Author's Note: Last thing up for a week! Huzzah! Hope you like it, it's a bit on the sappy side. ^_^ Mwahaha.
"Roxas, you okay?" Axel asked worriedly.
"Hn." Was all Roxas said, his head down and eyes half closed. Axel was tempted to curse god and all his angels. What had they done to deserve this?
He and Roxas were well out of Port Royal. There had been looting in the city and they had, alas, contributed. Not because they wanted to but because no one was selling small beer and food, both of which they would need in the country. Axel was carrying a small cask of the beer and he had a bag with several loaves of bread. They were a bit wet and starting to go moldy but it didn't matter. They would be eaten.
The real problem was Roxas. Axel's fever had broken the day after they left but Roxas' had taken its place. And while Axel had managed to spend most of his sickness in bed, Roxas was being exposed to the elements and walking at just the wrong time. Axel had tried to bargain with a farm family to let them stay but they'd been driven off with dogs. Axel almost couldn't blame them. He and Roxas looked like horrific vagabonds, with only their night shifts and a fine caking of dirt. If he'd had a family and farm Axel wasn't sure he'd have let them in either. But the sleeping under bushes was doing Roxas no good at all.
Axel was suddenly aware of a thump behind him and turned, blanching as he saw Roxas sprawled in the dirt.
"Roxas!" Axel hurried over, setting down the beer cask and turning his young lover over. Roxas' cheeks were flushed and his breathing was too slow, too deep. His skin felt like it was burning. "Roxas, don't leave me." Axel whispered as he tried to figure out a way to carry the boy and the cask at the same time. He finally managed it by slinging Roxas over one shoulder but it wasn't easy. "Hngh!" Axel grunted as struggled down the road. He had to find shelter. Roxas needed it.
Axel wasn't sure how many more miles it was before he stumbled over the farmhouse. It was a very neat little farmhouse and he felt the first hope he had in days when he smelled something cooking. Probably only pottage but anything hot and fresh would help… if only he could convince the farmers to help them.
Axel carried Roxas to the door and knocked as loudly as he could. He spotted someone peering at them through a window and for a moment he was afraid no one would answer. But then the door cracked open.
"Yes?" The voice was young, female and very wary. She opened the door a bit further and Axel saw she was a pale faced girl with very black, straight hair. She was also carrying a butcher knife. And was there something wrong with her eyes? But Axel shoved that aside.
"Please. My friend is sick. Do you have a bed and some hot food? We mean you no harm, I swear, and we can pay. But he's very sick. I think he might be dying." Axel tried to put his fear and desperation into his voice. He couldn't fight this girl. His knife was lost in the ruins of Port Royal and even if it hadn't been, he was carrying Roxas. She eyed him for a long moment then seemed to come to a decision.
"Yes, I have some room. Come in and I'll draw you a bath. It will be cold though." She warned and Axel nodded, unutterably relieved.
"Cold water might be better. Roxas has a fever." She stepped back to let them in and frowned as Axel set down the beer cask, getting Roxas more comfortably into his arms. The blonde moaned but didn't awaken as she touched his forehead.
"A bad fever… come, this way. My name is Xion." She set down the knife on the counter as she took them into the back of the house. Soon she was hauling buckets of water in from the well and using them to fill the tub. Axel helped her with it and soon it was full. Roxas was shivering as they cleaned him off then wrapped him in a nice warm blanket. "I have some pottage that should be ready soon. Let's see if he can eat."
It took a lot of effort and gentle coaxing to get Roxas to eat, but he finally managed to get a bit of the pottage down. It was very simple food but warm and filling and the boy looked much better, clean and in a bed.
"Thank you so much." Axel was still worried for Roxas but he was also very relieved. His chances of survival were so much better now. Xion smiled understandingly and Axel noticed her eyes again. They were very cloudy and he wondered how much she could see.
"It's nothing. Why don't you get cleaned up as well while I make some more food?" She suggested and Axel blinked, glancing down at himself. He was still an unholy mess. "There's some clothes upstairs that might fit you. They belonged to my father."
"Oh. Thank you, I'll do that." Axel pulled himself up, swaying a little with weariness. He used the same water Roxas had, and it was extremely filthy by the time he was done but he finally felt clean. Wrapping a towel around himself, he went upstairs to find the clothes Xion had mentioned. While he was putting them on, he wondered. Why was Xion helping them this much? Was it just Christian charity? Or something more?
But he was too tired to think about it. He ate a bowl of food under Xion's watchful eye then collapsed into bed.
If he dreamed, he didn't remember.
When he woke up the next morning the first thing Axel did was check on Roxas. To his relief, the blonde seemed to be doing much better. He was still deeply asleep though and Axel didn't want to disturb him. Instead, he went downstairs. Now that he was more awake and aware, he could see that this was really a very beautiful, old farmhouse. The kind that would belong to a prosperous farm family, but it seemed a little worn around the edges.
"We really need to pay you for this." Axel said as he watched Xion making breakfast. It was more pottage. Despite the nice farmland, Xion did not seem to be doing particularly well and that puzzled him. Xion just nodded.
"Enough to cover the food." She agreed and grimaced faintly. "I don't have much to spare."
"Ah… do you live here all alone?" That was really odd. It was possible for women to hold property but it was pretty unusual. Axel also wondered why she seemed to be struggling. Xion sighed and tapped the side of her head, near her eyes.
"I'm half-blind." She said simply. "My father was too proud to marry me off to just anyone and I had very few suitors, mostly younger sons with no land." Axel frowned. That meant they'd been after the farm. "Father died before he found a man for me who met his expectations." Xion's voice was toneless but Axel could catch the resentment there.
"How do you manage the farm by yourself?" Wouldn't that be nearly impossible half-blind? Xion smiled grimly as she ladled out the food into three bowls.
"Very badly. There's another farmer who does the crops for me in return for part of the harvest. He's cheating me, but there's nothing I can do about it." She scowled before blowing on her food to cool it. "He wants me to marry him so he can have both our farms. I could overlook his age but I happen to know he beat his last wife, before she died in childbirth."
"Oh. I see." Axel vaguely wondered why she was telling him this. Did she think he and Roxas could help? But maybe they could. It wasn't like they had anywhere to go and while they knew nothing about running a farm Xion probably knew the basics. She could show them. Axel put the thought into the back of his mind. Maybe he was reading too much into this. Maybe she just wanted to talk to someone she could be honest with. No doubt she couldn't speak like this to anyone from the town. When he was done his meal Axel carried up the third bowl to Roxas and gently woke the younger boy.
"Axel?" Roxas gazed at him from foggy blue eyes and Axel smiled, gently kissing him on the forehead. "Where are we?" He blinked at the bed and the room.
"We managed to get a room at a farmhouse, Roxas. Here, eat." Axel helped Roxas sit up then helped him eat, his hand over the blonde's as he tried to guide the spoon to his mouth. Roxas was kittenishly weak and still feverish but Axel was hopeful now. Whatever this disease was, it wasn't too bad. The harsh conditions of the road had made it much worse.
For the next week they stayed with Xion. Axel ended up giving her half their money and she used it to buy a few chickens for them, making some good, nourishing soup. Roxas fever broke on the fourth day and he recovered rapidly then. They both got to know Xion and found that she had a dry, understated sense of humor and a ready smile. She couldn't do much work outside but she did know all about how a farm was supposed to run, and she was a witch in the kitchen. With just a few ingredients she could make marvelous stews and pies.
Axel and Roxas both knew they had to go soon though. Their money wouldn't last forever and they would need it to set up in another city, if they could. But then Xion surprised them.
"Roxas, Axel. Would one of you marry me?" She asked abruptly and Roxas almost choked on his soup as Axel stared. "I'm sorry to be so – so unmannerly but I need a man here." Xion looked down and they could both see the stress on her face. "It can just be a formality if you want. I know you're both good people and I can see how kind you are to each other… I just need someone who can do the farm work without cheating me and to represent me in the courts. My uncle has been trying to claim the farm." Axel winced at that. Legally, women had very few rights. It was possible for a relative to claim that a woman was feeble minded or incompetent and try to take away what she had. Xion's disability would make her very vulnerable to that. Axel bit his lip. He really didn't want to marry Xion or see Roxas marry her. But on the other hand, he was practical and it was a very good deal in a lot of ways.
"Axel, I think we should." Roxas said quietly and Axel looked at him, feeling almost betrayed. But Roxas met his eyes calmly. "We were going to buy a sausage cart when we had enough money. This is a lot better than a sausage cart and Xion needs the help. If we leave what's going to happen?" Axel chewed his lip for a moment. Roxas did have a point. If her uncle succeeded Xion would never get married and would be subject to his every whim. At best, she would be an unpaid housekeeper.
"Did you want to be the one to marry her Roxy? I mean, you're more her age." Axel asked and Xion smiled, glancing at Roxas. Axel couldn't help but feel jealous at the warmth in her gaze but the look she gave him was equally warm. "And, uh, is this going to be an intimate thing?" Xion's smile turned into a grin at that.
"Only if you both want. I don't want to get between the two of you." She was clearly sincere and Axel relaxed a little. "It might be better if it were Axel for the wedding though. Since he's older and stronger." Roxas looked a bit too delicate. The farmer who was cheating her and her uncle might think they could get rid of him. Axel looked far more dangerous. Roxas looked a little worried t hen and glanced at Axel, but he smiled and squeezed Roxas hand.
"It's okay. I love you." He reassured Roxas who smiled and snuggled up.
They posted the banns the next day. The village was full of all kinds of rumors almost immediately but Axel didn't care. Nothing they could say was worse than the truth about his past. Axel did get into a fight with Xion's uncle and it could have ended badly, but Roxas was there to back him up. No one expected the little blonde to be dangerous but Axel had taught him how to use a knife. No one died, but several people were injured before it was over.
It helped that the villagers were all very busy with their own affairs. Refugees from Port Royal and the other areas proved to be a real problem quickly, and as it turned out Xion was very lucky to have them. A small gang of hard looking men, likely pirates arrived and bought some bread. Axel was sure that if the small woman had still been alone they wouldn't have paid at the very least. At least one woman in the village was raped and there was a rash of thefts. Not surprising, since most of the people affected by the earthquake were desperate, but it was still hard.
Axel married Xion on the first Sunday and Roxas stood up for them, along with a friend of Xion's. There was a small crowd of villagers to watch the nuptials, most of them titillated by the scandal. Also some strangers out for free food. They couldn't afford much in the way of celebration, but Axel, Roxas and Xion had used part of their remaining money to buy little honey cakes for the village. The kids would like them anyway.
None of them expected what happened next.
"…Roxas? Is that you?" A small, timid voice said and Roxas turned and stared.
"…Sora?" He said uncertainly. Sora looked… awful. He was so skinny and covered in bruises and dirt. Sora suddenly burst into tears and hugged him. Roxas was astonished by the strength in those skinny arms.
"I'm sorry I'm so sorry please don't hate me…" Sora was mumbling into his coat as Axel and Xion watched, shocked. Roxas blinked and hugged Sora back, cradling the brunette against his chest.
"How could I hate you? It's okay Sora." Roxas gently soothed the other boy. He wasn't even angry at Sora anymore. Yes, his brother had failed him but it had all worked out for the best for him. If he hadn't gone away alone, Axel would probably never have entered his life. "…Where's mom and dad?" Roxas looked around warily. If his father was here there was going to be a fight for sure. But Sora shook his head.
"I ran away. I – I couldn't stand it anymore." Roxas comforted Sora as his brother sobbed. "Please… can I come home with you…? I don't have anywhere to go."
"Of course!" Roxas wasn't about to turn Sora away. He glanced at Axel and Xion. This would be a strain on all of them but he was sure they wouldn't turn away his brother either.
So it proved. They took Sora home with them after the muted little celebration and Xion started making some pottage. As she was cooking the story came out. After Roxas left Sora was the only one his father could use, and he did. He also became even more miserly with the money, and Sora was literally starving in his own home. Driven by desperation he finally left. But he'd found no one to take him in like Roxas and had lived on the streets begging. Roxas felt so sorry for him. His brother was even smaller and more delicate than he was now, probably from the lack of food. And he probably wouldn't be growing at this late date.
"It's okay Sora. You can stay and help us with the farm." Roxas reassured them although he wasn't sure how much use Sora would be. From the look on Axel's face he was dubious about it too, but he nodded firmly. Fortunately there was still a good bit of their fund left and the land was rich. There was a good crop of potatoes and beans in the ground right now and it was growing well. With the destruction of the cities and a lot of farmland they would definitely get good prices. It was sad to profit from other's misfortune, but they'd be fools not to. They needed the money.
Things were a little awkward at first between Axel, Roxas and Xion. It was made a little more uncomfortable by Sora's appalled reaction when he realized they were making a threesome. But he was even more shocked when Roxas gave him a succinct description of his life as a whore. After that Sora avoided the subject like the plague, which suited everyone just fine. Gradually the three of them got more comfortable with each other and Roxas found he loved Xion. It was different from Axel, of course, but he couldn't imagine a world without her quiet support and dry, understated sense of humor. Her observations of the other villagers could be wickedly funny too.
As Sora grew stronger he also became more confident and diffidently began working with the local tailor, who was very pleased to have an already trained apprentice. Eventually he married the tailors' daughter and settled down into that business. Everyone was pleased to see him making a life for himself and they managed to purchase him a nice wedding gift, a colorful little pitcher in the shape of a frog. Sora's bride loved it and used it every day.
"How long has it been Roxas?" Axel asked idly as they sat on the porch swing and watched the sunset. Roxas looked at him curiously. "How long has it been since we met?"
"Uh…" Roxas had to think about that a moment. "Wow. I think it's been ten years." It was a long time. Axel smiled and gently kissed him on the cheek, hugging him with one arm.
"And I still love you as much as I did back then. More." Axel whispered and Roxas cuddled against him, loving the feel of the redhead's arm around him.
"I love you too Axel." Roxas closed his eyes, utterly contented.
It had been hard at first but they'd finally come to a good place. Their love would never change.
~FIN~
