A/N: Since the name of Demyx's somebody has yet to be confirmed I'll be using "Myde" for this fic. I want to keep the events as close to canon as possible, but I've lengthened the duration of time between the Organization being full and when the events of Castle Oblivion began.
While this fic focuses on Zexion and Demyx, it will concede with two other fics I'm working on that focus on AkuRoku and SoRiku.
I plan to update about every 1 to 2 weeks. Rated mature for later chapters.
And a BIG THANK YOU to my beta readers oceanfae and prettyprotagswag!
"Get the hell away from me!" Ienzo yelled, chunking an especially large volume of the Encyclopedia of Hearts (written by Ansem himself) at Lea's head. Lea dodged the tome, plastering himself to the side of the doorway, narrowly missing what would have been a knock out hit as it hurled through the space that had previously occupied his face, though another one hit him in the shoulder causing him to quickly backtrack into soft cream tones of the hallway.
"What the fuck Ienzo!" Lea called from the doorway as the scholar hefted another volume up in preparation.
"I finally recalled who it was that killed me!"
A flat oh came from the hallway.
"I was wondering when that would come back to you." Not all the memories returned at once.
Ienzo fumed, slamming the book down on the circular desk, rattling the vials and flasks there that emitted a soft blue glow. He was not usually prone to violent outbursts and so Ienzo was half angry with himself for making such a mess of the study he had finally brought to rights after regaining his whole form and finding the Radiant Garden castle in such utter distress and disarray. Being a protégé of Ansem, he had taken it upon himself to occupy the room, as Even preferred to work in the lab, and Dilan and Aeleus were helping with the heavy repair and maintenance. Although in the beginning there had been quite a hassle dealing with the Restoration Committee over rights to the castle and its facilities. Most of the members had been too young during the golden age of Radiant Garden and had little or no memory of the original inhabitants of the castle.
Tentatively, Axel stuck his head out again.
"Honestly you should be thanking me. If not for my…actions at Castle Oblivion you might still be Zexion." He ducked back into the hall as another book came flying his way.
"Okay okay! I'll make it up to you! Got it memorized? I've got a lead on it anyway…"
Ienzo paused in his outburst, wondering what in the worlds could Lea possibly have that would give Ienzo reason to forgive him. He had been just as loyal to the Organization as Axel during the events of Castle Oblivion, (more so, in fact, as he was one of the founding members) only to discover later that Axel himself had turned away in the end. Ienzo waited for the aggravating redhead to reappear but he never did, instead there was the fading sound of footsteps from beyond the doorway that soon settled into silence.
Lea was correct though, in part. Only once his nobody form had been destroyed could he return in completion. In addition, the question still existed weather the act of destroying a Nobody could be qualified as murder. And if it hadn't been Axel surely he would have perished by Sora's hand with the rest of Organization XIII.
In addition, at that time he was Axel, not Lea. As a Nobody, Zexion had been aware of the familial relationship between Axel and Saix, and so should have been more careful in his dealings with Axel and taken appropriate measures in the event of betrayal. The individual who was really deserving of such wrath was Saix.
Ienzo touched his hand to his chest in thought. Toiling over the completion of Kingdom Hearts had become less about regaining his heart and more true to the original intent of his delve into the study of hearts and nature of light and dark, and so he had attempted to cast his desires away, not recognizing, or perhaps denying what they were.
His desire. If that's what he could now call the relationship.
He would apologize to Lea later, or at the very least settle a sort of understanding on the vague definition of Nobody murder.
With a sigh and an exasperated look around the disaster he had created, Ienzo set to work returning the books to their proper places.
It was a little over week later when Aeleus found Ienzo in the library, informing him that Lea had returned to Radiant Garden and was awaiting the young man in the study.
After thanking Aeleus for the message, Ienzo reluctantly readied himself for the encounter, taking with him the report he had been reviewing from Evan's currently developing data collection on the master computer pertaining to 'The Door to Light' and was reading it as he walked into the study.
"Make this quick Lea, I must return to-" but as he looked up from the clipboard the sentence died in his throat and against his will, a flush filled his cheeks, mouth still open slightly as he found a blonde man with a messy mullet and a sloppy smile, bright sea green eyes gleaming happily as he sat on top of the desk. Careless tears in his jeans and a well-worn t-shirt inscribed with some sort of insignia, which he could only surmise was a band symbol.
The threat of a smile tugged at the edges of Ienzo's lips but as he realized the faces of the two men in the room were illuminated with joyful expectancy, so he utilized the long practiced art of smoothing over his features into a sleight frown of contempt.
"Take him back."
The two gaped at him, completely thrown by his reaction.
"Zex- er…Ienzo isn't it? Lea said that was your name now. I came to-!" the blonde man began but Zexion looked back down at his clipboard, glad to have an excuse to avoid eye contact, "Please remove your rear from my desk before I call in Aeleus to remove it for you."
Lea put his hands on his hips and looked at the stunned blond man and then at Ienzo and then at the floor, shaking his head.
Sliding off the desk and slinging across his back the guitar case that had been leaning against the table, the familiar stranger approached Ienzo.
"Hey I thought we could uh, catch up or something? I haven't seen you since…well I've never seen you before, not the way you are now, you as Ienzo I mean, but the old you, since before you…" He paused and itched the bridge of his nose with a curled finger looking away from the small scholar and then returned his gaze. "I just wanted to see you again."
Ienzo finally gathered the courage to lift his eyes from the papers.
"Since I was betrayed and murdered."
Of course he was deflecting the conversation. For now he would leave be explaining the foggy specifics. He threw a cold look in Lea's direction, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head before suddenly finding a diagram on the wall of avid interest.
"Now if the both of you will take your leave, I do have work that needs attending to." He turned with the intention of scurrying off to the library, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him dead.
He didn't shrug it off. Though he should have. Because he didn't want him here, not now when he had a heart again, when he was sure of the thing beating in his chest. This was something he was too perplexed by to delve into now, the absurdity of hearts. Ienzo was sure he'd never see the other man again, and had depended on it. It wasn't as though he hadn't calculated the possibility, unlikely as it was, he had just hoped it would never happen.
Because how could he face the horrible reminder of how the Organization had changed who he was? Distorted his beliefs, his goals. And made him into something nasty and loathsome. And here was the one person he had probably hurt the most, not accidentally, but with precision.
What frightened him the most though, was that he was no longer sure how much of Zexion had been Ienzo. If, as a Nobody he had possessed a heart after all, then there was no one to blame for it but himself as he was now.
Ienzo clutched the clipboard to his chest, as if to push his beating heart into subjugation. "Just go away, Demyx. Your presence is unnecessary here. "
He turned around to find a hand extended to him with a smile and beautiful eyes he did not deserve, eyes full of forgiveness, "It's Myde now. Nice to meetcha."
A/N: I hope you found this enjoyable thus far, reviews are VERY appreciated!