Cautiously, Axel seated himself on the floor by the foot of her bed, careful not to be too close to her. After all, he figured that right now it was a privilege to be able to be in the same room as Larxene. Her room, for that matter. He stared ahead quietly, screaming in his mind, longing to break the immense silence that had nested between them with twigs of hurt and leaves of betrayal on Axel's behalf.

"Why did you plot with Marluxia?" Axel asked suddenly.

The question that had flown out of the blue startled Larxene. "What?" she breathed.

"Why did you plot with Marluxia?" Axel repeated, adamant and steady.

"I...," Larxene stared at the side of his face. "Marluxia persuaded me," she confided quietly. "He said that Xemnas was becoming too deterred into his research, that Marluxia figured that he couldn't care less about his Organization anymore, particularly us: the neophytes. He said that I was the only one he wanted, because I was the only one he trusted." Her voice hardened here. "And like a true friend, I supported him because I saw from his view point. I responded to his trust and tried to help him out in his cause."

Axel winced and looked down, shame as well as Larxene's intense gaze scorching him.

Larxene hugged her knees to her chest and continued looking at the pyro. "Now it is my turn to ask you something." Before Axel could answer, she pressed, "Why did you betray us after you agreed to out plans?"

"I never said I'd join you," Axel retorted uneasily, shifting his position to look at her bravely.

"That doesn't matter," Larxene said tightly. "You still went along with us. You're the one who told me I could trust you! You told me that just before we entered Castle Oblivion!" Her voice had reached a higher level, yet not quite shouting.

Axel flinched again. "I...I simply followed Xemnas's orders to kill the traitors," he answered weakly.

"Oh?" Larxene challenged. "So if Sora hadn't been the one to kill me, you'd have done the job?"

Axel's head raised sharply to meet her electric-blue gaze. "Larxene..."

"Answer me, dammit. Would you have killed me?"

"Back then, I probably would have...," he answered quietly.

"I see," Larxene replied curtly. "At least you were honest." Outside, she her body remained rigid and unmoving; inside, she was trembling violently in her heart and soul. He would have killed her? She supposed he would have, given that he had no heart back then, he would have used that as his chief defense.

Axel somehow sensed Larxene's raging emotions. He rose and came up to her, leaning forward slightly as a sign of submission, yet he was still able to see her eyes, which were swirling like hurricanes, displaying her intense feelings toward him. Feelings he somehow knew to be hurt, sorrow, and...longing? He must have imagined it, but nonetheless he took her in his arms and hugged her tenderly.

Larxene gasped as she felt his sudden warm embrace. The Nymph's eyes stretched wide as she felt her own heat creep into her ears and cheeks. As much as she knew Axel's innocent intentions, she was not ready for this; she whipped out an arm and shoved Axel away. Shaking her head at the hurt man, she whispered, "No," in a voice that held no command.

Axel looked at her through smoldering eyes. "I understand."

"You understand?" Larxene spat, suddenly scornful again. "What, dare I ask, is it that you understand?"

Axel sat on the very edge of her bed. "Why you reacted the way you did," he explained cautiously. "I was walking through the City earlier, and I began thinking of you randomly. And now that you just pushed me away, I now know that what I had only thought was true." He looked at her.

"And what is that?" she prompted, her eyes narrowing.

"That the reason you act the way you do is because you are insecure."

"Excuse me?!" Larxene was about to strike him, but Axel held up a hand to her.

"Grant me the opportunity to finish," he beseeched. "I realize that the reason that you are as sadistic and negative as you are is because you have the desire to dominate; to let others know that just because you are practically the lowest in rank doesn't mean you are one who is weak and can be taken advantage of. You want to show that the other members can't just walk all over you."

Larxene became frightfully mesmerized.

"To top that bit off, you're the only female member," Axel went on. "And because of that, you feel the need to protect and stand your ground even more strongly. But you still wonder if one day that will not be enough; that someday someone will trample you to the ground."

Shivering, Larxene waited for more.

Axel took a deep breath. Going on, he went, "Thus you mocked everyone and trusted no one. Most likely you still do. But in our life as Nobodies in the realm of the living, you finally decided to put your trust in the one person you felt comfortable around: me." The pyromaniac looked down. Regaining his composure, he gazed straight into Larxene's eyes again. "So when I betrayed you, you felt even more insecure because I hurt you the way I did. You no longer felt that you could truly trust another male, much less anyone."

The way Axel looked at her told Larxene that he wasn't trying to be smug, arrogant, or anything of the like for figuring her out the way he had. "And now," Axel breathed evenly, "I realize why I had hurt you so bad that day." He reached for her slender hand, and when he had cupped it he brought it to his lips. He did not kiss it; rather, he simply pressed his lips to her gloveless hand. His eyes glittered with the desire for forgiveness, but he knew he would have to do so much more before Larxene would even begin to consider it.

"You fool," Larxene insulted through a choked throat, her eyes glazing over for the second time that day.

"I know I am," Axel murmured, looking up to her. "I was a fool to betray your trust. I was a fool to hurt you. I want to prove to you that I am worthy of regaining your trust. I'll show you."

"Axel..." The conviction she had heard in the Flurry Of Dancing Flames's voice made her own choke with suppressed sobs. She realized she would not be able to hold them in any longer, her resolve ebbing away. "You need to go," she choked, rising. Axel looked up at her, wanting to do the opposite, to stay and comfort her in her obvious time of need. "Go," she choked again, fighting with her last scrap of mental resolve to keep her weeping at bay.

"I can't," he responded. "Not when I'm seeing you like this." He stared up at her through concerned emerald eyes that also glinted with worry.

"Dammit!" Larxene screeched, her eyes hot and blurry. "Can't you just listen and leave me alone when I tell you?!"

Axel indeed rose, but instead of heading for the door, he went to Larxene. Before the Nymph could yell at him again, he took her in his arms again, rubbing her back with one hand, the other stroking her blond hair that was like silk. "I'm here, I'm here," he murmured gently.

Larxene's willpower to resist was obliterated then and there. She finally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably in his strong arms, her body racked by violent trembles. She clung to his chest and she sobbed into the space between his neck and shoulder. Larxene herself was surprised at her own behavior, but she realized that it was to be expected; Axel had pointed out and explained her chief fault: insecurity.

Larxene's shoulders shook up and down as she continued crying, the tears dampening Axel's coat. Axel cooed gently to her, careful not to patronize, as he held her there, time slipping away from them both as the pyro gave her the comfort and sense of security he knew she so desperately needed.


A/N: I do see Larxene as an insecure woman. People aren't bitchy for nothing. It can be traced through proper insight and understanding, really. But anyway, it does NOT end here! I still plan on taking this further.