[2]

It had been two weeks since that fateful morning when Sora's world had gone spiraling down.

A few more phone calls to Marluxia had yielded absolutely nothing, and Sora finally realized it truly was the end. He still cried sometimes at night, and the hurt felt as fresh as ever, but he was learning to cope. The taciturn Leon had taken pity on him and invited him over for dinner a few nights; admittedly, the slightly older man didn't say much, but the company was at least a welcome relief from the lonely apartment.

The spontaneous job at the bakery had also fared much better than Sora could have hoped. He learned that his boss was named Axel, and his personality easily matched his wild appearance.

Sora was at work that day, carefully arranging pastries in the front case, when the front door banged open and a short, angry blonde came huffing into the bakery. Sora looked up in shock, and was even more surprised when his met with an identical pair of dark blue eyes.

"Sora," his brother growled in way of greeting.

Oh no. Having spent his whole life with the short-tempered Roxas, Sora knew all the signs of an angry twin. And an angry Roxas was a scary Roxas. Of course he wondered what his brother was doing here, and how on earth he'd found him, but there were clearly more pressing matters to deal with first. Namely the rage boiling off of Roxas.

"First, you randomly announce you're moving off to Twilight Town to be with Marluxia. And then you don't even bother to tell me what that asshat did to you? Where is he?! I'll kill the bastard! I'll show him-"

"Hey! No screaming in the shop!" Axel called loudly as he walked in the front door just behind Roxas, barely-there eyebrows pulling together in a frown and his arms clutching a large box of supplies he'd just gone to pick up. Clearly he was the only one allowed to shout.

"Who are you? You look stupid," Roxas snapped - when in one of his anger-clouded hazes, he didn't always differentiate between the person he was actually mad at and the people who just got in his way.

Sora quickly opened his mouth, "Roxas, that's my-"

"Oho, I look stupid? Take a look at yourself, kidlet."

"Rox, this is-"

"Who the hell are you calling 'kidlet'? I'm a grown-ass man, you asshole."

Axel stared intensely down at the short blonde before his face suddenly broke out in a grin. "You're a feisty one, aren'tcha? I like you," he decided happily, then turning and carrying the box off into the backroom.

Sora half laughed, half sobbed as he ran a hand through his spikey hair. "That's, uh, my boss."

His anger momentarily diffused by confusion, Roxas only managed a profound, "Oh."

"I really wish you'd called me."

Tame now, Roxas munched on a chocolate croissant as he stared across the table at his twin. Perhaps he had realized his rage would get him nowhere, or maybe it was just the chocolate.

He and Sora had always been there for each other, and he was honestly hurt that Sora hadn't called him when things went bad with Marluxia. Rather, he'd found out from overhearing a couple of the pink-haired asshole's old friends talking about it back home on the island. As soon as he realized what had happened, of course, he stampeded off to Twilight Town without a moment's hesitation to find Sora. And when he wasn't at his apartment, his neighbor told Roxas where he could find him, and shortly thereafter Hurricane Roxas had come storming into the bakery.

"I know, I'm sorry," Sora apologized meekly. "I just wasn't ready to talk about it. Being new here, no one really knows me, so I haven't had to talk about it. I'm just trying to get myself on solid ground again. But really, thanks for coming out, Rox. It means a lot to me." He smiled softly.

Before their conversation could go any further, however, the moment was ruined when a certain redhead dropped into a chair at the same table. "So, Roxas, huh? Sora didn't mention he had a brother," he observed with one of his cat-like grins, emphasizing the name.

The blonde jabbed a finger at an elderly couple standing at the counter. "Shouldn't you be waiting on your customers?" he asked derisively, eager for the other man to be gone again.

Axel raised his eyebrows, noting the cutting tone in Roxas' voice, but hardly seeming bothered by it. "Well then." Nonetheless, he stood and sauntered over to the counter, greeting the couple with a charming smile and hurrying to fulfill their order.

Roxas watched him walk away for a second, a frown set solidly on his lips.

Sora laughed. "He grows on you, promise. Axel's a good guy, even if his personality comes off a little strong," he explained. His brother, meanwhile, responded simply by rolling his eyes and returned to eating his pastry.

"How long are you staying, anyway?" Sora then asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah, about that. I figured since I'm a programmer and can work from just about anywhere, I'd move out here with you. I saw you had an extra bedroom in your apartment, so I already dropped my stuff off in there."

Sora opened and closed his mouth a few times, stunned by Roxas' terribly casual way of informing that he'd just moved himself in. He had plenty of questions for his brother, but the first that came out was, "How...did you get into my apartment?"

"The door was unlocked."

"I lock my door every morning."

"Well, underneath the doormat is a really stupid place to keep your spare key."

A week after Roxas arrived, they had fallen into something of a routine. Roxas worked out of the apartment, but stopped by the bakery for Sora's break every day. Axel also delighted in taking that daily opportunity to both heckle and hit on the blonde, which so far had earned him several glares, a smack upside the head, and a cupcake to the face.

The days were all very similar, but they were nice, contenting days, and that was exactly what Sora needed. So, of course, it was a bit of an upset to the regular routine when a tall blonde walked into the shop one day, a giant and undoubtedly heavy sword swung casually over his back. A pair of biker glasses covered his eyes, but his gravity-defying, pale yellow spikes drew enough attention on their own.

Sora gaped from where he sat at a table eating his lunch with Roxas, mouth hanging open and letting his last bite of sandwich fall back out. Classy. Was this some psycho, come to kill them?

Axel, however, started laughing loudly from his place behind the counter and dismissed Sora's deer-in-headlights expression. "Don't worry, that's just my roommate, Cloud. Seriously, man, you shouldn't just walk around with that thing."

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't broken it. I've been going around the city all day, trying to find someone who can fix it," the man, apparently Axel's roommate growled lowly. "I swear, Axel, if I can't get it fixed, you're dead."

Axel frowned. "It's not even noticeable," he insisted. At his words, they both looked at the sword, which had scorch marks all over the blade and what Cloud suspected was food dye on the hilt. Honestly, he didn't even want to know what Axel had been doing back at the apartment that had messed it up.

"Yes. Just like new," the blonde monotoned, turning his glare back on Axel.

"Aw, c'mon, Cloud. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

Not meaning to eavesdrop, but not really trying not to, either, Sora perked up when he heard the conversation. "I know someone who can help!" he offered cheerfully. "My neighbor, who lives across the hall from me. He mentioned once that he owns a weapons shop. His name's Leon. I'm sure he could fix your sword."

"Oh, yeah?" Cloud asked, his deep voice calm yet melancholic as he turned to look at this boy he didn't know. With a quick once-over, he took note of the apron and bakery t-shirt the brown-haired boy was wearing. Ah, Axel's new lackey. Er, employee, that was. "Thanks. Where's his shop?"

Sora stared blankly, blinking owlishly. "Uh..."

"You never asked, did you?" Roxas pointed out dryly.

But Sora promptly recovered. "That's okay," he quickly said, waving his hands dismissively. "You should just bring it over to the apartment, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Axel closed his eyes and began nodding, as if this had been the obvious course of action from the start. "Yes, of course. We'll have a get-together at your place tonight," he announced, still nodding stupidly. "You can take Cloudy here to get his sword fixed, and Roxas and I can-"

"Who the hell are you?" Roxas snarled. "Don't just invite yourself to other people's homes. There's no way you're coming over. "

Sora laughed sheepishly. "Well, Rox, since you're going back to the apartment now anyway, why don't you just take Cloud with you? It's a short walk. And it's Saturday, so Leon will probably be home."

Roxas didn't look thrilled by the idea, but it was at least preferable to having Sora's crazy boss over. So, after a long moment of thought, he acquiesced with a nod. He stood, said goodbye to Sora, and waved for Cloud to follow after him. As they walked down the sidewalk, he couldn't keep himself from asking, "How do you live with that guy?"

It took Cloud a moment, but he realized "that guy" meant Axel. "He's not so bad," he said with a smirk, giving a nonchalant shrug. "He grows on you, I guess."

Roxas snorted - Sora had said the same thing. He knew what that meant: saying "he grows on you" was the polite equivalent of "he's a total idiot, but you just kind of get used to it." Then again, now that he considered it, maybe the obnoxious redhead and this Cloud were perfect roommates. They'd made it about a block, and all along Cloud had been walking totally casually with the sword on his back, completely oblivious to the many stares he received. Roxas huffed to himself, wondering why Sora could never find normal people to get chummy with.

When they made it back to the apartment (Roxas quickly rushed Cloud by the concierge in the lobby, hoping to draw as little attention as possible), Roxas pointed Cloud toward Leon's door. "Well, there you go. That's where he lives. Er, good luck...or whatever." He paused awkwardly for a moment, thought about saying something more, but ultimately decided to just disappear into the apartment he shared with Sora without another word.

Focused on one thing and one thing only, Cloud didn't seem bothered by Roxas' disappearance. He knocked loudly on the apartment door, only suddenly wondering if this was okay. It was honestly probably very weird to be showing up at some stranger's home, giant sword in tow, and ask if it would be restored. Ah...but it was too late now, anyway, since the door was already opening.

Truth be told, Leon had been a little confused when he heard the knock at his door. He kept to himself, just the way he wanted it to be, and so didn't get visitors often. Perplexed, though hiding it well behind his typical mask of stoicism, he stood up from the couch and walked to the door. Swinging it open, he was met with the very last sight in the world he expected to see. "...Cloud?" he asked, unable to keep the sound of pure and utter confusion out of his normally deep, rough voice.

Soo, opinions, anyone? Continue? Don't bother? xD