Author's Notes: Hey guys! Hope you're ready for some more Orange Juice, cause I'm on the ball today. I was actually really eager to begin writing this chapter ( I made myself fangirl with the AkuRoku fluff XD ) so here we are I guess. Hope you enjoy!

Roxas blinked; He had no idea why Axel was going out of his way to help him so much all of a sudden. The blonde teen couldn't even believe that people like this still existed. "Um..." He nodded cautiously, "S-Sure."

"Great." The redhead smiled as Roxas opened up the front door.

Roxas could feel his heart beating faster and faster, afraid that Luxord would greet him with that sadistic grin and heavy scent of alcohol. But... He wasn't as scared as he had been before. Roxas felt calmer with Axel by his side, and in some weird way, he even felt... safer. The blonde hastily took a step through the doorway and a whimper escaped the lips of his little brother. "Shh... It's okay buddy... Just think about your Mum, okay? Think of your Mum and it'll be alright..." Thank god; No sign of Luxord or any of his women.

Think of Mum..?, Axel thought to himself with a frown. He couldn't believe the horrible circumstances the two were living under; The walls were drenched in the stench of stale beer and marijuana, and the carpets were covered in blood stains. There was only a couch to decorate the small, damaged room and even that was ripped and falling apart. Axel just wanted to snatch the two up and steal them away, but he knew Roxas wouldn't let him. The blonde teen had always been stubbornly independent.

Instead of confronting Roxas and holding the two boys in his arms like he so desperately wanted to, Axel simply asked, "Where should we start?" Besides, he already knew that everything would be okay soon. He had a plan.

Roxas panted exhaustedly, "Thanks for your help Axel." The blonde wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned up against the open trunk of his old rusted little Volkswagen. It was Adrian's mum's, something she left for the two of them when the time came. And this, was their time.

"No problem." Axel nodded. He didn't exactly know where Roxas planned on going though. Motels were expensive in Twilight Town, and he couldn't just sleep in his car. Finally, Axel asked, "Where are you gonna go?"

"Hm? Oh. With Adrian's Mum~" Roxas casually responded and swung down the trunk door with a great force. It was packed to the brim, so he had a little trouble with it, but after a few tries it finally shut tight. Roxas locked it with a key and looked over at Axel, who was suspiciously raising an eyebrow at him. "What?" Roxas asked with a tilt of his head, puzzled.

"Do you even know how to drive this thing. It's stick y'know~" Axel pointed out and continued to stare at the blonde teen. Roxas gulped and scratched the back of his neck; It was true that Roxas didn't have a license, and he definitely didn't know how to drive stick. But the teen would figure it out, as he always did.

"I'll figure it out." He shrugged and looked inside the car. If they were in the anime world, you would have been able to see the sweat drop on Roxas' head. It did look quite complicated... but still.

Axel sighed and shook his head. 'At least he's still the same Roxas I know.'

"I don't wanna push, but why don't you let me drive you there?" Axel grinned like the Cheshire cat.

Roxas shook his head stubbornly, "No, it's okay. I can do it, I really can." The blonde tried to assure him but Axel didn't buy it.

"Okay, well look at the scenario this way. When you run someone's mail box over and they call the cops, what're the cops gonna do when they find out that you don't have your license?" Axel raised a brow in question at the small blonde boy.

Roxas' eyes widened at that; He didn't want to admit it, but Axel was right. If Roxas DID crash into something, then the blonde would be screwed. They'd ask for his license, he'd have no choice but to tell them he didn't have one, then they'd take him and Adrian to the station, find out about their home life, and then they'd both be out in Foster care. And Roxas did NOT want that to happen. It wasn't an option. It just wasn't going to happen...

"Fine." Roxas mumbled, dropped the car keys in Axel's hand, and went to strap Adrian into his car seat. "But it's only because I'd prefer to NOT be put in foster care, thank you..."

Axel said nothing. He simply smirked, boarded the driver's seat, and put the key into the ignition before slowly backing out of the driveway. Roxas rested his head on his hand and stared out the window. It almost seemed like they were driving into the sunset. Pretty, Roxas admitted in his mind.

x x x

By the time they had gotten there, the moon was already sitting high in the sky.

Adrian had fallen asleep, and Roxas smiled softly at the child. "We're here." He whispered over to Axel and the redhead scanned over the house. It was a quant little yellow house with white shingles and a white fence. There were flower beds full of red roses in the front and the grass was neatly trimmed. Axel hoped the inside of the house would be as properly groomed as the outside. He didn't want the blonde to have to live in filth again.

Roxas opened up the passenger side door and unbuckled Adrian from his car seat. The brunette child yawned and clung to his brother like a Koala bear. Roxas stroked the back of his head and held him close, "It's gonna be okay now, buddy."

Axel locked the car and walked up to the front door beside the blonde. He wanted to make sure everything was okay and that this chick wasn't as insane as Roxas' father. She sounded nice from what Roxas had told him, but you couldn't be too careful. Roxas took a deep breath in; He wasn't sure how to feel about all this. I mean, he hadn't seen Adrian's mother in four years. She could have changed. She could have grown bitter. She could reject them. Rejection... That's what Roxas feared. He feared that Adrian would grow up without even one parent, because both of them could be fucked up beyond fixing.

And Roxas began to shake as he reached up to press the doorbell. But before he even got the chance push it, the door swung open. And without even realizing it the blonde was being held in a warm embrace with his brother placed in the middle.

"Roxas. Adrian. I... I'm so glad to see you. You've grown so much." A woman with a kind smile and very long pecan brown hair began to sob from the happiness she was feeling. Axel had to smile at that; He was almost positive that Roxas and Adrian would be okay now.

All of the anger, and hate, and raw pain that Roxas had held in over the four years she had been gone, automatically released itself. Roxas choked out a sob and buried his face into her shoulder, "A-Aerith..." A thousand pounds had been weighing down on his shoulders, and now he could fly. Roxas was free. Adrian was free. And the blonde had never felt so warm in his life.

"Bubby..? Who's this?"

"Buddy, this nice lady, she's your Mommy."

And Roxas had never smiled so much in one day.

x x x

Axel helped Roxas drag in one more box from the small trunk it had been crammed in. Aerith was even nicer than the blonde had remembered; She was kind, and beautiful, and she smelled really good. She also gave the best hugs, and her house smelled like chocolate chip cookies and flowers. Roxas had never even stepped inside such a warm and cozy house. It really was the opposite of the filthy and dingy living room he'd lived in all of his life.

Four years ago, Aerith had given him the address of her house, on the day she left. And now that he was there, she couldn't stop apologizing to the two boys. She had told Roxas about how she so desperately wanted to take the two boys away from that monster. How she wanted to rescue us for so long. But she couldn't, because he wouldn't let her. Luxord wouldn't let her.

Once Roxas had assured her that he knew it wasn't her fault all this time, the brunette woman settled down a bit. She thanked Axel for helping her two boys out so much, even though Adrian was her only biological son. Aerith told Roxas that she had gotten married to a man named Squall Leonhart, and they had a child of their own; Sora. Sora was two years younger than Adrian, so they would share a room together. Aerith had kept a room empty for Roxas, hopeful that he would come someday. And there the blonde was standing in the empty but colorfully painted room.

And it was like Aerith was his mom too.

Axel smiled at the blonde, "I'm glad everything's working out. I was a bit uneasy about all this at first, but... I think everything'll be okay." The redhead admitted and scratched the back of his neck.

"Thank you." Roxas finally spoke and stared up at the much taller and older boy, "For everything." He mumbled softly and blushed a little. He still had no idea why Axel was doing what he was doing; What did the blonde matter to him? It was bewildering thinking about, and also kinda creepy, but it was also... Sweet.

"Don't mention it Roxy~" A grin became plastered on the pyro's face and Roxas sighed, "Don't call me Roxy."

"Aww but why not?" Axel pouted and gave Roxas playful puppy eyes, "It's so cute! Fitting for a cute kid like you." Axel's grin transformed into a smirk once he saw the blonde's blush darken into a crimson red. Roxas punched the older boy in the side, "I-I'm not cute!" He responded in a flustered tone.

Axel laughed, "Ouch! Hitting me won't change the fact that you're cute!"

Roxas flashed him an angry glance, "Oh just get out of here you perv..." The blonde muttered and his blush extended to his ears. This pyro was seriously crossing his comfort line.

"Good night Roxy~"

"Good night 'Axey'" The teen rolled his eyes.

But Roxas didn't realize that Axel was already growing on him.