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CHAPTER THREE: Circumstances

Hazy golden light, blinding and utterly painful to his sleep addled brain was the first thing his frazzled senses picked up. It stung his eyes, and he brought up a hand to try and block it out. He blinked a few times, swallowing thickly. Jesus, it felt like he just went through a meat ringer eight times over and then was defenestrated out the nearest window. There was a dull ringing in his left ear and his head hurt like a bitch. He could feel thick blankets over him, a soft mattress underneath him. But he couldn't make anything out with that light so close to his face. Was he in some kind of hospital?
No, the room was too warm for that, and through the haze, he could just barely make out a carpeted floor and wine colored drapes closed over a large looking window. Roxas squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of nausea hit him. That damn light was too much... that ringing wasn't helping either. Wait... he could hear something more if he concentrated hard enough to tune out the annoying sound. There was the distinct metallic sound of scissors snipping away at something, (fabric, maybe?), and soft murmurs coming from the same direction. Taking a deep breath in, he cracked one blue eyes open, squinting into the offending light. There was a lamp to his right, annoyingly close to his face on what looked to be a bedside table. At the foot of the bed, there was a figure seated at a desk, cradling a phone between his right shoulder and ear, back turned to the bed. The quiet conversation was beginning to form coherently in his ears.

". . . I'm fully aware that my absence is an inconvenience." The voice was somewhat deep, so it must be a male. "The experimental stage can hold off for another week, so it should not be a problem if someone else just fills in for the meetings." His voice was steady, but there was a hint of annoyance to that soothing voice. "It isn't rocket science, Vexen. Just take the test tubes out of the freezer and put them in the chamber." A brief silence followed, in which Roxas could hear the shrill cry of someone on the other side of the phone. The hazy figure removed the phone from his ear, holding it lazily in the palm of his hand with a laborous sigh. Many minutes seemed to pass with him like that, patiently waiting for the person on the other end to finish whatever it was they were screaming about. After a beat, he placed his ear back on the earpiece and replied in an even tone, "Considering the current state of compromise, yes. This is far more important than the meeting. Now, if you insist on shouting at me in an uncivilized manner, I am afraid I must end this discussion where it is and we can debate further on the topic come Monday morning." Without looking up, he clicked the phone back on to the receiver in one fluid motion and the metallic sound of scissors continued. There was a noticeable rigidness to those shoulders that wasn't there before. He must be angry.

Roxas watched and waited for a while, blinking and allowing the haziness in his vision to lift of its own volition. When he felt he was coherent enough and the buzzing in his brain wanned into a dull hum, he unstuck his tongue from the roof of his mouth and swallowed a few times before letting out a rasp. It was a pitiful sound, a feeble attempt at speech. But it caught the stranger's attention. They seemed startled at the sound at first, briefly looking around before looking over their shoulder and fixing Roxas with a look that could only be described as utter shock. But when they spoke, their tone was still as calm as it had been before.

"My, my. So you're awake." Eyes the color of cool steel held his own, shining with intelligence. One was partially covered by long bangs that reflected the blue-grey blinking back at him. "And here I was, ready to hand you over to Vexen for further analysis." The light lilt in his voice made him realize it was meant to be a joke. But he couldn't focus on anything but those eyes. They were beautiful. Like a stormy sky by the ocean side. Roxas blinked back dumbly, shifting himself to a sitting position with more effort than was necessary.

"Uh.. yeah. But, can you maybe," he cast a brief glance around the room once more, noting the door to the left of the bed, "tell me where I am?"

"I could." The stranger stated lightly. "But how about we get to know eachother first?"

"What? Why?" He was struck by how utterly stupid and incredibly suspicious that sounded, but at the same time, he found himeself wanting to know more about this guy.

"Well, considering you fell out a window and nearly killed a friend of mine, I think it's only fair." The chair was swiveled around, those stormy eyes locking on to his once more. "Not only that, but I just had my ear blown off by a coworker for calling out of work to come and make sure both you and said friend were alive and well. Asking a name shouldn't be like pulling teeth when you look at it from my perspective."

His words were pointed, the slight aggravation more than apparent in them. With only slight hesitation, Roxas assented and mumbled a reply. "...My name is Roxas. It wasn't like I was intentionally aiming for your friend. He sort of just... happened to break my fall." The last part was added lamely, a hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Hm." the stranger considered him briefly, before nodding and standing up. "I'm Zexion. I'm a doctor and a neurological expert. You had a pretty bad gash in the back of your head when you cracked it on the pavement. You won't be able to stand without some help for a little while, and I'm keeping you under watch for the next forty-eight hours to make sure you don't fall into a coma."

"A coma?" Roxas parroted back. "Why a coma?"

A thin eyebrow raised at that. "You almost cracked your head open. What exactly did you expect?"

Good point.

Zexion bent back over the desk to pick up a pile of long white fabric, and moved to stand by the lamp. He carefully sat on the bed, organizing the bandages on his lap meticulously. The silence stretched between them for a bit, causing the humming in his left ear to rise to an annoying pitch. He vacantly rubbed at it, face scrunched in mild agitation. The motion didn't go unnoticed.

"The ringing should subside in a few hours. The pain, however, will be a more common companion as the days go by. Let me know immediately if the pain worsens or if you experience severe dizziness." Geez, this guy sounded exactly like a doctor. It almost sounded rehearsed.

"Are you going to tell me where I am or not?"

"Do you really not remember?" was the immediate response. He didn't even look up. Just kept his eyes on the varying pieces of fabric lined up alone his knees.

Roxas blinked. Did he? Flashes of mud caked on his arms, laughter and shouts and-... and eyes the color of the deepest of jade shining in his vision just before the darkness hit. Everything else was too foggy. Passing streets, the world moving faster than his brain could register. Something prodding painfully into his stomach while the world bounced around in his vision. Then... nothing. Absolutely nothing else came after that. What exactly happened after that?
"Was I carried here?" it was spoken softly, almost tentatively.

Eyes the color of rain regarded him carefully. "Yes, Roxas. You were carried here. Do you remember who it was?" the blonde shook his head silently. "Do you remember anything at all?" Roxas gave a noncommittal shrug. "Alright. then tell me what you DO remember."

He hesitated. "Green. I remember seeing green eyes. Like, really green. Forest green."

Zexion nodded. Reaching over and gently pulling Roxas' wrist towards him, turning it palm-up. "I see. Well, that set of eyes just so happened to be the friend you nearly killed by falling out a window. He carried you here and then proceeded to call me in the middle of-" he stopped. "Roxas?"

Blue eyes fixed on the bandaged arm in Zexion's grasp, dried and crusted blood soaked in various locations. The humming in his ears grew to a crescendo, a million terrified thoughts ripping through his mind. His arm trembled, teeth chattering, voice a panicked whisper, "M-my-my arm. My arm. Why is it-" there suddenly wasn't enough air in his lungs, the buzzing canceled out any other sound, and he was only able to make out a muffled word or two from a pair of lips that were closer to his face than before. Storm grey eyes alight with deep concern and a tinged with fright. Nothing about that face made sense for some reason. It didn't seem quite... right.

" - to calm down!" were the muffled words.

Roxas willed himself to concentrate, blinking furiously, feeling warm rivuletes of water mark his cheeks.

"Do you hear me? You have to calm down! Breathe!"

Breathe?

One deep inhale, then a violent choke. It felt like water was filling the air around him. Everything in his chest became too tight, too heavy. And all at once, the dreams that ripped him from his slumber threatened to take over him once more as the buzzing was replaced with the faint sounds of screams.

"I don't want to sleep!" it was his voice, begging and pitifully fearful. "I did that, didn't I?"

"Roxas, what-"

"I don't want to sleep! I don't want to sleep! I can't-" that dark abyss, those ember eyes. He didn't want to be alone with that. If he went into a coma, then that meant that... he spluttered in terror.

"Roxas, calm down! No one is going to make you do anything! Just breathe, it's alright!" arms gripped his shoulders tightly, then moved to envelope him in a tight hug. "You're safe! You're okay! Just breathe, Roxas, breathe. There you go. Inhale, exhale. Slowly. You're okay, Roxas. You're okay..." choked frantic words met his ears, and he proceeded to rub the panicking blonde's back. "Roxas, breathe. I can't understand what you're saying. Just focus on breathing."

The world slowly came back into focus, everything going silent once more as his ragged, shallow breathes filled the vacant air. The smell of cologne and antiseptic filling his senses altogether. It was uncomfortably warm and invitingly soothing. He stayed like that, in the arms of a complete stranger before he was capable of breathing with some semblance of normality. No screams. No humming. But the fear was still present, and sat with cold fingers, digging itself into the back of his head.

"I did that.. I did that, didn't I?" he whispered fearfully.

No response. Only a faint sigh that warmed the left side of his face was any indication that the question had been heard. They stayed like that for a few moments longer before Zexion pulled back, looking oddly tired. Pale lips opened and shut twice before any sound came out. "No, Roxas." the words were careful, almost cautious. "No. You didn't do this to yourself. The person who brought you here told me that you fell on some broken glass on the curb. The women who were there apparently dragged you across it, and it caused multiple wounds on both of your arms." He smiled wanely. "You didn't do that to yourself. So relax, alright?"

Relief spread through Roxas' bones at lighting speed. He was almost certain his body had turned to putty in that moment. "I.. So I fell on glass?"

"Well, fell and then dragged across it. Really, it looks like you got into a fight with a cheese grater. But I changed the bandages regularly. So it's not as bad as it looks. I guarantee it."

Roxas smiled despite himself. "Thank you..."

That small smile grew a fraction, followed by a tender pat on the head. "Sure. But I need more bandages and rubbing alcohol for those wounds. Not to mention antibacterial ointment. One of those cuts are particularly deep. So wait here a moment, and I'll be right back."

The blonde nodded in response, settling back against the sheets, the pillow feeling blissful as it enveloped his throbbing skull.

Zexion leaned out into the hallway, spotting a head of red hair leaning over the light of a DS, scowling angrily. Another head of sandy blonde hair leaned over the light as well, pointing at the screen and mumbling incoherently. If the current situation in the room behind him wasn't the first thing on his mind, he might have almost been impressed at how quiet those two had been during the whole ordeal. He stepped out into the hall completely, shutting the door behind him with a soft sigh. This was a lot deeper than he initially thought it would be. It would take a lot more work to get this kid on the road to recovery than he initially thought. But with his work schedule and the amount of things piling up, he wasn't so sure he could tackle the problem head-on until he had freed up his schedule a bit more. Vexen wasn't going to be happy about that either.
Zexion shook his head solemnly, moving to where his two friends were huddled by an outlet. "We need to talk." they both looked up in unison, matching expressions of surprise and apprehension meeting his own somber one."But first. Can one of you retrieve a bottle of cold water for me?"

Axel made a face of discontent and shut the DS. "Retrieve? What am I, a dog?"

Demyx responded with a click of his tongue and a roll of his eyes. The sandy blonde stood and briefly patted Zexion on the shoulder. "I'll get it for you, Zex."

"Suck up." Axel mumbled.

"Lazy fuck." Demyx retorted before jogging down the long hall.

The red head scoffed quietly. "That guy is always too happy to help people. Could ask him to take out his own mother and he'd just ask you what tool you preferred for the job." he stood, stretching his arms above his head and yawning loudly.

"At least he's sincere in all that he does. No ulterior motives of any kind. You could take a lesson in learning from Demyx. It might earn you an actual fan or two. Well, for your personality at least." Zexion smirked, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. "And isn't this your house? I'm surprised you're letting him get the water instead, considering his track record. What was it now? Three broken vases, six new appliances and a heavy debt with a red guitar?"

A chuckled echoed in the hall as the redheaded punk strode lazily over to the window. "Ah, well. It's a bottle of water. Not sure how he could possibly fuck that up. Besides. If I recall correctly, you could also take a lesson from that idiot. You never seem to do anything for anyone else unless it comes with personal profit. Much like me."

"You would think," Zexion began, eyes narrowing slightly fixing Axel with a pointed look, "That leaving work early, in the middle of a meeting, no less, to come and pick you up would give me a little more credit. Leaving my colleagues by themselves is a deep risk. One I wouldn't take unless I knew the matter was urgent."

"I'm pretty sure there's self profit in there somewhere..." the redhead sighed, scratching the back of his head. "But yeah. I guess I can't grill you on that. Thanks for that, and whatnot. But really, I'm more interested in how sleeping beauty is doing in there. How's our comatose patient, doc?"

"He's awake now, with no noticeable speech impediments or other physical indications of damaging mental trauma. Looks to be just a deep gash which will most definitely need stitches. Better than the quick patch job I pulled in there. The concussion is managable. However..."

Axel looked up when he trailed off, emerald eyes focusing on his face. "However..?"

A beat of silence before a deep and aggravated sigh filled the air."...However. His mental stability seems to be quite... fragile. He took one look at his arm and had a brief panic attack."

"An anxiety attack? Over cuts? What is the kid afraid of blood or something? He one of them squeamish types?"

"I contemplated the possibility myself. But that doesn't seem to be the case." Dark blue eyes met green before he continued. "He asked if he had done it to himself."

Axel blinked."He what? Wait, so you mean he freaked out because he thought it was due to self-harm?"

"Yes."

"And what did you tell him?" the question was wary, suspicious.

Zexion was quiet. His eyes looking back down the hallway, crossing his arms. It was a full two minutes before he spoke, his response a barely audible murmur, almost as if he were speaking to himself rather than Axel. "I quelled his worries by telling him that he fell on a glass bottle during the struggle downtown with the nurses."

Axel's mind reeled. The muscles in his jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth. Zexion was never in the habit of lying. He never saw the need to hide the truth since. in his eyes .it was just a way to delay the inevitable and would only hinder the progress of the situation. He kept a cool head, and an honest code. It was how he worked. Axel knew this, as did everyone else who worked with him at some point or another. Which is why he was left with an immense sense of unease. Why would Zexion feel the need to compromise his moral standing to comfort a complete stranger? Something bode ill about that, and it sat like a proverbial elephant in the room.

"So you lied." he stated bluntly, turning to lean on the window sill. His friend was silent, but that was all the response he needed. "Well there's a first..." Axel shook his head, "Why am I not liking where this is going."

Nothing else was said as he closed his eyes, pressing his back to the cold glass of the window. A steady hum of raindrops the only sound to pierce the silence. It was a Friday evening, filled with regrets that Zexion wasn't sure he was willing to contemplate at the moment. There was much to be done. Too much to do, and the longer they waited and tiptoed around the issue, the worse it would become. Whatever this was, it was something he was sure was beyond their current power. Only time would tell where this would lead.

Still under construction!

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