play, but apparently I came at the wrong time…"

The older man gripped Roxas' shoulder and the boy looked up to notice he had been chewing on a toothpick. "Dem, what do you say we invite this kid back tonight to hear your set? I have a feeling he'd fit right in with the scene."

The guy who was in the corner turned and revealed himself to have been playing a guitar. "I dunno Cid. My sets always attract a different crowd then when I'm just playing with the band, and I don't want to feel responsible if something spooks the little guy."

Cid frowned. "Be nice, Demyx. It would be good to have some new people in your audience," the man turned down to Roxas, "The show starts at ten. Come early if you want somewhere to sit because it fills up fast."

Roxas nodded, and looked back to Demyx, "Is that what you're going to be playing tonight?"

The musician looked up and smirked, "You'll find out tonight."

Roxas thanked the two for the invitation and said he'd think about it. He didn't know whether or not he'd actually go, but maybe he'd tell Axel to go for him or something. He hoped the guy wouldn't be playing a guitar that evening. Roxas didn't care too much for electric instruments, or any of their music, but hey; this was more adventurous than he'd been in years, why spoil it?

The boy had killed a few hours that day in the library, then looking up local music stores, and deciding instead to go to the lounge he'd found. Ever since he tried to listen to his old walkman, he had become impulsively determined to find something to his liking. His new outlook pertained to the unwritten law that, with all of the varieties of music out there, he should be able to find at least one band he liked, right?

So, pulling out his phone to check the time, Roxas learned it was four thirty, and decided to head back to his apartment so he could take his bike when he got his mission.

The sun was beginning to set again by the time he got back to his apartment from his mission. The street lights were beginning to turn on, and Roxas smirked to himself as he locked his door behind him as he departed anew. He had been waiting to see the redhead stranger all day, and, unlike most other main characters in a story, he knew exactly what to say when he walked up the hill, and sat down on the bench next to Red.

REVIEW PLEASE! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!?! Anyway, I'd first like to apologize for using a song. Normally I abhor when there are song lyrics in fanfiction, but I comitted the crime. I'm sorry :'(. The song, btw, was Enjoy the Silence. I was listening to the version by Lacuna Coil, but I know the original is by some guy. The second thing I'm really sorry for is giving such a lame name to the place where I plan to introduce characters. I literally stared at my computer screen for 10 minutes before that popped into my head and, despite how lame it is, I used it thanks to lack of ingenuity. WHERE ARE MY MUSES?? Tell me what you think plz!