#lea and roxas were absolutely going to continue to stand there staring at each other and not hugging if

[kevinkevinson]

roxas @ lea after saving his ass

lea @ roxas after years of Having No Feelings

xion @ her dumb boys

[beanie-on-a-string]

to those people and places I can never go to

So I wanted to get back into the swing of writing and all, and ended up writing this thing about Kairi and Lea immediately after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3. I absolutely loved their friendship and wished they had shown more of it in the game. So, here’s this thing no one asked for...

The past few days on Destiny Islands had been perfect. Sounds of laughter and chatter resounded from the beach. After everyone gathered for the celebration, they figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay on the islands for a little bit. It was just the right amount of hot so that it wouldn’t be stifling, and the ocean was just the right temperature to wade in at any time of the day.

Kairi let the waves lap at her feet as she watched Lea – sorry, Axel - all but drag Isa into the water, the latter halfheartedly protesting as the former flicked water droplets at Isa and teased him, telling him not to ‘die in my arms a second time’. Roxas and Xion were not too far off, giggling as they floated on their backs, each one trying to outlast the other. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, already knowing who it was.

“Riku,” she said, smiling softly at one of her oldest friends.

He smiled a similar smile in return, hiking up his pants a little as he stepped beside her, letting the ocean run over his feet like she was. The sunset framed his head like a halo, coloring his silver hair shades of pink and orange.

“Beautiful day, huh?” she said, moving a little closer to Riku and nudging his arm. Barely swaying at the contact, he hummed in agreement. There was a sentence left hanging in the air between them that was left unsaid.

it would be better if Sora were here

Kairi leaned a little against the taller boy, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder. ��They stayed that way for a while, watching Mickey and Minnie exchanging soft smiles as they talked on the dock, watching Namine drawing them from inconspicuous glances over her sketchbook, watching Axel complaining about his now drenched hair as Isa held back laughter, watching Xion wade over to Roxas to show him a pretty seashell she had found.

A loud quack of irritation startled them both. They turned around to see Donald being held back by Goofy as he squawked about how Ventus ruined his sand statue yet again. The accused stood by the crime scene, flying disc in hand, cheeks pink as Aqua and Terra stifled giggles behind him.

“Oh,” Riku said after a moment, posture a little straighter as if he remembered something. “Ventus and I were playing around with Axel’s discs earlier. Want to join? It’s fun.”

“That’s sweet, Riku, but perhaps tomorrow.” She gave a small apologetic smile.

“Alright, then,” he said, then added, “Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

A little more silence, filled with more questions and answers left unsaid. “Well, I’m going to go back to them, alright?” He raised his eyebrows in an ‘is this okay?’ motion. Kairi nodded, lips quirking up in another smile. He squeezed her shoulder lightly, and then he was gone.

Most everyone had headed back by now, having either gone back to their respective houses or whoever’s house they were staying at for the time being. Kairi stayed behind, the wet sand between her toes feeling more like hardening cement. She didn’t move from her spot by the waves for a while, letting the ocean pull the sand from under her feet over and over. She stepped away when the sun was barely peeking out over the ocean, the sky slowly deepening from its dark orange to something of a dark lavender. She didn’t know where her feet took her from there, exactly, but she wound up at the large, crooked paopu tree she spent so much of her time looking out at their small world on. She stared at it for a moment, then reached out and pushed herself onto the tree, swinging her legs over the thick trunk and sitting down. She watched the sunset for a while, right hand sitting expectantly on the rough surface, like it wanted a hand to hold. His hand to hold.

His name hadn’t left her mind since the Keyblade Graveyard. It was always on her tongue; to the point where she would catch herself almost saying his name instead of what she really intended to say. Often times after that, she’d forget what it was, anyway, and would dismiss herself with a little ‘nothing’ or ‘I forgot’.

She gave a sad, halfhearted smile to the empty space next to her. She thought she had seen him here, with her, a few days ago. She felt the weight of his hand on hers. Maybe he was there. She’d like to believe he was. She’d like to believe he’d appear again. Maybe it was all some sick dream, and he’d show up behind her like nothing ever happened. She squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to wake up, if she could.

She opened them. Same lavender sky, same waves, same salty air, same lack of a certain someone. Her chest hurt where Xehanort had run her through only a few days earlier. She bowed her head and shut her eyes again, a futile effort to hold back the tears falling down her face and making dark spots on her dress.

“Sora,” she choked out between her sobs. She hid her face in her hands, although there was no one to see her cry.

It could have been a minute, or it could have been an hour, but however long it was, she jumped and a quiet shocked noise escaped her mouth when she heard a twig snap from behind her. She hastily wiped her tears (trying to make it seem like she was rubbing her nose) and turned around.

“Axel.” She looked up at the fiery-haired figure standing behind her. “You’re still here.”

“Oh no, I’d left a while ago,” he said, his ever-present nonchalant air apparent in his speech. “I just came back out since I never saw you head in. I think Riku may have noticed too, but I don’t know if he said anything.” He took a few steps towards the tree, but stopped as a weak ray of sunset shone on her face.

“Oh… kid, were you crying?” He rested both hands on the trunk and leaned forward, concern written plainly on his face.

“It’s nothing. Just… something in my eyes.” Kairi knew he wouldn’t believe that for a second.

“I wonder where I’ve heard that before,” Axel replied simply, but no menace in his voice. Kairi mentally cringed. I knew he wouldn’t buy it. She furrowed her brows and looked down.

“Can I…” Axel gestured to the empty space beside her.

no not there

“Sure,” she replied, scooting over a bit so he could sit down. Her heart gave a barely felt twinge as he shifted on the bark.

Neither of them said anything as the sun sunk below the horizon. Eventually, she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and was met with a blue ice cream bar and the strong smell of sea salt and vanilla filling her nose.

“That’d better not have been in your pocket this time,” she said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she took the ice cream. Her eyes were still damp, yes, but she was already feeling better with Axel around.

“Picky,” he teased as he produced an ice cream for himself. “Everyone forgets that I wrap them after I make ‘em. And besides, I was holding them in my hand. Not my pocket.”

Kairi bit off the corner of her bar. Axel followed suit, and opened his mouth to speak.

“Ah.” Kairi lifted a finger, eyebrows raised. Axel squinted in a mock glare, then swallowed the ice cream, rolling his eyes at her a little. She giggled, thinking back to how she’d always have to remind Sora not to speak with his mouth full.

Sor-

“You know, for a while, I used to not like these,” Axel said, gesturing to the ice cream with his free hand. “When I was a Nobody, anyway. I would eat them all the time – you know, with Isa – when I was younger. But when I was a Nobody, I don’t think I ate any more of this until Roxas came along. I don’t know why, but he wanted ice cream. So I went out to get some, and, remembering how much I used to eat it, I chose the sea-salt. When I tasted it for the first time – well, not really the first time, but you get my idea – it tasted awful. I didn’t know why I used to be so fond of it.” He cringed, as if he were reliving the memory. “I got used to it, though, eventually. I think I ended up getting the recipe myself, somehow.”

Kairi hummed in response, looking at Axel, red hair looking aflame under the fading rays of the sun.

“I didn’t tell you before, but… I like your outfit,” Kairi said, lightly touching the sleeve of Axel’s shirt.

He looked down at it as if he hadn’t realized he was even wearing it, then chuckled in a decidedly Axel-esque way, nudging her lightly. “Thanks, kid. You don’t look so bad yourself, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kairi replied, nudging him back. The sky was in that odd transition phase between purple and blue, and right now, it was the color of Sora’s eyes. Kairi smiled at the sky, but it was pained and just brought yet another round of tears to her eyes. She ducked her head quickly, hoping Axel didn’t see. Obviously, he did.

“I know you miss him,” Axel said quietly, tentatively placing a hand on her back. Kairi nodded, too choked up to say anything back. “I’m not happy about it either,” he continued. “Didn’t expect it to happen, you know? Kid had a knack for surviving.”

Kairi nodded again, although she didn’t quite know what she was nodding at. She spoke, voice so quiet she could have been talking to herself. “Sora and I shared a paopu fruit here.” Axel raised his eyebrows in question. “Legends say that when two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each others’ lives, no matter what.” She swiped at her eyes. “When you miss someone, they’re everywhere. They’re in everything you see. It’s unbearable.”

“Yeah,” Axel said. Kairi looked up at him a little, wiping a tear from her chin. He looked vulnerable, just like he did that day when they were training in their little corner of time. “It was the same with Roxas and Xion. It felt like a part of me was missing. A large part. We had spent so much time together, and then… they weren’t. They just weren’t there anymore. While we were training, there were times when I looked at you… and Xion was all I could see.” Kairi could see Axel’s cheeks glistening, although it didn’t seem like he had realized it himself. “It hurt. It hurt so bad.”

“Axel,” Kairi said softly, placing a hand on his arm. He jolted, like he had forgotten she was there. His grip on his half-eaten ice cream stick - which had gotten so tight the wood seemed like it was going to choke – loosened, and he touched his cheek, staring at the tears that came away with his hand.

“Guess we both need those markings under our eyes, huh?” He joked, the delivery halfhearted. Kairi laughed, the sound coming out wet and a little pained. He inched a bit closer to her, his hand moving from the middle of her back to wrapping around her in a one-armed hug.

“You must be cold,” he said simply after a quiet sniff.

“I’m not anymore,” she said, curling up on the branch and leaning into his arm. They stayed that way as the sky turned from its odd blue to indigo, from indigo to navy, from navy to a star-littered sea of black.

By now, Kairi felt herself drifting off. She didn’t know if Axel had already done that – he was lying back on where the tree bent, his shape curving with the trunk. Kairi was still curled up by him, head resting on his legs. The moonlight was illuminating his face and hair in strange ways, making him look almost alien, but not unpleasant.

Her eyes fluttered. She was going to fall asleep soon enough. “Axel?” She murmured, voice impossibly quiet. No reply. “Axel?” She tried again. “Lea?”

After a moment, a barely audible reply of “Kairi?” came drifting back.

Kairi smiled sadly at the sound, then curled into herself further, finally closing her eyes. “Thank you.”

xxx

[axel-fics]

omg! i just came up with something! what if axel/lea tried to flirt with the cute new sea salt ice cream store worker? i dont recommend doing this in real life unless the person initiates, because its their job to be friendly and you dont want to make them uncomfortable!

Ice Cream Sundays

The clock tower rang out 6pm. Finally, another day of long, grueling missions is over with. Axel walked down the quiet streets of Twilight Town towards his usual ice cream spot that he went to every day. It was a tiny store tucked away in the back of Market Street, not too far away from the clock tower where he’d meet up with Roxas and Xion to share sea-salt ice creams. The shop had two big windows, complete with gold letters painted on reading “Murray’s” on both panels that shone brightly when the sunset reflected on them. Inside there were a few tables and booths for people to sit and enjoy their cold treats while talking amongst friends. Axel always came before the evening rush to avoid the crowds; a quick ‘hello’ to Murray the owner, slap down the munny for his usual order, and on his way he’d go. 

Tonight, however, was absolutely packed. As Axel approached the store, he saw through the big windows that the whole store was teaming with parents and small children, cliques of teenagers loudly talking and laughing, some even playing with their ice creams and making a mess everywhere. Axel awkwardly walked in and stepped up to the counter, trying his best to blend in without getting too much attention drawn his way. No one seemed to notice that a man in a long leather trench coat was even in the room, and he wanted to take advantage of that. Where the hell was Murray?

The swinging door that led to the back freezer area kicked open suddenly. Axel’s eyes widened as someone other than Murray emerged, carrying a large tub of cotton candy ice cream in her arms towards the cooler. 

“I’ll be with you in a sec,” you panted. Your [h/c] was tied up with a bow high up on your head, a few strands loosely hanging in your face. The apron you wore was covered in a mixture of ice cream flavors and toppings. Axel was so entranced by you that he didn’t even hear when you spoke to him again.

“Sir? Are you okay?” A hand waved in front of his face, and Axel blinked a few times to get his bearings back.

“Yeah, uh, just three sea-salt ice creams please,” he stuttered. ‘What’s the matter with me? Snap out of it!’

“Here you go, that’ll be fifteen munny please.”

“Hey, uh, where’s Murray today?” Axel asked. 

“He worked the afternoon shift today. Summer vacation started so he hired me to take on the evenings,” you shrugged, smiling softly as you put the munny in the register. Your [e/c] eyes sparkled in the sunlight like diamonds, and Axel felt his face flush up. 

“Oh, well lucky for me the evenings are my normal time to come here,” he smirked. 

“What do you mean by ‘lucky for you’?”

“Murray’s nice and all, but now I get to talk to a cute shopgirl every day,” Axel winked. As the words left his lips, he was taken back himself. When did he become such a flirt?

You blushed profusely from behind the counter, shyly pushing a few strands of hair behind your ear. 

“What’s your name?”

“[Y/N]”. 

“[Y/N], huh? Pretty name. Mine’s Axel, got it memorized?” Axel pointed to his temple as you nodded softly, another smile forming on your face. “Well, I gotta take off. I’ll see you around, [Y/N].” 

“See you, Axel.”

~*~

The entire evening on the clock tower perch, Axel sat distracted. Roxas and Xion talked away happily about their different missions, but Axel’s mind was stuck on you. 

“Axel, what do you think?”

Snapping out of his thoughts again, Axel looked up to see Xion and Roxas staring at him. 

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Do you think we’ll get another day off soon?” Xion repeated. 

“Oh, uh, maybe,” Axel ruffled his hair behind his neck and smiled. 

Roxas stretched his arms above his head and yawned, paying no attention to how absent-minded Axel seemed to be today. “I’m beat you guys, let’s RTC.”

“M’kay,” Xion stood up. 

“Actually, you two go on ahead without me,” Axel said. “I need to take care of something really quickly.”

Roxas and Xion raised eyebrows at each other before looking back at Axel suspiciously. “Okay then,” Roxas said. “See you later.” 

Creating a dark corridor, Axel ran through and ended up back on the ground a block away from the shop. Could he have walked? Yes, but something inside him made him anxious that he couldn’t wait to get back to the small store. It had been a few hours since he stopped by, the store front now showing a “CLOSED” sign hanging on the door. Axel’s shoulders dropped in disappointment for a second, until he saw you through the window cleaning up the store. Axel reached out and turned the handle, thankful that it was still unlocked. 

“Sorry, but we’re closed! We’ll be open again tomorrow morning,” you called over your shoulder. 

“But I already told you that the evenings are when I usually stop by. Guess you didn’t get that memorized yet, huh?” Axel smirked. 

Freezing in place, you turned towards Axel standing in the doorway. “Oh, Axel! What are you doing back here?”

“You looked exhausted earlier. Thought I’d come help out?”

“Thanks anyways, but I’m almost done,” you said and placed the mop back in its bucket, leaning it up against the counter. Your apron was covered in more ice cream than earlier, and a streak of chocolate sauce brushed across your cheeks. 

“First day of summer vacation and you’re already exhausted,” Axel laughed. “Think you can keep up for another month?”

“I guess I’ll find out. Can’t leave poor Murray to this madness by himself.” You plopped down in an empty seat next to the window, the sunlight beaming through the glass and made your skin glow in its wake. 

“You’ll be fine,” Axel said as he sat down next to you. “I mean, it can’t all be that bad, right? You’ll see me all the time.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at him. “You’re right, I mean you are my favorite customer by far.”

“Exactly, I — wait, huh?”

You winked and started laughing even louder. “You’re such a flirt! I wanted to turn the tables on you just once!”

“Har-har, very funny of you,” he mumbled. As you continued to giggle, he couldn’t hold back the smile he felt forming on his face for long. “C’mere,” he leaned forward. 

“Wha—?”

“You have chocolate on your face,” Axel laughed. He started to reach forward and stopped momentarily to take off his glove before gently brushing your cheek, the chocolate coming off in an easy swipe. Your face once again turned bright red at the feeling of his hand against your face. When he licked the chocolate from his finger and gave you another wink, your whole body felt like it was on fire. 

“You’re fun to mess with,” he mused. “You get so easily flustered.”

“Not normally,” you breathed. “Just seems to be around you.” 

You leaned in towards him, your face now inches away from his. His hot breath was warm against your skin, the scent of chocolate combined with the sea-salt ice cream he had earlier filling your nose. Closing your eyes, you waited for Axel to close the distance between the two of you. His lips were so close to yours now that they just barely touched; Axel looked down at you and smirked before starting to pull away. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered.

“Wait, what?!”

Axel got up and walked towards the door, a toothy smirk plastered on his face. “I’m just having some more fun with you.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re just gonna leave like that!” Despite the disappointment, you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Have I told you how cute you are when you’re frustrated?” He saluted you and winked again as you pouted. “Tomorrow, I promise.”

“It’s not very nice to keep me waiting like that, you know!” 

“Maybe, but now you’ll have something more to look forward to for tomorrow. No one can ruin your good mood now, right?” He waved and stepped out the door and walked back up Market Street, disappearing from view. 

Shaking your head, you laughed to yourself and smiled widely. ‘Cheeky bastard has a point…’

[keybladeswar]

Absolutely (Axel x M!Reader)

Words: 1092

Warnings: None content-wise, but possible light spoilers for KH3. Nothing major, though.

Summary: You and your boyfriend Axel celebrate Pride Month together, and you realize that you’re in love with him.

Author’s Note: Yes, I still call him Axel instead of Lea, and yes, this is the hill I’m going to die on. This is my third story for Pride Month. You can find the others as well as the rest of my writing in my masterlist.

*

You finished your third sea-salt ice cream and tossed the stick in the trash. Your hands and face felt gross because no matter how fast you ate, it was so hot out that the ice cream melted before you even got the wrapper off.

“Your face is blue,” your boyfriend Axel said. His arm was draped over your shoulders (it was making you even more sweaty, but your complaining just made him cuddle even closer to you — not that you really minded in the long run) and he appeared to be completely at ease in the sweltering summer heat. You envied his tolerance for heat; it probably had something to do with his powers. You, on the other hand, felt like you would pass out the second you started sweating. Was it over dramatic? Maybe, but you refused to let anyone, especially Axel, tell you otherwise.

You usually tried to stay indoors during the hot weather, blasting the air conditioning and judging anyone who would willingly go outdoors in such unreasonable conditions. But today was Twilight Town Pride Day, and since it was your first as a couple, and Axel’s first since regaining his heart, the two of you decided you should celebrate it together.

It was amazing to see so many people proud and unashamed of who they are and who they loved. You and Axel were mainly satisfied to just walk around, enjoying each other’s company.

“I know,” you said, and suddenly leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “And now yours is, too.”

Though the two of you had been together for a while, you didn’t actually get that much time alone together. He was continuing his keyblade training with Merlin, and when he was in Twilight Town, you mostly hung out in a group with the rest of your friends. You couldn’t complain too much though; without them, you and Axel probably would’ve never met.

Though a few years older than them, you’d been friends with Hayner, Pence, and Olette for years. Several months ago, their friend Sora came to Twilight Town asking about a boy named Roxas. You mainly stayed out of it, as you didn’t know Sora or Roxas, and frankly, the whole situation made your head hurt. Something about another Twilight Town and computers and other versions of people... Yeah, you thought it best not to get involved. Then, not too long after, the boy Roxas arrived in Twilight Town, accompanied by three other people — Axel, Xion, and Isa — suddenly your friend group doubled in size.

You and Axel got together pretty quickly; you were both attracted to each other almost immediately and as you started spending more time together, realized that something just clicked. Not only was he your boyfriend, but he was your best friend, as well.

Now, you were grateful that your other friends had given you two space. You’d seen them in passing at several points throughout the day, but it seemed they realized how much it meant to you to get to spend the day alone.

“It’s so hot,” you whined, trying and failing to fan yourself with your hand.

“It’s because I’m here,” Axel said with a wink.

“Your sense of humor is atrocious.” You tried to say it in a deadpan, but a small laugh escaped. Axel’s jokes were lame, but you loved them. And as he laughed and kissed you again, you realized that it wasn’t just his jokes that you loved. You loved how much he cared, not only about you but all your friends. You loved that he was always up for adventure but also for spending a lazy day at home, cuddled up on the couch. You loved his eyes and his smile and his obsession with that damn ice cream, and the way he said “got it memorized?” at least three times a day. You loved how loved he made you feel. And you loved him. Completely.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked, and you realized you’d been staring for a solid thirty seconds. Neither of you had said “I love you” before. You weren’t the type to hide your feelings, and you’d have been perfectly fine with shouting your love for Axel from the top of the clock tower so the whole town could hear, but you wanted the first time to be special, just you and him.

So instead of confessing then and there, you said, “The red of your hair really makes the blue ice cream stain stand out. It’s a good look. You should start a trend.”

“I’ll add that to this list,” Axel replied. “But I think it’s safe to say this heat is starting to make you delusional. You ready to head out? We can cool off at my place.”

You nodded. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard my entire life.”

***

When you arrived at Axel’s apartment, you immediately flopped down on the couch, welcoming the cool air. “Bless air conditioning,” you sighed.

Axel laughed and sat down beside you, pulling you closer to him. “Did you have fun today?”

You nodded, leaning your head on his shoulder and wrapping your arms around him. “Any day I get to spend with you is a day well spent.”

“When I’m done with training,” Axel said, “we can spend every day together. We can travel the worlds. There are so many places out there I’d love for you to see.”

“That sounds great,” you said. You yawned and your eyes grew heavy. Being outside all day always made you sleepy. You cuddled closer to Axel. “Can I tell you something?” You mumbled.

“What?”

You looked up at him. “I love you, Axel.”

You heard his breath catch and saw the surprised look in his eyes. You’d never seen Axel look as flustered as he did in this moment and you thought he might even be blushing slightly. “It’s... been a long time since someone’s told me they loved me,” he said.

You sat up and lightly touched his cheek. “Well, it’s true, and I wanted you to know. I’m absolutely in love with you.”

Without another word, Axel brought his hands to your face and pulled you in for a kiss. He tasted like sea salt ice cream and he held you urgently, as if you were the only thing that mattered. Finally, he pulled away. “And I’m absolutely in love with you, too. Got it memorized?”

You grinned and tugged him back to you, continuing where you’d left off.