Woo 101 reviews. =D I got a lovely letter from my first fangirl Rayen so this chapter is dedicated to her.

"We're back! Don't leave yet! We're back!" Demyx screamed as he ran into the house. He panted heavily as he looked around the living room and saw his two cousins staring at him like he was crazy. "You're still...here."

"Yea...we're leaving in a couple hours."

"I thought he was coming at eleven!"

"He went out to eat with your parents."

"I told you mom would stall him." Zexion rolled his eyes as he made his way to the stairs and started to trudge up. Demyx jumped onto the sofa between the two blondes and hugged each of them to his chest.

"I'm just glad I didn't miss you guys! I would have been so sorry if you had left without me saying goodbye!" He cried out and squeezed his eyes shut, holding back the tears that were ultimately coming at the thought of never seeing them again.

"It's ok Dem. We wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." Namine said and glanced at her brother curiously but he only shrugged slightly.

"Yea Demyx. Don't worry."

"I know. I j-just wanted to be sure." Demyx let them go and smiled coyly before wiping at his eyes. "Gawd I'm so emotional. Sorry." He giggled lightly and Zexion smirked as he leaned against the railing, not having been able to tear himself away from the scene.

"Well. I'm off to bed. Be sure to wake me up before you guys go." Zex said and turned back towards the upstairs hall.

"No." Demyx replied firmly and stood up. The boy on the stairs turned slowly and arched his brow at the blonde staring up at him. "There's no chance you're wasting our last day with them in bed. We're going to the beach." Dem folded his arms across his chest and looked at his cousins sitting behind him. They both shrugged and looked back at Demyx who couldn't help but smirk up at his brother.

~0~

"You don't like the beach do you Zexion?" Namine looked to her side and watched a smirk slowly form across her cousin's lips.

"I like it fine. I just don't like it as much as Demyx does."

"But you take him to make him happy." The tiny blonde girl looked down at her feet, watched her toes burrow into the sand. "You're a lot like Cloud."

"Really."

"All he's done since he was twelve was try to make me happy. He was trying to make up for the fact that our mother was especially hard on me, trying to mold me into this perfect christian housewife that she wanted to be and wanted me to be." Zexion looked at Namine, now knowing a little more why she was so quiet all the time, why her and Cloud were so awkwardly close. This was the most she had spoken in seemingly years. Or ever. She simply kept staring at her toes wriggling about in the earth, knowing if she looked up into his eyes, she would lose her nerve. "Our dad left her and fought. Don't think he's a bad guy or anything...he really did try to get us, but she won. She won the custody battle." Namine sighed and looked out at the water. She smiled slightly as she watched Cloud dive into the water and Demyx watch him with a gentle smile as he swam further out.

"I know Namine." Zexion reassured her he knew their father was a good guy. He remembered hearing about everything while his parents talked when he was twelve. The tiny girl looked up with widened eyes and smiled at him. She looked back at her toes.

"There were so many times he would sneak into my room and bring me food when she sent me to bed without eating." Namine refused to call her mom anymore. It was either she or LeBlanc. She bit her lip. "He held me when I cried and he iced bruises and put band aids on cuts I got from her. He helped me with homework and walked me to my class to make sure I got there in time and got in a lot of fights about me. Any boy who said anything bad about me, who made fun of me, who tried to touch me at all. He would practically kill them. He always got in a lot of trouble. Especially with her. But it got her away from me for a while. I think that's why he did it."

"Namine, he cares about you a lot. He just wants you to be happy. You're his sister. That's how it should be."

"i know. And I'm glad. And I know you care about Demyx like that. I know you do things to make him happy." Namine looked up again and smiled wider now, trying to hold back her own embarrassing tears. "You're a really good brother Zexion." And he couldn't help himself. He had been accused of being emotionless, of not letting anyone in, but now he grinned and quickly pulled his cousin against his chest. He squeezed her and he missed how her eyes widened at the sudden contact, the rapid rush of feeling coming from her otherwise dispassionate family member.

"You're a really good cousin Namine. You're a good person. You're a great person. Don't let anyone else ever tell you any different alright? I'm gonna miss you." Zexion pulled back and smiled at his cousin, watching her awkward smile grow into a full grin. She simply nodded wrapped her arms around her knees as Zex stretched his legs out in the sand, watching the other two blondes retreat from the sea, the short moment of complete companionship would be their little secret.

"Hey guys." Cloud said as he collapsed next to his sister. Demyx sat quietly next to his own brother, still gazing out at the ocean.

"I'm gonna miss you guys. A lot." The blonde boy said, his eyes fixated on the glimmering sea. "If we never see each other again, I just want you guys to know that I love you a lot. You don't deserve any of the shit you've been through and I really hope you have great lives."

"Dem..." Namine said nervously and patted his hand, gaining his attention for a moment as his eyes traveled slowly up her arms to eventually smile tiredly at her. "It's not like we're dying ok? We're moving an hour away. That's closer than we were before." She tried to smile back at him, but it was almost heart shattering to watch his gaze lazily linger again on the ocean. The tiny blonde girl looked anxiously at her brother and cousin, both who merely looked back with the same expression.

"Yea Demyx. Don't worry. We'll see you again." Cloud laid a tense hand on his shoulder. Demyx only nodded at the sea, making Zexion's stomach tighter and tighter with each awkward moment.

"Well, we should really get back ok?" Zex mumbled as he stood and started straight for the car.

~0~

"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Lulu gushed as she clung her nephew and niece to her chest. "You both are welcome here any time alright?" She looked at both of them who could barely nod within her grasp. She nodded herself and finally let them go, a maternal smile staining her face.

"You two ready to go?" Cid asked as he weighed his arms down on his children's shoulders. Namine and Cloud both looked at their father and smiled.

"Yea, let's go. Thanks for everything." Cloud said politely and nodded at his extended family.

"Thank you so much." Namine said and bowed her head in thanks. Lulu clasped her hands together and couldn't help as she lunged forward and hugged each of them once more. Laguna shook Cid's hand and then Cloud's, a light ruffle of Namine's hair. Demyx could only smile sadly at them and hug all of them without much enthusiasm. Zexion nodded at each of them but was unsurprised (unlike everyone else) when Namine jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He patted her head and smiled as she pulled away, looking up with a slightly reddened face.

"Bye everybody. Thanks again Lulu. I been tryin' to get these kids for years and all it took was Zex over here." Cid chuckled and shook his head lightly. They all walked out of the house and waved as the three blondes drove away. Lulu sighed happily as Laguna wrapped his arms around her side.

"This has really taught me something. We need to start spending more time together. As a family. I love you two so much." Lulu said with a slightly saddened smile and gently presses her lips against each of her sons cheeks. She looked between them, one hand behind each of their heads. "Who wants dinner? Should we go out?"

"I think that sounds like a good idea." Laguna grinned and walked towards the car.

"I don't know if--"

"Yea, I think we should." Demyx interrupted his brother and followed his father to the car. Zexion watched his back and then looked back at his mother.

"Come on Zex. You can't stay away from your family forever." She said with a smirk, much resembling his own and he felt his own lips start to form the inherited smug smile.

"Fine fine. Let's go." He waved his hand and she laughed as she ruffled his hair like a child and led him to the car.

~0~

The family dinner was over. Laguna and Lulu were in their bedroom. Demyx and Zexion sat idly on the sofa and blankly looked at each other.

"You're sure this is what you want?" Demyx whispered and the other boy only nodded.

"This is what I want, but like I've said many times, I just want to make you happy." Now the blonde nodded in understanding and let his gaze wander off to the middle of the otherwise empty room. One hand lurched forward and laid on top of the other. Deep blue eyes looked up and locked with lighter blue.

"We should leave in the morning then shouldn't we? Before they get up? Shouldn't we get things? Like food or something? Zexion I don't know how this works..." Demyx whined mournfully and felt his eyes start to well over for no good reason. "A place to go? And stay?"

"Would it make you feel better if I set up a place for us to stay beforehand?" Zexion's thumb made patient circles on Demyx's palm, his eyes still fixated on the boy before him who was too upset for words. He only nodded. "I'll go to Xion's right now and set up a place for us to stay. She's has a cousin on the west coast who could let us stay and..." Zexion trailed off and now his own eyes wandered away, unable to take the depression waving off his lover's gaze. "I'll just go ok? I'll be back soon. I promise." He untwined their fingers despite Demyx's strong grip on his hand, not wanting to let go. The blonde nodded in spite of his obvious wanting of Zexion's presence. The shorter boy got up and walked to the front door, covered in shadows, his face illuminated by the moonlight shining through the hatched blinds and took a last look at the boy he loved. He turned quickly, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, very guilty and thinking maybe he shouldn't leave. He twisted the knob and slowly opened the door.

"Zexion?" Demyx asked, clearing his throat quietly, a crick in his voice. The boy at the door looked back. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered, unable to raise his voice, trying to hold back tears that he didn't know their purpose. Suddenly, he just felt like sobbing, weeping, as if after now, everything would be different. He needed to weep for the loss of normalcy, the 'normal' that had left this house long before. He walked out, leaving the blonde sitting on the couch, sitting on his knees, arms hanging languidly. He got behind the steering wheel and confusedly wiped away the tears, trying not to have any more come about. He started the engine and backed up just as Demyx finally stood within the house. The blonde looked around the dark house, knowing his parents were upstairs, knowing Zexion was out of the house. He walked to the stairs and stared at the dark abyss before him, the utterly black hallway threatening to devour him. He dragged himself up the stairs and walked heavily to his bedroom, finally feeling a slight release as he sat on his bed. He was just so tired. So tired of everything. It was too much effort to hold himself up, to breathe, to not cry, to pretend everything was ok when it wasn't. Staying awake was the ultimate task that he just couldn't do anymore. He looked around his own room now, fully letting everything in. The chair where Zexion had sat and smiled at him and the bed where Zexion loved him and the walls that were blue like the ocean and he wondered silently if he really loved the beach as much as he thought he did. He wasn't sure about anything anymore. He let his head swivel around again and it landed on his desk. He saw the bottle and it all came rushing back, a tiny electrical storm in his head of a memory.

"They're antidepressants."

"That all happened when we were...fourteen."

Demyx knew this was it. He had been preparing himself. He said his goodbyes. He wasn't sure how else to do it. He just didn't want anyone to see. He stood slowly and walked to the desk and wrapped his fingers around the orange bottle.

*ahem* One more chapter. PS-Don't kill me. Please.