Axel / Lea x Reader One Shots (Requests Open)

Savior

"Axel! C'mon, the water feels amazing!"

"Alright, I'm coming in a sec!" Axel called from the shorelines.

It was a perfect day at the beach. The sun's rays weren't too strong, the clouds minimal, and a light breeze kept the climbing temperatures at a comfortable level. Mixed scents of sea salt and sunscreen filled your nose, instantly melting all your stresses away into cool water you waded in. If you were ever asked where your favorite place to go to lose yourself and forget all your troubles, the beach would always be your answer.

You and Axel both decided to take a much needed day off from missions after missions (not to mention adulting) and just spend a day doing nothing but relaxing. Thankfully, the beach today wasn't as overly crowded as you were expecting, especially with summer vacations underway. Guess everyone else couldn't get away from their lives today, but you honestly couldn't help but feel some relief. No fighting the crowds for parking, spots on the beach, and best of all: silence. All you could hear were the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore and seagulls flying all around you. What can be more relaxing than that?

Inhaling a deep breath, you dove under the crystal blue water to get a better look at the ocean floor beneath you. You weren't too far out from the shoreline, but far enough out that your feet floated a good five feet above the bottom of the reef. Swimming further down, you came up on the coral reef and took in all of its beauty: the different colors, irregular shapes and the schools of fish that swam around them. After a few more seconds, you knew it was time to return to the surface to get some air. As you neared the surface, you felt yourself being pulled back slightly, but you ignored it and kept kicking your legs harder. Your head bobbed out of the water as you took a breath in, realizing that the water was now up to your ears instead of at shoulder-height. You could have sworn you heard someone yell something before all of a sudden a large wave pelted down onto your head and you were sucked back under.

Panicking, you opened your eyes under water and tried to get your bearings. Which way was the right direction to get you back to shore? You looked at the reef again to try to pinpoint which direction you should go, but everything looked the same to you. Your lungs started to burn, desperate for air. Kicking again for the surface, you tried to bring yourself up to get another gasp of air when another wave came crashing down, sending your entire body in a summersault.

Once more, you made your way up to the top and saw the shoreline ahead of you, now much smaller than before. The tide was definitely going out, and it was taking you with it! Kicking your legs as hard as you could, you fought against the tide to make your way back to the shore. Every muscle in your body screamed exhaustion, and you felt your lungs burn even more as air was becoming difficult to take in. When you noticed the reef below you starting to get closer, you thought you were safe. Until another wave swallowed you up. Completely underwater again, you felt yourself lose all control of your body. A sharp pain scraped at your knee, and the last thing you saw before losing consciousness was your blood tainting the blue ocean water.

~*~

"[Y/N]! C'mon, baby! Stay with me!"

The voice sounded distant and close all at once. It was Axel. You recognized him instantly. But why did he sound scared?

Everything was dark. Were you asleep? No, this doesn't feel like sleep... it's different somehow.

A harsh pressure came down on your chest repeatedly, each motion hurting more than the last. You felt your mouth open, but you couldn't get any words out. Something soft pressed against your lips; it tasted like salt water.

Why was it hard for you to open your eyes??

~*~

Axel kept pressing his hands against your chest, fighting to get the water out of your lungs. "Fight it, [Y/N!] Come back to me!" He bent down and blew another long breath into your mouth, his own lungs burning as the oxygen left him completely before returning to pumping your chest. A few bystanders gathered around; one of them took the initiative to call for help as Axel continued to work on you. Someone might have said that an ambulance was on its way, but he wasn't paying attention to anything else going on around him. He stayed focused on you, lying still, not breathing.

'I won't give up on you,' he thought — practically screaming at you telepathically — 'don't you dare leave me—!'

You suddenly jerked up, coughing up sea water all over yourself and Axel. Frantically gasping for air, you collapsed back in Axel's arms, still trying to figure out what all just happened. Axel embraced you tightly, his shoulders bouncing up and down as he couldn't help but let the tears fall both out of relief and fear.

"Axel...what—?" Your words slurred a bit as you continued to breath heavily.

"It's okay, you're okay now," he kept saying over and over.

"What happened?"

"The tide started dragging you out! Your boyfriend dove in after you and saved you from drowning," a woman said, wrapping a towel around your shoulders. "You're lucky he saw you in time!"

Eyes filling up with tears, you looked at Axel as you started to remember everything. The second you remember hitting your knee against the reef, the sharp pain kicked back in as if on cue. Your knee was badly cut, but it could have been a lot worse. This whole thing could have been a lot worse.

"A-Axel," you trembled. "I'm so s-sorry! I'm such an idiot—!"

"No, you're not. What matters is that you're okay. You're safe now," he whispered.

"T-thank you, Axel. For saving my life."

Axel brought his lips to your forehead and kissed you for a long moment. 'She's alive', he kept telling himself. 'It's all going to be okay now.'

"I won't let anything bad happen to you again, [Y/N]. I promise."