This'll probably be really sad, sad as in super bad. I've never wrote a romance before. Anyway, here it is, I proudly present:
***
Dark Fire
If there was one thing he didn't understand, it was Xion.
If he had to pick three words to describe her, he'd pick quiet, intelligent, and pretty. She pushed a lock of her raven black hair from her eyes, sighing, her ice cream dripping from the clock tower.
Roxas leaned over, grimacing. "Xion, you just hit that guy down there, in the suit."
Xion started, looking confused, her blue eyes trailing every which way. Then, "Oh." She leaned over too, looking at the grey suited man with the blue stain on his hat far, far below. No one else would've seen it except for the Nobodies, who have better senses than humans.
Xion suddenly lost her balance; she gave a startled cry and fell off the Twilight Town clock tower. Axel reached out and snagged her hand, and hauled her back up. He grinned smugly, though his eyes were worried.
"Gotta be more careful."
Xion smiled sheepishly, and Roxas looked back and forth between them with a confused expression.
***
Xion was in her room, constantly replaying the scene over and over in her mind. She had been thinking about leaving the Organization, and her ice cream had dripped. Roxas's voice had punched into her thoughts, and she had watched that single drop of ice cream land on the guy's hat. She had leaned over to see his expression, priceless she was sure, when she had unbalanced.
Xion closed her eyes. Heights. She only dealt with them because Roxas and Axel were there. But that terrible lurch in her stomach, that weightless feeling, had reminded her why she hated them. Then, he had grabbed her. His gloved hand several degrees higher, too warm to be Roxas's, had saved her from pitching off the tower. She had never seen anyone but the most experienced open a Dark Portal in midair.
His expression…the light…Axel's flaming green eyes.
Xion placed her hand over her heart, or where it should be, but felt nothing. Then what was aching?
***
Roxas looked horrified, his expression so comical Axel smirked.
"I have to go on a two day mission with Saix? Out of everyone…!" Roxas continued to rant until he had run out of things to say. Finally he grumbled, "I'm going to go meet the 'Luna Diviner' then. Will you keep an eye on Xion?"
Axel studied his friend's eyes in surprise. "Of course."
Axel wasn't happy Roxas was leaving, he considered him his best friend. Xion was his friend, but not one for conversation.
It was winter in Twilight Town, fresh snow had fallen, and the sunset glared off the snow harshly. Kids could be seen sliding in the distance. Axel frowned, wishing Roxas was here. Roxas had only rarely seen snow.
"Snow is rare here." Remarked Axel as Xion handed him an ice cream. He looked at her in surprise. "You don't have one?"
She smiled, wrapping her hands in her robe. "Ice cream in winter? For real Axel?"
"Of course. I'm hot." He winked at her.
"Well I'm cold." She grumbled.
Axel grinned, wrapping his arm around her thin shoulders. She was indeed shivering. Axel didn't know why, but she stiffened for some reason. Her whole body tensed, so she looked like a statue.
"Y'know my element is fire, got it memorized?" Axel knew his body temperature was several dozen degrees higher than normal. "If it makes you more comfortable I'll light a fire."
Xion looked at him strangely. "Please do."
Axel shrugged, removing his arm from around her shoulders. Almost immediately she relaxed. He lit a fire that hovered in midair in front of them, melting some of the snow, and hitting a grey suited man below with slush.
"Oops." Axel remarked idly.
Xion smiled. "Let's go, it's too cold here." She stood up, but the snow had melted due to the flames, and she slipped.
With a startled cry she plummeted once again off the clock tower for the second time in a week. Axel caught her, hauling her back up with one hand, muscles barely flexing. He grinned hugely.
"Are you falling for him?" Axel joked, pointing to the angry suited man, looking up at them.
"No." Xion replied, offended.
"Wait, wait. You're falling from grace."
Xion groaned, shoving Axel. "No more."
Axel only grinned wider, his emerald eyes shining as they stared into hers.
"Looks like you fall just short of your goals!"
Xion stood up carefully, still laughing, stepping back onto solid land. Axel flicked his Popsicle stick off the tower and followed her, still shouting off puns.
"Oh I've got a million of them, Xion! You sure did fall into a trap! Nice trip, see you next fall!"
***
Xion was alone in her room, the dim light of the halfway constructed Kingdom Hearts shining on her. She wrapped her arms around herself, remembering the feel of Axel's warm arms on hers…
It had made her whole body freeze for some reason, she could barely speak. His eyes had been just inches from hers. And they weren't green. They weren't just green anyway. There were streaks of black, thin and narrow, in his eyes. And gold. All the while glowing like fire, looking almost snake like.
Xion was still cold. She shivered slightly, wondering how Roxas was doing on a night like this, picking a strand of red hair from her coat and rolling it between gloved fingers.
***
Axel was there to meet Xion as she woke up. He was outside her door.
"We're free for today, I already talked to Xemnas. I've gotta do something to make up for it…" He grimaced. "But let's not worry about that now. We're not going to the Clock Tower today."
"Are you just doing this so I don't fall off again?" Xion asked suspiciously, closing the door behind her and wrapping her cloak around herself more securely. Somehow the whole castle was colder than normal.
Axel smirked. "I wasn't worrying about your well being that much sweetheart."
Her whole body tingled for some reason. She shook it off, dismissing it as a shiver from the chilling cold.
"Demyx is covering for the both of us and the Heartless aren't about that much. A lot of members are taking a break today. Our job is to not go where they are going. Unless you think spending the day with Xigbar is going to be fun, or…" Axel shuddered. "Vexen. Or Larxene."
Xion really disliked Larxene, she was pretty but she had a personality as cold as the Antarctic and twice as deadly.
"So where are we going?"
Axel opened a Dark Portal, the tendrils oozing from within the dark depths. "You'll see. You don't like the cold do you?"
Xion shrugged. "Not really."
"Then you'll love this place."
Axel smirked again, his confident voice still ringing in the hall. He offered her his hand, and she took it without a trace of hesitation.
***
Sunlight was the first thing she knew. It erupted around her in golden bars, turning the waves into a shifting mass of pure gold. The wind tasted salty, and even though the island had obvious signs someone came here often, a volleyball net set up, old footprints the ocean hadn't yet reclaimed, there was no one here.
"This is Destiny Islands." He said, his acidic eyes running over her face, taking in her expression, trying to see what she thought."The kids come here in the afternoon but they have school for now. We've got something to do in the afternoon anyway."
"What?" She asked curiously.
Axel's smug smirk increased, his lips lifting until it almost looked evil. "You'll see."
"You're just missing the devil horns Axel." Xion said, following him to the ocean.
"If you know where I can get a pair, we'll be set for Halloween."
"Do Nobodies celebrate….?" She asked him, as they walked along the beach. Xion really did like it, the air was warm here. She thought she heard laughter, and voices, but she strained her ears and still couldn't pinpoint it.
"-you lazy bum. I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." A female voice echoed.
Fingers snapped flaming sparks in front of her face, and Xion shook her head. Almost instantly the voices ceased, along with the nostalgia feeling.
"I said," Axel replied to her earlier question hotly. "We can if we want."
"Oh…Sorry."
Axel smiled. "Nah. Forget about it."
They were about to go leap into the water, which really did look like molten gold, when Xion realized she still had his hand. She quickly dropped it, but her hand was still tingling from the touch. More like burning.
***
What followed was one of the best days of Xion's life. She couldn't believe the fun they had; she didn't even know Nobodies could have fun.
But she was. Maybe they could. Maybe if Nobodies stopped feeling sorry for themselves they really could gain a heart…
The sun was setting. The once glorious yellow orb had been reduced to an orange blob, sinking into the water, turning the ocean into a sea of blood. Xion shook her head, trying to be more optimistic. Black and lavender stole across the sky, swallowing the red and the last strands of resisting blue in the heavens. A single star popped up in a patch of black and shone brightly.
Xion leaned back on the tree, smiling sadly. She sighed.
"What's up?" Axel asked, sitting next to her.
"I wish Roxas were here."
Axel nodded, staring at the sunset. "I know. We've been here before though, you deserve a trip yourself. I gave him my undivided attention and you deserve it too, got it memorized?"
"Oh. Thanks."
They had gone to another island while the kids had been here, but once the sun had set and the kids had left, they had returned to the little island to sit on the curiously bent tree with the star shaped fruit.
"What are they called?" Xion asked, pointing to the star shaped fruits.
"I don't know." Axel drawled. "I saw a picture of a boy handing half the star to a girl."
Axel smirked suddenly, ripping off a star fruit and breaking it in half. The yellow insides of the star glittered in the light. "Here."
Xion took it in surprise. "Now what?"
Axel threw his head back and laughed again, familiar to Xion after her time with him. "I don't know." He said again. He bit into it.
Impossibly, with the sun setting, a chill wind blew. Placing down the star fruit Xion wrapped her arms around herself and tried without success to stop shivering.
Axel noticed. He smiled, a dark look entering his eyes that Xion had never seen before, like he was plotting something. It made him look like the other members for a moment, emotionless.
"I could light a fire. But that might hurt this tree, which is pretty special. Obviously."
Xion knew what he was going for. She scowled at him. "Don't worry about it."
Axel leaned forward, grinning again, exposing a sharp canine. "I told Roxas I'd watch after you, I can't have my friend cold now can I?"
Before Xion could stop him Axel wrapped his arm around her, hugging her close. The heat that came from his body immediately set into her bones, chasing the cold away. She realized she was leaning against him, and quickly straightened up.
She froze again, her muscles locking painfully, her breath caught in her throat. She felt like glass that was about to shatter any moment, the tension in her body was painful. Axel's smirk widened as he looked down at her. But, she wasn't cold anymore.
Hoorah. She thought sarcastically.
They sat like that until the sun vanished and the stars erupted in the sky, showering everything in frosty light, the moon glimmering.
Xion was still really uncomfortable, unsure why Axel was even doing this. She wished she had human memories to consult, but as usual, her memories only stretched back so far…
She felt a gentle pressure on her hair. It wasn't painful; in fact she kind of enjoyed it. Only then did she realize…
"Axel, stop." Her voice sounded tight to her own ears. She felt rage boil inside her as Axel's smirk just widened. He continued to play with her hair.
"Am I hurting you?" He teased.
Xion frowned, turning her eyes away. "No."
"Then what's wrong?"
"It makes me uncomfortable." She whispered. Axel's smirk vanished and turned into a softer smile that wasn't so evil looking.
"You just spent the whole day with me, am I that intimidating?"
In truth, he was. Xion didn't know what to expect from The Flurry of Dancing Flames, he was unpredictable. Like what was he doing now? Was he just teasing her? She dared to lift her eyes only to find his flaming eyes were locked onto her face.
"Well?" He prompted.
Xion felt herself blush, unusual for a Nobody, but happened for some reason. Axel's soft smile flipped back to his huge grin. "Wow didn't mean to scare you." He replied, still playing with her short hair.
Xion wished Roxas was here, Axel never did these weird things when the Key of Destiny was within hearing distance.
With difficulty Xion struggled to her feet, Axel removed his arm, still grinning slyly. She felt like she was burning all over.
"Let's get home. It's cold out here." Xion murmured.
Axel didn't complain, he just stood up, towering over her like usual. A weird question came to mind.
"How old are you?" She asked him curiously, blue eyes peeking from underneath her black bangs.
"About a year or two older than you, physically, I'd imagine. I'm just taller." Axel opened a portal and bowed.
"Ladies first."
Xion huffed, confusion made her angry, a trait she shared with Roxas. As soon as she was about to step through the portal she felt his gloved hand gently push her back, and somehow through the leather robe she felt the fire.
***
Confusion.
Was that a state of mind, or an emotion? Why couldn't it be an emotion? She hated confusion, she felt angry, and not sure what Axel had been doing. She didn't get it.
"Roxas come back soon." She whispered to herself. Maybe Axel would stop when Roxas returned, or if he didn't, at least Xion could talk to him about it. Roxas always listened.
To her surprise, she missed Axel. The Castle That Never Was had never seemed cold before. But she missed Axel in a different way than Roxas, a way that made her chest ache. Missing Roxas just made her sad.
***
Xion didn't want the day to end, oddly. She'd rather bash Heartless with Xigbar than have to go to the Clock Tower with Axel, but Roxas was due back that evening, so that brought a strand of comfort to her.
As the sun set Xion nervously approached the Clock Tower, finding it empty. Confused, she looked around, wondering if they had gone elsewhere today. She shrugged and sat down, not feeling like eating ice cream, but instead amused herself as the same grey suited man from earlier came by, holding an umbrella, though it wasn't raining or snowing.
Hands covered her eyes, blocking her vision. Xion's Keyblade leapt to her hand, but she banished it once she recognized the touch and the voice.
"Guess who?" Axel whispered, his warm hands once again chasing the cold from her body.
"Axel." Xion accused, shoving his hands away. Axel sat next to her, grinning.
"Where's Roxas?" She asked, watching Axel carefully lay down an ice cream on its wrapper for Roxas. He himself didn't have one.
"He's at a meeting with Xemnas, he'll be here soon." Axel replied, his eyes watching Xion. Xion couldn't tear her own eyes away; she felt like fire was consuming her entire body, she couldn't move an inch. As usual he had frozen her and burned her at the same time.
Without asking permission Axel pulled her closer to him, smirking still, watching her. "So, anything wrong?"
You. Xion thought tiredly, confusion ruling her mind again. Axel began gently playing with her hair.
I don't get it. I don't get it. She chanted in her mind, her soul, and the empty place where her heart should be.
Axel said suddenly, "Xion." His tone was different, his eyes finally moving from her to the sunset.
"Y-Yes?" She answered his statement with a question.
He turned to look at her, grinning crookedly. "You're the only female member in the Organization that isn't twisted, at least as far as I know."
Xion was confused, and she wished he'd stop playing with her hair. She felt like she was about to shatter from being so still.
He leaned down and whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her. "I've got something to tell you."
Xion's breath caught, fear constricting her chest.
"Or I can show you."
She turned her head away, looking at the people in the plaza, but Axel put his hand under her chin and smiled again, moving her chin so she had to look him in the eye. She stared at his emerald eyes for a moment before shutting her own.
Nothing happened for a good minute, and Xion was aware he was going to wait until she opened her eyes. With a sigh she did so, and was awarded with another smirk.
"So, which is it?" He questioned, staring intently at her.
Her insides were on fire. Her thoughts were scattered. "What?"
His smile widened. "Show, or tell?"
Show or tell. Xion said the simplest thing she could think of.
"Whatever you want."
As soon as the words had left her lips she felt his meet hers.
She expected, since she was so frozen, to finally smash. Instead, something weirder happened. She melted. Xion closed her eyes as weird emotions she didn't have names for flew through her mind, lighting her chest on fire. Fire swept through her entire body, until she forgot what cold even felt like. Axel pulled back, smiling still.
"Well?" he asked again.
"I'm confused." Xion answered honestly.
"Join. The. Club." A voice stated flatly, saying each word individually.
They both whirled around to see Roxas looking at them, his blue eyes dark with anger.
"I-"Axel started, but Roxas silenced him with a glare.
"I said to watch her, guess you did, huh?" The thirteenth member said savagely. "You know, I don't even want to know. Go ahead. Sorry to interrupt you." Roxas turned and stormed away, being swallowed by a Dark Portal.
Axel released her, and feeling returned to her body. He stood up, looking nervous.
"Guess I'll go talk to him. This is my fault. Don't worry about it."
***
Alone in her room again, Xion hugged her arms to her chest, which still ached as if in a cruel imitation of a heart. What was that? All of those strange things Axel did and said…and his eyes…
Axel's eyes had been like those Xemnas had when he stared at Kingdom Hearts, like watching something precious. His smile had been predatory, a hunter and his prey…
She had to escape. All of these weird feelings, these weird things. She couldn't even bring herself to apologize to Roxas, because she didn't know if she was sorry or not. Part of her had enjoyed it.
***
Xion fled. Raced down dark streets of the World that Never Was, running away, not caring who saw or heard her, she just wanted to run, in a vain attempt to elude all the weird things that had happened.
Then flame walls sprouted around her. And she once again felt frozen in fear despite the heat of his flames chasing the coldness away. His voice drifted to her, from wherever he was perched.
"I've decided something." He said almost casually, but when he appeared fury like she had never seen before erupted in his eyes the same way he had emerged from the flames.
Xion felt her throat clench.
"No matter how many times you run, I'll be there to bring you back!"
His chakrams were summoned in a flurry of fire, twirling to a stop, blades flashing brightly.
Xion knew she couldn't beat him, had no hope. Axel was too experienced. Seeing how she didn't draw her own weapon Axel dismissed his, but the flames remained.
He walked toward her, and Xion retreated. He looked stunned, then he took another step, and Xion stepped back again.
"Xion…?" He questioned.
She frowned, and turned to run, run where she didn't know, but even in the arena of flames she might be able to leap out via a building…
His hand grabbed hers, shoving her back into the two incidents in Twilight Town's clock tower. Except now she wasn't falling.
"Xion, wait. Why are you running, anyway?"
He pulled her back to him, and she was once again right next to him, not even an inch apart.
"I don't know." She whispered. That was the only thing she was sure of, she didn't know. Didn't know what Axel was doing, why Roxas had reacted that way when Axel had kissed her. She had no memories to compare them to.
Axel sighed, the cruel smile gone from his sharp features. He looked at her oddly.
"I don't know either. But I'll have to bring you back, willingly or not."
Before Xion could react, he kissed her quickly on the cheek, causing her thoughts to vanish, before whispering as he pulled back from her face, green eyes shining wetly, "I'm sorry."
Xion felt a blow to the back of her head, stunningly powerful, and collapsed. She would be dragged back to the Castle, just like Axel had said.
A prisoner.
Even though his feelings were fighting with his loyalty to the Organization, Axel was still going to do his job.