sirenspull_logs | and if i say i'm coming home

Entry tags:

axel,
demyx

and if i say i'm coming home

Who: Axel and Demyx
When: Saturday night, 11August, late
Where: Their apartment
Summary: Axel comes home beat up and has got some 'splainin' to do.
Warnings: Eh, nothing really beyond mentions of darkness monsters.

It had been a stupid mistake, really, and Axel was kind of angry at himself for making it in the first place. He was just so tired of sitting around waiting for something to happen, for there to be news, to feel like he was doing anything but spinning his wheels... The list of bounties had been mostly uninteresting: fraud, destruction of property, hacking, accusations of murder--none of these scumbags seemed like they were worth an actual bounty, in Axel's opinion, except maybe that 'Joker' fellow. But he felt the need to at least make it look like he'd signed up for a legitimate reason, and so he'd accepted the hunt for a fellow called 'Inferno', figuring a pyrokinetic was rather up his alley.

Unfortunately, while trailing someone who matched the description, Axel had found himself up the wrong alley, as it were, and cornered by a couple of Crowheads. Axel wasn't afraid of the dark, really--The Organization had given him a pretty good foundation to build from, after all--but where there were Crowheads there were always half a dozen other nasties, and before he'd had the opportunity to summon a portal to make a strategic advance to the rear he'd found himself ambushed.

Stupid, stupid! He'd been too distracted, following that blond brat in the suit... It had been a long shot to suppose anything would come of it anyway, but while Axel wasn't prone to desperation he was quickly nearing the end of his patience. He'd never had this much trouble with recon before; these Newcomer Hunters were very well-hidden, and he hated it.

The darkness fiends had gotten in three or four good hits before he'd managed to get rid of them, and while it was hardly anything life-threatening he was going to be feeling it tomorrow anyway. Cure only went so far, after all, and bruises still hurt. He'd lost the suit anyway, and so he'd hobbled home, staggering out of a portal into the living room, his sleeve torn and his lip split and inexplicably missing a glove.

He'd been prepared to just toe his boots off and fall onto the couch to crash for a few hours before cleaning up and going to bed proper. Instead, he stepped out of the portal to find the couch was already occupied.

"D-Demyx?"

Axel grimaced, but not because his spine hurt from where he'd been hurled against the alley wall. He hadn't told Demyx about his little moonlighting act on Deathstroke's roster, and hadn't really planned to, either. Demyx was a bleeding heart (heart or no heart notwithstanding) and he hadn't wanted to upset or worry him. It seemed the cat was out of the bag, though: Demyx would never believe he'd just been out and about for the hell of it.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Axel dismissed the portal and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're up late."

Maybe if he acted casual Demyx wouldn't ask.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"So're you."

It was the only thing he could come up with as response as he took in Axel's appearance. He already had the big fancy 'And where have you been?' speech lined up, but seeing this, it knocked it clear out of the water. Light, just what the hell happened to the other Nobody? More importantly, who or what did this? Demyx had always known Axel to be a fighter, to be That Guy who wouldn't take crap from anybody.

"You, um," he started, unsure as to how to proceed. Did he point out the obvious, or act like everything was all fine and dandy and Axel just took a nasty spill on the sidewalk?

"...Are you okay?"

Axel swallowed, suddenly sort of feeling like the kid who got caught sneaking in after curfew. Which was ridiculous because Demyx would be the worst Angry Parent ever--he just didn't have it in him. He honestly felt bad, though, as much as he supposed he was capable, that Demyx had waited up and was now trying very hard not to look as concerned as he obviously was.

Crud, when had he grown a conscience, anyway?

Clearing his throat, Axel rubbed the back of his neck again and then stood up a bit straighter, refusing to wince at the pain in his spine.

"Me? Psh, 'course I am," he said, rolling his shoulders back and then bending down to remove his boots. He considered taking his coat off to hang it up casually, but he was pretty sure the tear in his sleeve concealed a bloody smear underneath. Even though the gash had been Cured away, the blood would rat him out.

Tossing his boots in the corner near the door he rose again and removed his single remaining glove, shoving it into his pocket.

"What about you?" he asked. "Sorry, did I forget to tell you I was working late?"

Well, it wasn't exactly a lie...

Working late. If there weren't so many things so horribly wrong with that statement, he might have believed it.

Might have.

"I hate paperwork 'n all that just as much as the next guy, but even I don't come home looking like some dude shoved me over onto the sidewalk and dragged me around by my ankles for a few blocks." Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to compare Axel's appearance to, but hell with it. "At most I sorta just drop onto the couch or my bed or... I dunno. Something."

The Nobody paused at an afterthought, then stood to step in front of Axel. He really didn't look too hot at the moment, but Demyx wasn't sure what to even do. Sure, he knew a few curative spells, but... Nng. He didn't know.

"I thought something bad happened. The news hasn't really been helping any, either."

"Well, sometimes that paperwork gets really unruly," Axel quipped, but his laughter was a little too forced; he already knew this wasn't going to fly. Demyx was a bit dense, but he really wasn't as much of an idiot as everyone thought he was. He was lazy and too idealistic and definitely a bit naïve, but he wasn't stupid, and that... really didn't work in Axel's favor here.

Fighting the inane urge to take a step back when Demyx approached him, Axel stared his friend down a moment, then sighed softly. Okay, maybe it was time to just 'fess up. He really was working on that whole Not Lying to His Friends thing, and even if this was less lying and more Not Telling the Whole Truth, it still sort of fell under the same category. He'd kept the truth from Roxas because he'd honestly thought it was better that way, and he really didn't want to make that same mistake again. He jerked his chin toward the couch, then stepped past him and sat down, half-folded forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Nothing bad happened," he said, and then waited for Demyx to join him on the couch before amending, "not... exactly. I mean, nothing bad bad." Okay, this wasn't helping. Another sigh and he smeared both hands down his face before sitting back and giving Demyx a sidelong look. "I ah... well, I was tailing somebody and got jumped by some creepy-crawlies. No big deal, really, nothing I couldn't handle. I was just a little careless getting blindsided like that at all."

"That's what they always say, even when they get an arm lopped off. It's always 'It's just a flesh wound,' or something just as asinine," he grumbled under his breath as he reclaimed his spot on the couch. Part of him was relieved that it was just that and not something worse like... Say a gang beating him up, but the other part of him was a bit irked to the point where he made sure not to look at his roommate. It could've very well have been a gang if he was tailing some guy--he could've ended up like that one person on the news, the one with the Joker card...

'Stop it,' he told himself. 'Quit thinking about that stuff, Demyx. He's okay, right?'

Though under normal circumstances he would probably just spew out whatever flew into his head, he wanted to be careful this time. Demyx knew this wasn't something to just... Brush off. He did care for Axel, he really did! While he could always blow steam off down at Purgatory or even down at the lake, it always felt better to hang around the apartment and forget about everything.

It was easier to do that when Axel was around.

Axel probably thought it was no big deal, but what if...

"What if it was something you couldn't handle?" He made it a point to keep staring at his knees. If he broke his concentration, he'd lose the calmness in his voice. "What if it was something big that caught you off guard? If you turned up in the news, I..." Demyx trailed off. Shook his head. "I dunno."

Uh oh, Demyx was avoiding eye contact. Axel had learned early on that for a guy without a heart Demyx had more than enough feelings to go around, and whenever he was trying to keep them under control he had to avoid looking at whatever it was that was riling them up. Right now it seemed that was him, and something tugged uncomfortably at the space behind his sternum. The worst part about this was that Demyx raised a good point. He had been careless, and it was a good thing he'd only been met by a group of fairly inept darkness monsters instead of a group of highly-trained mercenaries or Newcomer Hunters or something.

He hesitated a moment, then turned to look at him, a rare hangdog look on his face. Demyx still wasn't looking at him though, and so he shifted to kick him gently in the shin.

"Hey, the only way I'm turning up in the news is if I do something awesome, okay?" he said with a watery grin. "Come on, you know me better than that--I decide when and how I die; got it memorized?"

The smile faded then, and he lowered his eyes, frowning at his hands in his lap now.

"I guess I should have told you," he said, grimacing a bit. "I, ah... well, I'm still not really used to having someone waiting up for me, you know?"

When they'd been part of the Organization, it was always a crapshoot how long their missions were going to last, after all. They weren't supposed to return to the castle until they'd completed their objective, and the Heartless weren't really known for adhering to anyone's preferred schedule. It was still so alien to him to not only share actual living space with someone, but to know that if he didn't come home he would be missed as an individual rather than just manpower. Oh, sure, he knew Roxas had missed him when he was away at Castle Oblivion, and the look on the kid's face when he'd come 'back from the dead' had been priceless... but this was somehow different. Certainly he knew that Roxas and Xion would have missed him if he disappeared from this place, just like he had missed Roxas when he'd walked away that night, but somehow the idea that Demyx had been actively worried enough by his absence to wait up for him made this different. He actually kind of, well... felt bad about it.

"Look ah, this might wind up being kind of normal," he said, and then caught himself. "Er-- I mean the late thing, not the... this." He gestured at himself and the his general presentation of 'injured'. Blowing a sigh up toward his hairline he decided he might as well just say it. Rip the bandaid off, quick and easy and hopefully only painful in the moment. "I, ah... well, I signed up to be a bounty hunter."

Brace for impact.

A bounty hunter. Axel signed up to be a bounty hunter. His best friend signed up to track down wanted criminals, and now he was just finding out. He didn't know how recent this was, how long it was being kept from him, how long it would have been kept from him--why did it bother him? Though he was a firm believer that Nobodies really did have hearts, there were times he doubted it and even times where he was stuck in the middle of that dark ocean.

"Y-You--You," he stammered, the full weight of Axel's words began to sink in. This wasn't really happening, was it?

Demyx pinched his arm. Hard. He yelped and rubbed the spot with a small frown. "Why? I-I mean, how long--" He shook his head again and took a mental step back. This was stupid. He was being selfish--Hell, there were nights where he'd be out at Purgatory or even just some other nightclub and things were all fine and dandy when he came home yet here he was... Nng.

Stupid.

He needed to breathe, needed to keep his stubborn front up but his chest was starting to ache the more he thought about it. Sure, he wasn't a fighter like Axel or Xigbar or even Roxas, but he could knock a few teeth loose if he was pushed far enough. It was something Demyx prided himself in, actually; he was in tune with his element.

Water was harmless. Water was shallow, it beckoned people to splash around and play, but at the same time water was dangerous. Go out too deep, and the current might drag one down into the suffocating darkness at any moment.

"I--Okay. Yeah. Okay, that's uh... That's totally fine, I guess." Breathe. It's not like Axel's easy to kill, right? It wasn't like the musician thought the guy was a pushover or anything like that, he just worried. There were tons of people here with all sorts of powers that he never even imagined. He was terrified of losing his friend to some random person out on the streets. Terrified that one day he might actually get killed and never come back like so many people before.

Another deep breath, and Demyx finally sought out Axel's gaze.

"Just promise me something. Please. If anything goes wrong, like if you get hurt, o-or you find out you bit off more than you could chew or even if there's a ton of monsters out there and they hit you like they did tonight when you're looking for the guy?Call me. I'll be there to bail you out and carry you home if I have to."

Edited 2012-08-14 12:38 (UTC)

Axel jumped when Demyx pinched himself on the arm and yelped about it, and he was about to ask what the hell he thought was going to happen when he pinched himself but he thought better of it. Demyx was stammering, and Axel was a little concerned now--he hadn't expected him to take the news this badly. Hell, what did Demyx think they'd been when they worked for the Organization? They were practically professional bounty hunters already! The things that went bump in the night around here weren't that different from the Heartless, were they?

He caught 'how long' in Demyx's floundering words and shook his head.

"Not long," he said; "two months? Ish." He waved one hand then and opened his mouth to continue, but stopped when Demyx met his eye. There was something fierce and unexpectedly determined in his gaze and Axel's eyebrows inched upward. A promise? He sort of nodded, an invitation for Demyx to go ahead.

What Demyx said next caught Axel so very off-guard that his jaw actually slid ajar and he just sort of gaped at his friend a moment like a fish out of water. Had Demyx seriously just volunteered himself? Demyx hated to fight--hated to do anything that was dangerous or difficult or even made him sweat! It wasn't that Axel didn't think Demyx gave a damn--he knew Demyx gave a damn (or several, as he was beginning to understand)--but the idea that he was prepared to actually get his hands dirty if it came down to it left the redhead surprisingly speechless.

Axel's jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, and then he cleared his throat and found his voice.

"I..." Come on, words. "Okay." He sort of shook his head as he said it, but more in bafflement than anything else. "Okay, if... if I really get in over my head, I'll call you." He ventured a hesitant half-smile and dragged the pad of his thumb over the left side of his torso, but a bit to low to be across the space where his heart should have been. "Cross my spleen."

And then he waved his hand somewhat dismissively.

"L-look, Demyx, don't get the wrong idea; I'm not doing this just for S&G, you know? I don't actually give a hoot about the bounties," he said, hoping that perhaps his motivation would make this whole thing sit a little better with him. "I'm doing it for the intel." Demyx looked a bit perplexed by this revelation, so Axel clarified, "I figure it might be a good way to trace those Hunters. You know, the ones gunning down the newcomers." He absently picked at the tear in his sleeve. "Nobody knows who these bastards are or where they come from, or where they go once they've had their fun. I know a handful of them have been killed, but who knows how many of them there actually are, you know? I thought maybe if I was in a similar field I might have better luck finding out who they are and who they answer to, or something. Anything would be good at this point."

A shake of his head and an exasperated huff.

"So don't think I'm doing this because I want the extra cash or the glory or... whatever," he said, glowering at his lap for a moment before looking back at Demyx. "I'm doing this because I don't want Roxas or Xion or Naminé or... you... to wind up getting picked off in the next round."

Because there was going to be a next round, of that he was sure. Nothing they'd done so far had stopped them, and he had a feeling it was going to take something really drastic to even put a speedbump in their plans.

Edited 2012-08-14 12:51 (UTC)

While Axel spoke, Demyx opened his mouth more than once as if to interrupt but decided against it each time. It wasn't until Axel finished that he focused on his sleeve. Just for tracking those guys down, huh? He didn't want Roxas, Xion or Naminé hurt--

Or him.

The ache he felt in his chest only moments ago grew worse the more he repeated Axel's words in his head. He was doing it because he cared. Because he didn't want to lose anyone. And he just made a promise. He wouldn't outright admit it, but that was another thing the musician admired about his friend. He was always there for people like a pillar. Hell, Demyx would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to realize that! Surely anyone else would've left him to freeze, but not Axel. He did just the exact opposite--he did what someone with a heart would've done.

Myde had a friend like that, too. A friend that he loved like a brother.

"Yeah, well... We'd need the extra cash if you got yourself hurt cuz I'd either end up in the hospital right along with you or I'd beat the crap outta you twice as bad as those goons."

It was faint, but for a moment Demyx loved Axel in the same way.

"...I think I can accept that, but it doesn't mean I gotta like it any," he grumbled. "Maybe it's just me looking at the glass half empty, but would it really matter if you're in their field or not? If they're hunting newcomers, I don't think it would really matter to them. 'n another thing, what if they find out what you're up to?"

Axel stifled amusement behind one hand at Demyx's threat, but not because he didn't believe it. On the contrary, he knew Demyx could do his fair share of damage if he really put his mind to it--water was as powerful and dangerous as it was serene and welcoming, after all, and Demyx was no different. Just because he chose to be pacifistic most of the time and preferred flight over fight didn't mean he wasn't capable of just as much destruction as any of the Organization members had been.

"Shouldn't you be avenging me before you beat me up?" he chortled. "I mean, what good is it to beat up a guy who's already been beat up, yah? At least wait'll I've healed, sheesh." And then he clapped Demyx fondly on the shoulder. "I'd have you for a hospital roommate any day."

And he meant that in the best way possible. Sure, their missions together had been few and far between, mostly because Demyx hated the cold where Axel never minded it, and Axel loathed Atlantica but it was Demyx's forté, but on those occasions they had teamed up they had been a force to be reckoned with. Fire and water were opposing forces, but when they worked together they were a far greater power than either alone, and Axel wasn't too proud to admit it.

He shook his head then at Demyx's concerns.

"All of our personal information is kept secret," he said; "none of us really know who any of the other bounty hunters are, not without striking up a conversation with the person in question. For the most part it's impossible to tell if someone's new or native just at a glance, so I'm not too worried about that. Besides, I get the feeling the guy in charge won't tolerate any sort of infighting shenanigans." He blew a raspberry. "That Deathstroke guy... I sure wouldn't want to piss him off."

He chortled again then, buffing his fingernails on the front of his coat.

"And they won't find out," he said confidently. "I'm as good at keeping secrets as I am promises. I don't care if anyone knows I'm not in it for the money--maybe I'm just doing this to keep my skills sharp. Point is, the more crap these hunters pull, the more people are gonna be looking for ways to figure out what their agenda is and how they're keeping it." He wagged a finger at Demyx, then lightly thwacked him on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "I won't get caught. Even Marluxia didn't see it coming 'til it was too late, you know?"

Axel's expression softened for a moment. It really was sort of touching, that Demyx was so visibly worried about this, but he wasn't going to give up this opportunity. As much as Demyx was obviously concerned, Axel wasn't.

"And here I thought you had a little more faith in me than that."

"Like your ego needs to get any bigger," he gave a half-hearted grin and a small shove in return. "But if you're sure that you'll be okay, I'll... I dunno. I'll figure something out. Someone has to stick around and be there to patch you up if you come home like this again, y'know? Sometimes Cure 'n Curaga just don't do the job."

There was something else he was planning on top of that. While Axel was out doing his bounty hunting business, Demyx figured he could try doing some recon of his own by asking around the clubs for any information. With something this big, he didn't want to sit around on his hands for once. Sure, it could get dangerous but doesn't everyone get an urge once in awhile to do something stupid but awesome?

Plus he still felt like he owed the Nobody for saving his life during the storm.

"But uh... Has there been any sort of pattern with how many people they grab and when it happens? Maybe you guys could figure something out from that."

"Well Cure n' Curaga might do the trick if I didn't suck at 'em," he grumbled, folding his arms with a harrumph. "You'd think that given my element I'd suck at Blizzard, but no~ it has to be something useful like Cure I can't magic my way out of a paper bag."

Axel inhaled slowly through his nose, then sighed and shook his head.

"No, so far I can't pick out any particular pattern," he admitted. "Granted, I dunno everyone who's been targeted, but looking at the group I do know? There's nothing specific in common that I'm aware of, aside from the fact that they're all newcomers. Different ages, different origin worlds, different powers, heights, weights, hair colors, you name it, I can't find the connection." He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. "And if it's random, that's even more dangerous," he said darkly, "'cuz... well, then how are we supposed to keep anybody safe?"

He smeared his hands down his face--"Ah--ow."--and then groused quietly to himself when the motion tugged at his split lip and broke it open again. "Dammit." Pressing the pad of his thumb against the welling blood he got to his feet and headed down the hall to the bathroom to clean up a bit.

"I guess I should have said something sooner," he admitted over his shoulder as he flicked on the bathroom light and leaned over the sink to inspect his face. Eugh, he hated the taste of blood. "I didn't want you to flip out on me or anything, though," he concluded with a grain of contrition. Dabbing at the cut with a tissue he leaned his head back out into the hall. "You worry more'n a lot of people I know who have hearts, you know?"

It was an old, rote deflection, but one he would stand by as long as possible: no hearts, no feelings, no worries.

He flinched at the sight of Axel's blood and held back the urge to chase after him. Thinking back on it, maybe he should've tended to his injuries before verbally slapping him with his concerns. "Trust me, if you held off on telling me any longer I probably would've flipped out."

Demyx picked some invisible lint off the front of his shirt while Axel was off in the bathroom, his foot tapping against the coffee table as some sort of distraction. He was doing his best to keep the What If scenarios out of his head for the time being, instead trying to focus on the positives. Axel knew what he was doing, right? He always knew--Demyx trusted his judgement.

"I'll do some recon when I hit up the clubs. Maybe I can dig up some dirt there, but until then er... C'mon back out. I'll take care of that cut, okay? It'd be bad if you busted it open again."

"Is that so~?" Axel snickered, pressing a small folded square of toilet paper against his split lip and grinning out the door. "Flipped out, really? Funny, how would you have known if I didn't tell you?"

Satisfied that the cut wouldn't bleed everywhere Axel flicked the light off again and ambled back to the couch, flopping down with a grimace and putting his socked feet on the table. The little wad of paper was still pressed against his lip and he pulled it away to look at it a moment before giving Demyx a sidelong frown.

"You don't have to do that, you know," he said, though whether he was talking about the recon or the offered Cure he didn't specify. He sat back against the couch and let his head loll backward, pressing the paper against his lip again. "I know you're good at recon, but you're not so good at staying out of trouble, you know? Last thing I want is for you to wind up in over your head because you're tryin' to help me."

"Well, you pretty much admitted that you couldn't Cure yourself out of a paper bag. I woulda found out sooner or later at that rate," he adds with a small laugh. Well, either that or he'd eventually start asking questions.

But the laugh cuts off and Demyx reaches over to lightly cuff the back of Axel's head with a near scowl. Sure, any ordinary day he'd actually take that as a compliment, but he had to put his foot down from time to time. "I might've slacked off a ton back home but that doesn't mean I always get into trouble! Believe it or not, I know how to keep my head down!" He huffed and sagged against the couch to stare at the Nobody. "And that incident with the dinosaur skeleton downtown doesn't count as getting into trouble. I didn't really expect that thing to carry me off by the back of my shirt like some sort of... Baby dinosaur."

"Oi, I'm injured here," Axel complained when Demyx knocked the back of his head, sitting forward to hold it with his free hand and giving him an affected glower. "Dude, come on, I wasn't giving you a hard time," he said, letting his hand fall back in his lap, "I was being honest. And I don't do that with everybody, you know?"

It was true--Axel had spent so much time not being sincere with people that he had sort of come to regard those moments of honesty as a sign of the highest camaraderie. After all, it didn't matter if you lied to someone that didn't matter to you.

"You don't like actually doing work anyway," he said, giving Demyx a scrutinizing look then. "You really don't have to do anything; I've got this under control."

It was less that he didn't think Demyx was capable and more that he just didn't want him to feel like he had to do this. He really wasn't the fool everyone thought he was--Axel had learned that fairly quickly, even before they'd become roommates and close friends--but despite a formidable weapon, Demyx didn't like to fight, and Axel didn't want him to do this out of obligation. The reason he was doing this was to keep his friends safe, after all.

"Don't give me that look, Axel. I get," he makes a vague gesture to all of himself, "weird when people do things like this. Back in the Organization I really only counted a few people as real friends but I kept a ton of that on the downlow cuz we were told we didn't have hearts. You know I think the exact opposite ninety-five percent of the time!"

Though he had to give himself credit; Myde would always work himself into a nasty stomach ache and go hide in the coral reef he claimed for himself until it subsided. Demyx hasn't hit that stage with anyone he cared about here. Yet, anyway.

"I swear, dealing with Ursula was a lot easier. I don't--Look, I just don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do, okay? Myde used to try playing the hero when people he knew got into shady deals with Ursula and eventually he just got too used to that. You can pretty much see where that got him," Demyx glanced down at his hands to avoid seeing Axel's stare. He felt helpless. When the Heartless came about in his world, he felt helpless to protect his friends.

Myde was too busy losing his heart to do anything but watch as things grew darker and darker around him.

He didn't want to feel like that again.

"_{I wanna make it up to them.}"

That came as a surprise. Demyx hadn't talked about his life before the Organization any more than Axel had, really. Hearing that he wanted to make it up to the people he felt he'd let down back home? Yeah, that struck a bit of a chord. Lea hadn't been terribly close with anyone from Radiant Garden but Isa, so Axel wasn't really looking to win any respect points from anyone back home. What he did, he did for the people he cared about now, the people he didn't want to lose now. He'd already lost Isa, and maybe he'd never get him back, but he'd be damned if he was just going to sit on his hands and let these bastards hurt anyone important to him again without a fight.

He didn't think Demyx was incapable, no, but he hadn't expected Demyx actually had any sort of motivation for this sort of thing aside from a spur of the moment urge to be included.

Feeling a bit chastised, Axel was quiet for a bit, then shifted with a grimace and poked Demyx with one foot.

"Do what you like," he said, his tone a bit sullen, "but be careful. Maybe you're better at Cure than I am, but I can't be in two places at once."

(That's Axel-ese for 'I don't want to have to come to your rescue, you ninny.')

At first he only stared at Axel with a mixture of concern and confusion, then gave him a relieved smile. He was still getting used to seeing this side of the other Nobody, but it just made it that much easier to relax around him. After all, what were friends for, anyway? They could do... Well, they could do just about anything.

"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's running away," he carefully shoved Axel in return before he sat up to place his hands over Axel's arm to cast Cure. "Even if I get banged up in the process. Heck, remember when Roxas and Xigbar went off to Olympus and I disappeared? I, ah... I sorta tailed 'em there and got the snot beat outta me after I was pretty much cornered."

Axel hissed when Demyx cast the Cure spell--ah, the one he'd done on himself must not have knit the cut on his arm completely. Ugh, he really did suck at restorative magic. He muttered a surly thank you and then sort of jumped, looking startled at him.

"Wait, you went to Olympus that time?" He made a face. "What the heck for? That place is almost as hot as Agrabah, and it's way too sunny and bright. I got the second-worst sunburn of my life there."

The first-worst sunburn of his life had been in Agrabah, actually. Axel liked warm weather and sunny days well enough, but despite his element of choice he didn't really do too well in full direct sunlight. Something about that red hair and a general lack of melanin... Plus stepping out of a corridor into a place that was starkly bright like that always made him sneeze.

Crinkling his nose briefly, he gave Demyx a puzzled look.

"Who cornered you and beat you up?" he asked. Olympus topside was fairly low-key and friendly outside the arena, so far as he was aware. He couldn't really imagine that little goat man could have gotten the better of Demyx.

Tsking to himself, Demyx lightly nudged him a second time.

"Once you find a cooler place, it's not really all that bad. Just a word of advice, stay out of the Underworld. I ran into Sora down there but I felt like crap pretty much the whole time." Demyx shuddered at the memory of it. Really, the people there wasn't exactly the liveliest bunch. "But I was sorta looking for a place that no one would ever go to."

Luckily he didn't have to worry about sunburn. He grew up with a bit of a tan thanks to Atlantica, but that didn't make the heat any less of a bother. His element didn't always agree with extreme heat or cold for that matter. He was a bit more tropical.

But then he gave a sheepish grin, moving from Axel's arm to fix his split lip. Sorry bro, that space is being invaded.

"Remember when we had the imposter warnings for awhile?" Yep.

"Yeah I took one look down those stairs and I was like 'nope'." Axel shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I like a creepy movie as much as the next guy, I'm just not interested in being in one.

Ah--"

Axel made an indignant sort of noise when his personal space bubble was infringed upon, but then held still when he realized what Demyx was doing. He was grateful, really, but getting used to proximity was still a work in progress. He'd gotten a lot better--he didn't automatically go into Defensive Mode when he sensed footsteps behind him and he'd only reflexively judo-chopped Demyx in the neck once, but he was still getting used to the idea that he didn't have to have his guard up at all times. It seemed you could take the Nobody out of the Organization, but you ultimately couldn't quite take the Organization out of the Nobody.

Unsure if he was allowed to move while Demyx Cured the remaining surface injuries, Axel just sort of made a wordless noise of affirmation at his question. What did the imposter have to do with Demyx? No way he was proactive enough to have actually followed him or anything...

"Well, I followed 'em there to scope out places that no one would ever, ever go to for uh... Well, you know. Anyway, I ran into 'em and they thought I was the imposter."

Demyx offered a sheepish smile as he pulled his hands away. That particular incident left him with some nasty bruises lasting for about a week and taught a good lesson about tailing people while imposter warnings were in effect. Getting beat up with a keyblade was something he'd be able to scratch off his bucket list three times now if it were even on there to begin with.

"I'm kinda glad though cuz I think that goat dude would've roped me into whatever that 'training' thing was about."

"You got beat up by Roxas and Xigbar because they thought you were the Organization Imposter."

It wasn't even a question. Axel covered his eyes with one hand and his shoulders shook with helpless laughter. He could only imagine how that all went over.

"Light, Demyx, only you would be grateful you got the snot beaten out of you so you would be excused from training," he guffawed. There was something so refreshingly simple about Demyx that somehow it made the overcomplications of the rest of the world a little easier to handle. "Don't ever change, okay?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

and if i say i'm coming home

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject