~*The Meaning of Laughter*~

Of smiles, and laughter, and friends that could become something more.

~***~

Xion raised her eyebrows, skeptical. Roxas had to be joking.

…Didn't he?

The blonde had a big grin on his face, rocking on his heels excitedly. The black of his coat stood out like an ink stain on clean paper compared to the pure white of the Castle that Never Was. His blue eyes were glittering with a look that she recognized. He had an idea, and he was going to make it work.

Uh oh.

"And Saix will let us go to this 'fair' because…?" She drawled slowly.

Roxas grinned, tilting his head to the side and spreading his arms in an appealing fashion. "What, you don't think I hadn't already guessed that? Gimme a break, Xion!"

The pair was standing in one of the Castle's many hallways, waiting for Axel to traverse the winding corridors to meet them. The Key of Destiny had been too excited to wait though, and had blurted out his plan to Xion the moment she had arrived. He had heard from Demyx that Twilight Town was holding something called a "Spring Fair". The Melodious Nocturne had said it was something that happened every year there, for fun. Apparently Roxas had been immediately entranced by what Demyx had told him, and had insisted on the "four of them" going to the carnival.

Xion had asked, confused, who the fourth addition to their usual group of three was. Her fellow Keybearer had told her he wanted to go find "the witch" as the others called her, Naminé, and bring her with them.

She didn't understand why, but she wouldn't argue.

"So, what's your big idea?" Xion asked him. "How are we going to sneak past Saix? We all have missions today!"

Roxas looked left and right, his expression devious. He waggled his eyebrows in such a way that she laughed involuntarily. "Easy," he told her. "Saix always gives us a choice of missions, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, y'know what? All we gotta do is pick missions in Twilight Town! We can help one another finish our missions while we're there, then we can just go to the fair. What do you think?"

Rolling her eyes skyward, Xion scoffed. "Right, what if one of us doesn't have any Twilight Town missions?"

The boy frowned, perplexed. "Well…"

"Gee Roxas, what are we doing now?" Axel's voice reached their ears, and the Keybladers turned as one to see the Flurry of Dancing Flames striding towards them. His green eyes flickered to Xion for a second, holding her gaze briefly before turning to Sora's Nobody.

"Demyx told me about a…" Roxas began.

Xion tuned him out, leaning against the wall and thoughtfully stroking her short, raven-black hair. The little pictures in her mind were becoming clearer and clearer, and quite honestly, it puzzled her. She was unhappy, actually, her mind straying back to the Beast's Castle…

"Xion, what do you think?" Axel intruded in on her thoughts, and she recoiled into the wall in shock since he was only about two small steps away from her.

Hasn't he heard of personal space?!

"Easy there," he said with a smirk. "Just asking a question, got it memorized?"

Roxas was gazing at her curiously. "Hey, no sad faces! Axel's got an idea. Don't you want to see the Spring Fair?"

"Of course," she mumbled, retreating some more from the redhead regardless. She relaxed when she could no longer feel invisible heat waves caressing her face.

Axel raised an eyebrow but said nothing about her actions. "You know Saix's a stick in the mud, right?"

"Right," echoed the Keybearers.

"He hates team up missions, let alone a triple mission. So that's out. Roxas's idea is our best bet. I know I had a Twilight Town mission yesterday, and I didn't do it. Went to Agrabah instead. What about you two?"

"I had, like, three missions! Collect emblems, destroy Heartless, get rid of some weird globs on the walls…" Roxas shrugged.

"I-I think I do," Xion began slowly. "I know I need to route some Heartless…"

"Great! Okay! It's settled then." Satisfied, Roxas nodded. "But we've gotta be discreet about it, or Saix will get suspicious if we all go to Twilight Town at once."

"Why can't we go after missions?" asked the black-haired girl.

"'Cause they do all the best stuff in the afternoon!" His sapphire eyes shone brightly, probably already daydreaming.

"I've gotta know one thing, though, Roxas. How're you gonna get the princess from her tower?" Axel crossed his arms and gazed down at him, curious.

"Leave that to me! Meet you in town!" The boy already seemed to know what he was going to do, and he pelted off down the corridors, thoroughly pleased with himself.

"I don't get him," Xion said, mystified.

Axel laughed, ruffling her hair as he passed, dragging his fingers through her short locks. She felt a strange heat sear her face, and it wasn't one of his flames.

"I hope I never get him. Mystery makes things interesting around here."

~***~

Xion had been careful to avoid Saix's orange gaze, instead, she had been meek and demure, obediently ducking out to go on her mission. In contrast, Axel had checked in with the Organization's number seven only to see what he could do for the day, and then had left in a flamboyant fashion without telling the Lunar Diviner which he would complete.

Twilight Town was a beautiful world caught in everlasting sunset. All of the buildings were various shades of cream, yellow, light brown, or tan. The radiance from the sun gave a red-orange-gold tint to the streets, and the general atmosphere was usually one of lazy peace. Long shadows huddled near the dark corners of the roads, and even they didn't feel intimidating. There was usually a lack of people around, for reasons Xion didn't know.

This time, however, the raven-haired "Nobody" had to dart around civilians as they headed for the Sandlot and the Town Square, intent on setting up the Spring Fair. Xion's curiosity was raised, despite herself, but she followed the cobblestone streets upward, letting the slanting slopes lead her to Roxas. He was waiting at the base of the Clock Tower, true to his word, as always. When he was alone, she noticed he was more…melancholy. As if the happiness he usually displayed was only a sham.

But…it has to be, doesn't it? I mean, we don't have hearts. He can't really be happy.

However, in truth, Xion didn't believe that for a second.

His eyes lifted and he grinned, striding quickly towards her. His Keyblade was draped carelessly over one shoulder, the silver mouse-head keychain swinging from side to side with every movement of his body. "I'm getting rid of some Heartless," Roxas cheerfully informed her. "You?"

"The same."

"Then we can eliminate them together, easy. Right?" Not waiting for an answer, he glanced left, then right. "Where's Axel?"

"I don't know," Xion responded truthfully.

Roxas tapped his foot. "Hrm. Let's get going on these missions, then. It seems we get up really early at the Castle! The Fair isn't even open yet, won't be for about two hours."

"How do you know?"

"One of the kids told me." He shrugged. "We've got some time! Let's get a move on."

"Sure, Roxas."

He turned and bolted off, looking over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't lost her. The Heartless were hidden, typically, but the Keyblade slung casually at Roxas's side drew them out from their hiding places. Xion pounced on a few whilst the Key of Destiny carefully lured them away from the pedestrians. Organization XIII's code told them to be as unnoticeable as possible on missions, a fact she was secretly glad for, since she wasn't eager to endanger any of the normal folk in town.

Roxas split up from her, chasing a Bully Dog down a dark alley, his face twisted into a fierce battle scowl that rivaled the canine's own zigzagging snarl. Xion let him go, swinging her Keyblade and decimating a pair of shadowy shapes trapped within icy cubes.

Frost froze her legs in place, and a biting cold sank into her skin as more and more of the strange Heartless ganged up on her. She tore herself free, setting fire to a trio of them. The blizzard themed foes would not be deterred, crowding closer and closer.

"I won't give in," Xion hissed, summoning the Light from the center of her soul. Just as she was preparing to release her full strength on the tiny but powerful enemies, a roaring wall of flame swept down from the heavens and encircled her.

Instantly, heat returned to her body. Shaking herself loosely, she was surprised to feel that her clothes were damp from where the ice had melted. The furious inferno raged so close to her that it seemed she only had to move a single inch and she'd be fried to a crisp.

The Heartless wailed and vanished in puffs of Darkness, and strangely, a few of them released pink hearts, those Xion hadn't slain them with her Keyblade. The bright objects soared towards the sky.

Crackling and snapping loudly, then murmuring reluctantly, the flames inched towards the floor until they became tiny embers and disappeared all together. There wasn't a single mark on the dark brown tiles, and when the girl looked around, she didn't even glimpse any smoke.

Magical fire, then.

And she knew only one person strong enough to do something like that without hurting her in the process.

Xion whipped around, searching the avenue for any signs of him. She forgot exactly where she was; she thought it was Market Street. She wasn't all that far from the Clock Tower's base or the Train Station, just down the slope. The road split off towards the Square and the Sandlot, if she remembered correctly. There was an Items shop and an Accessories store nearby, with bright neon signs glowing brilliantly against the constant half-light of Twilight Town.

"Gotta be more careful," Axel—for of course it was he—told her. His voice came from somewhere up above, and Xion looked towards the sky, seeing him lounging against the short railings of a building. He leaped down, his cloak fluttering behind him like bat wings, nonchalantly leaning against the wall.

She realized, abruptly, that he was right beside her to the point that their shoulders were touching. She scooted down a bit, away from him, trying to disguise the movement as she brushed her robe off.

"What took you so long?" Xion teased, smiling her thanks at him.

Axel winked, his arms crossed. "I had to get some emblems or sigils or whatever. Didn't really need your help, it'd be faster if I got myself. You and Roxas handling the Heartless okay?"

In answer to his question, footsteps pattered loudly against the stones and Sora's Nobody rounded the corner, grinning from ear to ear. "I got all of my Heartless," he declared. "What about you, Xion?"

"I did. Axel helped."

Roxas blinked and looked from Axel to Xion rapidly. "Oh, there you are, Axel. How's your mission going?"

"All done."

"That's good." That same almost smug expression appeared on his face, and Xion couldn't help but think again; He must have a heart.

"This has to be the fastest mission completion ever seen! I'm off to get Naminé then, where will you two be?" Roxas asked excitedly.

"Either the Sandlot or the Square, Roxas. The Fair is about to start." Axel replied easily.

"Yeah…okay, be back in just a few." He flicked his wrist and summoned a Dark Corridor, slipping into its shadowy embrace. It closed behind him with a loud whoosh.

There was a brief pause, and before Xion had time to dwell on anything, Axel took her by the hand. "Let's head for the Sandlot. I'll show you what a fair looks like."

"…Have you been to one?" Xion questioned eagerly, following him as he all but dragged her towards the slanting road.

"One? My old place had tons of those things every year. Seriously, they had a celebration for everything back at Ra—"Axel unexpectedly trailed off, and something unreadable and deep passed through his firework green gaze.

"Where did you used to live?"

He turned his head to peer down at her, smirking. "I'll tell you that when you remember where you came from."

"But I don't know!" Xion objected.

Axel just chuckled, and she huffed, annoyed. The "Nobody's" irritation was soon forgotten as she beheld the scene before them.

The Twilight Town residents had revamped the wide, square space they usually reserved for Struggle matches. Booths were set up all around the place, each one containing shopkeepers selling various things, or strange games that Xion didn't recognize, their insides stuffed with animal plushies. It was peculiar, and the girl found it hard to believe that it shouldn't be bizarre.

Axel laughed at her expression as they wandered through the place, and though their black robes got a few interested glances, no one paid them much attention. Xion soon saw why. There were performers dressed much weirder than them milling around, and she saw one man juggle fire and stuff it down his throat.

"Can you do that?" Xion asked, leaning towards the odd flame-eater with open shock.

She froze, feeling her muscles tense as something warm and soft brushed her ear. "I could if I wanted, but why would I?"

Xion recoiled and glanced up, realizing that Axel's lips had been on her skin. "W-Why did you do that?"

He rolled his eyes heavenward. "Do what?"

"You…I…what's that do?" She stammered, feeling stupid and ignorant again. For all she knew, that was a normal thing to do amongst friends. She didn't even know the true meaning of friendship after all, let alone the actions that accompanied it.

His eyebrows rose. "What?"

Pointing, Xion indicated the strange circular boards with black and white rings. People were tossing pointed, bulb-like shapes at it, and they stuck into the material with a thud.

"Ah," Axel tapped his forehead. "That's a dart board, got it memorized?"

"Dart board…? Why are they hitting it?"

"It's a game. If you can get it in the middle, you win a prize," he explained. That was something Xion always appreciated about him. She could ask the Flurry of Dancing Flames a question and he would answer without using a patronizing tone. She hated being talked down to, and she knew Roxas felt much the same.

Where is Roxas, anyway? I hope he's okay.

She wasn't sure she wanted this "Naminé" girl here, but she would reserve her opinion until she actually met the mysterious witch.

"Can you hit it?" Xion asked absently.

Axel winked at her. "Probably. Want to see?"

She perked up. "Sure!"

He led the way towards the booth, and standing next to a blonde-brown haired kid with camouflage pants on that barely spared him a glance—his tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth, and Xion thought then that people could be very strange—Axel paid the owner of the booth some munny and raised his hand.

Hovering at his elbow, the raven-haired girl peeked inquisitively at the display. Closing one eye briefly, he hurled the dart with blinding speed towards the board.

Thud.

It landed there, dead center, buried up to its hilt.

Wearing the expression of a very satisfied cat, Axel directed his attention to the proprietor of the place as Xion began energetically babbling.

"Wow, that was fantastic! I mean, you hit it dead center, just like that, I mean it was a—"

Axel put one long finger on her lips, grinning. "Whoa there, I can only understand so many words at once, Xion."

She blinked in surprise as he slipped a necklace around her head, the prize he had chosen for winning the carnival game. She touched the charm that hung from it; shocked to see a yellow seashell that gradually turned pink the farther down it went. It looks just like one of the seashells I gave Roxas, and he gave me, when we were both unconscious for so long…I got those from the beach here. Xion gazed in the direction of the ocean.

"What, no thank you?" Axel complained lightheartedly.

"Oh! Thank you, I mean it. I love seashells." Xion toyed with the object on its beautiful silver chain, which was marked with designs of crashing waves.

He placed his hand on hers, walking away from the booth as the blonde-brown haired boy fumed that he couldn't win the game, and Xion spotted a girl dressed in orange easily peg the dart's pointy tip to the center of the board for him.

"I know you love seashells, that's why I picked it. Besides, you can hide a necklace…Saix won't let you keep a stuffed animal."

"Are they really animals that were killed and…?"

"No," Axel snickered. "They're fake. Toys, that's all. Cloth and cotton and button eyes."

"That's nice," Xion murmured.

He hugged her to his side and inquired, as they found a secluded niche in the Sandlot behind some booths, "Why're you so depressed for?"

"Huh? Oh, no reason…just thinking."

"Want to talk about it?"

Xion wasn't even aware she was leaning against him until he shifted his weight slightly, but she didn't really want to move away. "I'm fine."

"Hmm, don't look like it." Axel trailed his gloved fingers down the side of her face and traced a line down to the hollow of her throat. He seemed surprised by the goose-bumps that rose in their wake. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"No," she choked out, feeling as if she was burning in her robe. "I don't…know what you're doing."

"Just something friends do when they're concerned," he answered lightly. "Or, at least, I do. Well, Xion, if you ever want to talk about it…" He pressed his mouth to the corner of her lips, and her blush intensified, though she didn't even know that word. "I'm here." And then, suddenly, "Let's go find Roxas and the princess." He was gone, just like that, heading for the main square of Twilight Town.

It took Xion a few moments to compose herself, but she forced her legs to follow him, rubbing at her face in an effort to reduce the heat that was scorching her skin.

But there was no fire.

~***~

Turned out, Xion's worrying that Roxas had gotten caught was totally pointless.

He had gotten Naminé out—exactly how he wouldn't say—as easy as you please, and the pair had ended up distracted by the big Ferris Wheel and the "Laser Tag" that was going on in the forest. All of it had been specially set up for the Spring Fair, celebrating the return of spring, and the blonde Nobodies had been utterly captivated by it.

"Sorry," Roxas apologized for the tenth time since they found him destroying kids during Laser Tag. "Anyway…er…" He turned his bright blue eyes on Naminé, standing shyly at his side. "This is Naminé!"

Xion studied her curiously. She was a pale girl about her height, with a white dress and eyes that were more light, icy azure than sky or ocean cerulean. She was polite and relatively friendly, when she actually spoke, preferring to say things to Roxas instead.

"How's it going, princess?" Axel greeted her. "The name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"I'm Xion, it's nice to meet you," added the raven-haired "Nobody".

"Hello," she responded quietly, her gaze looking everywhere but at them. She seemed to take comfort in Roxas's presence, not leaving his side.

From that point on, until they simply had to go back to the Castle, the four friends explored the Spring Fair. Xion felt as if time was nonexistent here in the town where the sun never set, and she followed her companions, laughing and smiling, all the while trying to learn the meaning of the things she was doing.

Sometimes, she had to remind herself that she and Roxas were almost newborns. They knew words but not the meaning to them.

Naminé was the exception, and Axel. Though the witch said she remembered who she used to be, she didn't delve farther into the subject, and Xion guessed it was a delicate matter and decided to respect her privacy.

Xion was glad that Roxas shared her confusion when it came to the carnival itself. Some of the attractions were just odd, though she couldn't help but giggle as Axel showed the fire-eater up at his own game. The Key of Destiny, eager to impress Naminé—or so he told her—put on one of the best Grandstander shows that she had ever seen. The ball had to be in the air for almost a half hour before Roxas let it fall unceremoniously to the ground.

Cotton candy and caramel apples were all foreign to the Keybearers also, but they found them quite interesting indeed. When Roxas and Naminé had been distracted, Axel had taken a bite of her cotton candy before swiftly pressing his lips to hers again, and she even tasted the sugar in his mouth.

Before she could react or ask what he had done, he was off again, leading them somewhere.

As the day began to draw to a close, and the Nobodies knew they needed to go home, something happened.

A monstrous shriek tore through the air, and a huge shape hurtled from the sky, spreading its bat wings and roaring. The black Heartless Wyvern—some sort of stronger version than normal—began to promptly attack the crowd, seeking to steal their hearts.

Roxas had instantly opened a Corridor and sent Naminé home against her will, despite her protests, and had started for the monster. The crowds screamed in terror and fled as fast as they could, and Xion took a step forward, ready to follow the Keyblader and help eliminate the Heartless.

She placed her foot down.

The world collapsed.

Darkness crashed down on her senses, and Xion stumbled, unnoticed amidst the screaming and yelling citizens that shoved past her. She hadn't collapsed in a while, not since that time she woke up from her coma, but now it seemed she was going to yet again.

A dozen voices spoke in her head, and her mind somehow recognized them, though a part of her didn't. It was a terrifying sensation, as if she was two people at once.

Right before she fainted, Xion heard someone call her name and catch her in their arms.

~***~

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew I'd find you snoozing down here."

Light rushed towards her, and Xion groaned, opening her eyes. There was white all around her.

She was back in the Castle that Never Was.

"You're awake," Axel said at her side, relieved.

She turned her head—he had put her on her bed—and saw him crouched near her, watching her anxiously.

"Did I…?"

"You fainted again." He nodded sadly. "Thought you were done with that."

Xion smiled weakly. "Me too." Strength was rapidly returning to her body though, and she propped herself up on her elbows. "Is Roxas…?"

"He's probably finishing that Heartless up."

"And Naminé?"

"She's fine."

"Why aren't you helping Roxas?"

"He can handle one Heartless, I'm sure."

"…Okay." Xion leaned back again but didn't close her eyes; instead, she gazed up at the ceiling.

"Did you have fun?" Axel teased, grinning at her.

"I did. The fair was great. I'm glad Roxas thought of it."

"Me too."

"He's like the glue…he holds us together. He tries so hard to make sure…"

"Where'd this come from?" He asked, surprised. "But you're right. Gotta love that kid."

"Love…what's that mean?

Axel rubbed the back of his head. "Ah…didn't I tell you?"

She gazed steadily at him. Whether or not he had, she wanted to hear it again.

"Never mind."

Xion saw the reluctance in his eyes and didn't push the issue. "Can I ask a question?"

"Don't you always?"

Taking the smile on his face as an invitation, she said slowly, "What's laughter mean? I know you said friends do it with each other, but…"

"Oh, boy. Xion, that's almost impossible to explain. But…" He stunned her by pulling the ivory covers of her bed up to her shoulders and standing up. "The meaning of laughter is joy. If it's real, true-blue laughter, you should feel happy when you do it. That's what laughter is. A sound that represents happiness."

Xion thought she understood, and she knew Axel wasn't going to let her do anything else today. He was always so protective of her when she got hurt. "I get it."

"Good. Get it memorized too, so I don't have to repeat myself to Roxas." A grin. "Get some rest. See ya tomorrow."

"Can I ask one more question?"

Axel stepped towards the door, and then paused. "Alright."

"What were you doing earlier today? When you kept…you touched my…" Xion let the words come out rushed, since she had trouble saying them slowly. "When you touched your mouth to mine?"

"That's what people do when they're a step above best friends."

"Isn't that what you said love is? A step above best friends?"

Smiling and shaking his head, Axel said before he left, "About time you caught on."

~***~

Finally finished! An AxelxXion for my dear friend Dani-Chan! I used to write these a lot before I lost my inspiration for these two. I hope you enjoyed it.

Reviews are my life on here. Seriously. Don't read-and-run; it's rude, you know.