Chapter 11

The day after was pretty uneventful—I went to school, Axel went to rehab, we both went to work, ta-da, the end, good night. But my birthday was something else.

I had another class at 6:30 in the morning. I had set the alarm for five and was more than a hundred percent sure that I would get there early. Instead, I was awakened by Axel shoving my arm, asking if I had class. "Yes," I hissed in this annoyed voice.

He stared at me for a few minutes. "Roxie…it's ten to six."

"What!" I yelped, sitting upright and staring at my clock. Axel was right. I flew out of bed and got ready in record time of ten minutes, and left. I would later learn that my alarm was set for five in the afternoon. Not only did I arrive to class late, but we had a pop quiz about Sigmund Freud and his theories on child development. And I couldn't remember anything for the life of me. I ended up getting a lecture from my professor about the importance of punctuality, which landed me with five minutes for lunch before work. I decided to screw it and headed straight for work.

The thing about Aerythum's Café is that the staff size is so small, everyone remembers everything you've ever told them about you. So when I walked in, I was immediately greeted with a hug from Aerith. "Happy Birthday, Roxas," she said quietly.

"Thanks," I muttered. "Sorry I'm not in uniform…I just had class, so--"

"Don't worry," my boss said with a smile. "Just sign in and get to work."

I nodded and did as I was told. It went over pretty smooth, a few co-workers wishing me happy birthday, as well as a few regular customers. I figured my bad luck streak was over. Then the crazy cat lady from my apartments came in. She was still wearing her hideous moo-moo, and had a cat in her arms. She had a bulky black purse large enough to smuggle a nuclear bomb. Her silver hair was pulled back into a tight bun, giving her a face-lift. Aerith tried to explain to her that cat's were not allowed in the café, and the woman started screeching about injustice and how Sniffles wanted equal treatment as well. Aerith finally sat her down at one of the tables I was bussing. I stared at the ceiling in a "why God…?" moment before walking over to her. It was work, and every once in a while, we get crazies. I put on a smile. "Hello Mrs. Harada! What can I get for you this afternoon?"

She stared at me with beady eyes, scowling. "I want Udon with tofu. And some sushi rolls with the wasabi on top. Bring me a Raspberry iced tea, and when I'm done, I want peppermint Mochi."

I blinked at her. "Um…ma'am…this is a café. We don't have--"

She cut me off, standing over me. "Listen you! I've worked in the food industry for twenty years! And if a customer wants something, you make sure they get it! You understand!"

I took a step back, not used to be yelled at by customers unless I really screwed up. "I understand ma'am, but we are a café," I reminded her calmly, wishing with all my might I could sock her across the jaw, as horrible as it sounds. "We don't have Udon, sushi, or Mochi." She glowered at me and I sighed. "All right, I'll see what I can do." I started to walk away when she expelled an irritating AHEM! I turned back, trying my best to not strangle her. "Yes ma'am?"

She held up her cat, a beautiful Russian Blue. "You forgot Sniffles' order."

I twitched. "What will Sniffles have?"

"Non-fat milk in a saucer. And some cheese. Sniffles loves cheese."

"All right," I muttered, walking away as I made a strangling motion with my hands, causing a few co-workers to snigger. I always ended up with the crazy ones, and my co-workers knew that meant a comedy show. It was out of pure luck that I hadn't been fired yet with the antics I pulled. After about twenty minutes commiserating with Selphie, who was working in the back, I came out with a modified order.

"What is this?" Mrs. Harada snapped at me.

"Well," I began, hearing a few sniggers behind me. "Since we don't have Udon, we made ramen and stuck random chunks of tofu in it. As for the sushi, we made California rolls instead, because it's the next best thing we have. And we have nothing like Mochi, so we gave you blueberry turnovers instead." I tucked my hands behind my back with a smile. "What do you think? Sound fair?" She gapped at me for a minute, and I bent down to pet Sniffles. "Sorry, Sniffles. No non-fat milk here, but I gave you 2. You don't seem to mind though."

Mrs. Harada stood up, her face turning a vibrant red. "I'm outraged!" She snatched up Sniffles and stomped out, yelling, "I'll make sure you're fired young man."

As soon as the door shut, half the café yelled, "FAT CHANCE!" I was an ass, but I did what I could for her, which wasn't much. And, since she wasn't going to eat it, I started eating her California rolls. Ah, the sweet taste of victory. The rest of my shift was pretty easy, and I was elated when Sora came in at the end of my shift, which was around four, to pick me up. He was grinning from ear to ear and I knew something was up. He took me to Riku's Subaru, sitting in the back with me. "What's going on?" I asked as Sora put a blind fold over my eyes. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," Riku muttered as the engine revved. "Or, you won't see." While Sora and Riku started whispering to each other, I started singing T.A.T.U's Sacrifice to myself to pass the time. After my second time singing the song, the car came to a complete stop, and Sora started helping me out of the car. Both my cousin and his boyfriend started guiding me up a set of three steps. I heard a gentle rapping on a door, and a door click open. Sora pushed me into the room, and sat me down on a soft surface. My hands kind of flayed out, and each hand touched a leg—I retracted and held my hands to my chest. It was dead quiet. I then felt a pair of hands at the back of my head, untying the blind fold. First thing I saw was Sora's very spiky head. As he pulled away, there was an extremely loud cheer.

That moronic, lovable, wonderful cousin of mine had managed to get everyone I was friends with, and throw me a surprise party.

Aerith, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie from work were there, Kairi and Naminé were waving happily in the corner, Pence and Olette were by the stairs(we happened to be in their townhouse), of course there was Riku and Sora, a few of my classmates that I could put up with, and even Axel and the gang were there.(it just so happened I had grabbed Axel's and Saïx's legs. Talk about weird.)

"Sora," I whined. "I told you I didn't want a big thing this year."

My cousin shrugged with a smile. "You're officially twenty one! What's not to celebrate?"

I felt Axel hug me from behind, and I scowled. "But I--" I stopped, being pulled into a lip lock. Well…I guess it was okay that my cousin was so thoughtful.

"Why didn't you tell me about your birthday?" my red head asked after we had parted.

"Because I didn't think it mattered," I replied honestly. Considering all that had happened to me that day, the party went over smoothly. By the end of the night, I was $285 dollars richer, had gotten a group call from everyone back home screaming happy birthday, and nearly puked from all the sea salt ice cream I ate. It was great. Everyone dispersed around nine, when Axel took me home. I was chatting animatedly in the passenger seat about one thing or another. "Oh, that reminds me!" I turned to Axel as we hit a red light. "My brother's wedding is on the second of January. I have to be there, but he said I could bring you along. Do you want to come?"

Axel kind of stared at me uncertainly for a moment, before he smiled slightly. "Sure," he muttered. "Need to meet your family sooner or later…"

I scowled, hinting at his hesitance. "…You don't want to, do you?"

"I said I would go!" Axel half yelled, hitting his hand on the steering wheel. "What do you want me to do? Dance excitedly?" He clapped his hands childishly. "YAY! A wedding!" He then glanced at me, scowling.

I glared at him and turned away, folding my arms over my chest as the light turned green. "You don't have to go," I muttered. "I was just being nice and inviting you…"

"Like I wanted to go," Axel hissed, thinking I hadn't heard him.

He really was an ass.

XxXxXxXxX

We went straight to bed that night without a word. By the next morning, I was still fuming. Not like Axel was willing to talk either; he left and hung out with Demyx all day, ditching his rehab session for the day. And I really didn't care; I was too pissed off to really care about anything. I didn't answer my phone when it rang, no matter who called. After a while, I realized that the only way I was going to forgive him was if I released some tension—by baking. Yes, when I'm irritated, I bake. And when I was about to make my infamous crack-filled-brownies-not-really-filled-with-crack, I realized I needed to go to the store. And Axel had the car. SHIT.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I grabbed my wallet and left the apartment, walking three blocks to the store, leaving my phone sitting on the coffee table. I bought milk, eggs, bars of Hershey's chocolate, chocolate chips, brownie mix, and brown sugar. I wanted them extra chocolatey, and Hershey's chocolate would do the trick. I returned to the apartment an hour later to find a frantic Axel pacing the living room and Demyx sitting on the couch casually. Axel stared at me, and I scowled, my frustration swelling inside me again. "What?" I snapped, sounding a bit bitter.

"I've been trying to reach you for an hour," he told me quietly, staring at the floor.

I shifted a bag on my hip. "Well, as you can see, I didn't have my phone." I walked to the kitchen and sat the bags on the counter. "Now calm down before you have a hernia."

"I was worried about you." I looked up at my red head. He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, glancing up at me like a puppy who'd been beaten one too many times. "When I couldn't reach you…I panicked. I thought that something happened…"

I sighed, emptying the bags. "no, nothing happened." I glowered at him, making him sit on the couch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm still irritated with you, and I'm going to bake." I brandished a wooden spoon at both of my living room's inhabitants. "If I catch either one of you sneaking in here, I will beat you within an inch of your life." I pointed at Axel, who was clutching Demyx's arm to his chest. "And don't think I won't." The two nodded and I began my work on the chocolate-crack-filled-brownies-not-really-filled-with-crack. By the time I had finished my third batch, I was perfectly content and not angry in the least bit, which is a major accomplishment for me. I sighed blissfully, flopping into my favorite chair. "I feel so much better now…" I cheered.

"Can we have some?" Demyx asked hesitantly, catching my attention with a wave of his hand. I looked thoughtful and nodded. Both he and Axel got up and grabbed one each, nibbling at first to make sure they were edible. Sure enough, both of their eyes widened to the size of saucers and they began downing the brownies like they were the last meal on earth. "These are excellent!" Demyx screeched passed a mouthful.

"Thanks," I muttered, picking up a book from the coffee table. "I only make them once in a blue moon."

"You should make them more often," Axel said, walking back to the couch, a napkin in his hands holding two brownies. "They're like, god-like brownies, or something."

I snorted, opening the book; it was Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King, if you must know… "Whatever you say, Axel." I was startled a bit when Axel held a small piece of brownie against my lips. I opened my mouth and let him pop the bite sized chocolate treat in my mouth. I had to admit, this batch was my best yet—it was orgasmic. I giggled. "You know, these aren't half bad, if I do say so myself."

"Aren't they!" Demyx shrieked. He then held up one of the pans. "Can I take one home?"

"Go for it," I muttered. "God knows I don't need the fat."

"I don't think you could get fat if your life depended on it," Axel muttered passed a bite of brownie.

"Can't have the fat if I want to be a model," I muttered, fighting a grin as Demyx ran out of the apartment. I giggled as Axel started choking on brownie.

"You want to be a model?" He couched. "I thought you were going to be a teacher!"

"I am," I confirmed. "But Olette and I used to joke in High school that I would become the sexiest model on the planet. And then I went on a diet for about a year and a half and ended up in the hospital my junior year. That's when I learned how under-weight I was." I tucked my chin in my hand. "The thing is, I'm a bottomless pit. So, by normal standards, I should be a fat blob." I stole another bite of brownie. "Oh well."

Axel chuckled lightly, and we fell silent for a moment, munching on brownie. "…So…am I still in trouble?" he asked hesitantly.

I looked thoughtful. "Well," I muttered, snatching another piece. "…What I want to know is…why were you so hesitant to answer? And did you really mean what you said?" I looked slowly at him, our eyes locking for a moment. "Did you really mean you didn't want to go?"

"No," the red head sighed. "I was just frustrated. I really do want to go; I'd be glad to meet your family. I just…I had something I wanted to do, and it kind of screwed up my plans a bit…"

My sapphire orbs blinked furiously. "Plans?" I sat up on my knees in the chair, tossing my book aside. "What plans are you talking about?"

My boyfriend smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see," he taunted. I let out a whine and he laughed. "Nope. Believe me, when you find out, you be glad that I waited."

I stuck out my bottom lip in a very evident pout. "Yeah, but I know I'm going to hate you in the meantime."

"That'll just make the whole thing better in the end," the red head chuckled, kissing my forehead.

"Speaking of families…" I smirked and leaned forward. "When I'm I going to meet yours?"

If there was a word to describe the look on Axel's face, I would use it. Sadly, I can't find a word to do it justice. It was just utterly disturbed and taken aback. "You want to meet my family!" he stammered, nearly falling out of his seat. "I mean, you're not joking!"

I snorted. "Why wouldn't I want to meet them? I mean, we're dating, and you get to meet my family in a week or so…when do I get to meet your family?"

He twitched slightly, trying to regain his composure. "Uh…are you sure you want to do that?"

"Positive."

"Uh…hold that thought…" He scrambled up off the couch and left the room, whipping out his phone and dialing a number so fast I swear I didn't see his fingers move. It was slightly eerie. I watched him leave, and watched the bedroom door as it slammed shut. I could hear his muffled voice for a few minutes, but as for understanding what he was saying—that was a no go. After about ten minutes, he came out of the bedroom, a 'oh crap' look on his face and tucking his phone in his pocket. He looked at my expectant face and giggled nervously. "Uh…how would you like to meet them for Christmas?"

I smiled, and guessed that this was the wrong answer—"Of course! That'd be great!"

"Uh, so…" He cleared his throat, coming back to the couch to sit. "It takes about a day and half's worth of driving to get there…so, if we leave tomorrow morning, we can maybe get there late after noon on the twenty first."

"Sounds great." He flinched. "What?"

"It's just that…" Axel rubbed nervously at the back of his head. "I haven't been back home for…two…maybe three years..? And my family is kind of…screwed up?" He glanced at me uncertainly. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

I placed a hand on Axel's reassuringly. "Axel, honey…I don't think anything could faze me. Not after what's happened in the last week." I smiled. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

The rehabilitating druggie groaned, burring his face into the couch arm. "Trust me, Roxas. You don't want to know…"

XxXxXxXxX

We started packing our stuff the next morning as soon as we woke up—which was stupid on our part, because we should have started night before—and were out the door and on the road by about eight, which was later than Axel had originally intended. The beginning of the drive was quiet, since we were both trying to wake up. I think I might have dozed off a few times, but I can't really remember—all the scenery looked the same. Around one-ish, we switched and I drove for a couple hours. We had a bit of an argument over whether or not we should stop at a hotel—I won because I refused to drive all night because that would be asinine.

The morning of the twenty first was an interesting one. Axel got many-a-calls from someone asking where he was, at which he would respond with, "on the road, what do you think?" He never really told me who it was. Anyway, around noonish, we finally hit civilization. A bunch of small homes that looked like something out of a show like "Leave it to Beaver" with the white picket fences and perfect yards lined the street, as well as the occasional shop. Any people we saw would stop whatever they were doing and wave—it was kind of scary. We passed a small cemetery and came upon more houses before Axel finally pulled into a dirt driveway.

In the drive way was an old Nova, with chipped red paint. The house was a bit beaten up, and painted white. The trimming was a dark, almost blood red, and had a porch. The yard was a jumbled mess of disjointed dirt and random auto parts. I glanced at Axel, arching a brow in curiosity. "Babe," I muttered slowly as he cut the power to the engine. "Give me a warning. Who am I about to meet?"

The red head opened his door with a sigh, and I followed suit. "My twin brother," he answered, grabbing our bags from the back seat.

"Wait, you have a twin?" I yelped, not exactly quiet.

"Yeah he does," a voice called from the porch. My eyes locked with a pair of green ones similar to Axel's. The man's hair was the same color as Axel's, but was considerably longer and softer, held back in a ponytail. He had red tattoos along his cheek bones, and was rather tall, dressed in a white tee and a pair of jeans. He raised a brow at me, his hands on his hips. "Now who's the runt you're leaving on my doorstep, Axel?"

"The what!" I yelped.

"The runt, Reno, is my boyfriend," Axel hissed through gritted teeth, guiding me by the arm up to the porch. "Roxie-baby, this is my twin brother, Reno. Reno, this is Roxas."

Reno eyed me cautiously, but smiled after a few minutes. "Pleasure, Roxas," he muttered, mussing my hair in a similar way that Axel did. He then waved us in. "C'mon in, unpack and chillax."

Axel nudged me a bit, and I followed Reno inside. I could tell that Reno had rushed to clean things up before we arrived—things were crammed in the corners of the already crowded house. But as we entered the spare bedroom, I could see why—he had cleaned it out so we could use it. Axel lied our stuff on the bed and stretched, his back cracking. "Reno, you didn't have to clean up," he told his twin. "Everyone knows you're a pack-rat."

"I wanted to make a good impression," the longer-haired red head exclaimed. "Besides, I wanted you guys to be able to use the dresser if you wanted." He smiled reassuringly. "C'mon, I'll give you guys a tour. Not that there's much to see."

"Uh…" I fidgeted slightly. "Do you mind if I stay here? I kind of want to unpack a bit…" I felt I was being rude, but I couldn't stand just leaving my clothes lying there. Sighing, I began digging into my back, glancing up at a small picture frame on the wall.

It was a picture of a woman. She was a rather beautiful with dark hair and eyes. She had a kind face, and was smiling with a sort of sad smile. It made me wonder a bit what she was sad about, if anything. She was wearing a traditional kimono in a pastel blue. I smiled at her photo—I couldn't help it.

"I see you've met our mother."

I looked to the doorway. Axel was leaning against the door frame, smiling. "That's your mother?" I asked, flabbergasted. I looked back at the old photo. "She's beautiful…" I whispered.

"I'm sure she would thank you, Roxie." My red-head chuckled, sitting on the bed beside my bag. "I think you would have liked her…"

I blinked, confused. "Wait what? 'Would have'? What do you mean?"

"She's dead." I stared as Axel looked up at the woman's picture again. "See, now I have to tell you a story about my family.

"See, my father is from Ireland. He has two siblings, my Uncle Riley and my aunt Analiese. They live in Dublin. Father was a businessman, and traveled a lot. He married my mum under the agreement with my grandpa that his sir name would carry on, because he had no sons. Father agreed, and so he and mom were married. The thing is, mom was a thin and feeble woman, and obedient. Too obedient. Father on the other hand was stubborn, and fierce. Not like he ever hit her or anything. So, a few years later, Reno and I were born, and about three years later came my brother Shoji. HE died of Leukemia, or something, because we couldn't afford the medical bills. He was only eight…" Axel trailed off a bit. "Here's the kicker though: Dad made a fair bit of money, and could have easily paid for Shoji to get better. So where was all that money going? Well, after shoji died, dad got more and more in depth with his job. And whenever he would come home, he and mom would fight. After a while, Reno and I found out that they were getting a divorce, because while dad had been in the states, he had fallen in love with this woman in Texas, and got her pregnant with his child, whose name we later learned was Breanna. Well, the night he was supposed to leave, Reno was pissed enough that he burnt down the house, thinking dad was inside. He wasn't. He'd gotten an earlier flight. But mom was. And she died. This left Reno and I as orphans. And that's about the time I met Demyx.

"Now, Reno and I didn't have much, but Reno ended up falling in love with this girl Natsu. She was beautiful, rich, and was one of the only people at school who tried to be nice to us. For god sakes, we were outcasts at every end of the spectrum. They fell in love, and her parents reluctantly took Reno in. Well…he got Natsu pregnant…and she was shot soon after having the baby. So, Natsu's parents thought of keeping the baby, but since they blamed Reno for their daughter's death, they thought it wasn't worth taking care of. So Reno took care of it by himself. But it got sick…and died." He leaned back on the bed, folding his arms under his head. "It's a wonder that Reno is still alive. Now I think it's his co-workers."

"Where does he work?" I asked, genuinely interested. I had stopped unpacking to listen, and was sitting beside Axel.

"He works for a company called Shin-ra. He's a turk. I think he's dating his co-worker Elena, but I'm not sure." My red head smiled. "I'm happy for him."

I sighed, kicking my feet a bit off the bed. "I feel bad now…" At Axel's questioning glance, I elaborated. "If I had known that Reno was the only family you had left…I wouldn't have suggested I meet your family…" I groaned. "Now feel all bad…"

Axel sat up, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Awe, don't worry about it. You wouldn't have known." He smiled softly. "You want to meet Shoji, Natsu and baby Yoshi tomorrow?"

I blinked. "What, go to their graves?"

"Yeah. Reno told me he goes every year with some of his co-workers. I think it'll be good. Besides…" He stared at his lap a moment. "…I haven't been to Shoji's grave since the funeral…and that was over twelve years ago…"

I hesitated a bit. Cemeteries gave me the heebie-jeebies, but if it meant that much to Axel, I could shove my fear aside. "All right," I hissed. "We'll go with Reno tomorrow. Now, help me unpack."

"Thanks, Roxas," Axel muttered, hugging me before pulling his clothes out of his bag. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"No," I muttered. "But I have a feeling I'll find out."