No Sweeter Poison than Betrayal

This had happened once before. Zexion had awoken to face the morning with Demyx in his bed. However, this time he had no reason to be angry with the musician. Instead, he snuggled closer to his partner, still feeling fatigued despite sleeping for most of the night. Coffee would be an absolute necessity when he finally mustered the willpower to get out of bed.

He'd heard Xion return late; two or three in the morning was his best estimate, as he had been close to sleep and too lazy to actually comprehend what the clock was telling him. At least she was safe. He assumed she'd been out with Riku, and that was fine.

At his side, Demyx stirred, the arm that he had draped over Zexion tightening possessively. The dancer nuzzled his head under the musicians chin for a moment, before pulling back to smile as sleepy ocean eyes looked back at him.

"…Morning." Demyx mumbled, kissing him on the forehead before sitting up and blinking sleep from his eyes. "Everyone has the day off today, right? We don't have to work?"

"Right." Zexion, too, sat up. "I need coffee. Now." He paused for a second, details working through his drowsy mind, and cursed. "Oh, hell. We drank the last of the coffee during the party last night, didn't we?"

Demyx grinned brightly, already seemingly fully awake. "That's okay. I'll go to the store and get some, you make breakfast. It'll be fine." He got up and started getting dressed, and Zexion tried and failed at not staring. Once the blond was presentable, he turned and grinned at Zexion. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, okay?"

Zexion nodded, but didn't actually get out of bed until the blond was gone and halfway down the stairs. He located his clothes, dressing quickly and turning to head for the door, but paused as he caught sight of his reflection in the small mirror that hung above his dresser. He looked… well, the best word he could think of was alive, despite the obvious tiredness that still clung to his features, his messy hair, and his rumpled clothes. His lips tilted briefly upwards, before the expression shattered, and he clenched his fists tightly, letting his bangs fall over his eyes.

This was wrong. Demyx… Demyx deserved better than him. It had been eating at him since his trip to the Court, which he was nearly certain was what the Cheshire boy's intentions had been. Because plain and simple, he was a lie. A lie born of fear and pain and the desperate need to avoid both of those things in the future. Finally, now, knowing how much Demyx loved him, and knowing that it was only part of what he was… It had been put into perspective at last. He had no right to feel alive after last night.

Because he hadn't known how much hearing Demyx call his name would hurt.

"Once you believe, a lie and the truth are quite the same thing."

What if he was finding it harder and harder to believe?

"Nio, run!"

Zexion scowled at his reflection, looking away from the mirror to go downstairs. Xion's door remained solidly shut, and he was positive that she wouldn't be up for a while, considering how late her night had been. Once in the kitchen, he stared blankly at the leftover dishes from the night before, shaking his head before heading to the cabinet to look for pancake mix. Demyx would be back soon, and he wanted to at least be in the process of making breakfast.

xXx

Oblivious to Zexion's inner turmoil, Demyx walked briskly down the street towards the convenience store on the corner, already knowing where the packages of instant coffee were. He could be back in fifteen minutes easily. There were a few other people on the sidewalks, but not enough to pose a delay. Until Demyx spotted a certain familiar face, sitting on the sidewalk outside the convenience store.

Xigbar was leaning on the building's brick wall, nursing a cup of black coffee in his scarred hands. He looked absolutely miserable, as if the entire world had turned against him in one moment.

"What's wrong?" Demyx asked, stopping to look at the mercenary.

Xigbar sighed. "I've hit a dead end with my job, and my employers are losing patience." he said dully. "I was told to find this kid, but I had no idea it would be so damn difficult. And my only lead turned out to be wrong."

Demyx sat down beside him. "Well, I mean, what do you know about them? Are there any clues that make this person unique?"

"Their parents died ten years ago." Xigbar explained. "'Corazza', that's the name that I was given. And apparently there's a sibling, too. My employer found some records that say there's two of them. But they've vanished off the face of the earth for ten years."

Demyx nodded. "Let me think about it for a few minutes." He got up, disappearing into the convenience store to purchase his package of instant coffee. When he returned, he said sadly, "I've got nothing. That could be anyone, if you can't find them by their last name."

"His first name is Ienzo." Xigbar said. "That's not a common name either. I can't believe I can't find them. Maybe the information is wrong. Maybe they are dead."

"Their story sounds like Sora's. His parents are dead. But he's an only child." Demyx mused. "Or Zexion and Xion, but their names don't match." The musician glanced at his watch. "Darn it! I promised him I'd be back by now! Bye, Xigbar!"

Xigbar watched the blond race away, his mind going a mile a minute. There were only so many people in this city with the right circumstances, and Sora had been eliminated from the pool. If only he had one last clue; clearly there was a piece missing…

Suddenly his one visible eye widened. Not a piece missing…

One piece too many!

The sniper grinned, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp. There was one thing he needed to check, and he thought he'd have the answer.

xXx

When Demyx returned to Second Circle, Zexion wasn't in the kitchen. The musician was forced to follow his nose, finding Zexion sitting in the middle of the main floor, surrounded by the electric skillet, the electric kettle, and several extension cords. He was calmly finishing up scrambled eggs, which he easily forked over onto a plate to sit beside several pieces of bacon.

Demyx came over and sat down, listening to the music that his significant other had playing in the background. It sounded like some kind of musical. "I don't recognize this one." he admitted, accepting the plate Zexion handed him.

"It's a little obscure." Zexion replied with a small smile, transferring eggs to his own plate and turning on the electric kettle. In response to the unspoken question, he said wryly, "I live here, and it's closed today. If I want to make breakfast on the dance floor, that's my right, as long as I clean."

Demyx laughed, digging into his breakfast. A few minutes passed, silent except for the sound of eating and the coffee pot whistling. Eventually, Demyx said off-handedly, "I met Xigbar at the convenience store."

Zexion sat his plate down, taking a sip of his hard-earned coffee. "Really? What was he doing?"

"He was kind of upset." Demyx admitted. "His job has been to look for someone, and he was at a dead end." Not noticing how Zexion stiffened, he continued, "He was telling me all about this person. Their parents died ten years ago, they have a younger sibling… I think he said their last name was 'Corazza' or something. I told him that it sounded a lot like you and Xion, but your name wasn't right…"

He looked up at the sound of a sharp crash. Zexion's coffee mug had hit the floor and cracked, leaving a puddle of coffee and bits of ceramic everywhere. The dancer was on his feet, a few feet away, and white as a sheet.

"Oh, god…" he was whispering, horror drowning his features. "Oh, Kingdom Hearts, no, no, NO! They've found us…"

"Zexion…?" Demyx asked, climbing to his feet. He took a step towards the silveret, who flinched. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"You told him where I am." Zexion breathed, his eyes wide. "The Seekers can find me now; they'll put the clues together…"

"I don't understand!" Demyx cried, worried by how suddenly terrified his boyfriend looked. "What are you talking about?"

Zexion's eyes snapped up to lock with his, and he marched over to grab Demyx by the collar to yank his face close. "I'm Ienzo Corazza! The Seekers murdered my family ten years ago. Everyone except for me and Xion. You've as good as killed us both."

Demyx gaped at him, the truth suddenly swamping him as every strange thing he had seen finally added up. "That's why…" That was why Zexion didn't trust anyone, why he was so fiercely protective of his past and his family, and why he'd worked so hard to push Demyx away. He was terrified of the Seekers finding him, learning of the life he had been living just out of their reach. "You…"

"I didn't know what my father did for a living." Zexion said, letting go of Demyx and looking away. "But he told me that if anything should ever happen to him or my mother, I was to take Xion and run. Find help somewhere. He had fake names for us, anagrams of our real names with an X added, knowing that he had enemies who would want to find us. My real name is Ienzo. Xion's is Niori, but really we just called her Nio all the time anyway, so her anagram came from that."

"So what happened?" Demyx asked. "Ten years ago, I mean. You said that your parents were murdered…"

"The Seekers… my father did something to displease them. To this day, I do not know what. But they came to our house, and they killed my parents." Zexion took a deep breath, shuddering. "They didn't realize Xi and I were there. I got her and we fled, looking for help like my parents had told me. But it was too late at night. Few places were open, and the pouring rain had driven nearly everyone inside. I had nearly given up, until fate was kind to us…"

"And you met the people here." Demyx finished softly. "Zex…"

"Xion doesn't know." Zexion said intently. "She doesn't remember any of this. She was too little, and it was too traumatizing. You cannot say anything to her, or anyone else, for that matter."

"I wouldn't!" The blond musician stepped forward to catch his partner in a hug. "Your secret is safe with me."

Zexion sighed in something like relief, relaxing into the hug. He had done it. He had told someone the truth about himself, and nothing had happened. Demyx still loved him, the real him, not the lie that he had been maintaining for nearly his entire life. Gratefully, he turned around to return the embrace, not knowing what he had done to deserve someone like the musician, but certain that he wasn't going to let go.

xXx

In the back room, the door open just enough to see what was happening on the main floor, Riku Mercuriae clutched his jacket to his chest, stiff as a statue. He'd returned to the nightclub to retrieve the forgotten article of clothing, and had ended up hearing Zexion's explanation. It cleared up many things for him, but first and foremost was a single, triumphant thought.

The fighting will stop!

This was the kid, although it was hard to think of it like that when he and Zexion were the same age. But this was the answer that so many people had been looking for. Riku took one last look through the door, before heading in the opposite direction, towards the side door. Everything was falling into place!

xXx

After cleaning up the breakfast things, Demyx and Zexion had returned to the main room, where Zexion's playlist of songs from musicals was still on repeat. The song currently playing seemed to be a mix of many different parts and voices, an act-closer or a crowd song. Zexion took a few steps, spinning slowly on the ball of one foot.

"Do you know what I wish?" he asked absently. Demyx shook his head no, watching the silveret's light steps. "I wish that I didn't remember. I wish I was as lucky as Xion, to have just forgotten that I had another name once. It must be so much easier, not having to be afraid all the time. Not having to worry about people coming after you just because of what you were born as."

"No one will find out." Demyx said. "Not from me."

"I know." Zexion paused, one foot pointed in front of him. "But someday I'm going to do something that will tip someone off. I will act a bit too much like myself, and someone will notice." He sighed. "The Cheshire Cat in Court already knows. I don't know how; perhaps he recognized me from when I was little. I try to avoid the gangs for that reason. The Angel of Mercy also seems like she's guessed. I guess I haven't been as careful as I thought."

Demyx smiled. "Well, even if the Seekers do come for you, I'll keep you safe!" It was a boyish smile, the smile of a child determined to play the hero and defend his princess until the end. Zexion grinned, closing his eyes and beginning to sing along with part of the song playing in the background.

"Please won't you change the way I am, or prove I'm human underneath… Or if you just don't give a damn, you could at least get rid of these!" Zexion reached up to grip handfuls of his hair, and Demyx knew that he meant the memories, the painful memories of that night. He smiled as Zexion opened his eyes and spoke right to him for the next verse. "If you want to prove them wrong, show me where I belong! Paranoia this strong kills all comfort and joy…" His words were slightly different from the ones in the background, making them fit the situation at hand. "If you make me complete, it will be quite a feat… Please don't let them destroy, all my comfort and joy…" He reached up to touch Demyx's face, smiling.

"Or next week you'll be gone, six feet under their lawn. They'll let nobody toy with their comfort and joy." Demyx and Zexion both looked over in near-panic as Xigbar stepped into the room. Both whirled to face the mercenary, prepared for the worst. Xigbar grinned, "I love that musical."

"Of course you'd like something obscure and weird like that." Demyx retorted.

Zexion said tightly, "You're not allowed in here. The club is closed; you're not even allowed in the building."

"Well, I'm here to see you, Zex, and I didn't think you'd want a lot of people around. This was the best time I could think of." Xigbar said, still grinning. Zexion turned pale, and Demyx stepped in front of the slender dancer, shielding him with his body.

"I won't let you hurt him." he said, surprising himself with how calm he sounded. Xigbar could very easily shoot him too, but not even the thought of dying was going to make him move now. Behind him, he felt Zexion fist the back of his shirt, and could feel the younger's hand shaking against his back.

Xigbar sighed, waving his hands absently as if bored with the whole thing already. "Who said I wanted to hurt him? I just want to talk." He rolled his single, unpatched eye, raising an eyebrow in amusement at the remnants of balloons and party decorations still attached to the skywalks.

Zexion finally seemed to regain his nerve. He stepped out from behind Demyx, though still kept his grip on the musician's shirt, and said sharply, "Don't even try to play with us! You're the Seekers' assassin! You're here for Ienzo Corazza."

Again, Xigbar sighed. "Calm down, Zexion. You're surprising me. Usually you would be clever enough to notice that I don't have any weapons." Sure enough, the sniper's trademark purple handguns were absent, but that didn't make them any less nervous. He could have been concealing weapons inside his clothes somewhere. "All right, Zexion, you want the truth? I know about you and Xion. I know that you're Ienzo Corazza, and I know that Xi is Niori. Your parents were clever with the anagram thing, but everything adds up."

Zexion took several steps back, covering his face with his hands for a long moment. It was like the confluence of all of his nightmares, finally happening in reality as well. The silveret looked up at Xigbar through his long bangs and said quietly, "And your commission from the Seekers was to find us and kill us." Xigbar opened his mouth to reply, but Zexion interrupted forcefully, "I don't care! Do whatever you have to, to me, but leave Xion alone! She was too little to remember what happened, and she has no idea what it even means that we are Corazza. She doesn't remember being Niori Corazza. So please, leave Xion be. Xemnas will take care of her, I know." He ignored the absolutely horrified look on his boyfriend's face, though he felt bad. But his sister, who didn't deserve this… If he could save her, he would.

Xigbar came forward, shoving Demyx aside when the blond tried to stop him, and walked over to force Zexion to look up at him. "I'm not going to kill you, Zexion." He stared into ice-blue eyes that were wide with sudden fear despite his bravado, and continued, "When I was given this assignment, you were a little kid, and I had no idea who you were. I didn't like the idea at the time, but the Seekers were willing to pay more money than I had ever seen in one place before. And then I met you, still with no idea who you really were, and I got to know you. You and Xion. And no matter how much I know in my head that it's the truth, I can't see you as Ienzo and Niori Corazza. You will always be Zexion and Xion Ishida to me." He grinned. "If the Seekers want you, they can come for you themselves. I quit."

There was a moment of pure, shocked silence as the magnitude of what the sniper had said sunk in. Zexion could only stare at him, bright blue eyes wide with shock. He took a single, stumbling step backwards and began to laugh.

"Xigbar…!" The laughter continued for a moment, but then the silveret took a deep breath and said, "Thank you. I suppose I owe you my life."

"Don't worry about it." the mercenary said, as Demyx walked over to embrace the dancer. "Call it even for scaring poor Sora half to death the other night."

"Sora?"

"Little twerp was the only other person in the city who came close to fitting the description I was given. Of course, that was before I was told that Ienzo Corazza had a sibling… I cornered him and asked him all sorts of things. Roxas turned up to 'rescue' him, in case you hadn't noticed that Roxy has been pissed at me…"

Both club employees blinked, but were saved from replying by Xion's voice coming from the back room.

"Did I sleep through breakfast?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Zexion immediately broke away from the other two and went over to her. "Yes, you did, but I'll fix you something. I figured that you needed to sleep in after how late you were out." They disappeared into the back, presumably heading for the kitchen, and Demyx glanced warily at Xigbar.

"…How much of that did you mean?" he asked quietly.

The sniper frowned. "What are you asking, kiddo?"

"I mean, are you going to tell the Seekers? Tell anybody?" Demyx asked. Before Xigbar could reply, he said, "Because you could be lying. You could just be waiting for the right moment to hand him over to them. And I refuse to let anything else happen to him."

"If I wanted that, I'd have shot him when I walked in." Xigbar said bluntly. "I meant what I said, Dem-Dem. I quit."

Demyx smiled brilliantly. "Thanks, Xigbar." And with that, he hurried off after his boyfriend. Xigbar watched him go, smiling fondly for a moment before making his own way out of the nightclub. He had a job to officially give up on.

xXx

Maleficent Drake was not often surprised. She had seen too much in her time as a Seeker for things to shock her any more. But when the young Angel she had so easily snared in her trap returned to her, bearing stunning news, she could admit to herself that she was, indeed, surprised. She'd never expected Riku Mercuriae to actually be the first to offer up, not just information, but the absolute truth, straight from their target's mouth.

She'd fed Riku exactly what he'd needed to hear, promising swift action to cease the gang fights, which in truth were growing worse every day. Mostly because the Seekers were becoming more aggressive, striking down groups attempting to form, and hunting Angels wherever they could. But it was easy to bend Riku to her will with sweet promises, and after he had told her everything he knew, she sent him back to Second Circle, bidding him to tell no one what had happened, in case someone tried to ruin the "plan".

Once the young Angel had gone, Maleficent left the building as well, making her way through the Naught's Skyway district to the building where the Seeker of Darkness spent most of his time.

"Sir?" she questioned, tapping at the doorframe leading into the room he used as a pseudo-office. Xehanort looked up to regard her with cold golden eyes.

"What is it, Maleficent?" he asked sharply.

Maleficent bowed, before explaining the situation to her leader. Xehanort listened intently, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized exactly what this meant. "We have him."

"Technically, sir, there is a small problem." the Seeker of Power replied. "There is the matter of the neutrality pact in effect over Second Circle." She stopped speaking as Xehanort glared at her.

"I made sure that the powerful families were wiped out ten years ago, and one little boy and girl got away. Do you really think that I will allow a pact protecting an insignificant club stand in my way?" he growled, and Maleficent took a step back. Xehanort smirked, steepling his fingers, his expression alight with possibilities. "Soon, these two… they will realize that all of their fears are becoming reality. Maleficent."

"Yes, sir?"

"Retrieve Ben and Frollo, and bring them here. This will require planning." As Maleficent nodded and left to find the requested Seekers, Xehanort could only chuckle to himself. Soon, those two would be his!

xXx

Zexion and Demyx were fairly startled when most of the rest of the employees showed up at about four o'clock that afternoon. Demyx internally cursed whoever's fault it was, because it certainly negated any chance of spending the rest of the day upstairs.

"See, Xemnas sort of forgot to mention something. I guess he was too caught up in planning Roxas's party with us." Axel drawled. "In any case, time is short."

"What exactly is going on?" Zexion asked, nudging the redhead off of him when the other decided to invade his personal space.

"It's one of those weird year-round schools." Axel explained. "They're having like a 'summer prom', and Xemnas let them rent out Second Circle." He glanced around at all of the impassive faces, knowing that they were thinking it wasn't so bad a job. "By the way, prom is tomorrow, and we have to decorate for a renaissance-themed royal ball."

"You've got to be kidding." Riku groaned. "Please tell me we're closed tomorrow morning to have extra time."

Roxas, too, looked displeased. "That means the rest of us have to learn ballroom dancing, right?"

"It's not that hard, Roxas." Axel said flippantly. "Besides," and here he brightened, gesturing grandly with one hand, "if anything goes wrong, simply wave your hand and say 'Continue'. That always works for kings and stuff. It worked for Philippe, for a little while, at least."

Roxas just stared at him before shaking his head and walking away. Axel frowned, going after him, calling, "What? I like that movie!"

Everyone else exchanged glances, before moving to begin cleaning and decorating. They had a lot to do before a prom could happen, and only one night to do it. It would be close, but not impossible. In any case, a ball would be sort of fun. They didn't get to do formal dances much. What could possibly go wrong?

What indeed? XD

And there you have it. Someone remind me not to have a scene so well-planned ever again. It's hard to write the chapter around it! Anyway, the next move belongs to the Seekers, who knows what they'll do with it? As always, feel free to guess... XD

Reader Quest: Easier and harder variations today. Either tell me what movie Axel is making a reference to there at the end, or tell me the significance of Zexion's last name being "Corazza".
Song List: "Somebody told Me" by The Killers, "In the Dark of the Night" from Anastasia, and "Comfort and Joy" from the rather strange musical, Bat Boy. It's the only song that I like in the whole thing. There's a youtube address for my favorite version below. The song starts about 3:30 in.

youtube(DOT)com(SLASH)watch?v=3GUWL3sJ-sc

...Why am I always posting chapters at four in the morning? (sigh)