Sora wiped a drop of sweat off his nose, blinking as he tried to stay awake.
It had been almost a month since he had arrived, and it was hot. Even in Axel's rooms, he felt like he was in a steam bath, and Axel was keeping all of his windows open so air could circulate through the suite. Out here, in the courtyard, the heat was almost unimaginable.
But he had to tend to his duty to watch over the carts being loaded. He had become comfortable with the Rages, although there had been a little friction from the other recruits who had resented his skipping over the servant stage. A few practice bouts with the real veterans like Siglo had fixed that, although he'd almost gotten his hair burnt off. Siglo had turned out to be a 'breather'… she could inhale spells cast at her and breath them back. A firaga thrown back into his face had not been a fun experience.
"Gods. We're never going to get out of here in a week." Chem picked at her tunic, pulling it away from her body in an effort to get some air moving through. If the heat had been a little less that would have been an interesting sight, but right now Sora couldn't muster up a spec of enthusiasm. The dark siren casually sang as someone got a bit too close to the cart with larcenous intent, and the man flinched, covering his ears and scampering away to find something a bit less defended.
Sora had gotten to explore things a little thoroughly since he arrived, and had found out that the hall was surrounded by gardens… which in turn were surrounded by a city. The city ranged from tidy, cozy little buildings where the artisans lived to ramshackle slums. The slums were quite close to the hall on one side, and interactions were not exactly uncommon. Alas, the way out of the city to the summer palace lay directly through the slums and the carts they were loading for it were parked in that direction as well. Thus, a heavy guard to prevent practically everything from going missing before they made it out of the city.
They had already been packing up for a week and it was nowhere near done, thanks largely to the chefs. They were determined to bring everything with them, down to and including the kitchen sink. They were followed closely by the alchemists, the housekeepers and some of the succubi and leccubi who couldn't bear to be parted from any of their wardrobes. And of course the sirens had to bring all their instruments, the blades and rages needed the armory…
It was an incredible mess. The housekeepers were gradually imposing order onto it, but it was definitely taking a while and a whole series of beatings had already been handed out.
"I'm bored." He muttered, then scowled and took a swipe at a beggar who was getting too close. The cart they were guarding held mostly well-packed alchemic supplies, which were tempting enough that he needed to stay alert yet not worth enough to warrant a heavier guard. Some of the carts were practically surrounded by Blades.
"Get unbored fast. If any of this goes missing, the Hourglass will have our heads." Chem advised him. "Or offer me some candy. I'm pretty bored, too." She stretched, the damp fabric of her shirt clinging and sticking in fascinating ways.
"What's with you and candy?" Sora knew it had to be some kind of in-joke, but he hadn't heard an explanation yet. She smiled, calling in her pipe again and settling in for some serious puffing.
"Well, you see, when I first finished my stint as a servant… a loooong time ago, I'm pretty old… my supervisor offered me some ginger tips if I put out for him. I love ginger tips and he was cute, so I was like, why the hell not?" She snorted. "The fucker told everyone about it, and now whenever anyone wants to sleep with me they offer me candy. I wouldn't be so pissed about it if they actually had ginger tips, but they're just talking about their penises."
"So if I offer you ginger tips, you'll sleep with me?" He regretted asking immediately… he didn't want to be unfaithful to Axel. She eyed him sideways, then grinned.
"Honey, if you have ginger tips I'm all yours." He looked down at the ground, and she tilted her head. "What's wrong?"
"I don't want to… be unfaithful to Axel." He muttered, and Chem lifted her eyebrows.
"Then don't. That's not what's bothering you… what is it, kiddo?" She put a hand on his shoulder, and he sighed.
"I just… I don't know if he loves me. You know?" The sex was mind-blowing, Axel was surprisingly kind and considerate, and he felt so happy when he was around the High Lord… but he wasn't sure Axel loved him. He wasn't sure Axel could love anyone… he was a Heartless, after all. Were they even capable of it? Chemistra frowned slightly, then passed him her pipe. He hesitated, then took a deep puff on it. The smoke burned his lungs and he coughed, but for only a moment. It wasn't much of a drug… it wore off extremely quickly… but the gentle haze it gave was comforting. Sora wondered what his mother would say if she could see him now. She would probably freak… so would Kairi, for that matter.
Riku might not. Sora wondered if Riku had ever smoked anything…. Quite possibly he had.
"Honey, I have to be honest here. I don't know if the High Lord loves you." Chemistra said gently, then hummed a discordant warning for a moment as someone got a bit too close. "But he might. He's not a normal Heartless, you know." Sora blinked.
"He's not?" Axel had a human appearance like Xehanort, but that didn't mean much… Xehanort certainly hadn't been capable of love.
"No. No one knows exactly why, but the Hourglass says he has a few shreds of soul left in him… which means his Nobody probably had a few pieces of heart." Chemistra took back her pipe as Sora swallowed. Was that why Axel had seemed more… real than the other Nobodies? "'Course, that's pretty bad, that happening. The Hourglass says it means his heart must have been ripped right out of his body by main force. Nasty. But he might love you, as much as he can… you should talk to him about this."
"Yeah, I should…" Sora had been staying aware as they talked, despite the suffocating heat, and turned as something started happening to the other side of their cart. "…" There was a loud squall, someone shouted, and he heard the sound of ropes snapping just as the beast of burden it was hooked to bellowed.
The creatures the demons used to pull carts looked like a kind of reptile, but they were warm-blooded. Fortunately, they were herbivores and mostly gentle… but only mostly. Sora's eyes widened as he saw crockery go rolling and the beast lunge forward.
"Oh darkness!" He leapt up onto the wagon, dragging Chem by the arm, who let out a surprised screech but grabbed onto a rope and helped pull herself up… just in time for the beast to hit the side of their cart with a jarring impact, slamming it into the cart on the other side. If they had still been standing there, they would have been crushed. Chemistra stared wide eyed at the carts, then looked over theirs at the mess beside them. Someone was still squalling, until Mirtana's whip cracked, and the squalls turned into a shriek of pain and rage.
"I could have died." Chem looked down at her pipe. She had broken it in the scramble up. She vanished it, taking a deep breath then letting it out slowly. "Three hundred years… and crushed between two carts. What a fucking stupid way to die. Sora?"
"Yeah?" He was feeling a bit shaken too. If he'd been paying just a bit less attention, he could have died as well.
"Forget about the ginger tips." She smiled wickedly, tossing back her hair. "And if you're worried about infidelity, ask the High Lord if he's interested. He's done threesomes before."
"I'll think about it," Sora replied neutrally as he scanned the area around the cart. Some of the thieves were taking advantage of the confusion, so they still had a duty to attend to. But he had questions he needed to ask Axel…
"Lea?" Sora said quietly, and the High Lord paused, looking up from the book he had been reading. Sora couldn't help but smile… the half-moon reading glasses the demon favored always struck him as incredibly cute.
"Someone told you my old name," Axel said slowly, not entirely pleased, and shook his head. "Please don't call me that. I would prefer Axel. Lea is as dead as last year's leaves." There was a bleakness in Axel's voice that told Sora now wasn't the time to ask about that… and maybe there never would be a good time. But it wasn't what he was interested in at the moment anyway.
"Okay… Axel, how do you feel about me?" Axel's eyebrows lifted at that quiet, almost sad question, and he vanished his book.
"Feel about you?" Axel didn't pretend to misunderstand the question, and stared at Sora, his green eyes thoughtful. "You mean, do I love you." Sora nodded mutely, looking down and already feeling hurt inside. Axel's tone gave no hint of what he was thinking or feeling. "I think I do, as much as any Heartless can. Although it might not be the same as what you feel."
"What do you feel?" Sora asked, struggling to keep his tone neutral, but it was hard. Some part of him had wanted to hear that Axel loved him, no matter how unrealistic that was. Axel smiled slowly, and that film of darkness crossed his vision again. When it cleared, a moment later, Axel was sitting beside him on the couch, hands on Sora's shoulders.
"If someone hurt you, I would kill them, slowly and painfully. If I had to give up my life to save you, I would do it gladly. If anyone tried to take you from me… this world could not contain my rage." He whispered, his voice like tattered black velvet, rasping yet smooth. "The best word to describe my feelings is…" He paused, leaning in to speak in Sora's ear. "Mine." That sent a shiver up Sora's spine and a flash of heat to his groin, but…
"Am I only a possession, then?" Sora asked, surprising himself with the bitterness in his tone. Axel's eyes flashed, and he suddenly pinned the brunette to the couch under him, making Sora gasp.
"You have no idea how much self-control it takes not to just pin you to the bed and fuck you like an animal." Axel growled in his ear, and Sora's eyes widened at the unexpected crudity. "If you were just a possession, I would." Sora moaned as Axel ground his hips against him, feeling the High Lord's arousal against his belly.
"What if I want you too?" He breathed in Axel's ear, and Axel paused, breathing heavily.
"Don't tease me that way," he said, his voice rough and dark with lust. "Or I will."
"I'm not teasing." Sora pulled Axel's head down into a kiss, and it was rough, bruising. Clothing tore as Axel shredded it with strong fingers, and yanked away his robe. He ran his hands roughly over the pale skin beneath him, raising red welts, and Sora moaned in pleasure and pain.
When Axel entered him, there was none of the usual preparation and no gentleness. It was painful, so painful he thought he might be bleeding… but beneath the pain was the promise of pleasure, and Sora moaned into Axel's mouth as the redhead thrust into him again and again. Suddenly, Axel hit that special place inside him, and Sora's nail's bit into his shoulders as real pleasure coursed through him. He bit Axel's shoulder, wordlessly asking him to go harder, faster, deeper, and the demon obliged, slamming him into the couch again and again. Sweat slicked both their bodies as they bonded, and the heat and friction were finally too much. Axel released with a growl, and Sora followed a moment later with a cry, slumping back onto the couch, exhausted.
The last thing he heard before he passed out was that dark, velvety voice whispering in his ear.
"Mine."