A/N: Chapter four! Mostly fluff, with a bit of exposition and a little slash. Enjoy!
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Isa started to run after Xigbar, throwing his claymore at the Nobody as he started to disappear into his portal. The claymore passed harmlessly through the air where Xigbar had just been and instead sank four feet through the roof.
Isa suddenly wobbled; exhausted, and with Xigbar gone, the strength his berserker rage lent him was abandoning him as fast as it had come on. He dropped to his hands and knees, wheezing.
It was only then that Isa started to come back to himself. He became aware that he was wounded, but he'd had worse. He'd live.
"Xigbar, that fucking weasel," Axel growled. He was in serious trouble now, how long had Xigbar been tailing them? Whatever, that didn't matter now. Isa was hunched over on the ground, but he was alive. Axel ran up to his side, immediately dropping to Isa's level to get a look at his condition.
"Isa, are you... What just happened?" Axel placed a hand under the man's chin, nudging so he'd make eye contact. "This was all my fault dammit. I knew I shouldn't have stuck around, what's wrong with me," the Nobody muttered to himself, frantically checking Isa for wounds.
Isa was still catching his breath, so he couldn't let out a relieved sigh when he saw Lea wasn't hurt. It was only now that he remembered that he had been in the line of fire and unconscious when Isa had berserked. He presumed Sora or Squall had rescued him from Isa, and for that he was grateful.
"...Berserked," he wheezed out between breaths. "...told you...it happens sometimes."
Isa leaned on one elbow, reaching to grip Lea's wrist reassuringly.
"...not your fault. Don't leave."
With Valor Form finally fading and his clothes back to their original color, Sora dashed out the door. He was just behind Axel in reaching Isa's side.
Sora dropped down onto his knees. "Take it easy, Isa. You... are you okay?"
Axel seemed to ignore Sora at first, focusing on Isa. "It's not like I could leave here anyway, I was already in hot water... Well, I guess this is the best time to say this will not be the last we'll see of the Organization," he fixed his eyes on Sora, "Got that?"
Axel wrapped his arm around Isa, helping him to his feet, "Loser..." he looked over to Sora, "Uh, well Xigbar did a number to this place huh... So much for lunch. Anyway, let's head back in and get this jerk cleaned up," he half-smiled at Isa, carefully leading him back to the house, even though Isa didn't seem to need the help.
He suddenly felt a sinking feeling, weird. Did he feel sorry? What the hell just happened, he couldn't help but feel responsible.
Isa had mostly caught his breath and he thought he could stand on his own just fine, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he wrapped his arm around the Nobody's shoulder without calling attention to it.
"...it's fine. Let them come. I'll be glad to handle the-"
Isa was cut off by Yuffie lunging out of the house and slamming into him in a tackle glomp, yanking him away from Axel and knocking him over. He blinked at her as she babbled her relief at him. Aerith was right behind her, ready with a Cure, and Squall was already leaning in the doorway, watching Isa worriedly.
Axel had barely avoided being toppled over, too. The Nobody focused his attention on Isa, who was being half strangled by this overenthusiastic brat. Isa looked back up at Axel with an expression of pure exasperation. And perhaps something else? Only for a moment, frustration flicked over his features.
"Well well, you've certainly got the fan club, Isa. Hope you didn't add to the injuries, little girl," Axel looked at Sora uncomfortably, silently asking for a solution. "Is she always like this?" he groaned.
"Yuffie?" Sora grinned at Axel for once, instead of glaring. He just couldn't help it. "Yeah, she is."
Would it kill him to do something nice for Axel just once, for Isa's sake? ... No, no it really wouldn't. "Yuffie, you might want to give Isa a chance to breathe." He advised. "Since the fight just ended and all."
Yuffie blinked at Sora. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Cid as he came out of the house.
"What the kid said. You lot clear off 'im, he needsta rest." Cid nodded to Axel, then looked back to the kids, waving them away with both hands. "I need YOU lot t'help me get some supplies from the storehouse. We gotta fix this place up."
Yuffie whined and complained, but let go of Isa. Squall and Aerith shared a Look over her head, then nodded and started off down the street. Yuffie trailed after them, grumbling.
Cid jerked his head towards the house, looking at Axel. "Why don' you make sure 'e gets in okay?"
"Huh? Oh sure." Did he just miss something? Axel crossed his arms and smirked at Isa, who was still lying on the ground in shock. "You alright? Looks like you just got your ass kicked by a little girl," he laughed, reaching out a hand to help Isa up. Isa took his hand, letting the Nobody pull him to his feet.
"Hmph. At least I was conscious for the entire fight."
"Yeah, yeah. Leeet's get you inside, you had me worried there," Axel stopped to think about what he just said, but decided not to correct himself. He slinked an arm around Isa, leading the man through the demolished doorway and inside the house.
Isa sat down on one of the only undemolished surfaces. He really did need to sit and rest for a moment; berserking made him stronger and faster, but he had to pay for it afterwards.
He frowned, thinking over what he remembered of what had happened. Clearly this Organization didn't want Lea going off on his own. They were sure to come back. Next time they might not be so lucky. Next time-
He had only just found Lea again. He couldn't just let that happen. His fists clenched in his lap, but then he looked up at the Nobody.
"You are not going anywhere without me. Is that understood?"
Axel just closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. "I know, believe me I got it. This is definitely a, uh... tricky situation," he grumbled, plopping down next to Isa. Xigbar was obviously going easy on them, but why did he disappear so quickly? Probably to report back to Xemnas. But being near the Keyblade made this so much more complicated. Axel knew he would die if he was ever confronted on his own, save for by Demyx, so staying by Isa's side seemed the logical choice. Now what kind of choice would his heart make in all this?
Oh, idle thoughts.
"Well jeeze, whatever happened back there...remind me to never piss you off!" Axel laughed, trying to make light of the situation. "At least I know you got my back next time that jackass shows up... hrm..." he turned to Isa, green eyes darting away from blue ones, "Look, I didn't mean to- It's just- You don't know how hard it's been-"
But Axel was suddenly cut off when Isa leaned over and pressed his mouth over the Nobody's. It was a surprise to Isa as well; he hadn't thought about it, or planned on it. All those long years of loneliness, of regret and of wishing he had done this when he had had the chance had suddenly hit him.
Maybe he didn't know how hard it had been for Lea. But he did know how hard it had been for himself.
He knew it must be obvious he had no idea what he was doing, but at that moment he didn't care. He had waited so long to find out what Lea tasted like. His kisses were rough and desperate, and he kept leaning forward until Lea was half-sprawled across the surface he'd been sitting on.
It didn't seem like Isa was going to let up long enough for Axel to protest, so he decided not to fight back. His hands worked his way around Isa's waist, pulling him closer, pushing himself into the kiss. This was... well, Axel didn't quite have the words for it. A relief in a way? But still shocking. Hmm, whatever, he wouldn't dwell on it too much...
But then Isa's brain caught up with his body. What did he think he was doing? What if-
He pulled away, sitting up and glancing away in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Axel immediately let go when Isa jerked away. Uh oh, what had just happened. He wasn't sure he could complain... but he remembered, that unlike himself, Isa has a heart. And hearts make things complicated. The last thing Axel wanted to do was get too involved when well...
Lea always thought this moment would be different. That there would be a million emotions running through his head at once, but they'd be good ones of course. Axel could only feel dread slipping over himself, at how empty this moment felt. No, that was a lie, he could...
No he couldn't. He couldn't feel anything.
"Don't be sorry," Axel mumbled, sitting up and placing a hand on Isa's. At least he could try and comfort him.
Isa turned his hand over to grasp Axel's. He gave a bitter little laugh.
"What's become of us, Lea?"
He thought back on those days when they had been children, not even aware of what they had. How much time they had wasted...
"Look at us. Could you have ever imagined, back then, that we would end up like this? We were such fools."
"Were? We still are," Axel tried to grin at Isa. Something wasn't right. Isa should be happy right now, and Axel should be happy too.
Maybe he was? Then what was this other feeling? What right did he even have to call it a feeling? He flopped back, crossing his arms behind his head and sighed.
"C'mon, yer not seriously giving up are you? I'm kinda relying on you, y'know, for that whole heart thing? Don't let me get you down," he nudged his foot at Isa's side.
Isa blinked, turning his head to look at the Nobody. How did Lea always manage to make things seems brighter? Isa gave a wry smile.
"Heh. I'm not about to give up, Lea. You can be sure of that."
There was something that still bothered him, though. It probably would be best to just let it go, but...
"...you know, you never answered my question." At the Nobody's confused look, he continued. "...I didn't ask you if you loved me," he said, in that old tone he'd used back when he was young and teasing his friend. "I asked you if you knew I did."
Axel was a little taken aback. Hrm, as far as his memories as Lea could tell... "Well to be honest, I thought you couldn't stand me," he laughed. "But you still stuck by me, well now it makes sense," he nudged at Isa again, "I'm kidding. I gotta be honest though, I had a feeling something was in there."
At that, the Nobody hopped up and wrapped his arms around Isa, "Well, no regrets. I'm pretty sure it would have been worse if I did know before, well, you know..."
Isa raised an eyebrow at him. "Worse? Well, that's something I never would have expected. Maybe I did you a favor then."
He paused for a moment.
"...I wasn't looking for pity earlier, you know. I just thought you might like to know you were important to someone."
What had gotten into him? He was usually stoic enough to do a jig across the line into emotionally constipated. But with Lea, he wasn't able to stop himself. He supposed it had just festered for too long. He guessed maybe Lea couldn't understand that.
He cleared his throat and stood.
"I suppose I had better find some bandages."
Axel reached out when Isa got up, but he was right. He should patch himself up first.
"Don't be like that, I know you weren't looking for pity," he was important to him too... But who would believe that coming from a Nobody?
"Er, y'know yer not bad at that whole uh, kissing thing y'know," Axel smiled a devilish grin.
Isa paused, turning to look at the redhead.
"...oh really?"
Well. That was a relief at least. He had never kissed anyone in his life; he'd absolutely been winging it, making it up as he went.
Wait, what-
"...what are you suggesting, Lea?"
Axel couldn't help himself. He got up and wrapped his arms around Isa, pulling him just close enough-
"I am suggesting," he searched his thoughts for a moment, "That we get you cleaned up. And then uh," he pressed his lips against Isa's briefly, and flashed a grin. "So where are those bandages, let's get this show on the road."
Isa's startlement was plain on his face. It took him just a moment to recover himself, but the damage was done.
Had that just happened? Surely it had not. That had been his imagination, right? He decided to play it cool.
"...they WERE in the cabinet, but that seems to have become less cabinet and more scrap lumber."
Axel sighed. Don't tell me after all that he's changed his mind.
"Alright, I'll have a look. You stay put," he grumbled. Well so much for that. The Nobody walked for all of three steps, when he suddenly froze in place. "Uhhh... where's the cabinet?"
Isa stepped over to where the cabinet had been, shoving aside some of the wreckage until he found the bandages. He strode back to Axel and grabbed his hand, turning it palm up to place the bandages in it. Then he sat back down and, after a brief pause, stripped off his jacket and shirt. He raised an eyebrow at the Nobody then.
"Well? It would be very difficult for me to do this on my own."
Axel just stared for a moment. OH, Isa wanted help with his bandages. "Right. Yeah. Got it," Axel fumbled with the roll for a moment, "Stupid gloves. Ah there we go."
He moved over to Isa to inspect the damage. Not as bad as he thought, but still enough to warrant a good night's rest. The Nobody was careful, smoothing the bandages over his skin gently, making sure not to wrap them too tight. Isa kept his gaze fixed on the wall while Axel worked, sitting as still as if he were carved out of stone. Axel awkwardly crawled over Isa, doing a once over for any more wounds before he placed the roll on a nearby table. It felt odd to be taking care of Isa- No, it felt odd that he was putting trust in Axel to do the job right. Lea never was very swift...
"There, all better," Axel handed him his shirt, and flopped down next to the man, a few inches further away this time.
Isa looked at him in surprise, then sighed, letting the hand holding his shirt drop into his lap. He was still looking away from the redhead when he spoke.
"...do I need to extend you a written invitation?"
Axel rolled his head over towards Isa, moving an arm behind his head. Oh, well then. "I guess you do," he teased, placing his other hand on top of Isa's and attempting to pull the man over. "Y'know, yer colder than me. And I'm the Nobody."
Isa allowed Lea to pull him towards himself. He planted his free hand beside the Nobody to lean on it. His heart was beating faster than he was comfortable with, but he chose to ignore it. At least he had one.
"That shouldn't be a surprise for someone who can call fire with his mind."
He was stalling and he knew it, suddenly nervous. What was he supposed to do now? He would play it cool, if only out of habit. Axel waited for a bit, making eye contact with Isa after a moment of hesitating.
"...You're nervous aren't you," a grin plastered his face when he came to this realization.
Isa managed to avoid flushing sheerly by experience and strength of will. He did glance away from Lea's eyes, though, making a short grumbling noise.
"It isn't as though I've ever done anything like this before. Anyone would be."
Axel suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, oh man. Really? Isa...," he could barely breathe.
But Isa wasn't laughing. Not that he would if it was funny to him anyway.
"Wait you're serious," Axel caught his breath. "Wow, that was... unexpected."
Isa thought he should be mad, being laughed at like that, but there was no way he could be. The sound of Lea's laughter made him feel like his heart was absolutely going to burst. It was the best sound he had ever heard, and for so long he had thought it was lost to him forever.
Axel pushed Isa over, and propped himself over the man leaning in to whisper, "Need some help then?"
Isa couldn't help himself. One hand reached up to the back of Lea's head, pulling him down to meet his lips.
He broke away after a moment to mutter, "Maybe just a little practice."
There we go, Isa's smile had returned. For a moment Axel was envious, after all, he didn't mind where this was going but he felt guilty feeling so empty. But how did he feel- Hrng, he was at it again. This wasn't something casual, wasn't something to be taken lightly at all. And the Nobody knew that, at least in his memories, he was happy. This wasn't like back in the Organization, where y'know, Nobodies. No strings attached. It wasn't complicated, like thinking you had emotions when you couldn't.
"Practice it is then!" All these thoughts didn't stop his hands from moving, dragging Isa into another kiss. Axel knew what to do, but at the same time he was completely unsure of his boundaries. The man underneath him didn't seem to mind too much though.
How would Lea act in this situation? ...He probably would've expected Isa to take control. That was... kind of amusing to think about now.
Isa, though, was having a hard time believing this. This was really happening. Isa had dreamed- was he really prepared for-
Yes.
To hell with hesitation. He'd missed out on too much by hesitating when he was a teenager. He wasn't about to make the same mistake.
Isa gripped Lea's shoulders and rolled them both over so that he was leaning over the redhead. He planted one hand beside the Nobody's head to bear his weight, lacing the fingers of the other hand with Lea's. Idly he noticed how much he liked the look of his blue hair mixing with Lea's bright red as they kissed.
Maybe he didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he was damn well going to give it his best shot.
This felt right.
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Repairing the damage done in the fight was proving to be extremely boring. Perhaps it would help if Sora actually helped with the repairs. But he really wasn't good at building and that sort of thing; even back on the island, he mostly just made Riku do all the work when there was something that needed building or repairs.
He sighed. "Maybe I should go check on Isa and Axel." Sora volunteered as he moved away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "They've been gone a while."
Cid decided it would probably be a good idea to intervene. "They're fine."
"But-"
It was Cid's turn to sigh. "I don't think y'get it. Y'see, Isa and Lea were...close, if ya catch my drift. And they ain't seen each other in a long time."
Sora frowned, obviously not getting at what Cid was trying to say. "Well I knew they were best friends years ago. What's that got to do with anything?"
"...a little more'n best friends. If y'know what I mean."
"Wait, so... like Kairi?
Cid just stared at Sora for a moment. Kingdom Hearts, was the kid really that thick? ... Okay, stupid question. "Y'know what? Never mind. Have at it, kid."
With a bewildered look at Cid, Sora headed over to the still-demolished front door and stuck his head inside. "Everything alright-"
Both of them were on the only not-destroyed surface in the room, with Isa on top of Axel, a little distracted with each other's faces. Sora snapped his mouth shut and just sort of blinked. Wait, what? ... Oh, so this was what Cid had been trying to hint at. Uh, whoops. Well. This was awkward.
Axel was the first to look up. "Oh, uh, Sora. Kid you really should learn to knock... Oh right, the door," Axel didn't plan on moving from his position, keeping his hands right where they were. But Isa practically leapt up, automatically reaching to smooth his hair back and try to look presentable and not like he had just been sucking face. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking towards the Keyblade wielder.
"...did you need something?"
This was so uncomfortable. He was not even sure if he was supposed to explain to Sora or...
"Uh, no!" Sora replied hurriedly, "No I just wanted... to make sure you guys were alright because you'd been gone a while and I..." He mentally floundered for a bit. How do you get out of a situation like this? Just how? "...I'm just gonna go help Leon with repairs now."
And with that he ducked out of the house and hurried across the courtyard to where Leon was working. Hopefully he would actually need help, and not just make Sora go to Cid for work or something.
Isa sighed in frustration, but then picked up his shirt, shrugging it back on. He made a brief "tch" sound, looking at the holes in it. He'd have to find a new one somewhere in this wreckage.
He suddenly felt exhausted. He sat down next to Lea, the weariness obvious in his face. It had barely been any time at all since he had been checking the defense system like he did every day, but everything was different now, and he was completely overwhelmed. Isa rested his elbows on his knees as he dragged his hands down his face, taking a deep breath.
"Hey uh, well that was awkward huh?" Axel tried to laugh it off but Isa just slumped over in response. "Seriously, you alright? It wasn't that embarrassing was it?"
"...I'm fine. I'm just tired." And it was true. He was completely exhausted, physically and emotionally. A reasonable man might just go to sleep. Instead, Isa got up to pick through the wreckage, looking for a coffee press or something that was still intact. At least the computer seemed to still be functioning; it would be a pain to go all the way into the castle to work on decrypting the research notes. Since that was what he planned to do.
"Make yourself useful. Help me find some coffee or something."
No, he wasn't avoiding the subject of what had been going on when Sora walked in. Of course not.
"Uhhhh, I just got here. How am I supposed to know where the damn coffee is?" Axel was a bit annoyed. No, more than a bit annoyed.
"Wait a sec, coffee? I'm pretty sure it's too late for coffee, unless uh... y'know..." He wasn't being too obvious, was he? Whatever, he didn't care. Figured Isa'd be a prude and freeze up, it was kind of endearing. Until the man started towards the computer. The Nobody just slumped into his hands. Figured.
Isa gave Axel a look, a bit of a raised eyebrow over his shoulder.
"I plan on starting to decrypt more of these notes. You want your heart back, don't you?"
He turned back to the screen, pulling up a file and trying not to seem too uncomfortable.
"You ought to take your coat off and stay awhile." he pointed out. He wasn't sure what the deal was with that coat, but it seemed to be related to that Organization, and Isa didn't like that one bit. "...if you need other clothes, I can send Aerith to buy some for you in the morning."
"What, you want a show?" Axel laughed in response. "And of course I want my heart back but- Well can't that wait for a sec?" he got up and walked over to Isa, shaking his head at the man's impatient attitude. "Some things never change, huh?"
Isa was already getting to work. The Nobody glanced at the files open on the screen but they didn't make any sense to him. Instead he made a few awkward steps around the room, trying to figure out where the coffee could possibly be. Might as well try and keep him happy.
Isa glanced back at Axel again, then turned back to his computer.
"I think ten years has been waiting long enough, don't you?"
"Alright, well, you've got a point," Axel grumbled. "Well, I dunno about you, but I am EXHAUSTED after today," he yawned while unzipping his coat. "And nah, I'm fine with this thing for now. It's uh... practical." He tossed his coat on top of a nearby couch and flopped on it, sprawling out on the cushions. After a second he looked back at Isa, who was still clicking away on the computer.
"Hey, you should get some rest too y'know. I went and caused a ton of trouble for you today, I doubt tomorrow's going to be much better,"
"I'll rest soon enough. I've been slacking on these decryptions. Well." Isa chuckled to himself for just a moment. "I suppose I didn't have such a good reason not to slack."
He glanced over at Lea then, and had to suppress a gasp at how thin he was. It was actually worrisome. Isa stood up, trying to be nonchalant.
"Perhaps some dinner first. I'll need energy if I'm going to be up working on this."
"Oh, you read my mind, Isa. I'm starving! I didn't get to finish my lunch before that idiot stormed in," Axel sighed, "Xigbar's always like that though, can't believe I didn't see it coming." He picked himself off the couch, grabbing his coat to slide it back on. "What'd yah have in mind? A romantic candlelit dinner? I'm kidding, Isa," he laughed.
Isa almost sighed. Damn that coat. He rolled his eyes at Lea's joking.
"I figured that out all on my own, Lea. I realize it may come as a surprise to you, but I have not actually managed to get dumber as time has gone on."
"Coulda fooled me," Axel just waved a hand at Isa, dismissing his remark with a grin.
...it felt good to snark at Lea again. Isa would have to do that more often.
"I do not even care what we find to eat. Our options are rather limited, in any case." Isa wondered if Lea had been back to their homeworld before this. He assumed he hadn't been at least since Isa and the others had moved back. Was this his first time on his home soil? "This is rather a patchwork world; we don't exactly have five-star accommodations."
"Well y'know me, I'm not picky. As long as we eat. Hey how about we grab some ice cream after? Just like old times right?" he slipped an arm around Isa's shoulder, tilting his head while waiting for a response.
Isa looked a bit surprised for a moment. "Ice cream? I haven't had sea-salt ice cream in..."
In ten years. Not since that day. He'd avoided it like the plague; it made him think too much of pleasant summer days and laughter and smiling, mischievous green eyes, all gone.
But now...
Isa smiled. "I suppose I could manage to choke some down."
"Hey, don't knock the ice cream," Axel playfully smacked Isa on the shoulder, before heading towards the door. "So ice cream it is! I hope you're buying, 'cuz I'm broke!"
Axel wondered, for a moment, if it'd feel like it used to. When he and Isa shared ice cream before Lea lost his heart. Or if it'd be like those days on the clock tower. Celebrating a day's work done with Roxas and-...hm.
For a moment, it didn't seem like there was a difference.
Isa smirked. "Of course. I should have expected you to mooch off me. But I suppose this once won't hurt."
Isa stuck his hands in his pockets, walking close enough to Lea to occasionally bump into him. The ice cream shop wasn't far, and soon he had two bars in his hand. He handed one to Lea.
"Well, here you are. You'd better be grateful, you freeloader."
"Freeloader? Please," he took a bite out of his ice cream. Yeah, definitely better than old times. "You know you want me around. Next time it'll be my treat," Axel dragged Isa by the arm to go sit down on a nearby bench, immediately flopping down, turning to Isa with an excited look in his eyes.
"You know, after missions with the Organization, I'd do this all the time. Just me, sea salt ice cream and the sunset! It was great, but y'know," he casually stretched an arm over the back of the bench, gesturing at the sky with his ice cream, "It wasn't really that exciting until Roxas showed up. That kid was a real piece of work, but I guess you already can tell from hanging around Sora. Well anyway, now you're here. I never would have expected my luck to turn around like this," his eyes were glued to the sky, just letting his sentence trail off.
Isa crossed one knee over the other as he sat on the bench, crossing his free arm to rest on the elbow of the one holding his ice cream. He gave a brief chuckle.
"I can imagine. I don't know that I could spend every day with Sora without losing my mind. You're a better man than me in that respect, then." He took a bite of his ice cream, letting it melt in his mouth so he could savor the taste. "He does seem to bring all sorts of disruptions in his wake. But," he paused, smirking, "they've managed to be good disruptions every time."
First Sora had restored his home world, and now Lea had come in his wake. Isa would have to be sure he paid Sora back somehow, although he didn't think there was anything he could do that would be worth that much.
Axel thought for a moment on that. Good disruptions? When Roxas joined the Organization, well, he didn't think much of it. Then Castle Oblivion... what a nightmare. Axel's gaze dropped. And then Roxas left the Organization. The Nobody couldn't exactly agree with Isa but, in some respect, Sora did bring them back together. And now there was no turning back.
"How do you think we're going to manage? You don't just walk away from the Organization," Axel changed the subject, but he couldn't help but think. Who would be next? Hopefully not Xigbar again, Xaldin didn't seem like the type, and Xemnas would never get his hands dirty with such a task. That left Luxord and Dem- Ooooh awkward. His teeth gritted for a moment, trying to focus his gaze back on the sky, which was now getting darker.
"It's only a matter of time before they send someone else after me. I mean, you know how valuable I am," he laughed, trying not to seem like such a downer.
Isa's smile fell, his face becoming totally serious. "...yes. I know exactly how valuable you are."
Lea would be safe. Isa was not going to let anyone take him away again. He had become strong over the last ten years; strong enough to protect the people important to him. He would protect Lea, or die trying.
"I think you should tell me more about this Organization. I would like to know what I'm up against." The more information he had, the better. He could form a plan, and contingencies and fail safes. He just needed to know what Lea knew. But he wanted to reassure the Nobody.
"We'll manage. They won't get near you, not while I have breath in my body."
Axel's face twisted a bit, trying to decide what to say. After a few moments of chewing on his popsicle stick, he turned to Isa.
"Well, you already met Xigbar. He's got the whole space thing down, and he might have one eye but his aim is, uh," He glanced over Isa's condition, "Well yeah. He doesn't know how to mind his own business either. Old man's probably caught all of us with our pants down at one point." He laughed a bit, until he noticed Isa's unphased expression.
"Uh, it was a joke. Anyway, Xaldin. He's got dreadlocks, like this," Axel pulled his hair into a ponytail for a moment, before it poofed back into its normal spikes, "And he's kind of a pain in the ass. Like, he can't just leave things alone, he's always gotta start something. I guess that's what gets him off, I dunno. Well he uses the wind, and he fights with six lances. I mean it's pretty cool to watch but uhh... Yeah. Him and Xigbar together would spell trouble, they practice together all the time. And by practice I mean uhh- Well yeah, I wouldn't mess with them."
"Xemnas, he's our- their leader. You probably won't see much of him. He's kind of a, uh..." Axel pointed to his temple, and proceeded to contort his face like a fool, "Well he's... anyway."
"Demyx, well, if they ever send him against you, consider it your lucky day. He's got a mullet- no, I'm serious. He's a total slacker, I mean the kid can put up a good fight," Axel stopped to think about what he'd just said, whatever. "But he'd rather just take the easy route. If he's been bribed enough he'll probably fight, but you can take him... eheheh." Axel honestly hoped it would never go that route. After all, Axel knew a thing or two about how to get the Nobody motivated. But that was another story. "Uh, oh right. He plays his sitar to control water, and he's tougher than he looks, so don't let down your guard."
"Luxord's the newest remaining member, well, after Roxas left anyway. He's alright, a little too obsessed with gambling though. Another guy who's probably seen us all with our pants down- I'm talking about strip poker! And hey, he knows how to rope yah into it too, don't look at me like that! He manipulates time, and spends most of it toyin' with yah."
"And the rest of Organization XIII... well they've either faded away or walked away. So I guess that makes it easier for us, doesn't it?"
Axel let out a long sigh, "Got that all memorized?"
Isa held one closed hand to his mouth, thinking. Dreadlocks in a ponytail, fighting with lances, with that name, that was probably Dilan. And Xemnas... Ansem? No, he must be the person whose notes he had been decoding, the one claiming to be Ansem. The white-haired one probably, what was his name...? ...well, it didn't matter, Isa had never actually met that apprentice, just seen him from a distance.
Five in the Organization, three virtually unknown elements, while the other two were sure to be deadly. And five fighters on Isa's side, including Lea, but...Isa didn't really want to drag Cid or the littles into this. This was his fight, his problem. He didn't want to put them in more danger than they already faced every day.
"That's all well and good, Lea, but I am more concerned about what this Organization does. What is its mission statement, what sort of plans do they usually employ? In other words, how are they most likely to react to what happened today? And what are they trying to achieve?"
"I- hrng..." Did Axel really just go through all that trouble for nothing? "Well, let's walk and talk, it's starting to get dark out and I'm getting tired. You might have to carry me home," he laughed as he picked himself up, waiting for Isa to do the same.
Once they had started walking, Axel picked up his train of thought. "The Organization, well... I was sent to get Roxas back, and they probably will want me back so I don't cause problems. I didn't exactly have a good reputation there as it was.
"They all have their own demons, but as far as I know the only goal," Axel stopped for a moment, "is to regain their hearts. So you know, why do you think I stuck around?
"And your little buddy Sora, he's a key player in their plan. Just like Roxas was at one point. Y'know how the Keyblade releases hearts? Well, they all go back to Kingdom Hearts. And uh, I guess that's how we were supposed to get our hearts back. It's kinda complicated I guess. Actually sounds kinda wacky saying it out loud..."
Isa listened closely to what Axel was saying. Kingdom Hearts...he was sure he'd seen that referenced before. He'd have to check in the morning.
A makeshift door replaced the broken one from before, but Axel payed no mind, barging in like it was his own home. "So uh, where are we sleeping? I'm totally worn out."
Isa rolled his eyes, but he didn't mind. It looked like no one else was back yet; they were probably avoiding them. He shoved aside some wreckage to get at a door that led into a hallway; the third on the right was his room. He opened the door, gesturing to Lea to enter.
"'You may take the bed. I will likely be up rather late working on these notes."
"Hey hey wait a sec, if I take the bed where are you gonna sleep?" he turned to grin at Isa. Isa just Looked at Lea, as if to say what does it matter to you whether I sleep or not? "Oh c'mon, don't be like that. Look at you, you look terrible. It's time to sleep," Axel yanked at Isa's arm, but the man wasn't moving. Was Isa always this much stronger than him? Whatever.
"Well I'll just have to find some way to entertain myself, then. You got any magazines or-," he rifled through a few drawers in curiosity, but one drawer had something oddly familiar.
"Wait, not that-!" Isa started to lunge forward to snap the drawer shut, but it was too late. Isa froze dead.
Axel pulled out a worn yellow scarf, holding it out in his hands. His sentence suddenly didn't seem important enough to finish.
He- Was this- Isa...
This was Lea's scarf...?
Axel wasn't sure how to feel. No. Lea was screaming inside.
He'd kept it after all these years. Well, whatever doubt Axel'd had was washed away for sure now.
At a second glance he found a shattered piece of his old frisbee. "Heh, this stupid thing," he muttered. He'd thought these things were so cool when he was with Isa. What an idiot he must have seemed like, but Isa stuck around anyway.
Axel placed the frisbee back in the drawer, and then decided to wrap the scarf around his neck, keeping his back turned to Isa. He must have looked like such a dork, but he placed his hands on his hips and let out a confident, yet shaky, sigh.
He turned his head back to Isa, "Well whaddya think, does it still look good on me 10 years later?" He grinned. "I never woulda guessed you were the sentimental type, Isa."
Despite himself, Isa's face twisted up at the sight. He turned away from Lea, trying to fight back his feelings.
He was not going to cry. He was not. He was only tired; it had been a long, trying day and he was just exhausted, that was all.
His shoulders shook, and he pressed one hand to his face, sucking in a deep breath through his teeth. Control. Control. There was no reason to-
Oh god, Lea was here. He was really here, and Isa-
Axel's grin immediately disappeared when all he could hear was- "Isa, are you- Come here," he put his arms around the man, holding him as close as he could.
"It's okay, I'm here," Was he doing this right? He just held on, hoping Isa wouldn't notice Lea had lost his composure as well.
Isa shuddered when Lea touched him, but he didn't pull away. Nor did he turn his face to the redhead, too embarrassed to let him see exactly how shaken he was.
"...I thought I would never see you again."
Isa bit his lip, hanging his head. "...I'm sorry. So sorry. I was right there and I wasn't able to do anything. One moment you were calling to me and the next- you never even screamed. Did you even see what hit you...?"
Suddenly Axel didn't seem to care about keeping his cool. He took a hand and moved it under Isa's chin, tilting his head up, pressing his lips against the scar on his forehead.
"It wasn't your fault. I'm just- I-"
'It wasn't your fault.' Isa hadn't realized how much he needed to hear that from Lea until he had.
Isa tilted his head up and caught Lea's lips. His hands came up to tangle into the redhead's hair.
They were in private. No one was going to walk in. He pulled Lea with him as he scrabbled for the lock on the door with one hand, just to be safe.
And now Axel was being pushed towards the bed, forced underneath the bluehaired man. Uh, was this all he had to do to pick things off from earlier?
And now the damn buttons on Isa's shirt were getting in the way. This routine was all too familiar by now, but something inside Lea skipped a beat.
For Isa, though, this was new territory. Completely new. But he was going to go for it anyway. He had to.
He could not get that coat unzipped fast enough. He hated that coat and everything it stood for. Only after it was out of the way could Isa relax. No, that was a lie; Isa couldn't relax.
Lea's skin was so warm to the touch; it was like there was an inferno blazing just under the surface. Isa loved it. He'd felt like he'd been lost in darkness for so long, but now he thought he could see the light again.
He wasn't going to let Lea slip away from him again.