Ill Repute

Note: I am completely overwhelmed by the simple amount of writing I've done lately. I'm actually really proud of myself, and I'm happy. This trip is amazing for my wellbeing, and I can't thank each of you enough for reading this story (I'm actually surprised how well it seems to be doing) and supporting this story with your reviews. Thank you.

"It's half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong. You'll notice something funny if you hang around here for too… long ago, in some black hole before they had these pills to take it back. I'm half jill and half jack."—The Dresden Dolls, "Half-Jack"

Chapter Three: Dissent

It was another five days before Roxas saw Garnet again, and when she did come, she was aflutter with apologies. The way she seemed so flustered, Roxas quickly figured out that something was wrong. She was talking idly about something that didn't matter when Roxas interrupted her.

"Garnet…" He looked up at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

She looked up from her disorganized stacks of paperwork. "Hm?" Her eyes were clouded and vaguely bloodshot. "Nothing, Roxas." She looked back down.

Roxas stared at her. She was obviously lying. "Garnet, something's wrong."

She sighed and slumped forward, laying her head in her hands. "Roxas, your case is very complicated."

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, then." His voice was sad and sincere.

She shook her head. "No, don't be. I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't worth it. There's a contest of the decision to send you here by your father, who says there's no proof that you were abused at all." Her voice was low and upset. "Because you haven't come out and said that it happened."

Roxas stared, speechless. "I… But… I don't…"

"Remember anything, I know." She clenched and unclenched her fists. "Fortunately, Officers Leonhart and Strife, as well as Dr. Gainsborough, are all working hard to disprove that based on the medical evidence. Furthermore, my husband is going to put his word in on the matter."

"Your… husband?" Roxas echoed, confused.

She nodded, going back to pulling paperwork from her briefcase. "Yes. My husband is the officer who found you on the bridge, Officer Tribal." She sighed and then pulled out one final set of papers. "You also have a brother, Roxas." She seemed to have struggled with this information the most.

"I… I have what?" There was so much to learn about who he really was…

He'd been in such a rush since he and Axel had made peace and started over just days before. Since that day, though, there had been no moments where Axel's darker half burst free and tried to bully him. Then again, Roxas didn't let Axel forget his medicine, and Roxas was away taking tests to get back into school a lot of the time. It hadn't, fortunately, taken much time to accustom himself to life in the home, though he wondered if it didn't have something to do with it being considerably better than living in a hospital.

This bit of information, however, was like a blow. He'd gone through a lot within the last few weeks, which was as far as his memory stretched, and this was probably the most stunning. "I have… a brother…?" He whispered. "Where is he? Is he alright? Did you get him away?"

Garnet nodded. "He's been removed from your father's home, and is currently living in another home like this." She picked up a picture from her case and handed it to Roxas. "His name is Sora. He's your twin." She leaned back as though she were thinking. "Fraternal, from what he says, but you can definitely see the resemblance."

Roxas, on the other hand, had tuned her out and was staring at the picture of him with his… twin brother? It was unreal, but it had to be true. There he was in that picture, a boy who looked uncannily like him smiling and hugging him. It was the only evidence that Roxas had that he might have had some kind of joy in the empty darkness that was the past he didn't remember. He had hoped that there was something there, and here was his proof. "Will I be able to meet him?" He asked quietly.

Garnet smiled. "Of course. You may be going to school with him. He may even come to live here. If he does, we can talk to Cid about getting the two of you to share a room. He may be able to help unlock all your memories."

Roxas's head snapped up. "I… I can't live in the same room as him." He told her immediately.

Garnet's eyebrows rose. "You can't?" She seemed concerned. "Is something wrong with your brother?"

Roxas shook his head. "No, no… I just…." He took a short breath and stared at his fingers as they traced on the table. "I can't leave Axel alone again."

Garnet looked confused for a moment before realizing. "Your roommate? He'll have another one, I promise you."

Roxas shook his head. "I want to be his roommate." He didn't expect her to understand, but he wanted it clear that he had to stay with Axel. The only thing Roxas really knew was for things to be rough and confusing, and though he and Axel had started off on the wrong foot, Roxas couldn't imagine leaving behind the only person who had taken the time to help him through… And Axel had never had any roommate last, because of the way he was. Roxas wasn't going to be like that.

Garnet nodded, making a small note. "Alright, then." She told him and looked over the paperwork. "If it's alright, I want to talk to Cid and see if Sora can be brought here." She inhaled. "He isn't showing the same signs of intense abuse that you suffered. I don't know what made him different from you… but… Something was there." She shuffled her papers and packed them up. "I'm going to be back later today… Probably with Sora." She stood up and smiled at Roxas.

"We're going to make it work out." She promised, before leaving to speak with Cid.

Roxas only rubbed his temples. He had a killer headache and as he stumbled out of the room, he ran into his much taller roommate, who seemed to have been looking for him. "'lo, Axel…" He mumbled, heading for the kitchen. Maybe he was just hungry.

Axel caught up to him within a few long strides. "What's wrong?" He inquired gently. "You aren't looking so good." When they got to the kitchen, Axel forced him to sit in a chair, and started rummaging through the cabinets. "How's soup?"

"Fine…" Roxas answered dully, laying his head in his hands. One of the other boys who lived in the home, Xaldin, walked in. He looked at Roxas, nearly laying over the table, and Axel, who was carefully heating the soup for him, and thick eyebrows creased.

"What's wrong, Roxas?" He sat down across from him and peered over the table at him. Xaldin was known for his impulsive behavior, but was just as committed to the wellbeing of all the boys who lived in the house and how they all got along as the rest of them; just as much as Roxas had found himself becoming over the past few days.

Axel sat down a moment later, after Roxas just stared at the table, and handed him his soup. "You want to tell us what happened?"

Roxas swallowed and took a bit of his soup. "I have a brother." He told him quietly. "I have a twin brother, and he's coming here this afternoon. I think he's going to be living here."

This was news to both of the others, and they exchanged glances. "Are you going to room with him?" Axel asked quietly, but Roxas caught the hurt in his voice.

"No." He replied truthfully. "I told Garnet I wanted to stay living with you." He looked straight into Axel's eyes, and the redhead was the first one to look a way, relief and something like embarrassment flooding his veins.

"Thank you…" He mumbled. "It means a lot that you'd choose me over your brother."

Roxas shrugged, trying to write it off. "I don't even know him. I know you."

Axel stared at him for a moment, then laughed and shook his head. "It means a lot." He told him, and Roxas knew he meant it.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon was spent in the living room with Axel, Xaldin, Demyx (who Roxas had come to like quite a bit), and Zexion, who was as quiet as ever. The five sat in quiet, only breaking the silence occasionally. They all knew it was weird for Roxas. They knew, and they were concerned for him.

"Who's he going to live with?" Axel finally voiced, not even needing to say who he was.

"Me." Demyx looked up from the TV to Axel. "I haven't had a roommate since Xigbar moved out with Luxord a couple months ago."

"Oh." Roxas murmured. He still wasn't sure how he was supposed to react when Sora arrived. Was he supposed to hug someone he didn't really know? Would Sora understood? They had looked so happy in the picture that Roxas now had hidden away in his room… He closed his eyes and briefly wished that he could remember what had happened… Why did he have the scars and bruises, and Sora was apparently untouched? Roxas's head started to hurt very badly, so he quickly stopped thinking about that particular subject.

He would just have to ask Sora.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and soon Roxas was ushered into a small parlor-like room, where he waited only a few minutes before Garnet came, ushering forward a teenager who looked very much like a mirror image of Roxas. A gasp was torn from his mouth when he saw Sora. He was just so stunned to see someone who looked so much like him, and yet…

Sora was just as tall as Roxas, but his face was a little rounder, his hair darker and stuck up in a different way than Roxas's, which usually hung into his eyes. Sora looked very concerned and worried when he came in, but when he saw Roxas, his eyes brightened. "Roxas!" He cried, and took a few quick steps toward his brother, but stopped short, feeling awkward. It was obvious that he wasn't sure if it was okay to hug his brother. Roxas smiled awkwardly at him and gave him a hug, which Sora returned fiercely.

"I've been so worried about you…" Sora told him softly.

Roxas looked at his twin (who he later found was a total of seventeen minutes older) and could only give him a bitter smile. "I'm sorry…" He murmured, unsure of what to say. He was sure Sora had been told of his situation. He was sure Sora understood.

Sora looked up at him with a sad smile. "It's okay. I know." Garnet stood aside quietly, watching the brothers interact. Roxas could tell that it was painful for Sora to know that he was the only one who could remember everything, though Roxas had no idea what it was he wasn't remembering.

"I'll step outside, boys. I need to give Cid the paperwork for you, Sora." The boys nodded slowly, in unison, and Garnet left, closing the door behind her. When the door was closed, Sora looked at his brother, his eyes that matched Roxas's pleading.

"I know you can't remember… But I'm so sorry…" He whispered. "This is all my fault. That you can't remember anything… That you have all these injuries and…" Sora lowered his head in shame. "I can't even apologize enough."

Roxas stared at the boy that he knew without a doubt was his brother, looking pained. "Don't say that. It can't be your fault. You didn't do this." His voice was even and soothing.

Sora looked pained. "You've been protecting me for too long, Roxas…" He bit the inside of his lip. "All these… The reason I don't have any marks is because you took it for me… And then you forgot everything, and never came home…" He stared at the floor intensely. "And all because you wanted to keep it from happening to me."

Roxas knew it would be too easy to blame everything on Sora, but that wouldn't be fair. He hugged the brother he didn't know, and wished he could. That was one thing he really wished he could recall… He supposed he could do without the horrible memories. It just felt right to be with his brother there, and he wanted to feel happy like he had been in that picture.

"Maybe I don't remember, Sora… And maybe I don't remember you as my brother, but it's not your fault. Don't think it is." Roxas managed his first real smile that he could truly remember. "Come on. You should meet everyone here." He gestured out the door, and Sora followed him into the living room, where Axel and Demyx were waiting.

Axel was the first to spot them, and his mouth fell open up on seeing them. He'd seen the picture of the twins, but it was stranger to see them side by side. "Wow." He laughed it off and held out a hand to Sora. "I'm Axel. I live with Roxas."

Sora nodded and Demyx stood up. "And, er, I'm Demyx."

Sora's eyes widened with recognition of the name. "You're the one I'm living with, right?"

Demyx nodded slowly. "Yeah." He was still trying to figure Sora out, and also was still in awe over the similarities in Sora and Roxas.

Axel looked over the two of them and motioned for Roxas. "Hey, Roxas… Can I talk to you?"

They stepped into the hall and Roxas waited expectantly. "What's wrong with your brother?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's just like that. I wouldn't know."

Axel shook his head. "No… It's the way he's acting. Like something's really bothering him."

Roxas exhaled, feeling his head aching horribly. "He blames himself for everything." He laid his fingers on his temples. "God, my head hurts."

Axel recognized the signs that Roxas was physically reacting to the stimulus of his memories. He didn't want to remember, and so it was hurting him. "You should get some rest."

"I should probably go see Sora…"

Axel took his arm and steered him toward the stairs. "Demyx probably won't shut up about his boyfriend, or something like that. You should go lie down." Axel marched him up the stairs and watched him as he took off his shoes and fell onto the bed.

"Thanks, Axel…" Roxas murmured as Axel started for the door to explain things to Sora. Roxas knew it was strange that they had bonded so well over so short a time, but Axel was all he had. Axel was the only one who seemed to be constant, regardless of the mood swings and violent personality changes that hadn't happened since that first day. He reached out and seized Axel's hand, embracing him quickly before letting him go.

"Tell Sora I'm sorry…" Roxas murmured before covering over his eyes and falling to sleep.

Axel only gave a small smile and nodded. "Anything." He told him softly, sure that Roxas couldn't have heard him. Indeed, Roxas hadn't, but he was thinking something along the same line.

End Chapter Three