disclaimer: don't own it, never will. and quite honestly, i don't want to. fanfiction's too much fun.
dedications: for leah and raeni-hime. my axel-muses. (:

#01 - Ring
The replica had scoffed when Axel gave it to him - cheap silver-painted plastic and an overlarge aqua 'jewel' ("It matches your eyes!") - but the Nobody noted, smiling to himself, that Liku refused to take it off.

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#02 - Hero
Axel doesn't know what to say when he suddenly has a lapful of sobbing replica; he can only wrap his arms around the smaller boy awkwardly until he's finally calmed down enough to speak - "I wanted to be a hero."

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#03 - Memory
He's living with a body that isn't his and a head full of fake memories, and he's almost content with that - until he's left slumped against a wall, with the lingering taste of Axel on his tongue and a memory that is distinctly his own.

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#04 - Box
"If Xemnas kicks you out, I'd have to go with you, and you wouldn't have any money and you can't get a job because you're scary looking and we'd have to live in a cardboard box under a bridge and get mugged and die, Axel."

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#05 - Wings
"So we're really jumping?" the replica's voice is shaking as he peers over the edge of the building; the Nobody grins and nods in response - "Good thing we have wings."

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#06 - God
"If there was a god, you'd have a heart and I wouldn't exist," he murmurs, burying his face into the redhead's cloak; "I don't know if I like it better this way or not."

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#07 - Run
"Ready?" he asks; and the replica glares - Axel only laughs and tugs at his hand, "running start!"

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#08 - Cold
Axel's skin almost burns to touch - his body radiates heat as intense as the fire he controls; the replica's excuse for crawling into the Nobody's bed every night is that his own is too cold.

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#09 - Red
Liku had never really liked the color red - it represented blood and rage and flowers he'd always hated - until he met Axel, and realized why people called it the color of love.

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#10 - Drink
"I wonder," Axel muses aloud, "what it would take to get you in a dress," and Liku answers without thinking - "I'd have to be drunk off my ass;" he can only blame himself when the redhead 'discreetly' slips vodka into his drink.

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#11 - Midnight
It's past midnight when Axel returns - tired, dirty, and thoroughly demoralized - but Repliku's warm smile makes up for his disappointments.

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#12 - Temptation
Axel, Liku thinks, is forbidden fruit - a Nobody can't feel, much less love, especially not a fake like him; he knows it, but he can't stop himself from reaching out.

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#13 - View
"It's pretty," the replica says, wanting to break the silence as they stare out over the Dark City - Axel's reply of 'you're prettier' only earns him a punch to the chest.

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#14 - Music
No matter what the rest of the Organization says, Axel will always believe that their late night ministrations are absolutely musical.

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#15 - Silk
"Silk sheets, Axel?" Liku raises an incredulous eyebrow at the Nobody's bed; Axel leans over his shoulder, practically purring in his ear, "it's sexy, right?"

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#16 - Motion
The way he moves is unnatural - the overdelicate placement of his feet when he walks, the practiced subtly of his gestures - every motion reminds Axel that it's only a replica.

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#17 - Promise
"Promise me," he whispers, and Axel thinks the desperation in his voice would break his heart if he had one; he turns away so he doesn't have to see the replica's expression when he says "I can't."

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#18 - Dream
"You talk in your sleep, you know, " he starts, grinning at the blush spreading across the shorter's cheeks; "it's nice to know you dream about me."

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#19 - Candle
They stood outside, watching the castle burn as Demyx hopelessly tried to douse the flames and the rest of the Organization contributed in whatever way they could to keep it alight; Liku glanced up at Axel and sighed - "trust you to mess up lighting a candle."

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#20 - Talent
If Axel ever had any inhibitions - based on Xigbar's screaming 'JAILBAIT!' at ever opportunity - they disappeared when he realized just how talented the replica's tongue was.

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#21 - Silence
Amongst Nobodies, silence is absolute (they are, after all, nothingness, and nothing has no sound); the beating of the replica's heart, however fake it may be, is beautiful in the empty corridors.

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#22 - Journey
When Axel says 'we're leaving,' Liku doesn't question it, doesn't ask where they're going or if they'll be back - it doesn't matter, as long as he's not left behind.

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#23 - Fire
Repliku watches impassively as Axel's rage turns tangible, barely raises an eyebrow when the flames lick at the walls and ignite the furniture - and when all that's left is ashes and dull red cinders, he slips quietly into the redhead's embrace, nuzzling into his chest and muttering half-apologies into the fabric of his cloak.

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#24 - Strength
It takes him a moment to realize he's being carried - in those first fuzzy seconds of waking, it almost seems like he's floating - and once he does he's convinced he's hallucinating, because there's no way Axel's skinny arms could hold him up.

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#25 - Mask
The replica has always hidden behind an arrogant, vaguely indifferent mask - he is, after all, supposed to be Riku - but one careless graze of Axel's hand across his cheek shatters the illusion completely.

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#26 - Ice
"Fine, be that way," the Nobody says, scowling; Repliku turns to walk out, and halfway over the threshold Axel mutters, just loud enough for him to hear, 'ice princess' - he breaks the door slamming it.

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#27 - Fall
Liku likes to consider himself a very graceful creature - but of course, on the rare occasion that he does trip, Axel is always there to catch him with a smug grin and sarcastic comment.

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#28 - Forgotten
He doesn't quite remember how Axel got into his room, nor does he recall, exactly, when he invited the Nobody into his bed - but waking up curled against his favorite redhead makes up for what he's forgotten.

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#29 - Dance
"I can't dance, Axel," Liku states, eying the outstretched hand wearily; Axel scoffs and pulls the unwilling replica into position - "That's just because you've never tried."

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#30 - Body
He has memorized every inch of Axel's body - every darkness-healed battle scar, every tattoo (because he does have more than just the ones on his face), every curve and sharp angle - everything no one else is allowed to see.

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#31 - Sacred
"He's convinced that thing's gonna give us hearts;" Liku tilted his head at the heart-shaped moon - "That's a pretty good reason to worship it."

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#32 - Farewells
"Are you going to let go?" Axel asks; Liku thinks for a moment, before tightening his hold and shaking his head - ("Liku, I have to g--" "No," "I'll be back soo--" "No!") - eventually, Axel gives up and portals, clingy replica and all, to Xemnas' office to tell him to give someone else his mission.

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#33 - World
There are nights, when neither has anything better to do and the sky is clear enough, that they'll sit together and watch the stars go out, and eventually the replica only feels the faintest twinge of regret knowing that yet another world has been lost.

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#34 - Formal
Axel complains loudly about how utterly stupid this is - 'Xemnas was obviously on something from Wonderland when he came up with this; no one's even gonna see us, why do I have to wear a suit?' - while Liku stands outside his door and tells him to 'hurry up or the Superior'll Dusk you'; when he finally opens the door, grumbling and pulling irritably at his tie, the replica is speechless.

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#35 - Fever
Axel's hands in his hair, the rawness in his voice as he's screaming his name, the almost desperate pleas for more - it ignites the replica's blood in a way that has nothing to do with illness.

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#36 - Laugh
Liku decides, early one morning when he would really rather be sleeping but a certain Nobody has invaded his room with no respect for the fact that he'd only gone to bed an hour ago, that he loves everything about Axel - from his obnoxious hair to his jutting hipbones and that annoying grin he always has when he's trying to keep himself from laughing.

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#37 - Lies
The note on the bedside table was evil, the familiar messy scrawl of 'Repliku' taunted him endlessly as he debated opening it or simply throwing it away (he knew what was in it, anyway - yet another half page of lies and excuses, calling him 'kitten' at least once and signed with an annoyingly ironic heart); in the end, he left it where it was, curled up in Axel's bed and went back to sleep.

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#38 - Forever
"Eventually you'll leave me too, and I'll have to find an--" Axel stopped short, blinking down at the silver-haired boy; the replica didn't look up, but Axel knew he was smirking as he told him, "shut up, stupid - I'll stay with you forever."

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#39 - Overwhelmed
The first time, it's the feeling that takes him over, blanking out everything else to leave him utterly breathless.

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#40 - Whisper
Axel is always loud - when he talks, when he moans, when he's been told to shut the fuck up before you wake the entire fucking castle - but Liku almost has to strain to hear it when the Nobody say 'I love you.'

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#41 - Wait
"I'll wait for you," he said, and Axel swore his heart stopped.

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#42 - Talk
It didn't take long for Repliku to realize that Axel really liked the sound of his own voice - but that's okay, because he liked it too, and there was no better way to spend his time than listening to the Nobody rant.

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#43 - Search
Every time they kiss, the replica looks into Axel's eyes as if he's hoping to find something precious within their emerald depths; every time, he looks away disappointed.

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#44 - Hope
When Axel is away on missions, all Liku can do is hope that he won't find what he's looking for - because he knows that if the spiky-haired blonde ever does show up, he'll be abandoned or discarded like a broken toy.

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#45 - Wrong
"There's nothing wrong with this," he whispers, eyes downcast as Axel walks away; "I'm a fake and you don't exist - there can't be anything wrong with it."

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#46 - Gravity
The reality of what he'd just done didn't hit him until the last tendrils of darkness slipped away from his fingers - and when it did, he stumbled back, straight into the arms of the Nobody who'd manipulated him into it; the replica tensed at the feeling of hot lips on his ear, followed by Axel's smooth voice telling him he'd get used to it.

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#47 - Highway
Somewhere between the World That Never Was and Halloween Town - possibly around the time Axel deemed that auto-pilot was no longer necessary - Liku decided that he was never letting the Nobody drive again.

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#48 - Unknown
"So... what happens now?" Liku asks, glancing expectantly at the redhead; Axel is ashamed to admit that he doesn't know.

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#49 - Lock
The replica blinked at Demyx's fleeing back, then turned to raise an eyebrow at the Nobody struggling back into his pants - "I told you to lock the door."

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#50 - Breathe
He feels it when Vexen dies - the entire world seems warmer without him, a sudden change from winter to spring - and the first thing he does when he sees Axel is kiss him, because finally he can breathe.

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