So I suppose you want something happy for New Years.

But sadly, friends, I can't give that to you. I CAN however give you a side fic of what occurred on Naminé and Saïx's "date" if you'd be interested in reading it. ^^ It will be a little one-shot titled "Descending Angel" after the title of the chapter it directly follows.

Even if you don't like them as a pairing, you might want to read it for a greater detail on what exactly occurred between chapters 20-22. It is cute and full of fluff and Nami acting like a wild child. I love it.

That's all I really have to say. Enjoy this sad chapter.

Saïx let out a heavy sigh as he flopped down in the living room couch. "Today was…"

Roxas' eyes flickered to the blue haired boy as he turned the lock on the door and glanced around the room. Axel had already started down the hall to the bathroom. He'd been too depressed to say much of anything and that was understandable. So this meant Saïx was talking to him. "You had a good day, I take it?"

Saïx rolled over onto his stomach and looked at Roxas. "Naminé is so cute! She thinks she is being such a hardcore rebel when really, she isn't. But its fun to see her try and do bad things. She tried smoking a cigarette today, but she ended up throwing up."

Roxas raised an eyebrow and looked down at his suit. He'd hastily redressed in it without taking much notice, but sure enough, there was a dribble of dried vomit on one of the pant legs. He pulled them off instantly and tossed them down the hall. "Is that all you guys did? Because you were gone for hours and you were even late coming back to the restaurant. Axel and I were sure you got caught."

"Pfft. Caught? Not with her leading me around! We ended up taking a chain of busses down to Venice Beach and walking along the strip. She wanted to buy everything the people out there were selling. By the time we got out there she calmed down quite a bit. She said the reason she runs off and rebels is that she's tired of everybody seeing her as this cute, innocent little girl. So I told her that sneaking around and doing those things wasn't going to change anybody's opinion of her. That if she wanted people to view her differently, she needed to be open about it with them. Then we walked down to Santa Monica and rode some rides, and when we were on the Ferris Wheel…" Saïx let out a heavy sigh and smiled. "We held hands and we kissed. But don't worry, I didn't shove my tongue down her throat or anything. Just a small peck. And man, it was fucking hard too cause I wanted to lay her down right there and just, you know, but Axel would kill me." He paused and looked around. "Speaking of, where did he head off to?"

"The shower. Its been a rough day for him. I think he just wants to take a hot shower and go to bed." Roxas sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm surprised that this place isn't in shambles. I figured those goons would come here looking for her and tear the place up."

Saïx laughed. "Oh, no. No, she's got them on a pretty short leash. We kept stopping every so often so that she could page them on their beepers and tell them that she was fine and that she'd meet up with them later. I guess once she pages them the first time they stop looking for her and just enjoy themselves."

"As much as they can enjoy themselves." Roxas rolled his eyes. "It must be nerve-racking being that girl's body guard. So, we're not having a repeat of this next Sunday, are we?"

Saïx grinned and shook his head. "No, Naminé decided that what I said was right. That she needed to just be open with her family about what she was feeling and what she wanted to do. I don't know how well it will go over with them but depending on that, she might go to a show with me Friday night."

"You're taking her to a show!? Oh geeze, I can see that now." Roxas snorted. "Tiny little Naminé, swept away in the crowd of punks. Disappearing forever, and somehow Axel and I will get the blame for it."

Saïx shook his head. "No, I'll protect her. It'll be fine." He sighed softly and smiled. "Roxas, I'm not really good at this whole gratitude thing, but I'm glad that you did that for me today."

Roxas snickered and started down the hall. "The proper thing to say would be "thank you," and just so you know, you're welcome. Just don't expect me to wear a dress again." He continued down the hall until he came to the bathroom. He heard the shower running inside but he could also hear the faint sound of Axel's sobs. He knew this was hard on Axel. It had only been two weeks since Marluxia and Larxene had died. The redhead had finally started to smile more and it became a lot less of him pretending to be happy and a lot more of him being actually happy. Roxas could tell the difference. But now, someone he loved so much was dying. Luxord had been Axel's first for everything. He was still someone who had a very big place in Axel's heart. And now he had a terminal illness and wanted nothing more than to end it all. Roxas wanted to wrap his arms around Axel and tell him everything would be fine but he knew that would offer very little comfort. Luxord was going to die and it was going to hurt Axel more than he could handle and nothing would change that. He entered the bathroom slowly. "How you doing?"

Axel jumped at the sound of a voice entering his thought stream. He pulled back the shower curtain to look up at Roxas from where he sat in the tub. "H-hey."

Roxas smiled softly and sat on the edge of the tub. "How you doing?"

"Just, you know." Axel sighed and rested his head on his arms. "Falling apart at the seams."

"Look, I know this is hard. But I'm gonna be here through this with you." Roxas reached in and ran a hand through Axel's wet, matted hair. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"I know…" Axel sucked in a shuddering breath and stared up at the blond boy. "But you shouldn't have to be here to support me."

Roxas furrowed his brow and grabbed Axel's hand in his own. "What makes you say that?"

"Luxord was my lover. I know you don't like him." Axel shook his head. "I can't expect you to support me."

"You're right." Roxas pressed his free hand to Axel's cheek and brought the redhead's gaze to meet his. "I didn't like him at all. But that doesn't mean I think he deserves to die. And sure, I wish him dying didn't upset you, but not for the reason you think. In fact, I'm glad that it upsets you. I don't want you to feel like I did when Marluxia and Larxene died, not being effected at all. Its a sickening feeling." Roxas pulled away from Axel and began stripping his clothes off. Once he was naked he climbed into the tub facing Axel and wrapped his arms around his lover. "So if you need to cry, or scream or whatever to release your emotions, you've got me to vent to. Alright?" He pressed his lips to Axel's forehead and held him close. "You're gonna get through this."

Axel nodded slowly and clung tightly to Roxas. "I believe you."

"Good." Roxas forced a smile and ran his hands through Axel's sopping wet locks. "Let's keep a brave face for Saïx, okay? He doesn't need to know what's going on right now. He's happy with the way things are going for him and Naminé, I don't want him to have to worry about you."

Axel chuckled softly. "How are things going for him and Naminé? I hope all that trouble today was worth it."

"I think they've got a good chance at making it. Of course, that's assuming her family chills out and lets her live her own life." Roxas shrugged. "Only time will tell. But let's not worry about that right now. You're the one I'm concerned for."

"No, its good for me to have something else to focus on." Axel smiled and rested his head on Roxas' shoulder. "I hope they get married and have a ton of kids and we can be uncles and spoil those kids rotten."

Roxas laughed softly. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good." He pulled away from the redhead and stood slowly, turning off the water before grabbing a towel for himself and one for Axel. He tossed a towel on Axel's head and began drying his hair for him. "Its been a long day and I'm tired. What do you say we crawl into bed and listen to some music?"

"That sounds perfect." Axel smiled as Roxas dried his hair with the towel. Once they were both dry enough that they wouldn't drip on the carpet, they started out the door and down the hall to the bedroom. The room was colder than the rest of the apartment, like always, and as soon he entered the room, Axel felt goose pimples prickle up on his arms and legs. "Burr. I hate this time of year."

Roxas smiled and picked up a hairbrush from the dresser and pulled Axel to sit on the bed. He began brushing through the long red locks gently. "Your naturals are starting to show."

"Yeah, I know. I need to dye it again. I was thinking of going black this time." Axel paused to smirk. He knew black was Roxas' least favorite hair color. "What do you think?"

Roxas made a face and continued to untangle the wet, red mat of hair. "You know what I think but I won't stop you. I'll love you either way."

"Yeah, I know." Axel sighed and glanced back at Roxas. "I love you Rox. I'm sorry I'm not the best company right now."

"Stop it." Roxas sat the brush aside and draped himself over Axel's shoulders. "I understand, alright? I don't expect you to be a barrel of laughs right now. Its going to take time, and we have all the time in the world. So just relax and don't worry about me. I can handle it if you're a stick in the mud."

Axel snickered and nuzzled his head against the blond's. "You're great, Rox. You really are."

Roxas smiled and kissed Axel's temple. "I know, now come on. Let's turn on some music to fall asleep to."

Axel nodded slowly. "Alright…"