Notes: I really hope you enjoy this chapter.
I worked hard and its LOOOOOONG.
Ugh But I dont really like it and I do at the same time...So ehhh...blargensauce...
Umm...Not much to say, go ahead, read.

Warnings: Game quotes, OOCness, fluffiness.


"Really? Your really ready to tell me now?" Roxas sifted his weight in anticipation.
"It's not that I was never not ready, certain things just had to happen first, this card is like a sign…telling me you need to know now."

Handing the card back to Roxas and standing up, Axel stretched as though he had been sitting for hours.
Facing Roxas, he told him, "Where do we start?"

Placing a hand onto his chin, Roxas decided, "The dreams, do they have anything to do with all this?"
Axel nodded in reply, "Why yes, they do. In fact, they have a lot to do with this."
"Okay…Now what is it?"
"What is what?"
"What do the dreams have to do with the mirror and you and everything!?"

Roxas finally noticed something odd about Axel.
Since he had gotten home from his little adventure to Hollow Bastion, Axel was no longer transparent.
He was solid.
In fact, when Roxas came in, wasn't he on his bed? Not in the mirror like normal?

"Me."
"You?"
"Me!"
"You're not helping explaining much, you know that right?" Roxas sighed at his standing friend.

Axel waved his arms around, "Yes me!"
"You don't make sense, you know that right…?"
"Everything. The mirror and your dreams, what do they all have in common?"
"Umm…they're freaky?"

Axel stood over his Roxas, then knocked on his head, "No, try again."
Thinking, Roxas replied with, "You sure 'freaky' isn't what they have in common?"

Axel sighed, "Me, got it memorized? The dreams started when you got that mirror which I came out of."
"Well what about everything else?"
"Everything else?" Axel pouted, "What do you mean?"

"My dad's job, the school burning down, Demyx, Riku's and my cutting, everything that has happened since I got that mirror, what does that have to do with you?" Roxas' had unknowingly clapped his right hand over his left sleeve, underneath of it was the cut from himself and his dream mom.

"Sorry kid, that's confidential! If I tell ya, I gotta kill ya!" Axel laughed and sat back down next to Roxas, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Roxas felt so warm in Axel's embrace, it all felt so right. It felt even more right since he became solid.
Something about this whole Axel and Roxas touching thing felt really right to Roxas, something about Axel holding him made him feel so safe and warm.
Roxas felt perfect with that arm wrapped around him.

If this is what it felt like to just have an arm around his shoulders, Roxas was dying to know what it would feel like to have Axel hug him and hold him.
Or what it was like to have him comfort him, stroke his hair.
Maybe even kiss…

"Kill me huh?" Roxas asked, hoping Axel couldn't see him blush.
"Yup! Got to, no choice."
"Then I guess I don't really want to know that bad…"

The two laughed for some time, and Roxas was feeling even more perfect.
If that was possible.

After their laughing fit, Roxas asked, "So tell me about where you came from."
Axel sighed, and his smile faded fast, "Roxas, it gets really confusing…"
"Try me"

And so Axel did.
Axel told Roxas about his home, which until he saw that card, he didn't even know it existed.
Until Luxord passed on that card, it seemed Axel had no memory of life before Roxas.
But to Axel, life before Roxas didn't matter anyway.

Axel was just like all the other residents of Hollow Bastion.
He wasn't real.
At least, he wasn't real yet.

Hollow Bastion was a dream world, with hardly any portals to this world, save people's dreams.
Though this mirror was one.

In the past it had let out many people, all went though the same thing Axel did.
Of the people, was someone Roxas saw almost every day.
Demyx.

He came through the portal a few years ago, by way of Zexion, Demyx's current and only boyfriend.
His transformation took him time, so Zexion kept the mirror around just in case he wasn't finished.
But when it was evident Demyx didn't need it anymore, they gave it away at a garage sale, where Cloud bought it. Free.

Demyx had told Zexion he had wanted it gone as fast as possible, requested they never talk of it ever again.
It anyone asked, Demyx had met Zexion at a county fair.

Axel went on to describe how the mirror worked.
People could only pass through once they had found their 'true love', as Axel called it.
Then, the person had to accept that they weren't crazy, and form a relationship with the person in the mirror, or more accurately, Hollow Bastion.

Along the way, there were many trials and tests for both people.
The world of dreams was a scary place, it had many worlds within it besides Hollow Bastion.

One of them was a world of past memories, scorn, and twisted into deep nightmares.

"I don't get it, how did my dream mom hurt me?"
"It would have been a normal nightmare, but since the mirror was here…I don't know exactly, but I'm sure it had something to do with it…And I'm sorry…"
Axel seemed sad that his birth had caused Roxas any harm.

Continuing his story, Axel told Roxas something troubling.
He wasn't complete.
Sure he finally looked that part and everything, but he was far from done.

"Can my dad see you?"
"Yeah…Everyone can now."
"Then why aren't you done yet?"
"I don't know, it takes more time, more things need to be whole. But let's enjoy the time we have together now ok?"
"Why, are you going somewhere?" Roxas slid a hand over one of Axel's.

Axel smiled at the contact, "No, but…I mean forever."
"For…Ever?"
"Like as long as we live, lets enjoy the time we have together because you never know when someone's going to take it away."

Roxas smiled and nodded, "Yeah!" Standing up he added, "Hey Axel…"
Looking up at Roxas and missing the boy being under his arm, Axel sighed, "What Roxie?"
"Lets go to the park."

Roxas never had this many weird looks before, he guessed it has something to do with Axel's hair and that fact no one in town had ever seen him before.
As badly as he wanted, Roxas didn't hold Axel's hand.

Then he thought, why wasn't he?
Didn't Axel call him his 'true love'?
If they were going to be in love, why shouldn't they hold hands?

Roxas knew he wasn't bold enough to just grab Axel's hand, he was waiting for the right time.
Apparently, Axel didn't feel like waiting.

Grabbing Roxas' hand, Axel smiled, "Remember what I told you?"
Roxas was blushing harder then ever before, "Uh….No?"
"To come out of your mirror, I had to find my true love. And that was you, so…don't be so shy ok?"

Roxas smiled back at the redhead, "That doesn't mean we need to rush things…"
Axel quickly let go of Roxas' hand, "You think we're rushing things?!"

Roxas gasped and grabbed Axel's hand with both of his, gripping it tightly, "No no no! I didn't mean that! I mean…I don't know what I mean…"

Axel simply laughed at the blond's awkwardness of everything and led him to the swing set.

"Lets slide." Axel announced as he began to climb the ladder to the slide.
Roxas was thinking the same thing he was thinking the last time this happened.
It was really cold, and Axel probably looked crazy right now.

Axel did the same thing he did last time, he waved his arms in the air, catching the wind.
Axel looked like such a little kid right now, sliding down, landing in the sand and giggling like a school girl.

Roxas realized, Axel never had a childhood.
He never did any of this as a kid.
He never had the memories that Roxas did, of playgrounds and school and recess.

"Roxie push me!" Axel had moved onto the swing and was kicking his feet wildly at the ground.
Roxas did was he was told, and soon Axel was soaring high on the swing, getting oh so close to going over the ever impossible bar.

Roxas joined him on the seat next to him, swinging slowly not trying to do loops or whatever it was Axel was trying to do.

The breeze felt nice, cold, but nice.
Then again, maybe it wasn't the breeze, maybe it was being with Axel.
Or maybe Roxas got a sick satisfaction at seeing all those parents take their children and leave once they saw Axel and Roxas swinging.

The sun was setting, and that meant that Roxas' father would be home soon, madder then ever that Roxas had left him.

On the walk home, Roxas and Axel held hands.
"What do we tell my dad?"
"Tell him…I lost my house or something and…I need a place to stay? Tell him I can stay in your room."
Roxas sighed, "I don't know if he will accept it but…okay."

Both men were beaming as they walked into the 7-11 to buy two bars of Sea-Salt ice cream.
Roxas paid Demyx the two dollars for the ice cream, even though he could have just taken it.
Demyx was peacefully asleep with a sign next to him telling all his customers to 'Please don't steal, and just leave the money next to me. Thank you.'

On their way out, Roxas and Axel passed a man about Roxas' height with steely gray hair that hid most of his face. He was smiling, and he had a small present in his hands.

The two men decided to eat their ice cream somewhere special, to celebrate Axel's 'complete-ness'.
They picked the tower on top of the train station.
Roxas never went this far out of his way, and he never took the train.
But this seemed like the best place to eat, where they could see the whole town and reflect on life.

A long climb later, Axel and Roxas were happily enjoying their Sea-Salt ice cream, watching the sun set finish itself.

"Do you know why the sun is red at sunset?" Axel asked Roxas after a long moment of silence.
Roxas looked up to him, "No…Why?"
Axel looked at his blue-eyed wonder, "Because of all the colours that make up light, red travels the farthest."

Roxas laughed and elbowed Axel, "You're just showing off Axel!"

Laughing, eating Sea-Salt ice cream, and watching a sunset.
This was how the world should always be.

The walk home was silent and wonderful.
Every moment Roxas spent with Axel was wonderful like this.

Axel had been right, the truth set them both free.
Axel telling Roxas about what was going on with the mirror was the best thing that could have happened to them.
They were so close now, it was like they had known each other their whole lives.

"And Tribal was so mad at him, he made him stay after and clean erasers for a whole month!" Roxas laughed as he regaled a story of something that happened to Hayner, while opening the door to his apartment.

"Roxas, mind telling me who your friend is?" Cloud was standing in front of Roxas in the doorway.
He had been waiting.

Roxas swallowed hard, "This is…Axel. He needs a places to stay so…Could he crash here for a while?"
Cloud clamped a hand onto Roxas' shoulder hard, "Sure my boy, but we are going to have a talk later about this…"

Axel and Roxas slowly walked into Roxas' room and shut the door.
The day and seemed so perfect.
Save for the encounter with Cloud and Roxas waking up on the pavement.

"Now what?" Axel asked as he stretched out on the bed.
"I get you pajamas? You need something to sleep in…and somewhere…"
Axel raised an eyebrow, "Somewhere?"
"You cant sleep on my bed! Its not big enough!"

Axel laughed and rolled to his side, "Don't you want to try at least? I don't mind being so close to you, in fact…" He winked, "I might like it."

Roxas and Axel shared a hearty laugh, like they had so many times that day, when they were interrupted by Cloud slamming the door open.
The doorknob hit the wall, breaking a hole in it.

"Roxas…" Cloud's head was down, and he reeked of dime store whisky.
Cloud only drank whisky when he was desperate and at his most unstable.

"Roxas…" He was starting to wobble in the door frame, "I hate you…"

Roxas looked down, "I know…" he looked up at his father, "I hate you too dad. I really do."
Cloud's head burst up, "You?!"
He was screaming, "You hate me!?" He continued after he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "You hate me!? After all I have done for you?!"

Roxas was obviously mad, "What have you done? Beat me nightly until I practically needed the ambulance!? You stabbed me you freak! What good does that do for me!?"

The room had become a screaming match, Axel simply sat up in the bed and watched.
"You ungrateful little bastard!" Cloud yelled.
"Ungrateful?! If it wasn't for me you would have drowned in your own puke years ago!" Roxas screamed back.
"If you didn't live here and steal away everything I ever loved I wouldn't be drunk all the time!" Cloud's words were screamed and the room quickly fell silent.

Axel rose, he stood between the mirror and Cloud.
"Listen Cloud, Roxas never asked to do any of that, all he ever asked for was some love from his father…"

Cloud was drunkenly staring at Axel, "What did you say to me bitch!? Don't get into other people's fights!"
Axel was taking a stand for Roxas, who was really impressed, "I am defending my best friend, just leave and no one will get hurt, okay Cloud?"

Cloud responded the way he always does, throwing his whisky bottle at Axel's face.
Roxas recognized the hand motion and pushed Axel to the ground, laying on him and protecting him from the shattering glass.

But there was so much glass.
So much glass.
How could a whisky bottle have so much glass?

Cloud exited the room with a slam of the door and some more grumbling.
Roxas sat up and smiled, "Thanks Axel, I really…"

His sentence was cut midway when he saw Axel, laying on the ground in pain.
He hadn't been hit, why was he in pain?

Roxas seeped him into his arms and held him.
His eyes were closed and mouth hung slightly open.
"Axel?" Roxas asked as he placed a hand onto his cheek.
Warmth.

"Axel?" he asked again.
Roxas was greeted by those amazing green eyes he had grown so fond of.
"Hey…why so sad?" His voice was soft, and comforting.

Roxas' eyes filled with tears at Axel's voice, "I thought you were dead…"
Axel laughed, "I could never leave you like that Roxie, I love you…"

Grabbing Axel into a tight hug, Roxas sobbed, "I love you to Axel…"
Something wasn't right.
Something about Axel's hug wasn't there, something was missing.

Pulling back, Roxas saw Axel was fading away.
He was becoming transparent again, like he was a few days ago.

"Axel.." Roxas' tears stung his eyes, as his words stung his lips.
Axel placed a disappearing hand onto his cheek, "Promise me Roxas…"
His hair was getting shorter, and lighter, "Lets meet again…in the next life…"
Roxas nodded and blinked a few tears from his eyes, "I promise…I'll wait for you…"

Axel was slowly fading back to the reflection of Roxas he once was, "Silly…Just because you have a next life…"
Roxas stopped his words with a kiss on the lips.
Slow.
Meaningful.

And before Roxas knew it, when he pulled away, in his hands were a piece of glass with lip prints on it.
And tear's, many of Roxas' tears.

The next few weeks passed by slower than normal.
Roxas spent all his time in his room, and rarely ate.

The frame from his mirror was removed and thrown out, the glass swept up.
But little did Cloud know, Roxas broke a piece of the frame off, and kept it with the piece of glass he kissed in a blanket, in a shoe box under his bed.
He made sure to hug and kiss it every night before bed.

Finally school was back in, and Roxas was more miserable then ever.
Days, weeks passed, leaving him a very unhappy day in mid March.

He was seated in his desk in first period, Tribal's class of course.
He talked even less and people cared even less.

There was talk about how Roxas was gay, Hayner had not only showed everyone the tape of Roxas telling him how pretty he was, but he also uploaded it on some popular website.
My something or other, Roxas didn't know what it was called and didn't care.

As for the cut on his arm, it healed and still, no one cared.
No one cared about anything Roxas did anymore, he was invisible.

"Listen up everyone, we have a new student today in class." Mr. Tribal announced, "I don't waste precious class time telling you about him, just have a seat next to that blond kid there, his name is Rockas."

The new student sat next to Roxas, and reach a hand to him, "Hello my name is-"
He had red hair that reminded Roxas of a porcupine, and green eyes that shown like the brightest jade.

"Axel?!"

The end


Final author notes: Well thats it, the end.
XD That is the most epic clifhanger, ever.
I'm sorry, I had to.
Well please review, fav, and alert!!!!

Should there be a sequel?

XD My proof reader and best friend HATES this chapter...Sad...

My thoughts about the ending: I've been getting a lot of...I dont know comments about how I left the ending.
People keep saying that Roxas and Cloud's relationship didnt get any better, and his school life is worse.
Well if you think about how life works, the relationship with an abusive parent isnt resolved after that many years just because its nicer for the reader.
As for school, most of the time after events like Roxas' school life would NOT get better, speaking from my own experiences on both of those things...
Anyway I was trying get it kinda realistic but...Eh it didnt work....
And no, the new kid is not Reno with contacts....XD

Real final words: For all updates about the sequel to this (and any other story I'm writing) please check out my profile, theres this neat little thing at the top of the page that says "To all my dear readers" that tells you all you need to know about my stories and such.