Under the Stars
Summary: When Xigbar goes too far, Shell finally finds her knight in...not so shining armor.
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Category: drama/romance
Pairing: very slight XigbarxShell, mostly XemnasxShell
…...
It was a normal day in the mansion. Most of the Nobodies were watching television and Shell regretted showing them the box. They had been so hooked on it ever since. Even she didn't watch much television.
Except she was on the computer 24/7, which was bad for her eyes. She was up in her room, typing on her laptop when her neck cracked. "Ah damn..." she winced, rubbing her sore and stiff neck. "That's punishment I guess..."
She noticed Xigbar had been quite distant lately. He hardly talked to her and was talking to either Xaldin or Demyx most of the time. She sighed and gently rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on...
And then hands grabbed her from behind, yanking her out of her seat and backwards. "What the-?!" she yelped when she was slammed to the ground, hands pinning down her arms. She looked up with wide eyes. "What the hell is your problem you perverted pirate?! Get off me!"
"Not until I get what I want." he spoke in a deadly voice, causing her to freeze up.
She had never heard that kind of tone come from him. It was usually sarcastic, but never this! "Get off me!" she tried to get her arms free, but he only tightened his grip and it was surely to leave bruises later on. "Get off, you're hurting me!"
He grinned. "That's the whole point."
Her eyes widened even more and she opened her mouth to scream, but he slapped a hand over her mouth. "Quiet, I wouldn't want to have to stitch that pretty mouth of yours shut."
Oh god! I never thought Xigbar would go this far! she thought, panicking in her mind. Tears stung the corners of her eyes and began to trail down her face as he leaned down to-
The door swung open and Xigbar gasped as angry, golden eyes glared at the Nobody. "S-superior! It's not what it looks like-!" before he could finish, a fist connected with his face, causing the Nobody to flinch backwards as Shell lunged at him hysterically. She was becoming angrier by the second and her punches seemed to hurt more every time they hit. She was screaming at him, cursing up a storm that would make a sailor widen his eyes.
And then Shell stopped, breathing heavily, both of her hands throbbing as both Nobodies stared at her in amazement. No body knew she could throw punches like that. Her greyish-green eyes glared venomously at Xigbar and she choked back a sob. "GO TO HELL!" she shrieked and then ran out of the room as fast as she could.
There were heavy footsteps on the stairs and Xaldin and Marluxia walked in. Marluxia had been tending to the flowers while Xaldin had been cooking dinner. "What the hell happened?" Xaldin asks. "We heard screaming and then Shell came running down and went outside."
"Ask Xigbar." their Superior glared at Xigbar with just the same hatred.
"It was a joke!" Xigbar said defensively. "I didn't mean to go that far!"
The three Nobodies glared at Xigbar and then all three left the room, Marluxia and Xemnas going out to find Shell.
"Damnit..." Xigbar muttered, wincing when he touched his eye.
…...
After hours of searching for her, Marluxia finally called up her best friend. The line rung a few times before it answered. "Hullo?" Storm questioned.
"Hi Stormy, this is Marluxia."
"Oh, hi Marluxia. I didn't ever think you would call or even pick up the phone. Whatcha need?"
"Is Shell there?"
"Um...yeah, she is. She came in here, panting so heavily I thought she was gonna collapse from the lack of air. She was crying and sobbing and really angry. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Xigbar did something to her that must've scared her really bad."
"Hold on." there was shuffling and Stormy's voice was distant, hearing her ask questions and hearing Shell's hysterical voice. "She says that Xigbar didn't rape her or anything...but she felt like he was going to do something...err...bad."
"Alright, we'll get information from him tonight."
"Okay, Shell's gonna stay here for the night and probably go back tomorrow. G'bye."
"Bye." Marluxia hung up the phone and then turned to his leader. "Shell said that Xigbar didn't rape her or anything like that, but she felt like he was going to do something bad to her."
"I told you, it was a joke!" Xigbar shouted, bruises all over his face. "I wasn't going to do anything, I just wanted to scare her a little!"
"You did more than that," Marluxia glared at him. "She might never want you near her again. Superior, what kind of punishment shall I carry out?"
"I'll deal with the punishment Marluxia, go tend to your flowers." Xemnas replied and Marluxia went back outside to tend to his flowers. "Xigbar, you are hereby forbidden to go near or talk to Shell for one month."
"Would you just let me explain myself?!" Xigbar yelled angrily.
"Quickly before I change my mind."
"I was playing a joke on her! I wanted to scare her a little bit! I guess I got carried away!"
"He's right Superior." Larxene spoke, flipping through channels. "He told me."
"Nonetheless, you went too far. Your punishment is still the same, fail to obey and there will be worst consequences." and with that, he walked away.
Xigbar grumbled underneath his breath and put the icepack to his eye again.
…...
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Stormy asks.
Shell nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I feel better now."
Storm smiled. "Good, that's my specialty. If you need anything, you know where to find me." and she drove off.
Shell walked back into the mansion, causing many of the members to look in her direction. "Welcome back." Axel spoke.
"Yeah..." she looked around. "Where's Xemnas?"
"I think he's outside."
"Well, tell him that if he needs me, I'll be upstairs taking a shower." she walked upstairs to her room and into her bathroom, shutting the door and locking it. Later that night, she took a blanket with her and sat on the roof, pointing out constellations.
She suddenly heard a whoosh as a Corridor of Darkness appeared and Xemnas walked out. "How'd you find me?" she questioned.
"I just knew." he replied and sat down beside her. "How are you?"
"I feel fine. What kind of punishment did you give Xigbar?" she asks, brushing a lock of her dark brown hair out of her face.
"Not to talk to or go near you for one month. Why are you up here? It's chilly."
"I like to come up here to think and well," she pointed at the stars above them. "As you may have noticed, I'm a fanatic about astronomy."
"You're interested in the universe?" he quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not a very religious person and I do believe in God, but I do believe there are other civilizations out there. We just haven't found them yet."
"Like in Paul?"
"Yeah, like in Paul."
The two shared a chuckle.
"It's strange...we thought we were the only planet in the whole universe and now we know we're like a tiny dot," she made a size comparison with her thumb and index finger. "And that the universe is so big that we can't explore all of it." she dropped her hand into her lap.
"Did you believe we existed?" he asked almost quietly.
She looked at him and grinned a little. "I've always believed in strange things, mythology, video games, hell, some video games are based off real stuff. Until 5 months ago, I believe you guys existed in your own universe, separate from reality. Compare your spiky hair and golden eyes to my greyish-green eyes and flat, dark brown hair. So yeah." she sighed. "Can I ask you a question?" he gave a nod. "Why do you believe Kingdom Hearts will make you whole?"
"Kingdom Hearts is, in your terms, like a God. It's an object of infinite power, the heart of all worlds. If we would've gathered enough hearts, then Kingdom Hearts would make us whole. But, as you can see," he chuckled a little. "It did not work out."
"Why don't you just do something nice?" she questioned and he gave her a look. "Don't give me that look, I'm being serious. I'm surprised how far you have come in this world and I don't like Sora either, so I'm on your side for that. Sora pissed me off, it was like genocide. He never understood why you guys did what you did. It was all to become whole again." and then she added. "I would've played the villain to help you."
"Why?"
"I think I understood you and your ways the most." Shell replied. "Your original self had darkness in his heart, then he was taken over by Master Xehanort, creating Terra-Xehanort and when Xehanort lost his heart, out came his heartless and Nobody. Your death saddened me because Sora didn't understand."
"You know much about me."
"I could recite your whole life frontwards and backwards." she grinned, that grin. The grin that he liked and became used to.
"It is nice to see you grin like that." he spoke, causing a pink tint on her cheeks.
She just pushed his shoulder. "Oh stop. I'll get over what Xigbar did, but it'll take me a while to forgive him." she shivered a little, pulling the blanket around her form tighter. "What are you doing...?" she questioned when he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side.
"It's chilly." he murmured into her hair, which smelled faintly of strawberries.
She blushed at how close they were. She was practically touching his side. All of a sudden, his other hand went underneath her chin and tilted it up. "What are you-?" she didn't finish because he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, causing her face to become a thousand shades of red.
It ended just as it began. He saw the shocked look on her face and grinned. "Would you like another?"
She suddenly threw her arms around his neck, crushing her lips to his and he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap and increased the kiss. She gave a small, but audible moan when he parted her lips with his tongue and explored the new territory.
Her face grew to more than a thousand shades of red as the kiss continued and then once she was out of air, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers while both of them breathed heavily.
She rested her hand on his chest, right above where his heart would be. It was strange not to feel a heartbeat underneath her palm. "Maybe...you were right. Maybe...Nobodies can feel without hearts."
She smiled and turned around in his arms, leaning back against him. She looked up at the sky and blinked, her eyes lighting up. "Hey," she reached up and tugged on one of his bangs, getting his attention. "Look up, I found the Big Dipper."
Meanwhile, Demyx and Axel went back into the house. Demyx's face was slightly red while Axel just looked...disgusted.
"Let's forget what we saw and go to bed, agreed?"
Demyx nodded.
