10.

So strange, for Ienzo to be his boyfriend.

He was softening, but sometimes it still felt like there was a brick wall between Demyx and Ienzo. Usually if he wanted true honesty Demyx had to either catch him after he had a nightmare (because Ienzo did have them too, he discovered one night, feeling him thrash against him and hearing him scream and cry), or after they had sex. Seeing as the latter was more pleasant, he sought it more.

"So, query," Ienzo began.

"What do you want?" He asked in a low voice.

"Would you be willing to try something?"

"...That depends."

Ienzo was blushing. "It's less out of the ordinary than you'd think," he said quickly. "I just… I had a little free time, and I… made something."

Demyx's face heated. "Made- what?"

Ienzo reached into the bedside drawer and pulled out something wrapped in cloth. Unceremoniously, he handed it to Demyx.

"I knew you were into bondage-"

A scowl. "It's not that. Goodness." He unwrapped the fabric revealing an ordinary, run-of-the-mill dildo.

"Oh," he said, trying to hide his disappointment.

"It's more than it looks," he said. "I had… something similar in the Organization days, and I… rather missed it." A wistful sigh. "My magic is weaker now, so it took some time to find that spell."

"What does it do?"

"When it's touched… I can feel it like it's part of me."

"Oh." Then, getting it, feeling a flush of want , " oh."

"I'm sure it doesn't feel… the same as it would naturally, but…"

"...You could top me with this."

"...Among other things." He cleared his throat a little. "Would you want to try this with me?"

Demyx knew it was a sign of trust. "Um, yeah. " And wondered if it were worth pushing. He leaned forward and kissed him, found him immediately responsive. He slid his hand down to Ienzo's throat, untying the ascot of his uniform, sliding off the sweatervest and unbuttoning his shirt. "Do you always have to wear this?"

"It helps me stay in that mindset."

"Goody-goody researcher?"

He flushed. "Quite." He tugged off Demyx's shirt too. They kept undressing for a long moment.

Demyx kissed him along his collarbone, feeling him shudder. "What if I were to… suck you off?"

Ienzo just nodded like this was perfectly amenable, though Demyx saw his color darken, heard his breathing hitch. He reached for the bundle of fabric and Demyx realized it was a pair of underwear, the front pocket modified for the dildo to fit through and rest against him. He slipped it on.

"You really thought this through," he said.

Ienzo snorted. "Demyx, your vanilla colors are showing. You've never seen a harness? This one is rather makeshift."

He blushed.

Ienzo touched his cheek. "I think it's adorable," he said. "...And means I can corrupt you all the more." A purr crept into his tone, making him rock hard almost instantly. He leaned back against the pile of pillows. There was a raw confidence in his eyes, more than when he was just naked, Demyx realized. He felt more comfortable like this. Demyx lay down between his spread thighs. His heart was beating so hard. He'd fantasized about doing this to him, but he hadn't thought that, given the resources, it would be possible. (Idly, he wondered where a sex shop was in Radiant Garden.)

So tentatively, he reached forward to touch it. The silicone was velvety against his fingers, but a little dry. Ienzo gasped. "Can you feel it?"

He nodded. "It is the strangest sensation-I don't know how to describe it-"

"Try," he suggested, stroking it like he would touch himself, concentrating on the tip and underside.

"Well, um," he took a shaky breath. "I can… definitely feel it in the clit, but at the same time, like it's… an extension of it? Like…" A gasp. "I suppose… phantom limb would describe it well?"

"But does it feel good?"

"More intense than I remember," he admitted.

"Is there lube? Just a tiny bit?"

Ienzo fumbled in the same drawer. Demyx didn't stop what he was doing, observing him closely. He handed Demyx an anonymous bottle, and he took a few drops of it onto his fingertips. It let him stroke it more fluidly, with less friction. Ienzo's head rolled back.

"Tell me what feels good for you," Demyx said. He kissed the insides of his thighs before easing his mouth over it. There was the flavorless taste of the lube, the stiffness of the silicone. Ienzo moaned a little. He started working it over, fucking the base and running his tongue along the tip. He looked up and saw that Ienzo was leaning back, his eyes closed, his hips jutting just slightly.

Demyx chanced taking it a little deeper, letting it slide in and out of his mouth. The reaction was immediate.

"Fuck," Ienzo spat.

He pulled away. "Like this?"

He moaned. "Just like that."

Demyx moved a little harder against him and felt Ienzo's hands tangle in his hair. His dick, against the sheets, throbbed. He took his other hand and, gently, ran his fingers against his pussy, trying to simulate what it might feel like to have his sack touched. He could feel its wetness through the fabric. He took it as deeply as he could without gagging, and Ienzo nearly thrashed. Demyx didn't think he'd ever seen him so wrecked, and he had to fight not to touch himself.

"I'm… I…" He was struggling for words. Demyx swallowed around it. " God. " A hoarse gasp. "I…"

Let go, Demyx willed him, mouth too full to actually speak. He took it most of the way out of his mouth, then back again.

Ienzo clapped a hand over his own mouth, muffling what would have been a very loud moan.

So slowly, Demyx sat up, wiping the remnants of lube from his mouth. Ienzo met his eyes hazily. "Is that what it feels like?" he asked, gasping for breath.

"Um, kind of?" He laughed a little. "I can't exactly do it to myself."

He lay back a moment, and his eyes flashed a little. "Let me take you."

"Now?" His cock practically ached at the thought.

"The only good thing about this body," he murmured, "is that I do not have the recharge time you do."

"And I'm in love with that idea, I haven't… I'm just not… uh, clean, you know?" He laughed awkwardly.

"Well, would you like to get that way?" In that low, sexy voice Demyx couldn't resist. He kissed him once. "I can help you."

"How?"

Ienzo pulled him into a hug and whispered something into his ear, a word Demyx didn't recognize, a spell. "That should make it significantly easier."

In the bathroom, he realized Ienzo was right , and he could return much more quickly than it would've ordinarily taken. Ienzo was lying on his side, and seeing that cock laying out waiting for him only made Demyx shudder.

"Come here," he said. "Get comfortable." He kissed him long and hard for a moment, taking his dick into his hand. He eased Demyx onto the mattress, facedown. He pressed small kisses down his spine, caressing his ass gently. Demyx heard him set down the bottle onto the dresser, and felt his fingertips ease into him. He moaned against the pillow. "So soon," Ienzo purred. "I'm barely touching you."

"Watching you…" He swallowed, feeling Ienzo explore deeper, so close to that spot- "Ah! Watching you was… really hot."

"Yes, you treated me very well." Another finger slipped in to join the first, pulling in and out so slowly . "Are you ready for me to take you?"

"Please."

"...I love it when you beg." Demyx felt the lubed tip against it.

"I know," he stuttered.

Ienzo slid into him. It wasn't all pleasure-it had been a long time and one full recompletion since the last time he'd been taken, so he wasn't necessarily as… pliable as he used to be. The cock wasn't even that large, but he winced. Ienzo shushed him. "Do you need more lube?"

"No, just let me-"

"Right." He felt Ienzo's chest pressed against his back. After a moment, the aching sensation faded. "You feel so good," Ienzo murmured. "I'll go nice and slow, okay?"

He nodded. He felt him shift and thrust once, gently, and they both gasped almost at the same time. Demyx grasped at his hand and held it tightly. Ienzo started moving a little more, a bit more deeply, moreso teasing him than getting the spot. "It's, um… you can kind of like…"

The pressure of Ienzo's chest disappeared, and he bore down a little harder.

Demyx squeaked despite himself. "That's it."

Ienzo laughed at him. It took a few tries before he could consistently get to it, but once he did Demyx found himself the wrecked one, able to do little more than moan against the pillow. Ienzo strung him along, letting him get close but never all the way there, pleasure making everything tingling and indistinct at the edges. Because of this, Demyx only hazily realized that Ienzo was again making these beautiful noises, groaning a little as he fucked him, moving harder, his thrusts more punishing against the g-spot.

"Oh, you'll let me now?" he asked breathlessly.

"Shut up," Ienzo said, and his tone just made Demyx's cock throb. "Just… shut…" He made this noise Demyx had never heard before, almost a sort of cry, and it pushed Demyx over the edge.

Everything went gray for a moment, the orgasm breaking over him in little waves, and he felt for a moment just so terribly and beautifully helpless, only able to feel the pleasure Ienzo had given him. As he so slowly came back to reality, he realized the cock was still inside of him. "Hey," he gasped, "you okay?"

Ienzo hummed. Demyx felt… something vaguely wet and sticky back there. "I may have, um, cum on you." A slight laugh. The dildo slid out of him. Demyx turned and saw that, indeed, the pale blue harness was wet. "That has not happened in a long while. I don't usually, ah, let myself go for a second. But feeling you-"

"I'm really glad you did. Fuck. I feel weak. " He flopped onto his back.

"As do I." The dildo stuck straight up, unaffected by all their fucking. "So did you like feeling my cock?"

He laughed again, still trying to catch his breath. "Good luck getting me to do anything else now."

Ienzo kissed him. He eased off the harness, wincing as he pulled the dildo out of the hole.

"Sensitive?"

"Very." He set it aside and lay back down with him. Demyx reached over and touched his face. His face was slack, open, and it was staying that way for once.

Am I going to have to fuck your brains out for eternity? He thought. But he supposed there were worse fates.

Another thought tossed from that one- I love you. Demyx felt it with a deep certainty. He loved the way Ienzo felt in his arms and he loved their banter and he even loved when Ienzo got snippy. I love you. Like a dam breaking, he thought those words over and over, a sort of refrain, a coda. He almost said it.

"What?" Ienzo asked softly.

"I'm just happy," he said. "That's all."

They fell asleep together. When he woke, his back was hurting again.

Ienzo said something first. "Are you alright?"

It wasn't just his back. He felt shitty . Tired, and hot , and nauseous. "I, um." He tried to sit up, the nausea worsening. "Just feel a little sick. Sorry in advance, you're probably gonna catch it."

Ienzo frowned. He pressed a hand to Demyx's forehead. "I did feel warm cuddling you in the night," he said. "I'd have to check, but I believe you have a fever."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He smiled, but there was a worry line in his forehead. "Why don't you get dressed? I'll take you back to your room, and make you some tea and soup."

Demyx nodded. When he tried to stand, the ache made him gasp out loud.

"Do you think I need to get Even?" Ienzo asked.

"No," he said. "No, I think… the weird position just… pulled something?"

"It's possible," Ienzo said. "Occupational hazard."

He returned to his bedroom. Once he had a shower, and the tea and soup Ienzo forced on him, he felt a lot better, though the pain remained. "I'm fine," he said. "I think it was just a quick thing."

"Maybe, but…" Ienzo frowned. "I'd feel better if he looked at you. With your prior health scares-"

"What are you, worried about little old me?"

He laid his hand back on Demyx's forehead. "You're still quite hot."

"Thanks, I'll be here all week."

"You know what I mean."

Demyx squeezed his hand. "Go to work," he said. "I'll chill, and rest, and heat up the rest of the soup if I'm hungry. If I still feel like shit-which I won't-Even can poke and prod me as much as he likes."

Ienzo bit his lip. "You've been taking your medicine?"

"Religiously."

Ienzo kissed him on the forehead. "Alright," he said. "Try to get some sleep. I'm a text away, Demyx. I mean it."

"I know." I love you. He watched Ienzo walk away, trying to keep a smile on his face. Once Demyx was sure he was gone, he went into his bathroom and sat next to the toilet for a while, sure he was going to be sick, but he wasn't. This tired him out so much that he went back to bed and fell asleep.

He didn't dream. When he woke he was covered in sweat, but he didn't feel so feverish anymore, and breathed a small sigh of relief. Even the pain in his back felt like mere muscle pain. Ienzo confirmed his fever broke when he checked on him again. "...The strangest thing," he murmured, setting aside the thermometer. He insisted on staying the night with him just in case things went to shit.

Demyx dreamt.

"You were the last person she spoke to," Lauriam hissed in his ear. "Where did she go?"

"I have no idea," he asserted. "Listen, she just-she just said she was going to meet a friend of hers, and she had to do something with the Dandelions. That's all I know."

"I don't know why you think he knows anything," Elrena said, with a sniff. "Even mom said he probably won't make much of himself."

Despite his harsh tone, Lauriam frowned. "Please tell me you're teasing."

She shrugged. "He was dumb enough to pass up the chance to join me."

"I didn't pass it up," he mumbled. "I just didn't want to be in your union."

She puffed out her chest. "Why not? Couldn't stand the idea of being bossed around by me?"

"Well no."

She put her hands on her hips. "What other friends do you have, Edym?"

A sensation like cold, like shattering, hearing that word, that name-the memory cracked-

"I have friends!" he asserted. "Strelly is one of them."

Lauriam put a hand on his face.

"I dunno… don't you think this end of the world stuff is creepy?" he asked. "Do you really think it's true?"

Lauriam sighed. "Yes. We do."