Perhaps fifteen minutes or so later, Roxas and Albel met in front of the park. The one in which they knew since childhood and held so many fond memories.

Who knew another memory to add to the list would involve a troublesome ghost they had so quickly grew fond of.

When they arrived it was roughly mid afternoon. The park was bustling with little ones of every age and size. Rushing across the pavement and benches of chatting mothers, it was no wonder they drew heads up in question as they whooshed by.

Given the high pollen density-it was mid June currently, Albel reached a helpful hand out to bring his best friends shirt up and over his nose. "Hold this while crawling through." He said as a suggestion that held a commanding undertone. It wasn't as if Roxas couldn't breathe through the pollen and fuzz floating around the air. It was just difficult to remind his lungs to breathe while also being careful of how much air he intook.

"I'm not a child." The blonde lowered his shirt, stuck out his tongue in defiance before letting a smile take over while returning position. He glanced over to the other, taking in fully his form. Albel was fidgeting, restless and unable to sit still. His bangs drenched in sweat. Must have been from all the running.

Jealous was not a word he would use to describe how he felt knowing exactly how much effort the brunet put into Orion for just one day. It could have been if Roxas were more emotional. He knew full well how he himself felt for his best friend; more than just the emotions of friendship. More than just family. He loved Albel with all his heart, and part of him knew the other felt the same. This was why he let the other coddle him at times. Yet he knew full well each held the same budding feelings for their ghost boy.

Who was to say how far these feelings would take them, or if bad would come from such things.

Shaking his head, Roxas let out a determined huff before crouching down and pushing through the brush. The prickles of the bushes left stinging marks over his arms, which normally he would voice a complaint about, but instead he kept moving until he appeared out the other side. Once up on his feet, he held a hand out to Albel and hoisted him up, immediately scanning the area for their beloved ghost.

"Orion, where are you?" Albel cupped both hands around his mouth in effort to project his voice.

"Ori! Please, if you're here come out. We just want to talk." Roxas tried, his eyes stopping at the single tree in the open.

Midway up the tree and settled on a branch, Orion spent the past few hours contemplating.

Was it okay for him to still hang around?

Was it wrong for him to love a being unlike himself? Two of them for that matter? Love might have been too strong of a word for such a short time spent together and yet...it felt right.

Hearing the familiar shouts around him, Orion curled in on himself. 'Please don't notice me...please don't.' If only he had remembered to place more concentration in floating, for as he denied their presence, his body floated down towards the ground, pausing as he heard a gasp noting he was seen.

It was Roxas who gasped, face lighting up as he voiced his find and rushed over. "Ori! Why did you fly away? Or rather, would you like to talk about...this whole situation to us?" He pointed a finger between the three of them.

Orion gulped down a breath of air he momentarily forgot he didn't even need and frantically shook his head. "I'm just a bother. I'll always be one. In both life and death. Even my parents thought I was a bother until my last bre-"

"Orion." Albel voiced from behind where Roxas was then crouching in front of the cowering ghost. The intensity Ori felt from just the way his name was spoken sent a shiver down his nonexistent spine. "I may not be able to hear you, however I can probably fill in the pieces. 'I'm a bother. Leave me be.' Something along those lines, yes?" He rested a palm to his waist and shook his head. "You're anything but. However, maybe if you explained a few things to us, it would help us better understand."

A slow head tilt was the only response of the slower of the three. This made Roxas chuckle before patting the ground beside him, motioning for Albel to sit. "He means, if you do not mind sharing, we wish to hear more about you. About your past. About…"

The last part need not be spoken, for Orion knew right away what their wish was. Removing himself from the trunk of the tree, he lowered himself to sit beside them. He bit at his bottom lip for a moment before sighing and nodding. "Alright. If you don't mind translating for me Roxas, I'll speak."

Orion grew up an only child. With this came many expectations forced upon him. It didn't come with family beliefs or traditions, it was just all his parents knew how to do. He couldn't blame them.

He was taught to always strive for being the best, for prides sake. Why go for small goals when you could dream big? But these weren't his dreams.

All throughout primary school he was deemed a loner. The kid who tried too hard. In studies and in social situations. Nobody appreciates a try hard.

What Orion wished for was a normal childhood. One in which he was able to learn and love the things he heard others speak about in classes. 'This new band, so cool! I have posters of them up in my room, want to see?'

Each time he mustered up the courage to ask to accompany them, all he could mutter was the hope that they would have fun under his breath. It wasn't as if he hated other children. On the contrary, he loved them. Their smiles, their cheers as they huddled around every free moment together.

The only friend Orion could with confidence say he had was his textbooks.

Perhaps this was why no one missed him the day of the accident.

About a few months before, Orion would be nagged constantly about what his aspirations were for the future. Would he become a doctor, a lawyer? Another well paying job he could use to spoil them, allow them to retire early? Each time he was asked, the boy would shrug and say 'I haven't yet decided.'

This was in fact, a lie.

It was frowned upon for him to spend time doing anything other than study. He came from a poor family. Enough to get by, but not enough for frolicking around. If he studied, he'd be able to reach out for a better lifestyle.

Instead, Orion found solace working for free at his public library. All he wanted was to help others, yet also be around what he knew and was comfortable with. Reading was all he knew. Rather than getting frustrated with it, he found sanctuary within the book covers.

This library has a children's section and oftentimes he found himself dragged along or wounded up in a conversation with the little ones.

Which was exactly what he was caught up in before the accident.

No one knew for sure how the fire started. Perhaps an accident. A rogue spark from a cigarette forgotten to be put out was the most common suspected start.

Mid morning, the smoke detectors set off as the flames devoured each and every book, using them as fodder to fuel their thirst for destruction. Orion at the time was stocking books as he noticed bookcases being bumped over either from panic or the flames. He took note as they headed towards a small girl, frozen in fear as the cases fell around her. The one in front of her threatened to squish her flat.

It missed its intended target, for she was roughly pushed away in the direction of a nearby exit, Orion himself taking her place as the furniture collapsed over him. Once smacked against the floor, the first thing he thought of was the girl, hoping she had gotten away. Next was the searing pain of the bone in his leg being crushed, and his flesh beginning to burn.

By the time firefighters and paramedics arrived it was already too late. Orion's last breath leaked out long ago. All they were able to return of him to his parents was the ashes his corpse left behind.

Neither parent shed a single tear. Not then nor at his funeral. 'We didn't give him permission to do this. He only had himself to blame. Guess we'll have to try again for another child. Never too late to start again.'

By the end Orion had burst into tears as Roxas finished explaining everything to Albel. Reliving his experience again was a nightmare.

Roxas draped his arms around the smaller being as Albel clenched his fists in anger. What sort of monsters could have raised such a perfect being?

There was one thing both agreed on, and voiced to the sobbing mess beside them.

"You're anything but a bother to us. Don't ever think otherwise anymore. We won't give you the time to even be able to think such thoughts anymore."