Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix and Disney.
A/n: This is a companion fic to my story Here With You. It takes place a little before Kingdom Hearts II in Castle Oblivion showing what happened between Namine, Axel, and Roxas. One-shot, not yaoi, sorry.
Warnings: Sudden and somewhat unexplainable nudity and lewd actions! Things children should not read or even know about for that matter! Indecent content, so don't flame me if you don't like it, flame yourself for sitting there and reading it even though you didn't want to. I'll even warn you ahead of time so you can skip over it. And some parts of this might be a little sketchy, I pulled an all-nighter to get it done.
. :Here With You; The Prequel: .
The sunlight glinted brightly off the white walls and floor around them, nearly blinding Axel as the gentle breeze shifted the curtain aside and allowed the light to fill the room. He squinted and held his hand up to block it as he watched Namine work. She was completely oblivious to his presence as she drew in her sketchbook, her hand moving majestically along the paper. Figures started to take shape, and she began to add torrents of color across the page.
Axel yawned and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He had nothing against her artwork, he actually thought it was great, but when she was in the mood to draw that meant he got to sit there and watch her for hours. He was her specially assigned baby-sitter. What a boring job, he cursed the Organization for assigning him to it.
She sighed and drew his attention back to her pale face. Her nose scrunched cutely at her accomplishment and she held it out at arm's length to inspect it. He looked up at her from his place on her bedroom floor, and she proudly held the picture out for him to see. He rolled back over to see it right-side-up, and rested his chin in his hand.
"It's you and Roxas!" She chirped, tilting her head ever so slightly. Axel snorted.
"Who's Roxas?" She pouted down at him, then leaned back in thought. Smiling again she pointed at the blonde figure in the picture.
"This is Roxas! See? You guys are really good friends." She stated confidently. This time Axel laughed.
"I've never even met him, how can we be friends?" He gave her a rude look and sat up. There was no doubt in his mind that this 'Roxas' existed, anything Namine drew existed, but he couldn't recall having ever even seen him before.
"Sure you have! He's new to the Organization, why don't we go see him?" She jumped up from her seat and dashed for the door. Axel pushed himself up from the floor moodily and followed her lead.
She rushed forward down the hall and disappeared from sight around the corner. Axel's eyes widened and he dashed after her.
"Hey! Wait! Namine!" He turned the corner and nearly rammed into her as she stood there smiling at him. He held a hand to his chest to calm down, letting her out of his sight even for a second could be a big mistake. He stared down at her childish smile and couldn't help but feel like there was something morbid behind it, she was too clever to really be that innocent.
"If you're so worried about me then why don't you hold my hand?" She asked, reaching forward and grabbing his hand before he could protest. She pulled him forward and ran through the long bleached halls of Castle Oblivion.
She stopped suddenly and he nearly cried out as he slammed into her. Her brow furrowed and she held up a hand for him to be quiet.
"That's Roxas." She giggled, gesturing around the corner. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, she hadn't even look to see if he was really there! Mainly just to humor her, he leaned around the corner to take a peek. Larxene and Vexen stood not far down the hall, talking quietly to another boy. Axel stared at the boy in shock, he looked exactly like the picture Namine had drawn, and he was willing to bet she'd never seen him before. He watched in horror as she walked past him to say hello to Roxas.
Her hair shone brightly as she held her hand behind her back and bounced forward happily. She leaned forward to whisper in the boy's ear and his eyes were glued to her. Larxene waved half heartedly and walked away, leaving Vexen to watch the two converse in interest. She was giggling now and Axel saw a smile appear on Roxas' face. Something stirred within him, but he couldn't quite place what it was. He crossed his arms over his chest and strode out from behind the corner. Roxas, huh? He didn't look so wonderful to him.
xxxxxxx
She was laughing again, and pushed the blonde playfully. He joined in and their laugher rang through Axel's ears like the creak of Hell's gates opening up for him. The sound chilled his blood and he watched them talk happily from his perch on the cold stone steps.
She wasn't even supposed to be out here, but no one cared so here she was, laughing it up with the new guy. Axel growled angrily, he didn't even know why he cared that they spent all their time flirting. They had only met a few days before and now he had to follow them both around like he was the third wheel.
"Hey Axel, bad news." He looked up at Demyx and scowled. The blonde man held his hands up defensively. "Sorry, just thought you'd like to know that Xemnas put Roxas on babysitting duty. You're free, man, why don't you go get some air?" Axel leapt to his feet and punched the wall angrily.
"Who does that little shit think he is? He prances in here and suddenly it's all about him!" Demyx stared at him in surprise.
"I thought you hated having to watch Namine?" He said meekly. The flame haired man just turned and left, Namine staring after him sadly from down the hall.
xxxxxxx
He had been walking around this stupid castle for hours and he was bored out of his mind. Wherever he looked there she was, smiling at him, telling him about things that hadn't happened yet, prancing happily down a nearby hall. But when he looked she wasn't there. Part of him wanted to go find Roxas and just grab him by the shoulders and shake him. He was getting close to his own room now, and all he really wanted to do was retreat inside and lock the door. He could hide in there until his next mission, where he wouldn't have to see Namine, or even acknowledge her existence if he didn't want to.
He stomped angrily up a flight of stairs and there she was again. Namine was just standing there smiling at him with those pink lips, and those eyes, and that beautiful, soft blonde hair. He charged at her almost threateningly, but she didn't vanish this time. She just smiled brightly.
"What are you doing out here?" He demanded, snarling at her angrily. She pulled something out from behind her back and showed it to him.
"I drew you a picture, Axel, so you could feel better." She sounded like a little kid, but the look in her eyes was almost frightening. He snatched it from her hands and walked away without looking at her. She watched him go and Roxas appeared from somewhere behind her.
"What a jerk, why's he so mean to you?" He asked protectively, standing by her side and watching the man vanish up ahead of them. Namine shrugged.
"Because he cares, that's just how he is. But I know he's happy that I gave him the picture." She smiled at him and Roxas gave her a funny look, but didn't bother asking. If she said he did, then he probably did. She knew these things better than he could ever understand.
xxxxxxx
Axel clutched the picture in his trembling hands. A small blonde girl stood beside a tall man with flaming red hair and a black cloak. He knew who it was, of course, but he stared at their joined hands in a mixture of horror and desperate hope. It was the one thing he wanted most of all, and the thing he feared most. She knew how he felt about her, and had told him before he had even figured it out for himself.
He threw the picture to the floor and leapt off his bed. He paced the room anxiously and debated whether or not he should go see her. She was with him, though. He had never hated anyone so much as he hated Roxas at that moment. Finally unable to bear it he threw open the doors and charged down the hall. He knew exactly where to find them, Namine was in Vexen's office now for her biweekly examination. Rounding a corner and dashing up a staircase he saw Roxas standing sentinel at the end of the hall. Vexen's door stood behind him, he'd have to fight the blonde to get inside. He didn't have a problem with that.
"Everything was fine until you had to show up out of fucking nowhere and ruin it all!" he pushed the younger boy sharply and caused him to fall back several steps.
"You're the one that treats her like shit!" Roxas slammed his weight into Axel and he barely moved, he was going to have to do better than that.
He brought his fist back and punched the blonde as hard as he could, sending the boy reeling into the wall. Roxas gasped as he held a hand to his cheek and tried to catch his breath. Axel hesitated smugly and before he knew it Roxas had thrown himself headlong against him, knocking them both against the floor painfully.
They tumbled gracelessly across the white floor, punching and kicking at each other whenever they got the chance. Axel grabbed a handful of the blonde's cloak and slammed him unmercifully against the white floor. Roxas in turn slammed his elbow into the other man's ribcage, knocking the wind out of him.
"I do not treat her like shit, I treat her like I do everyone else!" Axel growled angrily, snapping at the boy's arm as it found its way against his neck.
"Then you treat everyone like shit! She loves you and you don't even act like you care!" Roxas cried out, choking as Axel's hand gripped his throat.
"Did she tell you that?" His green eyes widened in surprise and he stared down at the boy he had trapped beneath him on the floor. Roxas shook his head, teeth bared in a painful grimace.
"You idiot, you can tell just by how she watches you. She adores you, she hardly takes her eyes off of you and your stupid hair!" The boy grunted, gasping for air now. Axel stared down at him with wide eyes, so Namine really did think of him as more than just her obnoxious baby-sitter?
"Xemnas asked me to take your place because he didn't like how close you two were getting…" Roxas choked, finally getting an opening to punch Axel in the chin and free himself. He fell back in surprise. He hadn't noticed that they were any closer than a prisoner and captor should be.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Vexen's angry voice echoed through the hallway at them, making them both jump up from their sprawled positions to face the man. Namine peeked around him nervously, feeling guilty that they had been fighting over her. She took off at a run down the hall, and Roxas sprang up and dashed after her.
"Axel, she is none of you business now! Prisoners are not for falling in love with, and if you cannot restrain yourself then I shall have to take it up with Xemnas! She's extremely dangerous and it's a wonder she doesn't know how to use her full power as it is, the last thing she needs is for you to get her to fall in love with you!" The older man stormed off angrily, no doubt to tattle to Xemnas about how Namine was driving all the men that got too close insane. Axel snorted defiantly after the scientist and headed back to his room.
xxxxxxx
It had been days since he had heard from or even seen Roxas or Namine, he was sure Xemnas had ordered that she wander the castle less since the incident between himself and Roxas. He wanted to go and see her, but the last time he had walked past her door Larxene had stepped outside to glare at him until he left. It was fairly evident that Xemnas didn't trust Namine with Roxas anymore, but he wasn't so sure Roxas had really been the problem.
Finally fed up with staring at his bedroom walls, Axel threw himself off the bed and yanked the door open. The bright walls of the castle nearly blinded him, and he flipped his hood up before heading down the hall. He hadn't been walking long when he noticed Roxas standing up ahead of him. He had hoped that they could just ignore each other's presence, but as soon as he tried to pass the blonde boy he heard him calling out his name.
"What?" Axel groaned, turning back to look at Roxas. The blonde walked towards him slowly and held out a hand.
"I'm sorry, Axel, I didn't mean to make it seem like I was trying to take your girl. Truce?" He smiled at the taller man. Axel just glared at the hand he had offered.
"She's not my girl." He hissed, more at the hand that Roxas refused to take back.
"Hmm, right. Well, anyway, we're in the same boat now, might as well try to get along." The borderline musical tune in his voice was grating on Axel's nerves, and he lowered his hood almost threateningly. His spiky red hair bristled as he narrowed his green eyes at the boy in front of him.
"I see, you wanna be friends. Mind my asking exactly why someone like you would want to be friends with me?" He relaxed a bit and tilted his head back, looking down his nose at Roxas. To his surprise, the boy laughed.
"I hate this place, and I know you hate this place, too. To be honest, I think you're a total prick, but I really get the impression that you're the only person here besides Namine that I'm ever going to be able to stand." Roxas smiled widely at the flame-haired man in front of him and held his hand up.
Axel couldn't help himself, he grinned wickedly and slapped his hand into the other boy's grasp. "Alright, you win. We can be best friends. The name's Axel, I run things around here, got it memorized?" Roxas grinned back as he released the boy's hand and shoved him backwards.
Axel began walking down the hall and ignored the blonde boy as he regained his balance. Running to catch up, Roxas slammed into Axel's back and nearly sent them both tumbling into a wall.
"Now you're dead, punk!" Roxas yelped in mock fear as Axel chased him down the hall, rushing past Vexen. The older man quickly began yelling at them rudely, but they ignored him and barreled down the hallway and around the corner. Roxas dashed up a flight of stairs with Axel right behind him and threw open a set of double doors. They tumbled onto the soft grass on the other side as the redhead finally caught up to him. The two boys rolled gracelessly across the lawn, Axel finally landing on his back and struggling to regain his breath.
"You guys are complete idiots." They both shot up at the voice and stared ahead in surprise. Larxene stamped her foot angrily as Axel struggled to his feet.
Namine. There she was, sitting like a pale angel in the middle of the garden. The sun gleamed off of her soft hair beautifully, giving her a radiant glow. Larxene stood a few feet away from her, writing something important on a clip board as Namine drew. She smiled happily and tried to show Larxene what she was drawing, but the girl just frowned down at the crude little drawing and continued writing.
They walked forward to talk to Namine, but Larxene leapt forward and snapped viciously at Axel.
"Oh, no you don't ! Xemnas says you aren't allowed near Namine anymore!" She sang, giving him a rude gesture as he moved like he wanted to punch her.
"I swear, Larxene, you little ass-kisser, one of these days-!" Roxas put a hand on the infuriated man's shoulder and pulled him back.
"Come on, Axel, let's just go." his voice sounded urgent and Axel complied. Larxene waved happily as they left, resuming her work on the clipboard. He turned to watch as they walked out of the garden, and Namine smiled weakly at him and offered him a sad wave.
xxxxxxx
"Wouldn't it be great to live in a place like this?" Roxas asked happily, gazing out over the town that stretched out below them. Axel snorted.
"Too cold for me, I'd freeze to death." Axel replied. Roxas laughed and shoved him playfully. The red-head grinned and shoved back, nearly sending the boy toppling off the clock tower.
The grin faded from his face and Roxas became almost unsettlingly serious. "Do you ever think about who you were before?" he asked darkly. Axel glanced at him sharply.
"No, I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. I'll never be that person again, so why dwell on it?" It sounded pained, even to him, but it was true. The person he used to be was dead, maybe even for years now, he wasn't sure how long it had been.
"I can't help feeling like it matters, I wonder what it was like, being human." Roxas mumbled.
"Hmph, I know one thing, it was a hell of a lot better than this." Axel groaned, receiving a nod from the other boy.
They watched the hustle of the town stretched out below them, completely unaware of the two men perched on the edge of the station tower. The sun sank lower on the horizon, allowing the town to live up to its name.
xxx Okay kids, go away for a couple minutes. xxx
Darkness had enveloped Castle Oblivion by the time they returned, turning the white stone grey in the lack of light. They said their goodbyes and Axel moved along the hallways silently, sneaking back into his own room. Closing the door behind him, he threw off his coat and fell down on the bed. His life seemed to have moved from one hell to another in less than a week. He glanced over at the picture pinned up above his bed, the bright colors barely visible in the dim lighting. Exhaustion began to overtake him and he let his eyes slide closed.
He felt dizzy, like the whole room was spinning wildly around him. He was vaguely aware of someone entering the room, but didn't think anything of it until a gentle hand reached out and touched his arm. His eyes shot open and that beautiful, pale face faded into his line of sight. The room seemed to be spinning around them, but he could see her clearly, kneeling on the bed beside him.
Sitting up quickly, he stared into her eyes. She just smiled, placing a hand over his. He shook his head in confusion and the room slowly stopped spinning.
"Namine, what are you doing?" he asked. She held a finger against her lips and leaned forward, brushing her soft lips against his cheek.
He drew back, unsure of what to do. He knew they would both get in a lot of trouble if they were caught alone together, but he didn't want her to go. He had tried to convince himself that he didn't need her, but now that she was here all he wanted to do was hold her tight and stroke her hair. He wanted to caress that beautifully soft skin and forget about everything. She leaned into him daringly and his heart jumped into his throat.
' Then do it…' Her gentle voice whispered in his ear, making him shiver in confusion and fear.
Namine crept forward over him, pushing him backward on the bed until she had successfully crawled into his lap. He propped himself up as she leaned against him, trying to keep the situation from getting any more uncomfortable. She didn't seem to buy into it, taking one of his arms and throwing it over her small shoulders. She smiled happily at him and he couldn't help but relax. His fingers danced gently down her spine, feeling the fabric of her dress.
She brought her mouth down to his and urged him on, nipping gently at his lower lip. His hands started to shake from the intensity of her determination, she wasn't giving him any time to think. Pushing against him, he found himself opening his mouth for her and she claimed him. His mind was spinning, he had no idea she even knew about this kind of physical contact. He found himself kissing her back and before he knew it, he had barely suppressed a moan. His eyes grew wide and he pushed her back in panic.
"What are you doing! Namine, we can't-" She kissed him again, cutting him off before he could state what he himself didn't want to hear.
' Trust me.' Her voice echoed in his mind soothingly and his head tilted back at the relaxing sensation.
'I'm tired of playing games with you, I'm tired of waiting for you to realize what's happening.' She pushed him down and straddled his hips, feeling him relax slightly with her words.
"But what if someone-" Axel tried desperately to communicate but she forced her mouth back over his, again stopping him mid-sentence.
' They won't, trust me. This is all that matters.'
This time he gripped her shoulders and pushed her back, staring into her eyes. ' What are you afraid of?' Her words made him stop. He didn't know, something he couldn't place. She wasn't letting him think clearly, he knew that much. This was something she found extremely important, and he wanted to know why.
' Please. Trust me.'
He sighed. "Xemnas is going to kill me if he finds out…" he said quietly.
Namine nuzzled into his neck, biting gently at the skin. Axel relaxed and fell back into the bed. She caressed his cheek and he turned his face into her hand, placing his own over it and pulling it down to his chest. She scrambled off of him and under the covers, smiling at him from under the blanket. He stood up and pulled his boots off. He watched her for several moments, debating whether he should really do this. She finally reached up and took his hand, pulling him under the blanket with her. He felt like the room was starting to spin again and his stomach jumped uncomfortably.
She pulled his shirt off over his head and everything seemed to blur together. Rolling over, she pulled him up on top of her. He stared down at her in confusion, he couldn't believe this was happening. She quickly confiscated the remainder of his clothing and he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He hadn't even known that this was what he had wanted. Her dress disappeared somehow, and she had apparently chosen not to wear anything under it. He felt his hands move places he had never thought they would go, and he felt her move in ways he had no idea she even knew about. All of her innocence seemed to melt away at that point, and she struggled and yelped beneath him. She bit gently at his neck and he kissed her as the moment took over his entire being. He forced his tongue into her mouth and she greeted him happily. He felt something stirring deep within him, driving him to kiss her even more gently and rub his face against her cheek tenderly. He gazed down at her and she smiled up at him. Was this what love felt like?
' Now you get it.' She smiled wider and leaned up to kiss him.
She closed her eyes and placed her soft cheek against his chest, shifting her hips and joining them together. He drew in a sharp breath, resting his chin on top of her head. He knew it must have hurt, but she stayed silent, placing soft kisses on his chest. He lifted her chin gently and kissed her lips, letting her know that he cared. He noticed tears roll down her cheek and desperately wished he had a heart he could rip out and give to her.
After several moments of exchanging kisses, she slowly managed to move. He helped her set a rhythm and they moved somewhat awkwardly at first. Once they had adjusted the pace quickened, drawing out sounds from both of them. It wasn't anything like what he had been expecting. The only people he had ever heard talk about it had made it sound more self-centered and crude, but this was absolute beauty to him. This was a true partnership, each little movement affecting the other.
Axel rocked his hips gently, drawing out soft moans from the girl beneath him. The sound only proved to excite him more, and he found himself calling her name. The room around them spun, blurring his sense of reality. Time seemed to stop altogether, it was just them. He moved faster, still trying to be gentle. She gasped as she felt herself nearing her finish. He realized what was happening and intensified his movements, drawing out an excited yelp. She shrieked as the orgasm ripped through her body, digging her fingers into the skin of his back. A groan escaped his lips as he climaxed with her, and he brought his forehead down onto her shoulder.
Exhausted, they both collapsed together and panted heavily. The room was a dizzying blur as he tried to look around them, and he rolled off onto the side of the bed. He looked over at her in disbelief, offering her a one of his rare smiles. She smiled back somewhat sadly and wrapped the blanket tighter around her thin form.
xxx Okay, it's all over now. xxx
Axel shot up, staring around the room in confusion. Bright light shone in around him, turning the walls and floor a bleached white. He leapt out of the bed and looked around. No sign that anyone else had ever been in there. Gazing down at himself he realized he was still wearing his clothes. Was it all just a dream? He ran a shaky hand through his hair and threw his coat on. He covered his face with the hood defensively and shot out of his bedroom and down the hall. He had to see her, he needed to know what happened.
Moving briskly down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Larxene exiting the dining hall with Namine in tow. He skidded to a stop and dashed back around the corner, he didn't care if Larxene was there or not, he needed to talk to her.
"Namine!" he called out, waving a hand at her. She noticed him immediately and clutched something tight to her chest. He noticed her smile and blush crimson before Larxene leapt in between them.
"You know the rules, Axel, you're not supposed to talk to her!" She barked. He shoved her out of his way roughly, nearly sending her into a wall. Roxas chose that moment to walk out of the dining hall and slam into Larxene.
"Fuck off, Larxene, this is important!" Axel hissed, throwing her a rude gesture as she seethed anger. He turned back to Namine, who had retreated several more feet down the hall to get out of the way of any fight that might happen.
"I'm just following my fucking orders, prick!" She yelled, taking several threatening steps toward him. Roxas looked quickly between the two before leaping in front of Larxene.
He took a deep breath and crossed his fingers. "You know what your problem is? You're constantly in a state of PMS. Do you ever do anything for fun that doesn't involve tormenting others? Ask anyone, and they'll all tell you they're think you're fucking psychotic with your out of control female issues!" He shouted, stepping closer to bring himself face to face with the infuriated woman. Her face turned bright red at his remark and she leapt on him in anger.
Axel took the chance Roxas had offered him and ran to Namine's side. "Namine, what did you do? I need to know what happened!" he gripped her shoulder gently as she stared up at him. To his surprise, she kissed his cheek and shoved something into his hand. He didn't get another chance to talk to her as Larxene knocked him off his feet, quickly followed by an angry Roxas.
xxxxxxx
"That was cool." Roxas wheezed, holding an arm around his ribcage. He leaned painfully against a bookshelf and watched Axel try to collect himself.
"Ugh, that was crazy. Thanks for distracting her, though." he couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"What did Namine give you anyway?" Roxas asked curiously, pointing at the object still clutched in his hand. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and looked at it.
"Some kind of fruit? What is this?" He held up what looked like a star shaped fruit, but nearly half of it had been eaten. Roxas stared at it in contemplation.
"I don't know, but it seems really familiar for some reason. Well anyway, I've actually got a mission I'm supposed to go on, now that I'm gonna be sore the whole time. I'll see you later." he waved to Axel as he wobbled out of the library.
Axel stared down at the fruit in his hand. Namine wouldn't have given it to him unless it was important, right? He plopped down in a chair and sat back, looking at it. He sniffed it for a second before tasting it. It wasn't bad, kind of tangy. He rested his head on a hand as he chewed on the unusual fruit. Thinking back a few minutes he laughed to himself.
"Xemnas is gonna kick my ass."
The End or is it?
A/n: Yea, a lot of this was really random, but I hope you liked it anyway. The disturbing nude scene doesn't seem to fit in very well, but I wanted to write it, dammit! Anyway, this was just the prequel for one of my other stories, if you didn't catch that at the beginning. But the next one is Kairi instead of Namine, so you know.