Okay, because I'm just so sweet... And it's a holiday so I'm generous.

Shameless Plug, cuz it's that damn funny. Of Pockets and Flowers. by Mentaru.
AkuRoku. Roxas wonders about Organization pockets, Axel's afraid of flowers, and... Marluxia's... just read it! And review. Mentaru's feeling left out and I brag to her face. More who review, and she'll give me sea-salt! Review it for Senpai!

All of these in a span of one weekend, WOW. I love you all.
...ShadowAili: Yes, or JereduLevenin will cry. Cuz, well... we need publicity. And you are a very cruel person. Here, have some answers, a juice box, and a little paper hat! -gives things and pouts with new sketchbook and the most random of piccurs- When's your birthday, btw?
...Kita Ito: More fresh meat! I mean... -sigh- yes, exactly. Am glad you like, thankies! -gives sea-salt-
...Mina The Forgotten Memory: There are gonna be 26 chapters. Officially. I've yet to finish writing it all, but I can say for certain that there will, indeed, be at least 20. And plastic is icky, but yesh. Pain is good shtuff. -is sadistic- But... nurse's outfit... -gives you a chocolate malt ball- We never speak of Nurse Larxene again... but that's funny, never thought of that! Now I wanna change DemDrug's number. -but is lazy-
...hanakitsunechan7: Yay, chicken ramen! Did the trick! And yesh. -gives kleenex- they are, indeed, alive. For the most part. -evil laughter- Am glad for your birthday, have fun!
...Roxanne: You children have some horrible thoughts for being so little. What happened to barbies?! I played with them until I was 13! And I still sleep with my teddy bears!... and Kakashi, but that's not the point! -cough- Yesh, no more accidents. Too much description, and the writer ish lazy. -gives chocolate-
...Shattered Sanctuary: Am glad you liked! Makes me happy... those pairings make me happy... yum, CloudLeon... yuuuuum... don't worry, just gotta find a plot and everything will fall into place. Don't force it, though, let it come to you! Good luck! -gives a thank-you and plot bunny-
...Metal Chocobo: Yeah... I probably wouldn't have much of a story if one of them died. Am glad you enjoy the scents! It's fun labeling people by how they smell. Demyx's smell makes me happy. -gives a thank-you chocolate bunny-
...SeventhSenses: W00t, more fresh meat! I shall name you bacon! Merely cuz I like bacon... yay for emo music! Am glad you enjoy. Thankies for reviewing, it makes me happy! -gives chocolate-
...sesshomaruhasafluffytail: Yayz for relief! -gives chocolate- Oh. Zexion wants his pants back. Says he won't kiss Dem until you give 'em back to him.
...blackkeyblade: Am glad you love, thankies! -gives chocolate keyblade- Zexy's nose is so adorable.
...Ivan's Kitsune: Yay for living! -gives chocolate- Teehee. "Jagshamesh! My name is Shadi! I likea you. Do you like me?" "No."
...Ranchdressing: Thankies for reviewing and well wishes! Oh, and I heard Skillet. "Rebirthing" is my fav song from them now... out of the 3 I got on the demo CD. And yeeeesh. Yay for fine print!
...Gentle Kit: Yay! -gives chocolate- I just loooove Zexy's nose!
...Lunaa: Yay! I made someone's day! -doesn't do that often- -gives chocolate- Thankfully. I know I'd probably be creeped out if someone kept sniffing me, but I guess guys are different...
...Silva-trees: I think Axel was lying. Either that or Demyx soaks drugs up like a spooonge. Yesh yesh, yay for nice people! Yay, I r luffled! You ish luffled too! -luffles-
...Evil Genius of the COCA: Not good for Evil geniuses to lose their WoMD, now is it? -maniacal laughter... stole things- Am glad you laughed and aww'd. I like fluff...and don't imagine the pictures. Don't imagine them!

...jeez, it takes me half an hour to write to all of you people! Oh well, keep going!

Axel's brain is a lost cause. Roxas threw down the hose and made kinky fanfiction sex with Blindfold!Riku in The Place That Doesn't Exi--oh wait. The... screw the name. This is crack. Crack says hello.

Mystery partly revealed! Yay!

Whispered Melody
.xiv.
You Can't Wanna Feel Like Me
..part three..

Papers. Cloth furniture, chemicals, candle, faint smoke.

"Zexion..."

He wasn't even going to look at her. Dr. Gainsborough insisted that they talk over his options and plans on what he would do about his brother and their monetary situation. It was quite a burden to give the young boy, but the government didn't seem to care. Since they found out about his brother, they were suspicious of him, and planning on ending their involvement with him. He didn't want to discuss it.

"You have to say something sooner or later..."

He stared out of the window. There weren't any birds, and the blinds were down, though open, giving him fragmented images of the world around him. A lovely thing to see, actually, the pieces of he sky and the unfinished clouds carrying into different panels. Incomplete scenes passing around him, still or moving, inconsistent.

She wasn't inconsistent at all. The news always changed, uncomfortable changes, but she sat him down and she spoke calmly, patiently. Always so collected and even... it bothered him.

"Zexion... please speak to me..." she asked softly. "Or at least look over here..."

He finally sighed and looked up. "They'll evict me," he said. "If they cut coverage two days ago, it means I'm on my own with the bills, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"So I'm going to be kicked out of my apartment. They're going to cut my cell"--he forgot that his cell had been broken in the crash--"I won't have anywhere to stay since they'll most likely do the same thing to him--"

"Your brother stays in a dorm. The school pays for him," she said softly. "Plus, I'm sure with your excellent grades, they might give you a dorm if you work in the library... Or maybe you could move in with one of your frie--"

"No. I don't need to depend on them right now," he hissed darkly.

She sighed as she shook her head. "Zexion, you do need them. You're not going to get well trying to depend only on yourself. They need you, and in return, you have to depend on them. You'll get stressed out and you'll land yourself right back here."

He shook his head, glaring at her. "No more weekly meetings. I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

Aerith smiled. "Because you need to talk to someone." Her look softened and the smile faltered into a concerned look. "Zexion, stress isn't good for you, and you bottle things in, and you'll end up cracking under the pressure and doing something drastic. Again."

"I don't need you to remind me..." he muttered, glancing down at his hands. Though there weren't bandages or blood-stains, he could still remember what happened. It caused a slight scowl to form.

"You do. You're going to pretend you don't, and you'll become ill again. Plus, you can't do much on your own, especially with your broken foot."

He glared at her. "I'll just be on crutches, but I can do whatever I feel like, damn it!" he hissed coldly, forcing himself to stand. Hopping over to his wheelchair, he calmly dropped down onto it and looked at the ground, moving the wheels. He had learned to maneuver it within an hour of having it, and although his friends insisted on pushing him around, he was capable of managing himself around the flat floor of the hospital, as well as the elevator.

"Zexion, we're not done--"

"This is ending right now, Dr. Gainsborough," he said sharply. "I'm not talking to you, and I'm going back to my room."

She couldn't help but let him leave, and he could hear her sigh as he wheeled himself to the door. He ignored her and merely continued down the hallway, heading to his room. Waiting for him, sitting on the bed, was a note, scribbled rather sloppily on simple, lined paper, edges ragged as if ripped from a spiral notebook. He picked it up calmly and flipped it open.

Zexion, it read, remember, if there's anything you wanna talk about, I'll listen. Your doc thinks we should communicate more. A smiley face was drawn on the paper, and a decorated "Demyx".

Zexion sighed. She was meddling, and he knew she had a reason to, but he didn't want it to happen. That afternoon, he sat in his wheelchair and debated on the idea of going to talk to Demyx, but fell asleep instead.

That night, his dream was rather odd. He was around seven or eight, standing next to his brother and holding his hand, and his brother smiled down at him, speaking to him. He couldn't hear his brother, blinking in confusion at the lack of actual words coming from his brother's mouth. But instead of clarifying louder, his brother let go of his hand and began walking away, and he couldn't chase after him.

Wednesday.

When he woke, he wanted to cry. Axel stood by his bed again with a slight frown, looking at him. "Zex?" he said softly. "Demyx asked me to see if you were okay..."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't look so sharp. Are you okay?"

Zexion pushed himself to sit up, looking ofer at Axel. He wasn't sure when he was moved to his bed, but he didn't even care, and mainly sighed, dropping his head into his hands for a moment.

"Zexion?"

"...Tell Demyx... I'll stop by later. Tell him now."

Axel sighed, but didn't question, and promptly left. Once gone, Zexion sighed for a bit longer, then grabbed a telephone, quickly dialing Aerith's personal cell.

"Hello?" her soft voice answered, on the verge of being half-asleep. He had to wonder if he woke her.

"Um... D-Dr. Gainsborough..."

"Zexion... you want to finish talking now?"

"I want to see my brother."

"All right. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, he sat next to her in a room two floors down, staring at a pale man with an X-shaped scar on his face. He seemed to be asleep, attached to an IV and curled on his side under a few blankets.

"There... Saix, are you awake?" Aerith asked softly.

His eyes opened tiredly, and roamed the room, staring at her before slowly drifting to look at Zexion. When the older man spotted him, he gripped the arms of the wheelchair. "Why's he here?"

"He wanted to see you," she replied. "He's your brother, he cares about you."

Zexion bit back the urge to say 'No I don't' and roll away, and slowly pushed himself to sit up, his eyes not once leaving his brother. Zexion couldn't bring himself to make direct eye contact but refused to look at the floor, and proceeded to look at his brother's features, tracing the mark that now lay in the center of his brother's face, wondering how it had gotten there. His brother continued to glare, and he didn't murmur a word.

"Zexion... why don't you say hello? He's not going to do anything," she said softly.

He glanced at her, a bit unsure, but soon looked back at Saix and wheeled himself a bit closer. "You still hate me, right?"

Saix glared deeper and looked down. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Car accident. And you had alcohol poisoning because you're a drunk."

It technically wasn't the reason. The cause of Saix's hospitalization was poisoning, most likely due to alcohol, for drugs and other substances were found through his body. They weren't sure if he had been poisoned or was abusing, but he would most likely end up with community service over this. Zexion was still rather upset--it was most likely Saix's fault Zexion was so messed up, for having such horrible friends.

Yes. That seemed like a good thing to blame. Saix and his friends. If Saix's friends hadn't been into so many bad things, maybe Zexion wouldn't've been beaten so much. Maybe his father would've allowed him to eat every day, and probably not hit him so much. Maybe his mother would still be alive, caring for him, giving him a place to spend Christmas and sending him cookie recipes in college. Maybe he'd be engaged to Naminé and his father would leave him alone. Maybe...

Maybe life was just meant to suck.

"I'm not a drunk." Saix reached down and grabbed his shoulder tightly, and Zexion visibly winced. "At least I'm not a sociopath... walking around campus like you're just one of them, and you're completely screwed up."

Zexion continued to glare at him, trying to pry his arm away. "It was one of your friends, I bet--"

"Don't you dare blame my friends for your own damn problems!"

Saix shoved him back and his wheelchair almost tipped. Zexion grabbed onto the device to steady himself, and looked up at his brother again.

"They're cutting the funds today. No more checks, Saix. And you graduate at the end of the semester--think you have enough to continue living on your own?"

Saix glared at him. Although he looked angry, Zexion knew he was letting it sink in, and he was thinking up what he was going to do next. "I've got plans... who manages the inheritance now?"

Zexion glanced away and shook his head slightly. He didn't know who could manage the funds now, but was certain that they'd probably have to communicate now. After the incident, Saix had shut Zexion out of his life, and Zexion thought it was for the better. But Saix's drinking habits, now out in the open, were forcing them to cooperate.

"Can we split it straight down the middle and just take our shares?" Saix asked Aerith.

She shrugged. "You'll have to talk to the company holding onto the will currently. I called earlier, but they'll only let a blood relative discuss most of the matters. It would have to be you, though; Zexion isn't twenty-one yet and therefore he's too young."

Zexion couldn't help but pout slightly. He hated the clauses that he had to rely on Saix for--he hated the idea of relying on others. He was fine on his own, yet he had to burden others with these problems. Sighing, he turned his wheelchair and headed towards the room. "I'll be in touch."

"Little booger-face, get back here!" Saix called after him, and quickly looked down, stunned at his words. He hadn't called Zexion that pet name since they were young.

It cause Zexion to pause, but before he turned around completely, he looked away and wheeled himself out faster. He took a brief visit to Demyx's room to find him struggling with a pair of sneakers. The blond couldn't bend forward to reach the shoes, but he had laces in his hand and struggled with attempting to tie them. When Zexion came into view, he paused and looked up brightly, moving both hands to wave.

"Hi, Zexy!" he greeted. He soon frowned as he looked down at his shoe, and the dangling laces.

Zexion wheeled himself closer. "Let me help with those..." he said softly. Demyx held up his foot and he tied the laces with large, childish bows and a double-knot. He repeated the procedure with the second shoe and pat them both. "There. All fixed." Looking up, he raised an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Demyx grinned and nodded. "Yep. Larx is gonna get me checked out soon. Hey, Zexy, you get to leave later too, don't you?"

He nodded. He had almost forgotten about that. He still had quite a few hours left, and one last visit from a doctor for certainty, though.

"Who's taking you home?" the blond questioned him.

He shrugged. "Probably Vexen or Axel, depends on who I call." Though Demyx seemed a bit worried at the lack of certainty in the answer, he said nothing and nodded. "I might be busy for the next few days, though..."

"Aww..." Demyx frowned as he looked at Zexion. "Can't even stop by for dinner?"

He leaned back and shrugged. "I'll see, okay? I just have some stuff to take care of, but I'll see." Looking up at Demyx's frown, he forced a small smile. "I'll try my hardest. Axel says you'll feed me something other than ramen."

Demyx grinned, even though he didn't seem very convinced by the smile. "Yeah, I really will! I can cook a lot of things! Next time, you stay for breakfast again, and I'll make you more pancakes..." he said with a smug look, moving his eyebrows.

Zexion smiled slightly, and Demyx grinned. He leaned down, twisting himself to the side as he began aiming himself in for a kiss, but Larxene stopped that quickly as she forced the door open. "Asswipe."

"Aww, Larxene, don't say mean things about Zexy!" Demyx whined as he looked up.

She smirked. "Wasn't talking about him. Got you all signed out, now you just need to actually leave and you're good." She grinned, then looked down and tilted her head to the side. "And you're not suing, right?"

Zexion shook his head. "Oh, me? No. You just owe me more cookies."

"How 'bout I pay you ten bucks now and not go through the baking process?" she offered.

He gave her a thumb's up and Demyx shifted from the bed to shove her out. Then quickly, he hurried back in, hobbling slightly in his movements as he hurried over and kissed Zexion. "I will call you tonight, okay?" he whispered. Zexion nodded simply, and soon Demyx bounced out of the room, hobbling after Larxene as he tried to tell her he couldn't run after her again. Zexion smiled and shook his head slightly and began rolling himself out of the room.

"Oh... damn it!" He forgot to tell Demyx that his phone had been crushed in the car. ...Oh well. He could call Demyx once he had Axel take him home. Returning to his room, he called Axel, and got the voice mail that he was out with Roxas--and that would take a while. He soon dialed Vexen, but received the answering machine. And Naminé was in another town... he really had nobody else to call. And he was determined not to call Demyx...no, he could get home just fine without him. Anyway, Demyx needed his own recovery time, Zexion would be fine.

A doctor had talked with him, given him around four prescriptions, and helped him adjust crutches to his height--he didn't want to take a wheelchair, and figured he'd be fine. The doctor frowned when Zexion shifted himself to his feet and headed to the door on his own.

"Is anyone coming to get you?" he asked.

"No," Zexion replied, "I can make it home on my own." He wasn't sure of it, but somehow, thankfully, he managed the bus system and a short walk back to his apartment. The stairs were tricky--for the elevator was out of service, and he found himself hopping, hobbling, and soon just inching his way up by sitting and moving step at a time--but he finally made his way to his apartment. Tiredly limping to his door, he frowned at the notice.

"Damn it, already?" he asked himself.

Ripping it off the door, he opened it and decided he'd let the letter wait until tomorrow. He merely hobbled in and crashed on the couch.

.xv. end .xv.

Aaaaand it just goes from bad to worse! Happy Easter! Yay!

"That Kaiba kid needs to get laid."
-Grandpa, YGO!TAS (by LittleKuriboh. Down with youtube's copywright rules!