Axel crept as silently as he could into the living room, but even so it didn't prevent Roxas from casting him that disappointed, half-expectant look that he always did. Axel silently reminded himself that he would have to be extra nice if there was even a small glimmer of hope that he would make Roxas jealous using Demyx.

"What the hell are you doing?" The blonde asked, his tone flat. Xigbar was sitting next to him on the couch, watching Axel with a look of confusion that was meant to mimic Roxas's. He wasn't doing a good job.

"You know something, Roxas?" Axel asked, raising his eyebrows. "I'm offended."

"Join the club." Roxas muttered, turning his gaze back to the TV. The redhead frowned and stepped forward, effectively blocking his captive's view. Roxas gave him another expectant look.

"Don't think I don't know what today is."

"Um…Friday?"

Axel held out the box that had been hidden behind his back and shrugged. It was wrapped beautifully in blue wrapping paper (which he knew to be the blonde's favorite color), but only because he had gotten it done at the store. There was a tag on it that read, 'To: Roxas, From: The person who supposedly ruined your life.'

The blonde looked at the package, then at Axel, then back at the package and shrugged. "Great. It's a wrapped box. That's lovely."

"Well aren't you going to open it?" Axel asked. He placed it on Roxas's lap because apparently his captive wasn't capable of doing it himself, and knelt down next to the couch, watching expectantly.

Roxas sighed and unenthusiastically started tearing at the paper to reveal what was underneath. Once he saw the green logo, however, his demeanor changed over-so-slightly, and a smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

Axel couldn't help but swell with pride that his gift had actually made Roxas happy, still eagerly watching for the reaction that he was looking for. "You've got to be kidding me."

Axel smiled faintly, so terribly tempted to pull Roxas into his arms, but resisted the urge. "Happy birthday."

Roxas chuckled and shook his head, looking over the xbox and the game he had included (Halo, or something like that. Axel wasn't really privy to the different games that were out there) with a disbelieving expression. "My birthday was quiet a while ago."

"But I couldn't afford an xbox quite a while ago." The redhead shrugged again and lifted the lid off the box, revealing the huge gaming console underneath. "Now I can."

Roxas blinked and paused for a moment as though a thought was running through his mind, but soon enough he was smiling again and looking over the game. "Halo. Very nice, very nice."

"You know it?"

"Of course I know it. What's wrong with you?" Roxas's temporary amusement had grown to be a full-blown smile, and the redhead could feel his heart swell. "I um…I used to play this at home all the time."

"Oh, really?" Axel pulled the xbox out along with the instructions, flipping through them for setup instructions. "Do you even think we can get it to work on this TV?"

"I'm sure we can." Roxas replied. He grabbed the instructions out of Axel's hand and looked through them, nodding. "Yeah, it'll be easy."

"Well, by all means get started." Before the words had even exited Axel's mouth, Roxas was on his hands and knees, plugging different wires in different sockets eagerly.

--

"Oh my God. You're so bad at this." Roxas laughed as Axel tried to shoot at something, failing miserably. Xigbar had sadly meandered into the kitchen about two hours ago, leaving captor and captive sitting on the couch.

Roxas was playing the game. He was surprisingly good at it, given that, from what Axel had collected earlier, the kid was a bit of an art nerd. Axel, on the other hand, was trying to play that game.

The little blonde had walked him through all of the controls and all of the steps necessary to survive their first "mission," even incorporating a little flirting (or so the redhead thought) as he held Axel's hands firmly on the controller and tried to familiarize him with the way it felt.

"Axel, come on!" Roxas laughed again as he killed a couple of their enemy, whatever they were, and went to his partner's rescue somewhere in some sort of building.

"I don't know why you even try, kid. I suck." He tossed his controller on the table, effectively killing himself and leaving Roxas to survive on his own. Not that that's exactly what he was doing before.

"You're such a baby." Roxas snorted, playing through the level and pausing it a few minutes later, once he had finished. "You're never going to learn if you keep quitting."

"Yeah, well, whatever." Axel shrugged him off and grinned, and Roxas playfully smacked him on the arm. Silently, Axel sent up a thanks to God or deity or whatever there was that they seemed to be back to where he wanted them to be. That Roxas was happier.

"Is Halo the only game you got?" He asked after a few more moments of comfortable silence, his fingers expertly pressing this button and that button and moving him easily through the level.

"Halo is the only game I could afford, kid."

Roxas glanced up and shook his head. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering if you were holding out on me or anything. You know; mix it up a little."

"I wish I could say I was." Axel shrugged and glanced at the TV, which was still paused. "Maybe once your parents finally pay for you I can get some more games."

Roxas smiled and glanced at Axel, a tint of sadness in his eyes before it was replaced by that playful glint that matched his eyes so well. "Yeah, well, the hope spring is eternal, as they say."

Axel chuckled and leaned over, about two seconds away from placing a gentle kiss on Roxas's cheek, when Demyx came bursting through the door. "Axel!"

Roxas sighed and closed his eyes, and Axel heard him gulp loudly, saw tears collecting in the corner of his eye. Axel sighed and leaned back, trying to fight back tears of his own, knowing that the pain that Roxas was feeling was his fault.

"I have been waiting for your text for six hours!" He stomped over to Axel, pouting, arms crossed stubbornly. "I come here, and see you playing some stupid game with…"

He glanced at Roxas, holding his nose in the air as though he couldn't find the words to describe how much he disliked the younger blonde. The blonde that had stolen Axel's heart.

"Sorry, Dem." Axel said. He sighed and stood up, walked over to the door. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere that isn't here." Demyx walked over to him and took his arm, smirking at Roxas, who was looking at the two of them, particularly Axel, with sad/disappointed expression.

Axel looked at him slowly a few moments longer before nodding, opening the door and leading Demyx outside. He slammed it behind him, locking it from the outside and taking them a few feet away from the door. Once he was sure he was out of earshot, he stopped them and fixed his least favorite blonde with a cold stare.

"Axel? What's wrong?"

The redhead chuckled and shook his head before picking up one of his hands and bringing it down across Demyx's cheek with a loud, satisfying crack. As the prostitute registered the blow, he shoved him up against a wall and held him there.

"You really need to be nicer to Roxas." He hissed.

Demyx whimpered and shoved weakly against Axel. "What are you talking about? I thought--"

"You know why I hired you." Axel growled, released Demyx, and continued down the walkway and to his car without checking to see if he was being followed. "And it wasn't because of your radiant personality. Now come on. We have a date we're supposed to be on."

--

"You know that if I was in his position, I would appreciate you." Xigbar picked up the controller that Axel had set down and was pressing random buttons, watching Roxas out of the corner of his eye.

The blonde had pretty much curled up into crying ball of sadness, hugging a pillow closely to himself and letting his tears silently fall against it and be absorbed. He didn't even look up at Xigbar as he spoke, trying his best to pretend that Axel's partner wasn't even there.

"Now, I know how badly you want him. I know that you're set on getting him and all that, but let's face it…" He leaned over to Roxas and placed at hand on his shoulder, and if Roxas had any energy he would have shrugged him off. Of course, Xigbar interpreted this action as Roxas welcoming the advance. Which he didn't.

"He doesn't want you, and I do. And wouldn't you much rather be with someone who wants you than someone who doesn't appreciate you?"

"Get your disgusting pedophile hands off of me." Roxas growled, looking up from the pillow, his red-rimmed eyes narrowing at Xigbar. "You know if you do anything to me Axel will--"

"He'll what?" Xigbar asked, laughing. "You already know he doesn't care about you, so why should he care what I do to you?"

"Xigbar, get your hands off of me!" Roxas trying scooting away from him, but to no avail; he was trapped. Alone. With a pedophile.

--

"Am I going to see you tomorrow?" Demyx asked, smiling up at Axel. The redhead sighed and nodded slowly, glancing at Demyx.

"Unless anything changes. Which I doubt it will. Plan on meeting me tomorrow and…I'll text you if anything changes. Okay?"

Demyx giggled and nodded, walking down to hallway to join his coven of whores that hung out around the motel. "Okay."

Axel sighed again, took a deep breath, and opened the door, bracing himself for another upset Roxas. However, he was met with at least three things that were definitely out of the norm when he walked in.

First of all, he heard the shower running. Xigbar was definitely in the kitchen, so Axel knew that it wasn't him, and Roxas wasn't supposed to shower when Axel wasn't there.

Second, not only was Xigbar in the kitchen, but he was walking around with a broad smirk on his face. Regardless of the fact that the smirk was Axel's signature expression, Xigbar never wore one. For him to all of sudden have one pasted all over his face was very uncharacteristic.

Third, Roxas was definitely sobbing. Axel could hear him over the roar of the shower. Glancing at the clock, he saw that he had been gone for three hours; Roxas would have had plenty of time to work out all of his sadness a while ago. This was wrong.

He slammed the door behind him and walked past the kitchen, ignoring Xigbar's proud grin, through the bedroom, and straight into the bathroom. Roxas's clothes were piled on the floor, and he was sitting, naked, under the constant stream of steaming hot water.

"Roxas." Axel called him and knelt down, the blonde not meeting his gaze, whimpering pathetically. "Roxas, look at me."

The blonde was ignoring him, and after a while Axel decided he was just going to have to be proactive. He turned off the water, to which Roxas glanced up at him desperately. "Axel."

"Roxas, what the hell are you doing?" He grabbed a towel and gave it to Roxas, who just looked at it as it rested against his knees. "Hello?"

"Axel." He whispered. He glanced back up at the redhead and scrambled over to him, wrapped his arms around the other's neck. "Axel, he…he…"

Roxas broke down and buried his face against Axel's shoulder as the towel was wrapped around him, sobbing as he was picked up in his captor's arms, sobbing as Axel took him into the living room and hushed him gently, stroking his hair while trying to dry him off.

"Rox, what happened?" He whispered gently, hugging the blonde tightly against him. "I promise nothing is going to happen to you, so why don't you tell me what went down?"

"You l-left." Roxas breathed, grabbed onto Axel's t-shirt as if to confirm that he was still there. "And Xigbar s-said all this shit, and he r-r-r…" He couldn't finish his sentence, breaking down again. Axel held him tightly and pressed his face his the boy's hair.

"He…raped you?"

The blonde nodded quickly and hugged Axel closer. The redhead sighed and nodded slowly, glancing behind him in the kitchen. Xigbar was still in there, sitting at the table, and Axel growled as he envisioned that smirk on his face.

"Axel…" Roxas curled against him into a little ball and sniffed, the stream of tears thinning until they ceased completely and all was left were whimpers.

"Don't worry, Rox." Axel breathed. "I promise I'm going to take care of this. Okay?"

He didn't receive a response, and for a moment thought that Roxas was giving him the silent treatment. He glanced down, but noticed immediately that he had fallen asleep against Axel, breathing steadily, looking…peaceful.

He smiled faintly and picked him up, took him into the bedroom, pulled the sheets back, and placed Roxas gently on the mattress. He pulled the covers up to his chin and smiled softly as Roxas snuggled under the warmth of the blankets, relaxed.

Tearing his gaze away from the blonde, he grabbed the gun that resided in his bedside drawer and screwed the silencer on, stood up, strode into the kitchen. He had been right; Xigbar was still sitting in there, still smirking.

"Axel, man, you will never believe--"

"Oh, I believe it." Axel picked him up by the hair and shoved him against a wall, and Xigbar looked down at him in surprise. "I thought I made it perfectly clear to you once you arrived that you weren't to touch Roxas."

"But dude--"

"Damn it, Xigbar!" He yelled, put the gun up against the other's temple and cocked it. "You're disgusting."

"You're one to talk." Xigbar spat. "I guess it's okay when you rape him and then cheat on him, but its not okay when I try to give him a little attention?"

"Unwanted attention." Axel growled. "I don't care how you justify it, either. Al I need to know is that I want him, he wants me, and I left you alone with him for three hours and came home to find him crying in the shower."

His partner opened his mouth to try to formulate an excuse, but before any words came out, Axel pulled the trigger.

A/N: I love this chapter. Like, seriously. xD There's comfort at the end, and...yeah. I'm sure you guise can imagine what happened to Xigbar. But hey, can't say we didn't warn him. :D Now, I'm sure you guise are probably thinking 'Hm, ghostie sure is an idiot. She labeled this chapter Friday, but its supposed to be Thursday!' Well, you're wrong. Thursday was stupid. It would be plotless, I hate it, so I skipped it. So there. xD
There's going to be so much fluff in the next chapter. ;D I'm so excited. I can't wait. You guise are going to love it. I'm going to love it. It's going to be lovely.
Also, I want to extend a congratulations to 1 and Xanjen, who were the winners of our New Year's contest. ;D For all of you who didn't win, fear not! There will be another contest most likely following the epilogue. And the epilogue will be awesome, so you'd better enjoy it. xP

Random fact: Roxas is Wiccan in my story. o.o Just thought I'd let you guise know.

~Sara