Author Notes: First thing I should tell you: This is a sequel. The sequel to my story, "Gravity". You don't have to read it before this, but it does make a lot more sense if you do, I suppose... But look! I've outlined it for you in the first paragraph :D

This is a bit different from what I had originally planned, but what I originally planned sounded good in my head and turned into crap once written on the computer. So I re-did it, and this turned up. So, yes, it is a bit different from the summary up on my proflie, but it's basically the same...

For Akilina-chan for kindly reminding me of my updating status... And for making me finally write something and put it up. And, just for you, I've written and posted Snowglobe, the very fic you were very much awaiting 8D. SORRY if my writing's changed at all! D8

Summary: Christmas is decending, marking the first anniversary since the end of the war. Demyx thinks he just might be able to pull through, until Axel and Riku make a mistake and he's almost forced over the edge. This time, they might not be able to save him.

Disclaimer: I'm too tired to think up a shmawesome, shiny and polished disclaimer that sounds all impressive and "I definitely don't own this" like, so here's the gist of it: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, anything to Kingdom Hearts, or anything in this story. ...Except for the plot and the snow globe which gave me the idea in the first place. Thanks, Ta, for the snow globe!

Another Note: (HAHA, that's a book :P), the beginning paragraphs may be a bit funky, because I kept them from the first version. I liked them, so they stayed, so there. -Pokes tongue-

.Snowglobe.|.START.
snow globe (snō-glōb)
[noun]
a toy or ornament consisting of a model of a scene in a liquid containing white particles that, when shaken, mimic a snowstorm

A year. It was all over in a year.

Those of us that were left after the war came back home. There weren't many of us, though. Cloud and Leon survived, thankfully. So did Reno, Riku, Axel and me. Demyx.

It was hard for Riku. He had lost Sora in the war. All his plans and dreams for their future, smashed.

It was harder still for Axel. Because Roxas, well... He didn't make it. His sole reason for existence, for living, gone.

It was hardest for me, though. At least they had had some happy moments, ones they could remember for ever and ever. Me? Well, Zexion had died before he could answer me.

We all had to work together to keep ourselves strong, to make sure that we didn't accidentally slip, even though sometimes, it's all that we wanted. We were going good, though. It had been a year since the war ended, and still no casualties.

Cloud, Leon and Reno were great help. They kept us going when we couldn't help each other, or ourselves. They comforted us, made sure we were fine and sent us on our way again.

In a few days now, it will be Christmas. My first Christmas at home. My first Christmas since the war. But on a day like that, it's impossible to feel sad... right?

So I thought.

---------------

Demyx, Riku and Axel never left each other's sight for the first few months after the war. They were like broken souls, clinging together for solace. Axel and Riku stood by and watched as Demyx rampaged through his house, destroying every notion that Zexion had ever existed, burning all of his clothes, as though he could convince his heart that no one called Zexion had ever brushed on his life. Of course, he left his scars, but Demyx did all he could to re-write the code that was burned against his skin, his soul.

Axel and Riku kept their memories. Their hearts clung to their other, love growing, fading and growing again after time.

Time was their worst enemy. It hazed things, muddled things up. It made them confused, sometimes wondering if it had all really happened or if it was just a mad hallucination, sometimes clear and sharp, outlining every single detail.

Demyx languished in the confusion. He bloomed in his times of darkness, oblivious to the war and its effects, and wilted with perception and clarity. The others kept him up, kept him waking every morning to find the sun shining through the curtains, or rain pattering against the window.

He tried his best to heal, really he did. He knew it was getting ridiculous, and that he was just dragging the others down. Riku had healed enough to return to everyday life, Axel enough to spoon food into his own mouth and help with Demyx. They had come a long way in three months.

And then, about six months after that, Demyx started to get better. He started to heal, started to depend less on Axel and Riku. He smiled again, laughed at one of Axel's lame jokes, chipped in on everyday conversation. The Demyx that they knew before the war was resurfacing, slowly but surely.

Riku once mentioned Zexion in passing conversation, regretting it immediately afterwards. He looked at Demyx, who continued to smile, completely oblivious. He stared blankly at Riku, and had asked, "Who's Zexion? Is he one of your work mates?"

It was then that Riku realized that Demyx hadn't really been healing at all; but suppressing the memories of what really happened all that time ago. He had erased it from his mind, rubbed out every thought of the blue-haired boy, locked away all the feelings that had once been so strong.

Riku went to Axel. They talked. In the end, they decided to do nothing about it, because the Demyx they had now was a lot happier than the Demyx of barely a month ago. They both called it a good thing, even though, deep down, they knew it would probably lead to no good.

Minds only half made up, they called Demyx down for dinner.

.Snowglobe.

Friday

i had a dream last night. It was about a war, a big war, with bodies all over the sandy ground. There was a gun in my hands. To my left was Riku, then Axel. To my right was a boy. He had the oddest blue hair, and pale skin, but no matter how hard or how close I looked, I couldn't see his eyes.

He lookd familiar to me, but I don't think I know him. I think I'd remember someone with blue hair. Honestly! Schools would never let him have it.

And then, next to Axel was another boy, a boy with spiky blond hair that clung to Axel's arm. Next to him was his exact image, only his hair brown and slightly more spikier. He kept glancing over at Riku who would always be glancing back.

I can't help but think that I know these people. The brunet and the blond boy; probably twins. But most of all, the blue-haired boy. My heart beats faster when I think of him, but I don't understand. Who is he? What's his name? Why was he in my dream?

Dinner time. Stop writing now.

.Snowglobe.

A few weeks after Demyx first started to forget, it snowed.

Demyx had woken to find the white fluffs drifting down from the sky, the aftermath of a snowstorm, probably. He'd giggled in glee and ran outside, dressed in only his pyjamas. And he'd jumped in the snow that had piled up outside their house on the driveway and the front lawn, and made his own footprints all over the footpath.

Riku and Axel woke up to Demyx's excited squeals, that were soon accompanied with sneezes and snuffles. Sighing, Riku ran outside, Axel following soon after with a jacket and a blanket. Riku took a hold of Demyx's arm and pulled him inside, despite his protests.

"I'm not having you catch pneumonia!" Riku argued, dumping him in front of the fire and going to get him some dry clothes. Axel put the blanket around his shoulders and moved into the kitchen, nodding in reply to Demyx's "thanks". Riku returned not long afterwards, dumping a pile of clothes on top of Demyx's head.

Demyx got changed without a word in front of the fire. They were used to it by now, changing in front of each other. It's not like any of them really cared. After all, in the first month, they'd all slept in the same bed, clinging together, trying to ward off the nightmares. As though being with one another calmed their nerves, settled them. And it did.

Axel came out from the kitchen carrying two mugs of hot chocolate, one of which he handed to Demyx, the other to Riku. He went back, coming out with his own mug, and they all spent a few minutes in front of the fire, just sipping at their drinks.

"Demyx," Axel said suddenly. By now, they were attuned to each other enough for Demyx to know he was going to speak before he did, and wasn't surprised. "What do you remember of Roxas?"

Demyx frowned, his subconscious refusing to dredge up the truth of the past. "Roxas... Blond boy, wasn't he? You liked him, didn't you? What happened to him?"

Axel glanced over at Riku, who was already looking over at him. Riku leaned forward. "What about Sora? He was Roxas' twin."

"Sora... Sky? Funny name. I remember him. He was always so loud, just like me! He was fun. But, I dunno. What happened to him, if he was Roxas' twin? Did they go on holiday somewhere?" Demyx asked, expression still blank.

"...Roxas and Sora are dead," Riku choked out, the names catching in his throat.

Demyx looked at Riku's eyes for barely a second, then flickered away and found the floor. "Oh," he replied, his voice small, as though he knew he was missing something important. "What about the blue-haired boy? Who's he?"

Riku hesitated, wondering if it was okay to talk about him now that Demyx had just started to forget. His eyes met Axel's, who was wondering exactly the same thing. Together, they made their minds. "The blue-haired boy's name was Zexion. You, Axel, Roxas, Zexion, Sora and I were all friends a few years ago, in school. Although, me and Sora were a bit more of an offcut from you guys, but the four of you were real close."

"We'd get into all sorts of trouble in class," Axel continued, picking up where Riku left off, smirking as he dragged up old memories. "Oh, the teachers hated us..."

.Snowglobe.

Over the weeks that lead up to Christmas, Demyx would ask questions about the three boys that they used to play with. One week, he'd be focused entirely on the blond boy, which led onto the blue one the next week. Then he'd remember the brunet, and want to know about him.

As Christmas neared, he rediscovered his escapades with Sora, Roxas and Zexion. In fact, everything Axel and Riku told him related to something he himself remembered, only his memory lacked the other three strangers.

There was a big block in Demyx's memory, about a year long judging by where Riku and Axel's stories broke off and his memory of them three in the house began, where no one would tell Demyx what had happened. It drove him half made most of the time, but at the best of times, he found he didn't really care all to much.

But no matter how much he scouted the house, he couldn't find a scrap that said anything about Zexion's existence. He found proof for both Sora and Roxas, but nothing for Zexion. Nothing at all. The closest he got was his diary, which, when he went back to the very start, just before the masses of ripped out pages, there were a few pages of writing. Here he found the proof for Sora and Roxas, their names written clearly on the pages, part of the stories that Axel had told him.

In those entries were words scribbled out on every other sentence. It was too dark for him to see through the pen and pencil marks, and he'd never really cared before. But now he wondered if it was Zexion's name on those pages, on those crossed out lines. He had a feeling it was, deep down, and was frustrated that he would never know. And it was the same with the ripped out pages.

All he wanted to do was know. But he guessed he never would.

.Snowglobe.

Demyx found himself crying for the first time since he could remember.

His tears just kept coming and coming, and at first he didn't know what it was. He didn't understand exactly why he was crying, why his heart hurt so much. Then he thought to himself; it's probably delayed shock. The fact that Sora and Roxas were dead and Zexion had just disappeared as far he could tell must've finally gotten to him.

He was curled up on his bed, crying silently to himself. Riku was out, finding himself a job to bring a little more money in -- the money the government had given them was almost gone -- but Axel was in the kitchen, making sandwiches. He didn't want him to find him. He didn't want Axel to think he'd just gone and snapped again.

After all, he remember Sora and Roxas now. He remembered the war they'd fought in. He remembered the twins dying in the war.

But, try as he might, he still couldn't remember the blue-haired boy that had always stayed by his side and taken a shell that was meant for Demyx.

.Snowglobe.

Christmas was coming. Cloud, Leon and Reno had all stayed the night, Reno bringing in enough energy -- not to mention noise -- for all six of them. The house needed it, though. It was sagging under all the negative energy that had built up over the months, and the three of them were glad to see it standing proud again.

They'd put up a christmas tree in the corner of the lounge, and underneath were a few presents for each of them there. Even Demyx had managed to get something for everyone, despite his diminishing money resources and negative attitude to the event. Something just seemed wrong this year. His heart was probably trying to fill the hole that Sora, Roxas and Zexion had made.

The music was loud and the fire was on; the mood was light and everyone was laughing, even Cloud and Leon. Reno would've brought the house down if they'd let him. Luckily for the house -- and for Demyx, Riku and Axel -- he didn't.

Soon enough, it was time for presents. Demyx acted as Santa, sitting cross-legged by the tree and handing the presents around. It was fun, and he commanded that the others sat down on the floor before he started, otherwise he wouldn't give them out. Needless to say, they sat on the floor.

A bit of controversy was rarked up over whose present was whose and who wanted which My Little Pony, but eventually all the presents were given to each respective recipient, and a big pile of rubbish ended up in the middle of the lounge.

Riku looked up at Axel, who nodded and retreated into his room. He came out a few moments later, another present in his hands, and he was smiling. He sat back down, passing it along the ground to Demyx. "It's a joint present from me and Riku. We thought you might like it... You're always wanting to know what he really looked like..."

Demyx looked at it curiously. He glanced up quickly, smiling at Riku and Axel, and ripped the paper off.

It was a snow globe, and he shook it happily, watching the snow fall down on the figure inside. The figure inside was a blue-haired boy, his face pale and sharp, arms crossed over his chest. He wore a white dress top, black pants and a tie, part of the end of which was tucked into his pants, the very tip just showing. But his eyes struck Demyx the most. Those grey-blue eyes that stared at his through the glass he held in his hands.

In a flash of a second, everything came back to him.

His face distorted, his hand clutched his burning heart and he fell to the ground, other hand holding his head. His heart felt like it was tearing in two, then each of those halves ripping in half again, then again, then sewing themselves back together just to break again. "Oh, Zexion!" He cried, his voice breaking, tears falling down his face.

He pressed his forehead against the ground, clutching his chest. An overwhelming flow of emotions surged through him, as though they were angry at him for ignoring them for so long, as though he was making up for three months of grieving.

Everything passed through his mind, the happy moments that finally felt like they belonged, the moments where he felt that Zexion had abandoned him for sure, only to find him standing at his doorstep moments later asking for a shelter from his parents. He remembered the moment they were drafted into the war, the way that Zexion's face had hardened at the thought of killing, and being with other people that killed.

He remembered how Zexion had kept their group out of trouble, doing everything that they themselves forgot to do. He remembered how they'd all lay down at the end of the day and try to get to sleep, how Zexion would lie next to him and whisper words of comfort until he fell asleep.

But most of all, he remembered those eyes. He remembered them as they laughed when he fell into a ditch. He remembered them as Zexion saved him from yet another one of the enemy's bullets, the relief that flooded through them as he realized Demyx was still alive. He remembered them as Zexion lay there dying, trying to show him everything he'd kept inside for so long.

He remembered it, again and again. No matter what he did, the memory pushed itself to the front of his mind, look at me! Look at me!

Demyx couldn't take it. The emotions were too much. Too much. He wanted to do something -- needed to do something. But he couldn't. He was paralyzed there, clutching the snow globe to his chest.

Axel and Riku weren't fast enough. They couldn't stop him as he jumped up, desperate to get away from it all. Demyx ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

The other two were behind him in the next second, banging against the door. For a few intense seconds, there wasn't a noise from behind that door. Not a sound came, nothing. And then, slowly, the door opened a sliver, and Axel threw himself at it, charging inside and bowling Demyx over in his attempt to get to him.

Demyx lay on the floor, Axel on top of him with Riku joining in the next second. "Demyx!" Axel gasped, tears trickling down his face to join with the blond's. "We're sorry! We didn't mean to hurt you or anything, we swear!"

Demyx was still crying, and it was hard for him to speak next. "Th-That's okay, Axel. I-I... Love it. It was the b-best thing you could g-get me..." He looked at it, and the love that was there couldn't be mistaken for anything else but that. "B-But, look. Look what I have."

Axel and Riku clambered off sitting next to Demyx. The boy held up a photo, Leon flicking on the lights so the three of them could see.

There, in the photo, was the six of them, all in school uniforms, what looked like the last day of school. On the right was Riku and Sora, Sora up on Riku's shoulders trying to get an apple from the tree above them. On the left was Axel and Roxas, Axel clinging onto Roxas -- much to the blond's dismay -- and tugging on a few of the blond spikes, Roxas trying his hardest to push him away and failing miserably. And right there, in the middle, were Demyx and Zexion, Demyx hugging him from behind, his head on Zexion's shoulder and his hand raised in the 'peace' sign. Zexion was smiling, laughing, forming his own peace sign.

It was their last day of freedom, last day of happiness, before they were all destined to die.

.Snowglobe.

Demyx never once let go of the snow globe. Even in the months after Christmas, he never let it go. He felt that, by clutching this trinket that Riku and Axel had both put a little of themselves into, his heart could convince him that Zexion was a little more real than his mind said he was.

.Snowglobe.|.END.