"Are we there yet?"
"No."
A pause, "Are we there yet?"
"…Yes, get out." Axel said, smirking as it was obvious that the ship was going so many thousands of miles per hour. And they were in space.
Demyx was quiet, Axel not sure if it was taking him a while to get the joke or not. Finally he responded with "That's not funny, Ax."
"I thought so."
Demyx groaned. He was again practicing on his sitar. The music he played this time was a bit more up beat and excited. Axel could tell that the boy couldn't wait. He was getting excited just being with him.
"So tell me what you've told me before about this place." Demyx said, he was almost bouncing up and down in his seat.
"It's beautiful. There's lots of color, nice people, and neat animals. And I know you'll really like it." Axel said, smirking at the blonde.
Demyx made the kind of sound an impatient child makes when he begins to become angered by the frustration of waiting.
"Look, we're going to be there in a few seconds, can you wait till then?" Axel said.
"Really?!" Demyx had made his sitar disappear and was at the door before Axel could blink.
Axel sighed as he neared the world. Demyx had to be the most impatient person in the world.
Demyx could tell this world was completely different from what they had been to before. When the door of the ship opened, they were suddenly submerged in water. Demyx, though this was his element, was a bit worried about his breathing until he realized he could breath…under the water. He opened his eyes and saw a beautiful underwater world before him. There were anemones, schools of bright colored fish, millions of kinds of crustaceans, beautiful coral, and the water was beautifully clear.
"Demy, turn around." Demyx heard Axel's voice say. He did and his jaw dropped. Axel had to be the most awesome merdude ever! His tail was like a shark's only it was black and the skin shone bright red in the light. As Demyx looked at Axel, Axel had an equally amazed look on his face. "Wait, Demyx, look down."
Demyx did and grinned, "Ha! I beat you!"
Demyx's tail was long and his fins were feathery looking. They were a beautiful shade of blue that radiated to a lighter shade as they came to the tips of the feathered part of his fins that held shiny green dots that glowed a bit. The green matched his eye color.
"This is amazing!! Axel! What should we do first?" Demyx said, doing flips in the water in front of Axel, getting used to using his tail.
"Well, I don't have to show you how to swim, now do I?" Axel said, slowly swimming by Demyx. His tail was so long he really didn't have to move his hips back and forth much to swim. As much as he hated water, Atlantica was the one place that he could at least stand it for long periods of time.
"Nope! I got it." Demyx said as he dove and spun around Axel. He was laughing like a little kid.
"We haven't even done anything and you're having so much fun." Axel said, laughing himself.
"Hey! I know! Let's-" Demyx was caught off when he heard a girl singing. Both he and Axel looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. It was light and melodious. They saw a mermaid come swimming by and she had a few others that followed her. The one that they first saw had a shock of red hair and big blue eyes. The other few were a blonde, a brunette, and a raven haired girl. They were all giggling, but the red head was starting to sing a song. The girls hadn't seen them yet, and they all started to sing together in perfect harmony.
Clock strikes upon the hour
And the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away
I've done alright up 'til now
It's the light of day that shows me how
And when the night falls loneliness calls
"Are they sirens?" Demyx asked Axel, watching the girls in amazement.
"No, that red head is Ariel. The other's with her are her sisters." Axel said.
"Their voices are beautiful."
"Yeah, Ariel's a hell of a singer." Axel said. Then they both saw the brunette see them. She giggled and swam toward them.
"Well, c'mon you two." She said, grabbing their wrists and dragging them after her back toward the other girls. Demyx turned to look at Axel, giving him a grin. The brunette distributed the two boys with the blonde and the raven haired girls, Axel with the blonde and Demyx with the dark haired girl. The women continued to sing as they started to dance with the boys. Demyx smiled and started dancing instantly with his new partner. He saw that Axel was having a bit of trouble, but was at least able to keep in time.
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Demyx had decided to help the girls out. He summoned his sitar away from him and made it play the melody of the song. The girls giggled cutely and continued singing, now with the accompaniment of Demyx's sitar.
Axel didn't know really why, but he kept looking at Demyx and the girl he was dancing with. He saw Ariel bashfully come up to her sister and Demyx and motion that she wanted to dance with him. Axel glared a bit at the girl when she did so. He hated seeing Demyx smile as they started to dance together.
I've been in love and lost my senses
Spinning through the town
Soon or later the fever ends
And I wind up feeling down
I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Axel's feeling grew more as he saw that Demyx had his hands resting on Ariel's hips and she had her hands on his shoulders. Demyx was laughing a bit at the fun he was having. Ariel was still singing, but you could tell that she too was tempted to laugh, some of it breaking through in her voice.
What is it I'm feeling?...Feeling…what a word…is it…anger? Sort of…I wish- it's- Axel thought, then mouthing the word 'jealousy' as he watched Demyx and Ariel. He then wondered why such a feeling would be aroused in him. He was suddenly brought close to his partner, which was now the raven haired girl.
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Somebody who
Somebody who
Somebody who loves me
Somebody who
Somebody who
To hold me in his arms
I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Demyx and Ariel had really started to dance beautifully. Her sisters had even stopped for a bit to watch them. Their dance was fast, but beautiful still. Demyx had Ariel spin some and he brought her back, letting her fall into his held out arm. The girls applauded them as they continued to dance.
Wow, I wonder if anyone else knows Demy can do this? What was he in his former life? Axel thought. The younger boy sure could dance beautifully, even without the use of his legs. Soon the other girls began to dance with Axel, drawing his attention away from nine.
Don't you wanna dance
With me baby
Don't you wanna dance
With me boy
Don't you wanna dance
With me baby
With some body who loves you
Don't you wanna dance
Say you wanna dance
Don't you wanna dance
Don't you wanna dance
Say you wanna dance
Don't you wanna dance
With somebody who loves you
When the dance was finally over, Demyx made his sitar disappear and the girls were giggling as they all huddled around him. Demyx smiled at them and appreciated their comments on his dancing ability.
"You were a nice dancing partner." Ariel said, blushing some.
"Oh, i-it's really nothing." Demyx said, feeling himself flush some at the comment.
Axel swam to be close to his friend, "Now, if you excuse us ladies, we must be on our way." The girls 'aww'ed in disappointment as Axel dragged Demyx off.
Demyx finally turned to retaliate against the sudden action Axel had taken. "H-Hey! Why are we leaving? I could of-"
"Look, I just didn't want you-"
Demyx pulled away from Axel after they had gotten away from the girls. Axel turned to see the shocked and somewhat angered look on the blonde's face, "What? What did you not want me to do?"
Axel glared at the boy, then turned away from him, "It doesn't matter."
Demyx suddenly saw the look on Axel's face. Something had shown in his eyes again. He swam towards him, gently putting his hand on his shoulder, "What is it, Ax?" he asked softly.
Axel tried to ignore the warm, comforting feeling he got from the gentle gesture of Demyx's. He had froze though, "Look, if you wanna go and hook up with a mermaid whose father controls the oceans go ahead, by all means. Don't let me stop you." Axel said.
"Oh…well then…None of them were really my type either." Demyx said, laughing a bit to lighten the mood that had suddenly befallen him and his friend.
Axel turned to look at Demyx as he had moved to swim in front of him, "What is your type then?" He asked, arching an eyebrow in question.
Demyx was floating in front of Axel on his back, "Hmm…I'm gonna have to think for a minute…" Axel tried to ignore the now perfect view he had of Demyx's flat, strong abs, his perfect arms, and how lean he was. Demyx did a flip to be upright, "I think I like girls who are funny, like to have fun, and…and…uh…oh I had it just a second ago."
Axel laughed, "You forgot?"
Demyx gave Axel a joking mad face, "Well then you tell me what you like in a girl."
Axel was a bit taken aback by this sudden question. "Well I like them to be…I like them to be funny, energetic, cute, look hot in a skirt, and nymphomaniacs."
"Nympha-what?" Demyx asked.
Axel laughed a bit, "Nymphomaniacs…someone whose obsessed with s-e-"
"Whoa! Okay, I get it. I didn't know there was a word for that." Demyx said, laughing.
Axel laughed with him. They both sobered and then looked at each other. "So, what do you want to do now?" Axel asked the boy.
"Hmm…" Demyx said, they had begun to swim in a random direction, "I did notice you absolutely suck at dancing, so maybe I could teach you." Demyx said, smiling widely in an annoying way.
Axel glared at him, "I can dance perfectly well. You don't have to teach me anything."
Demyx made a dismissive sound, "You have much to learn, young grasshopper."
Axel stopped, "Okay, fine, if I have so much to learn, then go ahead and teach me."
Demyx stopped next to him and swam to be in front of him. They had stopped in a small alcove of the ocean. There was beautiful, multi-colored coral all around them. The suns rays filtered softly through the water. Demyx took Axel's hand, the older boy jumping at the sudden action, and placed it on the side of his waist. He had placed his right hand on Axel's shoulder. "Now grab my hand." The blonde said, holding his hand up. Axel looked at him a moment, confusion showing in his eyes. He raised his hand up and held it against Demyx's hand.
"Good, now I'm going to start moving. We'll start with a fox trot, it's the easiest dance." Demyx said. Axel nodded, not finding the ability to speak with him so close to him. He looked down to make sure he was following Demyx's lead as they began to move. When they started to repeat the few simple steps, Axel heard Demyx tell him to look up. He did and smiled at the green-blue eyes that were looking back at him.
"I'm doing it." Axel said, a bit of a smile on his face.
"Yeah, but a fourth grader could do this." Demyx said, grinning.
Axel glared back at him, but didn't let it phase his dancing.
"Okay, now we're going to go a bit faster and we're going to start turning. Alright?" Demyx asked.
Axel nodded. He stumbled a bit at the turning, but other than that he was doing pretty well still. He looked up at Demyx again. He could hear Demyx humming softly and his eyes were closed. The song he hummed had a slow, easy beat and it sounded like a waltz. He smiled to himself.
"Axel?"
"Hu-wha?" Axel said, startled. He realized he had been spacing out.
"You want to try a different dance?"
"What song are you humming?"
Demyx looked a bit taken aback by the sudden question. "Well, uh, i-it's nothing really."
"C'mon, tell me."
Demyx paused, looking down for a second, "It's the song I first learned to dance to…well, I thin-"
"Don't forget, Demyx, no talking about remembering or feelings. Just act on it." Axel said. There was a pause in their conversation, though they continued dancing and keeping time, "Well, what's the song?"
"It's called "Once Upon a December"." Demyx answered. He seemed embarrassed about it.
"Demyx?"
"What?"
"Sing it?"
"What?!"
"I've never heard it, sing it."
Demyx looked away from Axel. His face had flushed in embarrassment. "Y-..you really want to hear it?" Axel nodded, Demyx then began to sing, shakily at first, but his voice slowly became surer.
Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory
Demyx began to hum the tune for a bit. He and Axel had continued dancing, their dance now surely going to the beat of the song. Axel couldn't believe how much the song reminded him of how he sometimes felt when he thought he could vaguely remember something about his real self. He could tell that Demyx had felt this way too. His voice and his eyes gave away his true feelings behind the lyrics he sang. He had dared a look at the boy. He still faced away from him, but he could tell that he put feeling into every word of the song. Axel let the melody and the tempo guide him in his dance as Demyx continued the song.
Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory
Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Demyx had stopped them after he had finished the song and was quiet as he looked down, releasing Axel. "Well, I'll continue the lessons some other time. Let's actually find somewhere to go." Demyx then swam away.
Axel was shocked from the sudden change in Demyx's mood. He followed him, wondering why he was following Demyx who was new to this world. He didn't care though; he wanted to let the hydrophilic boy explore the ocean.
"Ooh! What's this?" Demyx said. He had stopped and Axel came to be next to him. In front of them was a giant sunken ship.
"Oh, be care-" Axel began. Demyx though had paid no heed and had bolted off for the ship. Axel followed him, "careful, there's sharks and stuff here."
Demyx had entered the ship through a broken porthole. He was instantly surrounded by darkness. "Oh…shouldn't of come this way." He could see that the flared ends of his fins gave off a bit of light at the tips from the dots there. He slowly swam forward and lightly smacked into a pole. He cursed. He then heard a strange creaking sound and froze. He looked around blindly in the dark. "H-Hello? Is s-someone there?" He weakly asked. Silence answered him. He slowly moved away from the pole and thought he saw a shadow pass by.
Suddenly, something warm pressed up against his back and covered his mouth. He was too scared and shocked to move.
"I told you to be careful. There's sharks here. I saw them. We don't want to get them worked up." He heard Axel's voice say from behind his ear. He relaxed some. He didn't have much time to relax though, for Axel had suddenly created a fireball and in the flash of light that came from it, Demyx could see a massive great white about a foot away from his face. It was slowly opening its huge mouth and its black eyes looked especially evil. He screamed, though it was muffled by Axel's hand. The pyro had launched the fireball into the face of the shark. It recoiled in anger and made a strange growl sound. Axel kept his hold on Demyx as he quickly swam out of the ship.
As soon as the two were in a safe distance away from the ship, Demyx was able to start to calm down. He was hunched over leaning against the rock wall they were near. Axel slowly swam over to him, "Demy? It's okay, they're gone now."
"I…I know…I was…so…scared." Demyx said, when he could find his ability to speak again. He looked over at Axel and saw that worried look in his eyes. He smirked a bit. He…does care…
"What are you smirking at?" Axel said, his voice changing from that of care to offense.
"Y-…your eyes…Your emotions show through them." Demyx said. He had slowly tried to straighten up.
Axel gave him a confused look. "What?! No they don't!" He said, then turned away from him. I have the best poker face in the world! How can he see what I'm feeling?...Feeling…that word again…
Demyx swam closer to him, now having calmed down, "Yeah, they do. Like right now, you're worried about me. Earlier you were jealous."
Axel turned, a bit shocked to hear him say that, I hope that's all he's seen…
Demyx nodded, "I just don't get why you'd be so jealous of my dancing ability."
Axel had visibly tensed when he had gotten to "be so jealous of-". He then was relieved when Demyx didn't say something like "me dancing with her"…what he truly was jealous of. He turned back to the blonde, "I wasn't jealous."
Demyx laughed, "Yeah, you were."
Axel glared at him, "Whatever." He then swam off.
"H-Hey! I didn't mean to piss you off or anything…Ax? Ax, I'm sorry!" Demyx shouted as he chased after Axel. Axel turned, giving him a daring look; he then zoomed off, slicing through the water. Demyx laughed as he speeded up his chase.
The chase was fast and wild. They dodged through forests of coral and seaweed and they spun by rocks and would take sharp dives down the sides of rock columns. Demyx saw Axel take a sharp turn to be behind a rock and he followed him. He had to slow down almost immediately when he came around the corner. Axel had stopped and was floating upright in front of him. Demyx though couldn't fully stop in time and crashed into Axel's chest.
Amidst the struggle of arms, stream of apologies, and pushing away, the boys' lips brushed together. Demyx had frozen along with Axel, though neither tried to pull away. Demyx's eyes looked up to see Axel's eyes, the handsome shade of forest green orbs looking back at him.
Axel could see the startled, worried look on the younger boy's face. But he wasn't moving away. Soon he saw light tan lids fall over his blue-green eyes. He could see Demyx's body relax some. Axel instinctually wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close, his smooth, cool, bare chest up against his. He closed his eyes as he tenderly felt those soft lips with his own. His right hand reached up to run his fingers through his soft blonde hair. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth when he felt a cool hand wrap around his waist.
Demyx pulled away, blinking slowly. He looked up into Axel's tender, smiling face. He looked down to see his arm wrapped around eight's waist. A realization fell over his features. He looked up to the taller, older male and saw that he still had that understanding, caring look on his face.
"I-" Demyx started.
Axel shook his head, "Shh, it's okay. If you want to pull away right now, go ahead." Axel said, releasing his hold on the boy. Demyx floated there for a moment. He was motionless for a moment, he then did something that he didn't expect himself to do.
Demyx hugged the boy tight, closing his eyes. He nuzzled Axel's chest, "I'm so…confused." Demyx whispered, his quiet voice having a hint of embarrassment.
Axel placed his hand gently on the back of Demyx's head. "It's okay…I…I'm here. Don't you worry." Axel was shocked by what he was saying. He never thought those words would escape his lips. He was usually such a jerk to people, but ever since he met Demyx…
"Y-you mean it?" Demyx said, looking up at Axel, his green-blue eyes full of question and wonderment.
Axel nodded, placing a gentle kiss on top of the blonde's head. He saw Demyx's face blush and watch him as he looked down trying to hide it. "Caught you." Axel said, smiling.
Demyx laughed, his face still having a hint of his blush, "Caught what?" He looked up at Axel. The two boys laughed.
(the first song is "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston and the second one is "Once Upon A December" from the movie Anastacia)