Chapter 9: Can't Take It In (www . youtube . com/watch?v=NN2o13iEZPw)
Memo: IMOGEN HEAP-YEEEK! I love that woman. She is so gorgeous and talented. :) This song really inspired a lot for the end of TLM and this chapter. :D
Nexus' PoV
The images were flashing so vividly and so quickly in front of me, I wasn't really sure what to focus on. I knew I was dreaming, because there was no way that things could happen that fast in real life, but these things were things of real life. Picture after picture of things that both frightened and amazed me.
The most vivid was a moment where I saw myself in the Castle That Never Was, locked away as I had been the previous year. I was screaming, and then I was E, screaming, and then I was Axel, still screaming; our screams blended so perfectly and became so loud that they startled me awake.
Thunder rumbled at that exact moment, and both Axel and I bolted upright, cold sweat on our faces. When I knew for sure I was awake and concious, I slowly laid myself back down. Axel, perhaps a little more startled than I was, sat upright, staring out the curtained window. I couldn't tell if it was morning or not yet; the sky was so dark, only being lit up by the occasional flash of lightning.
"..." He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he got up out of bed. I craned my neck to see the clock. It was about seven-thirty. Poor thing...he didn't even get to sleep in on a day he worked later. I felt like he had really been pushed lately, and I felt bad he couldn't even enjoy another hour of sleep.
It was really warm in our room, even after Axel had left, but for some reason, I felt cold. Today felt like a different sort of day.
Closing my eyes, I tried to fall back asleep. But the flashing images in my head kept me feeling dizzy and forced me to open my eyes and stare straight up at the ceiling. I needed to distract myself, which I figured wouldn't be too difficult, considering the length of my attention span lately.
And I knew if all else failed, counting sheep would probably work.
It's a different sort of day, I told myself, drifting off into uneasy sleep.
It's a different sort of day, Axel thought, rubbing his eyes to try to wake himself up a bit more. But I don't know why I'm thinking this. I'm just too tired.
Knowing that at this point only food would really wake him up, Axel opened the cabinet, pulled out some cereal, and made himself a modest breakfast.
Breakfast was always a good time to think about things, which Axel really thought was important. He had always been the thinker, the schemer, and it frustrated him deeply when he couldn't work out his thoughts. This day, his thoughts were pretty clear, but sleep was still clouding his brain.
Though, these days, there wasn't much to think about anyway, other than work and preparing for the arrival of their son. He and Nexus were pretty much prepared, even though there were still a couple of weeks to go. Those would be good weeks, because not only would he get to celebrate being a father, but he would also have some time off of work.
These thoughts were what Axel fell asleep to, and he rested peacefully on the couch for another hour or so, until suddenly he heard someone's voice.
"Axel?" Nexus' voice echoed down the hallway. Sitting upright, Axel listened hard, just to make sure he wasn't just hearing things. "Axel?"
"Nex?" Axel called out, standing. "What's wrong?"
"Could you come here for a second?" Something in her voice sounded a little...different.
Quickly obliging, Axel walked out of the living room and into their bedroom. Nexus was sitting mostly upright, a funny look on her face.
"What's wrong?" he repeated, looking her in the eyes. She frowned, still looking a little dazed with sleep.
"Either the ceiling is leaking, or I-"
Flicking on the light switch, both Axel and Nexus realized at the exact same time what was happening, and the question was now, why?
"It's not the ceiling, trust me," Axel said quickly as Nexus pushed herself completely upright, wincing a little.
"But-but I still have nearly two weeks," Nexus said, worried. "And you have to go into work soon."
"I'll call them, don't worry."
How can I not? Nexus wanted to reply, but instead she sat on the edge of the bed patiently, feeling dizzy and nervous.
Suddenly lightning lit up the sky, and thunder crashed in response.
"You have amazing timing," Axel muttered, his voice leaded with sarcasm.
"If I could help it, I would," Nexus replied, frowning. But he had already dialed his work number.
"Hello?" Axel said, the phone to his ear. He glanced at Nexus, who only looked at him with a dazed stare. "Hi, Cole? It's Axel."
Nexus stared at the carpet by Axel's sock feet, trying not to think too much. Otherwise she might implode with emotion. She hoped this would all work out like it was supposed to.
What does E always say when she wants something? she wondered, spacing out. She says some little prayer. I wish I could remember it. If I could, I would say it.
"Nex?" Axel crouched down to Nexus' level, a concerned expression clouded his normally care-free face. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Nexus snapped out of it immediately. "Oh, yeah. I'm alright." Noticing the expression on Axel's face, she smiled a little. "Don't worry. You're not allowed to worry unless I can't talk anymore."
"I might celebrate if you can't talk anymore," Axel teased her, smirking. She pouted, flicking the end of his nose with her well-manicured middle finger. "Ow. Fine. Let's go."
Axel pulled Nexus to her feet, and almost immediately she hunched over in pain.
"Nex?" She shook her head quickly, pursing her lips. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she gasped. "Don't worry. I can walk."
...
E skipped down the beach while humming a cheery tune, despite the pouring rain, which was now soaking her to the bone. She didn't mind it one bit, though. Today was a different sort of day, though she couldn't quite put her finger on the reason why.
Knocking on the door of Nexus and Axel's house, E rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting patiently for Nexus to answer. When she didn't, E knocked again, her smile fading.
"Hello?" she called out through the pouring rain. No one responded; E instinctively placed her hand on the knob, jiggling it. The door opened right up. E calmed down, thinking Nexus had probably just fallen back asleep and left the door open. That had happened before...more than once.
"Onee-chan!" E sang out, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Again, no answer. Her throat closed up in worry. Franticaly, E ran further inside the house, searching every room for either Axel or Nexus. Neither of them were there, though, and E only panicked more.
Where could they be? she thought, running back to the front hallway. She walked over to the refridgerator, looking at the calendar. Axel should be at work, but where is Onee-chan?
Then everything suddenly clicked, and E let out a little yelp.
"WAAHHH!" she shrieked, running out of the house. She continued screaming all the way back to Riku's house, even while rowing her boat, even while sprinting down the beach, even when she collided with Riku.
"E?" he cried, nearly falling over.
"WAHH! WAHHH!" E covered her face with her hands, spinning in a circle.
"E, calm down!" Riku shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. "What's going on!"
E shook her head quickly, trembling with excitement. "Riku! Nexus and Axel-they're at the hospital!"
"What? Why? What happened?"
"You silly-head!" E cried, smacking her hand to Riku's forehead. "Nexus is having her baby!"
"How do you know?" Riku gasped.
"Where else would both of them be? What should we do?"
"Let's call everyone." Riku grabbed E's arm and dragged her inside the house.
Sora was the first to get called, followed by Namine and Roxas, and finally Kairi.
"I want to go," Namine said quickly, and E nodded, then realized that Namine couldn't see that.
"Yeah, I figured," E replied. "What about Roxas?"
"He can't-he has to work today."
"I'm going, too," Sora said into Riku's phone. "Where should we meet up?"
"I dunno." Riku looked at E, who frowned a little. "What about Kairi?" he asked her.
"She said she didn't want to go." E's frown deepened.
"She's a bitch," Namine said.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Riku said, rolling his eyes. "So let's plan to meet up by three at the hospital, okay?"
Nexus' PoV
You know, to be honest, I don't remember much about being in the hospital. I was in so much pain that I was half out of it when we finally got there; the ferry was running late, ironically, so the wait was longer than it should've been, and I was beginning to wonder if I wouldn't have to give birth on a boat.
I didn't, thankfully. But like I said, I don't remember much, just being dizzy and in pain. Whee. And then they gave me special drugs for this reason and that reason, and if my brain wasn't fogged enough before, it was after that. Needless to say, it was trippy and weird.
But whatever. I remember the important parts.
I can honestly say I was absolutely terrified when I held Kaji in my arms for the first time. There were a number of reasons why, but the most obvious one was physical, and it made every cell in my body go on alert.
"...Axel," I exhaled, running a finger across the top of Kaji's tiny head. "He has white hair."
I was convinced that somehow, Sune's DNA or genes or something were embedded permanently inside of me, and now this was the result. I didn't want my own child to have to be a permanent reminder of my damned past.
When I looked at Axel, instead of being consoling, he burst into laughter. If I had not been holding Kaji, I would've choked him out of rage. He was certainly close enough, being seated right next to me.
"Why are you laughing?" I squeaked, stunned. "This isn't funny at all."
"Yeah it is, Nex." Axel smirked. "You're clueless."
I think the blank, unamused stare I was giving him finally convinced him to explain.
"The white hair isn't permanent," Axel said at last. "That just means he'll have red hair later."
I honestly had never heard of this before, and I thought he was kidding just to make me feel better and to make up for him laughing at my anxiety.
"I'm serious, Nex. I had white hair when I was born, and so did Aila and all the other red-heads in my whole family."
"..." I thought about this for a moment, gently stroking Kaji's wispy white hair. "...So it grows out red?"
"Yeah. Don't you ever see red-heads that have light eyebrows? It's because the red didn't transfer to their eyebrows. I don't think Kaji will be that way, though, because no one in my family was like that."
"...So I just worried for nothing?" I said out loud, more to myself than to Axel.
"As always," Axel said, smirking at me again. But there was a genuine happiness in his eyes, and suddenly I felt like nothing had changed at all. It was like falling in love all over again.
"He's beautiful, isn't he?" I said, smiling.
"Just like you."
I wanted to tell him to stop, but I definitely enjoyed the compliment.
"I think...this is the happiest I've ever been," I admitted, looking at Axel. He nodded in agreement. "I mean...you stole my heart...quite literally, actually..."
Axel chuckled under his breath.
"And now, Kaji...I didn't know happiness expanded like this."
Apparently, happiness is like any other emotion; it can engulf anyone or anything it comes into contact with. Since I had never really been happy before, I didn't know what kind of feeling that was or what it would do to me. I think it's fair to say that I was getting soft. Maybe that's what people mean by "settling down"?
Anyway, I think of that moment as an ending, but also another beginning. I had a hunch things would only get more interesting from there on out. And, given, they did.
