Warnings: None for this chapter

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Please enjoy and happy reading!

"Is Seifer out again?"

Roxas looked over to observe his friend who sat beside him on the couch. Hayner was staring down at the chicken Cesar salad Roxas had prepared for him. It was Hayner's weekend off and Roxas expected Seifer to be home yet he had gone out before Roxas had gotten home from work.

"Yup. He hasn't answered any of my texts."

Roxas was curious as Hayner said that. "You sound awfully calm about it." True enough, Hayner spoke with an even tone. He continued to stare at the television as he pierced a piece of grilled chicken with his fork. Roxas had expected a narrowed glare or a tensing of his best friend's jaw. He saw neither of these and in his opinion, Hayner seemed to look completely indifferent. "What's up?"

Hayner's look was a bit questioning. "Why does something need to be up?"

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "I just imagined you'd be, I don't know, upset or mad or something."

Hayner stared down at the salad in his bowl as though contemplating whether he wanted to finish it or not. Roxas waited, seeing unreadable emotions cross through Hayner's eyes. "I'm not freaking out for the reason you just claimed. I don't want to be like some overdramatic girlfriend every time he doesn't answer me. He's got other friends he hangs out with. It's not like he'd suddenly abandon his gang because I'm here." It was so easy to say, yet Hayner just couldn't settle with the thought that Seifer often took the train to the shore to be with the other members of the gang he was a part of. It seemed that more and more often he was gone from the house. Hayner thought he should feel bad yet he'd come to realize that Seifer probably just needed someone to be around since Hayner was either at school for hours during the day or working all night long.

"Well, that's mature of you," Roxas said while standing. "You done?" he then asked and gestured to the bowl in Hayner's hand. Hayner glanced down and collected the last bits of his salad on his fork, shoving the greens in his mouth and handing the fork and bowl over to Roxas.

As Roxas was washing the few dishes in the sink he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He was quick to shut the water off and dry his hands, hastily taking out his phone. He smiled, reading the name of the caller. "I thought you forgot about me today. Not even a text." Roxas said this jokingly yet at the same time, he was filled with a strange mix of happy relief which made him realize he'd really been worried that Axel wouldn't contact him.

The sound of Axel letting out a sigh made Roxas' stomach sink. "Busy deal now, babe. Midterms coming up, it's crunch time and I've got essays due."

Roxas was making his way up the stairs, taking each step slowly. "You knew the upper level classes were going to be tougher." He really didn't know what else to say. He made it to the second floor landing and walked to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and moving to the bed. He settled on his stomach on the mattress, grabbing one of the pillows Axel always used and rested on it. The faint smell of his boyfriend lingered. It was comforting.

There was another sigh. "Look, you know I don't want to miss spending any time with you but I can't leave when I'm swamped with this work."

Axel was supposed to come visit this weekend.

Roxas felt disappointment take over. He stared straight forward at the deep purple wall before him, willing the ill feeling to leave him. His mind understood and wasn't too concerned that Axel had to devote himself to his schooling. Yet his heart protested, filled him with unwanted loneliness. The small laugh he produced was forced. "Your work is more important. There are other weekends." He didn't want Axel to get a lead on his sudden emotional state and quickly added on, "Hayner has this weekend off anyways, so I'll have time to spend with him. He works so much."

Axel wasn't buying into Roxas' words. Bluntly he stated, "You're upset. Rox, you know I'd rather be there. I know I skipped out on last weekend too but I never expected to have to deal with so much work, I'm sorry." The problem was that the last thing Axel ever wanted to do was upset Roxas. Roxas felt the same way towards Axel and the dilemma, Roxas found, was that him denying his disappointment was only making Axel upset. It was like a double edged sword and he was holding the hilt which was undoubtedly poisoned.

It was Roxas' turn to sigh and the smile that whisked across his face wasn't in any way forced. "We're both upset," he conceded. "But this is how it is. Look, I want you to focus on your school work and do well. I'll do the same. We'll try for a weekend when we know with absolute certainty that we're free. Maybe after your tests. I think we can survive that long."

"Guess you're right."

"'Course I'm right. So what class is your paper for?"

Roxas heard the sounds of papers rustling, the sound of a chair moving. "Perception and sensory psych. Babe, we're going out for dinner. I'll text you later, okay? Before bed?"

A big part of Roxas wanted to raise protest but the idea didn't come close to being carried out. He'd get a call from Axel again tomorrow, so there really wasn't a reason to feel so overly needy and clingy. He hated this feeling, this weakness and he was determined to leave it behind. "That's fine. Have a nice dinner." It enraged him how his voice sounded hurt when there was no reason to actually feel hurt.

Axel seemed to have been hesitating; he took a moment to answer. "Alright. I love you."

Roxas found himself nodding his head to those words, believing them with no second thoughts. "Love you too."

It was spooky, Hayner thought, how mere seconds after Roxas shut the door to his bedroom the front door opened. He was a little surprised, watching Seifer walk in through the door; he hadn't even heard the car roll into the driveway.

Still sitting on the couch, he didn't move or make any comment to signal he took notice to Seifer's arrival. He gave the television unusual devotion which showed on his face. He was surfing the channels, looking for some familiar sitcom or perhaps a movie but finding none to be available. He continued to search, ardently keeping his focus on the TV. He absolutely refused to give Seifer his attention, hoping that for tonight they could go their separate ways. He heard the refrigerator being opened and was glad that Seifer had forgone him and went straight for food.

Hayner knew all too well that if Seifer approached he'd be able to say the perfect words that would tweak at Hayner's suppressed temper. He didn't want to have an argument boil between them, truly, so complete avoidance seemed the best option. He was ticked off that Seifer had up and left for the day doing who knows what. It was Hayner's day at home and he didn't have to go into work and they could have spent time together because that was an obstacle as of late.

He was suddenly disgruntled when Seifer sat beside him on the couch, his fall intentionally clumsy and jostling Hayner to the side. The younger's jaw tensed slightly but he kept his eyes trained on the TV.

"Honey, I'm home."

Hayner was moved by the falsely cute words. He looked to Seifer, finding blue-green eyes staring back, one golden eyebrow raised. Hayner took in the expression and the cold beer in Seifer's hand and returned to the TV.

"The fuck is your problem? Is it 'cause I never answered your texts?"

'No shit,' was sitting on the top of Hayner's tongue, begging to be released but he swallowed, not allowing his temper to flare though it was creeping up and up. "I'm fine. Tired." A blatant lie and someone like Seifer would look right through it.

"Bullshit."

Naturally.

Seifer took a long drink from the beer bottle and leaned back into the couch, draping his arms across the back. "I could have stayed overnight, you know. I came back home, I knew you would be here tonight."

His wolfish grin was so telling and Hayner's stomach boiled angrily. "You came home for sex, not me. I'm not some fuck toy."

Seifer's grin seemed to widen. "Perceptive," he said. To most, his words would sound joking but Hayner heard no such thing.

"Fuck off," he spat and stood from the couch. He threw the TV remote down at the cushion, satisfied that the item bounced from force.

He was about to storm away, exuding his anger at his boyfriend's arrogance but Seifer's voice stopped him, "What are you so pissy about? You're acting like some bitchy housewife."

The words seemed to make Hayner freeze and he even felt a sharp, cold tingle sizzle along his spine. He closed his eyes, biting his lip out of annoyance both with Seifer and himself. Well fuck it, he thought, he had been trying to avoid exactly what Seifer just said. He was hoping to remain silent and not come across as a bratty, jealous lover. "You reek of booze and weed. You only came home to sleep with me. Are you saying I shouldn't be upset?"

Seifer let out a long sigh, like Hayner's attitude was a waste of his time. Hayner's fists clenched tightly and he kept his back to Seifer. "Look, brat, sometimes I need to go out to get some things done. You know a bit of what goes on over on the other side of town. You have a job, and I have a job, and we both do them."

"Fucking hell!" Hayner exploded. "What kind of fucked up job can you really be doing if you're just coming home drunk and stoned? What can you really be fucking getting out of going over there every day?"

He didn't expect anything, really. No words, nothing. But Seifer stood quickly from the couch, dowsing Hayner's belief that he was drunk because no drunken man could move with such balance. He didn't have time to move when the arm grabbed his shirt and suddenly he was flying before falling onto his back on the couch. His eyes had instinctively closed and when he opened them, Seifer was right above him, knees on either side of his hips. That wolfish grin was back.

As though this were an everyday occurrence, Seifer casually set his beer bottle on the coffee table before placing each hand on either side of Hayner's head. He leered down, some odd fire burning in his eyes and Hayner couldn't figure out how to read it. He wasn't going to give in, he though adamantly. There was no way Seifer was going to draw any kind of pleasure from him tonight.

"I work for what I have. Not a job, eh?" In a matter of seconds a wad of hundred dollar bills was hanging in front of Hayner's face. His brown eyes studied the bills, suspicions solidifying and unwanted truths coming forth. He'd had his suspicions but he never thought, hoped, they'd be proven true.

He felt hurt and betrayed in that moment and question after question circled through his head. He had no fight left in him, at least not tonight, and he sat up, pushing Seifer off him. Seifer didn't show any resistance and let Hayner move from the couch. He studied the younger's face, could read the emotions which caused his own to dampen slightly. Still, he had no regrets.

"I'm sleeping in the guest room," Hayner mumbled. He was quick to move away and ascend the stairs. He didn't bother stopping in his room for a change of clothes and moved right to the guest room, letting the door shut quietly behind him.

He was in a car, for some reason, and all around were deep hills slanting upwards, indicating he was in a valley of some sort. The ride was short and meaningless and the car stopped. He looked ahead, finding no one sitting in the driver's seat.

Stepping out of the car, he found himself in some courtyard. There was a weaving stone walkway, a central circle surrounded by what looked to be temples all around. Gravestones lined the entire area and stretched far beyond. Turning around, he noticed the car was gone and nothing but more gravestones, weather worn and weary, stood behind him.

Blinking a bit, he looked down, finding himself in a suit, one very familiar. He had put this suit away immediately after the funeral and refused to look at it again. He was wearing it. And before him were people, all lined up along the curving stone path, hundreds of people all dressed in depressing grays and black, all with their heads bowed straight down at their feet.

"You missed it," someone said and to his right, Sora appeared, dressed similarly. His pretty blues eyes were terribly hard, ungiving of the emotion Sora was feeling. "You missed mom and dad's funeral. It's all over. They're gone. You can't see them."

"What's going on?" he asked. Sora looked at him, glared even and turned away.

"I can't stay with you. I have to go." Sora turned, walking away to the expanse to gravestones. Riku stood amongst the graves and took Sora's hand when he caught up, the two of them walking out into the oblivion. He tried to yell to them, ask them what was happening, but he found he had no voice.

"It's so sad," someone else said. He turned and before him were his friends, Olette and Pence and Hayner and they all so sad, so terribly sad and he couldn't understand.

"Who are these people? Who are they here for?" he asked. His friends turned to him, startled as though he himself were a ghost.

"You haven't heard?" Hayner asked, looking rather taken back. Olette let out a small gasp.

"Oh, Roxas, I'm so sorry."

They weren't making any sense and he felt scared all of a sudden. He knew his parents were gone, but something felt off and he just couldn't understand.

The skies opened, the rain trickled down. Dark clouds spun in the sky.

"Axel," Pence said so painfully casually like this was old news the entire town knew of, "he was killed in an accident last week."

It was hard to tell what emotion came first or which emotion was which. "What?" he gasped out, completely dumbfounded and suddenly feeling like he'd been comatose for the past months. How could he not know something like this happened? "These people…"

"The funeral is done. Everyone is leaving. You missed it."

He felt the tears peaking over the hills of his cheeks and spilling over. He found his legs moving though he didn't know where to. Axel was in one of those temples, he knew that, and he had to see him, he just had to. He pushed pass the immobile people who never looked up to see him. He continued on, pushing through the crowd but it never seemed to thin and no matter how hard he fought against the people he just couldn't seem to ever reach any of the temples, never coming close and finding himself moving further and further away from his friends.

It was sudden, how his brain ripped him from the dream and dropped him into reality. Roxas felt his body jerk and he lay in his bed, staring at the darkness surrounding. Right away he felt the wetness on his cheeks and another tear leaked from his eye. He touched the fresh drop, almost shocked to find that he had started crying in his sleep.

His heart was pounding and he felt anxious. He stretched a hand out before him, barely able to make out the trembling limb before his face. His entire body was shaking, in fact and he wiped his eyes which didn't seem to want to stop watering. In a panic his eyes swirled around the room, unsure what to do and feeling that if he moved this familiar reality would crumble around him. Obviously everything had been a dream but it had been a long time since he'd had a dream that invoked tears.

He'd been having dreams lately, never good. They were sparse over the past weeks and seemed to always involve his parents in some way. His heart weighed heavy with grief that he never allowed himself to feel. It was true, he hadn't allowed himself to really grieve over his parents deaths but he felt that there was too much to do to allow himself to stay stuck in the past accident. He hadn't gone to their grave since the one year anniversary at the end of this past summer and even then he hadn't wanted to go. It seemed that if he allowed himself to really cry and reflect over what happened and the meaning of no longer having his parents, he'd be stuck there and unable to move on with himself. So he kept it in, tried to move on and not allow it to bother him.

Awake in this dark room, in the large bed Roxas felt the loneliness creep upon him. He sunk down, curling into the blankets and wishing for Axel to hold him tight. He was panicked by the dreams, despite being sure that Axel was fine. His heart battled his brain, wanting to call or text Axel while his brain argued it would be a pointless waste and rude to wake Axel over something so silly.

Roxas reached to the nightstand and picked up his phone. He simply held the device to his chest, knowing that he wouldn't disturb Axel's sleep over something so trivial. He scolded himself for allowing his need to take over and resolved to find some way to prevent dreams like these from happening again. Maybe he wasn't working hard enough, devoting his attention to his studies or work. If he didn't allow his brain to ponder his feelings he shouldn't have a problem.

Keeping his phone clasped tightly in his hands, Roxas settled in hopes of catching a few more hours of sleep. He was glad tomorrow was Sunday and that he wouldn't have to go in to work or school. He could sleep all day, because it seemed that his heart wouldn't let him sleep the rest of the night.

Roxas' dream is actually based off a very similar dream I had about my ex. It was horrible and I did indeed wake up crying. I feel Roxie's pain.

Sorry it's shorter than before, but it's much easier for me to write. Reviews are appreciated!