Disclaimer: Guess what? No, really, guess. Yep, that's right. Kingdom Hearts isn't mine.

Warnings: Shonen ai coming up soon enough, boys and their potty mouths, and drinking…er…drunkenness in fact.

Author's Notes: Again to the reviewers and everyone who added this story to story alerts, you guys are simply amazing!

Uncommon Ground

Chapter 7.

Roxas had never been much of a drinker. The position of resident lush had always gone to his best friend Hayner during their high school days together, not that Hayner had been anything even close to an alcoholic. If memory served Roxas correct, Hayner had been drunk a whopping four times over the course of their high school days. The title of lush had fallen on him only because Roxas certainly didn't have the reputation to carry it, and all of their other friends were even more pathetic lightweights.

So when Roxas went to set his glass down, knocked it, and watched with detached fascination as the remainder of his ice-cold beer spilled out across the table, he was a little surprised.

He knew he should be grabbing for napkins and wiping the mess up with prompt efficiency, but he just couldn't find it in himself to care much. The pub seemed much too warm and cozy. It certainly didn't seem like a place where one should concern themselves with such menial tasks as wiping up a spilled beer. The concept of liquor abuse did cross the young blond's mind for a brief moment, but he forgot about it not half a second later and instead continued to bask in his own contented glow.

The far-off look Roxas was sporting was not lost on Axel. He had been personally acquainted with the look more times than he really wanted to recall. It was the visage of someone completely sloshed – just not about to admit to it.

"You know," He said conversationally, while he wiped up the mess with napkins before it spread any farther. "I think you've probably had enough for tonight."

"Huh?" Roxas leaned forward at the little wooden table and laid his head down on the cool surface. "I dunno what you're talkin' bout."

"Here ya go!" Demyx plopped down on the seat next to Roxas and put a big glass of ice-water in front of him. "You just sip on that." He added lightly, and bit into a lightly crisped chip from the pile on his plate.

"He's tanked." He whispered to Axel, who's response was a curt nod.

"I know."

The funny thing, the really, truly ironic part, was that Roxas originally had no intention of drinking.

On the way to the pub he had made a fuss, because there was absolutely no way he was going to even have one beer.

And once seated in the quiet smoky atmosphere, amongst the locals discussing the daily drudgeries and tourists sitting in close-knit groups sipping on golden pints he had still stuck to his guns.

No way, no how.

However, once Axel had placed the order for the three of them, and placed a large glass of amber colored beer in front of him, he felt his resolve begin to waver, after all, it was only one drink.

He had picked up the beer, raised the glass to his lips, and said goodbye to better judgment. Not to get drunk of course – there was no way he'd do something so stupid.

That had been only six beers and an hour and a half in the past. Sad by anyone's standards, except Roxas', as he had no standards at the present time.

"You guys are fun…" He mumbled in a drunken stupor. "I'm happy I met ya."

Axel cracked a smirk and patted Roxas on the head. "Just try and remember that tomorrow morning." Axel heard a few guys laughing at the next table and waved at them, before pointing at Roxas and mouthing the word 'lightweight'.

It was only seven and the pub was already full of people. Most nursing a frothy beer and munching on food from the kitchen. Roxas, Axel and Demyx had all ordered fish and chips, but the youngest blond had never gotten around to eating more than a few mouthfuls of the food. Axel figured that was most of the problem.

"So Roxas," Demyx paused to take a swallow of lager before continuing. "You never told us much about yourself."

It took a moment for the blond to comprehend what was being asked. He stopped lazily drawing geometric patterns with his beer-coated finger on the table and shrugged drunkenly. A young woman from the table over waved, and Roxas wasn't sure if he loved her or hated her at that moment, but he waved back regardless.

"I dunno."

Axel took a long swallow of his beer and sat the glass on the table, keeping it carefully away from within range of Roxas. "You don't know what?

"I don't know…" Roxas began cryptically, a small clueless grin on his face as he tried to think of what to say. It wasn't easy. The act of thinking was simple enough when he let the random bits and pieces flow, it was focusing that was the problem. Pondering something for longer than a split-second was starting to hurt like hell.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" He slammed his fists down on the table, sending drinks rocking precariously and Demyx and Axel scrambling to hold on to them.

Luckily the noise in the crowded room completely covered the noise of one rambling drunken blond.

"My brother's leaving me!"

It took awhile for the meaning of the statement to come to Axel. Demyx was lost to it. His eyes widened in horror, before realizing that he probably didn't mean it that way.

"Your twin? Sora right?" Axel deduced. Roxas nodded dejectedly and slumped forward in his seat.

"He's going away."

"Oh?"

"Uh huh." Roxas said, taking a little sip of his water, much to everyone's relief. "He's leaving with his boyfriend." The word 'boyfriend' was muttered with so much spite it sounded like a curse, one involving pain of death in a dank torture chamber. Roxas took a deep breath to steady his drunken nerves before continuing in his fragmented manner.

"He said…"

"Go on."

"He told me he wouldn't! He fucking promised me!" His voice was growing louder amongst all the other noise in the room. If anyone heard, then they paid no attention to it. Most of the people there looked like regulars. They had probably heard it all before.

The stage of drunkenness had just moved into the phase of 'upset drunk'. Roxas cradled the water like it was a lifeline, taking big gulps of it every few moments and wiping a hand across his eyes when the need arose.

Axel and Demyx finished their food and beers quickly. It was time to leave. Watching someone make a complete idiot of themselves was one thing, but a shred of dignity needed to be left intact.

"Come on Rox, let's get going." Axel helped Roxas to his feet and slung an arm around him to keep the blond from toppling over.

Outside the evening air was still warm with a hint of dampness left over from the afternoon rain. Darkness had finally fallen over the city of York, and headlights from passing vehicles were reflecting light onto little puddles along the edge of the road.

Roxas clung on to Axel for dear life. Every few steps he would stumble on the pavement of the parking lot, only to be saved from a likely very painful and embarrassing fall to the ground by the redhead at his side.

"So, what's the plan." Axel asked Demyx.

They really hadn't thought any further ahead then dinner and a beer, or six beers in the case of Roxas.

"Well, call me crazy, but there's this castle I've always wanted to go and see. Thing is, it's a bit of a distance…"

Roxas slept poorly that night. He had no idea where he was, when he was, or at certain times, just who he was. He recalled clinging to Axel, that much was clear in his mind.

His companion had been something warm and wonderfully solid to hold onto when everything else was spinning around him in asymmetrical orbits. And Axel hadn't seemed to mind, at least as far as Roxas could tell – which was admittedly not very far in his present condition.

Even the ground didn't want to stay still, it was like the entire world kept on jarring his senses. He had heard being drunk made you tipsy, but this seemed a little excessive.

And his knowledge of what was happening was skewed and fragmented at best. He remembered walking out of the pub, but everything else was guesswork. He assumed they were going to be finding a place in York for the night – probably the same place they had stayed at the night before.

But he didn't think it took so long to get there, and the city bus seemed different somehow…

"Go to sleep Roxas." Someone told him firmly, most likely Axel, but he couldn't be sure. It was good advice though, so he took it. Pillowing his head against the person next to him and drifting off. The only thing he recalled hearing before completely falling asleep was something about 'being there by morning.'

But that didn't seem quite right.

Did it take that long to get to the hotel?

"Ugh."

"Want some aspirin blondie?"

Roxas rolled over and buried his head in the pillow to block out the light filtering in though the white lace sheers over the expansive window. His head throbbed, he stomach absolutely hated him, and after a few minutes of burrowing into the bed he realized something important.

He had no clue where he was.

A soft clink was heard near the side of the bed when Axel set a cup of water and a bottle of aspirin down on the nightstand. "You were totally wasted last night. Do you remember anything?"

Roxas reached blindly for the water and painkillers, and didn't open his eyes until he had swallowed three of the aspirin. When he did decide to look around the room it became painfully apparent that things were not as they should be.

"Where the fuck are we?" Roxas asked in shock. The room was huge, impressive in the way bedchambers of royalty are portrayed in history books and documentaries. The walls were painted a light pastel pink color, which was a color Roxas wasn't too keen on, but when combined with ornamental molding, and pieces of artwork hung randomly on the walls, the color was bearable.

The bed he was currently in was just a twin size, but that didn't seem to do it any justice. Comfortable didn't even begin to describe the experience of a bed like that! The pillows were feather, the ivory colored duvet was down filled, and the sheets were Egyptian cotton.

The furniture was even remarkable. Antique from the looks of it.

Axel sat down on the edge of the bed and chose his next words very carefully. "Not where you probably think we are." He laughed nervously. "You see Rox, Demyx and I got this…idea."

"Oh God."

"And we thought it might be nice to, well, splurge for once."

"Don't tell me."

"And you were drunk, so we couldn't ask you." Axel pointed out for leverage in his already failed argument.

"Axel, where are we?"

"Now keep an open mind Roxas! Remember, this is a vacation. It's okay to do stupid shit…"

"Just tell me where I am!"

"Well," Axel said getting up from the bed and walking towards the door leading out. "The general region is Northumberland. We're in Chillingham Castle." And he booted it out the door.

"WHAT!"

Chillingham Castle? Northumberland? Roxas let the words roll over him like storm clouds drifting in a summer sky. He knew Northumberland was up north. Way up north. Way the hell up where Hadrian's Wall was, where you could practically see Scotland.

Way up where he shouldn't be. Where his itinerary curled up and became useless. Where he didn't know one town from the next. 'Where', He thought, 'I'm stuck with the two biggest morons to ever walk the planet.'

And since he admittedly knew next to nothing about Northumberland, it seemed strange that Chillingham Castle seemed familiar to him. He couldn't remember where, but he was certain he must have heard about it once.

But he would figure that out later. He had more important things to attend to – killing Axel and Demyx for starters.

He pushed back the covers in one movement, and sat up, immediately regretting the action as the throbbing pain of his head ache doubled.

"Fuck." Stumbling away from his bed, he sought out the two responsible for his current departure to no-mans-land. Revenge would be his, it wouldn't solve his problem, but oh how it would feel good.

"Axel. Oh Axel." He called out, leaving the little room with its two twin beds behind and striking out in search of his first victim.

The next room was a heavily decorated sitting area. Sofas and comfortable looking upholstered chairs were dotted around the room, all facing around coffee table in the center. There was a large fireplace in the far wall, complete with traditional brickwork and an eye-catching mantelpiece that would make any homeowner jealous. Roxas couldn't even begin to imagine what it was costing to stay there, probably half his trip money – or worse.

The sounds of muffled voices could be heard coming from the next room. Roxas grinned. It was going to be a piece of cake. A quick jab with a knife and he'd be out of England before mid-afternoon. Nobody would have to know.

Roxas tip-toed quietly up to the closed wooden door, his hand grasping the knob tightly. He held his breath and flung upon the door with as much force as he could muster, intent on killing both Axel and Demyx, or at the very least giving them a strong piece of his mind.

"Huh?" He mumbled, and turned on the light switch just to be sure. He had entered a tiny bathroom, comprised of a toilet, tiny sink, and bathtub. "Uh, Guys?"

Roxas stepped fully into the room just to be certain that he was indeed alone, and looked around the corner of the sink for somebody hiding. There wasn't anyone.

"Well that's weird."

Stepping out and switching off the light, Roxas retraced his steps back into the room he had awoken in and sat back down on the twin bed. On the floor at his feet he noticed his backpack, and was suddenly glad it wasn't forgotten during the drunken antics of the previous night.

The sound of footsteps echoed from outside the door to the room, and Roxas looked up to see Axel and Demyx peeking timidly around from the other side of the door.

Demyx was the first to brave speaking to the irate blond. "So, are you calm yet?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Aw, I was hoping you would have forgotten to be mad by now." Demyx shrugged lightly and walked into the room, sitting on the bed across from Roxas. Axel remained at the door, but at least took a few steps forward, before leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a smirk on his face.

"I can't believe you would drag me up here!" Was the snappish response. "You actually thought I would be okay with this? Did you?"

Axel let out a long sigh and walked over to the bed, taking a seat beside Demyx. "Truthfully, no. No I didn't think you would be okay with the idea, but here we are anyways." He admitted, in a rather subdued tone, which Roxas had never before heard from the fiery redhead before.

"We're really sorry Roxas." Demyx added, rather lamely in the other blond's opinion. "We thought," he gestured over at Axel to include him on the blame, "well we figured you might actually like it up here. The castle is pretty cool after all. Twelfth century I think, if I remember right." He paused, stretching and standing up.

"C'mon, give it a shot! We're you really planning on spending all this time in Europe without even spending the night in one castle?"

"Actually Demyx, that was exactly what my plan was." Roxas stood up abruptly and leveled his gaze at the other two. "Now I think I'm going to go wander around, since I'm apparently stuck here thanks to you two." He stomped off towards the door before turning around suddenly and glaring. "Oh, and that stunt you pulled with the whispering earlier was really funny. Totally mature and all."

Both of the accused turned to look at each other quizzically, but before they could comment Roxas had already left the room.

The wandering about that Roxas had planned on turned into an epic tour. The first hour had gone by fairly quickly, the speed of which he was actually shocked. It hadn't seemed like he'd been gone very long. In fact, he could have sworn it had only been about fifteen minutes.

There was just something about Chillingham Castle that made the time slip away and vanish without a trace. The place was timeless. The stone work and tapestries reminded Roxas of all the fairytales he was told as a child before bed. Tales that involved knights and wars, dragons and ghosts. The stuff that medieval legends were made of, that was what Chillingham Castle seemed to live and breathe.

Not to say it wasn't a spooky place. Roxas found the place to be downright dark and foreboding in a lot of sections. The air would be a little too chilly, the hallways a little to dark, and Roxas would fight to not turn tale and head back to his room – that was if he could even find it again.

It wasn't until he had made several wrong turns, and gone down a set of stairs that the truth started to set in. He was lost.

Of all the places to become lost! He cursed himself for his own reckless stupidity. If he had just decided to take someone with him, namely Axel or Demyx, then he wouldn't be in this mess. Or better yet, he could have stayed put in his room!

The corridor he was standing in was narrower then all the others he had walked through. Light was pouring in from the small high-set windows and spilling across the floor like so many brightly lit puddles. The only other source of illumination was coming from a few lights positioned at either end of the hallway, not that they were very bright.

Roxas paused once halfway across the room. It was a toss-up. Walk further or stay put? Either way he was still lost, so he chanced getting further away from his room in the name of exploring.

At the end of the corridor was another connecting hallway that ran both left and right. It was at the end of the left fork that Roxas found his ticket out – another person.

"Hey!" Roxas ran to meet up with the woman. "Hey wait up!"

She continued walking away from him. Before he could catch up, she had already turned the corner at the end of the hall.

"I thought I told you to wait for me? What's your probl- …huh?"

The room at the end of the hall was empty. A feeling of cold dread filled him when he noticed one terribly obvious fact: the only way in or out of the room was the way he had just come from.

"Hello?" His voice was a little too high, a little too squeaky for his masculine pride. He swallowed and tried again, feeling more than a little moronic.

"Is anyone in here?"

The only answer was a soft echo of his own nervous voice reverberating off the near empty room. Aside from a few paintings hung at random intervals around the room, and a sofa and chair set the room was otherwise vacant.

The little dome-shaped light fixture in the center of the ceiling flickered once and then blinked out, plunging the whole place into darkness.

Roxas gave way to panic. He turned, and ran back the way he came, back towards the only light source in the area. Running as fast as he could, he quickly made his way out into the hallway and barreled around the corner at break neck speed.

Head long into Axel.

Roxas made contact with the redhead's chest and sent Axel staggering backwards, both very nearly falling over. "What's the rush?"

"You remember how to get back to the room, right?" Roxas questioned, out of breath and already dragging Axel along by the wrist. Further and further away from where Roxas had just come from.

"Well yeah…what's wrong?" Axel tugged Roxas to a stop, and turned to face the anxious blond. When Roxas wouldn't make eye contact, Axel reached out and cupped his hand under Roxas' chin, making the other meet his inquisitive gaze. What he saw startled him.

"Jesus kid, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Roxas looked to be on the verge of shock or hysteria, which one of the two Axel was not certain.

"I…" He started in a hoarse whisper. "Look I just – I don't know what I saw, okay?

Later, when the overwhelming shock and sense of dread had passed away, leaving behind only uncertainty, Roxas recounted what had happened.

"Roxie you saw a freaking ghost! That's awesome!" Out of the three of them, it was Demyx who was most enthralled with the notion of the undead in their midst.

Roxas slumped back onto his twin bed heavily, and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Look I told you, I don't know if it even was a ghost."

"Well what else could it be?" Demyx inquired lightly. "I mean, this is 'Chillingham Castle' after all". He used air quotes upon mentioning their present location, and it caused Roxas to sit up suddenly.

"That's it!" The young blond exclaimed loudly, causing both Axel and Demyx to stare.

Roxas paid them no heed and continued. "That's why the name of this place seemed so familiar – I have heard about Chillingham Castle before, I just forgot about it. It was featured on one of those lame late-night shows about haunted places and whatnot! My brother always watches those damn things, I don't know why, but I remember there was an episode on this place."

Sure it had been a few years previous when he had seen the feature on the old castle, heard the stories about it's supposed undead 'tenants', but he could still recall watching something about the creepy location.

His brother Sora may have loved watching a good ghost story on TV with the lights turned off on a Friday night, but that didn't mean he wasn't a pathetic pile of quivering goo as soon as things got remotely spooky. That was the reason Roxas had spent so many evenings parked on the couch, popcorn in hand and blanket pulled up – simply put; his brother needed the company or he never would have been able to sleep afterwards.

"Well duh!" Demxy gave Roxas a look that clearly meant he knew all about Chillingham's notoriety. "Really I thought you already knew, otherwise I would have told you beforehand!" He went to his bag and pulled out a camera. "Isn't this awesome though, I mean, we can go ghost hunting tonight!"

If Roxas could compile a list of things he'd rather not do, ghost hunting would have been right near the top. It was up there with stabbing himself in the face with a spork and becoming a transvestite prostitute.

Axel gave a laugh. "You sure about that Demyx, you don't strike me as the type to handle the whole 'let's go looking for dead people thing' all that well. Not that I'm calling you a pussy or anything…" He grinned, "Well actually I guess I'm calling you just that."

"Axel you suck."

"Actually," Roxas spook up from his lounge on the little bed, "you both suck. You do realize that ghost hunting could be the dumbest idea either of you have had yet, right? Couple that with the fact that you're both damn near retarded and you better believe it's a stupid idea."

He stood up and walked over to the large window facing out towards the laneway leading in to the castle. "In fact I'd almost consider it on par with staying here in the first place, almost but not quite."

Outside a lone gardener was busy trimming up a few hedges down below the window. He looked up at Roxas briefly, his weathered face cracking the smallest of smiles before turning back at the task at hand. Roxas half envied the old man. He was outside in the sun, or perhaps closer to the crux of the matter, he wasn't inside. Not stuck in a castle with a couple of idiots and the possibility of the undead wandering around every nook and cranny.

Despite protests, logic, and threat of death, it was decided with a majority vote that they would go 'ghost hunting' as soon as it was late enough. Roxas swallowed his pride and common sense, deciding to humor the other two, and wait for them to see reason, or something dead, whatever came first.

In the meantime Roxas showered, glad to be rid of the feeling and smell of too much alcohol from the night before. Afterwards he wasted a few hours leafing through a couple of books on local history that were left on the shelves in their rooms. Demyx and Axel peering over his shoulder every few minutes whenever they weren't too deep in discussion about the plans for that night. Although from the snippets of conversation Roxas has listened in on, their 'plans' consisted of nothing more than picking a direction and walking.

At ten pm they each grabbed a flashlight and camera, ready to face whatever the castle had to throw at them – or so they thought.

A/N: Well let me first clear up a few things.

I chose Chillingham Castle, not because it is by any means an ideal castle to have used (the location IS way up near Scotland, and it more often then not seems to be a bit of a tourist trap), but because it is so well known as a 'haunted' castle. Since it has been on so many different shows, and received mention in lots of different books, I figured it would be a castle that a lot of people would be familiar with.

Well until next time, love, peace, and REVIEWS!

Laterness! Athenian Affinity