Kingdom Hearts: "Of the Past"
Featuring: Axel, Yuffie
PG for language
Prompt: #67, "snow"
Timeline: AS canon
Words: 1537
No spoilers for Another Side, although it takes place quite late in the game.
Of the Past
Axel woke with the cold in his fucking bones, and right away he knew it was snowing outside.
In the dark of their windowless room, he eased up on the headboard, ran a hand through his hair, and took a slow, deep breath. Focused until he was hot enough inside not to feel the chill like ice on his bare skin. He hadn't liked it in Christmas Town, and he liked it less here. At least the form shift's shaggy fur had insulated him a little. Now all he had to protect him from the elements was a threadbare blanket and something Roxas-shaped tucked into his side.
He spread his palms over the bedding before he left, so that that something wouldn't get cold in his absence. If there was breakfast, he could bring it back up.
The house was still and quiet downstairs, pale silver glow streaming in through funny round and rectangular windows. Axel paused, halfway into the kitchen, and turned to stare at the streets outside. It wasn't morning yet. The only light was the dull shimmer of white falling silently beneath a waning moon.
Two, maybe three a.m. And he would never get back to sleep now. He was too awake, too aware of the ice in the air.
Axel swore out loud.
"What?"
He knew the voice, knew the footsteps that followed it, and so he didn't startle or spin to face her with his weapons drawn. Yuffie was hardly a threat.
Three months ago, though, he would have done those things and more, might have even 'ported right behind her with the cutting edge of a chakram at her throat before he realized who she was. Two months ago, he would have at least tensed up a little. And last month if he'd been reminded of Xigbar's accusation that he was getting soft, too comfortable in this place, Axel probably would have given a damn.
Funny how it didn't seem to matter so much anymore.
He turned around instead of letting her come up behind him, though. Some habits die hard. "Hey, Yuffie."
"Axel?" She sounded surprised. And looked it, too, with the way she twisted her head around, like she couldn't see--
Oh. He flicked on a light switch helpfully. "Come on, who else would it be?"
Yuffie froze at the bottom of the staircase, blinking at the sudden burst of light, and squinted at him comically until her eyes adjusted. "What, you mean, who else would be skulking around in the dark down here?" She grinned, all white teeth. "You've got a point there!"
"Well, I was gonna get myself something to eat," Axel drawled, "only it seems to be the middle of the night. How come Merlin didn't put any windows in the extra rooms?"
"He never does." Yuffie looked thoughtful and almost serious for a moment. "I asked him once, think he said something about the view being 'unsettling'. Dunno what that's supposed to mean, but..." She shrugged. "If you're really hungry, there's probably some leftovers in the 'fridge."
Tch. Axel stretched a little, and considered going back upstairs, lying down again in the dark, and waiting for morning. Not exactly a pleasant thought. But he really wasn't hungry, and now Roxas wouldn't be for hours...
Idly, he said, "What are you doing up, anyway?" He didn't really care, only asked to kill time, but the way her brown eyes widened fractionally was worth it. She'd probably never expected him to show any interest.
It was only appropriate that her answer, in turn, surprised him a little. "The cold, mostly. First snowfall always catches us a little off-guard, with everything else we've got going on around here, you know? The heaters are still in storage." Yuffie wrapped her arms tightly around her small body, shivering like punctuation, but her eyes were fixed on his face as she added, "I was just going to go back to sleep, but then some idiot made all this noise in the hall outside my room..." She paused expectantly.
Axel just stared back at her. He'd barely made a sound.
After a moment, Yuffie seemed to take the hint. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, opening the coat closet and pulling out something thick and heavy that was too big for her and cut all wrong. "Fine, don't apologize! Big jerk. I'll just make the best of things. It's about time for patrol anyway."
"In this?"
The dark-haired girl looked startled, then amused. "You should see your face! What's so bad about a little snow?"
Something about the tone in her voice, that almost-dreamy lilt on the last few words, told him that nothing would ever be bad about snow in her eyes. She had nice memories, memories of gleaming fields and Christmas mornings and hot chocolate and snowflakes that stayed on her nose and eyelashes. Maybe even memories of building snowmen with other kids her age, or going sledding.
He thought about asking.
He thought about telling. 'His' memories, the ones of skies the color of sulfur and the icy shit that had once burned a hole clear through 'his' bottom lip. His memories, the ones of Notre Dame, where the endless winter had nearly killed him because he didn't know yet how to use the fire inside to stay warm. He could have told her that it stung his skin even now, or tried to explain the claustrophobic feeling he'd had looking out the window and seeing nothing but white through frost thick enough to crack glass. How it felt to know there was too much ice to melt even if he'd put his whole being into it. The world looked dead, felt dead, and if he went out into it--
They weren't nice memories. And now Yuffie was watching him avidly, with this expression on her face like she would drag them out by the hair if he gave her half a chance. Like she wanted to know. Like she cared.
It made his skin itch. Who the fuck did she think she was? These memories weren't for her.
"I don't like being cold," Axel said delicately. "It's weird, I know, but there's just something about it. Like it might be the antithesis to my existence, or something."
Yuffie didn't immediately respond, like she didn't quite believe him, and for half a second, he could've sworn the heat inside him faltered. He could feel the cold deep in his belly. But then she laughed, and whapped his arm playfully, and everything was fine again. "Get a better coat, you wimp," she said, burrowing into her own demonstratively and sighing with plainly exaggerated pleasure.
"I don't think Leon's would fit me any better than it fits you," Axel replied innocently.
She scowled at him and huddled a bit more deeply in the stolen coat. "I'm a ninja, people expect me to make off with their things," she retorted in an airy tone of voice. Then her eyes softened and she smiled. "Besides. He wouldn't mind."
No, he probably wouldn't have. Axel watched her cinch the scarf around her neck and slide her hands into Leon's pockets. He would have minded. Would Roxas?
"Axel?" Yuffie was halfway out the door, but she paused, turned back to frown at him. "When I came down the stairs, you were saying something. Kinda sounded ticked off, but--"
He felt a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips. "I said, 'Famm, vilg.'" He was even careful to enunciate the strange words for her.
The girl stared at him. "Okay, don't tell me. See if I care!" She tossed her head, and blinked, grinning suddenly. Would she ever stop smiling for more than a few seconds? "You should go back to bed. Keep Roxas warm. Do unseemly things if you still can't sleep." She winked, far too knowing, and shut the door behind her.
Axel stayed by the stairs for a long time, expressionless, until the heat inside really had faded completely.
Upstairs, their room wasn't dark anymore. Roxas had awoken, and was sitting up in bed. The light in the room came from him, so much softer and brighter and better than the muted moonlit glow outside.
Blue eyes fixed on him, petulant. "I'm cold."
Well, how could he refuse a request like that? Axel climbed into bed with him, wrapped himself around that small body and burned red-hot until neither one of them could feel the chill anymore. Roxas shone a little brighter, pale skin lit up like the sun, then went out with a small, contented noise and slumped against him bonelessly.
"Where did you go?" he asked, drowsily intimate.
Roxas didn't sound particularly concerned -- just curious. He never pried. He'd probably forget he'd even asked in a few more seconds, as the heat settled into his bones.
Axel told him anyway. The memories had always been for him.
And next time... maybe...
Maybe.
PG for language
Prompt: #67, "snow"
Timeline: AS canon
Words: 1537
No spoilers for Another Side, although it takes place quite late in the game.
Of the Past
Axel woke with the cold in his fucking bones, and right away he knew it was snowing outside.
In the dark of their windowless room, he eased up on the headboard, ran a hand through his hair, and took a slow, deep breath. Focused until he was hot enough inside not to feel the chill like ice on his bare skin. He hadn't liked it in Christmas Town, and he liked it less here. At least the form shift's shaggy fur had insulated him a little. Now all he had to protect him from the elements was a threadbare blanket and something Roxas-shaped tucked into his side.
He spread his palms over the bedding before he left, so that that something wouldn't get cold in his absence. If there was breakfast, he could bring it back up.
The house was still and quiet downstairs, pale silver glow streaming in through funny round and rectangular windows. Axel paused, halfway into the kitchen, and turned to stare at the streets outside. It wasn't morning yet. The only light was the dull shimmer of white falling silently beneath a waning moon.
Two, maybe three a.m. And he would never get back to sleep now. He was too awake, too aware of the ice in the air.
Axel swore out loud.
"What?"
He knew the voice, knew the footsteps that followed it, and so he didn't startle or spin to face her with his weapons drawn. Yuffie was hardly a threat.
Three months ago, though, he would have done those things and more, might have even 'ported right behind her with the cutting edge of a chakram at her throat before he realized who she was. Two months ago, he would have at least tensed up a little. And last month if he'd been reminded of Xigbar's accusation that he was getting soft, too comfortable in this place, Axel probably would have given a damn.
Funny how it didn't seem to matter so much anymore.
He turned around instead of letting her come up behind him, though. Some habits die hard. "Hey, Yuffie."
"Axel?" She sounded surprised. And looked it, too, with the way she twisted her head around, like she couldn't see--
Oh. He flicked on a light switch helpfully. "Come on, who else would it be?"
Yuffie froze at the bottom of the staircase, blinking at the sudden burst of light, and squinted at him comically until her eyes adjusted. "What, you mean, who else would be skulking around in the dark down here?" She grinned, all white teeth. "You've got a point there!"
"Well, I was gonna get myself something to eat," Axel drawled, "only it seems to be the middle of the night. How come Merlin didn't put any windows in the extra rooms?"
"He never does." Yuffie looked thoughtful and almost serious for a moment. "I asked him once, think he said something about the view being 'unsettling'. Dunno what that's supposed to mean, but..." She shrugged. "If you're really hungry, there's probably some leftovers in the 'fridge."
Tch. Axel stretched a little, and considered going back upstairs, lying down again in the dark, and waiting for morning. Not exactly a pleasant thought. But he really wasn't hungry, and now Roxas wouldn't be for hours...
Idly, he said, "What are you doing up, anyway?" He didn't really care, only asked to kill time, but the way her brown eyes widened fractionally was worth it. She'd probably never expected him to show any interest.
It was only appropriate that her answer, in turn, surprised him a little. "The cold, mostly. First snowfall always catches us a little off-guard, with everything else we've got going on around here, you know? The heaters are still in storage." Yuffie wrapped her arms tightly around her small body, shivering like punctuation, but her eyes were fixed on his face as she added, "I was just going to go back to sleep, but then some idiot made all this noise in the hall outside my room..." She paused expectantly.
Axel just stared back at her. He'd barely made a sound.
After a moment, Yuffie seemed to take the hint. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, opening the coat closet and pulling out something thick and heavy that was too big for her and cut all wrong. "Fine, don't apologize! Big jerk. I'll just make the best of things. It's about time for patrol anyway."
"In this?"
The dark-haired girl looked startled, then amused. "You should see your face! What's so bad about a little snow?"
Something about the tone in her voice, that almost-dreamy lilt on the last few words, told him that nothing would ever be bad about snow in her eyes. She had nice memories, memories of gleaming fields and Christmas mornings and hot chocolate and snowflakes that stayed on her nose and eyelashes. Maybe even memories of building snowmen with other kids her age, or going sledding.
He thought about asking.
He thought about telling. 'His' memories, the ones of skies the color of sulfur and the icy shit that had once burned a hole clear through 'his' bottom lip. His memories, the ones of Notre Dame, where the endless winter had nearly killed him because he didn't know yet how to use the fire inside to stay warm. He could have told her that it stung his skin even now, or tried to explain the claustrophobic feeling he'd had looking out the window and seeing nothing but white through frost thick enough to crack glass. How it felt to know there was too much ice to melt even if he'd put his whole being into it. The world looked dead, felt dead, and if he went out into it--
They weren't nice memories. And now Yuffie was watching him avidly, with this expression on her face like she would drag them out by the hair if he gave her half a chance. Like she wanted to know. Like she cared.
It made his skin itch. Who the fuck did she think she was? These memories weren't for her.
"I don't like being cold," Axel said delicately. "It's weird, I know, but there's just something about it. Like it might be the antithesis to my existence, or something."
Yuffie didn't immediately respond, like she didn't quite believe him, and for half a second, he could've sworn the heat inside him faltered. He could feel the cold deep in his belly. But then she laughed, and whapped his arm playfully, and everything was fine again. "Get a better coat, you wimp," she said, burrowing into her own demonstratively and sighing with plainly exaggerated pleasure.
"I don't think Leon's would fit me any better than it fits you," Axel replied innocently.
She scowled at him and huddled a bit more deeply in the stolen coat. "I'm a ninja, people expect me to make off with their things," she retorted in an airy tone of voice. Then her eyes softened and she smiled. "Besides. He wouldn't mind."
No, he probably wouldn't have. Axel watched her cinch the scarf around her neck and slide her hands into Leon's pockets. He would have minded. Would Roxas?
"Axel?" Yuffie was halfway out the door, but she paused, turned back to frown at him. "When I came down the stairs, you were saying something. Kinda sounded ticked off, but--"
He felt a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips. "I said, 'Famm, vilg.'" He was even careful to enunciate the strange words for her.
The girl stared at him. "Okay, don't tell me. See if I care!" She tossed her head, and blinked, grinning suddenly. Would she ever stop smiling for more than a few seconds? "You should go back to bed. Keep Roxas warm. Do unseemly things if you still can't sleep." She winked, far too knowing, and shut the door behind her.
Axel stayed by the stairs for a long time, expressionless, until the heat inside really had faded completely.
Upstairs, their room wasn't dark anymore. Roxas had awoken, and was sitting up in bed. The light in the room came from him, so much softer and brighter and better than the muted moonlit glow outside.
Blue eyes fixed on him, petulant. "I'm cold."
Well, how could he refuse a request like that? Axel climbed into bed with him, wrapped himself around that small body and burned red-hot until neither one of them could feel the chill anymore. Roxas shone a little brighter, pale skin lit up like the sun, then went out with a small, contented noise and slumped against him bonelessly.
"Where did you go?" he asked, drowsily intimate.
Roxas didn't sound particularly concerned -- just curious. He never pried. He'd probably forget he'd even asked in a few more seconds, as the heat settled into his bones.
Axel told him anyway. The memories had always been for him.
And next time... maybe...
Maybe.