Zexion scrawled the last part of his spellwork onto the semi-filled page of his book of magic. Fervently he folded it at the spine and relinquished the massive text that was, for all matters and purposes, his weapon of choice. He rushed out of his bedroom door and quickly made his way through the endless mazes of the castle. The anxiety of being late gripped at him with a newfound strength he didn't feel nearly as much when he had been engulfed in his studies.
He must have looked strange rushing about in such a manner. Zexion was known for a slower, more thoughtful gait that often betrayed his calculative nature. He hoped no one would spot him…
It wasn't long until he finally reached his rather random destination. Catching his breath, he gently pushed the door of the spare room open. It was still dark inside, and with a sigh of relief Zexion concluded he was the first to arrive after all. Moving to step inside, he was shocked to see the lights flicker on by themselves, and with a startled jump he found himself frozen to the spot as his bright aqua eyes adjusted to the light.
First as a red and black blur, Axel suddenly came into focus before Zexion. His expression was less than pleasant and the smaller boy could immediately tell what he was in for that evening. He shuddered and chose to let Axel speak first, so not to upset him even further.
"Twenty minutes later… you decide to stroll in," he said with deliberate pauses that stunted his words, spelling out danger to the other boy.
The slate-haired youth grasped for words only to be cut off abruptly.
"Do you seriously think your sorry ass is worth those twenty minutes?" Axel asked, his anger accelerating.
Zexion chose his next words carefully, knowing all too well the thin ice he was on.
"I didn't mean any disrespect… I just~" was all he could say before Axel cut in again.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to stand for this shit as your boyfriend? Why the fuck were you late?"
The boy with the hair in his face took a moment to mentally regroup. He was used to being cut off by Axel by now, but he was still far from comfortable when he wasn't pulling the strings of a conversation.
"A certain charm was being difficult for me..."
"Don't give me that shit, you little bastard. A charm, huh? More like you've been charming your way around the castle. You've been whoring yourself around behind my back, haven't you scumbag?"
Zexion remained silent as he quickly replayed the past few days in his head. What had he possibly done? He knew he wasn't involved with anyone else, but maybe Axel saw something he interpreted as promiscuous? Had he seen him and Marluxia in the library? Zexion had accidentally dropped his books, and Marluxia had been there to pick them up for him with a smile. That was probably it. For a Nobody, Axel was outrageously easy to make jealous. He should have been more careful…
"Axel, I didn't~"
He went for his neck, but Zexion raised his arms in defense. Catching his right forearm, Axel began to squeeze.
"You're a liar and you know it."
Zexion's face twisted in pain under his long fringe as he endured the pain with hardly a peep. Still, he found himself unable to reply, not that it would be the smartest thing to do so anyway.
"The truth is, you're probably the entire organization's bitch, you piece of shit," Axel spat in an icy tone before shoving the boy's lighter frame against the wall.
Zexion's body collided with the wall in a dull thud before he half-consciously slunk alongside the wall into a limp sit, his azure eyes on the floor directly in front of him. Axel knelt in front of the boy and glared, daring the boy to meet his eyes. Tears of frustration clouded his vision as he surrendered himself to Axel and met his eyes with an empty stare. There was a slight hesitation before the spiky-haired youth back-handed his already emotionally exhausted boyfriend.
Sparks danced across his vision, prompting him to murmur "Axel", as if his other side could rescue him...
"Admit it," he ordered, a hand wrapping around the boy's throat, pulling him back to his feet and against the wall in a chokehold.
With his last bit of fight left in him, Zexion tried to kick Axel, but the red-head's reflexes allowed him to catch his ankle. The look in his eyes was menacing at this point, Zexion suddenly felt like disappearing; not something a Nobody would normally wish for. Axel lifted him off his feet by his neck, causing him to slowly asphyxiate. His back slammed against the ground hard enough to knock the already shallow breath from his lungs and he choked around a gasp of pain. The world swam. He couldn't have stood if he tried.
Normally Axel would stop hitting him once he was down, but normally he wasn't this furious. The next blow brought the metallic taste of blood to his mouth. And the last was a kick to his rib cage. Zexion's diaphragm contracted and choked him of any remaining air he had. His eyes widened as he opened his bloody mouth only to realize he couldn't inhale.
Several seconds after the fact, Zexion's stomach muscles relaxed and allowed him to finally rasp for gulps of air. Axel stood over him as he fought to fill his lungs. Breathing suddenly involved a sharp aching, but he managed to pull himself back against the wall and into an awkward sit. He was clutching the spot where he'd been kicked with one hand and leaning on the other, looking up at Axel with an animalistic level of fear mixed with pain in his turquoise eyes. He was starting to realize how painful the next few days would be. Every ragged breath stabbed at his injury that was surely an external as well as internal bruise, making every living moment excruciating.
A flash of sympathy came and went in Axel's eyes.
Zexion opened his mouth to say something, the blood running down his chin had dried but all that came out was a muffled moan.
"How sweet, is that the same noise you made for Marluxia last night?" Axel asked coldly.
The boy went into a coughing fit, causing even more unbearable pain against his ribs.
"That's what I thought," Axel concluded, "you deserve this."
Zexion wished he had passed out by now. Axel turned and left without another strike, and the broken boy knew he had been sentenced to think about what he had done. Passing out might have fed Axel's ego, but that would have inadvertently given the boy an escape from the situation. His elbow gave out and he collapsed back onto the floor. Hissing as he exhaled, Zexion found himself unable to think about much else other than why he was dealt with this constant, raw ache in his ribcage that continued to deal damage as often as he drew breath.