Ballad

by skinnedkneedmisfit

All Namine wanted was a cover band for her wedding. All Roxas wanted was to make his fiancee happy. All Axel wanted was to be heard.

25. Breakthru part two

Thank you so much everyone. Sorry it took so long.

In this chapter: Roxas makes that final breakthrough.

…

xxxXXXxxx

Whenever she thought of Marluxia, her stomach made a little dip. Her pulse picked up, the back of her neck felt warm, and her cheeks twitched as she smiled softly to herself. She found herself constantly staring out windows, dancing her fingertips in small circles across her abdomen. Sunrises became muses, morning walks became adventures, children's laughter on their way to school became ballads.

She was happy.

She was terrified.

From the living room window of her and Kairi's shared second floor apartment, Naminé's eyes and smile widened at the sight of a familiar white sedan (practical. Already fitted with a children's car seat. Perfect Dad Car) pulling into a parking spot beside the brick sidewalk. Marluxia had promised to drive her to her usual Monday afternoon check-up at the clinic downtown.

He was always the perfect gentleman, just like when they met (although perhaps with a less lascivious edge. Not that Naminé minded so much, but she did miss the thrill of the chase now that things in recent weeks after the move had somewhat settled). He greeted her the way a flower greets sunlight as she opened the door, a kiss like an April shower.

She had never felt this sappy, but she couldn't help it. She really, truly, deeply, madly loved this man.

"Let me get that," he offered, extending his hand to hold her purse. And of course she let him because she couldn't dream of denying him the chance to be chivalrous. He opened the car door for her and helped her inside. She wasn't even showing yet, at least not really, but that didn't matter. He showed his love through his caring attention, and for that Naminé was exceedingly grateful.

On the drive to the clinic, Naminé discussed how her parents were taking the news. Her father was livid. Kairi's divorce and Naminé's surprise pregnancy must have shaved ten years off his life. Her mother was a little more understanding, combing fingers through Naminé's long golden hair and whispering "The heart wants what it wants," while Naminé sobbed.

Eventually they met Marluxia. They hated his hair, hated his piercings, hated his tattoos, hated his past, but they loved how he looked at their daughter. The way he entertained and carried himself, well-spoken and intelligently sophisticated, despite his exterior, had put them at ease. They couldn't remember the last time Naminé smiled the way she smiled when she was with Marluxia. It wouldn't happen instantaneously, but they would eventually grow to accept him.

That whole ordeal happened a month ago when it felt like years. Naminé continued explaining how stressful it was filling out all the paperwork and paying all the dues to suspend her enrollment at school after the spring semester while she prepared for the more challenging months of her pregnancy. Marluxia promised again and again that she would finish her degree, that Luxord loved kids and wouldn't mind having the baby at the gallery, that in his endless phonebook of contacts rested no less than twenty accomplished babysitters that he would trust with his life. Every step along this path that Naminé met with trepidation, Marluxia responded with perfect composure.

The car pulled into the driveway of Bastion's Planned Parenthood office, a facility Naminé was quickly growing used to after they helped her confirm her pregnancy and discuss options. She had an appointment for a check-up that morning.

"You go sign in and I'll try and find parking…" Marluxia said. Finding parking in the medical building lot was like finding a four-leaf-clover in an active volcano. Marluxia usually ended up having to park a few blocks away, but he was always an optimist.

Naminé waved him off and walked inside. She filled in a brief sheet of paperwork, most of which she already knew by heart, and turned to find a seat in the waiting room.

She hadn't expected to see Axel sitting in one of the seats.

He sat with his legs crossed, wearing a pair of brown slacks and a polo shirt with the Bastion transit logo embroidered on the breast. He seemed puzzled over a question being asked of him on a sheet of paper held to a clipboard resting on his lap. The pen chained to the clipboard seemed to have met an unfortunate demise from Axel's sharp incisors nervously gnawing on the plastic.

Naminé hesitated, unsure if she should approach him. Axel made himself fairly clear that he didn't care much for Naminé after what happened. However, perhaps that meant now more than ever was the time to talk.

"Hello Mr. Rose," she said softly, making sure not to approach him too suddenly. He shook, just for a moment, and glanced up, dropping the pen from his mouth.

"Oh. Um." He glanced down to his clipboard before tilting it at such an angle where Naminé wouldn't be able to see it before meeting her eyes again. "…Hello."

He continued to stare, his piercing green eyes making Naminé turn to look at the empty chair nearby. Most of the waiting room was empty, she could have sat anywhere, but instead she gestured to this one. "Is this seat taken?"

Axel seemed on the same wavelength, a sweeping glance across the room proved that there were at least twenty other chairs in the lobby that Naminé could have chosen to rest. Her face heated up the longer she stood there. Of course Axel wouldn't want to sit near her. Of course she was making him uncomfortable. If the musician didn't already hate her, this definitely wasn't helping.

"Sorry!" she groaned, adjusting the strap of her purse. "I'm- I'm sorry. I'll just go s-"

"No! Please, I'm sorry, I'm a dumbass. Sit down. You must have… swollen ankles or something."

When she looked at Axel again, his face was as bright red as his hair. He seemed embarrassed for his silence, so she chalked it up to shock. "I've actually wanted to talk to you for a while now," she said, sitting down slowly in the seat adjacent to Axel. They were close enough to carry on a soft conversation without anybody else in the waiting room hearing them. The only other people in the room were a man with his hands full with a baby and a young woman texting in the far corner.

Axel was silent but remained glued to his seat, taking in a deep breath. She took that as confirmation to move forward. "I… don't really know where to begin. Things between us… I don't really know much about you, but-" She was getting derailed. She stopped and recentered. "I wanted you to know how much I love Marluxia."

The quirking of his eyebrows revealed that this wasn't what he expected her to say. She carried on. "He's done so much for me, even before all of of-" She gestured vaguely between them, "-this happened. I feel like you must think that I'm stealing him away from you, or…" A deep breath. "…You might think I've hurt Roxas in some way. And I wanted to tell you that you're right. The things that I've done, while having never really met you, have affected you so much. Is there anything I can do to set things right with you?"

There was a pause where Axel was silent for a beat. This time Naminé knew she overstepped her bounds, but she felt like if she didn't try to say something to Axel then it would cause a rift in their families. She already heard from Marluxia about Riku's story and how he finally returned, and she knew how much the band made Marluxia happy.

"You know… Roxas and I fucked on his twenty-first birthday, right?"

For a moment Naminé forgot how to breathe. Yes, she knew that Axel and Roxas had been… intimate before they officially separated. Honestly, she was surprised it took them so long. It made her feel even guiltier for how long she had been with Marluxia before saying anything. Marluxia didn't say much about what he'd seen of Axel and Roxas' behavior together, either because he wasn't privy to some of it or knowing it would hurt Naminé to know. All he told her was that there was something there.

Axel continued, "And we went on dates and made out before that. So don't… apologize to us. We were doing the exact same thing. As far as I'm concerned, we're even."

It wasn't ideal, but Naminé would accept it. Hearing Axel talk about Roxas using words 'us' and 'we' made her feel better. "So you're still together, then?" Marluxia was at the show where Roxas and Axel were reunited. As much as Naminé wished she could've been there to experience the band, she and Marluxia agreed with her current state it would be best to sit this one out. There would be plenty more 13 Hearts shows in the future.

It had only been a couple weeks since the reunion. Relationships could be fragile in the beginning. Axel held up the clipboard. "That's why we're here. STD testing. We wanna go condom-free eventually."

Naminé wasn't completely schooled on the mechanics of the relationship her ex-fiancé found himself in, but she and Marluxia were in the exact some position several months ago. Although not together. Naminé had been too embarrassed to ask Marluxia to join her at the time. Like the doctors at the Planned Parenthood would know. She glanced around the waiting room. "Is he here?"

"He wanted to go in first. I'm in no rush."

Roxas and Naminé never got tested since they were each other's firsts back in high school. There was a good chance he'd never been tested before, so he was probably nervous. Naminé pouted. He really should have gotten tested immediately after Naminé had told him about Marluxia. She would have to berate him about it later.

A nurse stood in the entryway to the examination rooms. "Alex Paul?"

"They've come for me," he said ominously, standing up and popping his back loudly. "Hey. Naminé, I'm serious, don't worry about us. If Roxas has any hangups, those are mine to worry about now. Apologizing about it relentlessly won't make you un-fuck Mars, and you've already had this talk with Rox. I'm flattered that you think highly enough of me to apologize to my face, but…" He smothered the large palm of his hand into her scalp. The hairspray she had spritzed in there that morning to time the flyaways only served to exasperate the mess. "…I'm not regretful."

Her eyes followed him as he walked across the room and handed his clipboard to the nurse, eventually disappearing into the hallway. His words struck her. He wasn't regretful. He didn't feel any remorse for anything they had done because, in the end, it landed him with Roxas. Axel was happy. Roxas was happy.

The traffic outside grew louder briefly when the front door opened. Marluxia walked in, well familiar with the place, and found her immediately. He smiled and sat in the chair beside her, giving her a kiss on the temple.

"Sorry that took so long. I ended up having to park on the backstreet again."

"Of course you did."

Marluxia patted her head, combing his fingers through her mussed hair. "What on earth happened to you?"

"Egh. I don't even know where to begin." There was a good chance that Marluxia would run into Axel or Roxas while they were here, so she would have to tell him about it eventually before her appointment. For now, him rubbing the tips of his fingers into her scalp was lulling her to sleep. She cracked her eye open and glanced over to him. He wasn't even looking at her, but he was staring off to the distance, possibly admiring the old painting of a crane on the opposite wall, with a faint smile on his face. "What's up with you?" she asked, reaching over and poking him on the cheek.

"Nothing," he said, glancing her way and smiling wider. "In a good mood, I guess. Just… happy."

Marluxia was happy.

The people who mattered most were happy, so for the first time nearly half a year, Naminé relaxed into the arms of her partner and let herself be happy.

xxxXXXxxx

Ballad
Final Chapter
"Breakthru" part two

xxxXXXxxx

Sora wasn't ready to wake up, not just yet. However, the gentle prodding of Riku's knuckles into the muscle under his shoulder blade spoke otherwise. "Answer the phone," the punk mumbled, a barely cogent statement. This was one of the sour things about staying the night at Riku's cramped studio apartment. The musician slept on a full-sized mattress wedged against a corner, not only almost-too-small for two grown men, but making it difficult for either of them to get out in the morning for whoever ended up sleeping closest to the wall.

Indeed, there was a phone that had beeped twice so far, but Sora was certain it wasn't his. He used his phone as an alarm to wake up in the morning, and the sun hadn't started shining through the curtainless windows so it was far too early for him to start getting out of bed. His alarm was usually a song to lift his spirits before he had to leave bed. This sound was synthetic tone that sounded very similar to Riku's phone when it received a text message. "It's not mine."

The brunet blindly reached to the floor just beside the mattress, because Riku didn't own a bed frame, and felt the punk's old bulky cell phone. He handed it off to his boyfriend who groaned loudly as the plastic device collided with the bridge of his nose. The light from the screen nearly blinded him, but after a moment he was able to make it out. "Huh… It's a text from Marly," he mumbled. Sora hummed in response and slowly drifted back to sleep as Riku clicked a few buttons. Suddenly, the mattress jolted and Sora was almost kicked out of bed. "Holy shit!"

oooOOOooo

"Can I have a Long Island?"

"Cape Codder!"

"Rum and coke?"

"Backstreet Romeo!"

Roxas had heard that one. Since when did a good old fashioned beer go out of style? He sighed and started pouring the vodka for the first order from the swarming mass of people around his side of the bar. "What are you doing here, Axel?" After all the shots were popped in, he filled the glass with cola and handed it off to the person waiting, taking his five dollars and shoving it in the drawer. Summer vacation had ended and the new semester had started. The bar was hopping with all the college students back in town.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" the eccentric redhead asked as he stepped up behind the counter. Axel wasn't exactly helpful when it came to situations like this.

"Candy Apple!"

"Tattooed Love Goddess!"

"Temptress!"

"Big Banana! …And make it a double."

Where did these drink names even come from? Axel grinned and glanced over to Roxas. "Woah there. Hey, Rox, some handsome strangers are flirting with your precious beau! What are you going to do about it?" The punk made sure to wink at the young man who couldn't believe that Axel fucking Rose was pouring his drink. Roxas made a point to ignore him. "I don't even know what a big banana is…" he mumbled under his breath. Before having a chance to ask, Roxas placed a tumbler filled with rums and juices in front of the young customer and snatched the bill from his hand.

"Speed up or get out. You're just distracting everyone." It was one-thirty in the morning, and with only a half hour until last call, a lot of the late-night club hoppers were craving to get their fill of fun before going home.

Axel sighed and took a step back, allowing for Roxas to finish the drink orders for the other people that had shouted their requests at him. Friday nights at the club were so boring when he didn't have a show to play. Roxas usually insisted that he remain as far away from the Organization as possible so he wouldn't be a bother, but Axel couldn't help himself. There just wasn't a point if he wasn't the center of attention.

However, in his attempt to be a good boyfriend, he snuck out the door on the side and let Roxas work. The band that had been touring there that evening had already left for the night so there was nobody to talk to. At least that meant the green room was free, so the redhead decided to doze on the couch until Roxas was ready to leave.

The couch was torn and taped, smelling slightly of urine… but then again there wasn't much in the club that didn't stink. Axel had spent many nights crashing on that couch thanks to Cid and his questionable hospitality. As owner of such a popular establishment that man certainly had a mouth, but perhaps it was expected since this was The Organization: one of the most popular punk clubs on the scene.

Axel grabbed one of the back cushions and used it as a pillow as he rested to the loud stereo speakers pumping bass through the gritty cement floors. He sighed in contentment and snuggled into the ratty cushion. The past few months had simply flown by since he returned from 13 Heart's big tour. Roxas was adjusting slowly but surely to the idea of not having his entire life planned out ahead of him. Who would have ever thought that he could be married right now, probably at home watching The Wheel, when he would be an ace bartender at the hottest hole in the wall in town? The punk smiled as he thought of Roxas from just a few weeks ago, being all cute and shouting his name so loud he could have sworn he heard the neighbors banging against the wall telling them to-

His pleasant thoughts were rudely interrupted when the door swung open. "There you are. Were you sleeping?" Roxas sighed. "I was looking everywhere. The bar's clear. Help sweep up and then we can leave."

Axel jerked up and groaned something about the neighbors as the blonde left him to return to his cleaning duties. The older man reached for his cell phone in his back pocket. He could have sworn he had just sat down, but the numbers on the screen didn't lie, and it was already well past two in the morning.

When the redhead got out to the floor, he spotted Roxas stacking barstools while Payne and Rikku cleaned the counters and equipment. Most of the bouncers and guards during the show left when the crowd started to die down, but Seifer usually stayed late to move benches and tables out of the way to help with the cleaning. Axel spotted the push broom leaning against the wall and started to scour the floors.

"Does anybody have a quarter?" Rikku asked, digging into the pockets of her shorts. Payne reached into the tip jar and pulled one out, and the eclectic girl scoffed. "Who tips in change? Honestly…" She walked over to the abused and often forgotten jukebox in the corner. Not long after the room was filled with the fusion of trumpets and guitar and there was a groan coming from Seifer's end of the room.

"Not more ska, that stuff is total crap," whined the resident metal-head. The music was so loud that Axel didn't hear his cell phone ringing, but felt it vibrate in his pocket. When he pulled it out he realized he had a text from Marluxia.

Seifer walked up to the bar and approached the ladies behind it. "I'm going to head out. Do y'all need anything else?" Since Payne had worked at the Organization the longest, she acted as manager when Cid wasn't around. She nodded softly at him.

"Go ahead."

"I think we're about done here, too," Roxas said, glancing back at Axel and noting he was standing in the middle of the floor frowning at his cell phone. "…Axe, is everything okay?"

The punk jerked slightly, snapping his phone shut and shoving it back into his pocket. He turned to grin at Roxas. "Yeah, sorry! I'll be done real quick." Roxas was almost positive he had never seen him sweep so quickly before. They were out the door in five minutes and on their way to Roxas and Sora's apartment.

Even though the hours were a bit annoying, since Roxas did have to wake up early for classes that semester, he wasn't finding it hard at all maintaining school and a job as frenetic as his. That was pretty much all he would allow himself to focus on for the past few months. Just school and work… and maybe some Axel.

They had been walking side-by-side in a companionable silence, but it wasn't like the punk to be so quiet. Normally, he would run his mouth with the usual gossip to the point of becoming obnoxious. It wasn't until they rounded the turn that lead them to the street his complex was on that he thought something was amiss.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

The punk's acid green eyes widened slightly as he glanced down at the blonde, a wicked little smile forming on his face. "Since when did you care so much, Roxy?"

Roxas was really looking forward to the point in their relationship where responses like that would stop and Axel would realize that of course Roxas cared about him. He care a lot. Sighing, he started digging through his bag for his keys. "Whatever…" he hummed as he pulled out the keys and waited for Axel to say something stupid and ask to come inside. The door had been unlocked and cracked open slightly when he realized that the punk wasn't even going to say goodnight. Instead, he was just staring absently towards the street.

"Axel," Roxas emphasized, slightly louder. This caused the man to jump and look at him as if he'd done something wrong. A small blush crept its way onto Roxas' cheeks. "…You know, Sora's practically living at Riku's place, now. He's staying there tonight, if you wanna…" Roxas trailed off and left whatever he was going to say up to the punk's imagination. Despite their clean bills of health from Planned Parenthood, the blond was still in the process of taking things somewhat slow, and an invitation like this only happened a handful of times a month.

Axel smiled and followed Roxas inside. He swallowed thickly and tried to hide the nervous sweat now that the breezy night air wasn't around to conceal it. "Listen, babe… This isn't about us, per se, but… We need to talk."

oooOOOooo

Kairi was stunned. She knew something was wrong when her little sister went out on a date with Marluxia and didn't come back until early in the morning. Naminé was a girl of patterns, and she would either be home before eleven, or stay at the florist's house and not come home until the following morning. Always a stickler for notes, Kairi would receive a text from her sister when she decided to stay the night, and consequently she'd get drunk and look up girls on Tinder to try and forget just what her sister was doing at his house. She had never, not once since they started living together, had Naminé not send her a message when she was planning on running late.

Being the worried sister that she was, she had stayed up and waited for her. When the charming pregnant woman came in with a love-drunk smile on her face, ass-crack in the morning but looking like she hadn't slept a wink, Kairi knew something was amiss. "Where were you?"

"We went out to eat… and… he took me by the Garden and showed me the yard, with the lights on and everything," she said, almost sounding as if she were out of breath. "The roses started blooming." She rubbed her hands in small circles around her baby bump. Radiant Garden's grand opening was tomorrow, and Marluxia had spent countless hours in the backyard setting up light fixtures and statues of student work from the university.

"Sounds like you had fun," Kairi mumbled, upset that she had wasted so much time when she could be sleeping. She checked the clock on the microwave in the kitchen and groaned and the flashing blue numbers. There was no point in trying to go to sleep now. "Why didn't you just stay at Marluxia's place, then?"

"I needed to… He has a busy day and I needed to get some art from here, but…" Naminé sighed, joining her sister in the small kitchen and pouring herself a glass of water.

Kairi watched out of the corner of her eye as the blonde bumbled around the kitchen for a moment. At this point she was nearing her third trimester and the bump was very noticeable. Kairi didn't like the idea of her staying out so late when she should be asleep in bed. For a moment, her thoughts derailed when she saw something sparkling on Naminé's hand. Her left ring finger. Kairi screamed.

"Oh my GOD."

oooOOOooo

"She said yes!"

oooOOOooo

So how exactly do a group of people go about planning a wedding in two months? Since this was the second time around for Naminé, she knew all the shortcuts. Who to call, who to speak with, and in some cases who to bribe. As far as the headstrong little blonde was concerned, this wedding was going to happen before the baby arrived. If there was one part of her life she wanted to go the way she planned as a child, the only option left that she hadn't sabotaged for herself was getting married before having children.

Although this time around, it felt odd. With Roxas, it felt like he was part of the plan. Not so much that Naminé knew what she was doing after he proposed, because no bride-to-be ever did, but instead it seemed like it was destiny. If there was one thing she had learned in the past year, it was that fate had other plans. Yet, somehow it would all turn out okay.

Taking a deep breath, Naminé pulled open the door for Radiant Garden studios, which would be opening in just a few short hours. The vibe around the studio floor was in a hushed state of panic. It was the calm before the storm, what with all the cleaning and setting up being done days in advance and leaving nothing for the nervous staff to do but sit and wait.

"I still think it's crooked."

"It's not crooked. The leveler said it was straight. The fucking laser one said it was, too. Stop worrying about it."

"Maybe the wall's crooked."

Luxord threw up his hands in aggravation.

"Or maybe the floor." Marluxia squatted to the floor and rubbed his hand against the polished hardwood floors. "Do you have a marble or something?"

"All I've got are my dice," he mumbled, smearing his palm across his face.

"Something round."

"No. I haven't got anything round."

"Then get me the leveler." Luxord spat out a frustrated sigh as he marched over to the painting and grabbed the leveler from the top of the frame and dropped it at Marluxia's side. The man grabbed it and placed it on the floor, and even the blonde gentleman found himself holding his breath as they waited for the small air bubble to stop moving.

"Oh my God."

"It is crooked! Shit, we've got crooked floors," Marluxia moaned, burying his face into his hands. "Call the super. Do you think foundation repair is something they can fix in," Marluxia paused to check his watch, "crap, two hours?"

"I didn't even check the floors when I signed the lease," Luxord whispered, now down on the ground and rubbing his hands against the floors as well.

Naminé, who had been standing behind them quite patiently, let out a small announcing cough. "I think the picture looks fine. You two are just being paranoid."

When Marluxia turned around, it was as if he had seen the blue sky in a world of storms. A positive spark to light a fire in the cold. Naminé blushed when she saw his eyes widen and a small smile leap onto his face, blushed at the idea that she had such an overwhelming effect on him. She smiled softly.

"It looks great."

Marluxia looked down to Naminé's hand and saw the gold band with the humble diamond nestled in the middle. His worriedly optimistic grin turned into a sigh of relief. With Naminé here, it would always be okay. "Do you have the car?" he asked, scratching the whiskers that were starting to grow on his face. "I have to go home. I need to get ready…"

Luxord left the couple alone to talk to one of the staff workers about last minute prepping and to keep an eye out for the caterers. Naminé stepped a little closer to her fiancé and flattened some of the wrinkles on his shirt. "Yes, I borrowed Kairi's car. You're okay for tonight, then?"

"I got my suit hanging in my bedroom. Got it pressed the day before."

The blonde woman glanced over his shoulder to Luxord, who while disguising himself as the man with a level head on his shoulders, was secretly the most contorted person in the room. "And… you're sure your friends are okay with us keeping him tonight?"

After Marluxia found out that Naminé was pregnant with his baby, and it appeared that 13 Hearts was going from being a pet project to a career, he knew he needed something more stable in his life to take care of the child. He resigned as the band's drummer, and started working on the garden and art studio with Luxord. The gambling bassist had some practice with drums, and took Marluxia's spot when he backed down and Riku, the original bassist, returned. The opening of Radiant Garden Studio was the same evening as 13 Hearts' regular set at the Organization, so while the rest of the band could check out the gallery opening before the show, Luxord would have to miss his gig.

"I think they'll be okay. A friend of ours from a local group Demolition Ammunition is covering."

Naminé's eyes glanced away for a moment, trying to scour the dark recesses of her mind. "Oh! I think I've heard of them. They're that… metal group, right?"

Marluxia smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "We should get going, huh?"

oooOOOooo

Riku was aggravated. Axel was furious. Xigbar tried to hold back his laughter. They could all hear Seifer howling from the back of the room. The blonde bodyguard used to be in a rival metal band against 13 Hearts, and after they broke up their drummer moved on to Demolition Ammunition. Riku was almost fairly certain that they had spoken before the set.

It was getting to be five minutes into Raijin's drum solo.

"Drop it, drop it!" Riku shouted over the noise. Even the audience was starting to laugh at the drummer's antics. There was no extended drum solos in their songs, and most of the kids that had been moshing to the guitar riffs had stopped, distracted by the drumming onstage. Axel waved wildly at Raijin to try and get him to notice.

"This is crazy," Axel sighed loudly.

"So pathetic," Xigbar added, rubbing the back of his neck.

Riku seethed. "All Marly's fault."

Yet somehow they managed to make it through the set, although Riku regretted being so affable when he visited the gallery opening earlier in the evening. Most of the regular kids at the Organization understood that Raijin would not be taking Luxord's spot and put up with the different tempo for the night. After the show, Raijin hitched a ride home from Seifer while Xigbar insisted he was going to spend his evening at the bar. Riku and Axel took their free drinks and headed towards the green room.

"Man, I don't even know how we're supposed to come up with more demos with everyone being so busy lately," Riku griped as he collapsed on the rusty folding chair in the corner. "You know, I think Marly purposefully set up the Radiant Garden opening on a Saturday night just so we wouldn't be there. I think that Naminé chick's poisoning him. Like he thinks he's too good for us suddenly or something…"

"Aw, be nice to Mars. He's got a lot on his plate with another kid on the way," Axel admonished with a swig of his beer, collapsing on the couch. The happy couple were responsible for making Roxas' life a living nightmare only months ago, but he found it easier to forgive Marluxia for his transgressions since they were friends. At least he had to give the girl credit. Never in a million years would he have ever thought Naminé would have the balls to pull off such a stunt. Their talk several weeks ago at the Planned Parenthood popped up in his mind.

"She's actually not that bad…"

Riku didn't know Naminé all that well and only made a skeptic grunt in response. "So, did you tell Rox the good word?"

"Hm?"

"About the wedding," Riku elaborated. "What was his reaction? Man, I bet he was ticked…"

Axel kept his lips pressed tight against the bottle. A short moment passed before he finally swallowed. "…Yeah, about that…"

The frontman's eye twitched slightly as he caught onto that tone in Axel's voice, a tone he knew too well. "You didn't."

"I didn't have much of a choice! He invited me inside and then… well, one thing led to another and– Don't look at me that way, you know how busy he's been with school, and he finally gave me some and I wasn't about to ruin the moment!"

Riku slowly shook his head. "You are such a pig."

Axel groaned loudly, placing his beer on the floor and raking his fingers through his hair. "He's fantastic! You have no idea! We've only had sex like… four times since getting our results back and he's always so guarded and careful around me. I don't know what I can do to get him to loosen up…"

"Maybe he's so high-strung because he just got out of a poisonous relationship where his ex-fiancée kept huge secrets from him," Riku sighed. "Well, it's too late now. He's officially going to be the last to know and he's just going to be hurt. Trust me, I know a thing or two about that."

Axel gave Riku a frown that read 'Way to dredge up ancient history.' Speaking of, "How are you and the Elder Strife doing? I hardly ever see him around the apartment anymore."

"He's doing good. Still job searching. He hangs out at my place a lot. I used to not care as much, but it's starting to wear on me… I was used to living alone for so long, it's weird getting familiar with someone always being there." Riku finished his beer and left the bottle on a counter nearby. "It wouldn't be so bad if he actually did something during the day. Instead I come home and it's like 'Hi sweetie! I reached level sixty-seven on my paladin today!' It's weird."

There were three quick taps on the door, Roxas' usual signal. "Here's your chance," Riku chided as the door opened swiftly and the blonde boy made his way inside.

"Hey guys," he said with a soft smile. "Y'all weren't too bad today, all things considered." He walked over to the couch and sat next to Axel. "Hey, I'm on my break for the next half hour. Do you want to go to that taco truck across the street and grab some dinner?"

Axel glanced up at Riku who gave the redhead a knowing look. "Y'all go on ahead. I'm gonna hang out here for a little while." Axel winced slightly, knowing what was to come, but left the room with Roxas anyway to tell him the bad news. The sounds of the crowd outside grew as the door opened and disappeared quickly once the couple had left.

Riku sighed loudly and got up from his chair, moving to the small window near the top of the wall. He opened it to let the warm summer night air flow through and circulate through the room. From his pocket he pulled out a small baggie of weed and paper. Normally he would go straight home and share with Sora, but something inside of him was feeling reluctant. He didn't like this horrible feeling in his chest, but he hoped it would fade away with the first inhale.

Meanwhile across the street, Roxas and Axel were waiting in line at the cart outside. The nervous guitarist wouldn't stop moving and catching Roxas' attention. "Um. So, how was the opening?"

Axel seemed distracted. "Hm?"

"The gallery opening. Was it cool? I wish I could've made it but everyone at work is friends with Marluxia and Luxord, so Cid was pretty adamant about not allowing time off. Said it wouldn't be fair for the others."

"Yeah, Cid's that type," Axel replied, and said nothing else. Roxas studied his profile a moment. The man seemed to be nervously chewing on the inside of his cheek and staring relentlessly at nothing.

"So? Was the gallery opening fun? It's cool if it sucked, I won't tell."

"No, no… It was great…"

More silence. "Is everything okay?"

Axel gulped. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just a little chilly. Sweat's starting to cool off…"

Roxas hummed in response and took another step forward as the line shortened. "You know, you've been acting a little weird lately. Is there something going on with the band that I should know about? Is Riku okay?"

The standing of 13 Heart's original frontman was always on shaky ground. Ever since he returned he was a taboo of sorts to discuss under fear that he would be jinxed. Roxas loved the musician like a brother, especially now that Sora had returned for him. It would kill Roxas to think if any member of the band were in dire straits.

"Riku's fine. It's you I'm worried about," Axel sighed, lowering his head. "Okay, Rox, you know I'm not very good at sugarcoating anything so I'm just going to come out and say it…"

Roxas' face paled slightly. The reason Axel had been acting so distant was because of him? This could only mean horrible things. Axel was breaking up with him. The band was moving away for their big recording contract. They would never see each other again.

"Marluxia and Naminé are getting married."

For whatever reason that was decidedly worse.

Axel gauged Roxas' reaction, but it was hard to read the blonde's blank face. The punk decided to fill in the silence with more details. "…He, um, proposed last night, apparently. She said yes… and wants to get married before the, uh, baby arrives, so it's going to be soon."

Roxas blinked. "She's going to get married that quick?" Axel nodded his head. For a moment Roxas pulled away from his blank stare into the middle distance and glanced up at him. The redhead's face was so nervous Roxas was willing to call it borderline cute, and even with the tattoos and piercings it seemed, if Roxas dared, cuter. It was obvious that the guitarist was worried sick about letting Roxas know what had happened, and Roxas was thankful that he did. "I guess that means she'll be off the market soon," Roxas said with a smirk. "You should be happy."

It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret that Axel saw Naminé as some form of competition. Roxas knew in his heart that he could never return to her, but that didn't erase everything that he had been through with the woman and it would never change the significance she had on his life. The blonde reached out and gave the taller man two hard pats on the cheek before stepping up and placing his order. Axel was happy that Roxas appeared to be taking it well, but he couldn't help but feel that this was just a calm before the storm.

oooOOOooo

The show was officially over just a hair past midnight when the last group leaving happily out the door. Marluxia, Luxord, and Naminé all breathed a collective sigh of relief as they collapsed on the chairs in the office.

"My feet are so swollen," Naminé sighed, unable to reach her ankles. Marluxia patted his lap and reached to pick up her feet.

"Not bad for opening night. How many did we sell?" he asked Luxord, the real brains of the operation, as he massaged Naminé's ankles.

The blonde haired man counted over the receipts and tallied them up on a printing calculator. Naminé and Marluxia shared a grin as they watched Luxord's reaction when adding everything together. "Well… We sold seven paintings, eleven photographs, and thirty-eight giclées… and with our cuts from that, plus the plants that we sold from the garden we hit…" He typed in a few more numbers and ripped off the final receipt, holding it before the couple with a proud smirk on his face. "…well above our mark."

Naminé squealed and clapped her hands. "Oh, guys! I'm so proud of you!"

"Congratulations on selling some work yourself," Marluxia replied, rubbing Naminé's stomach. She blushed happily and couldn't help but think about how lucky she was at this very moment.

"Get a room," Luxord scoffed, getting up from his seat and undoing the knot on his tie. "I'm headed back home. Good work tonight lovelies. Marly, we're open tomorrow at noon. Can I expect you to be here?"

"You can count on me, boss," Marluxia replied with a salute. The gambling man nodded and gave his regards to Naminé before he left for the night. "Go ahead and keep resting if you want," he said to his fiancée. "I'm going to shut some lights off and close up, then we can head home."

"Before you do that," Naminé started, getting up from her chair and waddling to the corner of the office where she left her purse and shawl. Marluxia noticed that she had walked in with a nice paper gift bag, but didn't think to question about it.

"Oh, what's this?"

Naminé smiled. "This is for you, in celebration of the opening night of Radiant Garden Studios."

Marluxia laughed and pulled out some of the tissue paper to reveal the gift. It was a smoldering, steaming, red-hot negligee held together with lace, silk, and sequins. "Wow, I don't know what to say," he chuckled, brow raised suggestively. He held the sexy nightgown up to the petite woman, but he couldn't picture her stomach fitting in such a stringy thing. "We might have to wait a few months before we can get any use out of it, Nams."

She reached up and cupped her hands around his, pushing them back towards him. "It's not for me."

The man gulped, face now an unbeatable shade of bright candy red. "N-Naminé…"

"It's okay," she said with a wicked little smile. "I think you'd look really hot in it."

Marluxia couldn't think of anything to say, so he bent down and kissed Naminé desperately. Nobody had ever been this accepting of him before. He just couldn't believe his luck. "Dammit," he groaned. "Okay, I gotta close up now, and then we're getting the hell back to my apartment." Naminé smiled and quickly started to gather her things. "You are too sexy," Marluxia added. "Fuck, I wish I didn't tell Lux I'd be in tomorrow…"

oooOOOooo

Riku got home late that night to find Sora playing video games on the television. The sound was turned up so much that he was surprised the brunet even heard him come in at all.

"Wassup?" Sora hollered as Riku stepped into the kitchen to get a drink. "How was the show tonight with The Replacement?"

"Not that great." Riku wandered into the living room and watch Sora play. Taking a sip from his juice he noticed that Sora was still wearing the same pajamas he slept in last night. "…Did you go to the Radiant Garden opening tonight?"

Sora stopped playing his game for a moment, and then paused it before anything horrible happened. "That was tonight? Shit. What time is it?"

"Past one, it's over now," Riku sighed. He was sort of hoping that Sora would have gone so he could scope out the string quartet they'd hired as ambiance music. But mostly, he wanted to hear more stories of how Luxord and Marluxia were doing. Since Mars wasn't in the band anymore, Riku didn't get to see him as often as he wished he could. Everybody was just so busy. Except for Sora, apparently.

"I guess I lost track of time," Sora sighed, unpausing his game. "I'll stop by tomorrow and check things out. They're open on Sundays, right?"

Judging by the opened energy drinks and Sora's perkiness, Riku doubted that the boy would be awake at all tomorrow after he crashed. He sighed and sat down on the couch behind him. "Hey, can you turn that thing off for a second, I want to talk with you."

Sora lazily nodded his head. "Sure, one second. I need to get to a save point first." Riku leaned back on the couch and waited. Five minutes past and it seemed like the brunet wasn't making any progress at all. "Sora…"

"One second," he bit out.

Riku scowled. "Sora. Turn off the television right now and talk to me. Please." He wasn't asking. Sora glanced back at him and paused his game once more, using the remote beside him to turn the television off.

"What up?" he asked, as if anything Riku had to say couldn't have been important enough to interrupt his game. "Did someone die?"

"Oh my god, nobody died I just want to talk to your face for once instead of the back of your head," Riku replied. Sora seemed to catch on that Riku was a lot more worn out than he usually was after shows. The singer patted the empty seat next to him. Sora joined him, much more willing to talk if it would help Riku be in a better mood.

"…So was the show really that awful?" Sora asked, leaning up against Riku and resting his head on his stomach.

"It could have gone better," Riku sighed, absently brushing his fingers through Sora's hair. Sora would always be like this for him. It didn't matter how bad of a day Riku had, he could always come home and find peace with Sora. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he was practically living with him now. Hell, why not make it official? "Do you want to move in with me?"

Riku could feel Sora stiffen up next to him as he shifted to look up at Riku. "…Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not going to pay rent for both of us if we do."

Sora's face tilted slightly, his face marked with understanding and sarcastic dissent. "Riku, you're being mean." However, Sora knew what this meant. He had taken some time off after he decided to restart his life when Riku returned. Now it was time to stop being lazy and get back into the game.

"You've gotta find a job, first."

Sora shrugged his shoulders, settling into Riku's lap. "I'll definitely find something! I'll start looking tomorrow." Riku lifted his leg up to tip Sora over. The brunet looked up at him peeved. "What?"

"Maybe you didn't understand the fine print. You can't stay here unless you can make rent, and unless you're hiding something from me, I'm pretty sure you're broke."

Sora's eyes widened at the revelation. He understood Riku's intentions, as good as they were, but evenings after Riku was finished with practices and rehearsals and shows and recordings left little time for them to be together. Evenings were the only time they could spare to have sex. The color faded from the brunet's face when he thought about going without.

"Waitaminute- You're sexiling me because I'm poor?"

Riku rolled his eyes as Sora sat up and backed away. "You're being dramatic. It's a healthy thing. We're going to start being codependent now, and you'll have something more to do during the day other than…" Riku trailed off and looked at the stacks of disks by the gaming system. He had no idea whether Sora had already beaten those or if they were on his to-do list. "…Whatever it is that you do."

Sora stood up, started walking around the apartment and gathering anything he had left there over the past few weeks, and headed towards the door. "Oh, don't think I don't understand what's going on. I know a challenge when I see it," he barked with an aggressive smirk. Riku approached him and stood by the door, obliging Sora by listening. "Believe me, Riku, I can do fine on my own. It's not you who is sexiling me, it is I who is sexiling you."

"I didn't mean it like that," Riku sighed. "We can still have sex, I just want there to be an incentive for when you finally get this done.

Sora paused for a moment and seemed to loosen up slightly. With a grin he looked up at Riku and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Really?" He kissed Riku hungrily, sure to delve his tongue inside immediately and massaged the roof of his mouth the way that he liked. He didn't stop until he heard a moan from Riku and pushed himself away just as the taller man was starting to get into it. "You can't even last five minutes."

Riku remained shocked as Sora picked up his backpack and was out the door. "I'll see you after I get a job, Riku!" Sora shouted over his shoulder as he walked down the hall towards the stairs.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Riku called after him, but he remained where he was standing. Sora getting a job wasn't a bad thing, and he was positive that he was in the right on this. The brunet would come around sooner or later. He left his game console here. No matter how many positive things Riku tried to keep in his head, he couldn't help but feel like he had just been royally screwed. "…Fuck."

oooOOOooo

Roxas spent Sunday brunch looking through the classifieds with Sora.

"I am so stupid. I can't believe I said that to him! Crap, if he doesn't hate me now, what'll make him like me any better if I start working at a Burger Town or something?" Sora rambled, obviously panicked. "All of these jobs say there are requirements. How do I get three years managerial experience if I need managerial experience to become a manager?!"

The younger brother rubbed his eyes and pulled the paper away from him. "Look, you're only like twenty-four. Nobody would hire you as a manager anyway because you're too young." He flipped the newspaper back a page and pointed to some of the jobs there. "Here. There's some clerks, mail boys, delivery people… all needed in this one office building. It's even on a bus route."

"But I don't want to work for a corporation."

"And you don't want to have sex with Riku?"

There was a long staring contest between the brothers before Sora sighed and cracked open the neon highlighter, making a point to go back to that ad. "This sucks so much."

"Working for a living sucks?"

"It doesn't count for you! You're a bartender! That's cool. And your boyfriend is there like all the time and he worships the ground you walk on."

Roxas chuckled. "He is not-"

He cut himself off when he realized what he was about to say. Boyfriend? Roxas had a difficult time seeing it like that. Axel was just Axel. There was no way he could give the redheaded, beatnik, no-good, pierced up punk a label. Did Axel see it that way?

"…worshiping me."

"Dare to dream," Sora replied. "Oh! Here's one! At a used video game store, too!"

Roxas slapped his brother's wrist and pointed to a job as a secretary at a business firm. "Worry about insurance coverage and benefits. A small store probably won't be able to cover you," Roxas stated wisely. Even though a part-time bartender might have seemed like a low-end job, Cid had hinted at chances to move up and become full-time, possibly higher management with PTO. Roxas still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his career, but he was willing to take any kind of chances for promotion.

"So how are you and Axel Rose doing these days anyway?" his brother asked as he circled another obligatory secretary posting.

"We're doing… good. I guess. I don't really know how he feels about me working at The Organization. It's kinda like that whole couples working in the same office… What's that saying?"

"Don't shit in the cheerios?"

"I- what? No. It's something along the lines of… too much of a good thing, I guess." Roxas sighed and walked towards the kitchen. "It's like, I'm there, he's there. I wonder if it feels like I'm sort of taking over his life or something."

"I bet they're in cahoots," Sora stated. "They both think we're bothersome and in the way…"

Roxas glanced at his brother through the kitchen bar. "He didn't- I didn't… Nobody is saying that, Sora." He opened up the pantry to try and find something to eat. He tried to fight the nervous itch wondering what would happen if Sora did actually move. It seemed like a long time coming, but Roxas didn't want to go through the hassle of finding another apartment and another roommate. Suddenly, the thought of Axel as a roommate popped into his head. "Keep looking for appropriate places and call them first thing tomorrow," he said as he picked up his keys from the counter. "I'm going for a walk."

oooOOOooo

"I'll have to admit, it's a little flustering," Tifa sighed, scratching the back of her head and looking over a thick binder that Naminé had handed her. "You want to do all of this in a month?" The blonde woman sipped her tea and nodded affirmative, making Tifa breath exasperatedly again. "Okay. Well, first thing's first, we're going to have to tackle invitations."

"That's page ten," Naminé stated, leaning across the table and flipping to a page featured pale pastel pink cardstock with silver thread stitched along the edges. There was a transparent sheet of white paper held to the pink card with silver ribbon. "We did digital invites so we know who can make it and travel plans have already been made, these aren't really invites so much as announcements, so they won't be mailed off until after the wedding. And this is color theme we're going for with the wedding, pink and silver. Marluxia's in charge of flowers and tuxedos, so those are two huge things you don't have to worry about it."

"It looks like you thought of pretty much everything," Tifa said, flipping a few pages down and finding a page with a list of churches. She paused, frozen in fear. "You haven't found a location yet?"

"Well… it's going to be a mixed crowd. There's going to be a lot of Marluxia's friends there. I can expect some of my immediate family to show up, but I think my parents don't really want me inviting extended family. They sort of think it's odd," she said, starting to lower her voice. "Being married to someone like him."

Tifa nodded and glanced down at the addresses. "…You know, I'm really sorry about what happened. I can't help but feel this is slightly my fault."

Naminé blushed and instinctively placed her hands on her stomach. "You had no idea about Marluxia making visits to the art department. I never told you about what was going on between us."

"Still," she sighed, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "I introduced you to the band… I was responsible for the whole… Roxas situation. I'm sorry, but don't you think that's a bit odd?"

Naminé smiled warmly. "I don't think so, knowing Roxas… He is his parent's son. They're the most interesting couple I've ever met. See, Roxas' family has a habit of recklessly approaching life's big steps, and treating them like they're insignificant. Getting married to someone you love just seemed like something Roxas was supposed to do, even though he was only twenty."

"What about you, then? You just turned twenty-one and, well…"

Naminé shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her stomach. "Well… two positives can still create a positive. Even if the approach was somewhat… detrimental to Roxas. He loved me the same way his brother loved his wife. It was for all the wrong reasons. Meeting Marluxia was like finding out what true love was supposed to feel like. I was never aware I could be so appreciated in my whole life. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Tifa smiled, returning her focus back to the binder and turning the page again. "Okay. Well, it will definitely take some begging and bribing to get a location." The next page had ideas for the reception. The wedding planner looked at a business card that she definitely remembered seeing before. "This is Rinoa's card. You want Rinoa Heartilly to sing at your wedding?"

Rinoa was a soloist, mostly specializing in indie pop songs but was well known for her harsh edge. She was a singer for 13 Hearts when they played cover songs that required female vocals or duets. "I've listened to some of her songs and enjoyed them a lot. Marluxia swears by her. He already asked and she said she had the date free, so she's definitely willing."

"And you're really okay with going the live band route, then?" Tifa assessed as she wrote notes in her own memo pad. "We can still go other ways, like a DJ or classic string music."

"I think Marluxia would feel more comfortable with a live band. Sometimes I think he's more nervous about all this than I am."

oooOOOooo

Roxas looked in the bathroom mirror early Sunday afternoon. Nothing had changed. He slept peacefully in his bedroom, alone, in an empty apartment. His reflection showed clear eyes, clear skin, tousled hair. Well rested. He had heard the news that Naminé and Marluxia were engaged and had lived to see tomorrow.

But when he used to look in the mirror, he would think, "Here is a college student. Here is a son. Here is a little brother. Here is the fiancé to Naminé Gibson."

There had been changes in recent months. While it took him a few weeks after moving in with his brother to stop looking in the mirror and seeing a failure, he started to see other things too. "Here is a bartender. Here is a singer. Here is a bisexual man. Here is a man romantically interested in another man."

And it was okay, he kept convincing himself despite the nervous flutter in his chest. Freddie Mercury was bisexual. It was fine. He didn't know why his heart raced uncomfortably near the end.

"Here is the man that lo- …likes. That likes Axel Rose."

Roxas grimaced. He was starting to hate his own reflection. It was going fine for so long. He liked waking up with Axel in bed next to him. I like being able to talk with him about stupid stuff like… how the hook of a certain song made him want to dance, or how a professor assigned two tests back to back. Happy stomach-flips had become the norm when he thought of Axel, but suddenly it felt like too much, like burdening weight.

This happy feeling, for his entire young adult life, had been reserved for only one person. And now, somewhere out there, in this exact same city, another man was waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror, and thinking, "Here is the fiancé to Naminé Gibson."

He was being selfish. Roxas turned the knobs in his shower to as scorching hot as he could handle. He stood under the spray and attempted to gather his thoughts while the steam rose.

Love, he let the word fall wordlessly on his lips. I love Axel. The words left him feeling odd. The burden heavier. Why? I don't love Axel. That made him feel decidedly worse, a massive black hole swallowing up the burden and leaving him feeling… empty.

He had no trouble in confronting his sexuality head-on with that special brand of Strife Family Stubbornness, accepting new roles as they came, but letting go of the old ones was proving heartbreaking.

Naminé Floris. He hated how natural it sounded. How beautiful. Naminé Strife. God, why did his last name have to carry the connotation of pain and discord? It was borderline unfair. He thought of a wedding. Generic, not like the one Naminé had been planning for them. Small chapel, white flowers lining the pews, for some reason Hayner of all people officiating the ceremony with a license he got from a shady website…

Roxas stood beside Axel. The punk had his hair slicked back and he was wearing a tuxedo, all black and sleek, making him as handsome as Roxas had ever seen him. He was talking. I'll write you songs, I'll sing you a story, and I'll give you your ballad, he says while sliding a silver band onto Roxas' left ring finger.

The water temperature shifted. How long had he been in there? The shower turned ice cold and started to feel like needles. It was getting difficult to breathe.

Axel Strife, he mouthed. He was so cold but he could feel the warm tears blurring into his cheeks and disappearing. An image ripped through Axel's dazzling face of Naminé and Marluxia holding a child, standing in front of a home, celebrating holidays the way Roxas did with his family as a kid, growing old and happy together. It was exactly the same as Roxas always pictured his future with Naminé, like something out of a catalogue, only with Marluxia haphazardly ripped out of a different sales flier and taped in.

And what was Roxas doing, without that picture-perfect future?

His mind was blank. He couldn't picture a future without Naminé in it, and it horrified him. He felt like he was going to throw up, and quickly turned the water off and stepped onto the soft matt outside the tub. His heavy breathing had been hidden by the shower, but without the water running he felt decidedly pathetic. The cold water had sent away the steam on the mirror, and Roxas looked at his reflection again. Shattered and nothing like the man he used to see. He saw the broken pieces of Riku when he visited him at the harbor last year. That was the future he had to look forward to.

He spent the rest of the day alone in his bedroom, in an empty apartment, fending off every "r u ok?" text with excuses and lies.

On Monday he woke up, pretended nothing happened, and went to all his classes. If he was sporting puffy red eyes, his classmates had the decency not to point it out. He called into work, thankful it was a Monday and a got off with only a gruff message from Cid to get well soon.

On Tuesday he gave up on pretending everything was okay and stayed home from classes altogether. He spent several hours staring at the wall of his bedroom and wondering how he let himself get in this poor of shape. He heard his brother come home at some point, but he didn't know Roxas was there judging by a call from Demyx. "Nah, I haven't really seen him since the weekend. You texted him though? …Okay well, cool. I'll let him know." Sora left the house again before the evening. It must be nice having places to go and friends to visit. Meanwhile, it took Roxas so much effort to get dressed and leave the house at all.

It was Tuesday night, and Roxas knew where Axel would be.

Axel hadn't seen Roxas for three days. In most cases at the start of the week, that was relatively normal. Only the occasional "This study group is begging me to murder them" text to tide him over until the weekend. It seemed like the only time they got to see each other was on Fridays and Saturdays. He wondered when they'd reach that point in their relationship when he'd get a "I want to see you" text on a weekday. What did Roxas do all that time apart? Study?

It was one of the reasons why he was slightly shocked to see him at his Tuesday night acoustic gig at the Twilight Town Café. The little urban coffee shop was nestled by the street under the apartment complex that the blonde and his ex-fiancée used to share. Axel always figured that the reason Roxas never stopped by to see his shows after he and Naminé broke up was because of all the bad memories, yet there he was sitting at a table for two with two coffees and a smile.

Axel grinned and put his guitar on the rest for a few moments as he made his way to the table. "I wasn't expecting you. You should've called before or something. I could've primped up." Axel made some sort of vague makeup applying gesture. Roxas raised his eyebrows and his smile shrunk slightly.

"Yeah, could've used more glitter," he said. If it were anyone else, Axel probably would have been insulted, but it was Roxas. Axel must have been some sort of masochist, because he smiled happily in response.

"Which one's mine?"

Roxas looked down at the two coffees, none of which he'd touched yet, and pushed one of the cups towards him. Double-shot mocha with a hint of cinnamon; Axel's favorite without even having to ask.

After a few moments of silence, Axel was beginning to wonder why he was graced with Roxas' presence at all. "Why'd you stop by?" he finally asked. "Don't you usually have lab or something tonight?"

The blonde shook his head. "No, I decided to skip today."

Axel felt like he shouldn't be shocked, it was just one class, but Roxas never missed any classes. Hell, Roxas even put classes in front of Axel, but he knew Roxas was a dedicated student and tried not to take it too hard. Since he had early classes every morning, it was one of the reasons why they couldn't stay over at each other's places as much as he'd like. The redhead frowned slightly. "Is everything okay?"

Now it all seemed to make sense. He hadn't seen Roxas since Saturday night, when he told him about the wedding. Getting a closer look at the blonde a few days later, it seemed like he hadn't caught any sleep. Of course, he got the answer he was expecting. "I'm fine."

"You know, whatever you have to say… you can tell me, right?" It was killing Axel that the wedding was having a negative effect on Roxas. However, his heart fluttered at the idea that Roxas came to him for help. When they first met, Axel used to make fun of the young man and the seemingly utopian life he tried to lead. At this stage in their relationship he knew that judgement no longer held truth.

"…I'm scared."

"About the wedding?"

Roxas gulped. "Maybe? I just- I don't really know who to talk to about this."

Axel took another sip of his coffee. "It's okay. I've seen Marluxia a couple of times since the proposal. If you're worried about him and Naminé, he's got a fairly level head on his shoulders."

Marluxia really was a great guy. Roxas knew this as an absolute fact. He was the one that got him that job at The Organization to begin with, and he was such a good friend to Riku during his struggling period. So why was it so difficult to give into the fact that he and Naminé were… Roxas grimaced at the thought of it.

"I know," he replied weakly. "He's perfect. He's such a perfect guy. He probably never cheated in a relationship, never skipped town, never ignored her… I was so stupid for-" He didn't let himself finish, and instead winced at his own tone. He looked up at Axel, trying to put his mind in the right state. This wasn't going to be the end of the world.

Just because his fiancée broke up with him, cheated on him with another man. She got pregnant. She kept the baby, although Roxas couldn't imagine an abortion. Would Roxas have been able to stay with Naminé if she had gotten rid of the baby? Would he have wanted to stay with her knowing the baby wasn't his? What if she had never told him about her infidelity, and he had ended up raising the baby thinking it was his? Roxas was barely twenty-one, he didn't even want to be a dad yet.

But despite all of this, we was forgetting one major detail. None of this would change his feelings about Axel.

That last thought really struck a nerve. The burden returned. Roxas closed his eyes and suddenly backed out of his chair. "Ah, I just remembered I had to turn in an assignment at the lab tonight," he said quickly. He knew there wasn't anything Axel could do, the man was dedicated to his performance and he was still scheduled for another hour. "See you."

He started making his way to the door and tried to ignore Axel sputtering from behind. "What? Hey, Rox, hold up!" Axel scooted out of his chair and followed Roxas out the glass doors. The blonde looked very obviously annoyed and wanted to be left alone, but past that Axel could see how scared he was.

"Go inside and finish your set." He continued walking up the block towards campus. He needed to do something to get his mind off of the train wreck that was inevitably going to happen. Axel trailed behind and continued to probe for answers.

"I play for tips, Rox. Nobody's ever in there on Tuesday nights." Axel was a man who wore many hats. On Saturdays he was a rock star, on Tuesdays he was a nobody, in the afternoons he was just another tram conductor. Roxas would only ever be a student, a worker, an insignificant speck. "Come on, tell me what's bothering you."

"It's nothing. I told you to go back inside." They both knew that wasn't going to happen. Axel was well aware by this point that when Roxas' more commanding personality branched from a need to be in control when his personal life was falling apart. It was still a work in progress on Axel's end to learn how to deal with it. He finally reached out and grabbed Roxas' shoulder.

"Roxas. Stop."

"Why did it have to be HIM?" Roxas finally screamed. "Why did she choose someone who wears women's clothing? In a- in a band? Wears makeup? Has a string of bad relationships behind him and a child? What the fuck did Marluxia do to her to make her choose him over me?!"

He was panting. His cheeks and eyes were red as blood. Roxas brought his hand to his face and pinched away any tears that had a chance of showing. Axel was at a loss. "She's getting married again in month. That should have been my wedding! That should have been my child!"

A strong silence followed. Axel kept his eyes trained on the sidewalk, observing a crack near Roxas' sneaker. "We should get you home."

Roxas growled, stepping forward and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

This is a part of it, Axel told himself, his mind overworking in a flurry trying to figure out what to do. If you want to be with him, it means dealing with this from time to time. No big deal. But honestly, he wanted to cry. Axel had thought Roxas was over Naminé by this point, but seeing his reaction made him second guess their relationship. What if Roxas wasn't as serious about this as Axel was? He tried to push back the grim thoughts.

"It's okay." Axel looked up and noted that they were standing beside a tram stop. "The 241 should be stopping by in a few minutes. That'll get you to your neighborhood."

The blonde man chewed on the inside of his lip and waited for the inevitable moment when Axel would come to his senses and leave, but they were breaching five minutes of quiet and nothing had changed. Axel had his arm wrapped around Roxas' shoulder and the younger man buried the side of his face into his chest, hating how he ruined Axel's entire night. The low hum of the tram rounding the corner took over, and Roxas started to nervously shuffle his feet. "I really am sorry about what I said," he whispered as the doors hissed open. "I am."

He nodded. "I know." Axel dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, flashing an employment card to the driver so he knew not to charge them. Roxas looked over his shoulder and noticed that he was climbing up into the tram with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you get home safe."

Roxas wanted to smile, to feel like everything was going to be okay, but he just couldn't. He couldn't trust Axel to kiss it better and have all his hurt magically disappear. The burden set in heavier now, crushing his lungs. "What about your set? Your guitar?"

"There'll be other sets, Rox. And I've got lots of guitars." Axel replied, shaking his head as they sat down together near the back of the bus. When he had a moment, he'd text the manager what happened. The baristas would take care of his equipment. "I only have one you."

Roxas blushed and turned towards the window. "God, when you say stuff like that it makes me feel so pathetic. In, like, the best way possible, I mean. Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing Roxas," Axel sighed. "The measure of a man lies not in what he says, but what he does." Roxas remained silent for the rest of the ride, his mind overflowing with thoughts about what he was supposed to do from here. Naminé was gone. Any hope for the normal life he thought he was getting a simple year ago was now successfully obliterated. The images of himself that he picture was eating dinner alone in a quiet, empty apartment. He saw himself finishing assignment after assignment, exams and essays and labs, without any end to the monotony and torment. The horrible outcomes he pictured in his mind made him dizzy until he didn't realize where he was. Axel gently nudged him.

"We're here."

Roxas looked out the window and recognized his apartment complex. He nodded slowly and followed Axel outside the tram. The only time Axel spoke was to say goodbye to the driver. When they reached the door to his apartment, Roxas bit his lip and turned to the redhead that followed him all this way. He was surprised by the end of the trip that he felt so light, so free. He started to feel embarrassing by his outburst. "I guess you don't want to come in, do you?"

Axel had a look on his face that wished it could be hopeful, but in the end it came out more like a grim smile. "You need time to sort yourself out." He took a few steps backwards off the stoop and held his hands at his side. "And I'll be here once you've done that." The look in Axel's eyes was crushing. Roxas could feel the tears swelling up again. He brought his hand to his mouth to try and conceal his grimace.

"I'll always be here for you Roxas, but I can't stay beside you. Not while you still belong to her."

The words hit Roxas like a bomb, but somehow he managed to break out a nod in response. Axel sighed, just loud enough for Roxas to hear the shiver behind it. He focused his green eyes on the pavement and turned to walk away.

This was the second time Axel had ever walked away, and once more Roxas found himself completely unable to change it. He watched as Axel slowly marched towards the corner and turned, and the overwhelming emptiness took over him again. Almost unable to stand anymore, Roxas opened the door to his apartment and stumbled in, too shocked to take in the sight that was waiting for him.

Sora shouted, making Roxas flinch and look up. It seemed that he was straddling Riku on the couch, although nothing truly vulgar was happening yet from this angle. Even though Sora wasn't allowed to stay at Riku's apartment until he could pay rent, it seemed like the punk was more than willing to bend the rules.

"Roxas! I'm sorry," Sora stated, obviously flustered as the younger brother just shook his head and made his way toward the kitchen for a glass of water. "I thought you had a lab on Tuesdays… Is something wrong?"

He didn't answer while pouring his drink. He wanted something stiffer, but didn't want to bother following recipes. Over his shoulder there were sounds of Riku and Sora whispering to each other. "I just need to ask him. Hey, Rox! Was Axel with you? I've gotta tell him something Marly told me about the wedding."

Blue eyes widened as he almost choked on his water. He slammed his glass down and pulled the bottle of vodka out from the fridge, turning to the two other men. "I am going to be in my room," he croaked while pointing towards his door. "I am going to have my headphones on, turned up at a reasonable volume so I won't be able to hear anything. You guys just… don't bother me."

When he pulled himself away before the others could say anything, he disappeared into his bedroom and locked the door after him. Now that he was in there he felt like he was trapped in a bad memory. He could hear Sora mumbling in the next room, probably something about getting Roxas to talk. The blonde made his way to his bedside table where his headphones and mp3 player sat; what he needed right now was volume and distraction.

After the headphones were on, the first song that started playing was from one of 13 Hearts' EPs. He groaned and turned around, coming face-to-face with the huge painting Naminé had given him, a peace offering, where the canvas covered almost the entire wall. It was a peaceful parting gift from her, but now Roxas felt some new animosity growing behind it. He unscrewed the cap off his bottle and brought it to his lips, taking three large gulps in rapid succession. He tried not to gag at the end, and tried to ignore the sounds of Sora knocking on his door.

There were too many memories of Axel. Even Naminé's painting was of a guitar. There was the guitar and amp that Axel had given him to practice on in the corner still. The poster of Iron Maiden that Axel insisted on hanging up right over the bed as if it were something to be proud of.

The bed. Roxas glared at it and took another hard swallow of the vodka, turning up the volume of his music player.

No point in starting over
No rest for the wicked
No fight left untended
No need for you anymore.

Just say it- Say it!
You've given up, had enough
Go on, leave it!
No need for you anymore!

Roxas found himself singing mumbling along as the first intoxicating buzz started to settle in. It felt great, he needed more of that. Two more swallows ought to hold him. The bottle fell to the floor as he started flipping the mattress over. He couldn't sleep on the same surface the he and Axel shared. Under the top mattress was a stiffer box-spring board. It would have to do. Roxas stood on the bed and ripped the Maiden poster off the wall, leaving nothing but the tacks behind.

He wouldn't cry. He was a man. He didn't dress in women's clothing, he didn't wear makeup, and he didn't dye his hair pink. Instead, he pinched his eyelids again and tried to smear whatever moisture there was away.

Not long after, he passed out on the bed, using the poster as a blanket.

oooOOOooo

When people think of bachelor parties for someone like Marluxia Floris, they probably don't include the bachelor staying at home falling asleep with the television on before ten o'clock. It was the week before the big event, and time was too crunched to celebrate any later. Marluxia woke up with a start when there was a sudden banging at his door. He snorted and pulled out his phone to check the time and make sure he hadn't missed any calls.

Upon opening the door, he found the one and only Riku Kuroyama on his stoop with an extra video game controller and a liter of tequila. "Sora left all his games at my place. You wanna play Madden?"

Fifteen minutes later found the boys on their way to becoming tipsy and trying to figure out the controls. An hour later found them sneaking out onto the balcony and drunkenly maneuvering themselves onto the railing and climbing up the water spout to the roof. They laughed feverishly as they finally reached the highest point of Marluxia's apartment building.

"I can't remember the last time I've done anything so stupid," Marluxia cackled, holding onto the weathervane like it was a banner on top of a mountain. "They'll cancel my lease if they catch me up here."

"You never do anything fun anymore," Riku replied, doing a horrible job of keeping his balance as he loomed over the edge to see how high up they were. "How come you never come out and do anything with us like you used to?"

"Because I'm going to be a father."

"You already are a father," Riku whined. Of course Marluxia hadn't forgotten about Larxene and their baby, but it was different this time around. Larxene had custody of their son and Marluxia rarely ever got to see him. It had been this way since he was born, and as an infant he only cried and kicked when Marluxia tried to hold him. Naminé was his fiancée and she didn't appear to be absolutely horrified with the idea. Riku couldn't help but notice all the practical feminine touches infiltrating the man's once hunky-dory bachelor pad.

Marluxia looked over his shoulder and noticed Riku taking another gulp of tequila straight from the glass bottle. "So let me guess- you and Sora broke up?"

"No, actually," he said with a smirk.

"Oh, God… Where?" he asked him, adding softly to himself, "Please not the green room, not the green room, not the green room…"

"The green room."

"Dammit, Riku, I eat in there…"

"Pretty much every flat surface in his living room. Everywhere in his bedroom. Once in the kitchen – don't tell Roxas, of course."

"Of course. What's the point of keeping him out of your apartment if he's getting more play when he's not living there?"

"He thought he could outlast me," Riku said, grinning. "I guess I proved him wrong."

"I think you were both proven wrong," Marluxia stated, reaching up the weathervane to spin the arrow on top. It was a lot bigger up close and took more effort than he anticipated. "And while you're copulating all over the place, where's Roxas throughout all this?"

"Making himself scarce. I hardly ever see him anymore, not that I ever saw him much to begin with," he rambled pulling the bottle up for another drink. "Apparently he and Axel broke up."

Marluxia raised an uncertain brow. "Really?" This was the first he'd heard of anything like that. Axel had been in a distant mood the few times they'd seen each other over the past weeks, but if he didn't want to share Marluxia was a little too busy to offer a shoulder to cry on.

"Yeah, I guess. Axe told me that Roxas had a melt down. They haven't spoken since." Marluxia walked over beside Riku and took the bottle from him, taking one more sip before sitting at the edge of the roof and letting his feet dangle. "From what I hear he even quit working Saturdays so he wouldn't have to be there when we played."

Marluxia looked off towards the horizon. He could see the tall skyscrapers that marked downtown and the university campus, and somewhere nestled in there was The Organization. "Weird."

"Yeah. And speaking of weird, what's this about not wanting us to play your reception?" he asked, slugging Marluxia in the shoulder. The man winced and rubbed his arm.

"What? You didn't honestly expect I'd let y'all play. Naminé wanted a more mature sound for the party."

Riku scoffed. "You are a lot of things, but mature isn't one of them."

Marluxia chuckled and leaned on his back against the gritty rooftop shingles. "You're still gonna be a groomsman, aren't you?"

He rolled his eyes and gave the man another hit on the shoulder, this one a bit softer and more well meaning. "Yeah, yeah. Fitting's tomorrow, right?"

oooOOOooo

Every morning began with Axel checking his cell phone for any missed messages or calls. This morning was no different as he reached for his cell before even opening his eyes. He knew every button to lead him to the messaging screen by heart and lead his way through blindly. The robotic woman answered bluntly, "You have no missed messages."

There was a pause between every word, as if punctuating the point that Axel was alone. He scrunched his brows and tosses his phone on the floor. The thing was useless without Roxas texting him during classes and work when he was bored. Three loud beeps quickly raised Axel from his mid-morning drowse. He did a nose-dive off the side of his bed and reached for his phone. It was a text from Riku.

'Where r u?!'

On the main menu of his phone was the date and time. It wasn't morning anymore. It was actually very past lunch. He was supposed to be at their tuxedo fitting half an hour ago.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, tripping out of bed, crushing several pieces of paper, breaking some pencils, and stumbling over a pile of dirty laundry. In five minutes he was outside struggling with the lock on the van, dressed in a pair of jeans and a clean-ish undershirt.

By the time he made it to the tuxedo rental store, Marluxia, Xigbar, and Riku had already finished, and Luxord was getting his measurements whilst standing on a pedestal. Marluxia gave him an aggravated, exhausted look. "Dude, what the hell?"

"I am so sorry. I haven't been getting great sleep lately and I guess I slept through my alarm," he sighed, looking at his friend. Marluxia was actually looking a little worse for wear himself. His hair was frazzled and uncombed, and there were bags under his eyes. Axel recognized the ex-drummer's hangover-chic look. "…And what did you do last night?" he asked with a bemused smirk.

Riku snorted from his seat in the corner and Marluxia sent him a scathing glare. "Nothing." He pointed towards the suit resting on a hanger on the door to a changing room. "Get dressed."

Marluxia huffed as Axel breezed past and entered the dressing room. Riku got up from his chair in the corner and approached him. "So, are you going to talk to him about it?" he asked lowly so Axel couldn't hear.

"May as well," Marluxia muttered. "At least now while I've got him cornered." He knocked on the dressing room door loudly. "Hey, Axe?"

Axel's reply was somewhat amused. "Hey, guys, we all know I'm not a stranger to a tux, but give me some time to get it on."

"Why didn't you invite Roxas along?" Marluxia asked shortly, in a tone that was significantly obvious to the redhead that he probably knew the reason why Roxas wasn't there.

"...He already has a suit, and he's not a groomsman. There's no reason for him to be here," Axel replied, standing on his toes and sticking his head above the door so he could look Marluxia in the eye. The groom-to-be looked radiantly pissed off. "…What?"

"I swear to God, Axel, if another person's life is torn apart and it's our fault…"

"Whoa- whoa. Who's tearing apart who here? Aren't we preparing for a wedding?" Axel's head ducked from behind the door, presumable to put on the tuxedo trousers. When he came out of the dressing room he was fully dressed in the black ensemble. The man who had been measuring Luxord in front of the mirror impatiently motioned for Axel to take his place on the pedestal. "Am I, like, missing something here?"

"Apparently Roxas has some grievances about the wedding that he aired on you, and you didn't do anything about it."

Axel paused for a brief instant, trying to remember who he told about that conversation, but nobody was coming to mind. He immediately glared at Riku.

"I didn't want anything to do with it. Roxas told Sora who told me," the bleach-haired punk said, raising his hands defenselessly. There was no point in being upset with him about it.

"Roxas has a lot on his mind, and I don't need to be making these kinds of decisions for him."

"So you just left him all alone with nobody to help him through this crisis?"

"I thought his brother would be there for him! Hell, even Riku could have been there for him! I guess it was my mistake, knowing them, they were probably too busy fucking- Ow!" The elderly tailor had accidentally pricked Axel in the knee with a needle. He glanced up at Axel with a mind-your-language tone so the redhead bit his tongue. Axel looked at Riku and sighed. "Sorry. Didn't mean it."

"Whatever, you're just jealous."

"If Roxas isn't okay with it, there's nothing I can do. The wedding is going to happen this Sunday as planned." Marluxia spoke with a hardheaded plan in his head, but didn't seem totally convinced in himself. "He's still invited, but he's not going to do anything stupid, is he?"

"I think the stupidest thing he's ever done was sleep with me," Axel muttered. "He doesn't really strike me as the type to shout 'I object!' in the middle of the ceremony. You're safe."

"How do you know he's even gonna be there?" Marluxia asked. Even though the groom was sure it would be awkward for Roxas to be there, he'd sort of grown attached to the blonde kid. Roxas might have been a total prick, but at least his heart was in the right place most of the time, and Marluxia could respect him for that.

Axel shrugged in response. "I dunno, I just sort of figured… Well, to be perfectly honest, we haven't really spoken since the outburst…"

Marluxia slowly nodded. "That's because he thinks you hate him."

The redhead flinched, causing another pin the stick into his leg. "Hold still!" the tailor chastised.

"No way. There is no way Roxas thinks I hate him."

"Oh. Okay, so leaving him by himself when he needed you most and not speaking to him at all is supposed to make him think that he's in a committed, loving relationship right now?" Marluxia threw his arms in the air. "God, I don't know what it is with people in this band but I feel I give a bigger shit about this than you!"

Axel frowned. "Hey, watch it. This isn't your concern."

"It obviously is when Naminé cares just as much!" he declared. "You don't think she's terrified, too? You don't think I have to live with the doubt every day? For all intents and purposes, that baby should have been Roxas'. She's told me this before, but I still love her."

Axel silently let that soak in. "She told you that?" he asked, sighing and looking in the mirror. He felt like an absolute dick.

"I understand what Roxas is going through, but I think right now I'm probably the last person he wants to see. You should probably talk to him. Hell, you should've talked to him weeks ago."

"That seems to be a running theme in this family," Riku cut in dully. Axel couldn't even muster up the strength to glare at him, but in the end he couldn't argue with the logic. A band was a family, he knew that before signing up. Although he was raised an only child, he had four brothers that he loved dearly. Anything that would make his family upset had the same backlash on Axel tenfold.

"I understand," he muttered. "I'll talk to him… soon." If his own anxiety doesn't kill him first.

oooOOOooo

Blue moon-
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own!

There were three loud knocks on the door. "Roxas, turn the stereo down, please?" Sora called, doubtful that he was able to reach his younger brother. He wasn't even sure if he was alive anymore. Sightings of Roxas outside of his bedroom were becoming rarer than UFOs. That, and, as he gave up and moved to the kitchen for a drink, the sudden and disturbing lack of alcohol in the refrigerator.

Sora pouted at the sight of the empty refrigerator door that usually held all of the brunet's beer cans. The music suddenly stopped, which caused Sora to pull his attention away from the icebox for a moment. When Roxas' door snapped open he almost jumped to the ceiling. At least it was good to know he was alive.

"Roxas," he said hesitantly. He smelled strongly of alcohol and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. The dazed look in his eyes made it seem like he had just woken up, perhaps hungover, but at least he was sober now. "Hey, we need to have a little chat."

"Know what you're gonna say," Roxas croaked, holding up his hand to cut his brother off. "Don't wanna hear it." Sora frowned as the blonde blew past him and pulled out the water pitcher from the open refrigerator.

"You can't keep going on like this," Sora said anyway. "I mean, I get that you're depressed, and I understand that can make you want to act this way, but it's not the end of the world."

"My fiancée dumped me for a man with pink hair wearing a skirt. My… boyfriend dumped me because I have so many hang-ups with my fiancée… ex-fiancée…" Roxas sighed and just looked at the glass of water he just poured. "I can't keep my head silent long enough to think about anything. The music… helps."

Sora glowered and turned on his heels, quickly charging towards Roxas' bedroom. When he came out, he was holding Roxas' wastebasket filled with two vodka bottles, a whiskey bottle, and many crushed beer cans. "I don't think these are going to help you in your situation." He set the bin by the door to get recycled later. "C'mon, let's get you outside, a nice haircut and a shave. The wedding is in a couple days."

"But I don't wanna go," Roxas whined, gripping his forehead for the inevitable pounding headache. "What makes you think they even want me there, anyway?"

"Because they invited you, you sent in your RSVP, and it costs eighty dollars per guest. The last thing you want is to not show up and waste their money."

The very last thing Roxas wanted was to come off as more of a jerk. He slowly nodded his head and meandered back to his room. "Fine, whatever. Let me change clothes."

"And shower," Sora added. "Please."

So feeling light and refreshed, or at least a lot less moody, the brothers Strife made their way down the street towards the closest barbershop, conveniently near campus. "I'm thinking something shorter in the back," Sora thought out loud, ruffling the back of Roxas' hair that had become scruffy over time. "You're starting to get shaggy like me."

The barbershop was settled in a nice little shopping center on the street directly under a very posh apartment complex that the millionaire's offspring lived when attending university. As much as Roxas applauded Sora's attempt to make the place they were headed seem 'manly,' a more appropriate name for the barbershop would probably be a 'salon.' Other shops nearby included an upscale electronics store, one of those clothing shops that sold four hundred dollar jeans and thousand dollar purses, and a jewelry store.

Roxas paused and found himself distracted by the window display showing off new bracelets, rings, and necklaces from a local designer. His brother continued talking until he realized the blonde had trailed behind. "Roxas, everything alright?" It seemed like three seconds barely eked by before that question rose up. Roxas nodded and pulled himself away from the diamond ring display. The place where he had purchased Naminé's ring was achingly similar to a shop like this.

The boys entered the barbershop and were greeted by a lady behind the counter. "Hi! I had an appointment for Strife?" Sora answered happily.

Roxas sighed. "You made an appointment?" he asked.

"That's right, I made an appointment. For me. But I'm more than happy with letting you take my spot. My hair looks fabulous. You look like a hobo." Roxas frowned at him as the receptionist led him to the back of the room. An older man smiled as he approached and seated Roxas in his chair, asking him what he wanted done.

"Something really, really different," Roxas sighed, and then pointed to whiskers on his face. "And get rid of all this, too. Please." The man nodded and started combing his fingers through Roxas' hair.

oooOOOooo

"Well, that was kind of a dick thing to do," Riku mumbled, idly clicking around on his cell phone in the company of the bassist-slash-temporary-drummer, lead guitarist, and resident redhead of his band. They were leaving the Drafthouse Theater.

"I told him he didn't have to," Luxord sighed. "But I can't really blame him. Everything for tomorrow is ready, there's nothing left to do. The poor boy needs a distraction." They were speaking of Marluxia, who on the eve of his very own wedding insisted on working at the studio. Since Radiant Garden was still a new studio, they were getting increased business with all the publicity. They would have to be closed on Sunday for the wedding, and to ensure none of the groomsmen came to the ceremony with scrapes or black eyes, the regular Saturday show was cancelled as well, leaving Riku seething.

"I'm not the best man. I'm not even second in command! I'm the third person in the row. You know who pays attention to the third person? Nobody. And fuck it all if Axel just had to be the one standing next to me," he glanced at the punk who had been awfully quiet the past few days. "You with your red hair. You get all the attention."

"It not the end of the world," Xigbar stated. "There's, like, an open bar."

The four men basked in silence for a minute in respect for this momentous upcoming opportunity. "Two wrongs don't make it right, though," Riku added. "Make that three wrongs. I can't believe that ratfink won't let us play at his wedding. I always imagined playing at your weddings."

A look washed over Riku, the kind that screamed 'Plan!' He smirked wickedly and started bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly. "No, wait, I've got an idea," he said in a hushed whisper, as if Marluxia would show up at any moment to tell him to stop. Xigbar always wanted in on Riku's plans and smiled in anticipation. Axel and Luxord were wary.

"What've you got?" Luxord asked cautiously.

Riku still had his phone out and he opened up his contacts list. "Do you have Rinoa's new number? I want to call in a favor."

Luxord reluctantly opened his phone and recited her digits to him. "What are you going to ask?"

"I still have some business to sort out," he said, adding her number to his list and turning to Xigbar. "You. Do you think you can call in a quick favor to the high school band kids at the school?" The scarred-up guitarist held a day job as a teacher at a music academy. Although he obviously specialized in guitar, a lot of the teachers and students were there for marching band and focused on brass instruments.

"I practically run that place," Xigbar replied with a smug grin. "What do you need?"

"Trumpets, trombones, possibly a sax," Riku said, starting to bounce excitedly down the street away from his friends. "I promised Sora I'd meet up with him. Emergency band practice at seven. Don't tell Mars!" Before anybody had a chance to complain, he was gone.

oooOOOooo

After his haircut, Sora and Roxas decided to stop by the equally heinously expensive coffee house in the same shopping strip as the salon. "I like your new hair," Sora said with a thoughtful tilted gaze. Roxas had gotten the back cropped short and feathered out, but left the hair near his crown and bangs slightly longer so they could be gelled the way he liked. Of course, he felt infinitely better without the hair on his chin anymore. "How're you doing?"

"I feel good," Roxas answered honestly, taking a sip from his iced coffee through a straw. "They say that getting your haircut after a breakup is kind of cliché, but I think it helps…"

Sora's face fell slightly. "You and Axel haven't really broken up, have you?"

Roxas wondered what exactly his brother had been expecting. From the look on his face it was like telling a little girl that the prince and the princess weren't going to live happily ever after. Although Roxas wasn't even sure they had broken up. Whether he was happy, upset, drunk, or painfully sober, he just couldn't deny the feelings he had for the stupid redheaded punk. "I don't know."

A vibrating buzz distracted Sora from their conversation as he reached for his phone resting on the table. He read a message on the screen and frowned. "He's running late," he sighed. Roxas assumed he was talking about his boyfriend. "I hope you don't mind, but Riku's on his way over. We're supposed to have a date this afternoon…"

Roxas shook his head, taking a calm sip from his coffee. "I don't mind." His thoughts drifted back to Axel. "Do you think it'd really be so weird if he and I broke up…?"

Sora mulled over the question and took a sip from his drink. "It's hard to say."

"What about you and Riku. How's the job search going?"

The brunet smirked. "Well, I think one of the reasons he said that was just an excuse for the lease on our place to run out. That's coming up, you know. In a couple of months we'll need to let them know if we plan on renewing or not. I mean… I could talk it over with Riku and see if he'd be cool with you living with us. It would make the utilities cheaper…"

Like it or not, the world would continue move on, uncaring of whether Roxas had gathered his bearings. One moment he would have the wind knocked out of him, the next he would be tripping over the next hurdle. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with all the changes. "Do you ever think that we move too fast? Like… if you found out that all the clocks in the world were ticking every other second, and it turns out you've been moving twice as fast as you thought you were?"

"You think I'm moving in with Riku too soon."

"That's not what I meant…"

Sora sighed. "Look, we love each other, and I know we've only been together for a few months, but it's like we've been fighting for this a lot longer." Sora and Riku had a bit more history than he and Axel did, but Roxas still felt that he fought just as long and hard as Sora only to fall short. It seemed like whenever he did get the courage to speak what was on his mind, it was always the absolute wrong thing.

"Strifes are a rare breed," his brother continued. "We move too fast. We don't care what the world around us thinks. When you were with Naminé, how many people told you that you were moving too fast?"

Roxas let out a bitter chuckle. "Jeez, I dunno, everyone?"

Sora smiled. "And how many people said that about you and Axel."

Roxas thought about it for a moment. He never really remembered anybody saying anything about his relationship with the raucous redhead, which seemed strange since they really were such an odd couple. The further he stretched back, the only person he thought of who ever frowned upon his relationship was Naminé. Her opinion hardly mattered anymore, and on top of that she later on encouraged Roxas' feelings for Axel. One better, she was getting married to one of them.

For the first time, Roxas let go of the vision of Naminé he grew up with. She would always be the cute girl he met in high school, she would always be his first sexual experience on prom night, he would always remember her smile, her kisses, her touch, but for the first time he saw her for what she was now. She was an adult, a woman with responsibilities and a child, none of which involved Roxas. The kind of person she was five years ago was no longer the person she was today, and he couldn't love her the same way anymore.

When Roxas was worried about the fact about losing Naminé forever, there Axel was with a smile on his face. He saw him on stage strumming and singing freely, not caring about how others saw him. There was Axel patiently walking him home every night after work, not expecting or asking for anything in return. Axel with the infinite tolerance to help a poor kid discover what he really needed. Roxas believed it was crazy, or maybe it was just in his nature, when he thought about his future and honestly couldn't imagine it without the redhead in his life.

"Moving fast or slow is all about time, a mutual illusion," Sora stated. "Live for yourself, and live for now. Don't hesitate over anything or you might miss out on something amazing." In the end it seemed the only person standing in Roxas' path towards happiness with Axel was just himself.

The burden lifted, like Atlus freed of the weight of the world, and instead of the void Roxas felt… liberated. He was unshackled, and free to move forward– at his own pace.

Roxas nodded, hearing the door behind him whisk open. "Hey, punks!" Riku said happily, walking up behind Roxas and successfully noogie-ing away any flair that the stylist had painstakingly gelled together. "Cool hair, Rox." The blonde rolled his eyes and grabbed his cup, standing from his seat at the table for two he was sharing with his brother. Riku held up his hand, "Hey, it's cool, you don't need to get up…"

"Go ahead," Roxas replied with a shrug. "I know y'all a have a date this afternoon. I'm just gonna walk back home."

"Okay," Sora said, a slight tinge of worry on his brow. "Think about what I said." Roxas nodded and walked out the cafe, and Riku took his place.

"Is everything okay with him?" the musician asked in a hushed tone. He glanced over his shoulder to monitor Roxas out of the corner of his eye, who seemed to be looking in the window of the shop next door and then walking inside.

Sora wasn't sure, and just shrugged his shoulders in response. "It's hard to say. He's had a lot on his mind the past few weeks…"

"And how are you handling it?" Riku prodded, beginning to make card houses out of the sweetener packets on the table.

"I'm fine, honestly. I can't remember the last time I've been to a wedding. To tell the truth, I'm a little psyched!"

Riku smiled. "Good to hear. Hey, do you have Kairi's number?"

It wasn't that Riku and Kairi were necessarily enemies, the few times they happened to be at the same place at the same time had been very cordial, but it was hard to escape the suffocating awkwardness. At least Sora knew how Roxas felt in that regard. "…Yes, I do. Why?"

"No big. I just need to ask her a favor."

oooOOOooo

Roxas arrived at the small chapel with Sora. He figured the brunet would have at least gone with Riku, but Sora explained that since his boyfriend was part of the ceremony he had to be there way earlier for photographs. "What side are you going to sit on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… generally in weddings the left side of the pews are for friends of the bride, and the right side is for friends of the groom…"

Roxas hadn't thought of it before. He had rarely ever gone to church to begin with and had never even been to a wedding besides Sora and Kairi's. Sora was in the same situation, so he figured it was best to go with him. "I don't know. What side are you sitting on?"

Sora didn't answer and instead pointed to a small white book. "We need to sign our names in the registry." He wrote his name along with a little smiley face and handed the pen over to Roxas. The young man stepped up and glanced at all the names of guests that had come before him. There were a lot of familiar names, and some he didn't recognize. At the top were members of the family, including Naminé's parents. He noticed that there weren't any other Floris' in the registry, and wondered if Marluxia's relationship with his parents was so bad that they wouldn't even bother coming to their son's wedding.

Then there were the signatures from the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Kairi had dotted her i's with little stars and wrote promises of luck and love. Luxord was able to squeeze a couple of sentences in about what a great guy Marluxia was. Xigbar scrawled 'Don't fuck this one up.' Riku had some nice things to say about Naminé, which made Roxas smile. Then he saw Axel's name, and was reminded that the man was in this chapel, somewhere.

"You can see him, if you want," Sora mentioned, noticing Roxas pausing when he saw the redhead's name. "I know where the room is where Marluxia's getting ready. The guys are in there with him…"

Roxas breathed nervously and clutched his chest. "I need to talk to him," he sighed, scribbling a quick signature and glancing down a hallway perpendicular to the sanctuary entrance. "Just point me in the right direction and I'll find it myself."

"It's the very last door on the left," Sora answered, pointing down the hallway. "I'll see you inside." Sora walked into the chapel and left Roxas alone. The blonde steadily made his way down the long hallway, slowing every once in a while to observe a beautiful window of stained glass. Before the last the door on the left, there was a perpendicular hallway that reached down the side of the sanctuary. Roxas heard the sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor and looked up to see Kairi walking out of one of the rooms. She scurried away and disappeared around another corner, not seeing Roxas on the opposite end of the hall.

He found his feet leading him down the stretch towards the room she'd exited. There was even more stained glass that poured fractured color over his skin as he stood before the door. She had left the it open with a small crack, and that was all Roxas needed. He saw Naminé inside, in her wedding gown, looking heart-achingly beautiful.

Actions led their way before thought, and Roxas found himself knocking on the door slightly and inviting himself in. Apparently Naminé was in the room alone, she had asked for a moment by herself before the ceremony started. When she saw him, she gasped softly and her face contorted.

"Roxas," she whimpered, a single tear gliding down her smooth cheek. "I'm so scared." In a heartbeat, Roxas was by her side holding her. He grinned into her hair and softly stroked the long, smooth tresses.

"Naminé," he whispered, "everything I've never told you…" He wanted to add 'while we were together,' but decided against it. Today wasn't about them, it was about her. "You're an amazing artist. Barely twenty-one and you've already got shows in studios. It's amazing. The picture that you painted for me, the guitar, I'm always in awe by it."

She sniffled again, but Roxas could tell she was smiling. He would always be able to tell. "You managed to find an amazing person who loves you – everything about you. He doesn't just help your art, he's helped you become an even better human being." Naminé pulled away to look at Roxas in the eyes. "I know it seems impossible, but I can tell."

It seemed like more waterworks were on the way. He cupped her cheek and wiped a tear before it washed another streak through her makeup. Her voice cracked before she spoke, "…Do you think if- if none of this happened…" He could tell she didn't want to, but her eyes subconsciously flinched down towards her stomach, and she frowned. "…We would still be together?"

"We probably would have," Roxas said with a nod. "But it would have been for all the wrong reasons. You've found someone else, and…" He timidly removed his palm from her face and placed it on his chest. "…I've found someone who I love a whole lot, too."

"You've always been that way," she replied, patting her hand over Roxas'. "A quick thinker and fast doer… I love Marluxia, too," she answered honestly. The nervous tremors were easing and she was having an easier time grounding herself. "Kairi's so happy for me. Even my friends notice the difference. My parents… they're supportive, but I can tell they're upset. They're upset he's not you."

Roxas chuckled and raised his brow. "Marluxia is more of a man than I'll ever be. Just as long as he doesn't one-up you at the ceremony in a prettier dress."

"Oh, Roxas," Naminé laughed. She sniffed and stood to grab a tissue. With a playful smirk, she took a few steps back and struck a supermodel pose. "You know that's not possible."

There came another soft knock at the door, and Roxas and Naminé looked up as her father entered the room. For a brief moment, all he saw was his daughter, his little girl, haloed by the sunlight shining through the window. His gaze was interrupted when he noticed Roxas sitting nearby. He glanced back at Naminé, and noticed his baby had been crying, and needed to know everything was okay.

"I'm ready, daddy," she said, her voice shaking nervously. "Roxas was just saying goodbye." His cue was loud and clear, and Roxas bowed out gracefully to let the father and daughter have a moment. It was so strange, once being such a close part of Naminé's family and now being an outsider. He had a different family, now.

When he left the room, Kairi was standing by the door, makeup bag and a small bottle of eyedrops in hand. She gave him a small smile and wave, whispering over the piano music that hadn't been there earlier. "You better hurry and take a seat. The ceremony's starting soon."

He ran down the hall, turning the corner and making his way to the last room on the left. The door was unlocked, but the room was empty. There was a clothing rack with empty tuxedo bags and hangers strewn across the floor. Freshly emblazoned on the mirror in the room was a heart with 'M+N' scrawled in it in what Roxas hoped was a non-permanent marker. At least Riku's heart was in the right place. He left the room and started running towards the sanctuary entrance, and there he was.

Axel was standing beside one of the bridesmaids. She was trying to readjust his tie that absolutely refused to stay straight, and Roxas could see that he was getting frustrated with all the constant attention. He took in a deep breath and stepped forward.

The poor bridesmaid he was paired with was only trying to help. "If we just untie it and redo it, I'm sure it'll-"

"At this point I'm about to just burn it off…" Axel glanced up when he noticed someone was standing nearby. Roxas. His jaw dropped slightly.

"Do you mind if I try?" Roxas asked the bridesmaid, who he recognized as one of Naminé's old friends. She seemed surprised to see Roxas at the wedding, but backed away to let him go.

Roxas didn't say anything. He glanced up into Axel's eyes, who seemed worried, and smiled gently at him. The punk was wearing his face the way he did at cover shows when he played to a more conservative audience. His lip ring was taken out and his tattoos under his eyes were covered with makeup. He wondered if Marluxia made him because he wanted to make a good impression with Naminé's more conservative family. The tie was a simple fix. He loosened the knot and tightened it at a curve so it lay straight when he let go. He dusted some flakes of dust and dandruff off the shoulders of the black suit.

"You look good," Roxas finally said.

Axel was gnawing on his lip, obviously missing having the stud of his lip ring to bite on when he was anxious. "I'm sorry," he finally said, perhaps a little loudly. He glanced to his side and drew attention to the fact that Luxord, Xigbar, Riku, and Marluxia were all watching them.

"It's good to see you've made up," Marluxia said impatiently. "Rox, the wedding's starting in like two seconds. I'm sorry, but you've gotta take a seat…"

Roxas nodded, reaching down quickly and taking Axel's hand, giving it a hopeful squeeze. "I'll see you at the reception, right?"

Axel's smile was so huge it could possibly fall off his face. "Sure, absolutely!" Even when Roxas screwed up, Axel would always be around. Even when Axel uncorked atom bombs, Roxas wasn't running anywhere. Roxas let go and backed away into the sanctuary. Once be passed through the large oak doors, he felt born again. He wasn't living a lie, and he wasn't living someone else's life. He was living for himself.

He was surprised at the split in the audience. It was almost humorous. He could see Naminé's mother sitting on the front row with a few other women. In the few pews behind her there were two families with children and some couples sitting beside each other.

On the groom's side, it was almost overflowing. People with shaved heads, piercings, tattoos, long colored hair, and they were loud. Roxas smiled as he recognized almost every single one. He noticed Fuu and Hayner sitting near the front, being very comfortable with each other. In the front row, usually reserved for the groom's family, sat Larxene holding their son, and Demyx the faithful uncle keeping him busy with a toy.

Roxas looked back to the bride's side and noticed Sora sitting by himself in the fourth pew from the front. He joined him just as the background music faded and the wedding march began.

oooOOOooo

The reception was going to be held at a garden at the local park that was rented out to the public. Roxas really wanted to talk with Axel after the ceremony, but the man was rushed out the gate right after the bride and groom to head to the park to take photos before it got too busy. With all the people running around chaotically outside, Sora had to grab his brother's shoulder and guide him back to the car.

The space rented out was modestly decorated with folding tables and chairs decorated with soft pink and white decorations. There was a table by the floral entrance gate reserved for wedding gifts. Sora had gotten a tabletop blender that was asked for from the registry, but Roxas decided to go a little more personal. He bought an easel. Naminé never had one when they were living in their old apartment. Even if she already had one, or dozens since her engagement with Marluxia, it was something he knew she could use.

Roxas was surprised how many of Marluxia's friends made it to the reception. There was a small stage set up on the far opposite of the field where Rinoa had already set up with her small house band and was ready to perform. He noticed that Seifer the bodyguard and Squall the sound guy were nearby speaking with her. Beside the stage was the open bar manned by his friends Yuna, Paine, and Rikku, where he found Xigbar already attacking with fervor. Since he was the only person from the wedding party Roxas had seen since he arrived, he approached him first.

"Hey, Xig!" Roxas said happily, pulling the happy guitarist away from his drink.

"Little Strife!" he replied amicably. "I bet I know who you're looking for." The way he spoke, it sounded like he was already drunk. Roxas grinned and cocked his head to the side.

"I'm like an open book."

Xigbar let out a loud cackle, making Roxas wince, and pointed to the tables already lost in a crowd of wedding guests. "Last I saw him he was hanging out with Kairi and Riku."

It would make sense for Axel to be around the rest of the wedding party. He made his way towards the table assigned for the maid of honor and best man alongside the bride and groom, and indeed found Riku and Kairi sitting beside each other talking animatedly with Sora sitting next to Riku listening in, but no Axel.

Riku and Kairi stopped talking when they saw Roxas approach. "Roxas!" Kairi said happily, motioning for him to come over so she could give him a hug. "It's so good to see you out of the apartment…" Roxas sighed and hugged her back. The less he could spend on that topic, the better.

"You're looking for Axel!" Riku shouted happily. "I had to steal him away for a little bit, but believe me, he really wants to see you." Roxas looked down at him questionably, and then did a brief scan of the reception grounds. Xigbar wasn't at the bar anymore, and more mysteriously, Luxord was missing from his seat as well.

"What are you planning?"

Riku smiled snarkily and tapped the side of his nose. "It's a wedding present. Can't spoil the surprise, now can I?" Looking back towards the stage, it was so small and short that there wasn't any place for a green room.

Pulling him away from his seemingly fruitless search for Axel was a commotion from the front gate. Naminé and Marluxia had arrived to their reception, both absolutely glowing with smiles. "She looks so pretty," Kairi cooed.

"The bride and groom have the first dance, right?" Sora asked her, and she nodded in response.

Riku reached out and touched Kairi's shoulder, pulling the girl back so he could whisper in her ear. "Then it's about time we've absconded then, hm?" Kairi smiled wickedly and stumbled to take her heels off. Roxas wanted to make a comment as the odd couple sprinted towards the tall trees and bushes that surrounded the outer limits of the park. He turned to Sora to see if he seemed to care at all, and the older man just sighed and shook his head.

"I have no idea what they're up to. Don't ask."

The newlyweds took their spot in the middle of the area in front of the stage where the grass had been mowed short in preparation for the dancing. Soft music started playing from the stage, Rinoa was accompanied by a man playing a string synthesizer on a keyboard made louder by an amplifier, and another man on drums, neither of whom Roxas had become acquainted with yet, but he knew it would just be a matter of time.

The couple made their way in a slow, lazy waltz across the dance floor to the song Rinoa crooned lovingly. Marluxia was trying dexterously not to step on Naminé's feet. The music rose and then fell off at the end, Rinoa coaxing the audience into a round of applause. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson-Floris!" The entire crowd, at least Marluxia's side, were screaming and cheering like they were at a rock concert. Roxas couldn't imagine what kind of influence Marluxia had on all these people to make them love him so much. Personally, he had him to thank for having a job right now, for Naminé being happy, and importantly having Axel in his life. Possibly. The older man was still out of sight.

Mr. Gibson approached Marluxia and Naminé on the dance floor, and the new husband bowed graciously while Naminé moved over to dance with her father.

Rinoa classed things up with a darling rendition 'The Way You Look Tonight.' Roxas could see it in Mr. Gibson's eyes that these past few months hadn't been easy on him, either. He was still all smiles, and Roxas thought he saw a tear or two. It couldn't have been simple to find out his baby girl was separating with her fiancé, pregnant with her lover's baby, and getting married to a man he hardly knew. Roxas wondered what kind of hoops Marluxia had to jump through to convince him that he was worthy of his daughter.

"Lovely... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it?
'Cause I love you...
Just the way you look tonight."

Rinoa motioned for her band to slowly fade off at the end of the song and the audience applauded. Marluxia approached the father and held out his hand. Mr. Gibson accepted it with a gentle shake and stepped away from his daughter. Naminé kissed her father on the cheek and hugged him before letting herself be taken by the hand by her husband.

Husband. It felt so odd thinking about it that way. Roxas couldn't shake the grin from his face as they started dancing again, this time with more couples making their way onto the stage as Rinoa broke out into a throaty performance of a David Bowie song. About halfway through the song, Naminé whispered into Marluxia's ear, and the man nodded. He led her through the crowds and to the main table where they would be sitting for dinner.

Larxene came over holding their son, Ian. Marluxia picked up the young child and pulled him over to Naminé and showed him her stomach. Roxas watched as Marluxia was explaining to his son that soon he was going to have a little sister. Larxene walked behind Naminé's chair and gave her a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder, whispering something in her ear.

"How are you?" Sora asked Roxas, who had until this point simply been staring.

He blinked and glanced towards his brother. "I'm doing okay, I guess. I wish I knew where Axel was, but I figure he-"

"There he is!" Sora almost punched Roxas in the face as he reached across and pointed towards the stage. Roxas saw the flaming redhead sneaking around onstage, setting up an amplifier and hiding his guitar behind the drum set. The drummer seemed a little distracted by him, but wasn't doing anything to stop him.

"What is he doing?" Roxas almost wanted to whine. In truth, he was just happy to see him.

When the song ended, the audience applauded and Rinoa backed away from the mic to let Axel step forward. He was clapping his hands too, although he was acting a bit sarcastic in his approach. "Congratulations to the newlyweds, huh? Let's give another round for them!"

Roxas glanced towards Marluxia and Naminé. The only look he could use to describe Marluxia's face was unbelievable outrage. Naminé leaned over and whispered, "Did you know about this?" Marluxia shook his head.

"As you all know, our buddy Marly is a pretty busy guy. So busy that we didn't even get a chance to throw him a bachelor party! The least we can do at this point is to give him a really fucking awesome wedding gift," he said with a smile, strapping on his guitar. Luxord walked onstage and shook hands with the other drummer before switching places and taking his seat. When Xigbar walked on, the audience who was aware of 13 Hearts started to clamor and move closer to the front of the dance floor, near the stage. "And of course, we're going to need a few friends to help us out."

Three kids, probably still in high school, marched onto the stage and stood safely in the corner in front of one of the giant boxes that carried equipment. Two were wielding trumpets while the last had a trombone. They all seemed absolutely ecstatic to be there as the crowd applauded and started meandering closer to the stage.

Then Riku walked on stage. In Kairi's bridesmaid dress. Wearing her makeup.

Roxas' jaw dropped and his immediate reaction was to look at his brother, who was barely able to stand as his face turned crimson. "What the fuck?" he mouthed, unbelieving. Riku even had his hair pulled back and was wearing the same swarovski crystal hair barrettes that had decorated Kairi's hair moments earlier. No doubt this was the favor Riku wanted to phone in earlier. The dress was too small for him and was unzipped in the back to make room for his broad shoulders. The entirety of his dragon tattoos were on display, and Roxas had to admit– it was a good look.

The crowd was getting amped. Roxas figured it was only a matter of time before 13 Hearts would crash a wedding. Riku approached the mic as the audience screamed. "Sorry, Mars," he said with a shrug, the same way an older brother would tease his sibling. It wasn't out of hate or spite, it was just something you did.

Luxord raised his drumsticks and started counting a beat. The kids raised their brass instruments and started off the song with a whaling harmony. Marluxia's eyes narrowed as he caught on immediately. He knew that sound. It was one of the tracks off of his favorite album in high school. Riku and Axel teased him relentlessly because of it.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Naminé asked from beside him. She gripped his hand to try and pull his attention away from the set that obviously seemed to rile him.

"They wouldn't," he hissed.

Oh, they would.

The crowd was so stoked that they couldn't stay still anymore. The people in the audience quickly took off their fancy jackets and they tore off their strappy sandals. Riku motioned for the kids to continue playing as he stepped back up to the mic and started singing.

"Started at the age of four,

My mother went to the grocery store!

Went sneaking through her bedroom door…

To find something in a size four!"

Roxas and Sora could probably safely say they had never seen a circle pit at a wedding before. "This is insane!" Roxas had to shout over the noise.

"I love this song!" Sora shouted back. The brothers looked at each other momentarily before shrugging and giving up. Sora hadn't been to a good show since he started worrying about finding a job, and Roxas simply hadn't had time to enjoy himself between school, work, and relationships. They deserved this. Sora tossed his blazer in the air and started running towards the crowd. Roxas took his off apprehensively and placed it on the back of his chair, turning to one of the bridesmaids that was watching the show in complete shock.

"Can you, um, watch this for me?" Roxas asked, patting his hand down on his jacket. The woman broke her attention away from the set to notice Roxas. He recognized her being one of Naminé's friends from her art class. "There's something important and I don't want it getting lost." She nodded and said she'd keep an eye on it, leaving Roxas free to join in on the fun.

"Sugar and spice, and everything nice

Wasn't meant for only girls…

G.I. Joe in panty hose

Making way for the one and only-!"

Meanwhile, Marluxia was trying to hold himself back and ignore the music, but it was difficult to snub something that was so strangely well produced. At the same time he was wondering just how did they manage to pull off such a stunt. Naminé claimed his attention again by giving his hand, which had since been clutching the tablecloth, a light squeeze.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked.

Marluxia looked at her timidly, until he saw the look in her eyes. She was enjoying this, too. Naminé may be a prim and proper girl, but Marluxia knew she had a black streak in her. She wasn't the type to get tattoos and piercings and romp around in a mosh pit, rather the type that gave gentle smiles to the kids with black eyes and let the underdog win every once in awhile.

"King for a day, princess by dawn.

King for a day, in a leather thong!

King for a day, princess by dawn!

Wait till all the guys get a load of me…"

"You've been working really hard getting all of this together," Naminé continued. "The park, the flowers, the reservations… You know all that talk about how the wedding day is her day?" She lowered her voice and looked around mischievously. "It's all bullshit. Go and have some fun for the both of us. I'll still be here when you get back."

Marluxia kissed her before running away. "But leave the jacket!" she cried after him, watching in horror at seeing the thing ripped from her husband's body as he was lifted and carried above the crowd towards the stage. "…It's a rental."

At some point Roxas looked up and Marluxia's foot almost collided with his chin. He lost Sora ages ago and ran into Fuu and Hayner covered in mud. There was so much action going on it was tearing up the park turf.

"My daddy threw me in therapy.

He thinks I'm not a real man!

Who put the drag in the drag queen?

DON'T KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU TRIED IT!"

By now the crowd was singing along, voices hoarse but strong. Roxas looked behind him and saw Naminé and Kairi talking to two police officers near the gate of the reserved area. He didn't even want to think of how many ordinances they were breaking right now.

He felt someone tap on his shoulder and turned to see Demyx. "You want to see him, right?" he shouted loudly, pointing towards the stage. Axel was still performing during a solo from the brass band kids and enjoying every moment of it. Roxas wanted to be up there with him, too. He nodded his head vigorously, knowing he wouldn't be able to shout over the speakers.

Demyx grabbed his arm and pulled him in front, just a few steps closer to the stage, where he collided with Zell and Irvine. "Little Strife!" Zell shouted. "Trying to get closer?" Without even waiting for a response, Zell playfully punched Roxas in the shoulder as Irvine knelt down and folding his hands together like a human stepping stool. "It's easier this way," Zell shouted into his ear. "Trust us!"

Without a second doubt, Roxas put a foot into Irvine's hands and let himself be hoisted up above the crowd. Zell caught him before he fell back down, and the rest of the horde caught on that there was a body above them and started moving him forward. He saw his boss, Cid, giving him a boost. Seifer and Squall helped keep pushing, Seifer perhaps a little stronger than necessary. Al and Gene from the Agraballaz continued, and even Peter from Never Never Wonderland was there to help him out. Will and Jack, owners of The Commons carried him along. There were some people Roxas recognized from the crowds of 13 Hearts shows.

Finally, he was shocked to see his brother crushed right next to the stage. Sora shouted with a large smile, "Go get 'em!" He gave Roxas' feet one final push, just strong enough to make him slide onto the stage. A pair of strong hands wrapped around the blonde's arms and pulled him up. Axel had stopped playing just for him.

"This is amazing!" Roxas screamed, the noise around him so deafening that he couldn't even hear himself. The sound from the monitors drowned out everything except Axel's laughter. Happiness looked good on him, and Roxas wanted to keep that smile there for the rest of his life.

"I love you!"

Roxas kissed him, and just to his surprise there was a chorus of shouts and applause from the audience and even Riku was hollering in their favor. Axel grinned happily into the kiss and wrapped his arms around his back. The guitar started making horrible distorting noises as Roxas' body rubbed against it.

"Okay, okay, enough!" Riku laughed into the mic, and the rest of the band stopped playing. "I think this deserves a love song!"

When love breaks up
When the dawn light wakes up
A new life is born
Somehow I have to make this final breakthru… Now!

I wake up
Feel just fine,
Your face
Fills my mind
I get religion quick
'Cos you're looking divine
Honey you're touching something, you're touchin' me,
I'm under your thumb, under you're spell, can't you see,

If I could only reach you,
If I could make you smile,
If I could only reach you,
That would really be a breakthru - oh yeah.

Breakthru, these barriers of pain,
Breakthru, to the sunshine from the rain,
Make my feelings known towards you
Turn my heart inside and out for you now
Somehow,
I have to make this final breakthru.
Now!

Your smile,
Speaks books to me,
I break up,
With each and every one of your looks at me,
Honey you're starting something deep inside of me,
Honey you're sparking something, this fire in me,
I'm outta control, I wanna rush headlong into this ecstasy

If I could only reach you
If I could make you smile
If I could only reach you
That would really be a breakthru

xxxXXXxxx

The wedding was over. Naminé and Marluxia were shuttled away to their hotel in a nice car after being showered on by rose petals, which Mars insisted on instead of rice. Most of the guests had left, but some lingered dancing slowly to recorded love songs playing from the speakers onstage. It was a sight to see, the few people left behind wearing nice clothes torn to shreds and walking around barefoot.

Roxas and Axel had finally found time to be alone. They snuck away to the rest of the park, walking through the many hidden paths and trails guided by moonlight. A slow late summer chill was sinking in, signaling the start of fall. Soon, it would be one year since Roxas first met Axel. The thought sent a shiver down his spine and he was glad he found his blazer, wearing it closely. In a clearing they noticed a gazebo with a bench where they decided to rest. As Axel sat down, Roxas opted to stand and get a better look at the sky. He never saw this many stars looking out his window at home since he lived in the heart of the city.

"Hey… Roxas," Axel said, breaking the quiet. Roxas turned to him, realizing that Axel had been gazing at him this whole time, and tried to fight his blush.

"Yeah?"

Axel was acting uncharacteristically bashful, turning his head down to the side and glaring a hole into the fenced border. "I just wanted you to know… that I understand what you've been going through."

Roxas tightened his hands on the railing, turning his whole body to face him. This talk was long overdue, and Roxas wanted to give Axel his undivided attention. "Oh?"

The air weighed heavily around them, and put pressure on Axel's chest. Normally it wasn't this difficult to talk, but suddenly his words felt suffocating. But when the punk looked up and saw Roxas staring at him, understanding and open, the words came easily.

"When Riku left us… I felt like it was my fault. I felt completely responsible to the point where I wasn't coping very well. It was affecting my relationships with my old friends and any new ones I made when we first moved to Bastion. I mean… I treated you of all people fucking awful."

Roxas wanted to mention that he kind of deserved it, but this wasn't about him and he didn't want to interrupt Axel.

"I know that everyone has those certain people that come into their lives and, for better or for worse, change them and that influence will always be there. You'll never be able to forget about Naminé, and her voice will be in a lot of your actions from now on, but that doesn't change anything about us. I- I still love you, Rox. And despite everything, regardless of the odds stacked against us, nothing will change that."

Roxas smiled, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes but he refused to allow them to fall. Instead his face pinched into a smile, which made Axel grin broadly, the stars reflecting in his bright green eyes.

"Ever?" he asked, the crack in his voice betraying everything.

Axel held out his hand, feeling his own heart thumping in his ribcage as Roxas took it. The punk pulled him close, Roxas' knees leaning against the bench between Axel's legs, faces close.

"Forever."

Roxas sighed, not caring that his breath probably still smelled like the pink strawberry icing from the wedding cake.

"…There was something I thought about, during… during our break," Roxas said, encouraged when Axel gently grasped his hand. "For the longest time I thought the only way for me to have a future was my life with Naminé. It wasn't until it hit me, that Naminé was going to continue her way forward with someone else, and I felt so lonely."

Axel cringed looked up at Roxas. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that-"

The man had already apologized and Roxas had forgiven him. He calmly spoke over him, "And it's true. She's not my future. I've found a new path now." He squeezed Axel's hand so tight he was worried it would hurt him, but Axel reciprocated the grip strongly. "I also discovered something today. I was looking at Naminé's friends, and her family, and I realized how much of a stranger they are to me now. I wish they weren't, but I have faith in knowing that I have so many new and amazingly talented friends to travel with now."

"Travel with?" Axel chuckled. "Where're you going?"

"I don't know," Roxas answered, relinquishing his grip and needing for something gently. He rested his arms around Axel's neck in a loose hug. "But I'm hoping you'll be there next to me."

"You know I'll always be there for you Rox. No matter what happens, for better or for worse. I'm through running."

Roxas smiled serenely and pressed himself closer. "Do you think I move too fast?" he asked him.

Axel shrugged his shoulders and wrapped his arms around Roxas' waist, burrowing his face into his partner's chest and breathing in the scent of faded cologne and sweat from all the dancing. "The time before doesn't really matter too much to me," he said. "As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy."

The young man grinned and pulled away. "Good, because I think I'm done running, too."

Axel's eyes widened as Roxas knelt down on a bended knee and reached into the inside pocket of his blazer, pulling out a small velvet box.

xxxXXXxxx

Thank you to my friend dude_chann for helping proofread and giving suggestions to expand upon this chapter. I wrote a lot more after her proof, so I take responsibility for any additional errors.

Thank you so, so much for reading. Thank you for putting up with me when I deleted all my fanfics. Thank you for being excited when I decided to repost. Thank you for being patient when "I'll update twice a week" turned into "Sorry for the year-long break between chapters." Thank you for being so accepting of the new content for Ballad. God, just– thanks you guys.

I started this fic when I was 21, and this year I'll be 31. This September will mark the halfway point where I will have lived more time with Kingdom Hearts as a major influence in my life than without. This goofy video game has left such a huge impact on me, and I have made so many lasting friendships online and in real life because of it. This story wouldn't have existed without it and I'm so glad I got to share it with such a receptive audience. Writing a final chapter for something so long and winding was incredibly difficult. I wanted to make sure everyone was featured, that everyone deserving had their moment, and that the proper lessons were learned. I hope it didn't disappoint…

This also marks the last time I'll be used ffdotnet for any of my fic posting. I've moved on to ao3, same "skinnedkneedmisfit" username, and you can also find me on tumblr under the same username as well. I've been working on another Kingdom Hearts fanfic that will make it's debut on ao3, hopefully not too far from now, so please follow me there if you're interested! (I will also eventually repost Ballad there as well).

And, as always, please leave a review. I'd love to hear your final thoughts on Ballad!