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tampered2007-11-13 12:23 am
roseblooms.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-11-13 12:23 am
[ COMPLETE ] Axl & Megumi - Three out of one, REUNION
When; Midnight after 4th wall day and experiencing 3 Axls @D@ [3rd November ]
Rating; G - Fluff
Characters; Axl Low [![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
time_slipped] & Megumi [pinkenglishrose]
Summary; After fighting off the affections of three different Axls, it's time for them all to leave. Little do the lovebirds realize they were closer than they were before and one of them was here for longer...
Log;
Despite all the craziness that they all had endured starting from the Halloween curse to this day itself, she had to say that this one was absolutely the best day they had. Not only had people that had left come in, but three Axls, and her best friends from her former stay in the city? Nothing could have made her happier than it. Zelos and Lloyd, from their departure in the city to when she'd left, had given her the best year she'd ever had in her life, and it was in Meltokio that Sayako had originally been born.
As she waved goodbye to her friends, she felt a stab in her heart, though she'd been with them but recently, the Axls had disappeared as well. Moving a hand to her chest as she thought back to it, she wondered... and then shook her head, keeping back her tears. Lloyd and Zelos had returned, and Axl... it was nice seeing him again.
Besides, if she thought about it anymore, she knew she'd cry. So much had happened since her arrival, the affair with Light and everything... but first love, last love? It was always going to be there.
Sighing softly, she was momentarily distracted by the twinkle of fireflies in the flower patch near the small garden fountain, and smiling, she headed over to it. The City was so quiet and it was dark, with only the light of the moon, and she headed over, letting herself be surrounded by their sparkling for a bit. Witches were best in tune with nature after all, and she grinned to herself, almost childishly amused.
Ah, at least this made her smile. She was grateful for it.
The City was an odd place, perhaps even more so than the various and many times he had been thrown into over the years. No time he had been in so far had those curse things after all, that was new to him, certainly. And with all the people running around all a sudden there was even more confusion. He’d made some friends already but he’d never had difficultly being friendly with people and hanging around with his new pal Zack was proving very fun indeed. Hell, he wished he’d known him back in his gang days! They would have made an awesome team!
But even after being there for such a short time he could already tell the population had suddenly increased throughout the course of two days and was finally returning to an number he was more accustomed to... He’d even seen Megumi fleetingly... Along with two other versions of himself. That was odd. He’d seen a mirror of himself before but there had never been three of him in the same spot before. It was crazy. Somewhere along the lines, they had drifted off, most likely returning to their own times and worlds. Had Megumi gone too?
He’d found himself drawn to Xanadu though and as he padded along and a form ahead came into view his heart skipped a beat. She was there, still there. She hadn’t vanished with the other versions of himself. His mouth felt unusually dry, forcing himself to swallow though he stepped forward very quietly until he was stood directly behind the dark-haired young woman, his hands folding behind his back, bending himself at the waist to peer around and down at her and what she was doing. He could feel his heart slamming against the inside of his chest as he tried to think of some extravagant first real thing to say to her "... hi...?" That wasn’t what he had in mind...
Looking over at the water, and the little fireflies twinkling over the grassy area near it, she'd been so absorbed in the lovely sight that she hadn't noticed the arrival of the blond-haired man. So when he spoke to her, she jumped a little, turning around quickly and moving a hand to her chest. At seeing who it was, though, she felt her cheeks heat up. It was close to nearing midnight, and she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up, but at the same time, having this Axl so close...
"Gave me a scare, there..." She breathed the words out (... what happened to volume?) And coughing quickly, she straightened up, looking down for a bit. "Interesting day today, wasn't it..." She couldn't help but murmur. When all three had started arguing over her, she'd spent some time with them, then gone her way. It was easier on her than getting her hopes up...
He’d jumped a little when Megumi had, chuckling nervously as he folded his hands behind his head "Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you!" Which was true, surprise maybe, but never scare. He stared off directly ahead at the mass of fireflies not far ahead, his eyes softening a little. Ahh, of course she’d be distracted by something like that. He turned his head to look at Megumi once more when she spoke again, blinking before grinning a little.
"Yeah, I’ll say! Damn, I didn’t know the little city could hold so many people at once! They were all crazy too! And I swear I saw doubles of people, not just of us I mean." He rocked lightly back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking around slowly, drinking in the surrounding and the beautiful woman within "...I’ve not been here before." He said sort of wistfully "Dunno what drew me here either, but it kinda reminds me of back home when we were kids..."
He was speaking of the City as though he'd been here for a while, which made her stop and listen. Curious... if he had been, she would have seen him sometime, it's not like it was possible to miss people in the City at sometime or the other. But... it wasn't midnight yet, the clock hadn't struck, though she knew it wouldn't be too long before it did.
His mention of back home when they were kids made her pause and smile, turning around to face the fountain again and she raised her hand, creating a small current of wind that took the fireflies within it, making the insects swirl playfully around her hand, and she smiled to herself once they were released, letting them flutter off. She hadn't revealed that she was a real witch to him until a year into their relationship, when she used her magic to save him from a losing gang fight where she'd been terrified. And which was also the day they had their second kiss.
The memory of it made her blush, and she absently moved a hand to touch her hair on her shoulder, keeping her back to him. "It resembles the garden a bit... heh. Gran never did discover you'd broken her spell in that tree near my window." She shook her head, and turned to glance over her shoulder. "It'll be midnight soon..." The curse was going to end. And then he'd disappear...
She really was beautiful... For all his childish messing around, all the flirting he did, all the stupid boyish things, she really did freeze time for him. Funny, when he thought about how cruel was to them sometimes when he considered that. She was the one person who could honestly keep him anchored down. Sure, he had his buddies, the people he just couldn’t seem to avoid crashing into, some of which he’d consider friends, but she was the only person who really had a hold on him. Not like a nagging girlfriend either, or in the sometimes crude ways guys may joke about a woman holding her man by the... Well, you know. No, it was more like an invisible hold on his heart. Not like he’d ever admit that or anything, that was a little too flowery for him... But it was true.
He blinked at her then when she mentioned the garden and her grandmother, giving a short chuckle “Heh! Yeah it does. Man, good thing she never did find out. She’d of had my head for sure! She’d be pissed to find out an clueless moron like me broke a spell like that, huh?” Playing around with his little fire spells was one thing, but he was no real spell caster and he knew it. He’d be awed at Megumi’s abilities, enough not to be jealous and instead just sort of bouncing around in a hyper manner, asking what else she could do! Show, show! C’mon!
There was just something in her tone then that made his grin fade for a second into a frown. She sounded off. He didn’t like that. Lowering himself behind her, he balanced himself on his toes and moved his legs either side of her, his hands laying on the tops of her arms and his chin lightly on her shoulder. If he wasn’t a real man who had just gotten dust in his eyes he may have thought he was getting emotional. Damn that dust making his eyes water! Pfft. "Yeah... It’s been a busy few days, huh?" ...it felt so indescribably good to hold her again, it made his heart soar. Again, not that he’d say it or anything...
It hurt. Did she even deserve to be held by him after she'd allowed herself to be touched by another man? Granted the feelings weren't like this, as fond of him as she was, but it wasn't love. It wasn't those years of affection and security she'd had for the first time in her life. It wasn't the music that had brought her into becoming the woman she was. She stilled, savoring the warmth of his body against hers, and that familiar feeling of his hold, the smell of his clothing (strange, was it the garden or did he have perfume on him?) and leaned back against him, feeling her shoulder tingle from where she could feel his chin rest.
"Quite busy..." Wait. She didn't want to get her hopes up too high, but-- was it possible that he had been... no. Just this curse. Just this curse... how could she not know he was here? This was punishment, right? for letting Light touch her, for...
Feeling her heart beat a touch faster, she swallowed and then turned her face to a side, looking at the fireflies in the distance. "The others are gone already...?" She meant the other Axls of course. So many of them in one place? "Terrible predicament you have yourself in, luv." The endearment came without her thinking too much, and she could feel the flutter in her stomach as she spoke.
Then, inhaling softly, she steeled herself, then pulled away, enough to turn around and look up at him. "But I shouldn't get my hopes up. Not if we're not seeing each other after this night." Blue eyes were growing darker with sadness, and she lowered her head. "But I'm happy I got to see you at all..."
The hold was so relaxing after not seeing her in so many years, though he had wondered if after so long if he was allowed to be as forward as he used to be, what if she hated him now after all? Or worse, forgotten him. Or even worse, gotten a new boyfriend. Priorities, lad, priorities! Still, she hadn’t forgotten him, she didn’t seem to hate him and he could see no new boyfriend... yet.
"The others, yeah I think so..." Honestly, he was getting a little nervous; if they had gone was she going too? He wasn’t sure but the idea was so upsetting in a way. He’d finally found her again after all, he didn’t want it to end so soon. If it was a curse it could possibly be one of the cruellest ones to him.
And then she pulled away. Oh no, he had done something wrong, hadn’t he? When she looked at him like that it made him feel an odd sense of guilt. Had she had that look many times while he was gone? He hadn’t been around to chase it away after all. The idea she may have had those sad eyes and spoken in such a sorrowful tone without him being around made him feel so emotionally heavy. And here she was talking about them possibly being separated again. He had so much he wanted to tell her about, so much he wanted her to tell him about too. Moving a hand gently from her shoulder to her cheek, Axl smiled sadly "Me too, princess. Don’t go for--" The sound of bells somewhere off in the city cut him off. Midnight. His eyes went wide as he stared at her, mentally finishing his sentence but he couldn’t say it, he was holding his breath without knowing he was doing it: don’t go forgetting me.
The bells from the clock tower in the city made her freeze as well, and his use of the nickname didn't help either. Princess... he was the only one who called her that. As they rang out the time, she could feel her heart stop beating. Her hand went up to the one against her cheek, and she ended up holding it a lot more tightly than she intended to.
"I don't think I could." She wasn't at all ashamed of showing her tears, what were they but your eyes wanting to show emotion, right? Smiling weakly, she moved her other hand to his wrist, keeping her tears back, and then whispered the lyrics of a song she'd really liked when she was younger that were the same things she wanted to say now. He'd teased her about it being to pop-ish in comparison to his hardcore rock, things she'd learned to love to, but maybe this called for it. "You were in my heart. My love never changed. I still feel the same." She didn't sing the lyrics, but were he her Axl, he'd know exactly what song she was referring to.
She didn't move. If she embraced him now, he'd vanish, and then-- and then...
He didn’t want to take his eyes off her, he was afraid if he blinked or dared look away she’d be gone the next moment. As the bells rang out he found himself counting them in his head. Damn, if he had control of time he’d stop it for them both, but time was the one with a hold on him not the other way around, sadly.
She was a brave thing, wasn’t she? Even now he could tell she was trying so hard and he knew he had to do the same. He stared at her with wide eyes as she spoke those lyrics to him, swallowing hard and forcing a smile forward, giving a light laugh as his thumb stroked across her cheek "...man, I can’t believe you remember that old pop-song. Bloody Kylie...!" He couldn’t bring himself to say any words back to her from the song, even though he knew them all, embarrassingly he may claim "But... it’s our song, right, babe?" Sighing he moved his hand to drew hers to his lips, kissing her knuckles lightly as the final stroke of midnight rang out into the night.
... And then a long moment passed, how long he wasn’t sure but then he forced himself to lift his eyes, blinking then and staring dumbly at her "...you’re... still here…"
She wanted to laugh at his words, but the moment he mentioned it being their song, she began praying in her mind. /He knows the words, he knows them-- it's him, you can't do this to me now--!! Please, whatever power there is, don't take him--/ As the clock finally reached what felt like a final knell, she inhaled sharply, closing her eyes tightly. She didn't have the courage to see him disappear. And just as she did that, her tears overflowed, spilling over her reddened cheeks, half-expecting the touch on her hand to go away, when...
...
Nothing happened? The silence grew stronger, and she remained standing where she was, unable to believe what was going on.
Finally, she gathered the courage to open her eyes, raising her gaze and meeting his own. He was still -there- and ... for a moment, she looked like she was going to break down crying, but then her expression changed entirely, becoming the annoyed, pouty, angry expression that it became when he teased her too much, and then her hand moved to grab his hair to the side of his face and give it a short tug.
"Bloody Kylie--?! When you were the one who got me the tape?!" Whack-- fist smashing into his shoulder and she glared up at him, moving forward, ready to hit him gently again. She'd never aim to hurt him, though right now...
She wanted to feel something, some assurance that he was there-- that she was touching him, and she found herself breathing in an effort to control her sobs as she weakly punched his shoulder with a hand as she drew closer. Was he really here?
"Stop... teasing me..." She was muttering it to herself. She wanted the City to stop playing games with her... and then, she stopped, head lowered as she tightened her hold around his shirt collar, shoulders shaking. "Or I'll... hit you..."
"Ah--ahh--!! H-hey!" He winced as his hair was tugged like that, his arms flailing around in over exaggeration for such an act. He made a light 'oof!' noise as he felt her fist hit his shoulder, pouting like a scolded child. When the next couple of thumps of her fist were a little weaker though and she bowed her head like that though he calmed down too, looking down at her.
She hadn’t vanished. He hadn’t either. The bells had stopped and the curse was definitely over. Was it wrong of him to hope, to really hope and pray that was it? It would hurt like holy hell if it turned out to be the City still playing pranks but he couldn’t help it.
"...you just did hit me..." He said quietly, daring himself to take a step forward, trying to keep his arms from shaking as they encircled her, pulling her close to him and against his chest "...and I only bought the tape because it was... on offer... Not 'cause I was... you know, being thoughtful or anything..." Sure, she’d just told him to stop teasing her (She had meant him, right?) but he couldn’t really help it. He tightened the hug around her, head lowering to rest it against hers. "...wanna hit me again...?" His voice came out a little quieter than he thought it should have done, maybe a little cracked in places. Really, he didn’t mind if she did; he’d feel it, wouldn’t he? If she punched him hard enough to hurt all the better - there’d be no denying it. He didn’t want it to be a joke or a dream.
"Oh hush up..." She was still trying to keep her voice from shaking, and her fingers tightened around his collar. How long had it been since she'd actually been safe here in this City? Without having to worry for her own self-worth coming under question, without having men trying to take advantage of her powers... and then there was the feeling of his arms around her. He'd always looked like a brute from the very start, but there was one thing there had no mistake about, and that was the fact that he had the strongest embrace in the entirety of the East End and West End combined. His old girlfriends testified to the same thing, and she found herself sobbing softly.
Finally, unable to stop herself, she let out a choked sob, crossed with shocked laughter. "Or I'll knock you in that place you're so proud of, you pig--" she'd spent two years in the East End with him, so despite her managing to maintain her speech mannerisms, some colloquialism definitely made its way in.
And then, she threw her arms around his back, clutching him tightly, as though pleading for him to not be taken from her. "... Axl..." She sobbed his name. "What took you so long, you jerk..."
Axl didn’t loosen his hold even in the slightest, a little laugh of his own escaping his lips. It was one of those laughs that was genuinely happy, but at the same time it felt like if he didn’t laugh he’d cry... Only not, because he was a manly man and manly men didn’t do that.
He felt himself shiver a little as she hugged onto him like that, taking in a deep breath before exhaling it in a heavy sigh, his head lightly nuzzling against her "Sorry... I promise I was trying to get here as soon as I could..." Something was bubbling up in him, grinning then and leaning himself back suddenly to pull her up off her feet, spinning around with her as he laughed with pure uncontained happiness "I found you! You’re really here! I finally found you again, Megumi!" He could have spun like that for hours, but really as he felt himself wobbling a little he decided he should stop before he got too dizzy and fell over. He didn’t want them to break their necks after finding each other at last.
Putting her down as suddenly as he picked her up, he lower himself to stare at her, still grinning like a moron "...and don’t you threaten my bits again, woman! I need them in tact!"
The moment had been far too quiet, too solemn-- and all of a sudden, like the very ray of sunlight that he often joked about being, he dazzled her with his next action, that first made her blink in shock and before she knew it, the world around her was spinning wildly and she had to grab his shoulders to stop herself from falling away.
"Axl-- Axl you oaf, put me down!!" But then, she started laughing herself, even as she was put down, and kept her hands on his shoulders,
and narrowed her eyes almost mischievously at his words, quickly moving a hand back to wipe under her cheeks.
"I'm sure you wont miss them after a while, you cad!" she replied, hardly able to believe this was happening. Her hands flying up to capture his face in her hold, she looked at him, unable to tear herself away. "You... you were coming back...? Coming back for -me-?"
Ahh~ that laughter, the memory of it alone had kept him doggedly searching for an answer to his time skipping. Hearing it again like that just made it all worth while, even if he still had yet to find a real reason or means to stop it. For the time being though, he was happy, stupidly happy in fact.
Of course, he did stop fully though and grinned at her, not so much the childish grin he usually sported, but the look of someone trying to contain themselves and it was almost overflowing into their very expression "Ahh, you’re a lady! You wouldn’t understand the value of 'em!"
He watched her as she held his face though, forcing himself to settle down just a little as his eyes softened. His hands moved to rest over hers at his face, breathing out a sigh before nodding "All for you." One of his hands shifted then, lightly tugging one of her hands over his shoulder to pull her against him, his other arm wrapping carefully around her middle. He couldn’t help but at least try and be gentle with her. He was such a clumsy street rat at times and she seemed so delicate, even though she wasn’t really. It still never changed the fact he was scared of breaking her somehow "Only for you, princess. I’ve been trying to get back to you all these years... It has been years, right?"
Blushing crimson, she shoved him a bit, before allowing herself to be tugged close enough. It had been years, so many in fact, that she had decided to... well, nearly decided to move on. And in part, she had, but this sort of thing.. it shouldn't have been unexpected.
At the tug, she let out a gasp as she found herself pressed up against him, falling silent for a moment, before she moved a hand under her own eyes to catch any stray tears. "Six years from the day you left." She whispered softly, her own look filled with a sad sort of acception of the fact. So much had happened in the middle, so much that she didn't even know where to start. Then, almost absently, she allowed herself to be bold enough and reached out to touch his face, trailing her fingers over his cheekbone and jawline, as though memorizing his features. She herself, didn't look any different from how she had looked back then, apart from her choice in clothing and the maturity that had entered her eyes, oddly enough.
Suddenly, she felt eighteen again, that same finally-blossomed young girl who had been shown how to enjoy the world she was living in and she lowered her gaze, shyly or embarrassedly, even she couldn't tell. "I thought..." She could feel her voice breaking up as she spoke, not wanting him to see her eyes. "I thought you would have forgotten me... but Ky and Dr.Faust told me to be strong. I tried... really..." She wanted to tell him what had happened, but feeling as though it was the wrong time for it, she trailed off, raising her gaze again with another smile.
"... I did my best, Axl. I really did!"
Axl felt an odd feeling creep over his spine. Six years? That long, really? When time was shifting around you it was very hard to keep track of how much of it had really passed. That was a worrying revelation, and even then he had to keep in mind he could have ended up at any point for Megumi and the same amount of time may not have actually passed for him, he may even get yanked back again and reappear say two years from when he left the next day. It was confusing enough as it was and the fact Megumi looked so sad only made it worse.
His expression softened a little to her touch though, smiling at her softly. It had been a rough trip over, hadn’t it? Other men may have gone insane along the way, but maybe it was a mixture of him being stubborn and not always the brightest tool in the shed. Er... The sharpest bulb in box... You get the idea. He wasn’t stupid, it was just that general reason sometimes escaped him. But the fight had felt like a long one and save to hit a bar, flirt a bit, play a few games and get himself into and out of trouble, his goal had never strayed and his determination never dampened.
Sighing, he lowered his head to allow his chin to rest gently on top of her head, steeling himself not to let that cracking in her voice spread to his own. He wanted to be the strong pillar for her to lean against after all "I can tell you did, love. I really can. You did good." He swallowed down a lump in his throat, forcing forward a shaky grin "Thanks... For staying strong for me. I knew you would." There was a pause then before he tilted his head to the side "Wait... Dr. Faust and Ky? When did you--?"
When the question entered his voice, she slowly drew back, keeping her hands on his chest, before she recalled, and a small smile appeared on her face. "Oh... yes. They're here, in the City." Looking up at him, she wondered, before adding, "Ky has been taking care of me here. I met one of your friends, Sol Badguy, here before too. During my last visit." Blushing a bit, she glanced to a side, not wanting to go into what happened to Ky earlier. She knew how Axl's temper could flare sometimes, though he was mostly good-natured.
Shaking her head, she looked down. "I looked for you. That's how I ended up here... using my magic."
Turning to look back at him, her gaze softened, she smiled a little and looked down. "And I met you then... three years back, from my own time, right here in this City as well." Now she waited, to see how he would take that bit of news.
The blonde blinked a little, cocking his head to the side "Danna was here?" He smirked slightly, rubbing the back of his neck "And then he shot off again, huh? 'ch! Bloody typical! It feels like a while since I bugged him properly!" He laughed brightly, thinking briefly on how fun it was to rile up Sol. He just couldn’t help it, the flames from that temper were too tempting not to fan from time to time. "But if Ky’s here and been lookin' after you... I guess I owe him one." He paused then, giving her a mock suspicious look "...when you say 'looking after'...!" He winked playfully though, having every~ faith in her.
The second bit of information made him pause though and frown to himself. It was like he’d thought, hoping around in time. He had been here before, but he couldn’t remember it. Did that mean he had yet to reach that point? Or was it one of the other two Axls he’d seen before during the curse? If there were not only different versions of himself in time but in worlds as well... Ow, that hurt his brains. Shaking his head, he put a hand to the side of his skull as if trying to contain a leak springing for his brain. It was a lot to take in, to be fair "...I was here before, huh? I don’t remember." That worried him; he’d never have forgotten finding his lady again, surely "What happened? Did I just... vanish again?"
He was getting that look again, and just as she feared, he either hadn't been here or he was yet to come here, and... that was headache-inducing enough. However, seeing the look on his face was more amusing than anything, and she found herself chuckling a bit, before shaking her head. "Ky's been like a brother to me." Of course, a certain someone else had been a little more than that, and she distracted herself from that thought by focusing on his question.
And here was the big one...
"You did... and well..." She found herself trailing off as she moved a hand behind her own head, looking nervously to a side, before looking back at him with a small smile. "Ah-- well... that is..." Oh god, was she getting short on words NOW? She could have kicked herself. It was one of the traits that never left her when she was trying to cover up for something big, though it was easier to lie about other things, but she couldn't figure out how to word this at all.
"... we... we had fun!"
How do you tell your boyfriend he's the father of your child?!
Axl raised an eyebrow at that, something felt off that was for sure. Little things like that when connected to Megumi shone out to him. He couldn’t have even guessed what was causing the stuttering though and his mind hoped all over the place, getting angry at himself for hypothetical situations, er... at the other him, rather. All things that almost certainly hadn’t happened but the brain did funny things sometimes.
"Fun? Did I, he... Did... Er... Ughhh!" It really was a lot to take in so quickly. Lightly, he let his head thud against Megumi’s chest, a low groan coming from him "...confusing!" He peered up at her then though "...I didn’t hurt you before, did I? You’re not covering up some terrible thing I did by just saying you had fun, right?"
Going completely crimson when he moved his head where he did, she found herself reacting in embarrassment first, moving her hands to his shoulders and tugging him off, so he would straighten up and look at her. "No... no, of course not, it wasn't terrible at all!! It just..." She swallowed, then stepped back, giving them some distance again and praying this would be easier to tell him than how hard it was right now.
"You see... Axl, that was... well... " she crossed an arm over her chest, her elbow resting on her arm and moving her hand under her chin, looking down. "Well, it was you and... we hadn't seen each other and..." She let her hands drop to her sides and then lowered her head.
"Ihadababy."
...
That wasn't the way she'd wanted to tell him that.
His head lolled back and forth a couple of times as Megumi pushed him back, blinking at her once more as she spoke. The cogs seemed to creak inside his head, warming up, trying to process where she was going with this. And then there was a rushed babble at the end that confused him even further.
"What? What the bloody hell are you--" He stopped then, perhaps the fleeting smart of him giving him a kick in the back of the head as to what she had actually said. "Oh..." His eyes went wide then, the lower lid of one twitching a little, a small stray strand of hair slipping in front of his nose as the colour drained from his face "...you wot?" There was a long pause then, a hand raising to point dumbly at himself "...you had a... baby? And... I did that...? I’m a dad...?"
She tensed visibly at his reaction, knowing fully well that they hadn't been ready for this at all and his words only made this a touch worse. She stood very still as he finished speaking, looking so very confused that she felt terrible for having told him at all.
Mutely, she gave him a nod. Then, she lowered her head again, looking to a side once more. Of all the things she had to tell him -right- when they reunited.
"... I'm sorry... I know I shouldn't have... but she was all I had to remember you by and..." she felt even more tense now. Axl wasn't the kind to be a parent, she knew that personally. She was positive he still hadn't stopped flirting with people and... this? What would he think of her now?
True enough, Axl was all over the place. He was a bouncy city boy who while firmly holding his love for Megumi could be forgiven for the odd passing comment here and there at the ladies or five. Their relationship was a strong one, even if it didn’t seem that way to people on the outside. Really, with Axl being as flitty as he was he was quite lucky that Megumi knew exactly how to handle him.
Perhaps he had considered the idea of settling down one day, but he thought there would be some planning and thought and such behind it first. Was he ready for all that? Most likely not and it showed in the way he was having a temporary shut down. Then however something seemed to be rattling around between all those heavy thoughts; he was a dad. Something made his lips twitch with a slight breath that was almost like a laugh “...really?” He hadn’t really properly heard what Megumi had said to him, but then another slightly more defined chuckle escaped him "Really?" And somehow the fears melted as he suddenly grabbed Megumi about the waist, spinning her around almost impossibly fast as he spun around and around the garden "I’m a dad?! For real?! With my lady? You’re a mommy and we have a baby?!"
He stopped suddenly then, his eyes alight with a kind of strange, unexplainable excitement "S-so tell me about it! Er... Him? Her? What’s it’s name? Her name? His name? Yeah, what’s it’s name? How old is it? Like, three now? What’s it look like? It better not have been causing you trouble, because if it has--!! Oh... Oh wow...! Seriously?!" He panted for breath, that took a lot out of him. Oh lord, as excited as he was he surely couldn’t be ready for this... Right? But sod it! Whoever was ever ready to become a dad, honestly.
She certainly hadn't been expecting this much enthusiasm, and the fact that he -was- as excited as he was seemed to quell all her fears entirely. She let out a startled cry at being lifted up so suddenly, gaping at him dumbly, before grinning weakly when she was set down, ending up chuckling softly. This was... totally unexpected, and she couldn't help but feel a pleasant chill run through her body at the revelation. Axl was -happy- at being a father... he wasn't rejecting her for it, and moving a hand to his arm, she balanced herself as she looked up at him, letting his words sink in.
"Yes... it's a girl. Her... her name is Sayako." She never thought she'd be able to tell Axl this, and his excitement was coming into her own voice. The name was probably familiar, it was her mother's name after all, and she smiled up at him, eyes growing warm with realization that he was accepting this... that Sayako would be able to have a father if he was ever to return to that time.
Trying to hold back her tears of joy, she nodded then, and held him by the arms. "She's... she's three. She just celebrated her birthday recently..."
Pausing, to let the words settle in, she looked up at Axl earnestly. "You're... you're really alright with this... Axl... I..." No more words were appropriate, she just ended up hugging him tightly, her face buried in his chest. "I was so... I was so worried that you wouldn't--"
She couldn't finish her sentence, just remaining close, until she found the strength to whisper. "There's so much I want to tell you... I don't know where to begin."
It had been far too long... could they really go back to the way they had been?
He could feel his heartbeat was definitely faster and he was genuinely terrified in a way, but for whatever reason he couldn’t stop smiling and neither could he ignore the strange happiness swirling around him. It would most likely crash on him like a ton of bricks when he calmed down properly and thought about it. There would be a lot to think about, certainly. So much... More than he dared touch yet but if he was in a slump with blankets pulled over his head in a dark corner the reasons would most likely be easy to work out...
"Sayako... " He repeated the name wistfully, grinning like a moron still as he looked at Megumi. Seeing her that happy, damn, it had to worth it, right? He’d literally travelled through time to see that kind of smile from her after all. "Oh... Wow, this is a lot to take in." He shook his head, keeping his arms protectively around her as he gave a long, heavy sigh "There’s a lot to talk about still, huh? From both of us." His fingers found their way into her hair, stroking the long silken strands absently. "...it’s going to take a bit of time to bring us both up to speed from the signs of it." He tilted his head to the side, a thought coming to him "Hey wait, where are you staying in the City now?"
Up to speed... she froze, realising... well. There was that... and she sighed, wondering if she wanted to break his brain anymore. The fact remained, and she had told Light this from the very beginning. She loved Axl and even if they did end up becoming a couple, which they technically had, she'd told Light that her priorities and loyalty would be with Axl, first and foremost.
Staying there for a while, she sighed, then drew back to look at his face. "Ah... Building 1. Apartment 2... right next door to Ky." Looking up at him, having enjoyed the relaxing feeling in her hair, the only touch she would allow for it, she tilted her head to look up at him.
"What about you?"
"Ah... Well..." When he really thought about it, he hadn’t really gotten a permanent place to stay. He’d crashed with Countess Helga for a time, sure, but he hadn’t planned to stay there too long if possible. Aside from that, he’d been bumming around with Zack which had been a lot more comfortable in a way. Boys being boys; he enjoyed that very much and planned to spend more time with him whenever possible.
He didn’t move his hand away from Megumi’s hair, though he did pause for a moment thoughtfully "Kinda been hanging out wherever someone will have me. I met this crazy guy Zack recently and we seem to get along so since Halloween we’ve sort of been hanging around there... And... Playing videogames...!" Typical boys and their games...
Zack... she remembered who that was. Wasn't he the one staying with Lucrecia.... and then, she realized something that she believed could have been more than possible given the string of bad luck the City had been throwing at them. Her own restlessness, her feeling as though Axl was nearby, Ky and her wondering if he was...
It all made sense now, and she stared at Axl, before she covered her mouth and broke into soft laughter. "Figures... that we would be so closeby... and not see each other..." shaking her head, she looked up with a wry smile at her lover, lowering her hand and looking up at him.
"You were so near... I knew you were... for the last few days, Ky and I wondered..." she was shivering slightly, though more in holding back laughter than anything. Then, raising her gaze, she looked up at him, meeting his eyes for a short while, before moving a hand to his cheek and staring at him, as if memorizing his features.
"So much to tell..." she whispered finally, feeling some of her confidence return, and then, stepping closer, she moved both her hands to the sides of his face, and lowered it until it was in front of hers. "... Just like you... to miss what's right under your nose."She was included in this, of course, but she didn't care. Her Axl was here, here...
She decided not to waste anymore words, and whispered, "... Don't leave me again.. please?" So close... yet still so shy to initiate something she obviously wanted.
Ahh, irony was cruel to them it seemed. If only he'd know how close she really was to him then maybe this wouldn't have been the first time they'd be in each other's company again after so long. Someone up there must have been having a good chuckle at their expense, somehow Axl wanted to kick them. A lot...
"You got a hunch, huh? You sure I wasn't just shouting and you could hear me through the walls?" He grinned a little, absently leaning his head into the touches "...wish I'd know you were here sooner. Maybe I need to start paying more attention, huh?" Not that it mattered now - she was right there now, worrying about that didn't matter so much
If he didn't know her so well he'd have thought she was teasing him by pulling his face that close to her own, but this was Megumi and even after so long apart he was confident he knew her well enough to know she wasn't being cruel to him in the slightest. Smiling down at her warmly, he moved his hands to gently rest them over his on his face "I won't, princess..." He wanted so badly to add 'I promise', but he knew it would be painful to do so. He couldn't do it because he knew if a time-skip grabbed him and yanked him from her again it would be so cruel to both of them, but he mentally promised to do everything in his power to stay with her, fight in any way he could to stay by her side.
And then he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers in a deep but tender kiss, the kind of kiss that took his breath away to give it, so relived to have hints of her all over his senses - touch, scent, taste. The kind of kiss he was afraid to draw back from in case doing so woke him up and he found out it was all a dream.
It was too real. It wouldn't be fair...
She wanted to reply, but all of her words were sooner drowned out by the familiar feeling of his mouth against hers, the same, warm Axl who had taught her that being herself was okay, that she was a free being like everyone else, and even as she moved closer, the guilt didn't leave her.
She'd already tried to move on, but what was it people said? First love, last love? He was always her anchor, her balance-- the very reason she was even living... what she felt for him burned stronger than what she would feel for anyone, and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about it... not right now.
Right now, she wanted to selfishly believe that they were home... young, music in their hearts and stars in their eyes, with a promise for a future together.
Three out of one. She knew she'd definitely made the best choice.
For his sake... she would fight even her... and with that she held him tighter.
... I'll protect you, I swear it.
No one would take him from her now. No one...
Not even time itself. She'd make sure of it!
Rating; G - Fluff
Characters; Axl Low [
time_slipped] & Megumi [pinkenglishrose]Summary; After fighting off the affections of three different Axls, it's time for them all to leave. Little do the lovebirds realize they were closer than they were before and one of them was here for longer...
Log;
Despite all the craziness that they all had endured starting from the Halloween curse to this day itself, she had to say that this one was absolutely the best day they had. Not only had people that had left come in, but three Axls, and her best friends from her former stay in the city? Nothing could have made her happier than it. Zelos and Lloyd, from their departure in the city to when she'd left, had given her the best year she'd ever had in her life, and it was in Meltokio that Sayako had originally been born.
As she waved goodbye to her friends, she felt a stab in her heart, though she'd been with them but recently, the Axls had disappeared as well. Moving a hand to her chest as she thought back to it, she wondered... and then shook her head, keeping back her tears. Lloyd and Zelos had returned, and Axl... it was nice seeing him again.
Besides, if she thought about it anymore, she knew she'd cry. So much had happened since her arrival, the affair with Light and everything... but first love, last love? It was always going to be there.
Sighing softly, she was momentarily distracted by the twinkle of fireflies in the flower patch near the small garden fountain, and smiling, she headed over to it. The City was so quiet and it was dark, with only the light of the moon, and she headed over, letting herself be surrounded by their sparkling for a bit. Witches were best in tune with nature after all, and she grinned to herself, almost childishly amused.
Ah, at least this made her smile. She was grateful for it.
The City was an odd place, perhaps even more so than the various and many times he had been thrown into over the years. No time he had been in so far had those curse things after all, that was new to him, certainly. And with all the people running around all a sudden there was even more confusion. He’d made some friends already but he’d never had difficultly being friendly with people and hanging around with his new pal Zack was proving very fun indeed. Hell, he wished he’d known him back in his gang days! They would have made an awesome team!
But even after being there for such a short time he could already tell the population had suddenly increased throughout the course of two days and was finally returning to an number he was more accustomed to... He’d even seen Megumi fleetingly... Along with two other versions of himself. That was odd. He’d seen a mirror of himself before but there had never been three of him in the same spot before. It was crazy. Somewhere along the lines, they had drifted off, most likely returning to their own times and worlds. Had Megumi gone too?
He’d found himself drawn to Xanadu though and as he padded along and a form ahead came into view his heart skipped a beat. She was there, still there. She hadn’t vanished with the other versions of himself. His mouth felt unusually dry, forcing himself to swallow though he stepped forward very quietly until he was stood directly behind the dark-haired young woman, his hands folding behind his back, bending himself at the waist to peer around and down at her and what she was doing. He could feel his heart slamming against the inside of his chest as he tried to think of some extravagant first real thing to say to her "... hi...?" That wasn’t what he had in mind...
Looking over at the water, and the little fireflies twinkling over the grassy area near it, she'd been so absorbed in the lovely sight that she hadn't noticed the arrival of the blond-haired man. So when he spoke to her, she jumped a little, turning around quickly and moving a hand to her chest. At seeing who it was, though, she felt her cheeks heat up. It was close to nearing midnight, and she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up, but at the same time, having this Axl so close...
"Gave me a scare, there..." She breathed the words out (... what happened to volume?) And coughing quickly, she straightened up, looking down for a bit. "Interesting day today, wasn't it..." She couldn't help but murmur. When all three had started arguing over her, she'd spent some time with them, then gone her way. It was easier on her than getting her hopes up...
He’d jumped a little when Megumi had, chuckling nervously as he folded his hands behind his head "Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you!" Which was true, surprise maybe, but never scare. He stared off directly ahead at the mass of fireflies not far ahead, his eyes softening a little. Ahh, of course she’d be distracted by something like that. He turned his head to look at Megumi once more when she spoke again, blinking before grinning a little.
"Yeah, I’ll say! Damn, I didn’t know the little city could hold so many people at once! They were all crazy too! And I swear I saw doubles of people, not just of us I mean." He rocked lightly back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking around slowly, drinking in the surrounding and the beautiful woman within "...I’ve not been here before." He said sort of wistfully "Dunno what drew me here either, but it kinda reminds me of back home when we were kids..."
He was speaking of the City as though he'd been here for a while, which made her stop and listen. Curious... if he had been, she would have seen him sometime, it's not like it was possible to miss people in the City at sometime or the other. But... it wasn't midnight yet, the clock hadn't struck, though she knew it wouldn't be too long before it did.
His mention of back home when they were kids made her pause and smile, turning around to face the fountain again and she raised her hand, creating a small current of wind that took the fireflies within it, making the insects swirl playfully around her hand, and she smiled to herself once they were released, letting them flutter off. She hadn't revealed that she was a real witch to him until a year into their relationship, when she used her magic to save him from a losing gang fight where she'd been terrified. And which was also the day they had their second kiss.
The memory of it made her blush, and she absently moved a hand to touch her hair on her shoulder, keeping her back to him. "It resembles the garden a bit... heh. Gran never did discover you'd broken her spell in that tree near my window." She shook her head, and turned to glance over her shoulder. "It'll be midnight soon..." The curse was going to end. And then he'd disappear...
She really was beautiful... For all his childish messing around, all the flirting he did, all the stupid boyish things, she really did freeze time for him. Funny, when he thought about how cruel was to them sometimes when he considered that. She was the one person who could honestly keep him anchored down. Sure, he had his buddies, the people he just couldn’t seem to avoid crashing into, some of which he’d consider friends, but she was the only person who really had a hold on him. Not like a nagging girlfriend either, or in the sometimes crude ways guys may joke about a woman holding her man by the... Well, you know. No, it was more like an invisible hold on his heart. Not like he’d ever admit that or anything, that was a little too flowery for him... But it was true.
He blinked at her then when she mentioned the garden and her grandmother, giving a short chuckle “Heh! Yeah it does. Man, good thing she never did find out. She’d of had my head for sure! She’d be pissed to find out an clueless moron like me broke a spell like that, huh?” Playing around with his little fire spells was one thing, but he was no real spell caster and he knew it. He’d be awed at Megumi’s abilities, enough not to be jealous and instead just sort of bouncing around in a hyper manner, asking what else she could do! Show, show! C’mon!
There was just something in her tone then that made his grin fade for a second into a frown. She sounded off. He didn’t like that. Lowering himself behind her, he balanced himself on his toes and moved his legs either side of her, his hands laying on the tops of her arms and his chin lightly on her shoulder. If he wasn’t a real man who had just gotten dust in his eyes he may have thought he was getting emotional. Damn that dust making his eyes water! Pfft. "Yeah... It’s been a busy few days, huh?" ...it felt so indescribably good to hold her again, it made his heart soar. Again, not that he’d say it or anything...
It hurt. Did she even deserve to be held by him after she'd allowed herself to be touched by another man? Granted the feelings weren't like this, as fond of him as she was, but it wasn't love. It wasn't those years of affection and security she'd had for the first time in her life. It wasn't the music that had brought her into becoming the woman she was. She stilled, savoring the warmth of his body against hers, and that familiar feeling of his hold, the smell of his clothing (strange, was it the garden or did he have perfume on him?) and leaned back against him, feeling her shoulder tingle from where she could feel his chin rest.
"Quite busy..." Wait. She didn't want to get her hopes up too high, but-- was it possible that he had been... no. Just this curse. Just this curse... how could she not know he was here? This was punishment, right? for letting Light touch her, for...
Feeling her heart beat a touch faster, she swallowed and then turned her face to a side, looking at the fireflies in the distance. "The others are gone already...?" She meant the other Axls of course. So many of them in one place? "Terrible predicament you have yourself in, luv." The endearment came without her thinking too much, and she could feel the flutter in her stomach as she spoke.
Then, inhaling softly, she steeled herself, then pulled away, enough to turn around and look up at him. "But I shouldn't get my hopes up. Not if we're not seeing each other after this night." Blue eyes were growing darker with sadness, and she lowered her head. "But I'm happy I got to see you at all..."
The hold was so relaxing after not seeing her in so many years, though he had wondered if after so long if he was allowed to be as forward as he used to be, what if she hated him now after all? Or worse, forgotten him. Or even worse, gotten a new boyfriend. Priorities, lad, priorities! Still, she hadn’t forgotten him, she didn’t seem to hate him and he could see no new boyfriend... yet.
"The others, yeah I think so..." Honestly, he was getting a little nervous; if they had gone was she going too? He wasn’t sure but the idea was so upsetting in a way. He’d finally found her again after all, he didn’t want it to end so soon. If it was a curse it could possibly be one of the cruellest ones to him.
And then she pulled away. Oh no, he had done something wrong, hadn’t he? When she looked at him like that it made him feel an odd sense of guilt. Had she had that look many times while he was gone? He hadn’t been around to chase it away after all. The idea she may have had those sad eyes and spoken in such a sorrowful tone without him being around made him feel so emotionally heavy. And here she was talking about them possibly being separated again. He had so much he wanted to tell her about, so much he wanted her to tell him about too. Moving a hand gently from her shoulder to her cheek, Axl smiled sadly "Me too, princess. Don’t go for--" The sound of bells somewhere off in the city cut him off. Midnight. His eyes went wide as he stared at her, mentally finishing his sentence but he couldn’t say it, he was holding his breath without knowing he was doing it: don’t go forgetting me.
The bells from the clock tower in the city made her freeze as well, and his use of the nickname didn't help either. Princess... he was the only one who called her that. As they rang out the time, she could feel her heart stop beating. Her hand went up to the one against her cheek, and she ended up holding it a lot more tightly than she intended to.
"I don't think I could." She wasn't at all ashamed of showing her tears, what were they but your eyes wanting to show emotion, right? Smiling weakly, she moved her other hand to his wrist, keeping her tears back, and then whispered the lyrics of a song she'd really liked when she was younger that were the same things she wanted to say now. He'd teased her about it being to pop-ish in comparison to his hardcore rock, things she'd learned to love to, but maybe this called for it. "You were in my heart. My love never changed. I still feel the same." She didn't sing the lyrics, but were he her Axl, he'd know exactly what song she was referring to.
She didn't move. If she embraced him now, he'd vanish, and then-- and then...
He didn’t want to take his eyes off her, he was afraid if he blinked or dared look away she’d be gone the next moment. As the bells rang out he found himself counting them in his head. Damn, if he had control of time he’d stop it for them both, but time was the one with a hold on him not the other way around, sadly.
She was a brave thing, wasn’t she? Even now he could tell she was trying so hard and he knew he had to do the same. He stared at her with wide eyes as she spoke those lyrics to him, swallowing hard and forcing a smile forward, giving a light laugh as his thumb stroked across her cheek "...man, I can’t believe you remember that old pop-song. Bloody Kylie...!" He couldn’t bring himself to say any words back to her from the song, even though he knew them all, embarrassingly he may claim "But... it’s our song, right, babe?" Sighing he moved his hand to drew hers to his lips, kissing her knuckles lightly as the final stroke of midnight rang out into the night.
... And then a long moment passed, how long he wasn’t sure but then he forced himself to lift his eyes, blinking then and staring dumbly at her "...you’re... still here…"
She wanted to laugh at his words, but the moment he mentioned it being their song, she began praying in her mind. /He knows the words, he knows them-- it's him, you can't do this to me now--!! Please, whatever power there is, don't take him--/ As the clock finally reached what felt like a final knell, she inhaled sharply, closing her eyes tightly. She didn't have the courage to see him disappear. And just as she did that, her tears overflowed, spilling over her reddened cheeks, half-expecting the touch on her hand to go away, when...
...
Nothing happened? The silence grew stronger, and she remained standing where she was, unable to believe what was going on.
Finally, she gathered the courage to open her eyes, raising her gaze and meeting his own. He was still -there- and ... for a moment, she looked like she was going to break down crying, but then her expression changed entirely, becoming the annoyed, pouty, angry expression that it became when he teased her too much, and then her hand moved to grab his hair to the side of his face and give it a short tug.
"Bloody Kylie--?! When you were the one who got me the tape?!" Whack-- fist smashing into his shoulder and she glared up at him, moving forward, ready to hit him gently again. She'd never aim to hurt him, though right now...
She wanted to feel something, some assurance that he was there-- that she was touching him, and she found herself breathing in an effort to control her sobs as she weakly punched his shoulder with a hand as she drew closer. Was he really here?
"Stop... teasing me..." She was muttering it to herself. She wanted the City to stop playing games with her... and then, she stopped, head lowered as she tightened her hold around his shirt collar, shoulders shaking. "Or I'll... hit you..."
"Ah--ahh--!! H-hey!" He winced as his hair was tugged like that, his arms flailing around in over exaggeration for such an act. He made a light 'oof!' noise as he felt her fist hit his shoulder, pouting like a scolded child. When the next couple of thumps of her fist were a little weaker though and she bowed her head like that though he calmed down too, looking down at her.
She hadn’t vanished. He hadn’t either. The bells had stopped and the curse was definitely over. Was it wrong of him to hope, to really hope and pray that was it? It would hurt like holy hell if it turned out to be the City still playing pranks but he couldn’t help it.
"...you just did hit me..." He said quietly, daring himself to take a step forward, trying to keep his arms from shaking as they encircled her, pulling her close to him and against his chest "...and I only bought the tape because it was... on offer... Not 'cause I was... you know, being thoughtful or anything..." Sure, she’d just told him to stop teasing her (She had meant him, right?) but he couldn’t really help it. He tightened the hug around her, head lowering to rest it against hers. "...wanna hit me again...?" His voice came out a little quieter than he thought it should have done, maybe a little cracked in places. Really, he didn’t mind if she did; he’d feel it, wouldn’t he? If she punched him hard enough to hurt all the better - there’d be no denying it. He didn’t want it to be a joke or a dream.
"Oh hush up..." She was still trying to keep her voice from shaking, and her fingers tightened around his collar. How long had it been since she'd actually been safe here in this City? Without having to worry for her own self-worth coming under question, without having men trying to take advantage of her powers... and then there was the feeling of his arms around her. He'd always looked like a brute from the very start, but there was one thing there had no mistake about, and that was the fact that he had the strongest embrace in the entirety of the East End and West End combined. His old girlfriends testified to the same thing, and she found herself sobbing softly.
Finally, unable to stop herself, she let out a choked sob, crossed with shocked laughter. "Or I'll knock you in that place you're so proud of, you pig--" she'd spent two years in the East End with him, so despite her managing to maintain her speech mannerisms, some colloquialism definitely made its way in.
And then, she threw her arms around his back, clutching him tightly, as though pleading for him to not be taken from her. "... Axl..." She sobbed his name. "What took you so long, you jerk..."
Axl didn’t loosen his hold even in the slightest, a little laugh of his own escaping his lips. It was one of those laughs that was genuinely happy, but at the same time it felt like if he didn’t laugh he’d cry... Only not, because he was a manly man and manly men didn’t do that.
He felt himself shiver a little as she hugged onto him like that, taking in a deep breath before exhaling it in a heavy sigh, his head lightly nuzzling against her "Sorry... I promise I was trying to get here as soon as I could..." Something was bubbling up in him, grinning then and leaning himself back suddenly to pull her up off her feet, spinning around with her as he laughed with pure uncontained happiness "I found you! You’re really here! I finally found you again, Megumi!" He could have spun like that for hours, but really as he felt himself wobbling a little he decided he should stop before he got too dizzy and fell over. He didn’t want them to break their necks after finding each other at last.
Putting her down as suddenly as he picked her up, he lower himself to stare at her, still grinning like a moron "...and don’t you threaten my bits again, woman! I need them in tact!"
The moment had been far too quiet, too solemn-- and all of a sudden, like the very ray of sunlight that he often joked about being, he dazzled her with his next action, that first made her blink in shock and before she knew it, the world around her was spinning wildly and she had to grab his shoulders to stop herself from falling away.
"Axl-- Axl you oaf, put me down!!" But then, she started laughing herself, even as she was put down, and kept her hands on his shoulders,
and narrowed her eyes almost mischievously at his words, quickly moving a hand back to wipe under her cheeks.
"I'm sure you wont miss them after a while, you cad!" she replied, hardly able to believe this was happening. Her hands flying up to capture his face in her hold, she looked at him, unable to tear herself away. "You... you were coming back...? Coming back for -me-?"
Ahh~ that laughter, the memory of it alone had kept him doggedly searching for an answer to his time skipping. Hearing it again like that just made it all worth while, even if he still had yet to find a real reason or means to stop it. For the time being though, he was happy, stupidly happy in fact.
Of course, he did stop fully though and grinned at her, not so much the childish grin he usually sported, but the look of someone trying to contain themselves and it was almost overflowing into their very expression "Ahh, you’re a lady! You wouldn’t understand the value of 'em!"
He watched her as she held his face though, forcing himself to settle down just a little as his eyes softened. His hands moved to rest over hers at his face, breathing out a sigh before nodding "All for you." One of his hands shifted then, lightly tugging one of her hands over his shoulder to pull her against him, his other arm wrapping carefully around her middle. He couldn’t help but at least try and be gentle with her. He was such a clumsy street rat at times and she seemed so delicate, even though she wasn’t really. It still never changed the fact he was scared of breaking her somehow "Only for you, princess. I’ve been trying to get back to you all these years... It has been years, right?"
Blushing crimson, she shoved him a bit, before allowing herself to be tugged close enough. It had been years, so many in fact, that she had decided to... well, nearly decided to move on. And in part, she had, but this sort of thing.. it shouldn't have been unexpected.
At the tug, she let out a gasp as she found herself pressed up against him, falling silent for a moment, before she moved a hand under her own eyes to catch any stray tears. "Six years from the day you left." She whispered softly, her own look filled with a sad sort of acception of the fact. So much had happened in the middle, so much that she didn't even know where to start. Then, almost absently, she allowed herself to be bold enough and reached out to touch his face, trailing her fingers over his cheekbone and jawline, as though memorizing his features. She herself, didn't look any different from how she had looked back then, apart from her choice in clothing and the maturity that had entered her eyes, oddly enough.
Suddenly, she felt eighteen again, that same finally-blossomed young girl who had been shown how to enjoy the world she was living in and she lowered her gaze, shyly or embarrassedly, even she couldn't tell. "I thought..." She could feel her voice breaking up as she spoke, not wanting him to see her eyes. "I thought you would have forgotten me... but Ky and Dr.Faust told me to be strong. I tried... really..." She wanted to tell him what had happened, but feeling as though it was the wrong time for it, she trailed off, raising her gaze again with another smile.
"... I did my best, Axl. I really did!"
Axl felt an odd feeling creep over his spine. Six years? That long, really? When time was shifting around you it was very hard to keep track of how much of it had really passed. That was a worrying revelation, and even then he had to keep in mind he could have ended up at any point for Megumi and the same amount of time may not have actually passed for him, he may even get yanked back again and reappear say two years from when he left the next day. It was confusing enough as it was and the fact Megumi looked so sad only made it worse.
His expression softened a little to her touch though, smiling at her softly. It had been a rough trip over, hadn’t it? Other men may have gone insane along the way, but maybe it was a mixture of him being stubborn and not always the brightest tool in the shed. Er... The sharpest bulb in box... You get the idea. He wasn’t stupid, it was just that general reason sometimes escaped him. But the fight had felt like a long one and save to hit a bar, flirt a bit, play a few games and get himself into and out of trouble, his goal had never strayed and his determination never dampened.
Sighing, he lowered his head to allow his chin to rest gently on top of her head, steeling himself not to let that cracking in her voice spread to his own. He wanted to be the strong pillar for her to lean against after all "I can tell you did, love. I really can. You did good." He swallowed down a lump in his throat, forcing forward a shaky grin "Thanks... For staying strong for me. I knew you would." There was a pause then before he tilted his head to the side "Wait... Dr. Faust and Ky? When did you--?"
When the question entered his voice, she slowly drew back, keeping her hands on his chest, before she recalled, and a small smile appeared on her face. "Oh... yes. They're here, in the City." Looking up at him, she wondered, before adding, "Ky has been taking care of me here. I met one of your friends, Sol Badguy, here before too. During my last visit." Blushing a bit, she glanced to a side, not wanting to go into what happened to Ky earlier. She knew how Axl's temper could flare sometimes, though he was mostly good-natured.
Shaking her head, she looked down. "I looked for you. That's how I ended up here... using my magic."
Turning to look back at him, her gaze softened, she smiled a little and looked down. "And I met you then... three years back, from my own time, right here in this City as well." Now she waited, to see how he would take that bit of news.
The blonde blinked a little, cocking his head to the side "Danna was here?" He smirked slightly, rubbing the back of his neck "And then he shot off again, huh? 'ch! Bloody typical! It feels like a while since I bugged him properly!" He laughed brightly, thinking briefly on how fun it was to rile up Sol. He just couldn’t help it, the flames from that temper were too tempting not to fan from time to time. "But if Ky’s here and been lookin' after you... I guess I owe him one." He paused then, giving her a mock suspicious look "...when you say 'looking after'...!" He winked playfully though, having every~ faith in her.
The second bit of information made him pause though and frown to himself. It was like he’d thought, hoping around in time. He had been here before, but he couldn’t remember it. Did that mean he had yet to reach that point? Or was it one of the other two Axls he’d seen before during the curse? If there were not only different versions of himself in time but in worlds as well... Ow, that hurt his brains. Shaking his head, he put a hand to the side of his skull as if trying to contain a leak springing for his brain. It was a lot to take in, to be fair "...I was here before, huh? I don’t remember." That worried him; he’d never have forgotten finding his lady again, surely "What happened? Did I just... vanish again?"
He was getting that look again, and just as she feared, he either hadn't been here or he was yet to come here, and... that was headache-inducing enough. However, seeing the look on his face was more amusing than anything, and she found herself chuckling a bit, before shaking her head. "Ky's been like a brother to me." Of course, a certain someone else had been a little more than that, and she distracted herself from that thought by focusing on his question.
And here was the big one...
"You did... and well..." She found herself trailing off as she moved a hand behind her own head, looking nervously to a side, before looking back at him with a small smile. "Ah-- well... that is..." Oh god, was she getting short on words NOW? She could have kicked herself. It was one of the traits that never left her when she was trying to cover up for something big, though it was easier to lie about other things, but she couldn't figure out how to word this at all.
"... we... we had fun!"
How do you tell your boyfriend he's the father of your child?!
Axl raised an eyebrow at that, something felt off that was for sure. Little things like that when connected to Megumi shone out to him. He couldn’t have even guessed what was causing the stuttering though and his mind hoped all over the place, getting angry at himself for hypothetical situations, er... at the other him, rather. All things that almost certainly hadn’t happened but the brain did funny things sometimes.
"Fun? Did I, he... Did... Er... Ughhh!" It really was a lot to take in so quickly. Lightly, he let his head thud against Megumi’s chest, a low groan coming from him "...confusing!" He peered up at her then though "...I didn’t hurt you before, did I? You’re not covering up some terrible thing I did by just saying you had fun, right?"
Going completely crimson when he moved his head where he did, she found herself reacting in embarrassment first, moving her hands to his shoulders and tugging him off, so he would straighten up and look at her. "No... no, of course not, it wasn't terrible at all!! It just..." She swallowed, then stepped back, giving them some distance again and praying this would be easier to tell him than how hard it was right now.
"You see... Axl, that was... well... " she crossed an arm over her chest, her elbow resting on her arm and moving her hand under her chin, looking down. "Well, it was you and... we hadn't seen each other and..." She let her hands drop to her sides and then lowered her head.
"Ihadababy."
...
That wasn't the way she'd wanted to tell him that.
His head lolled back and forth a couple of times as Megumi pushed him back, blinking at her once more as she spoke. The cogs seemed to creak inside his head, warming up, trying to process where she was going with this. And then there was a rushed babble at the end that confused him even further.
"What? What the bloody hell are you--" He stopped then, perhaps the fleeting smart of him giving him a kick in the back of the head as to what she had actually said. "Oh..." His eyes went wide then, the lower lid of one twitching a little, a small stray strand of hair slipping in front of his nose as the colour drained from his face "...you wot?" There was a long pause then, a hand raising to point dumbly at himself "...you had a... baby? And... I did that...? I’m a dad...?"
She tensed visibly at his reaction, knowing fully well that they hadn't been ready for this at all and his words only made this a touch worse. She stood very still as he finished speaking, looking so very confused that she felt terrible for having told him at all.
Mutely, she gave him a nod. Then, she lowered her head again, looking to a side once more. Of all the things she had to tell him -right- when they reunited.
"... I'm sorry... I know I shouldn't have... but she was all I had to remember you by and..." she felt even more tense now. Axl wasn't the kind to be a parent, she knew that personally. She was positive he still hadn't stopped flirting with people and... this? What would he think of her now?
True enough, Axl was all over the place. He was a bouncy city boy who while firmly holding his love for Megumi could be forgiven for the odd passing comment here and there at the ladies or five. Their relationship was a strong one, even if it didn’t seem that way to people on the outside. Really, with Axl being as flitty as he was he was quite lucky that Megumi knew exactly how to handle him.
Perhaps he had considered the idea of settling down one day, but he thought there would be some planning and thought and such behind it first. Was he ready for all that? Most likely not and it showed in the way he was having a temporary shut down. Then however something seemed to be rattling around between all those heavy thoughts; he was a dad. Something made his lips twitch with a slight breath that was almost like a laugh “...really?” He hadn’t really properly heard what Megumi had said to him, but then another slightly more defined chuckle escaped him "Really?" And somehow the fears melted as he suddenly grabbed Megumi about the waist, spinning her around almost impossibly fast as he spun around and around the garden "I’m a dad?! For real?! With my lady? You’re a mommy and we have a baby?!"
He stopped suddenly then, his eyes alight with a kind of strange, unexplainable excitement "S-so tell me about it! Er... Him? Her? What’s it’s name? Her name? His name? Yeah, what’s it’s name? How old is it? Like, three now? What’s it look like? It better not have been causing you trouble, because if it has--!! Oh... Oh wow...! Seriously?!" He panted for breath, that took a lot out of him. Oh lord, as excited as he was he surely couldn’t be ready for this... Right? But sod it! Whoever was ever ready to become a dad, honestly.
She certainly hadn't been expecting this much enthusiasm, and the fact that he -was- as excited as he was seemed to quell all her fears entirely. She let out a startled cry at being lifted up so suddenly, gaping at him dumbly, before grinning weakly when she was set down, ending up chuckling softly. This was... totally unexpected, and she couldn't help but feel a pleasant chill run through her body at the revelation. Axl was -happy- at being a father... he wasn't rejecting her for it, and moving a hand to his arm, she balanced herself as she looked up at him, letting his words sink in.
"Yes... it's a girl. Her... her name is Sayako." She never thought she'd be able to tell Axl this, and his excitement was coming into her own voice. The name was probably familiar, it was her mother's name after all, and she smiled up at him, eyes growing warm with realization that he was accepting this... that Sayako would be able to have a father if he was ever to return to that time.
Trying to hold back her tears of joy, she nodded then, and held him by the arms. "She's... she's three. She just celebrated her birthday recently..."
Pausing, to let the words settle in, she looked up at Axl earnestly. "You're... you're really alright with this... Axl... I..." No more words were appropriate, she just ended up hugging him tightly, her face buried in his chest. "I was so... I was so worried that you wouldn't--"
She couldn't finish her sentence, just remaining close, until she found the strength to whisper. "There's so much I want to tell you... I don't know where to begin."
It had been far too long... could they really go back to the way they had been?
He could feel his heartbeat was definitely faster and he was genuinely terrified in a way, but for whatever reason he couldn’t stop smiling and neither could he ignore the strange happiness swirling around him. It would most likely crash on him like a ton of bricks when he calmed down properly and thought about it. There would be a lot to think about, certainly. So much... More than he dared touch yet but if he was in a slump with blankets pulled over his head in a dark corner the reasons would most likely be easy to work out...
"Sayako... " He repeated the name wistfully, grinning like a moron still as he looked at Megumi. Seeing her that happy, damn, it had to worth it, right? He’d literally travelled through time to see that kind of smile from her after all. "Oh... Wow, this is a lot to take in." He shook his head, keeping his arms protectively around her as he gave a long, heavy sigh "There’s a lot to talk about still, huh? From both of us." His fingers found their way into her hair, stroking the long silken strands absently. "...it’s going to take a bit of time to bring us both up to speed from the signs of it." He tilted his head to the side, a thought coming to him "Hey wait, where are you staying in the City now?"
Up to speed... she froze, realising... well. There was that... and she sighed, wondering if she wanted to break his brain anymore. The fact remained, and she had told Light this from the very beginning. She loved Axl and even if they did end up becoming a couple, which they technically had, she'd told Light that her priorities and loyalty would be with Axl, first and foremost.
Staying there for a while, she sighed, then drew back to look at his face. "Ah... Building 1. Apartment 2... right next door to Ky." Looking up at him, having enjoyed the relaxing feeling in her hair, the only touch she would allow for it, she tilted her head to look up at him.
"What about you?"
"Ah... Well..." When he really thought about it, he hadn’t really gotten a permanent place to stay. He’d crashed with Countess Helga for a time, sure, but he hadn’t planned to stay there too long if possible. Aside from that, he’d been bumming around with Zack which had been a lot more comfortable in a way. Boys being boys; he enjoyed that very much and planned to spend more time with him whenever possible.
He didn’t move his hand away from Megumi’s hair, though he did pause for a moment thoughtfully "Kinda been hanging out wherever someone will have me. I met this crazy guy Zack recently and we seem to get along so since Halloween we’ve sort of been hanging around there... And... Playing videogames...!" Typical boys and their games...
Zack... she remembered who that was. Wasn't he the one staying with Lucrecia.... and then, she realized something that she believed could have been more than possible given the string of bad luck the City had been throwing at them. Her own restlessness, her feeling as though Axl was nearby, Ky and her wondering if he was...
It all made sense now, and she stared at Axl, before she covered her mouth and broke into soft laughter. "Figures... that we would be so closeby... and not see each other..." shaking her head, she looked up with a wry smile at her lover, lowering her hand and looking up at him.
"You were so near... I knew you were... for the last few days, Ky and I wondered..." she was shivering slightly, though more in holding back laughter than anything. Then, raising her gaze, she looked up at him, meeting his eyes for a short while, before moving a hand to his cheek and staring at him, as if memorizing his features.
"So much to tell..." she whispered finally, feeling some of her confidence return, and then, stepping closer, she moved both her hands to the sides of his face, and lowered it until it was in front of hers. "... Just like you... to miss what's right under your nose."She was included in this, of course, but she didn't care. Her Axl was here, here...
She decided not to waste anymore words, and whispered, "... Don't leave me again.. please?" So close... yet still so shy to initiate something she obviously wanted.
Ahh, irony was cruel to them it seemed. If only he'd know how close she really was to him then maybe this wouldn't have been the first time they'd be in each other's company again after so long. Someone up there must have been having a good chuckle at their expense, somehow Axl wanted to kick them. A lot...
"You got a hunch, huh? You sure I wasn't just shouting and you could hear me through the walls?" He grinned a little, absently leaning his head into the touches "...wish I'd know you were here sooner. Maybe I need to start paying more attention, huh?" Not that it mattered now - she was right there now, worrying about that didn't matter so much
If he didn't know her so well he'd have thought she was teasing him by pulling his face that close to her own, but this was Megumi and even after so long apart he was confident he knew her well enough to know she wasn't being cruel to him in the slightest. Smiling down at her warmly, he moved his hands to gently rest them over his on his face "I won't, princess..." He wanted so badly to add 'I promise', but he knew it would be painful to do so. He couldn't do it because he knew if a time-skip grabbed him and yanked him from her again it would be so cruel to both of them, but he mentally promised to do everything in his power to stay with her, fight in any way he could to stay by her side.
And then he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers in a deep but tender kiss, the kind of kiss that took his breath away to give it, so relived to have hints of her all over his senses - touch, scent, taste. The kind of kiss he was afraid to draw back from in case doing so woke him up and he found out it was all a dream.
It was too real. It wouldn't be fair...
She wanted to reply, but all of her words were sooner drowned out by the familiar feeling of his mouth against hers, the same, warm Axl who had taught her that being herself was okay, that she was a free being like everyone else, and even as she moved closer, the guilt didn't leave her.
She'd already tried to move on, but what was it people said? First love, last love? He was always her anchor, her balance-- the very reason she was even living... what she felt for him burned stronger than what she would feel for anyone, and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about it... not right now.
Right now, she wanted to selfishly believe that they were home... young, music in their hearts and stars in their eyes, with a promise for a future together.
Three out of one. She knew she'd definitely made the best choice.
For his sake... she would fight even her... and with that she held him tighter.
... I'll protect you, I swear it.
No one would take him from her now. No one...
Not even time itself. She'd make sure of it!