A/N: Thanks to Raberba girl, FireWolfHeart, and Topazdragon98 for reviewing! :D

I used Radiant Garden for the city name, and it looks kind of similar to the canon world, but they're not the same. Just to clarify that.

Oh, and there's a poll on my profile where you can vote on which of my fics I should work harder at updating. Votes are highly appreciated~

Axel's POV.

There are a few things Eraqus Knight is known for in our city. One is that about a decade back he was "one of the most influential community leaders Radiant Garden's ever known" or some carp like that, which is probably how he can afford his ginormous castle-house. Second is that he's retired from that but he still runs a martial arts school – despite how old he is, he probably knows at least fifty different ways to break every bone in my body. Third is his legendary lack of a sense of humor.

So he really didn't appreciate me helping Saïx get revenge on Vanitas when the demon-child scribbled crayons all over my friend's report back in the eighth grade. I convinced Saïx that we should melt all he brother's crayons, and he had a lot, into one huge glob that we dumped in Vanitas's bed. We probably wouldn't have gotten in quite as much trouble if we'd had time to clean up the crayon-drippings all over the living room and stairs before Eraqus saw them. I swear, my own parents have never punished me as much as Eraqus did that time – on top of being chewed out, glared at, and reported to my mom, I had to help Saïx scrub the floors. And we had to buy Vanitas a new pack of crayons. Saïx said the kid got off light for graffitiing his report because of our revenge, too.

We learned our lesson and never pulled anything like that at his house again, but I'm still not sure Eraqus has forgiven me for it. If Saïx hadn't defended me and taken so much of the blame (way more than he deserved; he'd tried to talk me out of it) I don't know if he would've allowed me in his house ever again. (Note to self: Thank Saïx again.) It also helps that Kairi and Aqua are best friends.

I hope with a decent amount of politeness and luck I can still make this work. That incident was years ago, and Eraqus has never said anything since then to blatantly show that he hates me. I could just be overthinking this, which isn't normally something I do. Then again, I normally don't have so much to lose.

I'd hate to ruin Xion's first chance of going on a date… And I'd hate to never have a chance with her…

XXX

"Did Terra have to do this, too?" I ask to break the crushing silence that feels heavy as an anvil. Maybe an anvil and a half. I dunno, how heavy are anvils, anyway?

Aqua nods. "He and Father have always gotten along well, though."

"Seriously?" I stare at her as we walk down the long, long hallway. "We're thinking of the same Terra, right?" It's too weird to picture Terra, who's a bit of a joker himself and always teasing or trying to impress Aqua, getting along with strict Eraqus.

She laughs at that. "Terra's one of Father's oldest pupils."

Huh. Terra's in martial arts. I guess that's not too surprising; I mean, just look at the guy. He's like a boulder. Maybe I should've taken karate or something; sure would be helpful now…

Eventually we reach the door to the dojo. I can hear karate flick-worthy "Hiyah!"s and the snapping of boards coming from the other side.

"You're going to tell me this is a task I must face alone, aren't you?" I ask, anxious to get this over with but stalling anyway.

She smiles tightly. "Good, you saved me the trouble of telling you. But you're not facing anything here; you don't know all the rules of the dojo, so Father will take you to his office."

"Oh." That's a little relieving – less chance of me messing up, less chance of being snapped in two if I do.

Aqua's about to knock, but then she drops her hand from the door and faces me, looking more serious now. "Don't let Father scare you, and be completely honest, no matter what he asks. He'll know if you're not."

As if I wasn't nervous enough. "…Thanks. I'll get that memorized."

Now she smiles more sincerely. "You'll be fine, Axel. I know you won't let Xion down."

She knocks – no more time to psych myself up. All the noise inside the dojo suddenly drops dead. For a few seconds I wonder if the people inside have too, but then the door opens.

Eraqus steps out, posture even stiffer than Saïx's, and Vanitas follows behind him surprisingly calmly only to stick his tongue out at me and dash away once he reaches the hallway. Eraqus sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in the same way Saïx does. Somehow that's comforting.

"Thank you, Aqua," he says, apparently letting Vanitas's rudeness slide for now. "I will take him from here."

"Yes, Father," she replies.

Eraqus fixes intimidating grey eyes on me, and it takes a lot of effort to hold his gaze without flinching.

"Axel Hearth. Follow me," he finally says. Now we leave Aqua behind, and I'm alone with him the whole way to his office. If the silence before was crushing, this is like being flattened with a steamroller. At least it's a shorter walk this time.

I haven't been in that many offices, but I'm pretty sure Eraqus's counts as "ginormously freaking big" in comparison. A detailed rug (are those more key designs on it?) covers most of the floor, and there's even a fancy stained glass window on one wall.

He sits behind his desk in a stiff-looking chair – if I had enough money for an office like this, I'd have something a lot more comfortable. Just sayin'.

I stand awkwardly until he tells me to pull a hard plastic rolly chair from the back corner of the room and sit on the other side of his desk. I get the feeling that all of Aqua's dates have been in this position before. The song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" comes to mind.

"I understand you intend to date my daughter." The way he says it sounds like a police interrogation.

"Yes… Sir," I reply uncertainly. He's seriously freaking me out, watching me like that, and I wouldn't be surprised if he reached out and snapped my arm at any moment. I'm thankful for the large wooden desk between us.

His eyes narrow. "You lack conviction. Do you want to court Xion, or are you wasting my time and hers?"

"No!" I blurt suddenly, and the echo's loud enough to make me wince. My heartbeat feels even louder. "I'm not wasting anyone's time. I want to go out with her."

He nods like I've passed a test. "Do you believe you are trustworthy and responsible enough to date her?"

Sheesh, you'd think I asked to marry her! Is Eraqus like this with everyone? "I'm not going to hurt her, if that's what you're asking." I barely stop myself from rolling my eyes. Does everyone think I'm some friend-abusing jerk?

"That's not what I'm asking," he says sternly. "I asked if you were trustworthy and responsible."

"'Course I..." am, "trustworthy and responsible"'s my middle name. The lie is about to slide easily out of my mouth, but I feel his grey eyes boring into me even harder. Aqua was right about sticking to the truth. Something in my stomach drops.

Am I good enough for Xion? I don't have the best track record… But I do care for her. Forget the stupid track record, I'm starting over now.

"In the past, not so much. But I am now," I answer honestly, even if by "now" I mean "as of this second."

Another nod, more thoughtful this time. I scratch the back of my leg with my foot, feeling like I'm under x-ray vision.

"If I allow this, it will be her first date," he says like I don't already know. "You must show her how a good date should behave. Are you up to the task?"

This feels like complete overkill, but I nod and say "Yes, sir," anyway. Showing her the ropes is one thing I know I can handle.

"Will you respect and protect her honor and virtue?"

That's something you don't hear every day – honor and virtue. It sounds old-fashioned, but… well, if any girl I know has honor and virtue to protect, I'd say Xion does.

This whole thing is so different than the shotgun lectures I've gotten in the past – most of my girlfriends' dads just said something like, "try any funny business with my daughter and I'll shoot you." This is more like an interview to make sure I'm worthy. As ridiculous as it sounds, I'm kind of glad Eraqus cares enough to do this. Xion's the first girl I've asked out who deserves this kind of screening.

"Yes, sir. I'd be… I'd be honored." I'm glad I can say that truthfully. Not just because her father would kill me if I didn't, but because I want her to stay pure.

If I'm not hallucinating, his gaze softens just a little. "Thank you for your honesty, Axel. I will hold you to it."

I sit up straighter, which is kind of painful since I was sitting so straight already. "Wait, I can go? You're not still mad at me?" The question comes out in relief before I realize I've asked it.

His face looks much less intimidating with a smile. "I recall the incident you are thinking of, but after three years, I can forgive one mistake. Think of this as a chance to prove you have matured since then."

Did somebody turn down his glare-o-meter when I wasn't looking? Well, I'll take it. "…So that's a yes?" I ask hopefully.

"Yes, Axel. I sense you have much light in your heart."

"Whaaat?" If I could get any more mind blown, I just did. "I mean, thank you, sir." I grin like a lunatic, then bite my tongue to make sure I don't say anything else stupid.

He stands, motioning for me to put away my chair, and then shakes my hand firmly.

"Treat her well," he says before opening the door and leading me back through the hallway.

This is perfect – I feel like doing a victory dance or something. Xion's not off-limits anymore. I don't have to feel guilty for wanting her was more than a friend, don't have to sneak glances at her. She could be mine.

If she wants me too, that is. Which seems a little less likely after realizing how much purer she is than me… But I'm starting over. Xion isn't like Larxene or my other exes. I don't want her just because she's pretty or because I want to make out with her – She's different, so I'm going to be different, too.

I sneak a fist-pump behind Eraqus's back, still with that maniac grin plastered on my face.

A/N: I hope I wrote that decently; I'm a girl and haven't dated anyone before so my life experience is rather limited. :P I don't like Eraqus much in canon, but he's not so bad in this universe.

The next chapter should be Xion's POV, and then I get to write Saïx's. :D Getting in Saïx's head might be kind of hard, though. :/