A/N: I know it's really late to mention this, but I wanted people to know that I realize 'blonde' and 'brunette' are the feminine ways to spell those two hair colors, but I just prefer to use them. I'm sorry if this has caused any confusion! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just ignore this small message.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I wish, I wish with all my heart, to elope with Roxy in a land apart!

(Candy to whoever can guess where I got that from)

"So the rumors were true then?"

"Yeah! Can you believe it? Apparently her death meant that the house would be sold. Axel is the only one who can own it now. Yuffie can't because she's too young, but since Axel's eighteenth birthday is coming up..."

"I see."

"Yuffie called about an hour ago confirming it. She was crying too...I can't believe she managed to tell him."

"I doubt it was of her own will. She probably slipped up."

"Was that her intention the whole time?"

"Possibly. However, their personal business if of no concern to me."

Sora, who was in detention hall a lot longer than he could take, made it home later that day to find one exhausted Roxas sprawled out on the couch and groaning. The brunette, upon seeing this, calmly walked over to his younger brother and asked what was wrong.

Whoever believed that is more gullible than Sora.

What actually happened was this: Sora opened the door, a little depressed due to the fact that the detention he served had lasted longer than he thought it would have. However, since Sora was one to look on the bright side, he cheered himself up by reminding himself that today was the last detention he had to serve.

He closed the front door with a loud, "I'm ho-oooo-ooo-mmmeee!" and a smile on his face only to be responded with a loud groan.

The brunette curiously walked into the living room and instantly went into mother hen mode upon seeing his younger brother laying on the couch and groaning as if he were just hit by a train.

"Roxas!" Sora shouted, running and kneeling down next to him. "You're sweating! And why are you coughing? What's wrong!?"

Roxas winced, burying his face into the couch pillow as if doing so would make the pain go away.

"I have a headache, Sora." The blonde mumbled. "Please don't talk so loud..."

Sora froze and then chuckled nervously to himself.

"Sorry." Gently, he felt Roxas's forehead with the back of his palm. "You feel warm...Are you sick?"

Roxas only nodded and curled into himself.

"I'll make you some soup then." Sora replied as he stood back up and headed toward the kitchen. "Go upstairs and I'll bring it to you."

Roxas cooperated and slowly stood up, walking toward the stairs and then using the rail as a balance as his headache grew more painful with each step.

By the time Roxas had made it into his room and curled up in his bed, Sora had already finished preparing the soup.

"What would you do without me?" Sora sighed as he walked into his brother's room with a hot bowl.

A realization must have dawned on Roxas because he hesitated, staring at his brother and then giving the vegetable soup a suspicious look.

"What?" Sora asked before something in his head clicked. "Oh, I get it. Scared of my cooking huh?"

"As easy as it is to make soup," Roxas replied, barely audible. It hurt to talk. "I don't trust your cooking."

"Geez," Sora sighed, rolling his eyes as he set the bowl on the nightstand. "I make cookies one time and you think everything I make will taste that bad."

"Or worse..." Roxas replied, grimacing. "Seriously, Sora. Who puts jalapenos in cookies? I'm scared to find out what you put in that soup after that incident."

"One time and I'm already labeled the 'Worst cook in the world', huh?" Sora stood up and shrugged, taking the bowl with him. "Fine. If you want to starve, then-"

"-I'll eat it." The blonde muttered. "And don't give me that look. I'm desperate and hungry, alright?"

Sora nodded with a goofy grin.

"Alright!" He said, handing his brother the bowl. "Oh! It's a little hot though, so be careful."

Roxas sat up, balancing the bowl carefully on his lap as he slowly brought the spoon in the bowl to his mouth. He hesitate for a long moment, wondering if the soup had the ability to worsen his condition, but then his stomach began growling and he decided that hunger was the main issue here.

Sora sat on the edge of his bed, giving his brother a hopeful look until the blonde's face contorted into displeasure as he spat out what he would have swallowed.

"What did you put in this?" Roxas shouted and then began coughing violently upon realizing that his voice shouldn't be raised that loud unless he wanted to have a coughing fit.

"What does it taste like?" Sora asked, his hopeful look dropping into one of confusion. He didn't remember adding anything weird to the soup. Nope, just a little pepper and maybe some lemon juice.

"It taste like...really bad tea...or lemonade...or something..." The blonde rasped. Sora tilted his head.

"Well," The brunette laughed nervously. "I thought lemon juice would um...add more flavor to it."

Roxas froze.

"Lemon juice?"

"Yup."

"...To add flavor?"

"Uh-huh!"

Roxas shook his head, handing his brother the bowl.

"Forget it. I'll starve."

"Roxas!" Sora whined. "C'mon! Let me try again!"

"No thanks." Roxas coughed. "I value my health and if I have anymore of that soup, I'm going to vomit."

Sora sighed, turning to leave his brother's room as he called out,

"I'll call mom."

The blonde nuzzled into his pillow muttering barely audible responses about how their mom wouldn't come home anyway and for Sora to just forget about him eating.

The next morning, Roxas was awoken by his alarm, his head throbbing and his throat even more sore than the day before.

"Morning sunshine!" Sora chirped. Roxas wanted to kick him. "Feeling better?"

Roxas trudged toward the kitchen.

"Yeah..." He lied, getting a glass of water. "What time is it?"

The brunette glanced up at the clock.

"It's almost time for school so we better-...Roxas? Hey, you don't look to good. Are you sure you should go to school today?"

The blonde nodded, his head pounding with each movement.

"I'm fine...I just...need to eat something."

"I still have that soup." Sora replied.

"Something edible." Roxas stated matter-of-factly. Sora huffed.

"Okay, I get it. My cooking is the worst in the world. Can we please stop picking on me now?"

Roxas smiled a bit.

"I'll stop picking on you when you find me some food I can actually digest."

The brunette rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Sora looked into the fridge, shaking his head as he stared at the only thing they had. TV dinners. "I guess mom hasn't gone shopping yet."

The younger brother shrugged.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Roxas..." Sora frowned. "At least lay down for a little bit longer. I'll tell your first class that you're running slow because of a fever, okay?"

Roxas shook his head.

"No. I can't afford to miss anymore school. And besides...I don't want to trouble mom."

"...You're so stubborn." Sora muttered as he headed out the door, Roxas close behind. "Fine. But if you start feeling really sick, promise me you'll at least visit the nurse?"

"Fine. I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise, I promise."

"Repeat after me, class!" The english teacher announced proudly. "Research papers are due tomorrow!"

When few students replied, the teacher once again asked for the entire class to repeat her which gained a few more responses.

"Very good! Now repeat this," She cleared her throat. "If Selphie doesn't stop texting in class then she will get a month of detentions."

The whole class turned to look at the brunette who blushed and quickly put her cell phone away. A few jokers actually repeated the phrase as others laughed. The teacher simply shook her head disapprovingly.

"Honestly, Selphie. First you fall asleep in my class, then you're writing notes, zoning out, and now you're texting." She sighed. "If I wasn't so generous, then you'd have detention for the whole year. This is your final warning, got it?"

"Y...Yes ma'm." Selphie whispered. Why was she always the one getting picked on?

Ding-ding! Ding-ding! Ding-ding!

"And if Kairi doesn't turn off her cell phone before class then she too will suffer the same consequences."

A few people joined in and repeated after the teacher as Kairi sighed, glared at Selphie and shut her own cell phone off.

"Now, let's move on."

As the teacher continued her lecture, Kairi silently pulled out her cell phone and read the text message she had just received.

"To: Kairi

From: Selphie

Where's Sora?"

The redhead dropped her head, half-chuckling to herself and half-cursing Selphie for getting her in trouble. Quickly, she texted back.

"To: Selphie

From: Kairi

How would I know?"

Selphie jumped when she felt her pocket vibrate which caused a few students to give her a strange look. She quietly took out her cell phone, responding to Kairi.

"To: Kairi

From: Selphie

Do you think he got into a fight?"

"To: Selphie

From: Kairi

Are you being serious? Sora?"

"To: Kairi

From: Selphie

Could you stop answering my questions with more questions?"

"To: Selphie

From:

Could you stop texting me and just ask me after class? The teacher keeps looking over here."

Selphie glanced over at her friend and nodded with a nervous smile.

After class, the brunette girl walked over to her friend eagerly.

"So what do you think happened?"

Kairi shrugged.

"Well, he definitely didn't get into a fight. This is Sora we're talking about."

"Oh, right." Selphie agreed as the two walked to their separate classes. "So you don't think Riku finally swooped in and-"

"-Riku what?" The silver-haired teenager asked as he sneaked up behind his two friends. Selphie jumped.

"R-..Riku!"

"What did I do?"

Selphie laughed nervously and shook her head.

"N...nothing!" The aqua-eyed boy gave her a skeptical look before she continued with, "Oh look, it's my next class! See ya' guys!"

Kairi smiled amusedly as Riku gave the redhead a confused look.

"What did I do?" He asked once again. Kairi shrugged.

"Who knows?" She glanced up at her friend questioningly. "By the way, have you seen Sora around? Or maybe Roxas?"

Riku blinked.

"No."

"Hm.." Kairi bit her lip and smiled as they arrived at her next class. "Oh well, don't worry about it. You don't have any classes with him so it's no wonder. Later Riku!"

"...Yeah...later." Riku said, waving as he pondered over what had just happened.

Ding-ding! Ding-ding! Ding-ding!

Kairi flipped her cell phone out as the bell rung.

"To: Kairi

From: Selphie

I just heard from Olette who heard from Hayner who heard from Rikku who heard from Namine who heard from Sora! Roxas apparently collapsed when they were walking to school and Sora and him are in the nurse's office right now! Can you believe it!?"

Sometimes, people just had off days. Sometimes, even Sora had moments where he felt like punching something in the face and scream to loud music about how much life sucked and rebelling as one teenager in a world full of apathetic adults. And sometimes, all of this was alright because when these things happened, they didn't last for very long. No, when these things happened, they passed by rather quickly and your friend who was sad one day would be smiling the next. It was hormones, most adults claimed. It was over-hyped drama, teachers suggested. It was strange, Riku thought. Because deep down, even if that friend was having an off day, you knew they'd be alright soon enough. Yet oddly enough, as Riku sat down next to a bright, red-headed boy who was frowning, the teenager felt as if this wasn't going to be something that could be so easily forgotten the next day.

Riku glanced at his friend with a concerned look, almost not recognizing the Axel he was staring at. He had been so used to seeing a dumb smirk on his face that seeing him frown felt very wrong.

"Are you okay, Axel?"

"Peachy." The redhead mumbled, scribbling small circles in his binder and ignoring the teacher who was currently lecturing the class about how great polynomial functions were.

Riku tried to remember a time when Axel wasn't smirking dumbly or smiling proudly about his 'accomplishments'. No memory came to mind.

"Is...everything okay between you and Yuffie?" Riku asked, taking a guess at what the problem might be. Axel seemed to flinch but not noticeably enough for others around him to turn toward him. Riku saw it, but didn't say anything when Axel replied with a, "No."

The silver-haired teenager stared at Axel, internally calling him a liar before he was asked to do a problem on the board.

Was it just him or was everyone around him acting strange today?

"Lack of proper nutrition and a minor case of the cold."

Sora stared at the nurse dumbly, as if waiting for her to say more. When no reply came he struggled to find something to respond with.

Luckily, he was cut off by Kairi, Selphie, Olette, and Hayner who stormed into the room with worried expressions. As if on cue, all four shouted, at the exact same time, "Is he okay!?" The nurse merely chuckled to herself and nodded, pointing at the lump of sheets next to Sora.

"He's fine. He just has a small cold."

"Oh." Olette sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Sora nearly gave me a heart attack when he told me Roxas had collapsed!"

A small muffled sound emitted from the lump of sheets.

"Roxas?" Hayner asked, approaching him slowly. "Hey, man! You awake?"

"I didn't collapse," The blonde mumbled, now audible. "Sora's being over dramatic."

The nurse cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but don't you all have class right now?"

Olette, Selphie, Kairi and Hayner all exchanged nervous glances.

"I'm sorry." Olette replied. "We were just so worried about him that I left my last class immediately."

Selphie, Hayner and Kairi nodded in agreement and the nurse sighed heavily.

"Well, you better get back quick. I can't write you all passes."

"Okay." Kairi responded, turning to smile at Sora and Roxas. "You two are going home, right? I'll be sure to stop by later."

"Us too." Hayner added. "We'll bring Pence, Namine and Rikku along as well."

Roxas groaned.

"Guys, it's not like we're throwing a party. I'm fine, really."

"We're just worried about you." Olette giggled. "I hope you feel better, Roxas!"

As the four teenagers left, the nurse turned towards Sora, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You've got some good friends."

Roxas nodded in reply as Sora agreed.

"Yeah. We're really lucky we have friends who care so much." He chuckled. "So it's okay if I go home with Roxas too, right?"

"Well," The nurse stared up at the ceiling in thought. "You said your mother can't come by and pick you up and you want to safely walk your brother here home and take care of him, right?" Sora nodded. "Alright. I think I can allow you two to do that. But if he's sick tomorrow as well, you'll have to find a guardian to watch over him. You can't afford to miss school."

"I know." The brunette boy replied, smiling as he helped his brother off of the bed in the clinic. "Thank you."

"Apparently, Roxas isn't feeling well today." Rikku had announced earlier that morning. "Me and Namine just found out from Sora and he asked us if we could inform our first hour teacher so Roxas isn't counted for an unexcused absence."

Axel looked up at the blonde girls, as if silently pondering what they would do before Rikku had continued with, "How about us three all work together tonight since Roxas isn't here to divide the group evenly?"

Namine nodded in agreement.

"Sure. Is that okay with you, Axel?"

Axel, who was half-zoning out, only nodded in agreement, his expression less perky and devious than normal. Namine, who was very perceptive of these things, immediately caught on while Rikku remained oblivious, chatting on and on about some show she watched last night.

Why did it seem like something was off about Axel all of the sudden? Was it because Roxas was sick? Maybe the girl would suggest visiting Roxas before-

"So who's house are we going to?" The redhead abruptly asked. Namine blinked before Rikku replied for her.

"Let's go to Nami's house!"

Axel shrugged as Namine continued to observe the redhead, only nodding in response to Rikku's suggestion.

"Then it's settled!" Rikku chirped. "We'll go to Namine's house to finish off these worksheets!"

Much later on in the day - after Sora and Roxas had returned home, getting visitors left and right - Rikku, Axel and Namine had been invited to visit Roxas who was apparently "very, very sick" according to Sora. After much debating between the three, they decided that visiting Roxas for a few minutes wouldn't hold them back on their work for too long.

When they got there, Olette, Hayner, Kairi, Selphie and Pence had already left. Sora eagerly brought them upstairs so they could visit and wish Roxas well, however the blonde had fallen asleep between the time the first group had arrived and their group had arrived. Namine and Rikku smiled at each other as they walked into the room quietly.

"Roxas?" Sora said, gently. "You have more visitors."

Roxas shuffled under his sheets and buried his face deeper into his pillow as Sora sighed.

"Sorry, guys. I know you all came out here to see him, but I think he's out cold."

"It's fine." Namine replied softly. "We'll see him again tomorrow either at school or here, if we can visit again."

Sora nodded and grinned.

"Sure. Thanks for stopping by." He looked over at Axel who was currently searching for something. "What's up, Axel?"

"I'm looking for a few worksheets I accidentally stuffed in his bag yesterday for our parenthood project." The redhead glanced over at the trio. "You guys can go wait for me outside or something, I'll be quick."

"Alright." Sora laughed nervously. "Try not to make too much noise though."

"I know, I know." Axel said, grinning. "Wouldn't want to wake sleeping beauty over here."

As the three walked out of the room, Axel rummaged through Roxas's backpack, attempting to be as quiet as a mouse...

...however, that failed when a giant book slammed down on the hardwood floor.

"Shit!" Axel hissed, and Roxas turned on his bed, groaning. Axel looked up at the sleeping boy like a deer caught in the headlights, and slowly, his eyes opened up.

It took a minute before Roxas's brain registered just who was in his room, and when it had registered, he attempted to scream but only managed to let out a wimpy, "Ax-" before surrendering to another coughing fit. Axel quickly stood up and handed the blonde a glass of water sitting on the night stand.

"Careful, careful...By the way," Axel said with a cheeky grin. "Sorry I woke you."

Roxas stared at the man strangely, in what looked like a half-glare and half-'what the fuck are you doing in my room' way.

"I just came to get the papers I accidentally put in your backpack yesterday." Axel said in reply to the stare.

The blonde eyed the man skeptically before the redhead pulled out said worksheets as proof.

"Well," Axel said, placing Roxas's backpack against a wall. "I also stopped by because I heard you were sick. Feel better soon, Rox."

Roxas rolled his eyes and laid back down, expecting Axel to spew out more nonsense and leave.

But suddenly, he felt the atmosphere change as the room fell silent. Curious, he glanced back over at Axel who was staring at the ground, uncharacteristically sad.

"Axel?" The blonde asked, his voice raspy. Axel flinched in surprise and then chuckled, waving at Roxas as he turned to leave his room.

"Sorry. See ya', Roxy."

For a moment, Roxas watched the door, as if expecting Axel to reappear and tell him some more stupid comments about whatever his idiotic brain could think of. When this didn't happen, the blonde began to ponder over what all that could have meant. It was unusual the way Axel had just paused in the middle of his room, deep in thought, and then when Roxas was about to ask what was wrong, Axel up and left.

"I guess it's really none of my business." Roxas thought. "Why should I care if he's sad or not anyway? Damn illness. I swear, it's making me soft."

When Rikku and Axel had reached Namine's house, the blonde, quiet girl continued to observe the redhead. He was trying to deceive people, she thought, although not well enough. After all, she had caught on. Silently, the girl wondered how long he had been like this. Namine said nothing about it, however, as she felt if he didn't want others to know, she'd try asking once Rikku left.

Once Rikku left the house, whistling a happy tune after hours of studying, Namine turned toward Axel, her concern growing upon catching a small frown on his face.

"May I ask what's wrong?" Namine said softly as the front door slammed with Rikku's leave.

Axel looked down at the blonde girl for a long minute before deciding that if he was going to tell anyone, it would be someone who could keep their mouth shut and mind their own business. And if Namine's personality didn't scream that, then the redhead wasn't sure who was reliable.

"Sure." Axel replied, shrugging. "You see, I'm kind of down about going back to Hallow Bastion to reclaim what's lost."

Namine blinked, silently wondering if Axel was serious before realizing that the look on his face was confirmation enough.

"I see," The girl said, nodding. "When are you going back?"

The redhead hung his head, a sour expression on his face.

"In two weeks."

A/N: I'm thinking this story is coming close to finishing. There's still some major events that I am going to include, but I'm planning around 20 chapters or so. I'm still kind of outlining and planning though so don't hold me to that number.

Next chapter is going to be Axel's POV. Yeah, seems a little soon to have another one, right? But I kind of need to speed this up a bit. I'll do my best!

Look forward to it!