Well my friends, let's begin the descent. :(

"Hey Lux! How's it going?" Axel forced a smile as the Brit opened his door. "Look, we've got the Mafia after us so can we come in for a bit?"

Luxord looked Roxas over curiously. "Where's your pants, mate?"

Roxas crossed his arms. "Long story, can we come in or not?"

"I suppose." Luxord stepped to the side and allowed the two into his apartment. "What, I shudder to ask, did you two do to have the Mafia after you?"

"Oh, you know. Just up to the usual." Axel put his hands in his pockets and looked around the apartment. It was in near shambles, half of everything in boxes, taped up and addressed to somewhere in London. "You're going back to London?"

"Oh." Luxord nudged a box out of Axel's line of sight and shook his head. "Nah, just sending some things home to my mum and sis."

Axel furrowed his brow and took a longer gaze over the room. "Lux, nearly everything of value is boxed up. You think your mom and sister need all that?"

"I believe you made your choice Axel. What I do is none of your business. Which reminds me, I boxed up all your things. I've been meaning to bring them by your place but you're never home and that brother of yours won't open the door for me." Luxord sighed and plopped down on the couch. "Have a seat."

Axel sat on the couch and made room for Roxas to sit beside him. "So, when you going back?"

Luxord scowled and leaned on his knees as he stared forward at the wall. "I already told you, I'm not going back."

Axel shook his head. "Lux, all these boxes…"

"I bloody well told you what I'm doing with those damn boxes!" Luxord roared and glared at the redhead. After a moment he returned his gaze forward and stared blankly at the wall. His hands began trembling lightly and so he pressed them to his face in an effort to still them. "I'm sorry…"

Roxas looked from Axel to Luxord, a bit of concern welling up inside for the man he once loathed. "Hey, are you alright?"

Luxord chuckled lightly and pulled his hands away from his face to look at Roxas. "Like you care."

Axel frowned and grasped Roxas' hand. "Cool it, he's just concerned. You're not yourself Lux. Are you on something right now?"

"On something!?" Luxord stood and kicked a box that was in his way as he began pacing the room. "Oh, I wish I were high right now! I wish I was so cracked out of my bloody brain that I didn't give a fuck about what's happening to me!"

Axel swallowed hard and stared up at his former lover. "And what is happening to you exactly, Lux?"

"This!" Luxord pulled up his pant leg to reveal a path of deep red sores and spots climbing up his leg. He then let the pants fall back down and turned to lift up the back of his shirt. "And this!"

Axel looked to the sores in horror. "Wh-what is it?"

"Kaposi's Sarcoma. That's what the doctors call it." Luxord released the grip on his shirt and buried his face in his hands. "It's the damn same skin cancer that my mate had back in London. The one that consumed his whole body. The one that killed him!" He grit his teeth as tears began to swell in his eyes. "How does that even happen!? Cancer isn't contagious!"

Axel stood slowly. "Hey, look, just cause it killed him doesn't mean…"

"Doesn't it!?" Luxord glared at Axel. "Don't even try to comfort me! I haven't had this for weeks, Axel! This has spread in a matter of days! Three times faster than it did on my poor mate. I don't see myself surviving the year. So I'm sending all these things back home, I'm telling my family that I'm moving to New York, and then I'm going to kill myself. Somewhere they'll never find me. My family will be happy thinking I'm alive and well. They won't have to mourn me or miss me or worry about burying me."

Axel looked away from Luxord, doing his best to fight the tears rushing to his eyes and the lump growing in his throat. "L-lux. Don't…"

"Don't what!? Take the easy way out!? Why the fuck not!? Its better than suffering like my mate did! Its better than dying in a hospital bed with a bunch of needles stuck in me and doctors just standing around waiting for me to die and feeling good about themselves thinking they did all they could for me!" Luxord was nearly convulsing now. He was trembling so violently that he could hardly stand on his feet. He knelt to the ground and finally let the tears he'd been holding back fall. "I don't want to die. I want to be with my mum but I can't do this to her. I don't want to die alone."

Roxas looked to Luxord sadly, and then to Axel. Both of them were terrified, and Roxas knew this was hurting Axel much more than he let on. He clutched the redhead's hand tightly in an effort to provide some form of comfort. "We won't let you die alone Luxord. If you want us to be there, we will be."

Axel looked to Roxas quickly and shook his head. "Roxas, I can't!"

Luxord smiled softly and shook his head. "No, mate. I wouldn't want you there. Its something that's private and I don't want anyone to be able to find me." He forced a chuckle and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "You think your Mafia friends would be able to help me?"

"I don't know. We could always try." Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel and motioned for Luxord to join them. When the blond man finally managed to stumble over he pulled him into their hug and held him tightly against them. "Its going to be okay…"