5.

The next morning, Demyx tried to put thought of that encounter out of his mind. How on earth was he going to face Ienzo now? And with Even still giving him the freeze-out (har har), what if he started feeling sick again?

He remembered what Ienzo said, about not being able to do anything right. It was something they had in common.

He hadn't been left breakfast, but he wasn't feeling hungry, so he decided to just tough it out and buy something for lunch later. On his way out of the castle, though, he was stopped by a tall blonde man with slicked-back hair and a white coat-the fabled Ansem the Wise.

"No need to look frightened," the man said in a surprisingly deep voice. "I don't believe we've actually met." He offered his hand to Demyx. "I'm glad you seem to have made a full recovery."

Demyx took it. The handshake was firm. "Um, thank you. And thanks for letting me stay, uh, your majesty."

Ansem just laughed. "None of that, please. I am no king."

"But I thought-"

"Oh, I was, once upon a time. But things have changed. I was actually hoping to talk to you, about the room."

Demyx felt his face heat. "I just got a job, if you give me like a week I can scrape up some money-"

Ansem held up a hand. "I was going to say. I'm sure staying in that infirmary isn't helping your spirits. There are plenty of actual bedrooms near the apprentices' quarters. I insist you take one-unless you'd rather seek lodging elsewhere."

"Are you… sure?"

"So much space sitting there empty. In a place this old, if it isn't used, it decays. You'd be doing me a favor."

"...Thank you," he said softly.

"This life is hard enough without also having to struggle to get one's material needs met." He offered a smile. "A job, you say?"

"With Scrooge? McDuck? He kinda stopped me on the street."

Another warm laugh. "Yes, that sounds like something he'd do. He's been doing a lot of work to help rebuild the town. Well I won't make you late."

"Thanks again, er. Ansem."

"Any time." He turned and headed down a hall away from Demyx.

So. That guy was Ienzo's old man, if Demyx were putting the pieces together right. Taking into account Ienzo's emotional outburst when they'd reunited, it made sense. He seemed kind, like someone's grandfather. (And Demyx hated to admit it, but he could see how the guy could be manipulated.)

He shook his head quickly. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry.

The inside of the post office was cool and kinda dark. He'd been given a dark blue apron, mostly to hold labels and pencils. His new coworker seemed very relieved he was taking over. "I'm running this and the shop and coordinating deliveries. It's too much for one person," she said. "Look, it's an easy job. All you have to do is take the letters and packages people drop off, weigh them and charge them correctly, and sort them by delivery district or out-of-town. There's a chart here and everything in the back is clearly labelled."

"Um," Demyx said. "How do I work the computer?"

"Oh! That." She rattled off some instructions. "There's a booklet under here if you forget. I know it sounds like a lot, but there's a good amount of downtime a lot of days. Feel free to bring a book, or play on your phone, or something. Also you don't have to stand all day, you can sit on that stool over there. And let me know when you want to take lunch. Okay good luck!" She was already walking away, back over to the other part of the room where the store was.

Demyx sighed. "Well. Alrighty then," he murmured.

To his chagrin, he found that his trainer was right; there was a lot of downtime, and the job was pretty easy once he figured out the weird computer system. (He struggled in front of his first customer, an old woman. "You're new, aren't you dear," she said sweetly.) He found himself… just watching the people that went in and out of the shop. At least he was getting paid to do nothing instead of doing nothing for free. Come to think of it… he wasn't sure exactly how much he was making or when he was allowed to leave.

"Ah! There you are! Settling in well?" Scrooge asked. Demyx had to look down to meet his eyes.

"So far so good," Demyx asked. "Um, what are my hours, exactly? And how much am I getting paid?"

"That's why I was coming over to speak to ye." He slapped a packet of paper onto the counter. "Here's some paperwork that'll tell you all you need to know."

"Er… thanks." He took a pen out of his apron. He began to fill it out, and realized very quickly that there was a lot of information about himself he simply didn't know. Like his birthday, for example. Demyx somehow knew he was twenty-three, whatever that meant, but the birth year that would be didn't feel right. He didn't know his last name, or where he was from. And his previous work experience was bad guy part of an evil cult for the past six years or so.

"Something wrong, laddie?" Scrooge asked, looking up from his phone.

"I don't, uh, know a lot about my past?"

He shrugged. "Just fill in what you know."

Demyx did. He found that the gig might just be better than he thought-the money was downright decent compared to what he'd seen on other worlds. He handed the paperwork over and was dismissed for lunch. He treated himself to noodles and sat, watching the people that passed by. In a lot of ways, it felt a lot like doing reconnaissance.

What's that woman over there doing? Picking up a sack of something. Judged by the signage of the shop and the shape of the package, it looks like laundry…

Kid throwing tantrum. Young man (dad?) unsure why but if he turned kid around he'd realized the kid sat in a puddle. Probably wet and cold and tired.

Two young women carrying pots of flowers (gardeners?). Knees dirty. One wearing a sun hat. Coming this way? Coming this way-

Demyx dropped his eyes, too late. One of the women was about his age, the other one a teenager. "You're Demyx, right?" the one in the hat asked. She had long brown hair and bright green eyes.

"Um," he said.

"You probably don't remember," she said. "My name's Aerith. With the restoration committee? Even asked me for advice when you were sick. I practice healing on the side."

"With all her free time," the teenager remarked.

Despite himself, his eyebrows shot up. "Even asked for advice?"

She laughed a little. "They weren't sure you would make it. He wanted to see if… he was doing all that could be done. It's good to see you well again."

"Oh… thanks, I think."

She smiled.

"We should get going," the other girl grumbled. "These things are heavy , and Cid has so much he wants me to get done, like he doesn't sit on his ass all day."

"He's helping Riku," Aerith said. "He's… not exactly computer savvy."

"Uh- huh ," she drawled. "I'm going to go on ahead."

"Excuse her," Aerith said. "Yuffie has… complicated feelings about the old Organization members."

"Can't say I blame her," Demyx said. "I do, too."

Another grin. "So what are you doing here?"

"Scrooge harassed me into a job. It's my first day."

"It's good he's finally getting more help. Nobody was biting."

Oh, great. "Any reason why?"

"So many people are more focused on rebuilding their homes. And not a whole lot of people know about the new postal service. Everything's very… up in the air right now." She shifted the pot to her hip.

"You can say that again."

"Are you going to stay long term?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know where else to go. Gotta start somewhere."

"That's true. Well. I hope you like it here."

"...Thanks."

She tipped the brim of her hat. "Enjoy the rest of your workday."

Much to Demyx's relief, the rest of the day went by quickly, and at five he headed back to the castle, grabbing some dinner for himself on the way. It was nice to have disposable income again. Maybe he should start saving. But for what? A house? A ticket out of here? Where would he go?

Well. When his full weekly check hit he could at the very least get some trinkets for his new room. It wasn't like moving would take long-all Demyx owned was a pocket-dimension sitar, a few changes of clothes, and some toiletries. Ansem had sent him a map earlier marking out any of the rooms he was free to choose from.

But being near the apprentices meant being near Ienzo… and after yesterday… Despite himself, he felt a flush of arousal and had to take a deep breath to will it away. If he really wanted sex, he could try to date in town. Easy peasy, right?

They'd have to talk about it at some point. What had happened.

All of Demyx's possessions managed to fit in a makeshift blanket bag. He set off towards the first of these rooms, the ones farthest from the rest. Ansem had inexplicably marked who lived where. Best to keep his distance for now.

It was actually pretty nice. Old mahogany furniture. A double bed. A bathroom with a bathtub, unlike the shower he'd been used to. The place had a few things left behind of someone else's-some books, a few candles-but other than that was empty. Some patches on the soft blue wallpaper showed where pictures had once hung. Demyx touched one. The texture was silky. This place had once been luxurious.

It needed a good cleaning. He exhaled; he'd have to ask someone where stuff could be found, sheets, blankets. He debated who might be the best person to ask for a while before he heard a voice.

"...Master Ansem had mentioned you'd be joining us."

His heart surged, but it wasn't Ienzo. "Hi, Lex-ah. Aeleus."

He offered a stiff smile. "Isn't it strange? How so many things have changed, but yet, there are familiar faces in this castle."

"Different castle," Demyx remarked.

"...Different faces, to a degree."

"Do you feel different, now that you're human?"

"Not as much as I'd like."

Demyx waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "I know what you mean," he said softly.

He bobbed his head once. "Let me show you the kitchen."

"Also, I, um, need sheets? And stuff to clean with?"

Aeleus nodded again. "Come with me."

They walked in silence. Aeleus pointed out a small laundry room, a kitchen with outdated appliances, a closet where supplies and sheets could be found. "Do you feel like you're home?" Demyx asked. "Isn't this where you lived before?"

"It is different than it once was," he said. "Most of all us. But admittedly, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Here I can be of use. I can protect the ones who mattered most."

"Right. Weren't you and Zexion really buddy-buddy?"

Evidently this was the wrong thing to say; the slip in his expression was slight, but Demyx could see it. "Ienzo and I are close, yes."

"I'm sorry, did I… say something?"

Aeleus blinked. "No. You'd have no way of knowing, would you?"

This did not illuminate anything.

"I failed to protect him… twice. Never again."

Demyx swallowed. He wondered if this had anything to do with the massacre at Castle Oblivion. "Well… second chances, and all that."

"And all that." Aeleus nodded. "Let me know if you have trouble finding anything else."

It became clear very quickly that a thorough cleaning was going to take a lot longer than Demyx had energy for; he still wasn't fully back to normal, and the long walks to and from the castle didn't help. Contrary to popular belief, he actually liked cleaning; it was hard to chill in a dirty space, after all. But seeing all the dust and grit, and after a full workday, he just couldn't do it. The most he could do was make the bed and make the bathroom somewhat habitable. He showered, shoved his somewhat-cold takeout into his face, collapsed onto bed, and fell immediately into a deep sleep.

Demyx dreamt.

More of those vague dreams, places and people he did not quite know, but it flooded him with a thick sense of dread and fear. He woke up gasping and, for some reason, crying, dazed and disoriented. But much like before, the dreams bled away into nothing, making him wonder why he was sobbing for no reason.

Maybe tea or water would help?

Once the sobbing had subsided into hiccups, he chanced going into the kitchen. The light had been left on, illuminating the hallway. He started the kettle and sat for a long moment with his head in his hands.

"Oh-I-"

Not only did the voice startled him, it filled him with dread. He looked up and saw Ienzo, in his pajamas.

There was an embarrassed flush in his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked evenly.

"Ansem, um, thought I might be more comfortable living in a real room."

"Of course he did," Ienzo muttered.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted some tea and then I'll go-" He shot up to shut the kettle.

"Wait, Demyx." A sigh. Then, "were you… were you upset?"

"I had a bad dream." The water wasn't quite hot enough for tea; he exhaled in frustration.

Ienzo took the kettle from him and set it back on the burner. "Here. Listen, I… about the other day-"

"It's fine."

"No, it isn't. I acted unacceptably. I should not… take out my overflows of feeling on you. It didn't… it didn't mean anything."

Demyx felt a stab of pain. "Oh. Gotcha."

"But I must thank you for the comfort you gave me. I would've never come to that conclusion on my own." The kettle was whistling loudly now; Ienzo shut it. He took out two mugs. "Which kind of tea do you prefer? I find chamomile is good at night."

"Uh… sure."

Ienzo put a bag in each of the mugs. "Well… with that settled…"

"Sure."

Ienzo thought they were going their separate ways; but it turned out that their rooms were in the same direction. Demyx took a shaky breath, gesturing to the door of his new room. "Well this is me."

"Sleep well."

"You too."

Seeing his back turned, the words left him without permission. "I really liked it."

His head snapped back.

"I'm sorry. I just…"

He took a step closer to Demyx. Clutched his mug. Seemed to be grappling for words. Finally, in a low voice, "I did too."

Demyx cleared his throat. "Do you wanna come in and talk for a few minutes?" He sat down on his unmade bed. Ienzo sat down next to him.

"Isn't this all so strange?" he asked in a low voice. "Being human?"

"I… I guess so. I just… I don't know where to start," Demyx said. "How to build this life." He sipped at the tea.

"I don't either," Ienzo admitted. "I have my work… but outside of work… what is there? The heaviness of the past, all these tight tense relationships between people… what is… left?"

"You."

"And you." He cleared his throat.

"I still have trouble remembering things," Demyx told him. "I either see memories in dreams, or not at all. And even then they don't feel like they're happening to me."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I don't know if I want to know. If whatever Xemnas said was right."

"What did Xemnas say?"

His face flushed. "That apparently… he chose me, Luxord, Larxene, and Marluxia because we had… Keyblade legacies sleeping in the past, or whatever-"

Ienzo touched his arm. "Do you believe that?"

"I don't know!" His voice came out harsher than he meant, and he lowered it. "I mean… why else can't I remember anything? Doesn't time travel wipe memories, or whatever?"

"It can," Ienzo said.

His hands were trembling.

"Or the amnesia could've come from any amount of things that happened to your heart," he said gently. "Exposure to darkness, a spell gone awry. And anyway, if it's just a legacy , you might not even be a wielder. There's no evidence to support that Keyblades are passed biologically. How do you feel about it?"

"I… I'm not sure," he said. "I just… want to be a normal guy who knows his own name."

"You are normal. You just have a very extraordinary background." Ienzo set his empty mug aside. "Demyx, you might just be the most normal person here."

"Ha," he said weakly. "What about you?"

"...I've just been feeling so many things," Ienzo admitted. "And they're all intense and unfamiliar…"

"Is that why you kissed me?"

He nodded. "I needed something to dull the pain. And you didn't hurt me, but I did make things more… complicated." He swallowed. "My body feels so strange to me now and I'm not used to feeling so clumsy or so wanting- I used to be so eloquent, so in control, and now…"

"How did you feel? When you lost it then?"

His face flushed. "I felt relief. For a moment, it was all… quiet."

Demyx reached over and brushed his finger along Ienzo's cheek. He shuddered. "Would you want to… try it again?"

Slowly, he nodded. Demyx leaned over, feeling Ienzo's breath on his face, and their lips met. Hesitant. He felt a pale shock of that same intense lust, and Ienzo kissed him deeper. "Is it quiet now?"

"Sort of," he said.

"...I'll just have to work harder." He slid his tongue into Ienzo's mouth and felt his own against it, curious and light. Demyx reached up to touch that impossibly soft hair. Ienzo pulled his hands through his; the scrabble of his fingertips against his scalp made him moan a little. Demyx flushed with embarrassment.

"Does that feel… good?" Ienzo asked.

"Just being touched…" He rested one hand on Ienzo's thigh, found it surprisingly firm.

"Yes… I know what you mean."

Demyx eased his hand up a little farther; Ienzo exhaled. "I don't know what I want. But I…" Demyx traced small circles on his thigh; Ienzo gasped.

"We could just… make out."

"...Yes… sounds… very good." Ienzo kissed him full on the mouth before working down his throat. His lips against Demyx's pulse made him shiver, his cock stirring. "You're noisy, aren't you?" He asked in a lower voice, one that only made Demyx harden faster.

"I… guess-" He took a sharp breath as Ienzo ran his tongue along the same spot. He eased Demyx down onto the bed and partially straddled him, and Demyx's knee sort of ended up between his legs, and they both started.

"Oh," Ienzo said, very softly.

"What's wrong?" Had he kneed him in the balls by accident? But then, realizing a little more, Demyx couldn't quite… feel anything there.

He dropped his eyes. His grip on Demyx's shoulders tightened a little. "As may have just become obvious… I don't… have what you'd expect."

"Oh." Then, " oh. So you're-"

He'd turned bright red. "...Quite."

Demyx touched his cheek. "It's okay," he said.

"Admittedly this is part of why things are so strange and overwhelming…"

"I don't care," Demyx said softly. "And I won't tell anyone."

"Mostly everyone here knows," he said, still not meeting his eyes. "And I am not ashamed."

"You shouldn't be." That part of him was still pressed against Demyx's knee, warm through the thin fabric of his pajamas, and his dick throbbed a little. "Really. However I can make this work-"

Ienzo kissed him suddenly, hard, and Demyx pulled him closer, running his hand down the smooth muscle of his back. He reached for the hem of Demyx's shirt, pulling it up over his head, sending a rush through him before, equally, the chagrin- "Oh," Ienzo said softly.

"I should've warned you."

"Oh." He sat up a little, still pressed very firmly against Demyx's leg. He took in the fine web of scars, especially the ones below his ribs. "How-"

"How else?" Demyx said lightly.

"Even never mentioned…" He traced them with his fingers, sending another shudder through him. "Does it ever hurt you?"

"No. Not really."

Ienzo hesitated. He reached for the hem of his own shirt.

"What are you-"

"You'll understand." He pulled it aside, revealing a thick line of scar tissue around his throat.

Suddenly it made a whole lot more sense that Aeleus felt guilt for not being able to protect him. "Oh no."

He smiled a little. "It was quick, at the very least."

"Can… can I-"

"...With just your finger. Not the whole hand."

Demyx listened. The skin felt odd, puckered, under his fingertip. Ienzo gasped. "I'm sorry-"

His eyes widened. "No. It feels… it feels good ."

"Do you think I could…" He leaned up and kissed it softly. Ienzo was trembling all over.

"Oh."

"Okay?"

"Keep going."

Demyx did so. Ienzo's hips were pressed right against his cock. His whole body felt alive and new in a way he hadn't experienced. He kissed along the scar gently, down along his collarbone. Ienzo shifted his weight, rubbing along Demyx's leg, and feeling the warmth of it was almost too much. His hand slid down along Ienzo's chest, the skin so smooth and pale and soft , and he wanted to touch all of it. He rocked his leg gently against him and heard a soft moan.

Equally, Ienzo broke away and kissed at him, his own scars. The way he was moving was getting at him in all the right ways. Demyx had no idea what was about to happen and had the feeling Ienzo didn't know either, but they both wanted so badly for it to keep going. Demyx wrapped an arm tightly around his waist, pulling him closer, helping Ienzo grind a little harder. There was a sweet tightening in the pit of his stomach, getting steadily stronger, a warm wanting.

For a moment they held eye contact, still grinding against each other, the unasked question of should we stop . But it wasn't like they were actually having sex. What was this? Did it matter? There was this raw openness in Ienzo's eyes Demyx had never seen, and he wanted desperately to know who he was below all this. To unravel him.

Ienzo's head bowed low, his hair partially obscuring his face, and Demyx heard him exhale heavily. He wobbled a little, struggling to keep himself up. "Oh," he said again, and when he looked up his face was flushed with embarrassment.

"What?" Demyx asked. Then, realizing, "Did you… just…"

"Um," he said. His eyes flashed. "Yes. I'm… sorry?"

"Why are you sorry?"

His words came out in a patter that overlapped Demyx's last question. "It's just, with this body, I can no longer accurately tell when I'm-"

"About to-"

"Yes. It feels so very different." He pulled his leg back over. "Well I-"

"It's okay."

"I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be." His cock throbbed almost painfully at his sudden absence. "I thought it would be harder to make you come," he joked.

"Evidently not." His face was still flushed bright red. "Should I go?"

"Why?"

"You must be wanting to, uh… not let things get so… doesn't it hurt if you-"

Demyx kissed him softly. He'd never seen this side of Ienzo, and not only was it adorable, it was also turning him on immensely.

"If you're just going to do it as soon as I leave," he began. "Perhaps I should-"

Demyx's face burned. "I mean if you-"

"I do want to. I do."

There was a pause. Demyx laughed a little, and Ienzo did too. He couldn't help it. "Okay."

"Okay?"

Ienzo reached up to untie the drawstring of his pants. Feeling his hands so close to that spot made Demyx weak. "You're shaking," Ienzo said in a low voice.

"I'm nervous."

"Why? I just finished on your thigh." He glanced down, seeing the very obvious boner. "I promise I know what I'm doing." He smirked a little, a smirk that just worsened the tightening in the pit of Demyx's stomach.

Demyx didn't realize that Ienzo could be sexy.

He slid his hand gently over his underwear, stroking at his dick through the fabric. The touch was more of a tease than anything, and Demyx felt a fine sweat all along his body. He took a sharp breath. "Like this?"

Demyx didn't particularly care what Ienzo did, as long as he didn't stop. He nodded, a small sound catching in his throat. His hips bucked up.

Ienzo leaned forward, coming closer, enough so that Demyx could feel his warm breath on his face. He withdrew his hand, and Demyx nearly moaned out loud, but a moment later that same hand was going down his waistband and actually touching him. His skin was so soft against his cock, but the hand was strong, rolling his thumb along the ridge of the head.

It was all so much . Demyx felt his head roll back, understanding with a new clarity how Ienzo hadn't been able to tell he was close when each sensation was brighter, better than the last. Ienzo drew him into a kiss, working him faster, and a moment later Demyx couldn't take it. It rushed over him bright and strong and for a moment he felt like he could truly breathe.

"We're on the same page now," Ienzo said.

"You do know what you're doing," he said dazedly. "For some reason I thought-"

He propped himself on his side. "Thought what?"

"I don't know. Seems weird to me that Zexion would've tried to have sex with people."

"I was curious more than I felt the urge," he admitted. "Sex was such a component of manipulating people-I wanted to know what it felt like. It is very easy to find willing participants in cities. But it was all so… clinical. And I was able to orgasm, but it didn't feel … the way it feels now."

"There are feelings behind it," Demyx said. Then, realizing, "Not, like, feelings feelings but-"

"I know. You're right." A sigh. "They do say the mind is actually the biggest sex organ. Being charmed by a partner, becoming aroused… there's an emotional component to it."

"Did I charm you?"

He lay back on the bed. "For a moment you saw me as I truly was," he admitted. "I'm not sure anyone else ever has."

He reached out to touch Ienzo's face. "We can explore this," he said. "What it means. How it feels."

"...I should like that very much."