"What's wrong, Axel?" a silky voice whispered in my ear. I jumped and sat up in bed, looking around nervously. No one was in the room, not even Roxas. I found this strange at first, since I knew that the boy had wanted to talk to me. Somehow, though, my mind decided to ignore it and dismiss it as normal.

I sighed and scratched the back of my neck, yawning deeply. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I knew that it was Demyx's voice that had murmured to me in my sleep. Fucking dreams.

"Oh, good, you're already awake." Xigbar peeked around the doorframe. "Where's Roxie?"

I shrugged and glanced to the clock. It was only a little after midnight. "I dunno. He probably went over to Sora's house because he was pissed at me. He does that a lot."

The gun fanatic grinned and hopped onto the bed. "Ooh, he's gone. Wanna pull an all-nighter?"

He sucked all of the innocence out of that word.

"No. I promised someone that I wouldn't take the low road." I replied firmly, crossing my arms. The statement was strained, however. There had been a time when Xigbar was absolutely irresistible in my eyes, and memories of that time were beginning to nag at my mind.

"Who is this 'someone', eh?" He asked, smiling wickedly. "Cheating on poor little Roxas, are we?"

"Hey, I haven't cheated…" my voice trailed off as visions of the movie theater beat my brain with a stick. "…much."

"Well, are you gonna tell me his name or sit there and look stupid?"

"Fuck you. His name is Demyx and he works at the same place that I do. Why does it matter to you?" I spat, standing up. I felt awkward talking to Xigbar about my love life. It was just…odd, discussing that sort of thing with someone I'd slept with so many times.

I kind of felt bad about thinking like that, because it was totally different with Larxene. Maybe it was because she was female.

And then I felt sexist.

"Hey, I care about you. You don't have to get all defensive when I want to talk to you about something other than sex jokes and booze." Xigbar narrowed his eyes. I could tell that he was considering just leaving the room and going back to sleep. That was how he handled things.

"Sorry." I offered irritably, half-attempting to fix the situation. "I just don't want to talk about Demyx in the house I share with Roxas. Taboo, y'know?"

"Right, right." His eyes were still narrow. Suspicion. That bastard knew me far too well. "Taboo, of course. It has nothing to do with the fact that you're uncomfortable with me."

I put a hand to my forehead in frustration. "Do you blame me?"

"Nope." He smirked and cocked his head to the side. "After all, it was all my fault that our relationship ended on such a bitter note."

Sarcasm.

"Okay, yes, fine. I was the one that up and moved here. But, again, can you fucking blame me? We fought over the most trivial things – it was getting pathetic." I gritted my teeth and glanced to the window, wondering if I could die from a two-story drop.

Xigbar shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned, slipping out the door. I sighed and stood up. Might as well; there was no way in hell that I was getting back to sleep after that ordeal.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what the gun fanatic was grinning about. That devious grin was infamous among our old circle of friends; its presence was rarely the start of something productive or remotely good.

I was suddenly gripped with the urge to call Larxene and make sure that Demyx was safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Larxene?" I asked urgently. "Hey, where's Demyx?"

"Oh, he's at the movies with Zexion tonight." The woman answered cheerily. It sounded to me like she was coming off of at least her third beer.

And then her words actually sank in.

"Zexion? The librarian?" I leaned against the wall, puzzled. "Are they…?"

"I don't know!" She exclaimed, and her outburst was followed by several crashes and a thud. Moments later, I heard her again, "Sorry, I tripped."

No shit. "When you see him at the school, can you tell him to call me?"

"Sure, whatever."

Good enough. I hung up. I was hardly in the mood to put up with Larxene's drunkenness.

But, seriously…Zexion the school librarian?

The movies. The only movie experience I'd had with Demyx was purely sexual…and it ended in an awkward mess. Maybe I was being too touchy-feely with him, but he didn't seem to object much.

Ah, so confusing. Fuck relationships.

I couldn't believe that I actually wanted the boy to call me. I was usually the one that had to be asked to call someone, not the other way around. There was definitely something interesting going on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was a great movie! Thanks for coming with me, Zexion." The blonde beamed and took a sip of his soda, kicking his feet back and forth on the bar stool.

His short companion smiled faintly. "Who orders soda in a bar?"

"I do." Demyx pouted and took another sip. "It's Coke. It's cool. And also very superior to alcohol."

"You do realize that you're over twenty-one?"

"…Yes."

"No taste for alcohol?"

"Kind of…"

The librarian patted his friend on the head. "It's okay, you don't have to explain. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous."

Demyx nodded, gave a sigh of relief, and resumed talk of the movie (which was really awesome, apparently). They were much too entrenched in the story to notice the dark-haired man sitting two chairs away. If they had taken the time to look, they would have observed the strange gray streaks in the man's hair and the way he was grinning deviously at a certain blonde chatterbox.

"You know, I'm really glad that you came. I was going to ask Axel, but-"

"Axel? The computer guy?" Zexion blinked. "You know him?"

"Well, er…sort of…" The musician scratched the back of his neck and blushed slightly. "I'm…waiting for him."

The librarian cocked his head to the side. "Waiting?"

"Uh, don't worry about it." Demyx waved the question away. "I'd better get going; I have to pick my mother up from the airport tomorrow morning."

Zexion nodded slowly, wary of the band director's talk of 'Axel the Computer Guy'. Thanks so much for that title.

"Sure, I'll see you Monday." He hugged Demyx lightly and laid a few dollar bills in front of the bartender. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No, my apartment is pretty close to here." The musician grinned and headed toward the door. "Drive safely!"

Zexion nodded, but remained in his seat.

"Waiting for him". That could mean a slew of things. But the librarian thought he knew which meaning Demyx was implying. And that, he determined, was anything but good. He frowned into his drink.

"So, you like him?" A tall man asked, moving into the adjacent seat. "That kid that just left?"

Zexion stood rigidly and glared at the man. "What business of that is yours?"

Before a reply could be offered, the librarian was out the door. Xigbar grinned satisfactorily and leaned back in his chair.