Axel
Minutes seem like hours... hours like days. Waiting, waiting, trying not to break down, trying not to go insane. My Roxas... my poor Roxas... fighting for his life while I sit here, helpless... useless. People bustle in and out of the waiting room throughout the evening, bringing us food that nobody can stomach and trying to console us. They're fighting a fruitless battle... Nothing that any of them can say will make me feel any better. The only person I want to hear from right now is the doctor, but I'm so afraid that it'll be bad news that every time one walks by, my heart leaps into my throat and I nearly vomit. But they just keep walking... ignoring us as if we aren't even there. As if Demyx isn't asleep on the coffee table, as if Kairi and Sora aren't huddled in the corner on a chair together... The only people that are talking are Zack, Cloud and Leon, but it's so hushed that they may as well not be. Aside from their occasional whispers, the room has a deadly silence hanging over it.
I don't remember actually falling asleep, but suddenly I'm being shaken back into consciousness by Zack. "Axel... the doctor is here to talk to us."
My eyes glue onto his face, trying to read him for any sign of the news he's about to deliver... but I can't tell one way or another. "Roxas..." he starts, taking a long pause afterward, "...made it through the surgery."
I feel all the air being sucked out of my lungs as I breathe a deep sigh of relief. "Is he going to be okay?"
"It's too early to say... but he seems to be doing well. He's intubated, which means he can't breathe on his own yet. Has anybody filled you in about the extent of his injuries?" the doctor asks us, shifting on his feet.
"No... nobody has told us anything," I say quickly.
He motions for us to sit back down and takes a seat across from us. "The... most apparent of his injuries is quite shocking, and you need to be prepared when you see him. He has a severe maxillary fracture on the right side of his face, which is why he's having trouble breathing on his own. He's scheduled for surgery to reconstruct the bones that were shattered, which is going to be performed by the best plastic surgeon we have on staff. If everything goes well, he should recover and look decently normal, besides some scarring. However, the fracture caused a lot of damage to the right eye as well. We were able to save the structure, but he'll never see from that eye again."
"Oh God..." I groan, feeling sick just thinking about it. "What else...?"
"Well... he had a number of hairline and compound fractures throughout his body, which have been set and should heal properly. We did notice a large concussion from where he hit the steering wheel, as his airbag did not deploy. We ran tests and didn't find any evidence of brain damage, but only time will tell. We will continue to monitor his brain activity, and do routine scans to be sure. He didn't have any injury to his internal organs, which means that he should make a full recovery. Any large lacerations were stitched, and smaller, less severe cuts were cleaned up and disinfected. His left shoulder had been dislocated from the resistance of the seatbelt, but we set it as well."
Everybody in the room looks ill, and I realize that the room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"He'll... he'll be okay? He'll be able to walk and talk?" Zack asks, clearly overwhelmed.
"As far as we can tell, he'll be just fine. But all of you need to understand that this is going to be a very long, very painful recovery for Roxas. You can come see him in pairs of two right now, but you can only stay for a few minutes at a time. Once he's awake, we'll be limiting his visitors until he can recover further. If you have a sensitive stomach, I would refrain from seeing him until his plastic surgery is completed," he explains to everybody. "I'll walk the first pair back, who would like to go?"
I almost stand up, but then I look at Zack and Sora. "You two should go... you're his family."
Sora shakes his head, "I'll go with Kairi... you and Zack go ahead. I know you're dying to see him."
"Th...thank you..." I mutter, stumbling to my feet and following the doctor through the white double doors.
"Keep in mind... he'll need reconstructive surgery before he looks like himself again..." he warns us one last time before opening the door to his room.
The moment I see my Roxas laying there in that bed, my legs give out and I fall to my knees. "Oh my God..."
Zack pats me on the back, and I can tell he's trying to choke down tears himself. I lift myself to my feet and approach him, wanting desperately to hold him, but at the same time terrified to touch him.
"Roxas..." I mumble, "You have to pull through this, baby... You have to be okay..."
I feel Zack's hand on my shoulder and let out a sob, turning and hugging him around the waist. I don't care that I barely know him, I need a fucking hug right now.
He hugs me back, not seeming to care at all. "He'll be okay, Axel... he's a fighter, he always has been. I remember when he was a kid... he broke his leg riding his skateboard and still managed to get himself all the way across town to tell us. Never once complained about pain... He's tough, he'll pull through like a trooper."
"Thanks, Zack..." I mutter as I pull myself away from him.
"Axel, I'm very glad that Roxas found someone like you... I feel a lot better knowing that he's in your hands," he tells me, "He's had a rough past... but I want him to have a bright future, and I think that he will with you."
I smile a little, glad to have his approval. I only wish I didn't have so many secrets, that my own past wasn't dark and tainted... But all that matters is how I am now, and if Roxas does love me, then my past doesn't matter.
Sora
Leaving Roxas' room at the hospital, my stomach is tied up in knots and I can't let go of Kairi's hand.
"Hey Dad... are you going to go see him?" I ask, sitting down next to him.
He shakes his head, "I don't want this to be the first time I see my son... We're going to hang around for Zack... He's going to need support through this, people to bring him food and amenities."
"I feel bad for the guy... his wife is in rehab, and now this..."
Dad looks up quickly, "Tifa is in rehab?"
"Yeah, I guess she had a really bad drinking problem."
"Wow... Well, I'm glad she's getting help. Uh... look, you kids should get going. You still have school in the morning," he tells us, giving me a hug.
Kairi nods, "Yeah, I can't afford to miss any more days this semester. Bye, Mr. Strife, bye Mr. Hart."
"You can call us Cloud and Leon, sweetie," Leon offers, smiling. "We'll see you kids back at home... I don't know how much longer we'll be here."
"Bye guys," I say, pulling her towards the door.
"I just can't believe what happened..." Kairi says, putting her pajamas on and crawling into bed. "I mean, that could've been any of us. He could've died!"
"I know, baby... I know..." I try to console her, turning the light off and laying down next to her.
She snuggles up next to me and sighs, "I just can't imagine dying right now... there's so much I haven't done, so much of the world I haven't seen..."
"Stop thinking about it, honey... you're just upsetting yourself. Now hush and get some sleep."
Eventually she settles down and I give her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Kai..."
"Mm... I love you too, Sora. So much..."
"I have a question, Kairi..."
She looks up at me with her big blue eyes that nearly melt me into a puddle, "Yeah?"
"Well... I've been thinking a lot since the accident, and life really is too short, right? Well... I've always wanted to get a kitten, and I think with you moving in and everything... well... do you want to get one?" I ask her, preparing myself for a loud response.
Her eyes widen and she squeals in joy, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Oh my gosh, I love kittens!"
"Good... good. We'll go out tomorrow after school and look for one we can adopt," I say, grinning. If she had that big of a reaction to the kitten, I can't even imagine what she's going to say when I propose to her one day.
At school the next day, there's a big assembly in the morning about Roxas and his accident. It's the typical anti-drinking and driving speech followed by a bunch of bullshit about him. Either way, it kills a couple of periods so we don't have to think too much. I can tell that the teachers are purposely not assigning homework to any of us so we have our time to visit Roxas after school, which I'm grateful for. They all keep telling me how sorry they are, how he's such a good kid. Not that any of them actually knew him anyways. I think everyone is just kind of shocked that something like this could happen in such a small town.
Axel isn't at school, which doesn't surprise me. I think they're going to be pretty lenient on him through this... Demyx collected all of his work for the week earlier to bring to him at the hospital. Even though he can't be in the room with him all the time, I know he'll probably be camped out in the waiting room until Roxas can come home.
"Who's going to take care of Janey anyways?" Kairi wonders as we walk into the pet store to look at the cats.
"I heard him call his neighbor... she saw the accident on the news and agreed to take her in for awhile. I guess she has, like, six dogs anyways. I'm sure he'll go visit her sometimes, and once Roxas is healing up a little more Axe can probably bring Janey in to see him. Dogs are great therapy."
She's about to say something, but I lose her attention when she sees the cages full of cats and kittens. "Ooh! They're so adorable!"
"They're all rescues... they just need a good home," the clerk says, walking up to us. "Let me know if you'd like to hold any of them."
"We will, thanks."
Kairi has her nose pressed up against the glass, cooing at all of them. I join her, looking them all over.
"Oh my-"
"That one!" we exclaim at the same time, pointing to a little grey and black striped kitten with one white paw and a white eyebrow over his left eye.
The clerk grabs him for us and hands him to Kairi, where he proceeds to crawl down into her cleavage and fall asleep.
"Aww!" she screeches, trying not to be too loud. "He's so fluffy and warm!"
I look down and see a little kitten with similar coloring pawing at the glass of the same cage. "Who's this?"
"That's his sister... they've been inseparable since they were brought here," the clerk says, reaching her out and handing her to me. She has the same grey and black stripes, but all of her feet are white and she has a very pink little nose.
"Oh, Sora... we couldn't separate them..." Kairi tells me, tickling her tummy a little.
I just can't say no to Kairi... "How much is the adoption fee?" I ask the clerk.
"Well... it's usually $50 per kitten, but if you're going to take both, I'll make it $75 for the two of them."
Looking down at the kitten in my arms one last time, I sigh heavily, "Well then... get the paperwork ready. Can they stay in their cage while we shop for a bit?"
Kairi jerks away from me, stroking the little guy's head. "He can ride in my boobs, thank you. In fact, she can too if she'd like." She grabs the girl from me and places her next to her brother, and they curl up together and fall asleep again.
"That is... very strange, Kairi," I comment, grabbing a cart.
She shrugs, careful not to disturb them. "I had a friend at the hospital who carried her hamster around in her cleavage every day. It's warm and comforting for them, and cute and adorable for me!"
I just shake my head and sigh again, looking up at the various litter boxes.
"Oh, you're just a cute little Mister, aren't you? And what a gorgeous little lady..." she coos, letting me do all the work.
I smirk a little, "Those are cute names, actually... Mister and Lady."
"Oh. My. God. MISTER AND LADY!" she squeals, and I can tell she agrees. After picking out cat food, litter, a scratching post and other little accessories we head over to the cat toys. Kairi goes nuts, grabbing tons of various toys off the shelf.
"Okay, baby... don't bankrupt me here," I joke, reaching over and petting on the little kittens.
Once we're done with the paperwork, I pick up two tags to put on their collars. One is a little pink heart and the other is a blue circle. I let Kairi engrave their names on it using the machine while I check out, and when she's done we head out to the car. Surprisingly, the kittens haven't tried to escape the entire time.
When we get home, the little kitties finally perk up and start exploring my room while we set up an area in the corner for their stuff. I still haven't fully unpacked, which has proved to be a good thing with all the changes in my life. Watching the little kittens toddle around while Kairi fawns over them, I just can't wipe the smile off my face.
Riku
When I finally get home it's pretty late, and my phone has been dead since about five. I plug it in and mull about while it starts up, but for some reason it won't stop buzzing once it's on.
"Who's texting me so much?" I wonder, grabbing it and opening the messages, all from Namine.
Riku, there was an accident. It... it was bad.
Have you seen the news?
It was Roxas... he was in a car crash.
They rushed him to surgery, but ...we don't know if he's going to make it.
I'm scared for him... you should meet us at the hospital.
Where are you? Riku, we need to be here for him...
I'm worried, Riku... what happened to you?
I'll keep you updated on Rox... hope you're okay.
I sigh, reading through the messages another few times. "God... poor Roxas..." I mumble, frowning and laying back on my bed. I look at the clock, trying to decide what I want to do. When I can't make up my mind, I call Namine to see how he is.
"Hello?"
"Namine... I'm sorry, my phone was dead, I just got your messages. How's Roxas?"
She pauses, "We don't know yet..."
"What happened?"
"A bunch of drunk girls in an SUV ran a red light... drove right into the side of his truck."
My stomach does a flip, "Jeez... Do you think I should come to the hospital?
"Uhm... we're just sitting here waiting... Tell you what, I'll call you and you can come down if we get to see him... okay?" she suggests.
"Yeah, sounds good... let me know how he is when you find out..."
"Will do... bye."
I hang up and sigh again, hoping that he'll be okay. I turn up the volume on my phone so I won't miss her call and decide to try and sleep a little. The weekend completely exhausted me... and now with this news, I have a feeling I'm going to be awake most of the night anyways.
"Nn... Namine...?" I groan into my cellphone, her call waking me from a dead sleep.
"Riku... it was really bad... I just... I saw him... it was... oh God... The right side of his face needs completely reconstructed, and he can't breathe on his own right now... he has a tube in his throat... He's going to be blind in his right eye from now on... God, he just looked so broken, Riku... you don't want to see him like this..."
It takes me a minute to process the information. "But... but he made it through the surgery?"
"Yeah... they think he'll make a full recovery, but it'll take a long time."
"I'll go see him tomorrow after school... I need to talk to Axel, I did something kind of stupid over the weekend."
"That sounds good... I'll let you go... We're all heading home now too."
When she hangs up, I lay there for a long moment just thinking about Roxas. But then my brain shifts over to Terra... and Shiki, for some reason. Something about her just... I don't know... I can't seem to get her off of my mind either.
Standing outside of Roxas' room, my heart is pounding out of my chest. I know Axel is in there, and I know what I need to say to him... but I just can't make my hand turn the doorknob.
Before I have the chance to run a nurse walks up next to me and opens the door, standing aside to let me in. "Uh... thanks..." I mutter, stepping into the room and making eye contact with Axel. "Hey..."
"Hey."
My eyes trail over to Roxas and I cringe a little, "Damn... how's he doing?"
"He'll recover... his plastic surgery is scheduled for tomorrow."
"I need to talk to you, Axel..." I say, pulling up a chair next to him. "It's about Roxas."
He looks up at me, "What is it?"
"Saturday night, he heard Xion and me fighting... he came in to check on me, and we got to talking and well... I ended up kissing him. It wasn't... I didn't mean it... I mean, I did, but... it was innocent," I stammer, trying to find the right words to use.
Axel just shrugs, "I know, he told me."
"He... he told you?"
"Yeah... he told me everything... said you had a crush on him, too."
I sit back in my chair, wondering why he isn't trying to kill me. "So... you've known this whole time?"
"Do you still like him, Riku?"
I think about it for a moment, "Actually... I don't think I do. I met someone on the island... He's perfect for me..."
This peaks his interest, "On the island...? So is that why you stayed behind?"
"Yeah... His name is Terra, he's a college student. I hung out with him and his friends yesterday, they're pretty cool people."
"Well... good," he says, seeming less irritated with me. "Don't worry about what happened with Roxas... as long as nothing like that happens again, we're cool."
I breath a sigh of relief, "Thanks, man... Hey, I gotta get going so I can do my homework, but... I really hope he's all right."
Before I go, I take one last look at Roxas. I guess... I really am over him. All I can do now is hope he'll recover.
Namine
"Nami?" I hear my mom calling from downstairs, "Can you and Yuffie come here for a minute?"
We set our homework and books aside and look at each other, "What do you think she wants?"
I shrug, "I have no idea... but it must involve you too."
"Do you think she knows about us...?" she wonders, her eyes wide. I haven't had the chance to tell Mom about our engagement yet, or even that I'm a lesbian.
"Lets go find out..." I say, walking downstairs to the kitchen.
"Sit down, girls," she says, seated at the table herself.
We sit down next to each other, both extremely curious about this strange little meeting. "Mom... what's up?"
"Namine, Yuffie... I was recently offered a job doing marine research in a place called Atlantica. It's one of the biggest opportunities you can get in my career, and... well, I would very much like to take it. With Xion at boarding school and Kairi moving in with Sora, that leaves you here, Namine... At first I thought I would just leave you the house, but then I figured we could save a lot of money if we sold the house and found you a nice apartment in town. Maybe over where that boy Axel lives."
I furrow my brow, "You... you want to leave town?"
"Nami... it's a wonderful chance to study marine life that isn't in this area... I've been working towards this my entire life! I was going to wait until you guys were all out of the house..."
"No, no... you should take it, Mom," I tell her, grinning, "Definitely take it. But... what does any of this have to do with Yuffie?"
She chuckles, "Well, you'd be pretty lonely living by yourself, now wouldn't you? I've spoken with Yuffie's parents, and they don't mind her living with you as long as you both keep your grades up and maintain part time jobs."
Yuffie's jaw drops, "Oh my... thank you, Ms. Gainsborough! That would be awesome!"
"Good, good... I'm glad you're both up for it. Now, we'll have some time before I leave so I was wondering what date you two had chosen."
I look up at her, "Date? For what?"
"Your wedding! I want to be here for it!"
I nearly fall out of my chair in shock, "You knew? Who told you?!"
She just laughs, "You girls are so transparent... you've been in love since you were kids, and now you're wearing engagement rings. I'm not blind, honey."
"Ms. Gainsborough... you don't care, do you?" Yuffie asks, blushing a little.
"Of course not! I'd rather see my little Nami happy with you than having her heart broken by stupid men! So, when should we start planning? Oh, can I take you two dress shopping? Should we set a date?"
I can't even believe it... I'm completely dumbfounded by my mother's acceptance. "Well... I'd like Roxas to be able to attend, we should wait and see how he's doing before we set a definitive date."
Yuffie nods, "Yeah, I'd like that too... we can start planning whenever you'd like, Ms. Gainsborough!"
"Yuffie, I've known you since you were a baby... call me Aerith, or better yet... just call me Mom," she says, smiling at her.
"Oh... okay," she says, blushing deeply, "Ooh, can we use a lot of purple? I love purple!"
I can't help but laugh and hug her, "We can use whatever colors you want."
Author's Note: Poor Roxy... :( Don't worry, I have plans for him later so he'll have to recover! :3 I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! I already have the next chapter fully planned out, and it'll be packed full of drama too! I'm very excited for how this is coming along, so let me know if you are too!
If you guys are lucky, I might have the next chapter out as early as tonight! ;3
UPDATE! I've created a blog where I'm going to update everyone on how my writing is coming along. Check it out if you'd like, there'll be previews and other fun things! In fact... there's a preview for chapter ten on there now! ;3 The site is krwalker15 . wordpress . com :)