Whoo! *wipes sweat from forehead* Chapter 3, already! *feels accomplished*
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I absoloutley LOVE getting feedback from you guys! ^-^
It seemed most everyone had already piled into the dining room when the Flurry and Nocturne arrived. Everyone had taken their respective seats, in order by rank, odd numbers to the left side, and even numbers to the right. Xigbar seemed more than pleased when Xaldin returned to take his seat across from him, though Marluxia looked slightly annoyed that he couldn't sit near the Chilly Academic. The Flurry took his seat next to Zexion, who was quietly enjoying a book from the library, and across from Demyx, who looked pleasantly surprised they were eating spaghetti and meatballs tonight.
They sat for quite a while, waiting for the Superior, everyone preoccupying themselves until he arrived. Xigbar was trying to play footsie with Xaldin, who looked more than slightly agitated by this. Vexen was trying to tell Lexaeus about a new experiment he was working on, but he would get angry every so often when he couldn't tell if the Silent Hero was listening or not. Then again, I don't think anyone could. Zexion would glance up form his book not and then at the table around him, then silently return to his book. Luxord seemed to be enjoying himself, constantly refilling his tea - with added rum, of course -, and giggling drunkenly. He scoffed when Luxord repeatedly referred to Larxene as a bug, and she sent a nice little shock down his arm.
The red-head looked around at the table, boredly. Now that he thought about it, there seemed to be someone else missing from the table. He knew that Xemnas, was…doing something, somewhere, for some reason, Axel didn't really care all that much. But, he just couldn't place his finger on it… He counted through their ranks, stopping when he reached seven. Axel chuckled quietly when he realized that it was Saix who was missing from the table, as well. He was pretty sure that the Diviner was with his Superior right now doing…ah, well, I won't get into details. I mean, you wanna sleep tonight, right? Yeah, I thought so… Anyway, it seemed that everyone else was present, all waiting for Xemnas to arrive.
"Ohh!" Demyx groaned, as his stomach growled loudly. The blonde looked like he were going to fade if he didn't eat soon, but, then again, Demyx was always one for being pretty dramatic. Still, though, Axel felt kind of bad for him, the food did smell really good, and it looked even better. He was almost tempted to grab the garlic of the plate and take a bite, but before he had time too, a certain silver-haired Nobody walked through the dining room's main entrance. A rather-pleased looking Saix came in a moment after him, taking his seat just next to Demyx.
Axel, smirking at the noticeable roominess of the Diviner's coat, suddenly had a wicked thought. Oh, he just had to say it, he just had to! "Hey, Saix," Axel said, capturing the azure-haired man's attention. "I noticed your wearing Mansex's coat. You guys sure must have been rushing to get here." The Flurry mocked, grinning when Saix's cheeks brightened and he turned away from the red-head.
"Good evening," The Superior said, in his usual, 'creepy-devil-going-to-eat-your-babies' voice, as Axel so plainly put it. "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, I had some rather important paper-work to go over with Number VII, and I simply lost track of time." Axel tried hard not to laugh, as Saix looked over threateningly at the-red-head. "Please, enjoy your meal."
And with that, everyone picked up their forks and began to eat. Demyx seemed the most excited, and happily started shoveling away food in his mouth. The pyro decided to dig in as well, taking a large bite out of his garlic bread. Once the Superior arrived, everyone just ate, their wasn't much conversation once Mansex got here, so it was almost always quiet.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Luxord pouring another generous amount of rum in his tea, and to the left of him, Zexion just sat and read, only stopping once in a while to nibble on his garlic bread. Just in front of him, Demyx was shoveling away food as if it were nothing with a rather pleased look on his face. The water weaver looked up at the pyro staring at him, and a bright blush began to creep across the blonde's face. Axel was surprised when he felt his own face heat up, and his heart [yes, his heart] began to beat faster.
Axel looked away quickly, faced flushed. Demyx looked back down at his food. Suddenly, he was full. He pushed the plate away from him, all the while keeping his eyes on his lap.
'What the hell was that?' The Flurry questioned himself, internally panicking. 'My stomach feels weird…and my face is burning…maybe I got sick. Can Nobodies even get sick? Geez, don't freak out Axel…keep cool, you're freaking out over nothing!' The red-head attempted to calm himself, and forced himself to raise his head. He was instantly met with a pair of cerulean-blue eyes peeking up at him through thick eyelashes.
"C-can I be excused?" Demyx blurted out. A few of the members turned to look at the Nocturne. Dinner had only started just a few minutes ago, and he wanted to leave so soon? That was odd…
Xemnas nodded, and the blonde Nobody rose from his chair. He muttered a small, "Thanks," before rushing out of the dining room. The room returned to it's normal quiet, save for the grumpy Marluxia complaining to Larxene, all the while the girl ignoring him completely. She was currently occupying herself by shocking Luxord, who would whip around and shout angrily at the wall, "Stawp bloody dooing…wait, whered'ja go?". Oh yeah, he was trashed.
Axel sighed, deciding he wasn't going to be eating anytime soon. "Uh, yeah, can I leave?" He asked, even though he was already out of his chair. The Superior glanced at him for a moment, and gave him the OK.
Though the Nocturne's room was not very far from the dining room, being the lazy Nobody he was, the red-head opened a Corridor of Darkness and stepped through. It was only a moment later that he walked back out of the swirling darkness, into the sitarist's cluttered room.
Thinking back on it, Axel didn't recall ever coming into the blonde's room before. He looked around at the large piles of CD cases stacked on top of various surfaces. Next to the door, he had a large desk with a small stereo sitting atop it, and more CD's stacked not-so-neatly on the top. The room was white, as were all the other members', though there was something about the Nocturne's room that made it so much different from everyone else's. Maybe it was the way the mullet-haired boy had tried to brighten up the room with colorful shells and other things he'd collected from Atlantica. Maybe it was the way everything was so half-hazardly placed, adding a sort of 'My-bedroom-is-my-safe-place-and-I-love-every-part-of-it' look. Maybe it was none of these things, and maybe, just maybe, Axel over-thought things a little too much. Yeah, that last one made most sense…
Axel walked over to the Nocturne, who was lying on his bed, eyes closed, listening to his CD player. The red-head watched silently as the sitarist's lips moved slowly, mouthing the words to the song he was listening to. The Flurry let out a small gasp as the blonde's tongue darted out of his mouth to wet his lips. With this one simple action, a bright, crimson red tinted his cheeks, and his heart sped up, almost to the speed of a hummingbirds wings.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Axel reached a hesitant hand out to lay it on the blonde's shoulder. The Nocturne's eyes suddenly shot open, and he sat up so fast he nearly hit Axel in the process.
"A-Axel!? You scared me!" He shouted, pulling the headphones from his ears, and turning his CD player off. "What in Kingdom Hearts' name are you doing here?"
"Heh, relax water-boy," The red-head spoke softly. "I just came to check on you; I've never known you to bail out on dinner like that. And, I um…wanted to…make sure you were okay…" Axel said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
The blonde flushed a soft pink, casting his eyes downward to avoid looking at the pyro. "Oh…um, thanks. But, I'm fine…just an upset stomach is all."
"Aw," The red-head pouted, leaning ever-so-slightly closer to water weaver. Demyx could feel his breath against his skin, and it made him shiver thinking of how close they currently were. "That's too bad. 'Cause I was hoping, we could finish our game." Axel stood from his half-crouch next to the bed, and turned to leave. "But, I guess if you're not feeling well, then…"
Demyx caught the red-head before he could leave, grabbing hold of his wrist in a sudden burst of courage. "W-wait…I'm feeling better! Really!" The blonde stood from his place on the bed, now excited that the Flurry actually wanted to play some more games with him. "So, we can play now, right?"
'That is so cute…' Axel immediately slapped himself. 'No! Bad Axel! BAD! You are not supposed to be thinking like that!'
"I dunno…" Axel said, pausing.
"Oh please, please, please, please, please!" Axel nearly gasped in surprise, when the sitarist suddenly flung himself at the red-head, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist.
"D-Demyx!?" The fire wielder asked, panicked.
"Please, Axel, please~ play Hide and Seek with me!" Axel was unsure whether or not Demyx could hear his heartbeat right now, but he was afraid that he would. I mean, how could you not, it sounded like the loud beating of a drum at a rock concert.
"O-okay, Dem, I'll play Hide and Seek with you!" The red-head said hurriedly, and relaxed slightly when the mullet-haired boy released his hold on him.
"Yay!" He nearly squealed in delight, and quickly opened a portal to the Grey Room. "C'mon, let's go!"
The sitarist took Axel by the hand, and dragged him through. The red-head looked a taken aback, but he just followed the blonde through the darkness, and back into the Grey Room. Demyx was more than excited to play with Axel again, and was now eagerly awaiting the second round of their game…
As you can probably tell, this one was a little rushed, but I'm proud of it nontheless xDD Again, MAJOR OOC-ness here, but I'm all about the shy adorable guys. Lol, I actually had a friend who read this point out that when Axel blushes, his face matches his hair xDD
Please, review; reviews are like hugs, and I LOVE hugs ^_^