A/N: Xion's POV. This chapter's not as fun as the last one, and it's a lot shorter, but I needed to write it.
"Is it still too early for a victory dance?" I ask Kairi once Axel and Aqua leave.
"Maybe just a little." She pinches two fingers together, leaving only an inch of space between them.
I sigh. It was all I could do to stop myself from jumping up and down with excitement the second Axel asked me out, and now I have to worry about Saïx trying to ruin it. "That's what I thought."
"Your dad didn't sound too happy about you going out with Axel," Kairi says with a frown.
"All he said was that he thought my first date would be with Roxas." He's my best friend, but the idea of dating him is just as weird as dating one of my brothers. "I don't think Father has anything against Axel. Not anymore, at least, or he wouldn't have even bothered to talk with him."
I hope I'm right. If he won't let us go, after how long I've waited… No, Father will come around. I know he will; he has to.
"That's true," Kairi agrees. I wonder if she's just saying that so that my hopes aren't crushed or if she actually believes it.
"I'm more worried about Saïx," I say, sitting on the couch. "I wonder what he said to Axel…"
"Well, he didn't sound worried," Kairi says cheerfully, sitting beside me.
"I know, but Axel never worries." 'Hakuna Matata' might as well be his motto. He's always so confident and sure of himself – it shows in the way he walks, the things he says, his smile… I shake my head. "Saïx is my brother, and I love him and he's usually nice to me, but he acts so weird whenever I'm around Axel." I sigh. He wasn't so bad about it until around three years ago. Maybe he decided it's not cool to hang out with his "little sister," even though I'm only a year younger than him and Axel's always fine with Kairi.
"Hmm…" Kairi thinks for a moment, smoothing out a wrinkle in her pink skirt. "Maybe he's just jealous. Like he thinks you might steal his friend or something."
"What's wrong with Axel being friends with both of us?" I grumble. I'll probably never understand Saïx. He might as well be from a different planet. Maybe a different universe.
Kairi holds her hands up in defense. "I'm not saying that's his reason, I'm just thinking out loud. To be fair, it would be hard for him to see his sister and his best friend on a date. Give him some time to get used to it."
I frown, resting my chin in my palm. I hadn't thought about that before… He shouldn't try to dictate my life, but I could be a little nicer on him. After all, he's my brother, and I'm stuck with him.
"You're probably right, Kairi." As usual. I sigh when she pats my shoulder. "I hope he'll understand if I talk to him…"
"He'll have to, once he sees how much you and Axel like each other."
I stare at her, eyes wide. How did she know? I've never told anyone about my crush before, not even Aqua, the best secret-keeper I know. The only place I've admitted it at all is my diary.
"I – I… It's not like…" I stutter hopelessly.
She laughs, and I frown at her. "Xi, I'm not blind."
That's the downside to having the best observer of relationships as your friend. And the upside, I guess. "But… wait, you said he likes me too? He was probably just trying to cheer me up," I say glumly.
"I'm his sister, remember? I know these things." Kairi smiles comfortingly at me, but a flash of worry makes my stomach flop.
"You're not mad at me for going out with your brother, are you?" After what she said about understanding Saïx…
"Of course not! You're perfect for him," she says, making my heart flutter. "Way better than Larxene."
The mention of Axel's last girlfriend hurts like being pricked with hundreds of tiny knives. Larxene practically ripped Axel's heart out after four months of dating last year. I still feel guilty about how excited I was when I found out – Nobody deserves that kind of pain, especially not Axel.
"So I'm the only one who has to deal with a sibling's disapproval," I mutter. It shouldn't matter, but if Saïx could manage to convince Axel to drop the whole thing… He wouldn't do that, would he?
"You already told him you don't need his permission. He can't stop you," Kairi says. Then she flashes me a grin that I can't help but think looks evil. "How long have you liked Axel, anyway?"
Leave it to Kairi to change the subject like that. I groan, dropping my face into my hands. "…I don't know. Forever?" I've been trying to tune out my feelings for him for almost as long as I can remember. Even when I turned sixteen and finally had any sort of hope for anything romantic between us, I figured he only saw me as a friend.
But if Kairi's right… And I can't remember her ever being wrong before…
She nods with a giggle. "I thought it might be something like that."
"Am I really that obvious?" I ask, feeling my face heat up.
"Just as obvious as the blush on your face," she teases. "But don't worry, even if Axel's picked up on it, he doesn't know for sure. You should tell him yourself."
"What?" I start to hyperventilate. Where did that advice even come from? "I-I can't do that! It's just a casual date, what if I hurt our friendship, I'd never forgive myself!"
"Calm down, Xi." Kairi turns to look at me sternly. "Look, you'll never get anywhere if you don't tell him."
"I don't even know for sure if we're going!" I panic, not thinking to point out that she still hasn't told Sora she likes him. "Father might say no, and there's Saïx-"
"Calm down." She puts both hands on my shoulders, but I'm still breathing heavily. "Forget I said anything. You don't have to tell him if you're not ready."
"R-really?" I've got to work on controlling that stutter.
"Really. You just go on this date with him and see what happens. I'm sure it'll all work out." She smiles, and I breathe a heavy sigh of relief that I have her and my sister to group date with. It suddenly hits me how clueless I am about all this.
"…Okay. Thanks, Kairi." I smile back just a little, though I'm still worried. "I should go talk to Saïx now…"
She nods. "I'll wait for you."
I know we need to work things out so he doesn't get mad at me and Axel over nothing, but it's still hard to work up the courage to knock on his bedroom door. It feels like forever before he opens up.
"…What do you want?" Saïx asks.
"Can I come in?"
He gives me a tiny nod, and I slip through into his tidy bedroom, which reminds me how much I need to clean my own. The only thing out of place is an open book on his desk, but that's to be expected.
"What do you want?" He repeats.
I take a deep breath. "…I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I could've been nicer about it."
"I forgive you. Is that all?"
Ugh, Saïx. Not that I'd expect him to say "My dearest sister Xion, accept my sincerest apologies for my rude actions around you and your crush. I must stop glaring at everything that offends me," or something ridiculous like that, but an "I'm sorry too," would've been nice.
"What, am I wasting your time?" I ask grumpily. It's not like I had to apologize to him in the first place. "I was just going to tell you not to be mad at Axel, not that you have a right to be mad at either of us. He was just trying to make me feel better."
"I know," he mumbles.
"Know what? That you shouldn't be mad at us, or that he was trying to make me feel better?"
"…Both," he admits. "It is possible that I overreacted. He explained that you are going as friends."
I wince a little at how much that hurts. Axel said it was nothing serious, but does that mean it's not even a real date at all? There's always the chance that Kairi was wrong for the first time, and if Axel doesn't like me the way I like him… I really, really don't want to think about it.
At least Saïx sounds a little sorry for being rude. But now I have to ask him something, just in case.
"…If we weren't… going just as friends… would you be mad?" I ask apprehensively, keeping my head low but angling my eyes up at his tense face. "Not that you deserve to have an opinion about it. I just want to know," I add. I really do love my brother, and I don't want to hurt him on purpose, but some things are my decision and not his.
"As you said, I have no right to interfere," he grumbles. "My opinion is of no consequence."
"Saïx," I begin, smiling just a little, "you're my big brother. You don't have to approve, but I'd appreciate it."
"I don't approve," he says bluntly, and I frown. "But… you're right. I can't stop you." He sighs. "Axel said so as well."
He did? So maybe he did stand up for us after all… The thought brings the smile back to my face. And Saïx admitted that he's not in charge, which is as much as I can expect from him. I smile wider and hug him softly.
"Thanks, Saï-Saï," I say, using the silly nickname I called him when I was a kid. "Love you."
"I love you as well, Xi." A tiny grin pulls at his lips before he peels my arms off of him.
"…I better make sure Father's not scaring Axel to death."
Saïx looks like he's in pain again, but he nods curtly.
"How'd it go?" Kairi asks when I walk down the stairs, skipping every other step.
"He understands, at least. Well, as much as he can." Eventually he'll accept it – I can't let him rule my life. "Axel's not out yet?"
"Nope. I haven't heard any screaming, though," she jokes lightly.
"I hope Father's not too harsh on him…"
We make eye contact, a silent agreement to check out what's going on, nevermind that Aqua told us to stay here.
A/N: The next chapter is back to Axel's POV. Most of the chapters will probably be his or Xion's POV, but I know I'll have a few chapters from Saïx's POV, too.
For some reason in my headcanon, Xion stutters when she's nervous, scared, or excited. Why? I dunno.
