disclaimer: don't own kingdom hearts or the awesome characters. square enix does. lucky bastards.

ZEMYX FTW :D

...yeah, i love angst. i can't help it. -ignores boo's- BUT YOU GUYS KNOW YOU LOVE IT TOO!!

the muse for this piece hit me like a full-speed eighteen-wheeler to the face. (sounds painful, eh?) so..it was begging to be written. damn those plotbunnies.

yes, it's slash.

..yeah, it's kind of a deathfic. -shot- buuuut..not really cuz Demyx comes back..even though it's as a Nobody so..maybe it is counted as a deathfic BUT ANYWAY I DIGRESS. on with the bloody Zemyx, finally.


and you belong with me
not swallowed in the sea
you belong with me
not swallowed in the sea

swallowed in the sea – coldplay

------

With knees tucked up to his chest, he watched the sun drown.

The sky was ablaze with gory glee at the sight of the immense star making a displeased retreat. Swathes of cirrus clouds at the crown of the skies acted as boundaries between sunset and nightfall, the far side of the barrier-like cloud dyed faint indigo, with the sun-facing side aflame in irritated orange. Streaks of similar scarlet and vermilion intertwined and spiraled down through the hazy spiderweb clouds near the horizon, shielding the setting sun almost protectively.

He watched, watched and waited until all traces of the sun disappeared and twilight finally descended onto the land, then lifted himself to his feet.

Everyone was going missing, gone without any warning. And he was going to be the next missing one, he'd decided.

He concentrated on breathing for a prolonged moment, knowing this was the last time he would. His life had been deteriorating and he had been as well; his mother died in a fatal car crash, his grieving father turning to the bottle for solace. His depression had worsened when his father found out he was gay, kicking him out of the house immediately; he moved in with his boyfriend, the only thing that had been keeping him alive up until this point. Just yesterday, authorities had found his lover's mutilated body in an alleyway, a strange dark substance staining his bloodied chest and ripped shirt. The police brushed off the black liquid as merely ink, possibly from one of the many experiments his boyfriend conducted at the lab he worked at, but he knew better than to believe such false reassurances. The older male, the slate-haired scientist he had come to love with all his heart had been murdered, he was almost certain.

Every night, laying on his back and staring tiredly at the window, he'd notice empty golden eyes peering through the thin pane of glass, peeking into the single bedroom he and his lover shared in the small apartment. He'd thought it as only an exhaustion-induced hallucination, turning away from the unblinking amber eyes and pressing his face into his boyfriend's chest, shuddering and inhaling the sweetly familiar, comforting scent that clung to the thin grey shirt the older always wore. Warm, slight arms wrapped around him; "I won't let the nightmares hurt you," a soft voice breathed in his ear, lips curved into a protective half-smile. He knew now that those dull amber eyes had watched as his lover met his ill fate, maybe even helped with the murder.

Just the thought and memory of his dead boyfriend, with that soft dark hair he loved to comb his fingers through, with those warm lips that he used to love to kiss, with all-knowing indigo eyes that held warmth only for him…just the thought of him tore viciously at his bleeding heart. Tears welled up in his green-blue eyes and he hugged himself fiercely, dirty-blonde bangs falling to conceal the salty drops slipping rapidly down his face.

He glanced up, up to the horizon and sniffled, a strong resolve in his eyes. He'd find Ienzo again; he'd find him and never let him go.

Wiping the tears from his face, he straightened and gazed out to sea. The ocean…it was only right. The ocean was where he and Ienzo had first met, where they had gone only the day before yesterday, his most beloved place; he was chained to the ocean with invisible shackles.

He bent over to untie his laces and tug off the shoes, his favorite running pair. He left them there on the sand next to the dark blue towel he had been sitting on, absently humming the melody of Ienzo's favorite song, a song he had sang to his lover countless times. He'd always had a talent for music and Ienzo for poetry, strumming serenely on his guitar with green-blue eyes closed while Ienzo wrote, sometimes poetry and sometimes notes on the science he studied at Ansem's lab with Even, Braig and the rest. Come to think of it, Ienzo had been at the laboratory all day on the day of his death…

No, no, stop thinking, he told himself firmly. His mind kept clinging to the sad look Ienzo gave him when he thought he'd been asleep the night before he died, the poorly-hidden resignation in the words he spoke on the day before his death, here at this very beach…

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, the blonde stepped forward until the tides were tugging at his ankles, soft hisses of the surf compelling him to step forward until the cold water was at his hips. The current wrapped around his legs and lower half, pushing him with childishly eager gurgles, the waters slowly numbing his bare feet; he gave in, allowing himself to be pulled deeper in the grey-blue sea. Soon he was chest-deep, the seawater so frigid that it stole the breath right from his lungs. He no longer had feeling of his legs, and his stomach muscles clenched, the frigidity of the ocean soon to numb his torso as well. Shivers wracked his thin frame, cold gooseflesh replacing tanned skin that used to be soft and warm all the time. His dirty-blonde hair had gotten limp from the seaspray, the swells getting rougher and rougher, knocking him back several feet and shoving him underwater with abusive intentions.

He realized his unfeeling legs no longer reached the bottom and hastily tried to tread water in a desperate attempt to keep afloat just a bit longer; the sky was dark above him, with the moon lifted almost all the way in the sky, hung up and swollen in all its compelling glory. His breath rushed out as frantic steam, light smokelike billows contrasting against the dark of the sea and sky. In his dizzy ocean eyes, the swirling stars danced intricate paths across the deep cobalt expanse, a heavenward mirror image of the sea he was lost in.

He never noticed the massive swell of ocean-water until it was on top of him, engulfing him in the frigid sea. The once-innocent childlike current that had beckoned him affectionately now harshly dragged his body below the surface and held him there. His ocean eyes widened in panic and he flung his numb arms upward, frozen fingertips reaching for the surface, grappling on air bubbles that escaped his tightly pressed-shut lips, lips that were pale blue. His lead-filled legs struggled through the freezing water, the ocean suddenly feeling much more solid around him, compressing his thin body; the moon was slightly visible through the rough surface, a once-perfect circle marred by the currents, still clinging to the ethereal façade with its starglow halo.

Its light still shone through, extending a ghostly hand toward the dying blonde; he kicked out with his deadened legs one last time, his body failing and hypothermia setting in, lungs burning from lack of fresh oxygen. The silver-spun hand reaching to him transformed into Ienzo's, his indigo eyes gleaming warmly just beyond the surface, just beyond his fingertips.

He opened his mouth, baring his teeth in fear and desperation; out of the corner of his eye, empty amber orbs peered at him almost hungrily.

He exhaled bubbles, screamed his last breath to the mocking moon and to Ienzo's perfect smile, perfect eyes, perfect hand reaching out and beckoning him.

'I won't let them hurt you.'

His lungs were empty and on fire; on instinct he inhaled through his mouth, only to choke on the saltwater and freeze with a panicked expression, sinking several meters deeper into the ocean, the water gradually getting colder with each passing inch. A desperate, pleading look entered his widened ocean eyes as he drifted away from his love, from the warm hand extended to him. Nononodon'tleavedon'tdon't. The seawater in his lungs was burning, burning his oxygen-deprived body; his heartbeats echoed loudly in his ears, slowing, slowing as he inhaled the ocean, drawing it into his heart, then his bloodstream. The amber-eyed creatures floated closer, some twisted type of hunger flickering in their empty eyes.

Don't leave me, he wanted to scream to Ienzo. You promised.

The pulsing of his heartbeat was fading, fading so slowly. The moon swam above his dizzy vision, reflecting the empty misery in Ienzo's cobalt eyes. The ethereal hand drew back as Myde's green-blue eyes drifted shut, as the last heartbeat thudded weakly, as his thin body shut down completely. Strands of darkened dirty-blonde hair drifted around his seraphim face, and the Heartless drew closer. The last breath-bubbles he exhaled had long since burst through the surface, rejoining the atmosphere the blonde abandoned.

------

"Welcome to the Organization."

The man with silver hair had gazed with hawklike tangerine eyes at the blonde, had silently approved in a cold, empty manner.

"You are Number IX. Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne."

His dark boots made quiet sounds against the washed-out grey tile, stark against the pale color. His ocean eyes were downcast, idly counting his slow steps.

He had just reached thirty-two when another pair of black boots joined his, matching step for step. He let his ocean eyes trail upward, taking in the black cloak identical to his that the other wore, the slim build. His gaze locked on to dark blue eyes, eyes set in a cold glare; one was partially concealed by soft-looking slate hair.

"VI. It's Zexion."

"Z-Zexion…"

There was something terribly familiar about this Nobody. He was slightly shorter than Demyx, maybe a few inches, just like..

Ienzo.

"Yes. The Cloaked Schemer. And you are?"

"Demyx."

They had long since stopped walking and had turned toward each other; their eyes were locked in a paralyzing stare, slow realization growing in their cool-hued depths. Zexion stepped forward, azure eyes wide, gloved hand lifted hesitantly. "I…"

His hand lightly brushed along Demyx's jaw, and IX's ocean eyes were unclear with memories. "Ienzo," he muttered, and the two stared at each other, memorizing again the opposite's features. "Zexion." The Schemer's harsh glare softened slowly upon hearing his two names, old and new, his thumb ghosting slightly across the taller's cheek.

Slowly, cautiously, the Nocturne leaned forward, his arms wrapping around the shorter Nobody's waist. "I had thought I lost you," his soft, ebbtide voice murmured in Zexion's ear, same thin arms tightening only the slightest.

"I promised." The slate-haired Nobody embraced the other tightly, azure eyes sliding wearily to half-mast and head leaning forward to rest against Demyx's, cheek pressed to his.

"I promised you I'd wait for you. Forever."

------

They sat there on the shoreline, watching the aquamarine waves lap docilely at the pale tan sand, watching the sun drown itself again past the horizon. The warm light painted the entire beach golden, highlighting Myde's tanned skin and bringing color to Ienzo's pale flesh; they sat close together, Myde hugging his knees and his slate-haired love sitting cross-legged, his hands on either side of him. The two simply watched as the sun sank, like a doomed ship going down in the nearby bay.

The blond was unaware that Ienzo had been watching him until a soft hand rested on his arm, and he turned his green-blue eyes to the scientist. A soft smile tilted up his lips. "Yes?" he inquired, unfolding his arms from around his legs and stretching them.

"You know I love you, right..?"

Another quiet smile. "Yes."

"And you love me too?"

"Of course, Ienzo."

"Okay.."

His cobalt eyes seemed unsure, regretful; the blonde reached to take his hand, thumb stroking the pale knuckles. He leaned over to press a gentle kiss to the corner of the troubled male's lips. "I always will."

A nod from the scientist, and both of them fell into a comfortable silence. Twilight had descended upon the land, and stars had begun to appear, bright specks against the dark velvet sky.

"Myde, I promise you…I promise I'll wait for you. I'll always.." Ienzo's soft voice cracked and trailed off, fading into nothing in the twilight.

"Hey, hey..it's okay. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine, Ienzo." Myde tried desperately to console his love, wiping gently at the few tears that slipped down his pale cheeks. "Everything's going to be okay."

------

"I still love you," the Nobody whispered to the Schemer, watching him from a distance on top of his high, light grey chair in the meeting room, not paying attention to Xemnas' usual lecture. "Even if we don't have hearts to love with."

Later, up on the balcony connected to his room, Demyx sat on the thick concrete railing where the ledge joined with the wall. His sitar lay in his lap and his back was pressed to the wall, head tilted upward with a pensive expression softening his seraphim face.

The sitar wailed his misery in mournful notes, an archangel's song in the dead of night, when the heart-shaped moon above reigned supreme in the dark sky of the World That Never Was. He drowned in oceans made endless by the lack of Zexion's presence.

"I promise..."

------


excuse the crappiness of it...my first Zemyx. D:

bleh.

reviews would be appreciated.