Title: Singing

Author: Digimon Empress Yaten (de yaten)

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't claim to.

Axel liked to hum, and sing - he loved to sing. He never sang in front of the Organization, of course. He had enough problems dealing with his supposed "crush" on Roxas, so singing was out of the question.

When he sang, he felt less empty. (Or more whole, as Demyx would say.) He almost felt the warmth of his memories when he sang.

Although he hadn't much to compare it to - except the singing of those irksome mermaids - Axel supposed his singing was all right. Not perfect, never perfect - but all right. Untrained, of course. But who had the time for such things nowadays? What with Sora and Riku running about the Castle, and Zexy being a pain in the ass, and Roxas being... well, Roxas.

Once, when Axel was singing softly to himself in yet another broken world, he felt someone watching him. He called out. No one answered. He continued singing, but felt the unwanted presence following him the entire time. From then on, he ruined worlds in silence.

Weeks later, Axel found himself behind a fence in Agrabah, watching the once-Princess of Heart, Jasmine, in her garden. Although he hated to admit it, he did enjoy visiting most of the old Princesses - they all enjoyed singing to themselves, like Axel. Jasmine's voice was his favorite, although he didn't care to remember why.

He was startled by a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Do you always spy on people?"

Axel sighed. "Demyx, c'mon. Who doesn't enjoy a good ol' fashion girl-watching?" He faked a grin. "I almost caught her in the nude this time!"

Demyx peeked into the window. "She's feeding birds."

"I--"

"Y'know, Axel. It's okay if you like singing!"

Axel went red. "YOU! You were the one stalking me!"

Demyx grinned. "Stalking? Well, I guess you could say that. Yeah, stalking works. But you really shouldn't be shy about these things! I mean," he held out his sitar, "I could play, and you could sing. We'll make a band!"

Axel stared at Demyx, bemused. "A band?"

"C'mon, Axel! We could be the... the Organization Two!"

Axel chortled. "Uh, no thanks... I'm off, see ya when I see ya!" With that, Axel began walking away.

"No, wait!" Demyx ran after him. "How about the Organization Seventeen! Hey! Get it! Seventeen! Eight plus Nine! Hey, Axel!"

But Axel was gone.

Demyx kicked the sand below his feet. "Aw, man."