Strange Days
Kingdom Hearts and etc. are all property of Square Enix/Disney. I don't own, never will. Sadly.
A/N: Well, this is something a bit different for me as an author. The reasons will become obvious as the story progresses, but for now let me just say that it won't be quite what you expect. ;)
This is an AU. It takes place in the modern day in our world, though I tend to borrow terms from the original work liberally and without much forethought. It's also a yaoi, don't like don't read. :P
Also, five dashes (- - - - -) imply a major scene break, whereas three dashes (- - -) imply a quick cut, as it were.
The Fountains of Radiant Garden, as the name implied, was littered with water fountains. The centrepiece in the middle of the apartment complex was a grand, four-tiered fountain with a cherub posing on top. The effect was ruined a bit in that the cherub was apparently spitting water at passerby, cheeks puffed out and lips pursed as if whistling. It was oddly befitting the sprawling complex.
The apartments themselves were nice, though not as fancy as the renting rates would imply they were. Some of the windows had a bit of a draft to them. The kitchens in the units were abysmally small and had hardly enough counter space for even the most basic appliances. An upside was that the grounds were gorgeous. Lush trees, flowers decorating everything, a veritable carpet of grass, and a pretty, if shallow, pool. There were only two maintenance men, which meant that it could take a few days for them to get around to fixing smaller things like leaky faucets, but they made up for it tenfold in that both were quick with a smile and some friendly conversation.
By far the worst thing about the Fountains was that the window next to Zexion's bunk had a draft. The slate-haired boy groaned in half-sleep and rolled over, curling into a loose ball under his thick blanket. What time is it...?
It was barely light outside; too early to be worrying about getting up just yet. Content to fall back asleep without checking the time, he sighed and pulled the covers over his head. His eyes snapped back open at the sound of the door slowly creaking open. Zexion's breath caught, half-asleep brain going into alert mode, and he slowly peeked out from under the covers.
A blurry, cloaked figure walked by his bed. The slate-haired boy stared as the figure seemed to pause, as if contemplating something, and the 'cloak' fell away...to reveal a naked man.
Zexion made what was best described as a choked squeal, ducking back under the covers. Said naked man startled a bit at the noise and grabbed the towel he'd dropped, hastily covering himself. "My bad, I didn't realize you were awake. Sorry dude." The older man missed whatever Zexion grumbled, burrowed under his blanket.
"Not like you care about decency anyway..." he muttered. Xigbar typically was pretty good about not waking him up; he got up much earlier than Zexion preferred to rise, to get to his job. Judging by the fact that the postman was still there, it was probably only six or so.
Zexion sighed and rolled over, grunting when Xigbar smacked him on the bum lightly. "I'll cut your hand off," he threatened, though his menacing tone lost its edge when spoken through a pillow. Xigbar made some witty reply that Zexion didn't bother to reply to, and the small boy drifted back to sleep.
A few hours passed before he was disturbed again. Zexion twitched as he felt a hand on his shoulder, the sensation meshing with his dream, as dreams tend to do. He stirred when the hand switched to poking him, giving a low groan and half-rolling onto his back. A slightly fuzzy Sora stared down at him with his typical lopsided grin, apparently unaware that the cost for waking him early was death. "Morning, Zex."
"Sora," the slate-haired boy rubbed at his eyes. "What do you want?" He grumbled flatly, glaring up at him. Sora was unabashed.
"Do you think you could gimme a ride when you go to work?"
Zexion blinked, waking up a bit more. He scowled up at the teen. "I'm not taking you to your girlfriend's house."
Sora balked. "Not for that! Kairi's mad at me anyway." Zexion shut his eyes, already starting to tune him out. They were always fighting or making up. Sora consistently felt the need to tell his roommates about his affairs in detail, and Zexion consistently responded by blocking him out. He reluctantly opened his eyes again when the brunette elaborated, "I wanna see if anyone's hiring around where you work. You know, 'cause it'd be convenient." Sora gave him his most earnest smile. It was that grin that got him out of trouble more than he probably realized; Zexion, of course, was immune to it. Especially this early.
But...he had a point. It would be much simpler if the brunette worked near Zexion. He usually didn't mind giving the boys rides; he liked to keep up the appearance that he did, though, so as to not become a taxi. Not to mention the fact that Sora was unemployed, and thus couldn't give him gas money. This could solve several problems at once. The slate-haired boy yawned, considering the pros, and sat up to rub his eyes some more. "I work at four," he finally replied. "If you're coming with me, you'd better be ready by three thirty. I won't be late because of you."
Sora brightened, ignoring the annoyance in Zexion's tone, and nodded vigorously. "You betcha. I'll be ready in no time," and with that, the boy disappeared.
Zexion rolled his eyes at Sora's boundless energy and flopped back onto his pillow. The boy was always bouncing from one thing to another; a few weeks ago he'd been glued to a DS, playing Pokemon. Apparently Squall's 'talk' with him a few days ago had actually sunk in, because his motivation to find a new job had been next to nothing before that. It wasn't like Sora was lazy, he just didn't think about things. His brother often paid the price for it; literally, in this case, as Roxas had been paying both his and Sora's part of the rent for the last month.
The slate-haired boy drifted in and out of sleep as he considered all of this, and was just nodding off when his alarm went off. He gave a small whine, stubbornly refusing to get up for a moment, and just listened to the music. Finally, after a few minutes, the boy sat up again with a groan and reached over to turn it off. Eleven o'clock. That gave him...four and a half hours.
Zexion considered the merits of sleeping another hour, deciding against it when he looked over and spotted Hemmingway, up on two legs, wheeking at him from his cage. "Oh, fine," he exhaled, smiling. His guinea pig had a very keen sense of time...that is, he knew almost down to the minute when it was time to be fed. And indeed, it was about time. Zexion fumbled about a moment, looking for his glasses; his vision wasn't bad, per se, but he wore them anyway. It was less of a nuisance than squinting at things far-off.
Hemmingway did a little hop-squeak as his owner got up and shuffled over to the fridge, knowing well that treats were forthcoming. Zexion spoiled his guinea pig shamelessly. He pulled a bag of pre-sliced cucumber from his fridge and gave one to the white fuzzball by hand; Hemmingway grabbed it almost greedily, chirping in quiet happiness as he started munching on the treat.
Zexion watched him for a moment, smiling quietly. Few, if any, other people got to see such an expression on the pale boy's face. Zexion put another slice of cucumber in his food dish, on top of the less-tasty pellets, and went into the kitchen.
He padded across the living room, which was lit only by the sun coming through the closed blinds, and turned on the light. The sight that greeted him was enough to make his nose wrinkle. The kitchen was filthy; plates piled everywhere, sink full of grimy water and more dishes, trash overflowing onto the floor...and the list just went on. The smell was almost enough to deter Zexion and his delicate sense of smell, but the barest brush of a headache pushed him onward. His mood, however, dropped considerably.
It doesn't help that no one cares enough to try, the small boy thought grimly as he pushed a pile of dishes out of the way and started some coffee, ignoring the warzone around him. The rest of the house was in varying degrees of neglect, with the tidiest areas being the living room and his bedroom. The slate-haired boy was an admitted neat freak, and pestered Xigbar to no end; but he was not obsessive enough to start picking up after everyone else like some kind of housekeeper. He watched the coffee brew until there was a cup's worth, poured it for himself, and shuffled back into his tidy haven.
Hemmingway was still munching away while he poured some cream into his cup (chocolate caramel, hidden away in his mini-fridge. Between Sora's sweet tooth and Cloud's 'secret' sweet tooth it would be gone in a day.) While the coffee was cooling enough to drink, he gathered up his work clothes and went across the hall to take a quick shower.
The door was locked. Zexion scowled profusely at the locked door, just noticing the sound of running water. Sora was in the shower. The slate-haired boy shook his head, bangs falling into his face, and sat down to wait for the boy to get out. At least he was being serious about not making Zexion late.
Zexion started to rethink bringing Sora along with him when the boy returned from the convenience store next door with a fistful of candy, an energy drink, and taquitos. No application. Zexion raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down at the counter, across from where the slate-haired boy was folding boxes. "Application's online," he explained, and offered one of the taquitos to Zexion. The boy took it, sniffed it apprehensively, and took a bite. Huh. I guess what they say about drugstore food isn't entirely untrue.
He'd grown sick of pizza after about a year of working at a pizza place. Now, after four years of working around it, Zexion didn't really consider pizza 'food'. It was just cheap (sometimes free) sustenance. He finished the taquito, which was surprisingly good, and started folding again. He'd have to get some himself next time he went to the store across from the pizza joint. Zexion was a regular for the coffee. He considered the merits of asking Sora to go get him more of the delicious taquitos, half-listening to the boy chattering about how he fully intended to go around the block asking about jobs...after he finished eating.
Namine rounded the corner after a few minutes, glancing up at Sora and smiling warmly. "Hey Sora."
Sora brightened visibly at having a conversation partner that wasn't Zexion. "Hey Namine. How's it going?" Zexion took no offense. He knew he didn't offer much by way of conversation, nevermind with the hyper brunette. Namine was quiet and shy, too, but she also had breasts. That made a world of difference when it came to keeping Sora's (or for that matter, most any man's) attention. Plus, she was Kairi's sister. Staying in her favor was in Sora's best interest.
At least, that's how Zexion saw it. He listened in on the two's banter, Namine picking up a stack of boxes to fold despite being terrible at it. She knew better than to just stand around chatting. Sora offered his last taquito to the blonde. No, there was more to their friendship than breasts and mutual benefits. But Zexion was still settled on the fact that Namine being a girl helped quite a bit.
Sora wound up sitting at the counter and chatting with the girl until it was dark out- effectively putting off job searching until the next day and scoring another ride from Zexion. The slate-haired boy sighed in resignation. Namine had a few tables, and periodically left to bring food or refill drinks. She was attentive to her tables, but just a tad too shy to get tips. It was unfair, because it was obvious to everyone behind the counter that she was trying her hardest to be a good waitress. She was just too quiet.
Zexion was considering what he should do next, in-between call in orders, when Marluxia rounded the corner with perfect timing. Shit. "More working, less gazing into space, Zexion," the pink-haired man smirked. He just loved to be a jerk. Zexion knew that he was single-handedly the reason there were boxes at the cut table; everyone else was hopeless at it. He bit his tongue, though; it wasn't worth the argument. Instead of going away like Zexion wanted, though, the flowery bastard loitered by the drink station, getting a soda (even though employees aren't supposed to, Zexion noted caustically) and smiling that smile that spoke of a serious superiority complex. Namine rounded the corner a few moments later, looking a bit flustered as she looked over her notepad; unaware that she was walking right into a trap.
"How's it going, Namine?" Her name rolled out of the pink-haired man's mouth with a sensuous quality thick enough to make Zexion roll his eyes. The blonde girl started to pour a drink.
"Umm, okay. It's a bit busy," she smiled sheepishly- why does she do that around him- and made a small, startled noise as she realized she hadn't placed her order yet. She turned and started doing so, unawares that the soda tap was still running. Marluxia pushed the cup forward with two fingertips to keep it from overflowing for her. "Do you need help?" He pressed.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, though," she hit the 'place' button on the touchscreen and resumed making drinks, looking a little harried. Marluxia glanced at her notepad anyway and grabbed a cup to pour tea for her. "Lemon?"
Namine blinked, looking over at her notepad and biting her lip; oblivious to the blue eyes that focused in on that small action. "I forgot to ask," the blonde admitted admitted. "I'll go ask them now," and she darted around the corner. The pink-haired manager shook his head and watched her go.
It was like watching a car crash in slow-motion. Zexion sighed and started putting flyers on the boxes he'd just folded. Marluxia was an ass. And a pedophile. "Sora, didn't you say something about wanting to start a study group with Namine?"
It was a blind shot, but Sora had spoken about it before. Namine was still in high school, but she was talented enough that she was taking a few college credits in addition to her regular courses. The brunette took a sip of the energy drink he really didn't need. "Yeah, I did," he grinned.
"Now's as good a time as any to ask her," the slate-haired boy suggested, glancing over at Marluxia. He was helping the poor blonde put the drinks on her tray, standing right next to her and brushing against her hand 'accidentally'. Sora bounced a bit in his seat.
"You think so? She seems busy."
"Just wait until she takes out her drinks. It'll be a few minutes before the food is ready." Marly can't pretend to loiter for that long, even as a manager.
It worked. The pink-haired man wasn't in school and was thus completely cut out of their conversation. Zexion kept his face neutral as Marly's eye twitched, though mentally he was congratulating himself on his tact. "Zexion." He jumped a bit at the venomously flat tone. "Get more boxes from the shed. Just because we're ahead doesn't mean you can loiter about. Get a case of large and some more pasta boxes." They were fine on pasta boxes. Zexion grabbed the keyring and did as told anyway, still glowing a bit over having effectively cockblocked his manager.
It was nice outside. The highway right next to the complex had considerably less traffic than before, since the five o'clock rush had subsided. None of the drivers took the highway unless they absolutely had to, apparently. Zexion didn't see how they could; the city's roads were basically built to carry people onto and off of it. It seemed like taking it would make getting around the city faster, and avoiding it a pain in the ass.
Speaking of drivers. A slightly beat-up looking CRV pulled into the parking lot, tires squealing a bit in the too-sharp turn, then swung around into a parking space with a precision that proved the driver was slightly more than a reckless idiot. Zexion adjusted his hat with his free hand, pushing the cart with the boxes stacked atop it. The car door opened after a few minutes, revealing a head of wild red hair. The visor did next to nothing to contain the man's spikes, nor to make the diamond-shaped tattoos under his eyes any less noticeable.
"Heya Zexy!" the redhead grinned, giving a half-wave to the boy as he shouldered a few empty pizza bags. Zexion slowed down a bit as the man locked his car manually and jogged over to open the door for him.
"Zexion," he corrected once they were in talking range. Axel had come up with that one on his own; it seemed that everyone loved to shorten his name, but so far only the redhead had decided to add a letter to make his name sound like 'sexy'. Zexion had grown past caring years ago, but it was habit to correct people. Axel ignored it, as usual, and made to ruffle the shorter boy's hair; he succeeded in tilting his hat to one side. Zexion straightened it with a mock scowl, and continued to the front with a small smile.
Axel was the best driver in the store, despite his carefree attitude towards it; Zexion chalked it up to his suicidal/'skilled' driving. So it was only slightly surprising when the redhead immediately asked the pink-haired manager what needed to be taken out next. He was just as adamant about keeping Marluxia away from Namine as the rest of the store, even if it meant doing his job to do so.
Zexion's break came and passed with a book in hand and a rapidly diminishing plate of taquitos from the convenience store. Sora pulled out his trusty DS and sat across from him companionably, stealing sips of his iced cappuccino and chatting with Namine whenever she had a free moment.
The slate haired boy almost choked on his drink when Sora commented innocently, "If she wasn't sixteen, I'd go out with her."
Zexion pushed his drink away and cleared his throat, wincing at the burn. "You're only two years older than her. And what about Kairi?"
Sora shrugged, blue eyes going back to his DS. "Kairi's awesome, but she can be so...naggy sometimes. She needs to take a chill pill," he said earnestly. Zexion nodded, brushing his bangs out of his face. Sora would think that. "Besides, I couldn't do that to her. Date her little sister, I mean. We've been friends since like elementary school."
The older boy said nothing, silently coaxing Sora to elaborate further. The brunette frowned at his screen, pressing a few buttons. "And...Kairi doesn't really want to...you know. Take things further."
Ohh. That's what this was about. Kairi and Sora fought like a married couple, but it was obvious to everyone that they were great for each other. Kairi nagged him because she cared, and Sora helped her to lighten up. It was almost poetry.
"Kairi's a sweet girl," he commented, taking a sip of his coffee.
"She is," Sora admitted readily, and sighed. "I think I might...love her." Zexion blinked, pushing his long bangs out of his face to stare. That was unexpected. Sora was never serious, especially with Kairi. It sometimes infuriated the redheaded girl that he was so casual, and it was sometimes a point of argument between the two. Sora noticed his look after a moment. "What?"
Zexion broke his stare, looking to the side. "Nothing. You two didn't seem that serious to me."
Sora scoffed, lowering his handheld. "You would say that," he teased. "We've been together for two years now, Zex."
"Yes, but..." The slate-haired boy toyed with a lock of his bangs, trying to word it so as to not sound bad. He gave up after a moment. "Well, if you do feel that strongly for her, sex shouldn't be an issue."
"That's what I thought!" Sora said, perking up now that they were on common ground. "Do you think she doesn't really like me? I mean if she did, she'd want to, right?" He lowered his voice a notch on the last bit. Well, not quite common ground. Zexion adjusted his glasses, suddenly uncomfortable with the way Sora was looking at him expectantly for an answer.
"Well yes, but..." he pursed his lips, considering his next statement. "What I mean is, if you do love her, why should it be a problem?"
Sora cocked his head to the side in bafflement. "What do you mean?"
The slate-haired boy shook his head dismissively and started gathering his things. "Nothing. I think you should talk to her about it if it's bothering you," he offered as he got up, taking a last sip of his coffee. "Tell her how you feel. And be serious for once in your life," he added, poking Sora in the forehead playfully. The bunette grinned.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Zex."
"Mmm."
After work, Zexion drove home with both Sora and Namine in tow. Together, the two and Roxas were planning on doing some studying- which loosely translated to laying out their homework, then playing Mario Kart all night. Sometimes, Zexion observed, people were as predicable as clockwork. Sora said nothing more about the Kairi issue, probably because he was around her sister. The slate-haired boy was glad that it didn't come up again. They had vastly different opinions on the topic, and in avoiding coming out to his roommates, Zexion had little to say on the matter.
He was gay. Not openly, not flamboyantly, but still out. That had ceased to bother him like it had in high school. He had analyzed that facet of his life- all the failed dates, awkward conversations, and even more awkward moments in the locker rooms- and come to terms with it. He had accepted being gay as part of who he was.
The rest was complicated.
Cloud and Squall's car was already in the lot. It was only ten o'clock, but the pair tended to come home early during the work week, as they both had morning jobs. Zexion hadn't inquired too far as to what they each did, but his theories on it were that Cloud had a desk job, and Squall something outdoors. Reasoning: Cloud always had a ton of pent up energy that screamed of being cooped up, abandoning his button-down for a tanktop and the gym almost immediately after coming home. Squall kept up with his lover admirably, but it was obvious that whatever he did for a living was more taxing on his energy. That and the consistent, pleasant tan he sported year-round.
It made things much easier on Zexion that the atmosphere in their shared apartment was open and welcoming (a stark contrast to his family's house) to...alternative lifestyles. He'd only realized how stifled he felt at home when he'd left, roommate ad in hand and a freshly-secured position as a full-time employee to pay rent. Not that he was on bad terms with his family. He figured they knew he wasn't into women since he'd never brought a girl home to show them.
Cloud and Squall were, predicably, not in the apartment. Gym, Zexion predicted, and turned into his room. The teenage trio behind him went into Sora and Roxas' shared bedroom, likely to harrass the blonde boy into joining them in 'studying'.
Xigbar was in his 'loft' on the top bunk with Zexion's laptop in front of him. "Hey, Zex," the older man greeted, yellow eyes lit by the screen. Zexion grunted in response as he toed his shoes off. "Check this out, it's hilarious." The postman turned the computer for the boy to see. Against his better judgement, Zexion turned, took one look at the screen, and immediately wished he hadn't. Xigbar caught his horrified expression before the boy could hide it and cackled wickedly, passing the computer down to him.
Zexion felt his eye twitching a bit as he quickly closed the offending page and sat down on his bed. Xigbar was a fan of 'shock images', and reveled in making people wish brain bleach were a thing. "Don't you have work in the morning?"
"Nope." The bed creaked as the man flopped back onto his mattress. Zexion had long since gotten over his paranoia about the bed collapsing on him in his sleep; but he still winced at the sound.
"It's Tuesday," he pointed out. At one time, Xigbar was so immersed in one of his video games that he'd hesitated when Zexion asked him if he knew what month it was. Ever since then, the slate-haired boy didn't put it past the man to have forgotten what day of the week it was, and teased Xigbar about it from time to time.
"I know." The matter-of-fact tone made Zexion pause. There was none of the usual good-spirited annoyance in his reply.
"You work on the weekdays," he ventured.
"Naahhh," Xigbar casually denied, linking his fingers under his head. Zexion looked up at the mattress above him, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes you do."
There was silence for a moment. Then, with a hesitance that was very uncharacteristic of the laid-back man, "Well, not anymore."
Zexion sighed and closed his computer. "I can't tell if you're messing around or if you're trying to tell me something, Xigbar."
The bed creaked again as the older man shifted, and a grey-streaked ponytail appeared a moment later as Xigbar leaned over the railing. "Lighten up, Zex. I just didn't want you to freak out about it."
The shorter boy leaned over and looked up, scowling. Xigbar was leaning on his arms over the rail, looking a bit sheepish. "Freak out about what?"
Xigbar looked away, at Hemmingway's cage. Sometimes Zexion's stare was downright unnerving. "Well...I sort of got fired."
Any thoughts, critique, etc, would be much appreciated. Just push that button down there and send some words my way :)