CHAPTER ELEVEN

There was something heavy on Roxas' back, centred just above his pelvis. There were also bony protrusions, that felt suspiciously like knees, digging into his hips.

He rose through the layers of sleep, gradually and then suddenly, eyes snapping open a moment after he became aware of the extra presence in his bed.

Cheek flat to the pillow, he growled, "Axel, if that's you, so help me, I'm going to castrate something."

"Good thing it's not Axel, then!"

Roxas let out a yelp and flailed, then groaned heavily, mouth pressing deep into the soft material. Pain pulsed through his body, everything cramped, impossibly tight, as though he'd spent the night climbing a mountain without prior warning or training.

A pair of hands planted into his back, the heels of the palms digging deep between his shoulder blades, bringing forth a mixture of pain and relief. The owner of the voice lifted up onto her knees and hung down over Roxas' head, giving him an upside-down smile.

"Hi there. I'm the great ninja Yuffie. I'm here to be your personal calmer and masseuse!"

"My-wha? Where's Axel?"

She shrugged. "Beats me. DiZ called Leon this morning, told him there was a new kid needing some help." She beamed, hair hanging down onto his pillow. "So, here I am!"

"Who… wh-where am I?" Roxas asked, bewildered. She laughed, settling back down into her previous position, making him squirm uncomfortably.

"You're in Hollow Bastion, kid. Don't you remember?" She took hold of his sweater and t-shirt, still slightly damp from the night before, and started tugging them up. Roxas spluttered, struggling to stop her, but she was too quick and strong for him in this confused, aching state. Before he knew it, his face was buzzing slightly from having fabric ripped over his head, and he was half-naked on a bed with a girl perched behind him.

"Help," he croaked, panicking, rough voice barely leaving the room.
"Ah, relax, I'm not gonna do anything much," she snorted, and promptly dug her elbows sharply into the heart of the muscles lining Roxas' spine. He let out a squawk of pain, arching off the bed.

"So," she said conversationally, when he'd fallen limply back down. Her hands kneaded away at him. "You're from the simulation, right?"

"Uh…" He forced his head sideways, tilting to try and peer back at the girl. "What are you doing to me?"

"I told you," she chirped. "I'm your masseuse and calmer. This is the first time you've had a real body since you were five years old, kid."

Roxas squeezed his eyes shut as her fists ground into the flesh under his ribcage. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been in the Twilight Children network for thirteen years. That's a way long time to spend as a buncha pixels."

His face scrunched up. "I'm in… the real world now… aren't I?"

"You sure are! And it was Axel who brought you through, huh?"

"Yeah…" Edges of memories were murmuring against Roxas' mind. He frowned, concentrating. "Where is Axel?"

The girl shrugged. "Toldya kid, I don't know. I just came because Leon told me to. Anyway, I don't even know Axel too well. We run with different crowds, you know?"

"Why isn't he here, though?" Roxas asked insistently, the panicky feeling bubbling back up. "He said – he said he wouldn't leave me."

She patted his bare shoulders soothingly. "It's okay, he'll be along eventually. Today, though, you're sticking with me and mine. You got a name, kid?"

"It's… Roxas."

"Cool name! Well, Roxas, I'm part of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. You'll be hanging with me and helping rebuild the town for a while – DiZ told Leon we get first dibs on you, and we could always use the extra pair of hands."

"Will Axel be there?" the blond asked urgently.

"Jeeze, talk about a one-track mind," the girl grumbled. "Seriously, kid, I don't know what's going on with that guy, okay? If you're so worried, talk to Leon when you see him. He probably knows."

For a while they lapsed into silence, the girl, Yuffie, working on his back, before swinging off to one side and starting on his right shoulder and arm, right down to the fingertips. Her strong hands pushed and manipulated the aching cramps, loosening them one by one. In time, she moved onto the left side, at a more awkward angle because of the wall in the way.

"Don't be blushing now," she teased, as she lowered to his buttocks and upper thighs. As Roxas did anyway, burying his face deep into the pillow and feeling humiliation trickle through his veins, she gave his leg a comforting pat. "Come on, now, I've even let you keep your pants on. I've groped bigger, better bodies than yours, so don't worry, I'm not perving on you."

"Is that meant to make me feel better?" Roxas growled, muffled.

She laughed. "Sure, why not? You'll get used to it, I promise. You'll need to – you've got a few more of these scheduled during the week. It's no small business being solid for the first proper time."

"I was solid before," he grumbled, vaguely offended. Then, "Fuck, ow! What are you doing back there?"

"Stop whining, it's not that bad. And you might've been solid enough, but not like this." She leaned down so they could meet eye-to-eye. "Think about it: for the first time in thirteen years, you're not a code, kid. There's no numbers out here except the ones you make yourself." She smiled, brown eyes crinkling kindly, a sort of pride as she said, "You're your own person again. Congratulations, you've graduated from a Twilight Child to a Hollow Bastion man."

And Roxas did feel a little thrill – he was free now. No more traps, no more pretending… He had his own life. He smiled a little, the expression fading when he thought of Axel. He'd said he wouldn't let them be separated… but someone had managed to. Why else would the redhead not be here? Roxas cursed his faded memory of the previous night. From the computer lab onward, he had trouble remembering anything except an all-encompassing dizziness. He felt okay now, but the lack of Axel was driving him crazy. What happened to them being attached?

At last, Yuffie halted in her ministrations, hopping to her feet and jumping the pins-and-needles from her legs after having sat for so long. "You can try and sit up now," she said brightly. "You'll still be stiff, but I think you'll find it's an improvement from all-out screaming agony."

Roxas shot her squinty-eyed look, and carefully pushed up onto his elbows. Well, nothing was seizing up like it did the first time – he figured that was a good thing. This girl must've been pretty good at the massage stuff. He did, as she'd warned, feel an almost arthritic jerkiness in his bones, but he could move properly, so he wasn't complaining. He sat up, scratching idly at his stomach, fingers a little numb, but warm enough.

Yuffie watched him with a satisfied expression, nodding to herself. "So, okay, you can pull your shirt back on now. I'll go wait in the hall, and you come out when you're done doing whatever, okay?"

She left, the door clicking shut, Roxas still sitting on the bed, gazing around feeling lost. Axel's scent covered almost every inch of the room, reassuring him that he was at least in the right place – but he didn't know what to do with himself. There was a girl he'd never met waiting for him in the hall, he was in a dark place he'd never seen before, in a body he'd apparently not used since he was five years old – and wasn't that when he'd decided he wanted to work in a toy store?

He'd graduated from a Twilight child to a Hollow Bastion man, despite the fact that his experience of Hollow Bastion so far was the inside of this one, dim bedroom. Why had he been in a program to begin with?

He'd spent his entire life inside a computer. The air he breathed right now, stuffy and warm, was the first real air he'd inhaled since before pre-pubescence. It was fresher than the coldest breezes that whipped across Sunset hill, hotter than the furnace in his basement, and so reminiscent of Axel that it hurt to breathe.

Roxas' eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room. "Damn it, Axel," he hissed. "Where are you?"

He got to his feet, tottering and weak, taking a moment to steady himself before going to the wardrobe and swinging the doors open. The rack of clothing was comprised of various outfits he'd seen Axel wearing. It occurred to Roxas, suddenly, that this was where Axel returned to whenever his watch went off, whenever he went home for the night – Axel didn't have a home address or phone number in Twilight Town. That's why no one could find him or get hold of him. When Axel had broken the rules by staying longer than he was meant to, he had been kept here. Here, in Hollow Bastion, in the real world. For the three days in which Roxas had grown increasingly frantic, Axel had been here.

Startled by the revelation, the blond reached in and pulled out a shirt, staring at it for a moment. It was the same one Axel had worn on Saturday. This was – Axel's room. Roxas pulled the shirt on, too long in the sleeves, a little tight around the waist, and wrapped his arms around his stomach for a long minute, gazing dumbfounded into the collection of Axel's wardrobe. Roxas… didn't have any clothes of his own. Or money. Or a complete education, now that he'd tossed his senior year down the drain. Roxas… didn't even have his own bed. He'd spent the night in Axel's.

Where was Axel?

There was a knock, the girl's voice muffled as she called through, "You still alive in there, kid? I'm getting hungry. Breakfast's waiting."

Breakfast?

…Roxas could stand to eat.

.o.O.o.

Roxas had his hands tucked into the long black sleeves of Axel's shirt, fiddling with the hem as he followed Yuffie along the zig-zagging passages. She led him into a cafeteria, several long metal tables set up surrounded by chairs, most of them occupied by a collection of men, women and teens hunched over eating. Along one wall was a kitchen arrangement, a long counter with various cereal boxes, bowls, toasters and two large stoves set side-by-side.

"This is a community dining hall," Yuffie informed him. "All inhabitants of the castle eat their meals here."

Roxas blinked, stuttering to a stand-still. "…Castle?"

"Well, it ain't a cottage. Go take a look." She waved a hand to the far wall, a set of broad windows letting in light. "I'm gonna get some coffee. You like eggs, kid? I'll get Aerith to cook up a few."

Roxas wasn't listening, drifting over wide-eyed to the windows. A thick mist glided past, like the innards of a cloud lain bare. Beyond it, mountains, chasms, a city set against the base of a cliff.

None of Naminé's pictures could have prepared him for this.

It was… like nothing he had ever seen before. Roxas had seen hills. He had seen the vastness of the sky from the top of the clock tower, the mound of Sunset hill. But this – this rocky, overflowing vista, that city that looked so small from where he stood now, knowing how much bigger it would be up close, the endless view outward – Roxas felt like his eyes were cracking open for the first time, from a two-dimensional dream to full-blooded reality.

"Holy shit," he said softly, twisting the material of his sleeves between his fingers, gaze slowly sweeping back and forth. He wished Axel were here with him for this. He deserved to be, after everything he'd done. Roxas… wanted to share this wonder with him.

"Hey, you…" Roxas turned, dazed, to see a tall silver-haired guy approaching, teal eyes curious. "You're Roxas, right?" He leaned against the window, arms crossed, utterly ignoring the breathtaking beauty it offered, his gaze focused intently on the blond, studying him. Drawing back slightly from the scrutiny, he hesitated, nodded.

"Yeah…?"

The guy smiled, tipped his head to the side, bangs slipping down to obscure half his face. "You probably don't remember me, but we used to go to the same school. I was the year above you."

Roxas examined his features closely, a frown set in place, sifting through his mind for a whisper of recognition. "Um…"

The guy smirked. "It's okay. It's been a few years. You would've been fourteen at the time." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Riku."

Roxas shook, nodded. "You, uh, obviously know my name already."

"You're Axel's pick, aren't you?"

Roxas brightened minutely, drawing his hand back into its warm home inside Axel's sleeve. "Yeah, you know him?"

"Sure, we're both junior technicians. My boyfriend, Sora, is a full techie, and there's a couple others, but most of us are going to be junior for the rest of our lives – we all answer to DiZ. He's master technician." He shook the hair from his face, aqua eyes interested as he asked, "When did you get in? Last I knew, Kairi had us trawling the streets of Twilight Town looking for Axel."

Roxas asked quickly, anxiously, "Do you know where he is?"

Riku's eyes widened. "Don't you? What, did he not come back with you or something?"

Miserably, Roxas replied, "I don't remember properly. We came here from Twilight Town last night, but everything is so fuzzy… I know that he was with me, but – well, he said he wouldn't leave me. I – I haven't seen him since." He turned, eyes scouring the room. "That girl Yuffie brought me here. She gave me the most painful fucking massage of my life…"

Riku laughed. "Yeah, I remember those. Don't worry, it gets easier. It won't hurt so much next time. As for Axel…" He frowned. "Now, that I can't help you with. I haven't seen him since before I had to go looking for him. I can ask Kairi…"

"His – his sister, right?" Roxas lightened again, lips parting in a slight smile. He looked again at the gathered heads, trying to find one as violently red as Axel's in female form.

"Yeah. She was in the program for the same amount of time as me. Sora got us both out. It was kind of against the rules, but we all used to be friends before the war, so…"

Roxas hiked a blond brow. "War?"

"Excuse me?"

They both turned to see a young woman with a sweet smile, dressed in pink, hair a brunette braid, holding a plate of eggs, toast, and hash browns. "Roxas?"

The blond blinked, reached up to scratch at his spikes. "Uh, yeah?"

"This is for you." She offered the food, which he took in surprise. "Yuffie asked me to cook you something."

"Oh – thank you. Uh…" He glanced around for a seat, automatically seeking a familiar face.

"Hey, you can come sit with us," Riku offered. The woman shook her head.

"He's with the Restoration Committee today. Leon's asked that he sit with us." She smiled, adding, "I'm Aerith, by the way. I'm part of the Committee, too. I'm a liaison between the Committee and the technicians, along with Leon."

"Yeah, Aerith is our regular little peacekeeper," Riku grinned, earning a soft, affectionate look. He shrugged, straightening, tugging down his shirt a little to smooth the creases. "Well, anytime you want to, you're welcome at the techie table. I'll see what I can find out about Axel for you. So, yeah – enjoy your breakfast, and don't let them work you too hard."

"Wait!" Roxas' fingers burst out of their encasement, snaring his jacket, cutlery clicking against the plate. Riku gave him a questioning glance. Roxas hesitated. "You – you said your boyfriend's name is Sora – right? Short guy, brown spiky hair?" In answer to the nod, the blond swallowed, said, "Please, can you tell him – I'm sorry for yesterday? In the Sandlot? I – can't excuse my behaviour, but… I really am sorry. Will you tell him for me?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. "Sora got beaten up yesterday."

Roxas nodded guiltily. "Yeah, he did."

"You weren't there when I arrived," he said suspiciously. Roxas dipped his face, releasing the other teen's jacket.

"No, I'd – left already. I think I heard you yell, maybe."

"I see…" Riku eyed him guardedly. "I'll – pass along your apology."

Roxas nodded his thanks, not meeting the boy's gaze, arms encircling his breakfast plate. "I'll see you later," he mumbled, turning to follow the woman Aerith, who waited patiently. She gave him a bright, encouraging smile as he came alongside her, then started walking.

"That was a nice thing you did," she murmured, once they were out of earshot. In response to Roxas' baffled glance, she explained, "I was the one that tended to Sora's bruises. He told me what happened." She gave him a warm look. "It's good to know you're not so bad after all. I knew you couldn't be, if Axel chose you."

Roxas was torn between wanting to blush, and wanting to kick himself for being such an idiot, and an asshole to boot. "I – I wasn't really myself then," he said, ashamed. "That's no excuse, I know, but… I – I was kind of out of my head."

"Well, I can guarantee that Riku will pass on the message, and Sora will be overjoyed by it," she reassured. "He was a little upset by how you treated him, but now everything will be fine. He has a very big heart."

"That's good," Roxas mumbled.

Aerith led the way to the table at the far edge of the room, where a small group was sitting, heads bent, for the most part inhaling whatever food was within reach. Roxas recognised Yuffie, gulping down coffee at the end, next to a disgruntled-looking blond man with spikes that put Roxas' hair to shame.

Aerith placed her hands together, waiting to be noticed, a feat which took all of three-point-five seconds. A woman with black hair sitting on the other side of the blond glanced up, eyes lighting at the sight of the pair of them. "Hey, is this the new kid?"

The table paused and turned, a sea of faces studying the suddenly nervous Roxas. Aerith placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Anyone going to scoot up for him?"

"I said it once, I'll say it again: I ain't movin' til I get some goddamn coffee," a second blond man growled from the other side of the table. He smacked the surface suddenly, causing the cups to bounce. "That fuckin' ninja brat stole mine!"

"You snooze you lose, gramps," Yuffie sniffed, sucking down the last dregs in a show of defiance.

The black-haired woman waved him over with a kind smile. "Come sit by me, I promise I won't bite." Roxas shifted around awkwardly, sitting in the chair she offered, placing his plate of rapidly cooling food onto the tabletop. She held a hand over to be shaken, introducing herself as, "Tifa."

"Roxas," the blond croaked, eyes darting about the many faces. One set of steely, blue-grey eyes caught his gaze, a steady, flat look.

"I'm Leon," said the owner of the eyes, deep-voiced, either utterly relaxed or completely disinterested in Roxas' presence, judging by his tone. "I hear you got in late last night."

"Oh, uh, really?" Roxas started cutting his breakfast up into bite-sized pieces. Aerith moved away, heading back towards the kitchen area, leaving Roxas feeling exposed.

"You heard about Axel yet?" the man asked.

"No." Roxas' attention instantly left his plate, as he leaned forward to ask, "Do you know where he is?"

He'd had enough of this in Twilight Town – it was getting too much that here, too, Axel was missing without a trace. The man, Leon, arms crossed over his chest, leaning back in his chair with an ankle crossed over his knee, inclined his head in confirmation.

"He's on probation. Currently, he's cleaning every bathroom in existence in the castle, and he's only allowed to see you at mealtimes. You've also been assigned to hard labour for a week."

Roxas stiffened incredulously. "Me? What'd I do? I didn't break any damn rules!"

He shrugged minutely. "Not my decision, nor my problem. Either way, you're with the Committee for the next week. You don't have the option of making a big deal out of it."

Roxas stared at him for a long minute, Yuffie hiding her sniggers behind her coffee mug. Aerith returned with a fresh cup for the grumpy, older blond, and the man's grumbling died away abruptly.

"Roxas? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"He's okay," Tifa assured her, patting the boy on the back. "He's just found out that Axel's doomed him to a week of shifting rubble from the Crystal Fissure."

"How is this Axel's fault?" Roxas asked suspiciously.

"This is part of his punishment," Leon explained. He smirked, very slightly. "DiZ thought it would affect him more giving it to you than making him do the labour himself."

"So – me doing hard work – that's meant to be punishment for Axel?" Roxas scowled, thought it through, shrugged. Uncertainly, he said, "Well, I mean, it's that's all it is, then he got off pretty lightly, didn't he? I thought something really bad was going to happen, from what he said…"

"DiZ isn't the most… conscionable of men," said Tifa hesitantly. "At times, he can get a little carried away. However, I guess since no permanent damage was done, he's letting you guys off lightly."

Leon snorted. "If you think this is a light punishment, you'd be mistaken. I'm under orders to make this a tough week for the kid."

"Well, no one's forcing you to abide by that," Aerith interjected, glaring slightly. "DiZ, sitting in his office, will never know just how hard Roxas is pushed unless someone tells him. And no one here would do something that rotten, would they?" She fixed them all with a hard look.

The older blond man snorted. "I'd do it for a laugh, if I didn't think you and Tifa'd rip my balls off for it."

"Oh, Cid, grow up," Tifa scowled.

"Yeah, Cid, we're trying to eat here," Yuffie complained. "I don't need to hear anything about your balls any time of the day, let alone breakfast."

Roxas was feeling less hungry with each passing minute. Leon, noticing his mostly untouched food, advised evenly, "You should finish that, or you'll collapse by dinnertime. DiZ may or may not be monitoring how hard I work you, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy."

Aerith sighed, placing a gentle hand on his head. "It'll be okay, Roxas. Eat up. I'll work this out for you."

"Yeah, momma Aerith makes it all better," Yuffie chirped, reaching over and stealing one of his hash browns. She frowned at it. "Ew, it's cold and greasy."

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Is everyone nearly ready?"

"I've been ready for the last fifteen minutes," said the blond with the spikes in a dull tone of voice.

"That's because you barely fuckin' eat, Spiky," the older blond muttered.

"Cloud's anorexic," Yuffie informed Roxas, evoking a bewildered look.

The man, Cloud, glared over at her. "For the last time, I'm not ano-fucking-rexic, Yuffie."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, and you don't stick your fingers down your throat or cry in your room like a little girl, either. You've told me this already."

"So why are you telling the new kid I have an eating disorder?"

"Because it's fun?" She shrugged, munching on the cold potato hash. Roxas shook his head slightly, ate an egg.

"I'm ready to leave now," Cloud ground out. Leon stood, collecting some papers into a clipboard in front of him on the table, tucking away the ballpoint pen he'd been toying with.

"Alright, enough then. Everybody up. Today won't be easy for anyone, let alone the new kid. I want you all down at the Fissure in thirty minutes."

Roxas stood along with everyone else, confused. "Um, me too?" he asked Tifa.

"You, too," she confirmed. "It'll be okay. You stick by me, okay?"

Looking unhappy, Aerith caught his arm. "I'll get right on this silly punishment detail, okay? I'll be staying up here, so I'll see if I can find Axel and speak with him."

That made two people seeking the redhead. Roxas wished he could just go and find him himself, but he was quickly swept up along with the tide of human movement, Tifa's gloved hand clamped around his wrist, dispelling any hopes of escape before they'd even formed. This wasn't exactly how he'd pictured real life – he thought leaving Twilight Town meant he could travel, and that he and Axel would lie on rooftops watching the clouds – he didn't realise it equalled indentured servitude. How… disappointing.

As they were leaving the dining hall, he caught a glimpse of white. Head twisting around, he found himself face-to-face with Naminé, next to a girl with wine-red hair wearing just as much pink as Aerith. The golden-haired girl frowned slightly, whether because of the events of last night, or the fact he was being led forcefully out of the room with a group of mostly-insane workers he wasn't sure. She opened her mouth, a quizzical expression on her face, but he was gone before she could form whatever words had been poised to come forth.

.o.O.o.

Didn't Yuffie say he'd be helping rebuild something?

Axel's shirt lay in the dust, discarded. Roxas worked bare-chested, rivers of sweat pouring down his body in undulating courses. His fingers were torn and numb, palms calloused from lifting rocks, branches, stray pieces of sheet metal. A slow burn was developing across his lightly freckled shoulders, certain to sting later, when there weren't as many immediate pains to worry about.

He was exhausted and angry. He felt cheated. Where the fuck was liberty? Where the fuck was Axel?

He had been working for fucking hours without a break, struggling to keep up with the almost inhuman endurance of the others. Tifa had explained their plans to build a road through the area to make Hollow Bastion's upper limits easier to traverse. Roxas didn't particularly fucking care.

A halt was called at last for lunch. The group gathered under an outcrop of the dark blue mineral crystal that gave the area its name, handing around water bottles and sandwiches. Roxas sat sullenly, eating little, speaking less.

"For God's sake," Leon muttered. Roxas glanced up, to see the brown-haired man glaring at the clipboard he'd brought along. For the last ten minutes he'd been busy scribbling away at various sheets, but with the curse had stopped.

"Not the inventory again," Yuffie moaned. Leon nodded tightly.

Despite himself, Roxas asked, "What's up?"

"For the last four weeks, somebody's been going around stealing things from our worksites," Tifa explained, frowning. "Tools, materials, even plans – and no one can figure out who's doing it."

"Leon thinks he knows," murmured Cloud, a dark expression on his face, seated on a rock slightly apart from the others. He cut the brunet a sharp look. "Don't you, Leon?"

Leon refused to comment. The scowl dropped slowly from his face, evidently through force of will, as he continued with his figures. "Cloud," sighed Tifa, "no one thinks it's you."

"No one but Leon," the blond stubbornly insisted.

"Look, I haven't even accused you," Leon said, not glancing up.

"No, you just ask probing questions," the blond shot back. "Where I've been, what I've been doing, where I bought my new riding gloves, shit like that."

"A man can't be curious about his colleagues?" came the mild reply.

"I get it, okay?" Cloud snarled. "I turn up to join the Committee, two weeks later things start vanishing. I know how to connect dots, and I know you whipped out your crayon as fast as you could to do just that."

Leon held up his pen, waving it slightly, and responded, "I generally work with ball-points."

Roxas lifted his eyes to the bright blue sky and sighed. He drew his knees up to his chest, ignoring the rest of the argument, resting his chin on his forearm as he despondently finished his food. He tried to sum up mentally all the things he'd ever thought he'd be doing upon finally leaving Twilight Town, and for far too long came up blank. He supposed it wasn't even that he had grand dreams and plans, like travelling and drawing like Naminé – all he'd ever felt was this burning need to get out. He sort of understood that now – perhaps there was some part of him aware of the stagnancy of his situation, understanding, despite his lack of knowledge, that nothing was ever going to change.

Well, things had changed. He was in the real world, for the first time in thirteen years, apparently, and so far all he'd done was eat, sleep and work. Things weren't exactly panning out like he'd hoped. The way Axel had spoken… well, it was hard when Axel wasn't even around to make his promises come true, but none of this was what he'd expected. Axel hadn't mentioned other people, hadn't said about having a mean boss or a castle or a mutual dining area. Roxas had hoped that freedom meant exploring. Road-buddies. That suggested something adventurous, didn't it? That was what had sparked his hopes and imagination. And now… He lowered his gaze to the group, half of it bickering while the other half ate and either listened to or ignored the outbursts from Cloud and the frustratingly bland responses from Leon.

God, this was meant to continue for another week? Roxas frowned. Damn it, it wasn't his fault that Axel had acted the way he had – he didn't see why he should be stuck with a group of strangers breaking his fucking back in the sun. What exactly gave anyone the right to force him to do anything? Sure, he was new, and he didn't know a damn thing about this town, and didn't have any legitimate anything – but did that mean he was automatically under someone's thumb? Who did that DiZ guy think he was?

He just hoped Aerith was making good on her promise to get him out of this. This was fucking miserable.

.o.O.o.

It was night by the time they returned to the castle – Roxas' first view of the hulking behemoth, squatting and sprawling at the same time, absolutely ugly. He wondered why on earth all these people were living up here, when the city was twinkling below like fairy-lights. Roxas wanted to be there, not up at this creepy place.

Cloud, Leon, Cid and Roxas all washed off in the depressingly communal showers. It was just like high school, except that Roxas felt humiliatingly substandard around bodies like the younger blond and brunet. At least in high school, you could find someone worse off than you – in here, it didn't really count when the one slightly worse-off was only worse-off because he was in his forties.

Afterwards, he had to climb back into his filthy clothes. "Can someone take me to Axel's room?" he asked wearily. Yuffie was summoned, and ten minutes later, he opened the door to the dim room, the lights thankfully shut off.

"It's time for your next massage," Yuffie said cheerily. Roxas fixed her with a glower.

"No," he said bluntly. Her expression dropped.

"Oh, but, you've gotta."

"No, Yuffie. I need to just get undressed and sleep for a while. Please get out."

"But – "

"For fuck's sake," Roxas exploded. "I'm sick and tired of looking at people and listening to people – I just want to be alone. I haven't seen Axel in fucking ages, and all I'd like to do is sleep this horrible fucking day off and hope that tomorrow I find myself somewhere I actually want to be. Is that so much to ask?!"

Yuffie looked stricken, backing away a couple of steps. "Well – okay, I guess. No big deal." Her voice was small. She opened the door again, letting the light from the hall spill in. A second later, she was gone, and Roxas had a throbbing knot of guilt to add to his list of woes. He blew out a sigh, hissing, "Fuck."

Shifting over to the bed, he peeled off his shirt and unbuckled his belt and jeans, letting the dirty clothes drop to the floor. He bundled them up and added them to the pile already existing at the foot of the bed. The feeling of stickiness hadn't quite subsided yet after the long, hot day, and the skin across his back was tightening with every hour, as the burn grew fiercer. Roxas fell into bed with a groan, every muscle aching from sheer exertion.

This wasn't how things were meant to be. Not even for a minute.

He curled up on top of the covers, already more than hot from the sunburn. He ran the fingers of one hand softly up and down the length of his calf, needing some sort of comfort, anything he could find, even if he had to give it to himself.

He shut his eyes, and thought of home. A bitter laugh wrested from his lips, jarring in the small space. The smell of Axel was becoming contaminated by his own scent, even after such a short amount of time. It had obviously been a couple nights since the redhead had graced the sheets. Roxas took a deep, slow breath, and concentrated on not crying.

The door cracked, letting in the light, his eyes shooting open, brows already fixed into a glare as he stared at the wall and grated, "Whoever it is, leave me alone. I just want to go to sleep. Please."

"…Roxie?"

Roxas let out a gasp, sitting up sharply, whirling around, ignoring the pain in his shoulders. "Jesus, Axel," he said, voice cracking. "Where the fuck have you been?"

The redhead slid the door shut, a finger to his lips, whispering, "Ssh. Yuffie snuck me in."

Roxas was confused. "What do you mean? This is your fucking bed, Axel!"

The redhead came to sit on the edge of the mattress, studying the blond in the darkness. "Yeah, but I'm not supposed to see you except at mealtimes. DiZ's idea of teaching me a lesson."

"So fucking what?" Roxas demanded. "Who the fuck does he think he is? The guy has me shifting fucking rocks, Axel – I'm not going to do it again. I'm a fucking high schooler, not a menial fucking labourer. If I wanted that kind of life, I could've stayed in the goddamn computer and taken up a fucking trade!"

"Roxie…" Axel had his arms folded on his knees, looking subdued, staring down at the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean for it to turn out like this. I just…"

"I don't blame you." Roxas had his eyes shut, was bent over his lifted knees, hands clasped beneath them. "I understand what the guy's trying to do, but I don't get why he thinks this is okay, or why either of us even has to listen."

Axel smiled half-heartedly. "He's the one in charge of us. I mean, he takes care of us, gives us jobs that we want and food and shelter. He's not what you'd call a father-figure," he admitted, tipping his head to the side, "but hell, none of us is exactly searching for one, either."

"Why, though? Why's he in charge? Why can't we just go, Axel, and tell him to fuck his rules and stupid ideas of punishment?" When the redhead didn't respond, Roxas sighed, tucking his chin onto his knee-caps. "This isn't what I was expecting. I thought… I thought that for the first time, I was going to rule my own life. Go wherever I please… That sort of shit." He dropped his hands, scooting closer, making Axel look up. "You said you'd tell me everything. So tell me."

Axel shrugged, a little awkwardly. "I wasn't really planning to tonight. I just – wanted to come see you."

"Damn it, you're seeing me," Roxas snapped. "Why can't you talk while you're looking?"

"I didn't really want to just look."

Roxas closed his eyes. "All of this… You chose me, because you formed some – some infatuation with me before you even knew me, Axel."

"That's not true," said the redhead softly. "I knew you when we were kids. You don't remember because of the program, but it'll start coming back to you, the longer you're out here. Okay, so today's Hollow Bastion isn't what it was when we were little, but once you start seeing different places around here, you'll remember. You went into the system and I didn't, but I never forgot you, Roxie." He lifted his legs onto the bed, touching his knees to the blond's. "I remembered you, all the time. You were the coolest little fucker I'd ever laid eyes on, back then, now – it doesn't matter." He lowered himself, peered up into Roxas' down-turned face. "You're the whole reason I became a techie, did you know that?"

"I didn't know that, Axel," Roxas replied tightly, keeping his chin down, "because I don't know anything about you. I don't even know what a techie is, or does."

"So I'll tell you," the redhead promised softly. "I'll tell you everything. But there's too much to say right now, and I feel like I'm going crazy – all this time I've spent wanting you in the real world, and now that you're finally here, I can't even be near you? I haven't even seen you since last night. I've been cleaning bathrooms all day, going out of my mind with worry." Roxas lifted his eyes, exhaustion in every crease of his face. Axel gently cupped him, thumbs settling against his cheekbones. "You're burnt," he observed unhappily. "I talked to Aerith; she's commandeering you for the rest of the week." He gave a crooked grin. "You've set off every mothering instinct the woman has." The smile became wistful, as he brushed a finger down the almost-peeling bridge of Roxas' nose, making him wince. "Must be that lost look in your eyes."

Roxas turned into his hand, almost against his will. Finally, Axel was here. He was tempted to be pissed with the redhead, but after all the energy he'd expended wishing they could just be together, he didn't want to waste this opportunity by being a brat. None of this was Axel's fault. Not really. Or at least, none of it was his intention.

"I think I hate DiZ," he mumbled into Axel's palm. The redhead chuckled.

"Join the club," he joked. "The guy's a genius, but we all hate his guts, except maybe Leon."

"All those people are out of their fucking minds, did you realise that?"

"What, the Committee? Duh." Axel rolled his eyes, shook his head. "We techies are far superior. The second this bullshit punishment is done with, I'm stealing you and training you up."

Roxas found himself smiling for the first time since the previous night. "Sounds good to me."

Axel leaned forward and kissed him, a slow, desperate gesture, every inch apologetic and hungry. His tongue came out to dance along Roxas' chapped lower lip. He pulled back. "Jesus, Rox, even your lips are burnt," he murmured huskily. Roxas, eyes shut, a sleepy expression on his face, merely nodded.

"Everything hurts," he confessed in a whisper. Axel's arms wrapped around him, easing him down onto the mattress. The redhead shifted around, pressing his back against the wall. He held the blond loosely, trying not to overheat him, gazing over at him with a queer combination of excitement and sorrow, all his emotions twisting together into a bewildering melange. "I can't believe this is happening to you," he muttered. "I want to fucking kill Naminé. I thought we were friends."

Roxas shrugged slowly. "You still are, I guess, just like I still want to be. She just… values the rules more than us." And yet, here they were, still at the mercy of them. Roxas' eyes opened, he stared at the ceiling. "How long are you staying?" he asked quietly.

"A couple hours." A warm breath fanned his ear. "No one will miss me."

Roxas nodded, turned carefully on his burn, tucking his stinging nose into Axel's chest. This was better. This was unadulterated Axel scent. Much nicer than the shadow ghosting the pillows. Roxas fell asleep with it, and didn't notice when Axel left.