So I'm finally back... I was really sad, trust me. I was a very angsty individual during the time that I couldn't post because I kept second guessing. That's bad. When I start second guessing, I mess stuff up... But still, the story goes on and in the same way it started... a little-lot more character D for Demyx here. Lots of cold-people-speak in this one. I know that when I'm freezing and my jaw is going, I can't get out a sentence without pausing to collect myself a few times...
Losing one's heater in the middle of winter in Atlanta really does kind of blow... heh.
Oh... next chapter I'll venerate my beloved favoriters, reviewers, and the people who have kept tabs on this... I totally love you all.
EDIT!
So... beta'd by the wonderful Mousewolf... you guys should know what to do by now. ;)
::: Black Holes and Revelations :::
Demyx yawned, body shaking all over as he did. There was warmth at his back, pleasant and vague, but everywhere else was bleak cold and it was still dark out. He could hear Zipporah whining softly at the edge of the bed, but Axel would probably kill him if he let the dogs up on it… wait-one-minute-bed-WHAT???
Demyx leapt up, turning in the process and completely missing the edge of the bed. He made a high-pitched noise of pain and surprise as he crashed to the icy-cold floor, and Axel woke with a start.
"Fucking mother of all things holy!" the redhead yelped, shivering hard, "Get right back here, Dem! It's freezing!"
"I know!" Demyx warbled, jaws chattering loudly. He forgot his initial embarrassment and slid back under the covers and pressed close to Axel as humanly possible. He was faintly aware of the edge of an oncoming migraine, but ignored it and patted the bed in front of Zipporah. She instantly jumped up onto the bed and slid under the covers, curling up against the two men's feet. Axel called Leto and the dog positioned himself similarly.
"T-th-the he-heater must h-have gone ou-out…" Axel stuttered, shivering hard. Demyx felt bad for the guy. He was like a skeleton.
With a strangely decisive movement, the blond hooked a finger in Axel's quivering jaw, silencing the chattering effectively. Axel looked confused, but made no effort to remove the younger man's finger from his mouth. His expression was almost disgustingly unreadable.
Demyx was feeling sort of vaguely apologetic, dim memories of last night returning. "S-Sorry… it's j-j-just th-that I'm getting a… nast-t-… n-nasty headache…"
"Y-yeah," Axel said softly, his words a little warped, "I can imagine. Y-you were p-pretty out of it last night."
"Did I… t-try to rape y-you?"
Axel looked a little surprised. "K-kind of…"
Demyx blushed. "I… err…"
"You w-wh-were just horny. I underst-stand."
"Sorry…"
Axel pulled Demyx into a tight embrace, grinding their shivering bodies hard together. Demyx gasped in surprise, but made no move to escape the strangle-hold Axel had on him. His mouth was warm and there were two fingers hidden behind his lips now. Demyx automatically bent his head, rested it in the crook of the other's neck.
Axel laid them both back gently, nuzzling his face into the mess of Demyx's dirty-blond mohawk, breathing in the faint scent of sweat, hair-gel, and cigarettes. Demyx, now with both hands freed gently slipped them around Axel's gaunt hips. Despite the perfection of the whole situation, despite the fact that this was all going over better than he could have imagined at any other time, Demyx was nervous. His heart pounded in his chest like a jackhammer, but he was breathing deep and slow.
He made his move, slipped his head from under Axel's stubbly chin and pressed his lips to the artist's gently. Axel responded favorably and Demyx soon found himself wrestling for dominance over the redhead, struggling to breathe, hands taking in every inch of pale firmament.
This was too perfect. There had to be something… some catch.
"Is this… a dream…?" Demyx husked, pulling back from the other harshly.
"You only wish…" Axel laughed, pulling the blond back against him.
"Won't this… f-fuck things up?" he moaned, body tensing as Axel's capable hands caressed him in places he wouldn't even dream of letting anyone else touch him.
"It always does," the redhead said softly, "but you know, I'd rather be working for a decent paycheck than trying to win the lottery."
Demyx smiled. "You pulled that from Bright Eyes."
"I did."
"You're a bad boy…" Demyx breathed, writhing in his ecstasy.
"So how are you going to make me pay?"
--- ---
There was a catch.
The problems were more or less apparent instantly. Demyx didn't want to be on the bottom, and neither did Axel, and in this contest of wills, it was only natural that they fought like soldiers for the right of position, and both ended up bearing the bruises from the affair. In the end, it was Axel who lost by a long shot, mostly because he gave up at some point. He really didn't know much about fucking men, and secretly he was rather curious about what it felt like on the receiving end.
Demyx, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing. Axel couldn't help but feel like an instrument in the blond's capable hands… but it never actually escalated as far as Axel had expected it. Demyx was shockingly chaste for someone who had been waiting for so long.
"Now that we've got this straight," Demyx panted, looking down at the redhead between his legs, "I think we should take it easy for a little while."
"What do you mean?"
"I highly doubt you've ever gotten it dans l'âne."
Axel hesitated. "Wait… you just said what now?"
"I'm not touching your butt tonight," Demyx said rather flatly. It made Axel cringe a little with disgust.
"Dem… you're no angel are you?"
"I'm a whore, Axel. A complete whore." He said it with deathly seriousness. "Anyway, I need a smoke, and it's still fucking freezing in here… what should we do?"
"I'm not sure… lay down, you ass! You're getting cold air under the sheets!"
Demyx obliged, arranging himself mostly on top of the redhead, head resting gently on the other's chest. He smiled.
"I can hear your heartbeat."
"You're such a little kid sometimes."
"It's neat, though… don't you think it's kind of cool?"
"I don't know… I never really bothered with anything like that."
Demyx smiled, rolled over onto his back and dragged Axel with him. The redhead looked confused, hands resting lightly on the younger blond's well-muscled chest. Demyx pulled Axel down against him.
"Listen," he whispered, closing his eyes and stroking the other man's thick fiery hair.
And Axel did. He could technically say he'd never really been this close to another human being before, and it was a little awkward for him for some reason. He listened to the soft but strong drumming of the other's heart against his ear… it was so foreign, but so calming. There was something deep and old about it, like the sound of the sea.
"Told you," Demyx laughed his voice much more full and rich like this.
"Yeah…" Axel replied, "It is pretty cool…"
--- ---
Christmas was nearing rapidly, and Axel had painted his first self-portrait. Demyx had laughed when he took the picture, instantly proclaiming it a "MySpace pic." Axel didn't mind that though. He secretly took it and began painting it. He also worked on a couple of candid shots Demyx had gotten of him at their favourite little café.
One of him sitting quietly at a table with a big umbrella overhead, a teacup gripped lightly in his fingers, nearly everything in white, his hair a sharp but pleasing contrast. The second, a shot of him taking a break from one of the paintings, hands still covered in a multicolored coat of acrylic, silhouetted in sliding-glass door to the balcony on the second floor.
He wanted to finish all three of them before Christmas. He had never really been good buying gifts, so this is what he'd always done. He made things.
He checked the wall clock and snorted. About an hour until Demyx got home from his job as a guitar teacher. He'd leave the painting as it was for now and then return it to where it was covered in its own little nook next to the other two. He would wait until Dem fell asleep that night before starting on it again.
The heater was still broken, but the landlord had brought in an ample amount of space heaters, and Axel didn't mind it so much. The only thing he had to watch out for was the dogs - they kept getting too close and singeing off hair and whatnot and already their backs were looking patchy.
He sighed and escaped to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee. No sugar or cream. He was just too damn lazy right now. He was enjoying said coffee when the phone rang. He put the cup down and hunted for the handset. It was never, ever in the base unless Demyx actually remembered to put it back. He discovered it under a pair of Demyx's black jeans.
"H'lo?"
"Um… Hi. Is Demyx around, by chance?"
Another man's voice… mystified, he wondered who it could possibly be, because for a moment whoever it was sounded exactly like the musician. "He's at work right now - should be back in an hour or so, but if it's really important I can give you his cell."
"I have it, but I'm kind of afraid to call…"
"Who is this?"
"Uh… tell him Zell Dincht called, okay? I'd really appreciate it. I've been looking for him for four years."
Axel was taken aback, all he could manage was a quiet, "Sure."
"Um… just out of curiosity, you're Axel, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Thanks for taking care of my little bro. I've been worried. He can be such a cry-baby sometimes."
The line cut promptly.
Axel stared at the handset for a second, then turned it off and dumped the phone numbly back into its cradle in the base. He hadn't even known that Demyx had a brother at all.
They needed to talk.
--- ---
"I'm home, Darling Dearest!" Demyx called loudly, stepping into the door with a broad grin on his handsome face, "I got a Crimmus bonus!"
He loved saying shit as weird as he possibly could.
Axel was sitting distractedly on the couch, a bottle of Irish Cream lying limply between his legs and a big cup of coffee in his delicate hand.
Demyx came in, grin fading only slightly. "Drinking this early, Axel? I'm disappointed. It's only 4:30!"
"Demyx… your older brother called. Zell, he said his name was. He said he's been looking for you for… four years…"
"Jesus…" Demyx breathed, suddenly clawing his phone out of his pocket. "Axel, did he leave a number?"
"It's in the phone, but – Dem-"
"I can't talk now, I'm sorry. But I promise I'll tell you everything. I have to talk to him."
"Your last name isn't Dincht." State the obvious, Axel. Yeah, real smart.
"I know. I changed it. I didn't want them to find me in the first place…"
"Who? Who didn't you want to find you?"
He paused painfully, dropping the phone back into the base. "Mom and dad…"
He paused, then mumbled, "I'll be back in a few."
Demyx pressed the call button on his cell phone and slipped back out the door without his coat.