Xion

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.

After a vignette focused on Axel and one focused on Roxas, I figured one focused on Xion was too perfect to pass up.

Mornings in Twilight Town were generally quiet and Axel liked them that way. Sleepy mornings for a sleepy town. Axel would have happily spent another hour in bed, but his stomach had other ideas. As he walked into the kitchen to prepare himself, Xion was already at the table, munching on cold cereal and what was left of an English muffin, and drinking a mug of cocoa. She was wearing her bathrobe (sea-salt blue, naturally) over her favorite seashell pajamas. She was too adorable for words.

While the kiddos could eat half their weight in sugar at pretty much any opportunity, Axel was a grown-up. Which meant he had to eat like a grown-up…or pour himself a bowl of the cereal. But he was drinking coffee. Coffee was for grown-ups like him. It would stunt Roxas and Xion's growth if they drank coffee—and they were puny enough as it was—so all the more coffee for him.

"Where's Roxas?" Axel asked as he sipped his coffee. Mmm…dark roast, no cream, two sugar cubes.

"Hayner kidnapped him," Xion said. "Said something about how he wanted to master the double-o-nine. Roxas and I asked what the double-o-nine was, and then Pence said that Hayner's spent too much time watching old skateboarding movies."

She took a sip of her morning cocoa, leaving a mustache of chocolate on her upper lip. Axel gave a bark of laughter that he tried and failed to turn into a cough. Xion didn't seem to have noticed.

"So, I guess it's just you and me today," Xion said. She took another sip of cocoa and looked contemplative. Contemplative cocoa. Axel hadn't thought such a thing was possible. But Roxas and Xion did the impossible routinely.

"Yeah, it's just us," Axel said. "So…a free day, kiddo. Anything you want to do?"

"Something…" Xion said. "Something real. I don't want to be an otter today."

Oh right, last day off, Xion had spent the entire day wrapped in her blanket, watching cartoons and nature documentaries. Axel and Roxas had watched the shows with her…and tickled her senseless fourteen different times. Xion had actually started daring them to tickle her after the fifth time. But Axel didn't think they'd do that today—last day off had been rainy, looking at the weather page of the newspaper, it was going to be too nice to stay inside today.

"Ya make plans with Olette?" Axel asked, sipping more of his coffee.

"I didn't make plans," Xion said. "I just know I want to do something, with you."

"Come on kiddo," Axel said.. "There's got to be something. We could hit the beach, if you like."

Xion shook her head. Axel could understand why. She didn't want Roxas to fee left out. Well, there were other places than the beach. They could go to the library—Xion loved it there.

"Could…we just go for a walk?"

xxxx

Twilight Town was a curious world. Axel had traveled to dozens of worlds, in his time with the Organization and his time with the Keyblade Masters. And it was by far his favorite to walk around. For one thing, it was a genuine town. There were loads of worlds that were mostly mountains or jungles or glaciers. Master Aqua disputed this, and said these worlds' geography was tied to the presence of the Keyholes and that many worlds had limited range therein for outsiders. Blah, blah, blah…Axel had a tendency to not get things memorized with Master Aqua was talking.

But yeah, Twilight Town was mostly streets—though the woods were nice too, when you wanted a nature trail. And the streets here were sleepy and slow. Sure, there were areas of the town where people drove—the exit to the freeway was only a couple miles out, but there were also neighborhoods where it was easier to walk.

"Mornin' Axel," Mister Yanushi, the businessman who ran a community garden greeted as they walked by. Xion grinned and waved back and Axel returned the greeting.

He knew people here. He hadn't even known his next-door neighbors' names back in Radiant Garden.

Every now and then, Axel thought he felt Xion reach for his hand. Reach for his hand and then yank it back, almost as if it burned. Axel was strong in fire magic, to be sure. But they weren't sparring—and it'd be easy for them to do so, if Xion had been so inclined. Was something bothering her?

They walked down the street, Axel leading the way. He didn't really have any destination in mind. Xion was right. It was nice just to walk. One thing Axel liked to do as a kid, when exploring the Garden, was to make random turns, to see where he'd find himself.

They walked two blocks straight from their home, came to an intersection, and made a right turn. They walked one block, considerably longer than the las two blocks, and made a left turn. Two blocks, a right turn. Then one block and a left turn…and, ah, a city park.

The park was large, as parks went. There were some oak trees and some maple trees. Lots of grass. Hmm, he should have brought his frisbees. And there were some swings—which he was too tall for. And there was a jungle gym—with a pirate design, nice! And some slides—one of them a tunnel slide. There were also lots of park benches to sit on. Great—he needed to find out what was really on Xion's mind.

Axel walked over to one of the park benches and plopped down, giving an exaggerated sigh. Xion sat down next to him. The park bench was high enough that Xion's feet didn't reach the ground. Which was a really weird design, since half-pint she might be, Xion wasn't that tiny. Still, something stirred in Axel's chest. He reached out an arm and wrapped it around Xion's shoulder. She tensed briefly and then leaned against his chest.

"Something's bothering you," Axel said. "Come on, kiddo. Let's not keep secrets."

Xion gripped the edges of the bench tight. Her knuckles turned white. She seemed almost timid.

"I…I'm not sure how I feel about you, Axel."

"What do you mean?" Axel asked. What was there to think about? She was his best friend. His half-pint. One of the kiddos. They had been in the Organization together, and…Axel had screwed things up for her badly. Way badly. She had tried to defect from the Organization, which really, had been the right thing to do by virtually anybody's definition. And he had dragged her back by force. Even when she had been determined to return to Sora…

Please don't hold back, Axel. Promise.

"I…I am so sorry, for everything I did to you Xion…that day in front of the Mansion…"

"Not that!" Xion said. "Not that at all…you were only doing what you thought was best…and you were trying to make sure that I didn't hurt myself. How could I be angry with you about that?"

"Then what's on your mind? What do you mean, you're not sure how you feel?"

"You know how you call me, 'little sister.'" Xion asked. "I'm not sure I agree with that."

"You don't?" Axel asked.

"No, dummy. I'm not sure if you're my brother…or my dad."

Gah! Whatever Axel had been expecting, it definitely wasn't that! Her dad?! Where would she have gotten a crazy idea like that?! He wasn't her dad! She'd been built in one of Vexen's labs and Axel had more or less babysat. And yeah, he had grown to cherish her, because who couldn't cherish Xion after meeting her for more than a minute. And he'd watched out for her and there was no denying that Xion was awesome and adorable…but her dad?

"I'm sorry!" Xion said. "I'm so sorry if that feels weird but…it's kind of how I feel about you."

"No," Axel said sharply and Xion tensed. Axel cringed and Xion tensed more. Dang it, this wasn't what he wanted to happen. He took Xion's hand. "What I meant was, no, do not apologize. Xion, you should never ever apologize for how you feel. You just…surprised me, is all. I mean, sweetheart, me? Your dad?"

"You called me sweetheart," Xion mumbled. "That's something a dad calls his daughter…isn't it?"

"Uhhhhhh…." Axel said. "Um…er…well…"

"You do do some dad things, Axel," Xion said. "You help me in the kitchen. You take care of me when I'm sick. When I have nightmares, you're the one I want…look, I know it's weird…"

"Er…" Axel said. "Man, when you put it that way…"

"But like I said," Xion said, not looking Axel in the eye. "I'm not sure if you're my big brother or my dad. You like eating ice cream and you watch really scary movies and you put things on shelves I can't reach."

"It's not my fault if you're a half-pint," Axel said, reaching a hand to ruffle her hair. "Blame Even for not building you longer legs."

"And, you're not that old…" Xion said. "Not like Sora's dad or Even."

"No, I'm not. I'm not old enough to be your dad," Axel nodded. "Big brother it is, don't ya think?"

"Usually…" Xion said. "Because, you're kind of silly. You're kind of like a mix of Sora and Riku, really. You make jokes and will watch the shows I like, even if you don't like them. That's like Sora. And you stick up for me, the way Riku sticks up for Sora and Kairi."

"You've given this a lot of thought," Axel said. "

"You're fifteen…ish."

"That's part of why I'm confused," Xion muttered. "Sometimes…I feel…like I'm not the right age. Like I act too much like a little kid."

"How do ya figure?"

"You drink coffee in the morning. So do Terra and Master Aqua and Ienzo. But I drink cocoa."

"That's it?" Axel asked. "Xion, come on, nobody's going to judge you as being a little kid for not drinking coffee."

"It's not just that…" Xion said. She began kicking her legs absentmindedly. Her feet dangled six inches off the ground. In retrospect, the weird park benches might not have been the best place to have this conversation. "I have stuffed animals."

"Lots of kids have stuffed animals," Axel said. "There's nothing wrong with that either. Did Hayner or Pence make fun of you? I know Olette wouldn't. I don't even think she can, with her pure heart and all."

"No, I heard another kid making fun of his sister for still sleeping with a doll," Xion said. "I didn't say anything, because it wasn't my business and his mom yelled at him anyway. But I…is it weird that I have a stuffed tiger and a teddy bear?"

"No," Axel said. "If you want them, then there's no reason not to have them. It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks is too young or too old for something."

Something clicked in the back of Axel's mind. Earlier, Xion had kept reaching for his hand. Had…she wanted to hold his hand while they were walking? Axel began to think. So much of Xion's life had been about war. She had been made, literally, to be a weapon. She had been forced to kill Heartless, or be destroyed. Constantly abused by Saix and Xemnas. And then the Keyblade Graveyard and Xehanort's Keyblade War…more fighting. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Nothing but fighting.

Parents…they were supposed to do certain things. One of these things was holding their child's hand while they crossed the street. But Xion had barely had a chance to be a child. She wanted her hand held.

Axel took Xion's hand and squeezed it gently. It was tiny in his own hand. Xion was tiny in general. She was a little girl. She needed someone to watch out for her. She was so strong with a Keyblade, but when there wasn't fighting…she needed someone to stick up for her.

"You're amazing at this advice thing, you know?" Xion said. She leaned her head against Axel's chest. "I think the most Dad-ish thing about you, Axel, is that I know that without you, I wouldn't be who I am now."

xxxx

It had been a great day. Really, really great. After their talk, Axel had walked Xion through the park and then all the way to the wealthier neighborhoods in the north of Twilight Town. They'd eaten lunch at Scrooge's bistro. And then they had walked down the trails in the woods outside of town—they'd seen a beautiful silver fox.

They were home now. Axel was resting in his favorite spot on the couch. Xion was lying down, her feet resting in his lap. Axel lightly ran his fingers against her soles. Xion was nearly having a fit of giggles. One of his favorite sounds.

"Alright, so how else am I like a big brother?" Axel asked. He wiggled his fingers and Xion gave a small shriek of laughter.

"That!" Xion gasped in laughter. "Tickling is definitely something a big brother does. You're just like Sora that way. And you're a jerkface! Haaaa!"

"And how else am I like a dad?" Axel said, pulling his hand away, waiting for Xion to catch her breath.

"Well…Master Aqua says that she was raised by Master Eraqus and she inherited his Keyblade. You passed your chakrams down to me. I know it was kinda by accident, but still."

Xion swung her legs down and pulled herself to her feet. She stretched her arms in an exaggerated fashion and began walking back to her room. She paused for a moment and then padded back to the couch. She wrapped her arms around Axel's neck and kissed his cheek.

"I changed my mind. You're not my brother or my dad. You're my Axel. And there's nothing better than an Axel."

The dynamic between Axel and Roxas and Xion is a curious one. While I don't generally see him as a parent, I do think that Roxas and Xion, having a relatively limited frame of reference might seem him that way, but also recognize that their dynamic differs from any more traditional parental-child dynamic they may encounter. Thus, "You're my Axel."

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