It's done... Elephant... it's... it's done...

...

For me, anyway. You guys still have quite a bit to read, but I'm done writing it XD The story is over. Done. Gone.

I feel so empty...

Anyway, I wanted to mention something kinda interesting about this chapter. See, it's the last chapter I wrote before going on my little hiatus in March, and the weird thing is, two weeks after I wrote this chapter and the previous one, my math teacher got in a car accident. He's fine, coming back to work a week and a half after the accident, but it's still kinda ironic...

Also, I'm going to say like, nothing else, because today has pretty much been the worst/best day ever in my life. No more projects for school, no more huge homework assignments, yet it was candlelight for theatre, which means the seniors are officially done with theatre in high school. They're no longer a part of Tower Theatre... I cried so much tonight that my eyes hurt. Plus, I finished this story this morning, and it's Friday the 13th, and I'm just overwhelmed with emotion... so, I'm sorry if you wanted me to say something to you from your reviews, but I'm just too tired, and sad, and irritated with my stupid father...

So, I'm going to say, thanks for the reviews, I'm hoping to see more for this chapter, and I hope you like what happens in this chapter :) I'll see you guys next week!

~Sunechirei

Full Chapter title: If duct tape, band aides, or Tylenol can't fix it, you're screwed (Part 2)

Despite the warnings from the doctors that I needed to rest, I didn't want to stay in my bed. I'd woken up half an hour after I'd been brought into the emergency room, tired, disoriented, and in pain. The doctor in the room immediately started explaining to me the situation.

You're in a hospital. You got in a car accident. You'll be fine. No internal bleeding, a few broken bones, a concussion, some major cuts, lots of blood loss. You need to rest for at least a week before getting up to make sure your stitches don't get ripped out, yada, yada, yada.

I didn't care about any of that.

The only thing I cared about was how Axel was doing. Which was why I was now standing outside of his hospital room, being kept upright by my I.V, my arm in a sling, covered in bandages, just staring in through the glass door. Axel wasn't well at all. I asked a nurse how he was when I arrived at his room, and she paled, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but we don't know his condition right now. The doctors are trying to figure out where the internal bleed is, but if they don't find it..."

She got called away after that.

I nearly sunk to my knees after she left, my head hurting, vision going fuzzy, all that kinda crap, but I clung to my I.V stand, not wanting anyone to come over and make me go back to my room. This was my fault. This entire thing was my fault. I'd been the one driving, I should have been paying more attention to the cross street, I shouldn't have been so mad at what Axel was saying.

Was this repercussion? Did God hate me or something, because right then, I was pretty sure he did. Why else would we have been hit? Huh?

A loud beep sounded from inside the room, and I looked up, eyes wide. The noise had come from the monitor sitting next to Axel's bed, and almost immediately, nurses rushed by me, yelling at each other to get a doctor. I tried to ask one of them what was going on, but I couldn't get the words out.

I don't remember passing out, but when I woke up again, I was back in a hospital bed. Outside my room, I could hear my dad's voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying. It sounded like he was talking to the doctor about something. Mom was sitting in the chair next to my bed, her eyes puffy from tears I assumed she'd shed earlier, and I slowly called out her name, surprised by the sound of my voice.

It sounded like shit.

Immediately, she stood up, crying again. "Roxas? Oh thank God. I thought...," she sobbed, brushing some hair out of my face. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you want me to get something? Water? Food? I'm sure you're hungry..."

She continued ranting like this for quite a while, until Dad came in and told her she was smothering me, which caused her to burst into tears again and hug me.

"I was so scared when I got the call from the hospital," she whispered to me, "they didn't tell me you were alright, just that you'd gotten into an accident."

"Tifa," my dad warned, "you're going to cause him to pass out again." Immediately, the pressure around my shoulders was gone, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I-I'm fine," I managed to mutter, "I don't need anything."

It was only half true, of course. I wasn't in any pain any more, nor was I hungry, or thirsty; in fact, I felt more alive than I had in a long time. A little groggy, maybe, but that was most likely because of the medicine dripping down through my I.V.

In reality, the only reason I was uncomfortable was because I didn't know Axel's situation. I didn't know how long I'd been asleep either, so for all I knew, he had already been in surgery, or was awake already, acting like his normal cocky, arrogant, self, teasing the nurses, finishing the doctors sentences as they try to explain his condition to him.

Then again, he could also be dead.

"Mom, is Axel okay?" I asked in a hoarse voice, sitting up. Mom look taken aback, though she was about to answer me, but the look on my dad's face was so strange, I had to stop her from speaking. "Dad? What... what's with that look? Did something-"

Shaking his head, Dad sighed, interrupting me. "It's nothing. Just, I've never heard you call Mr. Lea by his first name. It's always been an indirect address, like you didn't know his name."

I looked down at my lap. I wasn't going to tell my father/boss that I really hadn't known Axel's name, and that for the first seven months I'd known him he was "Red" to me... that might end in a disaster.

But had I really never said Axel's name out loud before? I could have sworn I had. Maybe Dad was just confused because he was worried about me.

"Um... alright, but is he okay?" I was desperate to know. When neither of my parents answered me, only exchanging glances with each other, I knew something was wrong, so I threw off my covers and tried to get up. "I have to go see him." Sadly, I didn't get very far. Dad was at my side in an instant, pushing me down against the bed, despite the fact I was struggling against him. "Let me go!"

"Roxas," my mom said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "you have to stay in here. The doctor told us that you passed out the last time you tried to go see Axel. You're not allowed to leave this room until the doctor deems fit."

"But, I need-"

"Mr. Strife," a cool, silky voice from the doorway said, "I assure you that my nephew is in the best of hands. You should be more worried about yourself right now." Nephew?

I glanced at the door. Standing there in a white doctors coat was a very... um... strange looking man who didn't look very friendly at all. I assumed this was my doctor, but nephew?

Was this guy one of Axel's random uncles, and if so, was I completely doomed? Axel had talked about his family before, and he mentioned they were all insane weirdos who couldn't be trusted.

Did this guy, who looked as though he were dying of starvation, and like he was going to try and kill me with those creepy green eyes of his, actually know what he was doing, or was I screwed?

"Now then, Mr. Strife, I'm sorry to say this, but you're not going to be able to get up for at least two days because of the little stunt you pulled earlier. If you want to see Axel, you're going to have to wait," the doctor told me, walking over and adjusting something on my I.V. "Now, I can tell you that Axel isn't dead, but he's not awake either. Still recovering from surgery, I suppose."

Suppose? He supposed that he was still recovering from surgery? What was wrong with this guy?

"I don't mean to sound rude," I began slowly, then shook my head, "Wait, actually, I do mean to sound rude; who the hell are you?" My mother's indignant "Roxas" went completely unnoticed by me, as did my father's chuckle, but the look in the doctor's eyes didn't.

It was rather scary to see him like that. It was almost as if he really were going to try and kill me. He would have all the best chances to do so, being my doctor, and all.

"My name," he hissed, "is Dr. Vexen Adderson, the best doctor in this hospital, and the one in charge of you." He paused for a moment before adding, "I'm also Axel's uncle, so you'd better not get cheeky with me, boy."

I'm pretty sure my mom was confused and pissed beyond all belief, both at me, and at Dr. Adderson. Honestly, I didn't care if she killed me right now. I deserved to die, after all. It was my fault Axel was here, probably dying.

"Now then," Dr. Adderson continued, not really paying attention to me anymore, "I have to go make sure my other patients aren't withering away while I waste my time on a boy who doesn't seem to want to get better." He pressed a button on my I.V machine and laughed. "You should get more rest, boy. You're going to need it."

That damn doctor! He gave me a medicine that caused me to pass out again! The next time I woke up, it was dark outside, and there was no one in my room. I tried to stand up, obviously not going to follow Dr. Adderson's orders, but even sitting up was difficult. It was so difficult that I eventually gave up, not liking the dizziness that came with moving, resigned.

There was nothing I could do but sleep, so I closed my eyes again.

"Honestly, Roxie, you just had to land yourself in a hospital," Sora laughed, smacking me upside the head. "And then you had to go and collapse in the hall, twice, making your stay in the hospital even longer!" Sora shook his head and grinned, despite the fact I'd just punched him in the arm. "Man, you're an idiot."

From the corner of the room, Riku was chuckling, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "I'd have to agree with Sora here. I mean, seriously, what's wrong with you?"

These two were getting on my nerves, mainly because they hadn't stopped making fun of me since they'd walked into my room, but also because I knew I was an idiot, but I couldn't help it. I hated being in this stupid room, hooked up to that stupid I.V, my arm in a stupid cast... it was so aggravating that I wanted to just run away! I wouldn't try that, though, because I'm pretty sure someone would kill me if I did; that someone being my mother.

"So, how much longer do you have before Axel's uncle will let you leave this room?" I jumped, not expecting Kairi's voice to come from the doorway.

"Until tomorrow," I told her, looking out the window. "I should be out today but no." It was probably completely obvious that I was totally frustrated by the situation, which would be why Riku laughed at me. I shot him a glare, silently telling him that if he was just going to make fun of me, he should leave, but he ignored it.

I sighed, and lay back in my bed. There wasn't much pain anymore, even though I was pretty sure that was from the morphine, but there also wasn't a feeling that made me want to puke every time I moved, which was a plus. Still, the Dr. Adderson, who I found out was actually Demyx's dad, was being cruel and unusual. I think he was just punishing me for trying to see the guy I almost killed, who still hadn't woken up.

I asked him yesterday if he could take me there in a wheel chair or something, but he just laughed maliciously and walked out of the room.

Needless to say, I really hated my doctor.

"Where's Ellie?" I asked suddenly, noting that she wasn't with Riku.

Normally, when he came to visit me, she did as well, though only for a minute. Then, she would leave and go see how Axel was, not talking at all. It was kinda nerve racking to see her like that. I tried to imagine what she was going through, but I just couldn't imagine Hayner getting so injured that he had to be in the hospital for a long time, or, at least not him getting hurt by accident.

If it was because he was an idiot, that would be a different story.

Riku looked away, a face of sadness crossing his face. "She's with the guy who hit you guys," he replied, not meeting my eyes. I felt a jolt of fear. The guy who hit us had been drunk while driving, which would be why he didn't stop when he was supposed to. I knew he was in the same hospital as Axel and I, but the idea of him being anywhere near me was kinda terrifying. It shouldn't have been; he didn't know that he was going to hit us, and he didn't do it on purpose, but still.

"Why?"

"Because he's going to be the one paying for this whole mess, and Ellie's the one who has to deal with it." Riku sounded pissed, probably thinking the same thing I was. Ellie was upset about the whole thing, practically watching her best friend die before her eyes, and yet she was stuck telling the guy who caused this that he was going to pay for everything...

I was surprised there weren't a huge team of doctors rushing to his room because Ellie had tried to kill him.

"Don't worry," Kairi reassured us, "Ellie won't do anything. I know this is hard for her, but she's good at hiding her emotions. It's what makes her such a good lawyer." That was very true. Or, I think it was.

Really, Ellie always seemed either pissed or amused to me. I'd never seen her in court though, or talking to someone she wasn't close to, so it was very possible Kairi was right about the whole thing.

"Yeah, don't I know it," Riku snorted. Everyone in the room glanced over at him, confused, but he just shook his head. "I'm gonna go now. Everything is so busy right now, since you and Axel are both useless at the moment." He was obviously joking, but I wasn't in any mood to be taking any jokes.

"Well sorry," I snapped. "I didn't mean to get hit by a car!" Riku paused at the door, not saying anything. "And I don't think Axel did either!"

I swear that a cricket could be heard half way across the hospital. Of course, I didn't realize why the three people in my room were so shocked, until Kairi stuttered, "Y-y-you s-said his name! You said Axel's name!"

Not this again...

"Yeah, so?" I glared at the three friends, just begging for them to say something about it. Sadly, Riku decided to take my dare.

"None of us have ever heard you say his name before. Did you think that none of us were going to react to it?" This was extremely aggravating. It was completely normal to know and say the name of your business partner. I don't know why Riku and Kairi were making such a big deal out of this. Sora didn't seem to realize either, as he just stared at his girlfriend, confused.

"It's just a name," I muttered, crossing my arms and looking away. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal, is that we didn't even know you knew Axel's name. I figured you'd made up some nickname for him and was using that all the time."

"Yeah, it's just weird for us to-"

"Axel!" I hissed, "Axel, Axel, Axel, Axel!" Every time I said his name, my voice got a bit louder, and a bit more irritated. Riku, Kairi, and Sora all stayed silent, staring at me like I had something funny on my face, which I'm sure was red with anger. Or embarrassment from saying Axel's name so many times. Didn't know which.

"See," I continued, sitting up completely, "It's just a name. Not that big of a deal. Now go away." It was a bit harsh of me to say that, but really, I just wanted to be alone.

"Riku told me about earlier."

These were the first words Ellie had said to me since the car accident. It was later that day, the sun was barely setting, and visiting hours were almost over, which would probably be why Ellie was visiting me. No one else was there, Mom saying she had to make sure the house was perfect for me coming home tomorrow, and Dad muttering something about an issue at work.

Riku, Kairi, and Sora, of course, had left without another word when I kicked them out. Kairi seemed the most angry out of all of them, but I was used to it by now.

"Did he now?"

"Yep." An awkward silence fell over us as Ellie walked towards me. She opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it quickly, sitting down in the chair next to my bed. I didn't know why she was here, or what she wanted with me, but if she didn't get out soon, I was probably going to get really mad at her, like I did at the other three.

I didn't want to be mad at them, of course. I just wanted to be alone, have some time to myself while I figured out what was going through my head at the moment. It may have been the drugs I was on for the pain, but I had no idea what to think of the whole situation.

"Roxas..." Ellie said quietly, catching my attention. "Do you like Axel?

"W-What?" I blurted out, trying very hard not to just stare at her with a dumb look. How could she ask me that? Surely she knew that there was nothing going on between me and Axel, and that I didn't like him, and that knowing his name was nothing special, and that Axel and I agreed that we would just act like normal co-workers. She did know that, right?

Rolling her eyes, Ellie leaned back in her chair, a concerned look crossing her face. "Do you like Axel. And I don't mean as a friend, or a co-worker, I mean in a lovers kind of way."

"Wh-what? No! N-no," I spluttered, laughing at the notion. Well, only part of me was laughing. The other part was sitting back and waiting for this entire thing to play out.

"Why would you think that I do?" This question was asked with pure fear that Ellie would figure something out, if Axel hadn't told her already that I'm kinda into him. Or, was kinda into him when I had no idea what was going on in my own head. But now there was nothing.

"Because," Ellie replied, "you wouldn't be this worried about him if you didn't. Even if it was your fault."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" I protested, crossing my arms. "I would be worried about Axel even if I barely knew the guy."

"Sure. I believe you."

"Why does it even matter? Why do you, and Riku, and Sora always come back to that? Can't Axel and I just be friends?"

Ellie didn't say anything, just watching me sadly. I, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, glaring at the lawyer, not sure why I was getting so flustered. Yeah, it was annoying to be asked if you were sleeping with your co-worker, and being asked if you liked him, and being told that you should go out with him, but did I really mind? Was it deep down, I really did like Axel?

No. That was impossible. I'd already been over this in my head, at least a million times; I didn't have any feelings for Axel. Maybe as a friend, if we were ever able to get that far, but that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Finally, Ellie stood up, shaking her head sadly. She moved towards the door, saying nothing to me, and I said nothing to her as she opened the sliding door. But then she paused, and turned to face me.

"He really likes you, you know," Ellie told me calmly. I knew that already though; she didn't need to tell me. It only made me feel worse about everything I'd said to him...

"Yeah, I know."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I don't think you do. Every time you come up in a conversation, Axel gets this look in his eye, like he's talking about something extremely precious to him. Every time you're near him he acts differently, calmer, less frustrated and angry. When ever you tell him something, or treat him like he's just an annoyance, I can't help but think he's going to cry."

She took a deep breath. "He really loves you, and he has for a lot longer than most people would think."

She turned around again, heading out of the room as I called after her, completely startled by that last statement.

What did she mean by that?

The first thing I did when Dr. Adderson told me I was free to go, was practically run to Axel's room. Well, actually the first thing I did was escape the grasp of my mother, and I didn't actually run... I more, hurried. I wanted to see how he was, make sure he wasn't dead, see for myself that no one had been lying to me for the past three days.

They weren't.

When I finally reached the floor where Axel was staying, I headed over to his room, ignoring the stinging pain in my left arm. They'd taken me off most of the pain killers, though I still had some minor ones for my broken arm and ribs, but I barely noticed the dull throb that was my arm, the adrenaline of finally getting out of that damn hospital room keeping me going.

At first I thought the adrenaline was good, but when I realized I'd missed the fact that there were a bunch of people waiting outside of Axel's room, I began to think that I should sit down and relax for a bit.

"Whoa! It's Roxie!"

I turned around to see who was talking to me, and saw Demyx sitting on a bench near Axel's room. He was grinning, but there was a hint of depression in his words and eyes.

I quickly headed towards him, ignoring the interesting glances I got from the other people in the room. It was rather unnerving for them to be staring at me like I was some kind of animal in the zoo.

Then again, to them I probably was, as I was the guy who Axel liked.

There was no doubt in my mind that they recognized my name immediately.

"Hey," I muttered, sitting next to Demyx, "Who are all these people?" I soon realized after I'd said this that there were actually two groups of people, one hanging out on one side of Axel's door, and the other hanging out on the other side. It was a bit weird... then, there were two men standing together inside Axel's room.

"All of these guys? Uh... they're Axel's relatives," Demyx said, shrugging. "The two groups are two different families that really hate each other, but are only here because Uncle Xemnas and Saïx would have been upset if they both hadn't come." He gestured to the two guys in the room. "They're Axel's dads, and the guy with white hair is my uncle, Xemnas. The other guy is Saïx."

The two guys looked as though they were about to cry, kinda like how my mom was when she first saw me in the hospital. The one with silver hair, Xemnas, had his arm wrapped around the other guy, Saïx, who was watching Axel with half closed eyes. I wanted to cry at the sight.

"Alright, then whose family are-"

"Guys on the right, Xemnas. Guys on the left, Saïx," Demyx explained. "Only guy not here is Uncle Ansem, but he's probably with Ellie right now."

"Ellie?" I queried, "Why would he be with Ellie?"

"Well, he is her adoptive father."

I scooted away from Demyx a little, startled by what he's just said. I knew Ellie and Axel were close, but I didn't realize they were technically related. I mean, cousins? That was just weird... Wrapping my mind around that idea was so difficult that my brain practically shut down. "Uh... okay then," I eventually said, laughing. Demyx sighed and stood up.

"Yeah, well, I have to go do... uh... stuff. See ya later, Roxie."

"Bye."

Demyx left me completely alone after that, leaving an opening for the other family members to move in.

Not fun.

"You're Roxas?"

The words sounded like they were accusing me of something, and I looked up, staring into the blue eyes of the only woman I'd seen, who wasn't a doctor or a nurse, on this floor. She had short, electric yellow hair, and a personality that seemed to match it. I hid a sigh, thinking I would be murdered if I let her know I was frustrated.

"Yes," I told her, keeping my eyes trained to hers, despite the fear I felt, "Yes I am. Can I help you?" I had a feeling she hated me. But why?

She said nothing else, only observing me. Without another word, she turned and stalked back towards the only other blonde in the group of people with her nose turned up. I couldn't help but think about how much of a snob she was. The urge to kick her in the shin grew even more when I heard her mutter, "I don't know what Axel sees in him."

Well, she can just go fuck a goddamn duck for all I care! I was plenty good enough for Axel, thank you very much!

I think my headache got worse after I thought that. I mean, me, get defensive about Axel liking me was just screwed up beyond all belief. Or was it? It was just like two weeks ago. My brain was so scrambled from the meds, knowing it was my fault Axel was in this situation, plus what Ellie had told me, made it so I didn't know what my feelings were again.

Dammit.

What could be worse than finally getting closure about your feelings for a guy, then suddenly being forced into another situation where your mind decided it was going to confuse you again and make you question your decision to not explore the possibility that you were gay...

It's like the world was saying, "Haha. I'm gonna fuck with you a bit more because it's fun to see you scramble like this. I'm not sorry your getting screwed over in the process of me having fun."

Wasn't the world just wonderful?

"So, you're Roxie," another voice commented, this one being much deeper. Rolling my eyes, I looked up, expecting to see another prissy person, but was surprised to see a guy who looked as though he'd been to hell and back. Scars, an eye-patch; the whole shebang. Rather creepy, I must admit.

"Uh, yeah."

"You'll have to ignore Larxene there. She's a bit of a bitch."

"You can say that again," I muttered with a sigh.

"Alright, I will. She's a bitch," the guy laughed, sitting down next to me. I scooted away from him a little, not really wanting to get close to this maniac, though he seemed nice enough. He had an aura that reminded me of Axel, though about ten times more uncomfortable for me to be around. "Scared of me?" The guy asked, noticing my small move. For some stupid reason, I nodded.

"Uh, I mean..." I ended up stuttering, flushing from embarrassment. You don't tell someone that you're scared of them, especially not guys who looked as though they would kill you without pausing to wonder if they'd hurt you or not. But luckily for me, the guy just laughed again, slapping my back.

"You're just great, Roxie," he chuckled, then pointed to the large scar on the side of his face. "See this?" I nodded. "Well, I got that fightin' in a war. Got the nickname 'Free Shooter' because the guys in my unit were convinced I was gonna shoot them all the time. So don't worry about thinking I'll kill ya or something, cuz I won't." He reached over and ruffled my hair a bit, reminding me even more of Axel.

Even though I knew these guys weren't really related to him, I wondered if being annoying was hereditary. Then my thoughts actually registered what I'd just been told, and I nearly ran away. It wasn't in any way reassuring...

So I smiled nervously and scooted farther away, leaving him laughing even harder. Pissed me off...

When he finally calmed down, I noticed the funny looks that I'd been getting from some of the other weirdos that I assumed were Axel's relatives. Did they all know that I was the guy driving? If they did, I had a feeling I was going to to have some very murderous people on my hands. Every single person in the room seemed to care very much about Axel.

"I thought you'd be different," the guy sitting next to me suddenly said, "Whenever my nephew over there talked about you, I got this image in my head of some really girly guy who didn't have much of a personality."

Wow. First, Axel talked about me, but then he set me up to be this really weird, boring guy who apparently looked like a girl. Was this really what people thought of me when they first met me? If that was so, maybe I should work on doing something to change that... I mean, I wasn't really boring, otherwise people wouldn't talk to me.

Then again, people were able to guess what I would do most of the time, but that's more predictability rather than being boring. Was I predictable?

"Don't think about what I just said too much, your brain may die."

Lovely image...

But I noticed something about this guy, but not only this guy, pretty much every one of Axel's uh... family, didn't introduce themselves. Dr. Adderson didn't, that weirdo woman, this guy, and some of the other people who had nodded at me when coming or going. How the hell was I supposed to talk to them when they wouldn't tell me their names?

I mentioned this to the guy, and he just chuckled.

"We're a weird group," he told me, leaning back against his chair. "My name's Xigbar. You don't need to know my last name, but I'm Xemnas'... uh, something. I don't even know any more. But we're related or something..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his head as he glanced back and forth between the two groups. "In case you hadn't figured it out, none of us really get along. We're only here because Axel's laid up. You know how that is?"

I actually didn't. Family wasn't something I'd grown up with, other than my parents. No grandparents, no cousins, no aunts, no uncles, no brothers or sisters; it was just me, Mom, and Dad for my entire life.

Axel was lucky.

"I see," I muttered, watching as everyone around the door started to leave. It was almost five, when visiting hours ended. They all looked sad to leave, especially Axel's parents, and I felt really, really, really glad that I was still a patient in the hospital, so I didn't have to leave.

"Well, see ya, Roxie." Xigbar got up to leave, but he paused for a moment before actually going anywhere. "Ya know, Ellie was here before you showed up, and she seemed a bit... dead, I guess." Alright... what was the point of telling me this? "When I asked her what was wrong, she just smiled at me and said, 'the guy Axel's in love with is an idiot who doesn't know his own feelings.'"

"She said what?" Why did she say that? I knew my feelings. I'd decided what they were a long time ago! Well, almost three weeks ago, but a lot happened during that time.

"I think she's wrong though," Xigbar continued, ignoring my little outburst, "I think you do know your feelings, you're just too scared to admit them."

And then, he was gone.

It was about midnight the next time I visited Axel. I meant to go earlier, when his family had just left, but what Xigbar had said freaked me out a bit, and I, well, chickened out, so to speak. What he'd told me... well, had been the complete and total truth. I knew I had feelings for Axel, feelings that honestly freaked me out more than anything else I'd known. I guess it took him being on the brink of death for me to really understand what was going on in my emotions.

Funny how that happens.

Even as I sat there, next to his bed, in the dark, thinking to myself how horrible he looked, there was a feeling in my gut that reminded me of the first time I'd run into Naminé. A happy-go-lucky type of feeling, one that made me feel so giddy it wasn't funny. That scared me. It was Axel for heaven's sake! The guy I practically hated from the moment I'd met him.

"You know, I hated your father at first. Really, really hated him. But there was just something about the way he always looked out for me, always helped me out... I don't know what it was, or why it happened, but it did."

My mother's words decided that then, midnight of my fifth day in the hospital, was the best time to resurface and dance around, taunting me with how stupid I was, and how wonderful it would have been had I actually listened to my mother three weeks ago. Then, I wouldn't have landed the two of us in this godforsaken hospital, and Axel wouldn't be so hurt. I also wouldn't be in pain, but that wasn't what I was worried about.

I hated Axel at first. I really, really did. But like my mom said about Dad; Axel was looking out for me all the time, even when I didn't notice it, always being nice to me, no matter how shitty of a person I was. Even though I denied it all the time, I really did like being around him, I wanted to be with him whenever I was at work, and during that time we stayed away from each other, it was really bad for me emotionally.

I hid that, of course, and I denied it completely, but it was true.

So, at midnight, in the middle of the hospital, with a broken arm, busted ribs, curled up in a chair next to Axel's bed, I finally admitted to myself that I loved Axel.

It felt good.

The steady beeping of the monitor next to me was both annoying and comforting at the same time; annoying in that it was a loud beeping noise, but it let me know Axel was alive, something that had been worrying me. He was still alive. Wonderfully alive.

"Hey, I know you really can't hear me," I muttered after a while, leaning forward, "but... well, I'm sorry. I've been a really big jerk, and well, I shouldn't have." I laughed, closing my eyes. "I-I... I really like you, Axel."

"Finally got the name memorized, I see. It's about fucking time."

I jumped up from my seat, sending it crashing to the floor. Axel was staring at me with his amused green eyes.

"Wh-wh-when... what, how long?" I stuttered, flushing. I think I was shaking, I was so startled from the fact that Axel was awake. Well, startled, and pissed.

"I woke up a little while ago. About... five hours ago." Axel laughed at my face, sitting up. "You're so adorable when you're embarrassed." You'd think that people wouldn't be so jerkish and act asleep while you're upset and thinking they're dying. And I was not embarrassed!

"Y-Y-You bastard!" I yelled, "I thought you were dying, and yet you've been awake for a long time, and I went and confessed my feelings to you and-"

"Yeah, and it was adorable."

What was I supposed to do. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't talk, everything seemed to be spinning, especially when Axel shifted so he was facing me, his legs hanging off the bed. I felt

my face heat up, and his hand went to the back of my head, pulling me closer to him. "But I want to hear it again, from you, to me."

That jerk was having fun with this. Why was he having so much fun with this? It didn't make any sense to me...

"Why would I do that?" I muttered, grabbing the wrist of the hand tickling my neck. "If I had known you were awake, I wouldn't have said anything."

"That's the thing, Roxie. I wasn't asleep, so I heard what you wanted to say. Now then, say it again."

I don't really know what came over me. I guess I just snapped after he said that, and I ripped the hand away from my neck and grabbed his shoulders, leaning down and kissing him. After pulling away, I could see his face was a bit pink, much to my satisfaction, and I told him, "I love you, dammit!"

All Axel did, was kiss me again.