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I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way.

Howdy, howdy, howdy! Enjoy this newest vignette!

Another day, another mission. Another mission completed, another evening spent eating a bar of ice cream and watching the sunset. Axel sighed quietly. This spot, this one little platform was the only place he felt…comfortable? Yeah…that was it. He was a Nobody…he didn't have feelings. But he knew comfort, could distinguish that at least. He was comfortable sitting on the side of the clock tower with Roxas and Xion.

"Axel, can we go home now?"

The looks on their faces was so eager…it was odd. There was an old phrase that ran through his mind—home is where the heart is. But they didn't have hearts. And really, what was there at the Castle that they could consider homey?

The Castle That Never Was was huge, but it was empty. Which was kind of the point, since "Never Was" and "Nothingness" and all. But really! The walls and floors and ceilings were all made of marble, except when they were made of those strange forcefield-y things. And what little furniture they had was little more than more walls. The couches were uncomfortable, the beds were hard, the lighting was constant, which hurt Axel's eyes. The one speck of color in the entire castle was that little collection of sea shells Xion had put by Roxas's bedside when he had fallen into that weird coma a few months back.

The Castle was the last place that Axel would consider a home. It wasn't that he hated the place. He couldn't feel hate. But he had his memories of a relatively tranquil childhood. And in that, he had had a home…in Radiant Garden.

What had home been back then? A place where he had lived with his parents. A father who worked in administrations somewhere. Axel couldn't remember the name of the company. A mom who worked as a greengrocer. Everything was organized and orderly, but in a good way. There was a calendar of appointments and a chore chart. There was a portrait of his parents on their wedding day. There were bookshelves, filled primarily with his father's books.

There was furniture too. He remembered a couch that was actually comfortable to sit on, and matching armchairs that his parents sat in. A coffee table, with a very large tome that Axel was fairly sure nobody had actually read.

And there was a kitchen…with table and chairs where they ate. Hand-carved. It had belonged to a great-grandparent. A fair few crinkles and dings in the wooden table had accumulated over the decades. But that made it feel all the more real. Even if it had been a pain in the neck to try to clean. And the chairs and tables were a matching set too.

There had been cabinets that matched the walls, and a hutch filled with china that they only ate from at the most special of occasions.

And…a bedroom. Something that had been entirely Axel's. Back when he'd been called Lea. A pile of comic books. His frisbees. A desk with homework that he never finished. A…stuffed animal that he had definitely outgrown but it made no sense to throw away, since it wasn't actually broken.

"Axel, are you alright?"

"Fine, kiddo. Let's Return To Castle."

It was a more affectionate nickname than usual, but Axel was almost feeling sentimental. Almost. He didn't actually have feelings. He was just remembering how he once felt…back when he had a home.

oooo

"Come on, Xion, let's go home."

This was the first time that he could remember calling the Castle home, but damn it, better that Castle than this terrible one. And Xion…he wanted her. He wanted her with him, he wanted her safe, he wanted her home. The Castle That Never Was just wasn't the same without her. It was darker, not as bright. It had pure marble walls and shined under an impossibly large moon, and without her bright eyes and smile, without her laugh, without her six million questions, it was dark and gloomy.

And Roxas…he was retreating further and further into himself. He was angry and hurting, but they hadn't spoken to each other in a couple of days. It wasn't pretty. And it was going to end badly for all involved…but, come on, let what little time they had left be good.

Xion stared at him, her little face twisted with a mix of desire and resentment. She didn't like that he'd been keeping secrets. But she also wanted to come home. That was enough for him.

oooo

What was a home? Axel chuckled to himself as he ran a hand down the door frame. What was it? Maple? Oak? Whatever it was, it was nice.

There were a pile of shoes at the edge of the door. He could see Roxas's sneakers, Xion's boots and…those were Olette's shoes weren't they? Was a home where you could invite a friend in?

There were pictures on the walls—a few that Roxas and Xion had drawn, a crocheted emblem that Olette had made when she'd been teaching Xion the hobby, but most of the pictures were gifts from Naminé. Axel glanced in the kitchen. There were several chairs around their table, hilariously mismatched since they had bought them each at separate yard sales.

Roxas and Xion were sitting on one of the couches, flicking through the television channels. Olette was sitting on the footrest next to Axel's chair, her nose in a book. None of them looked like they had a care in the world, or that they wanted to be anywhere else.

"Hi Axel!" Xion called. "Sit next to me!"

"No!" Roxas said. "Sit next to me!"

"Sit in between them!" Olette said, not looking up from her book. "They're driving me nuts!"

It was chaotic. It was messy. But the two people he loved most in the world were there. And another half-pint who had grown close to his heart. Wherever they were…that was home. Home is where the heart is was how the saying went. And his heart was Roxas and Xion.

Another vignette that borrows heavily from Rise Above the X. Alas, I am too fond of Olette to miss the opportunity to include her.

Thank you for reading my dear, dear readers. Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!