[FIC] Kingdom Hearts
Title: N/A
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Pairing: N/A
Rating: G
Word Count: 475 words



Axel stared down at the shivering form at his feet, prodding it with the toe of his boot. It shrank back, curling in on itself with a soft whine.

"Stop that," Vexen snapped at him from across the room, temper already dangerously frayed.

"Man," Axel said in a conspiratorial whisper to the Nobody, dropping into a crouch next to it. "You're doing a great job of pissing him off. What's your secret?" He flicked a strand of blond hair away from a pale cheek, then quickly yanked his hand back when blunt teeth snapped to close to his fingers for comfort. "Biting? That's your secret? Sorry, pal. Don't think that's going to work for me. He'd probably taste bad."

Vexen gave a long-suffering sigh. "If the two of you are getting along so well, perhaps you'd like to take a turn at caring for it?"

Axel looked up, grinning. "What, is it too much for the powers of science to handle? Awww, poor Vexy. No wonder you're in such a bad mood." He dangled one of the strings from his hood in front of the Nobody's face, wiggling it like a cat toy. The Nobody raised its head, large blue eyes following flicking back and forth with every motion of the string. "What's up with it, anyway? It looks like one of us, but it's all... feral."

"Hm?" Vexen had been watching the two of them with something akin to fascination, his fingers twitching like he wished for a pen to start taking notes. "That's precisely what I've been attempting to discern. I believe it quite simply doesn't remember being human in the first place, and as such has no remembered behaviors to fall back on."

"Huh. Weird. What's up with you, kid?" The last part was directed at the Nobody, who was eyeing Axel inquisitively. It inched closer, still shivering. "Uh, Vex? You thought about getting it something to wear? I think it's cold."

Judging by the way Vexen's expression went from surprised to guilty to irritated, he hadn't.

Axel rolled his eyes, reaching out to it slowly. Its slender shoulders jerked, but it made no move to pull away. "Ignore him," he told it, pulling it into his arms and getting an elbow to his jaw for his trouble. He held on tight, though, and eventually the kicking and biting slowed. Instead, the Nobody tried to bury closer into the warmth. "See, the problem with Vexen is that he doesn't realize that some of us have body temperatures above the freezing point. I think he's got frostbite in his brain."

Vexen made a disgusted noise, his coat swirling around him as he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

In his arms, the Nobody's lips moved into something that was a close approximation of a smile as it drifted off to sleep.