By : Shawnzy
Chapter : 13
[A/N : It's been a while, hasn't it? Time flies when life is punching you in the dick.]
[Disclaimer : I own nothing. All credit to Disney/Square-Enix.]
Saix was standing in the rain when Zexion and Demyx arrived to pick him up in the rental car, his upper body covered in a leather jacket that must have taken a whole cow to make, the hood underneath pulled up to obscure the view of his scarred face. Before they came to a complete stop, Zexion leaned ever so slightly toward Demyx to whisper. "I know that we're trying to help him, but... please don't let your guard down. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you." Demyx clearly heard the seriousness in his voice, and gave Zexion a nod. Without a word, Saix squeezed his massive body into the backseat of the car, taking up most of the space afforded to him. Zexion considered saying something, but it was too awkward for him; he decided it would be best to keep his mouth shut, and his foot down. They had a long day's drive ahead of them.
[12:40 PM - Zexion and Sora's dorm]
Sora laid on his bed, eyes closed and fingers crossed, hoping that the book would make it to Zexion in time. It was certainly an odd request, but Sora didn't hesitate for a second. It was a heavy book, though, so Zexion was going to owe him quite a few coffees and other favors; overnight shipping was expensive, and even more so for heavy items. Sora felt a hand sliding through his hair, and rolled over to find Riku was finally awake. "What time is it Sora? I feel like I've been out for ages." Sora avoided Riku's eyes, but reached up to hold his hand all the same, taking a deep breath before responding. "It's nearly one o'clock. I didn't want to disturb you... y-you were finally sleeping peacefully. No nightmares?" A few minutes passed before Riku said anything, but eventually, he spoke up. "No... they don't happen when you're sleeping next to me." Sora's cheeks brightened, his eyes closing in embarrassment. How could Riku just say stuff like that with a straight face? Wasn't he even the least bit embarrassed? As Sora opened his eyes, he felt Riku's hand reaching for his chin, and he knew what happened after that. He sat up, face still a little flushed.
"What's wrong?" Riku asked, his voice showing his concern. Sora didn't often pull away from him, which led him to the conclusion that something was off. He stared at Sora's back, waiting for an answer, when he realized Sora was shaking, wrapping his arm around himself, and... crying? He reached out, but pulled back at the last moment. He didn't wish to give Sora another reason to flinch away from him. After a lengthy pause, Sora managed to give a response, a knot still tightening his throat. "I... I'm sorry, Riku, please don't be mad, but... I kissed someone else." Riku's face was pure shock, as that was the last thing he had expected to hear. "What do you... who? Who did you kiss?" There was an unpleasant feeling in the air, but Sora dealt with it. He had told himself when he and Riku became serious that he would never lie to him. Turning around and wiping at his eyes, Sora continued. "It wasn't a romantic kiss, I don't think, and I didn't start it. It didn't even go on for that long, but... I didn't want to lie to you. I was feeling kind of down, and had a group hug with Zexion and Demyx. It was the sort of thing you might expect, but then Demyx kissed me... on the lips." Sora could tell that Riku was angry, but didn't seem outright furious. Perhaps he shouldn't say the rest, and just leave it at that? No. "The thing is, I think he was just joking. You know what kind of a person he is, but... I didn't hate it. I kind of liked it. He's a good kisser." Sora closed his eyes again, unable to look at Riku as he admitted that last bit. Riku's lips were the only ones he wanted, and Riku was the only one he... did those things with, but Sora couldn't lie about it; he knew that now was the time to make his feelings clear to Riku, because he might not get another chance. "I'm sure you're going to want to yell at me, or break up with me, or... I don't know, I'm sure you're mad, but... just listen. Even if Demyx is a good kisser, you're the only one I want to kiss. You're the only one I want to touch. You... make my heart hurt, sometimes, and I th-think I..." Sora opened his eyes, and stared into Riku's, swallowing before he said the words. Having never said them before, he was nervous, his heart fluttering. "I love you".
[2:35 PM – On the road...]
Saix had fallen asleep shortly after they hit the highway, but Zexion still glanced at him every once in a while through the rear-view mirror. Demyx had on a massive pair of very expensive-looking headphones, and had been lost in his own little world for a couple hours now. Zexion decided to use the intervening time to think. Ansem would require several things to be convinced, but what? Blood and tissue samples would be a good start. That line of thinking forced Zexion to consider how he might convince Saix to let him extract the samples, causing him to shudder. It wasn't exactly a comforting thought, when one knew that any old thing could set Saix off into a rage. Shaking his head to clear it of those sort of thoughts, Zexion tried to focus on the road, taking the nearest exit so that the three of them could some food. Out of habit, he looked in his rear-view to check on Saix, and found one cold eye staring back at him from under the hood. It was unnerving, and almost caused Zexion to swerve the car, but he maintained his composure. Pulling in to a fast food drive-through, Zexion turned his attention to Demyx, who was completely zoned out, and pulled the giant headphones off of one ear. "We're pulling over for some food, love." Zexion didn't dare check his mirror after referring to Demyx as "love", but he didn't suspect Saix would do anything if he had. This drive couldn't end soon enough.
[5:00 PM – Wet Sand's practice space]
The blaring music and feel of smoke in his lungs was making it easier for Axel to get through his rough spell. He and Roxas were doing so well, but this was supposed to be his final cigarette, and that was killing him. Roxas would be there any minute, and would surely be pissed at him for smoking, but... something about that angry face made Axel melt. Something about that slim body, the perfectly messy hair, the tight pants, the beautiful blue eyes... what the hell? What the fuck? Axel wasn't used to sitting around and pining after someone, even after Roxas, who he loved as dearly as his music. It was a new feeling to the lanky redhead, and one that he was still comnig to terms with. It was then that the door buzzer decided to go off. Savoring the last hit of precious nicotine, Axel tossed the butt in the ashtray and headed for the door. The door opened, and Roxas jumped into Axel's arms almost immediately, hugging him tightly. "You'll never believe it Axel, I have great news!" Axel laughed, resisting the urge to perv out, and let Roxas enjoy the moment. "What news might that be?" Axel asked, one large hand resting on the top of Roxas' head, stroking the tousled blonde hair lovingly. Roxas pulled him to the couch, falling backwards into his lap as he answered. "I got a job! A good one, I mean, not some low-level line cook stuff like what I've been up to for a year. There's a French restaurant about thirty minutes away that needs a new sous-chef, and they've agreed to take me on! The head chef there is really amazing, and this is a great learning opportunity, but even better than all of that, the pay's pretty good." Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas' body, pulling the petite blonde closer.
"That's great, Roxy. I'm really proud of you." Axel was surprised at how kind and caring he was able to be with Roxas, as he had always struggled with that sort of thing, never knowing exactly what to say, or how to act. Roxas snuggled into Axel's chest, and for once, he just let it be. There was always the perverted side of Axel that wanted to rear its head, and knew that Roxas would let him, but he had started to find comfort in the simpler things now, too. Just laying with Roxas made Axel indescribably happy, and content. As if in response to his thoughts, Roxas slid a hand over Axel's, gently squeezing it. "I love you, Rox... I really do." Roxas giggled, head resting over Axel's heart so that he could feel it beat. "I love you too, Ax. Thanks for being so good to me. I think you're the first guy I've ever dated who was simultaneously so passionate, and so kind. Those two don't usually mix well." Axel nodded in agreement, and the two of them continued to sit in a comfortable silence, at complete ease with one another. "I know you smoked before I came over here, by the way, but I'm not going to give you shit about it today; I'm in too good a mood."
[8:59 PM – Radient Garden, Private Lab of Ansem Wise]
Zexion and Demyx had asked Saix to wait in the car until they had spoken to Ansem, seeing as he would be the only unfamiliar face. Saix had, somewhat begrudgingly, agreed, and stayed behind while Zexion approached the gate with Demyx. "Listen, love. Let me do the talking to start with, until my father starts barraging you with questions... which will happen. I suspect that once he knows what's going on, he can conjure up the rest on pure context. This shouldn't take much in the way of explaining, at least not for him." Demyx pulled Zexion closer to him, kissing the top of his head. He knew that Zexion would want to handle it that way. "Okay Zexy, you do your thing. Thanks again, for doing this." Leaning in, Zexion gave Demyx a tight hug, his hands grasping the loose v-neck shirt that hung off of those dainty shoulders. "You're welcome, Dem. Okay... fingers crossed." With a deep breath, Zexion pressed the buzzer, waiting for his father's face to appear on the screen. He made sure to face the camera, so that his father would recognize him. Within seconds, the screen lit up, and Ansem Wise's face stared back at Zexion, taciturn as ever. "Zexion... this is a surprise. What brings you here?"
Gulping slightly, Zexion launched into an explanation of everything he knew about Saix. It took several minutes, during which Ansem never once gave any indication that he would open the gate. Demyx, eager to do his part, had answered all of Ansem's questions without faltering, hoping to impress his soon-to-be father-in-law. After all was said, Ansem cleared his throat to speak again, pausing to gesture to his lab assistant. "You say you have the specimen here with you?" Zexion sighed, nodding. "Yes father, Saix is in the car." Ansem was gesturing wildly in the background, yelling something Zexion couldn't quite make out, probably shouting at the assistant to prep one of the rooms for them. When Ansem's face returned to the screen, Zexion realized the gate was moving. "You may come in now, and bring the sp-... bring this 'Saix' to room three, in the back. Yes?" Gesturing yes to his father, Zexion added one last crucial bit before turning off the com. It would seem perfectly innocent to everyone else present, but Zexion made sure to speak up before he lost his chance. "Would you like me to bring the mail in as well, father?" Ansem gave Zexion a curt nod before the screen went black. Demyx had already started back toward the car as Zexion walked over to the mailbox, hoping beyond hope that his machinations had come together just this once... and they had. Among his father's bills, grant and funding statements, lab results, and other packages, there was a heavy rectangular package with his name on it. Sora had come through. "I owe you more than one, kid." Zexion said quietly to himself as he carried the mail back to the car, and drove up to the building. This was the point where things could go either way, Zexion knew, but at least his contingency plan was in place. Demyx was looking intently at Saix, who was staring up at the sky. "What's going on up there, Sai?" Demyx asked, trying to sound friendly. Saix pulled his hood down, eyes almost aglow now that his face was bathed in moonlight. "It's a crescent moon, Dem. That's a good sign. A full moon doesn't exactly help with my... well, you know." Understanding dawned on Demyx's face as he processed that latest bit of information. Zexion had Demyx open the door for him as his arms were full, and the three of them walked in silence down the hall, toward room three.
[A/N: I know, I know... so much going on at once. It sort of just came out that way. I'm trying to put a bow on this story, and let it be over. We're almost there now. R&R, if you wouldn't mind.]