It was still a mystery as to why his friends still surprised him. After going to high school with the both of them, even if they were a year younger than him, Zexion had thought he had seen and heard everything his friends had to say that could have ever possibly shocked him. This theory of his was proven false the moment he walked into Traverse Town's 2nd District's Hatter's to "You need to grasp him firmly by the balls, Axel."
"Would you like the usual white café mocha, Zexion?" Alice asked with a smile, bless the little princess' heart. She was so good to him, ignoring his friends the way she was when the rest of the store was gawking at them. There was no way he could ever repay her kindness considering that Hatter's was the only place in all the towns he knew that had the best café mochas.
"Yes, please." He said evenly, his baritone voice traveling much more smoothly through the air than his friends, much like how smooth white chocolate was. Honestly, if it wasn't that he didn't really hang out with Xigbar, Zexion would have sworn that it was him across from Axel, not Luxord.
The two of them were sitting at one of the café's round tables near the window in the back and were apparently in a heated discussion over, if Zexion heard correctly, grasping someone's balls. Axel, the redhead who definitely lived up to the expression 'fiery redhead', had a look of stone cold concentration. Luxord, on the other hand, seemed to be as calm and collected as ever, even as he sold whatever story he was saying to Axel. Zexion was almost afraid to figure out what got Luxord talking so animatedly when he was usually rather quiet.
"Alright, so how should I grasp them?"
Zexion watched with some sort of sick amusement as Luxord looked around before reaching into the decorative fruit basket in the window and grabbed a cherry red apple. For a moment the platinum blonde only bounced the apple between his hands before he held it firmly in his left hand, giving it a good squeeze every few seconds. "Just like this."
When Axel began to reach for the fruit basket as well, Zexion took it as his cue and removed himself from the safety of the front door and quickly strolled over to their table. "I wouldn't touch those if I were you. I heard that The Evil Queen delivered those apples personally."
Those magic words made Axel blanch and Luxord laughed. While Axel scooted away from the fruit basket, Luxord reached out with one long leg and pushed Zexion's chair out for him. "I was just telling Axel here how to handle Demyx."
"Is that what we were all hearing?" Zexion said and raised an eyebrow as he sat down. "What are you trying to do, sexually scar the kid?"
"I wouldn't say that. A reliable source of mine told me that Demyx likes it a little rough."
"And who, pray tell, would that be?" Xigbar floated to the forefront of Zexion's mind once again as he reached up to unzip his silver jacket, revealing a white tank top. The warmth of the café was such a relief from the nippy winter winds outside and canceled the need for heat from the fur inside the jacket.
Something flashed in Luxord's azure eyes that told Zexion all he needed to know and Luxord was saved trying to make up a codename for his source by Alice bringing Zexion his white café mocha and two other drinks. A cinnamon mocha was set in front of Axel while the young girl placed a steaming cup of peppermint hot chocolate in front of Luxord. No matter how often he saw the young man drink it, Zexion still couldn't help but scrunch his nose slightly at the combination of smells.
Hiding his discontentment with Luxord's drink, as he always had to, Zexion brought the white café mocha to his lips and sipped dainty. He had every intention of dropping the subject but the way his friends exchanged a look didn't go unnoticed by him. It looked like it wasn't going to go so easy, if not impossible, to avoid talking about the subject.
Luxord tore the wrapping off his complimentary candy cane and used it to stir his hot chocolate, further adding some mint flavor as he did so. "According to Demyx, he still talks about you, you know. He seems adamant about getting into Radiant Academy with us."
Why was it that Demyx, that laid-back to the fault sweetheart, was best friends with the one kid Zexion didn't really wish to see again after he got out of high school? It was such an apocalyptic pairing that he was surprised the world hadn't imploded on itself. They didn't seem like the type to get along at all and yet, from what he had heard from Luxord and Axel, they were nearly inseparable and he hadn't a clue as to why.
It just went to further prove what Zexion had been trying to get through to his friends for quite a while now, although they didn't bring it up too much. The relationship hadn't meant anything. It had been a way to pass the time until he graduated.
"I wish him luck, then." Zexion replied dryly and took another sip of his drink. Deciding to take the matter of a subject change into his own hands, before Luxord could pipe in with something else, Zexion turned his aqua eyes onto the lanky teenager to his left. "So, why exactly are you plotting to grasp Demyx by the balls?" Subject change: success. Zexion thought when Axel's face lit up.
Axel grinned widely, akin to the Cheshire cat, and licked some of the whipped cream from his upper lip. "I'm trying to find a good way to ask Demyx out that's bold and daring, since my subtle hints haven't gotten through to him yet."
Zexion could only chuckle at that. "I'm surprised you've lasted this long. How long have you been chasing his tail anyway? Two years?"
"Three, actually." Luxord clarified helpfully, earning a glare from Axel. "You might have waited till they were sixteen, but Axel is a cradle robber."
"He's only a year younger than me!"
"That's sad, Axel." Zexion said with a shake of his head, completely ignoring Axel's defense. Luxord offered his own bob in agreement.
"Yeah, well, you two can suck my dick!"
"Wouldn't you prefer it if Demyx did that?"
The table shook slightly when Axel kicked out and struck Luxord in the shin with painfully accurate blow. While Luxord nursed his hot cocoa and his abused shin, a bristled Axel turned to Zexion, who had casually crossed his legs and turned just so to avoid a similar fate to Luxord's. Zexion only gave Axel his best mock look of innocence and it was enough to make Axel crack another smile.
There was always something so comfortable when the three of them were together. Luxord spoke up more about things besides gambling, Zexion felt more at ease and relaxed, and Axel, well, Axel didn't really change much and maybe it was because of him that the other two could come to life the way they did. The connection they all had with each was something Zexion cherished a lot more than he ever verbalized, what any of them verbalized, but it was okay. They didn't have to.
They stayed in the café for another hour, talking about mundane subjects, school, and anything else they found particularly relevant after they all had had enough caffeine and sugar to keep them up for a week. There was a high possibility they would have stayed longer but Luxord had gotten an angry call from his twin brother, demanding that Luxord come home and cook dinner.
"You'd think that since he excels in chemistry, concocting something as simple as a pot of stew for dinner wouldn't be such a chore for him." Luxord had sighed before bidding them farewell and leaving. Despite his grumblings though, Zexion saw the smile that tugged at Luxord's lips.
"Seriously though, Axel," Zexion said as he zipped his jacket back up. The green eyed teen was holding the door open for Zexion, a look of curiosity etched into his feline features. "I hope you won't take Luxord's advice seriously. Why don't you just ask Yuna to get you some tickets to one of her concerts and invite Demyx to come with you?"
Axel seemed taken aback at the obvious genius of the suggestion and his face lit up with such childish glee that Zexion couldn't help smirking. Axel was almost helpless when it came to Demyx. It was sort of cute, really, when it wasn't making Zexion taste his sweets in the back of his throat. Someone had to believe in romance though, he supposed, and Axel definitely seemed to like the idea.
He allowed Axel to give him a goodbye hug, which included Zexion being lifted off the ground by his towering friend and a snide joke at his height, resulting in a quick comeback on Zexion's part that left Axel almost bent over laughing. Zexion rolled his eyes and tried not to smile as he left down the street. People must think their friendship was strange, what with laughing at all the wisecracks and words others might find cruel and hurtful.
Almost as an afterthought, Zexion went back inside the shop for another white café mocha to keep him warm on his walk to the train station. As he made his way down the street to the 1st District, Zexion pulled out his iPod to fill in the silence. Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal filtered through his ears and Zexion bobbed his head lightly to the music, one hand in his jacket pocket while the other held his café mocha.
I wonder if he really is going to get into the academy. It wasn't like it entirely mattered though. Even if he did, the chances he'd run into Zexion were slim to none. Zexion was two years older than him and in higher level classes. The only possible ways for them to see each other was if they ran into each other somewhere on campus or if by some horrible twist of fate, he was put into Zexion's room. He and Axel lived in the dorms at the academy and while Axel had a roommate, Zexion did not after Lexaeus transferred to Hollow Bastion University when he changed his major. But even then, the possibility that he would just happen to be assigned to Zexion's room was insubstantial.
Sighing under his breath, Zexion brought his drink to his lips. Why was he even worrying about it? It wasn't like him to let an old fling to get him, especially when he was so keen on forgetting him in the first place. Zexion fully blamed the fact that Axel's flame was suddenly so close to the object of his aversion.
Zexion was jarred out of his mind only when someone walked into him and if Zexion hadn't instinctively stepped back, his hot café mocha would have spilled all over his jacket. His eyes drifted down to the ground to watch as his drink dissolved the snow it landed on and sighed. That was such a waste.
"Pardon me, I didn't mean to bump into you." The figure apologized and the deep voice resonated in Zexion's chest the way a song with heavy bass did.
The silver clad young man just offered a shrug of his shoulders as he switched hands, taking hold of his café mocha in the other hand so he could shake off and lick the remaining sweetness from his fingers. "It's fine." He offered in response and continued on his way without even giving the stranger a single glance.
It wasn't until Zexion had stepped foot on the train that he glanced over his shoulder with a pensive look. There had only ever been one voice that made his hair stand up on its ends like that, but there was no way it was him, right? That would be took much of a coincidence and Zexion didn't believe in coincidences, not like Luxord and his faith in luck.
There is surely more than just one man with a bass voice like that around. Zexion reasoned as he sat down and went about nursing what remained of his drink.
It shouldn't have been so hard to convince himself that.