Axel paced around the training grounds for what seemed to be half an hour. He looked up when he heard approaching footsteps: Meytha's. The young girl was recovering splendidly, yet she still had to be careful of overexerting herself. A smile curved Axel's lips upon seeing the girl; Meytha's dark green eyes lit up when she came closer to him. "You adjusting okay?" he asked cordially.

Meytha nodded. "Okay, I guess," she replied humbly, though Axel could plainly see the sparkle in her eyes. "Everyone seems welcoming enough, really. Zexion lets me read in his room in front of his fireplace," she added.

Axel gave a low whistle. "He only lets Larxene do that! Guess he's already quite fond of you, hm?"

Meytha kept smiling and nodded. "And Demyx is pretty nice, too. He treats me like some sort of kid sister." Meytha absently brushed a lock of purple-black hair from her eyes.

"So you wish to stay with us?" Axel asked, tilting his head to one side like a curious puppy.

"Of course, silly!" Meytha lightly punched Axel's shoulder. "I've only been here a month, but I already call this place home!"

"Yeah, well," Axel laughed, "you've got one dysfunctional but fun family!" He playfully ruffled her hair; he always did that. No matter how you arranged her hair, Meytha could just shake her head roughly and her hair would go back to its simple straight-haired formation. Meytha looked up at him suddenly and cleared her throat humorously as if she wanted him to see something. Her dark green orbs rolled to the side, eyebrows raised, and Axel looked ahead to see Larxene waiting for him near the halls.

"You might wanna go see her, eh?" Meytha snickered. "Looks like she wants to see you, lover-boy." She clicked her tongue playfully at his flushed face, then turned to walk through another hall and away from Axel.

When Meytha was completely out of sight, Axel strode casually toward his beloved. Her eyes were chips of blue ice that melted over when he inserted his hands into her coat pockets and drew her close to him. He nearly winced at the pleasure of her teeth pinching the nape of his neck, and he retrieved his hands to crush her gently against him. Axel knew that they would never have been like this to each other had they still been devoid of hearts; the most they could've been with each other was most likely "screw-buddies", as Meytha had once joked about but on a totally different issue.

"Larxene," he murmured, her blond hair that felt like silk against his face, "would you like to go somewhere else?"

Larxene's chuckle vibrated against his chest. "Yes, I suppose. Because if someone sees us groping each other on the floor here, they actually have true emotions to say 'ew'."

Axel laughed as he lightly led Larxene through a portal and to his bed.


Tender and meaningful.

If Larxene had to describe it in two simple words, those were her words of choice to use for their lovemaking just now. She clung to Axel's chest, her breathing returning to normal. She breathed in his apple-cinnamon scent, felt the rise and fall of his chest as he regained normal breathing. "Axel," she murmured softly, so as not to disturb the blanket of warm bliss all around them.

"Yes?" he returned just as quietly.

"Do you remember...when you told me that you had always wondered about how it would be like to have a child?" She closed her eyes as she waited for his answer.

"Yeah," he responded calmly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm saying...too bad for you," Larxene replied, the hint of a spoiled girl in her voice.

"You're so mean and straight-forward, my love," he said, feigning hurt.

"I think I'm sparing you," she whispered, audible enough for him to hear. "I could've messed with your head about the whole thing instead of just saying too bad." When she heard Axel agree, his arms tightened around her waist as he drew her in for a soft kiss. "Axel," she murmured against his lips before contributing to his lip-lock. She coiled her arms around his neck to push him more into her mouth, feeling his tongue trace everywhere it could touch. Their tongues were in the middle of playing tag when Larxene nipped his own.

"Feisty," Axel murmured, swiping his tongue over his upper lip. He moved forward again, this time to nuzzle her neck and gently suck on the tender flesh below her collarbone. He could feel her hands wringing just a little in his hair, her fingers running up along the spike formations. There was no selfishness in their love; both wanted nothing but to bring contentment to the other. Neither had to speak to know that one felt complete with the other. It was reminiscent of their talk at the Pool Of Sight, when Larxene had explained to Axel about true love, so long ago.

"Where do we go from here?" Larxene murmured aloud, and she knew that Axel was aware that she was talking about an entirely different subject.

Axel brought her even closer to him. "We shall see," he simply answered. "But I know I will do all in my power to stay by your side. I don't want to lose anything of you: your love, your trust, nothing. Redemption has taught me to cherish the ones I love. To cherish you, Larxene. If I see anything that bothers you -be it hurt, discomfort, disappointment, sadness, anything like that- my heart aches to go to you. To be the one to make things right again for you."

Larxene looked up at him, her cerulean eyes carrying a love that could sweep the stars away. "And you have helped me more than you have known," she murmured, briefly kissing him. "You've taught me compassion, though I'm still reserved on it, I have to shamelessly say. And you've taught me to forgive. If I hadn't ever forgiven you, I would've probably never realized my feelings for you; we would probably never have been lovers." She shook her head, a smile gracing her lips. "And you've also made me all mushy," she complained, a playful glare aimed at him.

"Terribly sorry," Axel apologized, smirking. "But you're still that hard, cold, sadistic woman I fell in love with."

"And you're still that lovable, warm, masochistic man I fell in hopeless love with," she returned, sliding onto his stomach snugly. "But enough of this sticky goo," she huffed, a gleam in her eyes. "I think we should get dressed and poke around; make sure the others don't...miss us."

"I'm pretty sure the rest of the Organization knows about us," Axel offered. "So if we're not there, they know to leave us the hell alone."

"You overestimate the logical reasoning in some of them." Larxene grinned, slipping gracefully off his bed to retrieve her clothes from the floor, Axel following suit. Both fully dressed, they sauntered through a portal and out to the rest of the Castle, their strides and their heartbeats perfectly in sync.

What began as a quest for redemption and forgiveness evolved into a love between two who could never have felt such affections before their transition to this realm of dark Paradise. For now, so ends the tale of Axel, Larxene, and all the rest, but one's road never truly ends until they die.

And for them, that was far away.


A/N: Endings are so hard for me, I swear! I want to get things just right and I don't wanna mess it up! I hope I did this good enough, it being the last chapter and all... But I'm actually working out a sequel in my head, but that will be in the future; I want to get a one-shot or two here and there... But there will be a sort of sequel, so if you want, keep your eyes open for it. Thank you all who read and/or reviewed for this! I really loved all your motivating reviews!

x That-One-Idiot