Disclaimer: KHII belongs to Square-Enix and Disney.

A/n: I haven't touched this story in a little while, but I'm sure you noticed that. I read over the last chapter I posted and had a good laugh, and now I'm ready to write another chapter.

And let me just say now, the kid needed a damn name. Through some horrible mutation of the names Namine, Kairi, and Refia (she reminds me of Axel), I came up with 'Reimi', and so shall the unnamed child be called. No further confusion. But anyway, this chapter is just full of warm and fuzzy, and I suppose this story was due for it. Very last chapter, the story is complete after this.

Chapter Nine: Lucky Baby Rei

Never in the history of her life could Namine remember guarding anything so closely. That wasn't to say she was ashamed of the sharp turn her life had taken, in fact she was much happier now than she had been in a long time. It was just that such an unexpected child from the two unlikeliest people in school was not to be ignored by anyone. In the few months she had spent in school dragging her oversized belly around with her, quite a few rumors had started up about Namine, none of which were actually true, but all of which, despite their subject, seemed to shove her to the top of popularity. Maybe it was the fact that most girls at their high school were just getting into the stage where they wanted to either have their own adorable child, or baby-sit someone else's. Whatever the case, the scandal had increased Namine's popularity almost sickeningly, and since school ended for the summer she spent most of her time avoiding everyone she knew.

An irritated sigh escaped her lips as she dropped her keys on the ground, bent to pick them up, and shoved the key into the lock in near frustration. It clicked loudly, complaining about her constant abuse as she twisted the doorknob and shoved it open, slipping inside before slamming it behind her and locking it again.

The few close friends she still spoke to always made fun of her for being so uptight, but ever since she had come home to find Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie had let themselves in to visit with her tiny infant she didn't think she could ever be too cautious. Not that she ever left the baby alone, but her father was ever eager to show off his greatest creation, and had yet to tell anyone who made it into the apartment to leave.

Speaking of which, he looked up and smiled brightly at her when he heard the door slam, not making any indication that he noticed when she dropped the grocery bags on the floor and heaved a tired sigh. It seemed like she had to go out for groceries everyday. But then again, she found reasons to go out, after spending most of the day inside with the baby. School would start soon, though, so she could at least go and pretend nothing had changed.

"We missed you!" Axel exclaimed, pulling her into a reluctant hug as the infant propped up on the couch giggled and made a wild grab in her direction.

She didn't quite respond to the young man that insisted on showering her with affection. She wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him, as much as he liked to think they were a real couple.

"So, um, I was thinking maybe you'd let me take you somewhere tonight?" He mumbled quietly, glancing at her almost shyly and shoving his hands in his pockets. Giving him a sarcastic grin, she pushed past him and grabbed the bags off the floor, setting them on the dining room table and digging through them.

He came up behind her, putting a cautious hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently. She shoved it off, glaring coldly at him for a second even as he looked away again. They went through this almost every night, she would be minding her own business and he would find a way to sneak the question in, probably in the hope that she would either give up or agree to it on accident by just not listening to him. His eyes were downcast, as they always were when he was waiting to be rejected again, and her breath caught in her throat as she tried to growl the usual sharp "No".

This startled her, and she stared at him in surprise for a second before turning sharply and walking quickly across the living room to the couch. The baby was waiting patiently, perfectly happy having been fed minutes before and reaching up at her eagerly. Her eyes were still the bright crystal blue eyes she had been born with, and her bright red hair stood up defiantly, sweeping backwards no matter how much Namine tried to brush it down to look less like Axel's hair. It wasn't that she was ashamed of him, just that the resemblance was striking, almost intimidatingly so.

A thought occurred to her as she cradled the overly friendly baby in her arms, and she stared down at the floor grimly. After receiving a wide yawn, she smiled down at her before placing her back on the couch, tucking a blanket around her before standing back up.

"I'll be back in a little while." She said quietly to Axel, waiting until he gave her a slight nod before letting herself back out the door.

xXx

Kairi answered the door on the third knock, yanking it open like she had been waiting eagerly for someone to come over. She smiled excitedly when she saw Namine standing there almost awkwardly, and ushered her inside.

"Namine! How are you doing? How's the baby?" She asked, following her into the living room and sitting down beside her.

"Um, we're doing good. Are the boys here?" Namine replied cautiously, glancing around as if she expected them to jump out from somewhere. Kairi shook her head.

"No, they've been gone all day at work." She said, tilting her head slightly as she watched Namine fidget.

"There's something I really wanted to talk to you about, and I know you'll be the most honest out of everyone." Namine said quickly, turning to face her older sister and give her a pleading look. Kairi nodded in surprise and leaned forward more.

"Okay…" She said softly, staring at the blonde girl intently after being so lonely all day. Namine shifted slightly under the intense gaze, clasping her hands together nervously.

"Well, I was just thinking, it's been a few months now, and maybe I should go ahead and give Axel a chance..?" She managed to say, not wanting to look at her sister in case she thought it was as bad an idea as she felt it might be.

"Hmm." Kairi leaned back again and looked down at the floor, thinking about what her sister said.

"I don't really see why you need me to tell you, it would be a pretty big step, what do you think about it?" Kairi responded pointedly. Namine bit her lip and rested her forehead in her hand.

"I don't know. I mean, he's been really supportive, we haven't had any problems and he's really great with Rei, but, this whole thing is his fault to begin with…" Namine muttered quietly.

"You know what I think?" Kairi stated, intent on continuing whether Namine wanted her to or not. "I think you're upset because you want to be close to him, but you feel like you're being forced together. I think you're resisting him to try and prove to yourself that even after having something so sudden and unexpected change your life, you have some kind of control. But maybe you've proven that you do still have control, and it's okay to let go. How do you even know what happened was his fault? Maybe you were the one that talked him into it. But you'll never know, will you? So how can you punish him and reject him for something you're not sure he was even completely responsible for?" Namine looked like she was thinking about crying, and Kairi stopped to take her younger sister's hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Sure, he didn't tell you, and he should have. He knew that, but Namine, he was scared. Really scared. What if he told you and you turned him in for it? What if it completely ruined any chances he ever had of getting to be with you? I mean come on, everyone knew that he liked you. Even you knew it. He was proud that he liked you, and wasn't afraid to let everyone know it. He really screwed up, and he knows that. Look how hard he's been working to take care of you two, though. He cares about you a lot, and I think if you gave him a chance, you would feel a lot better about the whole situation. Maybe someday things will work out and you'll be glad you had Rei, because you might never have given him a chance otherwise." She stopped and sighed when she noticed Namine was crying, her face hidden in her hands.

Sitting up stiffly, she rubbed the sleeve of her jacket across her face and smiled.

"You talk too much…" She mumbled, letting out a choked laugh.

"I know. Sora says that too." She smiled back at the blonde girl and gave her a hug.

"Can you watch Rei for me tonight?" Namine asked quietly, still rubbing at her eyes. Kairi smiled wider.

"Of course, just let me leave a note for Sora and Riku so they don't worry." Kairi jumped up from the couch eagerly, scribbling down a note on a pad of paper and tossing it on the kitchen table. Namine followed her to the door, her nerves already acting up as she tried to think of what to say to him.

xXx

Axel looked up curiously as the door opened, getting to his feet beside the sleeping baby and making his way towards the door. Namine peeked inside, looking away from him quickly and stepping aside as Kairi slipped in behind her. He felt his chest tighten painfully at the gesture and moved out of their way, leaning against the kitchen wall until it was safe to make an escape.

He watched the two girls warily, not wanting to greet Namine with her sister there to defend her from his apparently unwanted affection. He simply stepped back and watched as the two girls kneeled down beside the sleeping infant, stroking her hair gently and whispering to each other happily.

He shoved his hands in his pockets yet again, turning on his heel to go hide in his room until Namine's somewhat frightening older sister left.

Her voice was so soft the almost didn't hear her, pausing in the doorway awkwardly and turning to glance back at her. Namine stood not far from the door, hand braced on the back of a chair and tapping it anxiously. She was looking intently at him, but he wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him or tell him to hurry up getting out of her sight.

A small smile appeared on her face and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was obviously forced but the fact that she would even fake a smile toward him was new. He walked back over towards her cautiously, almost not understanding as she walked over to the front door and eased it open. He didn't dare look at Kairi as he followed her out the door, closing it quickly before she could tell him to get away from her sister.

Namine didn't say anything as they walked along, but he stayed by her side faithfully. The sun was going down and he looked up at the sky, smiling softly to himself as the colors stretched across the clouds. He glanced over at Namine, and it was obvious she was thinking deeply about something.

Almost before he realized what was happening, his fingertips brushed against the blonde hair falling gently around her face. She flinched in surprise and he snapped his hand back, waiting for her to tell him not to touch her or something. She stopped walking, still staring down at the sidewalk even as it began to take on the orange tinge from the setting sun.

Namine shifted her gaze, seemingly forcing herself to look over at him. Her eyes traveled along his chest, up to the tips of his hair brushing over his shoulder, and finally looking into his eyes as he held his breath. She smiled warmly, and he wondered for a moment if she was feeling alright.

He forced himself not to jump when her hand shifted over to brush against his clenched knuckles. She linked their arms and eased him forward, continuing down the sidewalk as he stared straight ahead, almost worried that if he looked at her she would shove him away again.

"Axel…" She said after a while, glancing over at him. His eyes darted over nervously and he quickly looked away again, sure that something was wrong.

"Yes?" He said a little too quickly.

She stared at him for another long moment with her lips parted, then turned and watched the cars pass by them instead. A light blush colored her cheeks, but she didn't care. She supposed she really didn't have to say anything to him, he was bound to catch on that this was his chance sooner or later.

"I want to see a movie." She said instead, holding her head up slightly.

He smiled. "Okay."

The movie theatre was a long ways away, at least a mile from where their apartment was. Neither of them really cared, though, Axel was just glad to be near her and Namine was busy thinking.

xXx

She couldn't help but watch as he cradled the tiny baby in his arm, holding her bottle up with the other and talking animatedly to her. She enjoyed it, Namine could tell by the wide toothless smile on her face. Axel walked back and forth, telling her some exciting fairytale as what he considered a 'bedtime' story. It wasn't very calming, in fact she was pretty wound up by now, kicking her feet excitedly as he talked.

Namine was resting on the couch, a small smile on her face as she watched them move back and forth. The evening was Axel's time with the baby. Almost the moment he got home from work he would take her to give Namine a break. The time he took her had started out pretty short, he would hand her back after a couple of hours. Now Namine got the entire evening off from watching her, though she was starting to feel a little left out.

She came out of her thoughts to notice Axel staring at her, a slightly confused look on his face. She was looking at him and smiling, a real smile. He knew something was up, today was the first time she had ever accepted his offer to take her out. He couldn't stop himself from hoping that maybe after all these years she would give in and give him a chance, but he was wary of rejection.

"You okay?" He asked softly, the baby in his arms finally seeming to settle down from exhaustion. Namine nodded quickly and looked away.

He sighed, he couldn't help it. He knew he shouldn't have, and Namine's eyes shot back over to him. She seemed to be thinking something, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was. Moving carefully so he didn't wake up the baby, he moved over to Namine's bedroom and set her down in her crib. He pulled a thin blanket up over her and she yawned, rubbing a tiny hand across her face.

A noise in the doorway startled him, and he looked up almost fearfully as Namine stood there. She wandered over to the crib quietly, and looked down at the nearly sleeping baby. He turned to leave and her hand brushed against his arm. Axel stopped with his back still facing her.

"Thank you, Axel." She said quietly, lowering her hand again.

He knew it would be polite to leave, but something made him turn around to look down at her. Her eyes were soft this time, not as hard as they usually were towards him. Stepping forward, he brought a hand up to touch her skin, but his fingers stopped and hovered inches away. He wanted to hug and kiss her, have her tell him she loved him too, any kind of recognition would be nice. His breath almost caught in his throat as he gazed down at her.

Then she kissed him.

It was quick, nearly void of emotion, and she left the room immediately after it, but it had been a kiss none the less. He stood there in surprise for a long time after she left, staring down at the sleeping baby that looked so much like him. It was an acknowledgment that he couldn't ignore, it held much more meaning than one might think a kiss could.

He smiled and leaned down to brush a hand through the flurry red hair, watching the baby girl squirm in her sleep before turning and walking quietly back out the door. This time, when he sat down next to Namine and put an arm around her, she didn't complain. She didn't quite look happy about it, but she wasn't complaining, either.

The End

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and supported me through writing it! Even those of you who read it and didn't review! It's been fun, but it had to end sometime, I hope you enjoyed it!