Oh gosh finally. :x This took so long to write, and I don't even really like it that much. :I

Happy (late) Akushi day anyways. c: This was meant to be much more Akushi than it is, but it turned into more of an RAX trio friendship thing, at least until about two thirds of the way in.

Title inspiration and stuff later. For now, hopefully enjoy.

Mockingbird

"What the-"

Roxas brought his hand up to his shoulder to hesitantly wipe away a mysterious substance that had apparently fallen from nowhere. It dripped from finger to finger slowly as he scrutinized it.

"Ugh, gross!" He quickly snapped his wrist to send it flying to its doom below. As an afterthought, he glanced over the ledge nervously in search of any unfortunate passerby, but luckily no one was strolling about. It was the middle of a sweltering day, and the Somebodies of Twilight Town tended to not be out at the time in preference for a much cooler place. He sat back somewhat relieved but still scowling, his scowl something more like a characteristic pout hanging over his lips.

"Those stupid crows..."

Axel clapped him on the back as he laughed, and even Xion giggled slightly. The two boys both glanced over at her out of the corner of their eyes, trying to conceal their surprise. She hadn't spoken a word all day, well, for days actually, let alone laughed. Axel eyed her carefully for a second before resuming his laughter, much to Roxas's dismay.

"Ah, c'mon man! They're not bothering anybody."

Roxas only deepened his scowl as he pointed a stiff finger irritatedly at his shoulder, now glistening in the high noon's intense heat.

"Yes they are- look at what they did to my coat!" His darkened eyes followed his finger to the damp area. As he eyed it with an angry huff, he couldn't help but soften his hardened visage when he saw Xion's tiny smile. Laughter arose in his throat, but he suppressed it in favor of a small, conceding chuckle.

"Oh sure, it's funny for you guys."

Axel simply grinned wider, a feat seemingly physically impossible. Roxas retracted his finger to cross his arms.

"It may not kill me, but it's still gross."

Axel tapped his chin thoughtfully, his eyes calculating, those of a Nobody with their bright hues hardened. If he had been turned to his friends, perhaps they would have shuddered at the sight of their momentarily emotionless depths. They snapped back to their familiar jade without warning.

"Hm, I take it back- the only thing it's hurting is your ego. But we all know there isn't much there to hurt anyways."

He shrugged helplessly and took a big bite out of his ice cream, turning out towards the sunset. Roxas brought a fist up to punch him in the arm, but it fell back a fraction when Xion began to actually laugh. They both turned to her in surprise, each looking a little ridiculous with Roxas about to punch Axel and Axel with a gaping mouth full of ice cream. She only laughed harder, bringing her free hand up to her mouth to cover her giggling in a girly fashion. They followed suit, giving up their mini war to join her in laughter.

It rang clearer and stronger than the clock tower bells. It was a sound that hadn't been heard by anyone for a while, not by the locals or the people who produced it. They listened to it ring throughout the valley, each wondering how long the one next to them would keep laughing, and when they heard the others continue, they laughed just for laughing's sake. Its dying state left their cheeks aching and eyes blinking after squinting for so long. A few chuckles and giggles escaped from sore lungs. All three clutched at their stomachs taut with the laughing fit, but Axel couldn't help but think briefly as his hand brushed over his chest that there wasn't anything in there to make them laugh.

Axel being Axel, he suddenly changed the merry tune with a random request, or rather statement, that left his two friends scrunching up their sore faces in confusion.

"Let's go to the beach."

His ice cream swung out towards the sunset in a large arc that ended at his mouth. He bit into it with a snap of white teeth as if to emphasize his statement that was left hanging in the air. Confusion settled over his friends; he could see it even from the corner of his smirking eye.

"Don't you guys want to?"

A popsicle stick soared down to the plaza below in cartwheeling circles until wood faintly clattered on stone in the heavy silence of a humid day.

"Well yeah, but... we didn't get a vacation day..." Roxas stared at his lap with lost eyes, wondering why Axel would even suggest such a ridiculous notion during the middle of the day.

"Who said we could only go on a vacation?" Long arms stretched behind his back and soon tucked behind his head, Axel fell back onto the tower with a slight grunt. Satisfied smirk imprinted on his lips, he closed his eyes and rested a leg over his other knee. His foot swung back and forth over the gaping distance between him and the ground.

"...You did." Roxas seemed even more satisfied with himself, grinning as wide and smugly as Axel would because he had finally bested the master of wits. Small feat it was, but to Roxas it seemed to mean the worlds at the moment. Noting Roxas's celebratory smile with a half lidded emerald eye, Axel let his teeth glint in the harsh sunlight.

"No, I said we should go on our next vacation. I never said we couldn't go at any other given time. I've just changed my mind now, that's all." He quickly sat up to sling an arm over his drawn up knee and flash a devilish smile at his two friends, tapping his temple. Xion had been listening to their conversation with amusement written on her features, but Roxas seemed to wilt under his gaze.

"Oh..." Disappointment flowed out of him in a torrent. Axel softened his grin into a smile as he rolled his eyes and sighed for a brief moment, gestures that obviously stated "no one outwits me, but you look so sad I can't just rub it in your face."

"Geez, Roxas." He ran a hand through his own hair and continued on to ruffle the younger Nobody's hair. "No need to be like that. Do you want to go to the beach or not?"

Roxas immediately brightened like a little child distracted with toys and candy, cerulean eyes going wide. "Yeah, duh!"

"Let's go then, you guys!" Xion jumped up and hurried behind the two, pulling at their hoods in an attempt to get them up. She nearly fell into the side of the tower when both her friends stood up next to her exchanging cautious glances at her sudden eagerness. Axel broke away from the silent exchange to smooth out the wrinkles in his coat.

"Hold on- we can't just go swimming in these coats." His hands grabbed a flap at the top of the coat and yanked on it for emphasis.

"Why not?" Xion tilted her head to the side as she waited for an answer patiently. Axel's intense gaze threatened to burn right through her, sending foreign tingles up her spine. She traced a finger over the zipper of the coat and played with the dangling tassel absentmindedly, avoiding his eyes.

"They're too heavy and would drag us down," he explained simply, tugging at the sleeves clinging to his wrists. He didn't seem to notice her sudden shiver. "Not to mention it would look weird swimming in them. You're supposed to wear bathing suits, you know."

"Bathing suits...?" The words were alien on Xion's tongue, but it wasn't the first time she had encountered that kind of situation. That same tingling sent her cheeks aflame, but she tried hard to ignore it and struggle on. "Wouldn't you call them swimming clothes or something?"

They both watched Axel in expectation, and Axel just watched their near identical stares, amused.

It was amazing how similar their eyes were. But really, when he thought about what he had tried to avoid bringing to mind, that wasn't any wonder at all. Though, Xion's had this... something-ness about them that made hers prettier, in a way. He had always thought so, but with everything going on he rarely had time to think about it.

Pausing for a moment to put his hands on his hips with a look of contemplation directed skyward, he let out a dramatic sigh.

"I don't know why they call them that, but they are what they are. It doesn't matter, so let's get going," he groaned as he pushed the two through a swirling portal.

xxx

"The bathing suits are in the back. Men's on the left and women's on the right." The cashier pointed at the back wall covered in a vibrant array of bathing suits. At first she had given them strange looks when she saw their attire, but she wrote it off to the strange fashion trends of teenagers.

"Thank you, miss." Xion gave a slight bow of her head as if apologizing for her friends' lack of manners. The older woman smiled in understanding, giving a wink that clearly portrayed the saying that boys will be boys.

They soon found themselves in an overwhelming jungle of boardshorts and bikinis stretching from the ceiling to the floor. Xion and Roxas craned their necks to look at all the bathing suits lined up on the wall. Axel patted them both on their backs and gripped their shoulders.

"This is a task you must do alone," he rumbled solemnly as he looked over the endless assortment with them. Fearful eyes looked up at him for guidance. Finding Xion's eyes, he got distracted for a quick moment before returning to his friends.

"Kidding, just kidding!" He laughed at their terrified expressions; those two took everything he said so seriously. Coming back to a half serious expression, at least for him, Axel took his hands from their shoulders. Xion almost missed the scathing warmth once he took his hand away.

"Really though, dressing rooms are over there; I'm not helping you get dressed."

He steered away towards the men's section, leaving his two friends to their own devices. Roxas seemed to suddenly discover Axel had left them there and trotted away to hover behind him. Xion watched the two wander the aisles aimlessly and decided to start a search of her own.

She walked past the boardshorts, trailing a finger over the sleek material and making the hangars rattle against each other like chattering plastic teeth. Suddenly boardshorts became bikinis under her hand, and she stopped in her tracks.

"I have to wear this?"

xxx

Xion peered around the corner of the dressing room nervously, fingers gripping the door frame. She leaned forward until the skin beneath her fingernails turned white with the pressure. A loud ringing sounded above her head, and she jumped back in surprise. When she looked up, she didn't see anything that would have caused or made the noise. Cautiously surveying the dressing room over her shoulder and then the store aisles, she took a tentative step out the doorway only for the alarm to go off again.

Xion realized the noise that went off when she first entered wasn't some random occurrence and that there was no escaping it, so she jumped through the doorway as she cringed at the annoying dinging.

"Xion, is that you making all that noise?

Axel's smirking voice traveled to her from a nearby aisle and was soon followed by Axel himself. Xion's bare feet brushed the rough carpet below her, and she looked down self-consciously with hands tangled behind her back. Her feet were pointed inwards as she dared to release a hand to brush a lock of raven hair from her face before swiftly pulling it back.

"Umm, Axel? Is this one, um, ok... like, should I get it...?"

He rounded a rack as he tried to make something out of Xion's flustered mumbling. Stopping with mouth half agape, a rare sight that Xion would have taken the time to laugh at if she had noticed it, he was for once speechless.

A lavender and violet halter bikini was tied around her neck and back in delicate bows, small beads dangling on the end of each string. The two colors of the material alternated in thick stripes. The bottom matched the top with the exception of a single dark purple flower on her right thigh. Axel couldn't help but notice how perfectly it fit her and how, well, well she wore it.

"Y-yeah-" he began to stutter but immediately stopped himself. What was wrong with him? He was Axel, the tongue twister with knife sharp wit capable of serving insults and comebacks quicker than one could comprehend, yet he found himself tongue-tied. It wasn't right for him to look at- to be like this, especially being a Nobody and all. The whirlwind of thoughts only lasted for a split second, a very dense one at that, before he quickly snapped back to his usual self. An emotionless façade flashed over his eyes briefly, just long enough for him to answer her question.

"It's nice, Xion. You should definitely get that one." It was a generic brand answer, one you'd say to anyone asking you about his or her outfit, but it definitely did not give an accurate portrayal of what he really thought. He flashed a toothy grin accompanied by the slightest tilt of his head that would make most girls swoon, but Xion was averting her eyes down to the floor.

"Ok, thanks..." She slipped away back into the dressing room, not without the grating ring pressing on their ears momentarily as she passed through. As soon as she had turned her back, Axel let out a silent breath and let his jade eyes flicker back to their usual swirl of complication like an old T.V. switching channels. He gripped the dark crimson boardshorts in hand as he slowly headed to the cash register. Roxas flew out of the dressing room and nearly crashed into a rack of sundresses, barely keeping a hold on the turquoise boardshorts.

"That noise is driving me crazy!" he groaned once he had caught up to Axel and walked alongside him.

"Hmm?" Axel looked at him out of the corner of his eye, only slightly moving his head in the direction. "Oh, that was Xion who kept setting off the ringing."

He dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand, leaving Roxas a bit confused, but to him that wasn't really anything new. Asking Axel about things he didn't want to talk about only seemed to make him answer questions with even more questions, leading to more confusion.

"Is this all?" The same woman that was working the cash register earlier neatly folded their purchase into two small bundles. "What about your friend?"

Her smile emphasized the laugh lines embedded in her cheeks.

"She's coming, but she was taking a while, so we're going to get changed into these right now as we wait."

Roxas nodded to confirm the words, not feeling comfortable enough to speak a word after being taught to never interfere with the people of the worlds he traveled to. The woman simply chuckled as she printed a receipt and placed it into the bag with their new boardshorts.

"Have a nice day, boys."

They both mumbled their thanks and took their swimsuits to the back dressing room again to get changed. Xion just missed them pass through the doorway to their dressing rooms, but she definitely heard them and assumed they had heard her.

She set the bikini on the counter, resting her elbow on it as well and cupping her chin in her hand. Her mind was too busy swimming with confused thoughts for her to notice the woman speaking to her. She sighed lightly as she flicked a lock of hair back in irritation.

She had always gotten like that around Axel, but it seemed much worse that particular day. Had he noticed her strange behavior? It was so obvious, he had to have. But what did it matter? They were friends, and friends weren't supposed to make you like that, or so she thought. Still, embarrassing herself like that... Her face reddened at the memory.

Suddenly hearing the cashier repeating herself, she blinked and pulled her head from her hand.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying, miss?"

"Oh, that's alright. I was just saying you have good taste," she held the bikini up so she could scan it, "in both bathing suits and friends."

Xion giggled with a hand half covering her mouth. "Yes, they are great friends."

"So which one is this for?" The woman smiled mischievously as she packaged the bathing suit into a little brown bag.

"W-what?" Xion tilted her head and blinked in confusion, cheeks burning with invisible fire.

"No girl would just 'hang out' with boys like that." She chuckled and handed Xion the bag. Leaning over the counter, she brought up a hand to shield their conversation from nonexistent eavesdroppers. "You should go for the tall one."

Xion just stood there with bag in hand and the fierce fire of blush spreading over her porcelain skin, stuttering excuses even though she had no explanation for her defensive state. The woman somehow found her confusion amusing and laughed; how rude it seemed for someone to induce another's confusion and laugh at it. Although, Axel had this tendency as well, and they would all get a good laugh from it, except now he wasn't there to explain the situation. Xion wasn't sure she even wanted him there to explain; the thought sent her insides aflame with contagious tingling. She muttered a hasty goodbye to the woman with the bag handle digging into her clenched hand.

"Bye, sweetie." The last thing Xion saw of the older woman was a quick wink and friendly smile before turning away.

xxx

"We finally made it!" Xion spread her arms wide as she spun around on the warm, white sand. She wriggled her toes in it while she closed her eyes and took in the ocean's scent with joy, letting the sea salt that she normally encountered in ice cream bars tickle her nose and fill her lungs. The scent was so comforting and familiar that she had to stop in the middle of her deep inhalation in expectation of some memory, some tiny speck of her past to touch her mind, but nothing came.

She released her breath with the fluttering open of her eyelids, eyelashes momentarily obscuring her vision as they caught the warm sunlight on their dark tips. The back of her hand came up to shield her eyes from the sun's glare so she could look at her friends.

"Well, aren't we going to go in?" She tossed off her coat into the white grains and flew into the clear waters until it lapped against her calves, all previous hints of modesty gone or at least hidden beneath her excitement. Xion laughed as Roxas nearly stumbled into the sand face first after tripping over his own tossed aside coat. Axel trailed behind his friends, watching his boots leave imprints in the sand and spray grains about his ankles.

It was dangerous taking them both there, to Destiny Islands. He looked at the two knee deep in the water, happily splashing each other with the crystal liquid, both looking like normal kids just having a fun day at the beach. Neither were passing out or fainting. Everything seemed, for once, just normal enough. He sighed with thin arms crossed over his chest as he kicked a small pile of sand into even smaller piles. Things probably wouldn't be like that again for a while, if ever again- He didn't even need to stop the thought, for his friends did for him.

"Come on, Axel!"

"Axel, you have to come in too!"

The two waved; Xion cupped a hand around her mouth, and Roxas waved with both his arms. Axel waited for them to say something about his supposed dislike for water, but all he could hear was them urging him in. He smiled inwardly because for once, someone hadn't gone off and assumed he hated the water. Sure, he controlled fire and water became his weakness, but that was in battle. He actually found water quite soothing and relaxing. What was he supposed to do, avoid showers and never drink a glass of practically any liquid again? He scoffed at the ridiculous thought.

"I'm coming!" he called back, beginning to shed his coat. He could make out the two grinning at each other, their doubt evaporating when they saw Axel drop his coat. Their looks quickly turned from happy to alarmed when they saw him bounding through the water towards them on long legs, a smirk planted on his lips.

"Axel?"

"Axel, what are you..."

They turned on their heels as soon as Axel neared but stumbled through the water once it was at their waists. Axel flew out of nowhere and tackled Roxas into the water, both disappearing underneath it in a flail of limbs and spray of salty sea. Xion laughed as she shielded herself from the continuous splashing. She turned away for a second to look back and find a spluttering Roxas emerge with wet spikes plastered to his face. He coughed out a laugh and attempted to flip his hair away in vain as Xion warily eyed the water, now murky with whipped up sand and bubbles.

Suddenly she found herself swept off her legs and dangling over someone's shoulder. Her bare legs were cold where the water had once touched, now swept over by a cool breeze.

"Axel!" She squealed with laughter, pounding on his back with tiny fists and kicking her cold legs, but he refused to let go.

"Hmm, I wonder if she's able to swim..." he mused, ignoring her protests as he stroked his chin with his left hand. He began to trudge to deeper water with Xion swinging over his shoulder.

"No, Axel, I don't think-" Her words were caught in her throat by a mouthful of salty water clawing at her lungs. That terribly familiar dread encased her body with prying fingers, and it became just like some of the old nightmares she would have, drowning in an endless, cold sea, no one there to rescue her from the murky depths. Some invisible, menacing force threatened to take hold of her ankles and drag her to black bottom of the ocean.

This time though, warm hands pulled her from the ocean's freezing grasp and into the arms of whoever had saved her. She felt the water flow from her mouth steadily as she was lifted out of the water. Feebly coughing and shuddering, she looked up into concerned emerald and sapphire eyes.

"Sor...ry..." She managed out the shaky word over trembling lips.

"No, I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing for me to do, and I shouldn't have done it," Axel chastised himself, closing his eyes briefly to beat himself internally. He leaned over closer to speak softly. "Are you ok, Xion?"

"I-I'm fine," she mumbled into his chest. "I just need... a quick second before... I get up."

When she began to shift in his arms, his fingers tightened around her.

"I don't think you should keep swimming." He was adamant, reminding her of how stubborn Roxas could be when he worried over her. That same angry pout graced his lips, except it somehow looked better on him than it did Roxas...

"I'm ok, r-really! Who knows when we'll get another vacation... W-we have to take the chance now, while we're already here." Her argument sounded forced in her apparent exhaustion. Xion pushed out of his arms, only because surprise favored her, and slipped into the refreshing water. "See? I'm fine."

She walked around a bit to emphasize her point and kneeled down to let the water creep up her neck. Roxas and Axel continued to watch her with worried expressions, exchanging a knowing glance now and then.

"We should have fun while we can!"

Xion splashed her friends with two cupped hands and giggled at their surprised faces and wet, now not-so-gravity defying spikes plastered to their heads. They couldn't help but laugh as well and splash her back.

Axel gave a mischievous grin directed at Roxas, who tried to mimic the grin but instead ended up with his usual bright smile twisted into some ghost of Axel's. It would have been laughable to Xion if she had not found herself circled by the two as if the were starved sharks with bloodlust in their eyes. It terrified her how much they looked like animals; hungry, emotionless... like Nobodies. Had she been tricking herself into seeing them otherwise?

But then they attacked her with a fierce hug, sandwiching her between their wet bodies until all her previous doubt melted away to leave behind that simplistic "feeling" of friendship. And now, she felt like an animal.

She had once seen two stray dogs, fur matted and bathed in dirt, wandering the streets of Twilight Town in search of a home. They had settled themselves down in the shade of a building and began to nuzzle each other with dried noses, happy in their makeshift home alongside one another.

It was like that now, simple, just reveling in the moment. Xion was always told that Somebodies were much more complicated than Nobodies, and she knew she wasn't really a Nobody, but the way things constantly changed both in and around them, things seemed to be opposite of what she learned to be true.

She leaned into their touch and intertwined her fingers with theirs. The heat from Axel's hand seemed to sear her for reasons unknown, and she shivered slightly at the contact as if it was white hot fire, so hot it burned cold. Despite the momentary discomfort, she held on as if her life depended on it.

Wriggling from their grasp, she pulled them towards the shore and down onto the bed of white flecked with broken and half buried seashells.

They lied there for some time, passing the minutes by in comfortable, amiable silence. The faintest of snores escaped Roxas's lips, and she rolled over to see her friend dozing off into a peaceful sleep. Axel was unmoving, and she assumed he had fallen asleep as well. Stiffly looking up at a clear sky, she mentally battled herself over the subject of breaking the silence.

"...Axel?" Her whisper tore apart the quiet. She didn't really expect an answer in return.

"Hmm?" His low hum just reached her ears, surprising her briefly. Fingers ensnared one another in her lap.

"This is his home, isn't it?" She closed her eyes. "Their home."

The sound of shifting sand scratched the air. Red hair tipped up and down at her right. "Yes."

"Is it right to be here?"

Xion's question was certainly surprising. He had definitely thought she would ask about Sora.

"What do you mean?" He was hesitant. It was strange; he rarely was the one asking the questions. And for once, she played his role and ignored his.

"I want to go see something."

He paused in his reply; he had expected more questions.

"And you want to me to see as well?"

The white silk mingled with her black tresses. "Yes. It would be too... dangerous to bring Roxas."

He pushed himself from the sand gracefully and offered a hand to Xion. She took it gratefully, but as she did she noticed that this was the first time she had ever seen as well as felt his bare hand. Perhaps that was why the fire his touch sent up her arm went untamed without his coat there to contain it. She did her best to ignore it.

"I think it's this way." Axel could identify strain in her voice. What if Sora's memories came back to her, and she passed out again? Or worse? But instead of dueling with nonexistent worry, he allowed himself to be lead along by Xion.

She stopped before a cluster of dark bushes, suddenly realizing she still had Axel's hand. That warmth shot up her arm and found its way to her cheeks.

"Through here." Kneeling down on hands and knees, she was forced to let go of his hand as she pushed through the small crawlspace between the gaps in the bushes. Disappointment- no, no, not disappointment; she was relieved to be free of the constant burning.

They found themselves standing in a secluded cove littered with rock formations jutting out of the rough walls at odd angles. Xion slowly walked forward to trace a hand along the white chalk etched into strange pictures straight from the wild imagination of a child. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

Axel was close behind, ignoring the drawings. He watched Xion intently, never taking his gaze away except to blink occasionally. Alarm tried to take hold in his mind, blaring warnings. This place was obviously special to her, sentimental, as in memories could overwhelm her any second. But Axel was instead focused on the sensation he pinpointed to his hand, where Xion had touched him. It wasn't often someone could make his hand burn. It was an odd, immensely pleasurable feel- sensation, one that left him mesmerized and hanging over her every movement.

A certain drawing, somewhat low to the floor, caught Xion's eye as she neared. Nostalgia, or what she imagined nostalgia was supposed to be like, washed over her in a foaming wave. It was as if she could hear someone-

It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me!

...talking in the back of her mind.

She brought a hand out to touch it but hesitated and curled her fingers back up. Axel's arm brushed against her shoulder and settled against her as he broke his gaze away to see the drawing. Her voice was nearly silent.

"This one is-"

If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what.

"...special."

Axel was pressed up against her now, his chin hovering over her shoulder. She tore her eyes away from the drawing and turned around, finding herself having to look up he was so close. The cool rock brushed her back.

"Do I look like her? Like Kairi?"

Xion looked down at her tangled fingers.

"A little." Her shoulders jerked slightly as if his words had stung her. "But you're you. Not her."

What was he saying? He hadn't even met Kairi before. But it was true; he just knew they were different.

"How do you know?" Her pleading cerulean eyes searched his.

"It doesn't matter what you are; you're Xion. You've got memories of your own that make you your own person." The words flowed out steadily. A warm hand brushed her cheek. "We're your best friends, I'm your best friend, and nothing's going to change that. Get it memorized."

Her eyes widened at his words. She smiled softly up at him. "Thank you, Ax-"

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. His name caught in her throat. She slipped her hands gently onto his shoulders. It was a simple kiss, the brief touching of lips until they pulled apart a few seconds later. They both realized to themselves how reluctant they were to part.

"Is this wrong?" Her whisper was almost hoarse, brimming with doubt. He pulled his hand away from her face slightly.

"Does this... bother you?" She didn't respond. He pressed his lips to her hair, right about her ear. "I don't... want to hurt you."

"No... I- I... like it." She felt her fingers tighten on his shoulders. "What about you?"

"I'm a Nobody, Xion." She felt her throat constrict and trap her breath as he pulled back to look her in the eyes. "But I was human, once. And... I could swear that just now, I felt something."

He looked down, and her eyes followed. A single finger tapped his chest.

"At the end of the day, no matter what happens, I'll still be a Nobody. But... to be real again, even for a moment-" He cut himself off with a sigh, looking up at her again.

"To love... is something anyone would want, Nobody or Somebody."

She stared at him with shocked eyes; love? He grinned almost unnoticeably, a faint twitching upwards of the corner of his mouth.

"If we both like it, why refuse it? It's only making us-" He searched for a powerful word to describe it. "-happy."

She leaned forward, jumped even, to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. It was a bold move, an act on impulse, something Axel would do. How nice for once it was to be impulsive and confident.

He wrapped his arms around her, letting his hand enjoy the actual touch of her silky hair. They were pulled close, leaning against the cold stone for support as they melted in one another's arms.

Axel wanted to say something, mouth it against her lips so she would hear it and feel it and believe it all at once. He was sure Xion could feel his apprehension. But to tell a lie no matter how much one believes it is worse a crime than not speaking it at all. So he said nothing and held her tighter, wishing he could speak those three words in full truth.

Slight scuffling came from the cove's entrance, but they chose to ignore it though they heard it quite clearly. A presence stumbled into the room, boots shuffling and crunching over pebbles. They continued to sway lightly on their feet, pressing their lips together, determined to make the moment last. The scraping of shoes on rocks stopped abruptly.

"What-" Roxas stood with wide eyes. As he backed away with a single defensive step, initial confusion soon followed by betrayal flashed across his eyes. They broke apart at the sight of him, each missing one another's warmth, but not daring to risk whatever shards of trust Roxas had left for them. They looked down, not ashamed, just sad. Roxas opened his mouth, anger streaking through his eyes, about to say something bitter, but he clutched his head in pain. Visions flashed in and out before his eyes, memories, but his sight came back to see the drawing on the wall and Xion falling to the floor before he fell unconscious.

Both fell simultaneously, Xion being the only one close enough to catch. Axel snatched her from the air but had to watch Roxas hit the floor with a dull thud. He writhed on the floor, fingers still digging into his scalp despite him being passed out. Axel laid her down on the floor gently before rushing to Roxas's side. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that she wasn't in as worse a state as Roxas, but the look on her face showed she was in pain.

He opened a portal in front of then as he hauled Roxas's limp body up, throwing his arm around his neck and picking him up under his other arm.

Dragging him through the portal, Axel winced as the darkness threatened to invade his empty chest and rip him apart. He pushed on past the pain and found himself in Roxas's room. He lifted him up and put him on the bed gently before hurrying back through the portal.

Xion whimpered on the floor, face pained as her body shuddered. He scooped her up quickly and put her on his back, pushing through the clawing bushes on hands and knees. Flying on down to the sand, he skidded to a halt at Xion's coat. He slid her off his back and onto the soft white with a quiet spray of sand.

How stupid he was to take them there; he had known the risks and now his friends had to deal with the consequences.

Once Xion had her coat back on, he ignored his own coat and threw open a portal as he picked her up in his arms. He trudged through the darkness, ignoring the writhing tendrils clawing at his skin. Pain pierced his body, trying to shred him into nonexistent pieces. Forcing himself through, he came to Xion's room, breath staggered. He struggled to set her on the bed.

"X-Xion... wake up, come- come on..." He gently stroked her face with a shaking hand. She stirred, her head falling towards the side facing him. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, thick lashes brushing his hand.

"W-what... happened?" she whispered in a hoarse voice.

"You fainted." For some reason, he whispered as well.

"But... where did I faint?"

He opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he saw the look in her half opened eyes. She didn't remember a thing.

"...On a mission."

The faintest spark of recognition ignited in her eyes but faded away as quickly as it came. Her body became lax as her eyes closed.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his mane of hair. Another secret. Secret after secret building one another as he waited for them to come crashing down. But, it was something just between them- not between Roxas or anyone else. And Nobody or not, he couldn't just pretend nothing happened. One day, he'd tell her.

Axel leaned over her and pressed his lips against hers delicately. He mouthed three simple words.

I love you.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

- Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Title inspiration = To Kill a Mockingbird (obviously)

The mockingbird of the story = their "feelings" for one another- yeah, idk either. For those of you not familiar with this book, the whole basic philosophy is don't harm what's not doing you harm and only helping you.

Also, this all is supposed to happen around after she ran away for a second time or something, not too long after they promise to go to the beach. I'm not sure if it would really work, but I wanted it to take place later. :x And I also despise that stupid ringing the entrances to dressing rooms do, as you can see. XD

I feel it's too long, and if you didn't like it, don't worry because I didn't like it really either. XD /le sigh

All your support and reviews is much appreciated.

Happy late Akushi day. ^^

~Jordan