Summ.
Axel didn't care that his older brother was dating a guy. Until he fell in love with the boyfriend's son. They're engaged to be married, but will the young lovers stand up for their relationship? I mean it's not REALLY incest!

It is written in first person, chapters switching viewpoints from Axel to Roxas. Axel for odd numbered chapters, Roxas for even numbered chapters.

I sat in the 'troublemaker's chair' once again, squirming slightly as I wondered if the actual troublemakers were jittery like this while they waited. The only thoughts in my head were 'Where's Roxas? Is he here? Is he safe?'

The door opened and I spun around hopefully, only to frown at the fact that it was only the Prince. The Prince was really named Sephiroth Lexicon, but he always demanded he never be called by his last name, so to teachers he was 'Mr. Sephiroth' and to students he was 'the Prince'. No one knew why he hated being called Mr. Lexicon so much, just that he would burn you to a crisp with his glare if you said that name, often accompanying it with a snap of "NEVER CALL ME THAT.".

Even on his name plate on his desk, it was Mr. Sephiroth. My brother had always called him Prince, but when he had to start playing parent to me he called him Mr. Sephiroth to his face, though I didn't think that was necessary as long as he didn't say Mr. Lexicon. "Prince?" I said softly, tentatively adding a pinch of hope to my tone as I stood.

"Be seated," he said flatly as he leaned back against his desk.

The door opened again, and from the disapproving glare the Prince gave, he wasn't happy about the presence of the new arrival.

A familiar girl walked up beside me and gave me a small smile. "Axel."

"H-hey…" I replied in surprise, realizing that I hadn't asked her name before.

Mr. Sephiroth glared at her. "Ienzo. You have been ordered to stay away from this school. What compelled you to disobey me?"

Ienzo touched a finger to her nose and then pointed at me. "I followed Axel's scent."

"And how do you know Mr. Corre?"

"He was looking for his friend in the park this morning. I didn't want to lose track of him in case I found his friend. If I forgot his scent then I wouldn't be able to find him. But he's really easy to find here because he doesn't have the smell of the school."

"You are dismissed. And you are not to disobey me again, Ienzo. You may still be a child, but I will not let up on being firm on you, boy."

Boy? Ienzo was a boy? I looked at her… him, rather… and inspected more closely. His face was feminine, yes, but if you really looked… he was just a really cute little boy. Sort of like Roxas, except the only way I could imagine mistaking Roxas for a girl was if he was in a dress and I had never met him before. Part of me really liked the mental image of Roxas in a dress, but he would certainly kill me if I ever said that out loud.

Ienzo smiled cutely at me before giving the Prince a nod. "Yes, sir. Good luck, Axel."

"Y-yeah… thanks, Ienzo…" I replied, still baffled at the gender confusion in my mind. The boy walked out and I looked up at the Prince. "How do you know such a little kid? And why would he be banned from the school?"

"He knows better. He's the more obedient of the two… his brother is not so easy to manage."

I was about to question him again when his eyes narrowed at the door again as it opened. He stood up straight and walked up to the visitor. I stood and turned around and saw what looked like an older, darker-haired version of Ienzo who was decently short in comparison to Mr. Sephiroth, only coming up to his chest in height.

"Zexion," the Prince was gripping the boy's chin and snarling.

"Yes, sir," Zexion replied flatly. He seemed to be uncaring to the fact that the older man seemed so spiteful towards him, instead choosing to settle his gaze on me.

"Look at me when I speak to you!" Mr. Sephiroth jerked his chin up so he met furious electric-blue eyes that met his in color and loathing. I went to take a step forward when Zexion snapped at me.

"Don't get involved, fool."

I was taken aback by this, but listened nonetheless. The Prince dragged his thumbnail from beneath Zexion's right eye and down to his chin, pulling away and wiping the blood from his nail with a tissue. Zexion did not seem to be affected by this, even though the tips of his hair that hung in his face were being tinted red with blood. My jaw dropped in shock, unsure how to react to what I just saw, but Zexion opened the door and grabbed someone by the back of their shirt, dragging them into the room.

The new arrival let out a yelp in surprise, and I bristled as they tripped and fell onto the floor. I parted my lips to speak, but my throat closed and my mouth suddenly went bone dry. The honey-blonde boy on the floor took Zexion's offered hand and was lifted to stand again, turning to face the Prince.

Mr. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "So you ran away, did you? It's odd that you went unnoticed in my home, because from what I can gather, that is where you stayed the night."

He tilted his head. "Your… home?" he whispered.

My heart was racing as I simply stared at the blonde, who was yet to see me. Zexion sighed. "Yes, father. He stayed with me last night."

I wavered slightly. Sephiroth never seemed like the parenting type to me. The blonde tipped his head in confusion as the Prince and Zexion left the room.

I opened my mouth again, my voice coming out in a cracked whisper. "Roxas?"

He froze, turning around slowly and looking into my eyes. Dear God… it really WAS Roxas. He was here, and he was safe…

"Roxas?" my voice was a little stronger now. "Roxas…" I rushed to pull him into an embrace. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried! Roxas… Roxas you have no idea how happy I am to see you safe…" I hugged his head to my chest, bringing my voice to a whisper in his ear.

"Axel…?" the way he mumbled my name was disheartening. He sounded upset and angry.

"Yes, my love?" I replied in a concerned tone. "Is something wrong?"

"You shouldn't have come here."

My reply was a breathy whisper. "Wh-what?"

"Exactly what I said. I wouldn't have come to school if I'd known you would find me."

"R-Roxas…" I grabbed his wrist as he tried to pull away from me. "What… why… Roxas…" I couldn't complete any of my statements, suddenly feeling dizzy as that pain in my chest grew more severe.

"I… I know… about the engagement…"

"So do I," I replied, unsure what he meant.

Roxas sighed. "I wanted to see my dad become… an emotional mess… because I felt… betrayed by him."

"Roxas, your dad IS a mess! He called our house at four in the morning, breaking down into tears and saying you were missing… And Cloud wasn't the only one you hurt you know! When he told me you disappeared, I was heartbroken! I was worried I would never see you again… I thought something awful had happened to you! I've been walking all over the city since four-thirty trying to find you, and when I finally do, you're telling me that I shouldn't have?"

"Axel… I…" he blinked, tears escaping his eyes. He gasped at the sudden wetness on his cheek, bringing a hand to his face and shaking with sobs. "I don't want it to be this way… why? Why did it have to happen like this? I can't bear the thought of losing you!"

My arms wrapped around him and I held him tight. "Roxas, you never think, do you? You say you can't bear losing me, so you run away and scold me for chasing you? I can't live without you, either, Roxas! I love you! You're everything to me, and without you… without you… I never want to BE without you."

Roxas looked up at me, tears staining his pale cheeks, and the only thought in my mind was 'God, he's beautiful…' as he pulled on my collar to meet my lips in a tender kiss. "Axel…" he breathed.

My mouth moved against his, and I gently pressed his back to the wall, running my hand through his soft hair that had been the signature feature of my desire from day one. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth with a soft gasp that made my still-sore heart beat wildly. I nibbled gently on his lip before slipping my tongue into the warm, moist cavity I had explored countless times before, but always attacked just as eagerly each time he granted me the privilege.

"Nn…" he moaned softly into my mouth, moving to wrap his arms around my neck, but I hissed in pain and pulled away, backing up a few steps as I tried to figure out what the hell he'd just touched that hurt so damn much. Roxas was looking at me with confused and sad eyes, his arms slowly falling to his sides, dejected.

"Roxas… Sorry… I don't know what—"

"What happened to your neck?" he said, heartbreak imminent in his tone as he avoided my gaze.

"My… neck?" confused, I walked over to the window, trying to focus on my reflection, immediately jumping back at the sight and clapping a hand over the mark. "Holy shit!" I cursed, turning back to face him, and he was taking something out of his backpack. "Roxas, don't get the wrong idea…"

"Who said I had an idea? Feeling guilty?" he replied softly, eyes still refusing to meet mine.

"Roxas, that's not it at all!"

"What's not it?"

I opened my mouth despairingly, I hated when he played these mind games with me. If I were to say I'm not cheating on him, he would take that to mean that I am, because I thought he was thinking that. Of all the things to go wrong right now… "Please don't toy with me like this, Roxas. I love you, and you know that!"

"I never claimed you didn't love me."

"Roxas!" I firmly snapped his name, and reached out to grab his face to make him look at me, but he shrieked when my hand came in contact with his cheek, pulling away in terror. "Roxas?"

"Don't hit me!" he sobbed. "I'll hate you and I'll never forgive you!"

I dropped to my knees in front of him. "Hit you? Why on Earth would I ever hit you? I would never do something like that."

"That's what Dad said too! But he still hit me! I want him to break like I did!"

"Break… you… your dad… he hit you?" I took a closer look at his face, realizing in horror that I had, rather viciously, almost clutched a nasty bruise in my anger. "Roxas, I never… I never knew he hit you…"

"He did last night! He yelled at me and then he hit me and I ran away! I didn't want you to find me because I'm scared to go back! I'm scared and I'm angry and I sort of wish my dad would get hit by a car, just like Mom!"

None of this made sense to me. Cloud really never seemed like the type to hit Roxas, but then again I had never seen him angry, and Roxas was generally obedient. Wait, hadn't Cloud said that he had gotten frustrated? That he had smacked Roxas but he instantly regretted it? Cloud had been crying a lot so it had been hard to understand, but the words made sense if Roxas was so unnerved by his dad hitting him. And I was thrown off by his hostile statement that also informed me as to (apparently) how Roxas' mother died. "Roxas, your dad is heartbroken, and he's sorry… he really does love you…"

"It only takes one time of him hitting me and he'll do it again!"

"Cloud regrets it! He doesn't want to hurt you, and I don't want to see you get hurt! Roxas… did you know that Reno has a lot of scars? Our father would beat the shit out of him at least once a week. Roxas, he got a few of those beatings trying to protect me. I would take a million severe ass-whoopings to keep you safe, but I don't think I'll have to do that. Your dad wouldn't hit you again. I promise that… and if he does… I'll be right there to get smacked around in your place."

As much as I never cared about anybody or anything, I would admit that I was a little happy that Reno took me in. I really did look up to him in a way, because he always stood up for me, even though I never thanked him or even acknowledged that he had gone out of his way to help me. I didn't understand why he would do that for me, even when he got nothing out of it. To me, my life was meaningless and I wouldn't have put up a fight if someone pointed a gun at me and said that they were going to shoot me to death. I really had nothing to live for, and part of me… part of me didn't think I was alive at all. I was empty. No reason to exist, no reason to get up in the morning, no reason to even bother looking for a reason. If I had to describe myself back then in one word, if someone walked up to me and asked me who I was…

I was Nobody. Nice to meet you, now stop talking to me.

Walking through the world without any emotion was meaningless. It was as if I didn't even have a heart. Maybe I wasn't born with one. Like I just woke up in the outside world and was empty. But when I met Roxas… Roxas… he made me feel… like I had a heart. I had something to live for: him. To put it simply, two negatives, two Nobodies, two beings that really weren't being anything… somehow that made a positive, a Somebody, a person in love that was living life for everything in was worth. In a word… complete. Roxas… Roxas was everything I needed; he was my heart, my soul, everything I lacked: he was.

I kissed him lovingly. "Roxas, I love you. Please… come home…" I begged in a whisper. "I need you. You're the more precious thing I've ever laid eyes on, and I want to treasure you and keep you safe from harm forever. Roxas… Roxas, come back with me. Don't make me go alone. Don't make me go back to being Nobody. Come with me. I want to feel…"

"You aren't cheating on me," it was more of a statement than a question, but I knew I was expected to reply.

"Baby, I could never cheat on you. I love you."

"Then where… where did you get that mark?"

I took a deep breath. "Do you want the truth?"

He simply nodded.

"Reno got drunk and pretty much molested me in the hallway last night," I replied, unable to restrain a smirk at just how stupid the truth really was.

"Really?"

"Couldn't have happened any other way, baby."

Roxas looked at me for a moment before bursting into giggles. He smiled at me. "That is really weird, but really funny… God damn it, Axel, you let your brother do that to you? Even though YOU were the one that was all 'I can't sleep with you because you're my nephew even though you're not' the second time we had sex!"

"I'm not gonna lie… Reno looks like me, and you know as well as I do that I'm fucking gorgeous."

There was a sparkle in Roxas' eyes, that familiar gleam that I loved, that tint of humor as he pulled me into a kiss. "I can't believe you and your fat head sometimes."

"But you love it," I purred in response. "You know you love it."

"Hm…" he smiled against my lips. "If it's you, then I'm obligated to love it."

I placed my hand between our lips to reject the next kiss. "Are you coming home? Don't do this if you aren't coming back with me."

He looked up into my eyes, hurt. I refused to give in, however, and he simply stared at me in silence.

"Roxas… are we going to defend ourselves? We might be able to do something to put a stop to this engagement. I don't want to lose you."

"My dad… he's happy with Reno…" he looked away.

I gently turned his head to face me, taking his hands in my own. "Roxas… you deserve to be happy too. You've spent your whole life being alone and depressed, and now we're together… are you happy being with me?"

He seemed to be upset by my statement. "Of course I'm happy with you! I love you!"

"Then why are you trying to make yourself miserable like this? Roxas, your feelings are important too. Forget about everyone else for now and think about what it is YOU want."

"What… I want?"

I nodded.

"I want… to be with you… because you… you make me happy…"

"And you DESERVE to be happy, Roxas. So BE happy. I'm here for you. I love you. I'll fight by your side to stay with you…" I entwined our fingers together. "But I need you to fight for me too, okay? Can you do that for me, love? Stay with me and we'll find a way to be together."

"Okay… I trust you, Axel…" he whispered, closing his eyes and leaning his head against my shoulder. Suddenly, a loud bell went off and we leapt apart, the Prince and Zexion re-entering the office.

"Mr. Corre, Mr. Strife, I hope that this situation has been worked out, because school has ended and I request you leave my office. I hope I don't see you two again soon. Stay out of trouble!" the Prince chided. "Zexion, go home. I do not want to see you for the rest of the night."

"Yes, father."

"What was that?"

"Yes, SIR."

"Out."

Roxas ran up to Zexion and dragged me along by my hand as we left the school. We started walking in the direction of Roxas' house, and my lover stopped and grabbed Zexion by the shoulder, releasing my hand.

"Zexion, you're still bleeding…" Roxas went to examine the wound, but Zexion batted his hand away. "Let me see it, Zexion."

Gently, Roxas brushed aside the bloodstained hair to reveal the cut down his face that was still oozing blood.

"Oh my God, Zexion, this is going to get infected. The Prince did this to you?"

"My father is not one to tolerate my presence. I was unsure why he summoned you, but I wasn't going to let him hurt you if that was his intention. Obviously the only person he will ever hurt is me."

"That's terrible! Does your dad abuse you?"

"No. He infrequently punishes me for lack of a better target. It's not abusive, he simply hates me and wants me to run away. However, I will not abandon my brother. I don't care what my father thinks, Ienzo is too young to leave and I will not leave him there alone to take my place when father needs a victim."

'Reno… Reno said something similar to that…'

"Dad, I won't let you hurt Axel just because I'm not here for you to hit! Axel hasn't done anything wrong! He's just a little kid!"

"Shut up, Reno, you fucking brat!" my dad backhanded him, knocking him to the ground. I tipped my head.

"Reno?" the blank tone of my voice was formed into a question. I didn't see why he was doing this; I could care less if Dad beat me.

He shakily stood, wincing in pain as he moved between me and our father. "No! Don't hurt Axel! I won't let you hurt him!"

"You should learn to keep that stupid fucking trap of yours shut!"

"Axel, get out of here, yo!"

"Why?" I replied flatly.

"Just do what I tell you to do, damn it! Get the hell out of here and don't come back until I come to get you—" Reno cried out in pain as Dad grabbed him by the ponytail and flung him into a wall. He looked at me, desperation in his eyes. "Get going!"

I moved toward the exit, taking one last glance at Reno having his head slammed repeatedly into a wall while our father shouted every single swear he could think of. My brother's face was already bleeding and he appeared almost on the verge of blacking out. Why? Why would he do that? Why would he take my place?

When Dad stormed out of the house, I slowly crawled over to Reno, who looked as if he was barely breathing.

"Reno?" I gently prodded his side.

He slowly opened his eyes, which were considerably less lively than they usually were. He smiled sadly, reaching up a hand to gently pet my hair. "I'm okay, Axel. It's going to be alright. You're safe, baby brother. Don't worry about me…" he trailed off and his hand fell to the floor as he closed his eyes.

"Re… Reno…?" I shook him softly, confused as to why he wasn't waking up. I didn't understand. It didn't make any sense! Why? "Reno!"

If anything… Reno was my hero. The hero that I've never thanked. I didn't want to care about anyone or anything, maybe because I was defective, maybe because I wasn't a person, or maybe because I didn't want to be hurt. Reno didn't want me to be hurt, either. He kept me safe.

That day I made my first 9-1-1 call.

-9-1-1, what is your emergency?-

I stumbled a bit on my words because I never talked to anyone so I was unsure what to say. "My big brother… got beat up and he's not waking up. I don't… I don't know what I'm supposed to do… because he's bleeding a lot and isn't breathing right."

-May I ask how old you are?-

"Four," I replied monotonously.

-Can you stay on the phone with me until the ambulance gets to your house?-

"Okay."

The lady on the phone kept asking me questions to keep me talking, but I only gave one- or two-word answers, followed by silence.

When the ambulance pulled up to our house, I said goodbye to the lady and hung up, sitting down next to Reno on the floor again. "Reno. I called the emergency place like you told me to when something bad happened. The lady said that they sent people to help you."

There was a knock on the door, and I walked to answer it, standing on a stool to reach the doorknob.

"Are you the child that called?" a man in some sort of uniform asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you show us where your brother is?"

I nodded and led them to the other room where Reno was. They quickly put him on a stretcher and into the back of a red-and-white vehicle, then prompted me if my parents were home, which they weren't, before leading me into the ambulance as well.

Reno woke up about an hour after we arrived, and smiled at me.

"Thanks, baby brother," he said as he ruffled my spiky hair, laughing softly. "At least I know that when you stare blankly at me when I try to tell you stuff, you're listening."

"Why did you do that?" I prompted.

"'Cuz you're my brother, and I love you, yo."

But that still didn't make sense.

"We have to clean that cut before it gets infected," Roxas said. "Zexion, why don't we get you washed up at your house first. I still have stuff there anyway that I have to pick up."

Zexion nodded. "Father will not be returning until late tonight."

We walked down Mirror Street in silence, Roxas holding both my hand and Zexion's until we reached a large house that we entered.

"Ienzo!" Zexion called. "Are you home?"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Ienzo slid down the banister and landed in front of us. "Hi, Axel!" he cheerily smiled at me.

"H-hey," I replied, surprised.

We ascended the stairs and washed the blood out of Zexion's hair before cleaning and bandaging the cut. Roxas grabbed everything he had left there and we headed out. It was unusually quiet as we walked through the woods to get to the path that led back to Roxas' house.

"I guess the police stopped looking…" I muttered. "Cloud must be freaking out, and they probably think I got killed or something."

Zexion turned to me. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot. You're 'Axel', correct?"

"Yeah… Yeah, that's me… why?"

"I thought so."

Roxas looked at the other boy. "So…"

"He's very red," he stated. "You said he had red hair, but I didn't know that you meant RED hair."

"Is that all?"

"No. That was just the first thing I noticed. Though it is something very hard to miss. I am usually a good judge of character, so I am almost always correct, but I will say nonetheless that he had better be good to you, Roxas."

I felt incredibly left out of the conversation, even though it was about me. "I am good to him."

Roxas squeezed my hand. "I know you are, Axel."

"Regardless, if there's ever any—What is that?"

"What?"

"That sound."

I listened carefully. It was sounds of struggling and yelling and fighting and crying.

"Cloud, stop!"

"That's Reno's voice!" I exclaimed in horror, releasing Roxas' hand and running through the woods at breakneck speed, dodging trees and branches and roots, ignoring Roxas' cries after me. 'Sorry, Roxas…' I thought. 'But it's my turn to be there for him…'

Who knows what will happen? …Oh, right. I do.

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