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Chapter Six

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"Axel, I need you to drive me home. Right now," Roxas snatched Axel's phone out of his hand and hung up on the pizza place, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Uhm… okay? What's wrong?"

Roxas held up his phone with the last text message on it, "He wouldn't lie about that. We need to go… now."

"Shit… all right, let's go. Pull up your address on my GPS," Axel said, already halfway to his car.

He could barely see through his tears enough to punch in his address, but soon enough Axel was speeding there.

"He's done this before… he was in a coma for two weeks last time…" Roxas sniffled, wishing that Axel could drive faster.

"Try calling him. Maybe you can stop him if you let him know you're coming home."

Roxas nodded and dialed the number, hoping that Van would pick up.

"…What?"

"Vanitas! I'm coming home, Van… I'm on my way right now. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

There was a long pause on the other end, "…You don't care. You just don't want me on your conscience."

"I love you, Van… I've always loved you. And I wasn't cheating on you! I was with a coworker for God's sake!"

"Bullshit."

Roxas yelped as the line went dead, "Fuck… fuck!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can, Rox… we'll be there soon."

The blond's chest heaved as he sobbed, hoping that they would make it on time. "Please Van… don't do this…"

…

The second Axel pulled into the driveway, Roxas bolted out of the car and into the house. Axel decided to hang back for now… he didn't think it would help for Van to see him there.

"Vanitas!"

"You're too fucking late," the raven-haired man looked up at him from the couch, a silver gun hanging in his hand.

Roxas felt like someone had ripped his heart out… "Van… put the gun down and talk to me. We can figure this out. I'll even get your meds for you. I promise, once you take them you'll—"

"Those meds are bullshit and you know it. This is who I am… and it's who I'll always be. The world is better off without me. …You're better off without me," Vanitas slurred, which is when Roxas noticed the empty liquor bottle next to him, along with an empty syringe.

"Fuck, you're high again…" the blond felt like his head was about to explode. He didn't know what to do… With Vanitas drunk and high, and off his meds, there would be no reasoning with him. "Vani, please… give me the gun… I want you here. I want to be with you no matter what. I love you so much… don't leave me…"

The musician smirked, "Right… like you could ever love someone who did that to you…" he gestured randomly towards the bruises, "We both know that nobody would even miss me."

Roxas couldn't just stand here and listen to this… he was getting nowhere. Without any regard for his own safety, he lunged towards Vanitas in an attempt to snatch the gun out of his hand.

But the older man was quick, even in his inebriated state. He ducked away from Roxas, rolling off the couch and onto his feet with his hand clutched tightly on the gun. "Don't make me fucking shoot you, Roxas…" he growled, now leveling the firearm on his boyfriend.

"Van, please… I love you so much… don't leave me here alone…"

"I'm just going to keep hurting you, Roxas, and… I can't live with that…" he whispered, putting the cool metal of the gun between his lips. "I love you…"

Roxas clenched his eyes shut, knowing that there was nothing he could do now. "Please…" he whimpered, waiting to hear the ear-shattering sound of the gunshot.

The sound of the gun firing echoed through Roxas' head a million times, defeaning him as he screamed out in terror. He crumpled to the ground, curling up into a ball and refusing to look. If he just kept his eyes shut, he could pretend that it didn't happen. Even hearing the body hit the floor, he couldn't bring himself to look.

"Roxas, are you okay?"

He was startled by the voice above him, looking up to find Axel standing there clutching his shoulder, "Axel…?" His eyes floated over to Vanitas, who was definitely laying on the floor, but he didn't look like he'd been shot.

"He'll be okay… I just knocked him out. He should stay out long enough for us to get him to a hospital."

Roxas tore his eyes away from his boyfriend and settled them back on Axel, "D…did he shoot you…?"

"It just grazed my shoulder… I'm fine. We need to get him in my car."

"N…no… I'll call an ambulance. You're bleeding everywhere, Axel," Roxas pulled himself to his feet, yanking his phone out of his pocket and dialing 9-1-1.

The redhead sat down on the couch, glancing over at the wound, "I'll be all right… I just tend to bleed a lot. But are you okay? When I saw him with that gun through the front window I panicked and ran in… I don't think he saw me until I was right behind him…"

But Roxas was already busy chattering with the dispatcher. He might have another emotional scar to add to the mix, but he was physically fine. Axel, however, didn't seem to realize how much he was bleeding.

"All right… they're sending an ambulance and some officers. There's probably going to be a lot of questions because of the gun… If they ask you, you need to tell them that he'd been drinking and using cocaine, and that he was off his meds. They might not take him to jail because of his disorder…"

Axel stared at the blond for a minute, "Roxas… are you sure that jail wouldn't be good for him? Or at least some time in the psych ward?"

"I… I don't know…"

"Try to think clearly for a minute, Roxas… he's obviously fighting a horrible disorder, and it's probably time to let the professionals take over and really help him."

Roxas wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "I… I don't know if I can do that to him… He's… I love him…"

"So let him get the help he needs, Rox. He pointed that gun at you… Can you really trust him after that?"

"You're right… I… I need to have him committed…" Roxas sighed, glancing over at his passed out boyfriend. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this…"

Axel shook his head, "Don't you dare feel bad… when I saw him aim that gun at you, I was acting on pure adrenaline. I'm not even sure what I did, I just… knew that I needed to stop him…"

"Thank you… Thank you so much… If he'd… if he'd gone through with it, I…"

"I understand. I'm glad I could stop him too."

…

After hours upon hours of questioning, paperwork and the strong scent of hospital disinfectant, Roxas and Axel found themselves walking out to Axel's car. They wouldn't let Roxas in the ambulance for some stupid reason, so he'd had no choice but to drive the red Ferrari to the hospital.

"I wish they would let me stay with him… he's going to be pissed when he wakes up."

"It's better this way, Rox. Besides… with all the meds they've got him on, he shouldn't be feeling much of anything for the next couple of days. You need a break from it… one where you don't have to worry about him. He'll be safe here, and you can rest easy knowing that he's alive and well."

Roxas crawled into the passenger's seat, absolutely exhausted, "Are you sure you can drive…?"

"Rox, I didn't even need stitches. I'm totally fine," Axel was already pulling out of the parking lot. "Where do you want to go? Your place? My place?"

"I… I don't think I can go home right now. Can I still stay with you?" the blond looked up at him, noticing the sun coming up over the horizon.

"Of course, Rox… I'll call Xigbar and let him know that we won't be in today. He won't be happy, but… he'll survive without us. We both need to get some well-deserved sleep."

But Roxas was already passed out in his seat, snoring lightly. Axel had to smile a little, finding the sight rather adorable. When he finally pulled into his driveway, the redhead lifted Roxas out of his seat carefully and brought him inside, ignoring the aching pain in his shoulder as he settled the kid into one of the spare bedrooms.

He called Xigbar, who obviously wasn't thrilled, but didn't give the director any choice in the matter. They weren't coming in that day, or maybe even the next one. He could do a scene with someone else for a change.

Popping a couple of the pain meds the emergency room had given him, Axel then promptly crawled into his own bed and passed out.

…

A/N: Yay, Axel saved the day! Poor Roxy… he can't catch a break with Van.

SOOO many plans for this story… you don't even knowww. :3 If you think this is drama, just you wait…

As always, if you like the story be sure to drop me a review and let me know what you think!

Love, love!

Simply Rexene