Axel sighed. "It's not fair! I just want him to like me..." The pyro had earlier revealed his secret crush on a certain little blond. With his head in his hands, he sat down, shaking his head repeatedly. "I thought surely you guys would understand..."
"Of course we do!" Xion said, nodding with a genuine smile. "We'll help you out. I'm sure he likes you! Even if not, you guys will still be best friends!"
"No, we don't understand. We wouldn't be able to," Vexen added coldly. "We don't have hearts, therefore I doubt we'd have much trace of emotions whatsoever, unless we were experiencing somewhat of a flashback of our time as a Somebody. As for you, Axel, as Lea, you may have felt some odd way towards another Somebody."
"You mean I had a thing for Sora?" Axel asked, looking up and scratching the back of his head. "Ew, I don't think so. Even as Lea I wouldn't go there. He's all Kairi's."
"Or Riku's," Xigbar chimed in, chuckling softly.
Vexen sighed, rubbing his temples. "Whatever the matter, I don't think you're actually feeling anything for Number XIII."
"I am!" Axel whined. "I swear! Whenever I'm around him, I get all nervous and weird. It didn't used to be like this. But I guess ever since he slept for a gazillion days, I think... maybe I missed him. A little too much. And, um..." He leaned in to Vexen, lowering his voice to where only himself and the blond man could hear. "I kinda get jealous around Roxas and Xion when they're together. Do you think Roxas could have a thing for her? Or vice versa?"
Vexen's voice also cautiously lowered, he replied, "Xion is simply a puppet—a test subject, if you will. If she has anything towards Roxas, it's what Sora has towards Kairi. A strong bond. She doesn't understand it yet, it's new to her. Since she was the mishap of Roxas' leaked memories and Sora's long slumber, where Naminé were taking advantage of his unconscious mind, she's unfamiliar to a lot of things."
"But what does Kairi have to do with her?" Axel raised a thin, red eyebrow at the explanation of Xion's "existence".
"At the time, Sora's memories were strongly of Kairi. She resembles Kairi in a way. Her so called 'existence' was a mere mistake, but we're using her for an experiment. We shall dispose of her soon, fortunate for you."
"What?!" Axel screeched, causing everyone else to look over. "Y-You can't do that! No! Unfortunate for me! She's my best friend, I... you can't just..."
Vexen's volume was now in a harsh whisper. "We must, Axel. Worry not, the Superior will do the honors. Her wielding of the Keyblade is not needed, we'll only require Roxas' use of it."
Axel's lip quivered as he backed away and nodded. "...Fine... But wouldn't Naminé and Roxas have Sora and Kairi's bond?" Axel questioned, attempting to change the subject.
"Why do you think Naminé likes him so much?" Vexen countered, standing and leaving the room. "We'll talk later."
"What was all that about?" Xion asked, eyebrows raised but cobalt blue eyes still innocent and exuberant as always.
"Nothing..." Axel muttered, sitting on the ground. "I just... never mind." The chakram wielder leaned his head back against the couch behind him, groaning. "I hate life as a Nobody."
"Don't we all?" Xigbar said. "Though, sometimes I do find events occurring in the Castle to occasionally be mildly entertaining. But, y'know, it's not easy being entertained as a Nobody. You just need to learn to deal with it. Hey, Axel. At least you have two working eyes." Xigbar rolled his eye and chuckled, getting a slight smirk from Axel.
"Yeah, yeah," Axel replied, chuckling a little too.
"There's a smile. Hey, why don't we throw a party? That should entertain us temporarily."
"A party with a bunch of Nobodies? Ha, go figure. I don't think Saïx or the Superior would approve of that."
"Who said they have to know?" Xigbar smirked. "It doesn't even have to be in the Castle. It can be in Twilight Town."
"Really? Who could we invite?"
"Well, we can invite everyone but Saïx and the Superior."
"But won't they be suspicious because no one's here?"
"I'll figure something out, okay? Just go to the store in Twilight Town and get some supplies to prepare. Then invite as many people as you can."
"Roger that!" Axel excitedly pulled out some munny and opened a dark corridor, exiting the area.
"I'm up for a party," Xion said happily.
"Yeah, of course you are, kid." Xigbar then teleported into the hallway and disappeared.
- later on, before the party -
"So... you're inviting me to... a party?" Zexion asked, eyebrows furrowed, staring blankly at Axel.
"Yeah! It's in twenty minutes! Everyone but Saïx and Xemnas are going!"
"..." The Cloaked Schemer sighed, a hand on his forehead. "Alright, fine... but I'm not drinking. I'm not ending up like Number X."
"Who, Luxord? Nah, he's fine. He's coming, too!" Axel smiled and blinked. "Oh, yeah! I still have to invite Demyx!" He then ran to Demyx's room, leaving the sixth Organization member there. Zexion sighed and turned around, walking away.
Axel knocked on the door. "Hellooooo? Demmy? Guitar boy? Mullet?" He heard snoring. "Dammit, Demyx..." Opening his door, he walked over and shook the blond vigorously.
"Aah! Bloody murder!" Demyx hit Axel on the head with his sitar, and then blinked, looking around. "H-Huh? Oh... Sorry, Axe." He then helped Axel up, who was rubbing his head.
"Ow, you're mean. Hey, Xigbar and I are throwing a party in... eighteen minutes! C'mon!"
"A party? All riiight, that's what I'm talking about!" Axel dragged Demyx with him through a dark corridor.
- at the party... -
"This is awesome, Axel!" Xion said, giggling and dancing as Demyx played his sitar.
"Thanks!"
"Hey, Axel. You did a good job," Xigbar came up next to him and snickered.
"Thanks. Hey, how'd you get them to not be suspicious?"
"Eh, I convinced the Superior to give us a day off."
"Nice."
"Hey boys, I heard you're the hosts of the party," Larxene said, approaching the two. "It's pretty cool, I guess. It needs more knives, though."
"With you, everything needs more knives," Xigbar retorted.
"Whatever... Hey, look who it is!" She pushed Roxas into Axel and left, snickering.
"Hi Axel!" Roxas said obliviously, smiling. Axel blinked and pushed Roxas off of him.
"Heyo, Roxy."
"This is a cool party! Luxord let me try some of his drinks!"
Axel and Xigbar looked at each other, and in unision, said, "Oh, god."
"What? They tasted gross, I didn't like 'em." Roxas hiccuped. Xigbar facepalmed.
"Okay, um, those are adult drinks, not teenager drinks, Roxas," Axel said carefully, shaking his head.
"Oh... Maybe that's why I feel funny."
"Oh, no..." Xigbar mumbled. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you to him, Axel." Xigbar left and watched Demyx rock out on his sitar.
"Hey, let's go on the clock tower!" Roxas said, dragging Axel there before he even got a decision.
- on the clock tower -
"I'm so tired," Roxas said.
"So am I," Axel muttered, looking down.
"You always seem so nervous and down recently," Roxas observed. "Are you okay?" When Axel didn't reply, Roxas looked down. "Did I do something wrong...?"
"No, it's not you, Roxas... well, actually, it is you, but you didn't do anything... I mean..." Axel sighed in frustration as he couldn't find the right words. He finally made a decision. He leaned over and pressed his lips against Roxas'. Roxas' blue orbs widened in surprise that Axel had also desired a liplocking session between them. And so they kissed...
- down below -
Xion blinked. "What are they doing up there?"
Xigbar and Demyx smiled. "They're kissing," Xigbar said proudly.
"Ew," Larxene made a "gag me" gesture.
"What's kissing?" the young, innocent and unexperienced puppet asked.
"You'll know once you're about to do it," Demyx said, resuming to play his sitar. It seemed everyone was happy, in such a cliché "happily ever after" moment.
- meanwhile, in the Castle That Never Was -
"What do you suppose they're doing, Master Xemnas?" Saïx asked, taking a sip of a warm cup of tea.
"At this point, I am clueless. I suppose it is a good thing for them to have a break from this mission to restore Kingdom Hearts, but tomorrow they better get right back to work."
"Hm..." Saïx mumbled quietly, contemplating what to do next. "They may be in Twilight Town. Should we check, Superior?"
"I believe we should leave them be, Number VII. Today is a day of relaxation and solitude for us."
AN: ...and then Xemnas massages Saïx. Just kidding! Here I am, again. I'm trying to publish as frequently as possible. Sorry if this sucks kinda, I wrote this tiredly! I think you'd be surprised to know that I originally intended this to be a different ship, with implied AkuRoku. But it turned out with AkuRoku as the main course! Heh. I'm taking requests! R&R, please!