A/n: So, I've decided to update once more. Naminé reaches a breaking point and Axel finds out the truth. You'll just have to see! And Axel gets in a fight with an old woman!

An extra Thank you to Schmelly Inc. for being my awesome beta reader, I gotta tell you guys, she's awesome. I had been looking for a good beta reader for like…FOREVER. And not only is she really good at what she does, she's really sweet too. READ her stories. They're all amazing and they give you the warm and fuzzies! ( Especially "Little Star"). Thanks again!!

Disclaimer: We know this shit, so I won't write it again.

Chapter 4: An Understanding

Axel growled as he rummaged through the fridge in the Castle's kitchen, receiving a few angry looks from the servants who cooked the meals. Apparently, they didn't like his shirtless attire. The redhead just rolled his eyes and replayed the earlier situation over in his head. He should've said no, instead of walking down the stairs like a puppy ordered to by it's master. It was her food, so he still didn't completely understand why he was the one getting it. He blamed it on her little outfit. Yea, that was exactly it. She wore it on purpose. The little sneak.

"Sir? We need access to the food in there and you are in the way…" a high pitched voice rang from behind him, pulling the redhead from his thoughts. He turned to see an older woman, much shorter than he. Looking down, he smirked. He was not in the mood to deal with this.

"Listen, lady, I have to get a captive some food, got it memorized?" He defended, turning his attention back to the contents of the chilly appliance.

"Well I have to feed an entire Castle, if you DON'T mind." She replied, surprisingly pushing him out of the way. For a second, he couldn't figure out what had just happened, but once he did, he clenched his fists, trying really hard not to backhand the old hag, or at least burn her to a solid crisp.

"You little bi..!" He began, only to be cut off once again by the woman.

"Here. Feed this to Naminé. She always liked these at Castle Oblivion… and you watch your language, young man!" the woman broke the silence, tossing a bag of grapes his way, and luckily he caught them. Eyeing them suspiciously, he wondered how he could've missed that detail; considering he fed her all of her meals everyday during the Project. Axel simply scratched his head and left, completely ignoring the woman's comments.

Upon returning to his room, he unlocked the door and barged in, quickly heading for the room on the other side of his own.

"Hey, Naminé, I have your fo-" he began, only to open the door and find that the young woman was nowhere to be seen. Panicking slightly, Axel walked quickly through the room, throwing open the closets and the bathroom, but there was still no sign of Naminé.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" he yelled as he trudged back to his room, stopping dead in his tracks as he entered. There she was, lying in HIS bed. Sleeping pretty peacefully, from the look of it; an angelic look plastered across her features and her chest slowly heaving up and down. Relief washed over the pyro as he walked up lazily and tossed the bag of grapes on the nightstand.

He took a chance by sitting down, careful not to stir her as his weight pressed into the mattress. Naminé was curled up in a ball, causing her long-sleeved shirt to scrunch up around her waist, revealing a flat stomach and what looked to be a belly ring. Axel raised an eyebrow at the small rhinestone that adorned her navel, surprised that she would ever think of getting such a thing. Not that he minded in the least. It seemed like he was beginning to like this new side of Naminé more and more.

Axel's eyes drifted from her stomach to her face, taking in each feature; the blush of her cheeks, how her eyelashes rested just above her cheekbones and the pout of her lips. He lingered on her lips, thinking for a brief second, what would it be like to kiss her? He was always curious, but never bold enough to try anything. Would it really hurt to try now? He was pretty sure he could counter anything she threw at him if she woke up. Slowly he leaned his head down and brushed his lips against hers.

Naminé's ears took in each deafening scratching sound. Pencil against paper. Girl against boy. It was all the same. She hated it either way, but what she hated more… was the fact that he was going to be waltzing into the room within minutes, no seconds. She could just feel it. The cold shivers up her spine, the shaking of her bones. It was all there.

A portal is opened and she prays that it's Axel, or even Larxene. Anyone, but Marluxia. Turning her head slowly, she sees the nightmare take shape like it usually does. It's him, and judging by the slow stride he stalks in with, it will end the same as well.

"Hello, my little pet. Have something new for me?" he asks, the same drawl in his voice. Like a predator to its prey. She looks down and notices that the picture she was drawing in the beginning wasn't there. It has disappeared, leaving only a blank page. A blank page meant punishment. It was so unfair.

"N-no." she whispered, accepting her fate as she closed the sketchbook.

"Naminé… you know the punishment for that. Let me see." His voice was closer and she felt his hands snatch the pad away from her. The sound of flipping could be heard and she heard a faint growl from behind her as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I'm… sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough. I'm starting to believe your worth to this mission is fading, Naminé."

"B-but, it was there…"

"Enough lying!" a gloved hand snatches her wrist and drags her out of the little white chair. She feels him pull her to that same corner and the breath is almost knocked from her tiny lungs as she feels the blow from his shove.

"P-please, not again."

"Silence! Soon you will learn your place in this project, Naminé." His body presses against hers, her ability to breathe suffering even more. Naminé's teary blue eyes lock with his for one last desperate attempt to get him to stop, but it goes ignored as he lowers his face to hers. Eyes close and lips press against hers.

But… not like he usually would in her nightmares. It was soft and almost, gentle. It felt so… real. Too real. She was trapped somewhere between nightmare and reality as her mind began to connect with her dream, telling her that she was in the Organization's clutches again.

Was Marluxia really doing this to her? He wasn't allowed near her from what it looked like, then who could it be? But she was with... no. It couldn't be….

"AXEL!" Smack.

"Dammit, Naminé, I think you broke my nose!"

Naminé tried her best to scramble off the bed, but got tangled up in the comforter and rolled to the ground, groaning as warm skin clashed with cold marble. She stood up quickly and shot daggers at Axel, who was pinching his nose.

"Well, you deserved it! Why would you do such a thing!?" she yelled, backing away from him. Axel raised his hands in defense.

"I swear I didn't mean any harm, I was just curious and I-"

"Do you have any idea what I've been through?" she interrupted, feeling a lump form in her throat as her words became choked. Axel put his hands down and looked at her as shock and confusion swept across his face.

"God, you're all still the same! I however, am not. I refuse to be your little 'pet'." Great. Now tears were falling and she felt weak… again. Silence filled the room as both captive and adversary stared at the ground.

"Naminé, I promise I didn't mean it like that! Wait! What do you mean by 'been through'?"

"Just forget it." She turned and walked towards her room, slamming the door behind her as she slumped to the ground in a heap of tears.

Axel simply watched her leave as the wheels in his head began working over time. Normally he would've joked about the situation, claiming it was an accident or something. However, he didn't expect for her to freak out. He also didn't expect to hear what he did.

His mind raced back to Castle Oblivion, churning over the words Naminé had just said. He couldn't remember ever touching her that way. He hardly even spoke to the girl, save for a few smart remarks, but those were never perverted in anyway. It could only mean one person. Marluxia.

Had Marluxia abused her? He always had a suspicion, but never would he actually confront the fellow Organization member about it. Vexen had strictly forbidden it when she was put on the project. She was off-limits and they all knew damn well. But, Marluxia… had he crossed the boundary? With an innocent little girl like Naminé? How could he have not known that this was going on? Then he remembered that he never really interacted with the memory witch. He only let her go in the end to watch the plan unfold. He never took the time to ask or care what was going on.

That's all it ever was at the Castle. Just watching and waiting with amusement… never asking. Anger that he couldn't place began to pump through his veins at the thought of Marluxia touching her, and also at himself… not saying a word, or even questioning the Graceful Assassin. He had no idea what she had gone through and he just crossed a line she'd probably been scared of anyone ever crossing again after Marluxia. It must've been hell for her. She really did hate all of them, didn't she? She sure had the right to.

Sighing, Axel picked up the bag of grapes and walked over to her door, careful not to make a noise. He was pretty sure she wouldn't let him in that way. He resorted to using a portal, making his way into the room to find her leaning against the very door he had decided not to open. Naminé was clearly oblivious to the fact that he had even come in, her body shaking with each sob that escaped her lips. Axel walked over and sat down beside her.

Words weren't spoken, but he let his presence become known with a comforting massage on her back. The redhead wasn't used to dealing with emotions, so he felt awkward with the gesture. Naminé looked up with blood shot eyes and a trembling lip.

"Naminé, I… I didn't know. If I did, I would've never…"

"You don't understand what it was like." She stopped him, causing him to look down in shame.

"Why didn't I know about it?"

"I figured you did."

"If I knew, he wouldn't have gotten away with it. The superior will know about this, Naminé, I promise that. Marluxia will be punished for it." He replied, trying to keep calm.

"Xemnas knows." She whispered.

"He knows? Well then why the hell hasn't he done anything about it! He can't possibly know!"

"Vexen found out when Marluxia confessed to attempting to take over the Organization... and Vexen told Xemnas. He didn't care. End of story."

"No, not 'end of story', you were raped and Marluxia shouldn't just get away with it!"

"Nobodies don't have the heart to care, Axel." She said, ending the discussion, tears slipping from her eyes once again. Axel didn't know what to say. He didn't suspect her of lying. The phrase she just uttered was indication enough that Xemnas didn't care. He wouldn't be surprised if those were the superior's actual words.

The question was… why did he care? She was just the means to an end right? Then why should he even care what happened years ago? And since when would he have the 'heart' to care? These questions only caused more confusion and frustration. He was about to ask her more about the situation in hopes of finding some sort of answer, when he felt something soft press against his chest. Axel looked down to see Naminé wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head, causing blonde locks to brush against his bare upper body.

Naminé had no idea why she would do such a thing. Especially to someone who had just kissed her without permission. However she felt at ease with Axel, as well as closure. It felt good to finally tell someone what had happened to her during her captivity at Castle Oblivion. It was nice that someone believed her, even if it was Axel. Someone that actually believed it was wrong. Everyone in the Organization claimed she was being dramatic, but Axel felt different. He agreed with her! Finally, he understood her pain.

She could tell he was a bit uncomfortable as he shifted awkwardly in her embrace. She probably should have asked if she could hug him, but hey, he kissed her without asking right? He deserved a little payback.

"Naminé?"

"Hmm?"

"I brought you some food." Silence. Her stomach growled to remind her that she was starving. Naminé awkwardly let go as she looked up at him.

"The servant said these were your favorite. She didn't have to be such a bitch about it though." He stated, with a hint of annoyance at the thought of the maid. He reached over for the fallen bag of fruit and handed it to her with a weak smile. She suppressed a smile.

"Don't talk about Miranda that way! She always brought me extra cupcakes at the Castle! She's really nice." Naminé defended as she took the bag and popped one of the grapes into her mouth, savoring the sweet flavor.

"Nice? I wouldn't put it that way, but whatever…" Axel mused as he watched her eat.

"You probably just annoyed her."

"Annoyed her, my ass. She's just an old hag."

"Axel!"

"What?"

"I'm going to tell her you said that."

"Oh yea? I'll tell Yuffie you slept in my bed."

"That made no sense, Axel, whatsoever."

"Why were you sleeping in my bed?"

Silence.

What was she going to say? A bad case of Stockholm Syndrome? That'd go over real well. Naminé didn't answer as she continued to munch on her fruit, focusing on the tiles across the marble floor.

"You didn't answer me." Axel just wasn't going to leave her alone! She huffed and tossed the bag at him, indicating that she was done as she crossed her arms.

"What does it matter?" she asked, hoping he'd let it go.

"Well…you have your own bed, and yet you ended up in mine. How does that work, Naminé?" Axel teased, mimicking her by crossing his own arms.

Axel was really curious as to why the blonde really was in his bed. She truly had her own; same size, just different color. What made his so special?

"I was testing a theory on how comfortable it was, compared to mine." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone. It was typical of Namine to wonder such things. She was always so curious. Before he could retort a reply, she continued speaking.

"And, if it weren't for some certain pyro, I would still be sleeping comfortably in it."

"So sorry to ruin that for you, Princess, but if I can remind you, you leaned in for just a second as I kissed you, whether you noticed it or not." That was the winning statement. Axel: one, Namine: zero…well okay, she got one if you count the blow to his face. But the point was, he was still going to come out on top! Axel smirked as a blush crept up Naminé's cheeks. She obviously didn't know that she had done such a thing.

"Whatever, Axel."

"Great comeback, Naminé." Silence.

"Shut up!"

"Even better comeback." Man, was he on a winning streak.

"Why did you kiss me anyway?" Damn, and that streak was gone, just like that. How in the hell was he going to explain that?

"Well… I… was…" there was a knock on the door. Saved by the bell. Or knock, in Axel's case. He stood up and Namine crawled away so the redhead could open the door.

"Axel, here, it's from the Superior." Zexion's voice could be heard in a muffle as the blonde curiously tried to see what was going on. In a way, she was disappointed by the interruption. She really wanted to know what Axel was going to say. It would be a complete lie if she said that she wished the kiss would happen. If only it didn't happen during a nightmare.

"Well, well, well…" Axel's voice cut into her thoughts as she stood up by him. On her tiptoes, she still couldn't read the letter, whatever it said.

"What?"

"We're leaving tomorrow, apparently." Her heart sank at the thought. Now the real pain begins.

"I don't want to do this." She groaned as she walked over to her bed and sat down.

"I have a feeling that things are going to change."

"What do you mean, Axel?"

"Let's just say, I've had a change of 'heart'."

A/n: Okay, so I hoped you guys enjoyed this! I feel like I failed at this one, but we'll see. It's just very busy times. Look for a new AkuNami story to be updated as well. Thanks for reading. And don't forget to review, if you like. Preferably yes? I think so. XD