AN: I'm so sorry I took so long. Writer's block got to me. And on a cliffhanger too, that must have been a real bummer. Anyway, here it is now and it's LONGER!!! XD So I hope you guys are happy with that. It's almost twice as long as usual and that's because it's the second-to-last chapter. Yep, next will be the epilogue and then it's bye-bye. But do not fear. I am starting a new story called Decietful Intentions. Everyone who hasn't seen it already, go read it. It's only one chapter so far, but it'll get there. And there's always the prequel and the spinoff to look forward to. But, bad news, I'm not gonna do a sequel. I don't have enough ideas to do one so it's just gonna end at this. Sorry. Reviewers!!

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You all make my day that much brighter. I love you!! -Glomp- By the way, this is a bit of a cliffhanger too, but not as bad as the other one. Next chapter will be lemon, so that may take even longer than this one did. Writing lemon makes me nervous because I don't do it often. But I need to in this one. Oh, also, Sora is in the next chapter. HOW, you may ask? Well, you're just going to have to find out now won't you? XD Alright, I've babbled long enough. On with the fic.

Disclaimer: There's no time for me to tell them something I've told them a million times already, just go!!

"Roxas…" Axel croaked, struggling to sit up. Demyx pushed him back gently.

"You're in no condition," the blonde said in a low voice. "He'll be fine. There's no use hurting yourself for no reason."

"No reason!? Demyx, if I don't go after him…" Axel clutched at his chest, out of breath as if he's just been running. "I need to know he's okay. I won't be able to stand it if something happened to him."

"Okay, okay," Demyx said soothingly, "He has school tomorrow, right? Well, I'll just go there and make sure he's alright. Don't worry."

"No, go after him now…"

"I don't know where he would go. I would be on a wild goose-chase all night." Demyx brushed some of the red hair sticking to Axel's face away. "I'll make sure he's okay tomorrow. You just try to get some rest, okay?"

Seeing no way around it, Axel nodded slightly as Demyx kissed his forehead and left the room.

Roxas didn't want to go back to the apartment. He knew Demyx would eventually go back there, and he didn't really feel like dealing with him at the moment. So he ran. Ran to nowhere. Just ran and ran until finally he collapsed on the ground. He didn't want to get up. Hell, he probably could have stayed there for the rest of his hopefully short life. But he recognized this neighborhood. It was Riku's neighborhood. He hadn't talked with the platinum-haired boy in a long time, but maybe this was something he could help him with. After all, they were still friends, right?

He wandered through the neighborhood, not used to maneuvering in the dark. Eventually, he found Riku's house and knocked on the door, tentatively but firmly.

Riku started awake at the noise. He had been up in the living room watching late-night TV. He must have dozed off. He rubbed his eyes and was just wondering whether or not he had actually heard anything when there was another knock.

He stumbled up and towards the door. Who the hell could be here so late? There was another knock. "I'm coming," he mumbled, too quietly for the person outside to possibly hear him.

He threw the door open, prepared to chew the person out for disturbing him so late, but didn't expect to be practically floored by a body slamming into him. Luckily, he gripped the doorframe and managed to stay upright. He looked down and recognized the mop of blonde hair, even in the near-darkness.

"Roxas?" His eyes widened. He thought the blonde didn't want to see him again, and really he couldn't blame him for it. So what was he doing here now?

"Riku…" Roxas sobbed. It was then that Riku realized his shirt was soaked with tears. Quickly, he ushered the blonde in and led him to the couch. Roxas didn't let go of him the entire time, so it was a little awkward.

Riku managed to separate the blonde from his torso so he could look him directly in the face. Roxas' eyes were bloodshot and tears were streaming down his face. His hair was a little matted; it looked like it had gotten a fair amount of tears soaked into it. All-in-all, he looked pretty horrible. The platinum-haired boy wiped away a few of the tears from the sparkling blue eyes. "What happened?"

The blonde bit his lip. "A-Axel…he, uhm…I just…" what came after that could only be described as incoherent babble, but Riku got the gist of it. Besides, all that mattered now was that the blonde was here and he was hurting.

Riku pulled Roxas back to him in an embrace as the blonde started crying again, harder than before. He started rocking him back and forth soothingly until the blonde finally stopped crying and dozed. He let Roxas' head rest on his lap and stared down at him. He really was just like Sora. How many nights had the brunette come to him in hysterics, seeking comfort? Usually it was because he and Kairi had had a fight. Riku could never help feeling so jealous that Sora wouldn't break up with the red-haired girl, but Sora always told him that he couldn't hurt her like that.

The platinum-haired boy couldn't argue. Kairi was his friend too. He loved her with all his heart, but he loved Sora so much more and wished that the brunette wasn't ashamed of him.

Riku's stomach clenched as the memories flooded his mind. He had never had the chance to tell Sora how he felt. The last time they had seen each other, they had fought. About the same old thing. Riku wanted Sora to break up with Kairi, Sora protested. Riku had ended up getting so angry that he'd slapped his younger lover. Afterwards, he stared, stunned, as the brunette stood up from the floor, cradling his bruised cheek. He just couldn't believe he had done that. He tried to apologize, but Sora ended up storming out. He had avoided Riku for the better part of a week. Riku was always too much of a coward to go up to him and try to make things right again. He figured Sora would come to him when he was ready to forgive the platinum-haired boy.

But then it was too late. He could remember clearly the day Sora and Roxas hadn't been in school. He figured they had both gotten sick or had gone on some family trip or something. It had been the farthest thing from his mind. But the next day, when the principal had announced over the intercom that Sora had died in a car crash and his brother Roxas was in the hospital, his heart felt like it had died and fallen to the bottom of his ribcage.

At first, he didn't believe it. Sora couldn't be dead, he was just out of sight. The principal must have lied, it must have all been a big joke. For a while, he believed that, and almost laughed when he saw Kairi crying. She was falling for the trick, she would feel like such an idiot at the end. It even got so bad that Riku had called their house. Nobody picked up any of the hundred-or-so times he called.

It wasn't until the funeral that it really hit him. He sat there, watching everyone give their condolences, trying to hide a smile because he knew they all must be in on it. And then it was Roxas' turn to speak. The blonde didn't look so good. He was pretty banged-up. However, he wasn't like the others. He wasn't crying like everyone else. Instead, his eyes looked…dead. Like he wasn't really seeing anything at all. It was almost frightening

When he sat down, someone leaned over to Riku and said, "That's him. He was driving when it happened. It was his fault," in a loud stage whisper. He could see the muscles on Roxas' back tense and Riku knew he had heard them. And, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. At that moment, Riku knew that it wasn't a joke. And he knew, as they lowered the coffin into the ground, that his best friend and lover was inside it. Suddenly, Riku felt sick. He rushed away from the funeral to a small patch of trees. Nobody even noticed.

Riku kneeled down by the tree and threw up until his stomach was empty. He couldn't stop the tears that came after that, they just wouldn't stop. He was gone. His beautiful blue-eyed brunette whom he loved more than himself was gone. And he was never coming back.

Riku had to fight back the tears as he remembered. It wasn't fair, that Sora had been taken away from him. The brunette had been the only person he had ever loved. And he was the sweetest person he'd ever known, he shouldn't have been taken away before his time. It just wasn't fair.

A few tears fell from the platinum-haired boy's eyes and landed on Roxas cheek, rousing the blonde. He opened his eyes and stared up at Riku, desperately trying to wipe his eyes dry.

"Riku?" He sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Riku said, pulling him back down, "Just go back to sleep." Roxas desperately wanted to press the matter, but was too tired to protest. In less than a minute, he fell back into a lazy doze.

Riku allowed Roxas to stay with him for a while. The blonde never talked about the reason he had come there in the first place and Riku didn't ask. It didn't really matter anyway, so long as the blonde was here and okay.

They were in homeroom, about 3 days afterwards, when Demyx came in. Roxas mouth dropped open as the taller blonde caught sight of him and waved. Roxas scowled at him and tried to ignore him, but he came up to him anyway.

"Hey there, Roxy," he said cheerfully, leaning against the table. Roxas turned away, pointedly ignoring him. "Aw, don't be like that." Roxas continued to ignore him. Demyx sighed. "Fine. Then I'll just say why I'm here. Axel really misses you, Roxas. He tried to get up to go after you way too many times to count and I've had to practically strap him down to keep him from hurting himself. He's miserable without you."

Roxas scoffed. "Why would he need me when he has you? I would think one would be enough for him, don't you?"

Demyx winced. "That's not really fair, Roxas. I was the one who kissed him back at the hospital. If you want to hate someone, hate me."

"He wasn't exactly fighting back," Roxas muttered darkly.

Demyx glanced over at Riku, who was staring with a worried expression at the blondes. His gaze flicked over to Demyx's. He didn't know what was going on, but it obviously had something to do with this guy.

Demyx sighed and turned back to Roxas. "I guess I'm just going to have to tell him you won't come home. He'll be heartbroken."

"Good," Roxas snarled, "Maybe now he won't do it to me so often."

Demyx glanced at the younger blonde sadly, then left the room.

At the end of the day, Roxas had left to spend some time with Namine, so Riku was left to walk home alone. He was about halfway there when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. Following the arm, he found the blonde who had been in homeroom, Demyx. He grinned at the platinum-haired boy. "Hey there. Mind if we talk?"

Riku was skeptical, but nodded, pushing the older boy's hand off of his shoulder roughly. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Maybe I should start again. My name is Demyx." He held out a hand for Riku to shake. The platinum-haired boy stared at it but didn't shake it. The blonde laughed sheepishly and took it back. "Actually, I need to talk to you about Roxas."

"What about him?" Riku said, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh…" The older boy looked intimidated, "You're his friend, right?"

"Yes, I am. What's it to you?"

"Do you know where he's staying?"

"And what if I do?"

"Look," Demyx said desperately, "I need to know. Someone I love very much misses him and just wants to make things right again. Do you know someone named Axel?"

That got Riku's attention. Of course he knew Axel. He was the guy Roxas had been living with before. And Roxas had been constantly sobbing his name out last night. "Yes…" he said slowly, "I know Axel."

"Then you've gotta help! Look, I did a terrible thing and I need to make sure it's all set right because I love him too much to let him be hurt like this. Please, I'm begging you."

Riku considered his options. From what he could gather, Roxas and Axel had been more than roommates. But something had happened and that's why Roxas had been so broken before. Should he really help someone who had possibly hurt his best friend?

Sighing, Riku took out a piece of paper and wrote his address on it. He was going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. "Here. He's staying here."

Demyx snatched the paper up with a huge grin. "Thank you so much, uh…"

"Riku."

"Riku." The blonde grinned again and headed back to the hospital. Riku watched him go, wondering if he had just done the right thing.

When Demyx got back to the hospital, he gave Axel the address. The redhead was so happy he wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck and practically squeezed the air out of him.

"Thank you so much, Demyx," he whispered, "I'll never, ever forget this."

The blonde smirked. "Anytime. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Axel nodded slightly.

Demyx pulled away from the bone-crushing hug and smoothed out his clothes. "Well, I'm gonna get going."

"You're going back to the apartment? Good idea. I'm getting out in about an hour so I'll meet you…"

"No, I mean back home." He sighed. "I don't think I should be hanging around here anymore. It's obvious I'm not needed. And besides, I need to get back for work and school. And Xaldin's gonna be worried." He grinned. "I sure will miss you buddy."

Axel smiled back at him. "I'm gonna miss you too, Dem. Be sure to call, okay?"

"Okay." Demyx stepped forward and gave him a brotherly hug. "You take care of yourself and Roxas." He pulled away and waved slightly before leaving.

When they released him from the hospital, finally, Axel was so giddy he could hardly stand to fill out the necessary paperwork. As soon as it was done, he raced straight towards the address given to Demyx by Riku.

It was a nice house, dark blue, and one story. Not much of a yard in the front, but maybe the back was bigger. Axel took in all these details as he stepped up to the door, butterflies in his stomach. Tentatively, before he could lose his nerve, he knocked on the door.

"Roxas, can you get that?" Riku said while he raided through the fridge. Roxas rolled his eyes at Riku's complete laziness and went to open the door. When he swung it open and caught sight of the shockingly read hair, Roxas' mouth dropped open. How had Axel known he was here?

Axel smiled at him. "He-" Before he could finish, Roxas tried to slam the door shut. But Axel was too quick. He caught it just before it hit the frame. "Roxas, we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you," he said, trying to get away as the redhead stepped inside.

"What's going on?" Riku said, coming into the hallway.

"Riku…" Roxas smiled, relieved. "Riku, please tell him to leave. This is your house, make him leave."

Riku glanced first at Roxas, then at Axel. His eyes widened ever-so-slightly and at first it looked like he would kick the redhead out. But, slowly, he put his arms out to the side, blocking Roxas' escape.

Roxas blue eyes widened. "R-Riku? What are you doing?"

"You can't avoid it forever, Roxas," he said quietly.

"W-what are you…?" He felt a hand grip his arm. He swiveled around to find Axel hanging on. "Let go of me!" He tried to twist away, but the redhead had a firm grip.

"Just listen to me!" Axel practically shouted, grabbing his other arm and facing the blonde towards him. "Roxas, please listen to me…"

"I don't want to!" He screamed, still trying to twist away. "You're a bastard! I hate you, Axel!"

Those words pounded into him like physical blows but still he held on. "You don't hate me," he said, shaking his head, "You love me. And I betrayed that by kissing Demyx. I'm sorry, Roxas, truly I am and I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe that."

"Why the hell should I believe you?!" Roxas screeched, still trying to get away, "You could be lying for all I know."

"I'm not lying." With some difficulty, Axel drew Roxas to him and held him tightly to his chest. "Roxas, I'm not lying. I would never want to hurt you, because I love you."

There was a slight hesitation in the struggling, but then the blonde picked it up again, stronger than before. "Liar!" He screeched, using his now-free arms to hit Axel anywhere he could. "You're a fucking liar! I hate, I hate you, I hate you!!"

He kept repeating that one phrase, and they hurt more than any of the punches he threw. Sobbing would punctuate his voice until it became practically incoherent. After a while, he stopped screeching, he stopped hitting, just sobbed into the older boy's chest gently fisting his shirt.

"I hate you," he whispered, only loud enough for Axel to hear. Axel took one of his arms from the young blonde and used it to tilt Roxas' face upwards. "I love you, too," he whispered, pressing his lips to the blonde's.

Roxas didn't resist, actually kissed back fiercely, taking his arms and wrapping them around Axel's neck. He was still crying, and the taste of salt mingled with his natural taste. Axel had missed this more than anything.

When they finally parted, Axel laid his forehead on Roxas' and stared into his eyes. They were red and puffy, and there were still tears, but Axel thought that he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

"D-did you really mean what you s-said?" Roxas gulped. "That you…l-loved me?"

Axel nodded and kissed him again, gently. "I did mean it. I meant it with my whole heart. And I'm going to prove it to you."