Chapter 28: Lemons into Lemonade

As Cloud stepped into view, Axel flashed a menacing grin toward the withdrawn blonde. Leon groaned. This wouldn’t bode well for Cloud. “A true hero has impeccable timing, wouldn’t you say, Leon?” Axel mocked, shifting his gawk to Leon. Axel needed a babysitter for Kairi if he was to retrieve a supply of vaccines.

Cloud frowned and exchanged glances between Leon and Axel. Remaining silent, he allowed Axel to step forward toward him with Kairi. The blonde recoiled only slightly as Axel passed the girl to him, forcing the swordsman to hold the bashful girl awkwardly. Immediately Cloud felt the suspicious bit of padding on her hind and lifted his eyes to Axel.

“Uhn,” Kairi grunted while being passed off, blushing darkly. She didn’t appreciate being treated like a lifeless teddy-bear!

“Eh,” Axel grunted, scratching the back of his head as he tore open a dark portal. “Leon here will explain this fine situation for you, Cloud. He’s good at talking,” teased Axel as he backed into the portal before Leon could backhand him.

“Say: ‘aah’,” Vexen prodded, waving arounda long q-tip and tongue depressor in front of Roxas.

“Eew, n—UH!” Roxas began to protest, only to be seized by the depressor. Vexen unceremoniously jabbed the q-tip into the boy’s mouth and swabbed the back of his throat. Immediately, the poor boy gagged, launching himself backwards as he coughed roughly. Fortunately there was no mess to be had as he caught his breath. “Egh! What are you doing?! You old coot!” he choked wiping a bit of drool from his mouth.

“Hmph. I ought to let whatever you have just eat you, you little ungrateful brat!” Vexen snarled, smearing the sample onto a dish of red agar. Slapping the sample down, he removed a thermometer and waved it at Roxas. “Go on then. I need data.”

Roxas frowned and glared at the skinny scientist. “…WHY do you need data? I just want a cold pill so I can go back to Xemnas and then go to bed,” whined Roxas.

“You’re going to get a smacked behind if you don’t mind!” Vexen snapped. Roxas groaned and allowed Vexen to stuff the probe under his tongue. The pair waited in awkward silence for a moment. The thermometer had only just beeped when another unwelcomed portal opened in the lab.

“FOR CRYING OUT—“ Vexen began, scowling a sour expression as he looked over Axel. Somewhere In the back of his mind, he dreaded that perhaps Kairi had expired… The superior would do worse than extinguish him!!! “…What is it, number eight? Can’t you see I’m busy?!” He scowled.

“A- Ahuth!” Roxas mumbled behind the thermometer which Vexen promptly yanked out.

Axel grinned at his slurred name and noogied his best friend’s fluffy head of hair. “Another cold, runt?”

“Uh-huh,” Roxas nodded with a shrug, blushing awkwardly. He wanted to tell him about his little upsetting incident in  bed, but decided against it given that they were not alone.

“Vexen will fix you up,” Axel commented, giving Roxas’s cheek a playful pinch. “Won’t you, Vexen?” he added with a clear icing of threat in his tone.

Vexen cringed and ground his teeth. “What do you want, you obnoxious petri smear!”

“That ain’t no way to talk to someone that’s doin’ you a favor,” Axel mocked with a Cheshire grin. Vexen swallowed back his anger and allowed Axel a moment to explain. “I need another vaccination… In a timely fashion. Probably three or four of them, just in case,” he added. “being so far away and all…. You never know and,” He grunted, swaying on his boots.

“If you give the child another vaccine, it will not help. You could over—“ Vexen argued, shifting Roxas’s blood results under the microscope.

“Who said it was for Kairi?” Axel replied.

Whirling about, Vexen jabbed a finger at Axel and frowned an ugly sneer. “Listen here, you simpering idiot! I am not a trained lab monkey here to labor away producing genius science so you can open a damned orphan charity on the streets of KINGDOM HEARTS KNOWS WHAT world!”

“Your brilliant science is killing off operatives. You’re welcome to neglect my demands and find out what might happen to you and your brilliant research…” Axel replied, dancing a small flame atop his palm.

Vexen repressed a girlish noise and seethed. “PUT OUT THAT FLAME THIS INSTANT…. Precocious mongrel,” he snarled gathering up a small container of his vaccine. Measuring out four doses in a smaller rubber-stopped container, he thrust it forward to Axel. “Get out,” he growled.

Roxas frowned and stumbled up. Stepping forward to Vexen, he offered his large spade-like foot a stomp. “Don’t you talk to Axel that way!”

“AAAGH!” …the impaled scream he let loose was hellish at best. Vexen was probably going to KILL Roxas.

“Rooox,” Axel groaned, shaking his head. “I can fend for myself, you know…”

“You weren’t doing a very good job of it,” Roxas replied smoothly as Vexen hobbled around holding his foot.

“Is that so? …I suppose it’s your turn to fend for yourself then,” he chuckled, passing a wink to his younger friend as he waved his hand with the vaccines and disappeared into a dark portal once again.

                Uh? Axel!!!” Roxas shouted, glancing back uneasily to Vexen who had since recomposed himself.

“THAT, young man,” Vexen began as he strolled to Roxas and  gathered up his arm; “was a mistake you will regret!”

Somehow after a long explanation, Cloud had wound up with Kairi saddled to his hip. Wandering into the castle kitchen, he pulled out a carbonated lemon water and seated himself at the table. With Kairi sitting on his knee, he cracked open the can and wordlessly held the can up to her lips.

“Hnm?” Kairi grunted, glancing up to Cloud.

“Go on,” he coaxed, tipping it up to her lips to allow her a little sip of the water.

“Mm…” Kairi cooed softly, sipping at the bitey water. “…thanks…” It felt a bit awkward accepting help from Cloud seeing that he kept to himself; more so than even Leon.

“It always makes me feel better when I have a cold,” Cloud commented gruffly. Pausing with the can, Cloud glanced up just in time to view Riku as he shuffled into the kitchen. He’d since woken from his short nap and had pulled on a pair of clean jeans and a white tank top.

“Hi Riku!” Kairi greeted as cheerfully as she could given her illness.

“Uh,” Riku grunted in reply with a lop-sided grin. It hurt to smile… Wandering to the ‘fridge, he began pawing through its contents. He was so disorderly about it, Cloud spoke up.

“…what are you looking for?” mumbled the blonde swordsman.

“…soup,” Riku mumbled groggily.

“…Are you feeling alright?” Cloud asked with a sobering expression.

Riku sneered. He knew what Cloud was thinking… that he’d succumbed to the infantile illness that had claimed both Kairi and Sora. Well…he was wrong! –at least, in Riku’s mind Cloud was wrong. “..A little air sick still,” Riku replied offering another half-grin to the pair. “…Leon’s flying isn’t very… relaxing,” he added, drawing a loop-de-loop in the air with his fingers.

Even Cloud smirked at this. He and Leon had a long running rivalry. To hear Riku side with Cloud over Leon, for once, was a little refreshing. “…His hand-eye can be lacking too,” Cloud teased, itching for another sword rematch with the scar-faced gunner.

It took Riku a long while to fish out a serving of vegetable stew for himself and heat it up in the microwave. By the time he’d plopped down in a chair across from Cloud, he hardly felt his appetite stirring anymore. Gawking down to the steaming bowl of vegetables, he offered the soup a stir. Cloud, at that point, rose with Kairi at his hip and paced to the fridge. Opening another can of carbonated lemon water, he set it beside Riku. “Here, kid,” he commented quietly, returning to his seat. Kairi adorably reached for their half-finished can of lemon water.

Leon stepped back into the infirmary and took a seat beside the hospital bed. The nurses had since allowed Sora a moment’s peace to rest. Leon was not surprised to find that the boy was, by this time, wearing a hospital gown… One of the moogles had affectionately tucked a teddy bear beside him. Sora was clutching it feverishly. While he looked a little less flushed, the boy still looked remarkably frail. “…Sora,” he murmured with concern as he watched the little one sleep.

“GET OFF! GET OFF! GET THE HELL OFF!!” Axel shouted, trying to shoo a moogle off of him. “Leon!” Axel shouted, stomping in through the door. Sora stirred with a whimper. Leon passed Axel a glare. “Hey—what’s that face for? I told you I’d deliver the goods, didn’t I?” he replied, waving the little bottle of vaccine around. Leon’s eyes immediately shifted to the bottle before he haphazardly turned the call light on. In an instant, no less than three moogle nurses flapped in.

“Is everything alright, Kupo?” they all three asked in unison.

“…we’ve got the vaccine,” Leon replied. “Get a syringe and let’s get it done,” Leon barked. Clearly he was not in the mood to let Sora suffer one moment longer than need be.

“Right away, sir—Kupo!” they chirped and began gathering the supplies.

Leon paused before reaching for Sora and locked eyes with Axel. “…Thank you. I realize you didn’t have to do that…”

Axel paused and rubbed the back of his head. He wasn’t sure what to say. Being the good guy was not really something he was familiar with. If he could have felt, he certainly would have felt mighty awkward.

 (to be continued!)