A/N: Hey guys! I've had this sitting around waiting for an ending for AGES! Finally finished it. So, you know, enjoy.


Roxas groaned as the pounding in his head grew. Or maybe that was the pounding on his front door. Either way it needed to stop.

"There's water and pain medication on the night-stand. I'll get the door," Axel stated softly as he climbed over the blond's prone body. Roxas whined at the loss of delicious warmth but otherwise made no indication that he would be moving anytime soon. At least until Hayner came busting into his room screaming bloody murder about Seifer and Roxas let out a pained groan and buried his head under his pillow.

"Okay, start at the beginning," Roxas yawned as he scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Beginning? What beginning?" Hayner fumed. "We left the bar with you, Pence and Olette, turned down the alleyway to get to Seifer's apartment and that thing attacked us. Seifer shoved me out of the way 'cause he's a fucking idiot, the damn thing snatched him and disappeared. I've looked all over this town; there's no trace of him."

"What did it look like?" Axel asked. It was the first time the red-head had spoken since letting Hayner into the apartment. The blond gave the man a once over, as if just now becoming aware of his presence.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Axel," the red-head responded, waving his hand to stave off any further questions Hayner might have asked. "What…did it…look…like?" he re-iterated slowly. His eyes blazed, focused intently on the teen in front of him and Hayner got the sense that this man could be quite dangerous if he so chose.

"I…don't really know." Hayner confessed. "It was late and there wasn't a lot of light in the alley. It was dark-colored - maybe black - and it might have had claws, or really long fingernails. But its eyes…they were this glowing yellow. It was creepy." Roxas watched as Axel's shoulders lost some sense of their rigidity and he knew the werewolf was thinking the same thing he was. Not Larxene. Not yet. Still, the older man turned away with a muffled curse.

"And Zexion won't be back for at least three more days," he muttered, running a hand through his hair in agitation. A deep growl ripped from his throat as he whirled and strode for the door.

"Wait, Axel! Where are you going?" Roxas demanded.

"To see how many there are," he answered cryptically.

"Well then take us with you. We know how to fight," Roxas argued.

"Not against these," Axel retorted, shaking his head. Hayner looked back and forth between the two men. There was some kind of dialogue going on between them, something that ran deeper than what they were saying. What they said and what they meant were two different things and Hayner was left feeling a little lost and really pissed off.

"Hey!" he snapped. "What makes you so much better than us? That thing grabbed Seifer and he's one of the best fighters in town." He flushed and looked away. "Don't tell him I said that." Roxas tore his gaze from his friend back to his - Axel.

"Stay here," Axel ordered Roxas, ignoring Hayner completely before disappearing out the door. Awkward silence descended between the two blonds until Hayner turned to Roxas.

"Y'know, if you had showed up at my apartment claiming some shadow monster stole your boyfriend I'd have said that you'd hit your head one too many times," he stated, crossing his arms. "So why were neither you nor flame-head all that surprised?"

"Uh," Roxas stalled, eyes sliding to the door and willing Axel to come back. "Funny story," he hedged.

"Well," Hayner stated, completely unrepentant. "As someone recently told me, start at the beginning," he ordered, eyes narrowed.

"Hayner," Roxas sighed. "I just… Let's wait until Axel gets back."

"Roxas, something grabbed Seifer. I have no idea what. You at least know something about what's going on because your boyfriend definitely knows what's going on. Now spill," Hayner hissed.

"Hayner, I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what grabbed Seifer. Axel might but he's had experience with this weird, supernatural shit before." Roxas was going to have to start keeping track of his little half-truths. "If you want definitive answers, you're just going to have to wait until Axel gets back."

"How the fuck does he even know where to find them?" Hayner demanded.

"I don't know, Hayner. I don't exactly tag along when he runs off to stake vampires," Roxas snapped irritably. Hayner sighed, visibly deflating.

"I'm sorry, Roxas, I'm just… I'm worried about him. I love the bastard," he admitted.

"Aw, s'cute. Hope I remember it in the morning, lamer." Seifer slurred as Axel dragged him into the apartment. Hayner glowered.

"You asshole," he shouted, slugging the man in his jaw. The taller man palmed his jaw as Axel deposited him on the couch, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You're going to pay for that later." Seifer promised.

"Sleep." Axel ordered, throwing a warning glance at Hayner. Seifer nodded, leaning back on the couch and letting his eyes drift shut. As soon as his breathing evened out, Hayner turned and glared at the other men.

"Talk. Now."

Despite Hayner's very clear order, Roxas grabbed his mate and gave him a thorough once-over.

"Checking me for holes?" Axel asked, amusement coloring his voice.

"No," Roxas snapped, scowling, even though that was precisely what he was doing.

"I'm in one piece, I promise," Axel told him softly before placing a soft kiss to the blond's temple. "It was just a small scouting group. They hadn't nested yet." Roxas nodded, finally relaxing before moving their trio into the kitchen. As they entered, Roxas immediately set about making coffee. His hangover had not been forgotten, it had merely been shoved to the side. But in the two hours that Axel had been gone the throbbing had come roaring back. Axel slouched into a chair at the table while Hayner stood examining the finger-shaped indents that were pressed into the doorway.

"You're not completely human are you?" Hayner asked, although it really came out more like a statement.

"No," Axel answered simply as he gratefully took the coffee cup Roxas handed him.

"And those things that took Seifer? Is he going to be okay?" Hayner was willing to put his questions about Axel on the back-burner for the moment. Roxas clearly trusted him and for the moment, that was good enough.

"They're called Heartless," Axel told him. "He's lucky it was just scouts and not a full swarm. Being in close proximity over a long period of time would have killed him but with enough sleep and rest he'll make a full recovery," he stated before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Why didn't it affect you?" Hayner asked suspiciously, grabbing his own coffee cup off the table but refusing to sit. Roxas, who had been keeping quiet, shifted uncomfortably.

"As you pointed out, I'm not completely human," Axel replied calmly. Hayner chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip.

"Roxas said you saved him but I'm guessing those indent are from you," He stated, gesturing toward the door-frame before pausing. "If you ever…" he hissed, eyes narrowing.

"I'm completely incapable of it." Axel responded. After a pause, he amended his statement. "Unless he cheats but I don't think that would ever happen," he assured the standing blond. Hayner glared at him suspiciously before nodding.

"If anything happens to him…" Hayner threatened.

"It will be because I was already dead and unable to prevent it." Axel cut in. Hayner sighed deeply and nodded.

"Okay. I'm not gonna ask 'cause I don't really want to know but…okay," Hayner stated. Roxas looked up from his coffee and gave his friend a searching gaze. "I'll keep your secret. And I won't say anything to Pence and Olette either," Hayner assured his friend.

"…thanks," Roxas whispered before standing and giving his friend a tight hug. He'd almost forgotten what a true blue friend Hayner really was - it often got hidden behind the teenager's brash personality and loud mouth. "But what about Seifer?" he asked.

"Well," Hayner sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I have to tell him. If he's an unmitigated ass about it, I'll just throw him back to the Heartless." He shrugged and Roxas let out a startled laugh.

"He's slept for three hours," Axel stated, checking the clock. "He should be awake shortly," he assured and Hayner blushed at being caught peering at his boyfriend. True to the werewolf's prediction, Seifer began shifting on the couch before mumbling and opening his eyes.

"Hey, sleeping beast," Hayner greeted, crossing the room to peer down at his boyfriend. At Seifer's irritated look, he elaborated. "Well, you're certainly no sleeping beauty," he stated, grinning cheekily.

"Well now," Seifer stated, his voice silky smooth. "Seems you are determined to get your ass kicked tonight, chickenwuss." Hayner leapt away but Seifer was faster and Hayner's left wrist was locked in an iron grip. We're gonna have a chat." Seifer stated as he dragged his boyfriend out of the apartment.

"Let me go, you fucking bastard! I'm still pissed at you," Hayner shouted, voice fading away as he was tugged after the older man.

"Well, that went better than expected," Axel stated as he shut the door, completely unfazed by Seifer and Hayner's bickering. "They always like that?" Roxas shrugged.

"I think it's their version of foreplay," the blond confessed as he collapsed onto the couch. Axel hummed before joining the teenager. "If Zexion's going to be back in three days, we really should get around to starting renovations," Roxas stated, referring to Axel's statement nearly five hours earlier. Axel groaned.

"I just kicked Heartless ass. Don't you have any sympathy?"

"No." Roxas stated shortly, tugging on a lock of Axel's fiery hair.

"Bastard," Axel stated amiably. "We checked everything out last week and there are enough rooms for everyone to crash in while we fix up the rest of the house."

"How are we going to pay for it all?" Roxas muttered, more to himself than to Axel.

"Don't worry about it," Axel stated. He figured now wasn't the time to tell the blond that he was secretly filthy rich. Mercenary work paid well, after all. "Besides, with a whole bunch of werewolves, the work won't take nearly as long as it normally would." Roxas hummed in response but otherwise made no response and it wasn't long before both men were asleep on the couch.


"I can't believe we're moving into a creepy house in a spooky forest." Roxas groused but Axel merely shot the blond a grin.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" The werewolf asked as he led the way to the entrance of the house.

"It was burned up alongside vampires," the blond deadpanned. Still, when Axel unlocked the gate and began crossing the courtyard Roxas willingly followed after him. He absently noted that the grass and hedges would need cutting. So would the vines that were covering the brick gate and slowly encroaching on the front door. And the remnants of the broken columns were definitely going. All in all, the yard would be easily fixed. As the door creaked open the blond caught sight of the open foyer. Two staircases led to a second floor and there was a door to his left which he decided to investigate first.

Roxas had fully expected the mansion to be empty so he was surprised to find the dining room fully furnished, albeit the furnishings had seen better days. The room would need a good dusting and the table and chandelier would need to be replaced seeing as how the chandelier had crushed the table. Although the blond really hoped they would get electricity out here. The rest of the furniture could stay as far as he cared…except the suit of armor. That was going - though judging by the way Axel was looking at it Roxas would have to sneak it out when the werewolf wasn't around.

Trailing back through the foyer the blond hiked up the left staircase and entered a dazzling white room with accents of blue. The room wasn't all that wide but it was long. A row of columns framed both sides of the room and even Axel noted the crown molding. Still, Roxas wasn't sure what to use this room for as it was definitely too fancy for anything the blond had planned.

"I thought it could be Namine's room," Axel told him.

"Okay," Roxas agreed easily. Problem solved. Exiting out of the blinding room Roxas turned left and followed the hallway to another door. Entering what was obviously the library he couldn't stop the grin that graced his face.

"Figured this would pretty much be your favorite room in the house," Axel told him with a cheeky grin. "You'll have to share with Zexion, though." The smaller man flipped the red-head off as he moved to inspect the shelves but Axel carried on. "You'll probably have some foot traffic through here," he warned as he activated the false floor and revealed a hidden stairwell.

"Whoa. Where does that go?" Roxas asked as he reluctantly pulled himself away from his investigation.

"Research Room," Axel answered as he led the younger man down the stairs. The room was white but not as blinding as the one which would be Namine's room. The room had already been equipped with three large monitors and four smaller monitors. Three keyboards laid side-by-side beneath the screens. "Between your books and the computers we should be able to find information on anything we come across. Oh, and look at this." The werewolf tugged his mate down a hallway, through a corridor and into another blindingly white room.

"Uh…" Roxas stated, staring at nothing.

"Pod Room," Axel explained. "Zexion's bringing them back with him."

"O…kay." Roxas agreed, looking at his mate like he'd lost all his marbles.

"The pods place wolves in suspended animation. It sends us into a healing trance which speeds up the healing process. Figured this would be a good place to hide them. We really don't need your friends accidentally tripping over them." Axel grinned. The blond gave a dazed smile back. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, noticing that Roxas seemed a little overwhelmed.

"No, yeah, I'm fine." Roxas shook his head and gave the red-head an honest smile. "Let's look at the rest of the rooms."

~Review~