Kenzie: I was sooo tired wile writing this, I felt like death. It was the morning (7:00) after Halloween when I started it and I thought I was going to collapse on the key board. No thanks to Emma for sleeping till 8:00, AKA 10 minutes before our bus gets here.

"Morning." Roxas said, greeting his older brother as he entered the kitchen. His older brother looked at him and then at the brunette twin standing in the door way, rubbing his eyes with his shirt sleeve.

"Is he…always this happy in the morning?"

"Mm…no…. just today." Sora said in response, his voice somewhat croaky. Roxas slid past the island in the middle of the kitchen and grabbed a grilled cheese that was sitting on the counter.

"Is dad here?" Roxas asked. Kadaj shook his head.

"No…He never came home last night. Are you guys going to need a ride to school then?"

"Oh…um, no. Actually, I think I see a silver convertible that looks a lot like Riku's in our drive!" The blonde boy smiled and ran towards the door and gracefully pulled it open, being sure to compose himself first.

"Morning sexy." A bubbling red head boy said as he swooped in on the blonde, resting a kiss on his cheek.

"Morning to you too." Roxas said, giggling. Axel wrapped his long, thin arms around the smaller boy's waist.

"Ahem!" A voice said, making a noise as though they were clearing their throat.

"Oh…um, Kadaj…This is my boyfriend, Axel. And um…Axel, this is my older brother, Kadaj…" He said. The silver haired boy slowly walked up to the red head, looking him up and down.

"Mhm…and Axel, you are in High School, right?"

"Yeees…"

"And you are aware that if you break my little brother's heart then I am going to be really, really pissed at you." Axel looked at Kadaj, somewhat confused.

"Well, I would hope that I wouldn't break his heart." He said, leaning in a little bit. Roxas looked up at him and smiled.

"Come on" He said. "We need to get to school on time today." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "SORA! YOU COMING TO SCHOOL TODAY OR ARE YOU GONNA BE AT RIKU'S PLACE?" A tired looking brunette slowly walked around the corner.

"Later….Someone kept me up all night on the computer with their boyfriend…wink wink hint hint." He looked at Kadaj, wide eyed, and pointed between Roxas and Axel in an accusing manner.

Axel looked at Sora and smiled. "You know, Riku-ku (A/N: put that in just for you Riku-ku (Ricardo) is in the car…" Suddenly, Sora was up and ready to go, grabbing his bags and running for the Car.

Roxas slowly slid into the car next to his brother in the back seat, though more of the middle seats; Demyx and Zexion were in the very back, Riku was driving, and Axel was in the passenger seat. He felt movement behind him and then saw Zexion peak his head around the corner of the seat.

"Vincent is really mad at your Dad right now… He called him into work last night."

"He's not my dad." Roxas snapped back.

"What do you mean? Oh course he is."

Sora shook his head and he too turned around to face the back. "Dad" is dead. Cloud is "father", NOT Dad, trust me on that."

Zexion bit his lip lightly. "OH…um…sorry I didn't know."

I sat looking at the front of the board, completely lost on what they were studying. I was smiling on the outside, just not on the inside. Inside I was as lost for words as I was in class.

'If Kadaj possibly found out about father while he is staying here, what would that mean for me and Sora? Would we get taken away? Technically we are old enough to live on our own…'

"Roxas!" A voice said from the front of the class. "Care to share your words with the rest of the class?" I looked up from my desk as quickly as I could and smiled.

"Oh, no, I wasn't saying anything!" I said, trying to sound as composed as I possibly could in the moment. The woman, her name was , shook her head and went on with her work on the board.

I slyly attempted to pull my phone from my bag and rested it in my lap. Very slowly I went towards my contacts and selected the name 'Cloud" from its contents.

"Can I hang out with Axel after school today? I don't have much of anything to do. Please?"

I waited a few moments before receiving an answer.

"Absolutely not" I frowned at the first line. It continued to say "I will not having you hanging around that boy unless you want the consequences." My brows began to knit together in anger at that horrid man that calls himself my father. But once again I always know that it is not him that I am mad at; it is what he does and the words that he says that I am mad at.

"Well that makes no sense! I could use to hang out with some people my own age everyone in a while! You are such a bastard!" I knew that I would regret those words once I got his response.

I rested my phone back in my lap and looked up to the board, because even if is a dumb ass, she was still smart enough to know when someone was texting. I saw a small light illuminate from the corner of my eyes and looked back at my phone. I wanted to cry at the words that were left on the screen.

"If you dare do such a thing, you will be all but dead to me."

I hated those words, I hated that man, I hated the horrible things that he did and I hated his stupid attitude towards love. I slammed my head down on the table, attracting many looks from other kids that sat in the back of the room, but no looks from the teacher. My phone said that it was quarter to 4, meaning that I had less that 5 minutes left in school.

I stood abruptly, grabbing my books off of my desk and slamming them into my bag all at a time, wasting neither a minute nor a second. Just as I finished, I heard the bell ring, a loud, annoying E flat. (Did you know that this is also the key in which fire alarms ring?)

I shoved my head phones over my ears and pulled up my hood, tucking my arms under another before continuing on my way to the senior lot, even though I knew that it would be Vincent picking up his children and that Riku and Sora would be the only ones in the car we had taken that morning. I sat on the bench, watching as all of the other seniors left for their houses, sports practice, anywhere but here; but there I sat, cold as ice, my face red and tear pouring out of my eyes in buckets. It was times like these when I was glad that I had such a ridiculously large hood.

I don't know how long I sat there, listening to the marching band, waiting for some master plan to come into my head. All I could think about were those threatening words.

You are all but dead to me.

How could someone say that to their own child! But what I wondered more; was it really going to go that far this time? Was I going to die? Was this the end?

I sat on the bench by the lot, not knowing what I should do. I couldn't go home…no I would only get into trouble…but I couldn't stay at school all night! It was then that I saw a head of slate blue hair coming up from the practice fields. I bolted to an upright position and ran at him, screaming his name and flinging tear behind me. I threw myself into his arms and he slowly, unsurely, closed his around me.

"Um…Roxas, what is wrong?" Zexion asked me, concern dripping from his words like water. I buried my head further in hi shoulder, letting out more sobs.

"He-He is going to-I can't go home!" I screamed, trying my best to get the words out of my throat. I squeezed my arms till they hurt and grabbed onto Zexion's shirt sleeve. I heard him intake a sharp breath.

"Oh...Shit!" He said under his breath. He pushed me back a little, still holing my arms.

"Roxas, I am going to try to help you, but first, you are going to have to calm down." I nodded my head in understanding to what he was saying. I stood there for a few moments, trying to collect my emotions.

"You better."

"Much"

"Okay." He said, pacing back and forth. "First, you need to call Vincent and tell him what is going on. I'll call your brother and tell him-." When Zexion said this, my head shot straight up.

"NO! Vincent-."

"Already knows. Just…do it." He looked at my with that pleading look that my brother always gives me when I get beat again. I nodded and pulled my phone out of my bag, in a more leisurely way than in class. I dialed Vincent's number and waited for him to pickup.

"Roxas?" A voice said from the other side.

"Vincent! Oh…God! I'm really sorry to be calling you! It is just than…and my Father…he is going to…and I can't go home!" I was whining, I knew this, but I felt that my whining was appropriate in this situation.

"Okay, kiddo, I am going to need you to repeat all of that, in full sentences this time."

"Well," I whispered, pausing briefly afterwards. "I was texting my dad, cause I wanted to know if I could hang with Axel, and he said that I couldn't see him anymore. I dot kind of mad, and said some things and he…he said 'I am all but dead to him'. I-I'm scared." I saw Zexion give me a look of pity and Vincent sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, listen. I am going to find a way to get your Father away from you are your brother for a while. I don't knowhow I am going to do it, but I will find a way. I'll be there to pick you up in 10."

"Thank you…" I said before hanging up. I turned and Zexion was standing right behind me. I hugged him, a slightly less angry hug than before.

Just like Vincent had said, he arrived no later than 10 minutes after the call. I grabbed my stuff and me and the slate haired boy climbed into the back.

"Thank you so much for doing all of this Vincent. I only hope I am not inconveniencing you."

"Of course not. I was going to pick Zexion up from Baseball practice anyways. And Roxas?"

"Yes?"

"I would have helped anyways. Your father can't keep this up forever."

Camp Vincent

Vincent opened the front door to the house and let me and Zexion pass through before following. "I think Axel is in the kitchen if you want to-."

"Kay-Kay!" I said quickly before heading towards the room that I knew to be the kitchen. "Hey" I said, looking around the corner before going to sit on a stool next to my boyfriend. He looked up at me.

"Hey. Um, what'cha doin here?" he asked. I understood that he was not upset, and that his question was not intended to be taken in such a way, but I could not help feeling a little disappointed.

"Oh. My Father is at a conference or something and he told Vincent that he wanted me to stay here while he was gone."

"Cool…so…you want some ice cream?" The tall redhead asked me, pointing to an open tub in front of him with his spoon. I laughed, content, and nodded. He passed me a spoon from the drawer underneath him and we both started eating.

"Roxas?"

I looked up to see that he had stopped eating and was simply twirling his spoon in his fingertips. "You…don't really get along with your Father…do you?" I turned my heads quickly to the side to try to hide the fear in my face.

"Of course not! What would make you think that!" I asked abruptly.

"Nothing, it is just…"

"Well," I said interrupting his sentence and turning my head back to face him. "If you don't have a reason, then just DROP IT!" I was upset. No, I was not upset, I was scared. Scared that he was going to figure out what was going on.

"No! I am concerned!"

"I said it is noth-."

"Don't LIE!" On that last word I felt his large hands come into contact with my face. As he pulled away my mouth was left open and my hand on my cheek, surprised at what he had just done.

Axel's POV

"Oh my god! Roxas! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to!" I said, worry seeping in, as Roxas was yet to say anything.

"Ng…uhuh." No words of use escaped his mouth and before I could say anymore, he ran out the front door. I sat at the counter with our half eaten tub of ice cream in front of me.

"Shit." That was the only word that came to my mind in this situation. I heard foot steps coming from the hall way and then my mom came into the room. She looked at me with those calm, motherly eyes and smiled.

"Hey, kiddo." She looked at my face, frowning. "Oh dear…what happened?"

"Nothing…" I said in reply, although I knew that she wasn't going to buy it. I continued to twirl the spoon in my fingertips. She plucked it out of my grasp soon after.

"Come on! Tell your mom!"

"No."

"Tell your mom!"

"No!"

"Tell your MOM!"

"NO!"

"Vincent, get down here! Your son is being an ass!" Well that was a word that I surly hadn't been expecting to come out of my mothers mouth…ever! I heard more stomping and then my Dad appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, leaning on the wall.

"He is your son too, you know." My mom pushed past him, leaving the room with only me and my Dad. I wished Demyx would come down so that I wouldn't have to deal with an argument, which I already knew was coming. I had seen it a mile away. I looked up to meet his eyes…and they were clearly very, very angry.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"No need to curse… All I did was hit him…he didn't have to get so mad." I whispered under my breath, picking up the spoon that my mother had taken and twirling it again. This time it was my father to take it.

"Do you not understand what you just did! You just hit your boyfriend! He could sue you for that!" He screamed at me. I didn't look up, knowing how upset he was, it would only make me feel more guilt than I already was.

"He's not going to SUE me dad."

"Do you not understand what I am trying to say! This is not about you making a poor choice, this is about Roxas! I brought him here because I wanted to keep him safe! Then you go and hit him…He is probably confused as hell right now!" My dad was upset and it was getting worse by the second. It probably wasn't a good idea to keep on tempting him, but I did anyways.

"What would HE need keeping safe from? I don't believe the wind is in habit of knocking people over today."

"A lot more things than you realize… I don't think you understand just how much Roxas has going on right now."

"Ya and that is because no one will fucking tell me!"

"Watch the language…Listen; he is just afraid of you judging him for it. He needs you in a way that Zexion needs Demyx. And just like them, the day will come when he trusts you enough to tell you what has been going on. Until then, you just need to be there for him, because I can almost guarantee you that you are the only thing keeping his feet on the ground." I frowned at my Dads upsetting words. I hadn't been expecting them. Sure, I had expected yelling, but not a heart felt speech about how important I was to Roxas. It wasn't until now that I looked up.

"I just don't understand why he wouldn't tell me. If it is that big of a secret, the all the more reason to tell someone." I was confused. Too much had been said for my brain to comprehend.

"It isn't that no one knows; plenty of us do. It is just you that he is afraid of finding out…Now, go and be a good boyfriend and find him. Show him that you love him." I nodded my head and stood from my stool. Looking out the window I saw that the there was rain beating hard on the hood of my dad's car.

"This isn't going to be easy…"

I walked around the outside, trying to think of somewhere where Roxas may be. It was pouring rain, so there was little chance that he would be unsheltered. He surly wasn't going to go home and the only other house he knew to go to was Zexion's, and even he knew better than to go there. I stepped my shoeless foot onto the sand of the beach and made a slow pace towards the ocean. I stopped short of the water, letting it run so that it was falling just short of my toes. I dropped my soaking wet shoes to the ground, latter followed by myself.

"Where are you!" I screamed allowed to the skies, knowing that no one was around to hear me. Or help me… I rose again to my feet and began the long walk down the beach, trying to think of a familiar place that I might be able to go. Somewhere that Roxas felt sheltered. Somewhere that he knew that only someone who really knew him would be able to think of. I stopped short in my tracks, realizing my stupidity at the very moment that the last thought had entered my mind. I started with a run and escalated to a sprint in my rush to get to where I was going.

As I approached the cave, I slowed my body, quietly pushing away the vines and shrubbery that covered the entrance. Sure enough, there was the boy I was looking for; sitting on the edge of the spring, one foot pulled into his chest and the other gently grazing the water below it. I walked up behind him, being sure to make my presence known. I sat down.

"Why….why did you hit me?"

"Roxas…I really didn't mean to hit you I was just-." I stopped myself mid sentence, for it was then that I realized that the question was said in curiosity rather than anger.

The small blonde boy beside me looked up at me with the same blue eyes that he always did, though this time there was a look of sadness behind them, a look that I knew not a cause for.

"I…don't know why…"

"Then at least tell me this; what made you think it was okay? I mean, did you think it was a justified action, or did you know better." He continued to slowly submerge and reject his foot from the water and I left my legs in, swaying in the waters blue. I didn't know what to do. What do you say in response to such a question?

"It is not like thought it was okay!" I screamed into the opening above. "I'm not that stupid… I didn't realize what I was doing. I guess I was just frustrated that you weren't telling me what I wanted to hear. Which I understand, now, will take more time than just what has passed." I could almost feel the air around me come to a stop. Roxas pulled his foot out of the water it had been submerged in and let it rest on the ground under him. He relaxed and laid himself down, his head coming to rest on my lap.

"I am really glad you fell that way." He looked up at me and a smile graced my lips, just as one had his. I moved my head down to meet his and placed a small kiss on his lips. He gave notice to this as my showing of affection and returned the kiss eagerly. I felt him move his body underneath me so that he was sitting up on my lap instead of his previous position.

He pulled away, still smiling and wrapped his arms around my neck.

"Next time, just tell me when you are upset." I said quietly. "Just…crying can be the best way to show me that." At the word cry, Roxas pulled his arms away and looked back down at the water.

"I can't…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…no matter how much I want to, how hard I try to cry, I can't. Not for a while now. I want to cry so bad right now. I want to cry for Sora, for putting up with all of this. For Zexion, who has to deal with all of his own sucky problems. For you and Demyx, for having us as boyfriends…"

"That is your problem!" I said. "You don't need to be crying for us. I know that Riku says Sora cries all the time and me and Demyx can cry for ourselves. And, well, Zexion… He has gotten over the feeling bad for himself. He doesn't need anyone to be crying for him. The only person you need to be crying for is yourself." Mystery one solved. I picked up his chin in my hand and lifted it ever so slightly. "Roxas I love you…so much. And I understand now that you don't trust me enough yet to tell me everything, but I want you to know that I will always love you, and that I would wait an eternity for you." He smiled again as he looked at me and I knew that all previous anger towards me was gone now.

"You do screw up a lot though, you know that right?"

"Ya…." Roxas laughed a very light laugh and took to standing.

"We had better get going if we both don't want to catch a cold." I grabbed his so soft hands and let them pull me up. I shrugged my jacket off of my broad shoulders and placed it over Roxas's smaller ones in an attempt to keep him warm.

We walked out of the entrance of the cave and I pulled him too into my body. He relaxed into me and we began the rainy walk to my house; one hand holding shoes and the other held our lovers hand.

Holy shit! 3 months...i think that is a record for all time worst procrastination on my part! Well, this was one mind working instead of two, but that is no excuse. Seriously though, i feel like crap for taking so long. BUT if you are happy that i actually put something up! (even if i was late) please R&R!