'Tie a ribbon around the old oak tree'
'Tie a ribbon around the old oak tree'
At the age of eight, Demyx was thoroughly confused by this saying. His grandmother had repeated that phrase to him every time he mentioned his mother. How he missed her smile, her quiet chuckle, the way she'd pet his hair when he cried. The creases of Grandma's eyes would fold as she gave off a sad smile, staring seemingly through him as she repeated, "Tie a ribbon around the old oak tree."
Well, they didn't have an old oak tree in front of their small apartment complex, and Demyx definitely didn't understand what decorating plants had to do with his mother, but he'd nod anyway. Grandma would sit in her large pine rocking chair, and tell him stories about how he used to shove things in his diaper and run when he was little afterwards, and Demyx would laugh and be satisfyingly distracted for the time being.
When Demyx was thirteen, he'd finally cracked. "Grandma," He had started, confusion swamping his eyes, "What does that mean?" She stared at him for a moment, and then let off a quick, barking laugh.
"Why, it means always remember… I mean, I think… It's a little fuzzy, actually… Well, just remember your mother, okay?" She had told him, scratching her chin. Demyx had laughed at her antics and nodded.
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At his current age of 17, Demyx thought he finally understood. When Zexion came into the picture, Demyx knew what he wanted to remember. Larxene had introduced them, and Demyx had smiled and shook his outstretched hand eagerly. Zexion's Lavender-gray-charcoal-tinted-purple-amazing-to-Demyx hair covered one of his eyes, but the eye that was showing was more than enough to muddle Demyx's brain. His eyes were the color of forgotten ash around a long dead fire, glowing blue against the color of his skin (stray moon beams keeping the ash's company). He was a few centimeters shorter than Demyx, and was slight.
He spoke formally at all times, using hand gestures to emphasize his point. He was a schemer as well. Everything he did was planned, or all the moves he made were part of a plot. Demyx was caught up in him. Everything he did, his calm and collected demeanor, it clouded Demyx's brain and left him searching for answers.
Larxene found his "interest" hilarious, often teasing and pestering Demyx about his obsessive behavior. He would blush, but defend himself.
"I'm not obsessed! Just painfully curious!" He would shout, and storm away. Zexion had run into him once, his cheeks rosy and his eyes confused. Upon being asked what was wrong, Demyx's cheeks adopted a pink-tint and he babbled about homework, much to Zexion's amusement. He extended his help, and Demyx's blue, painfully-beautiful-blue-like-rushing-water-eyes lit up with excitement. He had nodded eagerly and hugged Zexion, much to his surprise. They had been friends for months, and Zexion still wondered why Demyx always acted as though they had just met.
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That had also been the first day they kissed. Demyx leaned forward during Zexion's explanation of a science theory, and stared at his lips. They were a faint shade of pink, but weren't as plush as his own. They looked as though they would make a beautiful smile though, causing Demyx to grin.
"Hey Zexion?" He had asked, slightly nervous. "Can I, uh, kiss you?" His gorgeous eyes had met Zexion's, and Zexion could only nod.
Demyx seemed to flow through everything like water. His words flowed out, so did his smiles, everything about him was flow-y and beautiful to Zexion. But when his lips touched Zexion's, it was like a coursing rush of Demyx had been sent through his brain. He responded immediately by pressing his mouth further into his, his head swimming in an ocean of Demyx, and he was resting on an island of Demyx-induced pleasure. Everything seemed to be Demyx, Demyx, Demyx, and he couldn't seem to mind.
That wasn't the last time they kissed either. With Zexion, the best things were unplanned. A fleeting kiss on the cheek after waking up, a passionate kiss after a long talk, or a kiss on the forehead after a session of watching Zexion as he read. Zexion's eyes would light up before he did something spontaneously, and Demyx loved the small smile he let off in accomplishment after doing so.
"You know, Grandma says that if you want to remember something, you should tie a ribbon around your wrist or something…" Demyx informed Zexion one day as they were walking home.
Zexion seemed to ponder this idea, and then his eyes lit up in that spontaneous-idea way, and pulled a ribbon out from the current book he was reading. It was his book mark, but he grabbed Demyx's wrist with slim fingers. It was a navy blue-gray color, reminiscent of his eyes. He tied it into an elegant bow, and flipped over his wrist to place a chaste kiss on Demyx's pulse. The taller boy blushed and asked, "What's this for?"
Zexion gave off a small smile, reciting, "Tie a ribbon around the old oak tree, To remember, remember me."
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