Axel's Fables

by FreeKiwi

"You know what, Axel? If you can write a book and get it published, I'll marry you." It's too bad he didn't think the deal through. It's too bad he never thought Axel would rework Aesop's fables. It's too bad Axel is a fable-writing god. -AxelxRoxas-

10. He Grows a Bit of Stubble

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. At all.

Warning: Shounen-ai, homosexual relationships, etc, etc.

Author's Note: Balls. This took me so long to write and I'm still not totally happy with it. On the upside, it's an update so hooray! I'm going to blame this chapter's semi-lateness on my inability to keep my hands off the boy in my Linguistics class.

Summary: Axel thinks Aesop taught decent lessons in his fables, but the redhead is willing to bet he could do better. What good are fables that teach things like "attempt not impossibilities" or "little friends may prove great friends" anyway? Times are different from when Aesop lived and Axel thinks it's time for a new set of fables. All of which will be authored by himself, of course, because he's an expert on love, life, and what truly matters.
That, and Roxas Badcock promised to marry him if he gets his book published.

---

Axel's Fables
•••

•••

By: Freekiwi

X – He Grows a Bit of Stubble

"How's your nose?" Leon asked from his position at his desk. Axel stood in the nearby holding cell, his fingers gripping the bars and his head hanging low. Upon arrival at the station, Leon had been courteous enough to help Axel clean all the blood off his face. The redhead's nose didn't look broken, but it was bruised lightly along the bridge.

"Fantastic," Axel replied. "Aren't I entitled to a phone call?"

"Yea." Leon shrugged. "But I'm revoking your phone call privilege for assaulting me." He picked up a nearby magazine (Biker's Monthly) and began to flip through it. He didn't much care for motorcycles, but Cloud had been making it pretty obvious he was interested in buying one. Though Leon had been less than impressed to be told he could "ride bitch," he still felt it necessary to feign interest for things his boyfriend liked.

"Can't we just call it even?" Axel sighed and lifted his head up. "You had it coming."

Leon merely responded with an eye roll. He flipped a page in the magazine and began to ignore Axel.

"Oh come on! You've been harassing me for months! The number of tickets you've given me is greater than the number of times I've been laid! That's injustice! That deserves punishment! And what about Riku? He just beats me up and gets off free?"

"He didn't assault an officer," Leon responded simply.

"Ugh!" Axel groaned and began to pace the length of the holding cell. He would have been much more forceful with Officer Leonhart if he hadn't just spent the last of his aggression on Riku and if he actually had someone to call. Even if Leon did give him his phone call, who was he supposed to ask to come down and bail him out? Surely not Riku. Roxas was out. Maybe Sora or even Kairi or Naminé, but… He supposed Demyx was still an option and, if worse came to worse, Zexion…

"So did they teach you how to be a dick in cop school or is that just your specialty?"

"Specialty. Thanks for asking."

Axel felt his cheeks heat with annoyance and he walked over to the small, uncomfortable bed that jutted out from the wall. He took a seat on it stiffly (he was kind of afraid of the possible germs the bed could be harboring) and then sighed loudly. He could always call Cloud, his cousin, but they didn't really keep up with each other. The occasional text message would be exchanged here or there, but they had never been close.

"Can't you just respect that I'm having a bad day?" Axel put his head in his hands. "Seriously, man. Gimme a break. I just found out the love of my life was diddled by my best friend while my best friend was dating the love of my life's brother."

Leon looked up from his magazine and toward the ceiling. His eyebrows came together and then he frowned slightly, "Wait, what? That silver haired guy had sex with Demyx? Demyx has a brother?"

The mention of the blond caused the redhead to stiffen. "Wait… How do you know Demyx?"

They stared at each other for a long time. The silence in the small police station was deafening. Leon gripped the motorcycle magazine, his face expressionless, and Axel stared back at him, a look of confusion and slight accusation on his features. How did Leon know Demyx?

"Squall, I brought coffee."

The door to the police station shut with a bang and Leon dropped the motorcycle magazine. His usually expressionless eyes went slightly wide and he scrambled to get out of his chair and out from behind his desk.

Axel knew that voice before he even saw his face. "Cloud?" he screeched as he jumped up from the bed and ran over to the door of the holding cell. "Oh my God, Cloud! CLOUD! Officer Dillhole arrested me!"

"He was breaking the law!" Leon yelled. Annoyance crossed his features and he blushed lightly when he saw Cloud giving him a slight look. "He was," the brunet grunted. "He… he assaulted me when I ticketed him for disturbing the peace."

Cloud set the coffee on Leon's desk. He made his way over to the holding cell and sighed softly when he saw Axel pressed against the bars in what looked like some sort of odd attempt to escape. He shook his head, reached up to rub at his eyes and he smiled just the tiniest bit when Leon slunk behind his desk and picked up the motorcycle magazine from the ground.

"So, um…" Axel glanced over at Cloud. "What… what are you doing here exactly?"

He ignored Axel's question and instead said, "You know, I know your snowball throwing skills suck, but not enough to get you arrested."

Silence followed this statement.

"Wait, what?" the redhead asked. "That was you? You threw the snowballs?"

Cloud nodded. "Yea. Squall and I –"

Axel shot Leon a dirty look. "You watched Riku and I fight like that and you didn't do anything?"

The brunet crossed his arms over his chest. "I stopped you. I just took my time doing it."

His jade eyes narrowed and he gripped the bars of the holding cell tightly. "You asshole! You watched him assault me and then you come down to give me a ticket?"

Leon shrugged his shoulders and the jailhouse fell silent. Cloud's blue eyes darted between the two and when Axel's seething look didn't cease, he sighed softly. "So… Either of you want to start explaining what happened?"

Instantly, both of them began screaming their side of the story at Cloud.

"Officer Dickweed came up -"

"—writing a ticket for disturbing the –"

"—more bullshit! Just so much bullshit from this guy –"

"—and then he littered! The nerve of this kid –"

"—and after Riku had just assaulted me, he just –"

"—ignores authority, Cloud! Completely disregards –"

"—his balls! I just want to chop them off and –"

"—then he struck me! Right in the face –"

"—with his dick! That sick asshole–"

"—tackled him to the ground –"

"— and fucks whoever he feels like –"

"—put him in the police car –"

"—even if it's with someone I care about!"

Cloud was silent for quite a few moments before giving Axel a quizzical look. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

The redhead blushed and looked away. "Nothing. Look Cloud, the point is that –"

"He belongs in that cell," Leon stated firmly.

The blond sighed and shook his head. "Squall, tell me… When you said you were harassing an obnoxious redhead, were you, by chance, talking about Axel?"

"AHAH!" Axel screamed from the holding cell. "So you ADMIT to harassing me!"

Both men ignored the jailbird.

Leon didn't confirm or deny his boyfriend's question and simply stated, "I didn't know he was your cousin until today."

Cloud arched a brow. "Right, so… Now that you know he's my cousin, you're going to let him go." It was a statement, not a question and Squall hesitated to defy Cloud's authority.

"No. I'm upholding the law. When I was sworn in as an officer I took an oath to protect people, to provide the world with justice, to keep –"

"Oh, shut it." The blond waved his hand dismissively at Leon. "You can't just whip your oath out when it's convenient. You had no qualms when we ah…." He passed a sideways glance to Axel. "Played the adult version of cops and robbers in your office."

Leon's face heated considerably and he hung his head in hopes of hiding it. "That… That was different."

"Mm, how?" Cloud teased. "Sounds like two cases of abusing your power to me."

Axel fist-pumped. "Yea! Take it, Copper! How do you like them apples?""

Both men ignored the jailbird for the second time.

"Look," the blond said as he made his way over to Leon. He grasped his boyfriend's chin and lifted his head. "I know Axel is the most insufferable, self-absorbed human being on the planet, but he's family and because he's family, I can't be okay with you harassing him."

"Maybe you've forgotten, but…" Leon reached up and grasped Cloud's wrist, pulling it away from his face. "I'm harassing him for my family."

"What? Your family?" Axel asked.

"You can't fight his battles for him, Squall. Do you honestly think –"

"OH MY GOD!" the redhead suddenly shouted from the holding cell. Both men looked towards Axel (Leon looking extremely hassled and Cloud looking just plain annoyed). "IT'S ZEXION, ISN'T IT?"

Squall and Cloud exchanged a look.

"Oh man!" he growled. "That little shit is dead! D-E-A-D, dead! I'm going to wrap my hands around his tiny throat and –"

Cloud loudly cleared his throat and gave his cousin a look that said something like, "Shut the fuck up. I'm trying to negotiate your freedom, dumb shit."

Axel fell silent and passed a variety of hateful looks at Squall. That was how the brunet knew Demyx. That was why Leon suddenly began harassing him not long after he went out with Demyx. This whole time he thought Zexion was just filled with hateful looks and witty retorts.

He never thought the bookworm to be some kind of schemer.

"What am I supposed to tell Zexion?" Leon asked.

Cloud thought about this for a moment. "Mm… Tell him if he has a problem with you choosing not to bother Axel, he can take it up with me. I think I can handle him."

Squall hesitated, but then he slipped a key from his pocket and unlocked the door of the holding cell. He swung it open and sighed very, very deeply when Axel made it a point to strut from the cell with the most triumphant look on his face.

"Yea, that's right…" The redhead slung an arm around Cloud's shoulders. "Listen to your man."

Fire ignited behind Leon's eyes and his gaze followed Axel as he half-walked, half-danced behind the desk and grabbed his wallet, keys, and cell phone. He stuffed the items in the pockets of his pants and then breathed a content sigh through his mouth.

"Well, guys… It's been fun."

"Yea." Squall replied thickly. "Hey, Axel, before you go…"

The redhead raised his brows and felt tears immediately spring to his eyes when Leon reeled back and punched him, hard, in the nose. It was surely broken now. Blood immediately gushed from his nostrils and Axel reached up to place his hands over his face.

"Ah! You dick! You… ah, fuck! My nose!" he yelled into his hands.

Squall gave his hand a shake. "I didn't let you go because my "man" told me to. I let you go because I might kill you if you're here any longer."

Axel passed Officer Leonhart the most hateful look he could possibly muster. Cloud walked over to Leon's desk and grabbed a box of tissue. He shoved it at his cousin (who took fifty or sixty tissues) and watched as the redhead shoved them under his nose.

"You shouldn't have antagonized him." Cloud shrugged and Axel let a grumble pass his mouth before he walked out of the police station, slamming the door roughly behind him. He'd eventually get Leon back through Zexion. This whole entire ordeal would not go unpunished.

As soon as Axel was gone, Squall pressed a kiss to Cloud's mouth. "I only let him go because you told me to," he admitted softly.

The blond smiled mischievously. "Mm, are you going to start referring to me as "your man" now?" He wrapped his arms around Leon's waist and yanked the brunet close.

"No, but I'll refer to you as "my bitch" if you want."

"I just watched you break Axel's nose. I don't think I really have a say in what you call me," Cloud teased.

Squall buried his face against the blonde's neck and mumbled something like, "I hope that son of a bitch makes it home all right because this isn't over yet."

"Just a big softie at heart, aren't you?" the blond teased. He squeezed Leon tightly against him. Just in case his pill of a boyfriend decided he wanted to break Cloud's nose too.

••••••••••••••

"Ow."

"Sorry," Sora breathed. "I'm trying to be gentle. I've never done this before…"

The snippet of conversation he heard between his brother and his ex made him stop short before entering the kitchen. It had occurred to Roxas that Riku and Sora probably had consummated their relationship all around the duplex, but he always figured that they would save it for when nobody was home. Granted, he had been rather quiet all day and he supposed they could think they were alone…

"Are you guys fucking?" Roxas yelled unceremoniously. "I want a snack, but not if you're fucking."

There was a scrambling and the blonde's cheeks flushed.

"Just a second!" Sora yelled. He quickly began to wipe all the blood off Riku's face and a string of obscenities left the older boy's mouth. "Quit being a baby," the brunet said. "Just shut up and take it like a man."

Roxas' blue eyes went wide when he heard Sora's command. His face erupted in two hundred varying degrees of red because he was suddenly left with the mental image of Sora dominating Riku. A shiver shot down his spine and the hair on the back of his neck rose. He instantly began to check his pockets for a matchbook and when he found it, he cracked open the kitchen door and blindly tossed the matchbook at Sora and Riku.

"Just burn the kitchen down when you're done," the blond called from behind the door. "And please don't cum in the milk or juice," he added as an afterthought.

The front door of the duplex banged open and Roxas stalked away from the kitchen door and into the foyer. Axel hadn't been around all day and his elation at seeing the redhead quickly turned to worry when he saw the bloodied tissue Axel had stuffed firmly inside his nostrils. He kicked his boots off, removed his coat, mittens, and scarf, and his jade eyes narrowed when he saw Roxas walking toward him tentatively.

"What happened?" the blond asked. "Axel, what happened?" His blue eyes roved over the redhead's nose and he couldn't help but make the slightest face. There was a dark, purple colored bruise all around the bridge of his nose.

"Is Riku here?" the redhead asked stiffly.

"Uh…" Roxas' cheeks erupted in color and he decided not to tell Axel that Riku was preoccupied in the kitchen with Sora. "Yea, but he's… mm… incapacitated at the moment. Look, Ax, your fa –"

He ignored Roxas and made his way up the steps. Concerned and somewhat miffed by the other's sudden reclusive behavior, the blond followed him up the stairs and into the upper portion of the duplex. Axel either didn't notice or didn't care and Roxas frowned deeply when Axel stormed into his bedroom and began yanking some clothes out from his dresser.

"What the hell is going on?" the blond asked. He stood at the doorway because he had never seen the redhead act like this before.

"Please just go away, Roxas." He stood and walked over to his desk, grabbing his back pack and dumping his school contents onto the floor. He began shoving his clothes into it and he only looked up from his packing when he suddenly heard the door to his bedroom close.

Roxas stood against the door, his back flush with the wood. "You're not leaving," he stated firmly.

Axel rolled his eyes and shook his head. He grabbed his tattered notebook off his desk and shoved it none too kindly into his bag. He didn't worry about his toiletries. Eventually he'd be back (he only packed a few pairs of pants). He just needed some time to think. He just needed some time to be away from everyone.

He knew if he saw Riku, his head might explode. He knew there would be another fist fight.

And as of now, he couldn't even look at Roxas without feeling sick. How could Riku do that to him? How could… How could Roxas do that to Sora?

Axel zipped his bag and he saw Roxas tense considerably when he made his way over to the door. "Move."

"No."

Their eyes met and Axel felt his heart give a very painful throb. He was so angry and he felt so incredibly betrayed, but looking into Roxas' eyes made him feel bad for leaving. Seeing that small, frail frame pushed against his door and refusing to let him leave made Axel want to stay. It also made him want to vomit and he knew this was love.

Because only love could make him want to projectile vomit while simultaneously holding Roxas in his arms.

"What's wrong? What happened to you?" the blond asked softly. "Your nose… Is it broken?"

"I don't know," Axel replied harshly. "I really need to leave."

His blue eyes were wide and bright with an emotion the redhead couldn't quite place. "Why?"

"Just move, Roxas. Seriously," he growled. He was really starting to become annoyed. "I said I really need to leave. Just take my word for it, okay?" He hated how pathetic he sounded.

"Just tell me what's going on!" Roxas demanded.

Axe's eyes narrowed. "If you don't move, I'll move you."

"Then I guess you'll have to move me."

He really didn't want to do this right now. He didn't have it in him to fight right now. He was afraid of touching Roxas anyway because he was scared of what touching him might do. Would he be flooded with fury and proceed to beat the hell out of Roxas or would love take over and make him crush the blond against his chest and whisper gentle proclamations of love?

Roxas curled his fingers against the wood of the door when Axel reached out to touch him. Because he had never seen Axel act in this manner before, he was scared of what the redhead would do next. His breath caught in his chest when Axel gripped his shoulder and yanked him into the tightest, strangest embrace he had ever been involved in.

And then Axel threw him to the floor and left the room.

Roxas scrambled to his feet quickly and ran after the redhead.

"Wait!" the blond yelled as he raced down the steps. Axel was already at the front door and he let his shoulders sag slightly and his head drop. "Wait a second!"

"What?" he growled.

"Where are you going? Why are you leaving?" Roxas knew he sounded incredibly weak and he made a mental note to, at some point, man up. "How long will you be gone? Are you even coming back at all?"

Axel felt his heart give a nasty tug in his chest. "Roxas…" He sighed.

"I just don't understand!" he suddenly yelled. "You're leaving, Axel! Why?"

The redhead passed the blond a rather disappointed look. "Because right now it's what I need to do."

"That's stupid!"

Axel shook his head. "Just please leave me alone. I –"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Roxas was extremely on edge. "Why are you leaving me?"

The redhead couldn't hide the shock that crossed his features. "I'm not leaving you. I'm leaving the duplex. I'm leaving everyone, not you specifically. Don't single yourself out. Don't make yourself special."

This hurt Roxas almost more than Axel's attempts to get away.

"Maybe in your mom's world you were always the favorite, but in my world you're not right now. To be honest, I'm pretty… I'm pretty fucking mad, but I think I'm doing a damn good job at controlling it. I don't want to talk to you or anyone else right now. I want to be alone," he explained calmly.

The blonde's cheeks flushed and he stood there feeling stupid and incredibly inferior to Axel. He swallowed thickly and stared down at his feet. He was embarrassed because Axel was way too damn honest.

"Why can't you just stay here? I'll make everyone leave you alone…" he mumbled. His voice was very little. He felt so incredibly weak and feminine.

"Oh my God…" Axel sighed deeply. "You are making this sofucking hard, Roxas. I can't even make a warranted dramatic exit without you making me feel like the biggest piece of shit on the planet."

"I'm sorry?" the blond offered. A frown crossed his features and he stared up at Axel with wide, deep blue eyes.

"Ugh, come on … Don't look at me like that…" Axel whined. "You're killing me, Roxy."

There was a momentary shuffling in the kitchen and then footsteps could be heard as Riku and Sora made their way into the foyer. They had heard Axel and Roxas running up and down the steps and both knew that Axel was liable to crush Roxas' face in.

"Axel!"

The redhead tensed when Riku said his name.

"Roxas." Sora walked over to his brother and grabbed his wrist. He yanked the blond away from Axel and ignored the quizzical look his twin was giving him. "Are you hurt?"

"Am I what?" he asked. "What's…" He looked at Riku's face, saw the bruises, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. "You broke Axel's nose?"

"No," the redhead said. "No, Officer Leonhart did. After he arrested me. After I punched him in the face. After Riku and I got into a fight. After Riku told me what happened." He didn't look at the trio as he spoke. He put his hand on the doorknob and pressed his forehead against the cool wood of the front door. "This is why I need to leave."

Roxas' breath hitched in his chest. "About… He told you about us?" His voice was small and he felt extremely uncomfortable. "Axel, it's not… It wasn't…"

Riku shook his head. "Don't, Rox."

His jade eyes narrowed and he glared at Riku from over his shoulder. "Shut the fuck up."

His own aqua eyes narrowed and he uttered the words, "Make me."

Axel slung his backpack off his shoulder and made his way over to Riku. Roxas and Sora instantly intervened, both of them holding their respective men back.

"What is this?" Roxas growled. "High school?" He had his hands pressed against Axel's chest, but it was obvious the redhead wasn't trying very hard to get to Riku. "If you and Ponyboy want to rumble, you guys need to take it outside."

Silence passed through the duplex and the tension of the moment died somewhat.

"Did… Was that an Outsiders reference?" Axel asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Well… Yea?" Roxas frowned. "Um… If you and Malfoy want to duel, take it to the … Whomping Willow? I don't know. Just don't fucking fight in the house, okay?" he grumbled.

Riku snorted and Sora let his line of vision drift toward the floor. He was fighting off his small smile by biting the inside of his cheek. Roxas' embarrassment had successfully killed the heated moment that could've proved rather disastrous. Now that the threat of a fight was gone, Roxas noticed how close he was to Axel and how nice it would be to be held by him.

"This is stupid." Axel turned away from Roxas and walked over to his backpack. He bent down, picked his bag up and slung it over his shoulder. Without another word (and ignoring Roxas' small cries of "wait, don't go"), he left the duplex with a nasty slam of the door.

Sora and Riku stood awkwardly in the foyer.

"I can't believe you told!" Roxas yelled as he rounded on Riku. "Why would you do that?"

Sora cringed. "Rox, come on. You knew it would come out eventually," he said gently.

"It should've come from me! Not from you!"

Riku raised his brows. "And why is that? It was just as much my business as it was yours!"

Roxas didn't want to fight right now. He couldn't fight right now. Axel had left and while he obviously hadn't left forever, the blond was still hurt by his actions. It brought up every old feeling of abandonment, of how badly it had hurt him to have his mom disappear and then Axel… He looked down at the floor and ignored the comforting hand Sora placed on his shoulder.

"Rox… He'll be back…" his twin reassured. "It'll be all right. He just needs time to cool off."

He didn't respond. His shoulders sagged. Riku left a soft sight part his lips before mumbling, "I'm sorry, Roxas."

Sora's grip slackened and the blond took this moment to leave the foyer. He was retreating to his bedroom (as usual) and Sora hung his head back briefly when he heard the familiar slam of another door. The familiar noise of someone showing just how pissed off and angry they were.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this?" Riku asked quietly.

Sora thought about this for a moment. "I don't know. What's a ten?"

"High school."

The brunet grimaced. "Like… a seven?"

Riku heaved a sigh and ran his hand nervously through his hair. A look crossed his features and he was briefly surprised when Sora wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and hugged him impossibly close. He hugged the small brunet back, a bit limply at first, but then his grip tightened and they were holding each other as if the world would stop turning if they didn't.

"You're a terrible decision maker," Sora mumbled against Riku's neck.

His silver brows came together and he felt the need to look somewhat indignant. "I am not." He paused. "Okay. Fine. I am. But… But haven't you ever made a decision that you regret? Haven't you ever wanted to try and fix something you've done?"

Sora pulled away from Riku and offered the older boy a somewhat saddened look. "Sometimes you can't fix things."

An uncomfortable lump made itself known in the pit of his stomach and he shifted his gaze away from the brunet. He supposed he always knew that, but it had never occurred to him before. Riku had always been content with the idea that putting a band aid over a wound and leaving it alone would make it better. He had never entertained the idea that underneath the band aid infection could grow. He had never thought that tearing off the band aid and poking around would only make the infection worse.

Because life just couldn't work like that. If life did work like that, it would be extremely unfair.

"Then what do you do?" Riku asked quietly. "What do you do if you can't fix it?" He stared at his feet, at Sora's feet, at the lines in the wood floor.

"You ask for forgiveness," Sora responded. "You ask for forgiveness and you pray to God that you're given a second chance."

Silence fell between them and Sora reached up to brush Riku's hair away from his face. The older boy looked at his boyfriend, their eyes meeting and causing Riku to only feel worse. The way Sora's eyes shone with love, the way that small, understanding smile pulled the corners of his lips upward, and the soft, gentle hand that brushed the locks of silver hair away from his face. He had always assumed Sora had forgiven him a long time ago, but had he? What was keeping them together? Love? Riku could safely say he was with Sora because he loved him, but…

What about Sora? Was he with Riku because he loved him or was he with Riku because he was afraid of leaving childhood behind for good? Was he afraid of being alone? Was he more like Roxas in personality than anyone had ever speculated – abandoned and rejected by both his boyfriend and his mother?

Riku felt his breath catch in his chest when Sora cupped his cheek and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. The way they kissed, the way they touched… It certainly felt like love.

"Cheer up." Sora briefly kissed him again. "Everything eventually comes to an end. This fight will end." He tangled his hands in Riku's hair and pressed their bodies close together. "Axel will be your friend again. Roxas will… still really need to get laid. We'll all still live together and people will continue slamming doors and screaming at each other. Because that's just how it is and I don't think I'd want it any other way."

Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and placed his hands on the brunet's lower back. He pressed his forehead to his boyfriend's own and took a breath. "Because harmony is overrated, huh?"

"Exactly. What's life without being struck by a metaphorical bus every three to five days?"

Riku figured it would be a life filled with mediocrity.

••••••••••••••

"Please tell me you're home." Axel had his phone pressed to his ear and he was sitting on Demyx and Zexion's front porch. It was snowing again and he was freezing. It didn't help that his nose, which was swollen, had a wonderful ache that caused him to cringe whenever the wind blew.

"What's it to you?" Demyx said on the other end.

"I've been knocking on your damn door for like… two hours. I'm cold and I'm tired." Axel sighed and watched his breath come out in a white puff. In reality, he had been knocking on their door for three or four minutes.

"Go home then."

"I can't go home, Dem."

The blond rolled his eyes. "You have other places, I'm sure."

Axel kept himself from yelling at the other. He took a very deep breath and then slowly released it through his nose. "Dem, listen to me. I'm really on edge. I just need somewhere to be for tonight. Please just let me in."

His curiosity got the better of him and before he could remind himself he was pissed at Axel, he blurted, "Why? What happened?" He hated how concerned he sounded. He hated how much he cared about the redhead.

"I got into a huge fight with Riku and then I got arrested and then Officer Douchebag broke my nos –"

"What?"

Axel nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Demyx standing next to him, in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, looking overly concerned. The redhead looked at the blond, at his phone, and decided it was better not to question how in the world Demyx appeared next to him without any sort of noise.

"Uh…" He closed his phone and stood. "Yea, it's not… it's not a big deal. I just –"

Demyx threw his arms around Axel's neck and pulled him very close. "I'm sorry! I didn't know! I thought you blew me off! I thought you just didn't meet me! I'm sorry, Ax, I –"

"Dem."

"—didn't know! I just figured you were being a dick because that's not so unlike you. I -"

"Okay, Dem –"

"But your nose! Does it hurt?" He grabbed the redhead's shoulders and pushed him back with some force. His pretty blue eyes followed the line of the bruise and then he reached out to touch the swollen bridge. Axel jerked back and the blond quickly mumbled, "Sorry! I'm sorry."

"Can… Can we go inside?" the redhead stated more than asked. Demyx nodded and Axel followed him through the front door. The house was warm and cozy and Axel heard soft music playing from somewhere on the second floor. Probably from Demyx's room. He doubted Zexion even listened to music and his knowledge of it probably stemmed from books and not experience (probably much like his knowledge of sex).

"So what happened?" Demyx asked again. He began to walk toward the kitchen and motioned for Axel to follow.

"I just… I was walking to meet you and Riku was with me," Axel began. He took a seat at the kitchen table and soaked up the warmth of the house. Demyx put a tea kettle on the stove and then grabbed two mugs from a nearby cabinet. "And we got into a fight. And then I got arrested because I hit Officer Dickweed because he was ticketing me for disturbing the peace. Then I was in jail. Then Cloud came. Then I was released from jail and then Officer Fuckface broke my nose."

Demyx retrieved two tea bags and placed one bag in each mug before walking over to Axel and taking a seat next to him. "Who's this cop?"

Axel waved his hand dismissively. "Don't play dumb. I already know Squall is Zexion's cousin. I already know Zexion told him to mess with me because you were interested in me."

Demyx looked genuinely surprised. "What? Zexion told him to mess with you?"

Axel raised a brow. "Yea. I figured you knew."

He shook his head. "I knew they were related, but not… I'm sorry, Ax."

Had he and Zexion been talking, the blond would've surely let his best friend know exactly how he felt about that. But considering Zexion had left after their argument, Demyx hadn't exactly had a chance to say much of anything to him except how sorry he was.

"It's not your fault, Dem. Look, I'm really sorry about all the shit we've been through. I'm sorry this relationship has been, ya know, sucky. I promise I'm not this bad of a boyfriend." He leaned back in his chair and reached up to carefully rub at his tired green eyes. "Well, no. I take that back. I am this bad of a boyfriend. I guess I've just never been in a relationship long enough to real –"

He was cut short by Demyx's lips on his own. The blond was kissing him eagerly and Axel was content to just let it happen. He needed a bit of a reprieve from fighting. He needed to be kissed and held by someone who wasn't Roxas. He needed to be with Demyx right now because Demyx had been the only person who hadn't hurt him.

"You're cute," the musician breathed when he broke their kiss. "Wanna just call it even and start over?"

Axel raised his brows. "Just like that, huh? It's that easy for you to just let it all go?"

Demyx shrugged. "I can be mad if you want. I just prefer making love, not war."

He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his features. While Demyx could be very annoying and occasionally dumb, he rather enjoyed the blonde's company. He was always very cuddly and though this usually got on Axel's nerves, he was finding it quite comforting. It was a welcome contrast from all the fighting he had done earlier in the day.

"No, no. We're on the same page. I prefer making love too." Axel slipped an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Or, you know, fucking. Whichever term is more applicable to the moment."

He needed this time with Demyx. He needed to forget about Roxas, about Riku, for the moment. He needed a distraction and while, on some level, he knew he was using Demyx until he sorted out how he felt, he had a suspicion his blond companion was doing the same. He wasn't stupid. Usually inattentive and a terrible boyfriend, but not stupid. He saw the way Demyx looked at Zexion. It was the same way Axel looked at Roxas.

Was it really so bad to use each other for a little while? Was it really so bad to stuff their feelings for other people away and just bask in the sensual goodness of their relationship? Axel didn't think so. Eventually both of them would sort their feelings out. Eventually Demyx would realize he was head over heels for Zexion and dump him. Eventually everything would work out.

Getting laid in the meantime was just a bonus.

••••••••••••••

His phone was ringing again. Though he mostly kept it on 'silent' mode, it still bothered him when it would suddenly vibrate violently in his pocket. He had disabled his voicemail in hopes that maybe his dad would take the hint and leave him alone, but this only caused him to call twice as much. To make matters worse, Sora was blatantly annoyed with Riku's sudden refusal to carry his phone.

"What if I fall down an eighteenth century well? How will you know to come and rescue me if you don't have your phone on you?" he had asked.

"They're called firemen and you can reach them at 911," Riku had grumbled, clearly annoyed. "Can you please just drop it while we're trying to do this?"

Sora had rolled his eyes, but went back to kissing along his boyfriend's neck anyway.

It was true, though. Riku didn't much like being without his phone solely because he was afraid Sora would fall down some steps or somehow manage to break a needed limb. It wasn't like he was the only person who Sora could call, but it unnerved him nonetheless. Granted, Sora could take care of himself (and he had without Riku's help for nearly four years), but he just felt better knowing he would be the first to know if Sora did manage to fall down an eighteenth century well.

"Two muffins." A pause. "No, no. Wait, how about… a muffin and a cupcake?" Another pause. "Actually… Rox, what do you want?"

The blond stood a few paces behind his brother, sulking and looking bad-tempered. "I don't want anything."

Sora ignored him. "Okay. He'll have a big slice of your Man Up cake."

Riku chuckled. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"Well, if you carried your phone on you…" the brunet stated, "you'd know I texted you and told you I was taking Roxas out to get some fresh air before he wastes away in the duplex." He leaned across the bake shop counter and mumbled to Riku, "Which will bring the property value down so if he's going to waste away I prefer it be somewhere public."

Roxas' eyes narrowed. "I hear you, Sora."

His twin ignored him again. "So, right… Two muffins. Chocolate chip for me and..." He turned to look at Roxas who was looking even more bad-tempered than before. "Um… A blueberry muffin for the tyke."

"You want them warm?"

Sora gave his boyfriend a very serious look. "Riku, how else would I want them?"

Roxas took a seat at one of the nearby tables and Sora followed him. Because the duplex had been eerily silent for the past two days and because Roxas had done nothing but sulk and skulk around the house in a very definite mood, Sora had made the decision to act as if everything in the world was sunshine and rainbows. He was also determined to avoid the subject of Axel at all costs.

"This is stupid," Roxas growled. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Why did you think taking me to see your boyfriend at the stupid bake shop would make me feel better?"

"You'll feel better once you eat," Sora said dismissively.

The blond glared. "No, I won't. I'm not going to feel better until Ax –"

"Axe, huh? I'm more of an Oldspice guy myself."

Roxas stared. "Cut it out. I want to talk about –"

"Here you go." Riku set a chocolate chip muffin in front of Sora and a blueberry one in front of Roxas. "Anything else?"

"I can't believe you two!" Roxas exclaimed, causing several people to turn and look at him. "He's been gone for two days! Two whole days! Why aren't either of you worried?"

A look passed between Riku and Sora.

"What?" he growled. "What's the look for? Stop telepathically communicating!" More stares were passed to their table and Riku let a sigh pass his lips. He took a seat between Roxas and Sora and put his elbows on the table. His hands went up to rub at his face and when he removed them, he looked incredibly stressed.

"There's nothing we can do," Sora mumbled.

"Bullshit! Asshole right here," he yelled and pointed at Riku, "could quit lollygagging and find Axel and apologize to him!"

"I already have apologized," Riku hissed. "And quit yelling. You're going to get me in trouble."

Sora looked between both of them. "Roxas, don't you think it's better to give Axel some time? Don't you think it's better to just… let him come to you?"

The blond made a face. "No. I think he needs to man up –"

Riku snorted and mumbled something like, "that's ironic." A yelp of pain followed his statement as Sora gave his shin bone a swift kick under the table.

"Have you tried talking to him?" Sora asked. "Have you tried calling or –"

"No!" Roxas yelled. "He left me! I can't beg him to come back! I can't spend all my time trying to make him realize that I –"

Sora and Riku both leaned in close to Roxas. Both held looks of curiosity and the smallest of smirks passed Riku's lips when the smallest of blushes crossed the blonde's cheeks.

"Shut up," he mumbled. "You guys need to track Axel down for me and bring him back to the duplex."

"Sorry." Riku leaned back in his chair.

"We're not henchmen," Sora added.

Roxas let his head hit the table with a dull 'thud' and his twin grimaced slightly at the sound. A whine left the blonde's lips and Riku made an awkward attempt to pat his back in the most plutonic way possible.

"Fuck. How can I fix this?" Roxas sighed and lifted his head.

Sora frowned. "Sometimes you can't fix things."

Riku nodded. "But you can ask for forgiveness."

Roxas gave Riku the most indignant look he could possibly manage to muster. "Shut up. I want Sora's advice. Not your shitty, fortune cookie bullshit advice. Besides, didn't you already say sorry to Axel? And is he with us now? No. No he's not. We don't even know where he is. So don't give me shit advice that isn't going to work."

Riku gave Roxas a very hateful look and Sora mumbled, "Yea, Riku. What kind of shit advice is that?" before digging into his muffin without another word.

••••••••••••••

Vera's Technicolor Sunglasses

There was once a kid named Vera who had a really badass pair of technicolor sunglasses. These sunglasses were the only kind in existence and Vera, who had stumbled upon them at a yard sale in his neighborhood, wore them around everywhere. He always talked about them. He always showed them off. He often thought he was better than all his friends because he had these technicolor sunglasses. Because Vera never shut the hell up about his sunglasses, some friendly neighborhood criminals beat the snot out of him and took his sunglasses. Vera then had a very expensive medical bill and no technicolor sunglasses.

Moral: Don't brag because criminals will beat you up and steal your shit if you do.

"I thought you were mad at him," Naminé called from her spot on her bed. "Why are you still writing fables if you're mad?"

Axel poked his head out from the bathroom, a toothbrush in his mouth. "Because… I don't know. Because I… I can?" He made a face. "I do what I want," he concluded.

Naminé let the smallest of smiles pass her lips. She flipped a page in the tattered notebook and heard Axel swish water around his mouth and then spit it into the sink. This would be his fourth day out of the duplex and second day staying in Naminé and Kairi's dorm room. Though he hadn't minded staying at Demyx's, Zexion had been really grating on his nerves.

And considering he was currently searching for peace, he had decided it would be better to leave.

"How long are you going to live out of your backpack?" Kairi asked as she dropped his dirty clothes into her hamper. "And how long do are we supposed to pretend we don't know where you are?"

Axel leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and shrugged. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and let a sigh pass his lips. "I don't know. Forever?"

Kairi frowned and crossed her arms. "You can't run away from your problems forever."

Naminé looked up from the tattered notebook and slipped from the bed. She stood next to Kairi and nodded. "She's right. Eventually, you –"

"They aren't my problems," Axel interrupted. "I didn't help Riku cheat on Sora. I didn't take advantage of Roxas. I didn't stab my brother in the back. I'm running away from the train wreck that is Sora, Roxas, and Riku."

The girls exchanged a look. Naminé grabbed Axel's tattered notebook from her bed and clutched it tightly. "You obviously still care if you're still writing…" she pointed out gently.

"Jeez, can't a guy get a little time to himself?" He reached up to rub at his tired eyes. "What's it to you two anyway? Why's it matter if I just wash my hands of them?"

Naminé opened her mouth to begin a gentle, but firm speech about why it mattered, but Kairi beat her to it. "Because Roxas hasn't given a shit about anyone since our mom died. He cares about you. He actually bothers to show something that isn't hate, resentment, or anger when you're around. He smiles when he sees you. His face lights up. His world is all rainbows and puppies and candy when you're in it. He –"

"Okay, okay! I get it," Axel snapped. The last thing he wanted to hear about was how much Roxas cared about him. He certainly hadn't cared enough to mention that he backstabbed his brother and stole his boyfriend. He hadn't bothered to mention that he slept with Axel's best friend.

Well, former best friend now. At the moment, he couldn't even think about Riku without feeling every muscle in his body tense.

"Are you guys like… professional stalkers?" the redhead asked. "I barely ever see you around but you know everything about Roxas."

Naminé offered him a small smile. "Not stalkers. Just girls."

And that was when Axel learned that girls weren't nosey. They were just hypersensitive to the finer points of love.

"Hey, Axel?"

The redhead looked over at Kairi who was looking past him and into the bathroom. "Whose… Whose toothbrush were you using exactly?"

His lips curled into a smirk and he shrugged, neither confirming nor denying that he had just used her toothbrush.

••••••••••••••

"No." Zexion crumpled the poorly written note in his hand and his cheeks burned with anger. "No, no, no, no. A hundred thousand times no."

Demyx glanced coolly at his friend from over his shoulder. He was sitting in his beanbag chair in his room, flipping idly through a comic book Axel had left by mistake. "I thought you weren't talking to me."

"I wasn't and after we resolve this, I won't be."

Demyx dropped the comic and stood suddenly. "Good. I say yes."

Zexion glared. "No. I don't want him living here. I don't care what kind of nonsense he's gone and involved himself in elsewhere, I do not want him living here."

The blond crossed his arms over his chest."Too bad, Zex. There's nothing wrong with him being here if he pays rent. You don't own this house."

He passed Demyx a cool look. "Neither do you."

They glared at each other and stood in a very heated, very tense silence. Today marked the sixth day Axel wasn't at the duplex and though he had left for a few nights to stay somewhere else, he had showed back up early this morning looking rough. Zexion had never seen Axel with any kind of facial hair. Seeing him with stubble had been… well, strange.

"If he moves in, I'll move out," Zexion threatened.

Demyx tensed and froze and then quickly recollected himself. "Good. I'd rather live with Axel anyway."

Zexion felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment. "I… Well, I … Good! Fine then! I've grown tired of living with you anyway!"

The blond tried to mask the hurt that crossed his features. "Well… You're… quiet! And… and I hate quiet! And you make me feel stupid sometimes! And… and I've been using your toothbrush every morning for the past year!"

Zexion couldn't help the involuntary shiver that shot down his spine. "You… You've been… You've been using my toothbrush?" He could handle being insulted (sort of) and he could handle Demyx yelling at him and being upset. However, he had a thing about his toothbrush and he was a firm believer that his toothbrush should not go in anyone else's mouth.

"Well yea…" Demyx uncrossed his arms and looked at the floor. "I accidentally left mine at my mom's house so I used yours one morning and I meant to buy a new one! I just kept forgetting…"

Zexion stared, his lips slightly parted. Another chill shot down his spine and he left the room with a rough slam of Demyx's bedroom door. All he could think about was all the times Demyx had blown Axel and then used his toothbrush.

All he could think about was moving out and not living with Demyx anymore.

All he could think about was Axel and how unfair it was that he got Demyx.

••••••••••••••

The Klepto and the Clerk

Kyle the Klepto stole anything that caught his eye. From wigs to women's clothing to cigars to children – anything was fair game to a kleptomaniac. When a new market opened up in his town, Kyle the Klepto knew he must steal from there. So every day after school, he would walk into the market, pretend to look around while stealing things, and then he would leave. But one day the handsome store clerk who knew what Kyle was doing and had always known what he was doing, stopped Kyle the Klepto from leaving the store.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't let you leave. You've stolen something from this store."
Kyle the Klepto, who had been caught stealing many times before, crossed his arms in teenaged defiance and snorted. "Yea, like what?"
And the store clerk honestly replied, "My heart."

Moral: Sometimes theft can lead to good things (like sex with saucy store clerks).

He drew a hash mark in the top corner on the last page of his notebook and let a heavy breath leave him. Today marked the tenth day he hadn't gone back to the duplex. He had gone back around the seventh day, but only to get more clothes and his toiletries. No one had been home when he arrived and Axel had been quite thankful for that. He was beginning to look rough and he knew that if he saw Roxas, if he saw the worry and hurt reflected in those blue eyes, he'd crumble.

Because he was a sap and he was in love and though he wanted to believe living outside Roxas' bubble was a good thing, he knew it wasn't.

"Nice stubble."

Axel made a move to stand when he heard the voice, but then stopped when he saw chocolate brown hair instead of sun kissed blond. He had no reason to ignore or avoid Sora. In fact, he felt badly for leaving the brunet to deal with all the drama in the duplex by himself.

"Can I sit?" Sora asked.

Axel nodded. He was sitting in a quiet coffee shop a few blocks from campus. Zexion and Demyx had been in a nasty screaming match and the redhead, searching for inner and outer peace, had made a quiet exit. Usually he would go sit in the park or at the bakeshop where Riku worked, but… Well, things were different now. Ten days and things were already so different.

"You look like hell," Sora commented lightly. "Are you living on the street or something?"

"Worse – with Demyx."

The brunet smiled and then made a slight face. "Roxas' head would explode if he knew that."

Axel rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm surprised you haven't strangled him yet."

"Well, he's my brother and I was always taught to kill outside the family," Sora joked.

Axel wanted to smile, but it seemed like effort so he just sort of shrugged. He was exhausted from running around, place to place, while trying to keep up with his school work and sort out how he felt about everything. He wasn't exactly sad, per se, but he wasn't exactly happy either. He just was and that was... a very strange feeling for Axel.

To just exist was so monumentally boring.

"Axel." Sora leaned forward slightly and made eye contact with the other. "What are you trying to accomplish exactly?"

He shrugged and then crossed his arms. "I don't really want to talk and… and I don't want to snap at you, Sora. I'm not mad at you and I'm sorry I left the duplex, I –"

"Wait, you're apologizing to me?" He raised his eyebrows.

Axel shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well… Well yea. I feel bad. I didn't know what they had done to you and I… and I left you to deal with that by your –"

"I've been dealing with what happened for years," Sora answered honestly. "You suddenly disappearing from the duplex doesn't bother me." He paused. "I don't mean that in a bad way. I just mean it's not tearing me to pieces that you're not there."

Axel shrugged and they sat in what he felt was a very strained, very uncomfortable silence. He reached out and closed his notebook and then looked everywhere but at Sora. He looked way too much like Roxas and it was really bothering him.

"When are you coming back?" he asked. "Roxas is dying to know where you are and Riku is wallowing about how badly he messed things up. It's a giant wrist-cutting fest at the duplex and everyone could use some of your carefree attitude to lighten the mood."

"I'm not feeling all that carefree."

Sora made an agitated noise somewhere in his throat. "Okay, then I'll explain to you what I explained to them. The only person who got legitimately hurt by Roxas and Riku was me. I'm not downplaying how you feel, Axel, but I am saying that if I've managed to wade through what they did, then you can get over being lied to."

A blush crossed his cheeks and he looked down in an attempt to hide it. "It's not just about the lie. It's… it's everything that follows the lie. Roxas and Riku are backstabbers. They're cheaters and they're liars. Roxas is your brother and look what he did to you. I mean, fuck – if he can do that to his own flesh and blood, what the hell kind of shit will he do to me?"

Sora felt his cheeks heat, but not in embarrassment. "You don't know the whole story," he snapped. "You have no idea what was going on with Roxas or with Riku or with me. You don't –"

Axel shook his head. "I don't need to. There is no good excuse for why two people would do that to someone they say they love."

The color in his cheeks deepened and his blue eyes narrowed. "Don't act like you don't have darkness in your heart. You've had no problem running around behind Demyx's back with Roxas."

Axel glared. "Roxas started it!" he snapped. "And I don't love Demyx!"

"It takes two to tango!" Sora snapped back. "He loves you and you're just using him!"

Axel blushed and looked somewhat taken aback. "I… I am not! I just…"

The brunet shook his head. "Everyone is capable of deceit. That's why we have forgiveness."

They fell silent and the tension between them reminded Axel of Roxas. The way Sora pouted, the way his brows came together, and the way he glared at Axel all made the redhead deeply miss the blond boy he was trying so hard to get away from. His green eyes lingered on the curve of Sora's lips and then he looked away, his cheeks adorning a light pink color.

He missed Roxas' lips.

"How… How did you forgive them?" the redhead mumbled. "How could you forgive them?"

Sora let the hateful look fall from his features. He leaned back in his chair, put his arms behind his head, and jokingly said, "I'm just the epitome of righteousness."

Axel smirked. "And so modest too."

The tension died somewhat between them when Sora let a small smile cross his lips. He stretched his arms in the air and then breathed a soft sigh. "I didn't forgive them right away because I was young and I was hurt and I wanted them to hurt too. But then my mom died and… And I started seeing everyone's shortcomings." Sora dropped his gaze to the floor. "I knew what my mom was before she ever died and Naminé told me Roxas had been acting on her advice."

His green eyes went slightly wide and he looked at Sora. "Wait, what?"

A sigh left the brunet's lips and he ran a hand through his brown locks of hair. "There's a lot you don't know, Axel, and it isn't because everyone is trying to keep secrets from you. Haven't… Haven't you ever done something or been involved in something bad and you'd rather just forget it ever happened then relive the bad memories over and over again?"

Axel thought about this for a moment and then slowly shook his head. That wasn't to say he had never acted in a less than reputable manner. But he had had a normal upbringing with a normal family and he had never been involved in anything quite as scandalous as what Riku, Roxas, and Sora had been involved in.

Sora made a face and Axel let his shoulders drop slightly. "What else do I not know? What kind of darkness is everyone hiding?"

Sora sighed. "Riku and Roxas both were abused by their parents. They were both mistreated by people they thought they could trust. I was able to forgive them because I realized they were both damaged. That doesn't excuse what they did, but it's easier to swallow knowing Roxas was being ill-advised and Riku's lack of parents meant a lack of control."

Axel shifted. "What happened?" He paused. "You can't drop a bomb like that and not say anything. I don't know anything about Riku and all Roxas has done is talk about how great your mom was."

Sora caught his lower lip between his teeth and then gently sighed. "I can't tell you all the intimate details about Riku because it's not my place. I also don't know much except the surface story of what happened. As for Roxas…" He paused. "Our mom was extremely manipulative and demanding from the beginning. She would mention how we all looked alike, how she could barely tell us apart, how she really only needed two of us. She would point out how Roxas was just a replica of me and how Naminé was a replica of Kairi. So, you know… when you're five and being told you're just a lesser version of your siblings, you start trying really hard to gain your mother's affection."

Axel watched Sora carefully. He knew his eyes were wide, his features molded into slight shock. It was strange to hear about Mrs. Badcock in an unfavorable light after all Roxas did was talk about how perfect she had been.

"Naminé never seemed bothered by it, but Roxas…" Sora shook his head. "It really got to him. Anything I did, he had to do it better. Anything I had, he had to have too. When we started getting grades in school, his scores were always just a little lower than mine and our mom acted like this was a huge deal. So Roxas started trying to gain her affection in other ways. Unfortunately, most of these ways involved skipping school and forcing my mom to stay home from work. She was all about her career and she was all about business. Roxas never being in school really upset her."

Axel shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Sora was looking everywhere but at him.

"So one day, she told Roxas he was her favorite." The contempt in Sora's voice surprised Axel. He had heard the brunet snap or yell, but hearing disdain in his voice was unsettling. "Roxas did everything she said after that. It didn't matter what kind of terrible thing she wanted. He was so afraid of falling out of favor with her, he would do anything." Sora caught Axel's eye briefly.

"She told him to break you and Riku up?" the redhead asked quietly. His adoptive parents hadn't been around much since he and his adoptive brother had gone to college (they spent a majority of their time traveling), but they would have never done something like this to their kids. Not even Axel's real mom, who had given him up for cocaine, would do something like that.

"More or less," Sora mumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the floor. "Riku tried to tell me he initiated everything with Roxas, but I knew he was lying. I knew he was just trying to save my relationship with Roxas. But… But that's how I forgave them. I'm not saying he didn't act on his own free will, but he was a little brainwashed. Riku just had zero parental guidance or control. I don't think he really understood what trust meant until he broke mine."

Axel played with the edge of his notebook. He had that same weird feeling that he was somehow spying and he figured it was because this information was coming from Sora and not Roxas. He cleared his throat a little nervously. "Does Roxas know? Did… did he ever see your mom for what she really was?"

The brunet gave a hesitant half-nod. "He told her he hated her and then she died. I'm not sure if the way he remembers her is his mind's way of protecting him from her abuse or if he's trying to alleviate the guilt he feels by turning her into something she wasn't." Sora shrugged. "Roxas hasn't been okay since she died. He hasn't been in a place where we could all sit down and talk honestly about it."

Silence fell between them and Axel suddenly felt even worse about leaving the duplex. Now he had another set of emotions to deal with. Now he had to change how he felt about what Roxas did to Sora. Did this new information make the blonde's actions any less hurtful? Axel didn't think so. However, he did feel somewhat relieved to learn that Roxas wasn't wholly bad.

Brainwashed. He sort of liked that term to describe his moody love interest.

"You need to come back," Sora said.

Axel looked at him. "What? No, I… I can't. Not yet. I –"

"You have no idea what you do to Roxas. He's been different since you moved in and now that you've left, he's gone right back to square one. I want you to come back because I think… I think you can fill the giant, gaping hole our mom left in Roxas' heart. I think you can take her place because you're like her, Axel."

The redhead gave Sora a very offended look.

Quickly, the brunet shook his head. "No, no… Her good qualities. They did exist, just not in mass. Just… Please think about it or… or at least talk to Roxas or something. I never realized he was getting better until you left."

Axel didn't say anything except for a mumbled 'goodbye' when Sora stood up to leave. He felt badly for Roxas already and now he felt even worse. His mom was dead and gone and Roxas missed her and she didn't deserve to be missed. She didn't deserve the love Roxas had for her or the sadness he felt because she was gone. She had ruined him and because she was dead, she couldn't undo her dirty work.

But maybe Axel could.

A sigh left the redhead's lips and he opened up his notebook. He flipped to the next clean page and uncapped his red pen.

The Pen and the Hand

There once was a redhead who was head-over-heels for this blond boy he knew. But the blond boy suffered from pretty deep emotional wounds and was quite content to just stick out the rest of his life all by himself. The redhead, however, wouldn't dare let something as tragic as that happen. So one day the redhead trapped the blond boy in the car with him and forced him to talk about dating while also trying to coerce him into going on a date. But the blond boy was fearful and he said the redhead wasn't his type (which was just nonsense). So the redhead, ever determined to make the blond boy his, struck up a deal with his love interest.
"If I write and publish a book, will you marry me?"
And after the blond boy finished laughing at the absurdness, he said yes.

My name is Axel and this is the origin of my fables.

---

A/N: This was the most difficult chapter I have ever had the displeasure of writing. At around 8,000 words I wanted to stop, but I didn't want to make the chapter short because I already knew it was going to be late. So I made it extra long.

Though Sora has shed some light on the whole 'mother' situation, that's not the end of that plot, I promise. I just really didn't want to reveal everything because 1) this chapter was getting out of control in length and 2) I hate it when two characters sit down and it's just long, long, long dialogue for pages. I also felt it would be kind of a bummer for Sora to just sit there and explain things, especially since his view of their mother is different from Kairi or Naminé's view.

Cloud and Leon will be showing up again. Maybe I'll add a bit of pointless Cleon fluff in there, but I'm really against filler (though I might do a short one-shot detailing their adult version of cops and robbers). If you haven't noticed, notice now! I have posted a new chapter story (Guilty Conscience). It's for all the Demyx x Zexion fans (the twelve or so that exist)! But never fear – I can't write anything without Sora and Riku or Axel and Roxas.

Before the shameless advertising ends – let's all take a gander at Aindel S. Druida's profile page because she is an excellent writer and an excellent beta-editor. Most of you can probably tell which chapters she edits and which ones she doesn't. She's also the beta-editor for Guilty Conscience. Hooray for proper grammar!

Okay, oaky. I'm done with the brazen promoting. The next chapter for Axel's Fables will hopefully be up around the beginning of March. I'm hoping it'll be way easier to write than this chapter. Also please note: this story is probably going to be over within the next 3-4 chapters. Don't fret because that's actually like… 66-88 pages.

Thank you everyone who reviews, alerts, favorites, and even bothers to give this story a glance. I appreciate all the awesome scrutiny, all the time spent reading, and all the blatant flattery. You guys are really terrific and I appreciate all of you.

Thank You for Reviewing:

It Started with a Paopu: Originally it was going to be Sora and Roxas who spilled the beans to Axel by mistake. But I sort of liked this way better. Yea, I have noticed the amount of just… poop on ffnet now. Sometimes I find stories that sound really super interesting, but then they're riddled with grammar mistakes or it's… extra super dramatic. And then every other story has to do with someone's OC. There are some really, really good authors though whose stories are WAY under credited. Currently, I'm all excited about Don't Forget I Love You by mumblybee. I love the way she writes Axel and her story makes me laugh my ass off. I also really like Pencil Me In by LifesLover particularly because the Zemyx section on ffnet is just sad. There are so few stories and the stories that exist consist of Demyx acting… so, so, so amazingly stupid (like borderline retarded) and Zexion acting really unlike himself / helpless.
Um… I'm going to stop pimping authors and their stories now.

IchiakiI: Sometimes wearing sunglasses helps. Err, not if your retinas are bleeding though. Bleeding retinas is bad. Maybe your eye doctor can help, but I know sunglasses can help if you spend a lot of time on the internet. … Maybe I just made all that up. But huzzah! I'm glad you liked this chapter. I actually meant to post this chapter sooner, but I kept going back and rewriting it. The original version just… contained WAY too much information and it was a bit too dramatic for my liking. I'm trying to keep things mostly light so this story doesn't turn into a wrist-cutting festival.

Miyuki-ice-fox: Whoops. I didn't mean to make you cry! Though the last chapter was filled to the max with crazy angst and so was the chapter before that. But that's okay! Because I tried making this chapter happier (err, funnier maybe) and I'm going to attempt to break up the anxiety of things by bringing back the hilarity that once filled this story.
It seems to be everyone's birthday! When is your own? You can pretend it's an early birthday gift! Actually, let's both pretend like I knew your birthday was coming up and this was an early birthday gift. :D

Catch the Stillicide: Chapter 9 was probably the most drama-intense chapter. I don't foresee another super-extra-drama chapter (maybe towards the end, but nothing quite like that).
Wow, really? I have a really hard time writing fight scenes because I can see them in my head, but then they always sound choppy on paper. To avoid choppiness I try to use small analogies. I hate writing something like "then he hit him and then he hit back and then he hit him again and blahblahblah" because it just sounds… bad. I'm glad you thought it was flawless! It was rather difficult to write.
Yea. She's definitely pretty bad. Riku being able to see her like that, as well as the psychological explanation for why he kept along with Roxas even after being committed to Sora, will eventually all come out. You'll hate her more after you read more about her, but that's all right. She's now there to be hated, so hate away!
I also hate drama in real life. I like drama I can control or drama where I can be a silent, third-party observer. Any other kind of drama is just taxing and usually very stupid. Good to know about your eyes. I'm always afraid someone will want to be compensated for their visit to the local eye doctor.

Neitzarr: Ah, I see. I was wondering because 'neit' in Russian means 'no.' Though the English spelling might be 'nyet' or something like that. The Russian spelling, to an English speaker, would look like 'Het.' Except the 'H' (and the 'T') would be a tiny capital and it makes an 'n' sound and not an 'h' sound.
Of course Axel's words in the letter will come out soon! As for the beginning, that's kind of a small rift in plot. I had it set up so Axel and Roxas knew each other in high school, but not to the extent that I've written them. However, yes – Roxas' attitude toward Axel in the beginning is a byproduct of 1) not having spoken to Axel in a four years and 2) Axel not seeming to remember who he is (which I would do my best to pretend I didn't know someone I used to like if they've been ignoring me for the past four years. Talk about embarrassing). But yea – I could've done a better job explaining / working out plot. Just one of the many hazards of posting incomplete stories online.

TheAnnoyingVoice: No worries. I've done that type of thing before too. I actually dreamt I had finished writing a chapter for Axel's Fables. I was rather disappointed when I woke up.
Yea, I really liked showing the bond between Axel and Roxas. Their scenes were fun to write because they were friendship scenes more than couple scenes. I also liked being able to point out that Axel has the ability to help people forget about their problems for a little while.
I really appreciate your thoughts on the fight scene seeing as how I just… thought it sucked. I have trouble with fluidity in fight scenes which means I try to use a lot of analogies or describe the fight indirectly. Also, the tension between Riku and Axel was never planned. I meant for them to be more distant the closer they got to this moment, but I actually really liked what happened instead.
Actually yes – Roxas bailing Axel out of jail was how that all was supposed to go down. However, I remembered I had written Zexion mentioning Axel's cousin dating Leon and I thought that would be the perfect moment to drop Cloud into the story (because he hasn't shown up once at all). And he, Leon, Zexion, and Demyx will definitely be coming into play when the story begins to close. Hooray!
I was actually surprised no one has said anything about how selfish Riku and Roxas are being about the whole 'high school' thing because it really was Sora who got hurt. I mean, yea, Riku and Roxas did too but they created the whole situation. He did come off as me-me-me, but I sort of felt he deserved it and that maybe it should be pointed out.
The dance scene was my way of trying to break-up tension and add humor. There has been an amazing amount of angst going on and to keep everyone from cutting themselves I have to drop in a couple of lines here or there. :D

LifesLover: That's a really fantastic idea and I wish I had thought about it earlier. Setting up each chapter with a fable would've been awesome, but my lack of foresight and proper plot planning told me that the story would be one-dimensional and the fables would come in all the time.
I try and stay away from that proverbial black cloud. I usually hate drama-filled stories too and the ones that are usually decent or good are ones that just touch the tip of that dramatic iceberg. But yes, it's extremely irritating to be reading about how Roxas/Axel/Sora/Riku/etc was raped, beaten, abandoned, tried to commit suicide, has no friends, and also has some rare mental disability that just conveniently comes in and out of play.
Yes, the mother really deserves a proper explanation. Sora offered some insight about her in this chapter, but that part of the plot is definitely not over yet. I think their father, who's been largely absent and I think mentioned only twice, may have something to say about it near the end. I'm still playing around with that plot line because there's so much I can do with it. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be bringing her back from the dead but only because I think you're right – that is taking things a little too far. That's making things a little too dramatic though I promise a satisfactory explanation will be granted.
I'm glad I could befuddle you and make you angry at Demyx. Everyone is a bit of an asshole in this story, but everyone is sort of an asshole in real life (even people like Demyx are prone to douchebaggery). I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far!

SSanity: I suppose they didn't help Roxas because they couldn't. Roxas was so obsessed with their mother and very defensive of her that it would've been really hard to tell him she was wrong or bad or cruel. He probably wouldn't have believed it.
I'm actually not sure how legal it is for Officer Leonhart to be doing all of that. I think if he really existed, he would've already been fired or stabbed by someone he was hassling. I was actually trying to figure out how much money Axel would owe, but I can guess that by now it's a nice, hefty sum! And now he's got another arrest on his record – poor guy!
The letter will come out in due time and it will be satisfactory. As for Roxas disliking Axel in the beginning, yes. He was still pretty put-off about the whole 'Axel leaving and not saying anything.' And Axel, who Roxas had been ignoring for nearly four years, was content enough to just not mention anything because that'd be sort of… awkward (possibly embarrassing). I suppose that deserves an explanation too :P especially because it's sort of sitting there like a plot hole!

RainbowNinjaD: I suck at Just Dance. I can never manage to do the moves at the right time. I also tend to get REALLY lazy about my Wii-mote and I do things like stuff it in my pocket (which makes my score drop by a lot). My sister is quite excellent at it though. Of course, she doesn't dance like a seizing animal so that may be why.

Animaluvr4life: Whoa! You have a friend that's going through something similar? Jesus, I feel for her. I've had nowhere near something like this happen to me. The worst I've had was dealing with someone else's angry ex acting like a complete tool. My condolences go to your friend. Poor girl.
Yea, that's pretty sick, huh? My mom would say "you're my favorite" to like… our cat (jokingly, of course. She's Russian, not mad). I don't know any pare – no, wait, yes I do. My ex's mom was prone to doing things like that (telling her kids who the favorite was). But she was all sorts of fucked (not as fucked as Roxas' mom, but close).

Vithian: Over there? Are you British? Living in the UK where they spell things with a 'u' in them and call trash 'rubbish' and apparently spell jail 'gaol'? Speaking of British English… One of the Japanese exchange students at my university was taught British English. We had to explain that garbage and 'rubbish' are the same thing and 'jumper' doesn't mean sweater in the US. Rubber also doesn't mean eraser here. Teehee.
I think the mom is a bit crazy regardless of whether or not I say she is or isn't. No one in their right mind does something like that to their kids. That's a pretty good explanation though. She was definitely trying to stunt him (as well as separate him from his siblings). But now she's dead and the dead can't do shit.
It has to end! Because, eventually, the story will just become filler if it doesn't.

Reku14: I think Riku is just sick and tired of being blamed even though it was his fault. It's kind of like… He can't really do anything to fix it, so all he can do is be sorry about it. But being sorry only gets him so far and it being continually pointed out and being told it's his fault is probably pretty… upsetting. Or at least irritating.
Axel really does keep getting the end of the short stick! I like doing it to him though because he knows how to take unluckiness in stride.

The Moon's Berserk: Happy extra-late birthday! Hooraaaay! Another year closer to death!
I promise the mom will have a nice explanation and yes – that was a horribly timed combination of events. I liked the unfairness of all of it though because life is generally unfair and anything less would be extremely mediocre. I promise Zexion will have his way eventually. Everyone will get their happy ending.

KitsuneNoSeiza: Leon is an asshole, but he's great for moments when I really need someone to just come in, act like a douche, and then make a swift exit. Leon is emotionless enough to accomplish this task. I'm glad the flashbacks were clear enough to clear things up. Sometimes I get confused about what happened and I have to sift through all those flashbacks and try and figure things out! Such a pain!

Alstarryn: This review is so cute. I'm really glad you like this so much (and that the length of it did not deter you). I hope this chapter was just as satisfactory as the rest of them.

Red Chase: There are… some hints? But not really. There's no real explanation yet for her behavior (aside from the small snippet Sora offered in this chapter). The letter is something I think everyone will be surprised about. A lot of people are assuming it was Riku who didn't give Roxas the letter (good assumption based on the clues, but still not totally right). You'll just have to sit tight and find out!

CaramelCoveredSunset: Magical thinking! Isn't it the best when you want something and it's given to you? That's awesome.
I fully believe in showing each side of every character. No one is all good and no one is all bad. Everyone is prone to act like a douchebag and writing people any other way seems very unrealistic. I also feel badly for Axel. He's really suffering a lot of abuse in this story (but he takes it so well).

Xacilia: Hooray for keeping open a tab with my story! :D I'm relieved that no one's in the dark too because now I can pretty much freely write without having to worry about one character mistakenly spilling the beans to another one. Riku is just… the bearer of bad news throughout most of this story. I think that might be why he's getting such a bad rep (err… aside from all the reasons he should have a bad rep). Maybe at some point he'll find some good news to deliver.

Anon: In a perfect world, I would.
It's just a plot hole. To be honest, I really thought this story was going to be a super one-dimensional tale of how two guys ended up married thanks to Aesop. And, in a perfect world, that would've happened. But because of my lack of foresight and inability to effectively plan, plot holes occurred. Originally, Axel and Roxas knew of each other in high school. I guess they weren't exactly the best of friends (I mean, calculate the time they spent together and it's like… less than five months), but yea – it's still a plot hole. Oh well.

BubbleFairy03: I really enjoy the nickname Mama Badcock because it makes her sound exactly how she is: a sweet exterior, but an exterior that is terrifying and rotten. The unraveling of her character will come soon, dear reader, because she definitely needs an explanation to back-up (or at least explain) why she was so stone cold crazy.
Oh, the letter… Maybe it was Riku who didn't give Roxas the letter, maybe not. That's something else that will get an explanation! As for the snowball fight, that already got an explanation. Officer Leonhart is one cold motherfucker and I sort of really like him that way. I also liked being able to bring in Cloud like that. He's fun to write (and a wee bit scary when paired next to Leon). That would've been total shit to drop him in at the last second! Though I did wait a nice long while before bothering to write him. My bad.
You can google Aesop's Fables and they'll come up. A lot of them are cute, but some of them are just plain weird. And some of the morals I legitimately don't understand and I want to believe it's because English isn't my first language and not because I'm dumber than a bag of hammers.

Miggery: Oh, the letter… So much mystery involved in the letter.
Yea, Zexion did get used. He's a douche for most of this story, but it still sucks seeing him get used like that (especially by someone like Demyx). Of course he'll have his way eventually (because he's Zexion and Zexion will make sure he gets his way).

Fredrikness: Yea. You very well may be the only person who can look at Riku and not cringe. Though I have to say, as the story trucks along toward the end, I'm having a much easier time writing him. I'm not so critical of his behavior now that I'm working out all the kinks of his past (as well as the quadruplet's past). Hopefully by the end, everyone will at least be able to tolerate Riku (maybe).

TopHatGlow: TopHatGlow! I've been wondering where you've gone off to. I actually have a pretty good memory for remembering which people consistently review.
Originally she was just a mom who had a problem with having a 'favorite' child and then somehow she managed to get some Chemical X and she turned into this completely terrifying, monstrous human being. I wouldn't want her to be my mom. Well… If I got to be Roxas and date Axel, maybe I'd want her to be my mom. But only maybe.
I'm actually glad to hear you say that. I actually get pretty emotional when writing and I think that manages to pass to the readers. I was super pissed off at Riku when I was writing the fight scene. So much so that my roommate was like "dude, what are you pissed about?" and I snarled something like "this guy – fuck, man, you know? He's just such a dickhole sometimes!" and my roommate didn't question it (which was good. I would hate having to explain that I take characters from a children's video game and make them do naughty things to each other. Talk about awkward). But I'm glad the feelings get conveyed and passed around. I'd be rather upset if my readers weren't as torn up as I am.

Verovex: Wow. Thank you so much. My only qualm with this particular story is my lack of foresight when I first began writing it. I can already see a few minor (I believe them to be minor, but people judge everything differently) plot errors and it drives me insane. But your review makes me feel like maybe it's a wee bit okay because this is my first chapter story and the way I write kind of makes up for it? I can hope so anyway.
Writing their personalities in stories is always iffy for me. When I begin to write, I have to feel a certain way about what I'm writing. This is kind of a problem because I noticed that because I dislike Riku, I keep making him look worse to the readers. I also try not to have overly dramatic stories associated with each person. I wanted Axel to be adopted / have his adoptive parents mostly out of the picture because I was hoping to convey that this is why Axel feels the need to be uncensored, loud, and somewhat obnoxious. I also wanted Riku to deal with the same kind of parental mistrust / misguidance that Roxas dealt with in hopes of explaining why he did what he did with Roxas even after he was committed to Sora (of course, that will all come out in time).
Sometimes I hate Roxas too and part of the reason I added the whole "psychological" aspect to the story was I wanted to know what people thought. Do most people think Roxas is at fault or do they believe his mother to be at fault? Most of the blame falls somewhere in-between the two, but Roxas, ultimately, acted of his own volition. His mother merely used the power of suggestion so is she really such a monster or is Roxas the real monster?
I was actually really glad to be able to write "AXEL FINDS OUT" because it made conversations sometimes really difficult between certain characters. Even now that the readers know everything that happened between Sora-Roxas-Riku, that doesn't mean Sora knows. Which means I have to be careful of what I have Riku/Roxas say to Sora and vice versa because I don't want to make a mistake.
I also think you're absolutely correct about Riku. Everyone (myself included) is so obsessed with what he did to Sora that no one stops to think about his subconscious motivations or how old he was. Of course, that's my fault because I've only briefly mentioned Riku's history so, again, that will definitely come in to play.
Thank you so much for this review. I'm always afraid one day I will write and publish something and no one will care about it because maybe I'm only good at writing stories on ffnet. So if I do publish something I know at least one person will buy it. :D And I'm glad your vision is all right. In truth, I try to make the chapters about as long as they would be in a normal book. Because of the spacing, the chapters are actually a bit shorter than 20-25 pages, but whatever. It's still a lot to read and I think it puts a TON of people off (which is fine, of course. I wouldn't read my own work because I hate really, really retardedly long stories).
Yes! I actually just discovered those little speech-bubble icons when mumblybee sent me a review response. However, I also discovered that some people (like mumblybee, actually) have their privacy settings set up so no one can send them private messages. I also like to write these out, reread them, marinate on them, and then change some things. I don't know why, but I'm crazy about the whole "rewriting" process.
Goodness, this is long. But I figured a very, very nice review deserved a very long response. Thank you so much.

0Life-is-a-Song0: I tend to write instead of doing my homework (fuck Symbolic Logic!) and it usually is a nice trade. I can't believe you read this all in one sitting. I'm always really, really surprised when people do that because that's a LOT of fucking words and a LOT of fucking pages. At this point, this story actually could qualify as a real book (a short book though. It'd only be about 100 pages, but still).
I do enjoy writing sunshine and roses sometimes. Though I try and stay away from crack and crack fiction because I find one gives me heart burn and the other makes me want to gauge my eyes out with a fork.
I do try and keep things light. If it isn't a one-shot, I don't really enjoy angst. Some chapters have angst, but I try and keep most of them pretty funny and light. I don't want this to turn into a wrist-cutting fest because I don't want to owe people money for carpet cleaning. Blood doesn't come out for shit.

Anonymoosefangirl: Carmine is actually Latin for 'song.' My Latin is so rusty (which is sad because I'm in 201 right now) so I don't recall if Carmine is the nominative case or not and I'm too lazy to look it up. But, either way, it means 'song.' I google'd Carmine Complex though because I was curious. Did not know it was a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction (I never have time to go through stories and take a gander. So sad).
Tearing up is fine because it lets me know that the emotion I am trying to convey is being conveyed. I would've tracked Axel down and jumped his bones right then and there, but that's the difference between Roxas and me. Roxas has real, heart-felt emotion and I would like to get laid.
So much drama and so many unfinished plots! I'm going to really be scrambling to try and finish this up. I'm quite pleased with the progress though and I hope this update was quite satisfactory!