8.

Act

They walked back mostly in silence. By the time they finally got back, it was very late and Ienzo was exhausted, his feet hurting awfully. The light in the window of the townhouse was on. Ienzo took a moment to compose himself. "Are you going to come in? Visit old friends?"

Dilan chuckled. "Maybe another time."

"So leaving me to explain this on my own, then."

He smiled. "Oh, I know you can talk your way out of it. Until we meet again." He disappeared almost soundlessly into the night.

He hadn't fully opened the door before Even was on him, grasping his shoulders. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" All the anger was gone.

"I'm fine. I'm simply-very tired."

"Where were you? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I needed some air."

"It's after dark-you could've gotten hurt, or worse-"

"I was fine." He started towards the stairs. "Even, I can… defend myself."

"At the cost of setting a beacon for all Xehanort's many eager ears."

This felt like a conversation he'd had many times. "We can argue about this in the morning. I need rest."

He sighed. "Very well." Even shut the light.

Ienzo took a warm shower. Once he was in bed, despite his exhaustion, he struggled to sleep.

Meet the resistance. Be the face of it.

To do something. At last.

What about Demyx? They were… quite literally… soulmates. Ienzo felt that rush of heat in his magic again, but it wasn't lust. At least, not entirely. Had Ansem truly not known about this? Even seemed to think so, Dilan didn't. Who was right?

Ienzo wished he could ask him. If Ansem had known… why had he made this decision? He, who openly encouraged Ienzo's willfulness?

(Or was that encouragement all an act?)

He began to understand what Demyx had meant when he said he wasn't sure if anyone in his life actually cared for him… No, Ienzo, stop being dramatic. If Even and the others didn't care about him, they could've abandoned him, or worse, long ago. They did care-even if their care was smothering, misguided-

He took a deep breath, and then another, and another. No use getting worked up.

He wished Demyx were here with him.

Ienzo sat through class in a haze the next day. He had Demyx's pendant, as well as the other, in his pocket (he refused to think of it as his , but yet also could not bring himself to put it back in its little silver box). He'd only managed to sleep for a few hours, too wound up to do anything other than fret and toss and turn. His calves were aching from the long walk both ways. Had he always been this physically weak? Maybe that should change, especially if he were considering meeting this aqueous resistance. There was a gym on campus, free to use with his tuition. Might be worth scouting out.

He again had the class Demyx TA'd for. He couldn't help the small smile seeing him, and found it returned. But then, with a flash-he was going to have to tell Demyx what he'd learned. A wave of anxiety made him physically dizzy, and his magic threatened to wake up. He held it at bay and tried to focus on the lecture, about the neoclassical movement. Instead he found himself scribbling in the margins of his notebook.

This was all so bizarre.

He barely knew Demyx, yet here their lives were intertwined. Perhaps the rushes of feeling he was having were predetermined. He tried to hold onto that rage of having this choice taken from him, yet, it was so soothing . So almost instinctive. He hadn't even known he was gay prior to this, had perhaps thought he was nothing . Was he even meant to be with anyone else? Perhaps this was what was called "demisexuality", something he'd read about aqueously when he'd researched gender all those years ago-

This romanticism was somewhat pathetic.

Demyx immediately joined him after the class was over. "Hey," he said. "How are you doing?"

"I am… tired," he said. "And yourself?"

"I've been thinking a lot about… stuff," he said evasively.

"Do you have a few moments?"

A small smile. "For you? Any time."

And he knew that the simplicity of this phrase should not have made him melt -gods, Ienzo hated this. "Is there somewhere private on campus we can talk?"

Demyx pursed his lips. "Sure. Come on." He led him to the older section of campus. Despite the dreariness of a sky threatening rain, the light still seemed rosy, warm. This time, when Demyx slid his hand into Ienzo's, Ienzo didn't pull away. He liked the way the calluses fit against his own soft skin.

They approached one of the ivy-covered structures. Its face had a sandstone arch, and old glass doors. Ienzo saw closed doors leaving to what was presumably an auditorium. Demyx took him to the left. "Music and music ed have most of our classes here," he said. "It's kind of… old, I know."

As they passed classrooms, Ienzo saw what Demyx meant; the whole building had that slightly sweet smell of old wood. The empty classrooms had blackboards instead of the smartboards Ienzo had seen elsewhere, and the desks were mismatched. Some doors were propped open with doorstops where their hydraulics had failed. A few wooden upright pianos were scratched, their finish faded.

"It's funny," Demyx continued. "The concert and recital series bring in a ton of money for campus, and they can't even bother to remodel the place."

"Where does it go, then?"

"Did you see that fancy new engineering building?" He sighed. "Listen. Science? Is great. But people aren't going to listen to science on their commute and they're not going to see it when they turn on their TV. Science won't help you through the bad times."

Ienzo bit his lip; it had been Ansem who steered them culturally towards the sciences. "It's a shame," he said instead.

Demyx took him up one more flight. He took a keycard out of his wallet and tapped it on a closed door. "Et voila," he said lamely. "One of the only real perks of being a TA."

It was a small, square room, with black soundproofing foam mounted on the walls. There was an electric keyboard, a few black metal music stands, and a chair or two. "A practice suite?"

He nodded. "We're supposed to do lab hours, but… honestly a lot of us just use them to hang out. Or… other stuff." He winced. "Not that this is why we're here." He pulled two chairs over from the wall. "So… what did you want to talk about?"

Ienzo took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Demyx's pendant. "I wanted to give this back to you," he said softly. "Moreover…" He took out the second. Unceremoniously, he fitted the two together.

Demyx's expression had gone blank, his eyes wide.

"We're not just pairbonded," Ienzo began. "We're soulbound. My… guardian told me about it. Apparently… your people offered you to me… as protection, and in a wayward attempt at peace. That all of you might help pacify the unrest in Radiant Garden, and stave off revolution during a period of reform."

Demyx's hand snapped to his mouth.

"And allegedly, this was done because of the ways our souls resonated with one another. So this half… is mine." He offered it back to him, but Demyx didn't take it. "I know this is a lot to take in-believe me, I didn't react half as well."

His hand shot from his mouth to his temple, and he let out a pained gasp.

"Demyx?"

"I-I, um…" He squeezed his eyes shut. "I think I… remember-"

"Remember what?"

"God, it fucking-" He rocked back and forth slightly. "Oh…"

"Are you alright?"

When Demyx finally opened his eyes, they were wet. "Got it," he said simply. "I was… picked." He said it with the air of something new and yet known. "My parents… my mom was really sick, and… they would be provided for if… I went with them."

"With who?"

"The… choosers, the chief of our… colony." There was something distant and horrified in his eyes. "I was… sold? So my mom could get medicine?"

"They were pairbonded," Ienzo murmured. "Easier to lose you than her… I'm so sorry."

"And then, I…" He stood up suddenly, and went over to the window. "They took me, said I had somewhere important to be, and then I saw you."

"That was when you saved my life," Ienzo said.

"Yes, but… after that…" He tapped his forehead. "They… cut off my form, and they were going to… send me to you, I think, more directly, but…" He leaned heavily against the sill. "All of sudden the colony was being sieged, and everything was being…" A moan. "I just ended up on the beach… and I forgot."

"And then someone found you."

"And adopted me. And I lived normally, and Riku and I looked into it when he started getting magic, and then… is now." He turned to face Ienzo, tears running freely down his face.

"I'm so sorry," Ienzo said. "I'm so-" It didn't feel awkward or uncalled for to go over and draw Demyx into his arms, to comfort him as he cried and stroke his hair. Like they'd done it dozens of times before. Ienzo had never been able to make a choice before, and yet still his existence was hurting people.

After a while, Demyx calmed down. He wiped at his eyes. "This is all so weird. Why did they do this to us, Ienzo?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You didn't ask for any of this. You were just a kid."

"So were you." He took a deep breath and realized he, too, was upset. "All along our choices have been taken away from us, and now-" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "There has to be something that can be done. There has to-" In it, a certainty.

He was going to go to the resistance.

"Demyx?" he asked softly. "I think I know a way to stop all this. To give people choices back. Will you help me?"

He bit his lip. Then, "Yeah. I will."

Ienzo leaned forward and kissed him. Too quickly it became hotter, more intense; Demyx still tasted like salt, his skin damp. Ienzo drew his hands up through his hair. Demyx's hands trembled where they rested on his back. He ran his tongue along Demyx's lips and felt them part.

He hated how natural this felt, how good, his magic waking up, his nerves all too raw. If he'd had a choice, would he have chosen Demyx?

Almost at this thought, the other man pulled away. "Do you want to…" He began. "Do you want to go back to my place?"

Ienzo felt the blood rush to his face. "Yes."

Demyx picked up his pendant from its place on the chair and slid it back on. Ienzo couldn't help but stare at the other. "You don't have to," he said.

Ienzo nodded, and put it back into his pocket.

They walked off campus together in a sort of silence. Anticipation had his heart racing. He had no idea what he was about to do, if anything, but this resolve made him eager to explore. They were going to get through this together . Demyx's hands, when he undid the lock, were still shaking. "Um, it's through here," he said. "My room. I mean." The color in his face warmed his tan skin. They took off their shoes at the door.

Ienzo followed him in a haze. The room was relatively small; it barely fit the double bed, the desk and dresser, and a bookshelf full of CDs and records. Ienzo wasn't sure why he was surprised it was clean; in fact, he could smell fresh laundry and floor cleaner. Blinds made the light even rosier. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, an instrument-he guessed it was Demyx's sitar. It was clearly very old, and well loved; the varnish worn off in places, though it had a place of honor by the window on its own stand.

"Oh yeah… there she is," he said softly. He sat on the bed.

"Perhaps you'll play for me sometime," Ienzo said. He turned back to him. It took a moment of culling his nerve before he was able to sit down next to him.

Demyx touched his cheek. "So," he said in a low voice. "Look… if you ever feel uncomfortable with anything, at any time, just tell me."

He nodded. It was hard to breathe, and he was sweating under his cardigan.

Demyx leaned in to kiss him, gently, softly. Ienzo kissed back a little more deeply, reaching over to feel at his back, finding his suspicions were right; Demyx was wiry under that loose shirt.

He pulled away and kissed at Ienzo's jaw, his throat, so slowly , the feel of it making him gasp for air. He could hear Demyx breathing quickly, unevenly, his hand sliding up under Ienzo's thigh, bringing with it a rush of goosebumps, the magic quivering around him in little waves. He let himself be eased back onto the bed, which smelled so like Demyx. Suddenly Ienzo was feeling at his arms, his sides, his chest. His hands were so much more sensitive now.

He should fight this. Wait, as they'd said. But would it really be so awful to see this through if it were unbreakable anyway?

For a moment they broke apart. Demyx brushed away Ienzo's bangs. "That eye's blind," he said, as explanation. "Too much… magic use, at one point in my life."

"Oh." He traced his finger along Ienzo's lip, making him shudder, and kissed his eyelid. "Would it be okay if I-" He reached for the hem of his own shirt.

Ienzo's heart just beat all the harder. "Yes." Even in this dim lighting, he found himself caught staring at him, his lean toned body. Ienzo longed to taste that skin, so he did, pressing his lips Demyx's shoulder, his collarbone. He breathed that salt, that sweetness. Demyx pressed him down against the bed a little more, close enough that their bodies were touching, that he was certain he could feel Demyx's dick. It was rubbing up against him, not quite between his legs, making his clit throb. Ienzo pushed up, wanting to feel more of it. Demyx slid an arm under him to help.

He hadn't ever quite felt like this before. It was a feeling that was somehow so new and so old at the same time, familiar yet not. They drank each other in with a sort of urgency. Demyx's hand slid up under Ienzo's shirt. "Can I-take this-"

"Yes." Ienzo struggled out of the sweater; the cooler air of the room was welcome. For a moment Demyx just looked at him. Then, he traced one trembling hand along Ienzo's side, running it along his flat chest. Ienzo gasped a little.

Demyx leaned down and kissed his nipple, teasing it gently, and Ienzo nearly swore out loud. He'd never wanted so hard, not even as a hormonally confused teenager. "Is that good?"

He could only nod. Demyx kept at it, moving all along his skin before so tentatively sliding one hand up along his inner thigh between his legs. Ienzo thought he might faint.

"You're alright?" Demyx asked.

"Yes." All he could manage; not exactly eloquent.

Demyx touched him slowly, and having it muffled through the clothing was almost more than Ienzo could take. He had to either stop this now, or let it run its course; he was on the verge of falling apart completely. At least this was a choice he could make.

Ienzo pulled his hands away from Demyx's hair and reached for the button of his jeans, startling him. "I don't think I can… do the whole thing," he said thickly. "But perhaps we can-"

"Right. Yeah. Sure." He laughed a little and helped Ienzo out of his own pants. "Little too hot under the collar?"

"I feel I may combust."

Demyx pressed a kiss against his cheek, his jaw, his throat. "Maybe I can do something about that."

"Alright."

"Alright?"

Despite being in this heightened state, it still took a moment or so of finding the nerve before Ienzo was able to touch Demyx too, wondering along the shape of his dick. Demyx gasped. The skin was feverish even through the fabric of his boxers.

"Fuck," he spat. "Ienzo, I-" His hips strained a little. "Could I-touch-"

"Just do it already."

Another small laugh; Ienzo did too, despite himself. How strange, to be so comfortable with a near-stranger, to open this part of himself to him. Demyx kissed him on the lips, teasing him once or twice more before finally sliding his hand down Ienzo's waistband. Ienzo couldn't quite breathe. The moment was so surreal as to be vaguely nostalgic, like it had been done before, the magic making every nerve feel almost twice as much. This is what you wanted, he thought towards it. Well, here.

Demyx felt at him for a moment before he found the clit, almost making Ienzo moan out loud. "God, you're wet."

Ienzo just grabbed him and kissed him. Demyx began to stroke him in earnest, a steady, smooth motion, which did not provide relief so much as turn him on more. "I feel so much," he muttered, without meaning to.

"Me too."

He couldn't quite reciprocate as much as he might have liked, only able to fumble at him a few times. Even his most intense personal sessions could not compare. Ienzo was acutely aware that it was the soulbinding making him experience this so strongly.

"Relax," Demyx whispered.

He tried to listen. He was shaking. Demyx moved his hand a little faster; Ienzo could already feel the tightening beginning in his stomach, his thighs. He resisted it. He felt both out of his body yet so in it, in awe of the soft sounds they were both making, the way it tasted to kiss him. He pressed harder against Demyx's hand. The subtle scratch of the calluses along the too-sensitive part of him became all he could focus on.

This really is happening, he thought dazedly.

"Does this feel good?" Demyx asked him, his voice somewhat distant.

"Don't stop." So he was capable of speech.

Lips against his throat. He could hear his own breath, heightened and strange. He felt Demyx tease the actual opening, and after a moment, slip a finger up into him, causing him to spasm. "Does that-hurt?" Demyx asked. "I-"

"No. It doesn't-" He bucked his hips against it, and feeling the push and pull, Demyx still working his clit with his thumb. "Oh…" Not so much a moan as a sort of realization.

Even after so much buildup, it came as a shock to him, little waves breaking over him. Ienzo wasn't able to do anything but let it happen, a warm release in his magic making the world fuzzy. Demyx pressed a kiss against his forehead. "Did you just-"

"...Maybe a little." He swallowed, feeling tears in his eyes, of all the things. The sensation of warmth hadn't faded, and again all his senses felt raw, as though anything insignificant had peeled away.

"I thought I felt it." He squirmed a little. The color on his face had reached his collarbones.

"Lay down," Ienzo said.

"You don't… I mean, it was your first time ever , so-" It seemed difficult for him to speak.

"I want to."

Demyx complied. Ienzo eased off his underwear and took his dick into his hand. Demyx moaned. "Just kind of-here." He adjusted Ienzo's hand.

A sort of embarrassment almost broke the pleasure he was feeling. How often had he fantasized about having one of these himself, only to not know how to properly deal with it? But after a moment or so, Demyx was making these small beautiful noises, his eyes shut tight. Ienzo tried to kiss him too, to find the spots that excited him. Doing this flooded the magic with another sort of pleasure. Demyx clutched the sheet with one hand. He felt Demyx's cock tense a little, and he moaned, and Ienzo felt the sticky heat of it against his palm. A heartbeat after this, he thought he felt Demyx's energy brush against his, that same moment of release.

Oh.

For a moment they both struggled to catch their breath. Ienzo knew without being told that his hair was again glowing; he could feel it on his scalp. "Are you alright?" Demyx asked him. Then, "here." He handed him a tissue to wipe off his hand.

"I'm… fine." Demyx threw it out for him. "I feel like we've… done this before."

"Me too." He settled more naturally against the sheets and drew Ienzo against him.

"You've had sex with other people. Does it feel like that?"

He laughed. "No. Not even close."

Ienzo did not know the feeling washing over him. He rested his head against Demyx's chest. The other man began to play with his hair.

"Does this happen every time you come?"

"I don't think so. I've never particularly noticed. I think this was… special." His lip curled.

Another laugh. He took one of Ienzo's hands into his. For a few minutes they just enjoyed each other; it took Ienzo too long to realize that what he felt was safety . He did not have to worry, right now, about consciously reining the magic that always threatened to explode from him. Demyx took care of all that. "You know…" He began. "This… soulbond stuff. Do you think you and me would have picked each other otherwise?"

"I… am not entirely sure," Ienzo said. "But… if any of what they've told me is true, then… we were chosen because our souls resonated , not because we're two powerful people. That means on some level… we must be intrinsically compatible. Better to think that… than the alternative."

"I still don't really know you," Demyx murmured. "...And so much for waiting."

"Quite. Well." He took a deep breath. "We've got time… relatively speaking."

"And I should actually buy you dinner."

Ienzo chuckled a little. "That would be quite nice."