I'm sorry! I'm so sorry ;-; Between NaNoWriMo and computer viruses, I had NO time to write on my multi-chapter fics. If I could, I would have. But, I'm finally back, and I hope it can stay that way. So I bring an update, and even if it's a bit short and odd, I hope you can still enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.
Warnings: Yaoi.
When he walked into the living room, the light snapped on and before him lay a scene he could have very well done without.
Two men, one not too much younger than himself and one probably just a bit older, sat on the couch before the television. Pillows were strewn about the floor, and the remote to the otherwise forgotten television was a mess of batteries on the carpet. The younger man sat atop the others lap, and their faces were flushed.
Zexion blinked.
They were... kissing?
"Hey, what did I tell you about doing that kind of stuff in my house?" Lexaeus shouted, picking up a pillow from the floor to throw it at the two. The startled pair on the couch scattered, the lanky red head diving under the coffee table while the little brunette threw himself over the back of the furniture he'd been sitting on.
"Oi, oi! Watch it, Lexaeus! I'm just trying to entertain a friend here!"
"Yeah, I've heard that a dozen times before. And I've also told you a dozen times to stop bringing your freaky dates here! And hey, what happened to Larxene? I was expecting her to be here, not some kid."
"We, ah, had a falling out?" Axel tried, glancing anxiously back at the couch.
"And hey!" The blond made a swift and angry reappearance, his tousled hair and warm cerulean eyes peeking over the back of the couch. "I am not freaky!"
"Look, Kid," Lexaeus said gruffly, all business once more, "Axel gets a new significant other every other week. You would be saving yourself a lot of grief if you up and left him now."
Axel, still beneath the table, let out an indignant cry, "Don't listen to him, Sora! I only want you, I swear!"
But 'Sora' wasn't listening, his vivid blue eyes were narrow as he threw himself back over the couch, seating himself comfortably on the fluffy cushions. "Wait, wait wait... Seriously? A new one every other week?"
"Mhm."
"Well isn't that lovely." Sighing, Sora stood, collecting his discarded coat from the heap it had become on the floor. "It's over, Axel. You're just another lying sleazeball, it seems."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You told me you hardly dated, and yet, this guy says you have a new partner every week. Are you saying he's lying?"
"Axel fell silent, tapping his fingers against his jaw in thought. Zexion watched him chew the inside of his cheek, mulling over words that may or may not have helped his case. But Lexaeus, who had obviously seen this happen at least ten times over by now, only rolled his eyes and began to strip off his jacket.
"Well, so I'm not exactly a saint, per se. But you're the only one I'm dating at this very moment. That counts for something, right?"
"Yeah," Sora shot back, all pain and anger, "It does. It accounts for me leaving. See you around, Axel." And with that, the brunette promptly strutted from the room, his nose held high and proud despite the blush on his thin cheeks.
"Wait, Sora!" Axel shouted, smacking his head on the table not once, but twice as he scrambled to get out from under it, "I didn't mean for it to come out like that!"
Sora, who stood in the main doorway, crooked a delicate eyebrow up, "Tell me, Axel," He began sweetly, "Whose house is this?"
The red heads face drained of color, his teeth worrying at his lip. Those acidic green eyes quickly darted over to Lexaeus, pleading for help. "Um... well, it's not mine exactly, but-"
With a slam, the door fell closed, the chime above it accenting Sora's departure.
"I don't think that could have gone worse." Lexaeus said mildly, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. Axel whirled on him and glared, "Thanks a lot, Lex! I really liked this one, too!"
The red head darted out the door himself, his footsteps echoing down the porch, and then the gravel drive. When he finally disappeared, leaving nothing but silence and two mildly amused men, Lexaeus cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly down at Zexion. "Sorry about that. My partner is criminally insane."
"How appropriate." Zexion mused, and then, "Partner?"
Lexaeus chuckled, shaking his head as he ushered Zexion to remove his coat. "No, not like that." Axel is a fellow officer, we work together."
"That man is a cop? How?"
"God knows." Grinning, Lexaeus took Zexion's offered coat and threw it on a nearby chair along with his own. "Anyway, now that we're alone, let me show you around the house."
Yes, alone. Zexion felt a knot stick in his throat at that word. The thought of being alone in this quaint little house, locked away and stuck with this giant of a man, gave him the creeps. They'd just met, after all. And even now, standing on the hardwood floor of Lexaeus' living room, Zexion couldn't quite say he felt safe.
"Right. Show me around then, it's your house." He made to walk back to the door from which they'd come in, only to have the sound of stifled laughter reach his ears. Zexion turned and gave Lexaeus an inquiring look, only to find the man averting his eyes. "What? What's wrong?"
"You, ah, might want to put your coat back on. For the time being."
"Why?"
"Um."
Zexion looked down at himself, wondering what had the man on the border of deep laughter. But really, besides his garish hospital attire, there was really nothing to – wait... -
A blush crept over his cheeks, filling them out nicely as he stared intently down at the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but the man in front of him. Because when he'd begun to walk away...
Let's just say that, for whatever reason, hospital gowns have no back, and therefore, when one tries to walk around in one...
"You are a child." Zexion finally said, snatching his coat back from the chuckling man. "Stop laughing at me."
"I'm not laughing. I'm snickering."
"Same thing."
"Not really."
"Show me around your damn house, Lexaeus."
Laughing, Lexaeus patted Zexion on the shoulder, amused greatly by the pout he received for doing so. Fortunately, he seemed to be done teasing the tiny little man, and led him into the main hall, which parted in three directions. One hall led to another sitting room, adorned with a fancy little fireplace and a couple loveseats, garbed in quilts that, from where they stood, looked handmade. Another section led to not another room, but a staircase that stood nearly right before the front door. Zexion peered up into the darkness, reaching out for the smooth oak rail, but Lexaeus said, "Later. We'll go to the kitchen first." And led him away by the small of his back.
The last hall, which parted into another hallway down, led to a dining room that one could see from the front door. To the right was an arch that led into a small kitchen, one that lacked counters and proper appliances, but was probably well suited for a one man household.
Or, at least, Zexion assumed it was a one man household.
Lexaeus headed into the kitchen, but Zexion made his way over to a window that overlooked the backyard. Outside he could see a few telephone polls and some martin houses, but it seemed like they were uninhabited. He found it, in a way, cliché. That this man would give up his home to the company of such gently little birds, even when he himself was such a... well, to the naked eye, a brutal, giant of a man.
"I hope you know how to cook better than I do." Lexaeus shouted from the kitchen, the sound of water following him. "My meals are edible at best."
"I hope you like pop-tarts and ramen." Zexion called back, smiling softly. Such food was the lifeblood of college goers, and the only real thing he'd eaten since he'd begun attending TU; Twilight University.
"I was only joking. I can cook pretty well, actually." Emerging from the kitchen, Lexaeus handed Zexion a small clear glass of water, within it bobbing two large ice cubes. "Drink. I know you're thirsty."
And he did, downing the glass in two great gulps. He let out a sated sigh upon finishing, glad to be free of the rasp he'd had since he'd awoken that morning.
The rest of the house consisted of small bedrooms, bathrooms and a laundry room that connected to the garage. Zexion noted the cat food leaning against the wall, and opened his mouth to inquire about it, but before he had the chance, something hit him from behind and sent him flying, sprawling on the floor as he tried to wrestle whatever had him off the back of his head.
There was no pain, at least, not until he wrapped his hands around the furry creature and yanked, pulling it off the tangled mess of his hair. He pulled the beast forward, glaring at its mahogany eyes, and said, "You could have mentioned the satanic cat, Lexaeus."
"It didn't come up." Lexaeus took the rather large cat from him, coddling it close. " Nala didn't mean anything by it, you just surprised her."
"Nala? Like... the one from that Disney movie?"
It didn't even look like a Nala, all orange fluff and bushy tail. Its eye tracked every movement Zexion made, and when he stood, Nala hissed angrily, ears flattening against her skull.
"Is she dangerous?"
"Not anymore. She was de-clawed. Kind of necessary when all she wants to do is tear your skin off."
"So I've seen." The cat wriggled out of Lexaeus' grasp and dove behind a washing machine, bushy tail disappearing ominously into the shadows. "I'll be watching that one."
"Word of advice, just to make you feel better... Watch her eyes. They dilate all the way through the color before she pounces."
"Duly noted." Zexion said sarcastically.
With that done, and the laundry room officially marked as a danger zone, Zexion was led out of the room and back to the front door, where Lexaeus seated him on the bottom stair. He had assumed they'd be going up to finish the tour, but when the other man did nothing but sit beside him, he couldn't help but ask, "Clothes now? Later? Anytime this week?"
"Soon." Lexaeus said, peering at him from beneath the curls falling in his eyes. He'd leaned over to retrieve something from his pocket, and when he sat back up and held up the object, Zexion's eyes widened.
"You're kidding me, right?"
In his hands, which Zexion noted were quite large and calloused, worn by time, was a small device. It was small and square, attached to an elastic band that would fit snugly around any limb of choice. Lexaeus flipped it over and pressed a button, and when he turned it back around, a few lights had appeared on the small screen.
"This," He began, holding it up for the lilac-haired man to see, "Is a tracking device. I can monitor it from my phone." Lexaeus dug around in his pocket once more, this time producing a small cell phone that, when flipped open, had the same lights at the bottom of the screen that the tracker did. "This will be attached to your wrist or your ankle, whichever you prefer, and will be worn at all times. Don't think of it as something restricting. It's just so I don't lose you on the job. Or in the house... it's a big house..." He trailed off, seeing the look in Zexion's eyes. One of distrust and uncertainty and hesitation. It wasn't that he wanted to do it, but there was nothing he could do. It was an order from the higher ups themselves.
"I'll be able to go back to school?"
"If you'd like. But I'll have to go with you."
"Lovely." Zexion let his head fall back, his bangs falling back against his ear. A sigh wrest itself from his mouth. In all honesty, he really didn't want to go back to the University. Sure, he enjoyed the classes. They were easy, and the professors were a bunch of fools anyway. But the people... they were what he couldn't deal with. The taunting, the sideways glances, the bulkier males who would try to wrestle him down and pound some masculinity into his small frame. He hated them all, and now that he'd gone and stole the Lexicon, become a legend of sorts in the criminal handbook, he could only imagine what their opinion of him would be.
Not that he cared, but it made his life quite a bit easier to go unnoticed.
But that would be truly impossible with the towering giant following him everywhere. He could only imagine what the people would say, how they would laugh. How they would cringe.
How troublesome.
"Regardless, you have to wear it. We'll take small steps, though. You can take it off when you go to bed tonight. As long as you promise not to run off." It wasn't said, but it didn't need to be. The, 'Because next time I won't be as lenient.' was evident enough in Lexaeus' tone.
In a corner, heart beating as rapidly as a hummingbirds wing, Zexion extended his hand to take the device. "My ankle would work, I don't like the thought of having that bulky gadgetry on my wrist." But before he could snatch it, Lexaeus pulled away, a glimmer of something just behind his eyes. "Allow me." He said, retreating from the staircase to sit before Zexion. With gentle hands, he picked Zexion's leg up and brought it to rest on one of his stone-like thighs. Breath hitching in surprise, the lilac-haired man wanted nothing more than to wrench his leg away and yell at the man for being a fool, but in the beat of a heart the device was already on, the elastic slipping easily in place, and Lexaeus was already stepping away, acting as if, for the briefest of seconds, his fingers hadn't lingered over the delicate bone in Zexion's ankle.
Caressing it.
Face flushed, "Don't touch me." Was all Zexion could say, and the second the giants back was turned, he retreated from the staircase, the sheer feel of it a reminder of the memory that had just been burned into his mind.
xXxXx
The living room, in a state of disarray that, was the first thing Lexaeus tended to after addressing the situation with Zexion. Batteries laying in the floor were scooped up, pillows were thrown back on the couch. The television was switched off and unplugged. Blankets thrown back on the chair, the table straightened.
It was a wonder the room was still recognizable, what with the way Axel and, what had it been? Sora? How they had left it. Lexaeus shook his head, smiling despite himself. Axel had a way of putting not one, but both of his feet in his mouth. Sora wouldn't be crawling back to him anytime soon, if at all. Supposing he should feel at least a tiny bit guilty, he amended to call his partner later.
Zexion soon joined him, seating himself awkwardly in one of the cushy chairs. His hands found purchase on his knobbly little knees, eyes darting to and fro across the room, taking it all in.
And, of course, he was still wearing that flimsy little hospital gown.
Well, it was now or never. He was free, and who knew when he would be again.
"How about we go find you something to wear, and then I feed you, hm? I'm sure you're starving after spending the last few days in the hospital."
Zexion raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond. Not a few minutes ago this man had been, well, feeling him up. Sort of. Not really, but regardless, he felt a tad awkward in this room, this house, with him.
So perhaps it would be better to get out after all. As long as they didn't run into one of his familiars, everything would be fine.
Right?
"Hm, fine with me. I wouldn't object to actually wearing pants for once."
Lexaeus chuckled.
He couldn't deny that he would almost miss the gown.
Reviews Are Love!~