A/N: Hello, everyone! ! Sorry, I feel like this took a tad longer than it was supposed to. 9 m 9 Anyway! Really excited about this chapter because there's finally some plot instead of just fluffy chapters lmfao
Heads up: there are some lyrics in this chapter. The song Demyx sings is Bright Whites by Kishi Bashi. I really recommend you give it a listen! Actually, y'know, originally it was going to be a different song, but a couple weeks ago I was listening to it while working on a different chapter and my jaw nearly fell to the ground SOOOO I decided to change it. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! u w u (and don't kill me too much haahahahaha)
June 21st
Several months went by in almost a blur. Zexion found himself getting closer to Demyx, opening up more than he ever had with anyone else. There was a certain something about the blond's eyes. They held so much warmth. He just had to look at Demyx and any pent-up stress disappeared. It was how he'd gotten through graduation without tearing his hair out. Zexion was one to bottle up his feelings and frustrations. Having someone to go to who could just make all that frustration melt away was like a breath of fresh air.
More often than not, Zexion found himself waking up in Demyx's apartment, sometimes naked, sometimes not, sometimes with a sore back, sometimes not. Always with some kind of mark he had to hide, or he'd be jeered and taunted by a certain insufferable redhead.
They never went to Zexion's apartment. Demyx didn't ask questions. Zexion supposed it was better like that. Demyx's apartment was becoming somewhat of a second home for him, and it really showed. Evidence of his settling in became startlingly apparent when he had the entire place deep cleaned only a week after they started dating. He refused to sleep in a place covered with dust, after all. It took Demyx a little while to get used to his apartment being cleaner than it had been when he started living there. Settled next to Demyx's sitar was a stack of Zexion's favorite books, in the corner near the door were Zexion's oxfords, in the dresser, neatly folded, were Zexion's clothes. When Axel and Roxas came over to visit, they hardly recognized the place.
There was something special about the summer, it seemed. Demyx's constant pleading to go to the beach and Zexion's constant grumbling about how hot it was filled the air of every day. If they lived in the country, they would have slept with the windows open so they could hear the crickets chirping and the breeze whistling through the trees. Instead, all they got was sirens, cars honking, and bright city lights. It got so hot one day that the couple decided to take a cooler of ice and drinks to Axel and Roxas's place and sit around in air conditioning all day. That summer was when a shocked and appalled Demyx discovered Zexion had never made a pillow fort. Sitting under a canopy of sheets and surrounded by blankets and pillows, the two fell asleep with a discarded bowl of popcorn and a laptop still playing some cartoon movie.
Something had probably possessed Demyx, at least that was the most logical explanation Zexion was able to think up. Of all things, Demyx thought it would be a good idea to meet up at the fountain for a date. Zexion couldn't help thinking this was probably Demyx's attempt at being "romantic" or "nostalgic" but it was awfully cheesy. Zexion did not have to wait for his class to get out because he didn't have one, but he stood near the entrance of the Sciences building anyway just to humor Demyx. The thing that worried Zexion the most was how Demyx had very adamantly refused to tell him what they would be doing.
Zexion was hardly surprised when he saw Demyx sitting down on the edge of the fountain waiting for him. Straightening out any wrinkles in his clothing, Zexion made his way over to the blond. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd checked for wrinkles; he didn't have to impress Demyx anymore. They were already boyfriends, and they had been for a good four months. When Demyx heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and grinned his same old grin.
"Hey you," he greeted, standing.
"Hello. Where are we going today?"
"That's a surprise," the blond replied. "But we have to hurry!"
Tightly enveloping his hand with his own, Demyx led Zexion off and away. They tumbled through town, along the city's many streets and avenues. They cut through alleys, up stairs and down. Zexion felt his eyebrow wrinkle, fed up with this wild goose chase.
"Demyx, where are we going?" he asked.
"I told you, it's a surprise!" the blond answered back with a wink. Zexion huffed in annoyance.
A few minutes later, Demyx led Zexion down into the subway. Demyx was bouncing next to the track, obviously excited about wherever they were going. Zexion had to pull him away from the yellow line several times, chastising him like a child each time. Unlike their aquarium date, there were many available spots on the train, and the two sat down near the door. Once the doors opened, Demyx took Zexion's hand and they sped off once more.
Soon, they entered a large brick building that Zexion could only deduce was a club of some sort. Pulling Zexion inside and pushing past a line of people, Demyx took out a card from his pocket. A man at the front of the line with a hole puncher caught sight of Demyx and smiled. He had long, black dreadlocks and a set of the largest sideburns Zexion had ever laid eyes on.
"Hey there, blondie," he greeted.
"Give him a good spot," Demyx said, patting the man on the shoulder, and pushed Zexion at him before hurrying off somewhere. Zexion gave the man a confused look and received a shrug in response.
Another man came in and led Zexion inside, taking him to the front of an empty stage. What in the world was Demyx thinking? After a long wait, Zexion was already nearly deaf from some CD blasting through the speakers around him. Not only was this place loud, but it was filthy and smelled strongly of vomit, alcohol, and testosterone. Some sweaty guy bumped into Zexion and almost spilled his drink all over him. Zexion didn't know what Demyx was up to, but it had better be worth whatever he was going through.
Suddenly a barrage of lights came on, the crowd's screaming got louder, and fog machines turned on, spreading billows of fog all across the stage. The sounds of instruments warming up came through the speakers. A man who was obviously drunk came on stage and started yelling something into the mic at the audience, though Zexion didn't pay attention. He was saying how the first act had CDs for sale out front or something along those lines. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman with striking electric blonde hair get up on someone's shoulders and give a loud woop, flinging what appeared to be a bra into the crowd. Zexion frowned in distaste.
Zexion's attention was finally caught by the man on stage when he yelled out Melodious Nocturne, but he wasn't entirely sure if he'd heard right. Four figures ran on stage as he was leaving. Beyond the fog and lights, they looked very familiar, but Zexion couldn't see them well enough to tell who they were. The one who supposedly sang lead vocals and played guitar grabbed the mic and started talking.
"Hello, Hollow Bastion!" cheered a very familiar voice. Too familiar. Oh no.
Zexion buried his face in his hands once he realized it was Demyx up on that stage.
"Thanks for coming to the show, everyone!" the blond continued.
No, he couldn't be mistaken. Not even that stupid hair could be misplaced. It was definitely Demyx. The very ridiculous blond up on stage scanned the front row for a spot of slate hair he was sure would be mostly obscured by other bodies. Once catching his eye, Demyx threw a wink at Zexion, which only earned him crossed arms and an eyebrow raise. Upon closer inspection, Zexion spied Roxas sitting behind the drums, Axel donning a guitar, and Xigbar strapping on a bass.
"There's a very special person in the audience this evening," Demyx started, voice smooth as he warmed up his instrument. Zexion's jaw dropped. "He's pretty grouchy all the time, so I thought I'd show him how to loosen up. We'll be playing a set of seven tonight, so let's go."
With that all said, Demyx and his band took their positions and the music freely flowed. Although he'd heard these songs countless times, be it on their EP or alone in Demyx's apartment, nothing could possibly beat what was happening on stage. The live performance was unlike any recorded single Zexion could have heard from them, unlike any acoustic guitar session at three in the morning tangled up in sheets. He'd even visited in on one of their practises, and it still didn't hold a match to what was actually happening in front of him. They were amazing live.
In the midst of the sweat and the grime and the people pushing against him, Zexion was captivated. He didn't even care that he was being jostled and manhandled to hell, he just locked his eyes on Demyx and took in that voice and those nimble fingers. Letting himself go, Zexion allowed a smile to spread across his lips as he mouthed along to the words. Some songs were fast, some slow, some happy, angry, or sad, but Zexion liked them all just the same.
Once the sixth song finished playing, an acoustic guitar was taken out and handed to Demyx. He tweaked with the strings a bit before taking the mic again.
"Before we close our set, we've got one song I'd like to dedicate to that special someone in the audience," the blond announced. "I started writing this a little while ago, and it's a little different from our normal stuff..."
The rest of Demyx's spiel was promotion for their EP, which had been recorded in Axel's closet because it apparently had good acoustics. Axel shuffled around uncomfortably at the mention of this. Demyx sent one more glance toward Zexion before leaning into his guitar, plucking a chord, and beginning the song.
You and me at the edge of the world
With a pretty secret smile for me to see
New bright whites and a cage full of ice
And a naked little canopy to feed my disease
And if you're to smile at me
I could cry by land or sea
After you said that you like Big Red
I opened up my mind and skipped a beat
Cuff links and hands in wrong places and faces
And creepy little movies made me weep
And if you're to say to me
What is mine is yours to keep
As Demyx sang, memories of their past few months together flooded Zexion's mind. Up on the stage Demyx grinned and bobbed his head to the beat. The song was cheerful and childish and so inexplicably Demyx.
Well you know, I'll have to see
If all the stars aligned we could've solved the mystery
It's a partial fantasy
We're living in a land that went astray from history
You and me at the edge of the bed
Looking at the faded pictures for you to see and me to see
Murder and colonies, land without rivers
Raging in the middle of some sad destiny
Take one look to find my eyes
Safety's in your inner thigh
It was impossible, really, to pinpoint exactly when it happened. Zexion felt the moisture well up behind his eyelids, he felt prickles on the back of his throat. When he felt a trickle of wetness trail down his cheek, he knew he was crying.
Well you know, I'll have to see
If all the stars aligned we could have solved the mystery
It's a partial fantasy
We're living in a land that went astray from history
With the final chords played, Melodious Nocturne's act was over. The band most of the fans had come for was something called One Sky, One Destiny and Zexion really didn't have any interest in them. From what he had heard, Roxas's older brother was in it, but Zexion wasn't about to stick around long enough to see who he was. Just before Demyx walked backstage he took the mic one more time. Zexion would have missed it if his ears hadn't perked up when he saw the blond's lips move and spill out six beautiful, unmistakable syllables.
Zexion, I love you.
. • • • .
June 22nd
It was a lazy kind of morning. The kind where you don't want to get up until noon, where you want to make pancakes and look out the window and just breathe and blink and live. For Zexion, this was no different. He didn't want to wake up. The bed was an oasis of warmth, though a different kind from the sticky, sunny oven outside. He could be lazy under these sheets. He could play last night over and over again in his head and lay next to Demyx. He could play with Demyx's hair and stare into his green, green eyes and smile into his chapped lips.
Zexion rolled over and sighed as he reminisced. After the concert they'd ditched the rest of the band and meandered about until they somehow ended up at Zexion's apartment. They tumbled through the apartment, shedding shoes and clothes, ruffling hair, mixing breath, intertwining fingers and arms and legs. Zexion had made a mental note to clean up, but it was all dust in the wind once his back hit the mattress.
It wasn't their first time, not by a long shot, but it was different. It felt different and wonderful and passionate and he distinctly remembered feeling like his heart would burst.
Zexion, I love you.
That was why. That one line repeated endlessly, endlessly in his head. He could feel the warmth flow all the way down through his body to the very tips of his fingers and toes. Taking a deep breath, Zexion spread out his fingers and felt around. Though seemingly glued shut, he pried open his eyes.
Something was missing.
It was the heat of another body.
Zexion sat up and rubbed his bleary, sleep-filled eyes. He tried to focus his blurry morning-vision on the room but it was all a jumble of color. A glance at the digital clock on his nightstand told him it was already well past noon. Demyx was sitting at the cluttered (cluttered?) desk in the corner of the room with a book in his hands. This fact seemed so unbelievable at such a time, Zexion had to question it. It should have been illegal for Demyx to not be sprawled next to him.
"Demyx?" he asked, voice cracking and weak from just waking up, but still soft. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm and yawned. "What are you doing?"
Demyx jumped and turned around in the swivel chair so he was facing him. Zexion shifted the covers and let his legs hang off the edge of the bed. He would have smiled at the blond, but the face he was making was troubling to say the least. As much as he searched those ocean eyes, he could see nothing warm or positive or friendly. Confusion, and something else Zexion couldn't quite pick out.
"...Demyx?"
Finally, Demyx stood up.
"Why do you have this?" he asked, and Zexion could tell his voice was holding something back. Something very loud and very scary.
"What...?" Zexion asked, brow wrinkling. Then his eyes drifted to the book in Demyx's hand and his heart stopped. His whole world came to a screeching halt and shattered, broken shards plummeting toward the ground and piercing him through. It was Demyx's notebook.
