Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ To catch a falling star ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

 

Demyx had been going up to this roof for over a week now, ever since they had all moved in. He'd felt drawn there.

 

He just couldn't help it, he'd always loved high places.

 

Even at the old house, he would sit in the highest room, just gazing out at the ocean for hours on end. The young musician missed the salty breezes that used to blow in across the sea, the fresh air that washed all the worries of life away.

 

But he'd traded the ocean he loved for a sea of stars and, he guessed that it wasn't so bad in the end. Demyx could get just as lost up there as he did when gazing out into those endless blue depths. The sky was just as beautiful as the sea he loved.

 

So here he was, laying out on the roof of their new home, gazing up into a sky awash with stars, roof tiles firmly embedding themselves in his back. The moon not yet arisen to bleach out the sky and the tiny pricks of light million's of miles away.

 

This place had swiftly become Demyx little bit of peace - his refuge. Apparently, he had a habit, or so they told him, of finding calm in the oddest of things - it seemed fairly normal to him though.

 

The ocean had its teasing breezes, its rich swathes of colour and changing moods, the epic swell's to the lulling waves rolling ashore. The sky, is a thousand pinpricks of light in a blanket of velvety darkness, an endless oblivion that is enormous, and yet comforting in its vastness.

 

Would you believe that, in all these years, he'd very rarely looked up? Demyx had never realized what he'd been missing in all this time. A sea of stars so long and wide that it covered your vision from horizon to horizon. Who wouldn't get lost up there?

 

Living with two brothers could sometimes get a little - intense - and he found some degree of refuge up here. Cloud's was his eldest brother, he'd been out working since he was eighteen; he'd be twenty six next month, you'll never meet a more stoic man than Cloud.

 

Leon, Cloud's boyfriend, had been with them for at least eight years now. The two have been dating since they'd left home when they turned eighteen. Leon could rival Cloud for stoicism but, when he saw them together, they made him smile. They weren't big on public displays of affection, but it was the little things that Demyx would sometimes catch them doing. It showed how much they loved each other, soft words, small smiles and gentle glances.

 

That's just how they were.

 

There Mom and Dad had never minded; the eldest Strife's were always professing that, as long as there children were happy, they didn't mind what they chose for themselves. They're pretty liberal that way. Well, it's kinda backfired now. Demyx couldn't see any grandkids in their future, could you? But hey, that's what they chose and he was happy that they were happy - although they were rather noisy about it, even if they didn't show it in public!

 

Then there's Roxas; he's was Demyx's youngest brother. He'd turned eighteen a few weeks ago. He's at university right now, same as him, studying for his degree in Art and Design.

That's how he met Axel.

 

Axel's has been one of his closest friends for what felt like forever. Demyx didn't really remember how they'd met - he thought they were, what would be labelled, the misfits of their class at school and it just seemed right for them to be together, you know how that is right?

 

Axel always starts the mischief and Demyx always gets in trouble for it. As fiery in temperament as his spiky red locks would suggest, a more loyal friend he could never hope for. Axel was honest to the point of bluntness and had a sense of humour that had everyone chuckling.

 

Roxas and Axel didn't meet until recently because he and Axel had been at a different high school. Demyx's Mom had died a long time ago and, after a while, she had chosen to remarry. His mother hadn't wanted to make Demyx change schools after everything that had happened, she didn't want to move him in the middle of the school year, plus the fact that she was worried what would happen to Demyx without Axel nearby. Axel had really helped him when he'd needed it most.

 

After Dad died the world just... didn't feel the same. Demyx missed him something fierce. He'd always gotten on well with his Father, they had been very close. But he had a new family and plenty of friends around to keep him grounded.

 

It wasn't quite so simple then.

 

So, it was arranged that he would room with Axel until graduating from high school. Demyx didn't get to see his new family much then, it was quiet a distance to travel for short visits.

 

Axel was often away during holidays and, it seemed, any time Demyx was going home. He always invited the redhead if he was staying around for holidays, but he was often working or had things to get done. It really worried the musician for a while.

 

They decided, Demyx and his two brothers, to live together when he came up to go to University. It saved them a lot of money on expenses. Axel chose to come to go to the same place as he had, Hollow Bastion University. The campus was near to where both of Demyx's brothers were living. It is also the same place his lil' brother would be attending next year. Though Demyx is two years older than Roxas, the smaller blond had skipped a grade when he was younger. He's far too smart for his own good, though he's still a kid at heart most of the time.

 

Demyx never really understood why Axel never wanted to come with him when he visited home or, when he did, he would visit other friends and avoid their house like the plague. Demyx got used to it eventually, and just presumed it made Axel uncomfortable for some reason or another.

 

Axel's family aren't exactly close.

 

It was pretty rare that you could broach a subject like that with Axel. Sure, it was fine for him to be blunt to the point of rudeness but, turn the tables, and he disappeared as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. That or he'd knock you for six, and change the subject whether it was finished or otherwise.

Sometimes Demyx's best friend was a mystery even to him.

 

Roxas is the only person Demyx knew that Axel would try to open up to, even the intensely personal stuff that Axel would never talk about with Demyx was discussed with his brother.

 

Then everything changed, thanks to Roxas.

 

Axel changed after he met Roxas again. They'd moved up to Radiant Garden over the summer before they started at HBU. Axel came over for Roxas's seventeenth birthday party and, well, he never really left.

 

Axel became a permanent fixture in their house. It wasn't long after that that Demyx caught him watching Roxas, not in a weird way before you make that face! Axel looked happy just to lean in the kitchen doorway and watch him doing his homework at the table, peaceful in a way Demyx had never seen before.

 

It puzzled him at first, and then, everything started to lock into place. It was like that moment when you find the puzzle piece that links all the others together - a revelation he supposed. All because Axel had caught Demyx, watching him, watching Roxas.

 

The blush that had stained Axel's cheeks was brighter than his wild red mane. Well, that just gave it away. He was embarrassed at being caught doing something he thought he shouldn't be. But, Demyx could see from the looks he gave Roxas that this was more than just a crush. He didn't think he'd ever seen Axel look so content before - or so flustered. It made the musician laugh, amused by watching him stew under his gaze.

 

Demyx couldn't suppress his quiet laugher at Axel's reactions, that's how he'd caught him - Axel was just so raw and open. It was nothing like his normally closed off persona. How was it that Demyx had missed it, it was right there, clear as day?

 

Once Axel realised that he knew what the redhead was up to, he'd told him everything. Which, for Axel, was unusual, the man always played his cards pretty close to his chest, it proved, in Demyx's mind, just how much he cared about his lil' brother.

 

Axel had fallen head over heels when he'd seen him for the first time. Apparently, Roxas had been visiting, helping him with some schoolwork one day back when he and Axel were in the final year of school. It seemed that the impression had stuck, even though they hadn't really talked to each other.

 

That was just over a year ago.

 

Love at first site - who'd have thought it, especially of Axel. It's not like him and yet it strikes the least suspecting - or so they say.

 

Axel had been avoiding the house because he had been nervous and embarrassed - a particularly lethal combination in my dear friend. Axel being nervous and jittery flared his temper something awful.

 

So, once he felt he was ready, it took him nearly half a year to pluck up the nerve. Axel started trying to court Demyx's younger brother - hilarity ensued. He'd never seen someone so effectively bring out Roxas's violent streak.

 

Poor Axel did everything he could think of, but ended up bruised and battered for his efforts. It didn't help that Axel came off as being a bit on the arrogant side and, apparently, an absolute pervert for Roxas. Which is what Roxas always said irritated him the most, when Demyx had asked him about it.

 

Roxas, being Roxas, didn't want anything to do with, in his words, 'the arrogant pervert', whom we all call Axel. But, through sheer persistence and the eventual confession of affection and, over time, love for the short blond tempest Demyx called brother, it finally paid off.

 

Roxas gave in and they've been happy ever since.

 

Axel told Demyx once that part of what had brought Roxas around was when he'd come to visit him after finding out that his, 'lil' blondie' was sick.

 

Roxas had been asleep in his room, Axel had pleaded with Cloud to let him go up and check on him. Demyx had never seen, nor heard of Axel begging anyone for anything; he imagined that it was probably quite the sight. Cloud relented eventually, Demyx was sure he'd dragged it out on purpose, thought that would very un-Cloud like. Axel had been allowed to go upstairs to sit with Roxas whilst he slept.

 

Now Roxas, when sleeping, has a horrible habit of grabbing onto the things. He latched onto Axel's arm without realizing in his unconsciousness, successfully preventing Axel from leaving. Demyx knew that Rox would cuss up a storm when he awoke to find Axel that close. He'd think he'd been molested in his sleep or something daft like that. Roxas is smart, but sometimes really dumb.

 

Cloud had come upstairs to check on them and found them both asleep. Axel propped up rather precariously on the edge of the bed, trying to be the gentleman.

 

Roxas had told Demyx once that he had woken up to find Cloud leaning in the doorway with Leon's arms wrapped around his middle. Roxas said that the look on Cloud's face was something he'd always remember, not the familiar frown, but a warm contentment, and he said that he'd looked happy.

 

Roxas talks a lot when he's drunk. He didn't think he would have heard any of this if Roxas hadn't been. Cloud and Roxas are so much alike, reserved, guarded and wary of other's.

 

Demyx guessed that he made up for that.

 

Roxas said he'd given Cloud the look, that quirked eyebrow he got when he was saying, “Well - get lost would you.” They left, leaving Roxas to snuggle up with Axel, instead of just his arm and falling asleep again.

 

Axel had woken later, completely unaware of anything that had happened whilst he had been asleep, finding Roxas pressed up against his chest, arms firmly laced around his middle, head resting over his heart.

 

Demyx remembered walking past their door and seeing that smile on Axel's face as he gently brushed the hair from Roxas's cheeks. It felt good to see them like that, Axel's never more content than when he's with Roxas. Though, they do love to tease eachother in something akin to all out war. But, to each there own.

 

Cloud, Roxas and he had been together for a long time now; even when Demyx was away at school, he'd tried to visit as much as possible. He was never more than an hour's bus ride away. He acknowledged the fact that they hadn't always gotten along. The early years were hard on all of them he thought - though Mom and Dad were happy. But its fine now, otherwise living together really wouldn't have worked out. But they figured, once Axel and he had returned to Radiant Garden, they'd need a bigger house.

 

Mom and Dad departed on a round-the-world safari/cruise, leaving us to fend for themselves with the money they'd left for their tuition.

 

They lived in Cloud's too small apartment for a short time. He'd bought it with the money he'd earned since leaving home to stay with Leon. Mom and Dad left he and Roxas money as well, so they'd pooled together their funds, figuring they would have enough to pay their way through University and squeeze out just enough to get a larger house.

 

They moved in to this house a week ago, after house hunting for months, living under each other's feet whilst trying to attend University and school. It was pretty nightmarish.

 

Now, here he was on the roof again, contemplating the past and the future.

 

Well, more like his life was rolling by without him. Demyx felt lonely. Seeing the others together all the time made something inside him, ache, and he couldn't always ignore it. He was happy for them all, but being around them, could sometimes be physically destroying. Demyx wanted what they had; he craved it with every fibre of his being - to be happy.

 

He could hear a faint shuffling sound against the tiles over by the window he had exited through to get up here, it seemed Demyx was to have some company in his quest for solitude.

 

"Hey Dem, mind if I join you for a bit?"

 

The question was silly really, considering Axel would likely join him whether he wanted company or not.

 

But there was something about Axel's voice, he sounded down, which spiked concern for his friend. It went against his fiery temperament to be sad, and Demyx figured, from previous experience, that either Roxas was busy or they'd had a fight. More than likely it was the latter.

 

Sometimes he wondered about the two of them. They seemed to enjoy sniping and picking on each other, as much as they liked to be spend time just being with eachother. Then one would go too far and they'd sulk, until whoever was in the wrong apologized.

 

"Pull up a tile, Axel." He parked it on the other side of the roof , doing much the same as Demyx was doing, absently staring up into oblivion.

 

A comfortable silence stretched out across the rooftop, he could feel Axel relaxing. Sometimes Axel is very, what's the word, volatile? He was rarely still for long periods. But, every now and then, he needed to blow off some steam. He always used to gravitate to Demyx for that, he said that there was always an air of calm around him that he found relaxing, it helped him think.

 

Axel seemed to find that same calm around Roxas, but if they were fighting he'd always come and see him. Demyx thought that it helped Axel to be around calm people, it gave him time to figure stuff out. Though Demyx loved his brother dearly, sometimes Roxas was just as bad as Axel - two very quirky peas in a pod. He often came to him for the same reason.

 

Demyx was the laid back one among their group of friends, always good for a laugh, never having any worries, always good at being company without needing to poke and prod about what was the matter, unless it really counted. But even he had problems and unfortunately he very rarely get to voice them. He wasn't complaining, but it would be nice to have someone to share with.

 

Now that Axel's was up here he wondered if the redhead would kill him for asking about his relationship with Roxas. He'd always been tight lipped about that particular subject. Demyx didn't want to bug him, but he really wanted to know what it was like - to have what they had together.

 

It was just like Leon and Cloud, they just seem to fit. It's natural for them to be together. And Demyx wouldn't dare ask his older brother, he would likely just ignore him, not comfortable with answering such a question. He really hated personal conversations like that, those kinds of things are private and not for public ears in his mind and Leon's too.

 

But Demyx wanted to know, need to.

 

He decided quickly, much was his want; he was going to ask him.

 

"Hey, Axel?" Demyx could hear the tentative question pass his lips, his voice shaking just the smallest bit.

 

"Hmm... what do you want, Dem?" Axel sounded calm enough, maybe he wouldn't wallop him one for being curious.

 

"Can I ask you something?" He could feel the tremble course across his skin, as he tried to decide how to phrase the next part of his question. His hand drift up to lay across his eyes, he could feel the beginnings of warmth spreading across his cheeks and he needed the extra defence if Axel tried to end his curiosity with a well placed hand.

 

"Even if I said no, you'd still ask - so what is it?" Axel sounded resigned to answering Demyx query and that made him feel a little better. He just hope he wouldn't be mad at him or storm off.

 

"Do you love Roxas?"

 

The profuse spluttering that he heard coming from the other side of the roof made him want to hide the slight quirk of his lips that Axel wouldn't see in the dark. He didn't think he'd ever heard Axel at a loss for words to the point of making such funny sounds. Demyx could feel the heat radiating from Axel from where he was on the other side of the roof. Demyx would bet Axel had turned at least three different shades of red already, whilst trying to control his coughing fit.

 

To be honest, his own cheeks held a significant amount of colour too, he could feel the warmer spot's of skin against his forearms as they rested across his face. He knew he was treading on awkward ground but, he needed this. Demyx didn't like asking such forthright questions about something so private, but whom else could he ask? Axel was his oldest friend.

 

It sounded like the coughing fit had stopped, and he could hear Axel's voice drifting over the roof peak, "I... uh... um ... what... aww, hell... yes Dem, I do. Why do you ask such an odd question anyways? You know I care about him." His voice sounded a bit hesitant, curious and a bit rough with what Demyx could guess was embarrassment.

 

"I wanted to know what that was like is all. I've never been in love with someone before." Demyx could hear the curiosity in his own voice, the slight hitch that signified that he was getting rather emotional about the subject. He could feel it in the pit of his belly, as it churned nervously as all the hairs on his body stood on end.

 

Demyx wondered if Axel could hear his emotions when he spoke as clearly as he could his. He could hear a quiet rustle of cloth against tile. Demyx knew Axel was rolling over to look over the peak of the roof at him and he didn't dare look up. Axel wouldn't really be able to see him in the dark, but still, he was too embarrassed to let Axel see him. It would only make it worse. Demyx could feel Axel's stare digging into the top of his head.

 

"You're my friend Axel. Y- you're the only person I could ask. I'm s... sorry for irritating you." In truth, he'd been thinking about it for so long that finally getting Axel alone, without Roxas, he couldn't have resisted asking the redhead if he'd tried.

 

"A... Axel - what does it feel like to love?" Demyx didn't really know if he had heard his question. Axel was being so quiet, but it wasn't a tense quiet as Demyx might have thought it would be. More a soothing silence as though they were both deeply engrossed in their thoughts. He glanced back over his shoulder, trying to see if he could locate those very prominent spikes of Axel's against the darkness.

 

Demyx could hear him settling back against the roof tiles, another quiet rustle of cloth was heard before he could hear that familiar voice speak softly, "Like you could touch the stars." Axel's voice sounded so content and soft - almost reverent.

 

The blond haired musician could tell he was thinking about Roxas when he said that, not really realizing that he'd spoken so tenderly. Demyx thought that he might have realized when he heard Axel shift restlessly against some of the loose roofing tiles on the other side. Demyx considered the idea that if he'd been next to him, Axel probably would have bolted by now; that would be just like him. To uncomfortable with the subject but not able to deny his friend the answers he asked for. Demyx settled back more comfortably against the roof, feeling the tiles bight through the cloth of his navy blue t-shirt and into his skin.

 

Demyx wasn't expecting Axel to say anything else but, as always, he surprised him.

 

"But, at the same time it makes you feel vulnerable, Dem. They hold your heart in their hands, but you hold theirs too. You love them all the more for it. Does that make sense?"

 

Demyx could tell that Axel really wanted him to get it, he was trying to explain it to him but because he'd never felt like that before, he just couldn't. But Demyx wanted to, so much that he could feel a pain in his chest, like iron fingers wrapping around his heart and squeezing. Demyx had known for a while that he was hurting inside. The normally bubble young musician felt empty and lonely, but he always managed to hide it from everyone else. Now he wondered whether he hadn't hidden it as well as he'd thought.

 

Demyx wanted, so desperately, to know what it felt like to truly touch the stars. If nothing else, seeing Axel and Roxas together and Cloud with Leon, made him realize the true depth of his own loneliness.

 

He couldn't ever begrudge them their happiness. They fit so well together, but at times he was jealous of that closeness, it was something they all shared. Demyx remembered catching Axel and Roxas once, asleep on the couch. Axel had come over to watch a movie with Roxas and, instead, the two had both fallen asleep entwined together. He didn't think they'd ever realised that he was there. Demyx could see they were both content in each other's arms. He wanted to know that feeling, he wanted to know that kind of love, so much.

 

"Thanks Axel - sorry for springing a question like that on you out of the blue. I just... needed to know. You know?" Demyx's voice had quieted down to a whisper, the hitch slowly subsiding, but Axel heard him anyway.

 

"Yeah - I know."

 

Axel's acceptance of his curiosity was one of the reasons he was such a great friend, even if he was emotionally stunted at times. Demyx let the quiet laugh that bubbled up escape his lips at that thought. Axel may not believe it of himself but, he is a very loyal and caring person.

Demyx respected him for that.

 

A comfortable lull settled over the roof again. Demyx reached his hand out, finger's splayed wide as he watched the star's through them before a sudden idea caught his wondering thoughts. He moved his hand into a pincer like shape, trying to catch a star between the tips of his fingers, as though he could capture the spinning ball of energy.

 

He lay there wondering about his life, would he ever be able to find the one that was just for him? Would he be lucky enough to find the person that would turn his world upside down?

 

Kami, he hoped so.

 

He glanced over at the sudden light that spilled out from one of the windows in the house across the street. Demyx could see a shadow moving around inside the room against the closed blind's, the light hallowing the figure so they appeared as a shadow against the light coloured material.

 

He wondered idly who lives there. Demyx hadn't seen anyone in the week since he and his brothers had moved in, but maybe the person worked strange hours or something. Maybe he'd go and say hello to them tomorrow. It's always good to know your neighbours.

 

The light at the window overlooking the rooftop came on and, turning to look, Demyx could see a familiar shadow. He'd know that silhouette anywhere.

 

Roxas had come to find the wayward Axel. "Axel - I think you're wanted."

 

Demyx heard him grunt in response from the other side of the roof as his lanky friend got up to leave. The rustling of clothing shifting paused for a moment and he could hear the quiet tenor of Axel's voice drifting to his ears. "Dem, you will find it one day, that star you're searching for."

 

Demyx laid there for a moment, contemplating that thought, a small smile slowly tilting his lips. He didn't see Axel stride silently across the roof without a backward glance, dropping down onto the sill and sliding into the house to meet Roxas. Demyx was left with a tumble of thoughts and a new appreciation for his fiery friend.

 

He could hear Axel and Roxas mumbling together but chose to turn back to the stars, giving them their privacy. Maybe tomorrow would be the day? But, even if it isn't, Axel was right.

 

Demyx would find it - however long he'd need to wait, it would happen - someday.

 

00-00-00

 

On the other side of the window in the small corridor containing the roof access window a silent red head faced off with a quiet blonde.

 

"So... what's wrong with, Dem? He's been quieter lately," the blond spoke in a whisper so as to insure the object of their conversation couldn't hear him.

 

"Nothing - it's nothing, Rox. Just leave him be." Axel's voice, although just as quiet, was laden with emotions, it sounded heavy. It was clear that Axel was thinking about something and, whether they were arguing or not, Roxas wanted to know what was causing it.

 

"Axel, he's my brother. Tell me what's bothering him...mmphf," Roxas's voice was a quiet growl, but the sound was suddenly muffled by cloth as Axel pulled him forward, crushing Roxas to him.

 

Roxas was startled by the sudden embrace but he didn't resist, feeling the tension in his partner's body as he was pulled as close as he could possibly be to the redhead without him being physically melted into his skin.

 

Axel wrapped his toned arms around Roxas drawing the shorted blond into the lee between's his long legs. He needed to be close, he felt a burgeoning sadness filling his chest and he didn't like it, not one bit.

 

"Axel? What's the matter?" Roxas's voice came out as a trembling whisper, "Axel?" A gentle tug on Axel's sleeve was all he could manage with his arms practically pinned to his sides; it was enough to draw that stunning emerald gaze down to his own sky blue.

 

Axel released his tight grip just enough to let Roxas breathe, leaning down and nuzzling into the collar of Roxas's shirt, absorbing his warmth and the rich smell of vanilla. He let his lips brush along Roxas' skin as he told him what he wanted to know, that ache filling his words, "He's lonely, Rox. And I think, sometimes, we all make it worse. He wanted to know what it was like to... love someone."

 

A shiver ghosted down Axel's spine at his almost confession as he turned his face from Roxas's throat, staring at the brown carpeted floor. He very rarely gave voice to those words, but he was trying with Roxas, it was one of the few ways to make the small blond haired man see what he meant to him.

 

Roxas shifted, shrugging off Axel's arms, reaching a hand up to turn Axel's face to his, to look him in the eyes that he loved far too much. He ran his thumb tenderly across Axel's sharp jaw line, until he could pinch Axel's chin between thumb and forefinger's, tugging gently to draw Axel down to him. Roxas's placed a chaste kiss against thin lips and then pressed their foreheads together, eye's never parting from their steady gaze.

 

Axel could see the smile touching the corners of Roxas lips and could feel the tingle of his skin where he'd been so tenderly touched. He felt that ache in his chest ease, Roxas's warmth spilling forth to fill the hollowness that had made him feel so desperate for touch - connection.

 

Roxas's lips quirked into an almost wicked smile as he watched Axel's jewel like orb's lighten, the frown that had furrowed his brow slipping away, "Then we are going to have to help Demy find out what it is to love - won't we, Axel?"

 

"Yes - we will." Axel's lips shifted into his trademark grin, the momentary lapse into such weighty thoughts and feelings slipping away. He stared down at the brother of his best friend and reached out a hand to tug him back into his grasp - all fighting forgotten for the pleasure of having eachother.