Nobody's Love

by animearlinefreak

It was just an experiment in order to see if Nobodies could develop hearts. But the more research that they gather for the project, the more two Nobodies realize how much pain of having a heart really is.

8. A Frozen Paradise

Hey everyone I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter to this story and I hope you all will continue to read this story as it progresses. I hope no one is upset how the story is coming along but I hope you all will still read it and see how Axel and Demyx's relationship deepens the more time passes. So without further ado I present the next chapter!

I little warning the characters are going to be OOC and I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney. They belong to their respective owners.

Nobody's Love

Previously on Nobody's Love: "Yeah anytime Dem, anytime." He spoke softly to himself as he turned his body around. If he had a heart at that moment, he knew it would be breaking after hearing Demyx's honest letdown he delivered him. Placing his left hand over where his heart would have been, he looked down at his bare chest and sighed.

Taking one step forward, he walked slowly out of the natatorium leaving the two ignorant nobodies behind.

Chapter Eight: A Frozen Paradise

Shortly after the little swim session that Number II, Number VIII, and Number IX had together came to an end, Demyx stopped massaging Axel's aching calf. Letting the red head move the leg in order to see if it needed more massaging or even an ice pack on it, he was surprised when Axel tried to get up so suddenly.

At first he was a little wobbly trying to stand on both of his feet, but when he placed both of them firmly down the taller nobody gave the slightly shorter nobody a thumbs up. Immediately a smile broke out on the sandy blond's visage when he too stood up from the ground. Once both nobodies were no longer sitting down, they both made their way toward the exit. Sadly within a few steps toward the door, Axel's calf muscle began to tighten once more causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

"Axel are you okay, does it still hurt?" Demyx asked in a worried tone.

Alarmed by the fire bender's sudden fall, the water bender was soon at his side inspecting his leg once more. A grimace appeared on Axel's countenance as he tried not let his pain show through playing it off as a joke rather than letting the other nobody know how bad it really hurt.

"Hey don't worry you're pretty little head Dem. I just fell in order to see how fast your reaction would be should my leg start hurting once again." Flashing his famous cocky grin at the other nobody, his mask faltered when Demyx simply tested the muscles in Axel's leg by applying pressure on the bottom of his left foot.

"OWWWW, Damn it that hurts stupid. What did you do that for?" Number VIII shouted in discomfort as he glared up at Number IX. Oddly enough he gave the fire bender a smug grin something he never displayed in front of others when he replied to Axel's question.

"I thought you said it didn't hurt anymore Ax? Could it be you were lying to me?"

"Shut up Demyx now could you help me up. I need to get some ice for my leg." Rising slowly to his feet, he attempted to stand up on his own once more only to buckle underneath the pain of the injury. Wincing from the pain, he was a little surprised that Demyx lent him his body for support as he used his good leg to hobble.

"If you needed my help, all you had to do was say please." A huge grin spread across the sandy blond's visage when the red head whipped his head in the opposite direction and blushed. Feeling embarrassed that he was being helped by Demyx of all nobodies, he was also embarrassed by the gentle smile Demyx gave him despite Axel's sour attitude.

After the two made it to the exit, the Melodious Nocturne made a dark portal for the two of them in order to ease The Flurry Of Dancing Flame's injury. Taking only a few steps into the dark void, they reached the end of the vortex the two entered into a light blue room. Blinking a few times in confusion, Axel was perplexed why Demyx would take him to his bedroom when he needed an ice-pack from the kitchen.

"Why are we in your bedroom Dem, shouldn't we be in the kitchen in order to get the ice pack?"

Shifting his attention to meet the red head's emerald hues, he gave the boy a stern look before answering him. "I assumed you wanted to lay down on something comfortable while you waited for the pain to subside." Shrugging his shoulders as his response he also added, "Besides I was pretty sure you didn't want others to know that you were swimming in the pool in the element that is the exact opposite of yours." Demyx said. Without waiting for a reply, he exited his room in order to retrieve the ice pack he promised.

"I guess you're right on that..." Letting his words drag, his mind began to wander as he absorbed his surroundings. A sense of relief washed over him when he rested his back on the soft blanket and pillows behind him. Forgetting where currently was, he closed his emerald eyes as he let the calming atmosphere sweep him in a comfortable bliss. Taking deep breaths, the scent of ocean breeze filled his nostrils when slowly his breathing went into a steady rhythm indicating he fell asleep.

"Hey Ax I got the ice pack for you. Now let me apply it to your leg-" Demyx emerged from the doorway with the blue ice pack he got from the kitchen. But when he walked into his bedroom, he was slightly surprised to find Axel passed out on his bed. Chuckling a little at how adorable the red head looked sprawled out on the bed, he pushed back the sleeping nobody's bangs when he crouched down beside him and smiled.

"You just had to fall asleep on my bed once again Ax." Peering down at his sleeping form, a strange sensation arose when his body unconsciously moved closer to his. "Somehow I wish you felt something for me the way I feel for you." Cupping the red head's face softly, he hovered dangerously over the sleeping nobody's lips. Wanting to desperately place a gentle kiss on Number VIII's lips, he licked his lips inching closer to his.

However when he was but a couple centimeters from his, he panicked at the last moment and kissed his forehead instead. This action of course caused the sleeping nobody to wake up from his little nap. Rubbing his eyes a little, he opened his eyes slowly as he tried to register where he was. Though when he spotted a fidgety nobody next to the bed, Axel finally remembered where he was and why he was there.

"Dem you're back, you brought the ice pack for me?" Cocking his head slightly, he reached out to retrieve the item the water bender fetched for him.

"Wh-What oh yeah this thing. Yeah here you are Ax." Demyx said in a nervous voice placing the ice pack in the other nobody's open hand. Feeling heat forming on his face, he quickly turned in the opposite direction laughing giddily at himself for his foolish actions he had done earlier before the other awoke. Hoping the other wouldn't notice how unusual his behavior was than usual, he was unfortunate when the red head called him out on it.

"Hey Dem are you feeling alright? You're acting strange, well stranger than usual." Temporarily forgetting about the pain in his calf, he dropped the ice pack on the bed and reached out and grabbed the sandy blond's hand. Instantly he received a response from his spontaneous action when it caused the other boy to flail around due to his simple touch.

"WHOA HEY LET GO, THAT IS COLD!" Number IX shrieked from the temperature of the fire bender's hand trying hard to get the other to let go of him. However rather than listen to the water bender's childish complaint and comply with his demand, Number VIII wrapped his other hand around his arm demanding he tell him what is bugging him this instant.

"I won't release you until you tell me what is wrong. Please Dem tell me what's on your mind." Axel shouted tightening his grip on the sandy blond in hopes of getting the answer he wanted. Though instead of replying to his question, Demyx asked him something else.

"Why do keep calling me that?" Demyx asked abruptly finally turning back in Axel's direction. A stern look crossed his countenance when he talked to him once more. "You never called me by that name until today, why now?"

"Oh that..." Axel said pushing himself into a sitting position. He winced slightly when the pain shot through his leg once again. Placing the ice pack that Demyx had graciously gave him a little while ago, he put it on his injury before speaking to the Melodious Nocturne once more. "I assumed that since you always call me Ax rather than Axel, I thought I should call you Dem instead of Demyx as a common courtesy."

Feeling heat rise to his cheeks, he quickly turned his head in the other direction away from the other nobody. The same red color tinted the other nobody's visage as the two decided to remain silent in order to wallow away in their discomfort.

Several minutes pass before the duo felt awkward about the strange silence that began to accumulate in the bedroom as they both tried to think about what they should say next. But considering what just transpired not that long ago, it was rather difficult to strike up a conversation just like that. Even more friction began building up within Demyx's bedroom as the water and fire bender dared to look at one another.

The second emerald irises meet aquamarine ones the two were locked in a trance. Transfixed by the other's stare, it seemed from an outside perspective it looked like they wanted to kiss each other but in truth that was not even close. In fact...what they thought next was something completely different.

"Hey Ax..." Demyx began to say.

"Hey Dem..." Axel began to say.

The both of them said together at the same time without realizing it before they paused. Staring at the other expecting for one of them to finish what they wanted to say. After a few seconds, it was apparent neither of them wanted to go first. Growing a little irritated by this strange occurrence, they both took a deep breath and decided to say what they thought out loud regardless what the other had to say.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET SOME ICE CREAM AFTER THIS?" They both said in perfect unison.

Confusion appeared on their visages as they were surprised that they both had the same idea about what they wanted to do and to also voice it at the exact same time. But after a second of that settling into their system, Number VIII and Number IX burst out laughing.

Clutching their sides from laughing so hard, they laughed at how odd it was that they had the very same idea. After only being partners for nearly a month, they now wanted to do something together that they both enjoyed. And that thought alone made them both very happy.

Without uttering another word, Demyx created a dark vortex as he grabbed a couple of his dark cloaks and helped Axel by draping his arm over his shoulder and slowly walked them through.

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Thirty minutes transpired after the duo set out to retrieve their frozen treats. Draping their black cloaks over their scantily clad bodies, they didn't want to draw anymore unwanted attention to themselves than their coats usually given them as they purchased their ice cream and headed to the clock tower.

Once they were on top of the tower, they were able to enjoy their frozen dessert while they were able to take in the scenic scenery on that beautiful summer day. During the hour that they stayed on that clock tower together, they laughed together and said whatever was on their mind.

For an outside perspective, it seemed that since they first started this assignment their relationship had developed from simple acquaintances to newly budding best friends. But as for a certain trio of Nobodies, their relationship seemed to be at a stalemate with not much hope for a romantic relationship. Well at least for the moment it seemed to be one sided. This of course was the very reason why the Chilly Academic took it upon himself to put his newly formed plan into action.

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Five days have passed since the pool incident had occurred when nearly everyone in the Organization were out on missions that needed to be completed by the end of the day. Vexen was one the fortunate Nobodies in the organization lucky enough to only have one mission in which he was able to finish quickly leaving him plenty of time to accomplish his plan that he wanted to put into motion.

Quietly he slithered and sneaked around every corner he came across as the scientist slowly made his way to the location he desired. Taking him about fifteen minutes to reach his destination, he smiled when he gazed at the door he sought. Placing his gloved hand on the white door, he ran his hand over the Roman Numerals that were tacked upon it.

Letting his hand slip down to the brass doorknob, he placed his hand upon it and gave the knob a little turn. Expecting to hear the familiar sound of the knob jingle indicating it was locked, however he heard the lock click instead. Surprised that the owner to the bedroom was careless enough to leave their bedroom unlocked and vulnerable for any nobody to sneak in their room without them even being aware of it.

However before the Number IV could even take one single step into the room, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. His entire body froze upon realizing he was caught as he cautiously took a look over his shoulder. Hoping it wasn't Axel, Xigbar, or worse Saix he cursed inside his head when he spotted Marluxia standing there looking at him condescendingly.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" The pink haired nobody spoke aloud as he rested his right hand underneath his chin. A calculating expression formed on his visage as he stared at the ashy blond in front of him when he asked, "What is our organizations leading scientist and researcher doing here in Number IX's bedroom. Perhaps he would like to elaborate his reason for trespassing in another organization member's private quarters unless I should take this up with our Superior."

A smug smile spread across the handsome nobody's countenance after realizing he got one of his superiors backed into a corner. He especially liked that one of the Nobodies he loathed within their organization was now underneath his thumb exactly where he wanted him to be. But what Number XI failed to realize was that Number VI was a crafty Nobody that was very convincing at turning conversations to his favor and have them on the defensive side instead.

"Actually I should be asking you that very same question Number XI. Just what actually is your reason for being in this remote part of the castle when you and our fellow organization members are suppose to be out on missions?" Returning the very same smug expression the Graceful Assassin had given him just moments ago, the other nobody grimaced at Vexen turning the table on him.

"I will gladly answer my question to satisfy your curiosity however I believe you have yet to answer my earlier question about your presence in Number IX's living quarters."

Without even realizing what he was saying, he uttered the first thing that came to his mind. "I assure you have a legitimate reason for being here Number XI." Vexen replied as he paused for a few seconds to gather a compelling answer to the very curious scythe welder. Shifting his attention to the pinked haired nobody, he saw his expression change from looking entertained by Vexen's internal struggle for an excuse to now looking bored as he peered at him. He waved his hand motioning for the scientist to continue as the older nobody gave him an answer.

"Apparently one of my potions containing a new formula I concocted in my laboratory has gone missing and I assumed Number IX or Number VIII must have stolen it, so I took this opportunity to search their bedrooms to see if they might have it."

"Hmm...your story does seem plausible considering those two are the jokesters our organization. Mind if I take a look myself and see if I could find your potion as well?" Without even giving Vexen a chance to accept or reject his kind offer, he shoved the ashy blond aside as he entered the threshold to Demyx's bedroom as he began rummaging through the musician's belongings in search of a potion that Vexen lied about.

"N-Now just wait a minute, I did not give you permission to assist me with my search when I do not want you or anyone knowing just what I concocted just yet!" Shouting at the young nobody parading around the water bender's bedroom, the ice bender became nervous about Marluxia snooping into either Axel or Demyx's rooms for fear of discovering something that could jeopardize their assignment that he wanted to keep under wraps.

Quickly rushing into Demyx's bedroom, Vexen tried to think of something that could perhaps deter the Graceful Assassin from further pursuing a useless search for something that wasn't there. Digging his hands into his coat pocket, he was frustrated when he couldn't think of something reasonable right then until his hand gripped on something hard. Puzzled by the object in his clothing, he pulled it out of his pocket only to be shocked at what he produced from it. A smile spread across his face as he averted his gaze around the room in order to place the object in. After a few seconds, he found a perfect spot to secretly stash it.

Making sure that Number XI had his back turned away from him, Number IV quietly slid open a drawer and placed the item in it. Once he did that, Vexen closed the drawer trying his best not to make any sound as he pulled it open again pretending he found the bottle that Demyx had supposedly snatched from his laboratory.

"Well it would seem that one of the boys did take my potion from me after all." Pulling out the bottle he put in there moments ago, he showed Marluxia the bottle that had a strange greenish liquid inside of it as the other nobody ceased rummaging through the water bender's room.

His attention was now focused on the mysterious potion clutched in the Chilly Academic's hand as the Graceful Assassin approached him. He was curious about what was in the bottle and what the potion did to whoever decided to use it. Reaching out to grab it from the older nobody's hand, the other nobody quickly shoved it into his pocket and gave Marluxia a glare.

"I appreciate your help with assisting me with the search for this potion but I now must leave and further analyze its effects." Lifting his left hand, he summoned a dark portal for himself as he quickly bid the good looking nobody goodbye before he could be questioned by him.

"NOW JUST HOLD ON A MOMENT THERE VEXEN!" Marluxia shouted into the dark portal before it soon disappeared not allowing the other to venture in and follow him.

"Damn it that man is rather slippery when it comes to finding out whatever information he is withholding." Letting out an irritated sigh, he turned his body toward Demyx's bedroom door intending to leave when his pale blue eyes roamed over to the open drawer that Vexen had carelessly left ajar. His curiosity getting the better of him, Marluxia sauntered over to the open drawer and slid it open.

At first he didn't find anything interesting in there that would strike his fancy as he moved guitar picks, pencils, and paper. But after he shoved the items aside he found resting at the bottom of the drawer a notebook with the words "journal" written on the cover.

"Hello what do we have here?" Opening the journal with mild interest, he skimmed through the entries wondering if there was any juicy tidbits of information he could use against his fellow organization members when he came to the last few entries written in it. His lips curled upwards when he read what the water bender felt about a certain red head and how he doesn't comprehend what Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus had plans for those two in the future. Of course thankfully Demyx didn't give any exact details about their secret assignment in his journal per se, but what was written was enough to make the pink haired nobody satisfied.

"Ah Ha so that was what you were up to you sly fox." Number XI said as he closed the journey and returned it and Number IX's belongings back to the way they were before he began snooping around his bedroom. Once he was finished Marluxia quickly created a dark vortex to get out of the boy's bedroom however before he entered it, he made sure to shut the door closed in order to not let Demyx be aware of his presence being there before he left the room completely.

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"Man I am exhausted from all those missions Saix gave us today. Maybe I should get some shut eye and sleep for the rest of the day." Axel thought to himself as he reached the end of his dark teleportation device. Upon stepping out of his dark portal, it seemed that another idea came into mind about what else he could do that day.

"Maybe instead of dozing off for the remainder of the day, perhaps I should pay someone an unexpected visit." His lips curled into a creepy grin when he changed the location of his dark portal to end somewhere else than he had originally had planned. He strolled into the portal he created then he closed it behind him once he walked through it afterwards.

Upon reaching the end of his dark portal, his grin widen when he spotted a familiar blond nobody on the other end. Deciding to play it cool, he calmly walked out of the darkness of his transportation device as he nonchalantly strolled up to the young nobody in the nobody's bedroom. Intending for his greeting to come off as friendly, it however turned into a complete disaster instead.

"Yo Roxy, how about we play a couple rounds of video games and get some ice cream after-" His words were cut short when something soft smacked him in the face. Perplexed by the object that had obstructed his view of the golden haired boy, he moved it out of his eyesight as his mouth gaped open in shock.

"I am hurt that you would threw the pillow that you snuggle with at night at my handsome face." Placing his hand over where his heart would have been in his chest, his face contorted into that of a hurt expression before he added, "I believe you owe me an apology."

Instantly the young nobody's visage scrunched up in annoyance as he marched up to the red headed nobody. "I have three good reasons why I shouldn't apologize to you!" Lifting his right hand, he began counting the reasons out loud while lifting one finger at a time while doing so. "One, you entered my room without my permission. Two, you didn't bother to use my door and instead optioned to use a dark portal instead. And finally the third reason why I shouldn't feel sorry about throwing my pillow at you is because you didn't have the decency to let me know about your presence without giving me any time to put on some clothes!"

At the end of his tirade, his face appeared somewhat flustered by the way he shielded his bare chest with his arms. Unaware that the blond was half dressed, Axel finally took notice of Roxas as he too felt flustered about walking in on him changing.

Aside from being shirtless, Number VIII couldn't help but stared intently at Number XIII's pectoral region admiring how tone he was for his young age. Not knowing exactly how old Roxas was, he assume he was either fourteen or fifteenth but no matter what his age may be, Axel couldn't help but find the golden blond's small body frame attractive despite both of their age differences. However unlike the older nobody, Roxas on the other hand didn't seem like he shared the same interest that Axel had on him as he quickly averted his gaze and grabbed the dress shirt that was lying on the bed.

Quickly putting on the article of clothing, he button the nice shirt up before turning around to face Axel. However when he did, the red head rewarded him with a whistle and general comment about the way he was dressed.

"Wow I must say Roxy. You look good in button up collar shirts. What's the occasion going on a date or something?" At the end of his remark, there was a trace of malice when he said that as he hoped that his comment wasn't in fact true. However when he happen to look up at the boy, he was shocked to see how nervous he appeared.

Axel's emerald irises soon lost its spark of merriment as his shoulders slumped slightly after discovering his little joke was not a joke at all. Scratching the nape of his neck with his right hand, he answered in an almost somber tone. "Oh I see, so you were going out with someone. Might I ask who the lucky person is?"

Feeling a prickling sensation start to form in his eyes, he blinked a couple times to keep the stinging at bay as he chose to look at the boy's bed and not look into Roxas's electric blue eyes. Hearing the boy sigh, Axel gulped when he uttered the one name he hoped he wouldn't hear him utter out loud.

"X-Xion asked me to give her a tour of Twilight Town and see the sights the town has to offer." Averting his gaze from the tall skinny nobody, he found the floor very interesting as he shuffled his boots across the carpet. An awkward silence soon followed as the two nobodies chose to not speak and instead found themselves more content with being lost in their own thoughts.

Fortunately for them, they didn't stay too lost in their thoughts because a couple minutes later there was a soft knock on the door. Both nobodies jumped at the sudden noise that invaded the silence of the bedroom as the golden blond nobody practically leaped to the door stumbling over himself in order to open it. But before he opened it, he quickly ran his hand through his hair before he answered the door. Pulling the door inwards, his breath soon hiked in his chest when he took a gander at what his date was wearing.

Unlike the usual black organization coat that was a mandatory outfit for all the organization members to wear for missions and such, he was surprised the girl was wearing a black spaghetti strap dress that fell just above her knees. Her hair style was also slightly changed as she wore a dark blue headband and her hair appeared slightly wavier than usual. She wore very little make-up like a little rouge on her face and lipstick and the sweet smell of perfume that she wore wafted into Number XIII's bedroom making the room smell sweeter than usual. She wore a nervous grin on his face as she felt shy about Roxas ogling her appearance as she shifted uncomfortably in her black wedge heels.

"So are you ready to show me around Twilight Town? If not I can wait in the hallway until you're ready!" This response seem to snap the pubescent teen out of his stupor as he immediately responded back.

"N-No I am actually ready in fact..." Turning in the direction where the red head was last seen, he was surprised to find not a trace of him left in his bedroom. Biting his lip in worry over his best friend's sudden departure, he thought he should pay him a visit to see if he was alright. Though before he could even create the dark vortex that lead him to Axel's bedroom, Xion interrupted him by pushing herself forward and excitedly exclaim.

"If that is the case then let's leave right now before it gets too late!" Latching her arm around his, the boy felt his face slightly heat up as he closed the dark portal in order to create a new one. This time the destination was Twilight Town.

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Before Roxas had the chance to usher the fire bender out of his room so he could go on his date, Axel took it upon himself to let himself out first not bothering to let the boy know he was leaving. Of course once he was in a secluded location of Castle Oblivion, he felt the tears that were forming fall down his face as he cried.

Hating that the boy he was desperately crushing on was going out alone with some other nobody made him go through a string of emotions he wasn't quite accustomed to just yet. Ranging from feelings of sorrow, jealousy, and rage he unleashed a painful holler as his scream was soon heard echoing in the vast expansion of the empty stairwell he was in. Though what he wasn't expecting was for someone to hear his screams of anguish by the one other nobody he didn't want to see at the moment.

"Axel is that you up there?" A concerned voice was heard as it bounced off the walls delivering the message to the sadden man. Deciding to see if his suspicions were true, the other nobody who was hanging out in the stairwell climbed the stairs in order to see what was the matter. However the moment aquamarine hues meet a pair of sorrowful emerald ones, Demyx was soon by Axel's side trying his best to solve the problem.

"What you're crying? What's wrong is there anything I ca-"

"There is nothing you can do for me Demyx." Axel retorted back cutting the sandy blond's words off as he crouched to the ground and curled himself into a ball. Feeling the tears threaten to spill once more, he took a deep breath and tried his best to speak to Number IX without his voice cracking. "Can you leave me alone for a little while, I will be fine by myself." Cracking him a small smile, the other nobody merely rolled their eyes at his obvious lie as they crouched down beside them.

"If I leave you alone now would you promise not to cry here alone and try cheering up a little." Giving the red head a warm smile, he hoped he could cheer up his friend with his friendly advise. But sadly seeing as how depressed Axel appeared he knew that Number VIII would clearly remain sad and miserable if he left him by myself. Deciding to take it upon himself to cheer the gloomy nobody up, he grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him causing the slender nobody to nearly topple over in the process.

"Hey, whoa are you trying to make me fall you dunce!" Axel hollered at Demyx. He waved his arms in a circle motion in order to not lose his balance before his rocking body was able to stand firmly on the ground. Once his body was steady, he glared at the water bender who appeared unfazed by his sharp glare he pulled the red head toward the dark portal he created. Puzzled by the dark transportation, he looked over his shoulder ready to demand why Demyx had opened one up when his body was shoved through it causing him to stumble then finally fall when the dark vortex was closed shut.

"What the hell are you doing Dem, where are you taking me?" He questioned once again when once more the usually talkative nobody was unusually quiet. His normally lustrous aquamarine hues are now dull and focused in front of him. This shocked and bewildered Axel who normally didn't become surprised so easily with any sort of situation. Pulling himself up from the ground, he stood beside the sandy blond and sighed. Giving up on asking where Demyx was taking him, he let the younger nobody do as he pleased and let them go wherever he wanted.

Luckily for the red head, he didn't have to wait long because it was but a few seconds later the once dark portal was then flooded with light causing the fire bender to wince. Letting his eyes adjust to the onslaught of light, he immediately rolled his eyes when he realized where he took them.

The orange and purple hue of the late afternoon sky was a perfect backdrop for a depressed nobody who was mildly fine with his surroundings. The call of seagulls could be heard in the distance as the smell of salt water was strong enough to cause anyone's eyes to prickle with tears.

Taking one step forward, his foot slipped on the soft sand that was underneath his boots as he looked down at it. If he didn't have any footwear, he would be able to feel the soft substance between his toes and it would be much easier to walk upon it then with what he was wearing. As his mind began to wonder how nice it would be if he took off his boots and let his toes wiggle in the warm sand, he was once again tugged away from his thoughts by the sandy blond. Without giving the red head a warning, he grabbed his arm and lead him toward the pier that was overlooking the green and blue ocean. Tired of the constant pushing and shoving he was getting, Axel had had it.

"Ok enough with the silent treatment!" Yanking his arm out of Demyx's grasp, he glared at him as he continued to rant and rave. "First you invade on my private affair, then you blatantly ignore my request to leave me alone, and now you take me to this place without my consent! Just what in Kingdom Hearts are you up to!"

Without so much as a syllable uttered, he simply raised his hand in the direction of the pier before he turned around and started walking towards it. Feeling even more confused than before, the fire bender just stared blankly at the water bender's retreating back until he just shrugged his shoulders and followed in pursuit.

For a few minutes the only sound that could be heard between the pair was the sound of their feet as they trudged through the sand in order to reach the pier on the other end. The heat from the sun felt extremely hot for the duo who were in their black leather organization coats as Axel waved his hand in an up and down manner creating a slight breeze to cool himself down. Beads of sweat caked his face, neck, and chest as he felt his clothes cling tighter to his body than normal as he felt a mild sensation of being cooler due to his sweat now covering his body. Not sure whether the sweat felt disgusting or relaxing now that it made him feel a little less hot, Axel was slightly curious if Demyx was at all fazed by the hot climate.

Once again for the umpteenth time that day, he was once again shocked that the normal whiny, panicky, and friendly nobody Number VIII knew was not acting at all like his usual self. He would never admit it out loud, but he was actually frighten when Number IX wasn't spazzing out over every little thing that bothered him. Now that he was more solemn and silent, it irked the red head more than when the sandy blond pestered him about hanging out together. However at this moment, he wanted to do something, anything that would cause Demyx to snap out of stupor. But the question on how he would be able to do that, he unfortunately didn't know.

"There now we are finally here!" A cheery voice spoke up disturbing the silence that surrounded the two nobodies as Axel snapped out of his thoughts and stopped in his tracks. Taking a good gander at his surroundings, he realized that they were finally on the pier where Demyx had wanted them to go. However he still didn't understand why they were there in the first place.

"Ok we are at the place you wanted me to be. But please tell me why you decided to bring me h-" Once again his words were cut short, though instead of someone interrupting him by speaking, what silenced him was the strum of a certain instrument that a fellow organization member happen to possess.

Blinking several times in confusion, he hadn't the slightest clue as to why he would bring his weapon out on a secluded part of wherever Demyx had taken them. Different scenarios played in his head about why he would produce his weapon to him. Perhaps he was tired about running away from most of his fights and he decided to ask Axel to be his sparring partner. However that answer didn't seem plausible considering how cowardly the sandy blond was and it didn't seem likely he wanted to change his fighting "technique" any time soon.

Then another idea crossed his mind...maybe there was going to a heartless invasion and Demyx happen to get the scoop before any of the others. Maybe he wanted to prove to the organization that he was still valuable to the team by destroying several heartless and have Axel bear witness. Of course that scenario also didn't seem likely for the cowardly nobody who much preferred to stay on the sidelines rather than face an enemy head on.

Growing frustrated about what Demyx's intentions were, his answers were revealed when he started strumming his instrument. At first the melody that he played was soft and a little hard to hear. Then after several moments transpire, the tempo picked up as the sandy blond closed his eyes and let the music take control him. It was then he opened his mouth and began to sing.

Immediately Axel felt a wave of warmth from the boy's singing that he practically was swayed off of his feet. In fact he had to grab the nearest object which was one of the poles for the pier in order to keep himself from falling down from the overwhelming power of Demyx's wonderful singing voice. If he had any doubt about not possessing a heart, now it seemed apparent that he had one or rather was in the process of obtaining one because if he was not mistaken he felt the slightest bit of his heart thumping softly in his chest.

Placing his hand over where his heart would be, he found himself transfixed on the boy singing in front of him. Although he heard Demyx sing occasionally to himself, he never heard him sing out loud before. Normally he would hum to himself or sing softly that it was hardly noticeable unless you strained your ears to hear. But now that he was hearing him more clearly, he couldn't help but find himself drifting off with the music.

"Wow I never knew that Demyx had such a wonderful singing voice. It is so alluring and yet...also very soothing as well."

He sighed contently as he continued listening to the water bender before the song finally came to an abrupt end. Feelings that resembled ultimate relaxation resonated withing him when he glanced at the sandy blond who opened his eyes and stared into his very own. Strange urges soon began to form within him as he stared into his aquamarine hues captivated by what he just witnessed and what he currently was feeling at the moment.

An offbeat thump started to beat within his rib cage making the nobody puzzled by its presence the more he gazed into the other nobody's face. However the spellbinding moment soon dissipated the moment the other man opened his mouth to speak.

"So how are you feeling now Axel? Any better than before?" A coy voice spoke to the red head as the sandy blond's visage tinted pink when he glanced down at the pavement of the pier. Seeing how meek and adorable Number IX was behaving, that seemed to snap Axel out of his stupor as he clapped his hands and applauded the other for their performance.

"My that is a remarkable set of pipes you got there Dem and quite the performance too. But I have to ask is there any particular reason that you brought us here other than asking me if I am feeling alright?"

"Oh well..." Demyx started as he averted his gaze from the pavement to Axel. Experiencing his embarrassment once more, he shifted his attention away from the red head as he started twiddling his fingers due to his nerves. Feeling his resolve start to leave him, he decided he should explain himself completely before his embarrassment took full control. "Earlier when I saw you on the stairwell clearly upset, I thought I should help you feel better by playing one of the songs I composed since I know that helps me calm down."

Feeling his face heat up as well, Axel had to shift his attention away from Demyx unsure what he should say next. Lifting his arm up, he scratched the nape of his neck nervously contemplating whether he should thank the other nobody or be annoyed that Demyx had stuck his nose in his business. Either way, the fire bender couldn't help but smile over the water bender's kind gesture.

"I guess I should thank you for cheering me up then. But I just have to ask, why chose this location? Is this also a place where you go to relax as well?" Giving Demyx a quick glance, a bemused grin spread across his visage when the water bender started to move his limbs in the nervous manner he normally did whenever he was extremely shy or embarrassed. This of course caused him to burst out laughing. It didn't take long before Demyx joined in on this glorious moment as the two nobodies shared this happy feeling together with a beautiful sunset illuminating the scene and creating a fond memory for the two to share together.

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Nearly a week transpired since Axel's breakdown and Demyx's success at cheering up the red head and it seemed from an outside perspective that the two have gotten closer to one another. However to a certain ashy blond, it seemed they were not close enough to his liking.

Unlike his partner Zexion and Lexaeus, Vexen saw a wedge between the two "lovers" and that wedge was named Roxas. See after Number XIII went on his so called "date," it didn't take too long until the golden blond came running to Axel's open arms as he vented how depressed he was to discover Xion didn't call their little outing a proper date and instead calling it a simple tour of Twilight Town and nothing more.

Of course this delighted Number VIII who gladly comforted his crush as he let him bear his soul while he relished the company he desperately craved. Alas while The Flurry Of Dancing Flames liked the attention he was receiving, The Melodious Nocturne loathed every minute he saw those two together. It caused him so much anger and also so much grieve that he found himself enjoying the solitude of his despair rather than hanging out with anyone. And that of course made Number IV once again want to try another drastic measure.

While the two nobodies were busy on a couple of missions, Vexen once more sneaked into one of the boy's bedroom and left them a little "something" that they would soon discover later on that day when they return home before sneaking off on his own mission he was assigned to. Though when they do find out, neither of them are too happy about it.

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"Whew that was a rough mission. I can't believe Saix had me pair off on a mission with Roxas of all nobodies. And to chose The Underworld out of the worlds! Man I thought Cerberus was going to eat me with one of his three heads!"

The water bender complained as he sluggishly walked through the dark portal he created content to finally go to his room, relax, and play some of his music. A feeling that closely resembled joy consumed him from the thought of just kicking back and playing some tunes. Why it made him so happy that he wanted Axel to hear his latest song he composed. But the second his mind that of the red head, the sandy blond would instantly lose all feelings of joy only to have it replaced with a feeling of longing. A feeling he didn't know he had.

Shaking the uncomfortable feeling aside, he was looking forward to changing out of his sweaty clothes, take a quick shower, and slip into more comfortable clothes. However when he tried to take one step out his dark portal, his foot slammed into something solid.

"Ouch! What the heck was that?" Demyx hollered as he nursed his foot. Puzzled by the obstruction that prevented him from entering his bedroom, he carefully held his hand out to see if he could discover what was in the way. What his hand meet was something hard, solid, and very cold! Flinching from the coolness of the object, The Melodious Nocturne decided to use his bedroom door instead.

Redirecting his portal to end where his door was, he stepped out of the darkness and into the bright corridor of the castle. Once he was out, he stretched his right hand out and slowly turned the knob. The door's hinges groaned in protest as he opened it but what he was met with made Demyx jump back in alarm.

"WHOA WHAT IN KINGDOM HEARTS IS THAT?"

There right in front of him was a very thick wall of ice. Bewildered by the huge block of frozen water, he stumbled backwards causing himself to fall on the ground with a loud thud. The sound of his body colliding into the ground resulted in a couple of the bedroom doors to swing open as two nobodies were curious to see what the commotion was about. One of the nobodies that opened their door Number IX soon recognized due to their vibrant hair color but as for the other nobody that was curious about the loud sound, Demyx was soon scrambling for his door as he tried his best to close it before they could see it.

"My, my, my Demyx what did you do to Vexen to cause him to retaliate that strongly?" A soft semi monotone voice inquired as they practically glided toward the sandy blond. Their footsteps hardly made a sound on the tile floor as they approached the boy who now was frozen in place.

"I uh...I don't know what you mean Marluxia?" Demyx said as he pathetically tried to come up with something worthy to say to him. Alas due to his nervousness, he couldn't think of anything right on the spot. His body began to fidget when the pink haired nobody's pale blue eyes glared into his aquamarine hues. A lump soon formed in his throat when the other nobody crouched down to his level.

"That's peculiar. If you didn't pull another one of your pranks that you and Axel usually do, why would our cold and calculating Vexen do a silly trick like this to you?" Scrutinizing the poor nobody further, a playful grin spread across his countenance as he prodded Demyx further. Placing his pale hand underneath Number IX's chin, he tilted his head upwards and parted his lips. Inching his face closer to his, Number XI wanted to amp up his tactic by teasing the sandy blond nobody in order to get the answers he sought. Though before his lips pressed his someone roughly shoved his body off of Demyx's.

"Aren't you being unusually clingy today when you have Larxene? A sarcastic voice spoke up causing both nobodies to shift their attention to the additional company. Relief spread over Demyx's features upon seeing Axel's cocky visage as the tall lithe nobody placed himself between Marluxia and Demyx.

Clenching his perfectly white teeth, he loathed that Number VIII interrupted his questioning session with the easily frightened nobody sprawled out on the ground. Deciding to not let his anger take control, he wiped his discontent from his countenance replacing it with a wide grin. Rising to his feet, he approached the red head.

"Axel so glad to see you. I was just asking Demyx about the little stunt that was pulled on his bedroom but perhaps you can answer it instead."

Not fazed by his inquiry, he simply shrugged his shoulders before replying.

"Sure I'll humor you." Interlocking his fingers together, he stretched his arms forward making them pop before dropping his arms. His emerald irises glared into the Graceful Assassin's pale blue ones before he gave him an elaborated excuse for Vexen's actions.

"Apparently Number IV accused Number IX of destroying a few of beakers in his laboratory that contained a very important substance he was researching on and in his fit of rage he decided to freeze Demyx's bedroom as we see before us." With a simple gesture to the frozen chunk of ice that could be seen from the doorway, he ended his explanation. Believing The Graceful Assassin couldn't find any holes in his story, his smile only widen when he saw the twinkle of annoyance in his eyes and the slight snarl that threaten to destroy his perfectly flawless facade he had on his visage.

"Oh I see..." Marluxia said softly as he tried to channel his anger and focus on remaining calm and collected. Taking a few deep breaths, any traces of annoyance seem to vanish from his face completely before he placed his impervious mask of deception on once more.

"Well if that is the case then I suggest you discuss this matter with Number IV and get this issue resolved before our Superior finds out about it." With a small wave, he bid the two goodbye as he walked back to his bedroom.

A wave of relief spread over the two as they both glanced at each other. Neither of them spoke a single word as they stared at one another expecting one of them to speak first. This of course caused an awkward silence to befall them. After the little confrontation between Number XI, the corridor was even more silent than it was moments before Demyx hollered in alarm. Both boys felt uncomfortable with the silent hallway as Demyx and Axel shifted in their position not knowing what to say or do next.

"So it seems that Vexen froze your entire room..." Number VIII asked while he nervously scratched the nape of his neck. Feeling rather sheepish for stating the obvious, Axel also added. "Did you really make that icy bastard angry enough for him to do something that childish as a retaliation?" Giving Demyx an inquisitive stare, the sandy blond who was still on the ground looked up at Axel giving him the same identical look.

"No like I told Marluxia a little while ago, I did nothing wrong to upset Vexen." The Melodious Nocturne explained to his partner as his eyes went downcast. With a hint of annoyance flash across his visage, Axel had to hide the smirk that threaten to form on his face when he bent down and offered him his hand.

"OK I believe you, why don't we give that old geezer a piece of our mind."

His hesitation returned when he stared at The Flurry Of Dancing Flames's open palm. Contemplating whether he should take his kind offer and reach out and except his nice gesture, or should he pull himself up on his own. Wrestling with the decision for a moment or two, he noticed the red head's eyes flicker with impatience as he stayed in that awkward bent position longer than he originally intended before Demyx finally made up his mind.

Brushing his hand aside, The Melodious Nocturne pulled himself up from the floor leaving the other perplexed by his strange actions and a little hurt by his kind gesture being rejected. But being the type of person or rather nobody he was, he let that slid as he opened a portal for the both of them that would take them to Vexen's laboratory. They were in and out of the dark vortex in a matter a fifteen seconds when they entered the cold lab half expecting to see the ashy blond hunched over one of his various experiments he was currently working on. However what meet the two nobodies was a lit up lab but not a trance of Vexen, Zexion, or even Lexaeus in sight.

"Come on out Vexen!" Axel shouted as he looked around the room half expecting to see the Chilly Academic to emerge from his hiding spot and lecture the two from entering his room without his permission. However just like how they found the room, it was quiet and deserted. Number VIII scratched his head grinding his teeth in frustration. Feeling anger build from within him, he felt the flames he controlled start to emerge surrounding his entire body as he called out again. This time in a much louder tone.

"Damn it Vexen I want either you, Zexion, or hell even Lexaeus to come out here and fix what you did to Demyx's bedroom right now!"

"Uh...Axel I don't think they are coming back any time soon." A soft meek voice spoke as he whipped his head in the direction he heard it come from. But when he realized it was only Demyx that called him, he grew even more angry when he assumed it was one of the three. He groaned a bit too loudly as flames erupted all around him.

A loud gasp fell on deaf ears once the fire bender turned up the heat in the room causing his partner to panic. Fearing that Axel would cause substantial damage to Vexen's room than the ice block would with his bedroom, Demyx summoned his sitar in order to douse the flames. Not wanting to waste too much time, he quickly strummed a few strings on his instrument playing a short ballad that was sweet and pleasant when from the ground around the water bender water surfaced. The water soon formed a huge bubble around the musician who played his sitar who didn't seem to acknowledge his creation as the bubble began to grow and expand all around him encasing everything in the entire room.

Once the water bubble formed around the entire vicinity, Number IX plucked a couple more cords before the water burst open flooding the room and putting out the fire that Number VIII created. Once the fire was completely out, he played a few more cords as the water soon drained out of the room thanks to the few drains strewn around the room. Once the room was no longer engulfed in flames or flooded with water, the musician put away his sitar as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Surprised and completely drenched, Axel the nobody that had caused the fiasco turned to the sandy blond. His vibrant red locks that were spiky and gravity defying were now soaking wet and flopped down upon his shoulders practically concealing half of his face when he looked up in Demyx's direction. Swatting some of his wet locks away from his face, he stared at him flabbergasted that the other would pull a stunt like this and it also bothered him a bit about being drenched without a good reason.

"Demyx why did get me wet when I was trying to bring one of the cowards out of hiding." Axel asked. Grabbing a handful of red locks, he tried wringing out some of the water that Demyx unleashed in the room as he grabbed another handful and repeated the process. But due to the excessive amount gel he normally used to maintain his spiky appearance, his hands soon began to feel sticky from the hair-care product resulting in the red head mentally groaning from the icky goo clinging to his hair.

"You were trying to burn down Vexen's room without realization the dangers that might cause." Demyx bluntly stated in an unusually calm voice as he shifted his attention to Axel.

His gorgeous aquamarine irises looked into his partner's emerald ones without a hint of emotion displayed when he walked over to where The Flurry Of Dancing Flames was. Once he was close enough, he handed him the note that he found when Axel was busy ranting and raving. Handing the note to the perplexed Nobody, he snatched the letter from his hands as he read it. After reading what written down, he crumpled the paper chunking it on the ground before he took a deep breath.

"Well I suppose we will have to be roommates until they return from Castle Oblivion." Axel replied as he created a dark portal. Taking a few steps into the darkness, he notice Demyx was not trailing behind him. Averting his gaze, he looked behind him and saw the usual nervous habit he would display whenever he found anything uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed in annoyance when he hollered for him to follow.

"Hey you got two legs use them and follow me." Axel shouted at him sarcastically hoping he would get a rise out of the normally skittish organization member. However it only caused him to flinch from the crude remark.

"But Ax I need my clothes from my room, as well as my toothbrush and shampoo among other things." Demyx said while he shifted nervously on the balls on his feet. His face brighten when a look a realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Will we share a bed with each other including showers?"

This time it was Axel's turn to blush profusely as he nearly imitated Demyx's actions. "Hey whoa what kind of thoughts are you imagining in that head of yours? Of course we will be roommates temporarily until they return from their mission. But I promise we won't be sharing showers together and we will figure out the sleeping arrangements later on. And as for clothes and bathroom supplies we can just buy some."

After his tirade, he couldn't help but place his hand over where his heart would have been as he did his best to calm his frazzled nerves. A very faint thump resounded in his chest cavity when the red head tried to regain his composure before he was able to face his soon to be roommate. But when his eyes happen to capture his when he looked back, his nerves were once again unhinged once more. Hating this uncomfortable feeling he assumed was from welcoming someone into his bedroom without his complete consent, he raised his hand in his direction.

"Let's not dawdle over the matter any longer. Come on let's go so you can settle in." Giving him a reassuring smile, he half expected Number IX to decline his kind gesture like he had earlier in the corridor but when he felt Demyx's gloved hand in his he felt the thump from earlier beat louder in his chest. Trying his to ignore these bizarre feelings developing between himself and the musician, his grin widen when he wasn't rejected as he lead the both of them to his room.

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About four hours after discovering Vexen's little "parting" gift he gave the water bender, Axel and Demyx had already showered, eaten dinner with everyone else, and were now dressed and ready to go to bed. While Axel only donned a pair of red and black boxers, Demyx who was a little more than happy after discovering Vexen left him a duffle bag full of some of his belongings in Axel's room, wore a grey tank top and a pair of light blue and white boxers that resembled waves.

As much as both Nobodies were exhausted from the strenuous mission they were assigned to, the two couldn't help but feel awkward about their unfortunate sleeping arrangements. While Demyx offered to sleep on the ground, Axel immediately denied that action explaining that his floor was too filthy for any nobody to sleep upon due to his laziness about not vacuuming his carpet more often than he should. And thus was how both boys ended up situated in the fire bender's bed uncomfortable and not being about to catch some rest.

At first the two tried to imagine that no one was in the bed other than themselves. However whenever either Number VIII or Number IX would shift themselves in the king size bed in order to find a comfortable sleeping position, they also manage to somehow move closer to one another without either of them even realizing it resulting in them quickly scooting back to their original position. This unfortunately was how the two spent their first night together tossing and turning and trying their best to leave some space between each other.

And in the morning when they woke up, one of them was in for an annoying surprise.

While the night was unpleasant what with the constant tossing and turning from the two boys, they both manage to get some sleep albeit it wasn't much to be considered sleep but enough to have the boys drift off in dreamland. But when the time reached five-thirty am instead of Axel's face snuggling into the comforts of his pillow or even his blanket, he was met with something smooth, hard, and slightly cold to the touch.

The moment his head slammed into the hard object, Axel immediately groaned in pain. Nursing his injured forehead, he opened his emerald eyes only to close them in order to them adjusted to the sudden flood of light that came from the nightlight that Demyx plugged into the wall. Once he opened them again after his eyes adjusted to the slightly lit up bedroom, he looked at the object that caused him harm.

At first he was puzzled about what exactly he was looking at. But the more his eyes adjusted to the light, the more he was able to distinguish his surroundings more clearly. And that was when he saw what the object was. The object that was in his bed had the design of their organization's insignia and had various shade of blue covering the object. Extending his hand to the object in order to examine it more thoroughly, his hand accidentally strummed something threadlike causing the object to produce a slightly loud noise that resonated within it. It was then that Axel knew immediately what it was.

"DAMMIT WHO THE HELL SLEEPS WITH THEIR WEAPONS?" Number VIII shouted out loud shoving the weapon off of the bed.

The moment the instrument was hurled across the room and landed roughly on the ground, Demyx shot up in bed as he looked every which way to find his precious Sitar. After a few seconds of searching, he found his musical instrument as he practically leaped out of Axel's bed in order to retrieve it. Once he dashed toward his weapon, he gently picked it up to examine if there was any damage. It wasn't long before he found a couple scratches on the body of the sitar.

The room for some bizarre reason seemed quieter than usual when Axel glanced over to the crouching Nobody. Although he normally wasn't afraid of most things, this was probably one of the exceptions where he was actually scared about why the normally spazy, down to earth nobody was unusually quiet and unresponsive. Scratching the nape of his neck, he was still pretty tired due to the lack of sleep and hoped that he could resolve this issue and catch some more zzz's.

"Say Dem are you alright over there. I am pretty sure your weapon is fi-"

"NO IT'S NOT FINE, YOU DAMAGED MY PRECIOUS APPREIGGO!" Demyx hollered interrupting Axel as he rose from the ground and glared back at him. From the fire bender's prospective he swore he saw a light flicker from his eyes as the water bender stared menacingly at him. Blinking a few times in confusion, he rubbed his eyes assuming that the light from the nightlight was causing him to hallucinate. Unconsciously he edged away from the disturbingly ticked off nobody forgetting that he was still sitting down on the bed.

Scrambling on the bed that he was on in order to get away from him, he slipped on the pillow that was behind him causing him to flop down. Cursing his unusual klutziness, Axel nearly jumped out of his skin when Number IX launched himself toward the bed. He then planted his body on top of his. His arms and legs were pinned beneath him as he could only stare up into Demyx's shimmering aquamarine colored eyes. Many emotions were apparent when he gazed into his eyes ranging from anger to sorrow for the damage to his Sitar.

'Shit I didn't realize how much he treasured his weapon. If I knew that, I wouldn't have chunked it across the room earlier.' Axel thought as he continued peering up at Demyx not knowing what he should say or do next. Although a small part of him hated the idea of being restrained by anyone or any nobody, he was more concerned with the Melodious Nocturne's hurt feelings than his limbs slowly starting to fall asleep.

Mentally whacking his head, The Flurry Of Dancing Flames tried to think about what actions he should take hoping nothing else would only further infuriate the sandy blond. But the more he pondered on the issue, the more it seemed that Demyx seethed with rage. The pressure on his body only increased as Axel bit his lip when he found that it was getting more difficult and more uncomfortable being in that position. Without even knowing what he was doing, he shouted for Demyx's forgiveness offering to pay for the damage he had done.

"Alright I am sorry for throwing your precious instrument, I was just annoyed that that thing was in the bed with us. If I caused any damage, I will repair it so please do me the favor and get off of me!"

"Okay." Was all The Melodious Nocturne uttered lifting his body off of The Flurry Of Dancing Flames as he climbed onto the other side of the bed. Pulling the sheets and covers over his head, he left Axel dazed and confused about what just transpired. Blinking several times, he tried to figure out what just occurred not understanding how the other boy could be angry and thirsty for blood one minute and calm and collected the next.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Axel practically screamed inside his head as he glanced over at boy who was now fast asleep. His anger only rose when he thought he should rudely wake Demyx up for not only disturbing his slumber due to his strange bond he had with his Sitar but for also his strange mood swings as well.

Lifting his body up after regaining the feeling to his limbs, he wanted to clobber him for putting him through this hell. However when he pulled back the covers to reveal his face, his actions were stunned when he peered down at his sleeping face. Instead of seeing the scowl he had just a few moments ago, Number IX wore a small smile as his eyes flickered rapidly from beneath his closed eyelids due to his sleep as his lips parted when he sighed contently.

To the other nobody gazing down at the sleeping man, he couldn't help but find him adorable. The way he sighed in his sleep to the light snore he possessed, he felt himself drawn to his sleeping visage. Having this excessive urge to touch his face, he reached out and cautiously poke his cheek. This action of course caused the water bender's eyebrows to bunch finding the fire bender's actions unpleasant as he grabbed the covers and pulled them over his head once more.

Resisting the urge to chuckle at his silly action, he gently grabbed the cover trying his best to not alarm Demyx of his actions before pulling it away from his face once again. Finding his sleeping self cute, he couldn't help but mess with the slumbering nobody poking, pinching, and stroking his face. Nearly laughing out loud each time he did those actions, his smile widen when the sandy blond began snuggling with his hand when he stroked his face.

"Although you can be obnoxious at times, you can also be adorable too." Finding the sleeping nobody's visage enticing, he found himself drawling closer to him. His face grew closer and closer to Number IX's face before he was a only inches away. The boy's rhythmic breathing tickled him when he pressed his lips with Demyx's before he withdrew. This action of course caused the slumbering boy to jerk slightly before he settled down and buried himself in the folds of the blanket.

A slightly embarrassed Number VIII stared down at the spot where he stole a kiss from Number IX before bringing his hand to his lips. He could still feel the presence of the kiss he stole from the sleeping boy as his cheeks burned upon reminiscing how nice it was and how soft his lips were when he made contact. A strange sensation overflowed inside of him making him puzzled about what he was currently experiencing and how would he be able to make it stop. But the weirdest surprise of all was when he felt something react to his earlier actions causing him to remove himself from the bed and deal with this sudden problem in a secluded location in his room, aka the bathroom.

Although he was still apprehensive when he came to dealing with water especially after his near death experience with the pool last week, he assumed it was much easier dealing with his water issue than what his body was going through at the moment. Silently he crept to the bathroom, careful not to disturb the slumbering nobody in his bed. However he was relieved when he reached it without any indecent before he was able to quietly open and shut the door behind him.

Once the door was closed behind him, he unleashed the breath he hadn't known he was holding as he looked up at the shower. Flinching at the sight of it, he took a few seconds to prepare himself to be drenched with water as he slowly striped off his boxers. After they were off, he reached for the knobs in the shower and began to turn them on. Waiting for a little while for the water to warm up to the perfect temperature, he finally stepped into the shower shutting the curtain behind him as the water pelted his body soaking him completely.

Shuddering at the water raining down on him, he decided it was best to get his problem solved and wash up as well. Grabbing the shampoo off of the shower rack, he squirted a good size amount of the goop into his hand before applying and lathering his hair with it. Giving his hair and his body a through cleaning he quickly rinsed it out as he finally came to his reason for going in there in the first place. Deciding it was best to let his mind wander, he let himself be taken away to the darkest part of his mind giving in to his lecherous side.

All the tension he was feeling just a few minutes ago seem to melt away as all thoughts were accumulating on a particular nobody. Golden blond hair and electric blue eyes flashed continuously in his head as his thoughts turned naughty when he envisioned numerous things he wanted to do to the young nobody. A smile spread across his visage imagining the golden haired angel in his head, then as quickly as he envisioned the Key Blade Welder another came into mind.

A mullet like hairstyle, a pair of aquamarine eyes, and a sheepish grin overthrew his previous thoughts. The very same images he had with the other nobody he now saw with him as well. But unlike the lateral the intensity of his sexual desires seem to heighten until it consumed him entirely. It was then that the red head snapped out of lecherous thoughts bringing him back to reality.

His face was flushed and his thoughts were now clean once more as he was brought back to his senses and was able to reflect on his strange feelings for the boy that was currently sleeping in his bed. Peering intently at the wall in front of him, he subconsciously ran his hand through his hair contemplating why he saw Demyx in that shade of light.

"Damn what the hell is wrong with me? Why am I thinking about both Roxas and Demyx in that way? I just don't get it!" His fist made contact with the shower wall in the midst of his distress causing him to make a loud thump to be heard from the other room. Alas thanks to this, a certain nobody arose from their slumber concerned about the abrupt sound.

"Hey Ax is everything alright in there, I heard a loud noise?" Demyx asked from the other side of the bathroom door. A loud thump was heard from beyond the door making the water bender worry more. Pressing his ear to the door, he voiced his concern again making sure if the fire bender was okay.

"Hey are you okay in there, do you want me to come in there?" After he asked that, he tried opening the door by turning the knob only to realize it was locked. The sandy's blond's fear spiked again when Axel refused to respond. Contemplating whether he should teleport himself into the bathroom, he finally heard Axel's voice at last.

"I'm alright I just slipped in the tub that's all, I can assure you of that!" The red head said sounding a little rushed when he spoke.

He was still troubled by the tone of his voice, but Number IX thought it was best to let it slid for the time being believing Number VIII didn't want him to disturbed while he was in the shower. Giving his roommate a nonchalant "okay," he retreated to the warm bed to sleep for another a hour or two before everyone had to meet up for breakfast.

Upon hearing Demyx's retreating footsteps, Axel breathed a sigh of relief as he shut off the shower glad that the other nobody decided not to check up on him while he was in the bathroom. Pulling the curtain open, he stepped out onto the red mat instantly shuddering from the cold temperature within the castle. Not wasting anytime, he grabbed one of the white towels from the towel rack and quickly dried himself off.

Loathing the cold just as much as he hated water, he made sure his body was nearly dry before he started trying off his hair too. Normally he would use the blow dryer but thanks to having a roommate, he didn't want to disturb him any further optioning to dry it this way instead. After a few minutes both his hair and body were dry but there was another problem...he forgot to bring any clean clothes with him.

Smacking his forehead in annoyance, he regretted not grabbing a clean pair of boxers before venturing into the bathroom. Taking the towel that he used to dry himself, he wrapped it around his waist before unlocking the door. He sighed again for the umpteenth time since he first woke up as he quietly crept toward his dresser. Making small steps when he tiptoed in his room, he made sure not to stumble on any of the strewn clothing, movies, and video games on the floor, he was successful about not stumbling on anything when he reached the drawer. Sliding the drawer to his dresser open, he grabbed a pair of boxers before closing it.

The drawer make a slight sound when he closed it making him freeze in fear. Quickly checking the bed to see if the other arose, he was relieved when there was not a ruffle from the sheets. A wide grin spread across his visage when he realized his roommate didn't wake up. Silently he did a victory dance glad to get some of his clothes without being spotted, however in the midst of his cheering he lost his footing when tripped on something on the floor causing him to fall on his rump. The noise from his body colliding with the floor caused Demyx to jerk up from the bed.

"Ax is that you, what's going on over there?" Demyx asked in a low tone while sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Averting his gaze to the location where he heard the noise, his eyes widen when he saw Axel next to his dresser and completely nude! His face immediately heated up when he saw him wearing nothing on as he quickly shielded his face.

"S-S-Sorry I didn't know that you were c-c-changing!" The musician stuttered. Not knowing what he should do in that awkward situation, he just sat on the bed with his hands covering his face.

The fire bender on the other hand was more mortified about being caught in the buff and what was worst that aside from Roxas he didn't want Demyx to see him like that.

After twenty seconds of awkward silence, the red head finally rose from his sprawled out position on the floor. Quickly grabbing the boxers he accidentally dropped in the midst of his nasty fall, he also pulled out a plain white t-shirt and one of his his black organization coats before returning to the bathroom to dress and properly groom himself for today. Despite it being around six am a tad early before everyone would get up and eat breakfast with everyone residing in the castle, he was too frazzled with all that transpired so early in the morning. He believed it would better if he had some time to cool off and blow off some steam before facing everyone especially his roommate.

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"Hey Ax I was wondering where you went after breakfast...what are you doing?" Demyx inquired when he saw a normally lazy red head actually going through his pile of things in order to clean up the place.

"Oh I just thought it would be better if I cleaned up the place a little since I have a roommate now." Axel hollered over his shoulder while he chunked an empty soda bottle into his trash bin missing it by a few inches. Muttering profanities underneath his breath about missing the shot, he found an empty box of pocky and threw it only to hit the trash can instead. Noticing the fire bender's dilemma, the water bender decided he should help and clean too since he didn't know how long he was going to be staying with him.

"How about I lend you a hand with this mess considering I am your roommate until Vexen comes back from his mission at Castle Oblivion." Picking up a discarded apple core he found underneath a pile of dirty clothes, Demyx cringed at how discolored the fruit appeared when he took aim at the trash can and threw it. The apple core landed in the bin without any problem as the sandy blond grinned at the shot he just made. Looking for something else that needed to be discarded, a certain nobody didn't like to be bested at anything as he reached out and grabbed an old Popsicle stick from his hands.

"You don't need to help me with this considering this is my room after all."

"Well I have cleaned up your room before so it shouldn't be a big deal." Yanking the garbage that was in Axel's hand, he threw the trash toward the garbage can. While some of the trash made it into the trash bin, some of it sadly landed all around the garbage bin instead.

The Flurry Of Dancing Flames's temper flared as he glared at The Melodious Nocturne. Annoyed that he wanted to assist him with cleaning his room once again, he didn't want him to find anything unsightly while in the midst of their cleaning. However what Axel wasn't prepared for was for Demyx to approach the issue directly rather than back down like he usually would. Finding this new behavior he was witnessing surprising, the red head took a step back to analyze the situation and figure out what he should do.

On the one hand it would be a lot faster with two people working on disposing of the mess in the room than if it was just himself, and also he could get the sleeping arrangements settled much quicker once everything was clean. Deciding to let the water bender help out, he let out some rules first. One Number IX was only allowed to pick up clothes and garbage, and two if there was anything that appeared strange or unusual let him handle it and not have any questions about the said item either.

After establishing those simple rules the two set to work. About four hours later the room was spotless, vacuumed, and now the real problem was...who was going to sleep on the floor.

"Alright now that the bedroom is all cleaned up, perhaps we can discuss sleeping arrangements." The red head said shifting his attention to the sandy blond.

The said blond looked down crestfallen. Apparently seeing the sparkling clean room seem to dampen the nobody's spirit rather then make him happy to help his friend out. A heavy sigh was unleashed when he looked back up and replied.

"I guess I'll will sleep on the floor since I don't want to impose anymore than I already have with me rooming with you." Giving him a small smile, Demyx tried his best to appear content with the idea of sleeping on the ground when instead he was the exact opposite.

Somehow sensing his annoyance with the arrangement, Axel started to feel something within him that put him on edge. And that feeling was guilt.

"No Dem you shouldn't sleep on the ground. I will." With that said, he went to his closet and pulled out another set of blankets and sheets he kept in there before returning and placing them on the ground. Without so much as a word, he went over to his bed and retrieved a couple pillows throwing them to the ground where he laid his blankets down. Realizing what the red head was up to, Demyx quickly acted.

"Whoa Ax what are you doing?" Number IX shouted. Clearly appalled by the results, Demyx couldn't bear taking Axel's bed let alone have him sleep on the floor especially after that last fiasco. Shifting his attention between the makeshift bed on the ground to the place where Number VIII was, The Melodious Nocturne started to become frantic.

"Hey, hey why don't we forget this entire arrangement and let's just sleep together. There problem solved." He answered sounding a bit reassuring about the situation than he should have. Without so much as a reply, the sandy blond swiped the blankets from the ground before he placed them on the bed. This action of course caused Axel to become irritated.

"What the hell are you doing moron?" Axel shouted abruptly causing the other nobody to flinch from the loud tone in his voice. Nervously, he shifted his attention to the red head who peered at him in annoyance. His eyebrow was raised as The Flurry Of Dancing Flames crossed his arms. "If we do agree to sleep together there is one condition."

"Oh yeah what?" Demyx asked. Feeling worried about what the condition would be, he hadn't the faintest idea what Axel would want in exchange for the two of them to sleep in the bed together. It wasn't long before a disturbing thought had entered his head. Perhaps Number VIII wanted to exploit the roommate situation by having him actually "sleep" together in return for providing him a bed to sleep in. Goosebumps formed all over his body the more he imagined the scenario play out in his head as his face started to turn pink.

However upon seeing Demyx's brighten visage, Axel instinctively knew what he was thinking. Rolling his emerald hues, he unfolded his arms and shook his head.

"Before you get any perverted ideas, my condition is that there will be no weapons of any kind in the bed and if you need to cuddle up with anything use the pillow alright."

A simple nod was all that The Melodious Nocturne gave him as both boys went to the bed. They arrange the bed in the way they wanted it with addition of a large body pillow they wedged between the two boys in order to keep some moderate space between each other before finally going to sleep themselves. Believing things would get better with the addition of the body pillow Axel lent Demyx to snuggle with he was gravely mistaken.

Unfortunately for the next several days that passed, a rift began to form between the two nobodies as the lack of sleep and the invasion of privacy was being infringed.

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"Hey Axel. Damn you look terrible rough night?" Roxas blurted out loud later that day after visiting the clock tower at Twilight Town.

Sticky ice creams bars in their hands, warm sun beating down upon them, it was the perfect atmosphere for two friends to hang out and chat aimlessly about nothing in particular. This was one of those occasions where two boys conversed about their problems regarding certain living conditions.

"Yeah well thanks to a certain ice welder things have not been well with my new roommate." Axel replied while running his hands through his hair. He had dark circles underneath his eyes were clear as day on his normally impeccable skin. Even his usually vibrant flowing red locks of hair seemed less bright as it would be. In fact his gravity defying hair seemed to have less volume and seem to droop more instead.

To put in shorter terms...Axel looked like shit.

Over a week has passed since he had to share living quarters with the water bender, it appeared that more and more The Flurry Of Dancing Flames found himself harder to control his conflicting emotions. An array of feelings he couldn't comprehend were clashing inside his head the longer the two resided as roommates and it was driving him completely nuts.

"It must be tough being with someone that is putting you through all this stress, have you explained this situation to Vexen in order for him to thaw out his room." Roxas asked. Concern flashed in his electric blue eyes as he placed a hand on Axel's slender shoulder.

Upon contact, Axel averted his gaze to meet Roxas's. A questionable look appeared on his visage as if he were trying to register what the young nobody's intentions were for comforting him. But after a few moments, his face broke out into a smile as he wrapped his arm around the short nobody.

"You know squirt, sometimes you say some smart stuff sometimes." Placing his arm around the boy's neck he used his other one to give him a noogie.

"Ouch! Hey Ax that hurts please stop it!" Roxas shouted in protest as he struggled to get the fire bender's arm off of him. A chuckle was heard soon after when Axel finally released the key welder from his hold.

Once Number VIII was done with his antics, the two nobodies started to converse about other topics that no longer involved his living status. But unbeknownst to either of the two nobodies, another nobody was lurking close by hidden away from their view.

Aquamarine hues peered silently around the side of the clock tower as he watched the two nobodies laughing and joking around. His fists tighten upon seeing how close their relationship seemed compared to his and the red heads. He felt strange emotions every time he saw them together and it seemed that no matter what he couldn't shake this ugly feeling away each time. Unclasping his hands after balling them, he felt something sticky and crunchy in his hands.

He groaned about having destroyed his perfectly fine ice cream cone and not being about to be able to finish the delectable dessert, he quickly discarded it over the edge of the clock tower where he spotted a trashed can below. Sadly the ice cream failed to land in the proper disposable unit, instead landing just a couple inches away from it. Cursing at his poor aim, Demyx knew what he had to do make things better for the two of them. Creating a dark portal, he decided to visit Vexen and discuss his frozen bedroom.

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"Well, well, well I am thoroughly surprised by your unexpected visit Number IX. Might I inquire to what do I owe this special occasion?" The usually smug nobody asked as he leaned back in his chair in his private office. A file was pulled out in front of him with the picture of the nobody that was standing in front of him. A pen and a fresh notebook was also strewn on the desk as well, along with a couple books about psychology and understanding the true meaning of love in simple terms.

"Uh...yeah actually you should probably know why I am here because you are the one who froze my entire room and have not defrosted it once you came back from your mission." The normally hesitant nobody said outright. Although it sounded more intimidating in his head when he rehearsed it earlier that day, he now regretted how pathetic it sounded out loud.

He gritted his teeth hating how foolish he appeared to one of his superiors when in fact he was trying his best to convince The Chilly Academic to let him reclaim his bedroom once more. Sadly despite his sad attempt at persuading Vexen to take care of the problem, Vexen flat out turned Demyx down.

"I am afraid I can not help you with this dilemma. You see if order for your room to be thawed I require the both of you to corporate and work together on building your relationship with one another."

"BUT WE HAVE GOTTEN CLOSER TO EACH OTHER!" The Melodious Nocturne blurted out loud surprising the ashy blond and himself included. Feeling remotely frazzled by the frustrating ordeal, Demyx tried to calm his unstable nerves by stating how much he needed to get more clothes from his room among other necessities. Unfortunately it appeared that Vexen didn't seem to understand what he was trying to tell him.

"Even if you needed more supplies and clothing you can always wash your clothes that I so kindly left out for you more often, or you can always purchase more from a clothing department."

"I-I that is..." Demyx stammered with his words not knowing what he should say in response to Vexen. On the one hand he agreed that he could always go clothing shopping in town or wash his clothes more often but at the same time, he felt that he should demand the ice bender to remove the block of ice considering it his bedroom and he needed his space just as much as Axel.

With his mind set, he was ready to give the ashy blond a good talking to. However just as he was opening mouth prepared to speak about his thoughts on the matter, the older nobody cut him off.

"Number IX since you haven't given me any additional information that would hint at having any progress with this assignment, I am afraid that our discussion must be concluded." With that being his final thoughts, he closed Demyx's file as he rose from his chair.

"But Vexen you really need to remove the ice from my room!" Number IX whined. Clearly his plea fell on deaths ears because rather than answering his question, Number IV decided to leave his office by creating a dark portal and quickly closing it soon after entering it.

"Damn it why won't anyone listen to me?" He shouted to no one in particular while clutching the side of his head. Slumping his body to the ground, he felt frustrated that Vexen didn't take his words seriously when meant it.

He not only wanted the privacy of his bedroom back but he also wanted Axel to be happy too. No longer did he want to burden him with his terrible sleeping habits, or deal with those awkward moments they both experienced here and there. He just wanted everything to go back to the way they were. Well...at least the part about them sleeping in separate rooms at least.

"If Vexen refuses to help me than I guess I have no choice then. I'll have to do it myself!" With that being his declaration, he pulled himself up sauntered toward the closed office door and walked out of Number IV's lab and headed straight for his bedroom.

Not a single doubt crossed his mind when he found himself in front of his frozen bedroom. A few possibilities ran through his head about how he could try to defrost the hunk of ice. From thawing the block and letting the water leak out into the hallway, to seeing if he could channel the water to drain down his shower drain or his bathroom sink. He quickly discarded those options knowing neither of them would help him with his situation.

While one of those options would have him get scolded by nearly everyone in the organization that lived down that corridor due to the result of the newly formed water from the block of ice being flooded into their bedrooms. In which case, he didn't want any of them coming after him in rage. The other option was also discarded as well due to the fact that he had already attempted to enter his bathroom when he first discovered his room was blocked by ice but like his bedroom it took was frozen completely. In which case it would be nearly impossible for him to drain the water out of the entire room when it was already frozen to begin with.

Sadly with those ideas out, there was two more he preferred not to do. One was have the fire bender help him out with his endeavor which could cause Demyx to quickly lose control of the water which could result with flooding. It also could put his belongings at the mercy of the fire bender's malicious flames too. And the last choice he felt that that was probably the only way to go.

He groaned again for the second time that day hating how much energy he was going to consume for this task to be done. It also required him to be entirely focused on the task at hand otherwise any slight distraction could spell trouble for The Melodious Nocturne. And what was worse...Demyx knew how much it was going to hurt.

Deciding it was best to do a few quick stretches, he wanted to prepare his body for the worst that was to come before proceeding. Counting up to thirty for each stretch he did, after he was finished he closed his eyes and started to focus on the block of ice.

Raising his right hand toward the massive ice block, a surge of energy started to wrap around the water bender as the ice before him started to quiver due to his power. Slowly the frozen water in front of him became water once more as Demyx shuttered at how cool the liquid was before absorbing it into his body.

This process continued until about ten minutes into the procedure, it was clearly noticeable that the water was taking its toll on the poor water bender. His nice body that was normally a nearly a well defined six pack now had a massively growing beer gut forming around his mid section. It only worsen because the more water he absorbed, the more he felt his stomach cramp immensely due to the excess water he took in. Thinking about quitting with his plan, he immediately shrugged those negative thoughts aside believing it was best to ignore the "slight" discomfort with his stomach and focus only on thawing out the room.

Although it was much more painful than Demyx truly assumed it would be, the water continued to expand his body causing his clothes that he was wearing to feel tight and uncomfortable and also rip and tear his coat, under shirt, and pants too. In fact because his body was expanding he was starting to find it a little hard to want to stand up due to the weight of the water that was being poured into his slowly growing body.

Not only did his stomach grow but his arms inflated similar to water wings and also his legs looked more like nice plump turkey legs instead of muscular tone ones that they once were. Even his butt expanded becoming more rounder and giggly as well as his face becoming pudgier and acquiring more than one set of chins too. It wasn't until Demyx was three quarters of the way finished when his body's girth expanded so much so that it nearly took up both sides of the corridor making it a little difficult to pass by.

It was at this state when he could hardly stand on his two feet due to the large amount of water in his body was when Axel discovered what Demyx was up to.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON DEM? ARE YOU TRYING TO BEAT THE RECORD FOR LARGEST NOBODY?"

"Ax-Ax-Axel what are d-d-doing back so s-s-soon!?" Demyx asked bewildered that he was caught doing something so reckless to release the ice from his bedroom, he was also a little embarrassed that Axel had to see him in his current condition too. He tried to explain himself but sadly due to him not focusing solely on the task, the water that was already defrosted descended to the carpet floor resulting in it being soaked and also the extra water that was left began to spill out into the hallway causing Number IX to panic.

In his blind haste, he temporarily stopped thawing out what was left of the block of ice as he started to absorb the water that spilled into the corridor. An irritated grunt was heard when Demyx retrieved the water in the hall before a flash of red and orange enveloped the hallway.

Demyx's eyes widen in horror when he saw the damage the fire caused to the walls surrounding the location where the water spilled. However thanks to Axel's quick thinking, he was able to evaporate the water but at the cost of singeing the walls in the process. Once that mess was cleared, he swiftly turned in The Melodious Nocturne's direction in a furious rage.

"Why did you think this was the best solution to get rid of the ice block in your room when we could have talked to Vexen about removing it!"

"I tried that earlier." Demyx spoke softly. He was ashamed by his foolish actions in fact he hated that no matter what he did, it only seemed to anger Axel even if his intentions were good. Believing he should explain his reckless behavior he started to speak only to choke on some of the water that came back up due to his negligence at not maintaining total control of the situation.

"Whoa hey I think you had enough water for today. Stand back and let me handle the rest." He replied as he cracked his knuckles and turned toward the slowly melting ice block. A hand soon found its way on his shoulder as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the massive nobody struggling to stand in the hallway.

"Don't do it Ax, you'll only make matters worse."

Axel merely disregarded his concern by shrugging off his hand and his warning too when he turned back around. Shouts and protests were made when he formed a giant fireball in the center of the room as all the remaining ice that was in the bedroom and bathroom melted in a matter of seconds. With that amount of ice melted, he turned up the heat a few more degrees in order to evaporate the pesky water that was left leaving Demyx to have to put up a quick water barrier. And in a matter of moments the room was completely dry and partially singed.

"And that is how you do it Dem. Now let's get that water expelled from your body before it does permanent damage to your-"

"What have you done Axel?" Demyx asked interrupting Axel. Rather than being concerned about his well-being, he was more upset by the damage Axel had done to his room.

The beautiful blue walls that took Demyx a long to pick out now had ugly scorch marks all around the room. All his knickknacks, posters, stereo system, and music either charred after the fireball incident or worse they were damaged so bad that they simply melted from the fire's intensity. And sadly even his bed and carpet suffered from the elements as well however instead of the fire being the culprit, it was actually from the ice block melting that resulted in not only his carpet to be soaked thoroughly but also his bed as well. In short...Demyx's room was wrecked severely.

Tears formed in his eyes upon gazing at his once beautiful oasis he loved to lounge and escape from the dark reality of The World That Never Was as well as all the other worlds that were out there. It was his special place where he could relax and not have to worry about anything that could maim him or cause him harm of any kind. A place where he could act the way he wanted and play his music without anyone to judge him. This was the placed he loved and cherished and now the remnants of the small chunk of world he loved was no more.

Perplexed by the tears he saw in the sandy blond's eyes, he looked at him and back at the nobody's bedroom not comprehending what he did.

"What are you talking about. I was helping you get rid of the rest of the ice in the room, what other choice did I have other than you taking up the expansion of the hallway." Axel argued. Not knowing what he should say or do to make the other nobody understand that his intentions were for his benefit, the red head hung his head in frustration.

He knew that what he did upset the water bender but he had hoped that the other would acknowledge that he hadn't meant to destroy his possessions in the process! Okay so he was a little hasty about getting rid of the remaining block of ice that Vexen failed to remove when he and his colleagues left for the other castle. But he truly was only thinking about helping out Demyx and his current situation as quickly as possible without thinking of the dire consequences his flames would cause the other nobody's bedroom. And from the look of it, it seemed that Number IX was not pleased at all but his so called "help".

"Yeah but you destroyed half of my belongings in the process! Do you know how much this stuff costs, and how hard it is for me to replace some of these things?" Demyx shouted at Axel while he pointed at some of the knickknacks that were now charred on his dresser.

Averting his gaze from The Melodious Nocturne to the piece of furniture that housed some of his possessions, Axel squinted his eyes to see just what he was talking about. Upon peering at the burnt remains a little better, The Flurry Of Dancing Flames saw what appeared to be small traces of writing written on a couple of the items Demyx cherished. Taking a few seconds for it to register in his head, he soon realized that he messed up big time for wrecking some of his autograph possessions. Smacking his forehead for his reckless stupidity, he turned back to Demyx peering through his fingers at the distraught nobody. He grimaced when he noticed how his facial expression changed from anger to sadness all in the matter of minutes as he contemplated what he should say or do next. Assuming it was best to be honest with the boy, he decided to tell him what he truly felt at the moment.

"Hey whoa Demyx calm down, I didn't mean to wreck your room intentionally. I was only trying to help you after seeing what you were doing in the hallway."

After he finished speaking, he removed his hand from his face and completely shifted his body around. His emerald green eyes displayed the obvious sign of worry as he gazed into Demyx's aquamarine hues making the other feel a little uncomfortable and unsettling when Axel started to approach his now massive body.

His internal instinct to flee started to kick into high gear when the fire bender came closer to him as he tried to take one step back in order to back away from him putting some distance between them. However forgetting about the large quantity of water his body absorbed, he could hardly move his leg back let alone try to outran the slender nobody before him. It also didn't help that thanks to his massive girth that took nearly the entire width from his bedroom door to the opposite side of the hallway, he kinda had not much room to even think about escaping. But in the midst of his fretting a hand shot out in front of him causing him to momentarily forget what he was worrying over as he looked up to meet Axel's gaze.

"Now can we please take care of you now?"

A wide grin spread across the handsome nobody's countenance making him appear more suave and dashing than he normally looked to the water bender. A blush formed on the sandy blond's visage as he looked at him and his outstretched hand. Not knowing if he should accept his kind offer and let Axel assist him to release the water from his body or whether he should reject the offer and help himself instead. Weighing both sides inside his head, it was at that moment when he felt one of his feet slip from underneath him causing him to fall down on his knee.

A whimper soon followed right after as he bit his lip in order to conceal the excruciating pain his body was going through. From the moment his body took in that excess amount of water inside of him, his stomach felt intense pressure. He felt so much strain, that now after losing more focus on manipulating the water in his system it was now becoming unbearably comfortable for him to take. Without even realizing it himself, he reached out and grabbed Axel's hand who at once tried to pull him back up from the ground. But due to the large amount of water stored up inside of him, it was a rather difficult struggle for the slim nobody to do.

"Damn Dem you are extremely heavy right now. Can you please help me, help you get you back to your normal size." Axel said grunting a little when he and Demyx were able to place him back upon his two wobbly feet.

"Alright I created a dark portal that will take you outside where you can release that water from your-"

"That won't be a wise choice right now Ax." Demyx replied interjecting for the second time that day as he raised his arm in the direction of his bedroom window. "It is raining outside and it will only make matters worse in my current condition if I were to absorb any more water right now."

"Oh yeah..." Axel said cocking one red eyebrow in his direction. "There where do you suggest we go then?" Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared at the other nobody who stared back at him in bewilderment.

"The pool would be the best place to release the water from my body." Demyx stated in a matter of fact manner as he explained how and why it was the ideal location to do it there. "One I won't have to worry about any water pelting me while I can focus on releasing the water from my body and have access water from entering me in the process, two even if I manage to flood the pool there are several drains around the pool in case of flooding emergency situations, and three after all the water is gone and drained from me I can relax and enjoy a nice dip in the pool afterwards." Giving Axel a toothy grin, the red head couldn't help but smile at the sandy blond as he too agreed it was a good plan.

Closing the portal he created earlier, he formed another dark vortex for Demyx that ended at the natatorium on the other side.

"Alright I created a portal that will get you to your destination but I have to wonder..." Axel paused as he eyed Demyx's enormous girth suspiciously. Not believing the water bender would be capable of traveling to the portal to get to the pool, let alone make a single step without stumbling over. Unleashing a sigh he had to ask the blatantly obvious question. "Do you need some help getting there though."

"I uh..." Demyx started to speak but as soon as he tried to refuse Axel's offer a little bit of water dislodged out of his body from his mouth.

That was a good enough answer for Axel to take the initiative and wrap his arm or at least try to wrap his arm around his back. Once he was sort of successful, he placed his head underneath Demyx's over-sized arm as he used all the strength he could muster to get Number IX to move with him. Heaving the large nobody with him, he started regretting not taking the time to work out more often than wasting it on sleeping in. Now would have been the perfect time to use those muscles if he had them to help him with his current predicament.

For the two nobodies to even make three to four steps, it took about ten minutes. By seven or eight steps both were starting to perspire with sweat as they both pushed forward. And by the time they reached the end of the dark portal, both Axel and Demyx nearly fell over from exhaustion.

"Ax it is alright I can do the rest myself I appreciate your help. I don't want to bother you any further." Waving his hands in his usual carefree manner, he tried to reassure the other nobody that he was capable of taking care of himself without the need of his assistance. However when he looked back at Axel, his expression appeared doubtful when he stared at him with his emerald green hues.

Goosebumps started to form on his arms and the back of his neck when he gazed into his lovely green eyes as he felt himself conflicted with his very own words. As much as he would have given anything to have Axel be worried about him like he was at this moment, he also felt extremely embarrassed for him to even witness him in such an unsightly way. And what really bugged him the most...he wasn't able to finish the task he started without having some help in the end. This time he was determine to reassure Axel he was able to do something without anyone's help what-so-ever!

"Really I am perfectly fine now that I am here now. You can see for yourself!" To sure that he was truly fine without needing any more assistance from the red head, he removed his arm from around Axel's shoulders as he focused his attention on expelling the water from his body. He slowly released the water from his body careful enough not to overwhelm himself due to the sheer amount of water he accumulated from the ice block. Because if he let the volume of water increase even just a little bit more than he was currently releasing it would spell trouble for the water bender!

"I guess you are right this time Dem, you don't need anymore help. Perhaps I should leave you alone for this task than." Axel replied as he watched Demyx slowly release the water from his body as his body started to slowly slim down as he did so. He shuffled his feet on the tile as he contemplated whether it was a good idea to leave the nobody alone when nearly an hour ago he could hardly stand up on his two feet let alone walk without his help. Before he even knew what he was doing he asked the boy one more time if he needed him nearby.

"Unless you need someone to supervise you just in case anything should happen?"

"It is alright Ax, I don't need any more help. Thank you for all the help you gave me already though." Demyx quickly replied back without giving Axel anymore room for him to interject or argue with him about his decision. With his left arm he gestured to the door that he should leave while giving him an obvious forced smile that Axel could plainly see through as he finally gave in to the other nobody's suggestion and left him.

"See you later then Dem. Report to me in about ten minutes when you are done okay?"

"Yeah alright I'll do that Ax!"

Giving him a small wave goodbye, he was relieved when he heard the door to the natatorium open then close behind him.

"Finally he left, now I can focus solely on expelling this water from my body without being distracted by Axel."

The phony smile he wore for the red head slipped from his face as his smile turned into a frown and teeth began to clinch together. The pain he experienced earlier that he desperately tried to hide from his partner now that he was no longer hovering over him with worry, he could now display his pain freely without being fussed over.

"Damn it this is taking too long, how much water did I intake when I melted that chunk of ice. It hurts so much!" Demyx whined to himself as he felt a surge of pain stab him in his stomach causing him to momentarily to forget the flow of the water he was releasing as the water soon gushed from his body in torrents.

This only worsened the pain in his stomach as the water flowed rapidly out of his body making his body shrink down to his original size. But in the midst of the water expelling from his body, his head experienced a massive headache resulting in him to feel dizzy and a bit sluggish from the water pouring out of him. After few minutes of uncontrollable water flowing out of him, he manage to stop it in time before too much water including his own body's would expel too.

"Yeah I did without anyone's help..." Demyx thought to himself proud that he achieved his goal of successfully disposing of the ice block water that was in his bedroom. Alas before he had a chance to relish in his victory, his foot slipped due to the overflowing water from the pool thanks to the added melted ice water which caused him fall into the pool.

Exhausted from maintaining the constant focus of keeping the water inside of his body without it disbursing, he couldn't bring himself to move his arms or legs in order to rescue himself from his plight. Heck he didn't have enough energy to summon his sitar in order to create a rift in the pool in order for him to get himself out of the pool and to safely be on the cool tile floors of the natatorium.

Finding his demise kind of pathetic, he never assumed if he did in fact die as a nobody it wouldn't be because of his own element. But here he was sinking to the bottom of the pool as the air in his lungs slowly escaped his body in the form of tiny bubbles floating to the surface of the water. His vision grew hazy as all thoughts turned to the red head whom he promised he would be meeting after he finished his task. Unfortunately he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep his promise after all.

With one last ounce of breath he uttered the name of the nobody he was starting to experience real feelings and emotions with.

"Axel..."

A minute later, an antsy and impatient nobody slipped back into the natatorium worried about the other nobody after he failed to meet up with him a couple minutes ago.

"Say Dem are you still in here, do you need any help with releasing the water from your body?" His question bounced off the walls of the natatorium as he paused to here a response that he expected to follow soon after. However what he was meet with was complete and utter silence.

The lack of sound freaked the normally nonchalant nobody as he felt his nerves spiral into a frenzy when he began to wonder just where did that water bender run off to. Thinking he ditched him and decided to clean up the mess that Axel had caused in his bedroom, he quickly took a peek into his room via dark portal only instead of walking through it he just stuck his head inside to see if the sandy blond was there. But upon peering into the charred and soaked wet remains of Number IX's bedroom, he saw no hide nor hair of the boy inside. His concern only increased when he drew his head back as he now all but dashed to the pool fearing the worst.

His concern only deepen when he reached the edge of the pool when he nearly slipped into the water thanks to the overflowing water surrounding the entire pool. Waving his arms frantically, he manage to keep himself from falling as he looked all around the room. From the bleachers, to the diving board, and even the entrance to the locker room, he was tempted to barge in there just to see if Demyx was in there changing his clothes that he ripped due to the expansion incident until he spotted something dark at the corner of his eyes.

He slowly shifted his head to the water and to his horror, the dark object he saw was in fact the nobody he was searching for.

"Shit I better get Xigbar to help me get Demyx!" Axel shouted quickly summoning a dark portal intent to get the eye patch nobody to help with his dilemma. But then another thought occurred to him. What if it was too late to get help. Maybe Demyx was already... No he refused to believe that.

Closing the portal that he just opened, he yanked off his boots and organization cloak that he knew would weight him down when he went to retrieve the boy from the bottom of the pool before he took the plunge and jumped in. Immediately the moment his body submerged in the water, he shivered from the cool temperature of the water. Unlike last time, there wasn't a cold ice block that had been melted down added to the equation so it was pretty hard for the fire bender to not want to retreat to the surface in order to escape from the freezing water. But despite his discomfort he was determined to rescue his partner no matter how cold the water was or how terrible he still was when it came to swimming.

Remembering what he did last time, he kicked and moved his arms in the same motion together as he tried desperately to reach The Melodious Nocturne. Doing a little better than his last experience when he first attempted to swim, he still didn't swim as well as Xigbar let alone Demyx. And because of his inexperience with swimming in the midst of panic in trying to retrieve his friend, he failed to remember one of the most important rules when it came to swimming. And that was to pace himself and not panic in a situation involving an emergency rescue.

Several bubbles escaped past his mouth during his frantic swimming as he desperately tried to reach the nobody's motionless body. His lungs burned demanding to get some air into them as his body subconsciously tried to resurface. However once the red head realized what his body was doing, he quickly shifted it back around in order to continue his pursuit of getting his friend back with him.

Wishing he had the ability to manipulate water just like Demyx, he would have controlled the water to reel in the unconscious nobody's body to him and to also manipulate the water to push them to the surface. Sadly his element was the exact opposite of water and in this case, it was practically useless to even attempt using it without frying both himself and Demyx in the process.

"Damn it, how useless can I get if I can't even help Demyx with my ability!" Axel thought to himself, loathing the idea of being completely and uttering helpless when he was the one nobody capable of getting anyone or any nobody out of a pinch.

Never was he willing to let anyone down whether it was completing a mission or keeping a promise with a friend, he swore right here right now that he would bring Number IX back to safety. Fortunately luck of was on the fire bender's side today.

Thanks to his mind being occupied with thoughts of rescuing his friend, he manage to reach the bottom of the pool. Wasting not another moment, he quickly latched one arm around Demyx's waist. Then he placed both of his feet down on the bottom of the pool's floor as he used the momentum of his body to launch him and Demyx upward toward the surface of the water. Now the race against time was on as he too seem to be losing the ability to focus properly as his vision started to become blurry just like Demyx's did minutes ago when he fell in.

Cursing his body for his poor lack of controlling his breathing properly, he used every ounce of adrenaline to thread through the water while clutching onto the water bender's limp body. Though due to the boy being unconscious and not aiding Axel with his rescue, it was rather difficult for him to pull them both up to the surface as more and more bubbles escaped from his mouth as now water started to rush into his mouth causing him to stop momentarily before resuming his frantic swim.

"Damn I don't know if I'll be able to pull us both to safety unless I do something risky or leave Demyx behind. However since I am not willing to leave a fellow comrade behind, I guess I have no other choice!" With those as his final thoughts, Axel closed his eyes and wrapped the boy's body closer to his forming a protective barrier to shield him from the intense heat he was going to unleash around them.

Using whatever energy he could muster, he warmed up the water above them causing it to boil then evaporate from the heat he was creating. A devilish grin spread across his countenance when he saw that his plan was working as he quickly swam the rest of the way to the surface. However along the way, his body received severe burning due to the increase of the pool's temperature as he did his best to shield the other nobody from the mercy of the heat by taking the heat instead.

Groaning the water's rising temperature, he clutched the water bender tighter as he used the remaining adrenaline he had and swam with all his might before finally breaking the water's surface. Immediately he took a huge gulp of air, he decided to take a few seconds to adjust his breathing to a semi normal state and allow the water to cool momentarily. After ten seconds, he swam toward the pool's edge and pulled Demyx's lifeless body out of the water before pulling himself out too.

Once they were both out of the water and out of danger, he proceeded to perform CPR on the unconscious nobody. Taking a moment to remember the steps, he quickly administered thirty chest compressions then tilted the sandy blond's head back, pinched his nose, and breathed into his mouth a couple times. This procedure continued for approximately two minutes before dread started to nestle into his body.

Not even a single twitch came from the boy's body whom he was trying to save as he refused to give up and admit that perhaps Demyx was in fact no longer with them. He continued the procedure until about five minutes later when he finally stopped. His breathing was labored and he was weary from the continuous CPR performed on the still lifeless nobody lying on the ground.

An eerie silence invaded the natatorium as the red head peered down at the unconscious body in front of him. Hating that Number IX remained motionless after numerous chest compressions and several breaths of air blown into his airway, Number VIII felt helpless. He couldn't save Demyx from drowning and what was worst...he didn't stop him before any of this occurred.

His shoulders sagged as he rotated his body in the opposite direction not wanting to see what his foolish actions have done. His eyes began to water up upon realizing that this all could have been prevented if he hadn't blabbed to Roxas about his uncomfortable living situation with Demyx in the first place. Now after bringing everything into the open, he knew that if he had some way of turning back time, Axel would gladly take back what he said about The Melodious Nocturne if only he would show some signs of life.

However unbeknownst to the grieving nobody, Demyx started to regain consciousness. First his face started to twitch, then his eyebrows began to bunch together in an expression that appeared as if he were in some unspeakable pain before his body suddenly lurched forward. Emptying out the contents of his stomach, he threw up all the water that invaded his body during his descend in the pool. After several moments of continuously throwing up water and a little bit of bile, he was finally able to stop and register what was going on.

At first he was confused why he was even at the pool and why his body was drenched with pool water when he was still in his organization coat and not in swim trunks. But the moment his eyes spotted the hunched over body of a certain red head's, the memories of what just occurred not long ago came flooding in. Once the mystery of why he was there at that location was solved he finally notice something was off with Axel.

"Hey Ax what are you doing over there?"

"Demyx?" Axel murmured softly in an uncharacteristically manner than he would normally speak. It seemed that he was asking himself that question rather than the other nobody who was now conscious once more. Afraid that his ears were deceiving him, he slowly turned around to confirm if Demyx was wake only for his emerald eyes to widen in shock when he saw Demyx sitting up and staring back at him. It only surprised him further when concern flashed across his aquamarine irises when the boy leaned over and gently wiped away a tear from Axel's face.

"You're crying again? Did something happen that I am not aware of...Axel?"

At the end of his question something extraordinary happened. A pair of slim arms latched themselves around his slightly tanned body as he felt the other nobody's shirtless body around his. His face soon heated upon the contact when he blankly stared at the upset boy. Opening his mouth ready to question Axel's actions, his answers were answered when he began to speak.

"Don't ever do anything so reckless again without speaking to me first. Got It Memorized?"

Cracking a smirk at Axel's catchphrase, he felt himself not being able to control the laughter that was threatening to unleash. But as soon as he unleashed a chuckle he felt something strange inside his stomach. The merriment he felt soon changed to pain when his face contorted from a smile to a frown as he tried to clutch his stomach while Axel was holding on to him.

Sensing the change from Number IX's body language he pulled apart from the sandy blond in order to examine what was wrong. It didn't take long for Demyx to immediately grab his stomach before moaning in pain.

"Whoa are you alright Dem, Hey tell me what's wrong?"

"My...stomach...hurts really bad." Demyx manage to weakly reply before his body was wrecked with another wave of excruciating pain. Feeling like his stomach was being pummeled by an unknowable force, his tears started to fall down his face as he continued to whine in agony.

"Wait right there Dem I'll fetch Vexen or Zexion here to see what exactly is wrong with you alright."

Without waiting to hear a reply, Axel instantly created a dark vortex as he practically ran through the dark portal in search of finding someone to help Demyx. Of course just as soon as The Flurry Of Dancing Flames stepped out to find one of the scientists to help The Melodious Nocturne, The Silent Hero stepped out of his dark portal and snatched the suffering nobody in his strong arms and carried him to the laboratory.

In most cases, Demyx would have resisted the stronger nobody from dragging him off with him afraid of where Lexaseus might take him. Thanks to the immense pain in his mid section, he didn't have the strength nor the stamina to fight off the bulky nobody allowing him to carry him wherever he needed them to go.

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Well this is end of a "Frozen Paradise" I hope you guys are alright with that little cliff hanger I left ya'll. I hope you guys will continue to stick around to find out what happens in the next exciting chapter called, "Mending the sick, Forming close bonds"

Until next time, Ja'ne!