This short is NSFW.

Timeline: Immediately after short 4, "Gesture."

Escape

"You know, I don't think we've ever done this at night," Ienzo said slowly.

Demyx sat back down on the bed. Ienzo was still curled partially under the covers, his hair mussed. He thought about it. "...You're right. What made you think of that?"

He exhaled heavily, flopping back down onto the pillows. "I was considering… stories," he said. "That's the way things usually go."

Demyx laughed. "Since when have we ever done anything normally?"

"That's a fair point." Ienzo reached out, resting a hand on the curve of his waist.

Demyx lay on his side and looked out the window. "...Dark already?"

"It's been a long day. In a manner of speaking."

"We've been busy."

He adjusted the blanket at his waist. "...This feels something like hedonism," he admitted.

Demyx snorted. "What, because for once we actually get to have sex and then relax afterwards like regular people?"

He rolled his eyes. "...When you put it like that."

"...This was your idea," Demyx reminded him, gesturing to the room.

"Even so. I've become… uncomfortably used to rushing through things. It's funny. Can you even remember the last time we did this on a bed?"

He thought about it. "...I gave you a handjob when I stayed over last week."

"I hardly think that counts." Ienzo looked up at the ceiling. "...Especially because Even nearly walked in on us." He turned red.

Demyx laughed a little. "So I guess that's why?"

"Partially. Having one's own space is part of growing up. I figured… it's about time."

He turned to face him. "You're in a weird mood tonight."

He glanced over at Demyx. "...I suppose so." A pause. "Do you feel grown up?"

He raised a hand to touch his cheek. "In some ways, yeah. Others, not so much. I feel like it's acting, most of the time."

"...I do, too. I've acted like an adult for so long. To actually be one, is, well." He blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "...Funny, to say the least."

"You're adorable, you know that?"

"I'm many things, but "adorable" is not one of them." Ienzo sat up. Demyx touched his shoulder.

"I beg to differ." He kissed him softly.

Ienzo laughed a little. "You're one to talk." They stayed there for a moment, their foreheads barely touching. "I don't suppose you have any plans tonight?"

"Nothing… pressing." He smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"I'd like to stay. If it's all the same." He grasped the hand that was touching his face.

"I think I can do that."

"Oh, can you? I'd hate to be a burden."

Demyx laughed. "Well… I might have to move around one or two things." Ienzo kissed him. He turned slightly, rolling his hips a little and easing Demyx back down onto the bed. A flush of anticipation washed through him. "This is… new," he said.

He brushed his lips against Demyx's throat, the just-healed bruises there. "Do you mind?"

"No… uh, by all means…" Suddenly it was very hard to breathe. He was kissing him so slowly, sending a chill through him. Demyx pulled him a little closer, running his hand down Ienzo's back. Ienzo straddled him, grasping at his hair and only deepening the kiss. He could feel himself getting hard again. If anything, seeing Ienzo become more comfortable with this was only more of a turn-on. "Do whatever you want."

"What do I want with you?" he asked. Demyx could feel him shaking a little.

He reached down to touch Ienzo, the smoothness of his chest, taking his dick gently into his hand. Demyx heard him gasp and felt him grasp at him, too.

"I think," he said breathlessly. "Can I try that again? What we… did before?"

"You think I'll say no?"

He cupped Demyx's face for a moment. "Do you happen to know where it went? The-?"

Demyx sat up a little and looked at the tangle of sheets. "That is a good question."

Ienzo got off of him momentarily as they both looked for it. Finally Demyx found the lube in a fold at the foot of the bed. "How did that happen?"

"For two observational people, we forget so quickly," Ienzo said, with a sigh. "Fascinating, how this all changes thinking. A brush of lust and it all goes out the window."

Demyx chuckled. "Do you mind?"

He smiled. "Not at all." He straddled him again. He kissed Demyx once. "If anything, that's the appeal."

"Ouch, and not because I have a good dick game?"

Ienzo shrugged. "Well, that too," he said, taking Demyx's cock back into his hand.

He stifled the small sound in his throat. The lube was cool against his hand, making Ienzo's skin seem all the warmer by comparison. He slid his fingers in slowly, noting with gratification the way his eyes rolled slightly. He leaned up a little and kissed him, the softness of the scars along Ienzo's shoulder and throat.

He pressed a little harder against Demyx's hand. "Okay, I think-"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Ienzo lubed him delicately. "I used to be almost afraid to touch you," he admitted.

"What? Why?"

"A fear of… doing things wrong, I suppose." His touch was almost maddening. "My own body was alien enough-much less someone else's."

"And now?"

He took a quick breath. "Truthfully-you feel like home."

Ienzo shifted his weight slightly, forward enough so that Demyx could ease into him. Demyx could understand what he meant-the way he felt around him, the soft subtleties of his reactions-it made his heart ache with a sudden fullness. He took Ienzo slowly, grasping for one of his hands and holding it tightly.

Ienzo's eyes were shut, and he breathed shakily. Demyx chanced a kiss and felt him respond, his tongue brushing against his lower lip. "...bear with me," he said, with difficulty.

Demyx had to resist the urge to squirm. "What's up?"

"I want to try taking things… slow." There it was, the slight disconnect between his speech, one of the ways Demyx was learning to measure his pleasure.

"How slow?"

"Like…" Ienzo let go of Demyx's hand and rested them on his shoulders. "Do you want to sit up a bit? Kind of-"

It took a bit of doing, the way they were attached, but he settled against the headboard. He felt Ienzo's thighs against his hips, tight and tense and delicious, and he shivered.

"You feel good too," Ienzo admitted. He kissed him once, and rocked his hips a little, a slight and subtle feeling, less intense than usual. But for some reason this was effective, this almost feeling, and Demyx heard his breath catch.

He shifted his own weight, falling into a sort of rhythm with him. It occurred to him all of a sudden why they called it making love; not necessarily about the orgasm, but about the getting there. He grasped at Ienzo's wrist. "You know what you're doing," he said breathlessly.

"Not every experiment ends in failure," Ienzo retorted, moaning a little. He rested his forehead against Demyx's, and they breathed and moved together, steady and gentle. The pleasure was gradual, a slow burn under his skin, making him shake. He had to resist the urge to quicken.

"You could-I think-" Ienzo said, but he bit his lip and was unable to finish the sentence.

Demyx pushed into him a little harder, feeling the knot inside his stomach tighten a little. "Like this?"

"Yes."

He gripped at Ienzo's thighs, allowing himself to unravel a little, thrusting into him with less restraint. He was feeling faint, the knot growing still tighter. He reached for Ienzo's dick and heard him gasp. Demyx stroked him through it, the soft noise and look on his face only bringing him closer. It seemed almost like they came at the same time.

It wasn't intense, insofar as these things go, but rather a slow, long lasting warmth under his skin. Demyx loosened his grip on Ienzo and kissed him. Ienzo was breathing hard, and it seemed to take him a moment longer than usual to regain his bearings, to ease off of him. Ienzo lay down. Demyx wrapped his arms around him. "You alright?" He asked.

"I… need a moment," he said.

Demyx settled more comfortably against the sheets. "Sometimes it seems like you feel more than I do," he admitted. "It's… it's pretty hot to see."

"Not… more," he said, with difficulty. "Just… differently. Hold me?"

Demyx obeyed and pressed a kiss against his sweaty temple.

"Give me a few minutes, and then I'll-"

"Rest, babe. We have nowhere to be."

"Babe?"

"Does it bother you that I call you that?"

"No. I am… unused to such things. A lot of things, it seems." He shivered, and Demyx tugged the comforter over him.

"I used to barely be able to kiss you. I'll take this."

"Hm." He took Demyx's hand, and he could just barely feel the vestiges of the lube. He listened to Ienzo breathe. "You're alright?"

"Yeah. If anything, I'm hungry."

"I left some nonperishable things in the cupboards. I'll make something when I've caught my breath."

"Would you want to go out? On me."

"That would require getting dressed, and then walking all the way to town."

"...Don't say I didn't offer." He traced small circles against Ienzo's back. "You've thought of everything?"

"Best use that part of my brain before it atrophies away. I like the idea of the long game with you."

"The cult of domesticity?"

He snorted. "Hardly. We've been in a cult. This is not even close." Ienzo sat up.

"Bitter about it?"

Ienzo pulled his hands through his hair in a vain attempt as fixing it. "Moreso than I used to be," he admitted. "Now that I have things to live for, I realize how… truly depraved the situation actually was. But… had the cards not fallen the way they had, we wouldn't be here, would we? That makes it worthwhile."

Demyx smiled. "...Gay."

"Forgive me for trying to be earnest." He picked up his underwear and shirt from the floor and put them on. "...Do you… label yourself so?"

Demyx propped himself up. "...Actually I'm bi," he said.

He blinked a little. "My own sexuality is so aqueous I forgot there were words for such things."

"You don't have to call it anything."

"...I suppose not. Honestly, the notion of being attracted to more than one person, let alone more than one gender… is boggling."

Demyx laughed. "Guess I should be flattered it was me, then."

Ienzo paused, fiddling with his buttons. "It doesn't… bore you? To be with only me?"

Demyx frowned. "Now you're talking like a crazy person."

"I suppose so." He sighed. "I'll be honest with you, Demyx. I'm a mess."

He leaned over to kiss him. "But you're my mess. Let's eat."

He slept heavily, like the dead. Demyx woke up feeling a bit sore, the sunlight coming into the room at a disorienting new angle. He groaned and pulled the blanket over his face.

"I'm sorry-I forgot to mention the curtains," Ienzo said.

"It's fine-I'm already up." He exhaled heavily. Ienzo was on his stomach, looking through god-knows-what on his phone. "What's that?"

"I figured I should try to catch up on some work," he said. "Ansem wants me to do some debugging, but his code is… a nightmare. So then I was trying to gather the motivation to get up and take a bath, but…" He shrugged. "It is nice not to have to race out of bed."

"You're allowed to be lazy once in a while, you know," Demyx said. He turned onto his side.

He sighed. "I know. It feels… odd."

Demyx touched his cheek. "Why don't you put that down for a little while?"

He smirked. "You're insatiable."

"Hey, for the record you're the one who wanted everything yesterday." He kissed Ienzo.

"I'm sure my morning breath must taste just lovely," he muttered. He set the phone aside and pulled Demyx close.

There was a comfort in this, in not having to hurry. He tangled his hands in Ienzo's hair, garnering a little bit of a laugh. He felt Ienzo's tongue slide into his mouth, familiar and slight. He let his hand drift over his hip. Ienzo grasped at his shoulder and pulled Demyx on top of him.

They kept kissing, languid and lazy, lacking the sort of desperation that came from their earlier intimacy. They hardly ever got to simply make out and enjoy one another's company, so for a while they did just that. Ienzo's hands tangled in his hair; Demyx felt one slide down his back to cup his ass. "Whoa," he said, without meaning to.

"Sorry, was that-" Ienzo began.

"It's fine, you… you usually don't touch me there."

"I… I know things haven't been… fair," he said, and bit his lip.

Demyx touched his cheek. "Hey, it's okay. You should only do what you're ready for."

"Well. Now that I have more space…" He trailed off, blushing, and then kissed him.

Demyx let him explore, and feeling his hand so close to that spot made him tremble, his dick hardening against the sheet. "Did you want to… do anything? Or…"

"I…" There was a flush bright in his face. "Could you…" His eyes were raw, but there was also such hesitation.

"What?" Demyx asked softly.

He squirmed. "Can you go down on me?"

He blinked a little. This was all taking some getting used to; but not in a bad way. "Yeah… sure. Whatever you want." They didn't do this that often, for whatever reason. He kissed Ienzo, trailing his lips down and farther down, along the inside of his thigh. Demyx took him into his hand, letting him get fully hard, and eased his mouth over the tip. He heard Ienzo gasp, his hips jutting up.

This was so much more intimate even than sex; it was something that required a complete willingness to give. He felt like he was getting better at this, if the noises he heard meant anything. He'd be lying if he said this didn't feel good; it was so strange, but yet so intoxicating to hold Ienzo like this. Demyx took his time, running his tongue slowly against the shaft. He wanted to make him work for it. Ienzo grasped at his hand, squeezing tightly. Demyx pressed a little bit harder into the mattress, trying to resist the urge to touch himself. Seeing Ienzo unraveling like this was almost too much to handle.

"I'm going-" Demyx heard him say, but before he could pull away he felt it happen, that subtle twitch as he came, warmth and salt. "I'm sorry, Demyx. I'm so-"

He wiped at his mouth. "It's okay," he said, "really. I kind of… wanted to know what it was like."

Ienzo's face was flushed, embarrassed. "You're sure?"

He smiled. "It's not a big deal." His hand, curled in the sheets, trembled.

"Come here," Ienzo said. "I'd… repay the favor, but you've been inside me, and-"

"It's a little gross." He smiled twitchily. He returned to Ienzo's level and felt his hand close around his dick, stroking softly. Ienzo kissed his face, his throat. Demyx couldn't help but press against his hand, already on the verge. After a moment or so he caved, a shock flooding his system.

They held each other, coming down slowly. "I should like to… take a bath," Ienzo said.

"Yeah… me too," Demyx said. "We've… done a lot."

"Would you like to go first?"

He looked up. "Maybe we could go… together?"

He sighed. "As appealing as that sounds, I feel like I… need a few minutes to unwind."

He pressed his lips against Ienzo's forehead. "Sure. I'll go. Get your shit together."

"...Always," he mumbled. "There should be towels in the cabinet inside."

Once Demyx was in the water, he had to admit Ienzo had a point. He felt oddly shaky, like he couldn't fully process everything that had happened yesterday and this morning. He healed the new bruises along his throat and washed himself off, sweat and sex dissolving into something like normalcy. His heart felt stripped bare, raw and tender, like it had often in the early days of their relationship. He tugged his hair into a rough approximation of what it normally was and got dressed. He left the bathroom, and for a moment he and Ienzo held eye contact. "I should… check in with Aerith," he said lamely.

"And I should try to work on this code. Wish me luck. I'll need it."

Demyx leaned over and kissed him once. "I'll see you later, then?"

"We can… reconvene." He smiled a little.

"Yeah… that sounds nice." He waved and left, treading thoughts of the future.