Hullo again! I'm back sooner than I thought I would be with another chapter! Now, I forgot to warn you guys that Zexion doesn't come in until chapter three, but he is mentioned in this chapter. Yay! In this chapter, we see Axel. Huzzah for the red-headed Nobody. This is another semi-intro chapter, but hopefully it isn't too boring.

Besides that, I should also warn you that, er, in later chapters it's kind of rough. I'll have a warning and rating for sure, though. Oh! And this is the shortest chapter yet in my Word program…yes, I have the whole story written out. Haha.

Pairings: Zexion/Namine, Onesided-Marluxia/Namine.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All rights to Squeenix and Disney.

Rating of chapter: T for sexual themes.

Warning: Er, mentions of stripping. Thus the name of the chapter…-cough- No worries! It's not what you think, hopefully.

T e L L - M e - A - S t oR y

--

Chapter Two: Of Flamed Hearts

"Dum, duh-duh, dum, dum!" Demyx hummed cheerfully as he sat down at the table in the center of the room, flipping through a magazine. By the look of the cover, it was a magazine that wouldn't be best for Naminè to skim through. She bashfully went through her old pictures in the depths of her sketch book as the young man propped his feet on the table's surface. His face was covered with an expression of pure excitement and enjoyment, while the young girl had a frown opon her rosy lips. It had been two hours since Demyx's arrival and she was still wondering what would be interesting enough to draw.

"Der, der, der! Dum, dum, dum!" And his humming was exceedingly annoying. Naminè struggled not to roll her blue orbs and succeeded. Even though it was annoying, it was yet…enjoyable in an odd, strange sort of way.

"What are you humming?" Naminè asked sweetly as she lifted her gaze up to his figure. Tearing his eyes from the…interesting magazine, Demyx smirked.

"Just a song I wrote so I could play it on the sitar," he answered, returning to his previous distraction. Apparently he was extremely interested in the magazine, especially the outer cover. Wincing, the girl drew her attention back to flipping through her pictures.

"It sounds pretty," she shyly admitted as she came across a picture of Roxas and Axel smiling together. Demyx tone was off key a few octaves, but the tune itself was rather nice.

"Thanks," Demyx replied, still staring at the pages littered with…well, we'll just say 'things'. Interestingly enough, he never did leave to retrieve his precious doughnut. Ever since he picked up the magazine a few hours ago, he didn't say a word, until Naminè's interruption. His entire mind was directly on the mag.

It was a known fact that Demyx was fond of pornography. Naminè was not…unaware of this, but yet she did not want him to know that she knew another one of his 'bad habits', as Axel would call it. Demyx had other habits that she knew of, but we won't talk about that now. The artist closed her sketch book and stared at it, before flipping it back open to the blank page.

Naminè sighed, absolutely bored with the current situation.

Suddenly, a portal appeared, the black and deep indigo swirls of mist circling around the dark gateway. A cloaked figure stepped out with the hood over his eyes, concealing his identity. Naminè shivered as she avoided his gaze, fearing who it may be. But as he removed his hood, she felt her breathing continue when she caught the glimpse of red hair.

"Demyx, aren't you too young to be going through that mag?" Axel jeered as he crossed his arms over his broad chest and sauntered over to Demyx, orbs still glued to the obscure pictures. Snatching it out of his hands, Axel shook his head while the Melodious Nocturne protested. Kiddingly, Axel shoved Demyx's feet off the table's surface and the younger Nobody jumped out of his seat, trying to pry the magazine out of the inferno's hands.

"Hey, come on! Give it back!" he yelped in a whiny tone that made Naminè arch an eyebrow.

"Nuh-uh. This is Luxord's. You have no right to take it from his room when he's still suffering from that horrible hangover," Axel stated in false compassion as he looked at the closed magazine with interest and pushed the younger Nobody away with his other hand. Naminè couldn't help but giggle at the scene of the two men fighting over the adult-themed magazine. Axel heard the quiet, soft titter of the girl sitting alone on the other side of the room. His countenance brightened when he looked over at her.

"Oh, hey, Nami! Demyx hasn't been telling you R rated stories, has he? You're a naughty boy, aren't you?" Axel pinched Demyx's cheek. Demyx swiped away his hand and scowled. Axel chuckled as he tucked the magazine inside his cloak and took out an object wrapped with a napkin. Casually glancing over at Naminè, Axel walked over to her chair.

"Here, kid, I got you something to eat," Axel bent down to Naminè's eye level and handed her the gift. Cautiously, she accepted it and placed it on her lap as she set her sketchbook on the cold floor. Axel frowned as he caught a sight of the blank page. Of course, he was confused. Usually the girl always scribbled away, always coloring. Always. So it came as a surprise to him that the little artist actually had a blank page with nothing, not one pencil stroke, drawn on it.

Naminè unwrapped the white napkin to reveal the last doughnut in the kitchen. It was golden brown with chocolate glazed over the top, sprinkled with red and white colored sugar. Beaming up at the pyro, she nodded in appreciation as she stared into his warm emerald eyes.

"Hey, that was my doughnut!" Demyx's whining voice broke the silence while he stood behind Axel and looked over his shoulder at the wanted treat. Axel rolled his eyes as he wheeled around and hit Demyx on his forehead.

"Ow!"

"Stop being a dumbass. Poor Naminè hasn't eaten anything since yesterday. Ladies first," Axel smirked as he tossed the girl a quick wink. She blushed as she went back to staring at the doughnut.

"Besides, Larxene was about to have it. But she would throw it up later anyway," Axel continued as he grabbed Demyx by the drawstring of his hood. Growling silently, the blonde Nobody tried to claw Axel's hands, but made no prevail.

"Now, go through the kitchen and see if you can find anything else worth eating. I don't want to cook barbeque tonight," Axel released his grip and tossed Demyx to the side. Grudgingly, Demyx summoned a portal and allowed himself to be swallowed in the black and purple swirls of mist. Through the dark smoky substance, his piercing glare was seen.

"Pssh, men," Axel snorted half heartedly and rested his hands on his hips. Naminè stared at Axel with wide eyes as a few seconds passed. With a coy smile he glanced back at her.

"So, kid, what are you drawing?" he beckoned at the sketch book lying on the white, marble floor. Naminè let out a sad sigh and stared at her white hands cradling the prized doughnut.

"Nothing, really…" Axel let out a 'hmph' and stepped backwards a few steps.

"What do you want to draw?" he inquired cautiously. Naminè bowed her head pitifully.

"I don't know…" she whispered ruefully.

"Well, draw anyone or anything you want! Except Marluxia. I can't stand to look at him today…" Axel grumbled under his breath. This sparked Naminè's interest. It was not unusual that Axel despised the Graceful Assassin. He hated the man, calling him names that Naminè wouldn't dare repeat and pulled jokes on him. Not the humorous sort of jokes that anyone would laugh at, either. Naminè was not at all the least bit surprised at the fiery man's statement.

"Why?" she asked innocently. Axel casually tilted his head to the side, remaining silent as he thought of what to say.

The reason for Axel's grudge against Marluxia would remain unknown to the little artist. It had just happened last night, while the whole Organization members held a small party. Well, not particularly small. Luxord had insisted that a few members would play a card game. The members who accepted the deal was Axel, Marluxia, Luxord himself, Demyx, and Xigbar.

Unfortunately, Marluxia just had to bring up an idea for what the loser had to do if they lost the poker game. The loser had to stand on the table, singing an awkward song as he stripped down to his underwear. Axel was very confident that he wouldn't lose, so he agreed to go along with the deal.

So they played. Luxord won, as usual, Demyx barely got by second, and Xigbar was third. The last two were Marluxia and Axel. To his dismay, Axel had one pair and Marluxia won by two pairs. Of course, that meant that Axel was naturally the loser.

It was absolutely embarrassing for him to strip off his clothes in front of the rest of the men, especially since most of the members weren't exactly straight. The most embarrassing moment, however, was possibly the part when he revealed his boxers: flaming hearts. After that, he received a couple of whistles and he threatened to burn down the whole place, and any survivors he would hunt down and torture them, before burning them to death.

Axel had to come up with an explanation for the young girl sitting in the chair, staring at him curiously with azure eyes. He never did like to pollute her mind with…well, certain things that would be best for a fourteen year old not to know. Nervously, he scratched the back of his head while he shrugged.

"Oh, I just lost a bet with him. Nothing serious!" he switched the subject back to her drawing.

"Do you know what you want to draw?" Axel smiled mischievously at her. Bluntly, she shook her head so that her blonde hair was covering part of her face. He winced at her reply and tapped his chin as he thought; just as Demyx did…Naminè could predict what would come out of his mouth next.

"So, I could pose for you, if you want," he smirked. Naminè blinked, picking up her sketch book and turning it to a certain page before turning it to the inferno.

"Ah…" was his response. There Axel was, standing in what he liked the call, his 'sexy' pose. He kept on complaining on how his hair just wasn't right in the girl's drawing. Finally he shut up when she had shot him a glare.

"Well…draw someone else, then!" Axel suggested, slightly impatient.

"I've drawn almost everyone," Naminè scowled, slightly frustrated. Her patience was running short, just like the man standing beside her.

"Well, almost everyone isn't everyone. Who have you drawn so far?" the red headed Nobody demanded silkily. Naminè skimmed through the pages one by one, staring at a few of them because they weren't the best. Looking back up at the questioning man, she answered.

"You, Demyx, Xemnas, Lexeaus, Xigbar, Xaldin, Larxene, Saïx, Luxord, and Roxas," she blinked a few times as Axel rubbed his chin.

"How about you draw Vexen?" he suggested much too cheerful. Naminè shook her head for the umpteenth time that day.

"He scares me," she mumbled as she clutched onto her precious sketch pad. Her sketch pad was her treasure, holding her old pictures and even some of her own memories. Sora's memories were posted up on the white walls as if it was an art gallery. She didn't like it one bit. It was his memories, and he had a right to keep them.

"Oh?" Axel's voice took her out of her reverie.

"Yeah," Naminè sharply replied. She didn't like the tone in his voice, but she wouldn't admit to that. She just did not prefer drawing the mad scientist.

"Why?" Axel asked with a confused expression in his jade eyes. Honestly, the teenager personally did not care to explain her comfort zone. Vexen was the Organization's scientist who observed the heart and its powers. For some odd reason, he had an interest in Naminè because she had the power to manipulate memories.

"He experiments on me. And he smells funny," Naminè murmured to herself as she bashfully went back to picking at her doughnut with her fingernails. Carefully, she took a delicate bite from it. To her surprise, Axel threw back his head and laughed, which nearly made her choke.

"Um…what's so funny?" she swallowed coarsely.

"You," Axel paused from his laughing fit and waved his hand carelessly at her. A small spark erupted in the back of the girl's mind. She didn't really appreciate being made fun of, nor laughed at. Of course his laughing bothered her a great deal. She clenched her teeth together and sniffed.

"Uh, why?" she drawled with a dangerous hint to her voice.

"Because. Vexen always smells funny to us, too. Poor Zexion…he has to work in the lab with him sometimes and everyone knows what a hell of a nose that kid has," Axel sniggered and brought his hand to his mouth. Naminè shot him an inquiring glare. It took a moment for him to realize the cause behind her expression.

"Oh, you never met Zexion, have you?" Axel tapped his foot against the hard floor. Naminè shook her head and smiled softly.

"No wonder. He always stays in his library with his gifted nose stuck in his physics books. He's a genius, but pretty much emo. So, what do you want to draw?" Axel went back to the subject once again.

"I don't know!" Naminè exclaimed loudly. Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced at the other Nobody and scrunched her face. Axel sighed, leaning against one of the white columns in the room.

"Well, draw yourself," Axel simpered and closed his eyes.

"What?" the girl stared at the man listlessly. He merely shrugged.

"I said, 'draw yourself'. It can't be too hard, can it?" Axel opened his eyes and smirked.

"No, but that's too boring."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm too boring. All I do is scribble pictures, tear apart people's memories, rarely talk to anyone and cause people to lose their precious doughnuts. I'm just boring."

"You're not boring. You're more interesting than Zexion, that's for sure…" Axel grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"Never you mind. I need to see if Demyx is doing his job…Should I send up someone to watch you? Just in case, you know?" He gave her a meaningfully look, telling her that he knew that she was afraid of being alone. Shyly, she nodded.

"Yes, please…"

"All right! Don't drive the man crazy, whoever I send up."

Naminè giggled, covering her mouth with her free hand before taking another bite of the doughnut. Satisfied with her answer, Axel winked at her again before disappearing into the portal.

(A/N): My, my, Demyx is a little pervert, ain't he? So is Axel, but ah well. Now, I wonder who Axel is going to send up? Hmm? I wonder? Pssh, you can take the hint, and wait for the next chapter, where we see Zexion. Huzzah! Now, flames will be used for Axel to play with. Cheerio!