Chapter 11: Axel the Uncontrollable Flirt
Nightshroud: I once again thank all my faithful reviewers! 8D Haha everyone loved the suite thing. I can assure that it will become more and more...interesting. Lol anyway, that is a good point, Mr. Fipp. Well since KH originated in Japan, I've decided to make where they work/live in Japan. So no, there won't be a language barrier. Anyway, I'm sure you want me to get out fo the way, so here you are. Enjoy!
Larxene and Axel marched into the building, looking a million times more confident than they felt. A woman was seated at a desk in the reception hall, surveying them snootily over black-rimmed glasses. She looked quite like Charlotte, except Charlotte was friendly and well-meaning, and this woman looked neither.
"May I help you?" the woman asked in a voice, which was, of course, extremely posh. And it also sounded extremely fake.
"How on earth can she be bothered to keep it up?" Larxene wondered, as she strapped on her most charming, business-like smile. She wondered why this woman was scowling at them as if they were something nasty she had found on the bottom of her shoe (no doubt a Prada creation, or something similarly expensive). It wasn't if they had done anything offensive, and they were dressed impeccably. It wasn't as if they were tramps clothed in rags. Larxene had opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it, surprised, when Axel beat her to the desk and began smiling at the receptionist.
"Hello, mademoiselle," Axel said in a flirty manner as he leaned on the desk, and Larxene blinked. The woman was smiling and extremely flushed now. Then Larxene realised that the receptionist had been glaring only at Larxene, presumably because Larxene was with Axel. Larxene withheld a giggle. The woman obviously liked the look of Axel. It was rather intelligent of him to indulge her - clearly the guy had more brains than she, Larxene, gave him credit for.
"It's 'madam', actually," she said, but she was still smiling and flushed, seemingly not the least bit offended. Axel did a credible imitation of surprise.
"Really?" he asked, blinking, "But aren't you a little young to be married? You don't look a day over sixteen!"
The receptionist actually giggled at this point. Larxene resisted the urge to vomit, but the other woman seemed to be lapping it up.
"Oh dear!" Axel exclaimed as he checked his watch, "I fear we may be late for our convention so, unfortunately, I can no longer stand and chat." The woman looked disappointed.
"I don't suppose you could tell me and my -" Axel began.
"Girlfriend," Larxene interrupted, smiling in a manner that said clearly 'Back off, skank' as she stepped to become level with Axel.
Axel looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and wrapped his arm around Larxene's waist, causing her eyes to widen. She managed to stop herself sending him a bewildered look, as she knew how suspicious that would appear.
"Girlfriend," he continued without missing a beat, and Larxene was impressed, "where the annual East Japan Advertising Convention is taking place?"
The woman looked furious, then spat, "Conference Room D. Go to the fourth floor, and when you step out of the elevator, take the first corridor to your right. You will eventually see a sign for 'Conference Room D'."
Axel smiled at her, and, with his arm still tightly wound around Larxene, they walked towards the elevator. Larxene could feel the receptionist's eyes on her the whole way.
"You know," Larxene said after they were inside, "you can let go of me now."
"I know," he said, smiling slightly although not looking at her, but pulling her even closer to him. Larxene would have choked on her own saliva, had it not been such an unladylike and inappropriate action for the moment.
"After all, if I have you this close, then you need never be jealous of married receptionists," he said slyly, finally looking at her, an eyebrow arched. Larxene looked furious, and tried to wriggle away from him, but he only held onto her more tightly.
"No," he said, "you're not getting away. You fit well in my arms. Besides, you like it, I can tell." Larxene now looked double furious.
"I do not!" she cried, even though she did. A little. Not because it was Axel, but just because it was comfortable, and warm, and she hadn't been held by a man in a long time…
"And I was not jealous!" she continued, "I just didn't think it would reflect well on the company if you began an affair with a married woman while on a business trip!"
"You know I was only playing around with her," Axel said teasingly as Larxene looked away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yes, well I didn't think that was fair either!" Larxene exclaimed, turning sharply to look accusingly at him.
"She was genuinely interested in you!" she said, making it sound as though it was his fault. He blinked, surprised.
"Well, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I mean, it wasn't as if I was going to try to seduce her, or anything. And if she had responded any more seriously than she did, then I would have backed off. You know I would. But she was just messing with me, too," he reasoned, looking a little hurt that Larxene would think he would go after a married woman.
"I just figured, since she was glaring at you, that I would handle getting the information from her. Besides, she should see that you are the only woman I need," he said, actually looking down quite fondly at her.
"But you're always flirting! With me, that receptionist, with women at work… even Charlotte a little this morning while I was on the phone for the cab! You take it so lightly, and you don't mean it!" she cried.
"Not," she added quickly when she correctly interpreted the look Axel was shooting her, "that I wish you were being serious when you flirt with me, or anything."
"Except that I do, a little, but I don't know why," Larxene thought suddenly, then immediately wondered where the thought had come from.
"You see," Axel said, smiling slightly, "having to deal with one slightly insane woman, is more than enough. I should never need another woman, if I have you." Larxene sighed, exhausted.
"You," she began, pausing dramatically, "are impossible." Axel grinned infuriatingly.
"Thank you."
Larxene willed her head not to fall off her hand and crash onto the (rather nice) conference table she was sitting at. When she and Axel had got off the elevator (rather amazingly, they both had all limbs intact) and found Conference Room D, they had been handed a timetable by a rather heavy-set and bored-looking woman. On it, underneath their names, was a list of everything they would be required at over the next two days. Larxene quickly discovered that Xemnas had lied - this wasn't so much a convention as two days of abject boredom and seemingly never-ending meetings and discussions.
When the duo had not been required at any meeting, they had sat in the conference center's café, drinking endless cups of a vile liquid that the café staff claimed was coffee. In Larxene's case, she was drinking them in a desperate attempt to try and stay awake. Axel had seemed to drink it simply to keep her company, but he was now peppier than she had ever seen him. Unfortunately, no amount of coffee could remedy the sleep-inducing properties of dull discussions in Larxene's opinion. Oh well, it was worth a try.
As far as Larxene could grasp, the convention was made up of advertising executives from all over Japan. The Advertising Board of Japan was laying down some new rules and regulations, and there were lots of people discussing them. The Head of the Advertising Board was here, along with many people from the Board. The purpose of these two days was to make sure all the advertisers in Japan were happy with the new regulations. There were conventions being held all over the country, it just happened that Larxene and Axel were at the Tokyo one.
Larxene glanced over at Axel who was arguing, rather passionately (of course, that may have just been all that coffee) about something.
"How can he summon the strength to care so much about something so dull?" Larxene wondered as she watched him, his emerald eyes ablaze as he objected. Larxene herself was idly pondering on how Marluxia was doing at home and how he would react to what Larxene would inevitably blab about her and Axel.
She glanced at her watch quickly, in such a way that (hopefully) nobody noticed. It was 9:00 P.M., and Axel and herself had been here almost twelve hours. This was ridiculous.
Suddenly the Head of the Board stood up, and Larxene blinked and jolted suddenly out of her stupor when the middle-aged man began to speak.
"Okay," he said," enough for today. You can all come back tomorrow."
And he left, just like that, apparently not caring about the angry muttering that was going on among the people he had left behind. Larxene supposed that that was the ultimate sign of power - being so central to something important and being able to do whatever you wanted without anyone saying a word.
Larxene looked over at Axel. He was rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed. He looked awfully flushed, and Larxene began to wonder if he was okay. However, he then stopped to look up at her and smile, and the moment passed.
They were standing on the street outside the conference centre and Larxene had just phoned a cab to come and pick them up. The night was dark, but not gloomy - it was much more piercing than that. Gloom was heavy and suffocating, but this night was sharp and cold, the wind biting at any exposed skin and leaking through their clothes to chill them to the bone.
Larxene shivered and stamped her feet, blowing on her hands which were numb with cold. Axel had been silent the past few minutes, but he smiled when he saw her do that.
"That's not how to warm up your hands," he chided softly, and he took her hands in his own. Larxene blushed, and felt warmer instantly, but although a rush of blood was warming, Larxene was fairly certain that wasn't what he meant. She marvelled at how extraordinarily warm his hands were. He rubbed his together gently against her own, and she had to admit that his way of warming hands was much more effective. But then, it stuck her that Axel's hands were almost too warm. She fixed him with a suspicious look.
"Why are your hands so warm? You are okay, aren't you?" she asked.
Axe; was saved from answering as the cab driver chose that moment to pull up and honk loudly. Axel opened the door for Larxene without thinking, earning himself a shocked look from Larxene.
"Do you want me to take you back to your hotel, or somewhere else?" the driver asked as he glanced at his rear-view mirror.
"We could go out for dinner," Axel suggested, turning in his seat to face Larxene.
"We could," Larxene mused, sounding unconvinced, "but not dressed like this! And I really don't want to go back to the hotel and get dressed for dinner. I'm too hungry to wait."
"Then we'll go somewhere not nice," Axel suggested, "like McDonalds, or something."
"That," Larxene said with a tired smile, "is probably the best idea I've heard all day."
"So, the nearest McDonalds, then?" he asked.
Nightshroud: More flirting with Axel and Larxene hehe. Sorry if I'm not moving things quite as quickly as you had hoped, but fear not. I will have something major happen soon. Just be patient! 8D Now review and show me the love!
