Axel sat in the middle of Lily's living room floor, with various medical supplies spread around him. Lily sat behind him, carefully working at stitching up a deep slice on his back. He winced, and the muscles on his bare back tensed as the girl worked with the needles and thread.
"Relax, ginger snap, I'm almost done," she said. Lily soon finished, and Axel gave a sigh of relief. The girl started wrapping up his torso with bandages. The two remained in silence for a while, until Lily spoke up.
"You're in Organization XIII, aren't you?" she asked him solemnly. Axel turned his spiked head to the side, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
"Yes," he answered, "I'm sorry if you're one of those who are against us," he apologized.
"No, it's fine. I guess I'm neutral in that regard. But I once had a friend in the organization. He-"
Both Axel and Lily jumped as the door to the house burst open. A normally brooding Cloud was standing there, now looking very distraught.
"Lilondra!" he exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong, Cloud?" the girl asked.
"I came here to check on you a little while ago, but you weren't back yet. I went to look for you and saw blood down the steps where I last saw you."
Ever since her brother's death, Cloud had stepped in as her brother figure.
He eyed the battered and bandaged Axel darkly.
"Who're you?" he asked flatly.
"Cloud, this is Axel," Lily relied before Axel could say anything. "That was his blood you saw. I just finished patching him up." Cloud nodded slowly.
"Alright. As long as you're safe, Lilondra. I don't like you being out at night with these recent Heartless attacks," he told her.
"I can take care of myself," Lily replied with a frown, "I'm picking up quickly on Merlin's lessons," she informed him. He gave a sigh.
"I know. But I promised your brother I'd look after you." And with that, Cloud left the house. Lily sighed and finished with Axel's bandaging.
"Sorry about that. Cloud can be a little over-protective sometimes," she told him.
"He your boyfriend? A little paranoid, don't ya think…" Axel said. The girl snorted.
"No, not my boyfriend. My brother was his best friend. Then he was taken. And killed."
"Oh. I'm sorry, Lily…" Axel told her.
"It's fine, really." Lily stood. "Bed or couch, Ginger Snap?" the girl asked. The redhead rose as well.
"I guess I'll take the couch," he told her. She nodded and spread an assortment of blankets on the small white couch. She helped him get settled, then patted his spiky red head.
"Sweet dreams, Ginger Snap," she said as she started walking out of the room.
"Right back at ya," he replied, "minus the redhead joke," muttered the fiery-haired one. Lily chuckled as she made her way to her room, flopping down on her bed. She changed into more comfortable sleepwear, and climbed into her bed. The tired girl buried her head into her pillow, and soon fell asleep.