Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Burn ❯ Chapter 17 Zexion ( Chapter 17 )

Burn

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy nor am I making any money by writing this.

A/N: Ahh, another chapter of back story! This chapter should be called “Revenge of the Back Story”. XD I tried something different with this chapter: I used italics to denote past and regular font to denote the present since the majority of this chapter is flashback. If I like it, I'll go back and fix Reno's chapter so it mirrors this one in structure. Your feedback is highly appreciated on this matter as well. AkuRoku fans probably won't like me very much for this chapter. You'll see why later. -ducks away from randomly flying heavy objects—

Ah yes, and thank you a ton to my beta MuffinPirate for proofreading this.

 

Chapter 17 Zexion

I was what you considered normal. The key words there is `was'. I'm not so average anymore. Actually, I'm what's considered abnormal now. I guess.

My childhood was fairly normal. I had loving parents and a decent life. Money wasn't an issue for us. We lived comfortable lives, for starters. However, there was a big problem in my parents' lives: my older sister Paine. She was (and still remains) a lesbian, something my parents didn't approve of. They were always arguing because of that.

Paine was kicked out when I was nine. That was the only major thing that happened to me until the accident.

I remember it quite vividly. It was December, a couple weeks before Christmas; I was ten. The day started normally. It was Saturday morning, so my mom let me sleep in. My dad was working that day, so it was just my mom and me. She had to do some cooking for a Christmas party we were attending later that evening. I wisely stayed out of her way by reading up in my bedroom. I wasn't particularly thrilled about this party—I hated being social, especially when it came to my parents' friends. They were boring people so they threw the most boring parties one could imagine.

That evening, I reluctantly dressed in a nice pair of black pants, a white button-up shirt, black socks, and black dress shoes that were a size and a half too small for me, and brushed my hair despite the fact that it never did me any good. Then, I went downstairs where my parents were waiting. They briefly glanced at me and when they didn't say anything to me, I knew I had passed their scrutiny.

It was sleeting heavily when we climbed into my mom's minivan. It was fairly new, only a year and a half old. We were silent as my father drove. I stared out the window at the sleet, my chin resting in the palm of my hand. My father turned onto the highway and sped up. The windshield wipers raced along with the tires on the wet pavement, trying to keep up with the heavy sleet. Even with the windshield wipers working at the maximum speed, sleet still stuck to the windshield, making it hard to see.

“Be careful,” my mother murmured as the car started sliding around a bit.

“I'm fine,” my father replied shortly.

He didn't slow down at all. At last, he turned off the freeway at the exit that led to my parents' friend's house and we thought that was the end of the all the danger. However, when my father was slowing down on the exit ramp, the car hit a large patch of ice and spun out of control. The car left the road. I closed my eyes. It felt like the end and I didn't want to see what was going to happen. I heard terrible screams, metal groaning, and glass shattering, followed by long, empty silence.

I didn't open my eyes for a long time. If I did, then it would mean that I was accepting what had just happened as truth. I couldn't accept it. I inhaled thick clouds of smoke that irritated and restricted the passage of air into my lungs, making me cough and choke. I kept my eyes squeezed shut. I heard a mixture of voices, sirens, and I even saw flashing lights through my eyelids. There were even more voices, the groaning of metal. The car rocked.

“Be careful,” a voice I did not recognize chided.

“Sorry,” a second voice murmured.

Cool fingers were placed on the side of my neck.

“This one is still alive!”A male voice announced. “He doesn't seem to be badly injured.”

Hands went to my waist and someone unbuckled my seatbelt. I was gently lifted out of the car, wrapped in a thick blanket, and carried somewhere.

“The boy hasn't been injured badly, but we should make sure,” the same man said.

“All right,” a second man responded.

I was transferred to someone else's arms and then gently laid on something soft.

“Son? Son can you hear me?” the second man said in my ear.

“Y…yeah,” I coughed.

“Can you open your eyes for me?” the man asked.

I hesitated for a moment and then opened my eyes. I was laying in the back of an ambulance and there was a man with a beard and thin wired glasses peering anxiously at me. When he saw me looking at him, he smiled.

“Well hello there. I'm glad to see you're awake,” he said. “My name is Michael. What's your name?”

“Zexion,” I mumbled.

“How old are you Zexion?” Michael asked, writing on a clipboard.

“Ten,” I replied.

He asked me several more boring personal information questions including any medical allergies, to which I replied no. Then he started asking me about my physical condition. When I said between coughs that I was having trouble breathing, he immediately placed a clear plastic mask over my nose and mouth. All of a sudden, I felt a rush of oxygen.

“Is that better?” Michael asked.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice muffled by the mask.

“That's good.” Michael smiled. He clipped something to the end of my second finger and turned on the machine associated with it. I stared at the clip on my finger curiously. Michael saw my gaze and smiled.

“It's an oxygen monitor,” he explained. “It tells me how much oxygen you're getting.” He studied the machine and frowned. “Your oxygen level is lower than it should be.”

He started shuffling around, pulling things out of various containers. He unbuttoned my shirt and put things on my skin. He turned another machine on and it started beeping regularly. I realized after a few confused seconds that this was my heartbeat.

“Your pulse looks good,” Michael said. “I'm going to start an IV now, okay?”

I didn't know what that meant so I merely nodded. Michael took my arm and started prodding it gently.

“That looks good,” he muttered. He looked up at me. “I'm going to put a needle in your arm, okay?” I nodded. “You'll feel a slight pinch. Here it comes.”

I felt a poke and winced. I could feel a needle sliding under my skin and then it stopped. It was a weird feeling. The back doors were suddenly closed and the front door was opened and closed. The engine rumbled and we started moving. I watched out the back windows, fascinated. I had never ridden backward before. The sleet fell harder than ever, pounding against the windows. I started wondering what was going to happen to me now. I was scared, but the tears would not come.

 

I was rushed to the hospital and was thoroughly examined, but amazingly, I had been scarcely hurt. I managed to give them Reno's name and number and they called him and let him know what had happened. He rushed to the hospital.

I had met Reno once before, two years previously. I hadn't been sure of what to think of him then and I still didn't know what to think of him. He stepped into the room, looking much older than I remembered. He was a clean-shaven man, twenty-one years old. He wore the standard Shin-Ra uniform; black slacks, a white dress shirt, black leather boots, and a black jacket, however, his shirt was untucked, his jacket was unzipped, and he wasn't wearing the tie the other members wore. His hair was a vivid red and his eyes were a cool blue color, but he was a kind man. I knew this from experience. He looked extremely concerned as he stepped forward.

“Are you okay Zexion?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered, wishing people would stop asking me that question. That was all the doctors and nurses asked me all night.

“Really?” Reno raised his eyebrows.

“Reno, my parents are dead, aren't they?” I asked, finally getting up the courage to voice the question I had had ever since I was loaded into the back of the ambulance.

“Well…” Reno hesitated.

“Tell me the truth,” I pleaded.

Reno sighed softly. “Yes. They didn't survive the crash. I'm sorry.”

I was silent for a while, trying to digest the news.

“Reno, I'm scared,” I whispered.

“I'd be surprised if you weren't,” Reno said sadly.

The tears I had been holding back for so long finally started coming out. Reno awkwardly patted me on the head. It was the only thing he could do.

 

My parents were buried a week later. I tried my best to not cry. I saved my tears for when I was alone. I wouldn't have made it through the funeral without my best friend Axel there. He helped me keep it together during the funeral and held me when I cried my eyes out that night. I stayed with him and his parents for a while until they figured out what to do with me because my parents hadn't left a will for me.

In the end, a hearing was held to decide who was going to raise me-- my lesbian sister and her lover or my single but working godfather. It wasn't too hard of a decision for them to make, really. I didn't care either way; I was just glad that the whole process was over with.

I didn't live with Reno for long before I learned his big secret: he was Axel's older brother. It took a lot of convincing for Reno to spill the beans, but he eventually did. He had been a bad influence on Axel, or so his parents thought. Bad enough for them to send him away to live with some of their distant relatives. They erased Reno completely from Axel's memories, which wasn't hard considering Axel was only three. I had met Axel's parents before and I knew what they were like so it didn't come as a surprise to me that they had done something like that. Reno warned me that he was not allowed to tell Axel he was his brother because of some complicated legal matters so I helped keep his secret. I don't know if Axel was ever close to finding out the truth.

It was around this time that I started becoming depressed. I felt guilty that I was the only survivor of the car accident. The depression got so bad I tried to kill myself. Reno took me to see a therapist, named Vincent. It didn't help me very much, at least at first. I tried to kill myself a couple more times. I continued seeing Vincent and even spent some time in the Psychiatric Ward. I was put on anti-depressants, which finally helped me.

I finally stabilized which was good before I had to deal with Axel and his girlfriend Larxene, who was very abusive. I had to be strong for Axel's sake. I wasn't the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when they broke up, but I certainly was one who was greatly affected by them.

I had known for a while that I had strong feelings for Axel. We were childhood friends and grew up together. I knew all his good qualities and his bad qualities. He had a lot of issues. It was pretty obvious that there was something going on with him under the surface. Axel needed someone to be there for him and it was obviously going to be me. I was there for him through the good times and the bad times. I stayed with him even though I hated Larxene and she hated me. I comforted him when she abused him and took the stand for him when Larxene was on trial for abuse. I stayed by his side, as a friend. I didn't want to let my feelings get in the way, but it was hard.

I couldn't help wanting to get closer to Axel and wanting to keep him close. I hated myself for it. Oh, I hated it so much.

One Friday night, I got a huge surprise. Reno was working late that night, which happened quite a bit with him. I didn't mind. I knew it was for the good of the people.

That night, I was doing my homework at the kitchen table when there was a knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone so I was pretty surprised. I went to the door and opened it. I was even more surprised when I saw Axel standing at the door, looking very disheveled.

“Axel?” I asked, frowning.

“Hi Zexion,” Axel replied hoarsely.

“What's going on? Why are you here?”I asked. I peered at him. “You look terrible. Is everything all right?”

“I had a fight with my parents.” Was all Axel said.

I sighed softly. “Would you like to come in?” Axel nodded. I opened the door wider and let Axel come in.

“Would you like something to drink?” I asked, turning around, and walking toward the kitchen.

“No thank you, Zexion,” Axel said softly.

I turned around. “Would you like to sit down at least?”

“All right.” Axel nodded.

We went to the kitchen and sat down next to each other at the rickety table that Reno had gotten secondhand.

“I'm sorry. I was doing my homework,” I apologized.

“It's okay,” Axel said.

We were silent for a moment, which was really awkward. It had never been like this before. What had changed between us? Was it because of my feelings for him? Could it possibly mean that he had feelings for me too?

“Zexion?” Axel asked.

“Yes?” I blinked.

“You sort of zoned out there on me,” Axel said.

“Oh. I'm sorry,” I replied. “I was just thinking.”

“Oh?” Axel asked. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just some things,” I answered evasively.

“I see.” Axel ran his fingers through his long red hair.

“Axel, why are you here?” I asked. I shook my head. “I'm sorry. I sound incredibly rude.”

Axel laughed, although it sounded very hollow. “It's okay, Zex. I've known you for what, ten years now?”

“About that long I guess.” I smiled.

Axel laughed, this time sounding a little more like his old self. It made me realize how much Axel had changed and how much Larxene had changed him. It made me sad.

“Zexion?” Axel asked.

“Sorry.” I winced.

“It's okay.” Axel smiled. “You know, you're pretty cute when you blush.”

“Axel, have you been drinking?” I immediately asked.

“No,” Axel immediately denied. I stared at him. “All right, I had a drink…or two.”

I felt a headache coming on. “Axel, why the hell are you drinking? You're only fourteen years old! You shouldn't be drinking in the first place.”

Axel scowled. “Please don't lecture me. Please.”

I sighed softly. “At least you're not completely drunk, only a little tipsy.”

“No,” Axel agreed. “I know my limitations.”

“Indeed,” I muttered. I sighed again. “So what do you need, Axel? Tell me what you need and I'll do my best to help you get it.” I was surprised when I saw tears in Axel's vividly green eyes. “Axel? What's wrong? Why are you crying?”

“I'm sorry.” Axel wiped the tears from his eyes. “It's just that you're so kind.”

“No, I'm not.” I shook my head. “I'm not kind at all.”

“Yeah, you are,” Axel replied.

I shook my head again.

Axel reached over and cupped my chin with one of his huge hands.

“A…Axel?” I stammered.

Axel silently leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. The kiss didn't last very long. Before my brain could fully comprehend what was happening, Axel had pulled away from me.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered.

I could read confusion and pain in his eyes. It was clear that he felt the same way about me. I leaned over, my heard pounding.

“Axel, it's okay,” I murmured, my lips hovering several inches away from his. “It's really okay.”

He wanted to kiss me. I could tell that he wanted to kiss me so bad. I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes. Axel's lips and my lips connected. I had no clue of what I was doing, but Axel seemed to know. After all, he had already been through all this with Larxene.

His hand wrapped around my head and pulled me closer. I willingly moved closer to him. He pulled his mouth away for a moment.

“Are you sure about this?” Axel asked. “I don't want to force you into anything you don't feel comfortable doing.”

“I'm sure, Axel,” I said without hesitation. “I'm fine.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure.”Axel gently brushed my cheek.

I smiled. “Thank you Axel.”

Axel pressed his lips to mine again. I eagerly met his lips. He wrapped his hand around my head again and brought me close. I shifted into his lap. The kissing started getting a bit more passionate. Axel nibbled on my lower lip. My breathing started increasing. Axel's lips slid down my neck. Then someone cleared their throat. I turned around and my eyes widened. Reno was standing in the front hall, his arms crossed, looking very amused. I quickly stood up, my face growing very warm.

“Um…” I started to say.

Reno held up his hands. “Don't even start. I don't need to know. Just uh…just go finish whatever you were doing in your room, okay?”

“I understand Reno,” I said quietly.

Axel quickly got up from his chair. “I'm going to your room, okay Zex?”

“All right.” I nodded. “I'll be right there.”

Axel turned and headed for my bedroom. I heard the door shut with a soft snap and then turned to Reno.

“Are you angry with me Reno?” I asked softly.

“Oh, no, Zexion!” Reno answered at once. “I'm not mad at all. I'm just a little surprised, that's all.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mumbled.

“I just want you to be happy, okay?” Reno looked concerned.

“I know,” I replied. “I am.”

“Good. Now don't keep Axel waiting. Just try and keep it down, okay? And be careful. What I mean is, use a condom. Who knows what that bitch Larxene was carrying that she gave to Axel.”

My face grew hot. “Reno!”

Reno chuckled. “I know, I know, I have a dirty mind.” He lowered his voice. “Just remember that Axel is my little brother. Even though I don't get to see him that much, I still have a right to worry about him. Okay? And you of course. Especially you.”

“Yes, Reno.” I sighed, exasperated.

I hated it when he tried to act like an adult, because it didn't suit his personality. He was much more outgoing than that.

I gathered my homework from the table, making a mental note to finish it tomorrow. I walked to my bedroom. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Axel was waiting on my bed. He smiled when he saw me.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

“Yeah, fine,” I replied, smiling.

I set my homework on my desk and walked over to the bed. I sat on the edge next to Axel. He looked over at me and smiled even more.

“So what did Reno say to you?” he asked.

“He told me to try and keep it down and use a condom,” I answered.

Axel burst out laughing. “Oh my god, did he really say that to you?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

Axel laughed even harder. “Oh my god, I can't believe it. Only Reno would say something like that to you. You know, you should have asked him if he had a spare condom.”

“Axel!” I protested.

“I'm kidding Zexion!” Axel chuckled. I glared at him. “I'm just kidding!”

“So you don't expect us to have sex?” I asked.

“Not right away, unless you want to, of course. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to.”

“I know,” I replied. “I'm not sure I'm ready for sex right now.”

Axel nodded. “Yeah, that's what I thought. See, I know you, Zexion. I know you quite well. Look, I'm cool about waiting, okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks Axel.”

“Sure, no problem.” Axel smiled.

 

Axel spent the weekend at my apartment (technically, it was Reno's apartment) and went home Sunday night. I had a feeling that he had argued with his parents, but I didn't press the subject. I knew better than to press Axel. I had seen it happen before and the results weren't pretty.

We worked hard to try and keep our relationship secret. Reno may have approved of our relationship, but Axel's parents wouldn't have. They were definitely homophobic, just like my parents were. In fact, Axel's parents were the ones who suggested to my parents that they kick Paine out because she was a disgrace to the family name.

We tried really hard to be secretive about what we did. We would either be at my apartment or we'd go to his house when his parents weren't home. Reno never said anything to us, but I think he knew when Axel and I started having sex. Axel was always very gentle with me because he knew he was much bigger than me. And I mean that in more than one way. I had to admit, Axel was great in bed, as perverted as that may sound. We started fooling around just a little bit at first. Axel didn't want to go too fast and I was just fine with that. I didn't want to go too fast either. Eventually, he did take away my virginity though. I felt like I belonged to him, heart and soul.

 

I was the happiest when I was dating Axel. I could tell that he was very happy as well. I thought he was getting better.

But then Axel's parents found out.

To say they weren't happy was the biggest understatement I could have made. They were furious. They made our lives a living hell. It only got worse and worse until we finally fell apart. Nothing was the same after that. I think it was really the last straw for Axel. He had been threatening to break for some time, but until his parents took away his last bit of happiness, he wasn't completely broken.

Axel had always had a thing for fire, but he had never tried to burn himself before. I could tell that he was getting worse and worse. I tried to keep myself together for his sake. It was extremely hard to keep yourself together when your best friend was burning himself and trying to destroy everything you were trying to protect.

Then when Axel was seventeen, he tried to kill himself by setting a fire in his room and he got burned very badly. It was a miracle I was there to save his life. I put my life on the line to save him. Then he met Roxas and started healing. It made me feel even worse. I felt like there was something wrong with me because I couldn't help Axel. I stopped taking my anti-depressants., which made things only get worse. I can't say why I stopped taking my medicine. Maybe I thought it wasn't helping me. One day, I decided that enough was enough and I tried to end my life… again.

I had gained a lot of knowledge about attempting suicide since I had failed at it so many times. I waited until Reno had left for work and I was sure I was alone before I tried again. I had decided to poison myself this time. I had already tried to hang myself, slit my wrists, and drown myself, but I had failed each time. I wanted a slow and painful death because that was what I deserved. I drank a bunch of cyanide and let the grisly effects take over.

I did not expect to wake up, but I did. To my great disappointment, I woke up in the hospital alive and well. Sort of.

I received a huge shock when I woke up in the hospital; my roommate was none other than Roxas. I had met him before when I had visited Axel in the hospital, but now I got to know him even better. He was a sweet kid, quiet, and gentle. Not at all what Axel was, but I could see how Axel could fall for him. He had a great personality and he was cute, really cute. He made me feel very inferior.

I was okay at first, but after a while, I started locking my words away. I couldn't say a word. I felt like no matter what I said, it wouldn't matter at all. They did a psychiatric evaluation—asked me all sorts of questions, and filled out many forms. In the end, it looked like I was going to be sent to the Psychiatric Ward along with Roxas. And if that wasn't bad enough, I was also going to be his roommate. I didn't hate Roxas as a person, I just hated the idea of him. I hoped that somehow, I would be able to find the strength to heal, if the effort didn't kill me first.

Roxas and I were transferred the Psychiatric Ward on the same day. They said it was easier that way. I had been to the Psychiatric Ward before so I knew what to expect. Roxas looked very scared, though. His blue eyes were wide and he had this dazed look on his face that didn't go away as they processed us. Our new nurses were Rebecca (mine) and Alice (his).

They showed us to our room where we dropped off our stuff and after they had given us a brief tour of the place, which hadn't changed much since the last time I'd seen it, we went to meet the rest of the patients. I recognized Luxord, Xigbar, and Xaldin, from before. Looked like they were still stuck at this place. We were introduced to Yuffie, the coordinator. The old coordinator, Tifa, had obviously retired. Yuffie was a ball of energy and a bit crazy. I looked around the room, searching for someone specific. Beside me, Roxas was also looking. At the same time, we found who we were looking for; a certain red haired man.

Axel didn't see us at once, which gave me the chance to study him. There were some things about him that hadn't changed at all. His hair was as red and as wild as ever and his eyes were still a vivid green color. But he was paler and thinner, both things as I would expect from someone staying in the Psychiatric Ward for a while. He held himself differently too. Before, he held himself highly and proudly. He wouldn't let anyone look down to him, but now, he was slumped and defeated. He was accompanied by two women, both nurses, and a small blond boy.

Axel finally turned and his vivid green eyes widened. All of a sudden, he was on the ground, passed out. A small crowd formed around him with Roxas, the blond boy, myself, and the nurses at the front. A short, stocky nurse with a long reddish-brown braid kneeled down next to him and examined him. A second nurse with brown hair who was much taller than the other nurse was watched, keeping her eye on the blond haired boy, who looked incredibly worried.

“He's all right,” the nurse examining Axel said softly.

After a few minutes, Axel woke up.

“He's awake!” his nurse announced.

As Axel slowly sat up, we moved back to give him more room.

“Are you okay?” Roxas asked softly.

Axel looked over at Roxas.

“Rox…as?” he asked hoarsely. “What…what are you doing here?”

“I got transferred in,” Roxas answered.

“Really?” Axel asked.

“Yeah.” Roxas nodded. “And he did too.” He pointed to me.

Axel studied me as I studied him. I nodded at him in greeting.

“He not talking?” Axel asked, turning his attention back to Roxas.

I took the opportunity to have a brief look at Axel's companion. He was a year or two younger than Axel and myself with brownish blond hair styled halfway between a mowhawk and a mullet, friendly sea green eyes, and a lot of scars on his face. I quickly turned away so he wouldn't notice me staring.

“Axel, you know them?” the boy asked.

“Yeah.” Axel nodded. “Let me introduce you. This is Roxas, my old roommate from when I was still in the regular hospital.” Axel pointed to Roxas. “And this guy is my best friend, Zexion.” He pointed to me.

“Hi,” the boy said politely.

“Hi,” Roxas replied, smiling in a friendly manner.

I just nodded at him in greeting.

Axel felt the need to explain. “He can't talk.” He whispered it, but I still heard him.

“Is he a mute or something?” the boy asked curiously.

“For now I guess.” Axel shrugged. “He hasn't been like this all the time. I mean, he hasn't always been mute. I've heard him talk.”

The boy looked over at me, but seemed to understand.

“Come on. Let's go sit down somewhere. I'm sure you and Roxas have a lot to catch up on,” he said.

He led us over to a quiet corner where we sat down.

“By the way, my name is Demyx,” the boy whispered to me. “I'm Axel's current roommate.”

I nodded. Demyx looked satisfied, turned away, and pulled out a guitar. He started strumming a few chords, singing softly to himself. I picked up a book and started reading.

*********************

I quickly got adjusted to life at the Psychiatric Ward. It wasn't hard for me at all. I started seeing Dr. Wise, a different psychologist than I saw before. Dr. Wise was a kind man and generally concerned with my welfare rather than what he was being paid.

Meanwhile, Axel was getting worse. He had a mild breakdown and worried all of us. The next morning, I learned from another Demyx that Axel had experienced another seizure. It was after Axel had woken up from a nightmare. I could tell that Demyx had been terrified from watching Axel's seizure. I had never seen him have a seizure before, so I had no idea what it was like.

I didn't even get a chance to see Axel until lunch. He was in a session with Dr. Wise for most of the morning. I was so glad when Axel walked into lunch with his nurse, whose name I had learned was Hannah. I walked up to Axel and tried to ask him if he was all right, but nothing came out. I turned away, my eyes burning with tears. I was surprised when a warm hand rested on my shoulder.

“It's okay,” Demyx murmured.

“Are you all right?” Roxas asked Axel. It made my heart hurt.

“I'm fine,” Axel answered, though none of us believed him.

After lunch, it was my turn to meet with Dr. Wise. He tried to get me to speak, but he was unable to. Dr. Wise was silent for a while.

“Well Zexion, I think you have trouble expressing yourself. I suggest that you try to express yourself through other means, such as drawing.”

I nodded. Dr. Wise had me draw some pictures. At the end of the session, Dr. Wise gathered up everything and looked at me intently.

“I encourage you to try and speak to just me, Zexion,” he said. “Everything will be kept in strict confidence. You don't have to worry about being judged either, all right? Just think about it.”

“O…okay,” I managed to whispered.

Dr. Wise smiled.

To be continued…

A/N: Wow. What. A. Chapter. It really took a lot out of me to write it and it wasn't just the fact that it was long. It just would NOT be written. I had to force it out. XD

I hope I did okay with the characterization of Zexion in this chapter, especially during the accident. I've never been in an accident worse that accidently backing into various objects in the driveway or that time when a guy pulled out and nearly hit me, but I can imagine it can be very scary, especially when you're still just a kid. I have been taken to the hospital by ambulance once when I was up on Pike's Peak out in Colorado. I got altitude sickness so they had to take me down the mountain by ambulance and to the hospital. It was really scary. Besides that and having to be taken to the ER by my mom because I sprained my ankle, my hospital experience is pretty limited. XD

I know Zexion is really intelligent, but I wanted there to be a limit on his knowledge at the time of the accident because I mean he's only ten years old! Surely there's a limit to his knowledge.

Eh, I was going to write an AkuZeku lemon, but I never managed to get to it. XD I guess it's okay. Maybe later I'll go back and write a full-blown lemon. Though I was trying to avoid it in this for once. I'll leave the AkuZeku smut for some other fic.