Disclaimer- When the day comes that Axel and Roxas have a hot make out session at the top of the clock tower, then that is the day you will know I finally own Kingdom Hearts.

Warnings- Zexion... playing nice? CAN'T BE!

A/N- I got nothing.

Protecting Me

Chapter 10 : Mission: Cheer Up Zexion

Hold me tight with all your might

you'll never let me go

you'll never let me go...

"We'we gonna go an a 'venture, k Sowa?"

The small blond had stood in the same spot for a long time after his caretakers left him all alone. He bit his bottom lip, shifting his weight from foot to foot as a nervous habit. The now blank wall in which the two older nobodies disappeared into showed no signs of opening up again. No sign of anyone coming back to him either. After about five minutes of waiting rather hopelessly, he hugged the last thing he had for company closer. Thankfully that was one person that would never leave him.

Roxas set his faithful companion down on the carpeted floor gently and ran over to Axel's dresser. On the very bottom drawer was where Axel kept all of Roxas's belongings for the time being. Many monotone clothes and a few toys that Demyx was kind enough to bring him. Hidden safely underneath all the clothes and objects was the bright silver pendant in the shape of the Organizations symbol that Axel had given to Roxas as a gift.

"Demyx gave us a mission. We can't let 'im down."

Roxas slipped the chain around his neck. Somehow having such a basic object in his possession made him feel so much better, even if he was alone. Just the simple fact that it had meant something to Axel almost gave him a sense of company, or bravery.

It was a promise given to him. Axel said he would be back soon and the other night he said he would never leave. Wearing the pendant was almost like a silent confirmation of their promise. If Axel left, he was sure to come back He would never leave Roxas for good.

Roxas took his ragged old stuffed animal back into his arms again. He twisted one of the stuffed heartless's pipe cleaner antennas that was slowly beginning to fall off. Besides, even if Axel didn't come back for Roxas he would need to come back for Sora. Axel did promise to look after him for Roxas.

With that in mind, Roxas slipped out of the safety and natural warmth of Axel's room and into the gray halls of the Castle. There was an eerie silence in the usually loud halls when no one was around. No arguing, no insults, no violence (all of which was actually comforting to the ears when one was all alone). He walked along the railing of Twilights view being careful not to fall off the edge.

Roxas came to the hall of empty melodies. The training hall that lead to the upper levels of the castle. He still had a pretty vivid memory of the castle layout even though most of the room he had never visited in his entire non-existence. The place was so big that is was near impossible to have seen every room.

He also had a very clear memory of the other members. What he remembered of Zexion, for example, was that he was a very intelligent person who valued his privacy and alone time. Zexion was a very high ranked and respectable member of the organization with a zero tolerance policy above all else.

And where did the superiors go when they were both serious about work yet wanted alone time?

Well the library of course! With Zexion being the bookworm he was, the teen was bound to be there.

The hall was elaborately decorated with the Organization half heart symbol. It lead to a set of large metal doors at the end of the hall. Roxas's tiny bare feet stepped onto the black mat in front of the doors to trigger the automatic opening system.

His small body involuntarily flinched. He never remembered it being that loud in the past. The doors fully opened to reveal the dull grayish room with endless rows of bookcases going across it. Located at the very back of their library was a sitting area. The only carpeted area of the library with black cushioned chairs arranged in a circle in the middle. A desk was pushed up against the wall for privet studies along with a large computer system set up besides that.

Roxas's tiny bare feet took him across the white marble floor and past the alphabetized bookshelves. The library seemed empty until he finally reached the sitting area. Propped up in one of the comfortable chairs was the Cloaked Schemer with his nose stuck in a book just as he expected.

"Tawget in sight..." Roxas whispered into his stuffed animals ear. "Le's go in!" He slipped around the bookcase like a spy on a top-secret mission.

Zexion flipped his hair to the side and out of his face so he could see the words better. With all the research books Xemnas piled up for him to read, most times he found it near impossible to read something he wanted to, which is why he valued alone time in the library like this. Times when he could curl up with a good book and... wait...

His ears perked up when he heard the mechanical door slide open. He shrugged it off with the assumption that it was just Xigbar coming in to finish some work or something. When the familiar scent of number XIII filled his sensitive nose he dropped his book onto his lap. Zexion frowned and sunk lower into his seat. He was secretly wishing that his nose was wrong for once or, for whatever reason, Xigbar smelled oddly of chocolate today...

Oh, no wait! Not Xigbar! Honestly that man was worse then the three-year-old most days. Zexion just didn't feel like dealing with people today in general. Today was his day that he set aside for catching up on personal reading before committing fully to work.

With much hesitation Zexion brought the book back to his face. Whoever it was wasn't going to notice him if he kept quiet.

He went back to reading with a content smile on his face. His happiness was quickly replaced with displeasure as he felt a sudden jab in the leg. Roxas's scent was right on top of him now. Assuming the worst he lowered his book to his lap again. Just as he suspected, two cerulean eyes stared up at him from the floor.

"Roxas?" Zexion folded his arms neatly, an eyebrows raised at the intruder of his peace. Roxas kept an oblivious smile on his face.

"What'cha doin'?"

"I was enjoying the sanctity of solitude..." Zexion sighed loudly. He never had any experience around small children nor did he desire to be alone with one for that matter.

Roxas's lips formed an 'oh' as he gazed up at the chair. The piece of furniture was much to high for him to get up onto on his own.

"Up!" He demanded as he stretched out his arms, ready to be lifted.

The older nobody could only blink. Never before had a lesser nobody, let alone a three year old given him a command. Maybe that was the reason Axel looked so tired lately, if he had been giving into such trivial demands. Well in any case there was no way Zexion was going to do the same. He was above such things.

"Why don't you go find Axel or Demyx?" Once again his face disappeared behind his book after a harsh glare, causing Roxas to lower his arms. So far he had never been denied a demand. The only thing he had been was spoiled rotten, and now he had finally met someone who was willing to challenge him... In that case, he accepted.

"Axey and Demy awe on a mission," Roxas's face grew serious. " an' so am I."

Zexion raised an eyebrow. Him? On a mission? Asking what sort of half-baked mission Roxas was on would have probably served for a few good laughs but the lilac haired teen decided shrugging it off was best.

A few moments of silence passed in which Zexion ignored Roxas and Roxas spun around in a circle by Zexion's feet.

With an audible "oof", Roxas fell onto Zexion's foot from dizziness.

"Do you mind?" Zexion hissed as he pulled his foot out from under Roxas. Nonsense like this was exactly what Zexion wanted to avoid in the first place by retreating to the sanctuary of the library. The toddler looked up into the teens aggravated half lidded eyes.

"Why awn't you happy?" Roxas cuddled up close to the Cloaked Schemer's leg.

"Because I have no time for that."

"No time for being happy?"

"No," Zexion looked back at Roxas's confused expression from over his book. It seemed as if Roxas's lack of emotions had yet to be told to him. "I have no time as of now to fabricate such a useless emotion."

The comment only caused Roxas's mind to spin even faster. Zexion had a habit of making things much more difficult to understand than they actually were. The blond sighed. When he was first given the mission it seemed like it would be no problem. Roxas smiled... and other people smiled in return. His chubby cheeked adorable smile was unbeatable! But Zexion...

He was a difficult one to crack. On the surface he put up a wall that seemed to block out all emotions.

Everyone had a weak spot. The problem here was that Zexion's was a little harder to find than most others. It meant not giving up on the mission.

Zexion raised his eyebrow when Roxas once again fell silent. He slightly felt compelled to watch the kid out of his own curiosity. The toddler sat on the same spot on the ground with the stuffed heartless pressed to his chest. He almost seemed to be thinking hard. Although Zexion doubted that was possible. Still, something about Roxas intrigued him. After all, it wasn't everyday one of his colleagues was transformed into a younger form of themselves.

"So ... that's the same stuffed animal you got at the mall?" The teen inquired without showing Roxas too much attention.

"It's Axel's but I'm watchin' it fow 'im." Roxas's smile grew five times larger as he turned up the charm. "Wanna hold him?"

"No, I'm good."

Roxas's smile faded into an immediate frown. Dang it... was Zexion really unbeatable? He was able to charm Axel and Demyx... HECK! Even Xemnas had a weak spot for Roxas's charm.

If Zexion refused to pick him up, he would do it himself! He used the teens cloak as leverage to pull himself up onto the chair, with much struggle, to sit right on Zexion's lap. Once up, he gave an accomplished grin. The teen's book was shoved aside by Roxas's tiny hands. If Zexion wasn't going to willingly smile then Roxas was going to MAKE him do it. The blond hooked his thumbs in the edges of Zexion's mouth.

"What in'a worl-" The teen's speech became impaired when Roxas decided to pull upwards to force Zexion's lips to curve into a smile.

"Thewe!"

"Ger offa me!" Zexion struggled to pull his fingers out of his mouth. The toddler just giggled in amusement. Finally the germ covered hands were far away from his mouth and Zexion was way less then amused by that display.

"I bet you're quite proud of yourself now aren't you?" Zexion ground his teeth while Roxas let out another high-pitched giggle. "Well then lets see you do a repeat performance." Bitterly, Zexion picked Roxas up and placed him back down on the ground. He didn't count on Roxas trying again, but rather him giving up once Zexion lifted his book up as a barrier between the two of them.

Roxas didn't seem the least bit offended by Zexion's actions and in no time at all he proceeded to climb right back into Zexion's lap. Roxas seemed to think of the whole thing as a game. He failed to see Zexion's disgusted face.

The hardcover book was ripped out of Zexion's grasp. Roxas sat on his lap idly flipping through the many pages, losing the teens saved spot. The only thing that filled the book was page upon page of tiny printed words.

"You actually wead this?"

"Yes, I do. " Zexion pulled the book back and out of Roxas's reach. The toddler responded with a quizzical look.

"But it's so bowing! Thewe's no pictuwes!"

Zexion huffed, giving Roxas an offended look. Zexion tried to flip back through the book to find the page that Roxas lost on him.

"These books," He gestured to his current book as well as a big stack of books piled high by his chair. "are classics. Of course I don't expect you to understand the significance of good literature. This stack is a collection of Shakespeare's works, a man regarded as the greatest writer in the English language."

Roxas pointed to the book Zexion was currently holding, a rather short book with a plain black cover, "Wha's 'at one?"

Zexion hesitated for a minute, considering why he was about to discuss literature with a three year old, "It's Romeo And Juliet. Quite possibly his most well known piece."

"Wha's it about!" Roxas bounced on Zexion's lap, clearly making the schemer uncomfortable.

"It's mostly a documentation of stupidity caused by human emotions." Zexion stated quite confidently. "Two so called star crossed lovers fall in love despite their families disapproval."

"It sounds good!" For a second or two, Roxas held a whimsical look in his eye. To him it sounded like a harmless innocent story of love.

On the other hand the book held a deeper meaning to the Cloaked Schemer. It intrigued him how these two so called lovers expressed their emotion to each other. Not only intrigued by the actions their love caused, but the fact that something so deep even existed... His reports on human emotions only told him that love was a complicated and messy thing.

The characters in this book completely contradicted all his studies. Not that it mattered anyway. Love was just a feeling he had never and probably would never experience. That downside didn't stop the book from fascinating his fact filled mind.

"Don't worry about it." Zexion closed the book when he failed to find where he left off. "You wouldn't be able to read it anyway. You can't even pronounce the letter 'r' correctly."

"What do you mean?" Those big eyes looked up at Zexion and oddly his expression softened.

"Try to say 'Romeo'"

"Wo...me...o..." Roxas spoke slowly, trying to understand what was so funny.

Well at least whatever it was made Zexion smile... Woah wait! He really was smiling... And laughing!

"You pronounce your 'r's like 'w's" Zexion tried his hardest to maintain a straight face. "Try to say it slower and pronounce. It's 'Rrrr'"

"Aaarrrw..." Roxas watched as Zexion's mouth formed the letter but when he tried to repeat it back that 'w' still hung at the end. "I can't do it!" He furrowed his brow and looked up at Zexion in an adorable fashion.

"It takes practice. Keep working at it."

Roxas still pouted, but settled down rather comfortably on Zexion's lap. Both of them fell silent for a few minutes. A surprise Zexion himself didn't understand came when the urge to kick Roxas off his lap suddenly disappeared.

"Wead it!"

"Huh?" Zexion snapped back to reality when the book he was reading earlier was shoved back into his face. "Oh, you're too young, you probably wouldn't understand it."

"Please? I wanna heaw it." Roxas moistened his eyes, opening them wide as he pushed the book back into the teen's hands.

xXx

Just before a dark shadow got a chance to leap at the redheaded nobody his chakrams tore through its body sending it back into oblivion. With a quick turn on his heel he rushed at another attacker. The Melodious Nocturne stood not to far from Axel. He idly sent geysers of water flying at any threats to his safety, a detached look on his face.

Clearing the marketplace was a cinch. The second the townspeople noticed two hooded men in black coats they took off running for a place to hide, leaving Axel and Demyx much room to work without having to steal a few hearts in the process. The heartless of course came like wildfire, trying to attack at every angle. Axel was able to clear his fair amount with ease. It was a bit of skill and he was extremely pumped about being out of the castle for a while. All his pent up energy lead to excellent combat.

However the same could not be said for Demyx. The blond followed his normal tried ad true attack pattern. He strummed a few notes on his sitar to call forth some water-based clones. When that failed he focused all his energy in blasting them with powerful jet streams of water. Though the whole time the blond's movements seemed half hearted (In a theoretical way of course). Soon the heartless attackers stopped all together.

"Feels damn good to be out." Axel casually stretched his arms over his head. He pushed his hood off so he could breath in the humid desert air. Naturally he loved the high temperatures of his surroundings.

"Yeah, it's nice." Demyx answered with a shift in his voice that caused Axel to raise an eyebrow.

"You seem... preoccupied?" He sauntered over to Demyx, his weapon still clutched in his hands. "Are you still worried over Roxas? He'll be fine. He knows his way around." To that Demyx dropped his own hood revealing the troubled look in his eyes. That look went way beyond the Roxas issues.

"I had a dream about him last night." The words seemed lost in thought. "I went down to the pool to get it out of my head and, the strangest thing happened. Right when I finally shook off the dream he showed up!"

Demyx let the sentence trail off his tongue, his eyes averted down to his feet, "He hates me, but something inside of me still won't give up."

The look on his face was enough to draw sympathy from anyone. Even if said person was the type who rarely felt sorry for anyone. Take Axel for example, for the most part there wasn't a sympathetic bone in his body. The redhead gave a sigh and rested a comforting hand on the troubled nobodies shoulder.

"I'm not here to sugar coat things Dem, but if you want my honest opinion, you need to give up on him already. It's just not going to happen. Zexion isn't interested in faking any emotions beyond his cockiness." Axel turned away from the other nobody and even got a good distance from him to get to the next area of Agrabah. He still felt Demyx's jade eyes on the back of his head.

"But Axel, I can't do that!" The musician followed behind slowly. "There's something there Axel. That kiss... He had to have felt it too! Something happened when I kissed him! I don't know what it was... but it happened."

"Persistent aren't you? I've never seen you work this hard at anything."

"Well what if it was you?"

Axel's head whipped around to face the blond, his facial expression urging Demyx to explain more. "What are you talking about?"

Demyx quickened his pace to catch up with Axel. "What if Roxas was fifteen again and one day he just decides 'I don't want to be best friends with that weird redheaded freak anymore!'" His impersonation of teenaged Roxas only got an offended look from Axel. "And now let's say that, hypothetically of course, you felt something deeper for Roxas. Would you really just give up on him that easily Axel? Or would you try to get him to see that there's something more there?"

A dark noticeable blush began to light up Axel's cheeks for reasons even unknown to him. There was no reason for it. It was ridiculous. Demyx was trying to put Axel in his shoes so why did it end with his face turning into a damn tomato? He noticed the heat and quickly turned away from questioning. He knew it was coming. Questioning ALWAYS came with Demyx. And of course in no time at all Demyx tilted his head to try to catch a glimpse of the embarrassed face.

"Axel? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Come on, we still have work to do."

"But your face, it's-"

"The heat!" Axel snapped back, giving the other a cold stare to hint that he wanted the conversation to end. But, besides Zexion, questioning people was the curious teens favorite thing.

"Are you sure you're feeling alrig-" Axel's eyes widened as a shadow grew on the ground behind Demyx, a neo shadow rising from the blackness. The creature looked ready to jump at the unsuspecting nobody.

"Move!" He jumped at the threat behind Demyx managing to hit the heartless before it could hurt him.

Axel landed awkwardly on top of Demyx with his long legs straddling the blonde's waist. Once Demyx regained the ability to breath he smiled up at Axel.

"Wow thanks. That thing would have had me for sure!" The blond attempted to get up from the ground when noticing Axel's crotch properly pinning him in place. "Um... Axel? This is uncomfortable."

"Right," Axel crawled off of the other nobody and offered a hand to help him up as well. "If you would have been paying more attention to your surroundings and less to my face maybe you would have seen it too."

"Couldn't help it Ax!" Demyx laughed. "It's such a pretty face."

Axel rolled his eyes.

The two of them got dusted off and checked themselves for injuries. They still had more areas of Agrabah to clear and decided to move onto that quickly. Neither of them talked much from that point on.

xXx

Hours ticked away in the quiet secluded areas of the library where the two nobodies sat and read in privacy. Zexion was actually beginning to enjoy the company of the younger boy simply because he wasn't the whiny unintelligent brat he had assumed him to be. There must have still been a bit of the older Roxas left somewhere in there, because he was definitely a bit smarter than the average three-year-old.

"'O, then dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They prey, grant thou lest faith turn to despair.' " Zexion held the book open in front of him reading in a deeper voice as an imitation of Romeo. Roxas listened attentively on his lap.

The teens voice softened to show he was switching to Juliet. "'Saints do not move though grant for prayers' sake.'"

"'Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.' Then Romeo, he kisses her." Zexion hesitated for a moment upon letting those words escape his lips. With a nudge from Roxas, he continued. "'Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged. Now my sin has been taken from my lips by yours.'"

"Then Juliet says: 'Then have my lips. The sin that they have took.'"

"And then?" Roxas looked up anxiously. The cloaked Schemer smiled in surprise of how into the book Roxas seemed. He ruffeled his hair lightly before continueing.

"And then Romeo says: 'Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin agai-'"

"Hey Zexion?" Roxas pushed the book down onto the older teens lap to refocus his attention. "Does a kiss mean you love somebody?"

Zexion seemed to freeze for a moment as he gazed into the little kids innocent blue eyes. He had a sense that Roxas knew nothing about his lack of emotions and he of course didn't want to be the one to break his tiny non-existent hearts with the bad news. That, and dealing with crying kids wasn't one of his strong points either... or anyone who cried for that matter.

"Yes Roxas, I suppose a kiss would suffice as a symbol of love." Zexion seemed, at best, very unsure of his answer.

With a high-pitched giggle Roxas leaped off of the comfortable lap to stand by the teens feet and stretch his own legs.

"I sawed you and Demy kissin'. Awe you in love?"

Zexion opened and closed his mouth more times then he could count at a complete loss of words. That was definitely a curve ball he wasn't expecting... Demyx? Him? Love? All of which he still found ridiculous, even when said by such an innocent person. Could he really tell Roxas such a thing though?

His pride was in luck that day. Roxas's attention span was about as short as Saix's temper and in no time he had forgotten about Zexion's embarrassment completely. Instead the toddler rubbed tiredly at his eyes before looking up heavy lidded at Zexion.

"Womeo an' Juliet live happily evew aftew wight?"

"Well," The teen bit his bottom lip to muse on the question. The stories' ending was tragic to say the least, both dying for the sake of young love. With Roxas's mindset, explaining the concept of death wouldn't have been a very easy thing to do. So with an apathetic expression Zexion opened his mouth again.

"It has a pretty happy ending."

xXx

A portal opened up in one of the cool hallways of the Castle that Never Was and out stepped the Flurry of Dancing Flames. Demyx followed shortly after, nearly collapsing from heat exhaustion. After hours of being stuck in the dry desert, sweat was equally pouring off the both of them. Yes, even Axel... Thank Kingdom Hearts for air conditioning... or for Xemnas finally listening to enough complaints.

Demyx wiped some sweat from his brow and waved a quick goodbye to Axel. "I'm going to go take a dip in the pool. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see ya." Axel parted ways with his friend with full intent on finding somewhere to sleep as fast as possible. He dragged his lifeless feet down the hall towards his room. Hopefully Roxas would be waiting there with his sweet carefree attitude. Something that Axel wouldn't have minded curling up and going to sleep with after a long days work at all.

As the redhead started to ascend that stairs of Twilights View another set of footsteps started to follow his own.

"Looking for something?" The footsteps stopped and the voice of the Cloaked Schemer replaced the noise. The shorter teen held Roxas closely in his arms. The blond looked as if he was trying to fight sleep, but the warmth coming from Zexion's body was just enough to make him rest his head on the others shoulder.

"Yeah. Exactly what I was looking for." Axel stepped over to the teen, taking Roxas out of his arms and safely back into his own. Zexion nodded, shifting uncomfortably when he saw Axel cuddle Roxas tightly in his arms, Roxas nuzzling back as a response. The toddler felt the familiar touch of his caretaker, his electric blue eyes opening fully and a soft smile forming on his lips.

"You camed back. I missed you." Roxas lifted his head up in Axel's arms so that their faces were parallel. Swiftly, Roxas pressed his small lips to Axel's in a quick chaste kiss. Roxas's infectious smile quickly spread to the redhead. The toddler pulled away with a sigh, speaking in a hushed voice. "'m sowwy I didn't do vewy good on my mission."

"What?" Axel tilted his head towards Zexion. Number Six just shook his head and walked past Axel to ascend the stairs to his own quarters for the night. "What mission?"

"Ta cheew Zexy up." Roxas gave a little sigh, snuggling back up to Axel. "He was smilin' fow a while... but I think I made him sad again."

Zexion didn't hear anything that the two said to each other after that, already well up the stairs. Axel watched the other teen for a moment.

"Nah, You did fine. I'm proud of you." He hugged Roxas a bit tighter, a sort of possessive hold.

Roxas nodded, resting his head against Axel's chest to pass off into sleep. The two close nobodies went off to Axel's room so they could sleep together in peace.

Once Zexion was out of Axel 's view, he let out a long, lingering breath.

To him, Axel was lucky to have Roxas with him. Roxas was bubbly and persistent, but not to an unbearable level. He was a precocious kid, and he understood a lot of concepts Zexion didn't think he could grasp. Who knows? Maybe Roxas had grasped the concept of Romeo and Juliet better than a bookworm himself.

Zexion shook his head, clutching his book close to his chest. Half of him wished he had someone like that. It was interesting to hear someone's opinion on a book revolving around emotion that didn't know he couldn't feel.

I sawed you and Demy kissin'. Awe you in love?

And then the other half of him, the voice of reason, told him to forget about it all. He would never be able to feel such emotions. Why dwell on something so depressing? Something that was never going to happen.

'It's still an interesting concept.' Zexion thought to himself.

A/N-

Maybe little Roxas understands the book a little better then Zexion since he doesn't know he can't love.

Ok, random yet relevant ramble time!

So I was replaying Kingdom Hearts 2 recently, and specifically the boss battle before Demyx dies for good. I had to press my ear against my friggin' speakers to hear him, but at the end of the battle he says "Aw... Booed again." This actually leads me to believe that maybe Demyx isn't as good at playing his Sitar as we THINK he is. I mean if he's being booed and all... We've never actually heard him play, but everyone assumes he could because it's his weapon.

He could suck at it! I mean, even I have a guitar in my closet, doesn't mean I can actually play it.