Disclaimer: I would own every character here, if they belonged to me. But they don't. These characters belong to Square Enix. Not me.
Pairing: Zemyx (Zexion/Demyx)
Hello everyone! Welcome to my new story, I apologize for the long ass wait since my last post, I had a nasty fall out from fanfiction for awhile, but I'm hopefully back for a while! And I'm very excited about this story as well, and I hope you are too! (Please? Haha) HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY AMAZING BETA, PIRA (namiamo on deviantart)! She is my love, and actually got this story back to me awhile go, but, once again, nasty fanfiction fall out. This is also dedicated to my friend Amber, (demydemdem on deviantart), and was originally written for her birthday. Like. Three months ago. Whoops. Love you deary! So, without further ado...
I present, Love Birds!
Alright, so this is basically how he remembered it.
Zexion was at a local bookstore, walking and reading, which had been proven, even before, to be very dangerous. He unsurprisingly walked into someone; they both fell over, apologized, and made a bit of awkward small talk while Zexion helped to pick up the stranger's things. Then they continued on their way. Very unoriginal. Very normal. People fell over all the time. They both immediately moved on with their lives afterwards and went to go do other things. Both very unaffected, both very the same.
Then Zexion went to bed that night. Very unoriginal, very normal, and so on and so forth. That's how he remembered it.
And then he woke up groggily the next morning with a bird pecking at his forehead, screeching at the top of its lungs -quite literally- "GOOD MORNING, SLEEPY HEAD!"
Which was, above everything else, very, very NOT routine and, as Zexion would soon find out, life would prove to be very original and very not-normal for the next good while.
Chapter 1
Quirky Canary
It wasn't a usual sound to wake up to. A usual sound, well, it would be a loud, obnoxious beeping that his mother forced him to endure for the sake of getting up for school in the form of an alarm clock. For some reason though, loud beeping wasn't the sound shaking him from his sleep. It was more like a twitter. A loud, beeping twitter, intent on popping his eardrums and making them bleed morning happiness like maple syrup oozing from a waffle.
Except, Zexion never woke up to waffles, or syrup; Just a short, strict beeping radiating from the godforsaken alarm clock, announcing that it was time for him to start getting dressed. Then eat a granola bar. Then go to school. Then be in the library, or with his friends, or something. Then come home, and do some homework, and eat some dinner, and study, and life would be normal before he set the godforsaken alarm clock again, and go back to bed. Rinse and repeat: The ever-so-exciting life of Zexion Ayzman. That's what beeping meant. Beeping was, obviously, very routine for Zexion.
Again, Zexion usually never woke up to waffles, or syrup. However, he usually didn't wake up to tiny little birds pecking at his forehead and greeting (screaming) 'good morning sleepy head' either.
So, as Zexion Ayzman panicked, swatted, fell off his bed, and rolled onto his plush blue carpet whilst the little birdie screamed, waffles were looking pretty likely at that moment.
The tiny little bird shrieked and streaked throughout the room, screaming in a way Zexion was sure would wake up his parents if his own panic hadn't. What the hell was a bird doing in his room? Hell, why was a bird wishing him a good morning, and why did it smell like waffles and syrup, and why weren't things making sense? He picked up his desk lamp, preparing to strike down on the hysteric bird, when it suddenly stopped and looked at him straight in the eye.
Christ, a bird and him were keeping a steady gaze.
"Get out of here!" he shooed, flicking his wrist at the bird, the other still holding the lamp above his head. Birds contracted sicknesses, maybe it had bird flu, he had to be careful. He opened his window, and pointed outside, glaring at the little bird. "Get out, go!"
The tiny thing, though, swooped over to perch on Zexion's bed, smiling innocently at him. "No." it chirped.
… Zexion slid back onto the floor, relinquishing his lamp. "… What'd you say?"
The birdie rolled it's eyes and hopped onto the floor, coming to a stop near Zexion's PJ'd leg. "I said no."
"I meant why are you talking?" This was a really unusual morning. … This was a really unusual bird.
"… Because I can?" The little yellow bird lifted herself into the air to hover directly in front of Zexion's face, forcing him to move his head back a little in panic, and hit his head against his wall. Maybe the bird had swine flu and mutated… into a talking bird.
… Because God only knew how many times Zexion had seen that happen.
"So, talking bird," Zexion started off cautiously, ignoring the stinging behind his eyes. "Um. S-shouldn't you be at the circus or something? How are you speaking?"
"I guess I have bird-esque vocal chords? I'm not sure… It's kind of a mystery." the canary shrugged. "It doesn't really matter though, does it? I mean, I'm talking. You're talking. That's really all there is to it, right, Zexion?"
He blinked. "How do you know my name?"
"Obviously, I'm not really talking, and I'm not really a bird, and I'm not really here, and you know that. You're smart! I'm part of you!" the birdie paused, "…In a matter of speaking. I mean I'm obviously not your arm or something…"
"Are you implying I'm part Tweety Bird?" Zexion asked skeptically.
The not-Tweety Bird deadpanned a flat "I'm a canary," and Zexion cocked his eyebrow.
"I apologize if I'm not up to date with my aviary creatures." he deadpanned straight back. "Now. I'm part canary?"
"If you want to look at it that way, I suppose." the canary peered around to his bedspread. "This is a really nice room…"
Zexion laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head in modesty, "Thanks?"
"You like to read, hm? Huh. I've always wondered why you were so smart. Your brain is kinda empty…" The bird turned midair to look at the large bookcase engulfing the entire west side of Zexion's room. The teen rolled his eyes in aggravation.
"I'm Naminé."
The teen relaxed, caught a bit off guard, then blinked and drew back his slate curtain bang to look at the petite bird closer. "Naminé?" The birdie nodded and fluttered around, even at eye level, Zexion couldn't believe his eyes. "A-and you can talk?"
The canary furrowed it's eyebrows- bird brows?- at him and he drew back. "I'm a girl, not a desk." … And as far as Zexion could tell, it was true. Naminé had a head of shiny blond hair falling over her dandelion feathers, framing her orange beak and blue eyes. Zexion apologized.
"Naminé, why are you here?"
At this point, Nami smiled a very sweet, hopeful smile. "Because of Demyx!"
"…What?"
"I'm here to make you two fall in love!"
"… What?"
Naminé huffed and crossed her wings in a very 'you dumbass' manner. "You know! Love! 'L' is for the way you look at me, 'O' is for the way you make me moan when you do that thing with your tongue-"
"… What?"
Zexion's mother's voice drifted up the stairs and into his room, startling him. Jeez, he'd forgotten humans could talk too… originally… hm. "YOU GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL?"
"Yes!" he shouted down quickly, turning back around to confront the tiny mystery bird again, only to discover empty space.
"Um, canary?" he called weakly. "You there? Naminé? Naminé!"
"ZEXION! WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?"
He looked around one final time before wiping his hands over his face in exasperation. Dear God, he was going insane… "No one, mother!"
Well. That was a great wake up call, a fantastic way to start off the day, for sure. Welcome to the mentally unhealthy and most likely unstable. Here's a welcome bird. Name it Naminé and watch it talk about sex!
The teen ran down the staircase after pulling on a pair of jeans, tugging a long sleeved shirt into place as he descended down the carpeted steps, saying good morning to his mother as he walked by (who was not holding a full tray of waffles, thank God), he announced that he was ready to go and headed out the front door to his mother's car, backpack slung around his shoulder.
After getting into the front seat of his mother's minivan, he quickly fastened himself in. What had that business about falling in love with Shmemyx been? … Was that like… a television show or something…? Or celebrity…? Someone he'd run into or…?
"Yup, that's the idea!"
He jumped in his car seat, and smashed the top of his head into the car roof.
"You can read my mind?" Zexion stuttered out, trying to lower his heart rate as he stared aghast at the tiny yellow puffball that had rematerialized on his shoulder. She nodded, tiny little birdy feet poking into his skin. "So, and I know this might be an obvious question, but why again are you on my shoulder…?"
Naminé sat herself down in the ditch between his neck and shoulder with an irritated huff. "Alright. Well, as I told you, I'm here to make you fall in love."
"With Flemyx."
"Demyx!"
"With Demyx."
"Yes!"
Zexion blinked. "And why?"
She shrugged… as best a bird could shrug Zexion supposed. "I'm not sure. It's just who you're supposed to fall in love with!" Amusement flickered in his eyes, and he snorted skeptically, crossing his arms.
"So a bird is going to help me fall in love?" he smirked.
"Exactly!"
"That's ridiculous." The canary huffed indignantly and skittered up his shoulder, taking a deep breath before positively unleashing a plethora of screechy, pitchy bloody murder into Zexion's ear.
Just as his mom climbed into the driver's seat.
"Quiet down!" he hissed mentally. The plucky bird giggled a purr of sorts, explaining the obvious 'she can't hear me' detail, 'only you can'. The car began to pull out of the driveway, and he had to shift his center of gravity to keep his head from hitting the window. Naminé didn't get the memo, and with a Ping! she rolled into the window, dropping onto the carpet like a sack of potatoes.
Nami choked, head reeling from the glass as she stumbled around and around on the floor.
Zexion snickered to himself. "You okay?"
He couldn't hold back all the laughs he was bottling inside as poor, fuzzy brained Naminé gurgled and flailed about.
"Zexion, what are you looking at?"
Zexion suppressed a snort. "Nothing, Mother."
Nami recovered and fluttered back up and onto Zexion's head, nestling herself in the soft, steely blue tresses. God, this was crazy. There was an effin' bird on his head.
"Fucking windows, I fucking hate motherfucking windows. I always forget they're there." she raged right in the teen's ear. "Fuckityfuckfuckfuck-"
"Namine?" Zexion thought.
"Ok, I think I need to explain this entire thing to you." the canary started calmly after a deep breath, bobbing up and down as Zexion nodded his head. "First off, my name is Naminé. I'm… ahem, 'Love Sick.'"
"Love sick…?"
"I deal with the romance and relationship beginnings. I'm going to make you to fall in love by the end of the day. You won't even need anyone else! It's what I'm made to do!" she chirped a bit, strung high like a bird… ironically. "By the end of this Monday, you'll have a new crush, come to terms with your sexual orientation, aka: flaming homosexual, go steady, get laid, and get married. It's what I do, I specialize in romance, okay?" she twittered excitedly, hopping up and down, tangling her feet in his hair.
By the end of the paragraph, Zexion had enough uncharacteristic embarrassment to be beet red.
"Zexion, are you okay?"
"Yes, Mother…"
Nami narrowed her beady eyes and took a menacing skip off his head and into the air, hovering at the edge of his nose, eyes impaling him like knives.
"What? Do you not trust me? I have a 100% guarantee."
"It's hard to take this in, harder to believe it." he shook his head, shaking off the embarrassment still grasping loosely to his skin tone. "Especially since, you know, I'm clinically insane now."
Naminé screeched, "Believe it!"
"I believe you should be quiet. You're giving me a headache…"
Nami blinked and cocked her tiny head, feet gripping his roots as his mother curved down the turn of another residential back street. "What's not to believe, though? Please don't tell me you're one of those yahoos who doesn't believe in true love…" she groaned, face-feather palming herself on the forehead, like she was some sort of professional.
"No no, it's just…" he took a deep breath, "there's a talking bird on my head trying to convince me I have a true love who is the same gender as me, and the bird is TALKING which is a key point here, obviously, so at the moment my life is very confusing, and I'd appreciate a moment of quiet to think." The birdie sighed, but muttered a quiet "Fine…" under her breath.
…Approximately ten seconds passed before she spoke up again. "Are you done? This is taking forever. I don't HAVE forever! I'm only here for a day!"
"Oh, thank God." Zexion smiled for the first time that morning and rested his head against the window, relieved.
Thunk!
"GODDAMMIT-!"
Zexion's school was huge. Really, really big. There was a marble fountain in the cafeteria, there was a plasma television in the kid's lounge, there were several dozen soda machines scattered throughout the vast maze of never-ending hallways, there were two floors, and at least four hundred classrooms.
Seriously, it was a big ass school.
Which, by some sort of twisted fate of the heavens or whatever, as the bird, which was still somehow inexplicably on his shoulder said, life somehow still found him in the same hallway, at the same time, within ten feet, of one Flemyx (Demyx? Demyx. Ooohhh), also known as his one true, eternal, homosexual love.
Awesome.
"Naminé, I think I ran into him the other day at the library." Zexion hummed, subtly watching the teen out of the corner of one blue eye. The bird snorted, tossing her hair in amusement like that was the single stupidest thing she had heard in all her tiny, birdy life.
"Well duh."
The blond, around five foot ten, or eleven, stood on the opposite end of the hall. One shoe toed the tile nervously as classmates streamed back and forth around him. He'd somehow ended up in the middle of the traffic flow, and was effectively pissing the entire student body off on his very first day of school. Impressive. He was wearing the standard blue skinny jeans, and the simple band tee, but his wrists and arms were decked out in wristbands, band labeled bracelets, sweatbands, lanyards, and at least a hundred of other little trinkets (was that a fork?) adorning the skin, if he had any under there. Hell, there were even traces of a blue tribal tattoo peeking out from under one sleeve.
Moving up, tied around his long neck were a series of hemp necklaces and peace signs, among other things splayed out, completely blanketing his band tee's collar. His tanned face was thin, yet traces of baby fat still clung to his cheeks, rounding his face to a point of still having some boyish innocence left in it. Concerning his ears, well, Zexion wasn't really sure if he had any left; most of them looked to be gouged out for some sort of giant piercing hole outlined by metal. Yet, his hair was the most unique of all; sandy blond, sure, but a sort of hybrid between a mullet and a Mohawk. The top was very thick, suspended midair at all angles by what Zexion was sure must've been a record breaking amount of gel, while the sides were thin and layered, almost plastered against his thin head.
All and all… he was a very… unique kid, Zexion supposed. What did they call kids like him? Scene kids? Bad boys…? Hm.
Observing the shiny and colorful blond was just enough to tire his eyes out, not to mention give him the startings of a small headache.
"Well?" Nami ushered impatiently, "Go talk to him!"
Plus, the bird had in fact not shut up at any point from the car ride to the school through the hallways and to his locker, by the fountain and/or with his friends. On second thought, her continuous spouting of romantic sentiment directly into his eardrum might have been a bigger contributing factor towards his headache than Demyx's sense of loud, verging on earsplitting, style. She never stopped talking, and Zexion wasn't really one for much chatter.
"Go talk to him!"
He was quickly and quietly losing his renowned patience.
"YOU NEED TO GO TALK TO HIM!"
Hell, one of his best friends was Sora. Sora. Also known as: Never Stops Talking Lad! Saving the day with mass amounts of exuberance and sweets! And funny faces.
Also known as: Not Zexion! The exact opposite of Zexion! In no way Zexion whatsoever!
"YOU NEED TO TALK TO HIM!"
Yet Sora wasn't forcing a mother lode of romantic shit down his throat!
"YOU NEED TO TALK TO HIM, YOU NEED TO TALK TO HIM NOW-"
Zexion hardly ever swore, only when he lost his patience.
"TALK TO HIM, TALK TO HIM NOW, OH MY GOD PLEASE JUST TALK TO HIM!"
So, Zexion wasn't really rainbows, pixie dust, or unicorns at that moment. Nowhere near.
"TALK TO HIM-"
Not. At. Fucking. All.
"No! Do you know how fucking strange that would be?" he mentally snarled, pushed to the boundaries and beyond his mental limits, "We met by mistake, we aren't exactly buddy-buddy or anything. Now, will you kindly SHUT UP? I can't think! You aren't correct right now, he'll think it's strange if I approach him, not loveable! The hell kind of love tutor are you?" he stared wildly, and what most likely appeared as the worst kind of crazy, at his shoulder.
Demyx chose that exact moment to approach and negate every single thing that came out of Zexion's thought train, with a bright, shining smile to accompany his shiny piercings.
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"
Nami squeaked a quick "Itoldyouso!" before shooting into the air, squealing at the top of her pitch just how cute Demyx was, and how much he totally wanted in Zexion's skinny jeans.
"Shut it." Zexion grumbled mentally.
"Um, yes. Didn't we, um, run into each other? At the library?" he replied awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head.
The tall, lanky blond grinned- the shorter of the two vaguely noticed how often the boy smiled- and combed a hand through his hair a tad bashfully. "Yah, uh, sorry about that. Again. I was um, buying new textbooks for class."
Zexion shook his head, "It was fine. Really." he was having trouble meeting the other's gaze without blushing. Each time he looked up, the bird on his shoulder made a suggestive remark- "HE IS SO CHECKING YOU OUT!" "AHHHH OH MY GOD HE LOOKS LIKE A FANTASTIC LOVER!" – so he resorted to looking at his checkered vans instead.
Which made it a tad more awkward than it already was.
Which was preeetttyyy awkward.
Namine tapped her birdie foot and scoffed. "Ask him something. Like. What his next class is."
Zexion shrugged, couldn't hurt. "What class do you have first period?" Demyx grinned, apparently relieved that the conversation had progressed. He hoisted his backpack further up his back and smiled.
"I have Music Theory first." he grinned. "Music's cool. And I am too. So, you know. It was pretty much like destiny." he laughed. Zexion snorted.
"Destiny." Zexion echoed dryly. "Right."
"You know how it is," Demyx smiled. "Cool kids, cool music. You know."
Nami smiled, fluttering her feathers. "This is going fantastic; ask him what kind of music he likes!"
"Like, genre? Or artist? Or…?" Zexion trailed off mentally.
"I don't care, just be vague. He'll get it." the canary dismissed, fluttering up to Demyx's face.
"What kind of music do you listen to?" Zexion inquired, nervously watching as she hovered around the blond's eyebrow piercing. Demyx looked right through her obnoxiously yellow feathers.
"Uh. Genre or artist?"
Zexion smugly glanced at Nami and shrugged. "Either."
"Well, I like anything. Music's my life. I play guitar, you know." Zexion nodded.
"Impressive."
"Just a bit," Demyx grinned, green sea glass eyes sparkling in the fluorescent lights.
"He's really passionate about his music," Naminé observed. "Keep that in mind when you're going at it like rabbits, he'll probably demand mood music!" Zexion ignored her.
"What do you play?" Zexion asked, genuinely curious. Demyx bit his lip and hummed, considering the question.
"Well-" Around them the five minute warning bell rang, the rustle of backpacks escalating in the hall as socializing teenagers got off their asses to get to class. Demyx blinked, looking around him as kids started the pushing and shoving to get to first period on time. "Uh, does that mean it's time to go…?
Zexion shrugged. "Yes."
Naminé, having returned to her seat on Zexion's shoulder, immediately perked up. "Ask him if he knows how to get to class!"
"What? No, I'll be late-"
"Who cares?"
"I-"
"Just ask, dammit!"
" Do you, uh, know how to get to the music room?" Zexion asked awkwardly. Even if Demyx had heard the slight discomfort in the question, he'd disregarded it with a happy smile and a shrug.
"Not at all, would you mind showing me?" he started, before faltering slightly, furrowing his neat eyebrows. "…If that's uh, okay? I mean, if you aren't gonna be late or anything…"
"He's second guessing himself oh my God that's so cute he doesn't want to creep you out eeeee-!"
"Nono, it's fine," Zexion sighed, turning on his heel and leaving Nami orgasming in midair as Demyx followed.
Two corridors, one fountain, and two staircases later, Demyx was in awe. "Holy shit this place is huge," he remarked, slinging his backpack higher up. Zexion shrugged.
"You get used to it."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Demyx laughed nervously, eyes tracing the infinite horizon of mint green lockers. Zexion laughed.
"I'm sure you will." he reassured, before coming to a complete stop in front of their destination just as the final bell rang.
"Dammit…"
Demyx bit his lip, "I didn't mean to make you late..." he trailed off. "Sorry 'bout that." Zexion shrugged and glanced behind him. He wasn't the only one still in the hallway, he'd be fine.
"It's alright, don't worry about it." he dismissed, hoisting his messenger bag higher up on his shoulder. Demyx self-consciously rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, and Zexion sighed. "It's really fine. Don't even worry." he shrugged. "My first period teacher is twenty minutes late more often than not."
Demyx laughed and grinned. "Here, hold up a sec," he pulled a highlighter from the front pocket of his back pack and snatched Zexion's arm, inking up the forearm.
"W-what..?" Zexion blushed uncertainly as the blond's warm finger's circled his wrist. He swallowed.
"OH MY GOD HE'S GIVING YOU HIS NUMBER!" Naminé shrieked, miraculously reappearing with an ear-drum destroying squeal.
"Where did you come from?"
"An egg." Insert two drums and a symbol here. "Now shut up and act cool he's giving you his number!"
"Here," Demyx finished, standing up once the series of digits were complete. "If you could, could you call me after fourth? I don't know where the cafeteria is… I mean, if that's okay…"
With a big breath of relief, Zexion nodded, "Yeah sure, sounds good. Bye."
Demyx grinned again, before turning into his class. "See ya!"
Zexion made his way back down the hall, heading for AP English. "See, Nami, he just wanted to know where the cafeteria is."
"Zexion, for a genius, you really are an idiot." he clucked her tongue, bouncing up and down on the teen's shoulder as he walked. "He could just ask a teacher, or meet you somewhere. But he gave you his number, dummy! He wants in your pants so bad it hurts! … Plus he wants to sit with you!"
"He never said that!"
"Just watch it happen."
"Just be quiet." he groaned.
A minute passed in silence as he strolled down the hallway, before Nami spoke up.
"That kid has a heck of a smile…" Nami hummed.
"Oh my God, will you please be quiet? I do not like him!"
"I never said that! Plus, stop lying to yourself. You know I'm a creation of your own subconscious, so if you lie to me, you're just lying to yourself." Naminé pointed out intellectually, sticking her beak up in the air smugly.
Zexion blinked. "Well, I mean…"
"Oh, shut up and get to class."
"Zexion!" Mr. Reno announced as the teen walked into the room five minutes after the bell, "You're late. Where were you at, yo?"
Zexion twitched and made some sort of excuse about hallway traffic and helping out a teacher, while wondering how in the world an English teacher, of all people, could have such horrible grammar.
The redhead waved the boy off, "Well sit down, yo. We already started without ya!"
…
Twitch.
"Hey Zexion, could you like, come pick me up or something? I'm near a big fountain… thing."
"Demyx, the fountain is in the cafeteria."
"…"
"Turn around."
Zexion snapped his phone shut with an amused smirk as he approached the blond, who turned with an embarrassed blush, laughing sheepishly. "Hey,"
"Hi," Zexion replied, "Looks like you didn't have any trouble getting here," he pointed out, gesturing around them. Demyx shrugged.
"Dude, I didn't even know I was here." Demyx deadpanned. Zexion laughed.
"Ask him if he's sitting anywhere," Nami instructed atop Zexion's head.
Zexion rolled his eyes. "For a canary the size of my little finger, you're very loud."
Nami pecked the soft scalp of Zexion's head impatiently. "Just do it, lover boy!"
Zexion huffed and turned back to Demyx, who raised his eyebrow but didn't ask. "Where are you sitting?"
Demyx shrugged, "I was kinda hoping to sit with you, I guess? If that's alright…"
"Notice how he said 'you', not 'you and your friends'-"
"Naminé, you find subtext in everything, don't you?"
Namine shrugged, "Because there is subtext in everything. Now answer him!" Zexion rolled his eyes with a mental sigh of impatience and turned back to the waiting blond with a nonchalant shrug.
"Sounds good."
Zexion stated towards his usual lunch table with Demyx in tow, feeling the blonde's grateful smile emanating like a warm light from just beyond his vision.
"Demyx loves to smile around you," Nami pointed out dreamily as the wind from Zexion's speed blew back her blonde birdy hair. Zexion rolled his eyes and kept walking.
About ten steps from the table, Zexion stopped hesitantly and turned to Demyx with a deep breath and a moment of self-preparation. What he would say next would be a euphemism for the ages. "So I, uh, should warn you. My table is much louder than myself… much louder."
Demyx snorted and flapped his wrist, "Zexion, I suspect everything is louder than you," he grinned playfully, knocking Zexion in the shoulder. The teen, however, only shook his head.
"Alright, allow me to rephrase. Have you ever been to a Metallica concert?"
Demyx blinked. "Uh, no…why?"
"ZEXIOOOOOOOOOOOON!"
The thunderous voice of one Sora Hikari exploded in the lunch room, as the tiny nest-headed brunet boy bounded up to the short, blue eyed teen and adhered himself to the boy's shoulder. Zexion winced as Sora continued to use his outside voice directly in his ear, while Demyx snorted, completely amused.
"Why didn't you call me this morning, Zexy? I left you a reeeaaaallyyyyy important text!"
Demyx snorted. "Zexy…?" Zexion shot him a look that begged him not to ask, before turning back to the tiny brunet who had him in a chokehold.
"Sora, 'Hi' isn't exactly life or death…" Zexion laughed nervously, attempting to remove the boy from his side. He wasn't budging though. It was times like this Zexion Ayzman wished he kept a crowbar on hand.
Sora scoffed and stepped back, cocking his hip and sticking his hands right on his bony hips, tapping his foot like a housewife. "Well maybe you were dying and I could have been your last text!"
Naminé giggled high little birdy giggles and fluttered atop Sora's head, nestling herself right in his wayward spikes. "He's adorable!"
"He's obnoxious." Zexion retorted.
"Yeah whatever. Introduce Demyx! He's awkward and lonely!" The little canary flapped her wings. Zexion blinked. Oh right.
"Sora, this is Demyx." Zexion said slowly, speaking to Sora like a child. …Which he kind of was. "Do you mind if he sits with us?"
"I'm the new kid, you know how it is," Demyx interjected, flapping his wrist casually.
Sora grinned and laced his hands behind his head, shrugging. "Yeah, sure, I get it. It's really nice to meet you. I'm Sora, you seem like a pretty nice guy so I'm sure we'll get along fine! I'm really easy to get along with anyway so I doubt we'll have any trouble becoming absolute best friends for anyth- Mmph!"
A hand folded itself around Sora's mouth and the brunet was pulled struggling against a new, taller teen's chest. "Sora says 'It's nice to meet you.'" The teen translated. Atop Sora's head, Nami squeaked and darted back onto Zexion's shoulder as the brunet's head crashed with the taller teen's chest.
"I'm- Ugh! Sora! Don't lick my hand!"
"Well don't hand my tongue, Ri-ku!"
Zexion leaned over to Demyx who was watching, eyes wide. "You probably want to run away, don't you?" The blond shook his head and laughed, though.
"Nah, it's fine. They kind of remind me of my friends back in Atlantica." Demyx smiled, homesickness practically dripping from his voice. Zexion frowned and turned back around. Homesickness wasn't his strong point.
"So," Nami chirped from atop Zexion's shoulder. "I um, don't mean to ruin you two's little moment, but Sora and Riku are totally in love. Just saying."
"… Sora has a girlfriend."
"What's your point?"
Sora broke free from Riku's hold and charged forward, snatching Demyx and running back to the table. "Come on, we have to go meet the rest of the crew!"
Namine shrieked and shot up into the air, screaming bloody murder at Zexion as the blond was huddled off to the table. "Don't let him get too far away! He's with you, not Sora!"
Zexion followed them to the table in a power walk, "He's not with me!"
"Yet!"
"Ugh!"
"So, Demyx, you moved from Atlantica?"
"Yeah, I'll miss it."
"… Isn't Atlantica underwater? Are you part fish?"
"Um…"
"Sora, Demyx is not a fish."
"I lived on the coast."
"Oh, so you're a beached whale!"
"…"
"Geez, your friends are like your polar opposites," Demyx laughed as Zexion showed him his way to fifth period class. Zexon shook his head and shrugged. In retrospect, the whole lunch thing had actually gone pretty well. He'd managed to get Demyx in and out without him being mentally scarred for life, or torn to shreds by Sora's chipper disposition and tendency to get in personal bubbles and maliciously pop them. The crew had actually got along with the blond pretty well, which was a pleasant surprise. As different as Zexion and his friends were, they were friendly and good-humored, so as far as friends went, they were a pretty good batch. Kairi, Sora's girlfriend was kind as always, immediately excusing her boyfriend's ecstatic behavior with an exasperated shake of the head, and an extending of her hand with a firm handshake. Selphie perked up with a flirty grin and leaned forward to give him a joyous hello (and the perfect angle down her skimpy yellow shirt). Marluxia could've cared less, but hadn't started anything which was a good sign. Riku was friendly, translating much of what Sora said into understandable English. And Sora had obviously warmed up to Demyx pretty quickly, even managing to wiggle his way next to him at one point during the feast and adhere himself to his shoulder (Nami had a lot to say about that). All in all lunch could've been worse, but as far as lunch goes, it was a pleasant experience. He could see Demyx becoming part of the gang pretty quickly, actually. "I mean like, wow. Nothing could've prepared me for that. Are you sure those are your friends?"
"I warned you." Zexion reminded him with a laugh. The two continued along the hall, moving through the crowd of students like molasses. "But, in all actuality, Riku and I are very alike-"
Nami, from her perch on Demyx unique haircut, immediately shot up into the air, "NO! DON'T SAY THAT!" she screeched, flapping her wings like mad and flying in circles like crazy. "NONONONO!"
"W-what'd I do?"
"You idiot!"
"Why?"
"He's going to get the wrong idea!"
"How?"
Naminé plopped down on Zexion's big dumb head, and sighed, shaking her little birdie head sadly. "Just watch."
Zexion blinked and turned his head to where Demyx was In step with him. The blond had directed his eyes at the ground, small, stiff smile on his lips. "Oh, uh, really? That's cool."
"Told you so. Now make it better."
"How?"
"I don't know! Figure it out!" Nami huffed, folding her wings. "I can't do everything, jeez!"
"Umm…" Zexion started awkwardly, glancing over at Demyx who had lifted his gaze to watch him. "But him and Sora are uh, really close…"
("Really close." Nami snickered. )
"So I really don't know him that well. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't even know his last name."
At that, Demyx brightened up and knocked the smaller teen over a bit with his elbow. "Well, mine's Daniels. So don't forget it, 'kay?" The grin had set off the light in his eyes again, making the green glitter, and setting off the pink in his tan cheeks as his eyes crinkled with the motion.
Zexion diverted his eyes to the ground and blushed, "I won't." he finished with a small smile, and he was sure if he'd been watching, Demyx would have grinned again.
"Kay," the blond said as they stopped at his door, "I got Geometry now, so see ya after school I guess?"
"Mhm," Zexion hummed distractedly, cobalt eyes still directed at the tile.
"Kay, cool." Demyx nodded, turning into Mr. Rude's class. "Later."
Zexion turned back down the hall as the late bell rang, marking him tardy for the second time that day as he headed towards Spanish with Señor Fair.
"You're blushing." Nami said smugly, fluttering next to his head.
"I am not."
"Told you that you like him!" she chirped, doing a midair flip. Zexion scoffed.
"I barely know him!"
"Love at first-"
"Say it and I'll eat you."
Nami passed out on the floor with a dull thump.
"So, you guys have the same walk home?" Nami asked after the final bell of the day rang. Zexion nodded and packed his stuff into his messenger bag as Mrs. Vanille dismissed the class.
"Mhm, he lives a few blocks from me. We walk most of the walk the same way."
"When did you find that out?" Nami asked, little feet scratching at the top of one of Zexion's folders. The classroom emptied out quickly with students looking for the freedom from the educational prison, leaving Zexion and the bird alone, even Mrs. Vanille fleeing from the compressing walls.
"After you'd passed out. You were out for a good few hours, in fact."
"Oh, I see." She blinked. "Why doesn't your mom just drive you home, like in the mornings?"
"She works late, so I walk home. It's no big deal." Zexion shrugged, grabbing the folder from under the talking canary and shoving it away too, before slinging it over his shoulder and heading out the door.
"Ah, I see."
Zexion hummed in response and headed down the hall to the front of the school. As his phone rang one of the boring ring tones that came already installed with the phone bounced off the vacant walls, and he pulled it from his pocket, flipping it open and answering it.
"Hello?"
Naminé, who'd landed herself on Zexion's shoulder, waddled her way over to the earpiece to listen to the conversation, and was promptly brushed off. The canary huffed indignantly and flew up to Zexion's head, pecking it irately. Zexion hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket with a roll of his eyes.
"… Well?" Nami asked expectantly.
"He's outside."
"Waiting for you?"
"Mhm."
"To walk you home?"
"To walk home together."
"Is he wearing pants?"
"… Why wouldn't he be?" … "Never mind, don't answer." The canary snickered as Zexion pushed open the double doors of Radiant Garden High, and made his way out into the early Autumn air.
If there was one thing that Zexion admired about his city, it was the Autumn. He loved how in Autumn, the hundreds of green trees that usually graced the city metamorphosed into every warm color on the spectrum, softening the cityscape into what inspired poets everywhere. Zexion wasn't a poet himself, but he liked to read it, so.
Zexion took a deep breath of the crisp air and made his way down the steps, pulling his scarf from his bag and wrapping it around his neck in one fluid motion.
"Zexion," Demyx acknowledged as he strolled up from a nearby bench, wearing bright blue earmuffs with the same band logo from the teen's shirt. Two keys behind a silhouetted mouse head, some sort of play on the Jolly Roger. "Ready to go?" Zexion pulled himself from his observations and affirmed, turning to his right and heading down the sidewalk, Demyx in tow.
"So," Demyx started, rubbing his hands together. "What is there to do in beautiful Radiant G?"
"I wouldn't really know, I guess." Zexion shrugged, eyes aimed at his feet, and the leaf littered cement. "I mean. Whenever I leave my own home, I'm usually at Sora's, or at the library."
Demyx stared ahead, shoulders shrugging as he pointed out dryly, "Well. That's boring." Nami ruffled her feathers as she giggled and Zexion blinked, watching Demyx with a scowl.
"… Thanks."
The blond shook his head and seemed to consider his words before blushing furiously, flailing his hands about. "I didn't mean it like that!" he laughed nervously, rubbing his hands together again, trying to warm them, as much as something to do with his hands, Zexion bet.
"He's so cute." Naminé purred.
"Just like," Demyx blundered on, "Okay, let me rephrase that. That sounds nice… in a quiet kind of way."
"Ooh, poetic!" she contined, "I bet you he writes his own songs!"
Zexion hummed. "In a quiet kind of way. Yes, that's a nice way of saying it. Well, how about you? What did you do for fun back in Atlantica?"
Demyx laced his arms behind his head and turned his eyes towards the clouds, tracing the white fluffy shapes. Zexion wouldn't be surprised if Demyx's mind was wrapped in clouds just as often as the boy watched them, his shoes scuffing the pavement, almost like they were forgotten as he walked. "Hm," he thought. "I uh, guess the beach? Arcade. Concerts. I write songs."
("Called it!")
Zexion disregarded Nami's whoop-de-doo and nodded, adjusting his soft blue scarf over his shirt. "Sounds fun. You're lucky we live less than thirty minutes by train from the beach."
"Oh, cool. I'll have to uh, take you there one day." Demyx said quietly, looking the other way, but still, Zexion caught a glimpse of a light pink blush dusting the blonde's cheeks.
"That sounds fun." Zexion smiled, eyes aimed at his vans. He didn't even have to look up to know Demyx was smiling, too.
The sidewalk came to a fork and the teens stopped, looking their separate ways.
"So I'll um, see you tomorrow," Demyx stated, watching Zexion watch his shoes. "So… see you." Demyx said, but Zexion didn't see Demyx move from where his eyes were aimed.
It was quiet for a second, when Zexion felt a light, warm pressure pressed to his cheek, soft, but there. Definitely there.
Demyx's shoes stepped out of sight as he turned down his street, and Zexion took a deep breath as he walked the opposite direction.
To do some homework, and eat some dinner, and study, and life would be normal before he set the godforsaken alarm again, and go back to bed. Like everyday.
Except, well, today.
Zexion blinked. Naminé hadn't squealed and flown up into the air or anything, popped his eardrums with a triumphant supernova of pure M-18 rated excitement…
"… Nami?"
…
"Nami? Naminé!" the teen called, but there was no response but the sound of his own voice, echoing off houses for miles.
"Well," he sighed. "She had said one day."
That night after Zexion had finished his homework, he rubbed his eyes as he looked at the clock.
12:01 flashed back at him in bright red and he yawned as he pulled off his shirt and jeans, pulling on a pair of pajama pants instead. As he crawled into bed, he heard a faint crinkle of paper under his head and he sat up in alarm, grabbing the paper from his pillow and turning on his bedside light.
In a light, fluttery cursive, the words "Good luck Zexion, I know you'll be able to do it!" were traced out at the top of the paper and at the bottom, a crude little drawing of two stick figures having sex was drawn in crayon. Zexion rolled his eyes and set the paper on his windowsill, from which fluttered down a tiny, yellow feather.
Zexion chuckled lightly to himself and shut off his light, getting comfortable and taking a deep breath.
What he deserved tonight was a nice, long, bird free sleep-
"Hey, are you sleeping yet?"
… Or not.
Damn it.
A/N: So, the plan is to have seven chapters, then an epilogue. I'm extremely very excited for this fic, very very very, since I've been working on the concept for more than a year. I hope you guys enjoy it! If you have ANY CRITIQUE WHATSOEVER, please share it with me. I strive to get better, and there's nothing more satisfying than a good review, but I love all reviews, so don't feel singled out if yours is some, one word review like "pants". I like all pants as well! So, please review if you have the time, otherwise, thanks for stopping by!
Ciao for now!