Disclaimer: Might as well get the preamble out of the way and save any confusion. Yes I own Kingdom Hearts. I own Final Fantasy and Disney and Zexion lives under my bed and refuses to eat anything but cookies with milk. Or maybe other people own them and I just like to pretend.

Authors Note: Well here it is, my first Zemyx. I'm kind of scared because as I say often, I'm not much of a writer, but I made a deal with my good friend (and invaluable Beta-san) Smooshy that, should I write this she would hurry her ass up and get the next chapter of Intermezzo posted and put me out of my torment. So if you hate this blame her, because it was all her doing! White Blood was a working title, but when it comes to titles I'm uncreative and ended up having nothing better to call it, so it's just kind of stuck. The plot gets a little… complicated later. You'll probably be able to figure out some of the complications that are going to come up from this chapter, some you won't. Hopefully there will be a few surprises in store! Anyway I'm shutting up now because it's almost four in the morning, I'm tired and I want to go read some Zemyx. Enjoy!

[Some Zemyx for Smooshy - Happy Birthday sweetie!

Chapter I: Hold On

Demyx often wondered about things. Usually it got him nowhere.

When he took the call from Thalia Burroughs on Thursday afternoon he wondered about so many things, though at the time the only people who could have given him any solid answers were unavailable. His Mother had gone to visit her sister – a duty Demyx had barely managed to save himself from – and his Father had been working.

He wondered if the Burroughs lady had called the wrong number, though the fact that she knew both his parents names, birthdays and whatever else seemed to strike that off his list. This led to him wondering if she might be a stalker, but since she seemed to have no idea who he was that seemed highly unlikely. He wondered if - or perhaps hoped that - maybe Axel had put the woman up to this in one of his lame attempts at a funny prank, but it became obvious quickly she was anything but in the joking mood.

In the end the only thing Demyx was left wondering was how the world could possibly be such a cruel son of a bitch. As usual, it got him nowhere.

…

Axel exhaled a lungful of smoke, not particularly caring that the majority of it wasn't going out the window he was semi-hanging out of. The school basement only had one window, a tiny one close to the ceiling that the redhead had to stand on a crate to reach. Demyx didn't see why he insisted on it really; the room already stank of tobacco and it was clear that despite his climbing onto a crate Axel was making no attempt to hide that fact.

"So you have a brother? Guess that explains the bitchy mood all day." The redhead said, taking another draw of his cigarette. Demyx had lost count of how many the boy had had since they'd snuck - or rather since Axel had dragged Demyx's protesting form - down there.

"My parents gave him away when he was born. Apparently they were too young, didn't have the money, blah blah it's bullshit!"

Axel almost choked on smoke as he laughed.

"Demyx swearing. That's a rarity, you must be pissed."

Demyx sat back on the broken chair he had taken residence on. It had no back, so he was pressed against the wall and being careful not to lean either to either side; apparently the screws had come out and now the seat of the chair was balanced precariously on the metal frame. It was probably done purposely by a student - probably Axel for that matter - but Demyx hadn't seen the funny side when the seat had fallen off when he sat down, sending him sprawling into a pile of cardboard boxes. Axel had naturally found it hilarious.

"I shouted at them some. I think they're mad at me now, and I'm mad at them so tonight will be a barrel of laughs. His adopted family is coming by the house to talk."

Axel jumped down from the crate, cigarette still in hand, and walked over to sit on the floor beside Demyx.

"Why now? I mean the guy's older than you and he's lived with them forever right? Why the sudden tracking down of the parents that gave him away?"

"He's sick." Demyx said, surprised that it hurt so much to actually say. He didn't know this man who was apparently his brother, he had only found out about his existence yesterday, and yet the thought of everything that was happening made him want to hide under his covers and curl up in a ball like he did when he had nightmares or rough days.

"You can't tell anyone. I'm not ready to deal with everyone knowing. Not yet."

Axel didn't say anything for a few seconds. He raised the cigarette to his lips and took a deep draw before holding it out to Demyx, who looked at it in confusion.

"Good for stress," Axel said, his words accompanied by copious amounts of smoke issuing from his mouth. "You look like you could use it."

Demyx sighed and took the cigarette Axel was offering. He never smoked but all things considered a little cloudiness didn't seem like a bad idea. He took a draw and almost instantly started choking, feeling like his lungs were suddenly on fire and at the same time filled with a horrible, sticky slime.

"That is vile," He managed to choke out. "And it didn't do anything for my stress levels."

Whatever joke Axel had been about to make died on his lips, his smirk frozen on his face as the door to the basement opened. Demyx froze too. Visions of Mr. Plimpkin, the slightly intimidating Headmaster, were running though his brain. If he caught them in the basement when they were supposed to be in class there would be hell to pay for sure. And he was still holding Axel's cigarette.

Luckily it turned out to be the janitor.

"Axel! How many times is it I've caught you down 'ere now? Skippin' class an' smokin' on school grounds. Plimpkin'll have you suspended one of these days!"

Axel stood up, an innocent grin plastered on his face, and held his empty hands up.

"Come on Cid! Me? Smoking? I'm innocent, really. He's the one with the cigarette," He said, jerking a thumb in Demyx's direction, whose stomach had plummeted very possibly through the floor. "And you can't come down on him today. You know, he just found out he's got a brother his 'rents gave away? Yeah, and the guy's really sick too."

Demyx suddenly had the urge to stand up, grab the seat of the chair that Axel had no doubt unscrewed, and smack him over the head with it. Cid was looking at him though, and he didn't think it'd be a good idea to bash Axel's skull in when there were witnesses. Considering who it was, though, Demyx wasn't entirely sure the man wouldn't help. Everyone always said the janitor was a bit of a weirdo, and Demyx had heard mutterings about him being a psychopath before.

"That true kid?" Cid asked, taking the toothpick he had been chewing out of his mouth and holding it loosely between his fingers. Demyx sighed and nodded in agreement; so much for not telling anyone.

"Guess in that case I'll let you off. This time. Don't think that means you can come down here whenever you want though. Plimpkin cottons on and my neck's on the chopping board," He turned to Axel. "And you. Stay outta trouble, and outta my basement. And leave me a cigarette, I'm out."

Axel laughed and waved Cid off casually as the man grabbed a brush and headed back up the stairs. Running a hand through his hair he turned back to Demyx, who fixed him with an icy glare.

"It's cool, it's only Cid. I think I'm the only one round here who talks to him anyway. Everyone else thinks he's some sex-crazed paedo. Or a murderer. Maybe both."

Demyx growled at him, but he smiled a bit. Noticing the cigarette still in his hand, burned away to nothing but a stub and a tower of ash, he flicked it at Axel. The redhead let out a squawk and jumped to one side before laughing and removing the packet from his jacket pocket. He quickly lit up another, removing a second from the packet and placing it carefully behind a broken TV where nobody would see it.

Demyx wondered exactly how many times Cid had caught Axel down there, but didn't bother asking; the boy had no doubt lost count.

…

The Burroughs arrived at Demyx's front door at exactly seven thirty that night. Demyx was the one to answer the door; his Mother was busy preparing some tea and his Father was pacing nervously in the conservatory. Demyx hadn't said more than two words to either of them since his arrival home from school, and though his Mother had tried to talk to him several times his Father seemed comfortable to sit in silence.

On the doorstep were the three people he expected; Thalia Burroughs had told him about her family over the phone, though her descriptions had been brief and she hadn't mentioned anything about their appearances.

Demyx decided Thalia Burroughs must be a schoolteacher. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her eyes, dark as they were from apparent lack of sleep, shone with a fierce determination. She was small but there was nothing diminutive about the woman.

Her husband Ivan was the opposite. He was mousy, his hairline was receding and he was slightly fat. He refused to make eye contact with him, seeming to prefer to stare intently at his fingers, which he was drumming rhythmically across his thighs. Demyx decided this man must be a janitor, or maybe a librarian; some job that didn't involve talking to people a lot.

Their son was clearly another adopted child; small and thin, with eyes, skin tone and a facial structure that belonged to neither parent. His long, unnaturally coloured hair hung in front of his face hiding most of it from view, but the glare he was sending to Demyx shone clearly from beneath, and Demyx was sure that if looks could kill he'd be so far under his feet would be poking out somewhere in China.

Thalia was determined and Ivan was nervous, but Zexion was blatantly pissed off. Demyx decided he was an asshole.

A/N: So that was it. Chapter is titled after the Sarah McLachlan song 'Hold On'. Hope you enjoyed and I aim to have the next chapter up at some point next week! And if anyone can guess who Demyx's actual brother is I'll give them one of Zexion's cookies!

Demyxion xXx