Until We Bleed

During The Night

"Get your hands off me!" Roxas shouts, shoving Axel back with all his might.

Angry tears prick at his eyes, threatening to fall. He trembles, muscles stiffened. Broken glass litters the living room floor. Shards of pretty designs, soil and crushed flowers on the floor, digging into the rug from rough footsteps.

Axel glares back at him, hands clenched and eyes narrowed dangerously. Roxas looks away, begging the tears not to fall just yet. He turns and storms towards the front door and Axel lunges, grabbing his arm, "You're going to walk out again?!"

Roxas tries to tug his arm away, wincing at the pain it brings because of the tight grip his boyfriend has him in, "I said get your hands off me!"

Axel growls and pulls Roxas forward, grabbing the younger's chin, forcing Roxas to look at him, "Just listen to me!"

Roxas pulls back, roughly ripping himself from Axel's grip only to tumble backwards, landing on the little shards of the broken vase he may have thrown earlier in the night. He glares as Axel moves to help him up, "Stay back!"

Axel stays where he stands, glaring at Roxas with anger and anguish swimming in his eyes. Roxas avoids his gaze as he pushes himself back to his feet, "I don't want to be anywhere near you right now!"

Axel says nothing at first, and then he groans as Roxas heads for the door again, "Roxas! Stop! Where are you gonna go?!"

"Away from you!" Roxas snarls back, swinging the front door open roughly. Cool air slithers into the hot room, snow flakes flow along the floor, melting into little puddles.

"Roxas!" Axel demands at the retreating figure stomping into the snow without a jacket, "Come back! Let's talk this out!"

Roxas says nothing as he starts running through the snow, refusing to look back because he knows if he does, he will go back inside. And relinquishing his control of the situation will only have him end up right back in Axel's bed. A place he both longs to be, and doesn't want to be at all. Axel watches as he runs off. Shaking, but not from the cold as he watches Roxas disappear into the distance. He groans and shuts the door, turning back to take in the mess they made, the evidence of yet another of their fights.

Roxas keeps running, breathless and shivering, he makes his way to to the one place he knows he'll be welcome at 4am. He gets to the house and knocks loudly. He waits on the porch step for a few minutes, hugging himself and staring at the door intently. He knows he should've called first, but he left his phone back at home, and he doesn't want to let himself go back there. The door finally opens and he's met with a very sleepy looking Sora.

Sora rubs his eyes, yawning. Covering his mouth to stifle the sound, he looks Roxas over slowly. His eyes land on Roxas' face and he tilts his head, eyes slightly narrowed. From lack of sleep or annoyance, Roxas can't tell. Sora says nothing as he gestures for Roxas to come in. Roxas enters the house quickly, watching Sora shut the door. It's his turn to look his friend over now.

Sora's hair is as messy as always, and he's wearing a black t-shirt that's too big for him, it hangs off his left shoulder, over blue boxers. Roxas blushes lightly, taking this in. There's a fresh mark on Sora's neck, a hickey or a bruises, Roxas can't tell. Roxas meets Sora's gaze, hoping he hadn't interrupted anything. Sora sighs, walking past him, making a gesture for Roxas to follow. And he does.

Sora leads Roxas to the kitchen, where he flips on the light and goes to the cabinets. He glances back at Roxas as he gets two mugs down, "Sit."

Roxas obeys, watching Sora's movements wearily. Why hasn't he said anything about this yet? Sora pours coffee into the mugs, mixing them with a little cream and sugar. He wordlessly moves to the table and sets a cup down in front of Roxas before sitting across from him with his own. Roxas picks the mug up, relishing in the warmth it gives to his hands.

He sips at the drink awkwardly. Sora's staring at him. Sora traces the rim of the cup with his finger slowly, "Riku's asleep, so we can talk."

Roxas nods limply, "I.. Need a place to stay. Just.. For a few days."

Sora stares with tired eyes, "You're always welcome here, you know that. Couch is yours as long as you need it."

"Th-thank you.." Roxas looks down, staring at his reflection in the cream colored drink. He didn't expect Sora to allow this so easily. Especially after the last time. Sora sighs, gaining Roxas' attention.

"Riku isn't going to like this," he says. Roxas nods and Sora continues, "I'm going to tell you the same thing he will. This can't keep happening. I love you, Roxas, you're always going to be my best friend. But I'm honestly so sick of this. You need to dump Axel, and leave him be."

"You can't keep crashing on our couch every few weeks," Sora rubs his eyes, "Look, I'm not mad at you, and Riku won't be, either, but this has to be the end of the line, Roxas."

Roxas frowns, but listens as Sora's still talking, dropping his hands from his face, "I care about you, and I can't keep watching you destroy yourself. If you're not happy with him, leave."

Sora keeps his gaze on Roxas and Roxas is the one to sigh now, "Sora.. It's not that simple.."

Sora smiles softly, he really looks tired now, "I know. But you need to figure it out, before something that can't be taken back by apology happens."

Roxas just frowns, but nods. He knows Sora means well, he knows Sora's trying to look out for him. It's what Sora has always done. Sora gets up and dumps his coffee down the drain, "I'm going back to bed. We'll talk more in the morning, all three of us."

Roxas nods again and sips his coffee. Sora walks past him, looking back at the doorway, "Get some sleep, Roxas. You look like hell."

Roxas watches Sora walk away and he sighs, continuing to drink the quickly cooling liquid. He stares into space, hoping things will be more clear in the morning.