Disclaimer - I do not own Kingdom hearts and never will, get used to it.

Warning - More Demyx getting bashed by a toddler and Zexion's dignity going down the toilet.

A/N - Ok all you Demyx/Zexion fans (including me) you get the action that you wanted in this chapter. ] And for lack of a better chapter title, I used the last line of the story -sigh- how uncreative.

Protecting Me

Chapter 3 : Beginning of a Disaster

When I feel like crashing down.

You seem to be around

Soon the repetitive yells of Marluxia and Larxene died down as they descended the stairs to the dining hall. Axel still paced the cluttered floors of Demyx's room trying to think up a plan. Demyx did absolutely nothing of any use. Instead of helping Axel devise a plan, he took to trying to bribe the toddler out of his current hiding spot under the bed. Of course, after his attack, Roxas wasn't so trusting. It would take something big to get Roxas to trust him... Something sweet... something like... CHOCOLATE! Demyx ran over to his desk and pulled out a big bar of milk chocolate. He dangled it teasingly over the bed.

Roxas scampered out from under it and ran towards the sugar filled bar. As soon as he reached it, Demyx held the bar high above his head out of the toddlers range.

"Gimme Chocowate!" Roxas crossed his arms and gave Demyx a death stare. He needed that chocolate more then anything in the world. It just looked so good.

"Demyx, would you give him the damn chocolate. You're making him mad." Axel warned him. He knew how Roxas got when things involved sugar. As a teenager, he was probably more addicted to sugar than Axel was to fire. Hence, his love for sea salt ice cream bars.

"Calm down Ax, I'm just playing wit-" In a fraction of a second, Roxas went from glaring to pouncing violently on Demyx. Once Demyx was successfully knocked to the ground, Roxas leaned over him and effortlessly took the chocolate from his hands.

"Thank you."

Demyx lay on the ground, just trying to make sense of what happened. He was knocked to the ground by a three year old. He blinked a few times to remove the white spots that blurred his vision. It took Demyx a few seconds to get up after getting the wind knocked out of him. The first thing he saw was Axel doubled over clutching at his stomach from laughter.

"M-man, y-you just got... owned... by a kid!" Axel fell backwards against the wall, trying to catch his breath. In the sense of doing anything for something sweet, Roxas was still very much Roxas.

A tiny hand appeared in front of Demyx's face. The melodious nocturne looked up to see Roxas offering his hand.

"You gotted me, I gotted you. So wewe fwiends now. Got it memowized?" Roxas said with a chocolaty grin. Demyx replied with a huge grin of his own.

"Look Axel, he likes me!" Axel rolled his eyes at Demyx.

"While this is all REALLY special for you, it's not about to fix our problem." Axel composed himself to get back to planning.

"Well, this is taking to long. I'm going to breakfast." Demyx stood from his spot and walked past Axel towards the door. Before Number nine could even get one foot out, Axel grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him back in.

"Oh no you don't. You're helping!" Demyx let out a sigh.

"He's pretty small you know. Maybe we should just hide him."

"You idiot, that plan is so," Axel quickly considered his suggestion. He was actually expecting one of his half-baked ideas that would never work in a million years. This one actually had potential. "simple it may actually work. At least until we can fix it…"

xXx

The farther down the brightened halls the trio traveled, the more ridiculous their plan started to seem, but it was the only one they had. Axel pulled out the neck of his Organization jacket to make sure Roxas was following his instructions. Roxas had both of his tiny feet on one of Axel's feet as he clung tightly to his leg. Axel's jacket covered up mini Roxas perfectly from the eyes of others. All Roxas had to do was stay there. Luckily it was pretty easy to convince him it was a new game called hide-under-Axey's-Jacket-and-shut-up.

Soon they arrived at the door to the dinning hall. Axel turned sharply on Demyx and poked a finger at his chest.

"If anything goes wrong I want you to distract. Got it memorized?" Demyx put his hand to his forehead and saluted. Axel rolled his eyes. "Just try to act natural." Axel took a long deep breath before opening the door.

The others seemed to have already finished their breakfast. The long white table was cluttered with half empty plates and used napkins. Xemnas, Saix, Vexen and Xaldin sat on the far side of the table chatting quietly while the others stood on the opposite side of the room alongside the walls. Most were watching the heated argument between Marluxia and Larxene over bathroom rights.

"Look who finally decided to show up. You know tardiness isn't tolerated right?" Xigbar announced loudly, causing the others to turn their heads.

"No problems, just taking a nice long shower in the downstairs bathroom. Last night set me back a bit." Perfect alibi. Marluxia and Larxene were the only ones who showered before breakfast and they both used the upstairs bathroom. Larxene gave him a disbelieving sly grin.

"Oh really now. Your hairs not wet." Larxene gave a flick of her damp hair, flaunting her tiny figure in the process. Of course to the untrained eye she looked harmless, but anyone who knew her well would be able to tell what a hidden monster she was.

"I used a little invention called the blow dryer."

"I walked past your room and the downstairs bathroom, I didn't hear one. Because of you not showing up for breakfast we had to suffer through another speech about punctuality!"

Axel let a low growl escape his throat as he returned her death stare. From the other side of the room Vexen eyed Axel suspiciously upon hearing the blatant lie. He was much more interested in what Axel was hiding then Xemnas' ranting about the younger members punctuality. Not to mention the fact that Roxas, who was normally trailing behind Axel by this time every morning, was nowhere to be seen. The others caught Axel's lie as well and immediately put him in the hot spot.

Zexion, who was leaning against the very back wall, thrust his nose into the air and inhaled deeply. He picked up the familiar scent of the key blade wielder. It wasn't very far away either, right in that room even. As he looked around, he saw that Roxas was nowhere in sight.

"Axel, where exactly is Number Thirteen?" Zexion pushed past the others to stand directly in front of Axel. At the mention of his name, Roxas poked his head out of Axel's jacket. Demyx saw him and used the back of his foot to push him back in before he was noticed.

"He's in his room sleeping. He doesn't feel too well from last night." Axel said in a cool voice, one that showed no need for suspicion. That hardly stopped Zexion from believing he was right. For every time The Schemer took a step forward, Roxas's scent grew the slightest bit stronger.

"In his room? Well, if that is a fact, why do I smell his scent in this very room?"

"Yes Axel, enlighten us." Larxene backed Zexion, leaning her elbows on the shorter nobody who only held a cold expression for Axel. No doubt she did love watching all of Axel's clever lies slip right through his fingers.

"I think your nose has finally failed you Zexy." Axel tapped Zexion's nose to further his point, causing Zexion to reel back, his sensitive appendage twitching. "Roxas is sick. S-i-c-k. Not here!" Axel yelled at all the ones trying to break him down. Axel kept a savvy attitude toward them. He usually took well to the other members dislike for him. Not many people liked him, and he really didn't care. He just learned to live with it.

"My power of scent detection is not flawed Axel."

"If the little guy really is sick," Xigbar said as he put a hand on Zexion's other shoulder to hold him back. "then I say we pay him a visit."

Before anyone could take one step towards the exit, Axel and Demyx shuffled subtly closer together to try to block the exit.

"Hey lookit, I haven't eaten yet. How about we all just go have some seconds?" Demyx latched onto Zexion's arm and tried to pull him away.

The detest in Zexion's body grew. Three different nobodies were attached to his person, an overload of contact in his book. He easily shook Xigbar and Larxene off his shoulders. After that it was easy to shuffle out of Demyx's hold. He made it a point to give them all a good glare and let them know that wasn't acceptable before turning harshly on Axel. Zexion didn't trust Axel as far as he could throw him.

The Pyro rolled his eyes. It didn't help that the one nobody who could help him was completely incapable of distracting.

"What are you hiding Axel?" Marluxia joined in on the antagonizing.

xXx

Under Axel's cloak, Roxas wasn't having the time of his life either. He was both hot and bored. Listening to the grown ups argue was way less then amusing. This game, hide-under-Axey's-jacket-and-shut-up, sucked. When Axel was done arguing, he made a note to share his displeasure about Axel's choice in games. The solution to his boredom was simple. He decided to quit and let Axel win. He slipped out of Axel's jacket unnoticed and began to crawl towards the table. The plain white room wasn't all too interesting either. It was literally grown up central. Watching Axel yell at people was fun, but only for a short period of time. He turned around to observe the other nobodies on the opposite side of the room.

That's when he saw 'it'. The most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his short non-existence. Ashen long locks that looked as if silky to the touch, just dangling over the chair. It was long, shiny and just begging to be played with. It was Xemnas' hair... and he would touch it if it were the last thing he did.

xXx

"He's not hiding anything!" Demyx jumped to his aid. Axel rubbed a hand against his forehead. Just tell someone your not hiding something, that will get them to back off. 'Damn genius he is.' Axel thought.

"What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Zexion took another step forward. Demyx jumped between his friend and the line of fire. Which was ironic because usually Axel was the line of fire.

Finally Demyx thought of a plan to distract not only Zexion but the others as well, possibly even giving Axel an escape route. It was messy, but it would definitely work.

The Melodious Nocturne grabbed Zexion around the waist, pulling their bodies uncomfortably together. Before Zexion could open his mouth to protest, Demyx had pressed his lips against his Superiors own. Zexion gasped at this sudden physical contact, causing his lips to involuntarily part. Demyx saw this as the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss. He slipped his tongue into the Superiors mouth, forcing the shorter nobody against the back wall. The smaller nobodies body became trapped between the wall and Demyx, a quite unfortunate position. Something inside of the Cloaked Schemer turned awkwardly as the hydro-maniac made it a mission to explore every inch of Zexion's mouth, something Zexion was sure wasn't necessary.

Zexion's intellectual mind suddenly went devoid of all thoughts as the only thing he could focus on were his unsuccessful attempts to shove Demyx off of him.

Axel's eyes widened in shock. At this point he had to take back what he said about Demyx not being capable of the task he was given. Axel shook his head at the very... odd scene unfolding in front of him and opened his jacket to check on Roxas.

'Oh great, he's gone!' Axel scanned the room frantically for Roxas.

To his advantage, the others were quite content with watching Demyx keep Zexion trapped against the wall in a deep, disturbing kiss. Axel looked around the whole room for Roxas. He wasn't under the table or behind any chairs, he was... heading straight for Xemnas! Roxas was making his way towards the back of the Superiors chair. Slowly, Roxas began to reach up towards Xemnas's hair hanging behind his chair.

"Roxas no!" Axel ran and dived to try to stop him. Roxas's hand just managed to snatch a large clump of Xemnas' hair as Axel pulled him down. In the process Xemnas, along with his chair, tipped backwards onto the floor.

Demyx finally released Zexion, who promptly fell to the ground in exhaustion, once he heard the loud thud. Axel stood from the floor to pick Roxas up. He failed to notice that Roxas still had a lock of The Superiors hair in his hand. As he attempted to pull Roxas away, he pulled Xemnas along with him.

"Let go you imbecile!" Xemnas yelled as Axel tried to undo Roxas' grip. The yelling only caused him to hold tighter.

"Oh for fucks sake, hand the kid over!"

Suddenly, Roxas was lifted from Axel's hands. The person began soothingly shushing him and running fingers through his hair. Axel looked up to see Larxene cradling the frightened toddler.

"You're such an idiot Axel!" She stated in her normal disgusted tone. "If you would have comforted him, he would have let go. Just like a man to not know these things..." Roxas buried his face into Larxene's jacket. Axel gave her a look showing a mix of anger and amazement towards how easily she calmed Roxas. As a matter of fact, he wanted to downright yell at her for telling him how to take care of his best friend.

"Why do you care?"

"Oh I don't give a damn," Larxene's snide attitude came back into play as she carelessly dropped the toddler back into Axel's hands. "My low tolerance for stupidity drove me to jump in. Take your kid."

As soon as Axel opened his mouth to speak, the others were crowded around Axel and Roxas asking fifty questions at once.

"Intriguing... " Vexen said, knowing very well that this was the end result of his potion.

"What did you do to him Axel?" Xigbar pulled at a lock of Roxas's hair

"Is this really even Roxas?" Marluxia crossed his arms in disbelief

"Is this permanent?" Xaldin walked to observe.

Demyx ruffled Roxas' hair. "He's my little buddy , right Roxy?"

"Wight!"

"What an odd voice." Luxord leaned closer to the toddler.

"All right all right, give him some space!" Axel let Roxas bury back into his cloak like he had done before.

"Never make me out to be a fool again, Axel." Zexion crossed his arms, giving Axel a smug look.

Roxas stuck out his tongue at him, almost as if to say 'You mess with Axey, you mess with me too.'

Someone loudly cleared their throat behind Axel making the entire room go quiet. He turned to see Xemnas glaring furiously at him. The look made him shrink back just a little. The Superior was still rubbing at the sore spot on the back of his head, and now more then ever, Axel knew he was in for it.

"What's the meaning of this Number Eight?" He asked in his normal authoritative tone.

"I have no clue sir... I woke up and he was… This! - I-I have no clue."

"I'm Sowwy..." Roxas said above Axel in a tiny quivering voice. Several of the other members fell silent as well out of sheer curiosity.

"Why are you sorry?" Axel asked.

"I'm sowwy fow pullin' Xemmy's haiw and givin' him a boo boo. Now I'm in twouble." Roxas let a few stray tears fall from his eyes before he buried his face in Axel's hair. Axel decided to take Larxene's advice by running his fingers through Roxas' blond hair. Miraculously, Axel could hear Roxas' breathing begin to even out and the sobbing stopped. Xemnas looked indifferent, keeping stern eyes on Axel.

"This mess is to be cleaned up immediately. Any strange behavior around the castle is to be reported," Xemnas continued. "And you're not off the hook that easily. You are to care for him until this mess is sorted out, understood?" Xemnas smirked wickedly to himself. "And Demyx is to assist you when needed, seeing as he seems to be some sort of mastermind behind this."

"What?" Larxene shouted. "You would let those losers actually take care of a kid! They're going to kill it!"

"Axel is long overdue for his latest punishments as is. He's in charge indefinitely." Xemnas repeated to a disbelieving Larxene.

Xemnas gave the orders for everyone to leave the dining hall and go about their day as normal. Many had to be forced to leave the room since they still wanted to ask questions about Roxas. Finally, the only ones left were Axel, Demyx and Roxas.

"Don't worry Ax, we'll take good care of Roxas. Like mother and father. You'll be the mother of course." Demyx wrapped his arms around Axel's shoulders. Axel cringed a little at the way Demyx described their new duties. Even though it was basically the truth, it was quite sad to think about.

"Why do I have to be the mother?" Axel asked. Demyx rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Because you have hips, Duh!" Demyx and Roxas began laughing wildly to each other. If this was just a taste of what Axel was in for, then damn this was going to be one hell of a time.

"Great, the beginning of a disaster."