After dinner, Zack suggested that Saru and Riku give Yata and Sora a tour of the house. Though Saru originally tried to point out there wasn't much to see, they all eventually walked through the main floor of the house before ending up in the basement.

"Wow! This is why a tour was totally worth it!" Sora gasped as he saw the size of the basement.

"I didn't even know basements could be this big," Yata added.

"How else were we going to fit a training room down here?" Saru asks rhetorically.

"And that's even crazier," Yata replied. "No one with a regular basement would have all this training stuff down here. Maybe a small area for magic training, or maybe a treadmill or weights to lift, but a wall full of weapons? That's not common."

"Well, we aren't very common to begin with," Riku replied with a smirk.

Sora started to look around the place, admiring all the weapons that were neatly aligned on the shelves. "And you guys know how to use all of these?"

"Mostly. Zack trains us in what we do best in, or what weapon we prefer to use," Riku explained.

Yata looked over at Saru, narrowing his eyes slightly. "And is this where your love of knives comes from?"

"I wanted something ranged, but not cumbersome, and easily concealable." Saru answered, having pulled a knife out of his sleeve and twirling it around his fingers.

"And you'd be surprised how many knives he can have on him," Riku chuckled.

"And what about you?" Sora asked. "What's your weapon of choice?"

"I'm a bit old fashioned. Swords are usually my type."

"That's so cool! I bet you know plenty of other weapons though, yeah?"

Riku nodded. "I've got my knowledge about other stuff. Magic is probably my most preferred way of fighting."

"Definitely magic magic the way to go! I'd love to see you guys go at it one day!" Sora exclaimed.

Riku gave a small shrug. "Maybe another time, didn't really plan on doing any of that today."

A squeak alerted the group to the other part of the basement. Saru put his knife away and began walking over towards the animal enclosures he kept.

Yata walked after him, looking as Saru tended to the little otter. "So ever find a name for it"?

"No, not yet." Saru answered.

"Can we come up with a name now?" Sora asked.

Saru just shrugged. "If you really want to."

Yata hummed as he moved to lean against the wall. "What would you even call an otter?"

Sora raised his hand as if it were a class question. "Something cute of course! Something like… Milly? Or maybe Bella?"

"I still haven't figured out their gender yet." Saru commented.

"Guess it means we'll have to wait," Yata sighed.

"Misaki! Misaki!" Kotasaka suddenly squawked. He must have been sleeping prior to the four heading down into the basement. But now he seemed to be wide awake, flying around in his cage.

"Did that bird… just say my name?" Yata asked, slowly pointing towards the cage.

"Kotasaka likes repeating things he hears and is smart enough to use them to communicate." Saru answered, walking over to the birdcage and unlocking the door.

"So you taught the bird that name? I told you I hate that name!"

"And when have I called you anything other than Misaki?" Saru asked.

"Misaki! Misaki!" Kotosaka repeated as he flew out of the cage and onto Saru's shoulder.

Yata furrowed his brow. "Still… You taught a bird to say it."

"Call Misaki! Call Misaki!" Kotosaka chirped.

"I didn't teach him anything." Saru commented.

Riku started to chuckle lightly. "Kotosaka is smarter than your average bird."

Kotosaka squawked happily. "A smart bird! Kotosaka is a smart bird!"

"That's impressive! Where did you find him?" Sora asked curiously.

"He found me." Saru answered with a somber tone.

"What, were you like, in the park or something with bird seed?" Yata asked.

"No?"

"Saru has a habit of animals attracting to him. Plus, I remember when I first met Saru. Kotosaka came along with him," Riku explained.

"Old friend! Been here years! Kotosaka is an old friend!"

Yata hummed. "I see… How old do birds like that even live for?"

"In captivity, around 50 years, though they can get as old as 70."

Yata opened his mouth for a moment, pausing as he seemed to consider what he was saying next. "And how long have you had him? If, uh… that's not too personal to ask."

"About 27 years now, give or take a few months." Saru answered.

"27 huh…?" Yata replied softly. There seemed to be something else lingering in his eyes, but it went unsaid.

Riku cleared his throat. "Well, if there's nothing else you guys wanna see down here, we can head back up? It is getting late."

"Oh, right. Yeah and probably walking in the dark isn't too good," Sora added.

The four, including Kotosaka who was still on Saru's shoulder, headed back up stairs. As they neared the front of the house, Zexion was now in the kitchen, preparing himself a meal like he had done so many times before.

"Zexion? Where have you been?" Riku asked.

"Out. And now I need to prepare myself for work," Zexion replied curtly. He looked up from his food and glanced over at Yata and Sora. "I'm sorry I don't have much time for formalities, but perhaps another time."

"Aw that's too bad, but hey! The four of us were planning a hangout in a couple of days. Maybe you could join us?" Sora suggested.

Zexion stopped what he was doing, looking at the entire group before shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Far too busy as of late. This entire week I am very tied up with various things."

"You've been a lot busier than normal."

"And that's just life, nothing that should be of any concern," Zexion shrugged.

Riku held back the urge to ask more. If it truly was nothing to be concerned about, then there wasn't any reason for Zexion to be hiding it. It worried Riku slightly, fearing Zexion was getting himself into dangerous situations, but he restrained himself to not jump to conclusions.

"Alright, maybe another time," Riku finally said.

Zexion finished packing his meal and moved towards the door. He nodded to the two humans. "It's nice to meet you, even if it was only for a moment. Since I can assume Saru and Riku will be inviting you again, I shall see you then."

He left without another word, leaving the four in silence for a few moments.

"I'm guessing he's not always that skittish?" Yata asked.

"Usually not…" Riku sighed. "But normally Zexion is easy to get along with."

"Easier than Saru?" Yata snarked.

"Saru is a stubborn one! Difficult Saru!" Kotosaka shouted loudly.

"Really, Kotosaka?" Saru commented.

The bird seemed to chirp happily, as if he was amused by Saru's reaction.

"The bird seems to know what's up," Yata laughed.

"Misaki loves Saru! Misaki loves Saru!"

Yata's amusement faded, instead being replaced with embarrassment. His cheeks reddened deeply as he glared at the bird. "Alright, now he's just a little shit."

Saru chuckled, "Not so fun being on the receiving end is it, Misaki?"

"A-Ah shut up, stupid monkey!"

While Sora and Riku were both finding this very amusing, they stepped aside to talk to just one another. Riku held Sora down the hallway to his room.

"So, you said we were going to hangout?" Riku asked. "We didn't really plan anything…"

"Yeah I know! But I figured we would do something together now that everyone is okay. You know… knowing the stuff."

"I guess so, but where did you have in mind?"

Sora gave a shrug. "I dunno… Maybe the beach? It's still nice enough for stuff like that."

"The beach? Huh, guess we could."

"You'd just need, like, a lot of sunscreen right?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah, and special medication for extra precaution."

Sora pumped a fist into the air. "Alright! Now we just need to convince Yata and Saru. That shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Probably not. But let's go and ask and hope they haven't destroyed the entire front of the house."

Exiting the bedroom, the two of them heading up towards the front. Though only a few minutes had passed, Saru and Yata were no longer where they had last been standing.

"Wait… Where did…" Sora started to say before Riku tapped him on the shoulder.

Without any words, Riku pointed to the wall to the left of them, where the other two were now.

Yata had Saruhiko pinned against the wall, holding him by the collar of Saru's shirt. Saru barely seemed phased by the position, merely smirking as he started down at Yata. They both weren't saying a word, not moving an inch, but their intense glares were locked on deeply to one another.

Riku let out a long sigh. "We leave you two alone for less than five minutes…"

"Should we do something? Saru isn't fighting back," Sora whispered.

"How many times have they done this now? As long as they aren't flinging magic towards one another… I think it should be fine… Probably."

Within a split second, Saru flipped his and Yata's positions, pinning the shorter male against the wall with his hands restrained above his head.

"Just kiss already!" Kotosaka squawked loudly from the kitchen table. "Kiss! Kiss!"

Saru jumped back from Yata, releasing his arms.

Yata slinked away from the wall, and away from Saru. "Stupid bird! Why don't you just shove it!"

The bird squawked and flew above the group, landing himself back down to Saruhiko's shoulder. "Misaki is angry! Hotheaded! Saru likes the hothead!"

"Kotasaka, do I need to put you back in your nest?" Saru asked, annoyed.

Kotosaka didn't seem to like that, giving a screech. "No! Kotosaka will behave! Will behave!"

"Then keep that beak clamped when we have guests."

The green parrot nodded his head, not speaking another word.

Sora started to laugh once the chaos seemed to calm down "Well, if that's all taken care of… how does the beach sound this Friday?"

"I have nothing better to do." Saru answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, sounds like it could be fun, I guess," Yata added.

"Then it's a plan! Beach day this Friday!" Sora cheered.

Soon, Yata and Sora walked towards the door with Saru and Riku right behind them. Riku then stepped ahead and opened the door for the two of them.

"Well, glad you guys could come. It… was nice," Riku stated gently.

Sora smiled happily before he hugged Riku. "Definitely!"

Riku chuckled and hugged Sora back, leaving Yata and Saru to stare at them before staring at one another.

"Do you expect me to hug you, Misaki?"

"What? Are… you offering?"

"It's a yes or no question."

"And you didn't answer my yes or no question!"

"I asked first."

Riku sighed with exasperation as he stepped behind Saru. "Ugh, you two are going to go in an endless cycle at this rate. Just give a hug goodbye already."

Riku then gave a shove to Saru, causing him to stagger forward into Yata.

"Annoying older brother." Saru muttered as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around Yata to stop himself from falling over.

Yata's entire face was red again. "Y-Yeah! What the heck!?"

Sora snickered. "Aw, come on. It isn't that bad. It's just a hug!"

"Yeah! But I didn't prepare for being shoved into one!" Yata countered.

"You weren't shoved, Misaki." Saru stepped back after regaining his balance.

"Yeah… well… whatever! Let's just get going, and we'll see you Friday!"

By Friday, Saru and Riku were ready and were waiting in the parking lot that was next to the beach. It was already noon, and the two vampire boys had prepared themselves as best as they could to counteract the sun on their skin. Now, all they had to do was wait for the others to show up and their day could begin.

Soon enough, Yata and Sora came along, coming into the parking lot on their skateboards. From there, the four were walking with Sora taking the lead, happily babbling about all of the fun things they could do at the beach.

"Should we start by swimming? Or should we build a gigantic sandcastle?"

"Isn't building sandcastles a bit childish?" Yata asked.

"Not if you make it big and epic!" Sora retorted.

"It's a fair point. We could make it really intricate," Riku added.

Sora beamed. "See? Riku knows what I'm getting at!"

"I'd rather just watch. Far too much effort," Saru muttered.

"And what would you do then at the beach?" Yata asked.

"Sleep," Saru replied dryly.

Yata chuckled. "Normally I'd question you wanting to sleep at noon, but now… Well, you know, it makes sense."

"Stating the obvious doesn't make you sound any smarter, Misaki."

"And I didn't ask you to be a smartass!"

"And I didn't ask to be dragged out of the house without my coffee."

"Maybe next time don't oversleep when I tell you to get up," Riku said, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe Saru can get a nap while some of us swim or something? Don't want you passing out on the sand castle or in the water," Sora suggested.

"Maybe," Saru yawned.

The four arrived at the entrance to the actual beach area. Pavement turned to sand, and stretched out ahead of them for miles.

It wasn't entirely crowded, but there were a good lot of people scattered across the sandy shores. Though there were many sitting on towels and blankets, talking amongst one another, there was one person who had a large umbrella set up.

"Whoa, I didn't think anyone still used giant umbrellas like that anymore," Sora commented.

"Some people still like the shade," Riku commented, glancing in that direction. "Though… hold on. Saru… isn't that…?"

"Wasn't he busy today?"

"Thought he was…"

"Should we go over to him?" Sora asked. "Like… you guys wanna see why he's here?"

"It would be good to clear up some things," Riku murmured.

Riku and Saru moved on ahead, with Yata and Sora staying behind to give them privacy.

Quietly the two brothers walked up until they reached the umbrella that their older brother was resting under. He was sitting down on a small beach chair with his face deep in a book, not even noticing that the other two were now standing over him.

"Zexion?" Riku asked, clearing his throat.

Zexion immediately slapped the book shut, staring upward with wide, surprised eyes. "Riku… Saru… I, uh, I didn't expect to see you here."

"And we didn't expect to see you either?" Riku questioned.

"When your friend offered to join in on your hangout, I hadn't expected it to be at the same place that… I was planning to be at," Zexion admitted.

"What are you doing out here anyways?"

Zexion opened his book again, pulling it up to hide most of his face. "It's… I'm here to do research."

Riku and Saruhiko glanced at one another before Riku raised an eyebrow. "Research?"

"Yes," Zexion replied. "Research… And it would be best if you left me to my own-"

"Zexy! I got us the popsicles!"

"Zexy?" Saru asked, turning to look at who called out to their older brother.

The man walking close to them had dirty blond hair that was spiked up a little on the top. He didn't wear any sandals as he trudged through the sand, but his swim shorts were blue with little golden fish lining them.

Zexion sighed as he put his book down. He reached up to take one of the popsicles. "Thank you, Demyx."

"No problem! And hey," he looked over at Saru and Riku as he flopped down next to Zexion. "Are those two of your brothers?"

Zexion sighed. "Yes… they are."

Riku stared, unsure how to process what he was seeing. Glancing at Saru, he could see that he was pretty much in the same boat as him. Both of them were completely confused and at a loss for words, but it was clear there was more to the situation than met the eye.

Demyx then stood up and waved, grinning widely at them. "Hi! I've been waiting to meet Zexy's brothers for ages! But I guess none of you really heard of me yet, right?"

"No… never heard of you," Riku replied, his voice lowering to a whisper.

Demyx kept smiling. "That's okay! I knew I'd get to meet the brothers eventually."

"And just how did you two meet?" Saru asked bluntly.

Zexion looked at Demyx, who was now slowly eating his popsicle. "I suppose we can't hide it anymore."

"Yeah! I've been waiting to tell them!" Demyx beamed. "Oh better eat your popsicle or it's going to start melting all over your hand."

"Right. Yes… you're right,' Zexion sighed as he took a few bites.

Afterwards he licked his lips and looked at his brothers again. "So… as you can probably figure, Demyx is… my boyfriend."

It was strange to hear the words spoken from Zexion so casually. It almost seemed weird to know that Zexion had been hiding something like this, especially considering everything that had happened recently.

'I remember he said he wasn't sure what his preferences were… He said it was inconclusive. Him finding someone in such a short amount of time couldn't have happened… right?' Riku thought.

"I'll ask again, how did you two meet?" Saru asked again.

"Homra. I was by myself one night… Demyx was the musician of the night. Afterwards came to sit next to me, saying that I looked like I needed a friend… I'm certain Kusanagi had something to do with it, even if he won't admit it."

"But it doesn't matter if he did or didn't, we hit it off that night and agreed to meet up again!" Demyx added cheerfully.

Zexion nodded along as he took another bite of popsicle. "Yes… and we met up several times after that. It started fairly simple really, nothing major. We had talked about different things. Time had flown by and I didn't even notice. We just were enjoying our time getting to know one another."

"And then came that day when you went and kissed me," Demyx added as he smiled happily, seeming to be lost in a daze, most likely remembering the moment.

"You WHAT?!" Saru and Riku shouted at the same time.

Both of them gave the same wide and confused looks to their older brother. Out of any crazy or out of character thing that they could have thought of their brother doing, kissing someone out of the blue wasn't anywhere on the list.

As a result of their outbursts, Zexion sank down in his chair slightly and tried to cover his face with his book again. While it was hard to see, it was clear that his face was clearly turning red. "It was in the heat of the moment. I wasn't even... I just thought about it for a second... and then did it."

"Yeah and I was soooo shocked and surprised. I had no idea what to say or do... I just stood there totally frozen," Demyx said as he placed a hand to his cheek.

Zexion pulled the book down from his face, tossing it to the side as he glared at Demyx. His face was more red than it was just seconds before. "You stood there until you decided to grab me and pull me into another kiss."

"Oh yeah! That's right!" Demyx replied as he chuckled cheerfully.

Neither Saru or Riku had any words, both still too shocked to say anything. It eventually was apparent to Zexion that his brothers were still full of questions, but uncertain how to ask them.

Sighing deeply, Zexion tapped Demyx on the shoulder. "Maybe you should give us some space? You can finish my popsicle if you want."

Demyx seemed a little saddened by the statement, tilting his head as he frowned. "You sure?"

"I believe this conversation is for me and my brothers alone."

There was a moment between them, with Demyx staring longingly into Zexion's eyes. But then he nodded, took Zexion's popsicle and walked away, out of range of the three brothers.

Zexion folded his hands in his lap as he sat up in his chair properly. "Where would you like me to begin?"

Riku stepped forward first, sitting down on Zexion's left side. "I guess… at the beginning?"

Saru followed a moment later, sitting on Zexion's other side, all while trying to keep himself from falling asleep on the spot. As much as he would have rather done so, he knew staying awake was a little more important.

"I suppose to start… I'm sure that you two remember that I am 92 years old, nearly 100. I'm from an era in time where love between different supernaturals was still taboo. Society looked down upon anyone who did it, condemning them for no other reason than that. And that isn't even including how having a same sex relationship was viewed back then," Zexion started off stating. "Even with today's world being more open to it… I find myself hesitant to share it, thinking it's best to keep it a secret."

Riku's expression lightened up a little. "Oh, I guess I never thought about it that way. But what about Zack? He's older than you and he's with Cloud now."

Zexion shook his head. "Zack isn't me, and I'm not him. He's braver than I could ever be, being open with his relationship."

"How long has it been since you met him?" Riku asked.

"Almost a year by now, which I know may just shock you two further…" Zexion admitted. "I've kept it for so long I grew used to not saying a word, even though I know Demyx has wanted to meet everyone for months."

"And now you've told us," Saru yawned. "So you shouldn't have to be as upset."

Zexion sighed, shaking his head. "This isn't as easy as it is for you and your boyfriends. Yours are human… Mine… Well he is something else."

Saru raised an eyebrow. "Which would be?"

"Not a werewolf like Cloud, I'm guessing?" Riku added into the questions.

Zexion nodded as he closed his eyes. "He's very special, and I honestly wouldn't trade that for anything."

He paused briefly, breathing in deeply before he finally answered. "He's… a merman."

"That's… unexpected," Saru replied softly.

Zexion let out a huff. "Yes,I know that."

"But it's not a bad thing," Riku added quickly. "Just… you know, we don't really have a large merfolk population around here."

"I know that. Demyx is from another region, but he travels around as a musician. It just happened to align that we would meet."

"And you're happy, right?" Riku asked him. "With him?"

"Of course. When I'm with him… it feels nice."

"Does Zack know?" Saru questioned.

Zexion gave a simple head shake. "I couldn't ever find a way to bring it up to him. You think it would be easy… but I suppose I'm a coward."

Riku placed a hand on Zexion's arm. "Hey, if he makes you happy then we aren't going to complain. It's good to know we're on the same page with this stuff."

Saru nodded his head, giving a hum of agreement.

Slowly, Zexion started to smile. "Thank you. I appreciate the support."

"You should tell Zack though," Riku replied.

"I know I should… and maybe after this I will. I'm not worried he'll be disappointed in me, I onlyneed to have confidence."

"And prepare for him to hound you for questions," Saruhiko yawned as he laid down on the towel.

Zexion laughed softly. "Yes, I know I should prepare for his 'big brother' mode."

Riku also let out a short laugh. "He'll probably be ecstatic."

"Wonderful," Saru muttered sarcastically. "More reasons for him to expect us to go on triple dates. Just what I wanted."

Riku: If we could add more character tags I would have added Zexion and Demyx but alas only 4 characters allowed but now you know!