The phone only rang, no answer offered to the blue-haired boy. Where had Roxas gone? The blonde was always waiting for his call!
      Worried, Zexion hung up the phone and grabbed his coat, leaving the house. He had to get to Roxas’ place and see if the boy was okay. Not once had the blonde missed his call—Not once. It set a bad feeling in Zexion’s stomach, and he didn’t like it.
       Something was wrong.


At Axel’s house, the two once-again housemates were seated at the kitchen table, just finished their food. Axel was telling Roxas all about how he wanted to better himself, but the blonde was only half listening. For some reason, the sound of Axel’s steady voice was putting him to sleep; a strange lullaby of sorts.
       “And I actually hate Sora!” Axel was saying proudly, glad that he’d figured it out with Roxas’ help. He smiled at the other, and noticed that the younger had his eyes closed, peacefully leaning on the table. “You awake?” Axel asked gently. He’d thought his story was damn exciting, though it seemed that Roxas didn’t find the same appeal.
       Obtaining no reply, Axel was about to ask Roxas again but was cut off when his phone rang. The lanky teen got from his chair and headed to the phone, picking it up as Roxas rubbed his eyes. The phone had disrupted the blonde’s peace.
       “Hello?” Axel asked into the receiver.
       “Axel?” came an unfamiliar voice.
       “Yeah, it’s me....who am I talking to?”
       “Vexen, Roxas’ pharmacist.”
       “Oh.....kay, what you want?” Roxas was looking at Axel sceptically, wondering if Sora was on the phone with the redhead.
       Axel waved him off, turning his back on the blonde.
       “Is Roxas with you? Do you know where he is?” Vexen’s worried voice asked.
       “Uh.... yeah, he’s here. What of it?”
       “Zexion is on his way to pick him up, then. Nice talking to you.” And then the line went dead.
       Axel hung up the phone and turned to Roxas. “Who’s ‘Zexion’?” he asked with confusion written on his face.
       “Was that him?” Roxas asked, an unreadable expression on his face.
       “No, that was your pharmacist...but he said that Zexion was coming to pick you up. You got a date or what?” Axel raised a brow.
       “No, but I was supposed to go to his house today.” And every other day...
       “Oh. So you’re leaving already?” Axel asked, disappointment in his tone.
       Roxas didn’t want to leave. He looked down at the table, thinking that he probably should go when Zexion came. Staying with Axel again wasn’t a smart idea; what could be accomplished? Zexion was nothing but nice to him all the time, and if Roxas moved in with anyone, it should be with the blue-haired boy.
       And still, Roxas heard himself mumbling, “I don’t wanna leave yet.”
       “Well then I just won’t let him in,” Axel said with a grin. He was pleased with Roxas’ reply.
       Roxas smiled back a bit, his expression slightly tired but still happy. “Thanks...” He ran a hand through his blonde hair.
     “You’re tired, right?” Axel asked, “You can take a nap if you want, or something.”
     “Kay, let’s do that,” Roxas slurred, getting up and heading over to Axel to take the other’s hand.
     “‘Let’s’?”
     Roxas was just turning to the door to take Axel into the bedroom when his senses returned. With Zexion, it was simple fact that Roxas didn’t sleep alone. He’d come to assume that when he took naps, he wouldn’t take them alone.
       Blushing profusely, Roxas let go of Axel’s hand and headed off alone. “Sorry, forgot who I was talking to,” he muttered as he sped out of the redhead’s sight.
       Axel frowned, not especially liking that apology. ‘Forgot who I was talking to’ implied that Roxas often took naps with someone else. With Zexion, maybe? Axel wouldn’t doubt it.
       Strangely enough, there was a strange fire burning within Axel at the moment. He’d never felt jealousy before, but he figured that it felt similar to what he was feeling. In fact, he’d throw the burning into the category of ‘extreme jealousy’.
       Still, he’d never felt that before. It wasn’t a particularly nice feeling either; it was one that burnt inside and scathed its surroundings. The more he thought about it the worse it got. Every time he thought of Roxas with that ‘Zexion’ guy, the feeling of flames licked at his insides. He’d only heard of Zexion minutes ago, but for the name to cause him such grief could only mean one thing: Zexion was bad news. He was a threat, and he had to be taken care of.
       No, Axel did not like this ‘Zexion’ character. He did not want his Roxas in the same bed as Zexion. Whoever Zexion was, Axel hated him; hated him with everything he had.
       “Axel?” came a timid call from Axel’s bedroom. The voice snapped the redhead back to reality and his legs carried him down the hall and into his room, finding Roxas snuggled into his bed securely while looking back at Axel with innocent blue eyes.
       Roxas reached one hand toward Axel, silently asking the teen to join him. Another strange feeling washed over Axel as he walked toward the bed, slipping under the covers and settling close to Roxas. The younger boy snuggled up close to his friend, closing his eyes and sighing quietly as Axel wrapped his arms around the smaller teen.
       Axel didn’t really know what to think as he lay there with Roxas. He wasn’t tired at all—how could he be if his heart was beating so fast? It felt as if he was running a marathon while just sitting still. Having Roxas in his arms was soothing; the only thing that made his heart spasm acceptable.
        And just as Axel was starting to really relax and enjoy the other’s presence, a doorbell rang ominously through the house. Zexion had arrived.
       Frowning, Axel unconsciously held the blonde a fraction closer. He didn’t want to give his friend up; why should he have to? Why should Zexion get Roxas? That wasn’t fair. Axel had him first.
       The doorbell sounded again, though Roxas was sleeping and Axel was motionless. He figured that if he didn’t answer, Zexion would go away. Apparently he was wrong when making that assumption, for the redhead heard his front door swing open.
       He really should have locked it if he wanted his plan to work properly.
       But then again, he hadn’t expected Zexion to resort to breaking in just to get Roxas away from Axel. It was insulting.
       “Roxas?” called a low voice. The blonde in Axel’s arms twitched, though did not wake.
       Axel sighed, pulling away from Roxas reluctantly and getting out of his bed. He left his room and went into the kitchen to find Zexion.
      “You want something?” Axel drawled, leaning in the doorframe to observe the blue-haired boy. He raised an unimpressed brow at the other. “I usually expect my visitors to wait to be let in...”
       “Just give me Roxas and I’ll leave,” Zexion said with a pointed glare at Axel.
       “He doesn’t want to leave, he said so himself,” Axel countered, crossing his arms.
       “He doesn’t live here anymore. If we have to take a restraining order out against you, then so be it.”
       “It’s not like I kidnapped him! You act like I’m the one at fault here for everything!”
       “You are. Roxas is in this whole mess because of you.”
       “He is not!” Axel argued. He refused to believe that it was his fault.
       “Whatever. Give me Roxas and I’ll leave you alone.”
       “Why should I give you Roxas?”
       “You’re right....he’s not yours to give, he’s mine. Excuse me while I retrieve him.” Zexion walked around Axel and down the hallway. He didn’t get far, though, for Axel was in motion swiftly.
        Zexion was roughly spun around, only to get a face full of Axel’s fist a second later. Zexion let out a surprised cry as he stumbled back with his hands covering his face. Oh yeah, that had hurt. He hated fighting, but for Roxas he would do what was necessary. Zexion launched forward, tackling Axel onto the floor.
        Soon, the two males were making a ridiculous amount of noise, screaming things at each other in the heat of the moment. Roxas woke up to the sound of:
         “Don’t you dare—OW!!! You bastard, not the-AAHHHH!!!” Zexion cried.
         “Take that, you—hey, not the dish-” CRASH “-shit, you’re gonna get it!”
         “What you got, Ax-” WHAM
         “That’s what I’ve got, asshole.”
         “YOU HIT ME WITH A CHAIR!!” Zexion accused as Roxas ran into the room. Axel was standing, a certain amount of blood running down the side of his face as he held a chair up in the air, ready to throw it at the blue-haired boy, who was sprawled on the floor with his hands up to shield the blow. There were pieces of a broken dinner plate scattered around Axel’s feet, supposedly having been broken over the teen’s head, which would be the cause of the blood. Roxas was in shock for a minute, then recovered.
         “What are you two doing?!??!?!” he demanded. Roxas was standing cautiously in the doorway, not wanting to get involved as long as they were fighting. He never was one for violence, and the fact that he was pregnant also discouraged the idea of him getting involved. Roxas would stay at the door and call for help if needed, but he wouldn’t jump in there to forcefully remove them from each other.
        Zexion and Axel looked at Roxas, and Axel dropped the chair. Zexion let out a startled cry as the chair fell onto his foot, causing the teen to retract his leg and hold his throbbing phalanges. He glared up at Axel, only to find that the redhead wasn’t standing where he had been seconds ago.
        Zexion looked over in the direction of Roxas, finding that Axel was trying to explain the situation to the blonde. Roxas’ arms were crossed and he had on a frown. He was obviously completely unimpressed with the entire situation, though Zexion couldn’t help but smile. Roxas looked cute when he was being stubborn. Hell, he was cute all the time.
        But Roxas was also Zexion’s. If Axel thought that he could claim Roxas for himself, the teen was thoroughly mistaken. Zexion knew that Roxas wanted him and not Axel—after all, what could the redhead offer? Zexion had been nothing but nice to Roxas, helping him and staying with him no matter what. It was something that Zexion wanted to do for the other—he wanted to be there and maintain a healthy level of extreme comfort for the blonde. Roxas deserved the best, and Zexion was set on providing him with just that. Axel wouldn’t be able to do half of the things he’d done for the blonde.
        Then again, since Zexion had done so much, there wasn’t much left for Axel to do—it could go both ways, and ultimately it was a toss-up between the two. The fact that Roxas had sex with Axel before was proof that there was at least something between them, some sort of connection that Zexion was not a part of. Still, the blue-haired teen had a connection with the blonde that Axel did not. He was planning on using that to his advantage.
        Roxas had known what being with Zexion was like. It was peaceful and happy, comfortable and warm. When he’d lived with Axel there had been pain, remorse, grief, and a bunch of other negative emotions. After being with Zexion, though, going back to Axel wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be—the redhead really had changed a bit, at least. Now there was a feeling of neutrality instead of all those negative things. It was nice to be neutral, especially since his emotions were so whacked due to the pregnancy. Roxas enjoyed the neutral feeling of not feeling. Does that make sense?
         “So you’re saying that he started the fight?” Roxas asked, sounding disbelieving. The blonde looked at Axel doubtfully. Axel nodded in reply. “You sure?” Roxas glanced at Zexion, who just shook his head. “Zexion says you started it.”
         “He didn’t say anything!” Axel protested.
        Roxas sighed. “Who started it, Zex?” Axel frowned. Zex? He didn’t much like that nickname. Why did Zexion have a nickname?
         “Axel did. I was just walking down the hallway to find you—I hadn’t even said anything offensive.”
         “You did break into my house, though. I didn’t let you in so you just opened the door and trotted in. That’s illegal, you know. That’s enough cause for a fight, I thought you were a burglar.”
         “You knew who I was though,” Zexion stated, “And you knew what I was here for.”
         “Fine, then you’re a kidnapper. I think that’s worse, but that’s my opinion. Call it what you want. At any rate, you’re still not welcome, so you’ve gotta leave now.” Axel nodded at the door.
        Zexion stood up finally, patting himself off as if there was dust on him. “Roxas, we’d best get going,” he stated, “I want to get home in time for the curling game, if you don’t mind.”
         “Curling? That’s the most ridi-” Axel started.
        Roxas nodded, stepping over to Zexion before being tugged back by Axel. “Where are you going?” the redhead asked.
        Roxas looked at Axel, then glanced at Zexion, then fixed his eyes on Axel again. He truly didn’t know what he wanted to do. He wanted to be with both, but he didn’t want to be with either at the same time. It was a hard decision—what did he really want?
        Roxas stepped back to where he’d been standing a moment before, affirming that he wanted to stay with Axel. He’d hardly spent any time with the redhead, and he’d spent every day with Zexion. Truth be told, he’d become too dependent on the blue-haired teen (Not that said teen minded). Roxas didn’t want to be too dependent on him, though. He wanted to stay with the neutrality that came with Axel, that strange sense of nothingness that he enjoyed. Zexion was nice, but too much of him could be equally exhausting—one can only take so much joy and comfort before it loses its appeal.
         “You want to stay here with him?” Zexion was completely shocked, a fact at which Axel grinned at. Yes, he liked Roxas choosing him over Zexion. There was a certain ego boost that came with being chosen over people, and it was a boost that Axel needed. It reassured him that he was doing something right—he’d managed to win Roxas back at least a little bit instead of scare the blonde off and make the other hate him. Axel wasn’t completely wrong.
        Roxas nodded wordlessly and Zexion stood to look at him for a long time. Finally, Zexion nodded in acceptance. “If that’s what you want, then it can’t be helped. Call me if you need anything.” He retreated out the door and just like that was gone.
        But he’d be back. Obviously he wasn’t going to leave it like that, but he’d wait until Roxas’ pregnancy was over until he caused more drama and a fight. Zexion wanted the best for Roxas, and if that meant leaving him alone, then so be it. He’d do whatever the blonde wanted him to do until the baby was born, and then he’d make sure Roxas chose him. He didn’t know how he’d go about doing that, but even if he had to kill Axel to do it, he would.

After all, Roxas was worth murdering for.