THE END IS NIGH! No one reviewed... *sniffles* so I put the lime in the coconut and the lemon in the cotton candy and put it all in the blender but forgot to put the cover on said blender and made a huge mess of the kitchen. Enjoy! (At least review the last piece?)

WARNING: Semi-...gross... BLOOD AND GORE. ALSO LEMONY-LIME AND FLUFF AND... yeah. ALSO VERY LONG.

-1 Year Later-The Eighteenth Year-Present-Day- *THIS WILL CENTER!*

Axel watched his friends, as he did every year, at the clock monument. This had been his one time out of that spirit house in what felt like ages. It was nice to get out of that empty building every once in awhile, it was decently dull. No offense to Roxas, but Axel didn't like feeling cooped up all the time. He thought for a moment as he nibbled on Ollette's homemade chocolate cookies. This really was the only place he'd tried to come to when he was bored. He knew that spirits could only be on Earth around sunset, because the sun and moon represented the human and spirit world, and at sunset, the human world was conquered by the spirit world as the sun set and the moon rose.

To think he'd never believed in such nonsense before… Well, he'd been wrong. He shrugged. Maybe he'd try to get out more often, make a little list of places to go that he could just be free for awhile.

Ollette and Sora each took out a box, and Nomura put a little figurine down. Axel looked at them, confused as they spoke to him. He started to speak, but stopped himself before he gave away the fact that he'd been perfectly able to reply the entire time. Why? Why would you… I don't know about this! Are you sure this is a good idea? Ollette! Sora! Nomura! Why?

As if sensing Axel's discomfort, Ollette reassured that it was time he did this. Axel wanted to curl up in a ball and whine. The two younger adults left and Nomura turned to Axel, looking him right in the eyes, though Nomura couldn't actually see him. Axel was unnerved by the eye contact nonetheless, because even if he was invisible, Nomura wasn't, and it was slightly awkward.

Nomura spoke to Axel directly, in which he hinted that he was perfectly aware that the deceased redhead was present and listening. Axel summoned a warm wind to reassure his friend's words before watching them leave.

Axel uneasily took the boxes, looking inside each of them and confirming what was inside before turning the figurine in his hand. "Maybe… maybe it has waited long enough… I just hope I have the balls to go through with it…"

Axel shoved the items in his pocket as he evaporated into the cool night air.

As the redhead faded into the house once again, he heard something.

Someone was sobbing. Axel spun around to face a very stressed and upset Roxas, curled up in a ball on the couch as he clutched Tango; squeezing the plushie for all that it was worth.

Axel hesitantly walked up to him. "Roxas…? Are you alright?"

At the sound of the voice, Roxas' breath caught and he looked up in a mix of surprise and fear. "You… you're home…?" he whispered, emotions swirling in his blue eyes in a typhoon of confusion.

"That's right. I'm right here, Roxas… What's wrong?"

Roxas dropped Tango, his arms wrapping around Axel's neck as he leapt up and clung to the older man, breaking into more sobs. "You're here… I was so scared!"

Axel soothingly rubbed Roxas' back, hushing him as he murmured reassurance into the boy's ear. Roxas was trembling horribly, he was absolutely petrified. "It'll be alright… shh… I'm here… I'll protect you, Roxas… I love you… Don't cry…"

"I… I thought… I thought you left me! I was so scared… I couldn't find you! Don't leave me… you promised you wouldn't abandon me!"

"Roxas, I would never leave you. I didn't abandon you; I just went to the monument for a few hours. I came back to you, like I always do… I'm not going to leave you, Roxas…"

"I woke up because there was a scary sound in the study, and I couldn't find you, so I was so scared and alone…"

Axel pet his hair. "Now, now… you weren't alone, Roxas. Tango was protecting you, wasn't he? You're always safe here, and you're never all alone… don't be scared."

"Axel… Don't go… Don't go away… Don't leave me…"

'He's always been afraid of being abandoned. Even our first night together, he kept begging me not to leave him… Waking up in the dark in the middle of the night because you hear something scary and then finding yourself all alone… abandoned… I feel terrible…'

"Y-you won't abandon me… right…?" he sniffled.

"I would never. I'm sorry, Roxas. You usually sleep right through my visits to the monument, so I never thought about what would happen if you woke up while I was gone…" he muttered. "I'm so sorry for frightening you, Roxas… I didn't think…"

"…I love you… because… you won't leave me… like everyone else did…"

Axel sat down on the couch with Roxas on his lap, placing Tango back into the still-shivering boy's arms. "Who? Who left you? I would never leave you… Who could ever leave you?"

"My mom left us… and dad left me… and all my friends left me… they used me… and everyone else leaves me too!"

"I'm not like everyone else. I'm not blind to how wonderful you are. Anyone who could bear to be without you for even a moment is crazy or jealous. I love you, Roxas. I wouldn't leave you. I love you too much. I can't go on without you, love…"

He pecked his forehead, carrying him back to the bedroom where he lay facing the boy for a moment before he stood, noting the sudden panic in Roxas' eyes that erupted the second Axel moved away from him.

"I'm going to go check and see what caused the noise in the study, okay? Tango will keep you safe until I get back. I'll only be gone for a minute. I love you and I'm not leaving you. I'll be right back."

Axel ran his fingers through his hair. "That was a horrible situation. I should lock these up for now until I figure out what to do…" he put the two boxes and figurine into his desk drawer, locking it and putting the key inside the dictionary under his desk. He turned and sighed at the mess in the study. It was his fault for never getting around to putting the books back where they belonged. Stacking them in towers and claiming he would 'get it done eventually' had been the cause of Roxas' panic attack. He must have put his most recent book on top poorly, because the enormous stacks of books were now all over the floor. "Well, now I have something to do for the next…" he assessed the mess, "week and a half… minimum."

When he returned to the bedroom, he could tell right away that Roxas had not moved an inch since he left, and although the tense energy softened when Roxas' eyes confirmed Axel's return, the redhead could feel the boy's burning gaze following him as he changed, as if doubtful that Axel would return to the bed as promised.

Axel sat on the edge of the bed and gently ruffled the blonde hairs. "Hey, you… You waited for me? You didn't have to do that."

"I was nervous. Too nervous to sleep."

"Even with Tango? I thought I made him with more love than that."

"Tango helped… but he's not you," Roxas looked up at him with big blue eyes.

Axel lay down with him, hugging him close to his chest and kissing him softly on the forehead, timidly moving down to his nose, cheekbone, jaw line, corner of the mouth, before he paused, his lips just shy of Roxas'.

Taking the initiative, Roxas closed the space between them rapidly, and the kiss immediately began to increase in passion until they paused for air, hands lazily grazing over any exposed skin they could find. "Axel?" he looked up with those large sapphires, too beautiful and priceless for any amount of money in the world to purchase.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong… I'm really happy that you… came back to me."

Axel smiled warmly. "I will always come back to you."

"Axel…" he sighed sensually, kissing Axel once more.

"I love you, Roxas. I love you so much… I will never leave you alone…"

'I wish… there was some way to prove that to you…'

"Axel! Axel, where are you?"

The house was pitch black, the lights weren't working, and Roxas couldn't find Tango in the bedroom where he could have sworn he had fallen asleep with both the plushie… and Axel… in his arms.

"Axel!" he cried through the house desperately, even calling helplessly for his one source of comfort apart from Axel. "Tango! Where are you? Axel! Tango!"

There was a small light coming from the study.

"T-Tango…?" he called softly as he pushed the door partially open to hesitantly peer inside. "Axel? Are… are you in here?"

A figure was standing in the center of the room, holding a heart-shaped light in his hands. He was surrounded by destroyed fabric and stuffing.

"Tango!"

"He left you. Even your little toy doesn't love you anymore," the form spoke, his voice was frighteningly distorted.

"No! Tango! Why? Why would you do that to my Tango?" Roxas cried.

"He begged me to get him away from you. He couldn't stand you anymore. Your little toy hated you. He abandoned you."

Roxas' eyes widened as the man closed his fist around the light, shattering it in his hand and dropping the shards to the floor. "T-Tango…" tears of panic ran down his face as he dropped to his knees. "Where… Where's Axel?"

The shape motioned to the wall beside Roxas, where Axel's corpse was hanging, held up by a butcher knife in his throat. A horrifying myriad amount of blood was splattered on the body, wall and surrounding furniture, most likely from the several other stab wounds upon the elder man's body. The torrent of blood was descending down from the torn, sliced, and skewered jugular vein of the carcass and pooling like water upon the floor, running like a river to surround and seep into Roxas.

"No! Axel!" he turned his eyes to the figure. "Why? Why would you do this?"

"Can't you see, Roxas? They didn't want you. They abandoned you, because they hated you… hated you so much that they chose death over being with you. See that other wall over there?"

A man and woman were pierced into the far wall by a spear and two arrows. "M-mom? Dad?" his eyes were so blurry with tears and shock that he could hardly make out the line of bodies along the wall. Several young children were also hung up like trophies on the blood-stained wall. "Those… Those were my friends from school…"

"They all abandoned you, didn't they? Your parents, your friends, and now your lover… even your toy."

"No…" he was being surrounded by the blood of his family and friends… The scarlet gushes from each corpse were filling the room, and Roxas found it increasingly harder to breathe as he began drowning in the red liquid. The smell of blood was overwhelming him, and there was no more air for him to access. The liquid was too thick to swim, and Roxas began to fight desperately, albeit hopelessly, to reach the surface. "No! Axel!"

"ROXAS!"

Roxas' eyes snapped open, shrieking at the sight of red within his vision.

"Roxas! Roxas, it's me! Roxas, stop flailing around—it's Axel!"

Slowly finding himself too weak and drained of energy to resist, he continued to breathe desperately, as if he couldn't actually process that he had plenty of air. "Ax…el…?"

"Yes. I'm right here. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back you were whimpering and crying… I tried to wake you up, and you started thrashing… Here," he handed Tango to Roxas, who gripped it to ease his distress. "You dropped him on the floor."

"Tango…" Roxas thankfully cuddled the toy. "And Axel, you… you're alive…"

"Well… not really, but yeah… we're spirits. We're already dead… we can't… die a second time, you know?"

"There was… so much blood… I couldn't breathe…"

"Blood? You mean this?" he took Roxas' hand, which was coated in red. Roxas' breath hitched in fear at the sight of the blood. "You must have cut your hand on something when you were tossing and turning. It's not too bad of an injury, though. I didn't know spirits even had blood…"

"I… I saw… you… and my parents… and my friends… and Tango… were in the study… you were dead… so much blood…"

"Shh… You're alright. It was just a dream, alright? I never told you that the sound in the study was my stacks of books falling over… and when I got up to go to the bathroom, you rolled over and Tango fell on the floor. You must have been subconsciously looking for us, and the scary sound in the study hadn't left your mind. That's all it was: just a nightmare that got triggered by a little chain of events, okay? It's alright now…"

"Axel…" Roxas simply gazed into the bright emeralds, trying to wash out the image of the dark, lifeless ones from his nightmare. "Axel, I love you… I was so afraid… I thought… Oh, God… Axel, I love you so much…"

"I love you too, Roxas. More than you'll ever know. I love you."

"I don't think I can sleep anymore…"

Axel smiled, kissing him chastely. "I'll stay up with you. Tango too."

Never had he felt so much rest… from staying awake.

Slowly, Roxas' nightmare faded from memory, only reoccurring twice before the incident was laid to rest. Axel had not complained about Roxas being attached to him by the hip since that night, he wasn't one to antagonize when he knew the blonde was uneasy, no matter how tempting it was to spontaneously fade from the study to the kitchen just to hear the boy cry and panic. He endured it. Life was a bit dull without being able to play jokes and pranks on Roxas, but Axel constantly reminded himself that his lover was still extremely unstable, and any wrong moves could potentially destroy the blonde's psyche.

"Finally!" Axel smiled in triumph at the final stack of books to be put away. "We're almost done, kiddo!"

Roxas smiled, handing Axel a book and watching somewhat anxiously as the older man ascended the ladder and replaced the book, climbing down again just far enough for Roxas to hand him another by standing on his tippy-toes. "Here you go."

"How many left in the pile, champ?" Axel called down as he placed a book on the top shelf.

"Three."

"Sweet! How does pizza sound after this?"

"Really?" Roxas nearly bounced up and down, ecstatic.

Axel slid down the rail of the ladder, taking the next book and placing a kiss on Roxas' mouth, winking. "Yep!"

The blonde blushed cutely, and when Axel came back for another book, Roxas grabbed his collar and kissed him softly before letting him go and giggling. "Sounds good."

A blush of his own forming on his cheeks, Axel placed the book back and came for the last one. "This is really the final book, love?"

"There was a dictionary under your desk, but I figured you put that there on purpose so I left it alone."

"You're so smart, cutie."

Axel rubbed their noses together before slipping the hardcover into place and jumping down, off the ladder and back onto the lounge chair, pulling Roxas to sit in his lap. Roxas kissed him slowly and lovingly, their tongues making brief contact before they pulled apart. "I love you, Axel…" Roxas smiled. "Now, about that pizza…"

Axel grinned. "Oh, a clever, cheeky little brat, aren't you? Alright, alright… but you gotta get off me first…"

"But what if I don't want to?"

"Which do you want more, the pizza or me?"

Thinking, Roxas hopped off, sticking out his tongue teasingly. "Pizza."

"Cruel," Axel pouted. "You're a real charmer, aren't you?"

"Worked on you."

"Touché."

"Go on ahead, Roxas. Take a shower and I'll meet you in bed, okay?"

He hesitated, but complied. Axel rushed into the study and took out the dictionary to grab the hidden key.

"I know exactly what to do…"

"Mm… I waited for you."

Axel kissed him, pulling his blonde's head against his chest, where the boy antagonizingly ran his small fingers around the few hairs that adorned the area between Axel's pecks, making the elder shift slightly in pleasure.

"You're so sexy…" Roxas teased.

"That's funny, coming from you."

"What? I can't be romantic or flirty? Just you?"

"I never said that…" Axel nibbled his earlobe, sucking gently. "It's just so unlike you to be a flirt~ …it's cute, in an odd way."

Roxas lay on his back, slowly pulling Axel down on top of him. "I want to be seductive sometimes too, you know. It's not fair that you get to be the only one that gets to flirt and tease and seduce…"

"Trying something new then, Roxas? Very sexy."

"Don't be mean…" Roxas whined.

"Ah, ah, ah! Seduction doesn't work if you pout, Roxy."

"Now you're being really mean!"

Axel tapped the boy's nose with his finger. "You weren't paying attention when I was showing you, Roxas. Naughty boy…" Axel spoke in an alluring, hushed tone.

The blonde sighed, but then realized that he was the one who was supposed to be acting like that. "Axel…" he pulled the redhead down and flipped the elder onto his back, hesitantly straddling Axel's hips. "I… Don't move…"

He slowly lowered himself down to press his mouth to Axel's neck. As his confidence grew, so did Axel's obvious pleasure at being slightly dominated. Roxas squeaked in surprise, almost being dislodged from Axel's waist as the older man bucked his hips upward into Roxas with more force than intended.

"Ah!" Roxas fell forward, gasping against Axel's chest for a moment. His legs were wrapped around Axel, and though he hadn't been bucked off, he had felt an intense friction that made him turn to Jell-o for a moment as his vision whited out. "Ax…"

"Roxas…"

The smaller boy could feel his own need rising now, and shyly stripped himself and Axel down, and only preparing by handing Axel the small tube of lotion, which Axel coated himself with before taking hold of Roxas' hips. The blonde clutched Axel's hands tightly in agony as he lowered himself onto his lover, trying not to cry or shriek, only letting himself lean forward slightly as his hips met Axel's when the man was fully sheathed by the blonde's body.

They had never done it this way before, and Axel hadn't even expected to be doing anything at all, considering Roxas' recent panic attacks. Axel groaned Roxas' name in pleasure as he felt the younger begin to move on his own. Yep. This was new.

"Ah…" Roxas whimpered in slight pain as he tried to navigate Axel within him to find his prostate. As much as he wanted to be in charge, he wanted to be reduced to a begging pile of goop just as much, screaming for Axel to move faster and harder to hit that spot. "Ah!" he cried out as he found the bundle of nerves, lifting himself again only to let gravity slam him down into the spot again and again until the pleasure was to much for him to continue moving on his own. He looked at Axel with teary eyes. "Please… Axel…"

"What is it?" Axel had been meeting Roxas with every motion, and the abrupt stop made his body throb with aching need.

"I can't… anymore… please…" he whined, obviously feeling the same discomfort as his lover at the drastic end to their lovemaking.

Axel hesitantly flipped Roxas over again, and in moments began pounding into the screaming, writhing frame beneath him at a rapid pace.

"Axel!" he cried out as Axel found his prostate almost immediately, the older man ruthlessly drilling into his body with an almost inhuman strength, aiming for that place with each thrust.

"…I love you…" Axel breathed after he collapsed on top of Roxas, their breathing slowly regulating and their bodies a sweaty, sticky mess that might have made some uncomfortable, but the lovers relished in the feeling of their afterglow, sticky mess and all.

"Axel…"

The dawn brought clean sheets and a shower, and the rest of the day brought a very happy couple that was perfectly content with their lives, cheerfully meeting each other with a kiss every time they crossed paths while going about their daily business. Roxas brought Axel a sandwich in the study, putting the plate upon the desk and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Whatcha workin on?" he asked cutely, nuzzling his head into the crook of Axel's neck.

"Just some math work…" Axel groaned in frustration at the seemingly impossible equation in from of him.

Roxas giggled, pointing at a portion of the problem. "You need to move that piece into the parentheses, then distribute the exponent before you can divide it to the other side, love."

"How do you know that?"

"I already finished that book."

Axel turned to face him, rubbing their noses together and pecking his lips. "So you're a little genius, then?"

Roxas giggled. "No, I'm just a book ahead of you."

"What about the language area?"

"Latin. Fourth book."

"Then why am I the only one with stacks of books around?"

Roxas smiled, kissing him again. "Because I put books back where they belong. Without waiting for them to fall over and scare a poor, sleeping Axel."

"You forgive me for that, right?"

"Maybe."

They kissed softly before Axel took up the sandwich and bit into it, nodding in approval to Roxas, who beamed in triumph. Axel swallowed. "Thank you. It's just the way I wanted it. Love you, doll."

"Love you too."

Roxas skipped out of the room (yes, he was that proud of himself about the sandwich,) and ran into the bedroom, grabbing Tango and jumping backwards onto the mattress, a giggle escaping his lips as he bounced a few times before the bed settled at he took a nap.

Axel took the key out again.

'No more stalling.'

Axel sifted through the cabinet and pulled out a small recipe booklet that Ollette had given him the previous year. 'I'm glad I saved this…'

"Roxas! Come into the dining room, love!" he called.

The blonde ran up to him, pecking his lips as he tried to look around the redhead to see what was in there. "What is it? What are you hiding?"

"Take it easy, now…" the pyro moved aside to show the creamy-looking chicken and white sauce on their plates.

"Wow!"

"You like it?"

"It's so… tasty-looking~!" Roxas cheered.

"Have a seat, then… dig in."

The meal was delicious, and Roxas licked his lips after all the food was gone.

Axel chuckled. "So I take it dinner was good?"

"Mm… it was so yummy! I didn't know you could cook like that!"

"First try, actually. I'm glad I did it right. Let's brush our teeth so we can have our desert, okay?"

Roxas nodded, and when they returned to the table Axel caught his hands before he could sit down, turning the boy to face him as he knelt before his young lover.

"Roxas… I need to talk to you."

"Wh-what about?" Roxas had never seen Axel act this way before, and was a bit uneasy as to what was going on.

Axel took a deep breath and squeezed Roxas' hands, looking deeply into his eyes. "I've done a lot of bad things in my life. I've made a lot of mistakes. My most regrettable ones are the ones that have hurt you. I love you honestly and purely, even if it seems that I feel otherwise, you are my one and only love, and I treasure that… treasure you. Roxas, I… if I had the chance to set things right, to start over with you so that I would never hurt you again… I would jump for the chance, even if it meant being without you. You mean the world to me and then some… I love you. And… I want to set things right… if you'll let me…" he took out a small box from his pocket, releasing Roxas' hands to shift onto one knee and open the box, revealing what was inside. "Roxas… Will you let me start again? So I can love you and prove it to you every moment for eternity?"

"A-Axel… you mean…?"

"Yes," there was no hesitation or second thoughts in Axel's firm gaze. "Roxas… Will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in Roxas' eyes, running down his face as he sprung forward, throwing his arms helplessly around Axel's neck. "Yes! Axel… Yes! I love you, Axel…"

Axel took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Roxas' left hand, pulling the blonde into a tight, warm embrace. "Roxas, I want to… I want to just hold you like this… just a little longer…"

"Hold me like this forever, Axel…" Roxas cuddled into the crook of his neck, tears still running down his face. "Never let me go…"

"I won't. I'm yours. And I'll never leave you."

"I've always been yours, Axel."

"I do," Axel held Roxas' hands tightly, a firm, decisive glimmer in his beautiful green eyes.

"And Roxas?"

Roxas felt tears brimming in his lively sapphires. "I do. How could I not?" he smiled warmly at his…

"-wed in holy matrimony-"

…husband.

"Roxas…" Axel pulled him in; swiftly taking his lips in what was possibly the most loving, wonderful, passionate kiss anyone had ever experienced.

Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel, taking his face in his hands, sapphires gazing into their emerald counterparts. "I love you."

The figurine fell to the floor, just a small, 2.5" piece of plastic once more. Some could argue that the previous moments of humanism for the toy were fake, but to the pair of lovers in the room, those were the most real seconds ever.

Axel grinned, carrying Roxas bridal-style to the bedroom.

"I love you, Roxas."

"Axel…"

"Time to set everything right… meaning this will be our first real time making love."

Roxas shook his head. "I'm not worried about that anymore… I'm proud and happy that everything turned out the way it did… Don't overlook what happened then, Axel… because if it hadn't… we wouldn't be making love for the first time… as newlyweds."

The slight change in wording made Axel gaze at him. "Are you sure?"

"You're my husband and I love you… the way we got here was just… a little off the status-quo."

"Roxas…"

Love, Tango realized, was beautiful. Especially for his Roxas, and his Axel.

-end-

Tango is the new Big Brother. I need a poster now:

TANGO IS WATCHING.

Check out the Tango is Watching fanart poster by Zeni S. Master! (My story has a fanart! Yay!)
zenismaster(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2tnihg

And the digitally revamped versions:
yu-hari-hari(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2twteq
yu-hari-hari(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2twtkv
yu-hari-hari(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2twtqg
yu-hari-hari(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d2twtug

And that was a LONG chapter... ending... thing... 13 pgz on WURD. Nonetheless, it's over. *tears* If people review then I'll revise as needed. Kay?

-Kiyux le Shrubless-chan.

edword-a-ferd986: HE'S A TEDDY BEAR MURDERER!