Shouts erupted from the kitchen, reaching his young ears all the way down the hall, behind his closed bedroom door. He cringed every time his mother cried out... every time he heard knuckles meeting skin... Tears stained the front of his shirt. The teddy bear he'd been holding so tight was now at his feet. His hands were shaking too hard to keep it in his grasp.

"Go to your room and don't come out until I say." he recalled his mother telling him, hushedly and in a hurry. Then his father stormed in, amber bottle in hand and face just as red. The man literally roared like a lion. His mother all about shoved him into his room. He listened to them fight. They traveled from the corridor, to the living room, then the kitchen. He made sure not to voice his sobs. He could hear only pieces.

"WHAT... SAY... LITTLE BITCH?!"

"N-nothing...!"

"HUH?!"

Punch... Punch... Slap... Punch... Slap...

Thud...

"Mommy..." he whimpered, "Mommy... Mommy..."

"... Mommy..."

Zexion quickly shot up and blinked open his eyes, looking around, panting heavily. He saw the light grey walls, the hardwood floors, and every article of clothing and hundreds of books amongst it. Sure enough, he was back in his room. A small sigh of relief passed his lips. The dark blue sheets clung to him as he got out of bed. He pulled them off and stopped to look in the mirror. Even though it'd been nine years since the incident, Zexion's face still alarmed him every time he saw it. Like he does every morning, he re-adjusts his hair to fall over the right side of his face before going to the kitchen. Life was so much easier when he wasn't shrinking under everyone's horrified stares.

"Morning Zex." Cloud greeted him from behind the island in the center, "How'd you sleep?"

He sat in the chair seated before the islet, "Hey, Cloud...", but couldn't keep the heaviness out of his voice.

"... Did it happen again?"

"Yeah..."

There was a slight pause before he went on, "Do you want to see Dr. Vexen?"

"That guy's a pedophile and you know it."

"Sorry man I'm just trying to help."

"You could help by making me some goddamn coffee."

Cloud laughed, "There he is! Sure kiddo gimme a minute."

"Stop calling me that," Zexion growled, watching Cloud get the coffee powder from the pantry, "I'm not a kid."

"Yeah well as long as I'm the adult around here, I get to call you whatever the fuck I want, Emo, Spiky, Book Boy."

"I'm not emo."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Cloud turned and grabbed Zexion's wrist, holding it up to eye-level, "Then what are these?"

It was obvious what those were, and both of them knew it. Neither of them said anything, even after Cloud released the teen to make his goddamn coffee. The tense silences weren't rare around here, but Zexion still hated them. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when Cloud finally spoke.

"But you do love books."

Zexion allowed himself a small smile, "You know it."

"Out of curiosity, do you still have the book I gave you?"

"Which one?"

"The one about the Soldier with the Buster Sword."

"Yeah. Should be... um..."

Cloud finished for him, "Somewhere in the never-ending sea of books on your floor. When are you going to use that bookshelf Cid built for you?"

"I did. It's full."

"... Oh."

Where Zexion expected him to laugh, Cloud didn't even smirk. As the blonde poured his holy cup of coffee, he asked, "What's up?"

The older man took some time responding, but eventually said in a quiet tone, "I really think you should see Vexen. Even if he can't help you psychologically, he can still give you those pills."

"So you admit it."

He turned to hand Zexion his mug and watched him take a sip, "What?"

"He can't do anything for me. I'm beyond help. You finally told my face."

"Zexion, that is not what I meant." he said sternly, "What I was trying to say is even if he can't make the... nightmares go away then he could just give you those sleep-aids and give you a peaceful slumber for once."

Zexion, guilty over upsetting his friend, remained silent.

"I just hate seeing you like this, you know? I watched you grow up, man. Babysitting you, taking you in when..." he didn't feel like reliving those memories, and skipped ahead, more for his sake than Zexion's, "You're almost like a son to me. Like a baby brother, I don't know, something. I hate it when you hurt. So when I can't do anything to help you, then I try my fucking best to find someone who can. Don't you dare say you're beyond help... 'cuz then what am I here for, right?"

"I know. I'm sorry, Cloud." he took a long swig.

"... It's fine. Forget it."

Cloud crossed their one-story apartment to go into his room and closed the door. Zexion stared after him for a while before shutting his mind down, letting his eyes wander the room. Nothing had changed since he came to live with Cloud when he was ten. The kitchen opened into a small living room, which led to a hallway that held their bedrooms and one bathroom. Technically, Zexion's room used to be a walk-in closet. Some woman named Leblanc lived here before them and was apparently obsessed with coats. A friend of Cloud's renovated it the day he heard of Zexion's predicament, for free no less. The furnishings, like the rest of the house, were lacking in any real life or decoration. But despite the place's color having left with Leblanc, the apartment was the only real home Zexion had ever known. He'd hated it back in his childhood home. The only part about it he loved was...

FLASH.

… Mommy...

"No... No! NO!"

Glass shattered. Cloud came running, "Zexion!"

Thud.