Disclaimer: Nope still don't own Kingdom Hearts. Beta still MIA. But yeah I might have a new one. Thank you, god of yaoi.

Roxas reclined in his bed. For the first time he actually felt normal. A small grin came to his face, and it'd be two weeks before he got his next cycle of chemo.

Even his family had clamed down some, now that he'd stopped heaving into a toilet every time they came.

"Oh, hell, NO!" Axel screamed from the other side of the curtains. This prompted some nervous looks from Roxas' family. Roxas shrugged, wondering himself what was up.

"Axel," Dr. Lexaeus' voice boomed above Axel's, "Look it's not that ba-"

"Look, Doc, I'm kind of attached to my leg--"

A woman's voice cut above the din, "Axel, honey, listen to the doctor."

"He wants to cut my freakin' leg off!"

"Axel, with prosthetics many people have done amazing things-"

"Yeah! Kids who've had it longer than their real legs!"

"Is... everything alright with him?" Roxas' mother whispered.

Roxas shrugged. The red-head had... osteo-something or other. They probably couldn't just cut out the tumor. Roxas shuttered at the thought of someone just cutting off his leg.

"Axel!"

"Don't Axel me!"

"Erm... knock, knock?" A nervous voice asked.

"What's up, Demyx?" Roxas replied.

Next to Cloud, Demyx materialized through the curtains. "Ah, do you know what's up with..." He jabbed his thumb over to where Axel's bed would have been. Axel punctuated the blonde's statement with a loud curse.

Roxas shrugged, "Dunno..."

"Roxas... who's your friend?"

Roxas looked up at his father, "Oh... this is Demyx..." Roxas stopped realizing he didn't know Demyx's last name. The older man nodded his eyes lingering on Demyx's hair.

"Um... well I should be getting back to the 'rents." He raised a hand, "Nice meetin' you all..."

"It was nice meeting you too, Demyx." Mrs. Strife smiled politely.

"Yeah, see you!" Sora grinned as well.

This seemed to relax Demyx some. That is until he almost fell face first into Cloud. Demyx muttered a quick apology before scuttling out of the room, an action which caused Cloud to roll his eyes.

"Well, he seemed nice." Mrs. Strife commented.

"Yeah... what was up with his hair?" Sora had to stifle a giggle.

"Um... well..." Roxas toyed with his sheets, "He had a brain biopsy... they had to shave part of his head..."

"So, he gave himself a Mohawk?" Cloud asked, a blonde eyebrow rose.

"Yeah, I guess..." Roxas' answer was drowned out by Axel's screaming.

"I don't care how good his is! I don't want him touching me!"

After the Strife family had cleared out Roxas sneaked over to Demyx's corner of the room. He was surprised to see Zexion was already there.

"Oh, hey!" Demyx smiled. He seemed more relaxed now, "Heh, if you woulda come a few minutes earlier you could have met my family."

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... pity." The teen couldn't help but wonder what Zexion was doing there then. "So... well... do we actually know what's up with Axel?"

"Yeah, by what we figure--er Zex figures-- Axel's tumor is too big to cut out, so they have to lop the whole leg off."

"But..." Roxas paused. "Isn't chemo supposed to shrink tumors?"

Zexion shrugged, "It probably wasn't working fast enough."

Roxas' brow furrowed. Amputation... but no! Only war veterans had amputated limps. Not a teenager... not Axel.

Sensing Roxas' distress, Demyx quickly added, "We heard his surgeon's name. Dr. Saix. He's really good.

"Really..." Roxas eyed him.

Demyx blinked. "He didn't do this." He pointed to his head, "He ain't a neurosurgeon, Rox."

Speaking up quickly, Zexion added, "He cut out a few lymph nodes for me a couple of years back.

"Oh." Roxas thought about the implications of that.

Zexion raised a hand to his face, probably thinking of the best thing to say. "He's a very good surgeon. Axel should be fine."

"Yeah! Yeah! Losta people were operated on by him!" Demyx replied, "I've met 'em, and they're still alive!" Roxas couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his statement.

"He really is a good surgeon." Zexion attempted to cover for Demyx's poorly worded statement, "He does what's best for his patients, even if it mean sacrificing flesh to save the patients life..." Zexion paused realizing he'd made a crucial error.

Roxas glared at him, "You don't get off the ward much, do you?"

"No... I don't..."

"Hey, Axel..." The red-head looked up. Sorrow pierced through his green eyes. "Are you... gonna be ok?" What a dumb question to ask.

"Tch..." Axel laid his head back down on his knees. Roxas noticed him rubbing his right leg.

The blonde cleared his throat again, "I... just wanted to say that I'm sorry about your leg, Axel..."

Axel sighed, "I like my leg, Rox. I've had it all my life."

"Yeah..." Roxas wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that.

"Heh, I guess you heard all about it..."

Roxas shook his head, "Naw, you were yelling too loud."

That brought a little smile to Axel's face, "Doc, didn't know what he was getting himself into." Roxas smiled and moved a little closer to Axel's bed.

"I guess not." He rubbed the back of his leg with his foot, before nervously sitting down on Axel's bed. The red-head didn't seem to mind.

"So..." Axel decided to direct the conversation away from himself, "First day off chemo, huh?"

"Yup." Roxas looked down at his hands, "Nothing like a round of chemo to make you realize how good you felt before."

"Yup." Axel swallowed, "When's the next cycle?"

"Two weeks."

Axel nodded, "I'm having surgery in five days." He sniffed, "Good ol' Lexy managed to push it through some." Roxas sat in silence for a moment before wrapping his arms around Axel.

"I'm sorry..."

"You didn't do anything..."

"But still..."

Axel lifted his head up some, so he could look Roxas in the eye, "Roxy, promise me when all this is said and done you'll shoot some hoops with me." He smiled at his own idea, "Yeah, you an' me verses Dem and Zexion." Roxas smiled weakly, "Aw, come on we'd destroy them."

"I'm too short for basketball." Roxas let his arms drop.

"Hey, Zex is about your size, and I've got a good inch on Dem, two if you don't count his hair." Axel smiled, "We'd crush them."

"Ok... if you say so..." The conversation came to a screeching halt. Axel tucked a red lock of hair behind his ear. Not for the last time Roxas was mesmerized by Axel's eyes. They were the deepest shade of green he had ever seen in his life.

Axel moved forward until Roxas could feel the older red-head's breath on his face. Roxas himself had stopped breathing a long while ago. A small mischievous smile came to Axe's face, as if he was planning what he'd do next.

And then...

The two moved back suddenly remembering themselves. Roxas stood, "I should get going... er back to my side of the curtain..."

"Yeah..."

Within moments Roxas was back in his bed, trying to put out of mind what had almost happened,

It hadn't happened though. That was a consoling though. Roxas settled down in his bed. Nothing had happened. No harm, no foul.

And without the red-head in sight, he was out of Roxas' head. In his mind he began to mentally go through his checklist, a habit that had crossed over from his previous life outside the hospital. He'd gone through one week of chemo. That was good. He wouldn't have to go through another torture cycle for two weeks. That was better. Things appeared to be shaping up for Roxas... except there was that mountain of homework waiting to be done. Roxas shuttered.

Oh noes! Roxy! Axel! Will the two ever finally realize how much they want to nail each other?! And what about Zexion and Demyx! And Axel's legs! How will they fair?! You'll just have to wait for the next installment... oh and review. Review's always make me feel special and make me want to update the story quicker.