This is kinda short. And full of one-liners. And maybe late-ish. I didn't have a computer for nearly a week and a half unfortunately, but I was writing chapters out in my handy-dandy notebook (Oh my god, I'm so old without being old). So, here's a maybe comedic chapter for you!

There was no sleep for me. Axel had rolled onto his side and snored loudly. He breathed slowly and evenly and said, "Get the hell away from me, you meatsacks."

"Axel? What meatsacks? Are they sack of meat?"

Axel turned over and covered his face with a pillow.

"Axel? Hello?" I tapped his shoulder.

Axel groaned and took the pillow away. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, blinking rapidly. "What exactly did you want, Sparky?"

"Why did you ask the meatsacks to get away from you? What meatsacks?"

Axel grimaced and sat up, scratching his head. He squinted at me and asked, "What are you talking about?"

I replayed his statement in his voice. "What did you mean?"

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes once more, laughing softly.

"Roxas, sometimes people talk in their sleep. It could possibly be what they're dreaming about or just random shit. Do you get me?"

Through my confusion, I searched the last phrase he used. Slang for 'Do you understand what I said?' I nodded in response.

"May I go back to sleep now? I have a huge test tomorrow. Today. This morning. Go away."

I roamed the house in the dark.

Sora snored. He'd bundled himself up in bed and slept peacefully, but snored. Cloud and Aerith slept pressed together, slowly turning in the dark.

Humans weren't exactly nocturnal, but Cloud was the last to sleep at 12:54 in the morning. There was nothing for me to do when the family slept. Nothing.

Photographs preserved memories. The Strife family were no strangers to this custom. Along the stairs hung major landmarks in their lives. Cloud and Aerith's wedding photo. Sora as an infant, crawling across the floor. There a photo of the entire family standing in front of the house; it could have possibly been the day the adopted Axel. I began to wonder if I would be photographed and join those that were already on the wall.

There was a pine tree in the living room. Traditions for Christmas and the month of December included baking, gift exchanges, holiday films, and decorating artificial or genuine pine trees, based on one's preferences; the Strifes had an artificial tree. They must have spent hours putting everything on it. I'd searched Christmas trees and would like to see this for myself, but I shouldn't until morning. I couldn't wait for it.

I'd remembered Ansem teaching me about television. The Strifes had a television larger than Ansem's, but I was drawn to the sofa.

"Why do you need this mop?"

"You can get this for the low price of seventy-nine ninety-nine."

"Are you sure you didn't have any drugs on you?"

Television before dawn was mindless and boring. I did not need a mop. I did not have seventy-nine ninety-nine to spend. I did not have any drugs on my person. After I skipped through more channels, I settled on a woman tapping a notebook with the eraser of a pencil.

"I didn't expect to have to serve detention this long."

The woman was young and dressed in tight clothing. Her hair was tied back and she tilted her head up to look at a young man behind a desk.

"Roxas?"

I barely heard my name being called.

"Roxas, come back upstairs."

Axel rubbed his hair down and shuffled down the stairs. "What are you watching?"

"A program about a young woman in detention. She did something wrong."

"What?"

Axel stood next to the sofa and watched as the woman began to undress for her teacher.

"Why is she taking her clothes off?" I asked.

"You would find porn, Roxas. Come on, time to turn the TV off."

"But I'd like to see what her punishment is."

Axel changed the channel and turned the television off. "Her punishment? He punishment is the good stuff. They won't actually show it on TV."

"The good stuff?"

"A dick, Roxas. You know, a penis?"

"Oh. Why wouldn't they show it?"

"I dunno. People who want to see it can find it on the internet. Can we stop talking about it?"

"Yes, Axel."

"Come on. Back to bed, weirdo."

I followed Axel back to our room and sat down on my bed and watched him fall flat on his.

"I'm sorry I woke you, Axel."

"Go to bed, Roxas. The longer I'm up, the more coffee I'm going to need and the more I'm going to want to reset you to factory settings. Now, shut up."

Axel rolled over onto his side and told me once more to stay quiet. I looked over what had happened today once more before I wanted to shut down. Axel had seemed apprehensive to the thought of me joining the Strifes, but I wasn't sure anymore.