It seemed too easy. Marluxia and Larxene were falling for my trap, the basement Organization members weren't doing anything too outlandish (except for the dead ones, of course), and I heard that Xemnas was thinking about moving me up in rank, which was something pretty unheard of in the Organization.

The night before, I was sitting in the library. Zexion had left a while ago, which usually meant that Larxene was coming. I admire the kid (Zexy, not Larxene), but we had our differences. Whereas Zexion would forgo all human pleasure for safety, I was the guy who threw himself in front of a tornado to see how it feels. Anyway, I was waiting for Larxene, and all of a sudden a knock came on the door.

"Yes?" I said, as if I didn't know who was coming.

"Axel, Sora nearly killed Vexen. Pretty ironic, huh?" Larxene would have sat down on the couch, but I was already there, so she was forced to take up a chair nearby.

"So what? We don't really need him anyway, his hatred for flower-boy would just get in the way." I plucked a book out of the pillow that I was resting my head on and threw it to Larxene.

"That's where it was. Should've known. Anyway, I think Marluxia may be setting us up. Maybe this whole taking over the organization thing was just a ploy for him to report us and advance."

That particular subject made me uncomfortable, so I wanted to change it as fast as I could. I never got the chance. A dog started barking in the distance.

"Shut up, bitch!" Larxene yelled, "I'm trying to talk to someone!"

"So I guess you're enjoying the conversation?" I said in a sort of half-whisper.

"Not a chance. I'm only here because Marly is too focused on his flowers to pay attention to me. I need my pampering too!" I couldn't help but laugh at that. A male dog started barking in the background.

"Quiet! I want to hear more about how Larxy doesn't like to be ignored!" I yelled.

"Did you say that out loud?" Larxene tackled me. We rolled off the couch and I landed on top, staying there for several seconds before I realized that I had hurt the Savage Nymph's back.

I got off, and she limped to the couch. Lucky.

"So what kind of attention does Marluxia normally give you?" That was probably a really perverted question, but I couldn't help myself.

"Let's just say that he keeps his closets empty for a reason." Larxene giggled. She, the apathetic princess, the Savage Nymph, the girl who reads Marquis de Sade every god damn day of her life, giggled. Several minutes of awkward silence followed, consisting of me trying to figure out if I heard what I thought I heard and Larxene staring at me as if I weren't fit to even be on the streets, let alone in a castle.

Two dogs barked. I moved over to Larxene.

"Do you think that in any event, I could replace Marluxia for you?" I smiled that crescent smile that only villains use.

"I guess I'll just find out, won't I?" Damn, that smile looked so good on her. Dogs barked.

"Aw, shut it!" Larxene yelled. We took a portal to my room, where Larxene collapsed. Her hair was spread out across the bed. She looked so peaceful. I knew that we didn't have hearts, but the faint echoes of emotion we got were sure as hell fun.

"You know," Larxene whispered, "those dogs are just like us. Caged away from each other, they think of each other only as they are represented in sight and sound, but soon enough, they have to stop barking and face each other for real."

I laid down next to her.

"That's what we've been doing all this time. Barking, barking, barking, not even truly knowing each other. But I guess the noise all ends here, doesn't it?" That was actually a really good analogy, I thought.

"Not quite." She pulled me closer. There was something different about her eyes right then. Yes, they were full of the same resignation and malice as always. No, they hadn't changed color. Then what was it?

It took me a while to realize that her eyes were watering. All through the night, dogs barked.

What awoke me wasn't a noise; rather, it was a lack of it. The male dog was still barking, but he was alone. It took me a while to realize what that meant. I got dressed and picked a note off of the door.

Dear Axel,

Marluxia wants me to fight Sora. I'll be gone a while. Same time tomorrow?

Love, Larxene.

But by that time, it was already too late.

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I'm sorry if it was OOC, and I know that it was slightly AU, but I just wanted to try writing a Larxel for once, instead of doing nothing but Wonderland v2 all day. (Sigh) They're such a great couple.

Larxene: If MushroomFlower owned Kingdom Hearts, we (me and Axel) would only appear in the beginning, and then Roxas would push us into a closet and kick it over so we couldn't get out.

Axel: You know, I wish that MushroomFlower owned Kingdom Hearts!

Larxene: Perv!