Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7202504.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage, Major_Character_Death, Rape/
      Non-Con
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Kingdom_Hearts
  Relationship:
      Demyx/Zexion, Axel/Roxas, Riku/Sora_(Kingdom_Hearts)
  Character:
      Demyx, Zexion, Axel_(Kingdom_Hearts), Roxas_(Kingdom_Hearts), Sora_
      (Kingdom_Hearts), Riku_(Kingdom_Hearts), Ventus_(Kingdom_Hearts),
      Lexaeus, Marluxia, Kadaj_(Compilation_of_FFVII), Loz_(Compilation_of
      FFVII), Yazoo_(Compilation_of_FFVII), Sephiroth_(Kingdom_Hearts)
  Additional Tags:
      Explicit_Language, Sexual_Content, Implied/Referenced_Self-Harm, Implied/
      Referenced_Drug_Use, Underage_Drinking, Past_Rape/Non-con, attempted
      suicide
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-06-14 Completed: 2017-01-06 Chapters: 8/8 Words: 26481
****** Children of the Underworld ******
by thegreatwhitewolf
Summary
     Demyx Strife and his brothers get the chance to go behind the scenes
     of a famous traveling circus when it comes to town and find that
     behind all the glitz and glamour lurks a dark world of sex, drugs,
     and alcohol.
Notes
     My muses would not leave me alone until I wrote this. This was the
     result of me watching Dumbo, mostly, though Moulin Rouge! and Cirque
     du Soleil also played parts.
See the end of the work for more notes
***** The First Day *****
                                 The_First_Day
“Why are we doing this again?”
Demyx turned in his seat as far as his seatbelt would let him and sighed.
Roxas, sandwiched between his twin Ven and their younger brother Sora was
scowling, as usual. He was determined to not let Roxas’s poor attitude ruin it
for him though.
“We’re going to the Disney Circus because it’s in town once every ten years and
Mom and Dad got free tickets,” he explained patiently. “We’re going to see the
show and then afterwards meet the owner and go on a tour backstage.”
“The circus is for babies,” Roxas muttered sourly.
“Not this one, trust me,” Demyx said. “This is like the cream of the crop when
it comes to circuses.”
Roxas raised a pierced eyebrow. “And how do you know this?”
“Oh um…I did some research,” Demyx said hastily.
He ducked his head so Roxas couldn’t see his blush, though he suspected Roxas
already knew how much research he had done. He couldn’t help it, though. When
he found out that they would be going to the Disney Circus, he had wanted to
know everything he could about it because he had been so young the first time
he had been and he could barely remember anything about the circus itself. It
was pretty damn impressive, he had to say.
The Disney Circus was a traveling circus that had grown out of an idea by two
men, Genesis and Angeal, who had been the original co-owners of the circus.
After their untimely deaths, it had been continued by their mutual friend
Sephiroth who had expanded it into the critically acclaimed show it was today.
There were no animals, only human performers who were the best of the best.
“He’s right!” Sora chirped from where he was squashed next to the window.
“There was an article in the paper yesterday. Disney Circus is supposed to be
amazing. It’s really popular, which is why it only comes to town once every ten
years, because it goes to so many different cities. And we got tickets for
opening night! How cool is that?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Roxas muttered, crossing his arms, and nearly hitting Ven in
the face with his elbow.
“Aw come on Roxas,” Sora protested. “Stop being such a sourpuss.”
“He can’t help it. That’s just how Roxas is.” Ven affectionately ruffled
Roxas’s spiky blonde hair, earning him a scowl in return.
They turned into a large parking lot that had been converted into space for the
circus and Demyx’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of the enormous
tent and the sea of smaller tents beyond it. Roxas, Ven, and Sora were too
young to remember anything the last time the Disney Circus came to town, but
Demy could remember it vividly. They still lived in Midgar then and Demyx
remembered because it was the night of the big mako reactor explosion. He
remembered the fear and panic of the crowd as they left the circus, his father
Cloud shouting at him to take the twins’ hands so they wouldn’t get separated,
and the nightmare of being forced to evacuate the city, leaving everything
behind. He still had nightmares about that night.
“Demyx!”
Demyx blinked as someone jabbed him sharply in the gut and saw Ven waving his
hand in front of his face, Roxas being the one who jabbed him in the stomach.
“Wha?” he said stupidly.
Roxas rolled his eyes. “We’re here. Now move.”
“Right,” Demyx said.
He got out first, then moved his seat up as far as he could so his brothers
could get out.
“Why did Sora get to bring a friend and we couldn’t?” Roxas muttered sourly,
nodding to Sora’s boyfriend, who was helping Sora out.
“Riku is the owner’s nephew so he got a free ticket too,” Demyx said, extending
his hand to Ven.
“Whatever,” Roxas muttered.
“Are you boys ready to go?” their mother Aerith asked, walking over to them.
She received a chorus of “yeses” and a “no” from Roxas. “Good.” She smiled.
Cloud silently locked the van and they walked toward the largest tent. The
interior of the tent was finely decorated with sculptures and other expensive-
looking artwork. A large crowd waited in front of a pair of red velvet curtains
that presumably led to the show’s entrance, held back by a pair of women in red
velvet uniforms and large gold buttons. Aerith directed the family to the left
where they joined the end of the line for the concession stand.
“You can have whatever you want tonight, boys,” she said as they stood in line.
“Just don’t overdo it, okay?”
Each of them got a small soda and Sora got candy, Ven popcorn, and Demyx a
pretzel.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything, Riku?” Aerith asked the silver-haired
boy as she dug in her purse for money. “It’s my treat.”
Riku shook his head politely. “No thanks, Mrs. Strife. I’m fine. Really.”
“All right.” Aerith turned to Roxas. “Are you sure you only want a soda,
sweetie?”
“Yeah,” Roxas said.
Aerith frowned but paid the cashier and they joined the crowd outside the
theater. They chattered happily with the exception of Roxas who sulked and
Cloud who just stood there until the women finally pulled the curtains back and
allowed them to enter, checking their tickets as they went.
The interior was dark and cool with rows and rows of surprisingly comfortable-
looking chairs. The ground sloped downward as they made their way to their
seats in the very center of the first row.
“Wow, these are some good seats,” Sora commented as they settled in.
“You should make sure to thank Sephiroth for the lovely seats when we meet him
later,” Aerith said.
“Yes, Mom,” Sora said obediently.
Roxas hissed something that sounded like, “tool!” which earned him a jab in the
ribs from Ven. No more was said as the theater slowly filled up with people.
Finally, the lights dimmed signaling the start of the show. A man with rosy
pink hair that absolutely could not be natural stepped out from behind the
curtains.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Disney Circus!” he said loudly, his
magnified voice echoing throughout the theater. “Please note that the use of
smoke effects will be used throughout the performance. They pose no threat to
your health. You, however, are not permitted to smoke. The use of video of
cameras and photography, especially flash photography is forbidden because of
the danger they pose to the performers. We also ask that you turn off all cell
phones, pagers, and any other assorted electronic devices. And now, sit back,
relax, and enjoy the show!”
He disappeared behind the curtains. A gentle piano piece began playing. A young
sandy-haired boy around the same age as Ven and Roxas ran onto the stage,
dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. The pink-haired man appeared from
behind the curtains and the young boy ran into him. He reared back, frightened.
The pink-haired man put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Without any warning,
the young boy was lifted into the air, causing several audience members to
gasp. He soared around high above the audience’s head as the music swelled.
Then, he was pulled behind the curtains and vanished. As the music built up
again, the curtains parted, revealing the rest of the stage at last, though it
was too dark to see much. They young boy laid sprawled out on the stage and the
song ended.
A new song started, louder than the first. The young boy seemed to jerk awake
and Demyx jumped in his seat at the suddenness of the new song’s opening notes.
The lights suddenly sprang up to full brightness, revealing a wondrous,
fantasy-esque setting. As the song continued, people filed out dressed in
elaborate costumes, the likes of which Demyx had never seen before. He quickly
became immersed in the show, transfixed by all the beautiful costumes and the
interesting-sounding music. The story, as far as he could tell, was of the
young boy who was transported to a magical world filled with creatures of all
shapes and sizes that seemed to come straight out of a child’s imagination.
The young boy journeyed through the strange new world and met a myriad of
characters, jugglers, acrobats, dancers, clowns, and many others, and found
love with a beautiful princess. Demyx’s personal favorite act was the trapeze
act by a trio of silver-haired boys a few years older than him who flew through
the air effortlessly, throwing themselves seemingly into space, but always
catching one another without fail. The music was fun too, generally upbeat, but
a few of the songs were slower and sadder.
Then the tone changed completely.
The bright lights dimmed and the music became tribal and almost primitive in
nature. A man in his late twenties stepped out carrying a baton, dressed only
in a pair of light-colored pants, his well-sculpted chest gleaming in the
light. He had flaming red hair pulled back into a barely-contained ponytail and
a pair of purple teardrop tattoos beneath each vivid green eye. The entire
crowd, Demyx included, gasped when he lit one end of his baton on fire. Roxas,
however, was not as impressed as everyone else.
“Twenty bucks says he sets himself on fire,” he whispered, crossing his arms.
“Roxas!” Sora protested, covering his mouth to suppress a giggle.
“No way,” Ven argued. “They’re all pretty well-trained. He won’t set himself on
fire.”
“Look at that hair,” Roxas pointed out. “He’s totally gonna set himself on
fire.”
“I still say he won’t,” Ven said stubbornly.
“Would you care to wager on that?” Roxas arched his eyebrows.
“Mind your manners,” Demyx scolded under his breath, never tearing away from
the man spinning his flaming baton.
“You’re on,” Ven said, pursing his lips.
They shook on it, leaning over a still-giggling Sora to seal the deal. Riku
merely rolled his eyes good-naturedly while Demyx turned his attention back to
the fire act.
The man spun the flaming baton around with expert precision, in perfect time
with the music. With a catlike grin, he lit the other end of the baton and
continued spinning it around. Then, he acquired a second one, and juggled the
two of them, never missing a beat, never tripping up as the music reached its
climax. Then, he held the flaming batons in the air triumphantly as the music
ended to thunderous applause. Demyx could see he was covered in sweat, his
chest heaving. The man made a show of blowing out the ends of the batons and
gave the crowd a jaunty wave before trotting off the stage.
“Okay, that was impressive,” Roxas admitted grudgingly, leaning over Sora again
to give his twin a $20 bill.
A new, gentler song began to play. Demyx turned back to the stage and his
breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the dancer. He was young,
around Demyx’s age, if not a year or two older, though he was remarkably small.
Charcoal grey hair cut across his face in sharp bangs that obscured it from
view. One grey blue eye peered out from the curtain, thickly lined with black
that really brought out the blue of his eye. The rest of his makeup was light,
emphasizing the sharp contours of his cheekbones, small nose, and thin,
delicate lips. His was beautiful, but there was something haunting about his
beauty. His costume was silver with a spider webbing design in blue and like
the other costumes, clung tightly to his small frame.
His dance was as beautiful and haunting as he was. It was filled with loss,
regret, and betrayal. He moved gracefully in time to the music, and was
surprisingly flexible for such a small boy. He was joined by a man who was
twice his size. Their size difference didn’t look comical, as Demyx expected,
but actually worked. The smaller boy leapt through the air and was easily
caught by his partner and lifted up, then set down with surprising gentleness.
As the song ended, the boy’s single blue grey eye locked onto Demyx’s sea green
ones and Demyx felt an intense, powerful connection to him.
And an even more powerful attraction.
The boy and his partner took a bow and vanished and the show went on, though
Demyx barely paid attention. He couldn’t stop thinking about that boy. He got
another glimpse of him at the very end of the show when all the performers took
to the stage for their curtain call. He stood next to his partner, their height
disparity even more apparent when they stood side-by-side and took their final
bows. Demyx couldn’t stop staring at him. Ven followed Demyx’s gaze and grinned
when he saw what, or rather, who, Demyx was staring at.
“Someone’s in love!” he teased.
Demyx blushed. “I am not!”
“Yeah, sure.” Ven gave him a look that indicated he didn’t believe him.
They remained in their seats until the theater was empty aside from them and
the cleaning crew. The curtains parted slightly and the pink-haired man stepped
out, still in full costume and makeup. He saw the Strifes and his face broke
out into an enormous smile.
“Oh my gosh, you must be the Strifes!” he said in an excited tone as he came
down the steps to greet them. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Marluxia.
Sephiroth asked me to meet you and bring you to his office.”
“Wow, and I thought the fire guy was flaming,” Roxas muttered, earning him a
jab in the ribs from Ven again.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Aerith said, smiling warmly. “I’m Aerith Strife, this
is my husband, Cloud, and our sons Demyx, Roxas, Ven, and Sora.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Marluxia said. “Well, shall we? Oh, make sure
you stick close to me backstage, okay? It gets pretty chaotic after the show.”
They went up the stairs onto the stage. Up close, Demy could see how worn the
boards were. The red velvet curtains looked threadbare as they passed through
them. The stage was brightly lit now and full of people hurrying to and fro,
some of them dressed in elaborate costumes and full makeup. Marluxia strode
confidently through the very center of the mess, leaving the Strifes to hurry
after him or be swallowed by the chaos.
They went through the backstage area and exited the tent. The fresh summer air
was a relief after being in the cramped, chaotic mess of the tent. Marluxia led
them into a nearby tent and they found themselves in a makeshift office. It was
sparsely furnished with a couple filing cabinets on either side of a large
wooden desk. A small desktop computer sat on the desk that was plugged into a
strip cord in the corner along with a telephone. Sitting behind the desk was a
tall, thin man with long silver hair like Riku’s and green eyes with gold
flecks in them. Demyx wasn’t sure what it was about him, but he found the man
absolutely unnerving.
“Good to see you again, Cloud. It’s been far too long,” he said in a
surprisingly baritone voice that made Demyx even more uncomfortable. “And
Aerith. It’s a pleasure to see you again as well.”
“Hello Sephiroth,” Aerith said and her smile seemed a bit forced. “I don’t know
if you remember our boys. This is Demyx, Roxas and his twin Ven, and Sora, our
youngest.”
“Goodness they’ve grown,” Sephiroth said softly. “They were all very small the
last time I saw them. They grow up fast, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Aerith agreed. “And how are your boys?”
“All grown up,” Sephiroth said with a smile.
“How old are they again?” Aerith asked.
“My youngest, Kadaj just turned nineteen. Yazoo is twenty-two and my oldest,
Loz is twenty-four. Now…” Sephiroth turned to Marluxia, who hovered uncertainly
near the tent’s entrance. “Why don’t you take the boys on a tour while their
parents and I finish catching up?”
Marluxia visibly brightened at this. “I’d love to! Come along, boys. Let’s go!”
They gladly followed the pink-haired man out of the stifling tent. It was much
quieter compared to backstage. When Demyx pointed this out, Marluxia chuckled
softly.
“Surprising, isn’t it?” he said. “You’d think it’d be chaotic here too, but
honestly, all the action is backstage right now. It’ll get busy later, right
before the show, trust me.
“We have three shows here, one at four, one at seven, which is the one that
just ended, and one at ten. Each show runs or an hour and a half and the
performers get a half hour break. We also have mornings off. We don’t have to
show up until the full dress rehearsal at two, just before the first show,
though many people come earlier to practice, and of course they have to get
dressed and put their makeup on.
“We’re going to be in Twilight Town for two weeks before we move onto the next
place. We tour from April until about October, depending on how well the
weather holds up. We have a four-month vacation, I guess you can call it,
though I’m not sure how much of a vacation it really is. Then in Mach we have
rehearsals again before we start touring. It’s kind of brutal at times, but
there’s really nothing like it. A lot of the performers have families who tour
with them and after a while, everyone becomes like family too.”
They walked toward the sea of tents. In the dying sun, Demyx could see that the
tents were worn out and dirty, smeared with smoke and grime and it reminded him
of Midgar, which was a dirty, worn out city that seemed to be in its death
throes even before the mako reactor explosion. The thought caused goosebumps to
raise on his arms and he forced himself back to reality by focusing on the
words Marluxia said as they continued their tour.
Marluxia opened the flap to the first tent, revealing rows and rows and rows of
costumes hanging on hangers and spread out on tables. There were sewing
machines and a pegboard holding spools of thread in every color imaginable with
multiple shades of each color. Trunks lined one wall and there was an area
dedicated just to wigs. The rest of the tent was partitioned off into changing
areas.
“This is our costume department, as you can see,” Marluxia said. “And Isobel
here is our head of costumes. He indicated a white-haired woman currently bent
over a sewing machine with a piece of cotton candy pink fabric. “She’s in
charge of making sure all the costumes are in top form. Luckily, she has help.
Isn’t that right, Izzy?”
“Mmm?” the woman straightened up and turned to look at them.
She was a plump, pleasant looking old woman dressed in all blue, including a
blue kerchief on her head, whose dark eyes sparkled when she saw Marluxia. And
yet up close, Demyx could see the dark circles under her eyes that indicated
many sleepless nights and the way her fingers never stopped moving, like she
had recently chugged a dozen Red Bulls.
“Hello Marluxia,” she said with a smile. “I hope you don’t have anything for me
to fix. I’m completely swamped right now.”
“Oh no,” Marluxia said, laughing. “I was just showing the Strife boys around.”
Isobel frowned. “Who?”
“The Strife boys,” Marluxia explained patiently.
“Oh yes, that’s right,” Isobel said, shaking her head. “Forgive me, dears. The
mind is the first thing to go when you’re old like I am.” She looked around.
“Now where did Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather go? Off having a spot of tea when
there’s still so much work to be done, no doubt.”
“Well, we should leave you to it,” Marluxia said.
He herded the Strife boys out of the costume tent as Isobel muttered something
that sounded like “Bibbidi-bobidi-boo.” They went into another tent.
“This is our makeup tent,” Marluxia said. “Our head of makeup is Jasmine here.”
He indicated an exotic woman with dark eyes, golden brown skin, and dark hair
braided behind her head in a single, long plait. She glared at Marluxia as they
approached.
“Go away, Marluxia. I’ve gotta reapply someone’s makeup because they smeared
it," she said, turning to glare at a young Chinese woman seated in front of a
large vanity with very smeared makeup.
“But Jasmine, I told you, it’s not my fault!” the woman protested. “Mushu
squirted me in the face with a squirt gun!”
“Okay, Mulan, I believe you,” Jasmine said in an exasperated tone. “Now hold
still.”
“Let’s go,” Marluxia whispered and he guided the Strife boys out of the makeup
tent. “Next we have the weapons tent. We’ll only peek inside because our
weapons master, Larxene, is kind of a bitch.”
He lifted the flap of the next tent and allowed them to peek inside at the rows
and rows of wicked-looking weapons and a glaring blonde woman with poison green
eyes dressed in all leather. Marluxia quickly lowered the flap and they hurried
away.
“Here is the kitchen,” Marluxia said, quickly showing them the makeshift
kitchen before a fearsome man Marluxia called Xigbar chased them out. “Next is
the infirmary,” Marluxia continued, leading them on. “We have our own doctors
who travel with us, Vexen and Hojo.”
Vexen was a tall, skinny man in his fifties with long dirty blonde hair and
green eyes. Hojo was also tall and skinny with long dark hair and dark eyes.
Both were dressed in stained lab coats and gave Demyx the creeps.
“Finally, we have the lounge tent,” Marluxia said, leading them into the
second-largest tent. “This is where the performers mostly hang out between
shows. There’s about twenty to thirty performers total, plus even more crew who
keep the show running.”
The tent was surprisingly comfortable furnished with chairs and couches
surrounding a big screen TV and even rugs on the floor. A corner was set up as
a practice area with several performers practicing their routines. Marluxia led
them to a couch facing away from them that appeared unoccupied at first glance.
When they got closer, they saw a pair of long legs dangling over the edge.
“Axel! Hey Axel!” Marluxia said, giving the legs a swift kick.
They heard a loud yelp, followed by a long stream of curses, and then a red
head appeared as the person laying on the couch sat up. Demyx instantly
recognized him as the man from the fire act.
“What’d ya want, ya pink haired fairy?” the man said, yawning loudly. “Can’t ya
see I’m tryin’ to take a nap here? Sheesh, you’ve got no respect, do you?”
Marluxia snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you. I merely wanted to introduce
you to the sons of Sephiroth’s friends. These are Demyx, Roxas and Ven, sorry I
don’t know which is which, and Sora. This is Axel, our resident pyromaniac.”
Axel turned toward them with bright jade green eyes, focusing on each of them
in turn. When he spied Roxas with his multiple piercings and black leather, he
raised his eyebrows.
“You’re pretty cute,” he said, his lips curling up into a smirk. “So are you
Roxas or Ven?”
Roxas scowled at him. “Fuck off, creeper.”
“Roxas!” Ven squealed. He turned to Axel. “I am so sorry! My brother has a hard
time holding his tongue.”
But Axel blinked and stared at Roxas for a few moments before bursting into
laughter, showing off two rows of shiny white teeth.
“You’ve got some bite, don’t you?” he said, still laughing. “I like that.”
“Bit me,” Roxas muttered.
“Just say the word and I’d be glad to bite you,” Axel said with a wink.
“Psycho,” Roxas said.
“Okay, stop flirting, Fire Crotch,” Marluxia said.
Roxas raised his eyebrows. “Fire Crotch? That’s an interesting nickname.”
“I set my pants on fire once and now you all think it’s necessary to call me
that,” Axel said, scowling.
Roxas looked like he was going to say something inappropriate so Marluxia
wisely steered them away. “Sorry about that,” he said. “He means no harm. He’s
just a big flirt, that’s all.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Roxas said sarcastically.
“Over in the corner there are Sephiroth’s sons Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. They’re
the trapeze artists. They pretty much keep to themselves and no one really
bothers them.” Marluxia lowered his voice to a whisper and added, “They’re kind
of creepy. I’d stay away from them if I were you.” The Strife boys nodded. “And
over here we have Lexaeus and Zexion, one of our dancing acts.”
Demyx’s heart started racing when he spotted a familiar slate-colored head
sitting on a couch in the corner next to his giant red-haired partner.
“Hello Lexaeus,” Marluxia said. “I wanted to introduce you to the sons of
Sephiroth’s friends Cloud and Aerith, Demyx, Roxas, Ven, and Sora.”
The red-haired man looked up at them with piercing blue eyes and merely
politely inclined his head in their direction. Marluxia turned to the slate-
haired boy and rolled his eyes.
“Are you ever not reading Zexion?” he said.
The slate-haired boy merely offered a shrug as a response, never looking up
from his book.
“You’re as talkative as ever, I see,” Marluxia said. To the Strife boys, he
added, “Don’t bother trying to get him to talk. He’s pretty much a mute.”
Demyx peered at the title of the book Zexion was reading which was well worn,
its pages starting to yellow and couldn’t help smiling.
“The Tempest, huh?” he said. “That’s one of my favorites. We are such stuff/As
dreams are made on and our little life/Is rounded with a sleep.”
This caused Zexion to look up at him with a single raised eyebrow. Not only
that, but Marluxia and Demyx’s brothers stared at him with stupefied looks as
well.
“What? Did you really think I spent all my time playing music?” Demyx said.
Based on the expressions on his brothers’ faces, that was exactly what they
thought.
Demyx rolled his eyes. “Hey, I do in fact have a life outside music. And yes,
it does involve reading Shakespeare. Some of this stuff is actually pretty
good.”
Zexion still didn’t say anything, but Demyx swore he saw the corners of his
lips curl up into a slight smile.
“Demyx really liked your dance,” Ven told him.
Zexion continued to look up at Demyx and he felt like he was being x-rayed so
intense was Zexion’s stare. Demyx blushed deeply.
“Yeah, I thought it was a beautiful dance,” he said, embarrassed. “The two of
you were completely in sync with each other the entire time and when you
jumped, Lexaeus caught you without fail. How do you do it?”
Lexaeus and Zexion shared a glance and then Lexaeus said in a deep voice, “Lots
of patience and trust.”
“There you boys are,” Aerith said as she and Cloud entered the tent. “It’s time
to go. Did you have fun?”
“Yes,” all of them except Roxas said at once.
They said goodbye to Lexaeus, Zexion, and Axel, who had wandered over at some
point. Suddenly, Zexion closed his book and got to his feet. He walked up to
Demyx and leaned over.
“Goodbye, Demyx. It was a pleasure to meet you,” he said, his breath warm on
Demyx’s skin.
Demyx blushed furiously. “Y…you too,” he stuttered.
“It was nice meeting all of you,” Marluxia said as they walked toward the
tent’s entrance.
“You too,” Ven said politely.
“Yeah! It was a lot of fun!” Sora added.
“You’re all welcome to hang out with the performers if you wan while we’re
here,” Marluxia said.
“Oh, we wouldn’t want to be a bother,” Aerith immediately protested.
“It’s not a bother at all,” Marluxia insisted. “The younger performers don’t
get a chance to hang out with kids their own age aside from each other and it
gets boring after a while, as you can imagine. The only thing is that they
can’t interfere with the shows.”
“Can we mom? Please? Oh please?” Sora begged, giving their mother his famous
puppy dog look.
“Come on, Aerith,” Cloud said softly. “It’ll be a great experience for them.”
“Oh all right,” Aerith finally caved. “I suppose it’s all right.”
“Yay!” Sora beamed brightly, bouncing up and down.
Demyx turned away from his family when he felt like he was being watched.
Zexion stood a few feet away, quietly observing them. Demyx took a deep breath,
his mind made up. He slipped away from his family who was still chatting with
Marluxia, and walked over to Zexion.
“I…I was wondering if you’d like to get breakfast with me or something tomorrow
morning,” he stammered. “I know you get your mornings off and all. I mean, it’s
totally cool if you don’t want to. I can understand if you’d rather be alone.”
Zexion shook his head. “Breakfast would be lovely. Shall we meet at the front
gates tomorrow morning at eight?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Demyx said breathlessly.
“I will see you tomorrow then,” Zexion said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have
some things to attend to before the final show.”
Without further ado, he breezed out of the tent. Demyx quickly rejoined his
family as they finally left, unaware that they were being watched by Marluxia.
“You’re taking a risk, you know, inviting the boys around like that.”
“It’s fine,” Marluxia said, not surprised at the redhead’s sudden appearance
behind him. “As long as the shows run smoothly, Sephiroth doesn’t care what
goes on behind the scenes. You’ve been with the circus long enough now to know
that.”
“Yeah, but they might become corrupted if they hang around here too long,” Axel
said. “You know what effect this place has on people if they stay for too long.
Remember what happened with Zexion?”
Marluxia looked at him in surprise. “I didn’t know you were concerned about
them becoming corrupted.” Axel merely shrugged in response. Marluxia turned
back to watch the Strifes exit the circus. “You needn’t be concerned. Those
boys won’t be so easily corrupted. In fact, they may be exactly what this
circus needs.”
Then, he left to get ready for the last show, leaving behind a very bewildered-
looking Axel.
***** The Second Day *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
                                The_Second_Day
Demyx’s face broke into a huge grin when he saw Zexion waiting for him just
outside the circus gates. The charcoal-haired boy was dressed in an ordinary
long-sleeved grey shirt and jeans, but still somehow managed to look
extraordinary.
“Hi Zexion!” Demyx said, trying not to think about how attractive Zexion
looked. “Are you ready to go?” Zexion merely nodded. “Do you have anywhere in
particular you’d like to go?”
Zexion shook his head. Then, he said in a soft voice, “I haven’t had a chance
to explore this town yet; Sephiroth has kept us on a pretty tight leash. I was
hoping you would be able to recommend a place.”
Demyx grinned. “I know exactly where we can go.”
Five minutes later, they walked through the front door of the Tram Common Café.
It was a quaint little café situated in a small nook in the town center. It was
a popular place with the locals and was always packed, but Demyx knew the
owner, Tifa Lockhart, who was an old friend of his parents from Midgar.
“Morning Demyx,” Tifa greeted him cheerfully. “You’re just in luck if you want
a table. One just opened up upstairs in the Observatory. Oh, who’s your
friend?.” She peered curiously at Zexion. “Or is he your boyfriend?”
“Friend, friend. He’s definitely a friend,” Demyx said, blushing. “This is
Zexion. He’s…in town visiting.”
“Is this your first time in Twilight Town?” Tifa asked Zexion.
Zexion merely nodded.
“He’s a bit on the shy side,” Demyx explained.
“Ah, yes, I know all about that.” Tifa smiled knowingly, pushing a lock of
black hair out of her eyes. “So…table for two up in the Observatory?”
“Yes please,” Demyx said.
“All right. Kairi will show you to your table. Enjoy your meal,” Tifa said.
“Thanks Tifa,” Demyx said with a smile.
Kairi was a redheaded girl the same age as Sora who grinned at Demyx and
beckoned for them to follow her with a pair of menus under her arm. As they
followed her up the narrow stairs at the back, Zexion gave Demyx a questioning
look and tilted his head in Tifa’s direction.
“Tifa? She’s a friend of my parents,” Demyx said, interpreting Zexion’s body
language with ease. “And Kairi and I go to the same high school, though she’s
actually my brother Sora’s age. Right, Kairi?”
Kairi nodded. “Pretty much everyone knows everyone and everyone’s connected in
some way. It gets boring after a while. Anyway, here’s your table.” She
directed them to a table right next to the large floor-to-ceiling windows that
looked directly onto the Tram Common and set their meus down for them. “Your
server will be with you in a minute.”
“Thanks, Kairi,” Demyx said as he and Zexion made themselves comfortable.
Kairi beamed at them and left. Demyx picked up his menu to look at even though
he was pretty sure he already knew what he wanted. He snuck a glance at Zexion
over the top of his menu. Zexion was studying his own menu, frowning
thoughtfully. Zexion looked up and their eyes met. Demyx blushed deeply at
being caught and opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was
an embarrassing gurgle. The corners of Zexion’s lips twitched and he looked
back at his menu again. Demyx resisted the urge to thunk his head against the
wooden table.
Fortunately, at that moment, their server came over to take their drink order.
She was a dark-haired girl named Xion who was the fraternal twin sister of
Kairi. She took their drink order without saying much and vanished. Demyx
continued to pretend to study his menu until Xion returned with their drinks.
“Are you ready to order?” Xion asked.
Demyx looked questioningly at Zexion, who nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“All right. What can I get for you?” Xion said.
“I’ll have the chocolate chip pancakes,” Demyx said.
“Is bacon okay with that?” Xion asked.
“Yeah that’s fine,” Demyx said.
“And for you?” Xion asked, turning to Zexion.
“The vegetarian omelet please,” Zexion said softly.
“All right,” Xion said, writing on her pad. “What kind of toast would you like?
We have white, wheat, rye, and sourdough.”
“Sourdough, please,” Zexion said.
“All right. I’ll get those orders put in for you,” Xion said.
“Thanks Xion,” Demyx said with a smile.
Xion nodded at him and took their menus. Demyx and Zexion sat in silence for a
while, sipping their drinks.
Then, Demyx took a brave stab at conversation. “So uh…have you ben with the
Disney Circus long?”
He immediately wished he hadn’t said anything; he could tell by the way
Zexion’s hands curled up around his teacup and his lips tightened that he was
upset by Demyx’s question.
“Sorry,” Demyx said. “Let’s talk about something else.” He cast his mind around
for a better subject. “Shakespeare! We can talk about Shakespeare! Duh! Have
you read all of Shakespeare’s works?”
He was sure he didn’t imagine the look of relief on Zexion’s face when he said,
“Most. I haven’t been able to find copies of a few of his more obscure plays.”
“How come you collect them individually? Why not buy the complete collection in
one volume?” Demyx asked, thinking about his copy of Shakespeare’s entire works
sitting on his desk at home.
“It’s more fun this way,” Zexion said. “I visit used bookstores in every town
we visit and it gives me a challenge of sorts.” He ducked his head and Demyx
swore he saw a faint blush on his cheeks. “You must think I’m being foolish.”
“Oh no, not at all,” Demyx said hastily. “I think it’s really cool.”
“Really?” Zexion asked, looking up at him.
“Yeah,” Demyx said. “Hey, we have a used bookstore here. Do you want to drop in
after we’re done with breakfast to see if you can find the plays you’re
missing?”
“That would be wonderful,” Zexion said softly, his blush deepening.
“Okay, great!” Demyx said brightly. “I think you’ll really like it. It’s one of
the coolest stores in Twilight Town.”
Zexion said nothing as he took another sip of tea, but Demyx swore he saw the
charcoal-haired boy smiling slightly.
“Okay,” Demyx said, taking another brave stab at conversation. “What is your
favorite play?”
“I have to choose just one?” Zexion asked.
“Yes,” Demyx said firmly. He laughed at the disgruntled face Zexion made.
“Sorry,” he said when Zexion looked at him startled. “You just made the most
adorable face ever.”
Zexion ducked his head again and didn’t look up for several minutes. When he
finally did, he was definitely blushing.
“Come on,” Demyx persisted, trying hard to avoid thinking about how adorable
Zexion looked when he blushed. “I know it’s difficult because there are so many
good plays, but surely there’s one play you like to read over and over again?”
“Yes,” Zexion finally said. “Hamlet.”
“Why?” Demyx said. At Zexion’s curious look, he added, “It’s just so…so dark
and depressing! I mean pretty much everyone dies in the end. How is that fun to
read?”
“That’s not why I like it,” Zexion said quietly. “It’s the notion of Hamlet
faking his madness that I find so fascinating. Sure, he says he’s faking his
madness, but can his word really be trusted? It’s that ambiguity that interests
me.”
“Wow,” Demyx breathed, leaning back in his seat. “You are really smart.”
Zexion’s lips quirked into a half smile, which he disguised by taking another
sip of tea.
“What about you?” he asked.
“Me? Oh, um…” Demyx was saved by the fact that at that moment, their food
arrived, so they fell silent as they turned to their attention to their food.
On their way out, they waved goodbye to Tifa, who was in the middle of a heated
argument with a cross-looking woman who protested loudly about having to wait
for a table.
“So,” Demyx said as they stood out in the sunlight. “Bookstore first or a tour
of the town first?”
Zexion’s lips quirked. “You decide.”
“All right,” Demyx said. “The town isn’t that big and in all honesty it isn’t
that exciting so we’ll start with that and end with the bookstore, which will
probably be way more exiting, okay?”
Zexion nodded so they set off through the Tram Common. It was the unofficial
center of the town with a number of small shops and restaurants, all made out
of the same sandy bricks. There was a small movie theater, a post office, and
some various other governmental offices as well. A tram ran all the way through
the Tram Common before splitting off into several branches that served the rest
of the town.
They walked up Market Street, past even more shops and up the gentle sloping
hill toward the train station. They couldn’t go inside without purchasing a
ticket, but they could at least look at the glass building. Demyx tried to keep
up a constant stream of narration and say interesting things, but he felt like
he was failing miserable, not from being uninteresting, but because there
really wasn’t a whole lot to Twilight Town. Zexion, for his part, listened
attentively, which was encouraging.
By the time they were walking back down Market Street, the sun was high in the
sky and it was getting very hot. Demyx’s T-shirt was starting to stick to his
back and he was glad when they finally made it back to Tram Common.
“It’s just over here,” Demyx told Zexion, who had to be even hotter than he was
in his long sleeves.
He paused for a moment before opening the door to the Princesses of Heart
Bookshop. Somewhere in the back of the store, a bell tinkled, announcing their
arrival. They were hit with a wave of cold air and the scent of old books.
Demyx loved the smell almost as much as the smell of fresh music sheets. The
shop was small and dimly lit. As far as the eye could see were books, crammed
on bookshelves or stacked on tables. They were of all shapes and sizes, thin
paperback books and large hardcovers, and some bound in leather that cost more
than Demyx would ever be able to afford. Demyx turned to Zexion and smiled at
the image of pure joy written across the young boy’s face.
“Come on, the classics are back here,” Demyx said.
Without even thinking, he grabbed Zexion’s hand and pulled him towards the back
of the store. Zexion stiffened slightly at the contact, but didn’t force Demyx
to let go of his hand. Demyx stopped in front of a large bookshelf that went
all the way up to the ceiling.
“Here we are,” he said. “Let me see if I can find a ladder so we can get to the
books at the top. Belle doesn’t mind as long as we’re careful.”
He spent a good half hour searching for the only ladder the Princesses of Heart
Bookshop had, finally tracking it down leaning against a bookshelf crammed with
self-help books with titles such as “Helping You Be You and Not the Man Your
Mother Wants You To be” and “What to Do Before You Say I Do: A Guide to
Planning Your Dream Wedding.”
The ladder was probably once nice, but it was an ugly, worn out thing held
together with duct tape, willpower, and possibly voodoo. There were numerous
shards sticking out so that one had to be careful when anywhere in close
proximity to it or else suffer from nasty splinters. You didn’t even need to be
close to it and get splinters from it, as Demyx had found out the hard way.
Sora had dubbed it the “Doom Ladder” and Demyx thought the nickname was apt.
When he returned carrying the ladder like it was a package rigged to explode at
the slightest movement, Zexion was talking quietly to the owner of the shop who
had wandered out of the shadows at some point. Belle was a young woman in her
late twenties who had somehow come into ownership of the Princesses of Heart
Bookshop about five or six years ago. She was quite pretty, though Demyx wasn’t
much of a judge of beauty in women, with brown hair always pulled back into a
bun and dreamy brown eyes.
“Oh hello Demyx,” she said when Demyx loudly cleared his throat to get their
attention.
He knew it was rude to interrupt, but if he didn’t, they would be there for
hours because Belle was…well…an airhead. She could talk for hours without even
realizing it had been that long. Demyx knew. It had happened to him before.
“I found a ladder, Zexion,” he said.
“Thank you,” Zexion said. “Belle says she thinks there might be some of
Shakespeare’s works up near the top. She can’t say for sure, because she
doesn’t keep an exact inventory.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Demyx muttered. “Here.”
He set the ladder down in front of the bookshelf.
Zexion eyed the woebegone ladder distastefully. “Are you sure that thing is
safe?”
“It’s fine,” Demyx said. “I’ll hold it steady for you. Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you,” Zexion said. “It’s that ladder I don’t trust. What’s holding it
together anyway?”
“Uh, lots of duct tape, willpower, and some voodoo, probably. It’ll be fine,”
Demyx said. “I think,” he added under his breath.
“How reassuring,” Zexion muttered.
“Be careful of the splinters,” Demyx warned as Zexion began to mount the
ladder.
Zexion stopped with his foot on the lowest rung and turned around to give Demyx
a very dirty look. “I hope you know that if I fall, I’m planning on landing on
top of you.”
“Noted,” Demyx said.
He stood behind Zexion as he started to slowly climb, keeping the Doom Ladder
steady the best he could. Even so, it wobbled threateningly with every step
Zexion took. Demyx tried to keep his mind on holding the ladder and steady and
not on Zexion’s ass, which was difficult, seeing as it was right in front of
his face. It was a pretty nice ass too, if Demyx did say so himself. When he
realized where his thoughts were going, he ducked his head, grateful for the
fact that Zexion’s back was turned so he couldn’t see how much Demyx was
blushing.
He didn’t look up again until Zexion had climbed down again and needed him to
move out of the way. He had a thin paperback book tucked under his arm.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Demyx asked, nodding at the book
under Zexion’s arm.
Zexion wordlessly showed him the title, Troilus and Cressida.
“Huh. I haven’t heard of that one,” Demyx said, frowning. “What’s it about?”
“It takes place during the later years of the Trojan War…” he paused.
“I know what the Trojan War was,” Demyx said, rolling his eyes. “Helen was
married to the king Agamemnon. Paris, a Trojan, fell in love with her because
she was hot, kidnapped her, and banged her. Agamemnon got pissed and went to
war to get her back. And there was a thing with Achilles who got offended by
something or other and refused to fight until his friend and maybe lover got
killed pretending to be him.”
“That is essentially the story, yes,” Zexion said, his lips quirking up into a
half smile. “This mostly focuses on that story, but it also focuses on Troilus
and Cressida, who are two Trojans who fall in love with each other at first
site and then of course bad things happen.”
“So sort of like Romeo and Juliet?” Demyx asked.
“A bit, I guess,” Zexion said. “I mean, I don’t know how it ends up for them
since I haven’t read the book, but it’s labeled as a tragedy, and we all know
how Shakespeare’s tragedies ended up.”
“Yeah,” Demyx muttered. “Everyone dies. De-press-ing.”
“I suppose,” Zexion said.
They made their way to the front of the store so Zexion could pay for his book.
Then, they set out across the Tram Common. They grabbed a quick lunch at a deli
and then it was time for Zexion to head back to the circus.
“You never told me,” Zexion said as they walked back. “What is your favorite
Shakespeare play? And for the love of god, please do not tell me that it’s
Romeo and Juliet.”
“What’s wrong with Romeo and Juliet?” Demyx asked.
“It’s so…ugh!” Zexion said.
“It’s romantic,” Demyx said. Zexion rolled his one visible eye. “You don’t
think so?” Zexion shook his head. “How is it not romantic?”
“They’re all morons, that’s why,” Zexion said. “Especially Romeo. He’s
completely obsessed with Rosaline, who doesn’t give him the time of day, but
then he forgets all about her the moment he sets eyes on Juliet. Friar Laurence
said it best: ‘Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,/So soon forsaken?
Young men’s love then lies/ Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.”
“So?” Demyx challenged. “Can’t someone fall in love at first sight?”
“No,” Zexion said bluntly. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. Just like I
don’t believe there’s anything romantic about Romeo and Juliet committing
suicide to be together.”
“I think it’s very romantic,” Demyx said. “They decided they would rather die
than be apart.”
“But it was entirely unnecessary!” Zexion protested. “If Romeo hadn’t acted so
hastily, he wouldn’t have thought Juliet was dead and then killed himself,
which led to Juliet killing herself when she woke up and found her love dead.”
“Well yeah, I’ll give you that, but he’s young, so what do you expect?” Demyx
said.
“True,” Zexion said. “I still think it’s silly to kill yourself over a girl.
I’d never do it.”
“What about a boy?” Demyx asked and he waited, holding his breath as Zexion
looked sideways at him.
“No,” Zexion finally said.
“Oh,” Demyx said, disappointed.
“That is,” Zexion quickly added. “I wouldn’t kill myself over one. Falling in
love, well, that’s different.”
Demyx’s breath hitched in his throat. Did that mean what he thought it meant?
He glanced sideways at Zexion, but the teen’s face was difficult to read.
Instead, he asked, “What about me? I mean, would you like to see me again?
Because I’d like to see you again unless you didn’t have fun today because all
we did was walk around and I did show you the bookstore which I guess is cool
and…” he cut himself off when he realized he was babbling, as he usually did
when he was nervous. “Sorry,” he muttered as Zexion stared at him.
There was a long silence and then Zexion finally said so softly Demyx could
barely hear him, “I’d like to see you again.”
“Really?” Demyx asked.
Zexion nodded. “The show ends at 5:30 and then we eat dinner. Would you like to
join me? Our cook Xigbar is excellent and there’s always plenty of food.” He
looked at Demyx nervously, but Demyx smiled.
“I’d love to,” he said.
“Okay,” Zexion said. “I will meet you at the front gates then.”
“Sounds good,” Demyx said. Zexion turned to go and Demyx thought of something.
He grabbed Zexion’s wrist and prevented him from leaving. Zexion stiffened and
turned back to Demyx. “For the record, my favorite play is The Tempest.”
Zexion stared at him and then his lips slowly curled up into a smile. Demyx
could tell that it was a real smile this time, and it made him smile as well.
“See you later, Zexion,” he said, and, letting go of Zexion’s wrist, walked off
towards home.
                                      ***
Lexaeus waited for Zexion just inside the gates with a frown on his face.
“You shouldn’t get too close to him,” he warned as they started to walk towards
the makeup tent. “It can’t last.”
“I am aware of the rules,” Zexion assured him as they went into the makeup
tent.
In addition to Jasmine’s work area, there were individual cubicles where cast
members could apply their own makeup if they chose. Zexion sat down in his
assigned cubicle, which had a table with a large lighted mirror and a stool.
His area was immaculate, as always, with all his makeup containers carefully
labeled. Some might have called it anal, but Zexion considered it organized; he
could always find what he needed quickly so applying his makeup took less time.
He sat on his stool and flipped on the light so that his pale face was
illuminated. He frowned at his reflection, then reached into one of his labeled
drawers for his foundation. He didn’t wear a lot of makeup, not like some of
the other cast members, but he was still extremely meticulous with his makeup.
He put on foundation first and then the barest touch of blush to put some color
in his cheeks. He put on mascara to emphasize his eyelashes and finally
eyeliner to bring out his eyes. When he was done, he looked at himself in his
mirror again, and was much more satisfied with how he looked.
When he was done, he waited for Lexaeus and then the two of them went into the
main event tent together for the full dress rehearsal. Fortunately, costumes
were not required during the dress rehearsal so they could wait until after it
was over before changing. They took their places as the stage manager stepped
out. Cid was a foul-mouthed, bad-tempered, chain smoking man of about forty or
so with scruffy blonde hair and pale grey eyes.
“All right ya lazy cunts, let’s go through this without stopping,” he barked.
“Places everyone. I’ll be nice today and give you five seconds.”
Zexion snorted; the man usually gave them three seconds and even then, they
were not three full seconds but really two-and-a-fourth seconds. Cid glared at
him.
“Something you find funny, kid?” he growled. Zexion shook his head. “That’s
what I thought. Now if we’re through, let’s begin. We can skip Marluxia’s
opening speech and start with Zidane. Oy kid, are ya ready?”
“I’m here! I’m ready!” Zidane said, rushing forward and tripping over one of
the set pieces.
Cid rolled his eyes. “Just get in your place.” Zidane scrambled forward. “Make
sure his wire is tight,” he threw at Tidus, one of the stage hands. “Don’t want
no accidents ‘cause that means paperwork and y’all know how much I fucking hate
paperwork.”
“He’s secure, sir,” Tidus said, his jaw clenched.
“Good. In five…four…three…two…one…now,” Cid said as the music started.
Zidane took a deep breath and stepped through the curtains.
“And curtain in five…four…three…two…one…now!” Cid barked.
Guy, a giant, muscular man with brown eyes, short cropped brown hair, and tan
skin silently nodded and pulled the curtains open. The music blared, echoing
throughout the empty theater. Zexion tried to ignore the throbbing in his
temples and waited. When it was finally his and Lexaeus’s turn, he took a deep,
calming breath, and stepped out onto the stage. It was always strange, stepping
out when no one was there, but he didn’t let it bother him.
When the dress rehearsal was finally finished, Zexion and Lexaeus had just
enough time to change into their costumes and check their makeup. The last
thing Zexion did before the show started was go into his bag and reach for the
pill bottle he knew was there. Lexaeus frowned at him as he swallowed one of
the pills, but didn’t say anything, as was his way.
They took their places as the show started. Zexion closed his eyes and took
deep breaths. He could already feel the Xanax at work, but he still liked doing
deep breathing exercises to help keep him calm.
“Okay everyone, places,” Cid barked, coming backstage. “This is not a drill!
Marluxia, you have three seconds to get your pansy ass out here!”
“I’m here,” Marluxia said, striding forward.
“Three seconds,” Cid said. “Two…one…go!”
Marluxia stepped through the curtains. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the
Disney Circus!”
The show passed in a blur. Everything ran smoothly for once, which was
extremely rare. Usually something went wrong, even if it was something as small
as a minor glitch. After they took their curtain call, Zexion made his way
through the crowd toward the circus’s entrance. As promised, Demyx stood there
waiting for him.
“Hi Zexion! He said with a huge grin on his face. “How was the show?”
“Fine,” Zexion said quietly. “We actually didn’t have any problems, which is
rare. Usually there’s at least something that goes wrong.”
“Good,” Demyx said.
They headed for the dining tent. It was already fairly crowded, but not too
bad. They joined the end of the line and waited. Demyx stared as they came up
toward Xigbar. Zexion couldn’t blame him; Xigbar was in his fifties, maybe
sixties with jet black hair streaked with grey pulled back into a ponytail, an
eyepatch, and numerous scars that gave him a menacing look. Xigbar scowled at
Demyx and he quickly adverted his eyes.
“Friend of yours?” Xigbar asked, his lips curling up into a sneer as he passed
out that night’s meal; roasted herb chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and a
biscuit.
Zexion just stared levelly at Xigbar. They grabbed soda from the machine at the
end of the line and found seats at one of the tables. They were joined by
Lexaeus and they chatted amicably as they ate dinner. To be exact, Demyx did
most of the talking while Lexaeus and Zexion listened. When dinner was over,
Zexion walked Demyx out.
“I really enjoyed today,” Zexion said quietly as he and Demyx stood at the
gates.
“We can do it every day if you want,” Demyx said.
Zexion hesitated. “I…I don’t know. I’m leaving in a week and a half. We
shouldn’t get too attached to each other.”
“So?” Demyx said. I don’t really care if you’re leaving or not. Even if you and
I never see each other again, I want to spend time with you for as long as we
have.”
Zexion was silent, unsure of how to respond to that. He had never met anyone
quite like Demyx and he wasn’t sure what to do.
“Can I see you tomorrow?” Demyx asked, breaking Zexion out of his thoughts.
“Yes,” Zexion whispered.
He really wanted to see Demyx again even though he didn’t understand why. There
was just something about the blonde that drew Zexion to him.
“Okay,” Demyx said.
He hesitated for a moment and then kissed Zexion on the cheek. Zexion froze,
but didn’t force Demyx away. Then, Demyx smiled at him and left. Zexion felt a
huge wave of guilt, but was able to bury it partly because he had to focus on
the last show of the night, partly because of the Xanax. God was he glad that
Vexen had agreed to prescribe it for him to help keep his anxiety level low.
After the final curtain call, Zexion quickly headed back to the costume tent to
snag a changing room before they filled up. He got lucky tonight and was able
to change out of his hot, itchy costume into his much more comfortable regular
clothes right away. He hung up his costume in its proper place and then went to
the makeup tent. He sat down in front of his mirror and pulled out his makeup
remover. He worked quickly to remove all his makeup, only looking at his
reflection long enough to check that it was all gone.
Then, he waited for Lexaeus and the two of them walked back to the hotel room
they shared. The night air was warm and humid, but it was rapidly cooling off.
Luckily, their hotel was only a short walk away. They were silent as they
walked, which Zexion didn’t mind at all. That was one of the reasons Zexion
instantly took a liking to Lexaeus when he joined the Disney Circus; he was so
quiet and didn’t force conversation.
When they got back to the hotel, Zexion grabbed some clean clothes and
immediately went into the bathroom to shower. The hot water felt extremely good
on his aching body after such a long day. He finished his shower quickly and
dressed in a black tank top and a pair of black sweatpants. When he was done,
it was Lexaeus’s turn to shower. While he was in the shower, the guilt that
Zexion had been trying to repress came spilling out. His hands shaking, he went
into his suitcase and brought out the small pill bottle hidden at the very
bottom. He stared at the sleeping pills that he knew he shouldn’t take because
they interacted with his Xanax, but he figured that the Xanax was out of his
system by now so they wouldn’t interact. He swallowed a pill with the aid of
some water and stretched out on his bed, hoping he would be able to sleep
dreamlessly for once.
Chapter End Notes
     References: to Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy VII as well as Final
     Fantasy VII Advent Children, and, of course, Shakespeare. I couldn’t
     resist throwing in Shakespeare because I’m a huge Shakespeare nerd.
     For the record, my favorite Shakespeare play is a tie between Hamlet
     and The Tempest with Macbeth coming in second. I’ve never read
     Trolius and Cressida so I had to google a summary of it.
     Follow me on Twitter @rikodeathangel for updates about fanfictions
     and life in general and look for me on Tumblr as Rikothedeathangel
     (long story about why that’s my username)
***** The Fifth Day *****
Chapter Notes
     This story is rated M. This chapter is one of the reasons why.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                                 The_Fifth_Day
Axel took a deep breath as he stepped out of his hotel room. It was a beautiful
summer morning, warm but not too hot, and the sky was an absolutely stunning
shade of blue. Everything was perfect. The Strife boys had all been visiting
the circus every day and somehow, things had been a lot brighter since they
came around. Sora was extremely outgoing and just so goddamn happy and it was
hard to be grumpy when he was around. Ven was also a bright, happy guy, though
less so than Sora. Even Demyx was cheerful. The only one who wasn’t a ball of
sunshine was Roxas, but his sourness balanced out the other Strifes and he even
seemed mellowed in the presence of his brothers. Axel knew it wouldn’t last,
but he wanted to enjoy it while it did.
He had lived in darkness so long it was nice to have some light. He couldn’t
even remember a time when there had been light in his life. His father had
taken off when he was small and his mother had snapped after he left. It hadn’t
been easy, being raised by someone who was in and out of lucidity. When she had
finally kicked the bucket when Axel was twelve, he and his older brother were
shuffled from relative to relative for a couple years. Then, when he was
fourteen, the Disney Circus came to town. He instantly fell in love with it and
he left his aunt and uncle to join them. It was like that in a lot of the towns
they visited, they found. The circus attracted those who felt like they didn’t
belong, the outcasts, the misfits, and they were welcomed with open arms. It
seemed like in almost every town they picked up new members who wanted to join
the circus.
The one exception was Zexion. Lexaeus had found him on the streets of Hollow
Bastion near the end of their season and brought him back to the circus. He had
been such a scrawny, weak thing, sick from malnourishment and exposure. No one
expected him to survive, but Lexaeus, gruff, scary Lexaeus, had personally
nursed him back to health in their off season and the next season, Zexion had
joined them on their tour as Lexaeus’s partner.
Even though things had gotten better when Axel joined the Disney Circus, they
still weren’t perfect. Being part of a travelling circus for most of the year
was highly stressful. Sephiroth was strict and worked them hard, demanding
perfection from them. In order to cope with his high demands, some of them
turned to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, they were still able to function
(Sephiroth would have had their heads, literally), but it still put a strain on
things. Axel knew that things were not going to end well and that when the
Disney Circus did end, it would be very messy. And he didn’t want the Strife
boys to be part of that. They deserved to be better to caught up in all that.
And Axel would do whatever he could to protect them.
He cut through the park, whistling a jaunty tune. He passed tennis courts,
baseball fields, and soccer fields with games already underway. Children ran
barefoot through the grass, playing tag, and picking flowers while their
parents sat nearby gossiping. Axel envied them and their carefree lives.
Twilight Town was so peaceful and quiet where nothing extraordinary ever
happened. The people lived comfortable lives, untouched by hardship. The
problems of the rest of the world seemed to pass this place right by, leaving
it as a haven in a world of darkness. And Axel could understand how Sora, Ven,
and even Demyx were so bright and happy, growing up in a town like this.
The sound of someone singing caught his attention because he recognized that
voice. He stopped whistling and followed the sound of the voice. Then, he
stopped. And stared. Sitting beneath a flowering tree on a blanket were Demyx
and Zexion. Demyx strummed a guitar, his youthful, melodic voice echoing as he
sang.
 “And you can tell everybody that this is your song. It may be quite simple but
now that it’s done. I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind, that I put
down in words how wonderful life is now you’re in the world.”
Zexion sat gazing up at Demyx with a serene smile. Axel had never seen Zexion
express any sort of emotion before. He always had seemed so cold and distant,
never expressing any emotion aside from the bored stare he gave everyone, even
Lexaeus. Yet now he was almost a completely different person, warm and open,
like he had been wearing a mask all this time and this was who he truly was.
The song ended and Demyx leaned closer. Axel’s breath caught in his throat when
Zexion leaned in as well and closed the gap between their lips. Demyx’s free
hand wrapped around Zexion’s head to bring him closer, deepening the kiss.
Shaking his head, Axel scurried off before it became even more intimate.
 
                                    .o.O.o.
“What’s eating you?”
Axel smiled as he entered the hotel room. He flipped on the lights, revealing a
dingy, cheap room. It was cheap, discreet, and most importantly, on the highway
between Twilight Town and its sister city Traverse Town, so no one would think
to find him here.
“Seriously Ax, what’s up?”
Axel turned to the blonde reclining on the only bed in the room and shrugged.
“Nothing.” He got a pair of raised eyebrows in response. “Okay, I saw your
brother and Zexion kissing in the park.”
“You have a problem with my brother being gay?”
“No, of course not,” Axel said quickly. “I just never thought I’d see Zexion
kissing anyone, let alone your brother. I always figured him to be asexual
because he never showed interest in anyone, period. Not even Lexaeus. He’s
always been a frigid little bastard.”
Roxas smirked. “You thought I was too.”
“Yeah, true,” Axel said, grinning as he joined Roxas on the bed.
“And now?” Roxas asked, his mouth hovering close to Axel’s.
Axel swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “You’re not as
frigid as I thought.”
Roxas laughed softly and brought their lips together. Axel immediately wrapped
his hand around Roxas’s head. He tried as hard as he could to squash the
feelings of guilt and self-loathing that rose to the surface every time he
kissed Roxas. He was a sick, hypocritical bastard, and he knew it. He wanted to
keep the Strife boys from being corrupted and yet here he was corrupting one of
them. It wasn’t a healthy relationship, to be sure; it couldn’t last because
Axel would be leaving in a couple weeks and getting attached was dangerous. And
Roxas was underage, for God’s sake! That in itself was wrong on so many levels.
And yet Axel found himself unable to stay away from Roxas.
He had found Roxas physically attractive from the first moment he had laid eyes
on him; blonde hair, blue eyes, gorgeous body, what wasn’t to like? His good
looks belied a sharp personality and an even sharper tongue and a lot of times,
that was a turn off for people, but Axel found it to be a turn on instead.
Roxas acted like a stubborn asshole, hell, he probably was a stubborn asshole,
but he wasn’t afraid to tell people how he really felt and Axel could respect
that. There was no bullshitting with Roxas, no silly games. What you saw was
what you got. Axel had found that out on Day 2 and hadn’t it been interesting
when Roxas realized that Axel wasn’t bothered by his prickly attitude at all?
No one believed that Axel could seduce Roxas, but Axel liked a challenge. It
had taken a few days for Roxas to warm up to him, but he had, and here they
were.
“Are you going to fuck me or are just going to lay there and stare at me all
day?”
Axel blinked as Roxas’s bluntness brought him out of his thoughts. He grinned
and leaned down to snag a kiss.
“Oh, I think we both know the answer to that,” he said.
“Then prove it,” Roxas challenged.
“If you wish,” Axel said.
He forcibly pushed his guilt and disgust at himself down so he could enjoy this
moment with Roxas. After all, they didn’t have forever. He unbuttoned Roxas’s
shirt and traced a finger down his chest. The blonde shivered. Grinning, Axel
squeezed one of his nipples. Roxas gasped. Axel squeezed the other one and
Roxas gasped again.
“So sensitive,” Axel murmured, rubbing circles on Roxas’s stomach with his
thumb.
“Stop teasing me!” Roxas hissed.
“But Roxie, it’s fun to tease you,” Axel protested, slowly unbuttoning Roxas’s
jeans.
“Don’t call me Roxie!” Roxas scowled at him.
“Whatever you say, Roxas,” Axel said.
He slid Roxas’s jeans and boxers down his narrow hips and placed several slow
kisses on Roxas’s thighs, causing the blonde to squirm.
“Just fuck me already!” he hissed.
“All right, all right,” Axel huffed. “No need to get bitchy.”
He shed his clothes in a hurry and pulled on a condom. He forcibly cleared his
mind so he could enjoy the sensation of sliding into Roxas. Roxas gasped and
brought his lips up to Axel’s. Axel met his mouth, tongue slipping past Roxas’s
teeth. He closed his eyes, unable to look at Roxas as he fucked the boy hard.
It wasn’t until it was all over and he and Roxas lay side by side in a sweaty,
messy heap that Axel dared to open his eyes and look at Roxas. The blonde’s
eyes were half open, he was just beginning to slip into sleep. He was
deceptively angelic when he was half awake.
“You’re staring,” Roxas said, eyes suddenly open and bright with alertness.
“You got a problem with that, Roxas?” Axel questioned.
Roxas scowled at him. “It’s creepy. And how many times have I told you not to
call me that?”
Axel merely laughed at the blush forming on Roxas’s cheeks despite his deep
scowl and leaned over to snag a kiss.
God, what was wrong with him?
He rolled onto his back, scowling up at the ceiling.
“Ax? What’s wrong?” Roxas asked, immediately sensing Axel’s rapid change in
mood.
“Nothing. I…ah…need to be getting back,” Axel said.
“Already?” Roxas frowned. “I thought we’d have more time together than this.”
“Ah, I…forgot I gotta run and do some things before rehearsal,” Axel said.
“Like what?” Roxas asked.
Axel winced, caught in the lie. He quickly cast his mind around to find an
excuse, any excuse, but nothing came.
Look, I just gotta go, okay?” he finally said.
He hastily got up and pulled his clothes on. He tried not to think about how
hurt Roxas looked as he hurried out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind
him.
                                    .o.O.o.
“We need to talk.”
Demyx turned as he heard the familiar gravelly voice carrying across the circus
grounds and his heart skipped a beat as Lexaeus headed toward him. He
obediently waited for Lexaeus to catch up even though he would have much rather
run as far away from the man as he possibly could. He swallowed hard, trying
his best to not show how petrified he was right now. On a good day, Lexaeus
intimidated him; he was at least twice the size as Demyx both height wise and
weight wise and he had this mess-with-me-and-I-will-end-you-in-the-most-
unpleasant-way-possible vibe he gave off. But he waited as Lexaeus caught up to
him and wordlessly steered him away from his intended target of the circus’s
exit. He waited for Lexaeus to speak, knowing he would start the conversation
when he was ready. He waited for what he knew was coming.
Despite what people might think, Demyx was smart. He knew that it was
inevitable that Lexaeus, whom Zexion was the closest person to in the Disney
Circus and was the only one Zexion gave the time of day (aside from himself, of
course) would give Demyx The Talk. They were near the end of their first week
in Twilight Town and would therefore be leaving in another week and Lexaeus
would want them to break things off because anyone could see how close Zexion
and Demyx had become in such a short period of time. And it was bad because
Zexion would be leaving, but Demyx couldn’t. He couldn’t break things off with
Zexion, not now. The thought of being without Zexion scared him even though
he’d only known him for five days. And he was sure Zexion felt the same way and
he had to make Lexaeus understand that. Even though they had only known each
other for five days and it didn’t make any sense, Demyx felt like he had known
Zexion all his life and he couldn’t let go of that.
 “You need to break things off Zexion.”
Demyx winced at Lexaeus’s bluntness, but took a deep breath. He was ready for
this. He could do this. He had to.
“No.”
All right, it came out more nervous sounding than he’d intended, but he’d
managed to get the word out instead of an embarrassed squeak, so that was
progress, right?
And yes, he wanted to piss himself when Lexaeus looked at him sharply, but he
didn’t. He managed to stand up straight and stare Lexaeus down.
“I…I can’t,” he explained. “I really like him.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Lexaeus said. “Your relationship cannot continue. He
will be leaving soon and won’t return for a decade. It simply does not work.”
“I know,” Demyx said. “But love can overcome all obstacles. I know it doesn’t
make sense, but that’s what love is. It’s something that doesn’t make sense and
defies all expectations and explanations and it’s crazy and absolutely
terrifies me, but I haven’t felt like this about anyone before.”
“You will find someone else,” Lexaeus said dismissively.
“No.” Demyx was surprised at how sure he was. “There’s no one else for me but
him. I’m absolutely sure. I won’t love anyone else but him until the day I
die.”
“You don’t know for sure,” Lexaeus said.
“I do,” Demyx said softly.
“Break it off with him,” Lexaeus said.
“Or what?” Demyx challenged, trying to sound more brave than he felt. “Are you
gonna kill me?”
Lexaeus stared at him coolly and for a second, Demyx thought he really was
going to kill him, but all he said was, “You must end your relationship” before
walking away.
Chapter End Notes
     My apologies for the lateness of this. I decided that I hated 90% of
     the chapter and had to rewrite pretty much all of it and then I
     didn’t have motivation to work on it. I’m taking a hiatus in July to
     do Camp NaNoWriMo with another project, so I’ll be back to working on
     this in August. Hopefully things will go smoother.
     Soundtrack: “Your Song” from Moulin Rouge which was a cover of the
     Elton John version for the scene where Axel comes across Demyx and
     Zexion (and is also what Demyx is singing) and “Supermassive Black
     Hole” by Muse for the sex scene between Axel and Roxas which is also
     their theme.
     Now I’m going to bed because it’s past midnight and I have to be up
     at 6:30 for work. At least it’s Friday and there’s a nice holiday
     (though I actually have to work on the Fourth of July holiday).
***** The Thirteenth Day *****
Chapter Notes
     Warning: This chapter contains material that may be considered
     triggering for certain readers including mentions of attempted
     suicide and mentions of rape. Reader discretion is advised. There is
     also sexual content.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                              The_Thirteenth_Day
“Uh-oh,” Axel muttered, backpedaling as he, Roxas, Demyx, Zexion, Lexaeus, Ven,
Sora, and Riku went to find a place in the dining tent.
“What’s wrong?” Roxas asked.
“It’s Larxene,” Axel hissed. “Let’s go this way.”
It was too late, though; Larxene had seen them and was heading straight for
them.
“What’s wrong with Larxene?” Roxas asked.
“Uh, she’s a sadistic bitch who likes to kick puppies in her spare time?” Axel
said.
Larxene scowled as she came over to them. “I heard that.”
“I know,” Axel said, giving her a pointed look.
“Dick,” Larxene said.
“Whore,” Axel returned.
“Manwhore.”
“Slut.”
“Now children, let’s stop the name calling,” Demyx said, ever the peacemaker.
“Stay out of this, twerp,” Larxene snapped at him.
Demyx stepped back, his face crumpling a little.
“Don’t you use that tone with Demyx,” Zexion said coldly.
Nearly everyone did a double take because this was the first time most of them
had ever heard him speak. Only Lexaeus and Demyx didn’t look surprised that
Zexion was capable of speech. A few moments passed and then Larxene regained
her composure.  
 “Why don’t you go fail to kill yourself again, you little emo bitch,” she
sneered.
Everyone fell silent. Even the Strife boys, who hadn’t been around that long,
knew Larxene said something she shouldn’t have. No one dared to speak for long
time. Zexion stared up at Larxene with his one visible eye narrowed and he
hissed softly between clenched teeth. Then, he turned and stalked off. Demyx
and Lexaeus shared a glance and then followed him. Larxene stormed off in a
different direction, leaving Sora, Roxas, Ven, and Riku behind with Axel.
“What was that all about?” Roxas asked.
All of them turned to Axel expectantly.
“Let’s go find a table,” Axel muttered awkwardly; the entire dining tent seemed
to be staring at them.
They chose a table in the corner and set their trays down.
“All right, look,” Axel said, running his hand through his spiky red hair once
all of them were settled. “We don’t know a lot, but…okay. So last year, we’re
in Radiant Garden, right? We’re doing our tour thing, no big deal. Out of the
blue, Zexion goes to Sephiroth and asks him for a day’s leave. Says he wants to
visit his family who lives in Radiant Garden.
“So okay, Sephiroth lets him go spend the day with his family ‘cause he’s a
good guy.” Roxas snorted at this. “No, really. Deep down, he’s a nice guy.”
Roxas raised his eyebrows. “Okay, maybe way deep down, but he let Zexion go so
that has to mean something, right? So anyway, he goes and comes back and we
don’t think anything of it. He’s quiet about it, but we’re not worried because
Zexion is always quiet. I mean, before your brother came around, no one except
Sephiroth, Lexaeus, and Vexen had ever heard him utter even a single word.
“No one, not even Lexaeus had any idea something was wrong until Lexaeus found
him on the floor of the men’s room. He had slit his wrist with one of Larxene’s
knives and lay bleeding on the ground. Luckily, Lexaeus got him to Vexen in
time so he didn’t die, but it was pretty close.
“I remember afterwards, after Vexen came out and told us Zexion was going to be
okay, Lexaeus went in there and had a long, private talk with Zexion. Then he
came out and told us that Zexion wouldn’t try and kill himself again. To this
day, no one knows exactly what Lexaeus said, but Zexion hasn’t tried to kill
himself again.”
                                     o.O.o
Demyx silently followed Lexaeus. He knew that somehow, Lexaeus knew where to
go. They went into the men’s room and found Zexion there, standing in front of
the row of sinks. He took several deep breaths, his hands resting on the
counter His breathing became irregular and his shoulders shook.
“Zexion,” Lexaeus said softly.
Zexion turned and Demyx was surprised to see tears in his one visible eye,
threatening to spill out. Lexaeus took several steps forward and wrapped his
arms around Zexion, his grip surprisingly gentle for such a large man. Demyx
merely watched, not wanting to intrude on this intimate moment.
“It’s okay,” he heard Lexaeus murmur in Zexion’s ear. “It’s okay. You’re not
that person anymore.”
They stood that way for a long time until Zexion finally murmured something
indistinctly in Lexaeus’s ear. Lexaeus nodded and pulled away. Both of them
turned to Demyx. Lexaeus’s face was unfathomable as always, but for once,
Zexion’s wasn’t. Demyx could see how upset he was, how vulnerable he looked. He
wanted to run over and hug him, but restrained himself because he knew Zexion
wouldn’t like it. Instead, he put a comforting hand on Zexion’s shoulder and
indicated that they should sit down. They sat on the nasty tiled floor that was
probably crawling with bacteria and Demyx waited.
Finally, Zexion said in a shuddering voice, “I want you to understand something
okay? Just because I tried to kill myself before…it doesn’t mean I still want
to. I don’t.”
“I understand,” Demyx said quietly.
Zexion gave him a sideways look, but continued, “You need a bit of background
first, I think, to understand the full story. My parents died when I was eight
and I was adopted by a man named Ansem, one of the best known researchers in
modern times. When I was ten, Ansem got a lab assistant, a man named Xehanort.”
He paused and a wave of revulsion crossed his face. Demyx could sense where
Zexion’s story was heading, but that didn’t stop the sick feeling in the pit of
his stomach when Zexion continued, “And soon after that, a couple months later,
Xehanort began molesting me. It happened a couple times a week while we were
alone together in the labs. And he got away with it too.”
“How?” Demyx asked breathlessly. “Didn’t your foster father ever get
suspicious?”
Zexion shook his head. “Xehanort was meticulous about that. Besides, Ansem was
never around. I was too naïve to understand there was something wrong with what
Xehanort was doing until the night he raped me.”
Demyx inhaled sharply and looked up at Lexaeus, who stared inscrutably back at
him. He looked back at Zexion, who still wore a look of deep disgust.
“I was thirteen when it happened,” Zexion said. “It was late and the two of us
were finishing up in the lab. Ansem had gone up to bed at that point so we were
alone. And Ansem’s room was on the third floor, so he was completely oblivious
to what went on down there. I won’t give you the intimate details, but he
forced himself on me.” He shuddered, his facial features twisting unpleasantly
at the memory. “I think the worst part was that my body responded to his touch
and it appeared that I was enjoying it even though I did not. I feel like my
body betrayed me that night and I hate myself for it to this day.” He stopped
for a moment, wrapping his arms around his knees, and looking like a lost
child. Finally, he shook his head, and said, “I tried to tell my foster father
what happened that night, but he didn’t believe me. Even worse, Xehanort
convinced him that I was lying. He was always a good liar.” The bitterness was
back. Then, a ghost of a smile crossed his face. “The second time he tried to
rape me, I was ready for him. He underestimated me again, but that was the last
time.” At Demyx’s horrified expression, he added, “Oh, I didn’t kill him,
though I’m sure he wishes he was. And he won’t be having sex ever again. I made
sure of that.”
Demyx shivered at the haunted look on Zexion’s face.
“After that, I ran away, afraid that Xehanort would claim I attacked him
unprovoked. I left my foster father a note and ran. I lived on the streets for
a few months, never staying in one place for too long, always looking over my
shoulder and worrying that I was going to be arrested, but no one came. And
then, one day, Lexaeus found me.” A ghostly smile crossed his face again.
“After that, I joined the Disney Circus. Then last year, well…”
He pushed up his right sleeve to reveal a long slash mark across his wrist that
stood out dramatically against his pale skin. Demyx hesitated for a moment and
then traced his fingers around the raised edges of the scar.
“Does it hurt?” He asked quietly.
“Not anymore.” Zexion shook his head. He pushed his sleeve down, hiding the
scar from sight.
“But why…?” Demyx asked.
“I went to see my foster father,” Zexion said. “And things went badly. We
fought over everything. He disapproved of me being in the circus. He always
thought the arts were soft. He didn’t understand that dancing was an outlet for
me and it helped me cope with everything I had been through. He wanted me to
devote my life to science, like him. But after what happened with Xehanort, I
wanted nothing to do with science and he couldn’t understand that. Worst of
all, he didn’t believe me when I told him that Xehanort raped me. He chose to
believe that…that man who said I was the one who came onto him, over me, his
foster child.” Zexion’s face twisted into an unpleasant grimace, barely able to
contain his anger. “We both said unpleasant things and parted ways on a bad
note. When I got back to the circus…” he sighed quietly and it took a minute
for him to continue, “I regretted my actions the moment the knife slid across
my skin, but at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it.
I thought ‘Would it really be wrong if I were to just vanish?’ I didn’t think
anyone would miss me. After all, I barely existed at the circus. I never
talked, never really interacted with any of the other cast members. I didn’t
think anyone saw me. But I was wrong.” He smiled up at Lexaeus. “Lexaeus saw me
and he saved me. He was there, had always been there.” Then, he turned to
Demyx. “And then I met you. And you saw me.”
 “I did,” Demyx said with a smile. “And I thought you were the most gorgeous
guy I had ever seen. ‘O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/It seems she
hangs upon the cheek of night/Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;/Beauty too
rich for use, for earth too dear!/ So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,/
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows/The measure done, I’ll watch her place of
stand,/And touching hers, make blessed my rude hand./Did my heart love till
now? Forswear it, sight!/For I never saw true beauty ‘till this night.’ That’s
what I thought, though of course, you were a guy, not a girl.”
Zexion blushed. Demyx leaned over and gently kissed Zexion on the lips. They
only broke apart when Lexaeus cleared his throat.
“We need to go,” Lexaeus said, giving Zexion a significant look. “It’s almost
time for the last show.”
Zexion nodded. “I’ll be right there. I want to walk Demyx out.”
Lexaeus frowned disapprovingly, but left them in the bathroom. Zexion and Demyx
slowly got to their feet and exited the bathroom. They walked to the gates in
silence.
It was only when Demyx was about to leave that Zexion asked, “Will you come see
me tonight after the show? I know where we can go and not be found.” Demyx was
able to read between the lines and understand what Zexion was really asking. He
blushed, but then he nodded. “Then I will meet you here tonight at about
eleven.”
“All right,” Demyx agreed.
Zexion hesitated for a moment and then kissed Demyx on the lips. Then, he
turned and walked away.
                                     o.O.o
Zexion had never been more relieved to be finished with a show before.
Everything had gone smoothly, but everyone had been at each other’s throats and
things had been extremely tense all night. He quickly changed into more
comfortable clothes and removed his makeup, then grabbed his bag and hurried
out before Lexaeus could follow him. Demyx waited for him at the gates as
promised.
“Hey, Zexion,” he said, smiling nervously.
“Are you ready?” Zexion asked.
“Yeah,” Demyx said.
“Come with me, then,” Zexion said.
He led the way down the street. Neither of them spoke while they walked.
Finally, they came to a sleazy looking hotel on the edge of town. Demyx turned
to Zexion with raised eyebrows.
“Thank Axel,” was the only explanation Zexion gave before leading him inside.
One extremely awkward conversation later, the clerk at the front desk gave him
a brass key and pointed him to a narrow staircase in the back. They went up the
stairs and found themselves in a long, dimly lit, grimy hallway.
“This place is disgusting,” Demyx muttered as they made their way down the
hallway, past doors with peeling paint and wooden numbers that were nearly
falling off.
“Yes,” Zexion agreed. “But it’s the only place we can go without anyone finding
us.”
“How the hell does Axel even know this place exists?” Demyx wondered. “I never
knew this place was here and I’ve lived here since I was six.”
Zexion shrugged. “Axel is Axel. He knows exactly where every sleazy place in
every single town is. I don’t know how he does it, nor do I want to know.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I want to know either,” Demyx muttered.
Finally, they stopped in front of door 225. Zexion stuck the key in and twisted
it. It took a lot of effort, but he finally managed to get the door open.
“This place is a shithole,” he muttered as he and Demyx went inside.
The interior of the room was even worse than the exterior. The room was small
and sparsely furnished with a single bed with a large worn headboard, a
radiator dripping with some unidentifiable slime that probably glowed in the
dark, moth-eaten curtains drawn over the windows, and small TV that was
probably at least forty years old mounted to the wall. A door led to a small,
cramped bathroom with an old toilet and a tub that was growing mold. The carpet
was stained with god-only-knew-what and the bedspread was not much better.
“Don’t worry,” Zexion said as Demyx eyed the stained bedspread. “I came
prepared.”
He produced a large blanket from his bag and spread it out over the bedspread.
“There. Now it’s a lot more hygienic,” he said.
Demyx stared at him incredulously. “You brought a blanket?”
“Of course I did,” Zexion said, rolling his one visible eye. “You didn’t think
I was going to trust anything at a hotel like this, especially one recommended
by Axel, did you?”
“I guess not,” Demyx mumbled. 
They stood awkwardly for a very long time. Then, Demyx finally brought their
lips together, very gently.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked. “I don’t want to push you and
make you uncomfortable, especially after what happened…”
“It’s fine,” Zexion said. “I’m fine, I promise.” He hesitated for a moment and
then added, “I have to admit that I’m a bit curious. I want to know what it
feels like when it’s not forced. When it’s real, you know?”
“Yeah,” Demyx said. “I understand.” His face grew serious for a moment. “If
something happens to bother you, please tell me, okay? I don’t want you to be
uncomfortable and I don’t want you to get upset. Promise me you will.
Otherwise…otherwise, I can’t go through with it.”
Zexion stared at Demyx for a long time. He was completely opposite from
Xehanort who had not asked permission about anything and had forced himself
upon Zexion.
“I promise,” he finally said softly.
“Okay,” Demyx said. “We’ll go slow, okay?” He blushed. “This is the first time
I’ve done this.”
“Please tell me you at least know where to stick your cock,” Zexion said, his
lips quirking up into one of his half smiles.
“Oh my god, you seriously did not just say that to me!” Demyx burst out
laughing, dispersing the tension in the air.
“Well?” Zexion asked, only half serious.
Demyx leaned over and kissed him long and hard this time. “Of course I know
where to stick it. I might be a virgin, but I’m not naïve.”
“Do you have protection?” Zexion asked.
Demyx rolled his eyes and produced a condom from his wallet. Zexion smirked.
Demyx led the way to the bed and they slowly undressed. Their touches were slow
at first, hesitant, neither of them really knowing what they were doing or what
they even wanted. Demyx fumbled with his condom, his hands shaking. Everything
was slow and awkward between them, but that was okay. It didn’t have to be
perfect because neither of them were perfect.
Zexion gasped when Demyx entered him, but urged the blonde to keep going when
he hesitated. It was nothing like when he was roughly penetrated by Xehanort.
He knew Demyx wouldn’t hurt him. He trusted Demyx.
When it was over, they lay side by side, breathing heavily. Then, Demyx leaned
over and gently kissed him, brushing his bangs to the side.
“I’d better get going,” he said. “I have a curfew and my mother will kill me if
I’m late and then bring me back to clean up the mess.”
Zexion smirked. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”
They reluctantly got up and dressed. Zexion rolled up the blanket and put it
back in his bag and they left the key with the front desk clerk. At the street,
they stood together under the lamplight, reluctant to say goodbye. But at last,
Demyx gave Zexion one last kiss goodbye and wandered off. Zexion watched him go
and then turned toward the circus.
He didn’t notice the three silver-haired figures following him until it was too
late.
They stepped out of the shadows and surrounded him with ease, moving with
catlike grace. Zexion immediately knew who they were though they had barely
spoken. He, like the majority of the circus people tried to avoid them as much
as possible. He swallowed hard as they closed in. The youngest, Kadaj, Zexion
thought, was the one who landed the first punch, straight in his gut. It was a
hard hit and he doubled over in pain. His bag dropped and its contents spilled
on the ground. The other two joined in, punching him mostly in the chest and
gut. He eventually fell to his knees, the pain overwhelming, but he refused to
utter a single syllable. He would not give them the satisfaction of knowing
that they were hurting him.
“That’s enough,” a soft voice called.
Obediently, the boys stepped back, though Kadaj punched him one more time for
good measure. Zexion looked up at Sephiroth towering over him through blurry
vision.
“You need to break things off with Demyx,” he said in his silky smooth voice.
“Otherwise, I will send them after him.” He nodded to his three sons lurking in
the shadows. “And they will not merely beat him up like they have you. You are
too valuable to get rid of. He, however, is not as valuable, and I have no
qualms about doing what is necessary for the good of the circus.”
“What are you…saying?” Zexion asked.
“He’s saying that we’re gonna go kill your boyfriend unless you break up with
him,” Kadaj said with glee.
Zexion felt his whole body go cold. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would,” Sephiroth said in a dangerously quiet voice. “And I will. You must
decide if you are willing to forfeit your lover’s life. Come, boys.”
Kadaj leered at Zexion and gave him one more hard kick in the gut as he passed.
Zexion lay on the ground, then curled up in the fetal position. He laid there
until dawn, not capable of doing anything else. All he could think of was that
Demyx was in trouble and it was all his fault.
He didn’t even bother looking up when he heard the heavy footsteps coming
toward him; he didn’t care anymore. He was lifted up into a strong pair of
arms. He closed his eyes, knowing he was safe. He didn’t open them again until
he was set on a soft surface. He was laying on a cot in the infirmary. Before
he could say anything to Lexaeus, who stood beside his cot with his arms
crossed. Vexen came in.
“Oh, what did you do this time, child?” he said when he saw Zexion.
He didn’t wait for Zexion to respond. He bustled around, stripping off Zexion’s
shirt, and doing an examination.
“It looks like you may have cracked a few ribs, but nothing more serious than
that,” he said when he was finished. “What did you do?”
“I fell,” Zexion said hoarsely.
Vexen raised his eyebrows. “You fell?”
“Yes,” Zexion said firmly.
Fortunately, Vexen didn’t question it any farther. “I’m going to tape up your
ribs just to be on the safe side. I want you to be careful the next few weeks,
until they have a chance to heal. You can still dance, but be careful.
Understand?” Zexion nodded. “All right. Stay put; I’m going to get some
bandages.”
He hurried out of the tent before Zexion could respond.
When Zexion was sure Vexen was gone, he said hoarsely, “Lexaeus, he’s going to
kill Demyx if I don’t break things off with him. What am I going to do?”
Lexaeus immediately knew who he was talking about even without asking.
“There’s only one choice you have,” he said slowly. “You have to force Demyx
away. You have to make him believe you don’t love him. Hurt him. Hurt him to
save his life.”
“But I love him,” Zexion whispered.
It was the first time he had admitted it out loud and it was strange, rolling
off his tongue. He loved Demyx. He loved him. He would do anything for him to
make him happy, to see him smile that lazy smile of his that made Zexion’s
heart flutter. He didn’t understand it at all, but it was the truth.
“If you love him, you’ll do this,” Lexaeus said.
A tear slipped down Zexion’s cheek. Lexaeus reached over and gently brushed it
away.
“It’s for the best,” he said softly. “Sooner or later, it would have to end.
You know it and I’m sure he does too. It wasn’t meant to be.”
He pulled away as Vexen reentered the tent carrying an armful of bandages.
Vexen frowned at Lexaeus, but the large man offered no explanation and Vexen
didn’t force one from him. He set the bandages on a nearby table and helped
Zexion carefully sit up. Then, he tightly bound Zexion’s chest with bandages.
“There,” he said when he was finished. “That should do it.”
“Thank you,” Zexion said quietly.
He put his shirt on with some difficulty. He was stiff and sore from the
beating he took. Lexaeus watched, but didn’t interfere. Together, the two of
them left the infirmary tent and went to get breakfast. The sun was rising and
it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.
It felt horrendously inappropriate. 
Chapter End Notes
     Author’s Notes
     Well that was an eventful chapter. The chapters are going to be a lot
     more eventful from here on out so buckle your seatbelts!
     Soundtrack: I listened to “Jeux d’Eau” from O for the sex scene
     between Zexion and Demyx. It’s a really gentle piano piece that suits
     the two of them well. And for the scene where Kadaj and his brothers
     attack Zexion, I listened to “Rinzler” from Tron: Legacy, which is a
     beautiful, ominous piece that has a great build-up as the song
     progresses.
     References: Moulin Rouge finally gets a reference and of course
     Demyx’s quote from Romeo and Juliet is from Act I Scene IV when he
     first lays eyes on Juliet. Like I said, I’m a Shakespeare nerd. :P
***** The Fourteenth Day *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
                              The_Fourteenth_Day
Marluxia let himself into the hotel room Zexion and Lexaeus shared. Somehow, it
had fallen to him to get Zexion to get out of the room he was currently
refusing to come out of. He had been there all morning, after he and Demyx had
broken up. Lexaeus had tried to coax him out with no success. That had been the
first surprise; Lexaeus could get Zexion to do pretty much anything. The second
had been that it was up to him to get Zexion to come out.
The room was dark, but his eyes quickly adjusted and fell on the solitary 
figure laying on the far bed.
“Zexion?” he called out softly.
He received no response, not that he was really expecting one; Zexion was still
pretty much a mute, though more cast members had claimed to have heard him
speak in their presence.
He carefully picked his way across the room and switched on the light between
the two beds. Zexion barely even reacted to the light. Marluxia walked around
to the other side and resisted the urge to recoil when he looked down at
Zexion; he had never seen anyone look so utterly broken before. Zexion’s
charcoal grey hair was messy, his clothes rumpled, a far cry from the prim and
proper Zexion Marluxia was used to seeing. It was easy to forget sometimes that
the guy was human and capable of feeling. Marluxia could see that now, written
all over his face. He had broken up with Demyx, and he was absolutely
miserable.
“Hey,” Marluxia said softly, crouching by the side of the bed so his eyes were
level with Zexion’s. “Lexaeus told me what happened and I’m sorry. But you
know, it’s for the best. Sephiroth will not hesitate to kill Demyx if he thinks
he’s a threat. It’s much better this way.” Zexion remained silent, glaring up
at him with one red-rimmed eye. “I know. I didn’t want it to be like this
either, but there really isn’t any other way. You know what happens to those
who stay around the circus too long. They become tainted. We’re children of the
underworld. We can’t afford to love.” He was hoping to get a reaction out of
Zexion, any sort of reaction, but Zexion just stared at him. He sighed. “Look,
you can’t lie in bed forever. You need to get up and keep going, you know? The
show must go on.” Zexion soundlessly shook his head. “I know, I know. But you
know it’s true. The show isn’t going to stop. It never stops. The only thing
you can do is move on. I know it sounds extremely callous, but it’s the truth.”
“How can I go on?” Zexion whispered
Marluxia stared at him in shock; this was the first time he’d ever heard Zexion
utter a single word since he joined the circus.
“You must find the strength inside yourself to stand up and continue moving
forward,” he said after a long pause. “I know you can do it. I have faith in
you.” Zexion simply stared at him and a single tear slipped down his cheek. “I
will see you at two for the rehearsal.”
Then, he left.
“Another hero, another mindless crime behind the curtain, in the pantomime,” he
said under his breath as he walked out of the hotel. “The show must go on. It’s
our duty to provide the people with a show. If only there was something I could
do…”
Slowly, a plan began forming in his mind. He would need help, of course, but if
he could pull this off, he could change things for the better.
 
                                    o.O.o.
Zexion tried to ignore the stares and whispers of the others as he walked onto
the circus grounds for the last time. He kept his head held high and his face a
perfect mask of indifference. He was always good at pretending. He sat in front
of his mirror. His pale face mocked him as he reached for his makeup.
“My heart may be breaking, my makeup flaking, but my smile will still stay on,”
he muttered. “I must carry on with the show. Marluxia is right. The show must
go on.”
He tried as hard as he could to believe it. He applied his makeup with fury,
trying to drown out the voices in his head that called him weak, pathetic. He
covered all the blemishes, all his flaws and imperfections. He put color in his
cheeks and lips and darkened around his eyes, making it darker than he ever had
before. He looked at his reflection again and he saw Demyx’s sad, pitying eyes
looking back at him.
“You don’t mean it,” Demyx said.
“Yes I do. Every word of it,” Zexion said.
“But…” Demyx said, biting his lip.
“We need to face the truth,” Zexion continued. “This wasn’t going to work out.
It’s better for the both of us if we just end things.”
“But…I thought…you felt the same way I did…” Demyx faltered.
“You thought wrong.” Zexion hated seeing the hurt look on Demyx’s face, but he
forced himself to continue. “It was fun, I have to admit, but now that fun must
come to an end.”
“So you…you never felt anything?” Demyx asked.
“I can’t feel,” Zexion said curtly.
“I don’t believe that for an instant,” Demyx said.
“It was all an act,” Zexion said.
“I don’t believe you,” Demyx said firmly. “You’re not that cruel.”
Anger bubbled up inside him and he threw his makeup bag at the mirror. It
cracked and Demyx’s face vanished. A sob tore at his throat and he covered his
mouth with his hand to muffle the sound. He breathed deeply through his nose,
but it didn’t help; he could feel the hysteria building.
He heard hurried footsteps behind him and Lexaeus’s low  voice in his ear,
“Where?”
“Bag,” Zexion managed to say through his fingers.
He heard shuffling and rustling, and then a firm hand on his shoulder. He
looked up at Lexaeus, who held a pill and a bottle of water for him. He
uncovered his mouth long enough to swallow the pill with a couple mouthfuls of
water and then put his hand back. His eyes burned with tears and he sniffled
softly, refusing to let himself cry. After a few minutes, Lexaeus squeezed his
shoulder.
“We have to go or we’ll be late for rehearsal,” he said quietly.
Zexion swallowed hard. “Okay.”
“Are you all right?” Lexaeus looked at him with a worried frown.
“Yes,” Zexion whispered.
It was only a half truth; the Xanax hadn’t had time to kick in yet, but he knew
how to cope. He stubbornly clamped his lips together, refusing to cry anymore.
He smiled at his reflection, distorted from the crack in the mirror and it was
a hollow, haunted smile, but it was the best he could do. He switched off the
light and followed Lexaeus out of the makeup tent.
Zexion was glad there was only a 4 PM show; he didn’t think he could have made
it through three shows. He was ready to pack up and move onto a new city,
leaving everything behind, including the man he loved. Rehearsal ran smoothly
and then it was time for Zexion to change into his costume. He waited with
Lexaeus as the opening music began. The tension in the air was palpable and
Zexion wished he had more than the one Xanax.
The bright stage lights blinded him momentarily when he stepped out from the
much darker backstage area. His breath hitched as he stared out into the sea of
faces and suddenly, he couldn’t move.
“Go!” Cid hissed from backstage as the first few bars of music played. “For
Christ’s sake, don’t stand there like an idiot! Move! Do something!”
Zexion shook his head and started moving. He stumbled slightly, but caught
himself, and started dancing. He was hyper-aware of everything; the bright
lights burning down on him, the audience’s eyes following his every move, the
creaking of the wooden boards beneath his feet, his rapid heartbeats, and, most
of all, his shallow, anxious breaths.
Deep breaths, he reminded himself firmly. Deep breaths.
It didn’t help. He was blazing hot, his skin itched, and as he continued
dancing, his vision swam and blurred before him. He could feel every bit of him
shaking even as he pushed himself on through the routine and his injured ribs
blazed with every step he took. He forcibly put all of his emotions into the
dance to help him ignore the pain, holding nothing back. All the pain, anxiety,
and sorrow came pouring out and it took everything he had to keep his tears
from falling. And the entire time, Lexaeus was there, watching him like a hawk
to make sure he was okay and that nothing went wrong. Usually, his physical
presence on the stage was enough to keep Zexion’s anxiety at bay, but not
tonight. He could feel his heart racing, his limbs shaking.
He pushed himself harder than he had ever pushed himself before, unwilling to
let his weakness show. All he had to do was survive a little longer and then it
would all be okay.
His feet slipped on the worn wooden boards and he was barely able to catch
himself that time. His vision was worse and the stage swam in and out of view,
swirling around, so he barely knew which way was up and which way was down.
Lexaeus lifted him and he pointed his face toward the ceiling, the lights
blinding him. He could barely find his footing when Lexaeus set him down. He
was tired and his limbs felt like jelly and all he wanted to do was close his
eyes, but he knew he couldn’t.
He stumbled and this time, he couldn’t catch himself. He toppled sideways, but
Lexaeus was there in one swift, graceful movement, his body acting as a shield.
He somehow made the act of putting his arms around Zexion to steady him seem
like it was part of the show and he held Zexion up until the song ended and he
could regain his balance. Zexion had just enough strength to take a bow and get
off the stage. As soon as he was safely backstage, his legs gave out.
Fortunately, Lexaeus was there to catch him.
Without saying a word, he lifted Zexion up and carried him through the crowd.
“Move,” he barked. “Get out of the way!”
People silently moved out of the way. They made it out of the tent. The fresh
air felt good and Zexion inhaled deeply as Lexaeus carried him across. They
went into the lounge tent, which was pretty much empty, and Lexaeus set Zexion
in a chair.
“Put your head between your knees,” he commanded. “I’m going to get Vexen.”
Zexion nodded and put his head between his knees, remaining that way until
Lexaeus returned with Vexen.
“What’s wrong Zexion?” Vexen asked anxiously, hurrying to Zexion’s side. “Are
you injured?”
“I was feeling a bit faint, but I’m feeling better now,” Zexion said,
straightening up. “I think I just needed to sit down for a few moments and put
my head between my knees.”
Vexen pursed his lips. “I’m still going to need to have a look at you.”
“We have a curtain call in a couple minutes,” Zexion protested, trying to get
up.
Vexen put his hands on Zexion’s shoulders and forced him to sit back down. “You
are not going anywhere until I examine you.”
Zexion opened his mouth to protest, saw the look Lexaeus was giving him, and
promptly closed his mouth. He bowed his head and silently nodded.
“That’s better,” Vexen said. “Now…” he looked around. “I think it would be best
if we went to the infirmary. Lexaeus, can you…?” He gestured to Zexion.
Lexaeus nodded and easily scooped Zexion up into his arms. Zexion uttered a
soft protest, but didn’t fight. Lexaeus carried him out of the lounge tent and
across the grounds.
“What’s going on?” a voice asked as hurrying footsteps came toward them.
“Zexion has fallen ill, Marluxia,” Vexen answered curtly. “I’m taking him to
the infirmary for treatment. Will you let Sephiroth know?”
“Yes,” Marluxia said and Zexion heard his footsteps hurrying away.
They walked across the grounds in silence until they came to the infirmary
tent.
“Put Zexion on that cot.” Vexen nodded to a cot in the corner as they went
inside.
Lexaeus obeyed. Vexen pulled the curtain around the cot and said, “Go and get
Zexion a change of clothes while I examine him.”
“All right,” Lexaeus agreed and he vanished.
Vexen turned to Zexion. “I will be right back. I need to grab a few things.
Don’t even think about getting up.”
“I won’t,” Zexion promised.
Even if he wanted to get up, he couldn’t; as soon as he was laying down on the
cot, all his remaining strength had drained away. Vexen gave him a severe look
and disappeared. Zexion could hear Hojo calling out to Vexen, too far away for
him to hear what he was saying and Vexen’s curt response. Then, there was
silence. Minutes ticked by and then Vexen reappeared carrying a black bag. He
set it on a nearby cart and opened it. He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and
took out a stethoscope. He listened to Zexion’s heart and breathing, took his
blood pressure and temperature, and checked his pulse.”
“Dehydration for sure,” he muttered. “Possibly overexertion as well. Sephiroth
does enjoy working them hard…”
Still muttering to himself, Vexen left. He returned a few moments later
carrying a bag containing a clear liquid.
“Ah, excellent timing,” he said without looking up as Lexaeus returned carrying
Zexion’s bag. “Help me get his costume off. I need to start an IV.”
“Is it serious?” Lexaeus asked, setting the bag on the floor.
“Moderate case of dehydration,” Vexen said. “He’ll be all right once I get some
fluids in him. Help me with this beastly thing.”
Lexaeus and Vexen wrestled Zexion out of his costume. He let them; he was too
tired to care. Lexaeus dressed him in his usual outfit; a black long-sleeved
shirt and black sweatpants while Vexen stuck a needle in his arm.
“Will you keep an eye on him?” Vexen asked Lexaeus softly when he was done.
“Yes, of course,” Lexaeus said.
“I’m going to get a washcloth for his forehead to help bring his fever down,”
Vexen said.
When he was gone, Lexaeus leaned down and said softly, “Rest, Zexion.”
“I have to pack,” Zexion protested weakly, trying to sit up.
“Shh,” Lexaeus said, forcing Zexion to lay back down. “You need to rest. Cindy
is packing your makeup for you.”
Zexion smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
“Rest,” Lexaeus persisted.
“Will you stay until I fall asleep?” Zexion asked in a small voice.
“Of course,” Lexaeus said and he pulled up a chair by Zexion’s side.
Zexion hesitated for a moment and then reached out for Lexaeus’s hand. Lexaeus
smiled gently and took Zexion’s hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze and
continued to watch it as Zexion finally closed his eyes and drifted off to
sleep.
Chapter End Notes
     Author’s Notes
     I meant to bring this up last time, but the last couple chapters
     might take a while to be posted because I’m working two jobs now. I’m
     going to do my best to have them out in a timely manner, though. Damn
     student loans. It’s the only reason I had to go back to my old shitty
     job at Speedway (a gas station chain for those of you who don’t live
     in the Midwest) on the weekends.
     References: Moulin Rouge of course as well as Cinderella and
     Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”, an Italian opera that was briefly parodied
     in the Hey Arnold episode “What’s Opera, Arnold?” and also appeared
     in The Simpsons episode “The Italian Bob”.
     Soundtrack: For the beginning of the chapter I listened to “The Show
     Must Go On” from Moulin Rouge which is referenced by both Marluxia
     and Zexion. I also listened to “Roxas Theme” by Drammatica, which is
     a beautifully haunting orchestral version of Roxas’s Theme from
     Kingdom Hearts II. It, as well as Xion’s theme, Musique Pour La
     Tristesse de Xion seem to be my go-to music for sad scenes.
***** The Twentieth Day *****
Chapter Notes
     Warning: This chapter gets intense at times. There are references to
     rape, murder, and attempted suicide, among other things. Reader
     discretion is advised.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                               The_Twentieth_Day
Of all the people Demyx expected to see standing there when he opened the door
after the doorbell rang, the last one he expected to see was Marluxia.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you guys left for the next
town.”
“Yeah we did, but I came back because I needed to talk to you and Roxas,”
Marluxia said. “May I come in?”
 “Uh yeah, of course,” Demyx said, feeling rather stupid.
He moved out of the way, allowing Marluxia to enter. He noted the pink haired
man’s haggard appearance; his hair and clothes were in a disarray and he looked
like he hadn’t slept properly for days.
He led Marluxia into the kitchen, saying with as much enthusiasm as he could
muster, “Look, we have a visitor, Roxas!”
Roxas looked up from his plate of food and scowled at Marluxia. “What do you
want? To add insult to injury? To kick us while we’re down? Well, go on. Take
your best shot. I can take it.”
“That’s not why I came.” Marluxia sat at the table and indicated for Demyx to
do the same. “I came to tell you two the truth because you need to know it. You
deserve to know.”
“Know what?” Roxas asked.
“Why Axel and Zexion broke up with you,” Marluxia said.
There was a profound silence for a few moments before Roxas hissed, “Don’t ever
say that fucker’s name in front of me again. Ever.”
“Don’t you want to know why he broke up with you?” Marluxia protested.
“Oh, I know exactly why he broke up with me,” Roxas hissed venomously. “Because
it didn’t mean anything. It was just a fling and nothing more. He didn’t care
about me at all, never did. He just wanted to fuck me.”
“That’s not true,” Marluxia said.
“It is and we all know it.”
“He did it because…”
“I don’t want to hear it. I don’t care.”
“WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME?!” Marluxia exploded.
Roxas fell silent at this. He and Demyx both stared at the pink-haired man who
had never raised his voice in front of them, ever.
Marluxia ran his hand through his hair and regarded the boys sadly. “Neither
Axel nor Zexion wanted to break up with you guys. They weren’t given a choice.
Sephiroth found out somehow and threatened to kill you unless they broke things
off with you. It’s happened before. Sephiroth is an extremely ruthless and
possessive man with a vast array of resources at his disposal. If he perceives
a threat, he will not hesitate to eliminate it, no matter what.”
“And you expect us to believe that?” Roxas demanded.
“I believe you,” Demyx said softly. Both Marluxia and Roxas turned to stare at
him. “It makes sense. I mean, I don’t know how Axel was when he broke things
off with you, but when Zexion broke up with me, I could see that he was scared,
even though he was trying to hide it. I could tell he didn’t want to break up
with me; he was being forced to.” Roxas pursed his lips. “Rox, think about it.
It makes sense.”
Roxas pursed his lips more. “I’m not saying I believe you,” he said slowly.
“But I guess it makes sense.
Marluxia breathed an audible sigh of relief and rubbed his forehead with the
palm of his hand.
“So what do we do now?” Demyx asked after a long silence had elapsed.
“We wait,” Marluxia said. When Roxas made a sound of protest, he added
severely, “If you come anywhere near the circus, Sephiroth will send his sons
to kill you.”
“I’m not afraid of them,” Roxas said stubbornly.
“Don’t underestimate those three.” Marluxia said. “You have no idea what
they’re capable of.”
“And you do?” Roxas asked.
“Yes!” Marluxia said. He ran his fingers through his hair in his agitation,
making it stand on end. “Look, a couple years ago, there was this kid named
Tristan who had a juggling act with the Disney Circus. When we were in
Fantasia, he fell in love with a local girl named Isolde. Cute girl. Sephiroth
found out, of course, and he tried to pressure Tristan to break things off with
her. He stubbornly refused, even when Sephiroth threatened to murder her. They
planned to elope and no one could talk them out of it.” He sighed, suddenly
looking years older. “Sephiroth sent his sons after him. They forced Tristan to
watch them take turns raping her and then murder and dismember her. Then for
good measure, they raped him and beat him nearly to death. We found him near
the train tracks barely clinging to life. We brought him to Vexen, but his
injuries were too severe. He died a couple days later in extreme agony.”
Demyx covered his mouth to stifle a sob, tears burning at his eyes.
“Why are you telling us this?” Roxas said in a strangled voice.
“So you understand what you’re up against,” Marluxia said.
“And you’re sure it was Sephiroth’s sons?” Roxas asked.
“Yes,” Marluxia said in a gentle voice. “They pretty much went around bragging
about it.”
“And no one did anything?”
“You have no idea how much power Sephiroth has!” Marluxia’s voice rose again
and Demyx was glad that their mother had taken Sora and Ven clothes shopping
and their father was at work. “He’s pretty much untouchable. He has extremely
powerful connections and is even friends with the president of Shin-Ra and
everyone knows how powerful he is.”
“Okay,” Demyx said, cutting Marluxia off. “You’re right, Marluxia. We can’t go
to the Disney Circus right now. It’s far too dangerous.”
“So we’ve just gotta stay put here?” Roxas asked angrily.
“For now, yes,” Marluxia said. “All you can do right now and wait and be
patient. There will be a time when Sephiroth will no longer be able to operate
the circus. I feel now that it’s inevitable that the Disney Circus will
collapse. I will not bore you with the intimate details. When the time comes, I
will need your help with something. Can I count on you?”
“What is it?” Roxas asked suspiciously.
“I don’t know yet,” Marluxia said and somehow, Demyx had the feeling that he
was lying. “It isn’t exactly clear when the end will come or how it will come,
but when it does, I will need both of you.”
“Sure,” Demyx said. Roxas opened his mouth to protest, but Demyx gave him a
pointed look and he shut it again. “We’d be glad to help. Right Roxas?” He gave
Roxas another pointed look.
“Yeah,” Roxas grumbled.
“Great!” Marluxia said, his face brightening. “Let’s exchange phone numbers so
we can keep in contact with each other.”
There was silence as they passed their phones around the table and exchanged
numbers. Then, Marluxia stood.
“I’d better go,” he said. “I don’t want to be late from rehearsal. I…I’ll be in
touch.”
Demyx walked him out. As soon as Marluxia’s car was gone, he returned to the
kitchen.
“Come on. Get up,” he said. “We’re going.”
Roxas stared up at him. “Going where?”
“Where do you think? Disney Circus.”
“I thought Marluxia said not to because Sephiroth would set his psycho sons
after us.”
“I know,” Demyx said. “I…I can’t explain it, but I feel like something bad is
about to happen and I have to be there.”
“All right,” Roxas agreed. Demyx stared at him, not believing that Roxas would
agree so easily. Roxas never agreed to anything. Roxas’s lips quirked up into a
smirk. “I trust you and your weird ass sense. Maybe you there is such a thing
as a sixth sense. Maybe you can see dead people. I don’t fucking know. What I
do know is that you’re very rarely wrong about that sort of thing. So I trust
you and your early doom warning sense thing.”
For the first time in what seemed like forever, Demyx burst out laughing.
“Thanks, Roxas.”
Roxas smiled sheepishly up at him. “No problem.”
 
                                    .o.O.o.
Lexaeus stared as Demyx marched over to him, not believing what he was seeing. 
“You shouldn’t be here,” he warned.
Demyx ignored his warning. “Where’s Zexion?”
“You need to leave,” Lexaeus said firmly.
“I’m not leaving until I see Zexion.”
Lexaeus stared at Demyx. Something had changed in him, though at first he
wasn’t sure what. Then, he realized that Demyx wasn’t afraid. Instead of
cowering and cringing in fear like he used to in Lexaeus’s presence, he stared
calmly and fearlessly at him. When had he grown so confident?
“You need to leave,” Lexaeus insisted. “Zexion doesn’t want to see you.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Demyx said. His expression softened. “I know
that Zexion only broke up with me because Sephiroth threatened to kill me.
Marluxia told me everything. All I want to do is apologize to Zexion.” Lexaeus
looked at him in surprise. His eyes filled with ears. “I need to apologize
because I put him in danger. I don’t want him to suffer like Tristan suffered.
I’d never be able to forgive myself for that.” His voice broke.
Lexaeus understood then. Marluxia had told him about that. He hadn’t really
pulled any punches with Demyx and Roxas. He stared at Demyx’s teary face and
felt his resistance crumbling.
“You need to leave. Now,” he said. He glanced around to make sure there was no
one within earshot, leaned down, and whispered, “Meet me outside the Landmark
Hotel in ten minutes. Tell no one where you are going. Make sure you are not
followed.” Demyx nodded.
“Fine. I see how it is,” he said loudly.
He spun around and stormed off. Lexaeus stared after him and then smiled. Demyx
was much more perceptive than everyone thought. Perhaps things between him and
Zexion could work out after all.
 
                                    .o.O.o.
Demyx stood waiting outside the Landmark Hotel when Lexaeus arrived ten minutes
later. They made their way up to the room Lexaeus and Zexion shared in silence
and Lexaeus opened the door with his key. The lights were all off and the
curtains were drawn over the windows, shrouding the room in darkness.
Immediately, he could sense something was wrong and the hairs on the back of
his neck stood up.
 “Zexion?” Demyx called out, moving into the dark room. “Zexion, are you here?”
There was no response. “Weird.” He turned back to Lexaeus. “Maybe he went out
somewhere?”
Lexaeus shook his head. “I doubt it.”
He stepped forward and turned on the lights. A harsh gasp from Demyx caused him
to turn and then stop moving completely. Zexion lay facedown on the floor
between the two beds. His shock only lasted a few seconds; he quickly stepped
forward, brushing past Demyx, who stood motionless at the end of the bed, and
kneeled down. As gently as he could, he turned Zexion onto his back. He was
deathly pale and barely breathing, an empty bottle of whisky clutched in his
left hand. Lexaeus placed two fingers to Zexion’s pale neck and waited with
bated breath. Finally, he felt a weak pulse and exhaled softly. He looked up at
Demyx, who stared wide-eyed at Zexion.
“Call 9-1-1!” he said sharply. “Tell them to send an ambulance.”
Demyx seemed to snap out of his stupor and pulled out his cell phone, dialing
with shaking fingers.
“Hi I…I need an ambulance. It’s my friend. He’s passed out and barely
breathing,” he said in a trembling voice. He paused and put his hand over the
mouthpiece, looking confused. “They want to know if he’s taken anything.”
“Xanax,” Lexaeus said. He added for Demyx’s benefit, “It’s an antianxiety
medication. He also drank a bottle of whiskey. It’s a miracle he’s still
breathing on his own.”
Demyx relayed this to the operator and then turned back to Lexaeus, covering
the mouthpiece once more.
“They say to make sure he keeps breathing. Turn him on his side in case he
vomits so his airway doesn’t get blocked,” he said.
Lexaeus nodded and gently rolled Zexion onto his side. Demyx continued to talk
to the operator in a shaking voice. Lexaeus swore loudly when he realized that
Zexion had stopped breathing. He rolled Zexion onto his back and started rescue
breathing.
“Come on,” he muttered in between breaths. “Come on!”
There was a loud knock on the door. Lexaeus glanced up at Demyx. He stood
absolutely still, clutching his phone to his ear, his face deathly pale, and
his eyes wide with shock.
“Answer it!” Lexaeus barked between breaths.
Demyx jumped, startled out of his stupor. He ran to the door and opened it.
“Oh thank god,” he breathed, bordering on hysteria. “He’s not breathing!”
Lexaeus looked up again as a pair of paramedics kneeled down beside him.
“How long has he been down?” one of them asked.
“Two minutes,” Lexaeus said between breaths. “I started rescue breathing and
have been checking his pulse. It’s been week and erratic, but it’s still
there.”
The paramedics shared a look. Without being told, Lexaeus moved out of the way
so the paramedics could work. He stood next to Demyx, who had gone back to
standing and staring silently. Demyx shuddered when the paramedics forced a
tube down Zexion’s throat connected to a bag that one of them started
squeezing. Lexaeus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Zexion was loaded
onto the backboard and taken from the room. Lexaeus automatically followed, but
stopped when he realized that Demyx was still standing in the hotel room,
staring blankly at the spot where Zexion had been laying.
“Come on,” he said softly. “I’m sure they’ll let us ride with him to the
hospital in the ambulance.”
Demyx still made no move to follow him, so Lexaeus took him by the hand,
forcing him to. They caught up with the paramedics at the bottom of the stairs
and after a brief, tense conversation, Demyx and Lexaeus were allowed to ride
in the ambulance with them. Lexaeus distracted himself with answering the
paramedic’s questions to the best of his ability while Demyx continued to stare
blankly at Zexion.
The ride to the hospital was short. When they arrived, Zexion was rushed inside
and Lexaeus and Demyx were forced into the empty waiting room.
As soon as Demyx sat in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, he burst into
tears. He put his face in his hands and sobbed for a good ten minutes. Lexaeus
waited patiently and then handed him a tissue when he finally looked up.
“Thanks,” Demyx said weakly, mopping his eyes.
He looked around. Lexaeus reached for the Kleenex box on the table beside him
and plopped it in Demyx’s lap. Demyx chuckled weakly and muttered a thank you
before using several more tissues.
They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a brown-haired
woman dressed in pale green scrubs carrying a clipboard entered the room and
walked over to them.
“You’re Zexion’s friends, right?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lexaeus said. “I’m Lexaeus. Zexion and I work together at the circus and
he’s my roommate and close friend. And that’s Demyx. He’s…” Lexaeus hesitated,
unsure of how to explain Demyx’s presence in a polite way.
“I’m a friend,” Demyx said softly.
“I’m Dr. Lucrecia Crescent,” the woman said. “I’ve been taking care of Zexion.”
“Is he…?” Lexaeus asked the single most important question as well as the one
he and Demyx both dreaded to know.
“He’s unconscious, but stable,” Dr. Crescent said soothingly. “It was a very
close call, though. I have some questions I need to ask you, if that’s all
right.” Lexaeus nodded. Dr. Crescent sat in the chair next to him and looked
him directly in the eye. “I understand he overdosed on a combination of
antianxiety medication and alcohol?”
“Yes,” Lexaeus said. “He’s been on the Xanax for about a year.”
“Has it been prescribed by a doctor?” Dr. Crescent asked.
“Yes,” Lexaeus said. “We have a physician who travels with us and he takes care
of that.”
“Have you noticed changes in Zexion’s behavior lately?” Dr. Crescent asked,
taking notes on her clipboard. “Has he become more withdrawn? Has his appetite
changed? Has he thought about or attempted or attempted suicide to your
knowledge?”
“I know he didn’t try and kill himself today,” Lexaeus said firmly.
Dr. Crescent looked at him, surprised. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” Lexaeus nodded. “He attempted suicide a little over a year ago and since
then, our physician Vexen and I have been keeping an extremely close eye on
him. As I said, we’re roommates and we also have an act together. We spend
pretty much our entire time in each other’s company.”
“You said he attempted suicide?” Dr. Crescent asked.
“Yes,” Lexaeus said. “A little over a year ago. We were in his hometown and he
went to see his foster family. Things got...ugly between them. I found him
bleeding out in the men’s room. I took him to Vexen, who patched him up. Then,
the three of us had a very long talk about it. Zexion swore to both of us he
would never try to kill himself again, but Vexen and I agreed to keep a close
eye on him to make sure he kept his promise.”
“I see,” Dr. Crescent murmured.
“I’ve kept a close eye on his prescription and made sure he’s not taking more
than he should,” Lexaeus continued. “I know for a fact he didn’t take more
pills than he should have.”
“He still could have overdosed on purpose,” Dr. Crescent said. “He would have
known about the interaction between the Xanax and alcohol and that they can’t
be taken together because both of them are depressants and can lead to
unconsciousness, coma, and death, much like what happened today.”
“I trust Zexion,” Lexaeus said.
“In any case, I’m recommending he be evaluated by someone from the psychiatric
department once he wakes up,” Dr. Crescent said. “I’ve arranged for one of our
counselors to speak to him.”
“Whatever you think is necessary,” Lexaeus said, though he thought it was
unnecessary.
“Now, you said he has a foster family?” Dr. Crescent asked.
“Yes, but I think Zexion would rather keep his foster father out of this,”
Lexaeus said stiffly.
“Very well,” Dr. Crescent said and she dropped the subject.
“Can we see him?” Demyx suddenly asked, drawing a glance from both Dr. Crescent
and Lexaeus.
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Crescent said. “Come with me.”
Lexaeus and Demyx rose from their chairs and followed Dr. Crescent out, Demyx
abandoning the Kleenex box on a table near the door. All the hallways looked
the same; typical hospital hallways with whitewashed walls, worn tile floors,
bright fluorescent lights, and a smell of antiseptic hanging in the air. They
took an elevator to the fourth floor and journeyed down more identical, typical
looking hospital corridors. They passed nurse’s stations and patient rooms.
Finally, Dr. Crescent stopped in front of one of that patient rooms whose door
was partially open.
“He’s in here,” she said at a whisper.
“Thank you,” Lexaeus said.
He led the way into the room. The room had two beds, the one closest to the
door unoccupied. In the bed closest to the window lay Zexion. Lexaeus walked
over with Demyx behind him.
Zexion’s skin was nearly translucent underneath the fluorescent lights and his
body was almost completely still, save for the gentle rise and fall of his
chest as he breathed. Oxygen tubes ran into his nose and an IV ran into the
crook of his arm. His lips were pressed together into a faint frown as he
slept.
As soon as Demyx saw Zexion, he burst into tears for the second time that day.
Lexaeus’s immediate response was to look for a box of Kleenex and upon finding
one, handed it to Demyx.
“Thanks,” Demyx said, laughing weakly.
He took a few minutes to mop his eyes and pull himself together before slowly
approaching the bed.
“I’m here.” He took Zexion’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m here and I’m not
going anywhere, I promise. I love you.”
His voice broke and tears streamed down his face. Zexion slept on obliviously
while Demyx sat in the chair next to his bed and Lexaeus stood over them,
watching impassively with his arms crossed.
Chapter End Notes
     Author’s Notes
     Well that chapter got done faster than I thought. It also turned out
     way longer than I thought. Just a quick note, the next chapter will
     be the last full-length chapter. After that, there will be a brief
     epilogue to tie things up.
     Soundtrack: For the scene between Marluxia, Roxas, and Demyx in the
     kitchen, I listened to “Musique Pour La Tristesse de Xion”, the 1.5
     Remix version. It’s technically Xion’s theme from 358/2 Days, but
     it’s a hauntingly beautiful song, especially the remixed version.
     Like I mentioned last time, it as well as “Roxas Theme” by Drammatica
     seem to be my go-to for songs when I’m writing a sad scene.
     References: The titular characters from Tristan und Isolde appear,
     though their fates here are different than their counterparts in the
     Wagner opera. I needed some tragic characters and I didn’t want to
     use Romeo and Juliet, so these two were the first ones I thought of.
     There’s also a reference to the movie The Sixth Sense which I never
     saw until about a year or two ago because I can’t watch scary movies;
     they give me nightmares. Finally, a reference to Final Fantasy VII/
     Dirge of Cerberus.
***** The Twenty-First Day *****
Chapter Notes
     Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this chapter, reader discretion
     is advised. This chapter will contain graphic violence, rape, strong
     language, and self-harm.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
                             The_Twenty-First_Day
Zexion returned to consciousness slowly. His vision went from pitch black to
grey and then slowly sharpened. He saw a room with whitewashed walls and a
smell of antiseptic hanging in the air and knew he was in a hospital, though
his mind was too foggy to process much besides that. He tilted his head to the
side and saw Lexaeus sitting in a chair by his bed.
“You’re awake,” Lexaeus stated.
“I’m alive. Thank god,” Zexion said hoarsely. His throat was sandpapery and his
tongue felt like it was made from cotton.
“Yes,” Lexaeus said.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Zexion said. “I swear.”
“I know,” Lexaeus said gently. “I know you wouldn’t break your promise.”
Zexion was overwhelmed by those simple words. I know you wouldn’t break your
promise. I trust you. He let out a dry sob at the back of his throat at
Lexaeus, kind, gentle Lexaeus who had faith in him, who had always had faith in
him.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Thank him,” Lexaeus said, nodding at the bed.
Confused, Zexion looked down and saw Demyx curled up beside him, fast asleep.
His breath hitched.
“What…how…” he faltered.
 “Marluxia told him the truth,” Lexaeus said, gazing down at the sleeping boy.
“Marluxia?” Zexion frowned.
“I tried to force him to leave when he came to the Disney Circus, but he
refused. He wanted to apologize because he felt like it was his fault this
happened,” Lexaeus continued. “Marluxia told him about Tristan and Isolde.” At
this, Zexion winced, the memory of that incident still raw in his mind.
“Against my better judgement, I agreed to let him see you. We found you passed
out on the floor of the hotel room and called for help. When we were in the
waiting room, he broke down and cried. When he saw you the first time here, he
broke down and cried again. He refused to leave your side and fell asleep the
way he is now. I couldn’t bear to drive him away. He loves you and I couldn’t
destroy that.”
“How is it going to work?” Zexion asked. “Sephiroth will kill him. He could
possibly join the circus, if Sephiroth will even let him, but I can’t ask him
to do that. And Sephiroth will never let me leave. You and I both know that you
don’t leave the Disney Circus, especially not for love.” He gazed down at Demyx
and gently stroked the blonde hair. “However, he is very precious to me. I’ve
never felt this way about anyone before and I don’t know what to do. I feel so
lost.”
Just then, Demyx stirred. He slowly sat up and, rubbing his eyes, looked around
the room. He gasped softly when he saw Zexion.
“You’re awake. Thank god,” he said. Tears filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry. It’s
all my fault. Your life was put in danger because of me. I feel awful about it
and…”
Zexion stopped his babbling by leaning over and kissing him hard on the lips.
When he pulled away, Demyx’s eyes were wide with shock.
“I love you, Demyx,” Zexion whispered, tears streaming down his face. “I’ve
never loved anyone the way I love you. You are the best thing that has happened
to me. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know,” Demyx said. “I know. I know you only did it because Sephiroth
threatened to kill me. It’s okay. I forgive you.” He pulled Zexion into a hug,
being careful to not disturb the IV in Zexion’s arm. They only pulled away when
Demyx’s phone rang loudly.
“Sorry,” Demyx muttered. He looked at the screen and his face paled. “Shit.
It’s my mom. I’ve gotta take this. Excuse me.”
He got up and hurried out of the room while saying into the phone, “Hi mom.”
“Lexaeus,” Zexion said softly. Lexaeus looked at him. “Go with him, okay? Keep
an eye on him. Please.”
“What about you?” Lexaeus asked with a frown.
“I’m not the one they’re going to be after,” Zexion said grimly.
“All right.” Lexaeus nodded.
He hurried out of the room. He returned a while later looking extremely grim.
Zexion knew, from the look on his face, even before he said anything.
“No,” he whimpered. “Please.”
“I’m sorry,” Lexaeus said. “I wasn’t able to get to him in time. They must have
been waiting for him.”
He handed Zexion Demyx’s bloodstained phone.
Zexion closed his eyes, fingers curling around the bloody phone, and let out a
low moan.
“I’m sorry,” Lexaeus said again.
Zexion was silent for a long time, breathing heavily. He jumped when the phone
vibrated and nearly dropped it. He stared at the text that had appeared, his
heart beating wildly in his chest.
We have your boyfriend. Come to 1509 Maplewood Rd in an hour or we will video
us raping him and show it to everyone! Come alone or he dies.
“What’s wrong?” Lexaeus asked softly, seeing the expression on Zexion’s face.
Zexion showed him the text. For a long time, he was silent. Then, he abruptly
stood and said, “I need to make some phone calls.”
As soon as Lexaeus was gone, Zexion made up his mind. He had to go that
address. He had to try and save Demyx. He didn’t know how successful he would
be; Sephiroth’s boys were extremely dangerous and Zexion wasn’t sure how much
of a chance he stood against them. He had to try, though. He couldn’t stand by
and do nothing. Even if he ended up dying and even if Demyx ended up dying, at
least he’d know he did everything he could to try and save him.
Zexion rose from the bed on shaky legs and removed the oxygen tubes from his
nose. He winced as he pulled the IV from his arm. He found a bit of gauze to
stop the bleeding and then spotted a fresh set of clothes sitting in a neatly
folded pile on the end of his bed. Instinctively, he knew that Lexaeus had left
the clothes for him. And sitting on top of the pile of clothes was a knife.
Zexion’s lips curled up into a small smile: Lexaeus’s message was clear.
He dressed in the clothes Lexaeus had picked out; a black turtleneck, jeans,
and sneakers. He slipped the knife up his sleeve, pleased to find there was a
sheath there to hold it, and put Demyx’s phone in his pocket. Then, taking a
deep breath, he waited until it was clear and then walked out.
It was surprisingly easy for him to sneak out of the hospital; the security
cameras were minimal and everyone was too busy to pay any attention to him. He
stopped outside and looked around. He was in unfamiliar territory. He hadn’t
bothered to look around Traverse Town—what was the point? They were just going
to leave again anyway. Now he sort of wished he had explored Traverse Town at
least a little. Still, there wasn’t any reason to panic. Though members of the
Disney Circus didn’t typically carry cell phones on them, Zexion included, he
had enough sense to know how to operate a smart phone. Within minutes, he had
found his destination using the phone’s maps and began walking. He only made it
a few steps before he heard a voice in his ear.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
Then, someone hit him in the back of the head with something hard and he
crumpled to the ground, his vision going black.
He woke in a cold, windowless room with floors and walls made out of concrete.
He sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair with his arms bound behind him with
rope.
“You’re finally awake.”
Zexion looked up at the voice and saw Kadaj leering at him with Loz and Yazoo
hovering behind him. And between them, being held up by them was…
“Demyx!” Zexion gasped.
Demyx was limp in Loz and Yazoo’s arms, his head lolling to the side. Blood
trickled down his face from a cut on his forehead and his skin was extremely
pale. But Zexion could see that he was still breathing, albeit a bit shallowly.
Loz and Yazoo dumped him on the floor and Kadaj roughly kicked him in the ribs.
“Wake up!” he said in a singsong voice.
A few moments passed and then Demyx stirred feebly.
“Huh?” he said, lifting his head and looking around. “Where am I?” He saw
Zexion tied to the chair and gasped. “Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine,” Zexion said.
You should be the one who is worried, he added silently.
“Well, now that you’re both here, shall we get on with the fun?” Kadaj leered.
Horrified, Zexion could only watch as Kadaj straddled Demyx from behind. Demyx
seemed to know what Kadaj was about to do because he started struggling.
“No please! Don’t do this! Please!” Demyx cried out as Kadaj stripped off his
pants.
“Quiet!” Kadaj snarled, striking Demyx across the face.
Demyx fell silent but only for a few moments. He screamed as Kadaj roughly
penetrated him. Zexion felt sick to his stomach as the memories of his own rape
came back to him, memories he had tried so hard to suppress.
Xehanort’s breath was warm against his throat. He backed away and found himself
trapped against the lab table.
“Don’t be like that, Ienzo. You know you want it,” Xehanort whispered
teasingly.
“N…no,” he stammered. “Stop it. Please stop!”
“Be quiet,” Xehanort ordered.
He slapped Ienzo hard across the face and he whimpered in pain. Xehanort
trapped him underneath him and began removing his clothes. He closed his eyes,
tears burning at the corners of his eyes, waiting for it to be over with.
But Xehanort didn’t touch him like he normally did.
Instead, he forced Ienzo onto the table and spread his legs apart.
“What are you….?” The rest of his words were lost in a scream as Xehanort
roughly penetrated him.
The tears burning at his eyes rolled down his face as Xehanort thrust into him
again and again, slowly finding a rhythm. He bit back a moan. It wasn’t
supposed to feel good. His body was betraying him!
“See?” Xehanort hissed in his ears as he came. “I knew you wanted it.”
Zexion was snapped out of his memories by a slap to the face.
“You will watch this,” Kadaj hissed at him; he was done raping Demyx and now
Loz was having a turn. “You will see the price that is paid for disobeying
Father.”
“Stop it!” Zexion screamed as Demyx’s shrieks of pain grew louder. “Please
stop! Leave him alone! I’m begging you! I’ll Do anything you like, just stop
hurting him!”
“Well,” Kadaj said, turning to leer at him. “I never thought I’d live to see
day the great and mighty Zexion begged like a dog.” He grinned wickedly at
Zexion and then turned around. “Loz, that’s enough. Let Yazoo have a turn.”
Loz glared up at him. “I’m not done yet.”
“Well hurry up,” Kadaj snapped.
“I want to enjoy it,” Loz grumbled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a
nice piece of ass.”
“Make sure you save some of that ass for me,” Yazoo said.
“He’ll be fine for a while longer. Right?” Loz said. Demyx responded with a
muffled sob.
“Don’t worry,” Kadaj said, watching his brother rape Demyx without even
bothering to hide his glee. “We can all have more than one turn with him. We
can use him until he breaks. And then we have Zexion to play with too.”
Something inside Zexion snapped.
“Damn you Kadaj!” he screamed, fighting against his bonds. 
Kadaj laughed at him and then turned back around to watch as Loz finished with
Demyx and Yazoo immediately swooped in to take his turn. Zexion burned with
rage. It was at that moment that he remembered the knife up his sleeve.
Please, let it still be there, he thought.
He managed to twist his wrists around and slip his hand up his sleeve enough to
reach the sheath. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he felt the knife
still safely nestled there. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he was
extremely flexible as well, otherwise this would have been next to impossible.
He somehow managed to slide the knife out and start sawing through his ropes.
The knife wasn’t large so freeing himself took a couple minutes, but finally
the ropes snapped. Kadaj, too absorbed in watching Yazoo raping Demyx, didn’t
notice until it was too late.
Zexion launched himself forward with a scream and slammed the knife into
Kadaj’s eye without even the slightest hesitation. Kadaj stumbled back, holding
his injured eye, blood dripping down his face, screaming. Zexion pulled the
knife out and while Kadaj was still reeling from his attack, stabbed jo, om the
heart. Kadaj dropped to the ground, choking as blood pooled around him and then
he was still.
There was a moment of absolute silence that followed Kadaj’s death and then
with a howl of rage, Loz charged at Zexion. Zexion was barely able to dodge out
of the way; Loz was at least three times Zexion’s size, but Zexion was faster.
He spun around and charged Loz, slamming into him, hoping to catch him off
guard. It was like running into a brick wall. Zexion gasped as the wind was
knocked from him, but charged again. They fought hand to hand, struggling for
control of the knife. Loz was a formidable opponent, but Zexion was full of
rage. He allowed it to possess him and forgot everything except killing Loz.
Finally, somehow, he managed to get enough control of the knife to stab Loz in
the gut. The bigger man staggered backward, holding his wound. Zexion knew that
one stab wasn’t enough to fell the beast and was ready when Loz charged at him
again. He easily dodged and stabbed him again. Not enough. He stabbed Loz again
and again and again until the older man toppled. Zexion finally stopped moving,
breathing heavily, and looked down at Loz slowly dying.
He didn’t see the knife until it was too late.
With a feral grin, Yazoo stabbed Demyx in the chest. Zexion let out a feral
scream and charged him. Yazoo didn’t have time to react before Zexion stabbed
him in the heart. He dropped to the floor with a scream, gasping and choking as
his life left him. Zexion barely paid any attention to him. He dropped the
knife on the floor and ran over to Demyx’s side.
“Demyx! Demyx!” he cried.
There was blood, so much blood. Weakly, Demyx opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said, blood coating his lips.
“Stay with me Demyx,” Zexion whispered, cupping his pale cheek. “Please. I
can’t lose you now.”
Demyx chuckled softly. “S…sorry.” He coughed up blood. “Y…you’ll be okay.”
Then, he closed his eyes.
Zexion rocked back on his heels and wailed. He collapsed forward in on himself
and sobbed until there were no more tears left. Then, he straightened up,
breathing heavily, mind made up. He didn’t want to be in this world any longer
if Demyx wasn’t going to be there. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a
small bottle that he had carried with him for years without anyone ever
knowing, not even Lexaeus. It was a way for him to leave this world. It would
be slow and painful, but it was what he deserved. He had caused nothing but
pain to Demyx especially in his final moments and he could make things right by
dying as painfully as possible.
He contemplated the vial and remembered something he had told Demyx when they
first met.
 "I don't believe in love at first sight. Just like I don't believe there's
anything romantic about Romeo and Juliet committing suicide to be together."
He laughed bitterly. He had been proven wrong on both counts. Okay, so Demyx
didn’t commit suicide, but it was close enough. He could finally understand
Romeo’s thoughts and actions now. He had been so bitter and cynical that he
hadn’t been able to comprehend what it was like to be young and in love. And
then Demyx had come along. He had turned Zexion’s entire world upside down and
Zexion had fallen in love with him. It had happened so fast, but sometimes it
was like that. Love was confusing and complicated and it didn’t make sense. And
that was okay. Now Demyx was gone and Zexion couldn’t imagine living the rest
of his life without him, just how Romeo must have felt when he thought Juliet
was taken from him. He finally, finally understood.
He dug his fingernails into the stopper and pulled it out. He held up the vial
to his lips.
“Here’s to my love,” he murmured and then he swallowed the vial’s contents in
one gulp.
 
                                    .o.O.o.
The first thing Marluxia was aware of when he entered the room was the stench
of blood. It filled his nostrils until he thought he was going to gag. As he
stepped farther in, he could see it thickly coating the floors and even the
walls.
“Jesus Christ,” he breathed as he looked around.
Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo all lay on the ground in pools of blood. Dead. And in the
corner…
A horrified cry escaped Marluxia’s lips as he saw two familiar figures laying
in the corner. He ran over to them, slipping in the blood. Demyx lay on his
back in another pool of blood with eyes closed, a knife sticking out of his
ribs Marluxia turned and yelled over his shoulder, “Vexen! Vexen!”
Vexen came running from outside, followed by Axel, Roxas, Ven, Sora, and Riku.
“What? What is it?” Vexen asked urgently. He saw Demyx. “Good Lord!”
He kneeled down amid the blood, ignoring the screams of horror from Demyx’s
brothers, and examined him.
“He’s alive,” he said in an undertone. “Call an ambulance! Now!”
Axel, who had been staring blankly at the scene seemed to snap out of his
stupor and nodded. He hurried out of the room to get a cell phone signal to
call for help. Riku followed, dragging a hysterical Sora out with him. Neither
Roxas nor Ven cried; they just stared at their brother with blank faces.
“Don’t just stand there!” Vexen snapped at them. “Give me a hand!”
Ven and Roxas kneeled down and began following Vexen’s instructions. Marluxia
turned away from the scene, to the other figure laying near Demyx’s body.
Zexion was barely awake, covered in blood.
“Where are you hurt?” Marluxia asked. Zexion didn’t respond. “Is that your
blood?” Zexion still didn’t respond. Marluxia spotted an empty vial clutched in
his hand. “Did you take something?” he guessed. “What did you take?” Zexion
continued to stare blankly at him. “Come on Zexion. How am I supposed to help
you if you won’t tell me what you took?” A thought occurred to him. “You’re
trying to kill yourself aren’t you? Dammit Zexion you promised you wouldn’t!
Please don’t do this!”
“It’s too late,” Zexion whispered, his lips curling up into a bitter smile.
“Demyx is dead and I’m going to follow him. I don’t want to live anymore. I
can’t live without him.”
“For God’s sake, Zexion, he’s not dead!” Marluxia cried.
Zexion’s one visible eye widened. “W…what?”
“He’s going to be okay,” Marluxia said, silently praying that he was right and
that Demyx survived. “You can ask Vexen! He’s a doctor after all.”
“He’s right,” Vexen said, not looking up from where he was tending to Demyx’s
wounds. “He’s been hurt badly, but somehow the knife has managed to avoid his
major organs. He’ll need medical attention soon, but it’s not life-
threatening.”
“Oh god,” Zexion whispered, closing his eyes. “What have I done?”
“Tell me what you took and we can set things right,” Marluxia persisted.
“Strychnine,” Zexion said. “It was strychnine.”
“Vexen?” Marluxia asked, knowing the doctor was listening.
Vexen finally looked up from his work on Demyx. “How long ago did he take it?”
“About ten minutes ago,” Zexion whispered.
“Then the symptoms should be starting soon,” Vexen said. “How much did you
take?”
“Enough,” Zexion whispered.
“There isn’t much we can do,” Vexen said. “He’s going to start having
convulsions soon. Depending on how much he took, they could become extremely
violent. Just try and keep him comfortable until the ambulance arrives.”
“All right,” Marluxia said.
He was not prepared when the convulsions started.
They started in Zexion’s legs and arms and then spread to the rest of his body,
becoming more and more violent as time passed. Then, he began screaming,
horrible, agonized screams. Zexion had always been so calm and composed, never
showing even the slightest bit of emotion, but that calm exterior was gone now.
Marluxia wished there was something, anything he could do, but all he could do
was sit there and watch. Then, he was aware of a presence by his side. He
turned as Ven kneeled down beside him. He was amazed as Ven calmly reached out
and took Zexion’s hand, covering it with both of his.
“I’m here Zexion,” he said softly, giving the hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s
going to be okay. Just hang on, okay?”
Zexion managed to nod. Marluxia would never forget the agonized, terrified look
on his face as he convulsed on that bloodstained floor.
Chapter End Notes
     Author’s Notes
     Well, this got done a lot sooner than I first anticipated. I didn’t
     think it was going to be finished until the middle of January, but
     something possessed me to sit down and finish the chapter today.
     Also, I apologize for the long wait. Life, you know? Also a lack of
     motivation on my bit. I am willing to take some of the blame for the
     long ass delay. There will be one more chapter which actually won’t
     be a chapter but an epilogue and everything will be explained then,
     including how Marluxia and the others found them and what happened to
     everyone. And I swear it won’t take over three months for it to be
     finished.
     Soundtrack: For the rape scene, I listened to “Aftermath” from Cirque
     du Soleil’s KA. I also listened to “Rage Awakened: The Origin” from
     the Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST for the fight scene. It was
     fitting, especially considering Zexion’s own rage was awakened at
     that point. And finally, I listened to Musique Pour la Tristesse de
     Xion for the scene where Zexion believes Demyx dies and he attempts
     to poison himself. Because sad scene. Sad song.
     References: The bloodstained phone is a sort of reference to Final
     Fantasy VII Advent Children when Kadaj throws the blood stained ID
     cards of Tseng and Elena at Rufus. Also Romeo and Juliet is obviously
     referenced and Zexion goes as far to reference Romeo when he poisons
     himself.
     Strychnine: strychnine is a nasty poison. As mentioned in the
     chapter, the convulsions start in the legs and also in the arms. The
     first symptoms are a stiff neck and face but since that bit was from
     Marluxia’s POV it was hard to mention that. Also, the victim is awake
     during these convulsions unlike with other seizures. The victim dies
     from asphyxiation or from sheer exhaustion which in my opinion is a
     terrible way to die. But I felt like it was fitting for Zexion to
     want to die this way because he feels guilty and wants to die
     painfully to make up for his (imagined) sins.
***** Epilogue *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
                                   Epilogue
“Where were you?” Marluxia didn’t even look up from the book he was reading as
the door to Zexion’s hospital room opened.
“I had some business to attend to,” Lexaeus said softly.
 “I trust that business went smoothly?” Marluxia asked.
“Yes,” Lexaeus answered. He nodded at Zexion. “How is he?”
“He’ll survive,” Marluxia said. “It was a close call, though. They had to put
him in complete paralysis because the convulsions from the strychnine were so
bad. He’ll have to be on a respirator for a while, until his body has a chance
to recover.”
“And Demyx?”
“He’s stable, though he took quite a beating from Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. They
also say he was raped multiple times. It’s going to be a long road to recovery
for both of them.” Marluxia turned the page, though he wasn’t really reading
right now.
“Don’t blame yourself.”
“Like hell I won’t.” Marluxia glanced up angrily at Lexaeus. “It’s my fault! If
I hadn’t gotten Demyx involved, none of this would have happened! The only
reason they survived was because you put a GPS tracker in Zexion’s clothes and
we got to them in time.”
“You did what you thought was best.” There was a long silence. “Will you do me
a favor?”
Marluxia looked at him, surprised that he was asking for a favor, but Lexaeus’s
face betrayed no emotion as he said, “Will you give this letter to him when he
wakes up?”
“All right,” Marluxia agreed.
He didn’t even bother asking what was in the letter; he knew he wouldn’t get a
response out of Lexaeus.
“Thank you.”
Then, Lexaeus turned and was gone.
 
                                    .o.O.o.
Despite everything that happened to them, Demyx and Zexion both survived. Their
road to recovery was long and difficult and neither of them were really the
same. Demyx finished high school and went to college, eventually becoming an
elementary school music teacher. Zexion left the Disney Circus, got his GED,
and went onto become a Literature professor at Hollow Bastion University,
specializing in Shakespeare. He eventually reconciled with his foster father
Ansem and remained in close contact with him the rest of his life. He and Demyx
settled down together and lived quiet, peaceful lives.
Not long after Zexion and Demyx were rescued, Sephiroth’s body was found in his
office. He had been shot in the head. After visiting Zexion in the hospital,
Lexaeus turned himself into the police and confessed to Sephiroth’s murder. He
was sentenced to life in prison and died there nine months later.
The police investigated the deaths of Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, but ultimately
decided that Zexion acted in self defense and did not charge him for their
deaths.
The Disney Circus continued on under the guidance of Marluxia, who relaxed all
the rules and regulations Sephiroth had set into place and didn’t force anyone
to stay longer than they wanted. A surprising number of people stayed anyway.
Axel was one of those who remained with the Disney Circus. He was joined by
Roxas after his graduation from high school. Roxas did administrative work for
the Disney Circus and enjoyed a tumultuous relationship with Axel.
Ven went on to become an EMT, surprising everyone except Marluxia, who knew the
kid was going to be a great EMT. There was never anyone special in his life,
but he didn’t seem to ever mind.
Sora went to school for graphic design and made a living designing websites for
companies, enjoying a great success, and a loving relationship with Riku.
And Riku defied everyone’s expectations like Ven and opened a bakery. Kingdom
Hearts Bakery was an enormous success and he and Sora lived happy lives
together.
Chapter End Notes
     Author’s Notes
     There, it’s done. Finally. After almost a year. There isn’t much else
     I want to say except thank you to all those who reviewed. I really
     appreciate it.
End Notes
     Inspiration: the original inspiration for this came from me watching
     Dumbo. My muses were like, “ooh you should write a Kingdom Hearts
     fanfiction revolving around the circus!” and then I watched Moulin
     Rouge! by Baz Luhrmann and things just sort of snowballed from there.
     Inspiration also came from Cirque du Soleil which I ended up doing
     research on and modeled the Disney Circus after. I originally
     intended for Axel to be the master of ceremonies, but then I went to
     see Cirque du Soleil’s O in Las Vegas with my parents while there on
     vacation and when I saw the fire act, that was that. Axel had to be
     the fire act instead. Zexion and Lexaeus were also originally a knife
     act but then I listened to “Gamelan” from O and the muses went to
     town on that and so I changed it to a dance act instead.
     Soundtrack: This is a list of the songs that I chose for the Disney
     Circus show in order, all from the various Cirque du Soleil shows
     (with the show it’s from in parentheses): “Buster’s Big Opening”
     (Iris), “Mirko” (Alegría), “Cold Flame” (Delirium), “Jeux D’enfants
     (Alegría), “Volo Volando” for the trapeze act (Corteo), “Propel” (La
     Nouba), “La Nouba” (La Nouba), “Distorted” (La Nouba), “High Bar”
     (Mystère), “Fanfare” (Nouvelle Experience), Liama (La Nouba), “Birth”
     (Journey of Man), “Imposteur” (Kooza), “Coelestis” (Zaia), “Terre
     Aride” for Axel’s fire act (O), “Gamelan” for Zexion and Lexaeus’s
     dance act (O), “Tzelma” (O), “Flight” (Kà), “Reveil” (Journey of
     Man), “Taruka” (O), “O” (O). I also listened to “Alegría” from the
     show Alegría obviously during the scene where Demyx and Zexion met,
     which is the song I chose to be their theme.
     References: To Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII as
     well as Advent Children, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan. Did
     you find them? There will probably be loads more references later as
     the story progresses so keep your eyes peeled!
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