Sad Eyes

Now that they had decided Zexion was going to stay and live with them, things had calmed down, and Paine left the room to go cook breakfast; She'd take her shower later, it being one of the less important things on her mind. If she and Demyx were hungry, chances were Zexion was too, and while she was cooking, she could try to think of what they were going to do to make this work. Zexion still sat silently in the corner of the couch, staring down at his feet. Demyx sat down next to him, though giving him a considerable amount of personal space; respecting his 'bubble'.

After a moment, he thought he smelled something odd. Then Demyx realized it was Zexion. I know he's not like me and Paine… but he still shouldn't smell that bad! I wonder when the last time he bathed was…He thought to himself.

Zexion felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He felt eyes watching him, and looked up to see it was Demyx staring at him. "…?"

"I don't mean to be rude…" Demyx started, unsure of how to say this, then deciding to just be straight forward, "But you stink."

Zexion didn't seem to be offended, aware of his own scent. He'd smelled that way for almost as long as he could remember. He'd started to assume it was natural, like Demyx's sea-salt scent, or Paine's steel and leather scent. He was wrong.

"…When was the last time you took a shower?" Demyx asked.

"…A… Shower..?" Zexion was confused.

"You know" Demyx responded, "Like a bath."

"… What's a bath?" Zexion asked, still confused.

Demyx had to stop himself from gaping at Zexion, "You mean you've never had a bath before?"

Zexion shook his head, still confused, and a bit frustrated that he hadn't told him what it was yet, "What's that?"

Demyx stood up gave him his usual goofy grin as he spoke, "A surefire sign that you need one."

Zexion hesitantly took Demyx's hand and stood up, then followed him down the hall towards the bathroom. It seemed pretty nice, the walls painted a lighter shade of periwinkle, with the large, white, tub near the window. There was a light blue candle near the sink, giving the bathroom a fresher smell than it normally would. It smelled almost like blueberries.

Demyx stopped in the middle of the bathroom with Zexion, letting go of his hand. He scratched the back of his head out of habit before gesturing towards the large white tub. "That's where you can take baths and showers." He explained, "You know… clean yourself up."

"Oh…"

Paine had forgotten completely about taking her morning shower, the towel still draped over her shoulder as she looked through the fridge, trying to decide what to make for breakfast. After a moment of staring at the fridge's contents, she decided she would make eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

She picked up a container of leftover pancake batter from the day before, and looked it over, checking to see if it was still any good, or if she would have to make new batter. It seemed to be okay, so she turned and set it down on the counter, before getting out the eggs and bacon.

Next, she searched the cupboards for a clean frying pan, greased it so the food wouldn't stick then turned on the stove and set the pan there. Once the pan became warm enough, she began to make the pancakes. The first few came out larger and slightly burnt on one side. But as time went on, they came out better. She put all the finished pancakes on their own plate for the time being before going on to make the bacon and eggs.

She wasn't sure how Zexion liked his eggs, and decided to make them scrambled just to be safe. She did the same for Demyx knowing he liked his the same way, and smiled as she realized the kitchen was beginning to fill with the scents of the cooking food. She liked it when that happened, because it made her feel as though she were doing something right. She usually ended up burning everything.

She heard the water turn on in the bathroom as she continued to cook, almost done, figuring Demyx must be helping Zexion to get cleaned up. She smiled to herself as she went on to cook the last of the eggs.

Zexion, wrapped in a soft light blue towel, watched as the last of the brown and dirty water made its way down the drain, leaving a few small pebbles in the tub. Demyx was surprised the water hadn't turned to mud after a while. Now that Zexion was completely cleaned, his skin seemed much paler than it had before, it almost having a soft glow to it. However, now that his skin was much paler and cleaner, the small bruises and cuts that were scattered over it became more defined. Demyx winced at the sight, unable to imagine what had been happening for Zexion to be in such a state.

Demyx had also helped him to wash his hair, the small pebbles left in the tub having come from there. Before, it was incredibly dirty, full of dandruff, and was also somewhat greasy. He had been surprised he didn't find any fleas or lice, though he was still glad he didn't. Now that it had been washed, it showed its true color, a darker shade of blue slate, having an almost purple hue to it. It hard been a lot of work to wash and get all the dirt out of his hair, but he could already tell that it would be harder to brush later. Should he wait until it was dry? Or should he try to brush it out now?

No… not right now. First, I need to find some clothes that might fit him… he can't walk around in a towel all day, and his other clothes need to be washed… Demyx thought to himself.

"Wait right here…" He said before walking to his bedroom, going straight to the dresser to dig through his clothes and find something that would fit Zexion. After making a mess of the once neat and folded clothes in an effort to find something, pairs of jeans, underwear, and shirts tossed to various places of the room, he settled on a pair of skinny jeans that had been a few sizes too small for him, and a plain black shirt from a few years ago. They both seemed to be the right size, so he grabbed a pair of boxers for him, and went back to the bathroom with the clothes.

"Here, change into these. I'll meet you in the kitchen." He said before going to the kitchen, not wanting to be in the bathroom while he changed, wanting to avoid that awkwardness, and deciding he could out he clothes on himself.

He went down into the kitchen, and sat down at the table as Paine set down a plate of food in front of him; scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, and three medium sized pancakes. Within moments, Zexion came down and joined them, a plate of food waiting for him as he took his seat at the end of the table next to Demyx. He looked down at the food on the plate, smelling it curiously. It looked and smelled good, so he began to eat, and found it also tasted good. He hadn't eaten much for the past few days since his escape, and ate the food rather quickly, his hunger showing. Paine noticed this, and was about to offer him more.

Everyone seemed to freeze as there was knock on the door.

What's this, another cliff hanger? Oh no! Sorry this chapter took so long to make and upload, our wifi got shut down. Or more… my neighbor's did if you get what I'm hinting at. Also, I'm almost sure Paine's OOC… I don't know the character very well, I just thought she'd be the best to use here. Though I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time you've read a fic with some OOC characters. Checking my email, I found a few more people add this to their favorites and put it on watch. Many thanks and free cookies to you! I am nothing without my readers. I don't know when I'll have wifi at home again… so from now on, until then, uploads will be infrequent, being made whenever I happen to take my laptop to my local McDonalds. I'll try to type some in advance. Thanks for being patient!

Also, I'm going to attempt to write something for Akuzeku day (Another favorite pairing of mine), but I doubt I'll be able to upload it in time. I'm supposed to go 'home' at some point in June, so I'll probably hog Minty's wifi to upload stuff while I'm there.

As always, reviews are appreciated. I don't really even mind flames either. Just remember that I read everything left. If I've made any errors or there's something you think I can improve on, please don't hesitate to tell me. There's always room for improvement. 3