Kingdom Hearts 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

**Rated T for language**

_Golden eyes reminiscent of two glowing full moons brimmed with tears that threatened to spill over onto full blushing cheeks. Those eyes Xemnas loved so much were staring at him with an intensity that could rival the heat of his mommy's hair iron and he hated it._

_"Do you halfta go?" Small, sweaty, pudgy hands gripped Xemnas' own. "Don't go! I won't let you!" The yellow-eyed boy jumped up and down in frustration._

_"I halfta go. My daddy says…" Xemnas let his large orange eyes wander from his friends face to the gum covered tar mat of the playground. The sun was unbearable, it beat down on his neck as he felt himself try to edge away from those _wonderfully_** awful** yellow eyes that bore into the marrow of his bones._

_"Your daddy's an idiot!" Saix threw his rage-fueled words like throwing knives._

_"No he's not! Take it back!" Sun kissed hands pushed against porcelain skin and for a moment the beauty of the contrast made Xemnas stop mid-push. It reminded him of that yin yang symbol his mommy explained to him the other day. Two sides of the same coin, one ceasing to exist without the other. Xemnas wondered if he could live without Saix; his yin. Every fiber of his being told him that he couldn't. Xemnas' wonderings gave Saix enough time to shove the orange-eyed boy's hands away._

_"You're not allowed to go! You're my best friend." Tears tumbled from those lovely golden eyes and ripped at Xemnas' heart as if it were tissue paper._

_"Don't cry. Don't cry! Saiiii." The silver haired boy took hold of his companion's shoulders and shook him till the long blue locks framing his friend's face shook with him._

_Saix nodded and wiped his tears away as quickly as they came._

_"I brought you something. Don't cry, okay?"_

_Xemans dug his fingers into grungy lint ridden, crayon crusted pockets and took out a handful of small sky blue flowers with sun like centers. He wiggled one out of the tangled bunch and stood by the tips of his toes to put one in his friend's hair. "There! You're pretty now Sai!" Xemnas took one more flower and shoved the rest back into the depths of his pockets. He took the plant and tied it around Saix right ring finger._

_"Now you can't forget me! Cause they're forget-me-knots. 'kay?"_

_Saix sniffed loudly, pulling a stream of milky yellow mucus back into his nose._

_"I won't forget."_

_"Good."_

_Xemnas opened his arms and let Saix crash into him. As they hugged, Xemnas couldn't help but dig his face into Saix's tangled mess of brilliant blue hair and gladly inhaled his sent of mint, ocean water, and dirt from their backyard adventure yesterday. He smiled to himself and swallowed the knot forming in his throat when Saix finally let him go._

_"Bye Xem."_

_With a nod Xemnas turned and went to go look for his father._

Xemnas promptly bit his tongue. Forget-me-knots? Why not just get down on his knee and marry the boy! If the whole Goddamn town didn't know he was gay it would be a miracle. Thinking back on his farewell to Saix made the silver-haired teen want to chuck babies; and contrary to popular belief Xemnas loves babies. Babysitting for the neighbors will do that for a person. Children have a habit of growing on you like some sort of fungi. But back to the horribly cliché, cringe inducing flashback...

The orange-eyed man set the picture that brought back such a buried memory face down on his nightstand. He heaved a heavy sigh and dug into his pockets for his ancient dinosaur tooth like cell phone. He flipped it open and dialed the number he had so long ago ingrained in his fingers. He put it hesitatingly to his ear, his heart thumping wildly. The phone rang and he almost hung up. The stress was burning at his fingers and making his arms tingle in ways limbs shouldn't be able to tingle. The phone clicked and the sounds of rustling echoed into Xemnas' ears. He felt his heart climb into his mouth and quickly swallowed it back into his chest.

"Hello?" The voice was much deeper then Xemnas' remembered it. It was smoother now. Nice and silky, it reminded Xemnas of rich chocolate cake.

"Hey! It's me, Xemnas."

There were footsteps in response, the sound of a door opening and closing, more static and cloth shuffling around. "Hey Xem. I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. It's my fault. I'm moving back to Twilight Town. You still live there?" The silver haired man silently applauded himself for having so much _tact_ and **grace**. He might as well have been a boulder rolling down a pumpkin patch; he surely had the social graces of one. It's not like he abandoned his best friend for 10 years and was now about to ask for a favor; it was _nothing_ like that. At least that's what Xemnas told himself.

The sound of Saix swallowing echoed over the phone and made Xemnas shiver. "Yeah. Same house."

"I was hoping you could help me move boxes into the new house." So I can see you again. Xemnas hoped the unspoken words were heard over the phone, where body langue and facial expressions were tools he couldn't use.

"Sure!" The unexpected excitement was quickly tethered and Xemnas couldn't help but smile. He could feel the anticipation build in Saix every pore like congealing blood. "I mean sure. Yeah, I could help you." An almost unreal calm came back to the blue-haired teen's voice. "What time should I arrive, what's your address?"

"We're moving to 105 Sunset Rd. That's your street right?"

"Yeah. That's across the street from me." Xemnas' could hear Saix growing fidgety, he always grew fidgety when he couldn't wait for something. It was nice to see some things don't change.

"Really? I'm glad to know I'll have someone I know nearby." Because deep down the silver-haired teen knew him and Saix were no longer truly friends. Time has that sort of effect on relationships. The thought made Xemnas clutch his stomach as a gnawing, burning pain erupted there.

"Yeah…"

"I'll see you tomorrow at 10:00 then? Or is that too early?"

"No, it's fine. I'll see you then."

Xemnas heard Saix flip his phone shut and just like that the call was over. Saix never was all too good with the concept of saying bye.

The teenager ran sun-kissed hands through gleaming silver locks as he sighed in frustration. It had been 10 years since Xemnas had last seen Saix and 6 months since he last spoke to him. The orange-eyed boy hadn't meant to lose such an important friend; he enjoyed Saix's company with every fiber of his being and then some. He just wasn't good with phones, or long distance communication in general. He hadn't talked to his aunt Clara in over three years. That didn't mean he didn't love her any less.

He had grown up with Saix till they were 7, and then his father dragged him away from Twilight Town and all the known world for that matter to go buy a small home in the middle of rural Dalmasca. Most people didn't even know Dalmasca had a rural anything. It was always known for their humongous skyscraper ridden capital.

When Xemnas moved halfway across the world so suddenly the silver-haired boy knew he broke Saix's heart. The golden-eyed boy had been a troubled child in a troubled family stuck in a tranquil town that didn't understand what trouble was or how to deal with it. Xemnas knew he was Saix's only lifeline back then and heaven only knows how Saix was getting along without a human security blanket. Maybe he grew a pair and started defending himself against those playground bullies.

Xemnas chuckled at the thought until his mind wandered back to that alluring, seductive voice on the phone that he could never imagine Saix owning and was suddenly very aware of _how_ alluring and seductive the voice was and mentally backhanded himself for thinking that. It was his _childhood friend_ he was thinking about now, not some lady on a street corner pandering dirty pleasure for five cents. Not that a hooker deserved any less respect then Saix but still. Xemnas' thoughts were slowly beginning to disgust him so he choose to get up and finish the last of the packing that needed to be done.

It was driving him crazy actually, that he still had things to pack yet he would be sleeping in a new home tomorrow. Procrastination was never his thing. It grate on his nerves too much to leave chores and homework undone. But packing was another beast entirely. He underestimated it's power and he was now overly stressed and felt he was in way over his head. In the end he opted to throw most of his things away, all but the essentials and few pictures he couldn't bear to get rid of. Xemnas' eyes wandered back to the face down picture frame on his nightstand and he immediately let frustration flood his system. He picked up the offending picture and threw it into a box. He heard the glass of the frame crack and flinched. Just what he needed, yet another thing to buy once he got to Twilight Town. He picked up duck tape from the floor and sealed up the three large boxes scattered around his room. The fact all his possessions could fit into three boxes was an odd, humbling feeling.

The teen nudged the boxes into the hallway where his father said he would pick them up and bring them to the moving van. He stumbled back into his room and fell face first on his bare mattress. The next time he would fall sleep it would be to the sound of trains rolling by and ocean waves. He couldn't wait.

-o-

Xemnas had lied to himself. The next time he fell asleep had been to the sound of idle chatter and the roar of an airplane's engine. The plan ride was a numbing five hours, all to end up alone in Twilight Town in the dead of night. His father had been too concerned about tying up lose ends in Dalmasca to accompany his son. Xemnas was nothing more then a slight nuisance that needed to be shipped off where it couldn't bother him. The teen slouched a little at the thought of his father's complete disregard for his safety. His one lone battered beige suitcase rolled along behind him as he made his way down streets he thought he had forgotten. Strolling down the roads of Twilight Town long after the sun went down felt like home. The air, the pavement, the star sprinkled sky, enveloped him like Xemnas' imagined a mother would. He felt safe and warm and comfortable and never wanted the moment to go away yet wanted it to be gone and done with at the same time. He yearned for a bed and a shower and to just stop walking, but seeing as sleeping on the street earned people a hefty 200$ fine around here he settled for dragging his exhausted body up 29th avenue and onto Sunset road.

He subconsciously counted the houses as he concentrated on moving his legs.

_"1,3,5…5."_ The silver-haired boy marched to his new front door and quickly jammed his new key into the slot. The door opened without much fuss and he let out a huge sigh as he closed the large wooden door behind him.

The house was empty. It was unbearably empty and the sheer emptiness of it all was overwhelming. Xemnas trudged up a set of stairs placed almost on top of the front doorway and found himself in a large hallway that spilled into two bedrooms on either side of it. Turning to the right the teen dragged himself through the cursed emptiness that was just so oppressive Xemnas wasn't quite sure he had enough breath in him to make the five steps needed to get into the room, but he did and closed his door as soon as he crossed the threshold.

The silver-haired boy felt the stress of his trip melt away as his back slide down the door. Another type of stress took it's place; one that had more to do with the silence pressing in on him then anything else.

Silence had always been Xemnas' enemy. Silence made him think, it drew his thoughts out like rain draws worms from the earth. It dragged out painful thoughts that once unleashed could not be tamed. The type of thoughts that could kill a man if he let them.

Deciding it would be best to set up his sorry excuse for a sleeping bag and just shut off his mind with sleep he opened his suitcase and took out an old ratty sleeping bag along with one small pillow and an extra blanket. He smoothed his sleeping things out on the cold wooden floor, and vaguely noted that he could see his glossy reflection in the wood even in the dead of night. The orange-eyed teen was quick to lose his jeans and t-shirt as he wiggled into the sleeping bag. He lay quietly in his empty room, listening to the sound of his own breathing. He waited for sleep like a patient child would wait for his mother but sleep didn't come. In it's place was the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him if he didn't sleep now he would have a horrible time ridding himself of his jet-lag.

But sleep just wouldn't claim him. No matter how hard Xemnas shut his eyes or attempted to clear his mind he just couldn't. He was left with nothing but his gnawing thoughts and the unbearable silence that was clawing at his mind and the emptiness that just kept pressing and squeezing and wouldn't _let_ **go**.

He reached for his phone out of pure instinct. He wasn't even aware of what number he was calling until he was done dialing it. His finger hovered over the neon green send button as he looked over the numbers on the screen.

_Saix…Should I really call him now, it's late. Besides that, would he even come? I haven't exactly been the friend he's needed and I've already asked for a favor…_ But his fingers were pressing the call button and his heart seemed to agree it was the right thing to do because even as he was thinking this call was a terrible idea he couldn't help but feel the emptiness of the house ease just at the mentioning of another person.

The phone rang merrily in his ear (or at least Xemnas believed the tones to be merry, in truth they were quite monotone) and were cut off as quickly as they came in exchange for mumbled curses and shifting fabric.

"Hello?" The voice was groggy and full of contempt; it made Xemnas' resolve falter.

"Hey, Saix? This is Xemnas…"

"What? Xemnas…Xemnas!" Recognition shot through Saix like lightening and the silver-haired teen could practically hear Saix sit up. "What do you want, is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything is fine." A lie. "I'm in Twilight Town. Across the street from you actually. Can you come over?"

Xemnas could have sworn he heard Saix get out of bed. He could see him in his minds eye getting out of bed and stumbling to his dresser to find pants.

"Sure. Be there in a minute."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

The phone beeped twice and the call was over. Xemnas closed his phone with a satisfying click and he sighed. This felt right. Just like when they were children.

When Saix entered his house he felt it more then heard it. It wasn't until he heard what sounded like bare feet on wood did he know for certain that Saix was here. A six foot figure appeared in his doorway and it wasn't until then that Xemnas truly felt like he had returned home.

Golden eyes glistened in the streetlight coming through the bare windows and it brought ease into Xemnas' limbs. The emptiness of the house seemed to be gone, banished away to the cobweb ridden corners of the house, hiding from the quiet radiance that Saix seemed to not help giving off.

"Hey." That voice; **that** _voice_ without static to hinder it was a thing Xemnas couldn't help but admire. He wished his voice were silky smooth and deep like chocolate just like Saix, imagine all the girls he could attract with that voice; or guys, depending on his mood.

"Hey. I don't have any furniture."

"Oh. Really? I thought you were pulling a page out of Wonder Woman's book and got invisible furniture." It took Xemnas a minute to get past Saix monotone drawl to realize he made a joke. The minute the joke was processed in his sluggish, exhaustion ridden brain he chuckled. Saix let a smirk curve the corners of his mouth in response.

The golden-eyed man sat down next to Xemnas who was still curled up in his sleeping bag.

"Are you alright?"

God, had Saix hair always been that shiny? The boy's sky blue hair hung at his shoulders now, tuffs of hair were spiked back in layers and smoothed out as it fell to his mid-back. It looked so soft that Xemnas had half a mind to reach out and touch it just to confirm his thoughts. Halfway through his mental planning he realized that it was terrifyingly creepy to invade Saix personal space like that and scrapped the idea from his mind.

"Yeah. I'm fine. The house feels so empty. Do you know what I mean?" _I was lonely. I'm glad you came._

"Yeah. I know what you mean." _No problem Xem. I get lonely sometimes too._

Xemnas was shocked that him and Saix could still speak their secret language riddled with too much body language and not enough words. Even though the language had seemed to stay the same the messages seemed forced, as if they were both running on autopilot, or running purely on old, dusty memories. It hurt the silver-haired teen's heart in the oddest way to know they were speaking but a few broken words of a tongue that had taken so long to learn.

A silence followed that was so uncomfortable it was suffocating. The sunset-eyed teen decided it would be best to at least try to fill the night air with words. There was so much to say after all and not enough courage between the too of them to say it.

"How have you been?" That must have been a question more loaded them Xemnas thought it would be, the skin on Saix forehead wrinkled the same way the skin on his nose did and it made him look confused and…disgusted? It was hard to tell sometimes. Saix's facial expressions were often odd and difficult to pinpoint.

"I've been okay." A lie. So blatant a lie it left the two boys stunned and at a crushing loss for words.

Xemnas felt like he must have missed a cue somewhere, a falter in Saix gaze maybe, or a slight change in position, because he couldn't pick up on what Saix had really meant. All he knew was that he was in pain but that was were the message sending begun and ended. Suddenly the silver-haired boy felt defeated.

"That's good."

Another bout of silence just as oppressive as the last fell across the room.

"Hey, Saix?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me a story?" Xemnas shifted to look at Saix, his hair getting caught in static and scratchy fabric of the sleeping bag as he turned. He was met with questioning eyes and a halfhearted smirk.

"How old are you again?"

"Come on. I can't fall asleep."

_Sigh._ "Alright. You want me to tuck you in as well?"

In one swift movement Xemnas grabbed the pillow under his head and whacked Saix in the face with it, only to find the blue-haired teen's smirk had only grew.

"Relax Xem. I'll tell you your story."

Xemnas placed the pillow underneath his head and closed his eyes. This felt so _right_. It was as if they were children once more, when Xemnas could just flash a flashlight at Saix window and the boy would run into his friends backyard and climb through a window to get to Xemnas room, all so the golden-eyed boy could tell his silver-haired friend a story to help him fall asleep. They used to live in homes placed side-by-side back then. Across the street would have to do this time around.

"There once was a prince. He had long yellow hair and blue eyes like sapphires. He was the heir to a large kingdom that had wealth beyond measure." Saix slid closer to Xemnas, vaguely noticing how at peace he looked when his eyes were closed. His hair was a messy mane of tangles and static. Saix wondered what it smelled like, if his hair was still a mix of lunchables and the telltale smells of bed-wetting. Logic said it wouldn't which let the teen guess at what his friend would smell like if he just leaned in and…well there goes that idea, Xemnas' eyes opened and were drenched in a tired, hazy glaze.

"Was the Prince named Sai?"

"We can name the Prince Sai if you want."

"Sai it is then."

"The Prince, Sai, couldn't wait to become the King so he could own all of the Kingdom's wealth to do anything he pleased. He wanted to visit far off kingdoms and taste foods from all over and meet many different people, but he couldn't do that without the proper funds. He went up to his father, the proud King, and asked him what it would take for him to take his father's place. And his father said "You need the courage to face the darkest cave, the strength of the people you rule over, and the heart of one who knows the pain of love"

Saix looked down to find that Xemnas' breathing was beginning to even out, he would be asleep soon. Without thinking of his actions Saix let his hand wander to Xemnas hair and began to stroke the locks with the utmost gentleness.

"The Prince decided to collect these things right away, and set off on a journey to find them."

Saix had been right, Xemnas' breathing had lulled into something even and calm and the blue-haired teen suddenly wanted to join him in the sleeping bag. Common sense told him that would be weird and lead to a rather awkward conversation if he woke up in the process of getting in the sleeping bag. Instead the teen opted for leaning his head against the wall behind him and stroking Xemnas soft silver hair until his eyes closed and sleep claimed him as well.

Saix couldn't remember exactly when he fell asleep and he wasn't sure what had woke him up. The sun was tumbling into the room in bundles of warm light and they brought the blue-haired teen to full awareness. He looked around the barren room, slightly confused until his eyes came to the boy in the sleeping bag, who let out light snores every so often that Saix found himself smiling at. He forgot Xemnas snores.

Looking at Xemnas and being at his side made the 10 year time gap feel like nothing. It was as if they were starting where they left off. And yet it felt like they were starting all over again. Everything was familiar yet everything had changed. It was both comforting and maddening.

Saix remembered waking up next to Xemnas as children, and how Xem would say good morning by kissing his cheek. It was a tradition in Dalmasca to kiss as greeting and Xemnas mother had been Dalmascan. It was an innocent gesture back then, Saix wondered if it would still be innocent now, if his lips were to touch Xemnas cheek…

"Morning' Sai, you wanna get off me?"

Saix blushed as burning orange eyes stared at him.

"Sure, sorry…you just…had something…on your face…"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Sai."

Xemnas chuckled at Saix's scowl.

"Did you sleep okay? I didn't know you would stay. I would have shared my pillow or something."

"Yeah. My neck feels horrible but I brought it upon myself. I didn't mean to sleep here, every intention of going back home, if it wasn't for you being a man-princess."

"Yeah, well, my father should be here any minute, you should probably go home and do what you do to get ready. You don't have any shoes on."

"Amazing deduction Watson. Would you like a medal for that _brilliant_ observation?"

That statement earned Saix a whack over the head with Xemnas' pillow.

"Get your blue-ass head in the shower Saix, or I'll undress you and throw you there myself."

Xemnas watched Saix's face bloom red. It took the silver-haired man a minute to compute what he had done to make Saix react that way and felt his own face turn red as well.

"I'm sorry. My head isn't on straight in the morning."

"Yeah. I can see that."

The silence that followed was sticky and uncomfortable.

Xemnas decided to at least attempt to beat back the awkward and wiggled out of his sleeping bag. He stretched and enjoyed the warmth of the sun's rays on his surprisingly toned stomach that Saix was ashamed of peaking at.

"I think my father should be here soon. Do you know what time it is?"

Saix shock his head. "No clue. I'll be back here in a few minutes."

"Okay, if you don't see me outside just let yourself in."

"Sure."

Saix walked out of the house in the same quiet manner he came, leaving Xemnas to shower and dress in peace until his father came crashing into the nearly vacant home with reckless abandon, making his presence known with heavy footsteps and unbearable throaty yelling.

"Xemnas! Are you here! You never called!"

Xemnas exited his room with one hand fisting a towel in his hair and the other attempting to button his shirt with one hand. "I'm here."

"Can you come down here and help with the boxes? The van is here but the movers are nowhere to be found-yeah? Yeah, I told you we needed them here at 10. 10 in the morning not-Listen! Listen-to-me."

Xemnas sighed. His father was always on the phone, not to mention high-strung with never an ounce of patience. The silver-haired teen threw his towel into his room, letting it land with a soft thud on the wood floor. He finished buttoning his shirt and practically tumbled down the stairs that spilled into the small entrance way of the home. He found the front door wide open and the moving van waiting in the drive way, the back opened wide to revel mountain upon neatly stacked mountain of cardboard boxes. Xemnas stretched and enjoyed the breeze on his briefly exposed midriff. He looked around his new yard and inhaled it with a smile. The grass was mangy and unkempt and painfully overgrown but Xemnas loved every inch of it. The driveway was made out of cracked, chipped pavement with weeds bursting from the seams, reaching for open sky.

The teen stepped out onto the home's one measly front step and looked at the house-his house-as a whole. Doing so made the orange-eyed boy give off a wide toothy grin. The sunset orange shingles were falling from the roof. They clearly would provide little to no protection from the rain and Xemnas couldn't help but believe it was a miracle the inside of the house had no water damage. Maybe the roof was more protective then he thought… The cream paneling of the rest of the house was chipped and faded and the windowpanes had faded from orange to light brown. Every inch gave of an adorable dilapidated vibe that Xemnas was completely smitten with.

The silver-haired teen made his way to the back of the moving van and grabbed a box labeled "Wok" He turned toward the house and walked back inside, momentarily blinded by the sudden light change. He wandered around the right of the stairway to find the living room. His nose and forehead wrinkled in confusion. He walked through the living room to a door on the far end and opened it to find the study where his father was talking loudly on the phone as he began to set up his computers. Shaking his head Xemnas closed the door and left to find the other side of the house. After finding himself in the dinning room and the downstairs bathroom he finally found the kitchen, which was to the teen's annoyance, just to the left of the front door. He left the box on top of the stove and walked outside to get another. He grabbed a box labeled "Plates, Cups, Bowels" and cradled it in his arms.

"Do you need help with that?"

Saix's voice shocked Xemnas so badly he lost his grip on the box and scrabbled franticly to reclaim it.

"Did I scare you?" That cold, deep voice cut into Xemnas' veins and almost rendered him paralyzed.

"Yes, in fact you did. I think the boxes on the right are for the kitchen. Take one and I'll show you where the kitchen is."

Saix did as he was asked and the two of them made quick work of the kitchen boxes and moved onto the living room ones. They didn't notice the gang of teenagers making their way down the block or if they did they didn't pay them any mind. That is until they heard a small hoard of heavy footsteps pound loudly against the pavement.

The pair looked up from heavy boxes labeled "Kitchen towels" and "Liquid dish soap" to find teens around their age looking at them.

The smallest out of the bunch couldn't have been more then five feet. They had silky blue hair that fell into their brilliant navy blue eyes. They wore baggy clothes that Xemnas guessed hid a skeleton-like figure. He had a stoic expression on his face that was hiding far more then it let on. For some indescribable reason that scared Xemnas.

The tallest of the three had flaming red hair tied back with a black scrunchy attempting to tame the clearly unruly locks that seemed to disregard the band completely as they swayed in the breeze. He had green eyes that made Xemnas feel as if the teen could see into his soul and two teardrop tattoos underneath each eye that might have looked tacky on others but fit perfectly on his slender face. He was skinny to the point of being boney and had a smirk on his face that reminded Xemnas of a cat that knew too many secrets.

The final one of the three had more meat on his bones then the other too and looked to be of healthy weight and average height. His hair was a shocking flower petal pink that framed his face in layers that made him look almost feminine. He had deep ocean blue eyes that held a flame of mischievousness that Xemnas felt uneasy with.

"Hey handsome. What the hell are you doing with Saix?" That had come from the pink-haired one. The words were accompanied with a smirk that could charm the devil himself right out of his pants. It made Xemnas chuckled. Two could play at this game.

"Standing here waiting for attractive men to show up. It seems the Gods have finally answered my prayers." Xemnas let loose a smirk of his own.

There was a brief silence, and then they all broke into laughter, Xemnas included. All but Saix who chuckled with a touch of uneasiness.

"You're funny hottie, my name's Marluixa." A hand was lifted toward Xemnas and he gladly took it. They shook and the rest of the group fell at ease.

The redhead was the next to extend his hand and Xemnas took that one as well. "I'm Axel." The words were delivered with a smirk.

"Axel, that's easy to remember. I'm Xemnas."

"I'm Zexion." The last hand to be offered was frail and almost sickly. "Nice to meet you Xemnas."

"Nice to meet you as well."

The blue-haired man, Zexion, began to point down the street. "I live right down there, a few houses down from that street light. Mar here saw Saix out of his house for once and dragged us all outside to see what was happening. Saix never leaves his house. How do you two know each other by the way?"

Saix was seething. He cursed Zexion for his devious ways, he cursed Marluixa for being far more curious then he should be, he cursed the heavens for hating him so Goddamn much and he cursed Xemnas for not noticing how clearly, painfully uncomfortable he was.

"We knew each other as kids. In fact I feel like I remember you from somewhere."

"Yeah...well…" For some reason that statement caused Zexion's already hidden eyes to shift away from Xemnas' gaze. "You've known each other for a long time then. We were wondering what would make Saix the homebody leave his house…"

"Do you want some help?" Axel bounded forward, a smile beaming bright on his face.

"That would be nice. The living room is just to the right of the stairs, the kitchen to the left, the dinning room right after that, my bedroom up the stairs to the right, my father's to the left, the work supply boxes go to the basement, leave the study boxes outside the door in the living room, the stairs to the basement are on the ride side of the stairs behind the door that looks like it should be a closet. Put the boxes in the correct room and I'll do the rest." Xemnas couldn't help himself as he gave Marluxia a wink and walked off with his box back inside his house."

Marluxia smirked and found he suddenly needed to lick his lips. "How on earth did you manage to make such an attractive friend Saix?"

"Touch him and I break your pansy-ass face."

"Relax Saix." Axel placed his hand on Saix shoulder and the golden-eyed man flinched.

"Don't touch me. Keep you and your herpes infested friend away from Xemnas."

With that Saix took his box and went inside.

"Well that went well." Zexion's sarcasm wasn't appreciated by his friends who gave him looks of annoyance.

"Yes, well flame-tard over here has us moving boxes now so…might as well enjoy the nice ass that moved in-ow!" Zexion whacked Marluixa firmly over the head.

"Let's not start a fight, shall we. Can you at least try to keep you're junk in your pants? Help me move a box."

"_Anything_ for you Zexy."

The three boys began to pick up boxes and stumbled there way into the house and begun to bumble around.

Xemnas made his way back toward the front door to find his newfound companions looking around rather dumbfounded.

"You guys better pick up the pace. Its getting hot outside and treating a heat stroke isn't fun, too much stripping involved." Xemnas spoke as he walked down the stairs, making rather shameless eye contact with Marluxia the whole way down.

Saix had been in the kitchen trapped between two stacks of boxes labeled "China" and "Glass plates" he was to afraid too jump over, when he heard Xemnas say those words. He felt his insides explode and his body break out in warm sticky sweat. His hands began shaking but he couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness. He wanted to be the recipient of those words. He wanted to be the center of Xemnas attentions, jokingly or not. For him to be paying so much attention to Marluxia, that _manwhore_. Saix suddenly found he had forgotten how to breathe and felt stuck between the boxes much longer then he should have been.

Meanwhile Marluxia found his usually blush-proof cheeks were blushing quiet profusely and he needed to take a few deep breaths to find his head and screw it properly back on his body.

The pink-haired man countered the best he could. "Suddenly being gravely injured doesn't seem so bad."

"I'd have to pour cold water on your shirtless body. Still sound appealing?" Xemnas sauntered outside, fully enjoying himself. He couldn't remember the last person he felt so undeniably attracted to that swung the proper way. He couldn't remember how much fun it was to flirt, until now with way to much adrenaline and far too many hormones running through him. Perhaps he was coming on too strong…then again Marluxia had started it and it was only a game after all. Nothing more." He picked up a box labeled "flamer fuel" and turned around to fine the petite blue-haired man Zexion behind him. "Would you like help carrying that?"

"Sure. It's pretty heavy. This goes in the kitchen I think."

The two of them gripped their respective edges of the box and moved slowly into the house.

"So where did you come from?"

"Dalmasca. We moved there after my mom passed, mostly because of my father's job. My mom was from Dalmasca."

"I see. Did you live in Rabanastare?"

"No, Giza plains outside the city. It drove me insane. It's way to quiet out there. How long have you lived in Twilight Town?"

"As long as I can remember." Zexion's voice sounded bitter.

"You don't like it here?" Xemnas blinked slowly as he turned his gaze from his footing to Zexion's shifty eyes.

"It's…it's my home."

"It's okay not to like it here. Twilight Town isn't for everyone."

"I never said I like it or dislike it."

"I don't know what this town has done to you, it's none of my business, but don't take it out on me. Hey, Saix are you okay, you look kind of funny?"

Xemnas and Zexion dropped the box of flamer fuel in the kitchen and found Saix wearing a pained expression on his face.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Hey. Xemnas? There's a box named flamer fuel, were do I put it?" Axel's voice called out from the living room.

"The kitchen, just bring it over here."

"Okay!" In less then a minute a loud thud sounded next to the trio in the kitchen and Axel appeared with it.

"If you don't mind me asking why do you have flamer fuel to begin with?"

"It's actually a long embarrassing story."

"It can't be any more embarrassing then Axel's pyromania." Zexion's mumbles reached Axel and Xemnas' ears. It made Xemnas smile and Axel glow red.

"Pyromania isn't embarrassing. It's one of my uncle's quirks in fact."

"Really?" Axel smirked. "You're not just making up some story to make me feel better?"

"No. The flamer fuel is for him...actually…" Watching Xemnas slowly slouch and look away in shame made Axel smile.

"You would know." Zexion scoffed at Axel.

"I know this guy who sells flamer fuel if you really need it. And you promise not to burn anything important down." Xemnas dug his hands into his hair as he spoke.

"Really?" Axel seemed to perk up a little. "I don't suppose you could just hand the guy's number over can you. This sounds sort of sketchy."

"It isn't nearly as sketchy as it sounds. I just know this guy…"

Axel smirked. "Who passes you cups full of fuel through the dog door of an abandoned building?"

"And you have to knock twice and pass the money before he gives you the goods. Then you already know." Xemnas let loose a smile and both him and Axel broke into laughter.

"It seems the new guy is of your mental caliber Axel. He has the same sense of humor as you." Zexion eyed Xemnas with disgust as he said this.

"And you have the sense of humor of a rock." The statement came from Saix and it released a deep chuckle from Xemnas.

"I have to agree with Sai, you need to get that stick out of your ass." Xemnas smiled as he spoke.

"And I bet you would be willing to help me with that, wouldn't you?" Zexion's response brimmed with venom.

"Hey! There was no need for that." Axel cut in.

"It's alright." Xemnas nodded to Axel. "I've heard worse. Besides, he's cute enough. I'll take the stick out of your ass anytime. You want my number?" Sarcasm dripped from the silver-haired teen's words and they made both Axel and Saix laugh.

"Who's calling Zexion cute?" Marluxia popped into the kitchen, a box labeled "Work Supplies" in hand.

"I did."

Marluixa's eyebrows rose. He smirked. "I thought you had it in for me? I'm jealous."

"Of course I do. You're my favorite."

"But you're cheating on me babe."

"I'm sorry. He wooed me with sugary words and promises of jewelry it won't happen again."

Marluxia chuckled.

Saix's eyes went wide; he held the horrible pit in his stomach that was growing larger every moment. The two of them were talking as if they had known each other forever and Saix hated it. He suddenly wanted nothing more then to be at home, nestled between three layers of sheets with a good book in his hands.

"There's about 15 boxes labeled work supplies and they're all really heavy." Marluxia struggled with his box as he said this as if to prove his point.

"Sorry about that. Let me help you with them." Xemnas left the kitchen to go and help with his father's overly packed boxes. He had warned him not to put too much in each box but his old man had refused to listen. Saix and Axel soon followed suit, and Zexion trailed behind them, reluctant to go anywhere any time soon.

After 10 solid minutes of heaving and grunting they finished moving the boxes in. The five teens collapsed amongst the mountain of boxes in the basement, a panting, sweating mess.

"I really appreciate you all helping me. Thank you guys."

"No problem." Axel sighed.

"Yeah. No problem." Marluxia nodded toward Xemnas. "Anything for you."

"Do you too know each other?" Axel sat up as he spoke, wipping the sweat from his forehead.

"No, actually." Xemnas eyebrows rose. It was odd, he felt like he has know Marluxia all his life, and he met him no less then an hour ago.

"Yeah, I would have remembered meeting a handsome man like Xemnas." Marluxia sat up as well, confusion written on his face. "Where are you from again?"

"Dalmasca. Although I lived in Twilight Town until I was 7. How long have you lived here?"

"I moved here from Galbadia 5 years ago. I'm pretty sure we haven't met before."

Xemnas smiled. "Then it's love at first sight."

"Kiss me my love!"

Marluxia dove for Xemnas and the silver-haired teen placed his index finger underneath Marluxia's chin. He put his thumb on the pink-haired man's lips and proceeded to kiss thumb quite violently. Marluxia smirked; he fisted Xemnas hair and the two fell down in a heap of inappropriate noises and mock-lust. Zexion looked on in horror, bile and fear rising in his throat that he battled to keep down. Saix let out a groan; he was dying inside slowly but surely. Axel didn't seem affected at all, he rolled his eyes and stood up to make his way over to Xemnas and Marluxia delivering a swift effective nudge to Marluxia's ribs.

"Ow! Son-of-a-bitch!" The pink-haired man came to his feet, anger in his eyes.

"Yeah, well Zexion was gonna chuck up the raisin he ate for breakfast if you guys didn't stop."

"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable Zexion." Xemnas sat up as he apologized.

"Your apology is accepted. Grudgingly."

"Hey" Axel looked down at Xemnas. "I'm having a party tonight, are you going to Vexen High School for Science?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you come to the party, most of the people there will be from Vexen High, and the three of us will be there as well. "

Xemnas felt his insides warm. "That sounds nice."

"What about you Saix?" Axel turned toward Saix and Zexion openly let his face fall into his open palm. He rubbed the hand across his face and his head became hidden behind a curtain of hair.

"I'll see." Saix face was eerily empty of emotion and it made Xemnas shiver.

Axel let loose a smirk that Xemnas wasn't sure he liked. "Great. Can't wait to see you guys there."

Xemnas normally doesn't do parties. He usually finds them to be the cesspools of humanity. Nothing good ever comes from inebriated, sweaty teenagers huddling together under the pretense of 'fun'. But this party just seemed like a good idea. Axel, Marluxia and Zexion aren't bad people, or at least they don't seem like it.

After showering and choosing his clothes as carefully as he could Xemnas began to leave his house only to be called back in. His father, apparently, had finally decided to come out of his study just in time to see Xemnas leave the house. Such luck.

"Where are you going?" His father's voice was stern and grate on the teen's nerves. It was always stern. Always, always, always. Even if the situation didn't call for it.

"To a friends house."

"We just moved here. What friend?"

Xemnas wanted to sigh. He wanted to turn around and fly out the door and ignore his father's perpetually rigid, rough voice. "Some kids from the neighborhood came by earlier. They helped me bring in the boxes."

"You had some kids you've never met before in my house? What hoodlums did you let in here? How do you know they weren't going to steal from us? How do you know they weren't going to hurt you? How do you know they're not going to hurt you now?"

Xemnas decided he didn't have time for his. It was getting late and he didn't want to wander the streets too late at night. The place he was going wasn't all that safe at night. But his father didn't need to know that. "They're not hoodlums. They live down the street. I'm fine, your stuff is fine, I need to get going."

"Where are you going?"

"Out." Xemnas turned and left the house, closing the door behind him. He ignored his father's screeches to "come back in this house and go to your room" before he "takes all boxes and throws them in the ocean". Xemnas scoffed. He truly wasn't in the mood for this.

After a 20 minute walk to the border of Twilight Town and Midgar he found himself in the proper neighborhood and took out the flimsy scrap of paper Axel had written his address on. The silver-haired teen traversed the trash-ridden sidewalks and the smoggy air that smells faintly of gasoline and tar to the proper address.

It had led him to an unmarked door wedged between a deli and a cigar shop. The sunset-eyed teen knocked on the door three times as instructed and waited for someone to answer. When no one did he began to get worried. Perhaps it was all a joke. That happened to new kids all the time and he had fell for it. Maybe they had led him to a bad neighborhood on purpose just so he would get lost, or mugged or something equally horrible. Worry and panic were filling him quickly. Maybe his father had been right all along. Xemnas slouched. He hated it when his father was right. The silver-haired teen was about to leave when he heard a large thud and a scream come from behind the door and he opened it merely on instinct. He braced himself for a fight but a fight never came. The sight that he found on the other side was shocking and far more disturbing then a physical altercation.

A shirtless silver–haired teen was hanging off a fireplace, clearly drunk and devoid of any mental faculties, spewing random incoherent sentences at equally random house guests. Axel was right next to him, yelling something about a guy named Roxas and a nasty fight they had. At least that was what it sounded like, it was hard to tell. Zexion was running toward Xemnas full force, pulling on a coat that was inside out, Marluxia was chasing after him drool dribbling down his chin as he spoke, a beer bottle in his hand. He yelled out things hard to decipher but Xemnas knew he definitely heard "How could you, you whore! I loved you!" in which Zexion responded "We haven't dated in two years! Get over yourself Mar, Demyx is my boyfriend."

At this Marluixa was reduced to a pile of crying, drunken, pink-haired mess on the dirty carpet.

And quite suddenly Xemnas didn't know were he was, or why he was there or what he was suppose to be doing with himself.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Sweet mother of God is that vomit on the floor? Oh dear Lord is that coming out of him?"_ Xemnas' body was currently experiencing sensory overload. Some random red-haired teen had walked by and chucked up a mess of sticky yellow goo littered with chunks of red and orange. It poured out between his chapped lips and burning nostrils and his body shook with his sickness. The teen wiped his mouth with the back of his shaky hands, and continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

_"That…was…disgusting"_ Xemnas was paralyzed in the doorway. The scene before him was just too much and he didn't think he could stay here another second without losing his self-respect.

"Move Xemnas" Zexion brushed by the dumbfound teen. He shut the front door as he left with a loud thud that made Axel look up from his drunken stupor.

"Xem-nas!" The syllables were terribly drawn out and practically pinned Xemnas in place. So much for leaving…

"Hey Axel" Xemnas approached the green-eyed man with apprehension. He crossed the room dodging vomit, beer cans, and a sobbing Marluxia.

"I'm so glad you came Xemnas! I was…I was worried that you wouldn't."

"It's nice to see you too."

"I wish you would have come here earlier. You could have met Roxas."

Xemnas was beginning to become worried, truly worried. He hadn't noticed it from the doorway but it was clear Axel had been crying. Tearstains streaked his cheeks and his eyelids were puffy. The whites of his eyes had gone red and was that a pout on his lips? Xemnas decided it would be best to just blame Axel's emotions on the alcohol and ask him about it later.

"Who's Roxas?"

"My cheating boyfriend."

And suddenly everything made sense and Xemnas wanted out of Axel's apartment as soon as possible. All he wanted was to have calm, sensible fun. Not this. Not a night dealing with a heartbroken drunk and all his drunken friends. All the teen wanted was a tall cup of tea and a room full of comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"He cheated on me with my…best friend! He cheated on me with my-hey! Hey! Where did you go? Whe-where-there you are! There you are! Where did you go? Where did you…he cheated on me with my Riku. With my whore friend Riku. Riku is a whore! A dirty whore."

"Who is Riku?"

"Who said my name? Sora is that you?" The shirtless man hanging off of the fireplace at Axel's side had been the one to speak, making Xemnas turn toward him as well.

"Are you Riku?"

"Riku…yeah…tha-that's me. Why…why do you wanna know?" His face twisted in odd ways as he spoke, it was painfully clear his tongue couldn't find the words he wanted.

Xemnas knew in the base of his gut that his next question was a terrible question to ask but the words left his mouth of their own accord and he immediately regretted it.

"Did you sleep with Axel's boyfriend?"

"I didn't know!" Riku burst into tears and it was a horrid sight to see. Spittle burst forth from his mouth and left a sticky bubbly trail down his chin. Snot streamed down from his nose and the creamy yellow liquid dripped from the tip of his full top lip to his bottom one. His once brilliant teal eyes were turning red from the efforts of his tears. When he tried to wipe the river of sadness from his blushing cheeks and the snot from his dripping nose his hands wouldn't cooperate. He waved the unresponsive limbs in front of his face until they finally made contact with his clammy alabaster skin. His work bore no fruits however, for his hand only became coated in drool and tears and made the mess on his face worse by spreading it around. His long sleek silken hair began to get stuck to his face. "I thought he was Sora! They look…alike. Got in the bed and…and then…I thought…thought…Sora…I don't even like Roxas! He's a-he's a prick!"

Xemnas winced. He felt sorry for the guy; he really looked and sounded distraught.

The teen decided it would be best to leave the two drunks in their grief and took his leave of them. Instead he walked over to where Marluixa was crumpled on the floor. He bent down to the pink-haired teen and began to rub his back.

"You okay?"

"Xemnas? Yo-you came?"

Marluixa's eyes were terribly unfocused and it made the silver-haired teen worry.

"Of course I came. Can you stand?"

"I thi-nk so." Xemnas helped his newfound friend up from the ground and ushered him through the crowd of sweaty teens to a couch riddled with cigarette butts and beer spills. The teen wiped away ashes before he allowed his friend to sit down. Xemnas sat himself on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch and leaned forward.

"What happened Mar?" The nickname rolled from his tongue faster then his mind could catch it. It felt right to call him Mar. Xemnas briefly wondered if he had known Marluixa in a past life until the blue-eyed boy in front of him hiccupped and brought him out of his thoughts.

"Zexion left me all over again." The teen seemed as if he was on the verge of crying and Xemnas gripped his hands to comfort him the best he could.

"You two are going out?"

"No…he dumped me…" Tears were beginning to fall from Marluxia's eyes and Xemnas was quick to wipe them away lest he witness a similar scene as Riku's.

"You should go home. It's not good for you to be here."

"No...I'll wait for…I'll wait for for Axel to drive me home."

Xemnas paled. "Axel's pretty drunk right now."

"Oh…I guesh I'll be here for the night. Axel won't mind."

"'kay. Try and find some place to sleep off the beer where no one will draw on your face.

"I will. You go..go have fun."

"I'll try." Xemnas wandered off back into the sea of unbearably hot bodies. He felt closed in as he walked amongst the crowd. The heat and the smell and the noise were too much. He tried to catch his breath and couldn't. Somewhere in the back of his mind Xemnas knew he was beginning to panic, which only made him panic more. The teen wedge himself through the crowd in an attempt to find open space so he would be able to get rid of the growing pressure in his chest and found himself near the back of the apartment where the crowd thinned and a hallway seemed to appear out of nowhere. He walked down it, finding one locked door that he didn't dare knock on and one door at the end of the hall, wide open with a crisp night breeze blowing through it. His curiosity claimed him and the teen strolled into the room. The sight that met his eyes confused him.

A lanky boy with an awfully messy mohawk-mullet hybrid was sitting on an equally messy bed with a befuddled look on his face. The boy's eyes came into focus and he spoke. "Who are you?"

"I'm Xemnas. I just moved here." Taking a hard look at the boy, Xemnas was certain he hadn't been drinking. Which was odd. It meant he had found his way onto a bed with someone else all while he was sober. It usually takes alcohol to have regretful hook-ups at a party.

"Oh. I'm Demyx. You're who Zexion was talking about. You've met him right?"

Xemnas nodded.

"Have you seen him? Axel stumbled in here not to long ago and Zexion jumped right out of bed and ran out.

"Zexion left the party a few minutes ago. I think he got into some sort of fight with Marluxi-"

"Marluxia!" And suddenly the boy came alive. Fear wrenched his eyes wide open and his body visibly shook. The teen got off the bed and onto wobbly feet. He was taller then Xemnas thought he would be. "Marluxia is here! Omygod…omygod…he's here! Right now?"

"…Yeah?" Xemnas watched the boy scramble to open the window in the far side of the room as far as it could go.

"He's here! He's gonna kill me! I gotta get out of here! I have to get the fuck out of here."

The boy attempted to jam his body through the window to no avail. His limbs were gangly and slender and the boy looked like a large dog that believed it's self to be a lap dog. He tried to get his head through first but he couldn't get his legs through. He tried to take his head back into the safety of the apartment but it didn't work the way he wanted and his head hit the window pane on the way in. "Marluxia is gonna kill me. He's gonna gut me and eat my heart like that crazy bitch in Snow White and the Dwarves."

"Calm down. Why would Marluxia kill you?"

"I can't stay…I can't…" The boy finally managed to swing his lanky limbs out of the window in the correct order. Once he appeared to have found his bearing he ran down the street with the strength of hell's fire at his back.

_What the hell…That's it I'm getting the fuck out of here…_

As if to mock him gun shoots rang out across the night sky, scaring stray pigeons into the city skyline. A harsh, gurgled yell followed along with the sound of a thud that was too close for comfort.

" Omygod, are you alright? I'm calling am 911. Okay?" An unfamiliar voice echoed of the nearby buildings and sounded much to close for comfort.

Another gunshot and another thud against the concrete floor.

"The police and an ambulance are on there way okay? Stay with me!"

Holy Mother of God in heaven there was no way in hell Xemnas was going home without the safety of a car's metal doors. The teen shut the window tight and locked it. His thoughts took over his body and he couldn't move. _What if it was Demyx lying out there, face down on the dirty sidewalk, bleeding…bleeding…._ Xemnas hugged himself tightly in an attempt to keep himself together. For the love of everything good he should have just stayed home…

The teen was scared witless. He took a few minutes to draw the curtains over the window and tried to catch his breath. He didn't belong in this part of town; he was naturally jumpy and skittish as it was. Using all his will power he forced his legs to move back toward the mass of people in the living room. They all seemed to have not noticed the gunfire raging outside, or just didn't care, because all though a few of the lamps closer to the windows had been turned of, the party was still raging on. Xemnas made a beeline for Marluixa who on closer inspection had passed out on the couch, his head lobbing sideways off the chair, his mouth wide open. Xemnas sighed. He was stuck here. Here in this mob of stinky drunk people and there was no way to get out. Maybe Axel wouldn't mind if he slept here as well? But he had his first day of school tomorrow, not to mention it would be nearly impossible to explain to his father why he decided to stay over someone's house after just meeting them without including the fact he had been trapped there by a gunfight happening somewhere nearby.

"Hey. You don't look drunk." A voice not unlike a sunny morning spring breeze traveled over the buzz of voices in the room and commanded Xemnas' attention.

"Me?" Xemnas pointed to himself.

"Yes you. You don't sound drunk either. You're the new kid right? I'm Ventus. You can call me Ven if you like." The boy reached out his hand and Xemnas took it.

"I'm Xemnas."

"So I've heard." The boy brushed dirty blond locks of hair out of his face, although they just fell right back into his stormy blue eyes. "I'm on my way home. I heard gunshots outside so I figured it's time to get the fuck out of here. Do you have a ride home?"

Xemnas shook his head no.

"Come with me then. My car is shit but it'll get you home. Not to mention I'd be a terrible person to leave you here alone with all these drunkards about. I fuckin' hate parties."

"I'd be more then happy to go with you. I was getting worried I wouldn't be able to go home."

"I'd be worried too. Do you have everything?"

Xemnas quickly patted his person down to make sure he had his cell phone and wallet then nodded yes. "I should probably say bye to Axel first."

"Don't bother. He hasn't been coherent since the sun went down. He keeps mumbling something about Roxas and I haven't got a clue what it is. Speaking of which have, you seen Roxas? He looks just like me, we're twins. Same hair and everything, accept he's an asshole."

"No, haven't seen him."

"Shit. I hope he didn't piss off one of the local gangs again. He can't keep his big mouth shut. Is it all right with you if we drive around a little? I just wanna make sure he's not wandering out there drunk with no clothes on or some shit."

"Yeah that's fine." Xemnas knew he would agree to anything at this point. Anything to get away from the crowd and the noise and the bullets.

"'kay. Let's go. Stay close."

With one more nod from Xemnas the pair left the heat and noise of the party for the deceiving quiet of the night. They shut the door behind them and all but ran to a blue 1993 Toyota Camry. Ventus had to go around to the driver's side, unlock the door and pop the door open for Xemnas so he could get in. Once the engine was going and the tires of the old car were rolling down the pavement of the gravelly streets the silver-haired teen let out a sigh he wasn't aware he had been holding in.

"You're from Twilight Town, aren't you?"

"Yeah. You can tell?"

"Yeah. You're hands are sweaty. You've never had the pleasure of hearing gunfire before I take it?"

"Something like that."

The car took a turn down a narrow road and they rolled to a slow crawl as Ventus began scanning the area.

"I live in Twilight Town too, believe it or not… but my best friend lives in Midgar. So you have to learn to deal with it. Honestly it would have been better for us to stay and wait it out at Axel's but I really can't stand parties. Where do you live, by the way?"

"105 Sunset Road."

"Perfect. I live on 78th and 12th. I have to pass Sunset Road anyway. God where the hell is that moron…I'd shout out the window but I think that would cause more trouble then the dumbshit's worth."

They turned onto a major road that was surprisingly, and eerily empty for the most part.

Xemnas looked out the passenger side window. A feeling of unease was washing over him and he didn't like it. He didn't like that the streetlights in the neighborhood were all a bit off, or that some of the street lamps weren't on, or that-_hey is that Zexion?_

Xemnas forced his eyes to focus on a mess of platinum blue hair that was bobbing about in a rather odd manner. Upon further inspection it looked like there was a man in a large black hoodie standing in front of him holding a-_was that a lighter?_ There was flame coming out of it that's for sure but it looked more like a pocket flamethrower then a lighter.

"Hey, Ven, I think Zexion's getting mugged."

"Where? You have to be shitting me."

"Over there. Just pull up right there."

"Do you know how to fight?"

"I can scream at them to death."

"Good enough."

Ventus pulled the car over and the two immediately got out.

"Give me your money! Gi-gi-giv-give me your money or your hair gets it!"

"Can you please get off me." Zexion's face was as placid as ever. No emotion was written anywhere on his features and Xemnas couldn't help but admire that.

The mugger was holding on to the collar of Zexion's coat, more for balance then anything else.

The mind boggling thing about the situation was that Zexion's coat was inside out, revealing his inside pocket with his half open wallet for the world to see, or steal, apparently. The mugger could have just grabbed the wallet and run. The threatening wasn't necessary.

"No! Give me the money or I'll…huh? I'll burn your hair off! I'll bu-burn your pretty hair right off your pretty head! I need the money so Ax-Axel will love me again! I need to money so Axel will love me!" The mugger held the clearly modified lighter to the tips of Zexion's hair.

"Stop!" Xemnas screamed as he ran toward the mugger and tackled him to the floor. The action made Xemnas feel ridiculous, but he shook the embarrassment off as well as he could.

"Xemnas?"

"Roxas? What the fuck are you doing!" Ventus ran to the man crushed underneath Xemnas' weight.

"This is Roxas?"

"Seriously Xemnas what are you doing here?" Xemnas looked up from the boy underneath him to look at a confused Zexion. Come to think of it, that was the only real emotion he's seen on Zexion's face all day.

"Ventus was giving me a ride home but we had to find Roxas first. What are you doing here? Are you aware your wallet is hanging out?"

Zexion looked down to find that his wallet was indeed hanging out, showing crisp 10s and 20s for all the world to see. "It appears you're right." The blue-haired boy took off his coat and began to put it on correctly.

"Roxas! Roxas what the hell were you thinking?"

"Ax-el!" Roxas burst into tears. Xemnas practically hopped off of him and Ventus helped the crying boy to his feet.

"Enough of that!" Ventus scolded his twin. "Everyone get in the car."

And everyone obliged, except for Roxas who needed to be helped into the backseat.

Once everyone was in and the car hummed to life Zexion decided _now_ would be the best time to pick a fight.

"Learn to control your twin Ventus. He almost burned my face clean off in his drunken stupor."

"I'm not...I'm not…where am I again?" Roxas cut in.

"Shut up Roxas. You're not proving your point. And I'm not his fuckin' keeper. Go yell at Axel. It's all his fault anyway."

"Yeah. Well this wouldn't have happened if Roxas kept his junk in his pants." Zexion's retort was full of spite.

"What the hell are you talking about? Everyone knows Roxas only puts out for Axel. Right Rox?"

"No…I…I slept with Riku."

The car came to a complete and jerky stop that made the whole car sway back and forth rather violently. Xemnas clutched his heart.

"You what!" The car began to move again with the driver looking toward the back seat as he drove and Xemnas was suddenly terrified he was going to die tonight.

"I slept with Riku! He was pretty hot that ni-"

"Shut up! I don't wanna here about you sleeping with Riku you dirty ass whore! I thought you loved Axel! You two planned all your college plans around each other and now look at you! Both strung out on cheap beer and doing crazy things! Riku is his best friend you asshole!"

"Bu-but I ha-te Riku."

"Well you slept with him you 2 cent hoe!"

"Are you listening to yourself speak Ventus? I don't think Mrs. Gainsborough would approve of such language. You've been spending way too much time around Vanitas and I suggest you stop lest he you corrupts further." Zexion's input seemed to quell what would surely have been an onslaught of ungodly language.

"I would if I could but he's my best friend. I can't just up and leave him like that."

The statement cut deep into Xemnas. He couldn't help feeling tremendously guilty but pushed the guilt aside until he could deal with it properly later. Much later.

"Roxas give Zexion Axel's lighter."

"I don't wanna!"

"I'm sure he's looking for it. I'll tell you what. Give Zexion the lighter so he can give it to me and I'll give it back to you tomorrow when you can walk straight. You can use it as an excuse to talk to Axel and make up with him. Okay?" Ventus looked in the rearview mirror as he said this to see his twin give a reluctant nod. Roxas passed the lighter to Zexion who passed it to Ventus who put it safely in his pocket.

"There. All better, see? You can't try and mug anyone now. Hey Xemnas, you said 105 right?"

"Yeah."

"And Zexion you're 113 right?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Here you are Zexion."

With a silent nod of thanks the small teen left the car. Ventus waited outside until Zexion was safely through his front door.

"It was nice meeting you Xemnas, I'm just sorry it was under these circumstances. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah." School. Xemnas had almost forgot. After thanking Ventus, Xemnas left the car and entered his house as quietly as he could. For the life of him he couldn't remember coming home ever feeling this _good_.

-o-

The school was large. It was three stories tall, and built in an L shape that seemed to envelope the students as they walked toward it. The silver lettering of 'Vexen Kando High School of Science' leered down at the teen as he walked into the building for the first time. He hated being the 'new kid' at school. He hated wandering around like a bumbling idiot, he hated the questioning stares, but most of all he hated the smell. Schools always smelled like watered down bleach and moldy lunch foods. It was a stench that bites the nose and takes nearly forever to get used too.

The smell hit him immediately after going through the wide metal doors and made him gag.

School sucked.

He made a beeline for the guidance councilor's office where he made quick work of retrieving his schedule. Finding his classes however was a Herculean task that required more logic and brainpower then Xemnas could muster so early in the morning. After much aimless pacing and directions from two friendly security guards and one not so friendly he found his class.

"Xemnas? That you? Come over here-get the fuck out of the seat Herman, no one wants to sit next to you. Right here Xem." Xemnas found Ventus in the back of the classroom pushing a scared boy out of his seat while simultaneously pointing at it. Not one to question the newfound company he seemed to be keeping Xemnas made for the seat and didn't look once at the hurt boy named Herman all but crawling to the empty seats in front of the class.

"It's nice to see you again Xemnas. Your night quiet after I left?"

"Yeah. I was thankful for that." Xemnas took a quick glance around the room to find that he did not in fact know anyone and that was a small comfort. He didn't want to know anyone beside the boy next to him. The classroom wall was a dull beige color and the floor held cold, bland, beige tiles. The whole room commanded no attention, in fact it urged you look away from its walls and floors and ceilings. It let your eyes wander straight out the window to where Twilight Town waited in all its splendor for the children to be let out of school and for the adults to be let out of work. It let out a siren's call that made Xemnas consider skipping school all together.

"You okay Xemnas?"

"Huh?" The silver-haired teen looked over to see concern splashed across Ventus' face.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thought about skipping classes for a second."

"Hi guys." The door opened and a rather tall man popped out of it. His hair was slightly messy and stuck out here and there at the top, but smooth brown locks hung down near his face, indicating his hair was soft and fine, he just didn't care to comb it. Crystal clear blue eyes took in each and every one of the students until they all were silenced with his stare. Those piercing blue eyes came upon Xemnas and the man smiled.

"I see we have a new student." His voice held strength. It commanded attention and Xemnas didn't have the nerve to deny it of him. "You wanna stand up for a minute and introduce your self?"

"Sure." Xemnas stood and held back the urge to shiver. He felt his classmate's eyes on him and he couldn't stand it. "My name is Xemnas Dalmasy. Nice to meet you all." The teen sat back down and made quick work of melting into his seat like a bowl of frozen pudding under a heat lamp.

"Nice to meet you Xemnas. If you could reach right behind you in those cabinets is our textbook, take one for home and one for class. Now can everyone turn to page 238 and follow along. Starting in the left hand corner…"

"Ven, what's this guys name?"

"Mr. Okiayu. Although most every calls him Mr. Terra."

"That sounds awkward."

"It's not that bad. Besides, his first name just suits him. He looks kind of rockish, just a little bit." Ventus inhaled so sharply Xemnas was worried the blonde might just faint.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Have you looked at Terra's abs yet? Look at them. He's wearing that muscle shirt I love, it shows everything, every-thing. I think an angel sculpted his chest."

Xemnas sighed. He looked up at his teacher nonchalantly as he reached back into the built-in cabinets of the classroom and took out two textbooks. Mr. Okiayu did have a nicely toned chest. His shirt melded to the contours of his muscles rather well. While Xemnas wasn't really attracted to his teacher he could see why Ventus seemed to like him. The silver-haired teen opened his textbook and fumbled around with the pages till he found one the seemed correct. Terra was talking about something relating to the 1350 Archadian occupation of Dalmasca and the page Xemnas was on said something about Archadia so it was good enough.

"He's good looking I guess."

"You guess? Come on man, Marluxia told me you weren't exactly straight, what gives?"

"I'm not. I just don't see what you're seeing."

"Hmph…what's up with you…can't you see he's a gift from the Gods?"

Xemnas looked on as Terra scribbled something on the board and turned to ask someone in the front row something about old Archadian guns and their effect on the war.

"No." The sunset-eyed teen decided taking notes would probably serve him well in the future and took out a notebook and pen.

"I'm just sa-oh for the love of-" A rapping at the glass of the classroom door brought Ventus out of what was sure to be a long winded speech. The teen glanced over to the doorway and frowned.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Who?" Xemnas scanned the room to find Ventus sudden source of annoyance. He found fierce glowing golden eyes staring in his direction from the window of the door. It shocked Xemnas to see eyes so intense. He hadn't seen eyes like that since his father took him to Trabia before the Galbadia missile incident. The owner of those brilliant eyes also had a mess a jet-black hair that was in such disarray Xemnas decided they didn't own a comb. "Who's that?"

"Vanitas. He's a piece of work." Ventus facial features became twisted with annoyance and a hint of anger as he waved for Vanitas to go away.

"He's the one that lives in Midgar?"

"Yeah. He has a bad habit of popping up when I really don't want him to." Ventus mouthed the words 'go away', but Vanitas only smirked which made Ventus more irritated.

"I swear one of these days…"

The bell rang and a collective sigh was heard through out the class.

"And that's all for today. Page 300 for homework, only the odd numbers. I'll be collecting it on Friday."

Chairs squeaked and binders creaked as they were shoved and shut. The classroom emptied and Xemnas flowed with the crowd out into the hallway. He peaked at his schedule and the blocky letters read Gym so Xemnas guessed that was were he was headed. He left Ventus to yell at the boy named Vanitas, he would feel too awkward to stay and ask if Ventus wanted to walk with him to his next class. He didn't want to come off as clingy, not to mention Vanitas gave of an undeniable vibe of danger and mischief that he wanted no part in.

The silver-haired teen walked down the three flights of steps and too several sharp turns around crowed corners to find the wide padded doors of the gym open for all to see. Xemnas walked in with caution, it was a wide open space with shiny, slippery wooden floors and smelled of sweat and rubber. He walked up to a door on the far left of the room that read "Coach" in splotchy grey lettering and knocked on it.

A man that could not have been shorter the 6 feet walked out of the doorway, making Xemnas take a few steps back. The man wore grey sweat pants and a white shirt that held the school's name across the chest. One lock of bright blond hair fell into cyan eyes that were currently trying to bore a hole into Xemnas skull. The teen looked up to meet the Coach's gaze and the two of them had a staring match that ended with the older of the two breaking out into a smile. Muscular arms gripped his stomach as deep throaty laughter tumbled right out of him.

"I swear you kids get more ballsy ever minute. Who are you and why are you in my gym young man?" The coach cleared the remnants of his laughter from his throat but the smile still remained.

"I'm new. My name is Xemnas Dalmasy."

"So you're the reason I got a new roster yesterday. Alright. Gym uniforms are 10 dollars. That includes both the sweat pants and the shirt. Are you going to buy them now?"

"Is it alright if I buy them on Thursday?"

"Sure. No problem. For today if you could borrow someone else's uniform that would be great. Get to it. Warm-ups in ten minutes."

"Will do." Xemnas wandered over to where boys were filling in through a door that led to what Xemnas assumed would be the locker room. He scuttled over to where a familiar blob of sky blue hair sway around the crowd. The sunset-eyed teen tapped Saix on the shoulder and was startled when a fist almost met his face.

"What the hell." Xemnas nudged the fist away to let Saix witness the exasperation on his features.

"I'm sorry Xem. I didn't know it was you."

"Do you always punch people trying to get your attention-Goddamn what happened to your face!"

Xemnas nearly caused a major collision amongst the influx of boys trying to get into the overcrowded locker room. He had stopped in his tracks and planted his feet firmly in front of Saix. How could he have not noticed it before? Running straight across his childhood friend's face ran a scar in the shape of an X. It began at the top of the bridge of his nose and stopped an inch above both eyebrows. The scar made him look angry even through Xemnas could tell Saix was far from it at the moment. He looked scared and…worried? There was also embarrassment coloring the teens face a wonderful shade of red that could have him competing with the flames on the sun.

"Seriously Sai. What the hell happened to your face." Xemnas was starting to panic. How could he have not noticed it? Had he not truly looked at Saix since he came to Twilight Town? The silver-haired teen decided he was a terrible friend and had the observational skills of a rock. No, scratch that. Rocks can see better then he can.

"I would prefer not to talk about it. Do you need to borrow a uniform? I have an extra."

"I would appreciate that a lot but you still haven't answered my question."

"Because I don't feel like answering." The look that flashed across Saix's face wasn't really Saix at all. For a moment he looked like a feral animal that would kill just to prove a point. And then it was all gone. The animal inside Saix disappeared and a look of aloof calmness claimed his features.

Xemnas felt his mouth go dry. He swung his tongue around the corners of his mouth but it did nothing for him. He felt something drill a hole in the bottom of his stomach and resisted the urge to hold it and make the pain stop. He realized this was fear. He was afraid of Saix. The silver-haired teen held himself together with one harsh breath and shook the fear off him as if it were a coat he no longer wished to wear. Xemnas wasn't afraid of people. People were afraid of Xemnas. It was the teen's rule of thumb if he came across someone hostile and although he knew two thrown punches don't make peace he couldn't help his reaction.

The sunset-eyed teen shot Saix a glare that pierced the blue-haired teen's heart. It kept him in place; held him hostage and Saix found there was no way out. Not until those burning orange eyes eased their stare and turned to face the open door.

"About that extra uniform..."

"Yeah."

The two entered the locker room as it nothing ever happened, knowing full well something just did. Saix let the way to his locker and opened it quickly. He handed Xemnas his extra uniform and the silver-haired teen was quick to lose his clothing.

Xemnas was comfortable with his body. He was comfortable with sharing his body with other people. He strongly believed the human body was a work of art that should be gazed upon by all. So he didn't think twice when he stripped to his black and white checkered boxers and handed his clothes over to a blushing Saix.

"You alright Sai?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Saix was trying his best not to stare. He really was. But Xemnas was standing right there in all his nearly naked splendor and he would be damned if he didn't enjoy it.

_Enjoy what? I'm not gay._

The thought slapped him across the face. He wasn't gay. Cloud and Leon had beat those thoughts and feeling out of him a long time ago. He hadn't thought of another man since then. But-that-chest. That toned chest called out to him to stare upon it and how could he not?

"You're scaring me Sai. You're staring off into space."

Saix took Xemnas' clothes and shoved them into his locker. The blue-haired teen began his gym class ritual of turning toward his locker and scrambling to get into his gym clothes as quickly as possible. It was a shameful process that included stumbling around with uncooperative pants that just wouldn't come off and shirts that just wouldn't go on. He kept his head down as to not make eye contact with anyone half naked as that would often cause Saix to become paralyzed with embarrassment. Naked bodies scared him. He had hopped he would grow out of it but he never did. He wasn't afraid of Xemnas body, apparently. In fact he had the urge to touch it, which scared the blue-haired teen even more.

"I'm fine." The words were mumbled and since he was facing the wall Saix words were hard to hear.

"If you say so." Xemnas slid Saix clothes on his body and smiled. They fit well. He tried to get Saix's attention but the golden-eyed teen seemed to be completely absorbed in fitting his leg into his gym pants. Xemnas took note of the blue hair on Saix's leg. He always knew Saix's hair was naturally blue, but he had been reluctant to admit it. With proof like this however he was forced to believe. Xemnas briefly wondered if the carpet matched the drapes and shook his head to rid his mind of the thought.

The teen left his friend to his own devices and walked out of the locker room to find Marluxia and Zexion off in a corner of the gym. Xemnas was hesitant to approach them, given what happened yesterday night, but decided whatever was happening couldn't end well and that he might as well try to end the awkward for them.

When Xemnas popped up beside them Marluixa let out a big grin and Zexion sighed, mostly out of relief.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Xemnas said this with as straight a face as possible. He knew full well he had interrupted something.

"No!" Marluxia was quick to answer.

"Thank God you came." Zexion sounded as if he just ran a marathon. "Have you seen Axel? After I got home yesterday I didn't bother to call him. I figured he wouldn't be able to make sentences anyway but I'm getting worried.

"No. He was still at his apartment when I left though. Didn't you stay at his place Mar?" Xemnas turned toward Marluxia.

"Yeah but for the life of me I couldn't find him when I woke up. I'm sure he's fine though. I know he has a crippling hang over so he couldn't have gotten into to much trouble. I haven't seen Roxas either. Have you Xem?"

"No. But I know Ventus took Roxas home so I'm sure he's okay."

Telling on the severe lack of communication between the two of them Xemnas could tell Marluxia hadn't told Zexion he slept at Axel's and Zexion hadn't told Marluxia he was mugged by drunk-Roxas. Xemnas sighed. "I'm sure Roxas and Axel are together. I'm more worried about Demyx. He took off out the window and ran down the street a few seconds before I heard gunshots, is he alright?"

Zexion paled. "I haven't heard from him. I told him to stay at home-he lives with Axel. Why would he leave?"

"He asked me where you went and I told him you had gotten into an argument with Marluxia and left. He…kind of lost it when I mentioned Marluxia."

Marluxia burst into a rainbow of reds. Zexion shot Marluxia a look that was certainly meant to kill. "Over protective son of a bitch. I swear…" Zexion stormed off, probably in the direction of a phone. So much for stopping the awkward.

Marluxia sighed. "Never mention my name to Demyx again."

"I'm sorry. May I ask what is going on between you and Zexion?" Xemnas didn't wanna know. He really didn't wanna know. He didn't care to know. He didn't feel it was his business. But if someone was willing to jump out a window just to avoid Marluixa then Xemnas thought it would be for the best if he just found out early and got it over with.

" 10 Laps! All of you! 15 for you Leonhart! Go!" The coach seemed to have melted through the walls of his office into the gym. As he barked his orders he opened doors to the outside track and a blast of warm late summer air blew through the wide room.

Marluxia and Xemnas walked outside, taking their time as they broke into a light jog side by side.

"You can ask. It's just embarrassing."

"I try not to judge."

Marluixa sighed. "Zexion and I went out about two years ago. We lasted about a year. Which, believe me babe it was a miracle. We fought a lot. So we broke up. The problem is I still love him. I honest to God think he's my one true love. I got clingy the year after we broke up. Tried to get back with him and did some things I'd really like to forget. I got a reputation for being possessive over Zexion. He stopped dating for a while cause I would beat up his boyfriends. I'm not as bad now. I've started seeing other people at least. Kind of. Zexion started going out with Demyx a few months ago and it's been hard seeing them together. I _might_ have threatened Demyx's life once or twice, but he's a sweet kid. I would never really hurt him. Just ruff him up a bit."

"Hmm."

"Yeah. The thing is whenever Zexion and me get drunk, really drunk, and we happen to be in the same room we have this terrible habit of hooking up. It gives me hope. I know that it's terrible and Zexion isn't even in the right state of mind when it happens but it still give me hope. It proves there's still something there."

"That's kind of sick."

"I know."

"You're kind of sick."

"I know."

"Why are you two friends."

Marluixa shrugged. "I don't know honestly. Zexy doesn't have that many friends and the two of us have great friend chemistry."

"That makes some sense I guess."

"Yeah."

"Move it Leonhart!" The coach's whistle blew across the field and a mousey-brown haired boy decided it was a great idea to yell right back.

"Suck it Seifer!"

"What did you say!"

"Oh God there they go again." Marluixa sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Who? The coach and that boy?"

"Yeah. The boy is Leon. He's friends with Cloud. Cloud's the one who looks like a bird, has yellow hair. Leon fights with Seifer almost everyday. It's ridiculous. There was talk a while back about the two of them having an affair."

"Leon and Seifer?"

"Yeah. Just don't call Seifer by his first name, it drives him crazy. He goes by Mr. Almasy.

"Will do. Did you wake up okay?"

"Yeah, believe it or not I slept really well. Liquor knocks me right out, if you ever wanted to know." The statement was delivered with a wink.

"None of that, I want you awake and aware."

"Oh kinky."

"Enough chatting! Everyone inside! It's volleyball today! Teams of 12 people! Teams are posted on the board! Move!"

"He's gonna lose his voice yelling all the time." Marluxia winced as Mr. Almasy continued to scream at his students as they shuffled back into the gym.

"At least we know he has good lungs."

A mass of students made their way to a chalkboard standing toward the front of the gym, right next to the coach's office. Marluxia and Xemnas shoved there way through the crowd to find they've been placed on the same team along with Zexion. Xemnas smiled. His luck wasn't half bad today.

Marluxia and Xemnas walked over to volleyball court one on the far end of the gym. They sat in adjacent spots and talked about how nice the sun was today until Zexion interrupted them by sitting on the far side of Xemnas. The blue-haired teen's face was pale but the fear that had been etched on his features earlier seemed to be gone.

"Demyx is fine. It turns out a bullet grazed his shoulder yesterday night and he spent most of the night in the hospital and talking to cops. But he's okay. The bullet didn't hit anything vital."

Xemnas nodded toward Zexion, then turned too Marluxia who was to far to hear anything and let him know Demyx is okay. The pink-haired teen seemed to relax after hearing the news.

Xemnas turned back to Zexion who was fiddling with a lose string on his pants.

"Are you okay? You look worried." Xemnas was afraid to ask but Zexion truly looked worried.

"Yeah. I'm okay. If you were wondering no one was killed yesterday night in the gunfire. Apparently Vanitas was able to stop the gunmen. I kind of feel sorry for the guy actually. No one should have to deal with Vanitas." Zexion's face changed from crestfallen to annoyed.

"I don't know how Ven does it."

Zexion sighed. The whistle was blown and everyone stood up from the floor as volleyballs were passed around to each court.

Xemnas watched as the ball was rolled to the other team. It landed in the hands of a familiar blue-haired teen that Xemnas quickly realized was Saix. The golden-eyed teen served the ball with ease and it flew across the court. It found it's way to the top of Zexion's head and made connect with a loud thud that made some nearby students go 'Ooh'. Zexion began to spew curses galore as he walked up to the net, hooking his fingers through the netting.

"Yeah! Saix! Learn to serve you piece of shit! You'd be better off just eating the ball like you ate all your cats!" Zexion threw the ball at Saix who caught it with much unexpected grace.

Xemnas felt his eyebrows raise well of his eyelids. _Where on earth did that come from?_ What on the hell was Zexion's problem? He knew the navy-eyed teen was having a tough morning but taking it out on Saix was just wrong. And _eating_ **cats**? What type of person says that? Besides, when Xemnas mother lived in Dalmasca during the second Archadian occupation food was scare; a cat might have gone missing once in a while in exchange for a full belly that night. There was nothing shameful in eating what you have available. Xemnas couldn't understand the insult.

"I didn't eat my cats!" Saix voice rang out across the court. It came out harsh and nearly feral.

"Yes you did you dirty bitch! You ate your cats! You're nasty! Go sit down!"

"What's your problem?" Xemnas rushed toward the net and jerked Zexion around. "Saix hasn't done anything to you!" Anger flared through his limbs and made his fingers itch. He found his hands began to make fists and had to take a deep breath to unclench them.

From across the court Saix smiled. He couldn't hear what Xemnas was telling Zexion but from the looks of it he was giving the blue-haired teen a piece of his mind. Saix couldn't help the warm feeling growing in his stomach. It was really nice to have Xemnas back at home.

"Yes he has. He's done something to a lot of people." Zexion's words confused Xemnas.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know what he was like when he was a kid but he hasn't been a nice person. Someone needs to yell at him from time to time just so he can be put in his place."

"I don't care what he's done! You can't talk to him like that. Besides I'm having a hard time believing that. Saix couldn't hurt a fly." But that face Saix had given him earlier, with crazed eyes and wild anger that that had seemingly came out of no where, Xemnas knew just from that look that Saix could, in fact cause pain to anything if he wanted too.

"He's a bad person Xemnas. He talks to people like they're trash. Someone needs to fight back."

The silver-haired teen stood there, befuddlement twisting his features. "That can't be true."

"Yes it's true. He's a bully."

Xemnas shook his head, long silver locks swaying as he did so. "I really don't believe you."

"It's the truth Xemnas. I know it's difficult to accept but people change. Saix is a horrible person."

The silver-haired teen felt something break inside him. He felt it snap and crumble and he couldn't catch the pieces. _What would Zexion gain from lying to me?_ Nothing and Xemnas knew it. But so what Saix was a horrible person? He could deal with it. Saix was still Saix.

"You probably shouldn't hang out with him either. Saix is pretty unstable. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he brought a gun to school one day. Just stay away from him if you can."

"Are you…sure?" All Xemnas could think of was that look Saix and gave him when he had asked about his scar. How angry and wild his eyes had looked. _Maybe_ Zexion was telling the truth. It was beginning to certainly looking that way.

"Of course I'm sure. Promise you'll stay away from him?"

Xemnas glanced over at Saix who at the moment was lining up his serve. He felt his heart crumbling and felt powerless to do anything about it. The sunset-eyed teen shook his head once more. His safety came first. It had to come first. He was all his father had, and his father was all he had. If something were to happen to him he didn't think his father would be able to function. Not after what happened to his Mom. He couldn't risk it. He wouldn't risk it. Not again. Never again.

"I promise." The words killed him to say but it had to be done.

* * *

><p>AN: I wanna thank everyone that has reviewed, because they made my week. Each time I saw one pop up on my email inbox became a grinning idiot for the next few hours. I wanna thank everyone that has given this story the time of day, I really appreciate it a lot. I'm gonna be pretty silent for the rest of this story. I despise author's notes and prefer to let the story speak for it's self. Happy Reading!


	3. Chapter 3

_"Mommy? Mommy are you okay?" Xemnas' small hands reached out to shake his mother who lay on a bed of glass and was blanketed with the feathers of her most favorite throw pillows._

_He received no response as he continued to shake her lifeless body. Her limbs were loose and felt like fleshy putty in his hands._

_"Mommy?"_

_"Omygod." Somewhere behind him Xemnas knew his father had just walked through the front door. He turned to his dad who was wading through the sea of upturned furniture, glass shards, and feathers. Along the way he dropped his suitcase and it fell discarded and forgotten next to a broken vase and smashed television._

_"Daddy, something's wrong with Mommy. Tell her to get up." But the silver-haired boy already knew what was wrong with his Mother; his loving, fragile mother who was much too soft and much too caring to live in a world full of needless pain and hardship. The boy felt tears burning in the back of his eyes, but blinked them away._

_Xemnas watched his father collapse onto the ground next to where his mother lay. His shaky hands reached out to bring the body of the woman he once loved into his lap and hugged her with a ferocity and longing he never had when she was alive. He let her body see tears of sadness and regret he never had when she was alive. He whispered words of forgiveness and love that he never had the courage to say when she was alive. He wished and prayed she was alive but nothing happened and it was killing him. He wanted to be dead, he wanted to be with her; and then he looked at his son. His son with wide watery eyes that threatened to burst and he couldn't bear the thought of leaving him behind. He couldn't do that to his son._

_Xemnas looked on as his father broke into tears, he sobbed and wailed and never once during that half-hour of grief did he hold back his sadness. It was the first time Xemnas ever saw his father cry._

-o-

Xemnas shivered. He had forgotten about that. At least he had tried to forget about it. Thinking about his Mother's death was like ripping open stitches with unclean fingers. It hurt and caused much too much pain. His Mom had died in what was assumed a robbery gone wrong. A group of kids much to young to know what they were doing, and much to old to be trying it, decided to rob Xemnas' home. His mother had been upstairs when the children broke into the house, and she ran downstairs to see what the noise was about. The shock of it killed her.

When she walked into her living room to find it was a war zone of broken objects and displaced furniture it scared her, and her delicate, frail heart gave out. Just like that. If only she had seen the robbers were mere children she wouldn't have died.

The break-in was all over the news. Unexpected death doesn't happen in Twilight Town. For a while nothing was private in Xemnas' household. When his father shipped him off to Dalmasca ahead of schedule to stay with his Uncle Genesis it was a blessing. He remembered being relieved he was away from the cameras and the questions. Even the court case wasn't private. They had caught the children responsible and stuck them in the defendant's chair more for appearances then justice. What were their names again? Xemnas' face twisted in thought. Squall…one of them was definitely named Squall…and the other one…started with a C? Cloud? It was definitely Cloud. But that would mean…

"Hey Xemnas, you okay? You're staring off into space." Demyx's words yanked the teen out of his thoughts with the force of a construction crane.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry about that."

Xemnas, Zexion, and Marluxia had all went straight to Demyx and Axel's apartment after school. While Xemnas believed he had no place there, Zexion and Marluxia had all but begged him to come. Zexion explained it would have been beyond uncomfortable if Marluxia, Zexion, and Demyx were alone in a room together. And there was no way the blue-haired teen was letting Marluxia get away with not apologizing and clearing things up with Demyx. Hence Xemnas was sitting on the edge of Demyx's bed, nothing more then a buffer for the inevitable awkward that was about to invade the room regardless of what the teen did.

"Dem, Marluxia has something to say to you." Zexion, who was sitting directly in front of Demyx, nudged Marluxia who was sitting next to him. The pink-haired teen was currently trying his best to become one with the floor boards, and jumped when he felt Zexion's elbow dig into his side.

"Huh? Yeah, um…I'm sorry Demyx. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I mean I did but-"

"Don't worry about it Mar. I…it's not important anymore. We both want what's best for Zexy, right?"

"Right."

Both Demyx and Marluxia began to blush. A sticky silence fell over the room.

"So…anyone feel up to getting ice-cream? I'll pay." Xemnas bound off the bed and began to stretch. Marluxia looked up at him with admiration and relief.

"I think I'm gonna stay here. I know Dem doesn't wanna go out right now. So the two of us will just stay here." Zexion began to move next to Demyx and took the blonde's hand into his own.

"'kay. I guess it's just us two, we can make it a date, Mar."

"Sounds good. If I would have known I would have put my make-up on this morning."

"Nonsense my love, you look beautiful the way you are. We'll see you later Zexion, it was nice seeing you again Demyx; I hope your wounds heal soon."

"Nice seeing you too!" Demyx's voice carried well into the hallway as the two teens walked toward the front door of the apartment. They exit and closed the door behind them with a loud thud.

"I think I'm in love with you." Marluxia's words tugged a chuckled from Xemnas' lips.

"I wouldn't thank me just yet. I don't have any money on me." Xemnas' eyes crinkled shut as he smiled.

"I don't have any either."

"Hmm, we have to stop at my house then. I hope you don't mind the walk."

"Not at all. I'm with _you_ after all." Xemnas turned just in time to see his pink-haired companion give him a wink.

The duo strolled to Xemnas' house, all the while debating about ice-cream flavors and the importance of proper toppings. When they finally came to the silver-haired teen's house he ran inside to place his backpack in his room, and retrieve his wallet. Once outside they continued on their way until they came to a groomed, generally well-kept house. Marluxia mumbled something about it being his house and wanting to put his backpack away so Xemnas allowed him to disappear into the house and come back in a manner of seconds. The pair walked the few short blocks to the ice-cream parlor where they both sat at the counter.

Xemnas ordered two scoops of sea-salt ice cream, much to Marluxia's disgust. And Marluxia ordered one scoop of coffee and one scoop of vanilla, which Xemnas found utterly revolting.

"Sea-salt ice cream tastes horrible. Salt doesn't belong in ice cream."

"It has just the right amount of salt. You lack the taste buds necessary to enjoy it is all.

"My taste buds are rather refined I'll have you know."

"Sure."

"Mar-loo-sah!"

"Oh God why…" The pink-haired teen buried his head into the crook of his elbow.

Axel and Roxas sauntered over to the pair at the counter and sat next to them.

"Mar-loo-sah! What's up? Haven't seen you all day." Axel fiddled with a pair of wide sunglasses perched on his head as he spoke. Roxas looked down the counter and accidentally made eye contact with Xemnas. Their eyes both went wide with recognition and they both looked away as quickly as their reflexes allowed.

"Yeah. Where on earth have you too been? Did you two make up?"

"Yeah." Roxas was the one to speak. "Axel came over late last night. The hospital called him yesterday night and told him Demyx had been shot. Zexion says it was your fault."

"Yeah…well Zexion says a lot of things…" Marluxia turned his gaze to his ice cream cone and began to glare at it rather fiercely.

"Did you get any sleep last night Roxas?" Xemnas couldn't help but feel nothing but resentment toward Roxas. After everything that happened last night the spiky-haired teen was the last person that should be bringing up Zexion to Marluxia.

The orange-eyed boy got the response he wanted as Roxas' face began to change the same shade of red as Axel's hair.

"Not really. After you and Ventus dropped me off I found Axel outside my window. Ventus went to go spend the night with Vanitas so we didn't have a car and had to walk to the hospital."

"Oh. That must have been rough."

"Y-yeah."

"So you two have met!" Axel smiled as he pat Roxas on the back. "How did you two meet?"

Xemnas was the one to answer. "Ventus and me saw him walking home and picked him up last night. So you guys spent the night with Demyx then?"

Roxas mouthed 'Thank you' to Xemnas who nodded back at him. He still didn't like him.

"Yeah. We've been asleep all day." Axel rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, then turned to the lady behind the counter and ordered two cones of sea-salt ice cream for both him and Roxas.

"Hey. I heard Twilight Town just got a new kid. You must be him." Xemnas felt a slender arm reach around his neck and rest on his shoulders. He felt a snarky comment begin to boil in his gut but it died on his tongue when he turned to see who would dare to touch a stranger.

Brilliant ocean-green eyes looked back at him and stole his ability to speak. He tried to find words but they just wouldn't come to him. His eyes wandered down too a top much to small for a chest much too big. Her frame had the curves of an hourglass and it showed through the faded jeans hanging off her hips. Xemnas' eyes came back to her face once more, and he noticed her hair was an electric blond that had been combed back except for two strands that stood up as if to give a hearty fuck-you to gravity. Xemnas' felt his heart pound fiercely against his rib cage and wondered if it was trying to escape his body. Goddamn this lady was pretty. Every inch of her seemed alluring and seductive and the silver-haired teen averted his eyes to the tiled floor. He didn't want to come off creepy by staring too long and too hard.

"What's your name cutie?" Her voice sounded like the lightest of bells.

"Xemnas. What's yours?" The teen could feel Marluxia's eyes on him; he suddenly felt extraordinarily self-conscience.

"Larexne. But you could call me anything you want baby." The teen felt Larexene's eyes scan him with intense scrutiny, then return to his face with a smile. "You really are easy on the eyes." She sunk into the seat next to Xemnas and reached out to grab his ice cream cone from his hands. She took it and began to lick it, all the while keeping eye contact with a rather red-faced Xemnas.

"Larxy, what are you doing here?" Axel seemed to have spoken what everyone else was thinking because both Roxas and Marluxia began to nod along with him.

"I saw a stranger walk in with Marly here and thought I'd see who he was. I'm glad I did. Where are you from cutie?"

"Dalmasca."

"Oh, exotic. Wanna guess where I'm from?"

"Kalm."

Larxene's eyes widened.

"And how did you know that?"

"Your eyes gave you away." Xemnas felt a smirk coming on and did nothing to stop it.

"Hmm…" Larxene licked the ice cream slowly dripping down the cone. The way she flicked her tongue held Xemnas' interest in such a demanding commanding way he had to blink several time to break his trance.

"You go to Vexen High?" The orange-eyed teen took a big breath as he said this.

"No. Edea Prep. It's awful but what can you do. You wanna stop by my house later? Meet some people from my school? It should be fun."

"Sure. It does sound like fun."

"That's what I like to hear." Taking a napkin on the counter Larexene took a pen from her pocket and wrote down her name, address and phone number. "Round 7 okay?"

"Yeah. That's fine."

"Call me if you're gonna be late. I don't like to wait." With that she got up and left, taking the ice cream cone with her only to dump it in the trash on the way out.

"Xem, give me that napkin." Axel reached his hand across the counter.

"No way."

"There are other, nicer, fish in the sea Xem." Marluxia was the one who spoke this time. He had concern in his eyes as he looked at his silver-haired friend.

"She seems nice."

"She's a skank. Get away from her while you still can." Roxas looked at his ice cream with disgust as he mumbled his words.

"She…I'm still going to see here later."

"I'm all for debauchery but not with her. She gave both Roxas and me crabs, and I think she gave Marlu-" Axel's face twisted in anger and disgust.

"Please, not here." Marluxia cut in; pain splashed across his face. "I never heard the end of it from my mom. I still have to be reminded of how freaked out I was at the doctor's office. She keeps making fun of the face I made.

"The point is, is that she'll wind you in with her whiles and then give you something nasty. Not to mention she's as cold hearted as it gets. Me and Larxene can't stand to be in the same room. She's a bitch."

"I…don't know about all that."

"I say we let Xem have his fun and find out what we mean by himself." Marluxia slung his shoulder around Xemnas. "It won't do any one any good if he regrets not going, just use protection if she does find her way into your pants, that slut really does have everything."

"You're one to talk." Roxas mumbled more to himself then anyone else but still received a knock over the head from Axel.

"I'll tell you guys how it went tomorrow then." Xemnas was beginning to become nervous. What if they were all right and his night with Larexene went horribly. Xemnas shook his head. No, if he went he would have no regrets. The teen smiled. First full day back in Twilight Town and he already found someone who claimed his interest. His luck was terrific.

-o-

Saix walked through his front door and slammed it shut. He felt like he had just run a marathon and began to take big gulps of air to quell his burning lungs. His back pack was much too heavy, if he would have known it would be this hard lugging a bag of cat food in his back pack he would have just went out and bought it some other time, preferably when he wasn't carrying his school books.

The golden-eyed teen waltzed into his kitchen and heaved the bag of cat food from his backpack to the kitchen counter. He dragged his school bag up the flight of steps leading to his bedroom, and once there threw the bag into the room. He really didn't feel like starting homework right now. Instead the teen pulled himself back down the stairs and into the living room. He double-checked the front door was closed and locked, then made his way across the plush blue carpet to a grand piano that sat to the right of the front door. He flexed his fingers and placed them on the keys, and began to stare blankly at his hands.

Playing the piano was his meditation. For one blissful moment his mind would stop and everything would feel right, but first he had to sort through his emotions one by one so they would not get in his way.

Saix couldn't quite place what he was feeling today. He was happy that Xemnas was back in town, across the street from him even. But he was upset that he had almost punched him, that he had let his temper get the best of him, and even worse he just let Xemnas intimidate him as if it were a simple task to do. Alright, maybe it was, but that was because it was Xemnas. Anyone else he would have put up a little more of a fight. And then there was the silence between them after gym class. It was strange, 45 minutes before Xemnas had been willing to speak to Saix regardless of his temper. After class it was as if Xem became a different person, one that was cold and slightly anti-social. Maybe the silver-haired teen would feel better tomorrow?

Saix shrugged. He came to the conclusion he was feeling a sensation akin to a bittersweet situation therefore a bittersweet song was in order. The teen's slender fingers flew across the keys and it felt right. His mind was clear and at peace. For a moment Saix became the music. He rose and crashed with the notes and it felt natural; as if he were born to be the vibrations of his instrument and nothing more. When the song ended the teen felt calm; as if he had just woken from the best sleep of his life. And then he craved ice cream. He felt depression coming on and the only way Saix knew how to cure it was to fill the growing void inside him with sprinkles. Rainbow sprinkles with three scoops of ice cream, and hot fudge wouldn't be bad either. The teen hopped from his seat in front of the piano and went to grab his wallet from the kitchen counter. Yes, ice cream with rainbow sprinkles is exactly what he needed.

The blue-haired teen double-checked he had his wallet, cell phone, and sneakers and opened his wide, wooden front door. He saw Cloud and Leon riding their motorcycles side-by-side, down the street and retreated back into his house, closing his door, and waiting for them to pass. The last thing he needed was either of them to notice he was out of his house. The three teens usually clashed on contact and Saix wasn't up for a fight. After the sound of their bikes was distant enough to be to Saix's liking he left his house and slammed the door loudly behind him.

_Do I want sprinkles from the super market? No…those won't do. They taste like plastic. The ice cream parlor has better sprinkles; hmmm maybe I should get sea salt ice cream…_

The teen scratched the back of his head as he thought.

_No, sea salt ice cream tastes nasty with sprinkles. Vanilla ice cream on the other hand…yeah, that sounds much better. Vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and hot fudge. That sounds divine._

The ice cream parlor came into view and the teen smiled. He felt his lips parting as his smile turned into a full on grin. He was definitely in the mood for ice cream.

A 5'8'' girl sporting slick blond hair became visible a block away and it made Saix stop his march toward the ice cream parlor. Upon closer inspection Saix recognized the girl as Larxene and he sighed. She was going into the ice cream parlor and Saix would be damned if he breathed the same air she did.

_I'm not going anywhere near that dirty hoe. She made my life a living hell when we were in middle school. As if Cloud and Leon weren't bad enough. Not to mention she slept with Marluxia, Axel, Roxas (I wonder how that one happened), Xaldin I think…Kairi, Namine, Tiffa, Luxord (Ew…), and Vincent although he denies it. I'm not going anywhere near her, super market sprinkles it is then…_

The teen turned down a nearby block and strolled to the super market. Once inside he grabbed a basket.

_Ice cream…ice cream… there we go._

The teen came to the Frozen treats aisle and looked at the desserts sitting behind the wide glass door.

_Shinra ice cream is out of the question. There vanilla tastes like milk and melted plastic, Galbadia creamery sounds good, there vanilla taste wonderful, but then there's Destiny Desserts, they know how to make good ice cream…but so do the Galbadians…mmm, Destiny Desserts it is._

Saix opened the glass door and a blast of cold air hit him. He had half a mind to stay wedged between the heavy glass of the fridge, but banished the thought from his mind and picked up a carton of Destiny Desserts Vanilla ice cream. He wandered down the aisle to where the toppings were displayed and looked at the selection of sprinkles with disgust.

_These all taste nasty…I guess these are okay…_

Saix took the sprinkles and hid them underneath the carton of ice cream. He blushed as he did this, he was always afraid people would just know he liked guys by his taste in ice cream toppings. Leon and Cloud had known. When they were kids they would throw Saix into brick walls and smash his face into trashcans when they saw him with sprinkles. They told him it was wrong for a boy to enjoy anything that looked remotely like a rainbow. Never the less the blue-haired boy couldn't bear to give up his one true vice. He loved the sugary pelts to death, but because of his childhood bullies he preferred to hide them away from eyes that might judge him. Just in case. He scooped a glass of Destiny Desserts fudge from one of the shelves and placed it into his basket as well, wedging it against the ice cream carton lest it fall over and show his sprinkles to the world.

_I think that's it…Hmm…I guess it's self-check out today._

The teen wandered with the speed of a sloth down aisle upon aisle as he made his way to the self-check out lane. Once there he found all of them full. He stood behind an old lady with shaky hands as she put money into the proper slot of the machine and waited patiently for her to collect her change. She left with a small plastic bag full of cat food that Saix couldn't help cringing at.

_She's gonna kill her cat with that junk. Shinra cat food is nothing but processed meat and plastic filler. Oh God that poor cat…_

Shoving the thoughts of junk cat food from his mind, the blue-haired teen went through the process of buying his comfort food and walking home, looking at the ice cream parlor with something akin to longing on the way back. He rushed through his front door, locking it tightly shut and hurriedly put his sundae together. The teen kicked off his shoes once his cold bowl of ice cream, fudge, and well over half a container worth of rainbow sprinkles was in his hands. He jumped onto the plush cotton couch and flipped the T.V. on, changing it to some trashy show were two women were fighting each other over a man with a stained shirt, ripped pants, and vacant eyes.

"I don't understand…" Saix mused out loud as he shoveled a spoonful of sprinkles into his mouth. "They look like they clean up nice enough. Why are they fighting over him, they can do so much better…"

The golden-eyed boy felt something warm and fuzzy curl up to his thigh and looked down.

"Hi Sprinkles."

The cat meowed in response as it curled into a ball.

Saix looked back at the T.V. to find one of the fine ladies on the screen had pulled the other's tube top off her chest. The teen was in trash T.V. and junk food heaven when he heard a scratching sound emanate from the other side of the couch. He sighed in complete exasperation and turned to the other end of the couch to find his cat scratching a hole into the tan fabric.

"Sprinkles! Sprinkles! Sir Rainbow Sprinkles stop it right now!" The golden-eyed teen yanked his cat from the couch and placed him on the floor. "Go somewhere else Sprinkles. Go play with the mice."

Sprinkles turned around with an air of annoyance and waved his black and white spotted tail as he walked away.

Saix sighed. He nestled back into the crook of the couch and was about to spoon another mound of fudgy ice cream into his mouth when the doorbell rang. The teen's face scrunched up in confusion. He wasn't expecting anyone, and he hadn't ordered anything off the Internet lately.

He placed his bowl of ice cream on the floor next to the couch and walked to the door. He really wasn't in the mood for this.


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened but Saix had yet to lay his hand on the lock. His face paled.

_Oh God why. I thought she was out of town._

"My son!" A woman burst through the door sporting shoulder-length blue hair that swayed as she charged toward Saix. Soft brown eyes were opened wider then Saix believed humanly possible and he soon found warm arms enveloping him. He was suddenly in a hug he was too dazed to return, and when his mom let him go he was greeted by a beaming smile.

"Hi Mom. I thought you were coming home on Friday."

"Yes, but my meeting was canceled and the representative from Dollet never showed up. So I just came home. I missed you so much! Here! I got you something from Kalm!" His Mom dug her hand into a large plastic bag hanging from her risk and took out a neon green lava lamp. Upon closer inspection it held some sort of strange shaped confetti floating around that made Saix nearly choke on his spit.

"Mom. What's floating in it?"

"Huh? Oh, those are swords. Like in a struggle match."

"Oh." _Those are penises. God Mother…why are you so blind…where did she find this._

"I saw there's a new car in the driveway across the street. Have you seen our new neighbors?"

"Yes. Xemnas and his father moved back in."

At this Saix's Mother dropped all her bags and raised her clenched hands to her mouth. "Oh my gosh! Really? Is his father still single?"

"I think so."

Back when Xemnas had both his parents and Saix only had one he would overhear his mother's quiet swooning over Xemnas' father. His mother and Xemnas' mother had been close friends, it was how Saix had met his silver-haired friend. But his mother always held a horrible jealous grudge. It was an ugly, terrifying thing inside her and it hadn't come out to feed in years. With Xemnas back in town Saix hoped his mother was decent enough to keep her hands away from her deceased friend's husband.

"I can't believe I wasn't there to greet them! Did you help them settle in?"

"Yes, I helped bring in boxes-"

"We need to give them a house warming present! Did you give them one?"

"No…"

"What's the matter with you!"

Saix felt hands push forcefully on his shoulders and he found himself outside. The door slammed closed behind him and he turned toward it in a fit of anxiety and rage.

"Mom! Mom, open this door! It's late Mom! I have homework!"

"No! You're a horrible son! Go over there and see what they need and then buy it for them!"

"Mom! Please! I can do this later!"

Saix received no answer and this only irritated him more.

"Mom! Come back here! Sprinkles! Sprinkles is that you!"

The blue-haired teen spotted his cat in the window who looked at him with a blank stare exuding nonchalance.

"Sprinkles unlock the door! Sprinkles! Sprinkles! Open this door! Open the God-damn door Sprinkles!"

Saix yelled at the window with all his might but his cat refused to move. The teen sighed. His cat always unlocked the door, always always, always. So much so that Saix double-checked the door was truly locked on a regular bases. He knew his cat could just flick the latch open and he would be damned if his own pet didn't help him when he needed him too.

"Sprinkles! Sprinkles! Open the door! For the love of-don't you dare! Sprinkles, no! Don't eat my ice cream! Don't eat the sprinkles you cannibal!"

Saix sighed. He subconsciously looked down at his socked feet and wished more then anything for a pair of shoes to fall from the sky and hit him in the face. At least then he wouldn't look like such an idiot. The teen walked across the street; the sound of his bare footsteps grating slowly on his nerves. He rung the doorbell of Xemnas' home and his father answered. The man stood a tall and intimidating 6'3'' in the doorway.

"Hello . It's nice to see you again."

"Saix?" 's face scrunched up in a most peculiar way before stretching wide.

"Saix! Oh my Goodness you've grown! Come over here!"

The teen was tugged into a rough, musky smelling hug and was released before he had time to resist.

"Time and age have been good to you sir."

"Nonsense, my joints say much different. Xemnas just stepped out, would you like to come in? I can make you some tea."

"I can't. I was hoping to buy you and Xemnas a house warming gift, but I don't know what to get."

"You don't have too…but if you must we're in desperate need of a coffee maker."

"I'll get that then. I have to get going. It was nice talking to you sir."

"Come back some time. We have to catch up."

"Will do."

Saix trekked back to his home to find the door unlocked and his cat looking up at him with glittering, smiling eyes. Ice cream and fudge were dripping from his whiskers and smudged his white and black-splotched fur.

"Demon cat."

Saix went to pick up his ice cream bowl to find it was a syrupy mess of sugar and chocolate. He dumped it into the sink and went to fetch his computer from the crook between the couch cushions. Apparently he had coffee machine shopping to do.

-o-

Xemnas left his house and was greeted by the wondrous screams of an insane man.

"Sprinkles unlock the door! Sprinkles! Sprinkles! Open this door! Open the God-damn door Sprinkles!"

_What the…_

Xemnas turned slowly, his hair got stuck to the fabric of his sweater as he did so and he had to give a sharp tug with his head to get them loose. The sight of Saix at his door screaming at the 6 by 8 piece of wood with all the power his lungs allowed scared Xemnas just a little. He had been completely reluctant to accept Zexion's claim of Saix's mental state but the blue-haired man was yelling at the top of his lungs about sugary ice cream toppings opening a door for him. If that wasn't the picture of insanity Xemnas didn't know what was.

The teen ignored the rantings of his peer and walked down the street with the intent of making it to the address Larxene had given him. He wanted to get a good head start; apparently she lived closer to Destiny Island then Twilight Town. It would take two busses and a trek over an extraordinarily long bridge to get to her house and he didn't have time to lose if he didn't want to make Larxene wait. The trip was long and slightly tedious but he made it with 10 minutes to spare. The teen rung the doorbell and stood on the crumbling steps of the house, waiting patiently until his flaxen-haired earth angel came to the door.

"Hey, you're early, come in." Larxene waved Xemnas in. He obliged and found himself in a white-walled, grey-carpeted room with sparse decoration. The walls were splotched with dark brown stains Xemnas was afraid to touch and the carpet gave off the strong scent of urine although there was no sign of any house pets. The only remarkable thing about the room was an old leather couch ripped in nearly all the seams and a T.V. sitting in an entertainment center made of wood that was chipping on the edges. The silver-haired teen kept his face as straight as possible. The scenery troubled him and set him on edge, but this was where his angel lived and he would sooner damn himself to hell then embarrass her or himself by mentioning it. He followed her to the couch and the pair sat down.

"I'm glad you came."

"Yeah, me too. Did I come too early?"

"No, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't look like anyone else is coming."

"So it's just us?"

"Yeah, just us."

Xemnas' nerves stood on end. This wasn't what he came here for. Suddenly he felt incredibly intimidated by Larxene's presence. He felt like he needed to go home.

"You wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure, put in your favorite."

"If you say so."

The menu screen of a movie called '13 Jars of Jam' showed up on the screen much faster then Xemnas believed possible, he figured the movie must have already been in the DVD player so she must have been watching it recently.

The two of them began to settle in. Larxene urged Xemnas to take of his shoes and he didn't have the heart to disagree. Somewhere halfway through the movie Xemnas realized Larxene was practically in his lap and he soaked up the much-wanted pressure and body heat as if he were a perverse sponge. He wondered at what point they had found themselves in this position: The silver-haired teen had his legs open wide as he rest against an armrest of the couch, Larxene was between his legs, laying back on his chest as if it were the most comfortable of cushions in all the world. Even though he was immensely at ease and everything about the situation felt nice, it didn't feel right. Something felt so out of odds that an itching, burning sensation was growing in the back of Xemnas' mind. It urged him to get up and run and never once look back at the beautiful girl seated so pleasantly between his legs. He couldn't place what was so glaringly wrong so the teen decided to push the sensation as far away as he could. He didn't want to deal with any form of doubt at the moment.

Someone began cutting off some else's finger in he movie and the whole ordeal was loud and bloody. He could feel Larxene smiling underneath him.

"Pain is the only true emotion. Don't you agree?"

_Pain isn't an emotion. It's a reaction._

Xemnas inwardly cringed, he chose to give a half-hearted nod and watched in anticipation and ever growing anxiety as Larxene turned around. She rested her hands on the sides of his hips and she leaned in ever so close to Xemnas' burning red face.

"You're blushing. That's cute. I'm glad you came over. It would have been a boring night."

_So I'm just entertainment…because you're bored?_

Every node in the teen's brain told him it was a terrible idea to stay locked beneath this girl's arms, but ever beat of his heart told him to stay and enjoy the most carnal of pleasures with a woman he barely knew.

It had been a while since Xemnas had allowed himself to enjoy another person's body. His first time had been an awkward clumsy affair in a janitor's closet with a guy named Vaan. He had been 16 then; young and curious with a mind chock full of terrible ideas. His second time had been with a girl named Ashe. That had been far more pleasant. It wasn't a rushed ordeal and in the end the two had managed to stay friends. Xemnas had never once thought of laying his hands out of lust on someone he didn't know. Until now anyway. He could feel her breath on his face and the smell invaded his nose. It was beautiful. The scent of the sweetest flower would never be able to compare. He blinked and found soft pink lips on his; he gasped and found a gummy, pleasurably wet tongue dancing with his own. It was a violent kiss filled with biting and panting and way too much teeth.

_Long sky blue hair fell down strong shoulders. Brilliant golden eyes stared down at him with curiosity and lust. He was smiling a wonderfully dreamy, sleepy smile._

_"Morning' Sai, you wanna get off me?"_

_"Sure, sorry…you just…had something…on your face…"_

_Well that's a weird thing to remember at a time like this._

Xemnas opened his eyes in shock. Saix? Why was he thinking about Saix? Saix was the last person he wanted to think about. The teen shoved the thoughts as far away as he could and closed his eyes so he could focus on the wonderful sensations in his mouth.

_In one swift movement Xemnas grabbed the pillow under his head and whacked Saix in the face with it, only to find the blue-haired teen's smirk had only grew._

_"Relax Xem. I'll tell you your story."_

_Goddamn it Saix get out of my head!_

Xemnas pulled away from the kiss, a heaving, sweating mess. He took a good look at the smiling woman above him. He took in the sight of her wet bruised lips and alluring electric aqua-green eyes. He tried to remind himself _this_ was who he was kissing. _This_ was who was on top of him. _This_ wasn't Saix. But he couldn't get the sight of the blue-haired teen out of his head. He tried so hard-s_o fucking hard_-but it wasn't enough.

Larxene caught his lips again and Xemnas believed his mind to be fully blown to oblivion by the mere pleasure of it all.

_I wonder what Saix's lips taste like…_

_Goddamn it! Damn it to hell!_

_What the…_

Xemnas looked down to find Larxene's hands wandering though the zipper hole of his pants. He brushed her hand away but it came back with a vengeance and Xemnas had to break the kiss and push her off to stop her.

"What? I have a condom somewhere around here."

"I'm not-I don't want to do this."

"Are you sure? Your pants say different."

"I'm sure. I'm sorry if I gave off the wrong impression. I'm gonna get going. I'll see you around." The teen zippered his pants and slid on his shoes in a hasty manner that made the backs curl in under his heels. He ignored it and walked out of the house as fast as he could without breaking into a full on jog. He continued down the block and around a corner until he stopped to fix his shoes.

_What's wrong with me…there must be something wrong with me. I gave up a chance with a beautiful girl just because I felt just a little uneasy…and what guy feels uneasy when kissing an attractive girl…maybe I'm more gay then I thought…_

Xemnas pulled himself down the street with all the willpower he could muster.

_It wasn't like this with Ashe though. It felt nice. We were both comfortable with our decision. And it's not like I wasn't attracted to Larxene…it's just I kept thinking of Saix. Why was I thinking about Saix…I'm getting sick thinking about it… I need to get my mind straightened out…_

After two hours of strenuous travel Xemnas found his way home, ego bruised and battered.

-o-

His second day of school went by without major incident, and he walked home with the company of 5 new textbooks. Marluxia had promised to meet him at some fast food place a few blocks into town to talk about what happened last night. The pink-haired boy had sensed something went terribly wrong and was willing to listen away from ears that might judge the silver-haired teen. Thus Xemnas dropped his books in his house and began his journey to find the fast food place Marluxia swore was less then three blocks away.

"Xemnas! Xemnas! Wait up!"

The teen stopped as requested and was dismayed when slick blonde hair came into view.

"Hey…what are-"

"I came to apologize." Larxene came to an abrupt stop in front of Xemnas. She coughed, gasped for air and dry heaved before grabbing Xemnas' shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. It wasn't what I thought it would be. I didn't know you were a relationship type of man. You're a keeper."

"Mm" Xemnas didn't like where this is going. "Have you been following me?"

"No! Hon, I have more class then that. I saw you walk by and just thought I'd clear the air is all."

"I see." Xemnas really did not like where this is going.

"It's just that that's never happened to me before. Do you know what I'm saying? No one has ever had the guts to walk out on me like that."

"Mh-hmm, yeah." _What is she doing here? This is so weird._

"And at first I was mad. Trust me darling I was ready to start breaking plates. But in hindsight I guess I respect you more for it."

_How much hindsight can you have? It happened about 16 hours ago and most of that time was spent sleeping._

"Mh-hmm, sure."

"And the more I think about it, the more of a man you are. I mean only a man would have balls big enough to walk out on me."

"Mh-hmm, yeah." _Did I leave my textbooks on the edge of my nightstand? I hope they don't fall over. Those things are heavy._

"I want you to go out with me."

"Mh-hmm, sure" _Wait what?_

Somewhere deep inside him Xemnas felt the urge to punch his own face. It took everything he had to keep his hands at his sides.

"That's good. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah…" The teen received a rushed peck on the lips before Larxene turned and left.

_What the hell…_

Xemnas shook his head in a futile attempt to ward of his confusion.

_What did I just say yes too…what the flying fuck did I just say yes too._

The teen sighed. Just a minute ago the world seemed so clear and now Xemnas was seeing it through a dazed fog. _Marluxia isn't gonna like this._

-o-

"You're not as bright as I hoped you were" Marluxia put down the fries he was holding and placed them back in their carton in favor of his soda. The pink-haired teen looked a tie between disgusted and horrified and the expression didn't look quite right on his face.

"I wasn't paying attention. I don't want the commitment of having a girlfriend."

"We warned you."

"Yes. I know. If you have a gun I would appreciate it if you would let me borrow it. I want to shoot my foot."

"You're too hot for self-mutilation. Even if I had a gun I'd sooner eat it whole then give it to you. Keep your hands from my fries."

"Ugh.." Xemnas' hands retreated back to his soda and his head bent down to rest on the lid of the cup. "I'm an idiot."

"Don't say that. Wait a day or two and dump her."

"I feel like such a douche bag."

"You're not my love. How is everything else? Moving in and everything I mean."

"It's fine. I think my dad settled everything with the guys moving our furniture 'cause everything was fully furnished when I came home. His company perks pay off once in a while."

"If you don't mind me asking where does your father work?"

"He works for-"

"Xemnas, Marluxia." Zexion's crystal clear calm voice cut through the conversation and caused both teenagers to look up.

"Zexy! I didn't know you'd be here."

"Demyx is with Axel and Roxas right now and I don't have the slightest clue where they went. I didn't quite know what to do with myself."

Xemnas scooted over and let Zexion slip in next to him in the cold plastic booth.

"I'm interrupting something?" Zexion said this as he placed a bag containing fries and a cup of iced tea on the table.

"No. I was just telling him how moving is going." Xemnas leaned against the wall to his left, taking his soda into his hands and off the table.

"I see. How is it going?"

"House is fully furnished. You guys should come over sometime."

"Perhaps. Where are you two going after this?"

"You can come to my house. My mom just replaced our old backyard swing set. It can actually hold my weight now" Marluxia flattened his fry carton as he spoke.

"Thank goodness. Your old one was falling apart. Xemnas, would you like to join us?"

"No thanks. I have a lot of homework to do."

"You could bring your work." Marluxia offered as he threw his trash into his paper bag.

"No thanks."

"You say so. We should get going Zexion."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow Xemnas."

"Yeah, see you later Xem."

"Bye guys."

Marluxia and Zexion left Xemnas to himself and the silver-haired boy's thoughts soon swamped him. He felt like such a moron.

_"Hey, Saix?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Can you tell me a story?" Xemnas shifted to look at Saix, his hair getting caught in static and scratchy fabric of the sleeping bag as he turned. He was met with questioning eyes and a halfhearted smirk._

_"How old are you again?"_

And on top of everything he couldn't get Saix out of his head. The teen closed his eyes in an attempt to fight back a headache that threatened to pummel his mind.

_God I need help…_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: For anyone who hasn't played Final Fantasy Crisis Core; Genesis was one of the main characters. He was kind of crazy and consistently recited a poem/play called Loveless. He also has an affinity for fire.

-o-

Xemnas' father left his office and stretched. His muscles cried out in joy and his bones crackled in delight. Hunching over a computer all day was taking a terrible toll on his back. The man looked around the living room for any indicator his son was home; but found nothing but dirty scuff marks on the gleaming wood floor.

"Where did that boy go…" The man shook his head and sighed. His locks of aging grey hair swayed with him and he swatted them away from his face.

"I wonder if Biggs' proposal came in the mail today. I suppose I should check." The gray-haired man sauntered from his house to his front yard and peaked inside the peach-colored mailbox rooted deeply into the ground.

"Junkmail, junkmail, huh? College mail for Xem. Did he send college applications out already? Nonsense it's far to early for that."

The sound of footsteps and light chatter brought the gray-haired man's attention from his mail to the source of the noise. The sight that met his eyes brought forth a slew of buried emotions he thought he would never feel again. Anger, regret, and sorrow filled him and he couldn't help but let it bubble over into his muscles. Every nerve seemed to tense and he had to work himself back down to a state of socially acceptable anger before he caused a scene. Xemnas would never forgive him if he caused a scene.

"Mr. Dalmasy?" A strong, rough voice came from an equally strong, rough looking boy. Mousey brown hair fell on slouched shoulders covered by a worn leather jacket.

"Leon." Mr. Dalmasy turned toward Leon's companion who stood dumbfounded and terrified. Blond eyebrows were raised rather high over dull blue eyes that were opened extraordinarily wide. Messy blond locks haphazardly framed his face. "Cloud" Mr. Dalmasy nodded toward Cloud and the teen took a step backward, as if he had been greeted by a ghost.

"Mr. Dalmasy" The scared blond nodded back.

"Sir." Leon took a step forward. "We're sorry. I know that nothing can bring her back. We were horrible children. I would be grateful if you could forgive us. But I would understand if you couldn't."

"You both want forgiveness?"

"Yes." They spoke in unison and it made Mr. Dalmasy smile.

"Alright then, you. Come over here."

"Me?" Cloud pointed toward his chest.

"Yes you. I want you in front of me."

Cloud did as he was told, but not with out catching the blush forming on the blonde's cheeks.

The gray-haired man bent down till his lips hovered over Cloud's ear and he watched in much amusement as the teen's face became the same red commonly found on fire trucks. He began to whisper his demand into the teen's ear and the boy's face only became increasingly redder. Mr. Dalmasy pulled away with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"We're going." Cloud backed away from the much older man hanging over him and grabbed Leon's hand. "We're getting out of here."

"What did he tell you?"

"We're leaving."

The teens rushed down the sidewalk in a fit of hurried whispers and frantic tugging.

"That'll teach 'em'" Xemnas' father turned, mail in hand, and retreated back into his house.

-o-

When Saix checked off 'express shipping' on the online order form he honestly wasn't expecting it to arrive the next day. These things never come on time. When he came home from school to find a box on his front steps he was both slightly shocked and excited. The teen brought the box inside and promptly opened it to make sure it was a coffee maker and not, in fact, some obscene sculpture his mother had ordered for chuckles. She was prone to doing strange, erratic things and Saix didn't have the patience for it at the moment. The box did indeed hold a coffee maker much to the teen's relief. He heaved the light weight box into his arms and decided now was as good a time as any to give the Dalmasy's their coffee maker, so Saix took his keys off the kitchen counter and left his home to make the small journey to Xemnas' house. He stood on the crumbling steps of the silver-haired teen's home and rung the doorbell. The ten second wait was excruciating and caused the golden-eyed boy's heart to drive it's nails into his ribs in an attempt to break out of his chest. The thumping was beginning to become painful when the door finally creaked open.

"Saix?" Xemnas stood in the doorway in all his splendor. Silver locks scraped against tan skin and-_he's not wearing a shirt_. Saix couldn't pull his eyes away from the exposed skin but then again he wasn't trying too hard. It was sun-kissed and glowing and _heat_ was radiating off of it that drew Saix in like a starving man to food. He blinked and raised his gaze to Xemnas' burning orange eyes that were just staring at him so intently Saix thought the silver-haired teen was trying to see into his soul. The blue-haired teen cleared his throat and finally found his wits long enough to speak.

"Here's your coffee maker." Saix shoved the box into Xemnas' arms, turned abruptly and left.

-o-

Xemnas watched Saix turn and leave just as quickly as he had come. He looked down at the coffee maker in his hands with something akin to befuddlement and slight nausea.

_How did he know we needed one. I don't think I wanna know. God he's weird._ Xemnas closed the front door with his feet and walked the coffee maker to the kitchen where he laid it on the counter. The teen sighed and rest his head against the box.

-o-

_When Saix entered his house he felt it more then heard it. It wasn't until he heard what sounded like bare feet on wood did he know for certain that Saix was here. A six foot figure appeared in his doorway and it wasn't until then that Xemnas truly felt like he had returned home._

_Golden eyes glistened in the streetlight coming through the bare windows and it brought ease into Xemnas' limbs. The emptiness of the house seemed to be gone, banished away to the cobweb ridden corners of the house, hiding from the quiet radiance that Saix seemed to not help giving off. "Hey." That _voice_; _**that** voice_…"_

_"Hey…_

_Hey…_

_Hey…"_

-o-

Saix voice replayed over and over in Xemnas head and made the boy's heart palpitate in dangerous ways. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm him self but it did nothing.

-o-

_Saix! Xemnas raised small arms to scratch his tangled mess of hair. He looked over at his blue-haired friend who had stopped walking to look at him._

_"Yep?"_

_"I wanna marry you."_

_"What?" Saix turned to his best friend, his nose and eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Like married, married?"_

_"Yep." Xemnas nodded, his shoulder length locks swaying forward as he did so. "You're supposed to marry the person you want to be with forever, and you're my best friend! Don't you wanna marry me?"_

_"I guess so…B-but we don't have rings, and we need someone to marry us." Saix stuttered slightly as a blush began to form on his cheeks._

_Xemnas' facial features scrunched together momentarily before the boy dug his fingers into the pockets of his pants to retrieve a small rubber band ball. He tugged off two small bands from the rubbery tangled mess and put the rest in his pocket. "There. Now we have rings. Now we just need someone to marry us."_

_The two boys scoured the playground for a child that looked their age and whom they thought would be willing to join the two boys in holy matrimony. They came upon a child with messy jet-black hair and eyes as golden as the setting sun._

_"Hi!" Saix smiled as he greeted this new boy. "My name is Saix, and this is Xemnas. What's your name?"_

_"Vani."_

_"That's a cool name!"_

_"It's nice to meet you Vani." Xemnas pushed his way in front of Saix; getting dirt and crusted snot from his hands all over the shoulders of Saix's shirt. "I want to marry Saix. Can you marry us?"_

_"Sure." Vani's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Do you guys have flowers?"_

_"Do we need them?" Saix fidget with his hands as he spoke._

_"You can't have a wedding without flowers." Vani smiled._

_"I'll be right back." Xemnas nodded to his two companions and left to find a patchy strip of grass not far off that yielded an unusual excess of dandy lions. The orange-eyed boy yanked two hands full of dandy lions from the ground, dirt caked roots and all. He walked back to the two other boys patiently waiting for him to return. "Here! I got flowers!" Xemnas shoved some of the flowers into Saix hands and they stood side-by-side, make-shift bouquets in hand._

_"Are you ready?" Vani was beating down a smile but it surfaced despite his efforts. He clearly wasn't taking his fellow eight year olds too seriously._

_"Yep" Xemnas was practically glowing._

_"Yes." Saix was fidgeting uncontrollably. If it was from nerves or excitement Xemnas couldn't tell._

_"'Kay. Do you Saix, take Xemnas to be your awful wedded husband in holey mattressmony, for better or worse, till death does you part?"_

_"Yes." Saix gave a strong nod. His eyes a steely yellow. His features were stoic and somber. He turned toward Xemnas and took a one of the rubber bands from his hand and placed it onto the sun-kissed boy's left index finger._

_"Do you Xemnas, take Saix to be your awful wedded husband in holey mattressmony, for better or worse, till death does you part?"_

_"I do." Xemnas' smile was so bright the sun would never be able to compete. He turned toward Saix who gave him a bashful sideways glance and slid the small rubber band onto the blue-haired boy's right index finger._

_"I pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss your husband."_

_Xemnas stepped toward Saix. The blue-haired boy looked at his orange-eyed friend with fear and apprehension. Xemnas was quick to close the distance between him and Saix, and firmly planted his lips directly on top of Saix's. When he pulled away they both wiped their mouths with the backs of their dirt-stained hands._

_"You're my husband now!" Xemnas hugged Saix as he jumped up and down, kicking up the gravel beneath their feet._

_"Yeah." Saix smiled softly back at his newfound life partner._

_"I'm so happy." Xemnas looked up to find Vani gone. He wondered when the black-haired boy had a chance to escape but didn't dwell too much on it. He had a husband now who needed to get out of the sun; his pale skin was beginning to look kind of red and Xemnas would be dammed if he let Saix get hurt; even if it was just the threat of a sun-burn. The pair walked off in the direction they believed their parents would be. Xemnas was ready to bring his husband home._

-o-

The silver-haired teen clutched his forehead. He punched the cabinet hanging overhead and received nothing but a dull ache in his knuckles. The action did nothing for his mounting frustration. That happened? That _actually_ **happened**? And when did Vanitas have time to visit Twilight Town? Why would he not remember meeting him? Xemnas tried to cover his eyes in an attempt to shield himself from the mental image of his younger self hugging an eight-year old Saix. The teen only became more enraged as his attempts to escape his own mind proved fruitless. The orange-eyed boy dug into his pockets and opened his phone. The teen held down the number two on his phone and the name Genesis blinked to life in blocky white letters on the screen. The phone rung in his ear until a scratchy voice tinged with a Banora accent sung hello across the static and Xemnas couldn't help but slap his hand across his face. "Hello Genesis."

" Xemnas? I knew you would call eventually. I assume you've moved back into Twilight Town. It's so nice to have you closer to Destiny Islands. These Islands are in desperate need of me. But you know that already. How are you and your father doing? He never wants to talk."

"He's fine. Busy as always. I was hoping you can help me with something. I feel as if I've gotten myself into quite a mess."

"Ah ha! So you are in need of my excellent advice. Let me find a quiet spot to chat." The sound of scoffing dress shoes and the opening and closing of a door echoed through the line before Genesis came back to the phone.

"So what is this…" Genesis sighed "Problem?"

"I mistakenly accepted a girls invitation to become her boyfriend." Xemnas quickly explained his situation with Larxene, as well as his frequent disturbing thoughts about Saix, and the blue-haired teens apparent loss of sanity.

"Why am I not surprised." Genesis sighed the words out in one slow breath. "Do you want to jump Saix?"

"What?" Xemnas found himself choking on air.

"Jump him. Jump his bones. Get in his pants. Play the-"

"I understand what you're asking. Please stop."

Xemnas gave the question considerable thought. He mulled it over in his mind thoroughly before allowing himself to answer. "No. If I liked Saix I would have realized it by now. I think I'm just curious about him. He's a different person now. I want to know who he's become."

"What are you going to do about this Larxene?"

"I don't know. I asked a friend; they told me to wait a day or two before I dumped her. I feel horrible about the whole thing."

"As you should. It is a terrible act to lead someone on. A most painful farce. I should know, I have led many a man on my self with my charms. But it would be cruel to continue lying to her."

"So do I wait? Or do I call her now?"

"Do you like her?"

Xemnas found he had trouble finding an answer. He liked her for all the wrong reasons. She was a beautiful stranger willing to give away her body as if it were a party favor and Xemnas had neither the strength nor the willpower to say no.

"Something like that."

"You should get to know her, find out something more then the contours of her hips and then make your decision. If you like her, stay, if you don't it would be best if you left."

"You're right." Xemnas sighed. "You're always right. Thank you Uncle Gen."

"Don't mention it for even a second. Anything for my nephew. I'll come by next weekend to pick up my fuel. You still have it, right?"

"Of course. Father doesn't know."

"Thank the heavens. See you soon."

"I look forward to it."

The phone call ended and the silver-haired teen finally felt peace return to his nerves. His thoughts were finally collected and ordered. Everything made sense and he scolded himself for thinking even for a second he was attracted to the crazy teenager living across the street. Now if he could find the sewing kit to mend his shirt everything would be just dandy.

-o-

Saix practically ran into the shower. He blast the cold water and threw off his clothes in record speed. The water stung his skin but it was what he needed at the moment. How else was he supposed to take care of the problem growing between his legs. He didn't even know his man parts still worked like that. The teen couldn't remember the last time he had a reaction so strong to someone he was attracted too. It's not like he hasn't found people who aren't attractive, quite the opposite. Saix was able to spot attractive men several miles away. But his body has never had such a violent reaction to anyone. He was always able to control himself. Until now anyway. Saix stood in the shower, startled and slightly appalled.

_You have to be kidding me. He was only shirtless. What would I have done if he came to the door in boxers? Shit. Shouldn't have thought about that._

Saix spent a long half hour bathing and beating himself up over natural body functions and his over dramatic reactions to them. Once clothed the teen decided to bury his self-hatred with homework. When homework failed to bring him the release he craved the teen decided that fetching the mail would be far more productive then mindlessly scribbling numbers into a workbook that was falling apart at the seems. The blue-haired boy dragged himself down the stairs with all the grace of a wounded goose. He opened the door and breathed in the salty, warm tang of late-summer air. Saix loved the transition between summer and fall. The air tasted wonderful and the world felt serene. He reached his hand into the chipping blue mailbox. The teen pulled out a handful of envelopes and filed through them only to find absolutely nothing of interest.

"Hey. Saix, that you?" A gravelly, mannish voice made the blue-haired teen look up from his mail to find glowing yellow eyes looking back at him.

"Vanitas? Why aren't you in Midgar?" Saix's eyebrows raised only slightly before resting back down over his eyes.

"I'm not quarantined there. Have you seen Ventus?"

"No."

"Shit. Are you sure?"

"I've been in my house."

Vanitas sighed. "The idiot is always running off. All I did was- you know what. It's not important. Can I come in?"

Saix looked back at his house, and then to Vanitas. The teen wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Vanitas. In fact they barely acknowledged each other's existence. It was an odd request, but then again Vanitas was an odd person. Saix shrugged. It wasn't like his mom was home.

"Sure. Don't break anything."

"Epic." They walked into the Saix's home and the teen locked the door behind them.

"So, Saix, last time we spoke was…10 years ago. You were married to Xemnas. How that workin' out for ya?"

"As well as you and your boy toy Ventus." Saix sat on the living room couch and Vanitas joined him, the black-haired boy took of his shoes and promptly made him self a little too comfortable.

Saix only raised his eyebrows. _Strange boy indeed._

"That was a good one. Tell me, are you always this pleasant?"

"All day."

Vanitas looked over at Saix and the two shared eye contact so fierce the energy bordered on tangible until Vanitas burst into laughter.

"Why haven't we ever hung out before?"

"You've been too busy chasing after Ventus and running from bat-shit crazy Galbadians."

Vanitas burst out laughing, holding his sides and coughing up spittle in the process.

"Fuck. I guess your right. Turn the T.V. on dipshit. Don't you have any videogames in here?"

"Yeah, but I don't have a controller I don't mind you touching."

"Are you serious!"

"Dead serious."

"Prick! What games do you have?"

Saix scooted off the couch and opened the bottom cabinet of the entertainment center to reveal his modest collection of games.

"You wanna take turns or play together?" Saix asked as he looked back toward Vanitas.

"I don't have the patience for turns."

"Okay…Kirby-"

"No. No Kirby anything. Pansy."

"Like you don't like Kirby." Saix delivered the statement with a smirk.

"I don't."

"Heartless demon."

"Damn Straight."

"There's Halo."

"So I can slaughter you? No thanks." Vanitas chuckled as he spoke.

"You wish. I'm not that bad."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Little Big Planet?"

"Will you take my balls away from me if I said yes?"

"No. Real men play Little Big Planet."

"I want to play it so bad."

Saix couldn't help but smirk. "How bad?"

"I will let you take my butt cherry if you let me play."

"How 'bout I let you play, and you promise to never offer me your ass again."

"Deal."

The pair soon found themselves jumping over boxes and running through space stations using little sack boys and they weren't entirely sure why. Their banter continued well into the evening until they finally stopped to look at the time and realized they both still had homework. The black-haired teen excused himself from Saix's house with the smile of the devil.

"That was way more fun then I thought it would be. I'll bring my homework here from school tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Bring gloves next time. You made my controllers all greasy with your dirty hands." The statement was delivered with a smirk that Vanitas only chuckled at.

"Yeah. Whatever."

Saix watched Vanitas disappear down the block before closing and locking the front door.

_That was odd. Enjoyable. But odd. Never thought in a million years I would be spending time with Vanitas. Of all people…He was a good distraction at least. But that homework…_

-o-

"So what do you wanna do tonight, Hun? I think there's a new movie out. Or maybe we can go into Midgar and find something there. There's a good sushi place in the inner city, come to think of it. You wanna check it out?"

"I was thinking we could take a walk by the beach. It's a beautiful day. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"Mmm...If you say so…"

The pair began to walk away from the dull gray homes of Larxene's neighborhood and toward the ever-dimming sunset. They soon found themselves ankle deep in warm plush sand as they walked along the shoreline. It was comforting and void of unnecessary distractions, exactly the way Xemnas wanted it. If he was to get to know Larxene he would do so with out food, T.V. screens, or flashy movies to get in the way.

"So, you always take girls on boring walks?"

Xemnas chuckled. "You think this is boring?"

"Fuck yeah. Boring as hell, Honey. I prefer to be in more…stimulating surroundings."

"I'll take you somewhere else next time."

"Better." Larxene stuck her tongue out at Xemnas and he nearly turned to putty.

"So, you like books?"

"Not really. They're too old school, ya' know? Movies are the future."

Somewhere deep inside of him, a little part of Xemnas died. That statement burned his ears and the edges of his soul. The teen loved to read, and wasn't overly fond of movies.

"Hmm. You think so? What about chess?"

"Ugh. Babe, what's up with the arcane hobbies?"

"Chess isn't _that_ bad."

"It's horrid. Gambling on the other hand is much better. One wrong move and everything can be gone. It's invigorating."

"You like gambling because of the danger you might bankrupt yourself into oblivion?"

"I like danger." Larxene smirked and it sent something akin to a chill down Xemnas back.

"I don't."

"You're no fun. What about roller skating?"

"I broke both my ankles roller skating."

Larxene burst out laughing, tears trailed down her cheeks in thick streams and she had to gasp for air to keep from choking. "At the same time? H-how?"

"I went roller skating down a hill. The hill was pretty steep. It was painful." Xemnas frowned. He didn't see the in humor in braking ankles. It hurt like hell. Never the less Larxene continued to laugh until her voice grew horse and she had to cough to clear it.

"Oh my…I didn't know you were such a klutz, Hon. I would have never thought."

"Yeah. Well…" _This is never going to work out. We have nothing in common. I think I hate her…_

"It's getting late, let me walk you back."

The two teens turned to walk back toward Larxene's neighborhood in relative silence until they round the final corner and the blond haired teen turned toward Xemnas with a look of determination burning deep in her eyes.

"You wanna come inside for a little while? It was such a nice day, I would like it to have a nice end."

"No thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure."

"You have to be kidding me. Are you kidding me?"

Xemnas shook his head slowly, Larxene's frown turned to a scowl.

"You little shit!" The teal-eyed teen stormed down the sidewalk ignoring Xemnas' pleas for her to come back.

"No!" Her voice traveled remarkably far. "You ungrateful bastard! Find someone else's mind you can screw!"

With that Xemnas watched as Larxene disappeared into her house, closing her front door with a loud thud. The silver-haired teen sighed. Nothing ever goes the way it should and Xemnas was beginning to become fed up with it. The teen turned and began to walk home.

_I should have known this wouldn't end well. Nothing ever ends well. Heaven forbid I actually liked the girl or we found something in common. Of course we wouldn't…I really wanted to like her, but roller-skating? Really? Might as well have said she liked breaking bones. Probably considers it a sport. She's something twisted._

Xemnas huffed to himself most of the way home, not once noticing that he had a shadow, or the near deafening screech of a car coming to an abrupt halt.


	6. Chapter 6

Saix hated attention. He hated it with a raging unbridled passion. So when he saw Xemnas coming toward him his first thought was to draw as little attention to himself as possible. He kept his head down, keeping his smile to himself, and chose to play with a rubber band tucked in the confines of his pocket to keep himself busy. Xemnas looked so deep in thought there was no hope of pulling him back into reality. The silver-haired teen's facial features were scrunched together, his mouth drawn into one stern line. The sight made Saix chuckle, Xemnas just looked so serious, it was adorable. The golden-eyed boy frowned when he realized what line of thought his mind was taking. The teen pinched himself in an attempt to banish what he dubbed his 'Gay thoughts': unwanted thoughts of other men that occasionally slipped into his mind when he wasn't paying any attention to what slithered in and out of his head.

_God damnit. I'm not gay. Xemnas is not adorable. I'm not gay._

Saix pulled himself from his mind long enough to witness a bright blue sports car roar into view. The beautiful color caught his eye but the vehicle's speed held his gaze. It was going well over the speed limit and was in the process of running a stop light, turning and rumbling down the street, barreling toward Xemnas with a speed Saix believed could only be achieved using a cannon ball. The blue-haired teen peered into the drivers side window to see a shock of red hair bobbing in the seat to some sort of music; lifting a bottle of liquor to their lips and taking a long swig. Saix paled. Xemnas was walking at the pace of a dead snail across the road and the blue sports car didn't look as if it would be stopping. The golden-eyed teen felt sweat pour down the back of his neck and he wiggled uncomfortably. He knew what needed to be done but by the Gods he didn't want to do it. Taking a deep breath and praying softly for his life the teen ran into the street, stopping dead center in the middle. He began to wave his arms in a frantic wild fashion; trying his best to get the cars attention. He did, much to his relief and distress. The driver looked at Saix with glazed eyes that widened slowly in horror. The car went veering off to the left straight into a lamppost. The airbag went off with a bang and the driver merely bounced uncomfortably against it. Xemnas didn't seem to take notice to the whole affair. He had looked back half-heartily and kept walking.

Satisfied that the driver was alive and would be fine, and that Xemnas was relatively safe, Saix walked off in a brisk pace. Putting enough space between him and the car wreck to ensure he would never become involved. He scoffed at Xemnas' complete disregard for his surroundings; but shook of his peevish mood as best he could.

-o-

Xemnas broke up with Larxene. It was a quick, nearly painless procedure. His only casualty being a head full of ice chunks and coke; which was the least of his worries. He had let three weeks slip by without even so much as mention his break-up in passing. And now as the fourth week began to encroach on him like a leopard does his prey he couldn't help but think it was passed due that he tell his friends the news. So when lunchtime came around and Zexion, Axel and Marluxia sat around at their lunch table, giggling and throwing soggy fries, Xemnas mumbled the words he needed to say and sunk back into his seat.

The table went quiet. The silence was only broken when Axel began to snicker.

"I knew it. About time. When did this happen?"

"About three weeks ago."

Marluxia began choking on his bottled water and Zexion hid a dry chuckle behind a clenched hand.

"Why didn't you tell us! How have you been holding up? Did she take it well?" Marluxia put his hand over Xemnas', worried eyes were creased over flower-pink eyebrows.

"I've been fine Mar. It's no big deal. I didn't think it was a big deal…"

"Nonsense-"

"What's important is that you made it out unscathed. Larxene…isn't someone who takes bad news well." Zexion cut in, ignoring the annoyed look Marluxia was aiming at him.

"She poured soda on me, but I survived. I broke up with her in public. Thought it would be safer that way."

"You don't know how right you are." Axel said this while he fiddled with an empty Snapple bottle, twisting and un-twisted the cap in a very uninterested manner.

"We need to do something! Something to cheer you up!" Marluxia squeezed Xemnas hand. The silver-haired teen felt his eye twitched.

"I don't need cheering up." If anything Xemnas was ecstatic. He most certainty did not need cheering up.

"Then we need to do something to celebrate!"

"You just want an excuse to go clubbing." Axel scoffed.

"So. It's Friday. We should. It'll be fu-"

"A mess. It'll be a mess." Zexion sighed the words. He looked at Marluxia with a blank stare that made the pink-haired teen shiver.

"Besides, I can't join you guys, I promised Roxas we would go to the movies tonight." Axel stretched as he spoke.

Zexion mumbled something about being whipped to which the redhead answered by slapping him over the head.

"Can we argue this later?" Xemnas sighed.

"Fine. But we are going out tonight." Marluxia let go of Xemnas' and gave him a nod.

Xemnas, Axel, and Zexion all let out noises of annoyance.

-o-

"I didn't know you were serious about the 'later' thing." Axel let his tall frame drape over Xemnas' living room couch, leaving little to no room for everyone else who chose to sit on the coffee table and recliner rather then try to pry the redhead's body off the couch.

"Well, I was." Marluxia was currently sitting on the recliner as if it were his throne, a relaxed look on his face.

"I suppose I don't mind going if you insist. But Xemnas must come with us." Zexion mumbled, shame evident in his voice.

Xemnas sighed. He dragged his hand across his face and sighed once more. "I guess it would be fun. You guys don't drink, right? It's not fun being the only sober one."

"I don't drink when I plan on dancing, it ruins my balance." Marluxia stated as he looked over his nails.

"I might." Zexion's voice was low.

"I'm still not going." Axel's voice was far to loud.

"Okay. Then it's just me, Zexy, and Xem. It should be fun."

Xemnas shifted uncomfortably as he heard shuffling coming from the next room over. Everything would go smoothly if he just managed to find the courage to tell his father one white lie. He would never be allowed to go out so late at night, let alone into the heart of Midgar, or at least that was where he figured they were going. There no lo clubs in Twilight Town or Destiny Island. The teen sighed and hoped for the strength he needed to betray his father's trust.

-o-

Saix's shirt was inching off his chest. He was belly down on the carpeted floor, his shirt ridding up on his back. A pencil was wedged between his two sweaty palms as he held a video game controller in his hands. Vanitas was occupying the entire couch; the two of them foregoing their homework to play co-op Portal. The two teens were yelling curses at one another, flinging dirty words like confetti, occasionally reaching over to hit each other. Despite the ruckus Saix was still able to hear the doorbell. Leaving the controller on the floor, he went to the window and peaked through the curtains to check who it was.

When he saw Zexion standing on the doorstep he flinched.

_What does he want…please tell me he's not here to pick a fight…_

The teen's mind wandered to his past, when Zexion was a bully and had no qualms about calling him every gay slur known to man.

_He knows about my gay thoughts…he must be the messenger come to tell me that I'm gay…_

Saix waited a solid two minutes before Zexion finally turned to leave. He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding in. As odd as it was for Zexion to show up at his door Saix wasn't curious enough to dwell on it too much. Instead the teen turned back around to face the still perplexing sight of Vanitas in his living room. The black-haired teen was splayed out in a rather provocative position and in a state of half undress. He had taken his shirt off at some point, leaving only his wife beater to shield his bare chest, and his pants were falling off his hips, revealing his questionable taste in boxer shorts.

"Your phone is beeping." Saix pointed to Vanitas' phone and the boy looked down from his spot on the couch with mild disgust.

"I thought Ventus still wasn't talking to me." Van picked up his phone and scrolled through his new messages, eyes widening before his lips curled in a feral grin. "I have to get going. I don't wanna miss this." The teen dropped his phone back on the floor and tugged his clothes on with grate haste. "See you later Saix!" And with that the boy was, quite suddenly, out the door. Saix sighed. What he wouldn't give for normal friends.

With the house suddenly so empty the silence settling in was almost oppressive, nothing Saix couldn't handle. He cleaned the mess Vanitas and him had made out of his video games and crawled back to the couch to finish his homework, his knees and palms stinging slightly from being dragged on the carpet. The teen pulled his homework toward him and tried his best to focus on finishing it. Sometime between question three B and four C he realized there was still one extra backpack sitting in the crook of the couch, Vanitas' papers were strewn haphazardly around the bag. Saix sighed. And the teen had left his cell phone too.

Can't even call him to tell him he left his stuff.

Saix resolved to pocket his friend's phone, lest it get misplaced or worse. It was a slim phone and fit in his pocket just fine.

The teen had finally finished his homework, and sighed in relief knowing he had two days rest ahead of him with nothing to worry about school-wise. It was late, somewhere around ten, it had taken much longer then the golden-eyed boy would like to admit.

He trudged to his room after cleaning the mess of papers he left behind, as well as the miniature disaster Vanitas had created out of his school work, and was enjoying the comfort his bed had to offer to the fullest extent, all but moaning as the cushiony surface seemed to relieve all the tension in his back. At one point, he had let something akin to a moan pass his lips but it sounded more like a sound of exhaustion. Vanitas' phone began to ring.

Saix dug it out of his pocket and made the split second decision to answer. Then name Ven blinked back at him on the caller ID. If anyone could get in contact with Vanitas' without the convenience of a cell phone it was probably Ventus.

"Where the flying fuck are you? In bubble-fuck land? I've been waiting for you for hours! I told you Roxas and Axel have the house tonight and you leave me here-"

"This is Saix."

The line went quiet for a few tension filled seconds before Ventus answered.

"Where's Vanitas?" A few more seconds ticked by before Ventus' voice crackled over the phone again. "Is he alright?"

"He was fine the last time I saw him. He was at my house doing homework until he got a text message and ran off without his phone or his backpack. I thought he was with you."

"Well he's not. He was suppose to let me stay at his place tonight, but that can't happen if he's not here…Shit…maybe Aqua…You have no idea where he went?"

"No. But he got really excited."

"He probably ran off with Xen and went to Taboo. Fuck…Saix. I know this is weird, and I wouldn't ask this is there was anyone else I could ask, but can you go to Taboo and tell him to go home? I doubt he's drunk but if he is can you drag him home? I would rather not stay anywhere else but at his place. I can stay as long as I want with him, and he makes me breakfast in the morning not to mention I have a change of-"

"I'll go. It's in Midgar? Tell me the address and Van's address as well." Saix chuckled to himself. Since when had he started calling Vanitas Van?

"I'll text it all to Van's phone. I'm really sorry about all this. Roxas and Axel are the only people who would be willing to help me out and they're off staining some sofa with there nasty at the moment."

"Why can't you get him yourself?"

The words seemed to bring unease to the blond, Saix could practically taste it regardless of the fact they were on the phone.

"There's this guy I met there once, before I was friends with Vanitas. He's bad news…it would be best if I didn't chance seeing him again. Things can't end well if he saw me."

Not wanting to pry any more then he had Saix grunt in understanding.

"I'll make sure Vanitas gets back to you."

"Saix?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks. You're really helping me out here. I was worried when Vanitas starting hanging out with you, with all the rumors and all, but you've actually helped mellow him out a little. Weird, huh? And where clubbing clothes when you go. If you go dressed the way you do for school the bouncer's gonna give you hell. He likes dudes so show a lot of skin and you should get in fine."

Saix nodded before he realized Ventus couldn't see him. With a sigh he responded. "Consider it done."

-o-

He had no shirt on. After searching through all his clothes, cursing himself for owning nothing that made he look the least bit attractive, he settled for an old outfit he couldn't remember buying. After a quick shower, and thoroughly combing of his hair, he decided on wearing a leather jacket trimmed in blue a shade eerily similar to his hair. There were matching pants as well, baggy enough to be comfortable but not quite baggy enough to hide how surprisingly round his ass was. And there were matching shoes. Saix never matched his shoes to anything. He wore the jacket over his bare skin, exposing lean, toned chest to the world. He sighed as he looked in the mirror. He had to admit, even with his shaky confidence, he looked good. Seeing as how the whole plan hinged on him looking attractive he considered this a good start. There was just one thing missing…Eyeliner. He both praised and cursed himself as he applied it with skilled hands. He scoffed as he looked himself over. It seemed both his vices: make-up and men were social roadblocks; frowned upon by the greater majority of society. Why couldn't he just like women and sports?

Pushing his deep-rooted issues over his sexuality to a dank dark corner in his mind he shoved both his and Vanitas phone into two different pockets, and placed his wallet on a chain, securing it tightly to a belt loop of his pants. The last thing he needed was to be stranded in Midgar in the dead of night with no wallet because it fell out of his pocket somewhere between a dumpster and a feral cat. Speaking of cats…

Saix walked down the stairs, his heart beating wildly in his chest. It had been a while since he found himself going to a club. While the dim lights and loud sounds were easy, and dare he say _almost_ enjoyable to get lost in, it was still intimidating to even think of heading to a place that so much resembled a lion's den. Clubs were places were people forgot their humanity for just a split moment in their lives and acted on instincts and urges they simply would never think of fulfilling anywhere else.

Saix took a deep breath.

"I'll be fine." The words, muttered out loud, didn't convince him much. He found his cat down stairs curled on the kitchen counter overlooking the sidewalk. "I'll see you later Sprinkles. Man the fort." The teen let his hand wander over the cat's plush fur and could have sworn Sprinkles nodded back. He waved it off as part of his imagination and rushed out the door.

-o—

A/N: My beta is gonna be going away for the months of June and July. Would anyone be interested in filling for them? If you are, please PM me.

Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is Un-beta'd, please bear with me.

Warning: Excessive sexual tension

* * *

><p>Xemnas had told his father he was going to study for a test at Saix's house. His dad seemed to think Saix was the greatest thing to happen to the earth since the creation of the telephone. Which was odd since Xemnas could have sworn the two haven't seen or spoken in years. His old man had been more then happy to let him ago after that. He even urged him to sleep over, telling him not to worry about coming home. Xemnas felt as if it were to good to be true, but didn't question it much. He met up with Zexion and Marluxia down the block from his house and the trio went off to the heart of Midgar. They came upon an alleyway with a stocky red haired man standing in front of an open door. Music pulsed from the building and made the ground shake. Marluxia ushered them down the alley, letting the brick wall of a man look him over with an approving gaze and gestured for them to go in.<p>

When Xemnas entered the building he felt the music beat it's way into his body. It invaded his limbs and commanded he move; and why not? That's what he came here for, right?

Zexion disappeared somewhere in the crowd but neither Marluxia or Xemnas were too concerned for him. Marluxia took hold of Xemnas' hips and the two swayed their way onto the dance floor. Marluxia looked at Xemnas with pity in his eyes. The silver-haired boy couldn't dance. It was painfully clear he didn't have a rhythmic bone in his body. Marluxia tried to help him by holding his hips and forcing him to sway with him but the boy was doing some weird thing with his hands that he just had to put a stop to because people were _staring_.

"No. Honey. No, just stop."

"Huh?"

"No. Put your arms down, you're causing a scene." Marluxia forced Xem's arms down and gave him a look that made them _stay_ down.

Xemnas felt embarrassment set fire to his cheeks but tried his best to ignore it.

"Like this my love, swing your hips."

Xemnas watched Marluxia and tried to copy him but it just wasn't working. His body didn't move the way he wanted it too. After trying, and failing, to teach Xemnas basic dance moves that would draw little attention to himself Marluxia gave a thumbs up to Xemnas and let him go. He just hoped his silent encouragement was enough to keep Xemnas from doing that weird drowning arm thing again. The pink-haired teen backed away from his friend and danced off to find a partner he didn't have to baby-sit.

Xemnas didn't morn the loss of his companion, while Marluxia had been helpful Xemnas had to admit the two of them just didn't look good together. The silver-haired teen swayed amongst the throng of people, content to just be apart of the crowd.

-o-

Saix stood in front of the bouncer; letting the large man look him over. He shivered when the blocky man licked his lips and let him in. Perhaps he had dressed too scandalous; he could feel the man's stares on his ass as he walked in.

The air was humid and smelled of sweat. He moved through the crowd, ignoring the siren call of the music. He couldn't remember the last time he had danced, and with the music slowly battering at his inhibitions he wanted to lose himself in the endless sea of people.

As he waded through the masses he caught the stares of both women and men. It was flattering. They were stares of interest and lust. They made his cheek's burn. It was after a particularly handsome man with long black locks had all but demanded Saix dance with him just with a look was when Saix found himself a little disoriented and bummed into someone. He felt words of apology leave his lips but they died once the man he bummed into looked up at him, shrugged, and began to dance against him.

"What the fuck are you doing here Zexion?" Saix all but shuttered as Zexion swayed his bottom into Saix's hips. It felt so _wrong_ in the worst sort of way.

Zexion raised his hand and swung it behind him taking hold of Saix's neck and pulling his head almost lovingly into his own neck. "People are staring at you. Who knew you cleaned up so nice."

Saix felt his face flush. He had to admit that Zexion had rhythm, probably Demyx's doing. He couldn't help the fact the shorter man fit nicely against him and he couldn't hide his body's reaction to Zexion _teasing_ him with his Goddamn _ass_.

"You're drunk." Saix could smell the alcohol on Zexion and briefly wondered if he should take the shorter man home.

"I'm not drunk, just tipsy enough to actually dance with you…of all people."

"Then you're drunk."

"Shut up." Saix's face was now buried in Zexion's neck, allowing the shorter teen to look over and nibble on his ear. "You're hot."

"You are so drunk." Saix's chuckling was near hysterical. "Who did you come here with?"

"Does it matter? I'm leaving with you."

"Like hell you are. Where's Marluxia."

"I don't know…" Zexion's lips found their way on Saix's. It was a passionless kiss, Zexion had licked and bit at Saix's mouth to gain entrance but it was denied. When they pulled away Saix frowned.

"Demyx. You remember him? He's your boyfriend."

"Screw Demyx" Zexion gave out an exasperated sigh. The teen pulled away from Saix. "You're such a buzz kill. I'm gonna go find Marluxia."

"You do that."

Saix watched Zexion walk away; the poor boy would wake up tomorrow drowning in regret, that was certain. Saix laughed to himself. He finally had blackmail info on the brat. Saix continued his search for Vanitas, occasionally shrugging off advances that weren't completely unwanted. Although he couldn't find the black-haired troublemaker for the life of him his search wasn't completely fruitless. He say a familiar head of silver hair a little ways ahead of him and made the quick decision to grow a pair and go after what he knew, deep down, he wanted.

The teen came up behind Xemnas and pushed his hips into the other's bottom beginning to sway with the music. He dipped his head toward Xemnas' ear. "Hey." He felt Xemnas jump, but the other teen didn't move away instead he watched as Xemnas found the bass of the music and began to move with him.

"Saix? That you?" Xemnas felt it was too strange to be true. Saix? Really?

"Of course."

Xemnas could feel Saix's laughter vibrate his chest. It was oddly comforting.

"What are you doing here?" _Aren't you supposed to be at home being crazy?_

"Looking for Vanitas. Have you seen him?"

"I haven't, sorry."

"Shame." Saix's breath was ghosting over his neck and Xemnas couldn't help the way his breath hitched. He mentally cursed himself for the weakness. Wasn't Saix supposed to be insane? The mentally ill weren't normally this attractive, were they?

"Yeah. Just out of curiosity…"

"Hmm?" Saix's lips were hovering over his neck doing everything but leaving kisses that Xemnas found himself craving. The whole situation was crazy and almost dream-like. Xemnas wanted to pinch himself to wake-up. He didn't need the blue-haired fool grinding into his backside just days after declaring he was not attracted to him. Yet here he was, hopelessly attracted to the one person he promised he would have nothing to do with.

The silver-haired teen gulped. "I was wondering what you look like right now. You didn't come here in your school clothes, did you?" Because really that was a very Saix-like thing to do: show up in beat up jeans and stained shirt. Then again he didn't really know Saix that well anymore.

"Of course I didn't. Here, turn around." The two parted. Saix took a step back but didn't stop dancing. He let his hips move in ways a man's hips probably shouldn't move. Xemnas could only watch as a near euphoric expression formed on Saix face as he enjoyed the music.

He couldn't help but stare. _Saix wasn't wearing a shirt._ He moved like a scandalous angel and he was _looking_ at _him_ with those golden eyes and Xemnas could have swore the rest of the crowd was no longer there. The trance broke when he realized Saix was laughing at him. The blue-haired man closed the small gap between them. "You _really_ can't dance Xem."

Xemnas blushed. "No. Seems I can't."

"Don't worry about it. It's not important." He said this with a smile. In one swift motion Xemnas found he was turned around and was rested against the grove of Saix hips. They began to move together once more and Xemnas forgot to feel self-conscience about his appalling dance moves.

"Marluxia and Zexion leave you here alone?" Saix was back near Xemnas' ear again and the orange-eyed man tried his best to hold in a shiver.

"No, they're around here somewhere."

"Mhm."

"Sai?"

"Yeah." His words were breathy.

"Where should I put my hands?"

"Anywhere you want."

Xemnas could have melted. He already had a weakness for Saix voice but coupled with those words made him swoon like some love struck girl. He covered the weakness with a chuckle.

"Seriously Sai."

Saix debated if he should tell Xem he was serious before deciding against it. Instead he choose to take the man's left hand and secured it around his own neck. Xemnas looked up at him with curious eyes.

"Better?"

Xemnas found he had no way to hid his blush, so he decided to pretend it wasn't there and nodded. Before he knew it Saix's arms were snaking their way around his hips. The blue-haired man's right hand took Xemnas' loose hand into his and held it against the orange-eyed boys waist.

Xemnas wondered if Saix always smelled this good.

Saix wondered if he always had balls the size of bowling balls and just didn't know it till now.

Neither of them were expecting Saix to burry his face into the crook of Xemnas neck and begin to give him the most worthwhile hickey he had ever received.

Xemnas gasped. "Shit Sai." The words came out hushed and barely audible.

"Is this okay? I'll stop if this is-"

"No, no, it's okay just not so ha- fuck Saix!"

"Saix! What the hell are you doing here!" Both Saix and Xemnas looked up from what would have surely ended up being the beginning to one heck of a one-night-stand to find Vanitas standing in front of them. Eyes wide, mouth open.

Xemnas felt Saix sigh and he gave his neck one last nip before letting Xemnas go.

"I'll be back."

"Uh-huh." Xemnas could only nod dumbly. The teen wondered were his wits went.

"Vanitas, I need to talk to you."

Vanitas' gave him a knowing smirk. He never took Saix as a guy with preferences toward anything. He seemed asexual. Like a starfish. Or a lamppost. "Sure Saix, let's go outside. It's fuckin' hot in here."

The pair left the building through a side door that was being propped open with a chipped brick.

"What's up Sai?"

"I came here looking for you. Ventus has been waiting for you at your house. He's worried."

"Shit!" Vanitas turned several shades paler. "I don't even have my phone to call him, how did Ven get in contact with you."

"You left your phone at my house. Here. Call Ventus and please let him know you're on the way. Your backpack is still at my house as well."

"Van sent you all the way out here just to get me? And you actually did it? At least you got something out of it, right? Xemnas looked really into you."

Saix shrugged. "You should get going."

"Yeah. Fuck. He's gonna kill me."

Vanitas ran down the street, taking off at a practically inhuman speed. Saix sighed.

Now to find Xemnas and get them both home.

Saix wandered back through the crowd until he found Marluxia and Zexion making out off in a corner. The teen rolled his eyes and marched over to the pair, pulling Marluxia away.

"Fuck! What's your problem!" Marluxia looked furious and Saix could almost sympathize.

"He's _taken_ Marluxia, stop being a slut. Have you seen Xemnas?"

"Like I'm gonna tell."

"You left an impersonal young man alone in a crowd of drunken goons to suck face with your ex. Where is he?"

Marluxia sighed, guilt was in his eyes; he seemed to realize his mistake. "I think I saw him at the bar."

Saix growled. "You're a terrible friend. Take Zexion home, _his_ home, he's drunk out his ass. I'll take care of Xemnas."

"Fine. Come on Zexy."

Saix left the pair to stumble their way home and found his way to the bar. What he saw made his body seize up in fear. All the confidence he had built up during the night left his body in one swoop. Luxord, a tall handsome man with a blond stubbly goatee and short soft platinum locks was looking down at Xemnas, watching the teen drink what appeared to be a coke. He wore a crazed predatory grin that made Saix want to run and hide. He watched helpless as the pair exchanged phone numbers and Luxord let out a rumbling noise that was suppose to be a laugh but sounded like a pained groan.

Saix pinched himself. Xemnas was in danger. He didn't have time to freeze up. He couldn't afford it. If Xemnas stepped one foot out of the building with Luxord there was no doubt Xemnas would never be the same. A smile would never again grace the orange-eyed boy's lips and Saix would rather go to hell then stand helpless and watch that monster of a man take away something that was so innocent and good.

Saix collected his wits and marched toward Xemnas. He took a firm grip on the teen's arm and pulled him up from his seat. Something had defiantly changed in Xemnas; his balance was completely off. Saix had to hold him with both hands to keep him steady.

"Xem, we're going."

"Wha? No, no, no, Luxord is gonna take me home. Right?"

"That's right." Luxord's words were tinged with a British accent. "Now let him go."

"I'd rather die. Come on Xemnas."

"No! Stop it! Sa-Saix let go."

"I'm really sorry about this Xem." Saix held Xemnas' waist firmly and dragged him away from Luxord and out the door, all the while Xemnas was kicking and cursing, putting up the best fight he could in his drugged up state. Effectively making a scene that made Saix nearly drop dead from embarrassment.

The pair half-walked half-dragged themselves into the caress of the cool night air. Xemnas stopped his hopeless battle to leave Saix's protective half-hug and chose to lean on him instead, forcing the blue-haired teen to hold him up and keep his legs moving.

"Don't you dare fall asleep Xemnas."

"Or what? You gonna. Your gonna…What are you gonna do?" The poor boy sounded more tired and confused then intimidating.

Saix sighed. Twilight Town was twenty minutes away. And how was he supposed to get Xem into his house without Mr. Dalmasy knowing? The teen sighed again and then once more for good measure. Xemnas was starting to drool from the corners of his mouth and it was a little more then off putting.

"What did Luxord give you to drink Xem?"

"Huh? Um…just some Coke. I think it was cherry….or something."

"Did it taste funny? Are you sure you didn't drink anything else?"

"I'm sure. It was…it was…I'm tired. Are we going home Sai?" The use of his nickname made Saix's heart soar.

"We're going to my house. You can sleep there." There was no way Saix was bringing Xemnas home in this state. The silver-haired teen's father would make them into frothy flesh-based paste and then use it to plug up cracks in the walls of his office. Suffering that man's anger just wasn't an option.

"I don't wa- wanna sleep in your house."

Saix decided to humor his nearly incapacitated companion. He wouldn't remember much tomorrow morning anyway. "And why is that?"

"Because your bed…smells…like…you."

"You don't have to sleep on my bed if you don't want too. Do I smell that bad?" Saix repositioned Xemnas, jostling him around a little bit, causing the other teen to groan in what Saix could only assume was discomfort.

"No…smell good. Like…what time is it?"

"Somewhere around two thirty. Why? Do you have somewhere to be?"

"I…don't…think…so."

The way Xemnas was twisting his face in an attempt to find words would have been cute if some nameless date-rape drug didn't induce it.

The way the air was starting to become less muggy and more crisp was the first indicator that Twilight Town wasn't far off. Saix yearned to be warm in his bed, his exhausted limbs lying dormant around him as he was sucked into the embrace of scratchy sheets. That couldn't happen now, seeing as Xemnas had to sleep somewhere is long limbs would be able to fit comfortably and the blue-haired teen would probably be demoted to the space at the foot of his own bed. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on getting home in one solid piece.

"Are you still with me Xem?"

"Hmmph." His response sounded pained.

"Good."

They reached Saix's home after what felt like a walk to rival the Dalmascan March of Death to Archades. Saix held Xemnas tightly as he fumbled around the pockets of his pants to retrieve his keys and jammed them into the keyhole with much concentration. He kicked the door opened and sighed once the familiar scent of cinnamon and oranges hit his nose. He kicked the door closed and all but dragged Xemnas up the stairs trudgeing into his room and laying the drugged teen on his bed. He wrapped the mess of blankets at the foot of his bed around his companion and left his room to find a cup filled of something warm. He stumbled into the kitchen and found the canister of hot chocolate mix empty, and the cabinets held not even one lose tea bag. The teen settled for boiling water and putting lemon in it just so he could have something warm in his stomach. He sipped the steaming liquid and tried to calm his mind for at least a moment.

_Luxord was hanging around a club that's known to let teens in. Sleazy bastard. I thought he was in jail._ Saix shivered. Old memories he had buried deep in the confines of his brain, wedged between hurtful childhood traumas and fading mental pictures of his father was the nightmarish first encounter he had with Luxord. The teen shivered and stomped his foot to stop his train of thought. He would **not** think of that.

Saix emptied the rest of his cup in the sink and left the mug on the counter. He marched back upstairs and into his room where he pulled his desk chair next to his bed. He sat and watched Xemnas in his fevered sleep in a manner that would have been creepy and stalkerish under any other circumstances. Saix leaned over his sleeping companion to open the window next to his bed and let cool air into the room. He then left Xemnas to toss and turn on the bed while he to went to the bathroom to wet a wash cloth and use it to wipe Xemnas' forehead free of sweat. The silver-haired teen rolled onto his back and Saix had to roll him back onto his side, lest he choke on his own vomit if his stomach decided to spontaneously erupt.

Stewing in a mixture of worry, rage, and concern, Saix's thoughts gradually became darker and sinister until he couldn't tell if he was thinking or having a sadistic nightmare. _If I ever see Luxord again I'm going to hang him from Twilight Clock Tower from the skin on his balls._


	8. Chapter 8

Bright orange eyes quivered behind tan eyelids. The teen opened his eyes and the light seemed to assault him with swords and daggers that went right to his skull. Something seemed to crack open in his head and river of pain overflowed his senses. He shut his eyes just as slowly as he opened them in an attempt to shut out the pain. It didn't work, of course. He buried himself under covers he couldn't remember wrapping himself in.

"You awake? Kinda early. No-don't. Stop-your gonna hurt yourself. Stop. Xem. Lay back down."

Xemnas crawled into a sitting position, fighting back against the pins and needles attacking his every muscle as he tried his best to move without falling over like a drunken rag doll.

"What happened last night?" Xemnas seemed to lose every one of his bones as he slumped back into bed almost as slowly as he sat up.

"You took a drink from a stranger, that's what happened. He rufied you into oblivion. I'll go make you some tea, maybe it'll help."

"Coffee." The sound of the silver-haired teen's own voice made him flinch.

"If you're sure." Saix went back down stairs to begin making the strongest cup of coffee he could.

Xemnas' mind kicked into overdrive and them some, as he was left nearly comatose and alone with not much else to do.

_What the hell happened last night…I went out…I think…I was dancing…and then….then…ugh….I can't remember anything. Marluxia was there, and so was Zexion, Oh god, they were making out and Saix…why was Saix there? Did he…_

Xemnas warm blood ran cold, it felt like hell and frozen over in his veins.

_Would Saix drug me? He wouldn't…._ The teen dared to open his eyes to take a quick look around his surroundings, a rusty metallic looking clock hung on the wall, a Choco-Rockers poster stared back at him all half pouts and smirking faces. All around the room was minimalistic yet emanated teenage angst and awkwardness. A scent distinct to Saix wafted around the room like a lost nomad, occasionally passing the silver-haired teen's nostrils. All of this would have been comforting (as Saix seemed to be synonymous with comfort in Xemnas' mind) if it weren't for the fact that the blue-haired weirdo probably drugged him and had his merry way with his nether regions last night. Oddly enough he wasn't sore, but the sunset-eyed teen didn't trust his own senses enough to weigh that against the mountain of evidence in favor of Saix's guilt.

"Here's your coffee. I'm sorry if I put too much sugar in it." He passed the warm mug to Xemnas who forced his body upright and gladly took the cup. He took a few big gulp-fulls then set it down on a nightstand.

"What happened last night?"

Saix cringed. "I don't know, you tell me. One minute we're dancing and the next you're off at the bar with some guy trading phone numbers."

Was that jealousy in Saix voice? Why? Because Saix probably couldn't get someone's number if his life depended on it? That's what he gets for being a creep.

"I don't remember much. I know I was talking to a guy and we traded numbers, after that everything sort of gets fuzzy. The whole night is kind of fuzzy actually. You wanna tell me why that it?" Xemnas' voice was dripping with an accusatory inflection.

Saix's eyes widened to an impossible size. "What the hell are you implying Xem?"

"That you're a creep. Don't call me Xem. Fuckin' rapist."

What this a bad joke? Saix hoped so. He prayed Xemnas wasn't this stupid. Seriously, was the teen truly this moronic?

"Are you kidding me right now? Why on earth would I drag your drugged body all the way from Midgar to Twilight Town? Just to rape you? Think about this logically Xem, you and I both know what was going to happen last night if Vanitas didn't stop us, do you really think I need drugs to get in your pants?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you're a freak…or something…"

"That has to be the most half hearted insult I've ever heard."

"Shut up! Marluixa told me about you, okay? He told me you're the reason Leon has that scar. Marluxia has no reason t0 lie and I am inclined to believe him.

Saix went pale. "What exactly did Marluxia tell you? What does that have to do with anything?"

"If you could do that to Leon, you're perfectly capable of doing something even worse to me."

"I don't know what Marluxia told you, but it's probably a lie. He likes to lie, Xem. That's what he's known for."

"If it's a lie then why do Leon and Cloud hate you so much?"

"Because they're bullies!"

"You almost killed him."

"It's too early for this…"

"If you could bash Leon's head into the sidewalk I'm sure you could drag me from a town over and rape me."

"Don't you think that's stretching it a little? If your really believe that why are you still here?"

Going a deep shade of red Xemnas collected himself from Saix's bed and left his house, stumbling over himself all the way out.

-o-

Xemnas crashes into his home with all the gusto and balance of a drunken train on no tracks.

His father, who had been watching his new coffee maker make coffee, looked up from his coffee watching to find his son clinging to the walls for dear life. Mr. Dalmacy shook his head and smiled to himself. Of course his son lied to him. It's what teenagers do. They go out, they party, they make bad choices. Mr. Dalmacy shakes his head once more and sighs at the pit of hopelessness that is his son.

"Xemnas, you alright over there? I'm about to make breakfast. Do you want any?"

"No thanks." Xemnas voice was croaky. He tried to clear it as he began the treacherous journey up the stairs to his room.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Maybe in a little while?"

"I'll leave something out on the stove for you."

"Thanks Dad."

"Not a problem."

Xemnas dragged himself to his room where he promptly fell on his bed and into a hazy, pained sleep.

-o-

Saix sighed. He draped himself over his bed that smelled too much like Xemnas. He wanted to know what filth Marluxia was putting into his head. Why would he lie about the truth to Xemnas? Did that pink-haired whore even know the truth? Saix let out a nearly feral growl before thrashing about in a melodramatic fashion that would have made any preteen proud. Saix had half a mind to track down the pink-haired son-of-a-bitch and give him a nice big kiss on the face with his knuckles. That wouldn't help him prove to Xem he wasn't some sicko rapist though. In fact it would probably prove the opposite, at least in his eyes. Saix sighed again, then once more just for the hell of it. He turned on his back and his hair got caught under his shoulder, pulling his head at a weird and uncomfortable angle.

"I need ice cream." The blue-haired teen rolled off his bed in search of something to fill the growing gorge of despair forming in his stomach.

-o-

"What's up with you and Xemnas?" Vanitas hung off the couch in such a lackadaisical manner it was amazing gravity didn't just tug him down to become more formally acquainted with the floor. Saix felt envious of his friend's natural gift in making physically impossible things look effortless; his hair, for example. The two were playing video games, as per usual, when a comfortable silence fell over them that Vanitas felt compelled to break.

"What do you mean?"

"Each time the two of you pass in the hallway he stares at you like he can't decide if he hates you or wants to declare his undying gay-ass love for you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you sure? Cause each time you see him you look a little angry your self. Did you guys bang?" Vanitas' eyes widened until it looked as if they would fall flat out of his sockets. "You guys totally did! Was it bad? How bad was it?"

Saix tore his eyes away from the TV screen long enough to take the couch cushion he was sitting on and chuck it at Vanitas' face. The stench of cat pee and a collection of hair and dust flew in its wake until it collided with its target with a thud.

"Don't be mad at me cause the fuck was bad! Just tell me what happened and I promise not to say anything to Ventus." Vaintas took the pillow and clutched it to his chest in a gesture reminiscent of an excited grade school girl.

"You're gonna tell him anyway."

"Yeah, but I'll tell him to shut up about it. You know if I don't the whole school will know you and your silver-haired beauty will have shared the worst and quickest copulation of all time. Also I'll make it pretty damn clear you bottomed, so suck it up and tell me."

Saix sighed. "Ventus put you up to this."

"Do you think I would care if he hadn't?"

Saix paused Little Big Planet and turned toward Vanitas who immediately dropped the controller mid thumb-stick thrust to stare at Saix with an impressive maniacal grin that made Saix wonder why on earth he was friends with him.

"Stop giving me that look."

The yellow-eyed teen squirmed around onto his stomach and kicked his feet back and forth in the air. "Tell me everything single detail I don't give a fuck about. This better be good, Ventus and I have a bet I plan on winning."

Deciding death is better quick and efficiently then slow and tedious Saix rest his head against the side of the couch as he looked up at Vanitas from the floor.

"Xemnas thinks I'm a rapist."

Unfazed in the slightest Vanitas just lazily cocked an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Do you know a guy named Luxford?"

Vanitas' face turned pale. It was the first sign Saix ever received that indicated the troublemaker was afraid of anything at all.

"What do you know about him?"

"He tried to give me candy and puppies when I was 12. I thought the whole 'I have candy' thing was a joke until he came along."

The black-haired teen's face was grave. He just nodded for Saix to go on.

"After I told you about Ventus, I went back inside and found Xem with Luxford at the bar. I dragged him away from that creep but he put up a fight. He wanted Luxford to take him home, and I wasn't going to let that happen. I don't know what he gave him but he could barely walk, I had to practically carry him all the way back to Twilight Town. I brought him to my house, since I couldn't bring him home in a drug haze. I let him sleep on my bed and he barely moved. I thought I would definitely have to take him to a hospital."

"Why didn't you?" Vanitas' hard gaze was now directed fully on Saix. The golden-eyed teen felt his skin heat up in discomfort. He couldn't quite meet his friend's gaze.

"Have you seen Xemnas' father? I know I should have but think of all the problems that would have come up if I did. Xemans wouldn't be allowed out of the house until he goes to college."

"Go on."

"When he woke up I tried explaining what happened but he somehow took it as me drugging him and dragging him back to my house to have my way with him."

Vantias sighed. All the frigidness poured out of his body. "I guess I'm gonna lose the bet anyway."

"Why?"

"If it's not a life or get death situation I prefer never to mention Luxford. I would appreciate it if you did the same." Vanitas' eyes made it clear it was more then a request.

"I understand."

"Good. Now, I'm not doubting you. Your definitely not creep material, but why would Xemnas think that you stole his virtue, or whatever?"

"Marluxia told him what happened between me and Leon a while back."

"What's up with that anyway? It doesn't seem like you would do half the stuff they say you did. Something isn't adding up."

Saix shrugged. "Can I tell you what really happened another day?"

"Sure, can't revisit more than one traumatic experience a day. Got it." Vanitas turned onto his back, his legs coming down to rest on top of the armrest. "I was looking forward to winning that bet too…So what are you gonna do about Xemnas?"

"I can't very well do much with Marluxia in the way."

"You want me to take care of him?"

"Like you 'took care' of Seifer? No. No, thanks."

"Hmph. Joy killer. This talk of Luxford reminds me," Vanitas got off the couch in a way that much resembled a slinky coming together after being dropped down a step. "There's some business I have to attend to in Midgar. See you tomorrow. I'm bringing my homework and you're doing that shit."

"You wish Van."

The yellow-eyed teen only snickered before collecting himself and showing himself the way out.

Saix slumped down into the fluffy, dirty embrace of the carpet. He knew he was going to need something a bit stronger than ice cream to fix the growing sense of dread inside of him. Maybe playing the piano would help.

Saix couldn't find enough energy inside himself to get off the floor.

_Maybe I'll get lucky and die on the floor. Just like this. Xemnas will still think I'm a rapist though. I wonder if he'll make them inscribe it on my grave. 'Here lies the creepy weirdo that might or might not have raped Xemnas'. If there were a God he would have mercy-killed me by now._

Saix rolled his face further into the carpet. It smelled like cats and shame.

_Why am I even bothered by it? If Marluxia or Leon thought I was a class A creep I don't think I would care this much. Shit, they already think I'm the King of the Creeps and I can't muster one fuck about it. Oh God, do I actually like Xemnas?_

The teen's breath picked up and he inhaled several heavy helpings of hair, dirt, and dust.

_I don't even really know him anymore. I mean we swapped emails a few times. Maybe we talked on the phone once…or maybe twice…how'd he even get my phone number? When did I give it to him? Did I leave the fridge open? Oh God I hope not…_

Saix fidget his way onto his back, as to stop inhaling dirt.

_The last time I left it open Sprinkles got stuck in the vegetable bin. I wonder how the hell she did that…I wonder if Sprinkles and Xemnas would get along. I probably like Xemnas. I have a crush on Xemnas. I have a crush on Xemnas Dalmasy._

"I have a crush on Xemnas." The words punctuated the slowly occurring epiphany.

"Amazing." Saying the words out loud only make the chasm in his stomach grow twice as large.

Saix wondered if he had always known, he had always really known that he liked Xemnas. Perhaps it had been some sort of love at first sight thing. The blue-haired teen couldn't think of any other way to describe a crush that had- has -probably lasted over a decade.

The word destiny popped into his mind and he quickly pushed it out. He rolled his face back into the floor and hoped he inhaled something big enough to choke him. Dying by suffocation didn't seem half bad at the moment.


End file.

Kingdom Hearts, Drama, Romance