Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Out of My Element ❯ Behind Closed Doors ( Chapter 12 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 12: Behind Closed Doors
 
Shoulder pressed to the flat, Axel pushed open the unlocked door wide enough for both him and Luxord to go through unhindered. Instantly, from his usual place on the couch Demyx turned and smiled at him, greeting him with a `Welcome home!' before giving a slightly puzzled look at Luxord's presence. It seemed he didn't want to be impolite for he smiled again and greeted Luxord cheerily as well.
“Um, Luxord's going to be staying here for a while.” Axel explained lightly, making his way to the couch and giving Demyx's hair an affectionate ruffle, “But you can ignore him for the most part. He's a pest anyway.” In return Demyx smiled up at him, tipping his head back into the touch.
“Well, I never.” Huffed Luxord before jumping over the couch and sitting beside Demyx, “Hey, buddy, how's the singing?”
“All right, I'm working on getting a gig near here. I just need to find some other guys to join my band. So far there's only me and a new friend of mine, but I've got to have at least three people backing me: back-up guitarist, someone on the keyboard, and a drummer.” Explained Demyx leaning ever so slightly away to create some sort of space between him and the intruder. This simple act pleased Axel infinitely; Demyx never shied away from him, “So what are you staying here for?”
“Got evicted.” Shrugged Luxord before reaching over and picking up the remote and flipping on the television.
“That's what happens when you don't pay the rent.” Laughed Axel though his heart wasn't really in it, then he snagged Luxord by the scruff and pulled him up a bit. Close to his ear, Axel whispered with agitation, “You lay one finger on him and I swear to god, that infatuation you have on the Professor will be known by the world and I will crush you.” Then he forced another laugh, letting Luxord go and patting him on the shoulder, “And that's how it happens.” He voiced, pretending to have told Luxord something else. It worked; Demyx smiled at him before turning his attention back to the TV. Axel turned to go drop off his books in the kitchen.
“Oh, by the way Axel,” Pausing he turned and looked at Luxord. The blonde was grinning looking back over his shoulder, “Do I get to sleep in bed with you this time too?” A shiver ran up his spine, his skin prickling again at the mention of the incident. His blood instantly boiled and he scowled back at Luxord, “Just kidding, I'm crashing on the couch, don't you worry.”
“Right.” Axel narrowed his eyes suspiciously before entering the kitchen and setting his bag on the counter. As he picked out his books and set them at the end of the counter, Demyx came up behind him.
“Need any help with anything?” He asked leaning on the counter, cocking his head to the side.
“Not at the moment, we won't need to get started on dinner for at least another hour. Why? Do you need something to do?” Inquired Axel, after all, even he got fed up of being cooped up in the house all day when he was off work and out of school, “If you're bored you can always invite someone over or go out and explore.” He offered as they entered the front room again.
“All right…” Pausing beside the stairwell, Demyx seemed to consider the idea, “I haven't been to the park yet. So I guess I could go check it out, where is it now?”
“Just walk up the street for a few blocks, you'll find it easy enough.” Axel gestured in to his right, imagining he was standing outside, “It should only take a few minutes for you to walk there. Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette hang out there a lot; maybe you'll run into them.”
“All right, then I'll be back soon to help out with dinner.” Promised Demyx before venturing out of the house on his own for the first time since he'd arrived. Axel couldn't help but feel a little lost watching Demyx disappear from the house; he might have perhaps felt abandoned like a puppy that is left alone at home while his owners go out to work.
Silently he stalked across the room to the front window, drawing the curtains back just slightly. His eyes followed Demyx as he walked down the street. The teenager seemed happy, perhaps relieved to be on his own. Boys needed their space sometimes and lately he might not have gotten a lot of it. Suddenly, Demyx glanced back hesitantly and Axel quickly withdrew from the window. Head turned away; he stared at the floor guiltily.
“Lonely, fireball?” Axel's head snapped up in surprise, he'd forgotten Luxord was there as well. The blonde had his head cocked slightly, a knee crossed over his leg. Somehow, Luxord looked very refined in the pose; similar to how one would imagine a prince might sit.
“Perhaps a little.” He admitted solemnly before taking a seat on the couch as well. Resting his chin on his knuckles, he leaned heavily on the arm rest, “What's wrong with us Luxord? We finally find someone and think `oh, he's the one' and what do we do? Sit around and watch as they pass us by. How hard could it be to just reach out and stop them?” Axel looked over at Luxord out of the corner of his eyes.
“It's a lot harder than people think.” Voiced Luxord seriously shifting to rest his arm on the rest; his other arm was crossed over his chest, hand clasping his other wrist lightly, “Isn't it strange how I can place all I own on a single chance but when it comes to my heart I can barely make a move? It's a hell of a gamble, one that even I'm afraid of… But I have faith. We'll figure something out somehow.”
“I hope so...” Axel sat up, and threw a thumb over his shoulder, “You should snag a blanket from my closet. Take one of my pillows too… Don't touch my play kits, I don't want you to cause a fire or break any of my glass.” He warned lightly, “I'll know if you take something too, so don't even think about it.”
“Hey, you're the one who likes playing with fire and wax, not me.” Luxord gave a shrug before pushing himself up to retrieve the items from Axel's room, “Besides, I've gotten rusty; I'd probably burn myself with that stuff.” With a wave of his hand he headed up the stairs.
“Whatever, just be careful when your getting the blanket and be quiet.” Voiced Axel before getting up, “I'll be in the garage if you need me.” Then he too was gone from the front room.
Back in the garage, Axel pulled out the dried clothes and put them in a basket to take into the house. Then, as he opened up the washer to empty out its contents into the now empty partner beside it, something caught his eye. On top the table beside the washer and dryer was a pile of objects and papers that he'd emptied from the pockets of the clothes the day before. He wasn't sure why it had caught his eye today, for he'd already seen it once before. However, he could not resist the urge to investigate it.
Neglecting his duties, he stepped to the side of the counter and gently touched the tip of a wrinkled strip of paper. Fingers scissored he trapped the paper between them and raised it carefully from the pile, allowing a paperclip and dime to slid gently off it. Stained and torn, the writing on the slip was barely legible; a scrawl of words on worn notepaper.
`B-17 -3:34 a.m. Fir Gr-
B-1 - 6 sharp Hale Street 2-
B-9 - 7:25 a.m. Gull Bay 30 min-`
It seemed the paper had ripped after having been written. Flipping it over Axel scanned it for anything more. He could only read one thing on this side.
`Pack tokens- $6'
Axel wondered what it was he was looking at and more importantly he wanted to know when and why it was written. It wasn't his brother's, this handwriting wasn't his and it wasn't Rude's. The handwriting was similar to Demyx's, but it was so sharp; it must have been written in a hurry. Frowning, Axel slipped the paper back to the pile feeling that if he took it he might find out some terrible secret to it.
Gaze back on the pile, he removed a second paper from the pile. This one was folded, cleaner, and newer than the other. The date at the top indicated it was only written a few days before and was simply titled `Unfinished Song'.
 
`It's been two weeks since we said our goodbyes.
The ocean swells still pour down my face, from my eyes
But the moon's so high and the tide's come in to reveal a sea of lies.
I can't keep the tears from coming and drowning me again.
I'm trying so hard to be the sun that dries up all the rain
But storm clouds of deception won't let me shine through all this pain.
 
Give me strength, my guardian, my angel; I have to smile another day
Cover up the squall of ire with some false appealing display'
 
Affectionately Axel stroked the writing with the tips of his fingers, “Demyx… If I could make it go away…” He could almost feel the pain radiating off the innocent piece of paper.
“Axel!” Axel started, jumping around, he nearly knocked the table over; the pile atop it falling apart a few of the coins and trinkets falling to the ground. His heart, beating ninety miles an hour, was relieved when it was only Luxord who stood in the door. The gambler quirked a brow, “Jumpy much? Anyway, I found this tank top in your room. Isn't it a little small for you?” He teased holding up the shirt Axel had taken to his room the other day.
“Luxord.” Axel turned and set the lyrics down; then whirling around, he stormed over to give Luxord a good talking to… He didn't even notice as the old slip of paper fluttered from the tabletop to nestle underneath the washer far away from human eyes, “I told you not to touch anything else in my room! Where you listening to me when I said that?!” Luxord shrugged disinterestedly as Axel grabbed at the shirt, but it was quickly pulled out of his reach, “Luxord! Give me his shirt back now!”
“Oo! So it's Demyx's? Sleeping with his clothes, shame shame, that's kind of pervy Axel.” Luxord mocked before quickly relinquishing the article of clothing to avoid anymore conflict with Axel for the day. In a huff, Axel rolled up the shirt and threw it into the open washer, “Aw, are you going to be able to sleep tonight without it? If you want, I'll sneak up after Demyx goes to sleep and keep you company.”
“Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather spend a sleepless night alone if the only other choice is having you paw at me like a starved animal-“
“Ouch, not sparing my ego are you?”
“I'll spare you nothing but gossip.” Axel informed him sorting angrily through the laundry, “Why don't you watch TV or something? Don't you have something better to do than to aggravate me?”
“Not particularly.” Luxord leaned on the wall beside the dryer and folded his arms across his chest, “I checked the TV guide real fast and Queer As Folk isn't on for another half hour, which is bollocks. There should be a channel dedicated to that show, or even prime English comedy would do nicely.” Luxord gave an exasperated sigh. “I might add that any station that has any of my good old comedies don't air them till late at night.”
“Well that's just how this country works, Luxord; we play shows that were filmed here.” Voiced Axel coldly as he completed transferring clothes to their appointed locations. Then he picked up the clean clothes and tipped his head in the direction of the door.
“Yeah, well, I don't see why. If you have people from all over the world living in one place, why shouldn't the media follow suit?” Luxord asked making his way for the door and opening it for Axel. The redhead gave a shrug as he walked by into the lab and paused once again for Luxord to open the other door; then he continued on his way to the front room.
“Don't you have movies and books of your own?” He asked setting the basket on the small table and sat down on the couch.
“Well… Yeah.” Luxord took a seat beside him, “But most of it isn't suitable for kids under the age of eighteen. It would be kind of awkward if Demyx came back in during one of those.”
“Then watch one of the other ones.” It really shouldn't be so complicated to entertain Luxord. Actually, he was the type of guy who could play `War' for hours un-end. Simple, that was what Luxord was. Right now he was just being a pain to get attention; he did that a lot. Didn't he get enough attention elsewhere from his one-night-stands and bar buddies?
“But I'm anxious. I want to do something.” With a predatory gleam in his eyes, Luxord leaned over closer. He smiled charmingly and placed a tentative hand on Axel's thigh, “Come on Axel, let's fool around a bit. You know, `while the cat's away the mice will play'.”
“You're dangerously close to becoming akin to a eunuch.” Warned Axel, only verbally rejecting Luxord's offer. However, that was enough for Luxord to back off. Retracting his hand, he sat back once again and grumbled a bit to himself. Grateful, Axel leaned forward and pushed the laundry hamper closer to Luxord, “Fold.”
With a pout, Luxord grabbed a handful of clothes and aided Axel in the task. They both remained fairly quiet throughout the duration of the chore and when they were done folding, Axel had Luxord help with putting the clothes in the appointed room and drawer. Except, of course, Axel did not allow either of them to go into Demyx's room. Demyx put his clothes away himself and Axel didn't want to intrude. So they placed all of the musician's clothes in a stack at the top of the stairs.
By the time Axel ran out of chores to busy himself with Demyx returned home. There was no over-the-top welcome home, just the normal greeting before they got started with dinner. They worked side by side, both smiling happily as the food was prepared. Reno arrived home just in time to catch dinner and ate with them. They discussed nothing of real significance and so the day ended with no further incident.
Slung halfway over the couch back, Axel hooked a foot behind a heel as he gazed down at his sleeping friend. It was morning and Namine would be there soon; Friday had come and gone in a flash. Currently, he was pondering on how bad it would look if she came in and Luxord was sleeping like a drunk on the couch like he was. Sure, this was a fairly ordinary occurrence but this was Demyx's guest and even if he didn't want her there he didn't want to make a poor impression either.
He shifted his weight to one arm and leaned forward. Reaching down with his left hand, he tapped Luxord on the forehead, “Time to wake up, loverboy.” He voiced quietly. When Luxord didn't respond, Axel retracted his hand slightly before brushing the tip of Luxord's nose with a finger. A wide smile spread on Luxord's lips. For a brief moment, Axel was curious as to why but when Luxord snagged his extended arm and pulled him down his answer came.
Swiftly, Luxord's other hand captured the back of Axel's neck and pressed their lips together. Before Axel could recover from his surprise, Luxord's tongue slid into his mouth to run against his own. He had to try hard not to bite his companion's tongue as he struggled to get free; sadly, his attempts were rendered fairly useless for Luxord had quite a good hold on his slender frame. Naturally, to conserve his breath, he gave in.
Arm around Axel's chest and a hand buried in his thick red hair, Luxord seemed to wake up a bit more the kiss quickly becoming passionate. Breaking the kiss for only a second to adjust, Luxord delved back in for another taste running his tongue demandingly along Axel's once more. A low moan sounded from the gambler as Axel helplessly reciprocated.
Then, quite suddenly, Luxord released him and Axel pulled back violently, filling his lungs with much needed air. His gasp turned into something of a cry as he lost balance and fell onto the floor, sort of. In the motion, he clipped his head against the coffee table and only his shoulder blades actually made it to the floor; the lower half of his body was still strung on the couch and Luxord.
Sitting up, Luxord blinked a bit and looked down at himself then at Axel, “Oh yeah.” He mumbled. It seemed he'd forgotten that he'd been kicked out of his own apartment and was staying here. Seeing his surroundings had jogged his memory.
“Don't `oh yeah' me! Next time I'm biting!” Axel snarled his cheeks flushing deep pink with both embarrassment and excitement
“Wha-“ Luxord paused, placing a hand over his mouth as he stifled a yawn, “What time is it?” Flopping back down on his back he stretched and let out a groan.
Unhappily, disentangling himself from the uncomfortable position Axel rubbed his sore head, “Nearly nine.” He replied with a `humph' to express his current disapproval of Luxord, “Augh, your tongue was in my mouth and everything.” With a grumble he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
“You kissed back so it couldn't have been that bad.” Argued Luxord, sitting up again he glanced around, “Demyx didn't even see it so what's the big deal?”
“The big deal is that we're not doing that sort of thing together anymore, got it memorized?!”
“You say that now, but later I don't think I'll hear you complaining.” Luxord voiced running a hand over his face, scratching lightly at his jaw, “Damn, I need to shave if I'm going out tonight.” He muttered tiredly.
“Going out? Where?” Axel cocked his head curiously as he leaned against the wall.
“Pub- Now I know what you're thinking. If I don't have enough money to pay rent then I shouldn't be going out.” That's exactly what he was thinking, was he really so predictable, “Well, I've got enough for a few beers and I'm going to buy some! It's been too long since I've been smashed and I miss feeling the warm fuzzies in my stomach. There're only two things that give me the warm fuzzies and you're being a real ass about the alternative.”
“Why don't you be a normal single person and give yourself the `warm fuzzies', hm? You've got a right hand, use it.”
“Now you're just being obscene… I'm going upstairs to get freshened up, I expect you to be in a better mood when I get back down here.” Like Luxord could really tell Axel how to feel and what to do. At least he was going upstairs and leaving Axel to his bitter thoughts about the girl who would be arriving in just a few minutes.
“Mornin' yo!” Reno greeted casually. As usual his clothes looked to be thrown on in a hurry and he had a very disheveled look about him.
“Good morning, Reno.” Replied Axel going up to his brother and trying to fix up his brother's clothes as much as he could while Reno hurriedly pulled on his shoes, hopping on one foot so he didn't have to sit down, “Stop moving, I can't button your shirt with you jumping all over the place.” He ordered. Reno let out a whine but did as he was told. Once Axel was satisfied, Reno dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the normal breakfast that waited for him, eggs on toast.
“Thanks, bro! Be good while I'm gone an' if ya go out, be careful `cause I heard there's some kinda psyco on the loose- Later yo!” And Reno dashed out the door, he let out something of a cry, “'Scuse me!”
Tipping his head, Axel caught a glance of the person his brother had nearly run over and he caught the door before it closed all the way. Slowly drawing the door open Axel stared at the girl before him. She was a peculiar thing; she looked at least two years younger than Demyx. She was pale too with platinum blonde hair that appeared almost white in the sunlight. The dress she wore was white, making her look all the more pale. Reflecting off the clothing, the sun gave her a distinct glow. At her side, she held a bag with its strap going across her shoulder. She had possibly the palest ice blue eyes he'd ever seen.
With a shy bow of her head she smiled up at him, “Hi.” She voiced meekly, “I'm here to see Demyx.”
For a long moment Axel just stared dumbly at her; then he snapped out of his daze, “Oh! Um, come in.” Stepping out of the way, he motioned for her to come in, “Make yourself comfortable; he'll be down in a minute.” He voiced nervously. Somehow, he was expecting something else of her. Perhaps he was hoping for her not to be so pretty; yes, he'd admit it. There was definitely something about her that was very unsettling about her. If he had his guess it was that his competition was such a sweet little doll like that and, against her, he couldn't even be compared; they were completely different. If Demyx liked people like that; there wasn't any hope for him at all.
Feeling distinctly cornered and trapped, Axel backed up against the staircase. Frantically he was looking for a way out of this mess. He was in luck; just a few seconds later, Demyx came bounding down the stairs. Or maybe it wasn't luck because Demyx was only wearing his swimming short. Of course, Axel loved to see so much of Demyx's skin; he just didn't want anyone else seeing it, like say his rival in love.
“Namine!” He exclaimed excitedly as he came up before her. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a friendly hug, “Did you find the place all right?” He asked releasing her and taking a step back.
“Mm-hm! I live just beyond the school so it was easy to follow your directions. Oh, I brought the CDs and that movie you wanted to borrow.” Lifting her bag, she shuffled through its contents before pulling out a few disks, a DVD, and a book, “I thought you might enjoy something to read too. I know you don't care to sit down for hours reading but it's a good series and I thought it would be worth a try.” She told him handing him the stack, “I've got the rest at home if you decide you're interested.”
“Cool. I'll give it a try then, but no guarantees I'll make it all the way through.” Demyx told her looking through the things he'd been handed. Satisfied, he set them on the stand beside the couch. Then he leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek, Axel's heart stopped, his stomach turning unhappily in his gut, “Thanks, Namine.” Gritting his teeth, Axel mustered all his control to tame the rage building up inside him. It wasn't supposed to be like this; Demyx meant far more to him than to that girl.
“My, my do my eyes deceive me? Or am I actually observing a star fallen from the sky?” Axel's gaze snapped up to meet Luxord as he made his way down the stairs. Adorned in plain navy and white shirt and a pair of jeans, his friend made his way down past him, “My lady, you are a sight to behold.” Bowing down, Luxord took the girl's hand in his and kissed it, “Good morning.” Axel just scowled angrily at him keeping his anger in check, if only to stay on Demyx's good side.
“Good morning.” Murmured Namine shyly with a giggle before stepping back when her hand was released.
“Oh, right! Um, Namine. This is Luxord,” Demyx introduced, gesturing the blonde before turning to Axel, “And that over there is Axel. Axel, Luxord, this is Namine.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Luxord smiled. For fear he might snap at them, Axel just nodded curtly and looked away from them. He felt awkward, not being able to express his distaste for the situation at hand but still unable to leave and avoid it.
“Do you need to change?” Asked Demyx curiously.
Namine shook her head, “I have my swimsuit under this.”
“Cool, let's head out back then.” And with that, Demyx romped off with the young girl to the backyard to uncover the pool for some fun.
Left alone and unhappy, Axel waited until he heard the backdoor close before he made his way to the kitchen. He didn't know exactly what to do with himself. Saturday was the day he normally cleaned up around the house, but he was feeling a little too depressed to do anything. So he took a seat near the stove and just sat there. It was about twenty minutes before Luxord nosed his way back into Axel's business.
“You know, if you really wanted him, you'd be out there with them.” Luxord voiced leaning against the entryway.
“He's not like us, he's not gay.” Muttered Axel turning away from Luxord and glancing out the window. Demyx and Namine looked happy out there. They were sitting by the pool with their legs dangling in the water while they talked and they looked at some book that Namine had taken out of her bag.
“No one ever said he had to be flat-out queer. Even bi would get your foot in the door. You know… They look pretty preoccupied out there. If you want, we could do some snooping. After all, you're not doing anything.”
“It may look like I'm not doing much in particular, but on a cellular and neural level I'm quite busy.” Replied Axel. He'd heard a line like it before but he didn't remember who he'd got it from. Not that it mattered, he was being too bitter about being left out to really care about who said what.
“Well, you're too late anyway. I already rummaged through his things anyway.” Luxord hummed happily, Axel could mentally see the smug grin on his face, “Pretty interesting stuff… But if you don't want to know, well, I'll just go play with myself. There's an entire room up there I haven't sifted through yet. I could find something interesting in his closet, or even under his bed. Teenagers always were pretty bad at hiding things in their rooms.”
Axel turned and scowled, “Ever heard of something called privacy? Leave it be.”
“All right…” That was easy, a little too easy. Since when did Luxord give up like that without Axel pulling the `professor card'? Never, that's since when. Luxord was up to something.
There was a splash and Axel looked away from Luxord and looked back outside.
Demyx was laughing, having been pushed into the pool. He ducked under the water and Namine stood up and set the book aside as she peered down into the pool. After a few seconds of tranquility, Demyx nearly jumped completely out of the water and pulled her in as well. Once they were both in, of course, a splashing war was started and the two tried to better each other with large sprays of water.
Letting out a groan, Axel leaned against the sink and quietly watched as they played around. He couldn't see himself doing something like that. Water wasn't exactly his idea of fun. His idea of fun was more laid back; he liked to cook things, bask quietly in the sun, or even just a walk. Sometimes when he was feeling up to it, he liked to go to carnivals, fairs, or theme parks. He supposed that mock-fighting and some sports were pretty cool, but he normally did those things with Luxord. The reason for that was so that it was `fair' fight or a `fair' game. Though, in reality, Roxas could out battle Axel almost any day.
In no time at all, Axel was lost in thought and he lost track of time, his mind wandering from where Demyx and he could go together and what they'd do to what Demyx did without him. It came to him that he spent a lot of time with Demyx but he didn't actually know what he was like when they weren't together. After all, Demyx's life didn't revolve around just those fleeting moments and neither did Axel's. They both had school, friends, and hobbies.
“Just disgusting isn't it?” Axel let out a yelp as Luxord pressed up against his back.
“Wh-what?” He stuttered shakily trying to duck away from Luxord's body, but with no luck seeing as how Luxord caged him in by placing an arm to each side of him.
“The way they're getting along so well. That's what you were thinking about right? How much better it would be if that were you making him laugh?” With a frown Axel leaned forward and leaned against the sink again. He let out a disgruntled `humph', “You can always interrupt them. It's your backyard; you can go wherever you want.” When Axel didn't answer, Luxord patted him on the head and backed away, “They're just friends, so don't worry so much. You'll upset him if you start acting up.”
“Are you out of your mind? Do you not see what I'm looking at?” Asked Axel gesturing to the happy play-scene outside.
“I see it just fine. You just don't understand how friendship works is the thing. Girls are always a lot more physical than guys are with friends and they expect it in return. They hug, they kiss on the cheek, sit side-by-side, have sleepovers where they all sleep in the same bed… They're just a different creature than straight men. What you're witnessing is nothing more than two friends having a good time.” Luxord stated in a matter-of-fact kind of tone.
“How can you be so sure Luxord? He said she was pretty.” Retorted Axel almost reluctantly. He sorely wanted to believe Luxord on this one, but didn't see how he could be right. It would just be far too convenient for that to be the truth.
“And he hasn't ever said that kind of stuff to you?” Well, that was a good point. Thinking back, Demyx had said plenty of things like that to him, “And isn't he the one you always admit is snuggling up to you when you sit together?” Axel looked down bashfully; of course Luxord knew that was true too, “So then what makes her so much more likely he's in love with her and not you?”
“She… Because she's a girl.” Wilting, Axel turned and rested his chin on the counter, “And she really is kind of pretty.”
“So? You're a guy and you're hot as hell, both metaphorically and literally speaking. It doesn't matter if he's a guy too. We're not the only gay guys in the country and, hell, there are also plenty of bisexuals too. Is the chance he's one of them so slim that you just don't want to get your hopes up?” Axel remained silent. Hope wasn't something he ever had a lot of, the same went for courage. Truth be told, he was probably a bit of a coward. “Well, if you decide to ever grow some balls, you can always just ask… Hm, or at least do some snooping.”
“You already know don't you?” Axel sat up a little and gave Luxord a hard look, “You went though his stuff didn't you?” He accused.
“Perhaps. Doesn't matter though, if I told you it may be that you wouldn't believe me. And even if you did, I could always be wrong, though that's unlikely.” Turning away, Luxord made his way to the fridge and pulled out some of the lemonade that Axel had whipped up the day before. Then he got out a couple of glasses, put some ice in them, and filled them up with the cool drink, “Well, just because you're miserable doesn't mean that I have to join you, as much as that might please you. I'm going to pay the kids a little visit.” Grabbing a few straws, Luxord shifted the drinks so he could carry all of them at the same time. Just as he slipped out the back door he called back, “Don't hesitate to join me.”
With a heavy sigh, Axel turned back to the window to watch Luxord as he crossed the yard to join the two. Demyx and Namine smiled at him as he handed the pair their drinks. They talked a moment before Namine patted the ground beside her and Luxord sat down with them. Looking away, Axel drew the curtains shut and left the room. If watching Demyx alone with Namine was bad enough; seeing that Luxord could fit in with them with such ease wasn't going to make Axel feel any better. So retrieving a book from his room, Axel settled down on the couch, raising a knee to his chest, and opened to the first page.
He'd just turned to page 88 when a sound brought him from the world within the book. Looking over his shoulder and into the kitchen, he found that the group had come in from out back. They were still laughing and talking about something that was unbeknownst to him.
Demyx was the first to speak to him, “Axel?” In response Axel let out a loud hum in question, “Oh, there you are. I wasn't sure where you were. It's nearly one o'clock, I would've thought you'd be eating or something.” Axel let out another hum, his eyes trailing back to his book.
“What that you've got there?” Asked Luxord.
“It's called `Fear Nothing' by Dean Koontz. I'd heard it was good, but I haven't had time to read it so it's just been collecting dust in my closet over the years.” Replied Axel before carefully closing the book and setting it down, “Do you guys want me to make you anything?”
“Oh, no! It's fine; read your book. We're just going to have some sandwiches and be on our way back outside.” Demyx explained.
“Oh… All right.” Frowning, Axel picked up the book again and flipped back to the page he'd stopped on. He rested the book against his chin for a moment, looking out the window to see the brightly lit streets there, before he drew the book back and once again fell into the steady pace of reading. Only two pages later was he interrupted again. This time, Demyx entered the living room and set a plate on the small side table.
Tipping the book back, Axel gazed at the sandwich curiously. Then he looked to Demyx for some type of explanation, “What's this for?”
The boy smiled nervously, “Ah, well, I figured you might be hungry and all so I thought I'd make you something for once. I hope you like it. I wasn't sure exactly what you liked, but I remember some of what you used when you made lunch in the morning for yourself. So… Yeah.” Bowing his head down Demyx turned to go.
“Wait!” Axel reached out, taking hold of Demyx's wrist to keep him from escaping. Surprised, Demyx looked back. Axel was nearly shocked into silence at how beautifully the golden light played on the teenagers face. Sometimes he just couldn't help but be astounded by how the boy caught the lighting in the room.
Smiling fondly, Axel turned his face away only to look at Demyx from the corner of his eyes, “Thanks.” He voiced softly.
Demyx returned the coy gesture with a smile of his own, “You're welcome.” Placing a hand over the one that had him by the wrist, he stroked Axel's hand affectionately before Axel released him, “I hope it has a happy ending.”
“What?” Axel cocked his head to the side. Chuckling Demyx gestured to the book in Axel's hands, “Oh, right… So do I.”
By the time Namine had to go home, Axel was on page 268 of the book with still another good 100 pages left to go. Not really caring by this time, he only turned in his seat to watch as Demyx walked her to the door.
“Are you sure you don't want me to ride home with you?” He asked earnestly.
“What? Are you afraid I might kidnap her? Be realistic.” Scoffed Luxord, “I'll see to it that she gets home safe and sound, besides I was going out tonight anyway.” He explained further.
With a smile, Namine nodded and slung her pack around her shoulder, “He's right. I'll be fine, so I'll see you Monday at school then.”
“Yeah, I'll bring back anything I've gone through too. I don't want to keep your stuff too long, otherwise I might not be able to part with it.” Demyx joked, “Seriously though… You be careful driving, Luxord. You never know when something might happen.”
“I know. I know. I'm not sixteen. I'll see you later.” Luxord started out the door, “Come on, Namine. Let's go.”
“Hey!” Luxord paused at the door and glanced back over at Axel, “When are you coming home?”
Luxord thought a moment and looked at his watch. “Probably around ten.”
“Ten? That's pretty late.” That would give him six hours of time to do whatever it was he was planning. As far as Axel knew, nothing Luxord did took that amount of time. He had a bad feeling about this.
“Yeah, well you know. I've got to make up for two days of socializing, drinking, and ga- er… gaming.” He was lying through his teeth about that last one. He was going gambling? Why did Axel have to have such a stupid friend? And drinking, he couldn't drive home after six hours of that! He'd be hammered.
“I want you to call me when you're ready to come home. No ands ifs or buts about it. Call me. It's bad enough you've probably shaved off years of life from your liver, I'm not having you risk your neck trying to get back here on your own, got it memorized?” Axel tapped his temple with a finger. When Luxord waved his hand idly and began to leave Axel called back to him, “Repeat it back to me. I want to hear you say what I just said. I want to know that you're going to call.”
“Fine! I'll call you when I want to come back.” Luxord pulled out his phone, “See look! You're #1 on my speed dial.” He tapped his phone screen.
“All right. Good. Now drive safe…”
“I'll see you two later.” Then Luxord rushed out the door before Axel could stop him once more.
With a sigh, Axel slid back down to sit more comfortably on the couch. As he did so he heard Demyx behind him, “I'm gonna go upstairs and change; I'll be down in a sec.” Then the sound of him romping up the stairs rang out.
Axel once again reached for his book. He hadn't noticed, but he'd set it down on the stack that Namine had lent Demyx. Quite suddenly, he felt his interest spark and he moved the book to his lap; certainly one look wouldn't hurt. Picking up the pile he started to sift through the disks, examining the artist and genres. It only took him three CDs to figure out that most of the artists were girls: Natasha Bedingfield, Gwen Stefani, and Vanessa Carlton. After going through the rest he found that while many of them were girl singer, there were a few boy bands in there too.
“Huh.” He voiced more in interest than in question as he set aside the CDs. All that was left was the book and the movie, “The Nightrunner Series... By Lynn Flewelling.” He spoke the title and name aloud. It sounded relatively interesting just because of the uniqueness of the writer's name. Opening the book, he flipped through it idly before setting it aside as well, “In & Out? But this is-”
“Axel?”
The DVD fell from Axel's hand, his heart leaping into his throat. Turning quickly, Axel looked up at Demyx guiltily. The musician had a quizzical look on his face; obviously, he'd not noticed yet that Axel had been looking through his things but he suspected something. There was no way Axel could hide what he was doing now though. Demyx was now right behind the couch and his eyes were scanning over the scene. When his eyes landed on the DVD on the floor, fear flashed across his face and he instantly stepped back.
“Demyx wait-!” Nearly throwing himself over the back of the couch, Axel snagged Demyx by the wrist.
“No! Let me go!” Tearing free, the teenager made a break for the door, but Axel jumped over the couch and caught the door before it opened wide enough for Demyx to slip through. There was a moment's struggle, Demyx fighting to get out and Axel trying to keep him in. However, the resistance ceased with the sound of the door finally clicking shut and Demyx huddled against the cool wood.
An arm to either side of Demyx's body, Axel trapped him against the door and his body, “Demyx… It's okay, I-“
“No! It's not okay! I'm a fag! A goddamn fairy!” Demyx struck the door angrily with a fist. His voice growing tight and stained, “Why do I have to be this way?! I don't want to like men! Why can't I just be normal like everyone else?” Turning away from the door, Demyx wrapped his arms around Axel's waist.
“Shhh. There's nothing wrong with you.” Placing an arm around the teenager, he used the other to stroke his head, “Being different is what makes us normal.”
“You're only saying that because you're brother's a queer too! What if he'd been normal too?! Would you have ever been Luxord's friend?! Would you be saying something different now?! You're so stupid and ignorant, just because you say that it's okay doesn't mean that everyone else thinks that way!” Despite his harsh words, he just held on tighter to Axel. His words were now muffled by the material of Axel's shirt.
“What does it matter? I'm saying you're fine just the way you are right now and I won't say anything different in this lifetime.”
“It matters because… My mother- I never got to tell her… What would she think of me now? Now I'll never get to know if she'd have loved me for me- Why did she have to die? Why, just when I needed her the most? She never even told me that she was sick.” He choked and for a moment his voice died before coming back anew with bitter anger, “I thought that they were only migraines, that her memory was just failing because she was stressed and getting older… I didn't know that she was dying of cancer… She never told me! How was I supposed to know?”
“Sometimes when we're hurting, we don't tell others because we don't want them to have to share the pain too. I'm sure she just wanted the last days she had with you to be as normal and happy as they always had been. She didn't mean to make you cry or leave things unanswered; it was just her time to go.” Axel tenderly brushed back Demyx's hair. All of the things he said, he could never be certain were true but they were all the explanation he had. Even if he didn't know Demyx's mother, he was learning how these things worked with the help of his two friends and from what they'd said his reasoning why was as good as any.
“But if she'd just told me… I would've at least had her to help me through it. I'm still growing up, I don't know everything yet.”
“And you never will; no one ever stops learning. I know that death isn't fair, and I know that it hurts a lot right now, but blaming your mother for how you feel right now isn't going to make things better. I'm sure she tried her best to help you understand, but some things you have to learn on your own- Like how to let go.” Demyx tipped his head back a little to look up at him, and Axel gently wiped the tears away from his face, “Everything's going to be all right, okay?” Leaning down, Axel placed a kiss on Demyx's forehead. For a moment, there was a flicker of the strange look Demyx had given him back at his house by the coast, but then it faded into a shy smile. Mutely, Demyx gave a nod and rested his head back on Axel again.
“Um… I'm… Sorry for being so emotional and dumb all the time.” Murmured Demyx.
“Don't worry about it; I've had worse run-ins with you the first week you came. I think I prefer being cried on than getting the silent treatment any day.”
Demyx laughed a little before pulling back, “Um… Thanks for being here for me.”
“Anytime. So you wanted to watch that movie, right? If you want to watch it now, I don't have anything else planned for today.” He offered making his way back to the couch and picking up the DVD.
“Yeah, I'd like that.” Admitted Demyx returning to the couch, taking a seat on the couch as Axel put the disk into the player and turned on the TV. When Axel sat down beside him, all too close, Demyx bowed his head and blushed, “Um… You're not… Uncomfortable are you?”
In response, Axel put an arm around him and pulled Demyx as close as humanly possible, “Not at all.” He couldn't hide the delight in his voice. All that worrying he'd gone through today had been his over overactive imagination. As far as Axel was concerned now, Demyx was all his.
R~i~i~i~ing
Axel let out a sigh. It was dark in the house now and Demyx had already gone to bed. Being the type to go to sleep early, it sure was late enough: eleven-thirty a.m. The call was an hour and thirty minutes late. Picking up the phone, he answered, knowing all too well that it was Luxord on the other end.
“Where the hell have you been?” Axel growled.
There was a long silence, “Oh… my… god… You won't believe wha happened.”
“Try me.” Axel crossed an ankle over his knee and leaned back. It sounded like he was drunk; he only needed to speak one sentence for Axel to tell this.
“A'right… So I, um, went out and for a while I was hangin' around a coffee shop… Just drinking tea because it wasn't late enough for me to do anything, but… Well after that I went to a club, I must'a been there for a long time but I don't remember much. I… Then I- Then I went to a bar to get some drinks and I met up with- Wai- Hey, I was talkin' on that.” Luxord's voice faded curiously. From the dialogue someone must have taken the phone from him, “I- I was-“
Then another voice came over the phone, “I can see that you were, but I told you to lay down before you hurt yourself. Put this rag over your forehead-“
“Ah! H-hey! That- That's cold, like i~ce.” Hissed Luxord in only mild complaint before he laughed, “Come `ere, I don't wanna lay all by myself.”
“Oh behave.” There was a soft ruffling sound before the voice became crystal clear and Axel could swear he recognized it, “Hello? I'm sorry but Luxord is a bit drunk right now. I'll see to it that he calls you back tomorrow once he's feeling better. May I ask who's calling?”
Axel thought a long moment, “Um… This is Axel- I… Is this- Oh my god! Professor?!”
“Oh, shit… I have to go.”
CLICK
Axel sat a moment, gaping as he listened to the dial-tone. He let Luxord out of his sight for a few hours and he'd somehow sniffed out the only guy in the city that he desired. What were the chances of that happening? After a moment a smile crept onto his face; it was likely Luxord was too drunk to try anything. That man would never hear the end of this one.
 
 
Sorry it's a little late, but to make up for it it's another longer chapter.
Oh and to explain Demyx's reaction at being found out by Axel (because there really wasn't a place to put it in the chapter). This is based off of my own personal experiences. I find that whenever I have something really important to say, it's always easiest to tell people I don't know as well, like friends. However, when it comes to family or the center of affection it seems ten times harder to tell them because what they think means so much more. That's why Demyx didn't have a problem Namine knowing about his orientation and literally freaked when Axel saw the DVD. (Also, `In & Out' is a real show just like `Fear Nothing' is a real book. I haven't seen the movie but I really want to because it sounds really good from what I've heard.)
So the `Unfinished Song' in here is mine, I know, I never cease to amaze you. However, I'm having difficulty finishing it, hence the unfinished part. We'll see if I can get it done before the fic is over.
 
By the way, on a scale of 1-10 how annoying is it that Axel and Demyx haven't even kissed yet and we're on chapter 12?
(10 being `WTF?! Why the hell aren't they together yet?! I want to stab you 74 times with a butcher knife, slice your throat, cut off all your fingers, gouge your eyes out, and set you on fire!' And 1 being `I don't mind at all, I enjoy the fluff and character development.')