Therapy

Disclaimer: If Disney and Square Enix found out I was writing this they would send Marluxia to assassinate me.

Warning: Character bashing, stubborn avoidance, and slutty exes. If you like Kairi now is a good time to stop reading. Oh, and Sora on a leash…don't look at me like that you know you want to see it.

Pairing: Axel x Roxas, mention of Roxas x someone else (oooh), Riku x Sora, mention of Zexion x Demyx.

Thank Kibaftw for this; she's the one who kicked me into finishing the chapter. I owed her for making me an icon for a separate account, see bottom for details, and this is what she wanted.

Roxas just stared at the painting on the art gallery wall, his face screwed up in horror. Why me? Why does she have to do this to me? "Stop laughing Axel," his voice wasn't nearly as threatening as he wanted it to be.

"Oh my god!" the redhead was clutching his sides as he bent over laughing, "I can't believe Namine made that!"

"I want to die," Roxas put his head in his hands and tried to disappear.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"She painted me in a…in a…" he couldn't finish.

"In a pink…well I don't know exactly what that is," the redhead looked back at the painting in an almost thoughtful way, "But it suits you."

"If you ever want sex again I suggest you shut up," Roxas growled, fully meaning his threat.

"That's not fair!" Axel seemed more than a little taken aback.

"What did I say about shutting up?"

The redhead opened his mouth to speak, but before Roxas could interrupt him someone shrieked behind them. Turning, the couple saw a girl with auburn hair in a pink zip up dress running at them. Roxas felt his insides twist at the sight of her. "ROXY!" she shrieked as she threw herself at the blond.

Out of pure instinct Roxas stepped back out of the way of her assault and she fell on the ground in front of him. "What do you want Kairi?" the blond hissed through clenched teeth.

"Is that any way to greet the love of your life?" she pouted from the ground.

"What?" Axel looked from Roxas to the girl, his expression saying it all.

"You're not the love of my life," Roxas glared down at her, desperately fighting the urge to simply kick her in the face, "Axel is." To make his point he grabbed the redhead behind the neck and crashed their lips together.

The girl on the ground stood slowly, growling in the back of her throat. "I thought I cured you of those fag tendencies," her eye twitched as she watched the blond release the redhead, "Guess I need to reestablish just how much better women are."

"What the hell are you on about now?" Roxas threw her his best 'I will kill you' glare.

"This," she said as she grabbed him by the hair and brought their lips together.

Roxas' eyes went wide as he tried to push her away, struggling with all he had. "BITCH!" Axel screamed. Kairi was ripped away by her own hair and forcefully thrown to the ground, "Stay away from my man you whore!"

"He's not your man," her eyes narrowed as she glared up at the two men, "He's mine."

"No Kairi," Roxas tried to remain calm as he wrapped an arm around Axel's waist, "I haven't been your man for nearly three years. I told you I didn't want to see you ever again, and I meant it. I'm with Axel, I'm his, and I still don't want to see you." Roxas kept sending the auburn haired girl his best death glare in hopes that it would make her go away. The glare had made Demyx cry once, but Kairi seemed immune.

"So," she turned her attention to Axel, "Who are you?"

"The person whose name Roxas screams every night," Axel hissed. Normally Roxas would have smacked the redhead for that comment, but if it got rid of Kairi then he was willing to let it slide. "And who the hell are you?"

"Oh me," the bitch gave Axel a very smug look, "I'm the one Roxy lost his virginity to."

"Kairi," Roxas had to stop himself from strangling the girl, "If you don't leave now I will kill you, I don't care if there are witnesses."

Kairi was about to say something when there came an angry shout. "What the fuck are you doing here you cheating bitch slut bag whore from hell, Satan spawn?" The group turned to see a very pissed and slightly red looking Sora stalking over, a stunned Riku on his heels.

"I didn't know you could talk like that So-Chan," Kairi smirked, "What happened to the cookies and kittens Sora I knew and loved?"

"I'm afraid you lost the right to speak to him the moment you cheated on Roxy," Sora snarled as he approached the now silent girl. Without warning he grabbed her by the front of her dress and slammed her against the nearest wall, right next to the pink painting. "I told you if I ever saw you again I'd kill you, I was serious."

"Sora!" Riku grabbed the brunet from behind and dragged him away from the wide eyed Kairi, "Don't do something you'll regret."

"I suggest you leave, now," Roxas said to Kairi without looking over at her.

"But Roxy," she began.

"I said leave," he made no attempt to hide the venom in his voice.

"Fine," she snapped, "But this isn't over. You know as well as I do that it's not." With a rather loud huff she turned and stomped away.

"What the hell just happened?" Axel said.

"That was Kairi," Sora said, his eyes narrowed as he watched her retreating back.

"I gathered that much," the redhead's tone was dry and un-amused.

"She's my ex," Roxas said softly.

"Wait, what? Roxas I don't know if you noticed but she's a girl."

"I am bi Axel," Roxas looked up at the redhead, "I've dated both guys and girls in the past."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"I didn't think it was important," Roxas shrugged slightly, "Not like I'm attracted to anyone else." It's not that big a deal, besides, I doubt Axel wanted to hear about my past sex life. I sure as hell don't want to know about his.

"Of course it matters!" Okay, didn't see that coming, "I thought I knew everything about you, I thought I was trusted with that kind of stuff."

"Okay," Riku said suddenly taking hold of Sora's arm and starting to pull him away, "This is where we leave and never tell Demyx or Zexion about this, ever."

"But Zexion will find it funny," Sora whined as he was dragged away.

"But Axel won't," Riku said before they finally got out of earshot.

"Axel," Roxas started.

"Why wouldn't you tell me something like that?" the redhead actually looked a little hurt by the fact that he hadn't been told.

"I really didn't think it was that big of a deal," Roxas sighed and took his hand, glad that Axel didn't brush it aside, "I mean it's not like it would change anything between us."

"True," Axel didn't sound convinced, "But I might have been prepared for that."

"Well, you don't know everything about Kairi. We should probably go somewhere to talk, I'm pretty sure Sora is trying to escape Riku right now so he can listen in on this conversation."

Almost on cue Riku prowled up to them. "Have you seen Sora?" the silver haired man asked.

"Got away from you huh?" Axel said.

"Yeah," Riku sighed.

"Check behind the plants," Roxas waved a hand at an indoor shrub.

"TRAITOR!" Sora yelled and ran out from behind the plant in another escape attempt.

"I think you need to get him another leash, it worked so well," Roxas looked over at Riku.

"Yeah, well, he kind of figured out how to get it off on his own."

"Wait," Axel looked between the two other men, "You put Sora on a leash?"

"Actually I put Sora on a leash," Roxas said with a slight shrug, "You know, one of those creepy child leashes that overprotective mothers get. It worked so well at keeping him in one place that I gave it to Riku."

"So I used it on him whenever we went out in public and he eventually figured it out," Riku shrugged as well, "It was a sad day when that happened. Apparently if you lock up Sora's energy for too long he goes ballistic and ends up declaring himself king of sugar, eats said sugar, and destroys stuff."

"I remember that," Roxas smiled at the memory, "Sora practically robbed that candy store at the mall. If you hadn't shown up with a credit card he would have gone to jail."

"Yeah, well I better go capture your brother before he accidentally destroys some art," Riku said as he walked off.

"Come on," Roxas pulled lightly on Axel's hand, "Let's go somewhere to talk."

"Kay," the redhead said softly.

Leading Axel out of the art gallery, Roxas looked down the street and spotted a coffee shop. Heading for that, the blond began to hope for a miracle to get him out of this. God I don't want to do this, why do I have to tell Axel about me and Kairi? I mean, it's not like it effects us in any way. No, that's not true. Kairi showed up, it will affect us in the end. She's probably going to start stalking me now. Why did she have to show up? Hasn't she done enough damage? Roxas led the way into the coffee shop only to stop in his tracks. She was there; Kairi was standing in line ordering something. Hoping to go unnoticed, Roxas quickly turned and started to drag Axel back out of the shop.

"Roxy!" a voice sounded behind them.

Cringing slightly Roxas turned back around to find Kairi running towards them. "Don't talk to me," he hissed and turned to leave once again.

"No Roxas," Kairi grabbed him only to have her hand thrown away as if it were venomous, "We have to talk this out."

"There is nothing to talk about," Roxas said through clenched teeth.

"Yes there is," Kairi grabbed him again.

"Stop touching me!" Roxas practically yelled. Turning to the auburn haired girl, Roxas was sorely tempted to strike her, but managed to keep that urge under control. "You want to talk," he snarled, pointedly ignoring Axel and Kairi's shocked stares, "Fine, let's talk. How about we talk about how you cheated on me repeatedly? Or maybe you want to talk about all the lies you told me. Oh I know, let's talk about how you were doing drugs right under my nose. No, we should really talk about how you used to hit me every time I was opposed to your stupid, yes stupid, ideas. So take your pick because I'm not talking about anything else."

"Roxas," Kairi started, "Please don't be like that. I only wanted to,"

"No," the blond interrupted her, "I can't do this Kairi, I'm sorry but you lost your chance. Come on Axel, I need to get out of here."

Not waiting for the auburn haired girl to respond, Roxas grabbed Axel's hand and marched out of the coffee shop. He could feel everyone in the shop's eyes on him and the redhead, but he didn't care, he had to get away from that girl. Growling under his breath at the memories of what Kairi had put him through, Roxas practically dragged Axel down the street to his car. Coming up to the jeep, Roxas pulled the keys out of his pocket only to have them plucked out of his grip by the redhead.

"What did you do that for?" Roxas snapped at his boyfriend.

"You are way too upset to be driving," the redhead sighed slightly, "I'll drive and you can talk about what's bothering you."

Seeing the determination in Axel's emerald eyes, Roxas gave in, stomping around the side of the car and getting in the passenger side. The blond was not pleased with the situation to say the least. The day had gone to hell and he had no intention of trying to make it better at that moment. As Axel started the car, Roxas could feel his eyes fixed on him. Instead of acknowledging the redhead like a normal person would, the blond stared pointedly out the window. After about ten minutes of driving the redhead cleared his throat, something Roxas ignored. When Axel did it again the blond just laid his head on the window. There was no way he was talking about this at the moment.

"Roxas," Axel said, but the blond just continued to stare out the window. "Roxas look at me."

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Roxas," the redhead's voice was lower now with just a hint of a threat in it, "I need to know what's going on."

"It's nothing." Drop it, come on just drop it. I so don't want to go into this right now.

"It has to be something. Look Rox, I know that there are some painful parts to your past, your dad and all, but I need to know what they are in order to help you through them."

"I just need to think this through," Roxas said in an attempt to change the direction the conversation was going in.

"Rox,"

"Just drop it okay!" Roxas finally turned back to the redhead, giving him a glare to say exactly what he thought of the situation.

Axel just growled and pulled over on the side of the road, turned off the engine and stared at the blond. "You are going to tell me what is going on or we are not going anywhere."

"Then I suppose we'll be here for a long time," Roxas shot back, turning to glare out the window again.

"Roxas," the redhead sighed, "What's with the sudden switch? You were willing to talk to me until we got to the coffee shop."

"She just got to me, that's all."

"Why? What did she do that is so bad?"

Weren't you listening? Man, here I was thinking that he actual cared about what I said. Nope, I was mistaken; he's an ass who can just stand there off in his own little world while I have a total freak out in the middle of a coffee shop. Ass hole, can't believe I'm with him. "I would have thought you would get an idea from the coffee shop."

"That's just an idea, no details. So let's go through what you mentioned. Um, how about the cheating?"

Roxas turned back to Axel. He was paying attention. Damn, I'm the asshole, I'm glad I didn't say that stuff out loud though. "It happened a lot," he said shortly.

"Rox," Axel frowned slightly and Roxas felt his stomach tighten.

"At least once a month. I found out at the end of our relationship."

"Which was how long?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, now answer the question."

"Um," Roxas stopped to think, "Five years."

"Damn," Axel ran a hand through his hair and Roxas found he couldn't look at him anymore. "Fucking whore. Okay, so next question."

"Can we just stop and go home?" Roxas really didn't want to go through all this; it wasn't something that he was exactly comfortable with.

"No," Axel snapped, "I would ask about that lies comment, but I think the cheating kind of explains that. Um…oh right, the drugs comment. What the hell was that about?"

"She was a junkie, but hid it pretty well."

"And?"

"That's all you're getting."

"Alright, alright. So, she would hit you?"

"Not hard," Roxas laid his head back on the window, suddenly very tired, "Just hard enough to let me know she wasn't happy. She never gave me a bruise or anything, but it wasn't exactly nice."

"Anything else you need to tell me about her?"

"Nope, let's go home."

"Roxas," the redhead sighed.

"Yes Axel?"

"…Nothing," with that Axel started the car back up and turned back onto the road.

Roxas glanced back at the redhead, something about that wasn't right. Axel doesn't just give in like that. What's he up to? Gah! Stop being suspicious Roxas! You're just on edge because Kairi showed up. I really shouldn't have left it like that though. I don't need to be a therapist in order to see that I still have unresolved issues with her. Crap, I'm going to need to do something about her. I don't wanna though. Did I honestly just whine at myself in my own brain? Wow, that was kind of pathetic…Still, I don't want to do this, but I should. Whatever, I'll wait until tomorrow and if I still feel the same way then I'll call her up and fix this. I'll make it clear why I don't want her in my life and then it'll be over with and I'll never have to deal with it ever again. Roxas looked back out the window, staring blankly at the passing streets.

They made it back to the apartment in good time, but the ride felt far too long to the blond. They hadn't spoken once since they had pulled over and Roxas was starting to get on edge. It was almost like the redhead was building up for something, but for the life of him Roxas couldn't figure out what it was. Surely he wasn't pissed about Roxas refusing to go into detail about everything; that would just be stupid. There were plenty of things that the redhead refused to talk about concerning his own past and Axel wasn't one to be a hypocrite. The blond knew for a fact that it was one of his pet peeves, so there had to be something else that was bothering him. Alright, let's think about this. What could have been said that would piss Axel off? Oh shit, Kairi said she was the one I lost my virginity to. No, that can't be the reason he's all PMSy, he knew I wasn't a virgin the first time we had sex. Alright, think…fuck, I don't know. Maybe I should just ask him? No, that would be asking for him to yell at me. God, he's such a girl. Well, whatever it is that's bugging him has to have something to do with Kairi. Crap, I need to resolve this no matter what.

"Axel?" Roxas said tentatively as the redhead unlocked the door to their apartment.

"Hm?" Axel hummed, his eyes remaining downcast.

"I think I need to talk to Kairi," the blond looked away, unable to take the sudden intense stare that was directed at him, "I don't want to leave it how it is. I…I need closure on this whole subject."

"Then why didn't you talk to her earlier?"

Roxas flinched at Axel's cold tone. "I was too pissed to deal with her at the moment," the blond raised his eyes to meet the emerald gaze of the redhead, "But I can't leave it to fester. I need to meet with her and figure this out, only on my terms rather than hers."

Axel just stared at the blond for a moment. Roxas couldn't help but to fidget under that gaze, it was too intense and impossible to read, like he was looking at his father. Blue eyes turned away, seeking something else to look at. When the redhead sighed Roxas was finally able to look at him again. "I guess," Axel said wearily, "That makes sense."

"Yeah," Roxas said, feeling oh so eloquent, "I'll call her tomorrow."

"Sure."

That night was a quiet one, neither man really saying much to the other. Roxas finally excused himself from the lack of conversation that had enveloped the pair and headed to bed. When the blond woke up the next morning he found Axel out cold on the couch. He couldn't help but frown at that. Why is Axel on the couch? Didn't he come to bed last night? He's being such a jackass right now. You'd think he would be all happy and shit about me trying to figure things out with Kairi from the way that he wanted to talk about it earlier. Sighing slightly, Roxas walked into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. God, I'm such a girl. I cook, I clean, I'm a freaking housewife! Grumbling under his breath, the blond glared at the stove and grabbed cereal out of the cupboard instead. He sat at the counter to eat, not wanting to deal with the redhead at the moment. He was just finishing when said redhead walked into the kitchen a smiled cheekily.

"What's for breakfast?" Axel asked sleepily.

"Cereal."

"Oh," the redhead ran his hand through his hair before grabbing the box of cheerios from the counter.

Putting his bowl in the sink, Roxas glanced at Axel for a moment. "I'm going to go call Kairi and get this all sorted out," he said as he turned away. Walking into the living room, Roxas grabbed his cell phone off the coffee table and began to go through his contacts list, slightly happy that he hadn't removed Kairi's number yet. He couldn't really remember why he hadn't taken it off, but it didn't really matter.

After a few rings Kairi picked up. "Well hello Roxy," she said smugly, "What honor do I owe this call to?"

"Cut the crap Kairi," Roxas snapped, in no mood to deal with her at the moment, "I need to talk to you, clear the air if you will."

"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing," she laughed and Roxas had to fight back a growl, "Though you're right we do need to…talk. Can you meet me at that bench at the park? You know, the one where we first fucked like there was no tomorrow."

"I'd rather not," Roxas muttered, "Let's meet at the coffee shop from yesterday."

"Fine, fine, see you there. What time?"

"When's good for you?"

"How about in half an hour? I can get there by then."

"Fine," Roxas snapped the phone closed and looked around to find Axel staring at him. "I have to go meet Kairi," Roxas said softly, "I'll be back in a bit."

Axel couldn't breath, he was laughing too hard. Cracking an eye open, the redhead glanced at the pink atrocity on the wall and another wave of laughter shook through him. "Stop laughing Axel," Roxas squeaked.

"Oh my god!" Axel was fairly certain that he was crying because of the laughter at that point, "I can't believe Namine made that!"

"I want to die," Roxas seemed to curl in on himself and the redhead sobered up enough to realize that he needed to be a good boyfriend and comfort the blond.

"Oh come on," Axel patted the smaller male on the back, "It's not that bad."

"She painted me in a…in a…" the blond trailed off.

"In a pink…well I don't know exactly what that is," Axel looked back at the painting and decided that he needed to buy Roxas something pink to wear, "But it suits you."

"If you ever want sex again I suggest you shut up," Roxas growled fiercely.

"That's not fair!" Axel felt his eyes widen and actually stepped away from the blond in disbelief.

"What did I say about shutting up?"

Just as Axel opened his mouth to snap at the blond about using their sex life as a threat…again…a loud shriek sounded through the gallery. The pair turned and Axel saw an auburn haired girl in the sluttiest dress ever made that didn't involve sheer fabric running towards them. The redhead actually felt Roxas stiffen as they took in the sight of the girl and flinch when she shrieked, "ROXY!" and threw herself at him.

Roxas practically leapt away from the airborne girl, causing her to fall in a rather undignified heap on the floor. Axel scrunched up his nose when he realized that he could see up her skirt, though that wasn't exactly a large accomplishment considering how short it was. "What do you want Kairi?" a hiss caused the redhead to look away from the girl on the floor to Roxas. The blond had his teeth clenched tight, his sapphire eyes burning with such distaste that Axel was tempted to take a step back. Had that gaze been focused on him, the redhead knew he would have.

The girl, Kairi, seemed completely unaffected by Roxas' glare, actually pouting a bit as she gazed up at the pair of men. "Is that any way to greet the love of your life?" she whimpered.

"What?" Axel gasped out, his gaze shifting between Roxas and the girl. Love of his life? What the fuck is going on here? Who the hell does she think she is?

"You're not the love of my life," Roxas snarled, "Axel is." Without warning the redhead found his lips crushed against Roxas', not that he was complaining.

Axel was just starting to get into the kiss when he heard a low growl. "I thought I cured you of those fag tendencies," the girl snarled as the pair separated to stare at her, "Guess I need to reestablish just how much better women are."

"What the hell are you on about now?" Roxas snapped and glared pure venom at her.

"This." Before either male could react she grabbed the blond by the hair and pressed her lips to his.

"BITCH!" Axel screeched. Grabbing Kairi's hair, he ripped her away from Roxas, throwing her on the floor. "Stay away from my man you whore!" the redhead snarled.

"He's not your man," Kairi's eyes narrowed as she glared at Axel, "He's mine."

"No Kairi," Roxas' voice was unnervingly calm, the kind of calm that made Axel want to whimper and hide. He could practically hear the desire to kill the bitch in the blonde's voice. Roxas wrapped his arm around Axel's waist and glared, "I haven't been your man for nearly three years. I told you I didn't want to see you ever again, and I meant it. I'm with Axel, I'm his, and I still don't want to see you." The blond then proceeded to give the auburn haired girl a glare that had made Axel flee on several occasions, mostly when he had tried to start something in public, Roxas wasn't much of an exhibitionist.

The girl seemed completely unaffected by Roxas' stare, instead turning her attention to Axel. "So," she said with an incredibly false smile, "Who are you?"

Something in Axel snapped, he had to show this bitch her rightful place. "The person whose name Roxas screams every night," the redhead hissed. For a moment he was fairly certain that the blond was going to hit him, but when no blow came he felt confident enough to continue, "And who the hell are you?"

"Oh me," the slut smiled with such a smug air that Axel was tempted to punch her in the face, "I'm the one Roxy lost his virginity to."

"Kairi," Roxas spoke with such venom and restrained fury that Axel was able to control his own for the time being, "If you don't leave now I will kill you, I don't care it there are witnesses." Oh hell yeah Roxy, tell that bitch!

The bitch opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a single word another voice shouted from across the room, "What the fuck are you doing here you cheating bitch slut bag whore from hell, Satan spawn?" Turning, Axel was more than a little startled to see that the shout had come from none other than sweet and innocent Sora. Riku seemed to be just as shocked as Axel was feeling, because he was trailing behind the brunet with his mouth hanging open and eyes slightly wide.

"I didn't know you could talk like that So-Chan," the slut's voice practically dripping with smug delight, "What happened to the cookies and kittens Sora I knew and loved?"

"I'm afraid you lost the right to speak to him the moment you cheated on Roxy," Sora snarled. Stomping up to the auburn haired bitch, Sora grabbed her by the front of her garment, Axel refused to think of it as an actual dress, and slammed her against the nearest wall. "I told you if I ever saw you again I'd kill you," the brunet hissed, "I was serious."

"Sora!" Riku jumped forward to remove his boyfriend from the terrified looking girl, "Don't do something you'll regret."

"I suggest you leave," Roxas said, his gaze fixed on the other side of the gallery, "Now."

"But Roxy," she whined and Axel had to fight the urge to slam her back against the wall.

"I said leave," Roxas hissed.

"Fine," she stomped her foot slightly, "But this isn't over. You know as well as I do that it's not." Huffing loudly she spun around and stomped away.

"What the hell just happened?" Axel asked.

"That was Kairi," Sora said as he glared at her retreating back.

"I gathered that much," Axel couldn't help but to roll his eyes slightly.

"She's my ex," the blond added, almost as an after thought.

Oh…wait, ex? "Wait, what?" Axel blinked a few times and looked down at the blond, "Roxas, I don't know if you noticed but she's a girl."

"I am bi Axel," Roxas shrugged and met Axel's eyes, "I've dated both guys and girls in the past."

"Why wasn't I informed?" I thought he trusted me! How could he hold back such an important detail. He knows all about my past, my preferences. God, there's so much I don't know about Rox. What else is he keeping from me?

"I didn't think it was important," the blond shrugged in dismissal, "Not like I'm attracted to anyone else."

"Of course it matters! I thought I knew everything about you, I thought I was trusted with that kind of stuff."

"Okay," Riku cut in just as Axel was about to go into a major pouting session, reminding the redhead that he wasn't alone with Roxas at the moment, "This is where we leave and never tell Demyx or Zexion about this, ever."

Sora began to pout as he was dragged off by the silverette. "But Zexion will find it funny," the brunet whined.

"But Axel won't," Riku replied and Axel was thankful for him removing Sora from earshot, the last thing he needed was for the brunet to go blabbing about this to his brother.

"Axel," Roxas said softly.

"Why wouldn't you tell me something like that?" the redhead said, inwardly wincing at how accusatory it came out.

"I really didn't think it was that big of a deal," Roxas' voice was tired. When he reached out to take Axel's hand in his own the redhead felt some of his anger ebb away. "I mean it's not like it would change anything between us."

"True," Axel said slowly. I guess he's technically right, but that doesn't change the fact that he didn't trust me with this. "But I might have been prepared for that."

Roxas seemed to consider that for a moment before running his hand through his messy spikes. "Well," the blond said, "You don't know everything about Kairi. We should probably go somewhere to talk, I'm pretty sure Sora is trying to escape Riku right now so he can listen in on this conversation."

"Have you seen Sora?" Riku's voice caused Axel to jump a bit.

"Got away from you huh?" the redhead asked as soon as he composed himself.

"Yeah," the silverette sighed.

"Check behind the plants," Roxas waved in the general direction of a potted bush.

"TRAITOR!" the blonde's twin screamed as he ran out from behind the plant.

"I think you need to get him another leash, it worked so well," Roxas said and Axel's brain died.

"Yeah, well, he kind of figured out how to get it off on his own," Riku sighed.

"Wait," Axel couldn't focus on either man for too long, the image of Sora being walked like a dog far to bright in his mind, "You put Sora on a leash?"

"Actually I put Sora on a leash," Roxas shrugged and Axel had an idea that Roxas probably wouldn't agree to, he wasn't exactly big on bondage for the most part, "You know, one of those creepy child leashes that overprotective mothers get." The fantasy died. "It worked so well at keeping him in one place that I gave it to Riku."

"So I used it on him whenever we went out in public and he eventually figured it out," Riku shrugged at Roxas and Axel got a whole new image that he knew he should never tell his boyfriend, "It was a sad day when that happened. Apparently if you lock up Sora's energy for too long he goes ballistic and ends up declaring himself king of sugar, eats said sugar, and destroys stuff."

"I remember that," Roxas smiled as he was obviously not having a mental perv out, "Sora practically robbed that candy store at the mall. If you hadn't shown up with a credit card he would have gone to jail."

"Yeah, well I better go capture your brother before he accidentally destroys some art," Riku said before wandering off.

"Come on," Axel snapped out of his mental movie that would have him killed by Sora, Riku and Roxas if he ever let anyone know what it was, "Let's go somewhere to talk."

"Kay," Axel said dumbly as he tried to erase the images from his mind.

The redhead allowed himself to be lead out of the art gallery and down the street. What the hell was that all about? Roxas is way too wound up about this, it's not like him. But that's not important. He has been keeping things from me. It's not like I expect him to tell me everything about him, I don't need to know when he takes a dump or anything. But this has to be big to have riled him up like this. And he could have at least mentioned that he's bi! I mean come on! That's not exactly a small thing. I needed to know that! I mean there are always girls eyeing him, I should have been informed I needed to drive them off! Whoa, that sounded bad even in my own head. Okay Axel, you don't own him…you just have dibs. No, that's not it. He's not something I'm willing to share is all. And if this bitch can get to him…no, I won't even think it. He would never choose her over me. Would he? Axel was brought out of his thoughts by the ringing of a bell as Roxas opened a door. Looking up, the redhead found himself in a coffee shop and was about to head to the line when he felt the blond next to him freeze. Axel had only just glanced down at the younger male when Roxas started to physically drag him back towards the door.

Axel was about to ask what was wrong when a voice rang out, "Roxy!"

The blond visibly flinched at the sound of the whore screaming his name before slowly turning back to her. Axel had to fight the urge to simply smack the bitch when she came up to them. "Don't talk to me," Roxas hissed and Axel felt something squirm in his gut, something that was sickening yet oddly satisfying. Good, bitch doesn't deserve to talk to him. Wait…how would I know whether or not she deserved to talk to him? Fuck, I'm not jealous. Nope, not at all…fuck.

"No Roxas," the auburn haired girl grabbed hold of the blonde's hand and Axel had to bite back a growl before Roxas threw Kairi off with such venom that the sickening satisfied feeling returned to Axel's gut. "We have to talk this out," she tried again.

"There is nothing to talk about," Roxas said in a clipped tone, the sickeningly satisfying squirm seemed to get stronger.

"Yes there is," the girl grabbed Roxas again and Axel almost lashed out at her.

"Stop touching me!" the blond almost yelled. Roxas turned to Kairi with such an intense anger in his eyes that both she and Axel froze. Holy shit, I've never seen Rox look that pissed. I should probably just stay quiet, don't want him to turn on me… "You want to talk," the blond snarled, "Fine, let's talk. How about we talk about how you cheated on me repeatedly?" Axel started to pay closer attention. "Or maybe you want to talk about all the lies you told me. Oh I know, let's talk about how you were doing drugs right under my nose. No, we should really talk about how you used to hit me every time I was opposed to your stupid, yes stupid, ideas. So take your pick because I'm not talking about anything else."

Holy shit, no wonder Rox doesn't want to talk.

"Roxas," the auburn haired girl said, "Please don't be like that. I only wanted to-"

"No," Roxas cut her off, "I can't do this Kairi, I'm sorry but you lost your chance. Come on Axel, I need to get out of here."

The blond grabbed Axel's hand and started to drag him out of the coffee shop. The redhead cast a quick look behind him, taking in all the staring gazes of the other customers and the dejected Kairi before he was hauled onto the street. Axel's attention shifted back to the blond when he heard Roxas let out a low growl and decided that silence was probably still a good idea considering how angry the blond still was. As the pair came up to Roxas' jeep, Axel saw Roxas start to take his keys out and deftly snatched them away.

"What did you do that for?" the blond snapped, a deadly glint in his eyes as he glared at the redhead.

"You are way too upset to be driving," Axel explained, silently praying he didn't get attacked for his actions, "I'll drive and you can talk about what's bothering you."

The blond glared for a moment before stomping to the other side of the car and getting in, slamming the passenger side door in the process. Sighing heavily, Axel got into the driver's seat and started the car. As he drove down the street, the redhead kept glancing at Roxas, silently waiting for the other to speak. The blond simply stared out the window, his frame tense and shoulders slightly hunched. After about ten minutes of the blond persistently glaring out the window, Axel cleared his throat. If it hadn't been for the slight increase in tension in Roxas' shoulders the redhead wouldn't have thought he had been heard. Clearing his throat again, a little louder this time, Axel was yet again ignored; the smaller male opting to lay his forehead on the window instead.

Sighing heavily Axel finally spoke, "Roxas…Roxas look at me."

"No," the blond replied, sounding slightly childish in his stubbornness.

"Roxas," Axel fought to keep his frustration from becoming too apparent, "I need to know what's going on."

"It's nothing."

"It has to be something," the redhead sighed. You're not getting out of this Rox. I'm not letting you get off without talking and letting this shit out. "Look Rox, I know that there are some painful parts to your past, your dad and all, but I need to know what they are in order to help you through them."

"I just need to think this through," the blond said dismissively.

"Rox."

"Just drop it okay!" Roxas yelled, turning to glare at the redhead.

Unable to stop the growl that erupted from his throat, Axel pulled the car onto the side of the road and cut off the engine. "You are going to tell me what is going on or we are not going anywhere," the redhead practically spat.

"Then I suppose we'll be here for a long time," the blond shot back, glaring out the window once again.

"Roxas," the redhead fought to keep his exasperation out of his voice, "What's with the sudden switch? You were willing to talk to me until we got to the coffee shop."

"She just got to me, that's all."

"Why?" Axel pushed, "What did she do that is so bad?"

For a moment the redhead thought Roxas was actually going to hit him, his posture became so threatening. "I would have thought you would get an idea from the coffee shop," he said in a clipped tone.

"That's just an idea, no details. So let's go through what you mentioned. Um," Axel paused to think, "How about the cheating?"

The blond turned back to the taller male, a look of slight shock in his eyes. "It happened a lot."

"Rox," the redhead allowed his disapproval to slip into his voice.

"At least once a month. I found out at the end of our relationship."

How the hell could anyone cheat on my Roxas? "Which was how long?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, now answer the question." Plus I want to know how long that bitch had her claws sunk into you.

"Um…five years."

"Damn," Axel whistled slightly as he ran a hand through his crimson spikes, "Fucking whore. Okay, so next question."

"Can we just stop and go home?" the blond sounded tired, so much so that Axel nearly gave in. But he had to know what had happed to Roxas in the past, it was only fair.

"No," the redhead forced his tone to be harsh, "I would ask about the lies comment, but I think the cheating kind of explains that. Um…oh right, the drugs comment. What the hell was that about?"

"She was a junkie, but hid it pretty well."

"And?" Axel asked after a moment of silence.

"That's all you're getting."

"Alright, alright," the blonde's tone was becoming more and more stressed, Axel wasn't about to push his luck too far, "So, she would hit you?"

"Not hard," Roxas sighed as he laid his head on the window once again, "Just hard enough to let me know she wasn't happy. She never gave me a bruise or anything, but it wasn't exactly nice."

"Anything else you need to tell me about her?" Axel asked softly, not wanting to push the issue further, but desperately wanting to know.

"Nope, let's go home."

"Roxas," the redhead sighed heavily. Why won't you let me in? It can't be that bad, whatever you went through. Just open up, you'll feel a hell of a lot better.

"Yes Axel?"

"…Nothing."

Feeling rather defeated, Axel started the car back up and headed home once again. Why won't he just open up to me on his own? Does he not care enough about me, about us to do that? God damn it, I don't want to be more invested in this than he is. What if…no…but, what if I'm just something to pass the time with? No. Don't even think that, he said he loved me, he wouldn't use me like that. He's probably just in some mood, yeah that's it, just some mood. Maybe he's pregnant. That brought a brief smile to the redhead's face, but it was quickly erased. Why is he being so damn stubborn about not letting me in though? He's never been this adamant about not telling me anything before. Is he hiding something from me?

After one of the most excruciatingly uncomfortable car rides in Axel's life, the pair finally made it back to their apartment. Roxas seemed almost jittery to the redhead, jumping whenever Axel made a move to speak. As they made the way up to apartment Axel pretty much resigned himself to the fact that the blond wasn't going to let him in on anything important. Deciding to sulk and plot how to get Roxas to open up, the older man was caught off guard by the soft voice behind him. "Axel?"

"Hm?" Axel couldn't bring himself to look at the blond.

"I think I need to talk to Kairi," Roxas looked down at his feet as Axel looked at him incredulously, "I don't want to leave it how it is. I…I need closure on this whole subject."

"Then why didn't you talk to her earlier?" Axel couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice at that, wincing slightly when the blond flinched.

"I was too pissed to deal with her at the moment," Roxas said as he gave the redhead a defeated pleading look, "But I can't leave it to fester. I need to meet with her and figure this out, only on my terms rather than hers."

He wants to see her again? He honestly wants to see her again? Oh fuck, don't the abused tend to go back to their abusers? No, don't even think it. This is not the time to get all insecure. Oh shit, Roxas is looking at me. What do I do? I can't just say no, that's unsupportive, but I don't want Roxas to be alone with that bitch…he's still looking at me…fuck… "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah," the blonde's voice seemed somewhat numb, "I'll call her tomorrow."

"Sure," Axel said shortly.

The night was spent in silence, Roxas seemed to be avoiding Axel while the redhead was silently fuming to himself that the blond refused to open up. When Roxas finally excused himself to bed the redhead just watched him go. After a few minutes, once he was certain the younger male wasn't coming back out of the bedroom, Axel grabbed the phone and dialed quickly.

"Hello," a man's groggy voice answered after a moment.

"Hey Marly…were you sleeping?" Axel frowned and looked at the clock.

"No...Yuna and I just finished ha-ow woman!"

"She hit you didn't she?"

"Yes," the pink haired man's pout was evident even in his voice, "What do I owe this call to anyway? Shouldn't you and lover boy be cuddling?"

"I think Rox and I had a fight," Axel sighed.

"Ooh, what about?"

"You don't need to sound so damn pleased about it," the redhead sighed, "Roxas' ex-girlfriend showed up to Namine's art thingy today."

"Wait…Roxas is gay."

"Apparently," Axel said bitterly, "He's bi, but that's not the point. This ex is a total bitch and a whore, did some real messed up shit to Rox in the past. I got him to tell me a bit about it, but he won't open up at all."

"That's not good Axel," a woman's voice said.

"Hey Yuna, Marluxia get bored with me?"

"No, he's just not good with this stuff. So tell me what the real problem is. You've never been one to get all worked up about people not telling you all the details before."

"He's meeting up with her tomorrow, clear the air or something, and he doesn't want me to go."

"Well…you should give him some space, let him figure it out so he can talk to you."

"But what if this bitch wants to get back together? They've got history, bad history but history none the less. They were together for five years, it couldn't have been all bad."

"Wow, five years? Look, Axel, just let this play itself out, don't do anything rash that you'll regret."

"I guess you're right," Axel mumbled, "Thanks Yuna, I'm going to head to sleep now."

"Okay Axel, call me and let me know how things go okay."

Hanging up Axel glanced at the bedroom, but decided against going to bed immediately. He just couldn't really imagine laying down with Roxas just yet. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep until the sound of Roxas moving about the kitchen woke him up. Sitting up groggily, the redhead looked around for a moment before realizing that he had spent the night on the couch. Getting up, Axel made his way into the kitchen, giving the rather annoyed looking blond a cheeky smile in hopes of lightening the mood. "What's for breakfast?" the redhead asked innocently.

"Cereal," came the cold reply.

"Oh."

As Axel was grabbing a bowl and some cereal for himself when the blond hopped down and glanced at him. "I'm going to go call Kairi and get this all sorted out," Roxas said before turning and walking away. Trying to be inconspicuous Axel positioned himself so that he could overhear Roxas' conversation.

"Cut the crap Kairi," Roxas snapped into his cell phone and Axel felt a little thrill of satisfaction in his stomach, "I need to talk to you, clear the air if you will."

A moment of silence followed where Kairi answered.

"I'd rather not." Rather not what? Couldn't he have used the home phone so I could pick up the other receiver? I want to know what the bitch is saying! "Let's meet at the coffee shop from yesterday."

Another pause.

"When's good for you?"

"Fine," Roxas snapped the phone closed and looked around to find Axel staring at him. "I have to go meet Kairi," Roxas said softly, "I'll be back in a bit."