"So Roxas."

"So Axel."

"I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

The redhead set down his fork, folding his hands over his half-finished lasagna (home-made of course). His eyes were trained of Roxas, and even though the blonde had only been living with the guy for three days, he could already tell that this was going to be a semi-serious conversation. At least, as serious as Axel could be.

"Would you care to tell me why your parents haven't called the police on me yet? Or an Amber Alert hasn't gone out for your unexplained disappearance?" He was calm, it seemed. Not angry. Then again, why would he be?

This time, it was Roxas's turn to set down his fork and fix Axel with his gaze. Should he tell his teacher about his family situation? Or, for the record, lack thereof? Axel had already told him his biggest secret. Roxas had kindly returned the favor. Now, he was being asked to tell his second biggest secret.

"Its…kind of a long story."

"There's a lot of lasagna left." Ah, so he was going to be persistent. How…Axel.

It wasn't very long before Roxas was overtaken by his internal monologues again, arguing with himself that if he didn't tell Axel, he would be doing their relationship no favors. But then again, what kind of relationship did they even have? Student teacher, or more? Or less?

Roxas was unsure of how long it finally took him to decide, but once he finally did, he noticed that Axel's half-finished slice of yummy-ness had been replaced by a new, full one.

"Alright. I'll tell you."

"I'm listening."

"It shouldn't be very difficult for you to follow along. My mom and my dad got a divorce when I was nine. After that, I was thrown between the two houses, my dad hardly leaving me alone and my mom not leaving work enough to pay attention to me. For some strange reason, she moved for sole-custody when I was eleven. I guess she was tired to shepherding me around or something. My dad was so distraught that he joined the Air Force, hoping to be killed in combat or something, and I still have no idea what's going on with that. And my mom's still a work-a-holic, so the fact that she hasn't noticed I'm gone yet isn't any big surprise. Plus, when she does, she'll probably figure I'm staying over at Sora's or Naminé's house or something. That's pretty much been the last three years of my life. Because, y'know, now I'm 14." He spilled out everything that his teacher needed to know in a short series of run-on's and breathlessness. Was it really this easy, telling Axel things? Would it always be this simple to explain stuff to him?

The redhead was watching Roxas with an unreadable expression, and he couldn't tell if Axel was expecting him to say more or if he was trying to empathize.

They were staring at each other. Right in the eyes. Roxas into Axel's, to try to determine what exactly it was that was expected of him. Axel into Roxas's, trying to find that little spark in the boy's eyes the would indicate that he had trusted Axel with this; had confided in him.

It didn't take very long for them to break away, but when they did, they were left with an awkward silence that thundered throughout the rest of their meal. When they were finished, Axel silently volunteered to do the dishes, leaving Roxas to wonder into the living room where they would most likely start a movie. That was when his phone started vibrating.

--

"Hey Axel!" The blonde called into the kitchen, not even bothering to search for his teacher.

"Hey what?"

"Sora just texted me. He wants me to go to the mall and hang out with him an Naminé and those guys. I was just wondering if you could drop me off in the Ferrari. Turn a few heads, y'know?"

"Who said you could go?" That stopped Roxas in his tracks. Who said he could go? Who said he couldn't go? Why wouldn't he be able to go? Was one of Axel's new crazy rules that he had to stay in on a Friday when his friends invite him out?

"I…um…"

"Relax. I'm not that crazy. Just make sure you ask, not tell me you're going out. And yes, we can take the Ferrari."

Whoa. Was Axel like, bipolar? Did his moods change this quickly? Had his moods changed? Roxas rubbed his temples and followed his teacher out to the garage, desperately confused. Why on Earth did it seem like Axel was acting so weird? And why was Roxas freaking out about it so much?

That's not normal Roxas. Ah, his mother's voice. How fitting.

What's not normal?

You shouldn't be this concerned about him.

Who said I was concerned.

Roxas, love, I am merely the rational part of your mind. Some part must be concerned about him, or I wouldn't know about it.

Whatever. Shut up.

Excuse me?

"Roxas."

"Hm?"

"Did you hear me?" The blonde turned to look out the window, and noticed that it looked like they were already halfway down the driveway. When did that happen?

"No. Sorry. Say again?"

"I said you have to be home in two hours, and to call me when you're ready. And I'm not going to drop any of your friends off in this car either. Alright?"

"Fine by me."

"Okay."

Then, their comfortable silence. Roxas was beginning to like these breaks in the conversation; Axel felt like the one person on Earth he could be quiet around without having to worry if his silence was being judged somehow. He hoped Axel felt the same way; that would mean that he didn't mind Roxas's company, right? And that was something Roxas wanted, wasn't it?

The entire ride to the mall was carried out in silence. Roxas could sense a nerve of tension radiating off of Axel, and he wondered idly what could have caused it before he saw the large stone fixtures that marked the entrance to the Eastview. The small Ferrari pulled up in front of it, Axel cutting the engine and turning to Roxas with a sigh. He only spoke when the blonde had one hand on the door handle and was already ready to jump out and brag about his ride to his friends.

"Roxas?"

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry."

Double take. "You're…sorry." Wow Roxas. He thought. Nice one.

"About my mood." Axel clarified quickly, running a hand through his unmanageable mane of hair. "I know I've been kind of tense lately. And that's not like me and stuff. Or whatever someone's supposed to say in this kind of situation. But I just wanted you to know that…its not anything you did or anything. Like, I mean, I'm not mad at you. 'Kay?"

"Oh. Um…okay, I guess." Roxas gave him a nervous smile, and Axel smiled back, softly touching the back of his student's hand closest to his.

"Thanks for putting up with me, then. Remember, two hours."

Roxas let his hand linger a moment longer than he should have before pushing the door open and stepping out into the chilly night air. "Two hours. And yes, I still have your number in my phone."

They both smiled a little wider before Roxas slammed the door and walked inside, met by surprised gasps from his friends, and Axel drove around to the other side of the mall, parked, and walked inside.

--

Axel didn't like to think of what he was doing as stalking. Because Roxas was living with him, and they had come here in his car, and the Eastview Mall wasn't exactly bustling at ten o'clock at night, he just liked to consider himself a late-shopper. Because stalking was rather severe.

Finding Roxas and his friends was hardly difficult. They were loud, obnoxious, and took up pretty much the entire mall's food court (there were only about six of them, by the way). Despite the few other shoppers and employees, they were the only ones in the mall.

The redhead couldn't fathom why Roxas would spend his spare time with these kids. They were so different from he; where Roxas was mature, his friends were immature. Where Roxas acted about five years older than he was, his friends acted about five years younger. Where Roxas was quiet, subdued, yet fascinating all at the same time, his friends were simply teenagers. None of them had anything in common with the blonde. Yet he looked like he was having a good time.

Axel slumped in the two-person table in the corner of a coffee shop that gave him a perfect view of Roxas. He was sucking on the end of a straw that fed him an iced cappuccino with whipped cream, taking mental notes on how different Roxas was around his friends than he was around him, the good and the bad.

Around Axel, Roxas talked. It didn't really matter what they were talking about, but it seemed once they had a conversation that touched on a topic that Roxas considered a little personal, he couldn't stop talking about it. Which didn't bother Axel in the least. He loved learning about Roxas's little mannerisms, his quirks.

Roxas acted so much older around Axel than he already was, and it was painfully deceiving. He was so mature, in the not only the way he acted but how he spoke. How he carried himself. The way he regarded Axel differently inside of school and out. These were the things that Axel loved about his little student, the things that allowed him to spend nearly all of his free time with the blonde.

Around his friends, Roxas was quieter. He would sit back at listen to them as they each shared their own outrageous stories, most of which were probably half fabricated anyway. He would watch as they ransacked the entire mall, going into stores screaming and leaving with twenty bags each, him with nothing. He looked…fascinated, in the least. It was interesting.

Roxas didn't act older around his friends, because he wasn't really given an opportunity to do anything. Most of the time when he was speaking, his friends would interrupt him. He went into every single store with nothing, and that was what he came out with. He walked a good three feet behind his entire group, probably trying to make it clear that yes, he was with them but no, he did not condone what they were doing.

Axel couldn't pretend that his heart didn't do a small back flip when he saw the relief that washed over Roxas's face as he pulled out his cell phone two hours later and pressed a button. One, single, button. Roxas had Axel on speed dial.

The phone in the redhead's pocket began to vibrate, and he quickly strode a distance where Roxas could neither hear nor see him before answering. They exchanged quick words, determined that Axel would pick Roxas up where he had dropped him off, and with that the expedition was over.

--

When Roxas slept, he was, in a word, beautiful. His face was so peaceful and serene, and it didn't even look like his sleep was marred with bad dreams. When Axel cracked open the door to his room and a shaft of light spilled over his relaxed features, the redhead practically stopped breathing.

He slipped quietly into his student's room, forgetting all formalities and just focusing on Roxas. Focusing on just Roxas and Roxas alone was what helped Axel cope with what he had been fighting with all week; his reason for having Roxas stay at his mansion, his reason for going to easy on him with the ridiculous requests.

He sat down softly on the edge of the bed, and Roxas mumbled something incoherent in his sleep but other than that showed no sign that he was even aware of Axel's presence. God, he was so beautiful. It was almost abnormal.

Slowly bending down, Axel brushed Roxas's bangs out of his closed eyes and let his lips hover just above the blonde's cheek, barely even grazing it. His breath floated over Roxas, and Axel closed his eyes, enjoying the close proximity but wishing for so much more.

"Oh, Roxas." He whispered, his voice betraying his pain and his doubt. "If only…if only you could see me the way I see you."

With that, he placed a soft kiss against Roxas's cheek and left the room. He made sure the door was shut tight, and because of this he didn't notice when Roxas opened his eyes and slowly reached up to touch the spot where his teacher had kissed him.