A.N - I'm sorry! *shot* I don't know why but I've been feeling really low and stressed out and all I want to do is sleep. I've been putting off college work and have found it impossible to write. But finally, here's chapter 8. I know it's kinda skippy. I'm trying to skim to the important events without just making a time jump. Hope it's ok.
PLEASE NOTE! This chapter has been Beta-ed! Leon Heartnet (not Leon Leonheart as I said previously! oops!) will be checking my spelling and grammar and helping me clear up any bits that are badly written! lol. I expect there may be a lot.
Dedicated to... The wonderful Rocketship Romance. For drawing me a gorgeous picture of the newest character in this chapter. The link can be found on my profile page. Go see! It's fab!
And finally...
Disclaimer - I do not own anything but the storyline and a vast collection of Disney Videos. If I owned any of the characters I would force them into doing naughty things for my pleasure and film them for yours! ahhaha...no, that's a little creepy...*shifty eyes*
As summer slowly melted into autumn, Riku and Sora met with Ariel at least once a week. The story of the boy and his angel was a popular one. Ariel wrote evocatively but simply, charming her readers both young and old, and Eric's illustrations captured Sora's innocence and strength of heart. However, everyone was most captivated by the angel who was ever at Sora's side. The woods saw more visitors than they ever had. Families came picnicking and made sure to take their rubbish home with them. Schools came to learn about the wildlife and organised litter-picking groups. The petition to save the woods swelled in numbers, but it was causing great deals of arguments amongst the government. Other than Cloud Strife and Leon Leonheart, none of the names signed had a surname, and they were all exotic sounding, written in shaky writing as if the person holding the writing implement was not accustomed to its weight. However, these irregularities were becoming irrelevant as the number of supporters to save the woods swelled under Sora's metaphorical banner. Many children hunted through the woods in search of an angel of their own and the Fae smiled down at the younglings in wonder. Never had so many humans been seen, nor had any shown such reverence to their home. The children were careful about trampling plants beneath their feet and even refrained from picking the fading summer flowers. As winter approached swiftly, the children hung up feeders and houses for the birds and, though they couldn't enjoy picnics, came to make snowmen and stage snowball wars. Sora informed Ariel that he wouldn't be available until spring because he had to spend time with family. Axel's eggs would be hatching soon, and besides, Sora had some rather big news to break himself.
"I'm carrying eggs." The little brunet admitted, blushing as he sat in the secure embrace of Riku's arms and stuffed another morsel of suet into his mouth. The humans had been leaving balls of the gooey stuff for the birds, hanging them in the tree branches, and Sora was irresistibly drawn to them. Roxas gaped at his twin brother, Axel congratulated the pair, and Riku simply beamed proudly. He was almost bursting with happiness at the fact that he really was Sora's soul mate. He was the one to make the small male happy enough to produce eggs. And, although it made him a little discontented that he couldn't be the first of the two to carry eggs, he was thrilled at the prospect of his special someone bringing new life into the nest. Axel and Roxas left Sora to his random cravings and moved to their nest, where they sat with the eggs as they had been doing every evening for the last week or so. Roxas had convinced Axel once to go outside into the light covering of snow, but the pyro had pouted like a half drowned puppy and the blond boy hadn't the heart to ask him to go out again. Roxas snuggled up close to the warmth emanating from the fiery faery and sighed softly as a hand came to brush through his hair calmingly as it had so many times in the past.
"What's wrong Roxy?" Axel asked, knowing his small counterpart too well to be ignorant of the emotional turmoil plaguing him. He also had his theory about the cause of said turmoil, but thought Roxas might like to talk about it himself.
"I always thought that I'd be the one to lay eggs next. I don't see how I could be happier than I already am. And Sora's only had Riku for a little while. I've had you for always. Why don't I have any eggs?" Axel heard the thick tears in Roxas' voice and swiftly scooped the younger into his arms to litter gentle kisses across his face.
"You've been worrying about Sora. You'll have eggs soon Roxas. Don't be sad. We've got these little ones to look forward to, and I know they'll love you. Just like I do."
The next morning, Axel stretched, yawning widely as he walked through the dining hall to grab a warm breakfast. He hated the cold weather; it reached icy fingers into the heart of the nest and made him feel miserable. Collecting his bowl of warm mushy breakfast, the redhead turned to find himself staring at Kairi and Yuffie snuggled close together, fingers entwined as they talked to Xion. The male shuddered and considered slinking back to the nest, where Roxas was still dozing, to eat his breakfast, when Xion spotted him and jumped up to drag him over to join her and her friends. The dark haired female had never liked Kairi because of the pain she put her brother through, but Kairi was a new faery ever since Yuffie had attached herself to her. Xion dragged her tall best friend over to her table and pushed him onto the bench and beamed. "Yuffie, this is my best friend Axel. Axel, this is Yuffie, Kairi's partner." At Xion's words, Kairi blushed brightly; Yuffie grinned and dropped a kiss to the top of Kairi's head. Axel went pale. His jaw dropped and he began making nonsense noises. At that particular moment, Roxas wandered into the room, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Instinctively spotting the riot of red hair, Roxas made his way across to Axel and sighed when he saw the state his mate was in. Smiling apologetically at Yuffie and rolling his eyes at Xion, Roxas climbed into Axel's lap and bumped his forehead against the older faery's. Green eyes, pinning in slight panic, met large blue ones speaking volumes of disapproval. Roxas was all for Kairi and Yuffie having a relationship. Their pairing kept Kairi from Sora until he and Riku were joined as Soul mates on the twins' birthday. There was nothing wrong with two females being together in Roxas' mind. What difference did it make? He didn't understand Axel's reaction at all.
Axel calmed slightly as Roxas' familiar blue eyes filled his vision. Long arms wound their way around Roxas' middle; green eyes slid shut as he inhaled the familiar, comforting scent of the small blond. Like sunlight, sweet and slightly spicy, completely Roxas. He heard the boy sigh, and felt him run his small fingers through the little hairs at the nape of his neck. "Axel, this needs to stop."
"Roxy...I..." Roxas pulled back and pressed insistent fingers to Axel's lips.
"No. Kairi and Yuffie love each other. You can tell from the way they behave together. What's the difference between them being together and us?" he asked, covering Axel's lips again as the redhead tried to respond. "No. There is none. They love each other. Just like I love you, and Riku loves Sora. It's not their fault that they can't reproduce. You need to stop reacting to them in such a way. Everyone was accepting of us right from the start, even though it was unusual. Love is love, you shouldn't judge it." The redhead sighed and scrunched his eyes up tight, his facial expression registering only distaste for a few moments before melting into submission and a goofy loving gaze as he opened his eyes to look at Roxas.
"Okay. I'm sorry. I...will...try to stop acting like...like..."
"A homophobe." Yuffie supplied brightly, it being one of the words she'd picked up from her time watching the humans. "It's a bit stu...silly and contradictory seeing that you and Roxas are pretty much in the same situation." The female carefully altered her choice of words to try and offer friendship rather than insult and chose that moment to pull Kairi to her feet and bid the others farewell. Axel had the decency to look ashamed of his behaviour and nodded nervously in response to the females' farewell before resting his head against Roxas' shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He murmured quietly, receiving a hug from Roxas and a kiss on his temple before they ate their breakfast and returned to the eggs.
After that incident, if Axel was faced with Kairi and Yuffie, he made a great effort to be polite and tried ever so hard to view their partnership as ordinary. They also tried to make things easier on the struggling redhead by limiting their time around him and avoiding any overt shows of affection, but were slowly introducing him to their holding hands and hugging, hoping to desensitize him. By the time the twin's birthday rolled up, Axel was so busy that he barely blinked at the sight of the two females together. He was much too engrossed in celebrating the birthday of his love and his twin. And their birthday also heralded the day that Riku and Sora were joined together for life. Yuffie had wanted to have a ceremony for herself and Kairi, but the small redhead had protested. "I'd much rather we waited until the spring." She told Yuffie who frowned.
"Don't you want to be mated with me?" she asked, sounding hurt.
"No! I mean, yes, I do want to be mated with you Yuffie. It's just; I can't take their day away from them. I've caused them enough heartache, I want our day to be something to celebrate, to be seen as something joyous, not as me trying to ruin Sora and Riku's relationship. You understand, don't you?" Yuffie looked into Kairi's honest and slightly pouting face and beamed at the girl before covering said face in little butterfly kisses, causing the girl to giggle.
"Of course I understand. I'm so happy that you...I love you Kairi." Yuffie crooned and pressed her lips against her partner's fiercely.
The ceremony was simple but full of happiness, the nest was pleased that the two males were finally together and were even more pleased by the promise of Sora's eggs. But as soon as the birthday festivities were over, everyone's attention turned to Axel and Roxas and the eggs the pair was hovering over. They were bound to hatch soon. All around the nest one could hear whispering voices discussing the likelihood of any males hatching and an excited buzz reverberated around the nest. All gathered were eager to see the eggs hatch, but their twittering was getting on the last nerve of one particular faery.
Larxene really didn't understand the hype about the eggs. "We've got babies already, what difference is there between a hatchling and a birthed youngling?" she asked, always receiving the same answer.
"There could be males!" It infuriated the female no end. What made the males so special? The Fae could survive without them. And they seemed to be attracted to only other males anyway. Was all the excitement about the fact that there was a slim chance that one of the Fae could become a hatched male's mate? Larxene growled. Who needed a male for a mate? She didn't see why no one had yet followed Kairi and Yuffie's example. Surely a female would make a much better life partner. A female would understand you better, be more attentive and she would be a perfect match; like living with an extension to yourself. Larxene scoffed at the male obsessed Fae. She really didn't understand them at all. And so, it was with a kind of vindictive pleasure that Larxene watched each newly hatched babe be carried from the nesting room wrapped up in pink blankets. Of course, they were all absolutely stunningly beautiful, all delicate and pale with rosebud lips and softly curling hairs framing their faces. Thirteen perfect little Fae were carried in a procession from the room over the course of the next few days. And then everything stopped. Everyone waited with baited breath, but no sound came from the nest. No one was allowed in but the fathers. Three days after the thirteenth hatchling had left the room, a heart rending wail reverberated around the nest. Roxas was found cradling Axel's trembling form as well as he could considering their size difference. The final egg was still intact. It was the one that had been separated from the rest, proving Roxas' dread correct. The pink egg was dead.
It took Roxas, Riku, Sora, Xion and Axel's queen to remove the redhead from the nest. They shuffled him into a lounge room and fussed over him. Axel's usually vibrant green eyes were dull. He was shaking like a leaf and intermittently let out a keening sound. He'd curled himself around Roxas and refused to let go, face buried against the distraught blonde's neck, tears running down his face and dampening the soft skin he was resting against. The pair was given a short period of grieving before the queen had to ask what they wanted to be done with the egg. No one wanted to dispose of it. Larxene got rather irate at their behaviour. "You have thirteen beautiful daughters. Can't you be happy for the new sisters that have joined the nest? What is all this fuss over one stupid egg? It's not like you know if it would have been a boy or a girl. It's probably not fertile. There's nothing in it. We just need to bury it or throw it in the stream." With that she bustled out of the room and snatched the egg out of the nest, followed by a horde of squawking Fae. She turned on them, egg held carelessly in one hand, and snarled. "It's dead. It never lived. Yes, it is sad. But there are thirteen other new lives to celebrate. I can't believe you care more for the possibility of a male than the actuality of thirteen females. It's..." Larxene's eyes suddenly bulged and she drew her arms, which had been gesticulating wildly, in close to her body. The onlookers watched her in puzzlement as the angry female stared down at the egg in her hands and suddenly shrieked, "IT MOVED!" Before anyone could get close to her, before Axel and Roxas made their way through the wall of living flesh, all craning to see what was going on, Larxene abruptly found herself with a squealing infant in her arms. Its eyes, when they opened slightly as it drew in fresh air to wail with, were a blue not quite as crystalline as Roxas'. The child's hair was a cute little tuft of pink. And the baby was most definitely male.
Everyone seemed to get control over their limbs at once and surged towards Larxene, who silently drifted back into the now empty nest to retrieve a piece of soft green cloth to swaddle the child in. Her eyes fixated down onto the little green bundle of life in her arms and she blinked at the wailing male. People started tugging at her sleeves, wanting to see the babe themselves, asking its gender, whining, moaning, shouting, cajoling. It was no wonder the baby was crying. Everything built up and up in Larxene, an almost visible pressure as she gazed at the baby still cradled securely in her arms. Finally, she spun on the gathered and let them have it. Electricity seemed to dance in her hair, lightning flashing in her eyes. "WILL YOU ALL JUST GET LOST!" she yelled and was satisfied at the hush that fell over the crowd. "Yes. It's a boy. No, the egg was not dead. Yes, isn't it lucky we didn't get rid of it? Now GET OUT! Let Axel and Roxas meet their son. Stop Being So Fuc..." an unexpected sound lilted around the room and bought Larxene to a complete standstill once more. She gaped down at the child in her arms and blinked in surprise. Clear blue eyes sparkled up at her as the baby chortled. He then proceeded to wriggle one pudgy arm free of its blanket and wave it around, making nonsense noises in imitation of Larxene's shrill scolding voice. Astonished onlookers watched the female's expression melt into one of utter adoration. "So, you like it when I tell those nosey busy bodies off huh?" she cooed at the infant who offered her a gummy smile. The other females hastily cleared the room, allowing Axel and Roxas to hesitantly make their way over to Larxene; desperate to meet their miracle son, but slightly scared of the woman holding him. "So, do you want to meet your daddies?" Larxene was speaking in that sickeningly sweet tone that all seemed to find necessary to use when talking to something small, cute and young. "I bet you'll like them a lot. It's that Uncle Sora you've got to watch out for. He steals cakes. But you won't be like him, will you?"
Larxene handed Axel his son and moved to idly tidy up the egg fragments and fold all of the cloths and blankets up. The new fathers looked down at their son with joy in their eyes, but Axel found his gaze being drawn again and again to Larxene. The female was the most feared of the Fae in all of the nests neighbouring theirs. She had a quick temper and was stubborn. But, when she was holding the baby, Axel recognised a level of adoration in her expression that was close to the one he'd felt upon first holding Roxas. And the baby boy obviously liked the blonde-haired female a lot. "Roxy?" He asked hesitantly, peering down into his lover's bright blue eyes. "I think...we should let Larxene name him." Roxas looked surprised. It was usually the task of the queen or the babe's mother to bestow a name. Then, a slow, understanding smile lit his face and he nodded.
"I think so too." Roxas replied, taking the baby and placing a kiss on his forehead. "Larxene?" The males watched her look at them with an almost hungry expression and smiled encouragingly as she warily walked over to them, eyes immediately seeking out the face of the baby. "Would you like to hold him again?" Roxas asked, not waiting for an answer before placing his and Axel's child into Larxene's cradling arms. Axel drew Roxas against him and smiled gently at the female.
"Larxene, we would like it if you named him." Axel said softly, heart swelling at the wondering expression on the usually hardened faery's face.
"Really?" she asked, rocking the baby slightly as he blinked up at her. Roxas nodded and Axel just grinned. "Oh." Larxene breathed, shocked and touched by their gesture. By asking her to name their son, the couple were also asking her to raise him. The baby and the female gazed at each other in silence before Larxene finally smiled widely and cooed, "Marluxia."
A.N - Just to make sure...
1. This chapter has been updated!
2. I'm sorry for my slow updating, I promise you I'm trying very hard to get something to you every few weeks, it's just a bit difficult these days.
3. If I don't post anything beforehand...I hope you have a wonderful Christmas/holiday season and I wish you hope and happiness for the new year! :)
Love you guys, Dreamy xxx
