"It's been like that for days," murmured Roxas as he paced back and fourth beside the couch were a red head was sitting, lazily flipping through the TV channels with the remote.
"Then why are you worried about it then, Roxas?" asked Axel in a lazy tone, his eyes not looking at the boy. "The guy seems to check out just fine and the brat seems to be content with him. Better than being here and being a nuisance to me."
"Axel!" snapped Roxas warningly as he slapped the man's arm but not very hard, an angry look on his face from the tone of the man's voice. "That's what I'm worried about! Sora's not ready for something like that! He's out of his mind!"
The man shot a glare at the other before letting out a sigh and placed the remote on the coffee table before he leaned back on the couch.
"OK Roxas, what is this really about?" asked Axel in a patient tone as he let his eyes close. "Are you just upset because your friend is with someone else and not you?"
"That's not the point!" stammered the blond with an ashamed flush on his face. "It's just…"
The man had to sigh again before he forced himself to get up and walk to the boy before he wrapped his arms around him in comfort.
"You're right…We've been following those two for weeks and I can't find anything wrong with this guy," murmured Roxas in a weak and defeated tone. "He's perfect for Sora…he's really nice and a great guy…he's just what Sora really needs."
"See? Now was that so hard?" asked Axel with a tone that was trying to encourage some cheerfulness.
"No," grumbled Roxas under his breath as he let himself rest against the man's chest.
"Now, do you think you're up to make me a snack?" asked Axel with a wide and almost childish grin down at the blond.
"Yeah," said Roxas after a heavy sigh though a smile was there on his lips.
---
"So where are we going today?" Sora asked happily as he walked beside Marluxia on the sidewalk, their hands holding tightly.
"I was thinking I could spoil you with a dinner back at my place," Marluxia suggested in an airy voice as he smiled down at the other. "Romantic enough?"
"Way romantic!" exclaimed Sora in agreement as he looked up at Marly with bright eyes. "You've never taken me to see your place yet!"
"Well I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I took you home for the first few dates," chuckled Marly humouredly as the two turned the corner and stopped in front of a large condominium.
"It's beautiful," whispered Sora in awe as he looked up at the tall lavishing building which somehow left him breathless.
"It's not so bad I guess," said Marly with a shrug. "At least its home."
They walked into the building; Sora becoming even more amazed as he saw so many fancy things like this place was some sort of hotel. But Marly's room was just as amazing. It was huge with large glass windows and a piano in the living room. There was a bar to one side and a large screen TV across from it with a large couch in front of it. Some of the floor had wood or rug and the walls had all kinds of pretty art.
"Now you see why I didn't bring you here earlier?" asked Marly as he patted the stunned Sora on the shoulder.
"It's amazing!" exclaimed Sora as he suddenly dashed across the room to look at everything; the piano, the large windows, the balcony to the side, the bar and just about everything else around the whole condo.
Marly just chuckled as he watched the boy run around looking at everything, an amused look on his face though in his eyes, obsession gleamed.
"Well, you can keep looking around if you like," Marly sighed as he pushed himself off the wall and started to stroll to the kitchen that was open from the living by a long island that separated the two rooms. "I should start dinner."
"OK!" Sora shouted from the other room, still excited by all the wonders this place held.
He crossed the hall into a large room that looked like Marly's bedroom. The bed was huge with what looked like pink coverings. It seemed like such a cozy looking room, quite simple yet rather extravagant since the rest of the place was.
What really caught his attention was the large wardrobe at one side of the room and he walked up to it. The handle was carved and curved and Sora couldn't help but run his fingers over it before tugging it lightly open. The doors swung open effortlessly but what was inside caused Sora to gasp in horror.
Pictures were taped all over the inside of the wardrobe and every one of these pictures was of Sora. He was either at school, walking down the street, leaving Axel's apartment and even when he was reading a book in the café Roxas was working at.
There were pieces of papers that were also added to the collection. Each one had something written on them and upon closer look, Sora realized that one those papers was all his information; where he went to school, where he lived, his whole name, what time he left for school and got back, lists of places he went often during the weekends and what really bothered Sora was the many ripped out pages of hand written letters.
Each letter had something. Some had confessions of Marly's love for Sora and that they would be together forever and some were suicide notes saying that Marly will die with Sora so that they can be with each other for all eternity. Each letter had different ways in which he would kill Sora and then himself; fantasies of Sora joining him in the afterlife and then saving the boy from his misery.
"Oh my gosh," whispered Sora so softly that he didn't even hear himself as his eyes darted from one thing to the next, panic and fear raising up inside is stomach.
"Do you like it?" asked Marly who was suddenly in the doorway to Sora's right. "I made it just for you."
There was a dark look in his eyes, something lifeless and dangerous.
"Why are you doing this?" Sora questioned him in a frightened voice as he back away from Marly as he started to walk toward the boy.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Marly as he turned his back to Sora so that he was facing the open wardrobe and he reached for something Sora couldn't see. "I want to end this life of misery so that we can be together forever Sora."
He turned around and in his hand was a gun. Sora's eyes went wide and he was scared out of his mind.
"No! I don't want to die!" cried Sora as he backed away from Marly, trying to make his way slowly to the door so that he could have a chance to escape.
"Really?" asked Marly a bit confused as he reached up and took off a piece of paper that was taped to the inside of the wardrobes door and read it aloud, "'I just feel so…empty. My friend fusses over me all the time and I can't help but feel like I'm making him suffer. He's my best friend…I just…don't know what else I can do. It feels like I just walk around in a daze, not really…living. I can't sleep at night because I just relive that night. It's the same every time I close my eyes. Riku standing there in front of me, happy as can be and then…in a flash he's on the ground in front of me, just bleeding horribly and I couldn't stop it. I just end up waking up in a cold sweat…my eyes stinging from so much crying…Will I ever get over what I did to Riku? Everyone keeps saying that it wasn't my fault…but they're just lying to make me feel better I guess. I just want to fade away…I don't want to exist anymore…'"
"That's my journal entry," Sora murmured, shocked that Marly had saved it and had added it to his "collection".
"Yes it is," replied Marly as he set it aside before looking at Sora, determination in his eyes. "Let me be the one to end your pain and give you your wish to no longer exist. I love you Sora."
"You sick bastard!" Sora screamed before he turned and ran out of the room, his hand pulling out his cell phone from his pocket so that he could call for help.
"Sora, wait!" exclaimed Marly as he caught Sora by the wrist, the man being too fast and easily outran the other. "I thought this is what you wanted! We can be together, Sora!"
"I don't want to die!" screamed Sora as he tried to pull his wrist free from the man's strong grip because that was the hand that was holding the cell phone. "I don't want to die! Not with you!"
The man frowned and gave Sora's wrist a sharp shake so that the phone hit the ground before he twisted Sora's arm behind his back. The boy gasped in pain and he couldn't move as the gun was pressed against his jaw, tears pouring down his face.
"You don't know what you're saying," muttered Marly under his breath in a tone that only a mad man would have, striking even more fear inside Sora.
'Not like this…I don't want to die like this…' Sora cried mentally, his fear overcoming him and all he could do was cry tears of pain and terror as he awaited his death.
"We're meant to be together," the man muttered in that same tone. "You said you wanted it to end and I'm going to end it for you, Sora, because I love you."
There was a soft click from the gun and the horror it sent through Sora was almost like a physically hit. He closed his eyes as he whimpered softly, his whole body shaking.
CRASH
The sound was almost earsplitting but Sora could tell that it was the sound of wood being smashed and not a gun being shot and brains being splattered.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Sora heard Marly growl with rage and suddenly the gun that was pointed to his jaw was pulled away, though the man still had his grip on Sora to keep him from running.
"Let him go," growled a deadly and familiar voice.
Sora opened his eyes to see Axel standing in the doorway with the door laying on the ground in many pieces. And for that moment, Sora was overcome with joy to see such a man for Sora never felt any sort of like of seeing Axel. But behind him was Roxas who was looking enraged at Marly. An anger Sora has never seen Roxas have.
"You can't stop me!" shouted Marly as he saw Axel advance and the pink haired man raised his gun.
Axel suddenly froze and just stood there, his eyes wide and the color left his skin. There was terror on his face and blazed in his eyes as he looked at the man with the raised gun. The red haired man didn't dare move and seemed completely out of it in absolute fear.
"Let my friend go!" shouted Roxas as he ran at the man and threw himself at him, the boy's arms wrapping around Marly's outstretched one.
"Get off me!" bellowed Marluxia as he shoved the blond off his arm before turning the gun to the boy who had fallen to the floor.
"Roxas!" Sora screamed as he was helplessly held by Marly with his other arm.
There was a roar that sent shivers through Sora. It was filled with rage and a want to kill. It wasn't Marly's voice but was Axel's. The tall man ran forward so suddenly that Marly couldn't even react when Axel punched him full force in the face and send him flying a few feet across the room.
Sora, now free from Marly's hold, fell to the ground as he tried to get the feeling back into his arm and to stop himself from trembling to violently.
"Roxas, are you alright?" questioned Axel's frantic voice as he knelt down beside the blond and helped him sit up.
"Yeah I'm fine," replied Roxas as rubbed a spot behind his skull. "Just hit my head that's all."
"Bastards! How dare you interfere with my promise to save Sora from the misery of this world!" shouted Marly who had gotten to his feet and was now pointing the gun at Roxas and Axel.
No, it couldn't end like this. Axel and Roxas couldn't die! They just couldn't! If they were killed…it would be all Sora's fault! He couldn't bare another death on his behalf and he wanted to protect them no matter what.
Stuffing all his fear away, Sora shot to his feet and ran right in line of the three. Axel was frozen as he stared horror-stuck at Marly holding the gun and Roxas was just as shocked and didn't move for he was too afraid.
There was a loud bang and a sharp unbearable pain ripped at Sora's shoulder, and he fell to the ground, screaming in pain as blood started to pour from the wound.
"No!" roared Marly in rage when he realized what had happened, this wasn't what he had planned!
He held the gun up again to finish off the other two but there was only a click as he pulled the trigger. It was empty.
Seeing the chance, Axel ran at him and threw fist after fist into the other man's face and sides. Beating him unrelentingly to the ground before Roxas had managed to pull Axel away before he could kill the guy.
"We need to call an ambulance!" shouted Roxas as he ran over to Sora's side and knelt down, slightly relieved to see that the other boy was still breathing and that the bullet wound had just cut his shoulder a bit deeply.
---
"How…did you find me?" asked Sora in a weak voice as he looked up at his friend that was sitting next to his hospital bed.
The blond smiled and placed his hand over Sora's before resting his head on the other's shoulder.
"Axel got hungry but we didn't have anything in the fridge. I had to go shopping and Axel came with me and that's when we spotted you with that Marly guy. We followed you…just in case and that's when we realized you were in real trouble," murmured Roxas softly to the other.
"I'm sorry Roxas, I'm so sorry," whispered the other as he tried to fight down his tears that were filling his eyes. "I'm so much trouble…"
"Don't be sorry," stated Roxas gently to Sora. "You were upset and really needed someone to be there. This was mostly my fault since I wasn't there when you really needed me. Yeah you made a really stupid mistake but…I would have done the same thing if I was feeling the same way as you did."
"But I almost got you and Axel killed!" exclaimed Sora but winced from the pain in his shoulder when he tried to move.
"But we're alive aren't we? Because of you," Roxas reminded Sora with a soft smile as he nuzzled the boy's cheek with his own.
Sora didn't reply, thinking that it really was his fault and Roxas was just trying to make him feel better by lying.
"From now on I'm going to be staying in your room," stated Roxas as he gripped Sora's good hand tightly.
"You mean I can still stay? Even though this was my fault?" asked Sora a bit surprised and confused at the same time.
"Of course you're staying," retorted Roxas with a slightly offended tone. "You're family Sora! We're not going to throw you out just because of some pink haired lunatic!"
Sora couldn't help but smile faintly at his friend and carefully he reached for him and gave the blond a hug. Roxas hugged his friend in return, being sure to be gently to not hurt him. Something about hugging Roxas made Sora feel so much better. Like the other's warmth brought a soothing feeling to Sora's entire being.
"I'm glad," murmured Sora softly, " 'Cause I'm going to need you now more than ever."
"I'll be there not matter what," said Roxas reassuringly with a smile at his friend. "You can count on that."
