Chapter Seven: City Run

"…Aren't you going to school?"

"…"

"I can take of myself now."

"…"

"A rampaging monkey is destroying your room."

"…" Glare.

"Damn it Roxas! Say something!"

"What the hell were you thinking Sora?!" The blonde demanded. "You could have hurt yourself! And wandering around so out of it. You're fucking lucky it was your friend who found you and not some pervert or mugger!"

"I said I was sorry!" Sora whined.

"That's not good enough! You could have been hurt Sora!" Roxas yelled.

Sora bit his lip and hid his face in his knees. It had been two days since Roxas had brought Sora home. Neither boy had been back to school; Sora didn't want to face Riku and Roxas was unwilling to leave him alone. Saturday was tomorrow so they wouldn't be back in school for awhile.

"Don't cry, Sor," Roxas sighed, running his hand through his brother's hair. "I was just worried."

"I know," Sora sniffed.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I hate being on those stupid pills," Sora exclaimed. "And I hate needing help like that. I thought I could handle it on my own."

"You might be able to if you followed directions," Roxas pointed out.

"But I didn't want to wean myself off them," Sora explained. "I wanted to stop taking them. Things weren't bad at all. I was enjoying myself with Riku and my other friends. I didn't want to take the pills any longer then I had to."

"Two days isn't long enough to get a decent feel for a new place," Roxas countered. "Tomorrow we're going to start looking around for a new therapist for you. You're old one recommended a new one here, so let's start there."

"Awe Rox, do we have to?" Sora whined.

"Yes Sora. You don't have to start taking the pills again, but I want you to see someone just in case. If things are still going good in a couple months we'll talk about stopping the sessions all together."

"Seriously?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Seriously," Roxas confirmed.

"But I can stop taking the anti-depressants?"

"Yes, if you really feel you don't need them anymore."

"Yes!" Sora cheered.

"Go back to sleep," Roxas ordered. "And be glad that nothing bad happened because of this!"

"Okay!" Sora sighed and curled under his blankets.


Roxas shook his head as he saw Sora still sleeping the next morning. With fake sigh, he rolled up his sleeves and ran forward, launching himself on his still sleeping brother. Sora yelped at the sudden weight on top of him and sat up quickly.

"Roxas?"

"Time to get going," the blonde smiled. "We have to find a therapist for you."

Sora's glare followed him out of the room. Sora flopped back on the bed and prepared to go back to sleep but Roxas kicked his door hard. "Up Sora!"

"I'm up!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Damn it! I am too!" Sora screamed, jumping out of bed angrily.

"Now you are," Roxas laughed.

Ten minutes later the brothers were laughing with each other as they left their house for the bus. Sora was extremely hyper and spoke a mile a minute. Roxas never bothered to keep up when he got like this, he would calm down soon enough and not remember half the things he was saying now.

They arrived in downtown and got off the bus in the business area. The city was much larger then what they were used to but Roxas and Sora never realized how much bigger it was until they had to decided which way to go. They ended up asking for directions from a street side vender.

Fifteen minutes of walking later and the half brothers stood before two buildings. Each one was an office building with numerous therapists but they didn't know which had the therapist they were looking for.

"Let's just go in and ask," Sora whined. His happy spell had ended and he was into whining now.

"Are we sure you're not bipolar?"

"Ooh! Candy!" Sora exclaimed, hurrying to one of the 25 cent machines positioned in the lobby. Roxas stared after him, watching his little brother dance around like a two year old.

"You are so bipolar." The blonde made his way to the desk and managed to get the receptionist's attention. "Is there a Mister Michel Mouse working here?"

The woman nodded. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, we'd like to make one though."

She looked something up on the computer. "Name?"

"Sora Mudo," Roxas answered. She typed it in and the computer dinged at her.

"Oh, it says here that he's expecting you," the girl told him. "His appointment is almost done with, go up to floor five, room 103 and wait in the chairs. I'll let him know you're here."

"Alright, thank you," Roxas shrugged and called for Sora. They followed instructions and waited outside the door. A very long and very boring hour later, Sora was fast asleep on the floor and Roxas was annoyed. The only thing keeping him from leaving was the noise coming from inside the room. At times the person was screaming, others they were crying, but mostly it was screaming. And if he didn't know any better he swore he heard a gorilla or monkey at one point. It was interesting to listen to and the only reason Roxas hadn't gotten fed up and left.

Finally, all the noise from the room stopped. Roxas glanced at the door as it opened and two people stepped out. One was a man with long scraggily brown hair who wasn't wearing a shirt and looked awkward walking on two feet. The other was a brunette woman who wore a ratty looking brown skirt and yellow shirt. She spoke with a British accent to a third person behind her.

"Thank you, Mr. Mouse," the woman shook his hand. "We'll see you next week. Let's go Tarzan." The man grunted and followed after his wife. They cast weird looks at Sora, and Roxas couldn't help but think that after everything he just heard, they couldn't judge.

"Ah you must be Roxas and Sora." The therapist was a small man with black hair and rounded ears that stuck out noticeably. He wore white gloves with red pants and a black shirt. He had a slightly squeaky voice and was currently smiling at the boys. "I hadn't expected you to stay so long. Sorry about the wait."

"It's fine," Roxas answered standing up. He kicked Sora with his foot to wake him. "Our old therapist recommended you."

"Yup," the man laughed squeakily. "He told me to be expecting you. Come on in." The short man led the way inside and gestured for the brother's to take a seat. Sora yawned and pouted at being awake. "Now boys, I assume you have some questions for me?"

"Yes," Roxas agreed. "I'm not going to hand my brother's sanity over to someone I don't trust."

He laughed. "Fair enough. But may I ask where your mother is?"

"Not here," Sora interrupted angrily. "And she has nothing to do with any of this. So if anything gets back to her, I swear you'll regret it."

Michel looked surprised at the outburst but Roxas just shrugged at him. This was why it was so hard to find a therapist for Sora. Almost half the ones they had seen had reported back everything to Sora's mom, justifying it by saying he was a minor.

"Well I won't say anything to anyone, Sora," Mickey assured him. "Not unless you give me direct permission to."

Sora snorted at him. "Hmph, I've heard that line before."

"Why don't we get to know each other," Michel suggested. "I'll try and prove that I'm trustworthy."

"That's fine with me," Roxas interrupted and stood up. "The rest is up to you, little brother."

"Gonna wait for me or do you want me to head back on my own?" Sora asked.

"I'll wait. There's a café down the street, come there when you're done."

"Alright."


Roxas sat at a corner table in a large café. He had bought a magazine about video games and was skimming through it while drinking a hot chocolate. It was starting to get colder outside since winter was on its way. Just as he turned the page, Sora plopped down in the seat across from him with a sigh.

"How'd it go?" Roxas asked as Sora took his drink. He called the waitress over and ordered another hot coco for Sora and a refill for himself.

"I won't know till tomorrow," Sora answered. "I rather enjoyed all the lies I came up with."

"Please tell me you didn't say that you like to hunt animals so you could torture them again," Roxas groaned. Sora laughed at the memory.

"No," he reassured. "Um, I said that mom had an alcohol problem and every so often she'll loose her temper when drunk and smack us both around."

"That's wonderful," Roxas rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"

"I said I was gay," Sora answered. "He didn't even bat an eye, so that's one point to him. I also said I was into drugs, especially selling them because it got me a lot of money."

"Don't those seem kind of obvious? He'll be able to tell you're lying," Roxas pointed.

"Those were just the big ones," Sora answered. "I threw in a lot of little ones too that aren't so obvious."

"This is ridiculous Sora," Roxas muttered as the waitress came back with their drinks. "Why can't you just talk to him and get to know him instead of sprouting out every lie you can think of?"

"It's a test Rox," Sora explained. "If he rats me out to mom or anyone else, then we need to find a different therapist. But if he keeps my secrets I'll talk to him and be more open with him in the future."

"If you say so," his brother muttered.

"Hey Rox, do you know those guys in the corner?"

Roxas casually glanced over his shoulder before turning back to Sora. "They go to my school."

"They you're friends?"

"I've never met them before," Roxas shrugged. "We have the same first period, I don't even know their names. Why?"

"They're coming over," Sora smiled. "You know, I'm still a little whacked from the pills. I'll help you fight them."

"We're not fighting anyone Sora." Roxas snapped just as the three kids sauntered up to them. There was two boys, obviously related, and one girl who was hanging off both of them.

"Hey," the shortest of the boys greeted. "You're in our gym class, right? Roxas?"

"Yeah," Roxas nodded and held his and out. "Nice to meet you."

The boy smiled and casually slapped the blonde's hand in greeting. Roxas was surprised, as he had expected a handshake, but whatever. "Name's Gordy. This is my brother Ned and our friend Justine."

"My brother Sora," Roxas gestured at the brunette who smiled pleasantly.

"'Sup," he turned back to Roxas. "You're friends with Axel, right?"

"I guess," Roxas shrugged. Sora snickered at him and Roxas kicked him under the table.

"Cool, we were going on raid later tonight," Gordy explained. "We wanted to invite you along."

"A raid?" Sora repeated. "What's that?"

"Sora," Roxas called. "Go get me a refill." He pushed his barely touched drink towards his brother. Sora glared at him incredulously.

"You're kidding right?"

"Refill Sora," Roxas repeated. "Now."

Glaring, Sora snatched the cup, spilling some hot chocolate on the table before stomping away. Once he was out of ear shot, Roxas turned back to the three Nobodies.

"Thanks for the offer, but I am not a Nobody," he said seriously. "And I want nothing to do with any gang in this city."

The three looked surprised. "But you're going out with Axel. And everyone knows that anyone who dates Axel ends up becoming a Nobody, if they're not already."

"Just because…wait a minute." Roxas glared at them. "Who the hell said I was going out with Axel?"

"Um…Axel did?" Gordy offered.

Roxas shot to his feet. "I'll kill him."

He stomped out of the café, calling for Sora to follow him.


"We're home!" Sora yelled as they entered their home later that afternoon. Kakee stuck her head out from the kitchen wearing an apron.

"Welcome home boys," she smiled. "I'm making steak, french fries, and baked potatoes for dinner so I hope you didn't eat anything while you were out."

"No, we haven't had anything all day," Roxas answered. "When will it be ready?"

"Another ten minutes. Why don't you set the table and we can sit and talk."

The teens did as asked and set the table. It wasn't long before dinner was set and the three were sitting down to eat excitedly. As they served themselves, Kakee brought up their trip to the city.

"So how did it go? Did you find someone you like?" She asked her youngest son.

He shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't decided yet."

"Well then how'd you two like the city?"

"We got lost three times," Roxas told her. "It was kinda a pain." Their mother smiled in amusement. The talk was kept light for the rest of the meal and for once no one got upset with each other. The doorbell rang just as they finished, surprising the three since they weren't expecting anyone. Sora bounced to his feet and hurried to answer the bell.

Standing behind the door was a teen with long red hair and bright green eyes with small black diamonds painted underneath them. He was dressed in black pants with a tank top that had an odd design on it. It was in the shape of a cross but the tips were pointed and the bottom was curved up. He wore a vest over the tank top that was covered in buttons and safety pins. Sora looked the boy up and down and silently gave his approval. Whoever this boy was, he was hot.

"I'm here to pick up Roxas," the stranger's voice snapped Sora out of his surprised stare.

"And you are…?"

"Axel?" Roxas entered the hallway and was surprised to see the other boy at his house.

"Are you really going to wear that?" Axel lifted an eyebrow as he took in Roxas' beat up jeans and casual t-shirt.

"What?" Roxas suddenly took on a shocked face. "We have a date tonight!"

Sora's eyes lip up at the announcement, but Axel looked annoyed. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

"Of course he didn't!" Sora interrupted loudly. "He just didn't expect you so soon."

"I'm ten minutes late," Axel stated.

"Well in Roxas terms that's twenty minutes early," Sora covered quickly. "So yeah, um…you just come in here and sit down and I'll have Roxas ready in a few minutes." Sora pulled Axel inside and pushed him towards the living room.

"And who exactly are you?" Axel asked the kid dragging him around.

"I'm Sora, Roxas' younger brother," the brunette pushed him onto the couch. "You wait right here, we'll be right back!" He grabbed a still stunned Roxas and dashed up the stairs.

"I can't believe I forgot I had a date!" Roxas freaked out as they entered his room. "I don't have anytime to get ready or anything to wear! I should just go downstairs and tell him to forget it and I'm really sorry."

"Are you nuts?" Sora demanded. "Did you see what he's wearing? He's obviously looking forward to this since he got all dressed up. It'll be fine Rox. I'll pick out something sexy, but not too sexy, since this is a first date and all, and you go get ready."

"I don't have time to take a shower," Roxas exclaimed.

"That's okay, you took one this morning before we left, so you should be fine," Sora mused, tossing his brother's clothes around. "Just put some gel in it and spike it up. Put some eyeliner on too, you look like you haven't slept in days."

"I haven't," Roxas grumbled but dutifully entered the bathroom to clean himself up while Sora found an outfit for him. "Hey Sora!"

"What?"

"Find a shirt big enough to fit Axel as well, will you?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not going out with someone who's wearing his gang symbol on his shirt for the whole world to see. I'm going out with Axel, not the Nobodies."


"Just put it on," Sora hissed, forcing his finger onto his brother's lips.

Roxas jerked his head away. "Damn it Sora, I am not wearing lipstick."

"It's lip gloss," Sora corrected. "And it's clear. All it's going to do is make your lips stick out more, just in case."

"Just in case what, little brother?" Roxas frowned.

"Oh don't be such a prude," Sora rolled his eyes. "If you can wear eyeliner, you can wear lip gloss." He finally got the clear substance onto his brother and smiled. "Perfect. Now I already got him to change shirts, so you're all set to go. Have fun, but not too much fun." Sora smiled and kissed his brother quickly, pushing him into the living room. "Okay, he's all set!"

Axel looked up from his conversation with Kakee and barely managed to keep from whistling inappropriately. Normally he would have, but with Roxas' mother watching every move he decided it was best to be polite…until they got outside.

Roxas was dressed in jeans with holes ripped into them and a chain wrapped around his waist. He had on a skin tight blue shirt with a jean jacket. His hair was spiked up and his eyes decorated with a small amount of eyeliner. Roxas smirked as he noticed Axel was now wearing his own white tank top instead of his gang shirt.

"So we'll just say goodbye now and let you two have fun," Sora smiled pushing them both towards the door. "Be back by one at the latest, no drinking and no drugs. Making is okay but under no circumstances are you to have any form of sex on the first date. That includes oral."

"Sora! What the hell?" Roxas exclaimed.

"Well you've only ever been with Hayner, Rox," Sora shrugged. "And I just wanted to set down some ground rules."

"Isn't that my job?" Kakee asked from the living room doorway.

"See you guys later, by!" Sora hugged Roxas once more and pushed the two out the door.

"Well he seemed nice," Kakee commented after Roxas and Axel disappeared from their sight.

"I can't believe Roxas forgot he had a date," Sora commented. "How rude is that?"

"Didn't you say you were going out with a friend tonight too?"

Sora froze as his face looked exactly the same as Roxas' had earlier when Axel showed up. Before he had a chance to process the forgotten date, the doorbell rang again. Sora eeped and looked around desperately, as if an answer would make itself known to him. Kakee answered the door as Sora made a mad dive headfirst into the living room.

"Can I help you?"

"My name's Riku, I'm here to see Sora? Is he feeling up to seeing anyone?"

Kakee smiled at him. "As a matter of fact, he's just fine." They heard stomping upstairs. "Why don't you wait in the living room and I'll go get him?" She showed the handsome teen to a chair and hurried upstairs to Sora's room. The brunette was throwing his clothes everywhere for something decent to wear.

"Oh my gosh! What I do? I don't have time to get ready! I should just go down there and tell him it's off and I'm really sorry."

"Oh nonsense," Kakee dismissed. "You got your brother ready in fifteen minutes, I'm sure you can do the same for yourself."

"Mom!" Sora whined. "Getting yourself ready is way harder then getting someone else ready!"

"Go clean up, I'll pick you out a nice outfit, all right?" Kakee gently pushed him towards the bathroom.

"Fine, but don't make me look like some prude!"

"I won't, I promise."

Some ten minutes later, Sora was falling down the stairs to land with a loud thump and moan of disapproval. Kakee hurried to his side, asking if he was alright while trying to smoother her laughter. Riku appeared at the stairs to investigate the loud noise and hid a smile behind his hand as he cleared his throat. Sora glanced up and blushed a bright red as he scrambled to his feet. His mother was laughing on the stairs and Sora pouted at her.

"Are you feeling okay to go out?" Riku asked.

Sora's blush darkened. "Uh, yeah, I'm doing a lot better now thanks."

"Shall we go then?" Riku teasingly offered his arm and with a roll of his eyes, Sora accepted it.

"Be back by midnight Sora," Kakee called.

Sora gaped at her. "But Roxas gets to stay out 'till one!"

"Roxas is a year older and you said that, not me," Kakee countered. "Twelve thirty, no later."

Surprised, Sora smiled at his mother. "Thanks." Riku politely said goodbye and led the way out.

"Your mom seemed nice," Riku commented as they left.

"Yeah," Sora muttered. "She did, didn't she?" He smiled and leaned happily against his date.


A/N: Okay, and this chapter gets us back on track with the main story line. Next chapter will have the boys' dates. Yay!! I'm also pretty sure that Roxas and Axel are going to show us why this story has an M rating. Sora and Riku might help them, but most likely they'll stick with T for now.

Anything else…? No, not really. I'm starting collage this summer though. April 16th is registration. Exciting ne?