About a week later...

"I'm sorry. You want me to what?"

Larxene was in a hurry this morning, so she didn't even bother to look up at her boyfriend as she grabbed what she needed for the day. Jacket, briefcase, and...and what else?

"You heard me, Axel. Now I don't have time for this! Just take the cat with you!"

"You really think my boss would go for that?" Axel snapped back, just barely missing stepping on said cat as he followed the blonde to the door, whining all the way. Roxas meowed softly, following them more slowly, curious.

"Just make up an excuse or something! I don't care! He's still too young to be left here alone all day, and my boss is tired of me bringing him!"

Axel grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. "And how much longer are we gonna have to do this?"

Larxene looked down at the kitten as it trotted up behind them, pausing a moment to rub against Axel's leg and purr. The man grimaced and gently shoved the little thing away with his foot, but a minute later, it was back. Axel didn't look too happy with it, but Larxene couldn't help but smile. It was pretty endearing the way the kitten had taken to Axel. He wasn't even all that nice to it, but it was as if giving the kitten a name created a bond between the two of them, a bond that Axel couldn't escape. Now wherever he went in the apartment, Roxas was there somewhere as well. Like a shadow, she'd noticed.

The blonde paused, sighing. "Just a little while longer. If you don't want to deal with him all day, why don't you let Demyx play with him?"

A thoughtful look crossed Axel's face, then he brightened at the idea.

"That's perfect! If the boss gets made, I'll blame it on Demyx! Saix already has it out for him anyway!"

Larxene frowned. "That seems asshole-ish. Even if it was going to cost him his job, you'd still let him take the fall for the cat?"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Saix would never fire him. Just give him cleaning duty and other stuff like that." Despite it not being the greatest or most glamourous job in the world, Demyx loved it. Enough to suffer through hard work and angry glares from Saix. Demyx was an aspiring musician, and the music store, small and insignificant as it was, was like his dojo. Axel wasn't crazy about working there, but it was nice and simple, and he got to be with his best friend all day. That meant something, even if it had more meaning when they were in high school or college. It was cool.

Larxene sighed. "My noble boyfriend...Whatever. Just take the damn cat and stop complaining. I'll bring home a new bed for him tonight so he doesn't have to sleep on the bed with us."

Axel looked excited. He kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. "Awesome, Lar! Thanks!" His allergies had been getting pretty bad lately, what with the cat so close to him everywhere he went. It was murder on his poor body.

"Yeah, sure." His girlfriend shrugged him off and opened the front door. "Just get ready for work. You're going to be late again."

Axel saluted with that big goofy grin he knew she hated. "Yes sir!"

Despite earlier claims that he would be late, when Axel reached the store, he found the lights off in the place and the door still locked. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his phone to give his boss a call, when suddenly he was tackled from behind by the incredible force of nature that could only be-

"Axel! Hey man! You're here!"

Demyx.

The redhead sighed, pulling his face off the gross floor and glaring over his shoulder.

"Great. Now that we've established this, COULD YOU GET OFF ME!"

The mullet head complied, and even helped pull Axel to his feet. Dusting himself off, Axel turned to his energetic friend and snapped, "You're lucky I didn't break my cellphone."

Demyx raised his hands defensively. "I didn't mean to! Honest! I was just wondering why the store's so dark and everything. I've been waiting here for like, half an hour, and the store's still closed, so I got worried, and then I saw you, and-"

"Great, Dem. Just chill. I was about to call Saix and see what's up."

The blonde smiled. "Oh. Thanks man. You know, I don't know what I'd do if this place closed down so suddenly. This store is like my life, it's-"

For a moment, Axel relished in the silence, but it was so abrupt and out of character that he had to look away from his contacts list and see what distracted Demyx. He looked over to see the blonde looking down at his bag, which he know realized was mewling.

"Um, Ax? Your bag's making weird sounds."

"Oh. Yeah." He lifted the bag up a little and reached inside with his other hand, drawing out the little kitten by the scruff of his neck. Roxas didn't look too bad for having fallen and almost been crushed by the two of them, but his fur was a little on end and the little cat looked a bit agitated, making little sounds of discomfort even as he was hoisted out.

"OH MY GOD, HE'S SO CUTE!"

Axel barely had a moment to register before he suddenly felt the absence of cat in his hand. Demyx had snatched it away with inhuman speed, cuddling and squeezing the little thing close to his chest as he squealed.

"OH AXEL! WHERE'D YOU FIND THIS CUTE LITTLE GUY? HE'S THE MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"

The redhead groaned. "Yeah, yeah. Now be careful with it, okay? It's still just a baby, and I don't think it's healthy for you to be squeezing it like that."

Demyx blinked, looking down only to find the kitten squirming in his arms, trying to get free.

"Oops. Sorry little guy." He moved a hand to support his little back legs and wrapped another hand loosely around his middle, gently pressing down to keep the cat from getting free and clawing his way up his shoulder. "So you definitely know it's a he?"

"I've had him for a while, Dem. I'm sure."

The blonde turned to look at him curiously, now petting the kitten a little. Roxas seemed to be calming down, even purring a little, as he nuzzled against Demyx's chest.

"But I thought you didn't like cats..."

Axel groaned. "I don't. Larxene brought this little guy home a week ago. He was half dead from the storm, and she insisted we keep him even after he started looking better. I took him to the vet last week, so we're sure he doesn't have anything like rabies, but I'm still not happy about it." Though he had to admit, when the kitten looked back at him and mewled softly, a small smile broke out over his face without permission.

"Aw, he likes you Axel!" Demyx chirped, pulling the cat away from his shirt to give back to Axel. "Come on, little guy. Go back to your daddy."

"Very funny," the redhead deadpanned. Roxas's little claws were still clinging to Demyx's shirt slightly, but after a minute they managed to get them off. Axel held the cat up, almost over his shoulder, shivering slightly when he felt something warm and wet against the exposed skin.

"Is he licking me?"

Demyx looked up and "awwed." "He is! It's so cute!" Looking back at his friend, he asked, "So what's his name?"

Axel sighed. "Roxas."

"That's kinda cool. How'd Larxene think of it?"

"She didn't. I...I named him."

Demyx squealed again. "And I thought you didn't like him!"

"I don't!" Axel snapped back. "This thing's been nothing but trouble, ever since she brought him home!"

Just then, his cellphone rang. Axel grabbed the cat a little harshly and shoved it back into the bag, ignoring it's little mewls as he answered. "Saix. Where the heck are you, man? It's time to open up!"

Demyx grimaced at the action, but he waited patiently as the conversation played out.

"You left the keys where?...Oh, okay. Yeah. Got it. So just open it up and wait for you?...Sure. Bye." Axel snapped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket, turning to his friend. "He got stuck in bad traffic. Sounds like he left the spare keys under the mat again. We'll open up the store and just wait for him, I guess."

"Cool! So, uh, what are you gonna do with the cat?"

The redhead sighed heavily, fishing the keys out from under the mat and unlocking the door, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder.

"No clue."

Once inside, Axel left his bag on the counter and began Saix's usual routine. Turn lights on, check the registers, make sure the counter and floors are clean, then check the coffee machine in the back. Demyx ran off in one direction, shouting something about putting away and organizing the newest pop and rock singles, and the two set to work. By the time Axel ran to the front and changed the closed sign to open, he brushed the faintest sheen of sweat off his brow and smiled. He wasn't used to doing this much in the mornings, but it was part of being assistant manager, filling in when Saix wasn't there. That, and he couldn't expect Demyx to do that much without somehow screwing up.

And, naturally, when he returned to his bag only to find it tipped over and no cat inside, he began to panic. Just a little.

"Great, I lost that damn cat again!" He smacked the right side of his temple in frustration, turning to Demyx, who was just a short distance behind him putting a few cd's in their appropriate categories. "Dem, you didn't see Roxas run by here, did you?"

The blonde looked up. "What? Oh, the kitty. No, I didn't see him." A quick glance to the front of the store, before a panicked look crossed his face. "You don't think he got out, do you?"

Axel shook his head. "Nah, door's closed." They kept it closed most of the time to keep the ac in in the summer time, and there was no way Roxas could have pushed open the heavy door on his own.

"Well we gotta find him! He's too small to be wandering around here by himself!"

The redhead sighed. This was exactly why he didn't want to bring the cat in the first place. A) Roxas still needed to be feed often, being so young and weak, and b) there was a lot he could get into around there that could lead to trouble. Heavy things falling on him, getting stepped on or let out by customers. Or worse, if Saix got there and found him first-

"Goddamn traffic!"

Oh shit.

The blue haired man pushed his way through the heavy door and grumbled, brushing past the two workers without even so much as a "hello." He headed straight for the back room where his office and the storage area was, and disappeared quicker than either guy could follow. That meant he was in an even worse mood today.

Shit.

"Dem, you gotta help me find him before the boss does. If he finds that cat back in his personal things, he'll probably skin it alive...and eat it."

The color drained from the blonde's face. "Oh no! We have to save him!"

"Good morning."

Axel and Demyx turned to greet the incoming customer, smiling widely even though both their eyes were really scanning the floor, looking in case Roxas was around and decided to bolt. But the door closed and no kitty was found, so with a short sigh of relief, Axel pushed Demyx back to search the back room while he dealt with the customer.

"Good morning, ma'am. Can I interest you in any of our savings deals?"

Demyx nodded shakily, turning to face the long walk back into the dark storage room, that also lead to Saix's office. Gulping, he shuffled back there, occasionally calling to see if the cat would come. He walked past the cardboard boxes full of merch and cds and looked behind the shelves, under and around the boxes, everywhere he could think of.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?"

The blonde gulped again, slowly raising his eyes to find his boss only about a foot away from him, gold eyes narrowed and impatient. The man was bent slightly at the waist, looking down at him with that condescending air, hands firmly on his hips.

"W-Well, you see," he stuttered, getting up and walking slowly past the man, towards his office. He was still listening for any meowing, any indication that Roxas was stuck or hiding somewhere. "I came looking for those...customer reports!"

A blue eyebrow raised, unimpressed. "And what would you need those for?"

"Axel sent me back to get them! So, uh, I'll just go and...get them. Kay?" He hurried to Saix's office, hearing the man follow behind, grumbling about something, faintly sounding like "too early for this." Once he opened the door, Demyx almost squeaked.

"What the hell are you stopping for, Demyx?"

"N-Nothing!" he replied quickly, slamming the door shut and almost taking out two fingers in the process. Right there, on Saix's desk, was Roxas, playing with one of those little pendulums you randomly see on important businessmen's desks. He was swatting it with his paw, before lowering into a crouch, staring at the moving piece like he was ready to pounce. It would have been so cute, if not for the situation.

"Well, Demyx, whether you get those reports or not, I need to get back into my office. So if you'd kindly get out of the way..." He snapped the last bit, shoving past Demyx as he opened the door.

"No! Wait!" The blonde grabbed hold of him and tried to yank him back, but he lost his balance somewhere in the process, and the two men ended up toppling onto the floor in the office.

"DEMYX, YOU IMBECILE! YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO GET OFF OF ME OR I'LL-"

"Moving! MOVING!"

The blonde scrambled to his feet, checking the desk for a second before offering his boss a hand. The kitten was no longer on the desk, he noted with relief, but now he didn't know where the damn thing was!

Saix smacked his hand away and stood angrily, brushing himself off.

"What kind of idiot shoves himself through a door! This was one of my nicer shirts, and you just had to shove me on that disgusting floor?" After more grumbling, he turned to Demyx, eyes screaming hatred and sleeplessness. "I want you out of here! Now!"

"B-But those reports-"

"Here!" Saix stormed ahead, tore open one of the file cabinets, ripped the manilla folder out, shoved it into his hands, then shoved him toward the door. "Now give me some goddamn peace!"

"But sir-"

The door was slammed in his face. Demyx stood outside the door for a moment, listening to the grumbling within and praying Roxas wouldn't be found. With his boss in this kind of mood, the cat was going to be dead for sure.

As the blonde looked down glumly, sighing with defeat and despair, he caught sight of something odd. The corners of the room were a bit dusty because he and Axel were somewhat lazy with cleaning, so when he looked down and saw a clear spot in the dust, small and paw-shaped and facing away from Saix's room, he began to smile again.

"Woah!" He knelt down and examined the spot, seeing that it really was a little paw print in the dust. "How'd he manage to get out of there?"

With hope restored, the man shot to his feet and scrambled back out into the store, looking around for a little orange tabby, when-

"Awwww. Mommy, isn't he so cute?"

Demyx looked over toward the register counter and smiled when he saw two little girls petting a small, familiar round ball of fur. Roxas seemed to like the attention, purring and rubbing against their arms where they leaned up to play with him. He even rolled over and let them rub his belly, making the girls laugh and squeal. He really was a cute little cat...

Axel was speaking with one of the parents, but he didn't look too happy. Once the adults moved off to check out the rest of the store and the girls were preoccupied with the kitten, Demyx scurried over and clapped him on the shoulder, beaming.

"Why you looking so glum, man? We found the cat; everything's gonna be fine!"

Axel rolled his eyes and grumbled softly. When his friend gave him a curious look, the redhead simply pointed to a small, but just visible trail of dust and dirt leading up to the counter, even on the surface itself, which Roxas was still rolling in. Before Demyx even had time to really ask, he felt a dust pan and broom shoved into his hands. Axel pulled out a can of lysol and pointed firmly to the dirt trail below.

"You get to clean that up."