Disclaimer: I do not Own KH nor any of the sequels.
Intro: This will be a collection of one-shots revolving around Axel's and Aerith's interactions. Whatever interesting idea comes to mind, I'll put to the test with these two colorful characters.
In Hindsight
In hindsight, it wasn't such a good decision. What would one expect from Axel, though? The young man never bragged about his outstanding grasp on the concept of "think before you act", and the situation he was currently in only proved that. Standing with an almost pensive look in a swarm of heartless at the walls of the fortified Hollow Bastion wasn't how the red-head imagined himself when he first left the secure halls of Castle Oblivion. The reason for his untimely leave was actually rather innocent; he wanted candy. Not just any candy, however, he wanted the chewy, moogle-shaped sweets, which were, as Axel found not too long ago, mass produced in Hollow Bastion. Without bothering with directions to the particular candy store, Axel left for the—in his opinion—accursed world.
After arriving on a platform, which overlooked the construction sight, the red-head contemplated briefly on whether to take the wrecked stairs, which led down towards the left, or the upward slope towards the right. Certainly, it would have made much more sense to go upward, but Axel never claimed that he had much logic either, and so he headed left and down the stone steps. Once he ran into an enormous blue wall (a.k.a. dead end), however, his previous confidence in him taking the right way started fading. The said confidence vanished completely when he turned to find himself making eye contact with two glowing, yellow orbs…in fact, he could spot about twenty-five pairs of those.
With exaggerated distaste at having to deal with such lowly heartless, Axel went down into his fighting stance as two rings of fire were starting to slowly engulf his outstretched hands. Before the two red-rimmed shurikens materialized, however, the red-head found himself watching in slow motion as dancing streaks of lightning descended in jagged lines upon his opposition. He was left standing, disheveled, and more than a little surprised at the clear area in front of him. All twenty-five heartless…faded into darkness.
Axel's stupor didn't last long, however. Once he figured out that the unexpected help was lent from an emerald-eyed girl in a pink dress, who was timidly standing a few meters off towards the right, his impressed gaze flickered off and was replaced by a stony look, which rather blatantly expressed his wounded pride. He was saved by…that?
"Are you alright, sir?" His day couldn't get any better. He'd really like to dare fate to try and make this whole experience one notch more awkward. Axel's quick lapse in thought was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath from the girl, which drew his attention. "You're from the Organization." Now he remembered her. This was that Aer…woman, the one who knew Sora. 'Shit.' One word of advice: never dare fate on anything…ever.
"Yeah, to both." He answered her with a displeased curve to the line of his lips. "And le gasp to you too." He added as an afterthought. A serene and calm smile took over her features at the young man's mocking words. Axel let out an aggravated grunt at that. "THANKS for taking the time to so kindly SAVE me from a certain DEATH," each syllable was dripping sarcasm, and Axel made sure to accentuate the particularly ridiculous notions that she might have had "but I'm afraid to say we'll have to part. Pardon my not crying." He gave her a fake respectful bow and turned away sharply. "Adieu."
"You came for the candy?" was the curt question behind him as the darkness tunnel was starting to open in front. Axel stopped his motions at the command of his watering mouth. 'Did she just say candy?' He could hear a soft giggle from behind. "I knew it. Sora came looking for those moogle-shaped sweets a few days ago too." The red-head's form twisted around 180 degrees and in a moment a very happy Axel was standing right in front of the pink-clad girl.
"I assume you know where I can get them?" He inquired with a forming smile.
"Why, certainly." The girl replied in a matter-of-fact tone. With a high spirited grin from ear to ear, he offered her his arm in a gentlemanly manner immediately.
"Lead the way then chief."
&&&
He was sprawled on his bed with a stomach full of chewy, differently flavored goodness. Oh yes, he did get that candy! With a pleasant smile of satisfaction settling over his lips he almost purred in delight at the enjoyable taste still lingering in his mouth. Now that he thought about it—in hindsight—perhaps, not getting the directions from the start was a good decision after all.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed!