I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Here is a wonderful little Axel/Namine oneshot for you. Hope you enjoy it.

With Feeling

There wasn't a guy in the world that deserved Naminé.

But if anyone specifically didn't deserve the purest form of female on the planet - if anyone didn't deserve to have that alighting smile directed toward them every single day for the rest of their life, it was Axel. Perhaps the last person that should ever see her lips twitched into the faintist hint of a smile was Axel, and he knew that every second of every day.

He knew it when he kissed those smiling lips harsh against the softness because he felt within him a carnal need to corrupt the poor girl so that he wouldn't feel so obviously unworthy while lying awake next to her at night and listening to her breathe. His hands left light bruises on her thighs and his teeth bit into her skin and she kept it all to herself until the sensations finally became too much.

Now that was the last thing Axel ever deserved. Hearing her say it.

She didn't have a heart of course. None of them did, and just because she had powers didn't make her the exception to the rule. Naminé had no heart. Which made her statement all the more heartless as she whispered it into the enveloping darkness.

"I love you."

You don't. It's not possible.

His fingers rested at the hollow of her neck as he glared at her with more intensity than he needed. For half a second he thought he might love her back. The next minute he thought he might hate her for even considering a concept like love. Then he realized that he couldn't feel either of these things and sighed to himself. Like he was lost.

He didn't say it back, of course. Didn't need to. Somehow Naminé could always understand his bizarre body language as he twisted away from her and slung his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't bother with clothes as he stumbled across the room towards the bathroom.

She must've known that he meant to say, "You're a liar, Naminé, but I would be too if I had the nerve."

He didn't, of course.

Instead of closing the door behind him, he slumped against the wall and wanted to be upset or angry or even happy. Anything was better than that dead sensation in his chest. He often wondered if the soft thudding of a heart in his ribcage would be consoling or unnerving in times like these.

When he finally managed to pull himself together and return to her unclothed from under a thin blanket, he sighed against her soft blond hair and pulled her close.

"Axel?"

"Yeah?"

"Nevermind."

Silence filled their ears for several minutes.

"Naminé?"

"Yes, Axel?"

"Do you ever get jealous of Kairi?"

"Why?"

"...'Cause she's alive."

She waited a long time before answering.

"I don't think I would get jealous even if I could."

"You know something?"

"Hm?"

"I wouldn't be jealous, either."

"Why is that?"

"Because you make me feel alive," he wanted to say. But didn't.

"Because life is too short for jealousy."

He felt her nod against his chest in agreement.