A Hundred of Her Memories
99 – Doll
"Mommy! Mommy, wook at de doll Daddy made me!" A little girl with black hair ran up to her mother, swinging her new toy about haphazardly.
"Whoa, Paz, careful! Hold still so I can see." Xion took the cloth doll from her youngest daughter's hands. It was a girl in a black dress (or was it a cloak?) with black hair and blue eyes.
"Daddy says it's you, Momma," she said proudly. "When you were a wittle girwl."
"It is," Xion replied, unable to think of anything else to say.
"But Daddy says dat you don' wear bwack any more."
"No, I don't. Daddy doesn't either, if you look carefully."
"Really? Wet's go ask him!" Little Paz snatched her mother's wrist and ran down the hall where her father was, calling for him in her charmingly little voice. "Daddy! Why don' you wear bwack?"
"What?" a masculine voice asked. The pair burst through the workshop door where Axel was with his three other children crafting keychains for their keyblades. They were all leaned over intently until Xion and Paz came in.
"Daddy," Paz said, letting go of Xion in favor of her dad. "Momma says you don' wear bwack eeder. Why not?"
"I-um…" Axel looked up to his wife pleadingly. Xion shook her head and watched. The red-head rubbed his neck. "Well, Paz, you know that black means darkness, right?"
The girl nodded. Lea, Isa and Luna were listening carefully now.
"So, light and dark are always battling. We," he gestured to the family, "are the light, and we fight…"
"De darkness," Paz replied.
Axel laughed, looking back to his work. "That's why I don't wear black. Let's take a break, guys. Go have lunch and we'll come back to this."
The kids filed out, and Xion walked over. "You looked away."
"So?"
"We both know that's not why you don't wear black, even though that was a good excuse."
"How am I supposed to explain to a little girl that I lost my heart and wearing color reminds me I have it again?"
"You did well." She grinned. "I liked the doll."
"Yeah? Paz asked me for a picture of when you were younger, but I didn't have any."
"It'll do."
"Doesn't do you a justice, though."
"Thanks, Axel." Her smile was a touch bitter.
He walked over and held her cheek. "I never thought of you as a puppet. You were always my friend. And now," he grinned, "you're even more than that." He kissed his wife until he felt her smile.
Past hurts are not easy to heal, but time can heal most things.
After all, a doll and a nobody got hearts of their own. You can't be more healed than that.
A/N: It would appear I never named Xion and Axel's youngest daughter, so I'm naming her now. Her name is Paz (peace), playing upon the meaning of Axel (father of peace). So, in order,
Lea (red hair, green eyes) and Isa(dark bluish hair, green-blue eyes),
Luna (red hair, blue eyes),
and Paz (black hair, green-blue eyes).