Chapter Text
Snow drifted lazily in the night. Each flake reflected the light of the streetlights, lighting up the outside in an orange-tinted white. The wall clock in the kitchen ticked, every other one in the house the now standard digital. Lea, or perhaps he went by Axel still, slept on his front, one hand draped over the chest of his... boyfriend? Partner? Oldest confidant? None of these terms felt deep enough. A bond that had persisted through one of them losing their heart, and the other losing it twice. His Isa, perhaps. Or, if he was feeling cheeky, his Saix, to which the berserker took offense, though it was hard to recognize it on his face.
In another bedroom, small but with enough space to make it his own, Roxas slept, one arm draped over his eyes, the other still clutching a phone, the group chat between Hayner, Pence, Olette, and himself long since dead as sleep dragged them all into a dreaming world.
In the last bedroom, however, sleeplessness was evident as eyes that seemed both dark and vibrant stared at the ceiling. Internally, a debate was had. Yes, Axel had promised her that should she have another night like tonight, filled with doubts, fears, and the thought that tomorrow might come without her being there to see it, she was allowed, no, implored to come to his bedroom, and wake him.
Then again, he had gone to bed rather late. Isa liked her, Axel had said. Apparently, her own resting face, completely and totally emotionless, reminded Saix of his own. So perhaps he wouldn’t mind, but ever since Axel had gotten home from another heartless hunt on the bounty of King Mickey, and another pouch full of Munny (the only multi-universe currency) deposited on the kitchen counter, Saix hadn’t left arm’s length.
Yes, Axel was still a guardian of light, much like Sora and Riku, who were now officially “in training” at the Land of Departure, but he had no interest in becoming a Keyblade Master. He was good at one thing, which was fighting (and model building but no one outside of the apartment knew of it) so if he could earn a salary by quelling any sudden infestation of Heartless, he was going to take that offer.
At first, Roxas and herself were going to do the same, but Axel had already talked to the King, and made him agree. Roxas and Xion were not of age yet, and the king should not take advantage of children. What they had to do was get an education. And, so, after this coming winter break, that’s exactly what they would do. Roxas would be put into the same class as Pence, Hayner and Olette being a year older, and Xion would be put in they year below them.
Still staring at the ceiling, she raised her hand, and a jingling sound as she summoned her keyblade into her hand. Silver, as if glowing in the light. The keychain, danging, in the form of a star, had the name embossed there. “Oathkeeper.” She turned it over in her hands, enjoying the familiar weight. Roxas used to call both this Keyblade and another known as “Oblivion” before, and even during the final battle with Xehanort. However, after all was said and done, they had been approached by the wizard Yen Sid. He taught them both about their “own” keyblades. The Keyblades formed from the shape of their heart. Admittedly, it had taken them more than a few tries to stop summoning the Kingdom key and the Oathkeeper/Oblivion pair respectively, but Roxas had gotten the hang of it first. Instead of keeping his hands apart, he placed them together, claiming that doing so would “force one keyblade to come out, instead of two”. Surprisingly, his instinct was correct. Instead of his dual keyblades coming out once more, a single keyblade, silver and black, was revealed. Slightly bent, with a spiked back, and the symbol of the Nobodies in it’s crossguard. At first, Roxas had looked... disappointed. But as Yen Sid laid his hands upon the Keyblade, and spoke it’s name, he had brightened up. Roxas’s Keyblade, “Two Become One” was in his hands.
Xion’s had taken only a while longer, summoning it on the same day. It had been a surprise to everyone in the room, it seemed, which, at the time, was only Yen Sid, Roxas, Xion, Aqua (who was there to learn how to teach), and Terra (who had fallen asleep, as Xehanort had been working his body overtime in his absence, and was quite tired a lot). However, Yen Sid had said that he expected this to a point. The Keyblade was, he explained, symbolic of Sora’s memories of Kairi.
Roxas, somehow, new to comfort her, while Yen Sid had continued, saying that it was possible that this
was
her Keyblade, due to how she had been born, but it’s also possible that it’s only temporary, and that she should continue to summon her Keyblade, even when not needed, should another appear. However, it had been several months since that day, and every time, still, Oathkeeper would appear.
Silently, tears began to drip down her face, the white of the snow outside, despite the nighttime, causing her trails to become evident.
A gentle, almost silent knock on the door caused her to sit up suddenly, pointing the point of Oathkeeper to the door. Possibilities raced behind her eyes, images of Ansem, Xemnas, Xehanort, even the frightening possibility of herself came to mind, before a calming, almost not totally snarky voice came through the door.
“Xion? Sweetie?” The door creaked open, a warm light coming from the widening crack. Standing there, thankfully, was Axel, bearing his Keyblade. Not as a weapon, but as a tool, a light giving object, to light his way. “Flagranti”, Yen Sid had dubbed it. Xion scooted over from her bed, pressing herself against the wall. Not to distance herself from him, but to make room. Axel, knowing what to do, came over, and sat himself on her bed.
“Your name is Xion.” She closed her eyes, and leaned her head against his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You enjoy sea-salt ice cream, but you prefer plum.” She heaved a sigh. She had never had a father. She had been created by Xemnas from the product of Sora, but neither were a father. Olette and Kairi had fathers, though, and the way they talked about them made her think of Axel. “You want to get a pet calico cat, and name it ‘English’, for some unknowbale reason.” Every word helped Xion close her eyes. Axel hadn’t forgotten her again. If Axel knows these things about her, that means he hadn’t forgotten her. That means she still exists. “You’re a bit worried about starting class in a week or two, but Olette and big-bro Roxas will be there, and those two and Roxas’s two weird friends will protect you if anything happens.” He raised his hand, and gently scratched the top of her head, as she sunk lower under her covers. “And Isa and I are already making sure you have a nice big wardrobe to choose from come the first day of class. And do you know how I know all of this?”
Xion, nearly asleep, looked up, to a grinning, also sleepy Axel, who tapped the side of his head. “I got it memorized. So I will never forget you, Xion.”
A small giggle, and a kiss on the forehead, Axel was back in the hallway of the apartment. The door across was Roxas’s room, and he had his nightmares as well. Nightmares of waking up the next day, with no emotions. Nightmares of growing weaker again, of having to choose between fading to darkness, or having Xion sacrifice herself again. But this wasn’t one of his nights. Still wielding his keyblade, he looked outside, out the living room windows, to the inky blackness of the night. A world, engulfed in darkness.
What a ridiculous desire. The world was dark half the time. If that wasn’t enough for Xehanort, then he needed to deal with his own problems first. He let his Keyblade disappear, the soft candle light of his incandescent glass blade vanishing, the living room falling back into the dark, the light of the outside only reaching so far. He made his way back to the bed, finding Isa grimacing in his sleep. As soon as Axel, or, no, Lea reached the bed, Isa turned on his side, grasping his Lea, and pulling him close, still lost in a dream. Instantly, the grimace disappeared, and the resting poker face had returned.
One good thing, he thought as the hands of sleep pulled him under the waters of consciousness, about having two kids who never had any experiences before, is getting to see them experience things for the first time. Maybe they’d make a snowman tomorrow. Admittedly, he’d never made one before either. Radiant Gardens was a tropical climate, and The World That Never Was seemed to be permanently caught in a mid-fall sort of season. So, a first time for everyone then.
Just him, Isa, Roxas-
And Xion.