Thank you all for the reviews! I lost my flash drive, hence the lateness ^^' Sorry about that!

Warnings: None

Please enjoy and happy reading!

Roxas spent the following day out in town by himself. Something was going on with Hayner and Seifer and finding the two of them battling it out, Roxas decided that he would go out on his own and give the two the time to sort things out or whatever it was they needed to do. He had the faint belief that the two would end up solving the problem their usual way which was with sex, and he didn't want to be in the house when the happened.

It was Saturday so the shops around town were filled with busy shoppers. It was mid-morning and Roxas had poked around the stores, surprising himself with actually purchasing a new hoodie and jeans as well as a new book. He didn't have too much money to spare and he decided to stay out of the shops before more of his money was spent. He did allow himself to stop at Hotto Keiki to grab a sweet pastry and some tea and perhaps sit and read on one of the couches in the café.

He hadn't paid much attention to the other customers in the shop. After escaping Yuffie, who insisted on chattering the entire time she fulfilled his order, Roxas settled onto one of the squishy couches that was thankfully unoccupied. It was as he was settling in, setting his newly purchased items on the floor next to his feet and placing his chai tea on the coffee table before him, that he heard his name being called. The person drew out his name as though they'd been calling for him for ages.

Roxas, startled, looked up and saw, at a table to his right, Zack Fair lounging back in his chair. He had his apron on, as he was working that day, and it didn't come as much of a surprise that he was skipping out on his duties and letting them fall on poor Yuffie. Roxas would have rolled his eyes, not exactly wanting to deal with Zack's chatter on top of what he had already endured from Yuffie. It was who were sitting with Zack that made Roxas' heart thump just a bit and an unwanted rosy color to come across his cheeks. Seeing Mr. Leonhart and Mr. Strife sitting so casually in the café, drinking their coffee and lightly chatting with each other was surprising at first until the reality that they were normal people dawned.

Roxas' cell phone was ringing in his pocket then, and he gratefully accepted the distraction. He took out his phone, answering without even glancing at the name, "Hello?"

"Baby? You sound off."

True enough, he had answered the phone with a dry throat and a bit of a squeak. He averted his eyes from his professors but saw movement in his peripheral vision. He hastily took a sip from his tea, which hadn't yet cooled, and effectively burned his tongue. "Sorry, hot tea. I'm in town right now," he explained. The movement in his peripheral hadn't, as he had so desperately hoped, been a figment of his imagination. There was a thump beside him and Zack's arm curling around his shoulders. Too alarmed to keep his focus, Zack was easily able to snatch Roxas' phone right from his hand.

"Perhaps I'm completely wrong, but this couldn't be my favorite ex-work buddy, could it?"

Roxas didn't even fight for his phone, knowing full and well that Zack could easily out do him in strength and height. Settling for mentally calling the man names, he reached down into his bag of new goodies and pulled out the book he'd gotten. It was a lost hope, he mused, thinking that simply reading or at least trying to read would distract himself long enough until Zack got bored with conversing with Axel. But it was only seconds after he turned the stiff cover of his book and got a small taste of that new book smell that someone else was demanding his attention.

"Good book. First time reading it?"

Roxas was getting fearful that his heart would give out if he was startled anymore during the day. Glancing up, he found Cloud Strife, TTCC English professor sitting in the couch directly across from his own. His brain seemed to die momentarily and he couldn't contemplate why. He'd talked with Mr. Strife before and after class, but these conversations mainly revolved around school and his own work. He had to look down at his own book to remember just what he had picked up in the bookstore: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Words failed him and he felt like kicking himself for being so unnaturally nervous. "Uh, no, I haven't read it before." Cloud Strife wasn't exactly anything to be intimidated by. Sure, Roxas knew he could don a pretty fierce scowl and his passion for some of the literature they discussed could be intense, but his soft voice and effeminate looks didn't really amp up his intimidation factor. Had it been Mr. Leonhart that sat across from him, then the story would be entirely different as Squall Leonhart had those icy eyes and stoic demeanor.

Cloud seemed to pick up on Roxas' sudden nervousness and he leaned back into the couch, trying to appear as casual as he could. "I'm actually glad I ran into you, Roxas. I'm hoping to use some of my current student's essays as examples for a new class that the college might add. It's an advanced writing course, so I've been looking through my student's work to see whose I could use as example pieces. I'd love to use some of your essays, especially your creative writing pieces."

Now this was an unexpected turn of events. First off, Roxas was feeling rather flattered and elated that his professor was interested in his work, so much so that it would be a reference for future students. But he couldn't dwell on these good feelings for long, as Zack's voice drifted over. "Of course little Roxie is being taken care of. You've been holding out man, never telling me of the delicious sounds he makes, especially when you lick right there." Zack turned to Roxas, the arm around the blonde's shoulder giving him a small shake, and winked. He pulled the phone away from his ear, grinning like an Olympic victor.

"Someone's mad," he laughed and handed the phone over to Roxas. Faint curses could be heard coming from speaker.

"Ax, he's joking, you know this," Roxas soothed when the phone was back against his ear. He threw a glare to Zack and was oddly pleased to see Mr. Strife do the same. Zack went on a childish defense to his best friend.

"Imma kill him," Axel threatened and Roxas was surprised to hear a genuinely ticked off tone with Axel's words. It wasn't as if this was the first time someone played around. Marluxia was the ever loving flirt, after all.

Roxas kept his focus from the argument that was spilling from the other two in the area. Mr. Leonhart approached, glancing between the two with a roll of the eyes. "Cool it. He didn't do anything and you know it. Zack likes to tease. Anyways, how's your morning been?"

Axel gave a long yawn. "It's too early, but I couldn't sleep. Some bad dreams, I was up for half the night and the other half was spent working on my paper. What're you doing in town?"

Roxas' stomach turned after hearing Axel was having bad dreams as well. He hoped they weren't anything like his own. The feelings of wanting to be with Axel as comfort swelled and made his heart ache. He missed him so much. "I figured I'd spend a day alone and went out browsing through stores. Hayner and Seifer aren't getting along, so I figured they needed time alone to sort things out and make up."

"Ah, you didn't want to be around when they started fucking."

Roxas bit down on the cringe that nearly made its way onto his face from Axel's crude yet true choice of words. "Basically. Why don't you try to sleep some more? It's only ten in the morning on a Saturday. It's very un-Axel-like for you to be awake right now." It seemed that Zack and Cloud cooled their argument. Roxas didn't notice her approach, as she came behind them, but Yuffie had apparently come to grab Zack. She smacked him across the back of his head.

"I am pretty sleepy and my bed is comfortable right now. Call me later, okay? I'll let you go back to enjoying your chai tea, two sugar packets and a splash of caramel macchiato creamer."

Roxas smiled. "You know me so well. Sleep tight. Love you."

"Love you too, baby. Later."

When Roxas hung up, he found a pair of stormy gray-blue eyes pointed towards him. That intense look was what was supposed to make him nervous and he hastily turned his eyes down. "Cloud, you know better than to distract this slacker from work. He's like some kid with ADHD at a light show." She marched away and Zack admitted defeat. "I'll be off then. See you tomorrow, Rox. We're on schedule together."

As Zack stood and left, the two across from Roxas moved as well. "I think we've bothered you for long enough," Cloud spoke. Mr. Leonhart stood first. "Enjoy that book and let me know about that thing we talked about. You should think about joining the class in the spring." Mr. Strife's smile was encouraging and unlike any that Roxas had seen in class.

The two left, Cloud giving Zack a last wave as they approached the door. Roxas watched them, noticing the lack of space between the two English Professor's bodies and how, very subtly, their fingers would sometimes brush.

Everything seemed to be peaceful when Roxas arrived home in the afternoon. He'd noticed a missing car from the driveway while he pulled up in the Mercedes-Benz Sedan that he had very reluctantly temporarily borrowed due to Mariana's insistence. He argued with himself that it was far better than the bright red Ferrari.

Walking into the house, he found it oddly quiet and grew a bit concerned. The entire downstairs was empty and nothing but the hum of the heater running could be heard. Curious, he set to the stairs and ascended, first dropping his new purchases off in his bedroom then venturing down to the door two away from his own. He knocked first, listening for a second before speaking, "Hayner?" and turned the doorknob. The door opened soundlessly.

It was a cloudy, fall day that would have offered little light to come through the balcony doors had the curtains not been closed. The room was shrouded in darkness but there was the unmistakable form of his best friend sitting on the bed. Roxas stepped through the threshold and approached Hayner was sitting on the edge of the bed, face down and his hands resting on his lap. Concerned with the lack of movement, Roxas sat beside Hayner, asking, "What happened?"

Seifer's car hadn't been in the garage or the driveway.

Hayner took in a shaky breath, one Roxas hadn't heard in quite a while. He remembered hearing it at least once when they were kids and Hayner had gotten hurt from a fall or whatnot. He hadn't heard it in years and never expected such a breath to fall from his friend's lips. Roxas reached a hand out, placing it over Hayner's thigh in a show of comfort and a motivator for him to talk. Eventually Hayner moved, sitting up a bit and splaying out an item across his hands.

The room really was dark and Roxas leaned in a bit to get a better look at what looked to be a small baggie. It looked empty at first, until his eyes adjusted and he was able to make out a small object, something round and white. It was a rock and at first he didn't comprehend what it meant.

"I knew he dabbled in smoking weed," Hayner confessed though it wasn't a mystery to Roxas anyways. He'd been able to smell it for a while now. "This is…I don't know what this means."

It clicked, after a long while of Roxas staring at the baggie. He felt a bit stupid for having not recognized the small rock was a bit of crack cocaine. "Where did you find it?" he asked as calmly as he could. His heart hammered in his chest suddenly, surely synchronizing with Hayner's own erratically beating heart. He had that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and when he looked up at Hayner, he saw how his friend's eyes were wet. Hayner never cried.

"He left an hour ago," Hayner spoke. He sounded oddly displaced, the usual fire in his tone erased and replaced with a mellowness that simply didn't belong. His hands clenched, fisting around the object in his hand. The bag crinkled and Hayner went on, "I can't even remember what we were initially arguing about. I know he had planned to leave today and I probably whined about wanting him home since I'm off. One of his buddies called, said something and then he just told me he was leaving. He changed his clothes and left, just like that."

Finding that Hayner's lip was trembling, Roxas was really alerted that it was completely possibly he might actually cry. He scooted closer, never believing he'd end up in such a situation, and brought his arms around Hayner's waist. "Where did you find it?" he asked again.

Hayner's answer was plain, lacking feeling, "I started doing the laundry, thinking it'd be a distraction." Roxas needed no further explanation. He rested his chin on Hayner's shoulder. It was hard to think that one of his oldest friends could be dealing with something like this. He felt betrayed, in a sense, and there was also an anger that sizzled within him. How in the world could Seifer involve himself in something like this? How could he lie to Hayner like he had? Roxas knew that Seifer had supposedly promised Hayner that he'd try to clean up his act, start to remove himself from the gang life across town but this proved that no true efforts were being made.

"You think he uses?" Roxas asked. He couldn't help that it escaped from his mouth and he almost felt sorry for saying it, wondering if Hayner had been thinking that. There was no telling what was going through his friend's mind. Hayner wouldn't look at him.

"I don't know."

There wasn't anything that could be done at the moment. Roxas was sure that Hayner would never call or text Seifer over this, nor would he appreciate Roxas getting involved. Hayner was a face-to-face person when it came to conflict. They'd have to wait until Seifer got home to resolve what was actually going on and there was no telling when Seifer would even get back home. He had a habit, Roxas knew, of not showing up multiple nights in a row. He often stayed out when Hayner had to work consecutive nights.

"Let's not think the worse. There might be some explanation. Can we give him the benefit of the doubt right now?"

Hayner was unresponsive. He took in another shaky breath before leaning over, the baggie falling to the floor with a soft hit, and rubbed at his eyes with his palms. Roxas sat up and tugged on Hayner's arm. "C'mon, let's go to my room and lay down. It'll be easier to talk in there, maybe, where his presence doesn't linger." Roxas hoped a different environment, free from Seifer's personal belongings, his smell, his memory, would be better. Hayner stood and walked out before Roxas. They both entered the room and Roxas moved the bedcovers so he could slip beneath them. Hayner mimicked his actions and they both lay in bed, closely tucked in together like when they were kids during cold winters. "Tell me what's been going on," Roxas insisted.

Their knees touched beneath the covers. "He seems to care more about being with them than here. I don't mean to sound like a brat, but I want him to be here with me. And I can't help but be concerned with what's happening over there." Hayner turned his brown eyes to Roxas, settling onto his side so he was facing his friend. "I was there last year. It didn't seem all that bad of a place; I never expected anything like this to come of it."

Roxas turned, facing Hayner. "Yeah, but wasn't Seifer getting shot at when you found him?" He put an emphasis on the fact that a gun had been present, trying to get reality to sink in that that place had never been safe and was potentially worse than "not all that bad." He couldn't allow Hayner to think that throwing caution to the wind was okay in this circumstance though he doubted he would. Roxas recalled seeing Seifer around with Hayner quite often during the springtime after they officially got together and during the summer. It was only in the past two or so months that he started playing the disappearing game and traveling the distance for the crew he hung out with.

As Hayner said, the bit of pot and alcohol wasn't something to fret terribly over though it obviously wasn't something that could continue if it interfered with their relationship. The sudden presence of the new drug in Seifer's dirty laundry raised far too many questions about what was really going on. "What's next?" Hayner asked with a cynical laugh. "Am I supposed to find out he's got some bimbo over there he's messing around with? Am I stuck in some stupid soap opera where he gets fed up with the fact that I work all night and study all day? Am I not putting out enough, or something?"

"Hayner, stop," Roxas chided. "You should know that's not it."

"Really, Roxas? He didn't start avoiding me until school started and my schedule got conflicted. What the hell else am I supposed to think?"

Roxas was actually grateful for Hayner's anger. It was far better than tears and showed that Hayner was dealing. "How do you know he's avoiding you? Look, if you two just talked instead of arguing, maybe you could understand what's going on with each other. Tell him what's going on in your mind. Make him clear things up and tell the truth for once."

Hayner was shaking his head. "You don't know him like I do, Rox. He doesn't do emotions. He expresses himself physically, sometimes with words. Everything seemed like things would be already when we first came together, but it seems to be falling apart now."

Silence shrouded the two boys who lay curled together, best friends facing a dilemma with no clear solution. Roxas was hurt, but more, he was aching for Hayner. The things he had to go through for one guy. He didn't understand Seifer nor did he fully understand the relationship between the two. "Have you thought of maybe…?" He felt like a jerk for even thinking it. "Maybe you guys should split for a bit."

The silence stretched on, then, "I have. I don't like the idea. Thinking that he'd just move onto someone else. It seems in his character. I don't really know what I'm holding onto." Roxas was suddenly urged to find reasons why Hayner should keep trying but it felt too contradictory to do when he just suggested Hayner leave Seifer. "I think," Hayner went on, "I'm too concerned about him at this point. I'm worried."

"You love him," Roxas concluded.

"Of course. But that's as far as it goes, it seems. You know he's never once told me he loves me," Hayner confessed. His lips upturned in a sad smile. "I feel it from him, at least I used to. But it could be my own delusions."

Roxas was filled with such emotion and felt the need to comfort his best friend. He moved close, their bodies pressed flush together and wrapped one arm around Hayner's waist, maneuvered the other under his shoulders and hugged Hayner tightly. He didn't admit it, but Roxas knew that Hayner appreciated physical forms of comfort. It was easier for him than comprehending words and it meant so much more. Hayner hugged back, their foreheads coming together in what may have looked to be an intimate gesture and it was, in terms of their close friendship. Hayner was grateful for Roxas' support and at this moment, Roxas was contented with getting the comfort he needed in return. Hayner was a stable support for him.

The door opened.

"Rox?"

It was a voice he'd been craving to hear in person since he'd last heard it over a month ago. He wasn't expecting it and jumped, still tangled together with Hayner. He looked back over his shoulder, finding Axel standing in the doorway, green eyes looking at the pair, eyebrow raised, and arms crossed.

I'm trying guys, I'm sorry. This is getting difficult for me to write, but I'm hashing through it. My writing just isn't what it used to be –sigh-