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 Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:54 pm
Niko was pacing the floor of his livingroom, a frown where a smile usually was. He didn't know what to do about this; should he tell Tish he didn't want any more children? Should he tell her that he preferred to wait until the children they already had reached a certain age to have more? Should he avoid the subject altogether to avoid an argument? Oh well. Demyx needed to spend time with his brother; the infant insistantly asked for "Xelly". What was Xelly doing right now? Where was Xelly? Why wasn't Xelly there?
It was a relief to Niko when he noticed the blonde haired infant on the floor, playing with a small set of plastic boats--that looked like they belonged in a bathtub, rather than on the rug. "We 'ind Xelly," he was telling the boats. "We 'ind Xelly and t'en we p'ay. Xelly good at p'aying."
Niko sighed, and dialed Tish's number. "Hey Tish? It's Niko. Meet me at my place? Demyx wants to see his brother." He silently hoped she had found a babysitter for the girls.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:24 pm
Tish answered the phone and nodded a little, though Niko couldn't see it. She had sensed this was coming, and had dropped her little girls off with Jadyn and her new daughter, Phoebe, just that morning. Axel was sitting by the window and gazing out of it; every fiber of his tiny being seemed to be crying out for his brother as he placed tiny hands on the glass.
"Okay," Tish said quietly, hoping her rising fear didn't leak into her voice. "Axel and I will be right over. . . He's been wanting to see Demyx, too."
Meanwhile, not paying any attention to the phone call, Axel traced the outline of a heart - Kingdom Hearts - on the window. He remembered everything. His first name, losing his heart, losing his world, the Heartless. . . becoming a member of the Organization, Roxas, Xion, Sora. . . kidnapping Kairi, dying. . . then waking up here, as a baby who didn't even have the most basic of controls - how HUMILIATING! - and not even being able to stay with the one person he knew, the one person who he could cling to because he remembered him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:49 pm
Niko noticed something in Tish's voice, and gave an inward sigh. She was afraid; probably because of something he'd said or done. "You know," he muttered, "I don't bite," he joked, hoping to cheer his fiancee up. He wasn't looking forward to an argument, he intended to avoid one altogether. Did she really think he would leave her because of a little thing like too many children? "See you soon, Tish," he added. "I love you. Don't forget." He hung up the phone.
It was unfortunate that unlike Axel, who remembered everything, Demyx had only the mind of a small infant; he knew Axel; but he knew him as his brother. "Xelly coming?" he asked, looking up from his toys. "Xelly coming? Xelly~ Xelly, I luv Xelly!"
Niko picked the infant up and smiled. "Yes, Xelly's coming," using affectionate the nickname Demyx had given his brother. "And Mommy, too," he added as an afterthought.
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:47 pm
"All right," Tish said quietly, still feeling rather sad and worried. "I love you too." Then she hung up the phone and scooped Axel up from his spot by the window. The toddler peered up at Tish with eyes that bespoke of a soul far older than the tiny body he was in. Instinctively, the woman knew that this little boy was somehow like Howl - an adult trapped as a child. Smiling at Axel, she ruffled his spiky hair a bit. "Hey," she said softly. "We're going to go see your brother."
Axel blinked and smiled a little. "Really? We are...? Okay then," he said, trying to sound like he didn't care - because really he -couldn't- care anyway, right? He placed a tiny hand over his chest and felt the lack of a heartbeat, confirming that he still lacked his heart... that meant he really couldn't care; not at all.
But it sure felt like he did. . .
He remained thoughtful for entire trip to Niko's house.
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:40 pm
Niko frowned; why did Tish sound so sad? He hadn't done anything wrong, to his knowledge. He'd made sure the ring he'd gotten her would fit; what could he have done to make her sound so sad? Putting a hand to his chin, he thought in silence. That was, unlike he heard the infant in his arms give a happy squeal.
"Xelly here, Xelly here!" he cried. He pointed out the window to make his point. "Xelly here, Xelly here!" he didn't seem to notice that Tish was there as well, or he would have undoubtedly pointed her out also. "Xelly, Xelly, Xelly~" Demyx kept on like this until his father went to the door. "'Pen, 'pen!" the infant shouted, pointing with both hands towards the door knob. "Xelly!"
Niko couldn't help chuckling at his son's eagerness. He opened the door slowly, as if to tease the infant. Once Demyx spotted Axel, he stopped squirming and reached for his brother. "Xelly! I miss'd ooo!"
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:29 pm
Axel wriggled and fussed at Tish until she put him down, whereupon the tiny redhead hurried to his brother as fast as his small legs could carry him. "Demy, you okay? No one hurt you?" He asked, peering around with bright green eyes as if he fully expected there to be some sort of threat around the corner. "No Heartless here right?"
Tish had no idea what her son was talking about, but felt he needed reassured anyway. "Axel, it's safe here. Demy wasn't hurt," she said softly, smiling tightly at Niko, her eyes bright with the anxiety of what she expected to happen tonight.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:55 pm
"There's no heartless," Niko reassured Axel with a smile, putting Demyx on the floor so he could greed his brother. "Demy's safe with me; don't worry." He had no idea what heartless were, but he could guess that they were some kind of dangerous being from the way Axel behaved. Niko noticed his fiancee's displeasure and took her hand. "Let's let them play for a bit, huh? You seem nervous. Want some tea?"
Demyx threw his arms around Axel and hugged him. "Xelly!" he cried. He didn't seem to understand most of Axel's questioning, so he looked at his brother with a tilt of his head. "Hea'tless?" he echoed, sounding puzzled. "I no hurt, Xelly. Daddy luv me bery bery much!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:22 pm
Tish nodded a little, managing a slightly more genuine smile for Niko than she had previously. "Yes... I'd like that," she said quietly, reaching up and tugging at her hair with her free hand. Her fingers tangled in the strands (once again dyed brown), and she had to pause for a moment to free them. "How has Demyx been behaving?" She asked quietly, watching the two infants interact with each other.
Axel hugged Demyx back, still peering around cautiously. "No Hearltess? Really? Okay," he said, his infant instincts letting him be reassured by the simple comfort, whether or not his adult mind fully believed them. "Demy, you been okay?" He asked, shooting Niko a somewhat suspicious glance. "He's nice? Not mean? Not like Xemnas?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:36 pm
"He's been good. He acts just like any other baby," Niko said vaguely. Why was she behaving like this? She was treating him like some kind of stranger. He hadn't done anything wrong; why was she acting like she barely knew him? Sensing that she wasn't about to say anything more to him, he said, "I'll go get your tea." Niko was hurt. He didn't understand--he had called to talk to her, that was all. Did she want to break off the engagement? Was that what this was about? Why she was treating him like he was no more important than someone she would meet on the street? Niko sighed and walked into the kitchen. He poured her a cup of tea; if she wanted to leave him, the least he could do was make sure she was comfortable while doing it.
"I not seen any," Demyx told his brother, though he really had no idea what heartless were anyway. "I okay," he added, giving his brother a smile. "I okay, Xelly. Daddy good. Not like Xemmy--who Xemmy, Xelly? Who Xemmy?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:29 pm
Tish sighed softly and followed after Niko, leaving the two little ones to their own devices for the moment, with a quiet warning of "No setting anything on fire, Axel," as she followed her elven fiancee.
"Niko," she said quietly, nervousness tainting her voice. "I - I . . . what did you want to talk about?" She asked in a rush, clenching her hands in front of her and idly aware that they were trembling. Was this it? Was he going to break it off with her? She bit her lip, waiting for him to voice his words on their future.
Axel narrowed his eyes at his brother, concerned. "You don' rem'ber, Demy?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:49 pm
Niko sighed, handing her the cup of tea. "Here's your tea," he said, before thinking about what he was going to say. If she wanted to leave him, he wouldn't stop her. He wanted her to be happy--but the way she was acting, he wasn't succeeding in making her such.
"I just wondered...If we couldn't wait on having on having more children until ours are older." He waited for her answer nervously, sensing that she was going to become angry with him or something. This had to be the end. She had been acting far too awkward for her not to hate him.
"'Member what, Xelly?" Demy asked, tilting his head. "Xelly, who Xemmy? Tell, Xelly, tell! Who Xemmy? What I no 'member? Xelly know? I wanna know! No fair!" No, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. Why did Axel know things while he didn't?
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:15 pm
Tish blinked. "Th=that's it? Really? Y-you're not leaving me?" She asked, trying to stop the tears from falling from her eyes - and being unsuccessful at it, too.
Axel blinked. His brother really didn't remember. Anything. He was just a little baby. . . "Nothin', Demy. And just someone I made up."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:55 pm
Niko looked surprised. Leaving her had never even crossed his mind. "Leave you?" he echoed. "Why would I leave you? I thought you knew I loved you." Hadn't he been clear with that fact? Hadn't he been blunt enough? He pulled her into a hug. "You shouldn't cry," he said. He gently brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Don't cry."
Demyx tilted his head at his brother. "Nuh-uh," he said, shaking his head. "Xemmy our boss, Xelly," he told Axel matter of factly. For a moment his eyes were clear and blue. Intelligence shown from behind them. "Xemmy our boss."
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:10 pm
Tish swallowed and closed her eyes, leaning against Niko as she finally admitted, "I was. . . afraid. . . s-since I keep getting children shoved at me. . . I can't turn them away, Niko, and Darcy seems to get some sick satisfaction out of burying me under toddlers, I swear. . . "
Axel blinked. "You remember? R'lly? How much?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:13 pm
Niko sighed. "I know you can't turn them away," he said. "But Darcy's only given you two children, not including ours. I'm sure she understands that all people have a limit. I don't believe she has ever surpassed anyone's given limit. Generally she gives time to allow the children to be nurtured and to grow. At least... That's what the Princess told me. She's known Darcy longer." He failed to mention that said princess had never gotten along with Darcy.
Demyx stared at his brother for a moment, before giving him a bright smile. "Imma play Sitar soon," he said. "W'ote new song 'day." Then his eyes seemed to cloud over. "We play now, Xelly? Daddy say we play!"
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