a/n: shorter chapter this time, but at least i'm getting it out pretty quick? also, the place where i cut it was kinda necessary, so yeah cx sorry if this chapter seems kinda choppy, it wouldn't really come out right...

a-far-off-memory

Chapter XXXV

Days passed.

Every day after work or after picking Naminé up from school, Roxas would visit the hospital. Sometimes, he went alone, other times, Sora or Ven accompanied him. He was grateful for those times, because having to watch Axel lay there, completely still, was hard to do alone.

But today...Dr. Leonhart was going to bring him out of his coma. And Roxas was going alone.

His nerves buzzed as he drove to the hospital, stomach churning with a mix of worry and anticipation. Finally, he'd have peace, unless...

Unless Axel sent him away. They had broken up, after all...

No, don't think about that, you're going to be there for him no matter what, even if he screams at you to leave, he told himself firmly, hands tightening on the steering wheel as he pulled into the hospital's parking lot. He cut the engine and jogged inside, feeling his body shake with nervous tremors as he made his way to Axel's floor.

Dr. Leonhart was waiting outside the door of Axel's room for him, offering a small, reassuring smile. "You ready?"

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I just need to know that he's okay, it's been hard..."

The doctor squeezed his shoulder sympathetically. "I know, but he's been doing well over the past few days, so you have nothing to worry about. Got it?"

"Alright," he whispered, allowing himself to be led inside. Yuffie, the nurse who usually tended to Axel and whom Roxas had become well acquainted with, stood by the bed, offering a bright smile. Roxas was grateful for Yuffie—she was like a ray of sunshine, keeping his hopes up whenever he looked too depressed.

"Ready to wake Sleeping Beauty, Squallie? Don't kiss him, his boyfriend is right here," she teased, shooting a wink at Roxas and making him chuckle.

Dr. Leonhart whacked her lightly on the head with his clipboard. "It's Dr. Leonhart, Leon, or nothing," he nearly growled, eyes narrowed in irritation. Taking a moment to make sure everything looked good, he got ready to disconnect the anesthesia keeping Axel under. "I'm going to bring him out of it now," he announced. "He's going to be very groggy, give him a moment."

Roxas watched with bated breaths as the doctor disconnected the IV, watching as his boyfriend very slowly started to move, pained groans escaping him as he did so.

And then his eyes were slowly opening, and Roxas nearly wept as he finally saw the green he'd been missing.

Axel looked around, blinking hard. "Wh...where...?"

Dr. Leonhart cleared his throat. "You're in the hospital, Axel. You were in a car accident, and you've been asleep for a little while to help you heal...how do you feel?"

"Shitty," he groaned, closing his eyes. "Where's...Roxy?"

Slowly, the blond moved closer, stopping right beside the bed and reaching out to stroke his hair. "I'm right here, Ax," he whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek only to be hastily wiped away.

Axel glanced up at him, blinking hard. "You look terrible," he croaked out, voice scratchy from disuse.

A relieved sob escaped Roxas. "So do you," he whispered in reply, running his fingers through long red hair.

The redhead shifted, which caused him to wince. "Where's Kai? Is she okay?"

"She's at Reno's, she's alright. Her arm is broken, that's all," he assured him, voice gentle.

A sigh of relief escaped the older male. "I'm glad she's okay..."

"She's okay due to the fact that you shielded her, Mr. Brenton," Dr. Leonhart informed him. "Had you not, I'm afraid she'd be in worse condition. She's a small child, she would've been in very serious condition if that airbag had hit her."

He shut his eyes, relaxing. "She's my baby sister, I couldn't let her get hurt..."

Dr. Leonhart met Roxas' eyes for a moment before he moved toward the door, waving Yuffie along with him. "We'll be back to run some tests shortly, take this time to talk," he told them before disappearing.

"C'mere," Axel murmured, cracking his eyes open and patting the space next to him on the bed.

Hesitantly, Roxas sat, swallowing hard. "I'm so sorry this happened, this is all my fault..."

"Don't do that, Rox," he said gently. "I'm okay, just a little sore. Don't beat yourself up for this, I don't blame you."

Slowly, Roxas leaned down, giving Axel all the time in the world to tell him no before he pressed their lips together in a soft kiss. He was so relieved...

"Ven came back," he whispered tearfully, smiling. "Zex texted him the day of the accident, and he came. He's okay, Ax..."

The redhead smiled brightly at that. "See, it was only a matter of time, love."

Roxas let out a soft chuckle. "He and Terra are dating, can you believe it?"

Axel laughed quietly. "I knew it would happen eventually. So everything is okay?"

"It is now," replied the blond, fingers stroking Axel's cheek. "I've been so worried about you, I haven't been able to think of anything else for the past five days...but Ven and Nami have been taking care of me. I've been eating and sleeping more, so..."

"That's all I wanted," Axel told him, leaning into his hand. "You were like a shell of yourself, Rox, and it was scaring me. I had to leave so you could realize that."

"Naminé talked some sense into me right after you left," he admitted.

Axel grinned. "Smart kid." Reaching up, he felt his face, brow furrowing when he felt the splint that covered his nose. "What exactly are my injuries...?"

Roxas sighed. "When you jumped in front of Kairi, you hit your head off the door, which caused a major concussion, damage to your neck, and it broke your nose. The airbag hit your side, caused most of your ribs to break, and one ended up puncturing your lung. You...you were in surgery for hours, and then they let me see you, and it was so terrible, Axel...there were so many machines, you weren't even breathing on your own...I've been here every day since then, and now you're finally awake and okay, and you have no idea how relieved I am right now."

One of Axel's hands rested against his cheek, and he raised his own hands to hold it there. Green eyes were soft as Axel murmured, "I'm sorry you had to be so scared, love. But I'm okay now, and I'm sure I look extremely hot." He wiggled his eyebrows as he said it, drawing a teary laugh from the blond. "We're gonna get through this, Rox. This, and whatever else comes our way. Alright?"

Slowly, Roxas nodded. "Alright," he whispered, turning his head to kiss Axel's palm.

Somehow, Roxas knew that everything was going to be alright.

"So Axie is really okay then?"

Roxas looked to his baby sister, offering a soft smile. "Yeah, kiddo, he's gonna be fine." Thankfully, he tacked on silently, letting out a long breath. Finally, it was like all the tension and stress had left his body, and it was a wonderful feeling.

Ven sipped at his iced coffee, glancing up at his brother. "And everything is fine between the two of you now?" he questioned, a single eyebrow raised.

The eldest Strife nodded once. "He said he only left to snap me out of it, and it worked...him leaving was like a slap of reality to the face, y'know? Because...I got really bad, Ven. And I don't want you to feel bad, because I know you had your own stuff to deal with, but...it was really hard on me. Not knowing where you were or if you were okay...it terrified me, Ven."

Ven looked down at his lap, twiddling his thumbs. The voices around them in the coffee shop were like a faint buzz, barely penetrating their little bubble.

"We all missed you lots, Venny, but it's all better now," Naminé told him with a bright smile, resting her small hand on his forearm. "We're a family again!"

Roxas watched with a smile as Ven pulled their baby sister into her arms, much to her protest as she was ripped away from her hot chocolate only to be smothered with kisses. Seeing her happy again was what really gave Roxas the strength to be happy too—because while he was relieved that Ven was home, it was a lot to process and he couldn't get over it just like that. He envied Naminé for the fact that she could—everything was so black and white to her. Roxas was practically drowning in the grey, stuck between happiness and all of the negative emotions he still held on to.

He'd just have to get over it. Holding on to anger or lashing out at Ven would do nothing good—he'd just have to move forward and try to forget all of the heartache he'd experienced over the month that his brother was gone.

But really, that sounded much easier said than done.

The drive home from the coffee shop was mostly silent. Roxas could see Ven staring out his window out of the corner of his eye, watching the rain hit the glass, and a quick glance in the rearview mirror showed that Naminé was busying herself with playing a game on his phone, which she'd begged him for the second they got into the car.

He couldn't understand why, but there was an uneasy feeling in his gut, like the feeling of some kind of impending doom. He didn't like it, not one bit, and he found his grip on the steering wheel tightening as they grew closer and closer to their home.

Something was definitely not right.

His gut feeling was proven to be true the second he pulled into their driveway. Because...

...there was a car in the driveway. A very, very familiar car.

Roxas' stomach dropped.

"Is that...?" Ven questioned, voice a whisper. Roxas looked over at his brother, seeing how pale he'd suddenly gone and feeling like he looked much the same.

Very slowly, the eldest Strife nodded, swallowing hard to wet his suddenly dry throat. "It is." Reluctantly, he cut the engine, and in his peripheral vision...he watched as the front door of their home opened, a tall, dark form emerging from inside.

A cry was heard from the back seat, followed by frustrated sounds as Naminé struggled to remove her seatbelt. Once she was free of it, she flung the door open, leaving it to be drenched by the rain outside, her mind on nothing else as she cried "Mommy!" and jumped into their mother's arms.

a/n: oh shit y'all

soooooo, tifa's back. predictions, anyone? how will the boys react? i know, but you don't B)

i'll try to update asap! thank you for all the wonderful reviews, y'all are beautiful as always c:

afom out~