My Heart's a Battleground

Ren had been living comfortably with Roxas for well over a month now. She was becoming happier with each passing day but Axel had mentioned to her that he had to go away for awhile for work. He wouldn't be able to hang out with her or Roxas for awhile until his work is done. This upset Ren and made her miss Axel more and more each day. It was beginning to show when her friends noticed how sad she looked. Roxas knew though that Ren had missed him. Roxas did too but he saw that it hit Ren badly. Roxas had a good idea of what Axel was doing right now. But if Ren knew of what Axel was doing, she would be shocked and afraid to go anywhere Axel or Roxas himself. Roxas had to keep it hush hush from Ren. He had to reassure her that Axel was coming back.

Ren had been missing Axel like crazy. She couldn't get that spiky red head off of her mind. She missed his goofy smiling face along with his jokes. For some reason, Ren felt completely empty and alone without Axel. Sure she had Roxas, Hayner, Pence and Olette but there was a place in her heart that felt empty when Axel wasn't there. At night, she would look outside to see the clock tower of the station where she would eat ice cream with Axel and Roxas. She would look from the clock tower to the Winner stick she would have in her hand. She still wanted to get Axel his free ice cream. She decided that when he comes back that, she'll treat him to a free ice cream.

The memory she had of her holding him and him holding her back made her happy. Just that one memory made her heart feel warm and soar into the sky. Ren had talked with Olette a few times about these feelings but she didn't say who. Olette would sometimes tease her by asking her if it was one of their guy friends. Ren would shake her head with a laugh and tell her it was someone else. Thankfully Olette listened to her instead of laughing. Olette thought Ren was being cute when she was expressing how she felt about this mysterious guy. Olette told her friend that Ren was beginning to fall in love with him. Ren blushed at the thought but Olette explained everything. It made sense though and Ren finally admitted to herself that she loved Axel.

This was a completely new feeling to her. But it was a good feeling. Problem was; would Axel feel the same for her? Sure she knew that Axel liked her as a friend but would he love her back? She didn't want to hassle Roxas with it though. Ren had an idea how to try and get the fiery redhead to express how he really feels for her.

Recently, Roxas had somewhere he had to go so he left Ren an extra house key. Ren felt a little lonely without Roxas at home but he said he would be home in a couple days. After hanging out with Hayner, Pence and Olette, Ren decided to walk around the shops a little to see about getting a present for Roxas for letting her stay with him. She looked at the accessories for a little bit then walked on. Ren let out a sigh and looked up at the sky to see the sun was starting to set a little. The shade of red reminded her of Axel. That color seemed to fit him well besides his hair being red.

"Pretty isn't it?" that oh so cocky voice said.

Ren's eyes widened then whirled around to see Axel standing there. He was smirking and waved at her, "Hey there, Ren."

"Axel!" Ren cried happily and ran to him.

She threw her arms around him and held him tightly. Axel gave out a chuckle and held her back while looking down at her. He was a little surprised to see a couple tears from from her eyes.

"Hey, hey. What's with the water works?" Axel asked as he pulled away, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Ren sniffed and wiped her eyes a little before looking up at him, "I'm sorry... I just really missed you, Axel."

"Ah, no reason to cry, Ren," Axel replied as he ruffled her hair a little.

Ren smiled softly and hugged him again but tighter. Axel held her back and closed his eyes. He could feel that lightness in his chest whenever he was around Ren or even thinking about her. It was a good feeling and he wanted to keep it. Ren then pulled away to look at Axel again.

"Come on, I'll treat you to some ice cream," Ren said as she began to drag Axel towards the candy shop.

"Do you have money, Ren?" Axel asked as he followed her.

"Nope, I have this," Ren replied as she dug into her pocket for something then pulled out the Winner stick.

"You still have that? I thought that you would use it already," Axel replied surprised.

Ren presented the Winner stick to the woman behind the counter. She happily handed over the sea salt ice cream to Ren then Ren presented it to Axel. Axel was surprised and looked from the ice cream to Ren's smiling face.

"Are you sure, Ren?" Axel asked.

"Very sure. I saved my Winner stick to get you ice cream when you came back, Axel," Ren said smiling more.

Axel was surprised by this and could feel the warmth in his chest. Axel shook his head then ruffled her hair with his free hand, "Come on, I'll share this with you."

Ren nodded and began to follow Axel to the clock tower. Once they settle down, Axel took a bite from the ice cream then handed it to Ren. Ren gladly accepted it and began to eat a little bit of it. Ren was ecstatic that Axel was back and doing this. For awhile, she was beginning to worry if he would come back or not. She could feel some tears nip at her eyes again. She then handed the ice cream back to Axel and sniffed. Axel looked at her face as he took a bite of his ice cream to see her holding back tears.

"Ren, what is it?" Axel asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Axel. I'm just happy you're back. I was scared for awhile that you wouldn't come back even though you and Roxas said you would," Ren replied.

Seeing the upset look on her face and tears threatening to spill from her ocean blue eyes made a painful feeling pang inside of him. He had to do something quickly to make her smile. That was the only way he could get the negative feeling inside him to leave.

"No worries, Ren. I won't leave again and hey, I'm back all right," Axel replied.

Ren smiled weakly at him as she wiped her eyes, "Yeah..."

Axel then remembered he had a few days off, "How about this, I owe you now, Ren. What do you want? I'll get it for you."

Ren looked at Axel, wondering if he was serious. She then thought of what she was going to do to see if Axel liked her back or not. She took in a deep breath and was about to say something but she was afraid of asking him. Axel cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"

Ren clenched her hands a little in her lap then let out her deep breath. She then looked up at Axel, "Axel... will you go on a date with me?"

Axel quirked an eyebrow, "A date?"

Ren bit her lip then shook her head, "Nevermind. Forget I asked."

"Hey, hey. I didn't say no," Axel replied then ruffled her hair, "If it's a date you want, it's a date you'll get."

"R-really, Axel?" Ren asked as her face lit up a little.

"Yeah, I know a nice place that we can go to," Axel replied as he handed the ice cream back to Ren. Ren took another bite and went to hand it back to Axel but he shook his head, "You finish it."

Ren smiled and finished up the ice cream, smiling even more. This was great. He actually agreed to go on the date. But she still couldn't celebrate quite yet. She didn't know how much Axel really liked her. She then felt him ruffle her hair, "Come on, let's go on our date."

"Right now?" Ren asked surprised.

"Sure! Why not!?" Axel chuckled.

"Ok!" Ren giggled.

Axel smiled when he heard her giggle. There, she was happy now and that made the pain in his chest leave. He wanted nothing more than for Ren to be happy. That way she could smile and that warmth in his chest would remain. He then held his hand out to her while opening a dark portal with his free hand. Ren happily accepted it and followed Axel into the darkness.