Chapter 11
It took a longer time than either of them expected for Riku to finally calm down after questioning Kadaj. Never before in his life had he experienced quite such an unyielding rage, and the anger sat, hot, at the back of his throat until at least half an hour had passed. But he had a job to do, and he would do it, dammit, no matter who had just died, no matter how much he wanted to just sit there and stare at the floor.
"Riku?" Sora asked questioningly as the other stood, finally, slowly making his body respond to his requests. It was past nightfall, now, maybe eight o'clock, and there was a job to be done tonight, before anything else happened. Before anyone else died. Before Cloud came back and realized that not only was one of his best friends – one of his only friends – dead, but nobody was doing a fucking thing about it.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Now, we have a job to do."
Sora blinked, clueless. Of course, he forgot in the midst of all the chaos.
"Remember, we're staking out Setzer's hideout tonight. It should be safer, considering that this monster," he jerked his head towards the holding cell "has been taken out. Also, we'll have the element of surprise."
There was a pause, and Riku saw Sora shake his head through the corner of his eyes.
"Riku, I think…"
"I'm sorry, but I really think this is the best way," he interrupted with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He was still too distracted, too upset to really smile, even at his lover.
"I don't, Riku. I don't think that we have the right – even if we do technically – to bring in a civilian to help us here. He's just a kid."
Roxas gave an indignant little huff from where he was sitting, but they both ignored it.
"Look, if Roxas's help can keep the rest of the squad from dying, I'm more than just willing," he said slowly. "We'll make sure Roxas doesn't die. We have to get a positive fucking ID on this guy. Kadaj admitting to being hired by Setzer would be a lot more help if he wasn't out of his goddamn mind."
Riku's eyes shifted, unwilling to meet either Sora's or Roxas's gazes. He hated seeming like the bad guy here, when all he wanted to do was keep his team alive, but it couldn't really be helped.
"I mean, if…" The man was interrupted suddenly by Roxas's voice.
"I'll do it," he informed them quietly.
"What? Roxas, I don't think you quite understand what this…"
"No, I understand. But I don't want anyone else to die, and if maybe this can help you and help me to get my memories back… then I'm in," he said with a smile.
Riku almost shot back that the boy definitely didn't understand what was going on. Until you've been faced with violence, you never understand. You can think you do, but you don't. He didn't, though, because the boy's overconfidence was for the best, in the end.
"Sora," he reassured his friend, "It's going to be fine. Roxas agreed. We can't necessarily guarantee that there are no other killers out there, but even just walking by might be enough to trigger Roxas's memories."
Sora smiled a little at him.
"You're pinning everything on hoping that he can get his memory back?"
"No…" he responded with a small shake of his head. That would be just like him, but not this time. "Honestly, we might have a case without it, with bits of information gleaned from Seifer, with our reconnaissance, and with Kadaj's confession. But… if we're going to bring this against him, I want to have this fucker by the balls. I'm not going to let him get away, because if he does, we don't get a second chance to pin him to the wall."
"No double jeopardy and all that."
"Yeah."
"And you think Roxas was far enough in to really give us the nail in the coffin?"
"Even if he wasn't, he's probably connected to someone who could."
"…Probably." Riku could hear the reluctance on his voice, but after Roxas agreed, he knew that the other man wasn't going to argue. And it was better that way.
XXX
The story that Axel's landlord gave him to account for the sudden disappearance of his living space was distinctly different from the one Larxene had given him. He was vaguely more inclined to believe the landlord – it involved many more illegal activities than Larxene's version, and he was willing to bet that the landlord didn't have hobbies involving copious amounts of lying. Or maiming people.
He said that Larxene had been kicked out because she had been engaging in a rough and kinky session of sadomasochistic sex in their apartment room, during which play apparently got a little too rough for the poor fuck and he up and died on her. He didn't even want to think about what she did with the body after she realized that her partner had died. She generally preferred her victims writhing in pain, so Axel just had to assume she lost interest after he died. Afterwards, she'd walked downstairs and informed the landlord that there was a dead man in her room, and would he please call the maid to clean up the blood.
That was coincidentally also the reason she was jailed.
The redhead was stuck halfway in between laughing his ass off about the whole situation and running to Canada in terror. He knew that he really shouldn't laugh, because someone had died in this whole thing, but still, dying during kinky sex with Larxene was one hell of a way to go.
The man was happy enough to let Axel back into the room when he flashed some cash and promised that the psycho bitch wasn't going to be his roommate anymore. His job as a car mechanic didn't really pay that much, but it was enough to cover the apartment if he was smart about it. Their band didn't have a recording contract – yet, dammit – but the bit of cash they made from live appearances was enough to keep them all running. The job was mostly to keep them alive between shows.
Axel smiled when he walked into his room and realized that all of his stuff was still there – it was all clean; evidently they'd sent in a maid in preparation for removing everything for the sale – but it was all still there.
His drum set gleamed invitingly from its position in the corner of the living room, Demyx's sitar smiling from next to it. Only so long 'till he'd be out and the band could start up again. Axel might not know a lot of shit, but he knew that their group was really good. Only a matter of time until they got a contract. They had a couple of people here and there showing interest – mostly 'cause Larxene's name carried some weight in the music industry – but nothing definitive yet. Yet, of course, being the key word.
If they were lucky, Roxas would remember his mad keyboarding skills from middle school when he got his memory back. Then, everything would be perfect. A great band, plus one member, and Roxas to keep him warm at night.
He couldn't help but grin at the thought.
XXX
It was almost nine before Saïx was once again interrupted by Xemnas's entrance. He hadn't particularly been expecting another intrusion that evening, but it wasn't particularly unwelcome just the same.
"Why did you come here?" the patient asked gruffly, leaning on one elbow, having propped himself up from his previous lying position.
"Pre-surgery debriefing. Legally, I'm required to give you the details before the procedure," he said calmly, taking a few steps forward to enter the room properly.
"Since when have you cared about the law?" came Saïx's response.
Xemnas gave a quiet snort, and Saïx almost laughed at the look of derision on his face. He would ignore any laws that inconvenienced him, to be sure.
"The law is simple enough, and it costs me nothing. It's not a problem to do, and it doesn't get in my way any."
"I see," the patient responded. He sat up properly, waited a moment, then stood and stretched, having been lying down for far too long.
"Well then," Xemnas began, then paused. "If you have nothing else of importance to discuss…" He paused again. As he spoke, Saïx wasn't quite able to keep his eyes off places that maybe they shouldn't have been – then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, he made his decision.
"The surgery will be at nine o'clock tomorrow morning," Xemnas continued tonelessly. "We will meet you…"
And without warning, the doctor's words were cut off by Saïx's lips on his own, moving against them quietly, with the calm that comes with deliberation. It only lasted for a moment – he pulled away quickly enough, but he noted with amusement the look of shock on the doctor's face.
"I did, actually, have something important that needed to be addressed," the patient said with a smile in his voice even if not on his faced.
"…Clearly." A pause. "What, precisely, was the reasoning behind your actions?"
"It might be the last time," Saïx responded quietly. "At least, the last time while I have complete control of my own mental faculties." He had really wanted to do this, just once, with no pretenses, no lies or ulterior motivations – just the two of them, one man and another and whatever it was that attracted them to each other.
There was a long silence, during which neither moved, and wouldn't quite look at the other.
"…It will not be the last time," the doctor finally said, sounding almost unsure, if such a thing were possible for the man.
Saïx blinked. That had hardly been the response he was expecting.
"Pardon?" he asked with an attempt at uncaring tonelessness that failed utterly.
"It will not be the last time," Xemnas repeated, with more confidence, this time.
"The last time I have control over my own mind or the last time for…"
"Either," the doctor interrupted swiftly, before pulling the other man into another kiss. This one was harder, rougher, and maybe a little bit desperate, with the edge that comes of not knowing what the next day would bring.
Their mouths opened, and it was like they were devouring each other, fighting and clashing in a fit of passion. Somehow in the confusion, they found themselves entangled on the bed, and before Saïx could move or protest his shirt had been stripped off its body, by himself or the other he couldn't properly say, and then they were joined again, kissing fiercely. Neither quite fought with the intention of pure dominance, and neither gave in, but perhaps their passion held just a bit less animosity than before.
XXX
The two police officers had decided to wait until the next day to stake out Setzer's hideout, but that didn't really make it any easier for the young blonde who was tagging along with them.
Roxas's breath was coming fast and hard already, and he wasn't even doing anything yet. Maybe he'd agreed to do this – he wasn't sure whether it was more to help out the cops or to get his own memories back – but that fact didn't mean he wasn't scared. He was. Terrified was more like it, really. Scared out of his goddamn wits.
The street was lit a dusky orange in the new light, and the fact that there wasn't anybody visible on the pavement served only to make the blonde more, rather than less, nervous. He guessed that it must have been the instincts from his old life popping up again, but he would have rather been able to see someone – because the fact that he couldn't see anyone was more indicative that the guards were good than that they weren't there.
He tried to control his breathing and look natural, but he would make a rather large bet that he was failing, and he couldn't quite feel comfortable even behind the large sunglasses and hood that he was wearing. Riku had dyed his hair with a temporary red – very temporary, he suspected, as Riku didn't seem to be the sort of person who took appearances lightly – and although the change in looks assuaged his nervousness somewhat, it didn't completely succeed. He didn't really want to die here today. He had friends now, and a life to start.
He wondered for a moment at why Sora, trademark hair not quite letting itself be hidden under a cap, was looking so relaxed and comfortable in this situation. His hands were swinging freely, and he looked for all the world like he hadn't a worry. Roxas wasn't sure if that made him respect the cop or hate him out of sheer jealousy. It seemed more than just slightly unfair that the brunette seemed so carefree when he could feel the sweat making its way down his forehead in tiny, twisting rivulets.
They approached the building at a brisk pace, or at least what Roxas assumed had to have been the building – it looked familiar, in a vague, undefined sort of way, for which he thanked God or whatever other deities might have been listening – but he felt his nerves increasing exponentially with every step, until his movements were almost painful with his fear.
"See anything yet?" Riku asked with an attempt at a casual tone, but there was an undercurrent of tension and anger running through his voice that was hard to miss.
"No, but it looks kind of familiar," he said shakily, trying not to search the skyline for hidden assassins. He tried to tell himself that he was being paranoid, but couldn't quite believe it.
"That's good!" Sora responded cheerily, trying to make the best out of the situation as always. Roxas didn't mention that the fact that he kind of maybe remembered it probably meant that the people inside definitely and distinctly remembered him. Or at least some of them. And that made him notably uncomfortable.
As the door approached even closer, he saw a figure by the doorway, then two as the other could finally be seen from behind the first. They were sitting casually on the steps, chatting – probably a ruse to distract the enemy – but Roxas couldn't help staring. They looked familiar, so familiar – and seeing them made his terror increase tenfold, until he just stopped, where he was standing, and tried in vain to say something to Riku and Sora. He knew these people, he knew them – the redhead was grinning, oh god, in a way that he remembered even through the haze of his lost memories, and the blonde woman was so sharply familiar that it was like a blade to his gut. He couldn't keep walking. He wouldn't.
The two cops kept right on walking, and Roxas couldn't follow them. He couldn't take another step towards these people. He wouldn't.
Suddenly, the blonde woman locked eyes with him, and he knew, he just knew that she recognized him, though he couldn't see her face in enough definition to see the widening of the eyes that he knew would be happening.
He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, that it wouldn't work, wouldn't help; but he couldn't stop himself. He took one step backwards, then two, then turned and bolted.
He could hear Riku and Sora's noises of surprise from up ahead of him, and then the sound of them drawing their pistols as a shout came from the steps of the building. They were coming for him, and he didn't even know what he'd done, or what they were to him, had been to him – but he was scared. He could practically feel the guards' guns at his back.
Suddenly, his vision went black, and his head split with a monstrous pain; he screamed from it, it felt like a bullet to his head although he was almost sure this hadn't yet happened, or maybe it had, he couldn't see the blood but then he couldn't see anything. All he knew was that he was helpless, immobile, now on his knees on the pavement and he couldn't hear anything but this dull roaring in his ears and oh god how much it hurt, he almost couldn't bear it. He was blind and helpless and terrified, and he knew, just knew, that today, he was going to die.
God, he was going to miss life.
XXX
Saïx was thoroughly regretting his decision to go through with the surgery when he found himself tied down on an operating table at ten o'clock that morning. He hated hospitals and hated doctors – his bad luck to be stuck with both – but he hated being tied up even more. He hated the idea of being trapped and helpless and at someone else's mercy, and he was all of those things right now, and also waiting to have something implanted in his head that would either cure him or allow him to be controlled by someone else, or both.
Not a thrilling prospect.
But the idea of being done with doctors and hospitals forever – except, perhaps, for one doctor – was attractive enough that he would allow it.
The door opened, and though he could barely see because of the position in which his head was strapped, he realized within moments that it was Xemnas and his lackeys, masked and ready for the surgery. He only barely had time to see Xemnas's hand go up, signaling the anesthesia, before he was floating in the dark, and then gone.
XXX
When Saïx woke up, the first thing he knew was that there was a throbbing pain in his head, dulled, he suspected, by high levels of medication, about which he was hardly complaining. He was probably in the recovery room, he guessed through the combined haze of medication and pain, and the nurse standing over him gave him a quick smile.
"How are you feeling?"
"Well enough, given the circumstances," he growled.
"Please don't take that tone with me. I don't want to have to calm you down with your new device, but I will if you force me," she said with a smile that served more to make him angry than to calm him down.
Saïx blinked in surprise – he'd almost forgotten about the control. Almost.
"Fuck you," he snarled, eyes unfocused.
"Sir, please, calm down."
"I think you'd say the same thing if someone told you they were going to control what you were thinking through a fucking remote control."
"Point taken," came Xemnas's voice from the other side of the room. "Ms. Shakre, please stop antagonizing the patient. And please do not imply to him that you are in possession of his remote, because I am in sole possession of that article and will not give it away."
"And I suppose that's supposed to make me feel better," Saïx said, halfway between anger and amusement.
"I wouldn't think so, no. But it was an attempt, nonetheless," the doctor responded, completely deadpan. The patient couldn't quite tell if he was being serious or not. He opted not to ask.
"So how was the operation? Did it go well?" he asked slowly, carefully trying not to slur his words despite his confusion.
"We do not quite know yet," the other responded awkwardly, sounding uncomfortable with admitting his own shortcomings. "Once the inflammation goes down in your brain, tomorrow or the next day, we should be able to test it. And the incision was small and is covered by the hair at the back of your neck, so it is practically invisible."
Saïx raised an eyebrow from where he lay, and tried to hide an amused smile.
"…You were worried about my appearance."
There was a quick silence, but he didn't deny it, which Saïx took to mean a definite yes. For once, the man was left without a response, and that was enough of an affirmation for him.
He laughed, slowly and quietly, though it hurt his head to move at all.
"Xemnas," he began, "Thank you."
"I am not sure that I understand," came the toneless response.
"For getting me out. For getting me the hell out of here."
Saïx heard shifting noises beside him, and felt the pressure from his straps release one at a time. He lifted one hand and flexed it, testing.
"We will see. If the experiment… if the surgery is a success, then you are free to go. If it is a failure, then you must stay," he said seriously as he finally released the man. "We've left you here long enough that the anesthesia should be worn off enough to let you move on your own. I will not force you into a wheelchair."
Saïx gave him a nod of gratitude as he began to sit up.
"The experiment will be a success," he said with more confidence than he really felt. He stood gingerly, testing out his balance, one hand still on the bed to support himself.
There was only silence in response.
XXX
Riku knew something was wrong when he suddenly could no longer hear Roxas's steps beside him. Within instants of realizing this, he caught the forms of the two guards through the corner of his eye, and realized with a cold sweat what must have happened. The blonde woman was staring at the boy with an intensity that said that she probably recognized him – goddamn it – and the boy was already hightailing it the hell out of there.
The man's gun was out in half a second, and he knew Sora's would be too – but the guards hadn't yet noticed them. They were on their feet and after Roxas in less time than he thought possible from a sitting position.
In an instant, Roxas was down on his knees, and Riku couldn't quite tell what had caused it – he hadn't heard a gunshot, but a gun with a silencer could easily have brought the other down. The kid screamed heartrendingly, splitting the air with his wail of pain – and Riku, in a sudden flash of understanding, ran back towards Roxas rather than forwards towards his enemies.
"Stop!" came Sora's voice from behind him. "We're police! Don't make another move!"
Dammit, they were trying to get out of this alive, they'd better not pull weapons on Sora or… well, he wouldn't be held accountable for what he might do.
He reached Roxas in just a moment, but even a cursory search was enough to refute the existence of a gunshot wound, thank god.
"He's okay!" he yelled to Sora, not wanting to make that clearer for fear of the guards finding out their names properly. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
"Got it!"
Riku thought it kind of strange that not a shot had yet been fired, but he was hardly about to complain. There was an unmarked police vehicle around the corner of the street, parked just far enough out of sight to be of use, and it was bulletproof. So if they could just make it there…
Sora backed away from the guards slowly rather than running with his partner, gun pointed directly at them. Both the blonde and the redhead had their hands up, and though the redhead had a baton out, Riku could see over his shoulder that the woman's gun was still holstered.
He picked up Roxas quickly, swinging the boy over his shoulders with an ease born of practice. He burst into a run almost instantly, knowing that Sora would be close behind.
"Please don't move, I'd rather not have to shoot you," the brunette stated calmly, with an amount of bravery that almost made Riku smile despite himself. Sora really could take care of himself – Riku forgot that sometimes. But just the same, he was not comfortable with Sora being able to take care of himself against two armed guards who'd probably been doing this for their whole lives – and if either opponent decided to pull their gun, fuck Roxas, he'd turn and unload on the goddamned sons of bitches. God help them then.
He ran for just a moment, and saw Sora turn around to run properly in his peripheral vision as soon as they turned the corner. They were at the car before he knew it, and he dumped Roxas in the passenger's seat jus that Sora slid comfortably into the back. As they drove away, he could see the two guards – don't pay attention, it'll only distract you, the car's fucking bulletproof - and he assumed that they were away too quickly for either to really do anything, because the pop that he heard - thank god – didn't hit their tires. It looked like a nearby building had been hit, but then they were on the highway, and Riku hit the gas, and with a screech of his wheels they were off.
As soon as they were comfortably away from that area, Sora cleared his throat and asked the question that had been on the both of their minds.
"So… what the hell happened back there?" he questioned quietly, sober expression clearly visible in the rear-view mirror.
"I don't know. Roxas… he just collapsed," Riku responded with a glance towards Roxas, whose eyes were still screwed shut, from pain or terror he couldn't be sure. He was still shaking, poor kid. Maybe he could have done something differently, to avoid this.
"Hey, Roxas?" Sora asked, leaning forward into the front seat and gently shaking Roxas, moving him awkwardly into a sitting position.
There was no response from the boy, and both could only hope that his paralysis would pass quickly, because they needed him. And, from what Riku had heard, there was at least one more man in the world who needed Roxas desperately.
"It's probably a psychological thing. I've heard of people just freezing up when their memories come back, especially if they're… traumatic, which I'd bet they are," Riku remarked with an attempt at detachment.
"Here's hoping that it was that, and not just a panic attack, because they're not going to let us go back there anytime soon."
There was a pause, and Riku could only barely catch Sora's small smile in the mirror.
"Thank heavens for that," the brunette continued amusedly, "because I think you're attractive no matter what, but red hair really isn't your thing."
Riku was once again struck by how lost he'd be without his lover, because the sound he heard coming out of his throat, for the first time in days, was deep, unrestrained laughter.
God, he loved Sora more than he really had any right to.
XXX
Xemnas shook his head as he examined the stats being transmitted from Saïx's brain at that moment, but didn't say anything. No need to, yet. The patient was sitting impatiently, waiting for it; and the doctor wouldn't say anything until he was absolutely sure.
Another glance at the information said that his guess had been correct. The implant into the patient's head didn't help as much as it hurt – whenever the signal was put out that was meant to inhibit, the patient's system attempted to protect itself by overreacting and putting out even more of the hormone. Which meant, strangely enough, that when the device was activated, he was angrier than he would have been, and less human.
It took him a moment to work up to admitting it, because admitting his own failure was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, and not something that he was often confronted with. And not only would that be difficult, but in the process, he would have to inform Saïx that he would never be allowed to leave this place.
Strangely, that seemed to upset him almost as much as it upset the patient.
XXX
"It didn't work." Saïx gave a disbelieving pause. "It didn't fucking work," Saïx growled angrily at the doctor.
Xemnas shook his head, but the rest of his face betrayed no emotion.
"Some subjects are less responsive to intrusions than…"
"Don't give me that," he snarled, furious and frustrated. "You made me believe that if I did this, I'd get out. Now I have metal in my fucking head and I'm still stuck in this place for the rest of my life. You lied to me."
It was all he could do to stop himself from exploding at the doctor – his lover now, maybe, but still an arrogant asshole nonetheless. But attacking the other man, even non-lethally, would hardly help his case – in fact, it would do just the opposite. He slowly calmed his breathing, deliberately attempting to control his anger.
"I did not lie," Xemnas stated, evidently unable to defend himself any better in the face of that onslaught. He wouldn't quite meet Saïx's eyes.
"You were an overconfident bastard, and now I'm the one paying the price for your fucking God-complex."
"…It was a mistake."
"Not helping. Not everything can be fixed by simply acknowledging that you made a mistake. You always think that you should be free of any blame. I know that privately you're probably blaming me or one of the dumbasses who works for you for all this shit."
There was a long silence, and Saïx's hard stare met Xemnas's through the emptiness, and he saw in them, for the first time, a look of apology.
"I am sorry. I will…" The doctor stopped for a moment, choking on his pride. "I will do everything I can to make this right again."
Another pause.
"What in hell do you think you can do?" the inmate spat, almost turning away. "You've taken any hope away from me."
Half a moment and a few short steps closed the distance between them and in all of an instant, Xemnas was kissing him slowly, awkwardly. Saïx was even more surprised by that fact than by the actual gesture – the doctor was pulling in his natural desire to dominate, in an honest attempt to make amends.
When they pulled apart, the expression of neither had changed.
"You can't make everything better with a kiss, either," the patient stated coolly.
"But it is considerably better than doing nothing," Xemnas responded with a half-smile.
And then, their lips were together again, and all thoughts of hope and of apologies were forgotten.
XXX
By the time the cops got back to the station, they had decided that for some reason, something had induced a panic attack in Roxas. Sora couldn't help but feel responsible, even though he knew it was necessary, because even though he was important, the blonde was still a civilian. He hated getting civilians involved when they didn't have to be.
Riku carried the boy in, and Sora hovered awkwardly behind, ready to help if something needed to be done but unsure exactly what that might be.
"Do you want to put him in the holding cell?" he asked as soon as they were in and the door was shut.
"Yeah, that would probably be safest. Lock the door, would you?"
Sora did so, and proceeded to bar it also. They would be safe in here – everything was bulletproof, and they had excellent security systems. Cid had made sure of that.
He was distracted from his perusal of the premises when Roxas finally made a noise, just as Riku set him down on the hard bench that the cells were provided with, and he jogged lightly over, just so he could be there when the boy woke up.
"Hey, Roxas? How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," came the groggy response. "What the hell happened?"
At the very least, he was honest.
"You passed out," responded Riku bluntly. Traumatic experiences tended to take the edge off of his tact.
"What the fuck for? And… oh hell, I remember now."
Riku and Sora's eyes met excitedly for a moment.
"Really? You remember everything?" the brunette asked excitedly.
He calmed down quickly enough when the blonde shook his head. Dammit, that had been their chance at really clinching it! They had put an innocent civilian in danger and hadn't even gotten anything out of it.
Riku tensed almost angrily, and Sora put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"What do you remember? Do you remember why you ran away?" he asked calmly, soothingly.
"I remember…" Roxas paused, large eyes examining the room. "I remember recognizing the blonde, and the redhead too, somewhat. I think… I think that the blonde woman might have been my mother," he said, sounding awkward and unsure. "I dunno. She… she feels like my mother."
There was another silence, and after a moment Sora realized that he was gripping Riku's arm hard enough to bruise.
"Can you tell us anything else about her?" Riku asked. "Can you tell us the identity of the redhead? Do you remember anything else about the organization?"
The blonde closed his eyes again.
"No. I'm sorry. I just… I saw them, and I panicked." He paused. "…Can I go, now? Have I helped you any?"
Sora gave him a distracted smile, speaking silently with Riku. This little bit of information would have to do, for now, and could be a tool if the woman was ever incarcerated…
"Sorry, you can't go just yet. It's not safe, and we might need you."
He didn't answer the other question. He hadn't really helped much at all, but they would have to do the best that they could with what they had. Any other way, and they would have given up in despair by then.
Sora wasn't the type to give up.
XXX
Xemnas was only mildly surprised to feel Saïx move against him, sitting up from the position on the doctor's chest in which he'd been for at least the past hour. He took a moment to admire his lover's exposed torso before all other thoughts were blinded by a passionate meeting of lips, and even his superb mental faculties went completely out the window.
There was a rumble in the patient's throat as he pulled away, eyes glinting in the half-light of the evening.
"I'm going to leave this place," he stated quietly, deep voice both soothing and seductive in the doctor's ear.
Xemnas didn't say anything – because the only response to that would be that it simply wasn't possible.
"I'm going to escape," he continued. "I'm going to run away." There was a silence. "Xemnas… come away with me. Help me get the hell out of here. We can go to some other country, somewhere that's never even heard of you or me. I can live as a real fucking person for once."
And somehow, without the consent of his brain, Xemnas found himself agreeing. As they lost themselves again to passion, he couldn't help but wonder what in hell he had just agreed to, or where in hell it was going to go.
A small voice at the back of his head, one he normally didn't listen to, told him that it wouldn't be good.
XXX
XXX
Thanks for reading, guys. I apologize again for the long wait, but at least this time the reason was a convention rather than just pure and total block.
Sorry, no Zemyx this chapter, they will (hopefully) be back next time. Not really much crack either, disappointing I know "
Sorry, next update up sooner.
I love each and every one of you
3 Mthaytr
