Axel / Lea x Reader One Shots (Requests Open)

Charms

Crybaby wasn't a name you liked at all, and as much as you didn't want to admit it, people weren't wrong when they called you that. Overly-sensitive: that was a softer term you'd prefer to describe why you cried so much, even at the smallest of things. Sad movies? You cried. Songs that spoke to you? Tears. Books that tore your heart out? Sobs for days. There were those who would make fun of you, especially back in school, and that only made you cry even more. You hated how easily people made you cry, and you tried your hardest not to give into the tears. It's always been like that ever since you were a kid, and now even so years later while you were in the Organization.

It was confusing to you how you were told that Nobodies don't feel, so why the tears now? Maybe it was such a big part of who you were when you were human that the quality just cemented into your personality, despite being incomplete. It's not like the other members of the Organization were ever aware of your constant tears. For the most part, you cried when you were alone after a long day of missions. Sometimes you just cried for hours while standing in the shower to let the water and steam cover up the sound of your sobs. You missed being a complete person, having a carefree life to do whatever you pleased. Memories of your past haunted you every night of how you became a Nobody; the pain of your heart leaving your body as you were struck down still fresh in your mind, hearing your own screams as you felt the air knocked out of your lungs. How did you get mixed up in all this? Why did this have to happen to you?

It was almost midnight when those thoughts casually walked back into your mind. You had trouble falling asleep once again with your anxiety levels high and the nightmares waking you up consistently. The last one made you jump up in bed in a cold sweat. You heard a loud scream, and it took a few moments for you to realize it was yourself. A soft knock came from your door, and before you could even answer the knob turned and the light from the hallway outside briefly filled the room. You could see the outline of Axel's tall figure walk in and shut the door behind him.

"Another nightmare?" Axel sounded worried. This was your fourth one in a row that week. You nodded in the darkness, unsure if he even saw you.

Axel flipped the light switch on and walked to your bed, sitting down next to you. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Words failed you, so all you could do was shake your head. You were visibly trembling as Axel wrapped an arm around you in comfort. The warmth emitting from his body almost instantly started to sooth you. After stifling a few sobs, you laid down on the bed and rested your head on Axel's lap, letting him play with your hair a bit.

"I'm sorry," you mumbled.

"For what?"

"I'm such a crybaby. I should be stronger than this. I know I'm not the only one who's gone through hard times, and everyone else has their shit together but me. It's...embarrassing."

"[Y/O/N], you have nothing to be sorry about. Everyone deals with things differently and in their own way. And just because you don't see them, or me for that matter, lose it every now and then doesn't mean they don't at all." Axel continued stroking your hair as tears started to fall down your face again.

"It's still embarrassing, Axel. I hate this about myself. I wish there was a way to change this about me."

Axel sat for a minute in silence before tapping your forehead. "I've got an idea. Sit up for a sec." He got off the bed and went over to your desk to look for something. Rummaging around the pen holder, he took out a black marker and grabbed a couple tissues. "Let me see that cute face of yours."

You giggled a little as Axel softly took your face in one of his hands to wipe off the remaining tears from your face. Once dry, he uncapped the marker and brought it to your right cheek. "This is something Isa - I mean, Saix - did for me when I was a kid. You're not the only crybaby in this room, ya know."

"Wait, hold up. Really? I don't believe you," you said skeptically.

"Yeah, back when we were kids I used to get pretty emotional fast too, especially after losing my temper. Saix was always the calmer one between the two of us, if you can imagine that. One day, I guess he just kinda got fed up with me and drew these on my face," he tapped on one of the purple upside-down tear marks on his face. "He told me that these are a charm to stop the tears from falling. I didn't believe him at first, but they actually worked for me. Haven't shed a tear since that day." Axel moved to your other cheek and drew the second of the two tear marks under your eye. "To be honest, I don't mind that you get emotional. I know what it's like. And when you get upset reading a book or listening to a song, I like to be there to comfort you. But more than anything, I want to help you; I hate seeing you hurt. So how about we give these a go?"

Axel rubbed his thumb against your cheek softly to make sure the marker wouldn't smear.

He smiled and kissed your forehead for a long minute, making butterflies in your stomach flutter. Your eyes wandered over to the mirror opposite of your bed to examine the charms Axel had drawn; they were identical to his, small and complimented the color of your eyes perfectly.

"Thank you, Axel," you smiled.

Axel smiled back and stretched out his arms before laying down on your bed. "Let's get to sleep. We've got another long day tomorrow." Shuffling back under the covers, you laid back down beside Axel and rested up against him with your head on his chest. His warmth almost instantly lulled you back to sleep, and for the first time in days you weren't afraid to drift off into slumber.