Over the course of the next two weeks, I actually felt rather happy and content. I no longer feared Hayner and I could actually smile like I meant it. The more I thought of it, the more I realized that it was because I had been opening up a lot more to Axel. I had even told him a lot about my past, which I had never really thought about or talked to anyone about before. I never knew that opening up to someone would relieve a lot pressure and let me relax easily. I still tensed up every time Hayner was mentioned or if I saw him due to the memory, but Axel was always there to calm me down, telling me that he wouldn't let him near me again. But near the end of the two weeks, my good mood went crashing down.

Another doctor's appointment.

I made sure to remain silent as I listened to my mother and the doctor talk outside the door, just like she had when she found out how long I had left to live. Why hadn't she been able find out that her own son had overheard the conversation? Was she really that dense? Then again, I had hid it pretty well, especially now that I was always with Axel and tried not to think about it. Not only did I not want to hurt Axel, but I didn't want to ruin our day. I closed my eyes as I tilted my head down, not bothering to lie down. I was perfectly fine where I was; just sitting here.

I only opened my eyes when I heard the reason behind why I was so weak and growing even weaker. I swore that I could feel my stomach twist into knots at the thought of it. What if Sora…? My stomach untwisted when the doctor assured my mother that my twin was fine. So… it was only me who had this problem… or at least this severe of a problem. Whether or not Sora had the same thing, they didn't know for sure yet. At least he didn't show any signs, save for the sleeping problems. Then again, that could just be because of how much trouble he has getting to sleep at night. I quickly took out the cell phone from my pocket and opened it up when the door had opened, opening up a new text message. I didn't want my mom to know that I had been listening in, so I decided that it would probably be best to text Axel now instead of later. I needed to meet with him, anyway.

"Roxas, let's get going."

I looked up when I heard my mother speak to me just as I pressed the send button. I nodded lightly and stood up, walking over to the woman. "Okay. Axel's gonna come over later. He wants to see if he can help me move around my room again," I said, though I knew it was partially a lie. I had told my mom earlier that I wanted to move my room around so that my bed wasn't near the window, but she had disagreed because she knew I wouldn't let her help me with it. With Axel helping, I was pretty sure she would agree. I sighed lightly when I noticed she was going to object to the idea, but forced a smile anyway. "I'm just gonna tell him where to put it. I'm not going to move anything unless it's a lamp or something small like that," I reassured.

Don't you just love parents sometimes - especially overprotective mothers? Yeah, you just gotta love 'em, huh? Thankfully, she offered a sweet smile and nodded, reaching up to stroke the back of my head lightly. "Okay, Rox. I'll let Axel come over," she said in a soft tone as she led me out of the office by pushing her hand against the base of my neck lightly. Damn, it was almost like she thought I was going to break or something… I was weak, sure, but I wasn't that weak… Still, I remained completely silent and let her lead me wherever she wanted. It wasn't any surprise to me that she had even led me all the way to the passenger's seat and waited for me to sit down myself before she closed the door and went over to the driver's side. Well, I couldn't exactly blame her for being this way, but I still didn't like it… I glanced in her direction before I pulled out my cell phone again, flipping it open to see that I already had a text from Axel.

Only an hour later and I was sitting against the wall with Axel on the other side of the bed. While his feet were flat on the floor and his hands served as something to support himself as he leaned back, my feet were flat on the bed with my hands in my lap. I sighed lightly as I looked out across the room. I already knew where I wanted to put everything, but if I waited a bit longer, I knew that my mother wouldn't let Axel go home because it would be too late. "So… why'd you want me over again?" I heard him ask. I looked over at the redhead to find that his emerald eyes were focused on me. Great… He was looking me strait in the eye… That meant that I couldn't lie easy or even avoid the truth for now. I swear, he could see right through me.

I sighed lightly and shook my head, pushing away from the wall and crossing my legs. "For a few reasons. One, to help me with the room," I began, motioning towards the room. He nodded to let me know to continue. "Two, I went to the doctor's today." Okay, now he seemed interested. Without waiting for any real response, I decided to continue. "They figured out what exactly is making me weak. It's a new blood disease cause by a mutation, is what they said. According to them, one of the cells didn't divide right and kept multiplying to the point that it wasn't as simple as going in and fixing it. It wasn't noticeable when you look at the DNA because it almost seems like nothing's wrong. They say that Sora doesn't have it because it most likely happened after we had split into two. So… it's nobody's fault," I explained softly.

A moment of silence slipped between us before Axel finally sighed and looked away, his gaze focusing on the ground. Just by the expression, I could see that he had realized that it wasn't as simple as just 'fixing me'. This wasn't something that could be reversed or cured. It couldn't even be destroyed. It was in my blood. I would have to be someone completely different in order to have it out of me. "So… There's nothing anybody could do. You're going to just… die. Like that," he said softly, though I could tell that he had to force the words out of his mouth.

I didn't hesitate to uncross my legs and crawl over to him, sitting down next to him with my legs folded under me. I reached over and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry…" was the only thing I could whisper before I buried my head into his shoulder. I felt a strong hand grab my shoulder tightly, but not hard enough to hurt it. I soon found myself pulled into his lap with his arms around me. I moved my arms down to his waist, hugging him there instead due to the fact that it was easier with how small I was compared to him.

The grip on me tightened and I stroked his back lightly to help calm him down so he wouldn't cry. There was no way I wanted him to cry, especially not now. I felt multiple kisses on my head and my cheek and even a few on my shoulder. I could tell that he was trying to pour out every single emotion he felt in every single one of the small kisses. When they finally stopped, I could hear a small whisper right next to my right ear, "I love you too much… I don't want to lose you…"

I buried my head into his chest again, no longer trying to rub his back. Instead, I tightened my grip on his waist, though I still felt a bit weak. "I know…" I whispered softly. I remained completely still and silent as I waited for Axel to calm down, letting him kiss my head as much as he wanted and hold me as long as he wanted to. Only after I felt his chin rest on the top of my head for only a few more moments did I finally loosen my grip and pull away. "I'll be fine for now. I still have a while. And maybe it's as you said a while ago; I might have longer than what the doctors give me," I said with a small smile, trying to cheer up the one I felt… attached to. (Yes, I still won't say that I love him. I'm not even sure if it's gotten to that point yet.) Thankfully, this worked to a certain point. I returned the gentle kiss he gave me in return to what I had said, actually satisfied when he pulled away a few seconds later. I carefully crawled off of his lap and looked out the window to see that the sun was finally setting.

I looked down at him and watched as he stood up as well. "Y'know… If we take long enough moving everything around, my mom will let you stay over, even if tomorrow is a school day," I hinted.

He raised an eyebrow before he smirked and leaned down to kiss my forehead lightly. "Only if she doesn't know about us yet. Or else she might make me sleep on the couch like she did to Riku," I heard.

I laughed lightly as I looked up at him, shaking my head. "Of course she doesn't know. I haven't told her yet and don't plan to anytime soon. As far as she knows, I'm just cuddly in my sleep and you're a very nice person," I replied with a smile. After a small laugh from the both of us, we both got to work with moving around my room. Though to make sure that he wouldn't have to go home tonight, we had little 'disagreements' or 'misunderstandings' of how the room should be rearranged.

Thankfully, this had worked and we had only moved my desk and the dresser when my mom had come in and asked if Axel wanted to stay for dinner. After he agreed and we both went down for dinner, she had suggested that he stayed for the night because 'it was getting dark out' and she 'didn't want anything to happen to him'. Yes, she knew how old Axel was. Yes, she knew he was a junior in high school. Still, in her mind, he was still in high school and wouldn't let anything happen to him while he was under her care. Though to make sure that 'nothing would happen', she made both Riku and Sora walk Axel and I to the redhead's house.

"What? No way! I didn't do that! You're lying, Riku!" Sora accused for what seemed the tenth time that night as we all walked down the street. Again, both Axel and I let out a laugh as Riku went into a very detailed description on how Sora had fallen asleep during a test and drooled over the whole entire paper. Though Riku was saying things that Sora disagreed to that were soon proved to be true, their hands were still conjoined in the comfortable way they had ever since they had started dating out in the open.

I sighed lightly as Sora still tried to prove Riku wrong – only to fail. I chuckled lightly as I listened to how Riku had hit Sora's back multiple times with random pieces of crumpled paper, some of which had gotten stuck in Sora's hair. No matter how much Sora tried to say that he wasn't asleep and just ignoring Riku, it didn't work. "Sora, just give it up already. I was there. I was Mrs. Swan's helper for the day, anyway. Even I threw a few things at you, which is why you found the pencil eraser down the back of your shirt," I said as I rolled my eyes. I laughed at the open-mouthed expression I got from my brother, but didn't say anything about it. Just before he could retort, Riku quickly stepped in and kissed the other just to shut him up. I silently thanked Riku for his good deed when he pulled away and looked at me when Sora quickly focused his attention to the ground he was walking on. Though it was dark, I could see the traces of a bright blush on my twin's face.

I paused when we finally came to Axel's apartment, looking up at him in silence. Was I supposed to go in…? My silent question was answered when it pulled out a key and motioned for all of us to follow him. "Reno's at the ranch. Both him and Rufus quit the Home Depot job and decided to focus more on the ranch ever since Grandpa passed away last month," he said as he unlocked the door and walked inside, flipping on the lights. "Sorry if it seems a bit empty. Not used to having all his stuff gone."

I hummed a bit when I realized that it looked a lot bigger than what I had originally thought. From the outside, it looked like one of those small, crappy apartments. But with how this was on the inside, it seemed like a very nice apartment with newly painted walls, a non-leaky water system, and every electric outlet looked like it was in perfect condition. To say the least, I was thoroughly surprised. Sure, I hadn't expected Axel to live in something very crappy, but that was what I had thought when I looked at the outside. "Rufus gave us a lot of money to help with buying everything to fix this place up. With permission from the owners, we were able to fix just about everything about it," I heard Axel say.

I nodded lightly and followed the redhead into the bedroom, noticing that the bed was merely a twin-sized bed. With how tall he was, I highly doubted he would be able to fit in it… Then again, Axel did seem to curl up in his sleep, seeing as how he had curled up around me every time he had slept over. I looked behind me to see that Sora and Riku had went off to explore the apartment. Looks like I'd have to explore it later… I looked over at Axel again, walking over to his bed and sitting down. "How long have you had this?" I asked. "I remember you living a few blocks away."

"You also haven't been to my house in a few months, Rox," he reminded. "Reno and I got this place only a month ago. He's been working his ass off to fix it up. This is what I've been busy with."

I looked around the room, finding a few articles of clothing on the floor. "Okay, then… That makes sense," I said with a small smile. I waited until he was done getting together everything he needed before I got off the bed and followed him out the door, though we had to find Sora and Riku first. To Axel's surprise (but not to mine), we had found them spraying each other with the showerhead in Axel's bathroom. Well, it was more of Sora spraying Riku, but then Riku had grabbed it from him right when we walked in and decided to drench Sora as well. So much to the discomfort of Sora and Riku, we walked home with the two soaking wet. Thankfully, it wasn't all that cold outside because it never really became that cold in Twilight Town.

After getting back to my house, Sora and Riku had changed into their sleep wear, as did Axel and I. Because of how tired I had felt, I ended up going to bed earlier than usual. And of course, Axel had gone to sleep around the same time I had, curling up around me and holding me protectively. The next morning was chaotic. Axel and I had both gotten tangled up in the covers and ended up wrestling each other and the blankets at the same time just to get out. Of course, this was only after we had fallen into a heap of tangled limbs and covers on the floor. The rest of the morning was rushed as my mom tried to rush four teenagers out the door, two of which who wanted to do nothing but rough house and wrestle each other in the living room for the TV remote. Two others were only spectators and laughed at the scene and the random shouts of 'get your ass out of my face' or 'that's my foot, thank you'.

By the time we had finally gotten out the door, we knew we all were going to be late if we didn't hurry. Because I couldn't exactly keep up, Axel ended up carrying me on his back and still beat both Sora and Riku, though the two decided to have a wrestling match in the middle of the sidewalk. The prize? A piece of toast that was previously Riku's. Class had been uneventful, though I felt rather uncomfortable due to all the glances sent my way. I knew I had passed out on a few occasions, but I didn't think that I had attracted that much attention.

I looked up from my work as I heard the bell for class to end and lunch to begin. I was almost done with my homework, too… Oh well… Looks like I would have to finish it at home. I collected all of my things and stored it in my bag, standing up. I walked out of the classroom and down the hallway, but paused when I noticed a group I was planning on walking by had stopped talking and all the members were looking directly at me. I hesitated a bit before I opened my mouth to say something.

"Hey, aren't you the one who had sex with the junior hottie, Axel?" one of the girls' asked.

My words died in my throat instantly as I heard those words. How had they found out about that…? That had happened almost two weeks ago. The only person who knew was Axel, but I knew that he wouldn't just go off and tell people that. Oh wait… But there was still Zexion… Zexion knew. I frowned deeply as I realized this and shook my head. "No. You got the wrong person," I said before I began to walk towards the lunchroom again.

I was almost near the end of the hallway, but let out a short yell when I was suddenly pulled into one of the classrooms and slammed against the wall. My eyes widened as I realized that the one pinning me to the wall was Hayner, reaching up to try to pry his hands away from his shirt. I could tell just by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to just let me get out. "I heard that you had sex with that Axel guy. The one you were with when you broke up with me," he said rather calmly, though I could tell by the glare he was giving me that this just wasn't the case. "Is that true, Roxas?"

My stomach twisted when I heard the way that he had said my name. It almost sounded like he was spitting out a fowl word… I definitely didn't like the sound of this… "I-" I began, but was instantly cut off when I felt a fist slam into my gut, causing all the air to be pushed out of me and made me even cough a bit.

"Is that true or not?! Answer me, damnit!"

I let out a shout as I was thrown to the side, my sides aching from where I hit the desks as I hit the ground. Without hesitating another moment, I scrambled to my feet and darted tot eh other door, pushing it open and sprinting out. I ran through the hallways as fast as I could, hearing Hayner call for me to come back. I knew that he wouldn't target me if I was in a large group – and that's exactly what I did. I darted down the stairs, slowing when I was in the middle of the large mass of people that gathered underneath the stairs. I looked around as I heard my name being repeated over and over again only to realize that I wasn't being talked to; I was being talked about. I felt tears in my eyes as I heard exactly what they were talking about; what had happened only a few weeks ago.

I didn't know if the tears were from anger or from betrayal, but damn did it hurt. I ran for the courtyard, where I knew everyone would be waiting for me. I pushed open the door, but instantly ran into something when I stepped out into the blinding light of the day. I felt strong arms around me and I instantly began to struggle, trying to get away from whoever it was. I let out frustrated growls as I tried, ignoring the voice speaking to me. Only when I had recognized the tone had I finally stopped struggling and clung to the thin figure. I buried my head into his chest and shook. "Z-Zexion. He told them. H-he told them, Axel," I stuttered.

I felt myself being lifted as he carried me down the steps and to the ground next to the steps, sitting down and setting me in his lap as he held me close. "No, he didn't. He already talked to me about this. He's not one to lie," he said softly as he stroked my hair. "It's alright. Calm down. As far as anyone knows, it's just rumor."

I shook my head. "N-no. It's not a-alright. I-i-it's not… He's after me. He wants me dead. I-I saw it in his eyes," I got out as my tears calmed down a bit. I still knew that I was shaking, but I knew now it was because of fear; fear that Hayner would kill me. I didn't even know if he truly wanted me dead, but I sure as hell feared it. "I-I want to go. I want to get out of here…" I said softly as I buried my head into Axel's chest.

I felt my hair move as he stroked the back of my head, a small kiss planted on the top of my head soon after. "Shh. It's alright. I'll take you home," he said.

I nodded. "Please…" I whispered. Next thing I knew, I was being carried towards the truck I had grown rather accustomed to. He set me carefully into the passenger seat and made sure that nobody was around before he went off to go tell the teachers that I would be going home to rest. I made sure to lie down in the seats, though I found it hard and uncomfortable because of the armrest in the middle. Still, I felt like I needed to do this in order to hide. I closed my eyes when I finally felt too weak from crying, unknowingly falling quickly asleep.

~*Axel's POV*~

I quickly raced down the halls, going to every teacher I knew that the blonde I loved so much had. I knew that he needed to get away from anything. The stress on his body would be too much to bear at this point. I told all of the teachers Roxas had that he would be going home before I made my way towards the car. I paused, however, when I noticed Hayner standing near the door to one of Roxas' classes. Wasn't that the one he was supposed to go to when he got back from lunch? I let out a deep sigh before I walked towards the blonde and tugged him away from the door. "Tell me what the fuck you're trying to do to Roxas," I said though gritted teeth, glaring harshly at the smaller boy I was holding. I knew by the look on his face just how tightly I was holding his arm, but I didn't care. At least I knew that he wouldn't try to get away; he couldn't, anyway.

I frowned even more when he didn't answer. I tugged on his arm a bit, causing the boy to wince. "Tell me what the fuck you're trying to do, Hayner!" I shouted. "His body is weak enough as it is! More stress of any kind on him would mean death for him! Is that what you really want? For Roxas to just die?"

Hayner looked up at my with a small smirk. "Maybe that's just what he needs. The spoiled little brat… He doesn't deserve anything," he spat out. I felt my blood boil and I knew my short temper wasn't exactly in check. Still, I had enough self control to stop myself when I wanted to speak, seeing as how he had more to say. "The only thing he deserves for what he's done is death. Or at least people looking down upon him."

That made me snap completely. I pushed him against the lockers of the school hallway, keeping him there by grabbing the front of his shirt. "You're a filthy, selfish bastard. So what if you can't have what you want? Roxas may not deserve his sickness, but he definitely deserves those who could support him. You're the one who lost Roxas. He did nothing to you. Don't ever expect to see Roxas again," I said in a menacing tone. I let go of his shirt and quickly pushed through the crowd that had gathered around Hayner and I, ignoring all of the comments and questions. Thankfully, I was left alone.

I stormed all the way out to the parking lot, though I forced myself to calm down. I didn't want to scare Roxas to make him think that I had done something. I paused when I found that there was nobody in the window. My stomach twisted and I ran towards the truck, my eyes widening when I found Roxas laid across the two seats. I opened the door and quickly pulled the blonde into an upright position, but let out a soft sigh when I noticed that he was just sleeping. I pressed a small kiss to the other's forehead before I buckled him up. "Don't ever scare me like that again…" I whispered softly.

I closed the door carefully and walked to the driver's side, climbing inside. I gave Roxas a small glance to make sure he didn't wake up before I started up the car and headed towards Roxas' house. First thing to do was to convince his mother that it was best to take Roxas somewhere to protect him. I made sure to make the ride a smooth one to not wake the sleeping blonde and hadn't even noticed when I had parked outside of his house. It had taken a bit, but I had finally convinced his mother to let me take him to the ranch. Because she knew that he might not come back, she said her farewells to the other now rather than later, which I didn't mind too much. I wish that Roxas didn't have that little of a life left, but… it was unavoidable… I sighed lightly as I got back into the truck, knowing that both mine and the other's stuff were in the back.

~*Roxas' POV*~

Right when I stepped through the door, I was told that there was no internet service yet and the cell phones barely worked because there were no towers around. I didn't really mind it. At least now I knew that there was no way that Hayner would find me. The only thing I worried about was Sora and my mom. I had been told that I would be staying here for a while and Reno had even planned to get internet service soon so that I could try to complete schooling, though I knew that I wouldn't get through this year of schooling at all. It was only a lost cause.

I followed Axel up the room that was to be mine, sitting down on the bed as Axel set down the suitcases my mother had packed full of clothes and things I loved to do. She had even given Axel a full bag of artwork and sketchbooks along with all of my art supplies. I smiled lightly as I took in a deep breath. I loved the smell of this place… It had a nice, wooden smell to it. Not like the rotten wood type of thing, but a nice, soft smell that was very relaxing and something I could easily get used to. I could also smell clean cotton and with the breeze that rolled in, I could smell the green pastures that the horses had grazed in. I lay down on the bed and hugged the pillow, burying my head into it and taking a deep breath. Even the pillows had a nice, cotton-y smell to them… I opened my eyes and pulled my head away from the pillow when I heard the redhead speak.

"Like it?"

I smiled slightly as I sat up, looking at Axel as he sat in the wooden chair at the desk. "Yeah. It's all made of wood. It smells nice," I said as I looked around. No matter how hard I looked, I could only see everything made out of wood and metal screws. There weren't even any tiles in the bottom area of the house, which surprised me. The only places with anything different were the bathrooms and the kitchen. Even then, it still fit the whole style of the house. I absolutely loved it. I stood up and followed Axel out of the bedroom when he motioned for me to follow, curiously following him out of the house completely and towards a barn. My eyes widened as I heard the sounds of snorts and hooves against rock. I could instantly tell by sights, smells, and sounds around me exactly what this was.

I looked towards Axel when I noticed that he was looking at me and knew instantly that I had a large grin on my face. Sure, Axel had told me that his brother had a ranch, but I didn't think that I'd be seeing all of the horses so soon. Truth be told, I had a weak spot for horses. I found them very powerful and beautiful creatures; something I could easily envy and wish I could be. "Well? Go ahead and choose one to ride. All of them are trained and are friendly," the redhead said as he motioned towards the stalls.

I nodded and walked between the stalls slowly, looking inside each and every stall at the horses inside. I paused when I noticed one had stuck its head outside of the stall and began to bob its head up and down, as if trying to tell me to come closer. I walked up to the horse carefully and examined it, reaching forward to stroke the brown hair and then stroke the black mane. It seemed smaller than the other horses, but it seemed lively and powerful. I could tell that it was an Arabian horse, judging by its broad forehead and how high the tail was held. "What about this one?" I asked. "He seems to like me." Just at that moment, the young stallion nudged my shoulder as if confirming my beliefs.

Axel laughed lightly as he walked over to the young stallion. "Sure, he's a friendly one. He was just broke recently, actually. Reno named him Amjad, which means 'more glorious' in Arabic," he said as he motioned for me to get out of the way. I stepped back and let him lead the stallion out of the stall. Next thing I knew, I was sitting upon the horse with the reigns in my hands and I was following Axel out into the pasture. He had given me a quick lesson about how to ride a horse, though I had learned a lot on my own within a short amount of time. I glanced at the black Friesian that Axel had ridden ever since he himself had broke it, awed by how beautiful the coat looked. Reno sure did take great care of these horses…

"We're gonna go a bit faster. It's really fun when you're actually galloping," I heard the other say. I hesitated only for a moment before I nodded and let out a small 'okay'. When the Friesian picked up speed, I gently kicked Amjad's sides to tell him to go into a trot, though I made sure not to hurt the stallion's back and still stay on at the same time. I continued to command Amjad to pick up speed until we were at a gallop, a large grin forming on my face as I relaxed into it. I couldn't believe the feeling. It was almost like flying.

I laughed lightly, but let out a shout when Axel led both of the horses over a fallen log near the forest. I sighed when I managed to stay on, though I didn't let the experience get to me too much. My smile grew even more as I looked down at the grass momentarily, watching as it quickly flew past us as the horses' hooves pounded against the earth. I looked ahead of us again, but my smile instantly faded when I noticed that Axel was looking back at me and not even looking where he was leading the Friesian. Without thinking about it, I shouted, "Axel, watch out!"

Axel quickly realized where he was headed and grabbed the reigns, pulling on them. I knew that the horse wouldn't be able to stop in time and urged Amjad to go faster. I grabbed the reigns from Axel and tugged the Friesian lightly in one direction to make it turn, careful to turn Amjad at the same time. I soon pulled on Amjad's reigns to get him to slow down, though I was careful not to pull on them too much as well. I sighed as I looked over at Axel, shaking lightly. "D-Don't do that. Watch where you're going," I said softly, a small smile coming to my face when I realized that he was at least okay.

My smile instantly faded when part of the ground near the cliff I had stopped Axel and the Friesian from falling off of had given way, causing both horse and rider to panic. I quickly steered Amjad away, but realized that it was too quickly. While it may have been only a foot that had slipped that the Friesian had quickly righted, Amjad was definitely spooked. I held on as tight as I could when the horse reared up onto its back legs and kicked wildly in the air, though I hadn't realized my mistake.

Amjad began to buck, clearly not liking the feeling of me so panicked. All I knew was that my hearing had failed out on me, though I was trying hard to fall off. I couldn't even hear Axel trying to calm Amjad down. When the horse had finally calmed down, I lost control of my body and went completely limp, falling out of the saddle. I could dully feel my side hit the ground, but I felt way too numb to know whether or not I was injured. I could hear my slowed breathing and heart rate along with far-away shouts. My vision faded in and out, first focused on the grass and then on Axel's worried green eyes.

"Roxas, answer me!" was the first thing I heard when I could finally make out what was being said.

Slowly, my senses came back to me, though I felt weaker than ever and I knew I wouldn't be able to get my heart rate back up. After a few more shouts from Axel, I was finally able to reply, though I could only murmur his name at first. Everything went quiet as my hearing came back completely, though I could hear both of the horses breathing. "I… I can't move…" I said softly, noticing that my eyes were half-lidded already. I knew that wasn't a good sign and it was only a sign of my body shutting down from all the stress from everything recently, but I couldn't do anything to reverse it. I closed my eyes when I felt a kiss on my forehead and a few teardrops on my cheeks, though they weren't my own.

I could feel Axel slowly rock back and forth as I tried to regain my strength, noticing that I was cradled in his arms like I was a lot when he held me in the courtyard. I moved my head so that it rested against Axel's chest. I reached up and grabbed hand that rested on my chest, though I could tell that it wasn't a strong grip. "I love you, Axel…" I whispered softly. I knew that it was true. I also knew that I most likely wouldn't make it this time. I let a few tears of my own fall as I heard the redhead sob loudly, tightening my grip as best as I could on his hand. I could feel my senses fading again only to return and slowly fade. "Don't cry… Please," I said as I closed my eyes. "I'll see you again. Someday. I promise."

I dully felt a pair of warm lips pressed against mine and I did my best to return the kiss, though it was gone soon after. I opened my eyes to look at the redhead, though I could hardly do that. I felt my body go limp as my senses faded away completely.

~*Axel's POV*~

My eyes widened as I noticed that the blue eyes were now dulled, feeling the tears come even more. I lifted a shaky a hand to close the other's eyes carefully before I pressed a kiss against Roxas' forehead. "I'm sorry…" I whispered. I had brought him here to protect him. I had brought him here to make him happy. I had brought him here so this exact thing wouldn't happen so soon. But I had only ended up killing him… I felt the tears flow even more freely as I held the blonde closer to me, burying my head into his shoulder. I knew he would never come back.

---

Three months had passed since the death of the one I cherished the most. Many people blamed me, but I truthfully didn't care. Even I thought it was true. I was the one who had brought him there. I was the one driving the same truck I sat in now, staring blankly at the stoplight. I sighed lightly as I closed my eyes. But of course, that same face just came to my sight; the one with sun-kissed skin, bright blue eyes, a round face framed by blonde hair, a soft smile, and even softer lips. I jumped as I heard a honk behind me and noticed that the light had turned green. I quickly moved my foot to the gas pedal, though I made sure not to start off too fast.

It had been this long and I still couldn't get him off of my mind. No one before had ever gotten that close to me. I had never allowed it. Nor did I allow myself to get so close to someone else. But Roxas… Roxas was special. He was someone I wanted to protect forever. He was someone I felt especially attached to, like I had known him even before I had met him a few years back. These feelings weren't new, even if I had realized them suddenly one day.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt arms around me, my eyes widening at the sight of a large brick building coming towards me at a fast rate. I slammed as hard as I could on the brakes, but couldn't slow down. I closed my eyes tightly as the truck slammed right into the strong structure, knowing instantly that my life would be over. But when I opened my eyes, that seemed not to be the case. The airbag was deployed and the car was pretty damn totaled now, but I didn't seem to have any injuries. Nothing hurt. I hesitated as I looked at my arms. Nothing. I carefully pulled myself out of the car when I noticed that it had flown off after the impact, climbing out and looking myself over. Nothing. I then looked at the driver's seat and froze as I noticed the body there. I could instantly tell by the red hair that it was my own. I fell to my knees and trembled as I looked at the body in the car, jumping as I felt arms wrap around me from behind. I looked over my shoulder to see the face that had been haunting me for the past three months. "R-Roxas…" I stuttered, not believing my eyes. My breath hitched in my throat when I saw bright blue orbs look at me through the corner of his eyes to acknowledge that he was actually there.

I felt the tears coming again and instantly turned around, wrapping my arms around his waist as he sat back, burying my head into his chest as I cried. "I-I thought I'd never see you again!" I shouted when I was able to speak again, feeling a hand stroke my hair lightly. This was real… This wasn't fake. This wasn't just another dream of him. He was actually here. While his body may have not been, he was definitely here.

~*Roxas' POV*~

I kissed the top of the redhead's head lightly as I stroked his hair to help calm him down, letting him cry into my chest. I didn't particularly like seeing him crying like this, but I had to deal with it for now and just help him. "I'm sorry. I tried to protect you. I guess I failed," I said softly as I gently rested one of my hands on his upper back. I looked up when I heard an ambulance coming towards us, but looked back at Axel when I felt him move, finding that I was soon looking into emerald eyes. I smiled against the kiss he soon gave, returning it happily and willingly. I let him deepen the kiss when I felt his lips part, returning it with as much emotion as he put into it. I opened my eyes when I felt him pull away, looking at him with a small smile.

"I would rather die than to not see you again, Roxas," he replied at last, delivering another kiss to my lips.

I chuckled lightly and broke the kiss before he could deepen it. "You sound so cheesy. Though I am glad you feel that way," I said before I pulled away from him and stood up, pulling him to his feet as well. I paused when I noticed that his eyes widened, but then realized that I was higher than he was. I glanced over at my shoulder at the pair of white wings coming from my back. "I failed at protecting you. But I gave you what you wanted. So I didn't fail completely," I said as I looked back at him.

I focused my gaze on the ambulance coming towards the truck, lowering myself to the ground again. I looked up at Axel when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. "It's too late," he said. "I'm with him now. There's no way I'm going back." I smiled lightly at Axel's words and wrapped my arm around his waist, closing my eyes as I rested my head against the other's side.

If this was how it was going to be after I had died, then I'm perfectly fine with it. As cheesy as it sounds, as long as Axel's here with me, I'll even defy Heaven to protect him; to protect us. I am, after all, his guardian angel. I exist to make him happy. I won't fail. I'll never fail. It may be the end of our human lives, but for every ending, there's a new beginning. And this is just the beginning of our new lives; our new story.

~*I will never let you fall. I'll stand up with forever. I'll be there for through it all. Even if saving you sends me to heaven.*~

AC: O-kay, so that's the end of this story! XD Or is it? O.o I think I'll leave that up for you to decide~. If I do end up making more to this, it'll probably be another story. Unless you guys want it in the same story. Then the guys who don't want to read more about Axel's and Roxas' new lives (if I end up doing that) can just stop here! XD *ahem* I am happy with his story. I know that my writing style has changed for this chapter; I'm sorry. I got some tips from another author and decided to go with them for the rest of my stories.

Oh. If I do more of this story, the beliefs won't be like Christianity. I have my own views on the whole guardian angel thing that I would like to do someday. Whether or not it's this story, I don't know yet. So if you think 'oh, a Christian' when you look at the word 'angel' here, it's not gonna be that way. I already have a plan for the 'angels'. I just use the term cause it's a common name for 'winged beings who are dead and have feathered wings'. Besides, it's a pretty name. ^^

Also! Thank you guys so much for the awesome comments! 8D You guys have certainly made me smile, although I had went with my original plan and killed Roxas. XD But at least Axel died too, right?