Axel pulled his arms over his head in a yawn-accompanied stretch. It had been a rather long day for him: taking Roxas on another learning mission where he attempted to teach him something he'd actually need to know, taking on three Large Armor Heartless on a mission in Agrabah, doing recon with Lexeaus in Beast's Castle (which was only tiring because of the amount of effort it took to get the man to speak at all,) and then constantly thinking about Nalax and her "very important mission with Xigbar," and how secretive Saïx kept it (he wouldn't call it worrying, of course - just an overload of thoughts about the subject;) and not to mention what Saïx had told him that morning. To put it simply, Axel was ready to call it a day and all but fly into bed.

Oh, pillows. How I miss you… he thought with another yawn.

Something caught his eye on the right. He was walking on an outdoor pathway, and there was a staircase that led down to a small balcony, which was otherwise inaccessible. He recognized this balcony from a while ago. And the same person that had been sitting there then was now dangling her legs over the edge, eyes on the starless sky. With a smirk and a sense of déjà vu, he went to sit next to her.

But, just like last time, she was speaking to no one in particular, and he found himself absent-mindedly stopping in the middle of the staircase to listen.

Nalax sighed. "I'm sorry, Lini. I know I made you a promise." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "But I just made a promise to Axel, too. And I… I don't know what to do. I've been putting your promise off, trying to look for his. And… you know… I realize now how impossible my promise to you was. Even if I did find our heart, you're already… gone. The only one who'd be able to use it… would be me." Her knees came away from her chest, legs dangling again. "But it would be so selfish of me to find my own heart, when I promised Axel I'd find his." Axel breathed deeply. "Death is… death. If I ever find out how to make up for causing yours… then I'd do it. But the present needs to be more important than the past. …I'll do whatever it takes to find his heart. I guess… I'd do anything for him. I don't understand why…." She was silent for a while after that.

Axel stepped off the staircase, and whispered, "Hey there, weirdo."

She gasped and turned to face him. "Axel-"

He smirked at her and moved down the rest of the stairs to sit next to her. "You're back."

"…You heard all of it again, didn't you?" she muttered bashfully.

"Most of it, I guess," he said, and paused for a moment. "Sorry. My body wouldn't move - had to listen." He swallowed, feeling tense as he was sure she was. "Did you… really mean that?"

Her hands began to absently fiddle with themselves. "Mean what?"

"What you said last," he muttered slowly, "about me."

Her eyes still scanned the stars. He would have thought it looked like she was searching for something, but it wasn't the sky that she was focused on. "Yes," she replied, eyes moving across the barren sky. She brushed a hand through her hair. "You are… a friend to me."

He couldn't contain a smirk. "Well, that better be true," he said matter-of-factly.

She looked up at him, confused.

"Because… you're a friend to me, too." If he could feel, he knew it would have been a very happy-like moment.

Nalax smiled widely at him - maybe he would have felt what she must have been feeling, as portrayed in her smile.

He remembered something then. Something that Saïx had told him when he first got his missions for the day. And, as if he could feel, he felt the happy moment shatter. He sighed. Considering the mission, he needed to tell her about it - at least enough that wouldn't get him in trouble while still keeping her in the loop. "And it's because we're friends that I'm going to tell you this."

Her smile fell by a fraction. "What is it?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow on a long-term mission." He avoided her gaze, looking out at the sky instead. Like she had been, it wasn't the sky he was focused on. "I don't know how long we'll be."

"We?"

"Marluxia, Larxene, Zexion, Lexeaus, Vexen, and I - we're all going to the Organization's other castle." He would have shuddered. He'd been there before, and it was a large, strange, empty place. He'd decided long ago that he just didn't like it there.

"You're going to Castle Oblivion?" she asked, almost incredulous. "Why?"

"Well, that's one thing that I can't spill. Xemnas's orders," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Wait, you… know about Castle Oblivion?"

"As much as any Nobody's allowed to know. It's pretty secretive."

"Yeah, it is."

"…Are you worried?"

He looked at her then - she certainly was. "About what?"

"Marluxia and Larxene."

He chuckled. "You still remember that?" When she didn't answer, he continued without the smirk. "I told you it wasn't anything to get worked up about. Luxord said it was just a rumor, after all…."

"But… wouldn't this be their perfect chance?" she said. "To try and take over?"

He stared - she had a good point. After a moment, he said the only thing he could. "Just don't worry about it, okay? Everything will be fine."

After another quiet moment, she nodded. "…I'm going to miss you."

He had to admit that he wished he could say the same. "I…" he whispered. "I don't like that I'll be away either." He looked out at the night sky again. "But I promise I'll be back. And when I get back, I'll take you out for ice cream, alright?"

She smiled reluctantly. "Okay."

Axel couldn't contain his yawn. "Well, get some rest," he told her. "Okay, Nalax?"

"I will," she said, standing.

He followed suit, and then watched as she walked, slower than she usually went, in the direction of her room. His brow furrowed. Is it possible for a Nobody to miss someone? he thought, not sure whether he meant Nalax or himself. After another yawn, he shook the thought away. Of course not. We have no hearts to miss with. With that, he walked up the staircase and went towards his own room for a long night's sleep. He'd be leaving in the morning.

And for what must have been the millionth time in the last week, he couldn't suppress the thoughts of her finding his heart.

A/N: I'm so sorry I've been away so long! I haven't even thought about KH since I posted last. I love this story so much and I really want to keep writing it, I just need to find inspiration for it. I'm not kidding, reviews would help tremendously - I need to know what you guys think.
I wasn't going to post this until I'd got the chapter after it done, but I was rereading the whole thing and really felt that I needed to post this. Hope you all like it. 3