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The last thing Lilith could remember was the white-hot blinding light as Jesse summoned his Rainbow Dragon card, facing up against Yubel. They needed the duel energy of the battle to get home, he couldn't stop the duel just because the portal was reaching its climax. If he had stopped, everything they had done to get here would've been all for naught. It was all thanks to Jesse that the students of Duel Academy could finally return home... But that didn't mean everything had settled nicely.
While most students had the luxury of falling unconscious due to power of the portal, whipping and whirling about, throwing innocents around like rag dolls, Lilith didn't have the same pleasure. From the blinding light, to being forced onto the ground, the warm afternoon sun, and feeling the rattling and grinding as the school fell back into its crater. As she laid on the ground groaning, she was unaware of the position she was in. The only thing she knew was she felt sandwiched between two hard things... the hot cement, and the pressing weight of a student knocked on top of her.
"The students! We did it," exclaimed Chancellor Sheppard. "They're back!" It had almost been a week since the school, along with about a hundred students, had disappeared from their world. Maximillian Pegasus and Dr. Eisenstein had worked diligently to figure out the cause and how to bring them back. After many frustrating equations and unexpected obstacles, things had finally seemed to resolve- for now.
"Yeah, they're back alright," Aster would comment, his tone difficult to register. He had his arms folded over his chest, relieved that Eisenstein wasn't just some crazed lunatic. Who knew the guy had some screws still bolted in?
"It would seem so," brooded Zane, towering over the pro-duelist. Aster paid no mind to him, but instead would make his way over towards the school. Avoiding the scattered bodies of the student body, he found Lilith underneath the hulking western transfer, awake and desperately flailing her arms like a Magikarp! It was hard not to snicker at the sight. "I take it you're alive and well, then again, I think we all know you're too stubborn to die."
Hearing a familiar voice, Lilith's attempts to get up came to a halt. Compressing her lips together, she turned her head to Aster and asked simply, "is he dead..?"
"Who, Brodie? Unlikely. Seems like you're the first to wake."
Grumbling something underneath her breath, the woman would let out a sigh; and with his answer, Lilith would turn her head to him but didn't answer right away, taking a while for her brain to reel and process everything. Eventually, she responded, "this is fine," wishing she wasn't face first to cement, but it was fine. If the universe had to punish her with this fate, then so be it. In the other dimension, she had lied to the student body, pretending to be one of the duel ghouls in order to move around with ease. She had hoped in doing so, she would gain valuable information that could've gotten the students home sooner. While that aspect of her plan didn't follow through, she'd managed to sneak into the food storage facility and bring food to the others - only enough for her friends, the only capable students in her opinion.
Axel had been pretty pissed at her when she finally revealed to them she'd been faking, right before Crowler had shown Jaden the secret passageway, when nearly the entire student body had been lost, did she give in. It hadn't been easy avoiding Axel during her expedition, and it proved more of a challenge once he arranged his army of Blue Berets!
It didn't take too long before the quiet would fall to the sounds of students groaning awake with confusion and relief. The same was true with the man on top of Lilith. Axel slowly blinked awake and scanned his surroundings. His face briefly shifted into one of confusion- hadn't he been shielding her right before the world turned white? He may have been mad at her, beyond pissed even, but he still couldn't find it in him to wish harm to befall her. It wasn't in his veins, he was a soldier. That was the reason, right? Just what he'd been taught.
The transfer would shift off of her so she could sit up and breathe properly. "Nnnn.....my spine..." she whined pathetically, but Axel remained unamused.
Once more did he scan the area, and figured everyone else was fine. Then, his golden eyes would lock onto Lilith, cold and unreadable. "Are you alright?" He would ask with a certain heaviness in his voice; as if there was more he wanted to say, but he was choosing to hold off for now. Assess first, combat later.
"Mmm- mmhm... hai."
"Good," he said, getting to his feet, but not before his hand snatched Lilith's wrist, yanking her to her feet as well. "Let's go." His voice cold and sharp, his words weren't a suggestion, but a demand. His hand was rough, but his grip wasn’t harsh. Still, the loss of control in it made her blood boil. There was that tone, the one that locked her throat up in anger. Eyes narrowed as her heart rate increased. Her defensive mechanism, fighting fire with fire. "{Fine,}"she spat in Japanese, glaring. Her chest and ears burned as if they'd been set alight. Part of her was relieved not to be scolded in front of everyone, though her entire being begged for someone to stop him. She hadn't done anything wrong! She'd only done what she thought was right in the time being- acting as a sort of double-agent, hidden within the masses. The road to hell was paved with good intentions.
Once they'd arrive at her dorm room, the door shut with a slam and the temperature already felt scorching. Lilith's hands balled into fists, ready to scream and holler. “Axel took in a deep breath, his muscles tensing — as if he needed them to express what he felt. "I gave you one job, one demand," Axel started, "to stay safe? How hard is it to stay out of trouble?"
"Stay safe? Excuse you! I'm fine, thank you very much sir!!" She screamed back, "Nothing happened, and I turned tail before anything could happen! Doesn't that count for anything?"
"Counts as you being reckless! What if they'd noticed? You had no idea your stunt would work! What if-"
"Ooooh, excuse you!" she snapped back, taking a half step forward - not quite in his face, but reasserting dominance, "But it did work! First off, in case you didn't notice, I did stay safe! They didn't attack each other! They thought I was one!! I was undercover, dammit!!! I had a plan! And as if you have any room to talk about reckless! How many times have I had to go chasing after your dumbass? Or did you forget how your ass got trapped by Viper because you wanted to run SOLO?"
"I'm a soldier, that's the difference," he shot back, his golden eyes were piercing bullets. The mention of his aforementioned mentor, Viper, sent him blazing. "A soldier doesn't let a civilian dive into danger. You out to make me a failure?!"
Her gasp, sharp and offended, was harsh enough to grind one's eardrums, "Excuse the fuck out of me?! What in Buddha's great hell did you just call me? Civilian?! Since day one I've told you how D.A.'s no stranger to threats! Or is your head too phatt to get it through your thick ass skull?!"
Axel's frame began to quiver and shake, thick calloused hands balling into fists, their argument a collision of whirlwinds. "I've had no choice! Everything I've done was to protect you! Protect the school! But I can't do that if you rush head first into the thick of it, Lilith?"
"Oh! So I'm a damsel now? I'm a mother fuckin' damsel?"
"I didn't say-"
"You fuckin' did!" She spat, "You're a big fucking hypocrite Ax, you're always rushing into things, even when I've told you you have a whole team on your side! But do you listen? No! Of course not! Why the hell would you?!She walked forward and poked him in the chest, the words coming out felt personal, "everything I did out there?! Was for you! Was for all of you! I'm an Obelisk, Buddha damn it!!! You're not the only who can handle shit! I wanted to help! I wanted to show that *I*, Lilith Ikari, can do something important!"
Axel's jaw clenched, a near snarl escaping as her finger pressed into his chest.
“What I don’t need is the people I care about—” He stopped, catching himself, but it was too late. The words hung between them like smoke filling the room. He paused briefly, readjusting, "Your name? Your rank? Status? You think they cared about that? You had no way of knowing their intelligence, what they were capable of, what-"
"And you seem to forget you don't know what I'm capable of!" she spat back, spittle flying off her lips. She took a step back, straightened her posture. “Oh, you’re right, Axel. Silly me — I thought it was just a game!” Her voice cracked with fury. “Don’t you start giving me shit!”
"So much for Obelisks knowing when to follow demands!" His shoulders rounded out, not moving to hit her; or size her up - but his body itself reacted as if preparing for violence itself. At least bracing for impact. Everyone in that place had their job to uphold, and yet instead of listening to orders given? Decided to go her own route. In war that would've been considered deserting one's post or battalion. Going dark. Something that could have severe repercussions.
She would double back further as his words sunk in, "Alright, dumbass. Why is it okay for you to rummage about yourself, but not me?!" "You wanna know how pissed I was whenever you disappeared?! What if something had happened to you?! Oh wait! Baka! I guess it did, didn't it!?! I still followed your 'orders.' I stayed safe!"
"It's my job to put myself in harm's way, so people like you and everyone else don't have to! That's the fucking difference, but you can't think about that for less than a second, can you?" His golden eyes kept on her, locked in - trained on her like a target at a range. "Mine is out of fucking necessity, you want to keep slinging excuses at me for shit behavior?" His voice growled, keeping toe-to-toe with her verbally. "How am I supposed to trust you if you're going to go behind my back?"
"Ehhhh?!?? Nande?!?! Back at it with that SHIT again!! Stop talking about yourself like that! I'm tired of you acting like you've got the fucking world on your shoulders! You don't trust me?! Oh, but you sure let twinkle face join you to the subs!!!" She screamed. "Every single time you've tried to walk alone!! You push people away, why?! Huh?! I had to follow after your ass back there, to make sure you didn't get hurt again!!! Every time you go out on your own, you get hurt too!! Am I not supposed to care about that?! Huh?!" "I wanted to fucking help!" She cried, "I wanted to feel like me being there meant something! We've never sat around waiting for a hero to come! It's always been us! We've fought shadow riders AXEL!! We aren't incapable! I would appreciate it if you'd fucking realize that! And it's not like I could've told you my plan... No offense, but in order for the plan with the ghouls to work I needed you to act natural.." she huffed. She couldn't stand this talk. How could he so effortlessly throw himself in the line of danger? How could he not care about himself?
"That was to keep an eye on him, Lilith - and keep his nosy ass away from you - if you opened your eyes for less than a minute you'd understand. If it wasn't for half the shit that happened - could've got the drop on what he wanted. Cut him off like the damned tumor he is." Axel would snarl, as she was still on that? He thought it was obvious why he would be brought along, "If I got lucky, the nosy fuck would've been lost in the sands or taken out by the duel monsters." He would pace, trying to get the excess energy out of his system, as he felt his anger continually spike back and forth like a Richter scale. "I know you weren't incapable, that's why you were to stay safe; so our last line of defense wouldn't fall to anything inside or outside the facility - you think I'd let someone capable out of my thoughts? Absolutely not."
"It sure doesn't feel like that!" She shouted, "you trust me?! You know I'm capable?! Then why the fuck are we even here right now, huh?! My plan was smart, dammit! I stayed safe, I got information, and I got you the one thing you guys couldn't! Food! Extra rations!" "But nooooo!!!!" She threw up open hands to the air, "Lilith, that was too risky.... Oh yeah, like I'm sure running into a facility you know NOTHING ABOUT was so much safer!!! You've gotten far more hurt than I can count than I had!!!" She was desperate for a point, digging for any sort of win. She has every right to be just as angry as he was! She just had to find it.
"Viper had to get in one way or another safely - otherwise wouldn't be an effective place to bunker down now, would it?" Axel would snap back, his made sense. "We didn't know anything about them, or how dangerous they could be - and you charged in anyways. Isn't knowledge supposed to be power against an enemy? Why Obelisks are supposedly better than their peers in ranking." It wasn't a smart move for her to charge in blindly like she did, impulsivity would be her downfall - and he didn't want to see her fall at all. "Your impulsive actions are going to wind up with you somewhere I can't protect you. I can handle a few scratches and bruises, have you -seen- yourself? If you got hurt, hell knows what would happen."
Another offended scoff, "uh, yeeeeah hello!?!? What better way to get information than going under cover?!?! If anything went down, I knew I could rely on my *team*! There's the difference Ax!!! I'm not trying to be solo!! Dammit!!! I'm not *that* fragile, so why is it such a big deal?!??"
His voice faltered, the fire in it turning brittle. The air between them thinned, like the oxygen had been sucked out. "Because I don't want to lose you, how hard is that to understand?" The dots of water in Axel's eyes would finally roll when his eyes scrunched up, the anger in his voice almost pulling back; revealing fear - something he didn't even know what it was. His body still trembling as he stopped pacing, facing her; "You're not- you have no idea, I thought I lost you." The one person he knew was there for him regardless what hell had in store for him, she was the universal constant. Until it wasn't.
"I-" she stopped, eyes wide. She bit back on the words still strangling her. "I.... Ax?" She wanted to prove herself, in those moments, why couldn't see that. But now, she finally understood. She took a step forward, slowly extending a hand towards him, gentle finger tips resting on his arm, testing. But Axel was gone. Golden eyes that had shone early in a blaze of heat and rage were now shaking, staring at his own trembling hands before covering his eyes as his body racked with sobs. The thought of his own actions inadvertently causing someone else to no longer be around was a taste in his mouth he wished he didn't have.
“Mmm- ah- I—” Lilith froze, her brain short-circuiting. This wasn’t how their fights went. He wasn’t supposed to break. They were fine, things were fine! Things always ended in shouting matches, they always fizzled out- continued until one of them had enough- stormed out. This, though? This was an entirely new response. This wasn't supposed to happen, how was she supposed to fix it?
As his world began to spin and blur, he found his way to her bed and sat as hot tears ran down his face. His trembling form started to curl in on himself, a side of himself he didn't know existed.
Lilith's lips pressed into a thin line, she hadn't had to handle an outcome like this. What was one supposed to do? The only thing she knew was arguments were meant to end with one person rage quitting- but this, this was a new discovery for her. She knew she couldn't just tell him to shut the fuck up, as much as part of her wanted too. Her mind ran a thousand miles a minute, the answer unclear and uncertain. Slowly, she stepped forward, bracing her hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him into a straighter posture. Climbing into his lap, anxious amber eyes locked on his face.
Feeling her weight press down against him, Axel would lift his head up, eyes clouded in confusion. Lost and scared.
"I-it's okay," she stammered awkwardly, "I'm here... I'm right here. I'm okay, yeah? We are..."
Quickly, strong arms would wrap themselves around her small frame, pressing her as close to him as their bodies would physically allow. Anchoring himself in her presence. He knew she was safe, he could see it - feel it. Yet his brain was still wrecked with what could've happened. What if she'd been wrong? What would've happened if Yubel didn't find entertainment in her scrounging around? What if he lost the only person who reached out and dared to know him?
The sobs grated something fierce against Lilith's eardrums- a sound she couldn't bare to hear. But how to politely silence them? Before she could register her own thoughts, her body reacted. Hands reached out, cupping his face and bringing her lips against his. And rather than pulling away, he pulled her closer, leaning into her touch. One hand remained around her waist while the other cupped her face as well. Breathing in the same air, tasting the salt on his lips- the tension between them didn't die out, but rather evolved into a new kind.
The room that was once too hot with rage, a battlefield of emotions turned into one of longing. Between the two of them, the world seemed to fall into the distance - gone and far beyond compression. Things had stilled between them. Their kiss deepened- an honest answer to questions unspoken. The storm that had pervaded finally settled together in rhythmic harmony.
The world blurred. Warmth, breath, the soft pulse beneath skin. Then—
Darkness.
—
It took some time before things finally settled, a wave of dizziness consumed her. Axel's body, heavy and warm resting over her. Both of them slow to catch their breath. Eventually, they both took turns in the restroom. When they both finished, Lilith would turn to Axel with a seriousness. "Ax... I know I seem reckless but there's a method to my madness. I need you to trust that I can handle myself..." "But I get it... I was scared too, thinking I had watched you get crushed... I was probably as mad at the world as you were," she offered with a chuckle. "Guess that's why I was so mad your initial instinct was checking on everyone else.. it was like you didn't register you should've died.."
"And...one more thing?" She added, this time with a pinch of hesitance, "What...do we want to make of this?"
"Hmm?"
"And...what does all of this ….make us? I mean .. can't go around pretending tonight didn't happen," she offered with a light snort, guesturing to the sheets on her bed that now hung haphazardly
There was a silence as his brain processed before he answered, "You... want to be with me?" For a moment, he stammered, he doubted. He knew he wasn't the best pick when it came down to romantic gestures or emotional wisdom. But a sliver of hope clung on.
Lilith heard his question and thought he'd asked the dumbest thing in the world. With her hand in his, she would carefully elevate herself on the bed, propping herself up on her knees. Groaning softly as she adjusted, she was still sore and it felt as if he hadn't pulled out- a phantom feeling of being pried open.
She took one hand back to cup his face, bringing his face to hers, holding him in a soft kiss for about half a minute. Her thumb caressing his cheek. "Ax," her tone soft but firm, "I gave you something tonight I can never take back. I like having you around, I don't think any of this would've happened if I didn't."
Lilith's tender and loving kiss stopped his mind for just a moment. A slow blink as his face shifted into confusion after the kiss, "You mean that was your first?" As that processed quickly, before; "Mine, then?" As his golden eyes kept on her, as if searching for her face for any hesitation or deception at all. He trusted her, but he was taught to always be skeptical.
"Hai!" Lilith answered with a nod.
Slowly, he nodded, "You'd... be my firecracker then?"
"Mmm? Firecracker?" She asked, now it was her turn to be confused.
"Makes me think of you," he explained his nickname for her by how he perceived them, unknowingly showing her how he saw her as a whole. The nickname that fit her to a t. "They're flashy, loud, beautiful, dangerous and cannot get enough of them."
A blush crossed her face, accepting the name. Soon, they would settle in, laid cuddled in her bed, underneath the sheets and put on a simple, slice of life cartoon that she was fond of.
As he began to relax behind her, she shifted to watch him for a moment. She took his lower arm, using him as a pillow, her arms wrapped around it, slipping a leg between his. Such acts made her stomach flutter, in an almost uncomfortable way. It's not that she herself was uncomfortable, but more so, awkward. Overthinking, anxious. Being soft had never been a strong suit of hers, and this was breaking the mold of her norms. Still, she tried to ignore the feeling as she watched the show. The audio, she made sure to keep it on English for Axel, while having Japanese subtitles for herself. She didn't need the subtitles, but it was comforting having them.
Axel would rest his free leg ontop of Lilith's, wrapping his free arm around her - almost in a protective wrap, as if she could leave. Watching the show with her inpercevably near helped his muscles ease as he relaxed. His breathing deepening as the days of being on high alert caused him to burn more energy than he intended. The exhaustion still present in his system. Occasionally asking questions about the show as they watched, becoming invested in the girls' livelihood. As his body and mind eased up far easier than with any other person.
Cocooned, thoroughly wrapped up in limbs and sheets, it was easy to say Lilith was trapped, but then again, she seemed content to be so. His body was warm against her, and his weight added a comfortable amount of pressure. She has no issues answering any questions he had; unless the answers were soon to come, in which she lightly fussed him for his impatience. They couldn't have gotten back home no later than late morning or early afternoon, but with everything that had happened between the two of them, it felt far later in the day than in actuality. Occasionally, she would offer a gentle nuzzle of the head, being the most still she'd ever been, and rather enjoying the peace.
As Axel relaxed, his muscles would dully twitch - as his focus waned away to try and enjoy the peace and quiet. The stillness of everything let his mind breathe for a little while longer. Catching himself slipping in and out of consciousness, as the energy high wore off and numbness took it's place. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she felt him twitching - the fuck? She didn't move to check in him, but instead ran her thumb against his arm, calming. Unaware of what was to come in the next few moments. Axel's arms would tighten around her, as the twitching soon subsided as he fell asleep against Lilith, the Obelisk pleasantly cool against him. The cocoon of blankets and touch soothing his nerves until they were as calm as a small stream.
In nature, there exists such a phenomenon where humans give off a certain pheromone when one falls asleep. It was used to alert the others around them that it was safe to do so. Not many people were actively aware of such pheromones, but Lilith.. As the twitching lessened, she noticed a faint, brief scent that passed. Something sweet, but not the same smell from earlier. Not only that, she felt his body weight becoming heavier against her. Not unbearably so, but there was a noticeable shift. She freed one of her hands from hugging his arm, snaking it around the bed until she found her phone. Using it's blackened screen, she'd angle it to check on Axel. Redden checks would puff out at the new knowledge and the realization- she was stuck here now. Once again bound by his unconsciousness, she sighed. Scooting closer to him still, she'd rest her head behind his arm, hiding her face should anyone walk in as she slowly sunk into rest herself. The past week had been chaotic, and that night even more so. There were a lot of things left still unanswered, questions to have and things to discuss. But for now, the once certainty she did have was him. That no matter what was to come, they had come to a new understanding of each other and what was to come.