The words rolled around in Axel's head numerous times until he had lost count altogether as he lie on his bed. It had been nearly a day since Larxene had forgiven him. He smiled a genuine smile, the play on his lips carrying that of peaceful bliss. His heart felt like it would take off in flight whenever he replayed Larxene's words. However, when he simply thought of Larxene, his heart felt smothered with suppressed feelings Axel couldn't quite put his finger on.
Swinging his legs off the bed, Axel sought to clear his head. He wondered if Larxene was feeling fit enough to take a trip with him somewhere.
"Are you feeling better?" Marluxia prompted gently as he sat himself on her bed. "Zexion told me about your little brawl with Saix."
Larxene looked to her brotherly companion. "I wouldn't call it a 'brawl', Marluxia," she drawled lazily. "It was more of a spat, really." She preferred her term for petty fight to Marluxia's word, anyway. "Marluxia?" she prodded uneasily, aware that she could confide in her friend, but felt she was treading into a tense subject. When Marluxia looked at her, deep blue eyes attentive and open, she went forward with her question. "What do you think of Axel now...?"
Immediately and instinctively Marluxia tensed, yet his body relaxed forcefully. Taking a deep breath, he stated: "Like you, I believe he has a right to be here as much as we ourselves do, though some -like Saix and maybe Vexen- may not see it like that."
"But do you still bear a grudge against him?" Larxene asked, both of them knowing that this was her main question.
Marluxia closed his eyes and thought for what seemed like a long time. Reopening his eyes, he stared straight ahead while answering. "What is done in that life is done already. We are fine now, sister, and that is why I do not bear a grudge against Axel for betraying us. However," he added with a hint of a growl, "I do bear a grudge against him for hurting you the way I know he did."
"Marluxia, don't," Larxene spoke worriedly, fearing that the Graceful Assassin would seek to sate his revenge. Before Marluxia could open his mouth to object, Larxene intervened by explaining, "Please! He has already redeemed himself to me! He saved my life! I wouldn't be here if Axel hadn't saved me when Saix was trying to strangle me! If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at Saix, not Axel!" Her electric-blue eyes struck Marluxia's deep-blue ones, beseeching him not to harm Axel in any way.
"Why do you wish for me to not harm Axel?" Marluxia asked curiously, with an obvious dose of suspicion.
Larxene felt her limbs freeze; by asking that, Marluxia had unearthed a question Larxene had sort of hoped would stay buried until she felt ready to answer it. "I...," she trailed off, the words sticking to her throat like burrs. There was an itching, burning sensation writhing inside her. The feeling was something that was...unpleasant? No, the proper word, Larxene figured, would be something along the lines of discomfort. She coughed to distract herself from her thoughts; Marluxia raised an eyebrow.
"Are you not feeling well?" he inquired quietly, lifting a gentle hand in the air between himself and Larxene.
Lightly brushing the hand away, Larxene murmured, "Don't, Marluxia."
Before Marluxia could voice his thoughts, a knock on Larxene's door sounded, the light pounding disturbing the ever so delicate quiet that had settled now. When Larxene gave permission for the stranger to enter, it turned out to be Axel on the other side. The Nymph nearly jumped out of her skin upon seeing the pyro, who looked a bit sheepish. He smiled quickly when he saw her, and as he proceeded to approach her, Axel stiffened when he noticed Marluxia. Nevertheless, Axel went on resolutely and sat next to Larxene on her other side, Marluxia occupying the opposite.
"Can I speak to her, Marluxia?" Axel asked with a discreet edge to his voice. "Alone?"
Marluxia nearly bristled, but when Larxene gave him a look, the Graceful Assassin left via portal, albeit rather grudgingly.
When he had completely left, Larxene turned to Axel. "Need something?" she prompted cordially.
Axel smiled: he knew that if Larxene wasn't in any mood to talk to him, her tone would have been an abrasive "What do you want?". Shrugging now, he began with "How are you...?"
Larxene raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Just fine." Taking a small breath, she confessed, "A little sore, but that's all."
Axel shyly rubbed her shoulder; when she relaxed her muscles, Axel felt bold enough to talk about why he had come in the first place. "Do you...ah... I mean...well...," he nervously scratched the back of his head, the speech caught in his throat.
"What do you want, Axel?" Larxene asked, but for once, and surprisingly, there was no exasperation or any negativity in her voice.
"Do you want to come with me somewhere?" Axel quickly asked before his nerves failed him.
"I...I...," It was Larxene's turn to be speechless now; she really didn't know what to say. Though when she started thinking about it, she found that being in his company sounded...all right. "Where to?" she asked in a neutral manner.
Axel shrugged. "Somewhere where it's... I don't know... How about...? Here," he sat up, opening a portal. "How about I just take you?" He waited, looking at her indecisive face. "Do you trust me?" he asked quietly, his emerald eyes for once unreadable.
Larxene gazed back at him with equal unfathomable veils. Could she? Simply because she forgave him did not mean that she could trust him again, could it? Yet, somewhere in Larxene's heart, she already knew the obvious answer to that, and even more...
"I trust you."
The town that was bathed in eternal night lay quiet with its sleeping denizens, unaware of the male and female who had just walked through a vortex and into its sheltered depths. The street lamps cast a warm glow in the First District, but the rest of the small sources of light -belonging to several stores- were put out for the next few hours. Glittering stars above seemed to appear so much farther away than they already were, little jewels dotting the inky forever-night sky.
"Traverse Town," Larxene stated, more than questioned, lightly.
"I thought about maybe going to Twilight Town," Axel rumbled next to her as he looked at the street lamps, "but it seemed too...out of place at this moment."
"You made a wise decision," Larxene praised with a laugh. "I always prefer the night over the twilight."
The duo walked on through the silent town, passing the gates, going into the more favorable Second District. Axel followed Larxene as she made her way to the side where the hotels nested, keeping pace with her every step of the way now. More than once their shoulders brushed, but neither seemed to mind. When Larxene reached an alley, the small space littered with broken fire escapes and dumpsters, the Nymph sighed euphorically.
"I love exploring places with that urbanized feel to them, you know," she spoke softly, her tone warm and open. "I don't know what it is about them, I just seem...drawn to them." Walking forward at a swift pace, Larxene resembled a stealthy panther as she leaped gracefully onto a fire escape ladder, the sturdy thing managing to hold her weight. Climbing effortlessly toward the top, she looked down to see Axel staring up at her, intrigued. "Come up, stupid," she encouraged.
Axel smiled sardonically as he climbed the ladder, making it up easily enough. "Not too clumsy, I hope?" he joked, chuckling.
Not responding, Larxene only grunted lightly before climbing onto an open window, using the windowsill as a sort of stand, lifting herself onto the next adjacent to it. Climbing onto yet another one, she made it to the rooftop. The Savage Nymph waited, until she heard Axel scrambling onto the roof now. "You need to distribute your weight so that you can not only make less noise," Larxene offered, "but also keep control of your balance."
"I'll keep that in mind," Axel replied as he came up to her, smiling. His heart seemed to swell at the sight of her, even though they had only been apart for a minute or two.
Larxene beckoned to him with two of her fingers. "We're going to play a little game," she stated, her cerulean eyes sparked with mild excitement and mischief.
Axel raised a red eyebrow. "What kind?"
Larxene jabbed the soft space between his chest and arm. "You're it," she called softly before leaping over to the next rooftop.
A/N: I managed to fit this in for you all before turning to bed. Ah, the urban places have always attracted me. They're...different, so to speak... And anyways, I used Traverse Town because it's so overlooked; people tend to lean toward Twilight Town a lot. No offense to any out there.
