Open Interaction Post!

[chakramkeyblade]

[Permanent, open interaction post for Lea (and Axel). Let me know if you'd prefer me to do a starter, or just jump in with whatever!]

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[chakramkeyblade]

Lea heaved a sigh, scratching at the back of his head. What was he supposed to do? Every bit of him, goaded by the newfound light inside of him, wanted to go out there right now and take Isa back by whatever means necessary. Xehanort didn't deserve to have him. But he wasn't Sora. He had enough common sense to recognize that there was no way he was ready to face down the old codger. You'd think the kid would have picked up a little of that from Roxas...

He straightened to go back inside when he saw it. Passing one of the lamps by the castle gate, a figure in all black, hair pale in the moonlight. The build, the way he walked...but he had to be sure. He stepped up to the edge of the balcony, staring down at the man as he made his way into the city. Lea felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, a cold shiver accompanying his heart dropping into the pit of his stomach. He'd know the man anywhere. After all, he'd known him forever.

Isa.

Lea swallowed. What was he doing here, in Radiant Garden? Did Xehanort send him out for something? Was the plan to wreck havoc on a barely recovering, paranoid populace just for kicks? His own emotions flipped as quickly as his thoughts. Fear, anger, a twinge of sorrow, a tiny fleeting hope that was gone almost too fast for him to notice. He had to hope it was still Isa. That was enough to hold onto. Hope, he found, was the best thing to get a keyblade to manifest. And if Isa really were sent here to stir up trouble, then he would need it. He didn't linger any longer, not risking a corridor of darkness for such a short distance. He ran all the way to the lower level of the castle, already panting for breath by the time he reached the castle courtyard.

Sometimes he actually missed not being human. He wore out less easily. He slowed to a quick walk, enough to catch up to Isa while regaining his breath. It didn't take long. Isa took his time with everything. Including a walk down the street. He slowed to keep a safe distance between them.

"Hey. Long time no see." He was careful to keep his tone level. He knew just how dangerous Saix could be if someone made him angry. He didn't exactly feel like being caught on the wrong side of that unprepared. "Nice night for a walk. But I don't imagine it was the flowers that brought you here."

[selenesknight]

Isa could hear the footsteps, though to him they sounded much further away than they were. As he continued walking, it was almost as though everything was faintly blurred at the edges, just enough to make him question reality. Was this his doing? How could he be sure it wasn't a dream?

It took an extra second for the voice to register. He'd recognized it right away, of course, but everything took a bit longer to sink in than it should. Coming to a stop, Isa merely stood there, staring off somewhat blankly into the distance, trying to recall just where the ice cream stand was, until he remembered that he was still there. Lea had addressed him. What... had he said?

​​
Turning to look behind him, his expression stayed even, more shades of Saix in him than Isa. When you had a shard of someone else's heart wedged into your own, calling emotions to the surface was that much more difficult. "Lea." He managed, head canting slightly as though in curiosity. Why was he here? Shouldn't he have been off with his new comrades? Training and, hopefully preparing. He knew well whose hand may deliver his inevitable demise in all of this.

He... wanted to know why he was here? That made sense. Of course he'd be suspicious, given the circumstances.

"I wanted ice cream." The truth, simple and sweet and the easiest answer for him to give.

[chakramkeyblade]

Ice cream. It was absurd, almost guaranteed to be a trick, but something seemed...off. Isa...Saix...was usually more keen than this. Not to mention their ice cream stand was down the road to the right. He seemed lost and sluggish. Xehanort's doing? If Xehanort were borrowing Isa's senses, it could be why. He just hoped the fact that he had a keyblade would be lost on the old man. According to Yen Sid, people who had given into the darkness had a harder time sensing a keyblade. He just hoped Xehanort's sense was all but gone.

Lea kept a close eye on him as he closed some of the distance, still keeping a few good feet away. Just in case. Unaware all the while that his light was like a flame within him, burning bright. "Well, I have to give you credit for remembering my name. Flattered, really." He forced a brief smile, pointing to the road. "Our usual spot's down that way, remember? Besides, it's the middle of the night. Everything's closed until morning." He tapped his chin like he was engaged in some deep thought. "I think I do have some stashed at the castle. But...well...let's face it. Aeleus might try to kill you."

He focused his bright green eyes on Isa's gold ones. "Why did the old man really drag you here?"

[selenesknight]

Right. It was dark, wasn't it? He'd grown so accustomed to it that it hadn't occurred to him that things would be closed up. How disappointing. Then he wouldn't be able to get his ice cream afterall and the risk in coming here was for nothing...

... or was it?

While Isa had his brief moment of clarity, it was an opportune time to really try and speak to Lea, to communicate, do something more than stand around and stare at him like a zombie. Which, unfortunately, was mostly what he was doing at the moment.

"I'm not an idiot." He snapped quietly, brief flashes of his old self coming through. Lea could be so dense sometimes. "Of course I remember... even though.." A memory came to the surface, once that made him smirk faintly and look away. "... I tried to forget. All the time." That was how it used to go, wasn't it? A light barb here and there, a jab, something to rile up his fiery friend.

But now look at them. Isa wandering in the middle of the night in his old home, yet he could barely remember just where he was though he'd wandered these streets his entire life, and here was Lea, assuming he had only appeared to cause trouble. Not even giving the barest benefit of the doubt. Well. That was to be expected, he supposed. What reason did Lea have to trust him after what had happened?

"I wanted ice cream." He repeated, voice softer, more airy.

[chakramkeyblade]

"Right. I see how it is." He recognized, finally, that Isa was trying. And really, that was something of a reassurance. He wouldn't let his guard down, not for a second, and he would be stupid to do so. But the recognition of something that was so undeniably Isa was worth it. That tiny glimmer of hope grew, even if just barely. He wanted to take Isa aside, convince him to let him help. He could destroy the Nobody shell he was imprisoned in, he was still enough of one that he would wake up with his own old heart intact, with Xehanort gone, his foothold purged from him.

But whatever Isa heard, Xehanort heard, he suspected. He wasn't ready for that kind of confrontation.

Again with the ice cream. And that damn voice he used to get what he wanted. Typical Isa. He wanted to believe, to give Isa the benefit of a doubt. He shouldn't leave him alone. It would be incredibly stupid. But he seemed so out of it, and honest, that he didn't think the man could antagonize anyone at the moment. He's hurting, he thought. It came to him, and it came through the keyblade's power. He's hurting and he didn't know where to go. Except home. Lea relaxed out of his tense stance, eyes softening ever so slightly.

"You know what? Wait here. Two sea-salt ice creams, coming up."

He was quick about it, returning from the castle's kitchen with two ice-cream bars firmly in hand. He handed one off to Isa, heart pounding all over again from both his run and the close proximity to the Nobody. Had Saix always given off the feeling of being watched by something far more predatory than any human could manage? He wouldn't know. As Axel, all he knew was that his temperature was far warmer than a normal human could survive. This was what it must have been like for Sora and the others...

"Here. Come on, let's go to our old spot. It's so warm out here it's starting to melt already."

[selenesknight]

"Wait...?" He asked quietly, looking up, but by the time he'd realized what was happening and spoke up, Lea was already several yards away. He said... ice cream, didn't he? He was getting ice cream. For the two of them, even.

Isa sighed and stayed put, turning yellow eyes up to the sky, gaze falling on the moon. There was an almost blissful absence of thought in him, content to take in its gentle, serene light, without feeling the rage that used to well within him when he was Saix. That power was there, deep inside, but he had no will to give over to it. When Lea finally returned, it was obvious he hadn't budged an inch, still rooted to the spot he'd left him in.

Blinking owlishly at him, his gaze fell to the ice cream, then soon raised to meet Lea's, distracted for a moment by just how green they were, shining in an odd way in the moonlight. Something in him stirred. Emotion he couldn't quite place.

"Yes. It's..." He almost seemed to wince as he concentrated, trying to push through the walls in his mind and look to his deeper memories. Peering to and fro, he eventually settled on a path to the left, frowning softly, appearing almost fragile as he looked to Lea for approval. He so wanted it to be the correct way. He didn't think he could handle it were he wrong.

Luckily, his memories weren't betraying him.

"... it's off that way. Right? Let's hurry."

[chakramkeyblade]

He was grateful for the hypnotizing effect the moon had on Isa. So long as he stayed sedate, Lea could stay at least somewhat relaxed around him. Of course approaching him so casually made him want to raise his guard, but his heart won out. Even if Isa looked at him so oddly, it was still Is a. There was enough of him still in there that made him even more determined to save him.

Still...what had Xehanort done to him? He was more quiet than usual. Restrained. Saix's rage was almost preferable to the zombie state the man walked in as they walked to the far end of the central square. "Yeah. At the wall there, where it leads to the aquaduct." He grinned. "We used to sneak in there to stick our feet in the water and splash each other, remember? Summer was so hot for a while..."

Inside he wanted to drag Xehanort out by the collar and demand who he thought he was, tying up Isa's emotions like a dog on a leash.

[selenesknight]

Practically trudging along beside Lea, he simply listened to his friend as he was guided along. Right.. by the aqueduct. They would go there often. When they were much younger they'd go and play hide and seek... and as they got older, they'd play games, hide from their responsibilities, and plan the plan.

"... I do remember. Yes." Though it took longer than he'd like to make sense of the images in his head. He was finding it difficult to split his attention between walking and thinking. Ever so slowly, however, that blurriness at the edges of everything was beginning to go away the more he spent time with Lea. Talking to him. Remembering.

Lifting his gaze to his friend's, he furrowed his brow, pensive and curious. "You got mad at me once and threw my shoes in. How long did I chase you for that...? An hour? Two? Eventually I gave up..." Isa trailed off, trying to recall how he felt in that moment.

"I wasn't that upset about it, honestly. But you felt bad later... and you came to me, back to our spot, ice cream in hand with that 'my bad' look on your face." The pieces were lining up. He almost, almost smiled at the thought of bashful young Lea, slowly making the approach, unsure if his apology would be accepted or if he would be bodily dunked into the water.

[chakramkeyblade]

Lea actually laughed as he sat on the wall, letting his legs dangle over the edge. "You got me there. I'd forgotten all about that until you brought it up." He took a tentative bite of the salty sweet ice cream, so soft from the heat that it was a miracle it stayed on the stick.

Then he remembered. He swallowed too quickly, leaving a cold burn in his throat. He stared down at his hand. There were already drips collecting on his thumb. "...That was the day I stole a bracelet from the jewelry store. I wanted my mom to have something nice for once. But you were right. It wasn't the right way to go about it. I had a change of heart when I finally lost you, took it back and apologized." He chuckled, taking a few more large bites in an effort to keep it from plopping to the ground below. "I spent the rest of that summer sweeping floors every morning until noon."

He tipped his head back to let the last bit of ice cream slide off the stick, downing it in one swallow. He held onto the stick, staring at the tiny letters printed on it. Stupid jokes he'd found funny way after he should have. "I never thanked you for trying to help me. I always took you for granted. ...I'm sorry."

After another heavy pause he sighed and raised his hand to lick the ice cream drips off.

[selenesknight]

"... you could have swept the floors all summer and earned the money to buy it instead of having to carry that shame around."

Peering down at his ice cream, he noticed that it had started melting all over his glove. Belatedly, he brought it to his lips and began to eat it from the bottom up to minimize the dripping, wondering if that was something he'd always done... it had felt natural to do so. Yes, it must have been, then.

Isa remained quiet through Lea's short apology, brow furrowing, appearing as though he were struggling with something. "... it doesn't matter anymore." He shook his head and looked away, taking another bite. It really didn't matter. There was nothing left for him after this. They had to destroy all of the pieces of Xehanort, didn't they? He was no fool. He knew what that meant.

"You'd do best to let me go, Lea."

[chakramkeyblade]

He stopped with his tongue at his hand like a cat. Quickly he withdrew it back into his mouth. "...That's not true." He knew the truth. Knew what everything Xemnas and Xehanort had told them were lies, that they were still people. The truth was right in front of them both. The more Isa spoke to him, the more his heart filled in the blanks. The more they talked, the less of a Nobody Isa became.

Should he even risk the truth, with Xehanort so close to earshot? He had to try.

"The more aware a Nobody becomes, the more they gain their heart back, little by little. We start gaining them all on our own." He fixed his gaze firmly on Isa. "They're not Nobody or Nothing. They're empty. But they can be refilled. All by themselves. Not a damn one of us needs Xehanort or anyone to be a person again. And neither do you."

[selenesknight]

"And that's why you left me for Roxas? You began to regain your heart and you decided to move on to lighter pastures?"

Isa was unable to help the bitterness in his voice. "After everything I did for you. All the times Xemnas wanted to turn you into a Dusk, most of which you didn't even know about... I put myself on the line for you so many times. And then you repaid me... by replacing me."

There was a flare-up, he could feel it, inside. His heart burned and ached, one hand going to rest over it. "I have my heart. I just have a piece of someone else's stabbed right through it. I can feel all of the pain and anger you left me with, Lea." And it was beginning to show in the way his lips set into a sneer, the way his cheeks faintly colored at the edges.

Biting down into his ice cream, he pulled the last wedge off and ate it, peering down at his stick - WINNER emblazoned across it - and he scoffed, rolling his eyes and holding it out for Lea to take.

"... but it doesn't matter. Because you're right, we don't need Xehanort to be whole again. To keep that from happening, my heart needs to be destroyed with his inside of it."

This was the easiest way, in his mind, to get it done. He'd come to terms with that already.

[chakramkeyblade]

"Isa..." he started, when the other began to raise his voice. Then, again. "Isa."

He snatched the stupid stick right out of his hand and threw it to the sidewalk below, shoving at Isa's chest, pushing him backwards in an attempt to lay him out flat on the grass while he jumped to his feet, sharp stabs of guilt and anger drowning out reason. "Would you listen to yourself? You think there's not a day that goes by that I don't feel like ripping my own heart out again just to stop it from hurting? Here's a secret for you, pal--I hate what I did as Axel. All of it. I hate what I did to Ienzo. And Even. And Sora. I hate that I watched you walk down this road, and I hate that it was my own stupid fault for wanting to charge into that castle in the first place to play hero."

Lea swallowed, tried to calm his own flurry of emotions. He was shaking. It should have been me. "I wasn't trying to replace you, idiot. I'm going to sound like Sora, but making a new friend doesn't mean you ditch the old ones. You want to know why I was drawn to Roxas? He reminded me of someone. Someone you met, too, the summer that Xehanort showed up at the castle. Someone we never saw again. Someone we lost."

He never knew what happened to Ventus. But Roxas was...so much like him. And by the time he figured it out, by the time he remembered, DiZ had taken Roxas and that fear came back. "I don't want to lose any of my friends," he said. "There's a way to save you from this. But you have to let me help."

[selenesknight]

Caught up in sudden bursts of emotion, his fog lifting trace amounts more, though it still remained dense and heavy, Isa didn't realize he'd been shoved until he found himself lying back, gaze turned upward.

"You say you didn't replace me... but that's precisely what you did, whether you care to realize it or not. You abandoned our plan in favor of chasing after him. Instead of reporting to me, you'd go out to that clocktower and share your ice cream... just like we used to do here. It's amazing how your arrogance blinds you so."

Golden eyes closed and he let out a slow breath, letting his memories return, letting his clarity sharpen. It was almost as though his anger and resentment was burning away the fog. "... how do you think I felt? Rather, how do you think I wanted to feel, remembered the feeling of, when I woke one day and you'd gone? Knowing that you left me behind. That all you cared about was getting Roxas back. And then sacrificing yourself for Roxas, too, through helping Sora get to our world. I find it hard to believe you thought of me even once."

At this point, it was simple logic to him rather than petulance. The fragments of events were given to him, he places them together and drew the conclusions that made the most sense.

"What makes you think I'd let you help me after all of that? How do I know that you won't abandon me again if Ventus--" Oh yes, he remembered. He made that connection some time ago. "--suddenly shows his face again?"

[chakramkeyblade]

"You're right." A simple, levelheaded observation. "I am arrogant. But you've known that since we were kids. Wanting to be remembered by everyone by making myself as memorable as possible...for all the wrong reasons."

Lea sat on the grass next to him, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "You have every right to be angry at me. I've done some terrible things. Then again, we all have. Haven't we. And I think even you can admit that it was a really stupid plan in hindsight." He looked down at Isa, not even managing to give him the weakest of smiles. "But you're wrong about one thing. It wasn't just Roxas that got me to burn Sora a path to our world. Though that kid was part of it. Not gonna deny it. But really, in the end...it was the right thing to do."

He found a clover flower in the patch, twisting the stem with his fingertips until it popped off. Something to toy with while he spoke. Keep his mind off...things. "We were terrible people doing terrible things. The real question is, are we strong enough to recognize that and start doing the right thing for once? I don't know if I am or not. But I kinda want to find out."

Lea went quiet. He found himself caring less and less of what Xehanort was listening in on or watching through Isa. His friend had changed, maybe for the worse, and was still changing. Becoming something that would have made both their skins crawl a long time ago. The younger Isa would either want to beat his older self within an inch of his life in a fit of rage, of that he was certain. But at the end of the day, it was still Isa, and still...

"...do you remember the year before Ansem the Wise disappeared? The spring bloom festival? ...I invited you to the gardens just outside the castle. Fed you some stupid excuse about getting closer to the fireworks." He swallowed. This is the last chance to say something. Anything. Don't mess it up, stupid, he might be completely gone in a month and you'll hate yourself the rest of your life. Don't chicken out like you did last time.

[selenesknight]

"We weren't people." He corrected lightly. Without hearts, they were merely empty shells... in no way did that qualify as being a 'person', he thought.

The right thing to do...? Isa supposed those words would have had some sort of impact on him before, in the past. Especially considering they were coming out of Lea's mouth, of all people. Yet, there was just an icy prick in his chest where his heart was slowly being taken over. At this point, he was thankfully lucid enough to recognize that was Xehanort's claws digging in, reminding him of who he was and of his purpose.

"I remember. What of it? Going to try and rouse me, rally me to your cause with nostalgia as your tool of choice?" There was a faint quirking of his lips at one corner and his words in that moment weren't entirely his own. No, there was a second hollow amusement echoing in his chest. Seeing no point in trying to suppress it, his eyes opened and he looked over at Lea, smiling.

It was not a pleasant sight.

Shades of Xehanort, of course, mocking and waiting oh so curiously to hear just what nonsense was going to come next. What did he think could possibly get a rise out of him, enough to perhaps have some kind of breakthrough?

[chakramkeyblade]

He hated that look. It wasn't Isa. At all. Lea scowled. Words weren't getting him anywhere.

"There's something I wanted to do then with Isa," he said flatly. "And I still wanna do it now. And you can buzz off and go back to your trophy wife, you old coot."

Lea lowered onto his elbow and in one swift movement brought his free hand to Isa's cheek, pressing his mouth against Isa's. Firm, hot, not risking his tongue just yet, but possessive all the same. Mine. Not yours. Never yours. He never wanted to be angry, doing this. But if he didn't do it now, he was risking all that was left of Isa. So he let out the anger, the frustration of a near decade spent wondering if Isa would never speak to him again if he did this, without hurting him...just enough to make his point.

That point being he didn't care if Xehanort had Isa's heart in a vicegrip, he was never going to have his way. Ever. He was done being afraid of Xemnas, or Xehanort. Whoever. Tired of hiding.

[selenesknight]

The moment those hot lips touched his, his brain flatlined. It took several seconds for it to recover, reboot, reprocess what was happening and in that time, Xehanort had completely drawn back to observe. The fog lifted almost fully, to the point where Isa was startled by the sudden clarity, being able to actually feel now making things so much more intense.

His heart raced in his chest and a flush bloomed on his cheeks, head pulling away to let his mouth hang open, almost paralyzed by what was happening, barely able to do that much.

"What are you doing? Whatareyoudoing?" Once, then again, rushed and panicked and unsure of what to do. Why was Lea kissing him?! What was happening?! What... oh no, what... what should he do??

Isa was, decidedly, Not Prepared for this.

"Why?" He croaked out, brow furrowed and so, so confused.

[chakramkeyblade]

He could have laughed at Isa's reaction, in any other situation. But as it was, this wasn't the ideal situation he had wanted. No fireworks, spotty flower patches, his heart tuned to light while Isa's was trapped in shadow. But hey. It got Xehanort to shut up. Lea broke into a grin, his thumb tracing the edge of Isa's cheekbone. His eyes were burning, a hot wetness clinging to his own cheek. Summer rain. That was all it was.

"Because I've wanted to do that since we were fourteen?" He pressed another quick, light kiss to Isa's bottom lip. "Seemed a good idea back then. It's never gone away, either."

Lea forced a shaky, half-giddy, half-nervous laugh, resting his forehead against Isa's. "Of course without our hearts it was...other things. That kinda seemed a good idea, too."

[selenesknight]

"But..." Was all he managed, swallowing heavily, not actually having any thoughts to follow up with. This... no, he hadn't expected this at all. Oh wow.

Then suddenly that last bit sank in and if he could have looked more shocked and scandalized, he would have. Did he really just say...?

"You wanted to-- as Nobodies?" He asked, voice soft and in that same airy tone from earlier. For some reason such a thing was sounding less and less insane. Maybe because going from blurred at the edges to everything being sharp and intense was beginning to even out.

Thinking about it, well. Was the thought really so crazy afterall? Images flashed in his mind, all those times Saix had visited Axel in his room... there had been so many opportunities.

"Why didn't you, then?" He knew Saix wouldn't have objected. Did that mean he wouldn't, now, either?

[chakramkeyblade]

Lea snorted. "Isa, come on. Everyone was doing that as Nobodies. Everyone." Most of the time it was purely out of boredom. No emotions to get in the way meant that everything was on a more physical level. Curiosity about each other's forms, exploring sensation and energies and tolerance levels without shame or much thought behind it. Only the bravest let Larxene be in charge of the night.

In response to the question he shrugged. "You never seemed interested. Even when I tried to kinda...give hints. I just figured you and Xemnas had some kind of exclusive thing all your own."

[selenesknight]

"... I never realized." Slowly, he shook his head, thinking back on it. Yes, he had passive knowledge that the other members were getting up to such things, but he didn't care so he'd hardly given it a second thought.

It made sense for Nobodies to indulge in physical desire. If they couldn't feel emotionally, then physically would have to do.

"We did." He nodded slightly, almost embarrassed to admit it even if Lea had already guessed. "I was his closest. We... I suppose were exclusive, though more by coincidence. He didn't bother with others, I never thought there was interest outside of him." Swallowing heavily, he tried not to let the memories get to him, a mild flare of anger rising in him, knowing part of that was Xehanort's fault. The images were so vibrant and it was almost like he could still feel his touch...

"... it-" He started, then shook his head and turned his gaze to fully meet Lea's. "If you'd been forward, I'd have accepted you."

[chakramkeyblade]

"Funny how these things work, huh?" He paused, torn between dragging Isa to the canal for privacy and calling his keyblade here and now to take him right out from under Xehanort's nose.

But Axel was the one who stabbed people in the back. Yen Sid's words banished the idea from his mind as quickly as it came. A keyblade's purpose is never to kill. Only to weaken. Never strike with the intention to destroy...

He swallowed. "...Isa...please. I want you. Not the tagalong. But you have to let me help you."

[selenesknight]

"What do you mean you want me?"

Brow furrowing, he knew that could be taken several ways and for all he knew, Lea did mean that he both wanted him by his side, and wanted him in that physical way that he'd never forwardly asked for as Axel.

Isa shifted, propping himself up on his elbows to lean in closer to Lea, stuck in a whole storm of emotions. Curiosity, fear, desire, relief... right now, however, hope was beginning to override the rest and he wished now more than ever that he could be free of Xehanort's sharp grip on his heart.

"What is it you want, Lea?"

[chakramkeyblade]

"I want you back with us," he said. "With me."

He couldn't. He couldn't just...tell him that he had a keyblade, it would put them both in danger. He swallowed. "We can all find a way to get that piece of him out of you. You'll have your life back."

...Okay that was way too sappy for his liking.

Lea broke from his completely serious stance, laughing quietly as he leaned in to nuzzle against Isa's neck, threading fingers through soft blue hair. "Mostly I want to have fun like this for a long time. I don't even care if it's not forever. Nothing lasts that long, right?"