Hi. I am once again attempting to write a fic for the 100 themes challenge. The last attempt made me wonder where my sanity had fled to. Did I really write something that pathetic? *siiigh* Anyway, I am much happier with the beginning of this fic. I do hope you will like it as well. PLEASE review. Not too much of a bother is it? You know we writers all ask the same, because we DO enjoy reviews. x3 Anyway, here is the theme Young and the first of a new fic that may center around some of those themes.

WARNING: Contains yaoi (manXman), main pairings being Zemyx, AkuRoku, slight AkuZeku, some SoRiku, perhaps some CloudXSephiroth...oh, just expect anything...

This story is centered around vampires. Huzzuh for cliché~ There is OOCness and AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, any of the characters, place names, etc. I am but a humble, obsessive fan. U_U

Anyway, enough out of me. Enjoy~

YOUNG

There was something about the air that night. It was cool against my skin and I felt harmony, revelling in the crisp silence. I was the only one in the world, I felt, who understood the true and utter bliss that accompanied the feeling of being absolutely alone. I loved my solitude more than anything. It was my escape, coming out onto that hillside every night, even on the nights like that one, when my breath hung frozen in the air before me. I felt happy.

When I was away from all of that expectation, all of those demands, I was a different person. I had the delusion of freedom and I let myself pretend I was my own, if only for those few moments. My parents believed that I would do anything for them; they thought they had me trained. At one time, they were right.

I was told that I would live my life the way they wanted it lived. As the sole heir to my family's name, I had no choice. I was their puppet. My father was an impatient man and enjoyed the task of "punishing" me when I did not oblige to a request in the correct manner. I hated him. My mother as well; she would watch, always silent as he beat me over and over... They did not know of my visits to the hillside.

When I turned thirteen I was introduced to my bride-to-be, carefully chosen by my parents of course. Her name was Xion and she was just as unhappy as I was about the engagement. I still remember our first meeting. She had looked upon me with sad, frightened eyes as her parents pushed her forward and my own did the same to me.

"Zexion," my mother's acidic voice said. ", meet Xion, your fiancée." We spent the next four years trying to like each other, but I will spare you the details. That girl was never important. Coming back to that night...

I had just fled from a rather bitter argument with my fiancée, concerning the wedding our parents had planned out for the following month. She had been begging me to speak to my father about it, put it off for longer and although I couldn't agree more with her, I knew my words would mean nothing to him. Not even giving her a backward glance, I had stormed away after she had tried to fling herself into my arms, her face streaming with tears. I will admit, I was afraid of her emotion. I had survived so far by revealing as little emotion as possible and just dancing along on my puppet strings.

I was so very relieved to finally be alone and away from all the stress for a while. I had my silence, my comforting cloak of night, my lonely hill. I was at peace for the moment, or so I thought. I was naïve; I was young. That was the first night I met him.

He appeared out of the shadows with no more sound than a ghost and stood behind me as I watched the stars. I became aware of his presence and turned my head slowly, trying to appear disinterested. In reality my heart was beating furiously against my ribcage as I prepared myself to face the stranger, or worse, my mind imagined, my father. He chuckled as soon as I regarded him, sending a shiver down my spine. His green eyes flashed with amusement as we took each other in.

"You're a sharp one," He spoke before I was really able to digest his appearance. After all, his mane of spiky, crimson hair was quite the sight. Even with only the moon lighting up the scene, it was evident how strange this man looked. Besides his piercing, green eyes, shock of hair, slim, strong, pale body and those strange marks under his eyes, there was something about the way he held himself. Something...predatory.

"They don't usually sense me right away," he murmured as if to himself. I only sat there, silently, wondering who this person was and what they were doing on this hill, my hill. I felt my pulse betray my stoic exterior however as I couldn't fathom what might happen next, me being alone, in the night, with a strangely, dangerous seeming man.

"Who are you," I asked, startled by my own voice. It was quiet, but with an edge to it. I swallowed as his eyes moved over me, a smirk painted onto his lips.

"Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" I could only stare at him for a moment, trying to take in this strange introduction. Finally, ignoring my confusions I nodded and replied softly:

"I am Zexion." He never gave his last name, so why should I, I thought.

"Nice name. What are you doing out here all alone anyway Zexion?" Once again, his speech shocked me. He used my name so casually, as if we'd been friends forever. I decided it would be best to expect strange things from this person from now on.

"Thank you. I am only enjoying the silence. Rather..., I was." The last part didn't imply anything. Well, maybe I was trying to make a point, but there was something unsettling about this Axel person's presence. He responded with a snicker and promptly invited himself to sit down beside me. I hastily moved away slightly before remembering my manners. He only looked even more amused by this act.

"Do you often come here to be alone? Home too rough or something?" His question might have been innocent, but I sensed something was wrong with it. I had the strangest feeling that Axel already knew the answer to the questions he was asking.

"Not too very often," I lied, leaving the last part out entirely. Something changed in Axel's eyes. He knew, he could tell I wasn't being truthful. I felt the fear in me increase. Could he be a stalker? How long had he been watching me? Was I only jumping to conclusions or was there truth in my assumptions?

"It's a good place to think you know," he resumed, turning his gaze to the sky. The stars winked back at him as a few wispy clouds sailed before them. "Yes, a really great spot," he agreed with himself. I shifted uncomfortably, making sure to hide the right side of my face from him with my slate coloured bangs. We sat in a tense silence for a while until finally, he stood up and with a nod of his head, left me alone again. I spent the rest of the night thinking about Axel.

We met again the next time I went to the hill, much to my dismay. I was quickly becoming certain that the strange man was stalking me. After that we met again, and again. Every time I would go to the hill, he would be waiting. After a little while I simply became used to his presence and accepted it, some nights even looking forward to seeing him again. He was the only person who didn't care what I did.

One night we spoke of my life, my parents, my fast approaching marriage. After explaining the whole ordeal to him I glanced up to see a disgruntled expression on his usually amused face.

"I don't get it. You're so young. They expect you to just go and get married to some girl you don't even like and, then what? Have kids? Become an adult, just like that?" I nodded solemnly. "Damn. Humans never get the chance to really live to begin with."

"What?," I asked him, a sharp note to my voice. Had I heard him correctly? If so..., what could that possibly mean?

"Huh? Sorry?"

"You said something about humans?," I reminded him. He gave a small chuckle and turned his face away from me. I had the feeling he was trying to hide his expression.

"Yeah, you know. Humans, as in: us. In general." I tried to see it from that point of view, but it still didn't seem to make sense.

"Then why not say 'people'? Normally one wouldn't phrase a sentence that way Axel."

"Well sorry for not being the King of Grammar. Slip of my tongue is all." I scrutinized Axel's face, which now regarded me with an open expression, feigning innocence. I decided to let it drop. Maybe it really had been just the way he phrased it.

I stood up and stretched; my legs were sore after being inactive for a while. Axel looked up with that too familiar smirk on his face.

"Leaving so soon?," he asked.

"I'm afraid so," I replied. " I must rise early tomorrow to face the end of my youth, I mean, my marriage."

"Hey, I thought it wasn't for another two days."

"It isn't, however all of the preparations will begin in the morning and I shall be busy right through to the actual ceremony, I'm afraid." I was expecting a snarky comment from Axel and was surprised when I was met by only silence. I turned around to see the older boy deep in thought. There was a certain expression on his face that I couldn't quite place. He seemed...like he was making a decision.

"Will I see you again before...the wedding?," he finally spoke.

"I doubt it."

"Hrm. Let me ask you something then." I was very curious at this point. I hadn't ever judged Axel to possess such a serious side as he was displaying now.

"Go ahead," I said somewhat hesitantly.

"Have you ever thought of... I don't know, running away?" The words hung in the air between us for several moments as I absorbed the weight of them.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean Zexion. Haven't you ever just thought: to hell with this, and, you know, wanted to run away?"

"I...I don't know what you're saying..." I could tell by the sigh-turned-growl that Axel emitted that he was frustrated with me, but the honest truth was, I couldn't get my mind wrapped around his words. Run away? The very notion was ridiculous. I had everything I could need: wealth, food, shelter, a future, a family... My family. What would they do if I were to disappear? My father would never forgive me. Did that matter so much?

"Well?," Axel prompted impatiently, still waiting for an appropriate response, ignoring my obvious confusion. If I ran away what would I be left with...? The answer was clear. Nothing. It was the most illogical thought. I was certain. Yes, I was a well trained puppet...

"I've never entertained such ideas, nor will I in the future," I replied resolutely. Axel laughed then. It was a bitter sound, cruel almost. I backed away slightly, not understanding his response.

"Future? What future? Sixty years maybe of what, doing exactly as you're told, if not by you're parents then by someone else's rules and words? Is that really living, huh? Is that a damn future?" I was shocked into silence. I hadn't ever heard anger in Axel's voice, let alone...mocking? He was mocking me?

"Why don't you listen to me. I'll offer you something any other human would die for. I can offer you a real future." There it was again, using the word 'human', as if not being a part of that classification. I tensed and let my one visible eye bear into Axel's hard, green ones. I felt something coming, something that would change my life forever.

"Please do enlighten me. What offer are you speaking of Axel?"

"You know," he began, without answering me. ",the first time I saw you I was really curious, but I kept back. I like watching them before I approach them you see, to get a feel of how they will react, how much of a struggle it will be." My blood went cold at Axel's words. They were more then just disturbing.

"I watched you for quite a while actually. All you did was sit there, not like you were sleeping, or reading, or doing anything. You just sat there every time. Finally I decided that I wasn't going to get anywhere by just watching, so I went to meet and greet, learn things through speech rather then sight. Here's the part that really got me interested in you, not just because of you're appearance, like before, but your actual behaviour. You were able to sense me before I made myself known. Shocking, I'll tell you." My throat was dry and I had trouble swallowing. I wasn't sure what Axel was getting at, but suddenly it made all of my former suspicions and fears seem silly in contrast to what was actually unfolding before me.

"A human who could actually sense me. I was impressed, honestly. That's when I thought that it might be fun to pursue you longer instead of doing the deed then."

"What deed?" I could hear the fear in my own quivering voice. I had never been so afraid in my life, but for some reason I couldn't force my feet to move. I wanted to run, but some part of me wanted to hear what Axel had to say even more...

"But hell, turned out you didn't like talking either, which you must know, intrigued me even more. So there I was for three weeks just trying to get you to say a fucking word to me. And when you do, when I finally get inside you're head, I start to feel sorry for you! I start to like you!"

"I...I..."

"But for some reason you and your stupid, narrow, human mind are so obsessed with your miserable future that you can't even realise that you're still dying every day and you will never truly be alive, never!"

"Axel...please...what are you-

"Do you want to know what life is Zexion? Life is eternal. Life is something I can give you. You are young now, but with the gift of life...you can become mature, wise, strong. Don't let your silly mortal fears make your decisions. The only thing humans really fear is death, and I can save you from it." So stunned was I, that when Axel stood from his position on the ground and strode towards me, I didn't even have the thought to move. I could only stand there, staring at him, my mind blank.

His face was serious as he wrapped one arm around me, his other hand on the back of my head. He leaned in so that his mouth was brushing my ear. Then, with a voice so soft I barely heard it, he asked:

"Do you want me to give you life?" He must have taken my silence as a yes, for the next moment I felt his mouth move down to my neck and gently nudge my skin.

"A-Axel...," I breathed, my pulse quickening as my brain slowly started to make sense of the situation.

"It will hurt only for a moment," he whispered. I knew then. I knew what he was and what he meant to do. I remained frozen. My body wanted to struggle, but my reaction was too slow. With a sharp pain I felt his fangs pierce my flesh and sink into my veins.

I screamed, the pain that followed was so raw; it hit me all at once and slowly, so slowly ebbed away along with my life substance, my blood. Strange how to live forever, I would have to die first. Axel held me tightly in his crushing embrace as I tried to struggle, but truthfully I had never been a strong person. I was weak at best and did not put up much of a fight. When the pain had almost subsided to nothing I let all of my muscles relax, rather I couldn't remain standing any longer and sunk into Axel's arms. My eyelids fluttered as I fought, still, to remain conscious.

"I'm proud Zexion. You're still awake," his soft voice murmured as he lifted me up, into his arms. "You don't need to fight it anymore though. You'll be fine, I promise. Just let yourself rest. The real pain hasn't come yet." I was too weak to summon up any fear at his words. All I wanted was to sleep... I was aware that he was walking, taking me away from the hill, from my home, the only life I'd known...

"Still so young...," I caught fragments of his sentences. "...never really able...live a childhood...a child at heart...so young...small...young." The last thing I knew before my human life ended was the gentle swaying of being carried in Axel's arms.