My second attempt at Dem/Xig, my first attempt at AU. Enjoy!
"Is it true, Demyx?" shouted one of the older boys.
"Yeah, is it true what they're sayin' about you two?" demanded another.
"Come on, Demyx!"
The older boys were closing in on the slight, blond freshman, who backed away until he felt his back hit the chain link fence that surrounded the deserted baseball field. He was trapped and he knew it.
"Hey, are you gunna answer us, kid?" asked the largest of the boys, shoving Demyx in the chest.
"Yeah!"
"Get him!"
"Show him!"
"I will," said the largest boy, "unless he talks." The large leader, a senior, smiled horribly at the terrified blond. "So, Demyx, is it true?"
"I-I- I don't know what you're talking about," squeaked the freshman.
"Oh I think you do."
Demyx's mind was racing. What should he say? Of course he knew exactly what the boys were talking about. He swallowed and bit his lip.
"It's not true," he said quietly, but as strongly as he could.
"Don't lie," snarled the leader.
"If you aren't going to believe me then why are you asking?" Demyx could feel something inside of him snapping, releasing a sudden wave of strength.
"Tell the truth, you little-!" shouted another boy.
"Make me!" Demyx shouted back.
"With pleasure." The largest boy was in front of him, pulling back his fist, about to break Demyx's nose ... or worse.
"DANCE, WATER, DANCE!" screamed Demyx.
The boys attacking him had just enough time to wonder what the hell was going on before they were blasted backwards by what felt like fire hoses. Demyx stared at what he had done for a moment before taking off at full speed, wiping the tears from his eyes as he ran.
---
Several hours later, Demyx was trudging home, weighed down by his backpack, praying that the older boys wouldn't come after him again. He was well off campus now and starting to think that he might make it home Okay when a hand landed on his shoulder.
Demyx spun round, the word "dance" nearly out of his mouth when he realized what was really going on.
"Dan- Oh, it's you. God, you scarred me."
"Sorry, kiddo," said Xigbar. "Why are you going home so late?" he asked, falling into step with the blond.
"Detention," Demyx mumbled.
"You and Axel, huh?" He had run into the redheaded pyro while looking for Demyx. "What on earth for?"
"Fighting."
"Fighting? You? Gimme a break, what happened?"
"A bunch of older guys cornered me asking if "it" was true." He didn't look at the senior beside him.
"What did you do?" he asked, concerned.
"I told them it wasn't and I blasted them."
"Ah."
"I didn't know what else to do! They were gunna beat this crap outta me!"
"Hey, I'm not saying you did anything wrong. They woulda gotten a lot more than a shower if they'd gone after me." He smirked.
"No one in their right mind would go after you, Xig," said Demyx admiringly.
"Still, I woulda told them the truth before I beat them up."
"No way! You woulda lied too!"
"As if! I'm not ashamed of it."
Demyx stopped dead. It took Xigbar a second to realize and he stopped a few paces ahead of the freshman before he turned back towards him.
"I'm not ashamed of it, either," Demyx said quietly to the ground.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Xig, I couldn't have told them. Think of what they would have done to me, to you!" He looked pleadingly at the older boy.
"I'm not blaming you."
Demyx just stood there thinking for a long moment before he looked back up at Xigbar.
"Why do they hate us, Xig?" he whispered. Tears were forming in his eyes and he looked away again, not wanting Xigbar to see him cry.
"They're just jealous," said Xigbar jokingly. He walked back over to Demyx and put an arm around him. "Dem," he said gently, "it'll be Okay."
"No it won't!" shouted Demyx suddenly, throwing Xigbar's arm off and jumping away.
"Dem!"
"We didn't do anything to them! It isn't even any of their damn business! So why are they so determined to hunt us down like witches or something?" Demyx brushed aside his tears with the back of his hand. "Is there something wrong with us, Xigbar? Are we messed up? Are we sick?"
"Hey, stop it. Stop it, Demyx. There's nothing wrong with us. They're the ones that are wrong," said Xigbar firmly.
"How do you know? Maybe they are right."
"That's bullshit, Demyx. That's bullshit and you know it." Xigbar searched Demyx's face with his piercing, golden gaze. "I don't even know how you can think that. Don't let their lies become your truth."
"I don't know what's true anymore."
"This is true."
Xigbar grabbed Demyx, surprising him so much that he didn't fight the hands on his head, forcing his face up, pulling him to the older boy. Xigbar kissed him with a ferocity Demyx had never felt in his kisses before. He held the blond there for a long moment. Demyx could feel himself falling into the vortex of Xigbar's kiss, loosing sight of everything else that had mattered moments ago. It was all sliding into dark unimportance. There was just Xigbar and himself, just Xigbar's hands on his face, just Xigbar's lips on his.
Demyx pulled away. He was crying in earnest now and didn't even move to stem the flow or wipe away the tears.
"Demyx, I love you. Nothing else matters." Xigbar's voice was low and husky as he watched his little lover cry.
"What about them?" he asked through his tears.
"What about them? I can keep you safe. Hell, you can keep yourself safe."
"Do you know what they say about you?" demanded Demyx. "It's awful. I've never heard anything so nasty. They say the worst things about you and then they laugh."
"Just words."
"Words can be a lot worse than fists. Whoever said that words can never hurt you was a lying bastard." He was shaking now. "Maybe you should go out with some girl, Larxene or somebody, whoever, but make it really public and then people will-."
Xibgar cut him off with a derisive laugh.
"Larxene? Please, Demyx."
"Do you not know what they're saying about you?"
"Yes," said Xigbar gently, "I know."
"So how can you-?"
"I know, but I don't care."
Demyx stared at him for a long moment and Xigbar evenly met his gaze.
"I'm not going to let some nasty names come between me and you, alright? Once I graduate, you can deny it all and you'll be fine until you're outta here and we can be together again. It'll be Okay; you'll see."
"It's fine for you to say. You don't have to stay here with them another three years!"
"Demyx, listen to me, please. You don't have to take their crap. Your friends aren't going to listen to them, even if they know it is true. They aren't going to care. And you'll have Roxas next year. He'll be a freshman; he won't even know, but more to the point he won't care. Anyone who judges you for this isn't worth it, Demyx." He took a step towards the blond and put a hand on his shoulder. "Anyone who cares doesn't matter and anyone who matters won't care."
"I can't take it, Xigbar!" cried Demyx, throwing off the senior's hand. He dropped his backpack and took off running.
"Demyx!" shouted Xigbar, "Come back! Demyx!"
Demyx did not come back. He did not even seem to hear. He just ran and ran until he was out of sight.
Xigbar sighed and picked up Demyx's bag. He took a deep breath and slid easily into nothing. He stepped into his room from the portal and dumped his bag. He went downstairs and quickly ascertained that no one was home. He dashed off a note, telling his mom he'd gone out and would be home later before sliding back into blackness and appearing on Demyx's doorstep. He rang the bell and waited. Soon, he heard footsteps and Demyx's mother opened the door.
"Oh, hello Xigbar. Is Demyx not with you?" She looked around for her son.
"Uh, no, sorry, he's not. I brought his stuff home for him." He leaned around Demyx's mother and set the freshman's bag just inside the door.
"So where is he?" she asked.
"He's, um, a little upset actually. So I'm gunna go talk to him."
"Is he alright?"
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine. He just needs some time."
"Well, alright. Thanks Xigbar. Try to get him to come home."
"I will."
He waved and vanished into darkness.
He reappeared on the edge of a forest and began walking slowly through the trees. He followed an overgrown and makeshift path until the trees again to thin and he could hear splashing water. As the lake came into view, he could see the water doing fantastic things although he could not see Demyx. Xigbar walked around the edge of the lake to a clump of trees where a large, flat rock provided a place to sit and, if you were Demyx, control the water.
Xigbar stopped a little ways away from where he knew Demyx sat even though the trees blocked the blond from site. He watched the water rise and fall, the shapes forming and collapsing. Several foamy horses galloped across the lake for a moment only to fall into its depth and be replaced by fish, which leapt from the water and fell away again. People appeared and seemed to attack one another, or maybe they were dancing. They collapsed before Xigbar could get a good look. Suddenly, the whole lake burst upwards. Xigbar gasped, but the sound was lost in the roar of the water as it shot upward only to cash back down. Somehow the splash only went up and did not touch anything beyond the lake's bank.
Still Xigbar waited. He knew Demyx had gotten some of his anger out. However, he knew how the kid worked and, sure enough, a slow, sad melody began to weave its way through the trees, echoing around the water. Xigbar stood silently, listening to Demyx play until he felt the music physically wrap around him and pull him to where the freshman sat with his sitar.
Demyx did not look up as the music pulled Xigbar forward to stand beside the rock. He kept playing and, after a minute, he spoke.
"I knew you'd come."
"I couldn't very well have just let you go."
The silence between them was filled with the music that flowed from the blue sitar.
"I wrote this, you know."
"Yeah." Xigbar doubted that Demyx played anything written by other people anymore and everything he played was far more beautiful than any published song Xigbar had ever come across.
"I wrote something for you once," the musician mused. For a moment the music changed. It lifted, soaring beautiful and strong, but almost at once if fell back into the sad melody again. "I've never played it for anyone though."
"Why not?" asked Xigbar. Everything the kid wrote was amazing, even when he was just messing around.
"It wasn't good enough." The music seemed to scrape against the bottom of deep water, compressed and maybe even drowning, but not struggling. It was so beautifully sad and the musician did not even seem to be paying it any attention.
"All your stuff's incredible."
"Maybe. But it wasn't enough."
"Can I hear it?"
"No."
Xigbar had expected that, but it still made him sad.
"Demyx," Xigbar began, sitting down next to him on the large rock. "Demyx, I'm sorry they hurt you. This doesn't have to go on if that's easier for you." He hated to say it, but Demyx was right, he did have three more years in that school and Xigbar would do whatever it took to protect his little musician.
"I know."
"I want to do what's best for you. Do you want this to be all over? We can make it like it never happened. People forget so quickly." It hurt to say this and he wasn't sure if by "people" he meant the kids who were taking about them at school or Demyx.
"I know."
"So what do you want, Demyx?"
Demyx did not answer. He played the slow, sad music, staring at the lake as if he could see the melody dancing above its surface. Xigbar watched the blond. He could think of nothing worse than losing him, expect knowing that Demyx was suffering because of him. He would let him go if he had to. Demyx needn't know how much it hurt.
The musician finished his song and stopped playing. He watched the music fade into the still water as silence filled the air. The sitar faded away into cool, moist air. When he finally spoke he did not take his eyes off the water.
"I want to be able to play your song," he said.
"What?" asked Xigbar who had no idea what he was talking about.
"I want to be able to sit outside at school and play your song and when people ask me what I'm playing I want to able to tell him. I want it to not matter, but to matter more than anything in the world."
Xigbar nodded. Although the words seemed odd, he knew exactly what Demyx meant and he wanted exactly the same thing.
"Demyx." He sadly watched the sea-blue eyes as the younger boy struggled to control his ragged emotions. Xigbar silently watched this battle for what felt like years until the blond musician's emotions got the better of him.
"Xig, I'm sorry!" cried Demyx, his reverie breaking as he threw himself into Xigbar's strong arms and clung to him.
"It's Okay," said the senior, holding onto the shaking freshman, rubbing his back and trying to calm him down. "It's Okay." He buried his face in the spiky, blond hair and bit his lip. He knew he could be strong for Demyx, but inside he felt just as awful as the kid looked. He still wasn't sure what Demyx would do, but whatever it was, he knew he would always stand behind him.
---
The next day at school seem to last forever. It was Friday, the day their schedules prevented them from even seeing each other in the halls. Xigbar was distracted all day. He answered questions wrong in classes and almost went into the wrong room several times. When the final bell rang, he was so desperate to find Demyx that he went straight to the blond's locker instead of his own.
Freshman scattered at the site of him, but Demyx was nowhere to be seen. Demyx's wide-eyed "locker buddy" told the large senior that Demyx had already gotten his books and gone.
Xigbar sighed and headed off to his own locker. He collected his stuff and started off towards home convinced he would never see Demyx again. However, when he got outside he froze. He was sure that over the din for students excited for the weekend he could hear that ethereal music that could come from only one instrument and it sure wasn't one that could be found in the school band.
Xigbar followed the music to picnic tables out behind the cafeteria. A small knot of people was gathered around someone who was sitting cross-legged on the furthest table. Even from a distance, Xigbar could see the blue sitar and the blond hair.
He moved slowly towards the people, led by the music, but stopped, half-hidden behind a tree. He had never heard anything like this music, even from Demyx. It was beautiful, full of a powerful joy. It was strong, but made of laughter and love. There was a fierce, possessive undercurrent to it all. Xigbar could not describe the music as it seemed to flow inside him, filling his whole body and soul. It was perfect.
Even as he watched, more people gathered around the musician, including some of the boys Xigbar was sure had attacked Demyx the day before. The all stood entranced by the music.
"What is it, Demyx?" someone asked.
"Just something I wrote," he replied without looking up from his sitar.
"What's it called?" asked a large senior with a reputation for leading a gang that liked to beat up freshman.
Demyx glanced up at the sound of his voice and smiled ever so slightly. He held out one perfectly dissonant chord of ecstasy as he answered.
"When Xigbar Laughs," said Demyx calmly, before launching into the second part of the song, which seemed to Xigbar, if possible, even more amazing that the first.
When he finished the song, everyone clapped and Xigbar saw Demyx's sea-blue eyes searching the crowd. However, he didn't seem to find what he was looking for and he began to play again, just messing around this time, playing the stray notes that fell into his lap.
The students and teachers began to disperse. Some called out congratulations or asked where he was going to music school. Demyx blushed politely, but did not answer. He kept his eyes on the strings as he felt out interesting chords. At last, all the people had gone and Xigbar approached Demyx.
The blond looked up at the sound of footsteps and his face split open in an involuntary, yet shining smiling.
"Xigbar! Did- did you hear me play?" he asked as his fingers became still on the strings of his sitar. He looked anxious. He hadn't seen Xigbar in the crowd of people watching him so maybe he hadn't heard. Maybe he hadn't heard the name of the song.
"Yeah, I heard most of it, I think."
Their gazes met and Demyx understood that Xigbar knew the name of the song.
"Did you like it?" he asked nervously.
"Did I like it? Demyx, I've never heard anything like it! It was," he searched for a word powerful enough to describe the breath-taking music, "beyond amazing. I can't even tell you."
"It's not good enough," he said, allowing his sitar to vanish into moist air.
"What are you talking about?" Xigbar asked, sitting down on the table beside the suddenly dejected musician. "I don't think anything in the world sounds so- so- perfect."
"Clearly you've never listened to yourself laugh," said Demyx, his eyes downcast, his cheeks pink.
"Demyx."
Xigbar leaned over and wrapped his arms gently around Demyx, pulling the small body to his. Demyx saw that the boys from the day before were watching from behind some trees, but suddenly he did not care. He was in his Xigbar's arms and nothing else mattered. He closed his eyes as Xigbar's lips met his and, once again, he was lost in his kiss. This time, however, he left nothing behind. There was nothing to escape. There was nothing to hide from. There was Xigbar and there was nothing else. Arms around each other, the two boys kissed for a long, perfect moment that could have been a thousand years. Every bad thing had fallen away and ceased to matter, ceased to be. More beautiful and perfect than the music that somehow still lingered in the air, their kiss was everything.
When the broke apart, Xigbar too saw the group of boys. They were staring opened-mouthed at the couple on the picnic table, arms still around one another. They finally had proof that it was true. They hadn't really believed the rumors about the two boys until that moment, but now they had seen it all with their own eyes.
Xigbar released Demyx, got up, and coolly called out to the boys.
"Can we help you?"
"So you really are a couple of-!" The leader of the gang called Xigbar and Demyx a name that made the latter gasp and the former seem to glow with concealed anger.
"What's it to you?" asked Xigbar calmly, easily hiding his rage.
"I can't believe it!" shouted another boy.
"You know," said Xigbar slowly, "I'm thinking that you're the guys who tried to beat up Demyx yesterday and got your asses kicked."
The boys shifted uncomfortably and Xigbar smiled.
"Why don't you come over here so I can show you what I do to people to try to mess with my Demyx?" The blond in question noticed just how frightening Xibgar could look when he felt like it.
"Your Demyx?" shouted the leader and laughed.
"Yeah, why? You got some kinda claim on him?" demanded Xigbar.
"No!"
"Then it's not a problem is it? So either get over here or clear off! I'm not wasting anymore time on you than I have to."
The boys looked at Xigbar then at each other and then at Xigbar again. They began to skulk away.
"Freaks!" shouted the leader of the boys just before he was out of earshot.
"Maybe, but we can both kick your ass any day!" shouted Xigbar back.
The boy was soon gone.
"They'll be back," said Demyx darkly.
"Yeah, it'll probably take them a while to learn that they really shouldn't mess with us. They are rather slow."
Demyx laughed.
"But they'll learn."
They smiled at each other for a minute. Xigbar suddenly grabbed Demyx and scooped him up fireman-style in his arms. Demyx gave a little squeal, but nestled happily against Xigbar's chest.
"I love you, Dem."
"I love you, Xig."
Xigbar kissed Demyx again before setting off with him.
"What about our stuff?"
"Oh yeah."
Xigbar quickly opened a portal and kicked both their bags through to his room.
"We'll deal with them later," he said and laughed.
Demyx looked up at his laughing lover and soon joined in. He could not have been happier. Come what may, he was Xigbar's and Xigbar was his and Demyx knew he could play Xigbar's song whenever he wanted to.