Luis was laying on the beach of the island, just happily letting it soak power out of him. Yeeeeees. Back to stability. It was almost like getting drunk, though admittedly the drinking had helped with that.

“Luis! Did you see Lauriam come through here?” Demyx called down from the boardwalk, “He left my head, I can’t find him!”

“Is it an emergency?” Luis called back, still sprawled out on the sand.

“How would I know!? You can’t turn your back for five seconds without something happening here!” Demyx shouted. 

Ooookay, Ienzo, you got this, what’s a little constant emergency between family. 

He had been putting all his energy and focus into Zexion as soon as Namine secluded them, trusting the chibo to transfer energy and…well, anything else Zexion thought would help. Which ended up being…quite a lot. And while Ienzo had had energy to spare, apparently it wasn’t enough to heal both Lauriam and Xaldin while giving Xaldin extra energy, adding in the emotional fallout of confronting and comforting Namine and then hearing that his dad had really gone off the deep end with his experiments and comforting the breakdown his chibo had--gasp.

He…didn’t feel great. But he wasn’t going to leave Lauriam and Marluxia in the lurch either. 

He was focused enough that he almost just walked past Luis and Demyx as he headed for Lauriam’s treehouse, though he paused as the conversation caught up with him. 

“Oh.” Pausing, Ienzo waved Demyx down. “I think Lauriam’s in his own world, would you like to come with me over?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Demyx said, calling down to Luis, “Me and Ienzo are gonna go check on Lauriam in his world!” 

“Novel idea, tell me how it goes,” Luis said, lifting a thumbs up before letting his hand fall back into the sand.

Demyx headed over to Ienzo, sighing as he nudged him with his shoulder, the two heading up to the tree house. “Crazy day, huh? I heard Kairi’s back! I guess enclosing all of us was Namine’s last hurrah?”

Ienzo smiled softly, giving Demyx a lingering lean back. It was comforting, seeing Demyx his usual energetic self again. What Zexion described was…alarming, and it hadn’t been much better in the physical world. “In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say so. Zexion said she just wanted everyone to stop fighting.”

Ienzo closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead a bit, sighing. “It was a very difficult conversation, apparently. I really hope that Dad saying ‘amalgamate’ isn’t what I picture in my head, and things aren’t that bad for Lauriam and Marluxia. I hope for Zexion to just get rest for the rest of the night.”

“Yeah, Xaldin’s gone real quiet too, I checked in on the outside and he just told me he’d talk about it later,” Demyx frowned, “It’s probably pretty bad if every person involved literally doesn’t want to talk about it. I hope Namine was… okay. When she left.”

Demyx opened the door for Ienzo when they got to Lauriam’s gate, the two stepping into his world and seeing– “Oh, woah.”

Marluxia looked up from his welding, briefly looking surprised before he huffed, rolling his eyes. “So he did end up calling you, huh? No one fucking knocks in this family, I swear…”

The sculpture among the happily blooming flowers was clearly still a work in progress, but now it was more easily identifiable as a giant dragon, set to have its wings and tail spread wide, head lifted to the sky in fearsome victory. And sitting on some of the prongs of the ribcage, Lauriam similarly looked over in surprise, before giving Ienzo and Demyx a wave. 

“Oh!” Ienzo noted. “I suppose this is a good use for the extra energy while we were separated… I guess we knew you enjoyed metalwork, Marluxia.”

The Nobody snorted in amusement. “A little different from making counterfeits, I know, but I’m a man of many talents.” 

“Oh, that’s very cool,” Demyx admitted, before crossing his arms, determinedly heading over to the metal dragon and calling up to Lauriam, “Hey, are you okay!? You’re not up there to be out of reach, are you?!”

Lauriam glanced away. He had left before having to really answer Demyx about the whole…

“Dem-Dem, sweetie,” Marluxia said sweetly, holding his torch by his side, “Just because Loseram’s punting size doesn’t mean he gets to be your teddy bear now, hm?”

Ienzo grimaced. Ah. Right. Marluxia full and true. 

Taking a breath, he raised an eyebrow at Marluxia. “Calling names seems tame by comparison, the last time we were here, but…why the animosity?”

Marluxia gave Ienzo a flat look, before humming, tilting his head back and forth like he was really considering it. “Mmm, maaaaaybe it’s because he ruined our mind so badly this place was a dump before I started fixing it, or maaaaaybe it’s because he’s so much of a spineless wimp that I’m here at all!” Dropping the sweet voice, Marluxia scoffed lowly and scowled, getting back to work on the dragon.

Lauriam shrank back a bit, looking away more.

“He’s not a damn football either! You were beating the crap out of him, Marluxia, he’s like two feet tall!” Demyx shouted, turning on the other man and scowling, “You’ve always been an aggressive jerk, but that was a new level! You make it really hard to be happy to see you!”

“Oh, why would anyone be happy to see me in the first place?!” Marluxia snapped back, growling at Demyx, “I’m just the shitty version of him, after all! I bet everyone would be just peachy if I was the one who couldn’t talk anymore!”

Catching Lauriam’s eye, Ienzo motioned him down from the dragon, giving Demyx and Marluxia a mildly worried look, but speaking quietly to Lauriam. Asking to do a wellness check, see if he could pin down the ‘no mouth’ thing and the chibi form. 

“...I know it’s not fair to you, but what I’ve heard from Zexion…are you really feeling suicidal, Lauriam?” Ienzo asked quietly, mouth turned down in concern as he expanded his energy out through his brother’s mind. 

Lauriam glanced away and shrugged. Short pictures of the fire in the tavern, a giant flower, the tavern with an arrow to the manor, Xaldin, a ticked-off Prince Momota, a sleepy-looking Lauriam…and Terra, stabbed, popping up above his head. A series of Xs following it, before Lauriam just looked…sad.

“Oh don’t do that! I get it, you got surprised with suddenly being back, but that’s not an excuse to beat the shit out of someone who can’t fight back!” Demyx shouted, “What, did we leave the factory to just start doing this shit to each other!? Didn’t get your fill of torturing toddlers in the factory!?”

“Apparently not! Because that’s all I was made to do because I’m not a real person!” Marluxia shouted back, not even pretending to work on the dragon anymore. 

Sighing, Ienzo put a hand on Lauriam’s back. “...it’s okay to be sad, you know. Things have been hard. And no one’s expecting you to just be okay with everything.”

Lauriam glanced up at Ienzo before several pictures appeared. Sora delivering packages, Demyx making music, Demyx and Ienzo with a heart above their head, Demyx, Ienzo, and Zexion with a heart above their heads, Riku making pancakes. Everyone just…succeeding after becoming whole. 

“...Demyx and I had a huge fight, before what you saw,” Ienzo said after a moment, drawing Lauriam’s gaze back up. “I don’t think it would’ve ended our friendship…but it might’ve been close. Zexion basically had to rip me apart for my insecurities, to just get us to…honestly talk.”

While he still looked worried, Ienzo gave a pointed look over to Marluxia and Demyx, before he said softer, “...and what happened to Terra wasn’t your fault. He went back to essence last night, I’m not saying you should just get over it or anything…but him getting hurt wasn’t your fault, okay? And you’re still allowed to be upset about it.”

“Oh, don’t give me that! It’s not that black or white! Clearly you're some sort of real person, because you can stand there giving every excuse in the world like any real lameass bastard can, that you took out all your shit on the one guy in the room who couldn’t even say anything to you!” Demyx scoffed, crossing his arms and turning his nose up on him, scowling, “Nobodies are supposed to be cool and in control, and you’re just out here acting pathetic!”

“HOW IS BEING MAD I WAS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD PATHETIC?!” Marluxia shouted, storming up to grab Demyx’s collar, tears welling in acid green eyes. “NO ONE ASKED ME! I DIDN’T WANT THIS! I HAD TWO SECONDS OF FINDING OUT EVERYTHING I THOUGHT ABOUT MYSELF WAS A LIE AND THAT I HAD TO GIVE IT UP TO SOMEONE ELSE, AND NOW I’M JUST SUDDENLY SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THAT?!”

Hmm…it might be a little messy, but…

“Why did he do that?” Lauriam cried, head in his hands and voice sounding rather similar to Marluxia’s, if you accounted for the volume. “Everyone just keeps dying…”

Marluxia sagged, his head down, it looking more like his grip on Demyx’s shirt was the only thing keeping him upright as tears fell on blooming flowers. “I was dead, why couldn’t I just stay that way? I didn’t want to come back to somewhere half my family’s dead…”

Demyx frowned, reaching up to place his hand gently on the side of Marluxia’s head, gently stroking his thumb down his cheekbone for a moment, wiping away a tear… before he scowled and pushed Marluxia’s chin up, sticking out his tongue and grabbing his own eyelid, lowering it down to show the skin as he said, “Oooooh, I’m Marluxia, I’m tooo speeecial to have been a Nobody! What the hell, man, what made you so different!? Everyone else was fake puppet toys, but not Marluxia! He’s different!”

“I thought it was all of us,” Marluxia said softly, his voice strained.

Demyx frowned again. Some of the heat taken out of his demeanor… before he scoffed, looking away. “Lar… Larxene was already back with me, by that point. Sorry to disappoint, I wasn’t just hiding her away beneath the stadium or something. God, you’re so…”

Demyx stepped back. Gripping his hands into fists… before taking a deep breath. His shoulders seeming to relax when he did, the anger draining from his face. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you. Just stop taking this out on Lauriam. Relax, I’m sure we’ll all figure out a way to kill you tomorrow.”

Something a little hurt, and a little disappointed ran through Marluxia’s face before he looked away, sniffing as he roughly wiped tears away, leaving dirt streaks across his face. 

“I think he’d rather you just threw a punch,” Lauriam said, voice wavering as he walked--as a non-chibi--a little unsteadily towards Demyx and Marluxia, Ienzo following as well. Letting out a little sigh, not even bothering to deal with the tears still running down his face, he attempted to give Demyx a little smile. “...I appreciate you going to bat for me. But I don’t…”

The attempt fell apart as Lauriam let go of a more ragged sigh, running a hand through his hair and just leaving it there when his fingers snagged. “...I don’t really want to die, but I just…don’t know how you do it. I feel like my emotions are going to eat me alive, and then I just…”

“Explode,” Marluxia muttered, voice low and tired as he looked away. “And that explosion ruins everything around us. Meanwhile? Dem-Dem’s just kicking back, completely chill.”

“I don’t exactly feel chill right now,” Demyx admitted, crossing his arms again but this time gripping his biceps tightly, “You know what I spent most of yesterday doing? Crying! You know why that hasn’t been worth mentioning? Because everyone spent most of yesterday crying! And now today, we lost Namine, and there’s no chance to even breathe or process that, because I’m still worried about Lauriam being stuck in a brain with someone who hates him, who! I should be thrilled to see! But he showed up and THEN WE LOST NAMINE!” 

Demyx took a deep, frustrated breath… before walking away. Summoning his sitar as he said, “No one talk to me for a minute!” before walking around one of the bushes, sitting behind it and angrily strumming on his sitar. 

Another one down. Another family member dead without being able to say goodbye, because Marluxia and Lauriam were just…too self-absorbed to make the effort. And even trying to check on things after the fact, people shrugged and said, well, it’s nice Kairi’s back. And it was! And…that was probably the right attitude, because there was nothing they could do about it, and nothing they could even think about because they hadn’t been there for the end and--

“Uh, brainiac, you okay?” Marluxia asked, enough concern in his voice that there wasn’t even the thought of it being flippant as he went over to gently hold Ienzo’s shoulders. 

…Ienzo wasn’t doin’ so hot. He was noticeably pale, gaze a little glassy, and, what had made Marluxia steady him, was the fact that Ienzo was shaking. …uh…a lot.

Frowning in worry, Lauriam motioned for Marluxia to help Ienzo sit down. “...he was helping all of us with the power differences, earlier,” he said quietly to Marluxia, before frowning more, “And…I think he did something to get me out of chibi-mode. But he’s stronger than us, and…”

Marluxia shook his head at the unasked question. “Barely noticed anything, really. I mean, obviously I saw the chains, and I guess with everything I did to fix things in here we should be feeling more tired, but…” Marluxia narrowed his eyes. “We’re all split up, right? No one’s really gotten around to explaining that. Who’s Ienzo with, though?”

Chewing the inside of his lip, Lauriam glanced over to Demyx. …not right now, no. Dilan? …no. He wasn’t going to do that. 

{Isa?} Lauriam sent, {Are you feeling okay?}

{Yes. Do you need something? Your intent sounds stressed.}

{Long story, but most pressingly is I think Ienzo’s overtaxed himself. Would you be able to check on him?}

Isa checked the pot over the fire that he was working on, and decided it was at a good level to just let sit and cook. Sending Lauriam an affirmation, Isa stood up, looking around the campsite–a few of the others were out here as well, but most everyone was within the Empath world. Understandable, everyone trying to recover from what happened–before he headed into the carriage, looking through the bunks… 

“Ienzo?” Isa said gently when he got to his bunk, “Are you awake?”

Ienzo looked a lot like how he did in Lauriam’s mind--terrible. But in the physical world, he had the added bonus of being absolutely drenched in sweat, and his expression was tight with pain. The motherload of migraines taking over him. 

And yet? He couldn’t stop yet. Almost, he was sure his patch-up for Lauriam would be alright, but he just wanted to make sure Demyx was okay and…l-likely that wouldn’t take more energy, so…just a little longer.

His family was in emergency mode and Ienzo had stepped up. He wasn’t quitting until everything was actually alright.

Isa frowned, reaching over to trace his fingers across Ienzo’s forehead. “You’re overheating…”

The carriage had been beating under the sun all day. Luminary winters tend to mean colder wind more than anything. That meant it was much cooler outside than it could be inside, the chilled wind not lowering the temperature inside. To put it bluntly, the inside of the carriage was already baking a little, and having a fever within it wasn’t helpful.

“...well, here’s hoping I do not make a fool of myself,” Isa said softly, reaching in and, hoping he had the strength, lifting Ienzo out of the bunk. 

Isa wasn’t terribly strong, but Ienzo wasn’t terribly heavy. So with a little bit of effort, Isa carried Ienzo outside, taking him a bit away from the fire before laying him out in the sand. Hoping the wind would cool him as he said, “I will fetch you some water, Ienzo.”

-

“‘Enzy, seriously, get out of here,” Marluxia quietly urged, Ienzo almost entirely held up by him now. “You and Zex were worried about one of us losing our minds? You’re going to do it to yourself at this point.”

Ienzo shook his head slightly, blinking a few times and managing to focus. “...’m okay,” he gasped, “It’s d-difficult negotiating a..a-a change in dynamic and role w-with a construct, even more if… If you weren’t on the same page initially.”

“Then that’s something Marluxia and I can spend the evening figuring out, thank you for the suggestion,” Lauriam said with a polite firmness. “We will be sure to let you know if we need anything, but right now it’s for you to go back to your own mind and rest.”

Again, Ienzo shook his head a little, and Marluxia just narrowed his eyes as he saw Ienzo’s visible one flick over to the bushes. 

“He’s working out his own feelings right now,” Marluxia hissed in a whisper. “He asked for space, we’re giving it. If he has to push it all to the side just to tell you what we’re doing now, you’re going to feel like shit later and it’ll be a never-ending pity party forever. Go. To. Sleep.”

Ienzo winced a little, but soon?

-

Ienzo cracked his eye open slightly, letting out a strangled whimper at the pounding in his head as he trembled on the ground. Trying to catch his breath. 

Isa had just gotten back with water, a blanket in his arm as well, which he intended to lay out and put Ienzo on next. 

“Oh, you seem more focused. Are you with me?” Isa whispered, placing the cup of water in the sand next to Ienzo, flourishing out the blanket, “Can you move any? This will be more comfortable. I wanted to cool down your skin.”

Grunting, Ienzo attempted to push himself up on shaky arms, stopping half-way up to desperately abort a heave. As he slogged himself to the blanket, his breaths were wet and pained…

…and even still?

“...I didn’t check in,” Ienzo murmured desperately to Isa, “s’ ev’ryone okay?”

“Everyone is fine,” Isa said, adjusting himself to sit on the blanket behind Ienzo and, patting his side, encouraged Ienzo to lay against him as he reached over to pick up the glass, passing it to Ienzo, “I can assume, anyway. I’m certain everyone is still grappling with everything that happened today. But that’s understandable.”

“You, however, seem less than fine,” Isa admitted, reaching around to brush Ienzo’s hair out of his face, “A side effect of the island disruption?”

Ienzo made a quiet, miserable sound as he laid himself against Isa, doing his best to get liquid into his body without throwing up or dropping it all over the ground. It felt like the most difficult task yet. 

With both eyes exposed, Ienzo squinted up at Isa. “...sent Z-Zexion to…redistribute energy manually…then he a-and Xaldin talked to Namine a-and…Kairi’s back. Dad…reformed M-Marlu…Mar from Lauriam but…” Ienzo let out a ragged breath before trying again to explain. “Chibi’ed Laurie ‘n…didn’t tell either of them, really… Had to fix Laurie ‘n…Demyx is upset…”

“Hmmm,” Isa hummed, taking out his handkerchief and dabbing it against Ienzo’s face and forehead, “I’ve been cooking myself. It’s a shame your appetite is likely shot. I think I’ve done a good job making a nice stew for everyone.”

“It sounds like you’re overworking yourself again, young Ienzo,” Isa said softly, “I’ve heard about the Lauriam and Marluxia fiasco. It’s unfortunate, but not something that needs to be solved immediately.”

“Sorry,” Ienzo mumbled, “It objectively smells good.”

He winced a little before swallowing. “Laurie couldn’t talk..’n-n…I think…their emotional mirror works both ways…s-since they both suck at talking. S-so if one of them i-is upset about something, the other will..r…reflect it and…try to get them to be honest. But it’s recursive too…”

“Then it was good for you to help,” Isa said gently, patting the handkerchief against his neck, “Drink more of the water, please.”

The wind picked up a bit, bringing in the sharp Luminary winter air. “You always have a good reason for doing these things. I know. But that doesn’t change that you keep ending up in this predicament, Ienzo. Taking care of everyone else should not come at this cost. Especially not with thirteen of us around to help. You must stop and rest before it gets to this point.”

Ienzo shuddered in the wind before he closed his eyes and tried to sip more, having to break just to breathe through the pain. 

“...stuff just never stopped happening,” he murmured helplessly, “I can’t…s-stop when Xaldin’s bleeding out in f…front of me, or Laurie says he feels like a failure… What am I supposed to do?”

“Say you’re very, very tired, and go run to Isa for help,” Isa smiled lightly, “Or Aeleus. Perhaps not Even in this exact moment, he’s… clearly dealing with something himself. Axel. Luis. Even Aqua, at this point, though I understand why you’d let her rest today… or,” Isa closed his eyes, “You trust that your family can handle themselves for a night, and you take a step back and catch your breath. Xaldin knows his physical and mental limits, he plays with them for fun. Laurie, while this might sound unkind to say, is often sad and angry, and sometimes you just have to let him be sad and angry on his own.”

“Maybe you can physically solve all these problems at once,” Isa said, “But not if it means you’re vomiting and shaking by the end of it. That’s not a trade any of us want you to make. You need to rest.”

Everyone had been tired and strung out. Despite Zexion’s best attempts to basically take on the job of Destiny Island himself (with help from Amaina, admittedly, which Ienzo was endlessly grateful for), it was only enough to keep his family from going braindead. Which was important! That was a success state. But it did mean that with everything else that needed attention, Ienzo just…

…felt bad putting anyone else through it. Asking for things when he knew everyone else was also very, very tired. He’d really only started to feel rundown after Zexion healed Xaldin, so when Vexen messaged him, it felt…doable. 

…

Ienzo made a small sound, his voice cracking. “...Dad said that if everyone died it’d be Zexion’s fault.”

Isa’s hand stilled for a moment… before he continued to pat Ienzo down, now running the handkerchief through Ienzo’s hair and brushing it back. “Let me and Aeleus and Aqua and Luis talk to your father. Honestly, if anyone will get through to him, it’ll probably be your dad. Vexen is now one of the last two Nobodies left. I imagine the pressure has been getting to him. That doesn’t excuse what he said, but I’d recommend letting everything cool off for a day or so before taking it to heart.”

“We’re all stressed. We’re all tired. We’re separated and neither group is heading for a sure thing. We’ve all been very, very sad, repeatedly, for several months now. And after what an emotional mess Terra’s goodbye was yesterday? I’m not surprised people are starting to lash out at each other,” Isa admitted, “we need some adjustment time. Trying to force that time to shorten isn’t going to work.”

Neither of them wanted everyone mad at Vexen…but Ienzo was so angry. How could Vexen say something like that to him? Zexion already blamed himself for how so many of their constructs went, and…these days? It was Ienzo’s love, and inability to say goodbye that had Zexion still around the next day after Ienzo woke up, and from beginning to end, Zexion watched as everyone else went down a different path. It wasn’t that he didn’t see what was driving Vexen’s research, but…

…like Xaldin said, maybe Roxas and Larxene hadn’t known, but everyone else did. They just…

It wasn’t Zexion’s fault. And for their dad to place the happiness and mortality on his shoulders… Ienzo was serious about not speaking to Vexen. 

…but he didn’t want his dad to feel alone either. Maybe that was already happening. 

“...very sad for several years,” Ienzo softly corrected. Maybe it was a different kind of sadness these past few months, but it had been a long road of misery they’d walked before it. 

…but Isa still did have a point.

Ienzo sighed, trying again to sip the water. “...someone check on Demyx when he wakes up?”

“I’ll ask Luis to,” Isa promised. 

Ienzo made a small sound, and was quiet after that. Letting himself rest. 

-

Kaito waited patiently as the Luminary guardforce went to inform King Sou that Kaito had requested an audience with him, giving a quick smile to the guard standing by the hallway that King Sou–and most of the Luminary party–had been given rooms in. Essentially creating a guest Luminary wing on the fourth floor.

That had been Kaito’s request for the party. Being given his own room in an area away from the rest of the Luminary party, especially when he was recovering and no one was allowed to see him, had been portrayed as a royal luxury when Kaito’s party had arrived. But upon reflection, it had been really isolating and frightening… and that had likely been by design by Tengan. Part of the game he had been playing around the wedding.

So Kaito had requested the castle organizers rearrange some rooms, repurpose some spaces, and now Sou was surrounded by his own people in a space where they could all retreat to in relative privacy and security. Kaito could feel his mother nagging in the back of his mind that the truly correct way to treat royalty such as a king would be to give Sou a wing of his own and have his staff and guards rotate in and out in service, rather than living in the quarters with him… but, like, Mom! They didn’t have the space for that! Besides, King Sou had been sharing caravans with these people for months! It was fine!

Kaito waited patiently, and was mildly surprised when the king returned with the guard. “Oh, good morning, sire! I apologize, I hadn’t meant to hurry you out of your quarters, I could have–”

“I was on my way down already,” the king said, giving Kaito a mildly irritated glance, “I’ve spent days stuffed in a carriage with everyone wary of letting me so much as glance out the window, I’ve decided I may as well see some of this city that I’ve spent months traveling to, regardless of people’s concerns.”

He said this while pointedly glancing behind himself, eyeing his butler. This clearly having been a whole conversation that morning.

‘Yeah,’ Kaito grinned, ‘This is a teenager.’

But, regardless of how Sou had gotten that status–and Kaito still thought of ‘Shin’ as Sou, struggling to break the habit of calling the man as such, considering he had known him from a distance for years now–Kaito still genuinely respected his status as a king. What, he was going to change his mind because Sou hadn’t come from a royal line in Kimigashine? The Kimigashinean royal family weren’t even a divine family, they were just an old warlord family that had won their empire about five hundred years ago and solidified their claim by claiming their territories as a kingdom because kingdoms sounded more posh and dignified than conquered territories. 

…….nooooot that Kaito stuck his nose up at a royal family who wasn’t anointed by a god, of course. That’d be so elitist… Okay, but THEIR royal family definitely were snobs about his royal family because they were ‘old money’ by this point and technically the Momota reign was only two hundred years old–WHATEVER IT DIDN’T MATTER. The point was that Kaito respected the title of the king because that title represented something more than just the individual who had it. Sou, as king-consort, represented Queen Kaede, who in turn, represented the whole of the Luminary Kingdom. 

Basically, treating Sou like some wayward teen who had just happened to get thrown into a position waaaaay too big for him was, well, treating Luminary like it was a wayward teen in over its head. 

…which NO, Kimigashine, it was NOT, 200 years was a perfectly respectable amount of time to have long established a kingdom in the world and he didn’t want to hear it from some ‘royal’ family who couldn’t even be bothered to invent a god–

“What did you want to speak to me about, Prince Kaito?” Sou asked, sounding absolutely devastated to ask. Whiiiich was odd! King Sou had been very polite and well spoken with everyone yesterday, almost sweet in his demeanor. Kaito had always known him to be someone who smiled and stood quietly in the background, so seeing such open disdain was…weird! 

Perhaps he was just having a difficult morning. Kaito was sure it had nothing to do with himself. 

“Well, I’m mostly just checking in to see how you’ve settled, but also! It’s been so long, sire! I thought it might be fun to sit down together and chat!” Kaito grinned, “Perhaps I could join you for breakfast? We could discuss how your trip was–”

“I’d prefer to take my breakfast alone today, thank you,” the king said. 

“...” Kaito’s grin strained, “...ah, a man who likes a little quiet for the morning? I understand that! Well, how about lunch?” There was too much silence in response to that, and Kaito, a tad desperately, added in, “We could discuss more your potential ambassadorship?”

There was an almost imperceptible sigh that came from the king. Like Kaito had said the one thing Sou couldn’t say no to, as he said, “...we may as well not wait for that. Yes, you may join me for breakfast.”

“Great!” Kaito grinned, “Oh, may I make a recommendation for the area. I know this diner that does amazing things with eggs–”

And that was how, despite everything, Deere ended up in…a normal-looking diner, sitting with the King of Luminary and the Heir Apparent and Prince-Consort of Dicea. One might really think things would get easier as they finally got to their end destination of this trip, but honestly, Deere felt more worried than in some of the smaller towns they’d stayed at so far.

Yes, there were a lot of Luminous immigrants in Usott, not least notably those in the royal family…but it was also a city with a relatively recent history of riots, he’d learned, and bafflingly public records of Prince Kaito getting in trouble with the local law. Deere hadn’t even known a member of royalty could get in trouble with the law, he thought they were the law. 

So everything just felt like a fitting climax for something to go horribly wrong…

…and Sou wouldn’t even give Deere and the guards a day to scope things out. Like, yes! Your grace! I’m sure you’d love to continue your vacation with the blooming sense of self and adventure you’ve grown over the trip! But we’re trying not to get you killed here!!

…ugh. Deere hated feeling this stressed out. If he didn’t end this trip with an aneurysm, it’d be a saint-sent miracle. Maybe Selka was vouching for him. 

“--Kai-chan’s really the expert on diners here,” Kokichi finished the story, chattering happily to Shin as they settled in for breakfast. “And every recommendation has really turned out. It’s super the wrong season, unless it’s a jam I guess? But there were these strawberry waffles I still think about every now and then.”

Sou’s demeanor had entirely changed when he realized the heir-apparent was also joining them on this excursion, smiling sweetly as he nodded along with the prince’s earnest vouching for his husband's diner taste. Making a note to say, “I’m certain I’ll love it, as I’ve loved most of the food I’ve encountered in Dicea so far. I have to admit, over the journey, the one food that’s most captured my imagination and taste buds is–”

“Oh, can I guess?” Kaito grinned, “The ramen, right? Everyone in my party had the exact same reaction when we were making our way through the country, ramen was just universally beloved.”

Sou smiled. “Yes, that’s right. I suppose it’s just mild enough that it doesn’t bewilder, but is also entirely unlike anything we have back in Luminary, and nothing like I recall growing up with in Kimigashine.”

“Oh! On that point! We have talked to the kitchens about making some more Kimigashinean traditional dishes,” Kaito said, “I hope that’s not too presumptive. We can’t get too much pheasant here, unfortunately, but we do have potato and white fish that they can put together as early as tonight, if it would please you?”

“Oh…” Sou considered that, before hesitantly nodding, “Yes, that would be… appreciated.” He paused, glancing around. “...I am a little surprised Maki Harukawa is not here as well, nor Shuichi. I hope they didn’t feel they weren’t invited because of their status in Luminary?”

“What? Oh, no!” Kaito said, “Shuichi’s just at home with our little Miyako, he’s not much for going out first thing in the morning. And Maki’s… not a bodyguard or working for the royal family really in any capacity. She volunteers at a dojo! Though, I’m sure they’d both love to say hello properly at dinner!”

Kokichi laughed sheepishly. “I feel like I may have gotten kind of pushy, hearing that noodle soups aren’t a thing in Luminary. Thankfully, my dear husbands have gladly humored me wanting to try out different restaurants together. Oooh, I can point it out to you guys later, but there’s this ramen shop in town that Shuu-chan loves, and it’s really fantastic.”

He nodded eagerly along with Kaito pointing out the Kimigashine-inspired dishes the kitchens had started planning for this visit, before he snorted a little, looking fond. “When Kai-chan mentioned wanting to invite you out this morning, Shuu-chan demanded ‘his baby’ and for me to pick out the best pastry at my discretion to bring back. It would’ve been nice for Maki-chan to come, but even getting up a little early she and Tim beat me out for their morning run.”

Kokichi wilted a little. “It’s impressive! But I don’t know how they do it. Just taking the garden trail around the market feels like a good run to me, but they head out into the paths in the woods whenever they have the time.”

“You’re not the only one who can’t keep up. I try to join them every now and again, but man, those two smoke me every time.” Kaito sighed, placing an arm around the back of Kokichi’s booth, placing his hand on Kokichi’s shoulder as he grinned at Sou. “Maki-roll says that dad-life has slown me down, but you know how she can be, she thinks missing, like, one training session makes you a slob. Though, to be fair, she’s mellowed out a bit since she stopped working! Which I’m happy for her for, she was too stressed out.”

“Right… Kaito, about your…” Sou frowned, “...well, I’ve been advised that Timothy is your ‘son’...”

“Long story short? In Luminary, there’s nothing legally making him mine,” Kaito admitted, “But here? I share joint-custody of him with Maki.”

“But without her… being your concubine?” Sou confirmed, “I’m simply confirming what I’ve been debriefed on.”

“Yep! Maki has no legal connection to me in Dicea! Other than sharing custody of Tim. Buuut again, not in a way that Luminary would recognize as making him an heir. Which I have zero intentions of doing, your grace.” 

“I understand,” Shin lied. It sounded confusing and a little bit like Kaito was trying to have his pie and eat it too, but honestly, he believed Kaito had zero interest in returning to Luminary to gain his family the throne again in any capacity. The man was clearly happy here. He was relaxed in a way that Shin hadn’t seen him be in Luminary, at least not without expecting Kaito was on something. 

Must be nice.

“We should discuss the ambassadorship–oh,” Shin quieted down as a server came over, getting their order… and raised an eyebrow when she stayed for a moment, smiling at Kaito and Kokichi.

“I see you're both getting your protein before the big day! I have to imagine you’re both going to be a bit busy tomorrow? Any challenges yet, or are people waiting until the last minute?” The server smiled, sounding bafflingly like she was talking to old friends, while speaking to the royal.

Maybe she did know them?? Because Kaito laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, entirely unsurprised, as he said, “I haven’t checked my mail yet. That’s usually how challenges are issued, right ‘Kichi? By message?”

That sounded…pretty risky, when it came to legal protections, but Deere supposed that it’d be a different kind of risk in Luminary if Prince Kaito did officially declare another heir. The absolute joys of royal succession, he supposed. 

Kokichi snickered a bit as the waitstaff chatted with them before putting his hands up and crossing his fingers. “So far I’ve managed to avoid confrontational wrath this year! Thaaaat or people heard about my latest cold and still don’t want to fight me, but yanno, I’ll take it. I know a few challenges I wanna go cheer on, so it’ll be nice knowing I can probably make it to see ‘em.”

Giving Kaito a nod, Kokichi hummed. “Yeah, they started putting together specific forms for Epakohta some years back too, so they’re pretty recognizable in the mail. I was showing the stack in the mailroom to Doppio-kun when he came by the other day.”

“Oh, Doppio swung by! Nice!” Kaito grinned brightly… before starting to sweat, “He wanted to see one of the forms?”

“Hah! Well, I always swing by for the castle fights, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes this year. Alright, let me go run and grab your drinks, sugars.” The server laughed, heading off to the kitchens. 

While Kaito still seemed distracted by this ‘Doppio’ person getting a form, Shin cleared his throat, before asking, “Forgive me, Epakohta? Is there an event being held at the castle tomorrow?”

“Oh, it’s sort of a holiday around here? A sparring holiday, actually!” Kaito grinned, “It’s not exclusively happening at the castle, but the castle’s a pretty important spot for it… um,” again his grin strained, “It’s mostly for fun! Nothing to be alarmed about.”

“Thank you!” Kokichi chirped, patting Kaito’s back in comfort. Though, seeing the sudden stress on Deere’s face, Kokichi gave him and Shin a softer smile. “It’s regulated, even if it wasn’t historically--that’s what people are talking about if you catch conversations about swathes of people brawling in the street.”

“Epakohta is a holiday about grudges, and resolving them,” Kokichi shared, happy to explain some of his culture. “From anything from petty disagreements to stuff that otherwise might be settled in court, on Epakohta you can challenge someone to a fight to settle things, the idea being that by the end of the fight, you can’t hold a grudge against someone anymore. Over the years, how that’s actually regulated has changed, but most commonly it’s either a fistfight or a debate that you challenge someone to. They have to accept the challenge, and fighting someone who denied the request, or just starting a fight without notice at all is still considered regular assault, so you shouldn’t have to worry about someone just coming at you with no warning.”

He smiled softly. “We haven’t had any major incidents as long as I’ve been alive, at least, so that’s I hope a little more substantial than ‘should’s and ‘hope’s to feel less alarmed.”

“...if I may, your grace,” Deere said slowly, looking no more comforted by those assurances, “What day is this holiday, exactly?”

“Tomorrow,” Kaito said, giving his husband an adoring look. “This will be my first time participating, we stayed in our room all day the last time this holiday came around. But I’m feeling good about participating this year! I made sure I’m legally allowed to and everything! I told my ‘Kichi here I’d be a proxy for him if he was challenged by anyone, but he’s too good, no one wants to even symbolically fight my prince here,” Kaito said, pride absolutely radiating off of him. 

“... I have suspicions about the rest of the family wanting to participate,” Kaito admitted quietly, eyes narrowing, “Like I said, I haven’t checked my mail.”

“You can use a proxy?” King Sou asked slowly. 

“Oh, yeah, it’s basically if you still want to participate in a grudge match but for some reason you can’t participate yourself,” Kaito said. “You can ask someone to substitute for you. Useful if you’re injured or something. Or a small bean like my ‘Kichi here,” Kaito teased, giving Kokichi a small half-hug, “I had some misgivings about this festival when I first heard about it, but honestly, it’s not that different from just spar training back in Luminary. Just venting some frustration through a spar, but more formalized.”

“I see, I see,” King Sou said.

“Don’t worry, you have to volunteer and register to get challenged. No one’s going to be able to challenge you, your grace,” Kaito assured Sou, “And even if someone did, it’d be outrageous to expect you to participate in a festival like this after barely knowing about it for 24 hours. This isn’t a political incident waiting to happen, is what I’m saying.”

“Understood,” King Sou said… before smiling sweetly, “And it requires a form?”

Kokichi leaned towards Kaito, giving him an adoring look back, before nodding to Sou, backing up Kaito’s explanation. “It’s also just a handy system if you don’t know how to fight. You’d lose out on the physical catharsis, but it does make your point feel more substantial if the fight isn’t over in an instant, and it’s safer for two people who do have some basic knowledge to fight than having someone new potentially hurt someone a lot worse than they mean to. The referees are pretty good about intervening before things get dangerous, but it’s safer for everyone for it to not get to that point.”

The point about it being an opt-in system was more comforting to Deere, figuring that’d cut down on people wanting to vent their frustrations with Luminary on Sou…but the way his king smiled, hearing all of that?

Kokichi gave Shin a look, before snorting softly. “Oh, believe me, I’d love it if you could challenge Kaede too. I’d only cede my spot because you’re actually married to her.” 

Kaito sighed, “‘Kichi.”

But Sou only laughed lightly at that, though he did quiet down when the server came back with their drinks. Once she was gone, he said, “I am a bit irritated with my wife too, I’ll admit. I wonder if it’d surprise you both to hear that I wasn’t actually aware of this ambassador position before it was mentioned to me yesterday?”

“Weeeee’ve figured that out, yeah,” Kaito grinned warily, “I’ve actually spoken to her about it already.”

Shin’s eyes narrowed briefly… before his expression evened out when Kaito admitted, “Well, I tried to, I didn’t actually get to say a lot about it. You know how Kaede can be, she… heh, dominates a conversation.” Kaito laughed tiredly. “But we really are very sorry this is new info for you, your grace. I’ve actually been very excited about this prospect for you! I was the one who first proposed it to Kaede!”

“I see,” Sou said.

…nope. Nope, Deere was not getting involved with international royal family drama. He was going to do what a butler did best, even if it had been strange he was invited to sit with the royal family to eat at all, and just fade into the background.

…the house coffee wasn’t half bad. It wasn’t burnt, which was a little surprising for what he assumed was a larger batch kept warmed for patrons. 

Kokichi sighed in irritation. “I am sorry about that, I would’ve been more candid in our conversation if I’d realized. Just. You know. Expected that the official request that we sent would’ve been at the very least discussed with you, and not just Kaede hoarding marbles again.”

Letting go of his irritation, he smiled more softly at Sou. “But Kai-chan’s right. It’s been a long journey of trying to clear up cultural misconceptions between Dicea and Luminary, and it’s not to say those efforts aren’t steps in the right direction, but a lot more work is sorely needed. Both just for perception and understanding, and literally having an official process for government communication. We just…need a proper ambassador. And when I was talking about it with Kai-chan, he vouched for you and talked with Kaede about it, so the Dicean government put together the offer.”

“It’s…quite the overwhelming thing to consider all at once,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s why we offered the tour around the country, but, well… I hope your stay in Usott will be a nice setting to contemplate it too.”

“And your grace, you should know, there is historical precedence for this in Dicea,” Kaito said, wanting to stress that. He had been raised being told certain family members got certain responsibilities in the royal court, and ambassadorship was more, well… Kaede’s role, before she became queen. And theoretically, as queen, if it had been under normal circumstances, it would have been Kaito’s role. Not the second most powerful figure in the kingdom. 

But! “Ouma spouses that take the oath have been known to go out and do political work outside of their castle, and it’s considered an extremely respectable thing to do here–” by everyone but their husband, who was still upset about it in his next life, “--so you wouldn’t have to be treading new ground, politically, here in that regard. And, while yes, your living situation might be a bit more humble than the grandiose quarters we had in Luminary, I think you’ll find that the comforts and conveniences of living in a city like this actually outweigh the services of the castle. And it doesn’t take an hour walk just to get to the gate and down to the markets,” Kaito laughed. 

Sou didn’t laugh with him. 

“...and! And!” Kaito continued, “You won’t be limited in your activities or movement! You won’t have to live in the castle with us, for example, actually all of the ambassadors here don’t. Who we’ll introduce you to, by the way! The Danganronpa ambassador’s daughter is actually a dear friend of Tim’s, so we’re particularly close with her; I’m sure she’d love to speak with you and tell you more about what the day to day responsibilities would be like.”

Sou nodded. 

“...and,” Kaito helplessly looked around, like he was looking for clues as to what to say, before saying softly, “And it’s honestly, in many ways, a lot… safer. Here–”

“Foods coming at you!” their server cheerfully called, bringing over the platters. 

Kokichi started nodding with Kaito, before his expression softened as Kaito started pulling out every reason for Shin to take the job. He did want Shin to stay, just as much as Kaito. Genuinely for the job, from what Kokichi knew from their brief meeting and the few Luminous policies he could trace back to him, Shin was a genuinely great strategic mind, and Kokichi had high hopes for what they could do working together. 

But obviously also so he wasn’t stuck living with his abusive wife. 

“Yesss! Thank you so much, this all looks fantastic!” Kokichi cheered as their food came, thanking the server. And for a few moments, food took precedence, arranging things on their table and digging in while everything was hot and steaming…

But eventually? Kokichi just smiled at Shin. “We’re your cousins, your happiness matters to us. If you can find it here, with work that’s important and you find fulfilling, then you can bet we’re happy to offer this space for you! But if it’s somewhere else, then we’ll wish you the best. That’s all.”

“Thank you, Prince Kokichi,” Sou agreed, smiling lightly at him, before looking down at the omelet that Kaito had raved about. “...”

“Trust me, it’s supposed to be that colorful,” Kaito said.

Sou took a bite… and okay yeah fine it was amazing. Whatever.

-

They were all traveling again the next day, and everyone had been quieter than usual. Demyx after a certain time went to check on Ienzo, wanting to see if he was feeling any better after getting sick the previous day. 

Ienzo was certainly feeling better after the day before, thank you very much! But as Zexion would loudly and forcefully tell anyone that came by--not that he particularly wanted much company right now, other than Ienzo--better was such a comparative term. And in comparison to burning up from a fever, barely able to move and on the verge of vomiting for several hours?

Yeah, Ienzo was better than that. 

Curled up in a corner of the main sitting area of their carriage, doing some light reading, Ienzo, still a bit pale and clammy-looking, but alert, glanced up as he noticed a shifting shadow not coming from a window. Spotting Demyx, Ienzo smiled softly, giving him a small wave from above his book. 

Demyx smiled lightly, waving back, before, with not a lot of room otherwise, he knelt down in the aisle space in front of the nook corner Ienzo was curled up in. Demyx whispered in the quiet of the carriage, “Heeeeey… sorry about yesterday,” he pouted, thumping his head lightly against Ienzo’s knee, “Kinda had a tantrum, huh? Didn’t mean to chase you off.”

Ienzo’s visible eye widened slightly before he shook his head, setting his book to the side before he reached over to lightly run his fingertips through the shaved sides of Demyx’s hair. “Perish the thought, you didn’t chase me off, and you had every reason to be pissed off. I just…” Ienzo sighed, mildly annoyed. “Pushed things too far. I had wanted to stick around so you weren’t just stewing in your feelings alone, but…”

Ienzo glanced away, wincing lightly. “...I think Lauriam and Marluxia were right to tell Isa and tell me to leave. Just existing in one of your worlds isn’t difficult, but it’s not the same as being asleep, is it.”

“Yeeeaah, it’s not. Rule number one of being an Empath: an all-nighter in our worlds is an all-nighter in real life,” Demyx chuckled softly, “I didn’t mind you had left, I was fuming and in my own feelings. I just felt bad when I heard you had gotten sick. Sorry.” 

Ienzo huffed a laugh with him, smiling softly at the apology before he tilted his head a little. “I’m glad that you seem to be feeling better from when we were all separated. Zexion was pretty worried, seeing your world almost shut down like that… And…”

Ienzo glanced around for a moment  before shifting, making more room in his corner, offering it to Demyx. “...do you wanna talk about last night?”

Demyx accepted the offer, heading up and squeezing into the spot Ienzo had made for him. It pressed them together, but he didn’t mind that, glancing at the book Ienzo was reading as he said, “Nah, I feel fine. I mean, I didn’t yesterday, but it’s all evened out today. Zexion moving energy around really helped, I think, I’m pretty sure I was on the verge of passing out. Axel thinks he did pass out, which is pretty bad.”

“And I don’t know. What’s there to talk about?” Demyx smiled faintly, looking tired, “I shouldn’t have gotten as upset as I did. Sure, this is pretty intense, but that isn’t really new for Marluxia or Lauriam. I don’t know why I took it all so damn personally this time.”

Ienzo knew he was kind of gross, but he did trust Demyx enough to not take the spot if he didn’t want a gross boyfriend snuggled up next to him, so Ienzo took full advantage, already feeling better with Demyx in close proximity. An arm around Demyx’s waist, and leaning a bit against his shoulder, Ienzo sighed softly. “Yeah. I didn’t think my dad was really speculating that hard when he’d warn us all about the dangers of separating our minds, but that was…an intense confirmation. Amaina told Zexion that Axel pissed himself, which might’ve happened if his brain really did shut down for a moment.”

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Ienzo gave Demyx a questioning look before shrugging with his shoulder that wasn’t pressed right up against him. “It isn’t new for Marluxia or Lauriam to get in a fight…but it is with each other. When they were both around in the factory, unless I missed something? I think they barely talked to each other. And while arguably the past year has entirely been our minds doing things out of our control, this was a new flavor of it. I don’t think it’s surprising that seeing Marluxia attack Lauriam like that was…a lot. It was for me too.”

Ienzo’s gaze lowered a bit. “And it obviously was for Namine as well.”

“...you know, she had me thinking about it,” Demyx whispered, “But I didn’t say goodbye to most everyone.”

“I think a part of me hasn’t cared, as weird as that feels to say now,” Demyx admitted, looking out the window, the passing dunes soothing in its own way, “I mean… Nobodies were Nobodies and Somebodies were Somebodies. Not a lot of us really intermixed the two. Except Dilan and Lauriam, when it came to each other. And I guess you with everyone, for a long time, since we didn’t know that you… well, weren’t around until recently.”

Demyx paused, before letting out a shaky laugh, “That’s one I haven’t entirely gotten my head around yet, if I’m honest. It’s hard for me to think that the guy I was best friends with was Zexion. But at the same time, that feels shitty for me to admit, because apparently! Zexion was my best friend! And now I see him as something… less?”

“...I don’t know. It all hit me yesterday, seeing Marluxia back. How hard this has all been to, like, get my head around,” Demyx whispered, “Do you struggle with any of it?”

Ienzo smiled wanely. “I seem to remember after you guys found me, you saying you were done with the whole business. It seemed reasonable, at the time, not like…” He sighed softly. “...it didn’t start out as feeling like something that even needed a goodbye. Nobodies are a part of us, so regardless, it wasn’t like they were going anywhere… But more and more it has felt like that.”

And just now? With the injury it…really did feel like Terra had died. That Namine had stepped into oblivion, because…she didn’t recognize Roxas and Ansem in Sora and Riku anymore, and she didn’t want to be without her friends. Marluxia had said himself that he had been dead, even though he obviously did have a concept of experience as part of Lauriam. 

So, if it all felt like that, then…

Ienzo frowned a little, more sad than disapproving, at the idea of Zexion being ‘less’, before he closed his eyes and thunked his head against Demyx’s shoulder. “I do, but…I think differently from your experience. For a significant part of my life, I lived within the experience a construct would, so it’s both felt…” Ienzo paused, trying to find the best way to describe how he thought. “...it’s alarming, hearing Marluxia call himself ‘fake’. Because for the majority of my life, the mental world and everything in it, constructs included, have always felt just as real as anything in the physical world.”

“...sometimes more than the physical world,” he admitted quietly, his brows knitting in slightly. “And yet, because of my familiarity…everything, all the metaphor and what we normally see, I…remember, in a way that I can feel, like it’s not just conceptual knowledge, that it is just all…parts of our brains. So something being changed or put at a distance or returned to base essence has always been like…yeah. It’s not really different or gone, because it’s always been just brainwaves and psychic energy.”

“...but everyone’s grief is so real, and that loss feels real, and the changes everyone has gone through because of their experiences is real. So…that would imply that there’s something beyond physicality that I’ve missed for all this time, and now we’re just left with…loss.”

“...maybe it’s just that feeling of connection?” Demyx mused, almost subconsciously leaning into Ienzo more. “I never acknowledged Larxene much. I think I talked to her one on one maybe a literal handful of times. I…” Demyx laughed lightly, “I didn’t like her much. She was mean. And kind of scary? And when I looked at her, I just didn’t see… anything of myself in her. It felt like I had a weird, intrusive stranger in my head.”

“Who could just shove herself in my body, sometimes, and do things with it,” Demyx said softly, “And I can’t even really be mad at that, because then I’d go and take memories that were just hers and just… ogle them. And just all of it ended up making me feel like I was, I don’t know…a peeping tom my own body? I felt really guilty about it all, to the point of like… even now? Sometimes I look at my body and it doesn’t feel like it’s mine. Like I’m still looking at something private, and I’m being a creep about it.”

“...I heard basically no one went to Larxene’s goodbye,” Demyx whispered, “...I think that didn’t make me sad until Terra’s goodbye. And now I’m sad. And… maybe even jealous? Which feels weird. Why would I be jealous…”

Demyx closed his eyes. “We really did something bad to ourselves, huh?”

By design, Larxene hadn’t been a pleasant person to be around. 

…that had been the point of their Nobodies. They hadn’t been supposed to be making friends, or intriguing people that could grow and develop and form friendships and bonds and…have their own lives. A Nobody had been supposed to be a tool to condition, so the Somebody didn’t have to. Unfeeling. Only creative enough to ensure conditioning held. Nothing more. 

…and instead, they had created other halves to themselves, that were a family. 

Ienzo lifted his head, giving Demyx a worried look. He did know a thing or two about feeling alienated from your own body…but for Ienzo, it had been because ‘the’ body was ‘ours’. Not ‘hers’. 

“...I know we basically forced Larxene to bring you back,” Ienzo said softly. “She had been probably the best at mimicking your idiosyncrasies, but… Well, the day it was decided, she’d started a fight at the market that Terra had to bail her out of, and the two of them came back injured, if being on the guards’ radar wasn’t enough. I believe the prevailing thought was that her reckless behavior was going to get you two in serious trouble.”

Ienzo gently squeezed around Demyx’s waist. “...I know that Terra said goodbye to her privately. But…it was just Zexion and Prince Kokichi there.” And Zexion hadn’t really said much of a goodbye. When Ienzo went through those memories, it…really seemed that the only comfort Larxene had had at the end was…from a stranger. 

“I think there’s a reason other Empaths don’t do this,” Ienzo murmured back, holding Demyx close.

“Maybe we all thought this was going to be easier than it has been,” Demyx murmured gently, “I don’t think Xaldin meant to put it off till he was last. Honestly, I’m waiting to hear about that fight. Xaldin raced Marluxia to base essence and just… didn’t follow through after Mars left? That’s gonna be a fight. Vexen had zero complaints about everyone going back to base essence for months, and now suddenly he’s trying to brute force undo everything? Maybe it all just got too real for them…”

“I try to think what I would have been like, in their positions?” Demyx said, “I can’t tell if it’s just very ‘Somebody’ of me when I say I think I might have begged to stay, or if that’s just me ignoring that they have desires again. I keep thinking about how everyone fought back at the last moment. It was easier when we explained it as another mode of protection for them, trying to ensure their Empath would be okay, but looking back at it now? I think they were just scared.”

“...we made constructs that wanted to live.” Demyx said, “We should get brownie points in the Empath community at least for making really convincing fake people. Because boy did we succeed.”

Ienzo didn’t think that was even a ‘maybe’. For months, the hardest part of it they considered was the ‘how’ to wake their Somebodies up, and that had seemed impossible with every method they tried. It had never even been a question that they’d do it. The solution of having to go back to base essence was new, admittedly, but even then…

They had volunteered Roxas first, because he had been unhappy. And he…

“...honestly I’m split on whether Xaldin’s even going to visit Lauriam’s mind,” Ienzo muttered. “I can’t fathom it not turning into something heated, and there’s already been so much the past few days.” In some ways, that just made it lucky that Xaldin and Lauriam were physically separated. It at least gave them some space. 

Ienzo closed his eyes, grimacing. Feeling sick at the growing sentiment that instead of learning high level Empathy and working to bring half his family back, he and Zexion had…also been working to kill half their family. 

That everyone’s deaths were their fault.

“...they’re not fake,” Ienzo quietly whispered, before taking a breath to try and steady himself. “Amaina’s noted before how rare it is for a construct to be around her age. Half of the Nobodies were older or getting there. What we’ve achieved is a…marvel of Empathetic expertise.”

“...just not something the community would ever advocate to take on as standard techniques. Because a new person coming to life is a responsibility that’s not half-heartedly embraced.”

“Yeah. I think that weird little chibi recognized what we had done before we did, really. I feel like some weird cryptic shit she’s said makes waaaaaay more sense in retrospect,” Demyx frowned, “I kinda thought she was just making things up, if I’m honest. But I guess a… a… I don’t know, semi-independent? Complex? Whatever the heck kind of construct we all made, would recognize others like it. Yeah, I don’t think I could advise anyone to do this on purpose. It’s… it feels cruel.”

“But we didn’t do it on purpose. We didn’t realize what was happening,” Demyx sighed, “...do you think I should bring Larxene back as a chibi? Marluxia proves it’s possible. But maybe she’d be as unhappy as he is. What kind of life am I bringing her back to?”

That seemed to be par for the course, with Amaina. Zexion just enjoyed her company, of course, but how he talked of their conversations about, well, being beings of the mind, it was fascinating hearing about the things she’d learned just as a part of being alive. As, from the inception, someone not concerned with the physical world, at least as much as the Nobodies had had to be, and had the freedom to pursue any and every bit of curiosity that intrigued her… Amaina was the case of the purest form of learning, and it stunned Zexion and Ienzo both. She had a lot of insight that they respected. 

Nodding a bit against Demyx’s shoulder, Ienzo echoed his sigh. “...I really don’t know. From the moment I was aware again…I knew I couldn’t bear to lose Zexion, as he is. Returning him to essence feels like I’d be losing half of who I am. But I know your relationship with Larxene isn’t like that.”

Ienzo’s voice lowered a bit. “...Marluxia said that he didn’t want to come back to his family being dead. Namine said that she didn’t want to continue in a world where her friends are dead, and if they could return together, then wonderful, but…that’s the only option she sees. It should be everyone’s choice, and that includes the parts of them that are their Nobodies, but…in some ways, it does feel like an all or nothing. No one wants to live with that loss.”

“...maybe you should talk to Marluxia later?” Ienzo suggested after a moment. “I’m not saying his initial reaction should be disregarded but…well, maybe he’ll have the kind of insight that will be helpful to you once he’s had time to think about being back more.”

“True. And I guess there’s no hurry. Our Nobodies aren’t missing much but looooong days in carriages. Man, is it only our third day on the trip? I have to get used to road tripping again,” Demyx laughed, “Everyone’s gonna break my sitar at some point this trip, I guarantee it.”

“Oh, um… so, Luis gave me a heads up that Isa gave him a heads up that I should be given a heads up that you were dealing with something on top of everything else that was going on?” Demyx recalled, giving Ienzo a concerned look, “I got the impression I was being put on boyfriend duty to help out with it. Is something the matter? Outside of getting sick and the garden duo losing their minds in front of us?”

“I really hope not,” Ienzo huffed with small amusement, “Though we do have funds for repairs, just in case.” He glanced around the carriage for a moment. “...it still feels oddly novel for me. I’m used to sitting in one place for a long time, of course, but to actually still be going somewhere while it happens…” Ienzo paused for a second before looking down with a hesitant, sheepish look. “Well, it’s a bit like checking in with my body after someone else has been in charge for a while, actually.”

…and back to the matter of constructs?

Ienzo looked up, briefly surprised, before he sighed. Unsurprised that Isa had passed it on. “You would think that would be enough, hm.”

Ienzo closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing. “...Dad said some fucked up shit to Zexion, and I’m mad at him. I’m not speaking to him until he apologizes, by the way, so if he tries to get around that through you, please don’t hesitate to call him out.”

“Got it,” Demyx said seriously, before raising his eyebrows curiously, “What’d he say?”

Ienzo’s jaw tightened for a moment. “...he’d asked for Zexion’s help, understanding more about chibis, and potentially how to bring one of our Nobodies back as one. However, Dad revealed that he plans on bringing every Nobody back that way, without asking anyone or even letting them know, and Zexion was like, no, that’s cruel and stupid, don’t do that.”

Again, Ienzo paused, wavering for a moment before he took a breath. “...and Dad said that i-if Zexion wanted to stop him, it’d be by force, against everyone that Zexion would have to tell and…if everyone died, it’d be Zexion’s fault.”

“How would that be Zexion’s fault?” Demyx frowned, “What a weird thing to say. What, just because he told everyone? That Vexen was trying to mad scientist up some chibis? …shoot, if he said that? He might still be planning to do that. Your dad can get kinda single-minded about stuff, sometimes. Both versions of him, really. Though, if you told Isa that too, he’s probably working on that.”

“I don’t think Zexion was in the wrong there. I think your dad was just being a jerk,” Demyx agreed. “And, well, it’s an easy time to not talk to him, at least. Like, it’s not like you’re going to be awkwardly trying to make food in the kitchen at the same time or something. Perfect time for it really.”

Ienzo pouted, nodding emphatically along with Demyx. “W-what, like wanting to ensure our family has the chance to consent about having their brains being altered is - is unreasonable?! Dad’s being unreasonable, i-it’s not, everyone’s not truly dead, a-and it’s not like every moment that they’re in base essence makes it more difficult to ever reform them! He’s just--!”

இ﹏இ

“H-how could he say something like that to him?”

“Aw, bud, no!” Demyx fretted, wrapping his arm around the front of Ienzo’s chest and pulling him into a hug, “Oh noooo, screw your dad, he’s a butt-face! He was probably just trying to guilt trip Zexion. Look, I know we just said a bunch of stuff to the contrary, but everyone’s not dead! Marluxia being here proves that! They’re not even, like, permanently gone! Heck, maybe this is a good sign for Xion even! Or Saix! Saix has apparently been gone who even knows how long, but maybe there’s saving him too! Like…”

Demyx sighed, “Nobodies may not actually be, like, nobody… but they’re still No Bodies. Get me? They’re not dead. Death doesn’t work that way for them. We’re all just getting too caught up in thinking of them as being the exact same as people. And Vexen was being a jerk to say that.”

Ienzo tucked himself into the hug, his mouth basically a wavering line as he tried not to let any of the tears beading in his eyes fall. He already still had a lingering headache from the migraine yesterday, crying wouldn’t help any!! But…

“He’s such a butt-face,” Ienzo sniffled against Demyx, holding onto him tightly. “I know everyone’s not really gone, I feel like Zexion a-and I have been the ones saying that more than anyone! I-I know it’s illogical…”

“...but he’s our dad,” Ienzo warbled quietly. “He’s not supposed to say stuff like that to us.”

You weren’t supposed to place the burden of guilt concerning lives on your kid. You weren’t supposed to pit the affection of a parent against what your child thought was right. You weren’t supposed to make your child choose to make you an enemy. 

Maybe that was a naive way to think…but it was something Ienzo and Zexion had grown up feeling secure in. That his dads, and all of his other parents, were people he could trust and feel secure, if nothing else, in their love for them. Vexen breaking that trust…

Ienzo was more than happy to let Zexion nestle inside his consciousness to recover from that kind of wound. 

“Yeah,” Demyx sighed. “Yeah, that’s true. Honestly? Thus the butt-face. Sorry, I know it’s not really a jokey time, I just…it’s hard to know what to say when someone pulls something like that,” Demyx admitted, pouting a bit, “...I could go pile sand in front of his gate? Make it real uncomfortable for him the next time he tries to open it? Full sand, all over him.”

Ienzo sniffled a bit, before nodding. “Add cone snail shells into it. Even if he disregards them, he’ll know what they are, and that sends a message.”

The message being that Vexen was being a butt-face and they weren’t happy with him.

Again, another serious nod. “I will. Soooo many snail shells. Maybe even a few with snails still hanging out in them.”

“...you know what we should do?” Demyx said after a moment, “You should come to band practice with me. We’re not technically having band practice today, but I bet we could convince the others. It’d be nice to hang out with people who aren’t acting like total freaks for a while. Besides, I haven’t introduced the band to you yet!”

It was a kind offer. And while Demyx had introduced Miku and Sam to Zexion (and he already knew Amaina, of course), Zexion telling him about them wasn’t quite the same as actually meeting them himself. 

…just… These were Demyx’s friends, and…

Ienzo gave Demyx a shy look. “...are you sure? I’m not sure how fun I’d really be to be around right now…”

“You won’t have to be fun, you just get to sit and bask in other people having fun, which will boost your mood!” Demyx said cheerfully, “...what, doesn’t it work like that for you too?”

Ienzo nudged Demyx slightly. “It does…but it can still be a bummer having a party pooper at the start of people having fun. I suppose I’m a little worried about making a good impression on your friends.”

“Well, if you’re not up to it, I’m not gonna fuss at you until you go… this time! Mostly because you were super sick yesterday, so insisting feels kinda mean spirited,” Demyx admitted, “Well, forget that then. I interrupted your reading. What were you reading? Ooooor what are we reading?” Demyx smirked, giving Ienzo a wink. 

“It’s mostly just because of that, than my mood,” Ienzo admitted in turn. “I’m confident I can project myself fine, but I still am nursing a bit of a headache. I think Isa might just full on tackle me if I start playing around with different concepts.”

Smiling bashfully at the wink, Ienzo picked his book back up. “I didn’t want to get too overly invested, so it’s just some light reading. It’s a series of accounts from a Dr. Lirrid regarding the biology he observed while residing on a remote island west of Basacta. I was just reading the chapters on coconut crabs.” Ienzo gave Demyx an astounded look. “Did you know they sometimes eat birds?”

“Ew, gross,” Demyx blanched, before considering, “Well, I guess we do too. I’m surprised they don’t eat coconuts. Wait, do they eat coconuts and birds? How strong are these crabs???” 

Ienzo’s eyes widened and he nodded in wonder. “They eat coconuts too. They’re recorded eating nuts, fruits, and carrion as well, but apparently they can just straight up hunt birds. And not song birds, though given their location as generally tropic-dwelling species, that makes sense. These accounts describe coconut crabs hunting red-footed boobies.”

“And they’re insanely strong,” Ienzo rambled, “I’m a little hesitant to just accept this one account, but the author is positing that coconut crabs have the strongest grip strength of any land-dwelling creature except alligators. I’d be fascinated to learn just what kind of equipment they used, but they said they got a measurement of 3300 Newtons. That’s insanely strong.”

“Mhm, mhm, so wheeeeere are these coconut crabs in the world? Because we’re not going there. Noooo way hosey,” Demyx said, shaking his head, “Nuh uh. I feel like there’s gotta be beaches without finger-snapping crabs out there. I need my hands! They’re how I strum my sitar!” 

“They live in tropical atolls, so I think that’s easily avoided,” Ienzo smiled up at his boyfriend fondly. “You said Sam is from Novis, right? You should ask him if they have coconut crabs there. Better to know ahead of time before you plan any trips.”

“I’ll ask him about it. And if he says yes, I’ll ask him how he’s kept his fingers. And toes. Well, maybe he hasn’t kept his toes? I guess I’ve never directly looked at his feet?” Demyx admitted, “He could be missing toes.”

“Man, what are you two talking about?” Dilan muttered from his bunk, peeking out towards the back of the carriage, where the sitting area was, “You make it hard to pretend to be asleep when you’re talking nonsense.”

“They’re talking about beach crabs. Now roll back over and get back in there, Xaldin, we’re not done having this conversation,” Isa grumbled from his own bunk. 

“He could also look different from how he projects mentally,” Ienzo hummed quietly, “So I think asking would be the easiest way for an accurate answer. Though, as a fellow musician, I think he’d understand the importance of protecting one’s fingers from juggernaut crustaceans.”

Ienzo perked up as Dilan called out, a mildly sheepish look crossing his face…before he wilted a little. …ah, if they were…doing that now, then…yeah. Probably a good idea not to head into Destiny Island.

-

Vexen stood at the small training ground of the island, having been waylaid on his way to visit Aeleus by Aqua, Xaldin, Luis, and Aeleus himself. 

Not much had happened yet but essentially the group recapping everything that had happened the day before, partly to confirm with each other things they had only heard second or third hand, partly to catch up those among themselves who hadn’t been a part of any of the events of the previous day at all.

Luis looked a little ill, sweating a bit as he confessed, “Guys, I know we’re literally going down a straight road right now, but driving the carriage and being here is a challenge, can we move on to the bit where Vexen agrees to stop being a git about all of this and I can focus?”

“Absolutely not,” Vexen said simply.

“Stubborn thick-headed sheep’s ass,” Luis grumbled. 

Aeleus crossed his arms, looking down at Vexen with stern disappointment…and, honestly? Some anger as well. “I do not care about your grief, we don’t treat the kids like that.”

Aqua sighed shortly and ran a hand through the side of her hair, nodding. “You know, the whole, ‘I’m going to experiment on all of you whether you like it or not’ is you being a jack-ass, Vexen, but at least we know it now. So, yes,” she stressed, talking with a slow deliberateness as she leaned towards Vexen, “I would like your help reforming Terra, that’d be great, as something for me to participate in alongside your expertise, thank you Vexen.”

“But outside of that?” She straightened and gave him a mildly disgusted look. “That was one of the initial points we decided on, we don’t make the kids feel guilty for the things they had to do. And we certainly don’t spring new constructs on them while they’re sleeping. Ienzo and Lauriam may be adults now, but that doesn’t change that doing those things still hurts them.”

“Not to mention the rest of us could have used a heads up that Marluxia was about to spring back and Lauriam was about to become the size of an actual damn flower,” Xaldin said, “You seriously didn’t think that wouldn’t need some help? Some damn prep work?”

“Lauriam agreed to the experiment,” Vexen said, undaunted, “I can’t take into account setbacks like ‘he didn’t believe me’ or ‘didn’t mean it’. He told me he was unhappy controlling his own life, I told him I’d turn him into a chibi if it’d make him happier, he agreed it would. And Marluxia was not exactly around to ask.”

“That has literally nothing to do with what I just said. You hear yourself, right? Literally nothing to do with it,” Xaldin said, “We all needed a heads up because regardless of what the damn garden duo said, of course this was going to need help you MAD SCIENTIST BI–”

“Vexen, mate, going back to Aeleus’ point,” Luis said, “You really tried to browbeat your kid into not telling the other kids you were about to entirely change the makeup of their brain? I’m not even trying to be angry when I ask if you’ve lost it. That’s… that’s a whole thing you did.”

“I fully intend to bring back everyone, regardless of consent,” Vexen said. “Asking permission is just empty courtesy by this point. And Zexion telling the others put at risk a plan to bring everyone back. Yes, he is my son. But he was putting the family at risk.” Vexen frowned. “And I will not allow the others to die to appease him.”

Aqua gave Vexen a dark look. “You really think the way you brought Mar back was something good? You think you can just bring back everyone the way you want, and that’s better than actually working with us, who know our Nobodies better than anyone, to bring them back with more stability? Ienzo was shaking all night from how far he pushed himself to fix your selfish, haphazard impulse.”

“Our family isn’t in danger, when it comes to taking in our Nobodies,” Aeleus said, looking Vexen over with a bit more concern now. “No one is dead, and taking more time to consider things isn’t killing them now, or later. We know now, do you still feel as though our son, who is around and in front of us currently, is a threat?”

“The biggest threat Zexion has faced,” Vexen said, “Is Ienzo.”

“God dammit man,” Xaldin grumbled, crossing his arms and taking a frustrated step back.

“I love both of my sons,” Vexen said, stony and blank-faced, “But the one I raised can be wiped out in a moment, on a whim, by his twin. And while in concept I am aware that it is the wrong way to think about this, I am a nobody. I do not know how Even will feel about this, when he returns. Perhaps he will not care. He’s a very practical-minded man, very literal. As am I. But he, as a somebody, might consider me, and the people I lost, mere interesting experiments that went exceptionally well. He may view Zexion as a fascinating little construct. We may all be forgotten, as we were designed to be.”

“I cannot go into base essence and leave this to the whims of people who do not see us as worth saving,” Vexen whispered, glaring at the others, “I cannot allow it. Something must be done before I go.”

“...look, Vexen, it’s not that I don’t get it,” Xaldin whispered, “But this isn’t the way. We can’t just suddenly make this shit an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ thing. We’re literally them. We’re just… old. We’ve seen too much shit. I get that. But we still have to give them their lives back, and… we gotta trust that they’ll figure this all out on their end.”

“This literally did not come up until I forced the issue,” Vexen said. “I will not be told no.” 

Aeleus’ eyes widened, and for a moment the ground rumbled with his fury. 

…Ienzo could never find out about this. Perhaps he would understand what Vexen was going through, but given how Isa described how Ienzo had told him what happened to Zexion? …it’d break his heart. 

“Dude,” Aqua scoffed incredulously, “No, seriously, are you hearing yourself? It literally didn’t come up?? Are you forgetting who preserved their Nobody before anyone thought it was possible?! The son you apparently don’t think you raised! WHAT DO YOU MEAN you don’t think we care about our Nobodies?! You’re the one who told me to bring Terra back into base essence rather than trying to heal him then and there! Sora lights up so bright Dicea might already be able to see the fireworks at even the mention that he might be able to bring Roxas back! Fuck, man, I’m half expecting that the biggest fight we’ll have trying to find Dilan is Lauriam trying to stop Xaldin from going into essence.”

Aeleus had been quiet, the ground stable once more, but that didn’t mean his anger had cooled. Instead, he stepped forward, looking down at Vexen with a steel gaze, and picked him up over his shoulder, heading for the cave. “You are worth saving,” he said firmly. “You are worth saving now, before you sabotage your own relationships.”

“Oh geez,” Luis said, scrambling out of the way as Aeleus went past, “Hey, we’re being cool and chill and fun with our fighting still, right? Please do not make me tackle another one of us because we’re gonna try to beat some sense into someone! Aeleus?”

“I slap Marluxia one time–”

“Twice,” Luis groaned, the two following after Aeleus.

“I feel like twice in one incident is once,” Xaldin argued. 

“We’re not arguing the technicalities of ‘don’t hit the guy you’re trying to have a relationship with because you’re pissed’!” Luis griped as they headed to the cave, “That’s what spars are for! So you don’t do that! It’s disrespectful!”

Vexen, in turn, didn’t fight Aeleus. He just crossed his arms and glared at the floor. Determined in his logic. 

His family needed to be saved.

Asking permission meant allowing any of the rest of their family to veto someone being saved.

Allowing a family member to veto meant killing that family member based on emotional convenience.

Vexen could not allow that to be a variable. 

Thus, he could not indulge a discussion without putting his family at risk.

“...I’m aware you didn’t know,” Vexen whispered, still glaring at the ground, “But I do wish I had been given more of a heads up that you had no Nobody. Before I fell in love with someone I believed was in the same situation as I was.”

“I’m aware,” Aqua rolled her eyes a little, “that this isn’t the time for it, so I’m not about to pull an Aeleus and throw you over my shoulders…but are you planning on seeing Marluxia and Lauriam, Xaldin? Depending on how he’s feeling, Mar might only make you grovel a little for hitting him.”

“I still don’t know for sure,” Aeleus said quietly as he steadily walked to the cave, “Though I believe it’s the most possible truth.”

“Does that make me lesser to you, if I never made a proper Nobody? Is your love contingent on that?”

“‘Depending on how he’s feeling’? You heard everything that happened yesterday, how do you think he’s feeling?” Xaldin scoffed, “I literally have no idea what would happen if I dared to step a foot in there. Literally no idea. I don’t know if you recall, but the last time I fucked up and fucked around with Lauriam in a ‘weird’ situation, he blew up into a fire flower. And Marluxia is the emotional one. Do you want someone to die?”

“‘Lesser’. It’s telling, that’s the word you went for,” Vexen said, “My love is not contingent on such practicalities, and that is largely the burden. It’s very impractical to love someone who will move on from the loss of me without anything amiss. Even will return and nothing will change for you. I’ve understood more, Xaldin’s fury with Dilan, since your revelation. It’s maddening, to realize I am a temporary stand-in for my love’s true partner.” Vexen glared at the floor. “Maddening.” 

“Pissed,” Aqua said with a light confidence, “But once he’s worked through being just pissed, he’ll be pissed and other things. So, yeah, depending on what those are. They’re both quick to jump the crossbolt, but given the space and time to settle, they spend that time thinking. But, I got the answer I was asking for, no, you’re not going to see them.”

“It’s the word I used because it’s how you’re treating us,” Aeleus hummed. “Like none of us could possibly see your point of view or understand your pain, and thus we are things to be controlled and disregarded. Like we cannot be trusted to make our own choices, and the ones we are fated to make are ones you are convinced will always be the wrong ones.”

“Such as, fallacy one,” Aeleus said as he stepped into Vexen’s lab, gently setting his husband down, “Assuming that nothing would change in my feelings or relationships from you going back to base essence.”

As they gathered in the lab, Aeleus nodded once. “And fallacy two… Zexion, Ienzo.”

It wasn’t actually them, Aeleus wouldn’t do this to his sons right now, but instead, peeking out from around Aeleus were two memories of Ienzo and Zexion, age 7. The two looking far more similar than they’d grow up converging from, the hair color really the only difference now, and even that was difficult to tell, considering that Zexion’s was still firmly blue, rather than the shade it had faded into. 

Without a keen eye and dedicated observation? They looked identical. 

Giving them an encouraging look, Aeleus nodded to Vexen. “Please listen to your father’s argument, and point out any fallacies you notice.”

“Oooooh, this feels weirdly intimate,” Luis whispered, sweating a bit as he entirely subconsciously pulled out a flask, taking a sip of it despite it doing literally nothing for him in Even’s world, “Maybe I should focus entirely on driving.”

“What, to keep the horses from veering off the entirely straight road we’re going to be on literally the whole day?” Xaldin said, “Don’t go anywhere, there’s still so much shit we have to deal with. And no, I’m not visiting Lauriam’s mind today. Literally one of his ‘big things’ before he left was wishing people would leave him the hell alone. He will not appreciate me busting in to see him right now.”

Vexen in turn, shot Aeleus a frustrated look… before his expression calmed, practiced in gazing at his son as he looked down at the two. “Boys, I intend to bring back the Nobodies as chibis connected to everyone's mind, regardless of if the others wish for me to do this or not.” 

“Suit yourself,” Aqua shrugged, “Guess you’ll see Mar’s cool-ass sculpture another time.”

Zexion and Ienzo both glanced nervously between their parents. 

“...are you two fighting?” Zexion unsurely asked. 

Ienzo made a small worried sound before he shuffled over to hold Zexion’s hand. “...I’m not going to let you hurt Zexion,” he whispered, sounding honestly terrified to disagree with his dad. 

“Mhm. Mhm.” Xaldin hummed, crossing his arms. “...he made a statue?”

“Sculpture,” Luis corrected.

“If you try to say something stupid like ‘statues are stone’ I’m gonna punch you in the arm. How’s a sculpture different from a statue?” Xaldin asked. 

Luis warily looked at his friend, who was slowly lifting his hand to punch him in the arm. “....you’ve really put me in a corner here. So, like… sculptures can be made of… other material–ow!”

Vexen ignored the whispering of the peanut crowd, frowning at Ienzo’s fear. “Your father and I are having a spirited philosophical debate–”

“Tell him about how he’s a danger to his brother,” Xaldin called, “That’ll go over well!”

Vexen tsked, now shooting Xaldin a glare, before refocusing on the young memories. “...they’re not ‘brothers’, they’re… Aeleus why are you putting me through this? To prove I’m uncouth? That my fears are insulting? How can no one else see the cruelty of leaving this up for debate? This shouldn’t be a debate. I do not want to argue for the lives of the Nobodies, when I know, in practicality, there is no argument I can make other than begging to be considered with any value!”

“We are temporary. We are false. We are evil by design,” Vexen said, staring miserably at Zexion, “My desire to undo all of this could in and of itself be my design misconstruing its own purpose, trying to find some loops around to keep ‘Even’ asleep and safe. My fears are literally imaginary. There are no good arguments to keep us, not practically, scientifically, philosophically.”

“It cannot be a debate,” Vexen whispered, “We would lose.”

“Eh, semantics,” Aqua said lightly, “Guess you can decide if it’s more of a statue or a sculpture when you eventually go see it, it’s not like you have to take our word for it.”

The child memories looked over to Xaldin in concern before huddling together more. Zexion standing taller as Vexen got more heated while Ienzo froze, looking up at his dad with muted panic. 

“I’m trying to take a step away from abstraction,” Aeleus answered, “No one is arguing the worth of your life, or any Nobody’s. We’re arguing how you’re treating all of us--”

“That’s a fallacy!!” Ienzo practically shouted, hopping in front of Zexion with his arms spread, eyes wide in panic. Covering for his other half whose stoic protection shattered as Vexen addressed him specifically. Looking like he’d been slapped. “Zexion’s not evil, and the concept of evil itself is part of a fabricated religious dichotomy!”

“And it’s a fallacy,” he continued, shaking a little but not backing down, “to say he’s false! He’s a part of my brain, he is my brain, and so am I! So if he’s false, then the very nature of ego and self-recognition is false. And that’s a philosophical choice, so it has no real answer, outside of the meaning each person decides for themself!”

“And it’s a fallacy,” Ienzo’s voice squeaked, looking at his dad with tears starting to shimmer, “that he’s temporary. A-at least no more than anyone else. Zexion’s only gonna die when I die…”

“...Daddy?” Ienzo asked, voice soft and frightened. “...are you dying?”

There was silence for a moment. From the peanut gallery and from Aeleus and Vexen. Staring at the boys. 

“...that was very good, Ienzo.” Vexen said softly, reaching over to place a thumb against the boy's eye, brushing away the tear, “Well reasoned, you should be quite proud of that argument.”

Vexen didn’t know if he was dying. That was, admittedly, part of the problem. 

He knew in practical terms he wasn’t. But those practical terms included the knowledge that he had never really lived. The only way to kill him being death of the ego. An ego that, in theory, would simply… join Even’s. 

No, not in theory. Practicality again.

It just… didn't feel like that, these days. Watching the others leave, one after another, Vexen had looked for signs of them in the Somebodies, and just… failed to see his lost family in any meaningful way. Did Sora getting a little sarcastic occasionally show a glimpse of Roxas, with his clever wit and stoic determination against the world? Did Riku seem harder to rile up, Ansem’s patience and self-sacrifice tempering Riku’s brash personality? Did Larxene come in through Demyx’s anger, Marluxia peek through in Lauriam’s fighting style, Saix who was lost so long, long ago only able to reach out and ask for comfort in literal whimpers and whines? 

Vexen didn’t know. Every day he felt more and more like he was just looking for things that weren’t there. Desperately wanting to see patterns and correlation in events that had nothing to do with each other.

He hadn’t known for sure Marluxia would return. It had been hard to show any regret for how it happened, when in front of him was a man he had been worried had been dead and lost forever, whole and alive and pissed at him. How could Vexen regret it? When it had confirmed the life he had been afraid was gone for so long now? Marluxia proof that his family was still there?

…Vexen had known, in some ways, that bringing Marluxia back would be the real danger. He had only managed to silence Zexion for a moment, lashing out at him and frightening him in a way that Vexen had known would work on his son. Vexen had vague hopes of talking to Marluxia before he could tell the others what had happened, but in retrospect those hopes had been foolish. Marluxia was impossible to control. Vexen’s plan put to risk the second he had been brought back.

Vexen still couldn’t bring himself to regret it. 

Marluxia was alive. That was worth the anger and fury and betrayal Vexen was staring down now. Of course it was. The life of any of his family would be. 

Certainly the discomfort of his son was worth it too…

…but it was hard to freeze his heart to his children's pain, here in these forms, staring at him with tears and worry and anger in their eyes. Aeleus was not playing fair. But, well, he was always much better at emotional debates than Vexen was. 

……it felt selfish to concede this. But perhaps risking being told no was worth salvaging Vexen’s relationships. If not practically, then emotionally. Perhaps he could risk the Somebodies all agreeing their Nobodies deserved a second life. However true or false that life might be.

“I…am not dying, no.” Vexen hoped. Unwilling to say anything else to the images of his sons. “I am working something out. I’m sorry I frightened you.”

While Ienzo had usually lit up at praise, and in particular praise from his dads that sounded like that, he didn’t look very happy. 

You could not sacrifice the present for the past or future. That was a lesson that Even had once tried to teach Aeleus, though it had taken staring the consequence of that sacrifice in the face for him to really learn it. The past was how you got here, it gave you motivations and lessons to take forward; the future was a wish, one worth taking steps toward so that things might be better, the hope people needed to truly live. 

But the present was the only thing that was truly real. And giving it up for the past or the future meant that you tarnished the path you had walked, and burned the seeds you were desperately wanting to see grow. 

Aeleus was already missing one husband. But Even was not more important than Vexen. ‘Trading’ one for the other would not make his life better, it would not make him not miss the other. Ideally, whole, there would be both, and finally then his family would be together again. Vexen no more dead than Even was now. 

And if they wished to conceptualize him more fully? Then there was no rush, and they would not sacrifice the happiness and stability of their future to make sure Vexen returned as himself correctly. 

Ienzo’s mouth wavered in a line before he surged forward, hugging Vexen’s legs and pressing his face into his stomach. Though, when he looked up it was with an angry pout. “You have to apologize to Zexion too! And yourself! You guys always say that it’s not fair to hurt other people when you’re angry, and you said horrible stuff!”

Zexion looked to the side, crossing his arms and uncomfortable to be pointed out as the center of attention too.

Vexen sighed, lightly running his hand through Ienzo’s hair. “...Aeleus. Please make this stop. If I’m going to apologize, it hurts to say it this way.”

Aeleus lifted his head slightly. “These are your memories, that’s why I brought us to your world. I just lifted them. If you want to dismiss them, that’s in your control.”

Vexen still ran his hand through Ienzo’s hair. 

A brief, flickering memory. A little, false creature, begging to be treated well. 

Vexen’s heart squeezed painfully, as he dismissed the two memories. Looking away as they disappeared, feeling ill as he did so. He knew they were not like himself, or Ienzo or Zexion… but it felt too similar, in this moment. 

“...I feel like I’m going insane,” Vexen admitted softly. “It is too hard, to exist this way. Something must change, and soon. I am being damaged.”

“Yeah,” Xaldin whispered, “Yeah, I get you.”

Aqua sighed before walking out of the peanut gallery, softly punching Vexen’s shoulder. “We’re really accelerating now, huh. Couldn’t have done this while we weren’t on the road?” She smiled a little, knowing well that Terra had started it. “Talk to all of us, we can talk about bringing our Nobodies back if you’re worried about Even losing some of the tech you figured out. Apologize to your kids. Then we’ll figure stuff out, okay?”

She looked back to Xaldin, gaze softening. “For both of you.”

Xaldin ducked his head, looking away. Tense and clearly conflicted. 

“Oh, damn it all, again?” Luis whispered, seeing Vexen sit down on one of his uncomfortable little stools, the usually rigid Nobody looking oddly frail and defeated. “Sure… night three of this. Not like we’re all trying to travel unfamiliar roads or anything.”

“Shut the hell up, man. Who let the alcoholic drive the carriage anyway,” Xaldin grumbled, turning to leave the lab. 

“I’m not drinking… wish I was though.” Luis sighed, following him out. 

Vexen stared at nothing for a while… before he pulled out a clipboard. “So much to do today, so many people to talk to…”

Aqua scoffed, turning back to the others. “What, are you crazy? Putting that kind of time limit on it will make all of Vex’s talks be as brief as Laurie’s, and will likely completely miss the point just as bad too.”

Holding herself high, Aqua put her hands on her hips, going Mom-mode on the men around her. “Vexen, wake up and drink some water, have a snack. And only when you’re finished with that, apologize to your damn kids, then put on your science hat. If having a thorough, well-thought out plan with everyone on the same page takes days, it takes days. You’re older than all of us, you can hold out long enough to do this right.”

“Aeleus, you make sure he actually does that, and check up on Kairi and Axel. Demyx is feeling a lot better today, but Axel was hit hardest yesterday, and I don’t care what Riku says about being built different, we all get disoriented right after waking up and Kairi will absolutely let herself get loopy to avoid missing out on enjoying being out of the factory.”

“Luis,” Aqua turned, “Next pit stop, we’ll switch, take a nap. And don’t get drunk during it, I know getting sober sucks, but with Ienzo still sick, if an emergency happens don’t be more than buzzed.”

“Xaldin…?” Aqua sighed. “Just do some thinking, alright, man? Or I’m going to risk tipping the carriage over trying to put you in hug-jail.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Luis sighed, giving a two finger salute before disappearing, returning to focus on the, admittedly, very little he had to do right now for driving the carriage. 

“Water? Ah, right. I suppose I should,” Vexen agreed, looking tired but seeing the wisdom in what she was saying. Disappearing next, his surface thoughts now in a separate part of his mind. 

“Heh. It is nice to have our little drill sergeant back, at least. We did miss you, Aqua,” Xaldin said, “Thinking huh… well, I can’t say I don’t need to. Man there’s a lot to think about… You’re really going to bring back Terra, Aqua?” 

Aeleus nodded, gently squeezing Aqua’s shoulder before he disappeared as well, more family to take care of. Thankfully he doubted it could possibly be more emotionally charged. 

Aqua gave Xaldin a little smile. She missed them too. Though her next look was a little exasperated. “Of course I am. What, was me drenching my world in a healing technique not clue enough I didn’t want to take him back into essence?”

She gave a short sigh. “...and it’s not me not being able to let go of my Terra that did die. I know Terra isn’t him…even if I think I should’ve let him know that more before we left the factory.” Aqua looked away with a frown for a moment before looking back to Xaldin. “Terra’s important to me in a different way Terra was. And he’s important to all of you too. If we can bring him back in a way that the two of us are more balanced, like how Ienzo and Zexion are, or what Ienzo did for Lauriam and Marluxia? Then…yeah, obviously.”

“I know he’s inside me, but I miss his dumb, dorky laugh,” she smiled fondly, “Call it demanding, but I want to be able to talk with him face to face again.”

“I mean, that makes sense to me, I guess I just thought…” Xaldin sighed, his dreads falling over his face for a moment as he glared at the ground, before he pushed them back, “...I guess I was thinking like Vexen is. Yeah, bringing you guys back was the goal, but after a while it felt like… getting rid of us was the bigger goal. Like it wasn’t about bringing back the Somebodies, but making sure the Nobodies left.”

“And yeah. It’s really confusing to have one part of yourself be okay with that, see the logic in it, even kind of want it,” Xaldin scowled, “And the other half want to scream at the damn sky about it. It’s hard not to resent what’s happening and also feel dumb as hell for resenting what’s happening. Because we have ‘being okay with this’ built into us… so why the hell aren’t we?”

“Yeah. I don’t know… When you bring Terra back? You really might want to stress that you wanted him back, and not our poor guy that we lost that day,” Xaldin murmured, “Because based on Marluxia, and Vexen, and me? I’m betting a lot of us were battling this same feeling. Some of us just didn’t say it before we left.”

Uh-oh, looks like someone’s going into hug-jail anyway. 

Undaunted in the slightest by their height and size difference, Aqua bear hugged Xaldin as if she really was cradling him completely in her arms. “From, you know, the literal two days I’ve been back and have had to figure out everything that’s happened in the past year…it was bringing us back. And trying to make sure you guys didn’t lose your minds. But never to get rid of you.”

She snorted softly. “I dunno, big guy, why isn’t everyone the exact same as they were when they were born, following the same rules that created them? Every living thing will die one day, and yet? We all struggle against it, no matter how much we understand it, or try to come to terms. The best anyone negotiates is going out on their own terms, having lived exactly the way they wanted to, no regrets.”

Aqua rubbed Xaldin’s back a little, her voice softening. “...I will. That’s another nice thing about bringing him back, I’ll get the chance to fix old mistakes. It’s a hard thing to do when, and I’ll say it again, you wake up for like five minutes not knowing a damn thing about what’s going on. Bet he’ll have stuff he wanted to ask and tell me too, know Mar does.”

“Phooo,” Xaldin huffed, wrapping his arms around Aqua’s waist and holding her back, “Aqua, girl, when I say you missed out on soooo much drama. I really don’t know how much you remember. But holy fuck, before I go, I have to show you the flower explosion memories. It was so much. Kind of impressive, how much it was.”

“....man, I’m gonna be the last Nobody,” Xaldin realized. “...well, no. I guess Zexion’s still here. Still. The last one to give up the ghost. I really failed that race, huh.”

“From just the stuff I’ve heard about so far, and the bits I remember? You guys have never made life boring,” Aqua laughed, before snickering lower. “Mar’s gonna hold that over you forever. You really dug your own grave making that bet with him.”

“Man, I really intended to go through with it. My thought was, the flower’s not talking to anyone, he’s all pissed off at us, maybe he just needs someone to help make it fun for him.” Xaldin frowned. “Because that’s literally how I was thinking about it all back then. That it was fun. Scary, sure, but I’m a sadist, that was part of the fun for me. I believed as much as anyone that we’d all be better off whole.”

“I think what I was afraid was gonna happen to Marluxia, literally happened to me. More time went by. I saw more and more people go… and it stopped being fun. I started to panic. Being whole felt like a death sentence rather than a relief,” Xaldin closed his eyes, “I wish I had gone ages ago, by this point. I shouldn’t have waited.”

“It does sound nicer, thinking it’d be fun. Less, horrifying existential terror, and more finally relaxing back to have the best gossip session imaginable.” Aqua started to rock the two of them gently. “...sounds a lot like you. Making sure the kids, and, damn, everyone, makes it through alright, teasing and taunting to make it fun or just drive someone forward through spite, and then realize right at the end that it would’ve been easier for you too with another hand.”

“I’m sorry it’s just scary in a shitty way now,” she murmured. “I wish by now we figured out a way for Dilan to wake up, and for you to be stable without you having to swirl up into him first. But even for those of us that are Somebody and Nobody together right now? Don’t forget you’re not alone, alright? Not that we’d ever let you.”

“Thanks, Aqua.” Xaldin murmured, closing his eyes… before he chuckled, “We should get out of the old man’s head. I’m sure all the sentimentality is starting to give him hives.” 

She snickered. “Hey, we’re not the ones who’d have to hear about it in person. He can deal with it to make up for Aeleus having to pull out the cheat cards.”

-

0◞0

“Eugh, no.”

ᵔ◞ᵔ

“No fucking way.”

•◞•

“Why do you keep making your mouth like that, it looks horrible.”

Lauriam rolled his eyes as he popped back to full size. “Amaina-chan only has a mouth when she’s talking, and we can not pull off the deadpan thing Zexion’s got happening. I don’t know what a perpetual mouth would look like otherwise.” Giving Marluxia a cool look, Lauriam huffed, “Why don’t you try some designs, then, if you’re determined to be the picky one about it.”

“Hm,” Marluxia sniffed, turning his nose up, “I don’t see why we need to pick a design at all. I’ve already landed on perfectio - ow, brute!”

Lauriam rolled his eyes again as he let Marluxia bat his ear-pinching hand away. “If you’re so perfect, then you know why. You can feel it too--we’re weaker when we’re both like this. The chibi size isn’t just an aesthetic, like Ienzo explained, I guess he figured out it’s a power-saving technique…or something. At least having to do with the whole ‘power balance’ thing.”

Marluxia pouted. “...I still don’t see why I have to be the one two feet tall.” He kept the look up at Lauriam for about five more seconds before he scoffed, looking away. Yeah, yeah, it wasn’t just him, if they were going to make this arrangement work, as Ienzo suggested they talk out, and they had, then they needed to work together. 

Ugh, but chibis so weren’t their style!

“Fine,” Marluxia griped, taking a breath. “I’ll show you how the design process should go anyway.”

❀ㆁ、ㆁ

Lauriam paused, looking at the simplified but…elegant form Marluxia showed off. It was still a bit cutesy, sure, but…it felt a little more…he wouldn’t call it realistic, but--

❀ㆁωㆁ More us, wouldn’t you say~?

Lauriam huffed softly, smiling a bit. “Sure, sure, you win.”

❀ㆁω< I always do~

-

Tim, Kimiko and Cali all stared up at the administrator, Tim being the one to say what was on their mind, as he demanded, “Why can’t we challenge each other to the grudge match tournament?”

The administrator–a volunteer for the increased workload of the castle during the holiday–didn’t hesitate for a second in replying, “Because you keep calling it a ‘tournament’ and I don’t think you actually know what you’re trying to sign up for.”

“Mommy said that I can only participate in the grudge match tournament if I can get a referee to actually ref the fight!” Kimiko explained, the other two nodding fervently as she explained, “So you have to let us sign up for the tournament, or I’m not going to get to play!”

“Again. Not a tournament. Not even a ‘play’ thing. Very real fights,” the administrator said. “Based on grudges.”

“I want to do a real fight with my mom, if I add her to my list, could we sneak Tim and Kimiko in on the side?” Cali asked. 

“You shouldn’t fight your mom.” The administrator said dryly, “And kids aren’t allowed to participate anyway.”

“They can if they have parental approval!” Cali said, waving her paper, pointing to a signature.

“You got your mom’s permission to fight her in a public grudge match?” the admin asked, borderline impressed.

“Timmy’s mom signed it for us.” Kimiko smiled brightly. “She’s a parent!”

“Not how that works,” the admin said, before looking up as the door opened, “Good day, welcome… sorry, you look familiar, have we met before?”

“You’ve probably seen me around,” King Sou said, coming up to the counter and going around the kids, “One form for… apologies, what was the name of this sparring thing–”

“Grudge Match Tournament!” Cali shouted. 

“It’s not called that,” the admin said quickly, pulling out the paper and passing it to Shin.

“Hey, why does he get to have a form, he’s not an adult,” Tim pointed out, puffing his cheek in annoyance.

“Teenagers are allowed to participate,” the administrator said at the same time as the king said, “I’m an adult.”

“UNFAIR! BIASED! I’M GONNA CHALLENGE KING AIICHI TO A GRUDGE MATCH SAYING HE NEEDS TO LET US PARTICIPATE IN THE TOURNAMENT!” Cali shouted. 

“I wonder if Bianka and Mike are having any better luck with the city office,” Tim whispered.

“You’re kind of a prince, Timmy, can you order the admin to let us in the tournament?” Kimiko whispered.

Tim looked skeptical, but gamely squared his shoulders and lifted his head, “In the name of, uh, the Ouma family, I order you to let us in the tournament.”

“You’re not an Ouma,” the administrator pointed out, causing Tim to pout again, “Also, that’s not how anything works.”

“Can I order you to allow the children to participate?” Shin asked, having stepped aside to look over the form curiously.

“...no?” the administrator seemed to ask, “Who are you?”

“King Sou. From Luminary.” 

“..............” the administrator stared at the king, who smiled pleasantly back, “.....this feels above my pay grade.”

“The kids just want to have a playful spar with everyone else. There’s no harm in letting them. Besides, Timothy here is… well, some sort of nephew to me, I think,” Shin frowned, amused as Tim nodded agreeably back, clearly ready to encourage that line of thinking if it meant Shin went to bat for him, “And he used to be an assassin trainee, it feels silly to insist a spar is too dangerous for him.”

“I was totally an assassin trainee at one point,” Timothy agreed, “I stabbed my dad twice.”

“Very commendable,” Shin said approvingly.

“...........I will make a request to King Aiichi to consider their participation,” the administrator sighed, before mumbling, “Maybe we can get them wiffle bats or something…”

“Yay!” Cali shouted! “Thanks Tim’s Uncle King!”

Shin smiled contently at the kids, before heading out. Nodding to Deere, who was guarding the door. “I got what I came here for. I have a proposal for you, Deere.”

“You cannot be serious,” Deere said dryly, though practically under his breath as Sou came nearer, not about to make this a big deal in public. Around kids who were very obviously looking at the world around them for loopholes. For a moment it had almost felt like being back at camp, listening to kids beg for more serious spars, insisting they were ready… Weird. 

“I get it,” he muttered quietly to Sou, though his stressed out look was a bit more obvious, “That the royal family are far from exempt, or even expected to go easy on during this holiday, I’ve already seen the king in practically a wrestling match, but…” Deere sweated more. “You’re asking me to fight a noble? A royal?”

It almost felt like just asking one of their guards to arrest him preemptively was the smartest thing to do. 

“I’d do it myself, but I don’t hit very hard,” Shin said, smiling pleasantly down at the form, the two walking down the hall back to the lobby, “...plus the optics would be bad. It’s good, you don’t actually have to put on the form what the grudge is about, it’s not a public thing. When people ask, I can say I simply wished to immerse myself into the culture right away by participating in one of their rituals. Ideal, yes?”

Like the optics weren’t bad for Deere to do it?!?!?

“Yes, your grace,” Deere said weakly, realizing that he…really had no choice but to concede to the king’s wishes. This was literally an option to keep him safe, out of a fight, so it wasn’t like Deere even had an argument to say it was for the king’s safety. 

But saints high he was going to have to fight a Luminous prince and he couldn’t throw the fight because that’d be insulting to the Luminous king so Deere was really going to have to fight an elite and he’d be arrested and his family shamed and thrown into the Indentured Program again and it didn’t matter that it was shut down and the process illegal, they’d make an exception just for Deere because of how egregious his actions were.

“I know I can count on you, Deere. I’ve seen you spar before, you’re very impressive,” Shin said cheerfully, entirely failing to recognize Deere’s concern as he turned to his butler, “If you can? I really just want you to… really get him in the face. At least once. Kaito’s more vain than he is a coward, you could probably hit him all day anywhere else and he wouldn’t mind, but a black eye? That will leave an impression… and maybe then he’ll finally learn to mind his own business.” Shin’s grin tightened, his left eye twitching rapidly for a moment as he clutched the form tightly between his hands… before his expression smoothed out, still cheerfully, sincerely smiling as he said, “Or not, who knows. Either way, I can stop thinking about how much I’d like to punch him straight in the face, so that’s helpful.”

Oh god, that’d really be straight to execution, wasn’t it.

Deere gave Sou a despairing look. “...your grudge is about the prince-consort suggesting this trip in the first place? Even if it’s not something to announce publicly, I feel like it half misses the point of a grudge match if the other person doesn’t know what you have a grudge about.”

“Hmm, that’s true… I wish I understood more how the actual proceedings work, I’d hate to give him a heads up. I doubt anyone else would actually risk getting into a fight with the Luminary Prince, even one that’s been taken out of the direct line of power along with no inheritance,” Shin mused, entirely failing to see Deere sweat as he said, “People can be a bit odd about the idea of harming royals just as a point of principle. And even if they aren’t in that mindset themselves, there’s always the fear of those who do have that mindset turning it against you. You’ll probably be his only fight that day. I’m hoping him being unprepared for a spar that day will give you an advantage… Is it worth letting him prepare to make certain he knows why he’s being punched in the face…?”

Shin’s eyes suddenly widened, inspired, as he thumped his hand into his fist…before wincing, shaking out his wrist. “Ow, I hurt myself… but! Here’s an idea. Deere, you will go to Kaito and explain the grudge! Then it will look like I’m the one who’s trying to surprise him, which he won’t need to prepare for, because, well,” Shin rolled his eyes, gesturing to himself, “Obviously. So, Deere, you’ll find the prince, demand Kaito apologize for overstepping his bounds because you figured out that I’m planning to fight him, really drive in the point that he went behind my back to control my life for me, perhaps I should write you a script… how comfortable are you with saying slurs?”

Deere became gloomier and gloomier as Sou pointed out all the reasons, yeah. Only someone out of their mind would fight a royal. Except for another royal. “Yep, it’s certainly odd that people have reservations about harming the body or ego of a person, inheritance or not, that can ruin your life on a whim. What a strange thing to be hesitant about.”

Deere’s shadowed gaze slid over to Sou, just looking at his king for a moment. “...un. With all due respect, Sou…I feel like this plan might be straying from the purpose of this holiday to resolve grudges.”

Shin paused, considering that. “...are you suggesting punching Kaito square in his overreaching, overmeddling, smug, self-satisfied face by proxy wouldn’t be cathartic? I think it’d be a start.”

Deere sighed wearily. “I’m suggesting that hatching a convoluted scheme to publicly humiliate and catch your cousin off guard sounds more suited for a holiday for petty vengeance, rather than social acknowledgement and understanding.”

Shin considered that as well… before smiling softly. Lingering next to a glass door that showed out to a snow-covered patio, a muted winter garden past it.

“....did you know?” Shin said softly, staring at the garden, “There’s a god of petty-vengeance?”

“I haven’t thought of that in a long time,” he admitted, gaze far away. In another time. Another continent. “It was one of the gods you heard a lot about, growing up in a certain… way. Certain places. They were always spoken of in the same breath as the god of children. It was said if the god of children could not protect you? Then the other would at least ensure those that hurt you would know they had done something wrong…”

“...I haven’t thought about them in a long time,” Shin said again, looking away from the window, “As far as I’m aware, if such gods exist, they’ve never bothered fulfilling those promises. Some things you have to do for yourself.” Shin’s eyes were alight with passion. A near manic fire, as he smiled sharply. “Do not worry, Deere. I will ensure Kaito is aware of why you’re fighting him before it happens. And then I want you to really drive in the point.”

Deere gave Sou a curious look, before he stopped as well, listening to the pensive tone Sou took on. 

…a certain way, huh? Yeah, Deere bet. What did elites even have to worry or be vengeful about, other than the petty problems and squabbles they made themselves? It made perfect sense why Kimigashinean elites would deify their fighting, justifying it as holiness, just so no one could ever call them out on…

Deere blinked. 

…it was about children, and their protection?

Deere stiffened a bit. Wow…so terrible. It must hurt sooo much to have a paid vacation to a beautiful country and have one of the most respected government jobs a foreigner could ever get offered as practically a sure thing, you just had to agree, at the end. So awful to be given agency and opportunities while having your security ensured every step of the way. 

That was certainly the same, and thus the patron gods’ domain, as child abuse. 

Looking away, the shadow of gloom almost a cloud over Deere, he said softly, “As you wish, your grace.”

-

“ALRIGHT GUYS, GALS, NON-BINARY PALS, WE’VE BEEN GOING FOR A FEW HOURS NOW, BUT NOW THAT OUR LATE SLEEPERS ARE STARTING TO ARRIVE, WE ARE PUMPED AND NOOOOT SLOOOWING DOOOOWN!!!” Hizashi Yamada–though he preferred to be called his stage MC name, Present Mic–screamed out to the growing audience of the park, the park filling up with more and more participants and spectators as he shouted out, “OUR NEXT BATCH OF PLANNED MATCHES IS COMING UP IN A MOMENT, MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE TIME BETWEEN VIEWING EVENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AMAZING WORK THE FOOD STALLS AND GAME STANDS HAVE PUT INTO THE FESTIVAL AROUND US TOO! WHILE DAD’S BUSY KICKING HIS BOSS’S BUTT BECAUSE HE MESSED UP THE TIMESHEETS AGAAAAIN, THE KIDS CAN GO ENJOY SOME FRESHLY ROLLED COTTON CANDY AND PRACTICE FOR THEIR OWN GRUDGE MATCHES SOMEDAY WITH A GOOD ROUND OF WACK-A-MOOOOLE! FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!”

“This is not how I thought this festival would look.” Maki sighed. “It’s somehow even cheerier than the cheery festivals.”

“I think it’s partly the MC’s energy,” Shuichi mused, watching the man on the stage hype the crowd up and encourage them to enjoy the festivities while the next matches got announced and collected, making jokes with a few passing viewers that set the whole crowd laughing, “But you’re right, this is far cheerier than I was expecting this event to be.”

“People like getting a good grudge off their chest,” Elia hummed happily, lifted by the mood of the crowds. Like a good majority of the people around, she was dressed more for going to the gym than strolling around a wintery park, forgoing any elaborate style or layered warmth for easy-to-move-in clothes. “And it can be fun seeing a fight when you’re not worried about people taking it too far, or it being out of nowhere.”

“Though, Uncle Yama is definitely a big factor,” she snickered, watching as the MC led the crowd around the announcement stage in a whooping cheer. “His usual field is in wrestling, if that makes more sense.”

“Plus, it’s not like you two aren’t excited for your matches against Kaito,” she teased, giving her girlfriend a warm look. 

Maki smiled lightly, idly reaching over to interlock her fingers with Elia as she said, “Honestly, it sort of feels like old times, though through a warped view. We used to really love sparring our issues out, but Kaito got really shy about it after having too many anger incidents here.”

“I think a small affliction of electricity also was a factor,” Shuichi said pointedly, side-eyeing Maki.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Maki said, pointedly not looking back, “Tell him to stop licking electric sockets then. But yeah, while there’s certain ‘grudges’ we can work out today, we mostly signed up for the chance to indulge an old pastime of ours.”

“When I brought it up to Kaito, he said it’d be good exercise,” Shuichi said, gaze darkening, “So I’m going to ‘forgive him’ for making me fat.”

Above, Present Mic called out, “SO IF YOU’VE BEEN TO ANY EPAKOHTA IN, OH, I GUESS THE LAST FIVE YEARS, YOU KNOW AND LOVE THESE TWO! THAT’S RIGHT! OOOOOONCE AGAIN, VICTOR GOE HAS CHALLENGED OREN DEKU TO A GRUUUUUDGE MATCH! WHICH IS SURPRISING, SINCE I AM CERTAIN HE MOOOOOVED LAST YEAR! Seriously, did you come back to town to challenge the same guy, again?” Present Mic whispered to Victor, who had climbed up to the stage matting, Oren looking sheepish as he climbed the other side, waving to the sound of cheers. “You know the point of these battles is to stop having beef with the other person, right?”

Elia smiled as Maki interlocked their fingers, looking amused as she and Shuuichi bickered lightly about spars and the changes they had to adapt them to. “Does sound tough to keep spars going in a different framework. Honestly, I think the biggest difference is just…where you might have them, or who you have to notify in Dicea, from the ones you’ve told me about, Maki. Glad this is working as an excuse to have ‘em, though.”

And not just for enjoyment of the sport, as Elia snickered over Shuuichi’s glower. 

Not even bothering to check the tape on his hands, knowing everything was snug and aligned, Victor cocked his head and sneered at Oren. “Oh, we work things out. Then this dumbass goes and pulls some bullshit all over again, and I have to BUST MY DAMN ASS THROUGH THE SNOW JUST TO COME KICK YOUR ASS AGAIN, DEKU! Hah?! Did you really think Wyatt wasn’t gonna snitch about you pulling all nighters at work and still having class all day?! You MORON?!”

Oren smiled weakly, putting up his hands placatingly as he whimpered, “Vic-chan, please, it’s only for three months, i-it’s not like I was going to make myself sick again! I have it under control!”

At a different part of the festival, bringing Hideki an ice pack, Kaito and Kokichi looked over their shoulders at the stage, Kaito whistling low. “Maaaan, ‘Kichi, in a different timeline? That’s totally us, babe. I’d kick your ass too if you were working yourself into being sick again.”

Kokichi pouted a bit before snickering. “Hey, I’ve been putting in a lot of work not to do that anymore!! Which is why it’s a different timeline~ Aw…it’s kind of sweet, though? Epakohta’s a national holiday, so other cities and towns are having their own festival, so for that guy to completely forgo his own town’s festival just to worry about Oren?”

Kokichi paused, before glancing back more worried. “...that is an issue if he’s taking up more shifts than what’s healthy for him, though…”

“A bit unsurprising, if you have seen Victor Goe and Oren Deku’s matches before,” Hideki said, accepting the ice pack with a thankful nod, holding it to a slowly swelling cheek. “I believe they first started having official holiday matches when they were both in high school, and Victor has had different grudges every year. Not to say Oren hasn’t had some of his own, as well.”

Hideki sighed, giving Kokichi a small nod. “I will be sure to speak with Isabella tomorrow, so that she can ensure with her staff that their schedules aren’t drawing anyone too thin.”

“How was that last fight, Hideki?” Kaito asked, giving the older man a grin, “Man, I really missed out. Kinda wish we hadn’t made up before today. I’d be so pumped for our fight about now!”

Hideki laughed softly. “Are you sure you still don’t have any lingering resentment? We could simply fudge it if you’d still like to throw a punch or two, though I’ll ask you to hold off for the moment.” He sighed, leaning into the ice pack. “Mrs. Cubbinson really knows how to pack some heat. I feel like I should have expected it, it took really far too long to get the pothole by her house fixed.”

Kokichi sheepishly adjusted his scarf. “A fumble of procedure on our part, really.”

“Naaaaaaah,” Kaito said, as a man who had just watched like three different people punch out Aiichi and Hideki, looking light and refreshed, “No lingering resentments.”

Kaito, admittedly, had considered challenging Aiichi… but at the end of the day, Kaito hadn’t challenged anyone. His recent revelations about talking to Kazuo making him realize that he preferred talking things out with people, when he could. Hitting people hadn’t felt satisfying in… well, since Luminary, fighting off people attacking Shuichi and Maki, really. Fighting Maki had been satisfying too, but Maki was an expert in talking and fighting at the same time. And maybe that had been the perfect mix for Kaito to really enjoy it. Otherwise? He just didn’t like beating people up. It made him feel guilty and a little freaked out.

Not that he was planning to reject any challenges though. Taking a hit felt a lot different than hitting. It was almost relieving, the idea of letting someone else get it out of their system. It made him feel useful. 

There was a countdown from the stage, and Present Mic started to narrate the fight that was happening. Kaito idly listened in, mildly impressed with the descriptions. It sounded like the two either genuinely knew how to fight but were too evenly matched, or genuinely knew how to put on a show and were fantastic improvisers. Either way, there were cheers and gasps, before a roar of applause as the ref called the fight.

No winners, of course, that wasn’t the point of the fight. The ref called it when it looked like one of them was genuinely done. The contestants could, well, contest it, and keep fighting if one of them wasn’t finished and the other was willing to continue. But, it sounded like the two had gotten it out of their system, as Kaito said, “I should probably head back. Our husband wants to beat my butt for getting him pregnant. Which, fair enough.” Kaito chuckled, leaning over to give Kokichi a quick kiss. “Wish me luck, babe!”

Kokichi giggled, giving Kaito a kiss back. “Well, you did say you’d proxy for me, so I suppose that’s Shuu-chan’s fight with me too. Good luck~ I’ll be by to watch in a bit, I know Ikuo said he scheduled all his fights for the afternoon so he could watch Miya all morning, but I wanna check in with them.”

Hideki gave them both a wave. “Good luck, Kaito, and to you as well, Kokichi. Even within the castle, I have to think some of the noise might pique Miyako’s interest.”

“Ah, there he is…didn’t think he’d coward out,” Elia laughed lightly as she stood with Maki and Shuuichi getting ready for their matches. She pointed out a head above the crowd with a competitive gleam in her eyes. “Nothing happened, and I’m grateful, but I’m really gonna drive home that D needs to double check he locks up the shop when he’s the last one in.”

Maki followed her gaze, nodding lightly as she saw Dante make his way through the crowd. “Good. I challenged Tim to break into the dojo during one of our morning runs the other day, and you could imagine my embarrassment when after three seconds he turned to me and just opened the door. He seriously had me fooled for nearly a minute before I realized the door was already unlocked.”

“Okay, but that’s very funny,” Shuichi smirked, before spotting his own sparring partner coming through the crowd, “Kaito, we’re up next. Are you ready?”

“‘Kichi says I’m fighting for the both of us, so I will not accuse you of favoritism~” Kaito grinned, wrapping his arms around Shuichi’s waist and leaning in to give him a little peck… before pouting as he kissed Shuichi’s palm, “No kisses?”

“Not until after I get my vengeance.” Shuichi huffed, “You can have kisses after, once I’ve won….Kaito.”

“What?” Kaito said, giving Shuichi’s palm a few more kisses, “Hand kisses don’t count.” 

Backing off his husband and looking around, Kaito mused, “Maybe this is just underselling people’s usually more… normal problems? But so far of the fights I’ve seen all day, nothing’s been all that serious. Do you think people with serious grudges ever actually use a festival like this?”

“My guess is not this publicly,” Maki said, looking around the festive, crowded area, “If I had a serious problem with someone, I think I’d only handle it like this if I wanted to publicly humiliate them about it. Otherwise? I’d probably keep to the spirit of the festival by doing a spar in private or something.”

“Pff, you know, I’d half expect Susanoo to just keep the place open, honestly.” Elia shook her head a little, though it was clear she was highly amused with Tim’s acting skills. Though as Kaito joined them, she made a little sound. “Oh, I know you’ve met him when you’ve swung by the shop, Maki, but, Shuuichi, Kaito, have I ever introduced Dante to you?”

Waving the man down--he seemed to be heading their way anyway, so it was easy--she gave the Luminaries a small shrug. “Or just people not wanting to let go of a serious grudge at all. It’s easier to let things you were more annoyed by, or have had time to let anger cool get settled with a fight, and really just call it even. But if someone’s still seriously hurt by something? A fight’s more likely to turn into straight up assault and not really resolve anything.”

As Dante neared, Elia introduced, “Hey D! Good to see ya, and the mister as always,” she nodded to Lazaro, “Dunno if you guys have properly met; Lazaro, Dante, this is my girlfriend, Maki, and her guys Shuuichi and--”

“Kaito?” Doppio said in slight surprise, walking with his dads. …seriously? He sort of thought Kaito would avoid Epakohta like the plague.

Kaito’s eyes had drifted over to who Elia was introducing them to, and then gone up, and then down chest level, and then neck level, and eyes wide as saucers back up, to chiseled cheekbones and dark skin and those eyes and woooow he was sooooo taaaaaalll– “Kaito?” Shuichi said for the third time, “Doppio called you. Kaito?”

“Huh?” Kaito said, dazed. 

“Oh, I’m going to kick his ass,” Shuichi whispered, while Maki sympathetically patted him on the shoulder. 

God this guy could fold him in two. What was his workout routine? How much could he benchpress? Kaito was roughly 270 pounds, but he had a feeling that’d be no problem for Mister–oh wait, Kaito knew this guy–OH!

Finally he tore his eyes away from the adonis in front of him and grinned–still a bit dazedly–at Doppio. “Oh! Doppio! Happy Epakohta! Are you guys enjoying the festival?” he said before his eyes went back to Dante, dazzled as he grinned loopily, “Are you fighting anyone today?”

“Kaito, Elia just said she’s fighting him,” Maki reminded him dryly.

“Lucky girl,” Kaito said dreamily.

Doppio grimaced, looking up at Kaito with disgruntlement. Don’t be weird at his dad! Ever! But especially when his and your husbands are right there! It was almost enough to make Doppio want to go get a form to challenge Kaito to a match. Seeing Shuuichi’s disgruntlement, Doppio leaned towards him to mutter a request. “Please kick his ass.”

“Happy Epakohta, Kaito,” Doppio grumbled. “Yeah, it’s been fun. Arven’s brother challenged one of his friends this morning, and it was a pretty intense spar. He’s helping out his mom for a bit, though--they’re running a dog-petting area for people who need to come down from adrenaline ‘n stuff.”

Giving Kaito a just wholly unimpressed look, Lazaro patted Doppio’s shoulder proudly. “We’ll likely circle back, but we wanted to come see Aceto’s match.” Lazaro grinned a bit. “It sounds like it’ll be a good show.”

“And Matteo will probably still be going by the time we head back to the other park,” Dante hummed, holding out his fist for Elia, which she fistbumped. “So we’re not missing much.”

“Doppio’s match… oh!” Kaito let out a mildly relieved laugh, tearing his eyes away from Dante again to grin at Doppio, “You challenged someone else! I thought… well, interesting! Who’d you end up sparring today, Doppio? Have you done your fight yet?”

Doppio gave Kaito a very teen look, rolling his eyes. “What, you think I was going to fight you? That’s not cathartic, it’s just depressing.” He pouted a little. “Especially since you apparently think an 11-year-old is more threatening.”

“No, I haven’t done mine yet…” Doppio glowered a bit, a fiery determination starting to spark in his eyes. “There’s this stronzo from school that I challenged. Jerk almost didn’t even accept the request, but it’s happening.”

He grew a little more sheepish. “...think I might have to thank Trish for that, but…I-I’ll figure out a thank you later.”

Lazaro huffed in fond amusement. “I really don’t think you owe your rafortegazza a gift for antagonizing another student, but she likely won’t say no.”

“Hahaha, I don’t think 11-year-olds are intimidating, that’s, you’re telling the story out of context,” Kaito laughed embarrassedly, glancing over at Dante as he sweated, “I’m not intimidated by anything! But the kid… well, he has a powerful kick and… look, there’s no uncrass way to say that kid literally tore open one of my balls–”

“ALLLLRIGHT, CAN WE GET OUR 9:30 FIGHTERS UP TO THEIR STAAAAGES!!”

“That’s us, Kaito,” Shuichi said, “And let me tell you, the last five minutes did nothing for your chances.”

“Ah, right. Doppio, good luck in your fight! Show that bully who’s boss, you’ve got this!” Kaito encouraged him, before thinking about everything he knew about Doppio and adding in, “Maybe hold back on him a little! It was nice seeing you guys. Dante, I, uh, really hope I get to see your fight in time.” Kaito grinned dreamily, giving him a wave as Shuichi dragged him off. “You and Elia have fun!”

Maki watched Kaito and Shuichi head to the stage, and turned to her girlfriend, saying quietly, “It’s not his fault but… I do need you to completely thrash Dante now. It’ll make Shuichi happy.”

Doppio grimaced again before sighing. “Good luck, Kaito, buono fortuna, Shuuichi. Thanks, and I’ll stop if he taps out, I know the rules.”

“He really is a strange one, hm,” Dante noted to Lazaro, the two of them having heard plenty of Doppio’s stories by this point.

Grinning as Maki turned to her, Elia’s eyes sparkled. “Hey, I wasn’t planning on throwing, but my cute girlfriend giving me a request like that? I’m unstoppable.”

Maki paused… before puffing out her cheeks, looking away as she reddened. “‘M not cute,” she mumbled, clearly flustered. 

As Kaito and Shuichi got to the stage, Kaito asked before they had to separate to different sides, “Hey, speaking of holding back, like…do you want me to hold back a little? Or will you find that insulting–”

“If you so much as lift a hand to punch me, I’m telling Maki to give you another earring, and you won’t like this one,” Shuichi said. 

“Ooooh, okay, very clear! Got it!” Kaito said, “Can I block? Try to pin?”

“Block, yes, pin no. You can try to push me off though,” Shuichi said, pausing, “...and you can still say ‘Too Much’.”

“I love you,” Kaito said dreamily, watching with open admiration as Shuichi just turned and headed to his side of the ring, murmuring to himself as he climbed his own side, “God, he’s sexy.”

“ALLLLRIIIIGHT! NOT UNUSUAL FOR THIS HOLIDAY, WE HAVE OURSELVES A COUPLE LOOKING TO SETTLE SOME THINGS! BUT THIS COUPLE YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF, IT’S PRINCE KAITO MOMOTA AND PRINCE SHUICHI SAIHARA!” Present Mic shouted, before covering the mic and saying to the two, “We’ve had a few incidents between Luminary participants, we just want to stress that you did read the rules that were on the back of the form, yes? It’s not the same as a Luminary spar.”

“Stop when the ref stops us, stop if someone starts to bleed, stop if one of us calls it, no weapons,” Kaito recited. 

“Alright, just wanted to be sure–OUR CHALLENGER IS PRINCE SHUICHI, SO HOPEFULLY PRINCE KAITO HAS ON HIS LISTENING EARS, BECAUSE HIS HUSBAND HAS A GRUUUUUDGE TO TEEEEEELLLL!! START THE FIGHT AT THE COUNT OF GO! 3, 2, 1, GOOOOOO!!!”

Not wanting to get caught against the edge, Kaito hurried out to the center of the mat, lifting his arms to block whatever blow Shuichi was coming with. But instead of a blow, Shuichi’s hands reached past Kaito’s raised arms, grabbing his shirt and, feet pinning at Kaito’s ankle, tripped him up and threw him to the mat. 

Knowing from being in the crowd that hearing over the cheers what they were saying in the ring was tough to impossible when spoken at normal level, Kaito grinned warily as Shuichi straddled him, lifting his arms again to block when he saw Shuichi raising his fists. “Man, we could have spared you a lot of stress if you had put me on my back like this the first time, handsome~ OW-OW-OKAY I’M PUSHING!” 

As Kaito brought his arms up, trying to push Shuichi off of him, that was apparently what Shuichi was waiting for as Kaito lifted his head and shoulders, suddenly shifting his weight to spin on the floor and wrapping his thighs around Kaito’s neck, managing to pin his arms to Shuichi’s thigh as well as Kaito grunted, forcing another joke out as his airway constricted, “god damn… o-okay but I’m… n-naught n’hot into h’’iiish–”

As Kaito lost his breath, starting to choke between Shuichi’s thighs, he reflected that as much as he was trying to lighten the mood now, this really had been a very vicious fight between them once. When Kaito had done a submission bow for this same transgression so long ago now, Shuichi had almost taken Kaito up on his offer to be maimed. It had been a very real, very near thing. 

Kaito trusted that at the level Shuichi was attacking him now, it was because this particular bit of resentment really had smoothed out by this point, to the point where Shuichi didn’t feel that strongly about it anymore. He trusted that if Shuichi was still as violently furious about the whole thing, then they wouldn’t be dealing with it like this, in public, with such a casual air. He trusted that Shuichi would stop when he had had enough.

So even though Kaito was seeing spots, unable to catch a breath, he didn’t say ‘too much’... but the ref noticed he had stopped trying to pry Shuichi’s thighs apart, losing strength with his breath, and called, “Takedown!” as a way to indicate Kaito couldn’t fight back anymore and the match needed to pause or stop. 

Shuichi loosened his grip and Kaito gasped, some of the color returning to his face as Shuichi scooted back, smirking lightly as the ref came back to Kaito. “Can you keep going?”

“B-boy, can I?” Kaito rasped, before pointing to Shuichi, “U-up to him.”

“I’m satisfied,” Shuichi said, actually sounding like that was true. Standing up and watching Kaito weakly get onto his knees as the MC announced the end of the match to cheers. “You’re going to tell Kokichi I was very nice to you, yes?”

“Mmhm!” Kaito hummed, still catching his breath on his knees as he gave Shuichi a thumbs up. “So nice!”

“I am so nice,” Shuichi agreed, entirely pleased as Kaito got to his feet, the two heading off the stage together. 

“...I don’t really know how to feel about that,” Doppio admitted to his dads as they watched Shuuichi and Kaito’s match from the side. Shuuichi had kicked Kaito’s ass, and it seemed like Kaito had gotten some catharsis from the ordeal too…but not in the way Doppio had seen from the other fights that day. But he supposed it worked out. 

“Not really our business, so I don’t think you have to feel a particular way,” Lazaro shrugged, before tapping the back of his hand against Dante’s bicep. “You win, si? A thrown fight isn’t worth wasting the time for.”

Looking over fondly, Dante squeezed his husband’s hand, patted his son’s head, shared a nod with Firenze, who of course was on bodyguard duty for Kaito today, before heading up to the staging area with Elia. 

Sharing a grin with him, Elia murmured softly, “Ready for an ass-whooping, zombie? Made sure to take my piercings out just for this.”

Dante’s responding laugh was more of a low rumble. “Good to hear, oni. Don’t worry, though, I’ll make sure all your blood stays in your body.” His side glance was sharp for a moment. “No matter what.”

Kaito and Shuichi went back to the group holding hands, giving a nod to Elia and Dante as they passed them on their way to the stage.

“Have fun?” Maki asked Shuichi, though her eyes were following Elia. “You really didn’t make him work enough for it.”

“I was happy with it,” Shuichi shrugged, Kaito grinning down at him adoringly, “Besides, I knew I’d get to watch your fight later. I don’t want Kaito completely drained at the end of the day. He’s on baby duty for the evening.”

“I am?” Kaito rasped, before humming, “Oh yeah, guess I am. Thanks for the reminder, handsome.” He turned to look at the stage, his voice still rasping as he said, “A fight between Elia and the walking adonis statue, huh? Come on, Maki, tell me you’re not excited for this.”

“It is fun to watch Elia let loose,” Maki admitted, crossing her arms as she watched the two get announced, getting onto the stage, “The way she moves when she’s really putting in the effort? I swear, there have been moments where I thought she was flying.”

“Heh. I remember feeling the same way about your fights,” Kaito said fondly, before touching his neck, “Did you leave a bruise, handsome?”

“Mmmm no, I don’t think so,” Shuichi said, peeking around to look at Kaito’s neck.

“Aw, shame.” Kaito sighed. 

As Present Mic introduced them, Elia and Dante took their places, giving each other a nod. And with the 3, 2, 1, go?

Elia started the match running backwards, clambering up one of the ring posts in a second. It wasn’t really fun or cathartic to spar when the other person couldn’t do anything back…but Elia still had other tricks up her tattooed sleeves. 

She was an angel, after all, and angels fed off positive emotions. Were fueled by positive emotions. And a city’s worth of people enjoying a festival, making amends and having fun together? Elia took a breath, and while there was no longer a physiological change most people would see, for the percentage of people who could see auras, Elia’s light blazed bright as it took in the positivity around her, and it looked like she flew as she jumped off the post onto Dante. 

-

“Hmm… I didn’t think so, but it’s good to know that we’re not getting any prime resonance interference,” Enoch hummed, nodding in satisfaction as he and Mike poured over the HRD mk V Mike had brought to the festival to show the progress of. 

Mike, in turn, raised an eyebrow at the older boy. “What, you were expecting your sister to do something that’d get tripped?”

Enoch nodded dreamily. “Completely. Big Sis doesn’t like fighting all out anymore, but she does miss some of her old kit. And she knows she can use it against Mr. Dante without hurting him.”

“Huh,” Mike grunted, squinting up at the current stage match before shaking his head, looking back down at their device. 

“What are you two rug-rats doing? Being little pervs, peeping on some fights with a zoom-in reflector? Yeaaaah, I’ve been there, but trust me, by that point just being up near the stage is a way more fun view. Everyone’s too busy to notice where you’re looking. HA HAHAHAHA!” Miu cackled, standing behind the boys.

“At that point just go pick a fight and shove yourself between someone’s thighs. You wouldn’t be the first today,” Mike said with a dismissive agitation, not even looking up at the woman.

Enoch, though, turned back, blinking slowly before tilting his head a little. “...hey, aren’t you--”

“That’s Miu Iruma, of course!” Bianka piped in, popping up from where she’d just sat down in boredom as the boys did nerd boy stuff. But now? There was a story happening! A celebrity sighting! “Prodigal genius inventor extraordinaire! Miss Phone-Lines, if you forgot, Mike,” she teased. 

That got Mike looking up in surprise, while Enoch nodded with Bianka’s description. “My brother did say you were an abrasive type. Came to town for a grudge match, Miu?”

“HAHAHAHA THAT’S RIGHT! BASK! BASK IN MY GENIUS, BEAUTIFUL PRESENCE! Maybe something will rub off on you three, you can get flecks of my brilliance!” Miu smirked, before her eyes focused on Mike, “Wait, Mike? What’s your last name, squirt?”

“From what I’ve heard, that’d most likely be a blood disease,” Mike huffed, before smirking confidently. “Mike Teavee. You know, the guy you just had to beg Tim’s uncle and cousins to let you tag-along ‘cause you just had to meet me so bad. Didn’t think you were regularly in the habit of harassing kids a fifth your age, though.”

Bianka had to think and do math for a moment, before she snorted incredulously. 

“Wh-who begged!? Kokichi’s been BEGGING to meet me for years, I came to do the pipsqueak prince a favor!” Miu screeched, looking affronted. 

Though, she seemed to shake it off almost immediately, putting her hands on her hips and squinting at Mike. “So, you created a sensor the size of a fist? Word I’ve heard is it worked 60 feet?” Miu squinted harder, “...you a grifter kid? Sensors the size of toddlers struggle with a range like that, you made something you could slip into some doofus’s pocket? I needed to see for myself either the squirt who rivals my own legendary brain power, or the little con-brat who’s got the royal family chasing shadows on the wall. Either way, worth a quick trip for.”

Mike crossed his arms, his foot bouncing lightly. “And you made a hideous one the size of a person that works at 75 feet,” he countered before rolling his eyes. “A grifter? Do I look like a magician? …don’t answer.”

Bianka had lit up, before Mike bit her head off, and she just sighed exasperatedly. 

“I think magicians can look like just about anyone,” Enoch hummed consideringly, before giving Miu a soft smile. “Mike’s inventions are the deal real, though. I feel really lucky to get to collab with a scientist like him.”

Sputtering, Mike flushed, before looking away, pushing up his glasses in fluster. “Yeah, well…you should feel lucky. You just had a cool idea, that’s all…”

“Awwww, cute. My apprentice has an apprentice,” Miu smirked, crossing her arms, “and yes, before you cream your pants, squirt, that is a confirmation that I will very graciously allow you to learn from me. Aren’t I generous? Tomorrow we’ll go over the blueprints you made for your little toy sensor.” 

Mike looked back over, his eyes widening a bit. …wait…really? Sure, Tim’s uncle said that Miu had been interested in meeting him, but…really? People didn’t just get apprenticeships with Miu Iruma, even he knew that. When he’d meet up with Enoch and his sister to work on the HRD at the university, he’d heard a lot of gossip from engineering students about poor suckers moving their whole lives over to Carbosi with blueprints and prototypes and a dream just to get turned down. Sure, Carbosi was still a great city to be in for an engineer, but working with Miu was like the top and that didn’t just happen to--

“Hold up,” Bianka interrupted before Mike could say anything, holding up a hand as she stepped between her friend and the famous inventor, looking up at Miu cooly. “You have an internship and intellectual right contract ready? Because there’s no way you’re just going to coattail on a famous name to steal his ideas or get free labor, which would be child labor, by the way, right?”

“What am I, amateur hour?” Miu scoffed, giving the little girl a raised eyebrow, “You want my credentials too, you little nosy nancy? You really think Kokichi ‘reads contract law for fun’ Ouma is letting me anywhere near this kid without all the works? Trust me, the way he’s pinned me down, they’re gonna need to make a new kind of crime called the Miu Labor Laws, because of the sheer amount of work I’m expected to put into his apprenticeship. It’s an outrage!” 

She paused, before adding, “And if the big hunk of meat going around calling himself a prince asks, I made zero dirty jokes around you kids, got it?! None! Not even innuendos! That guy’s got a stick so far up his butt that it fixed his damn virginity, I swear.” She paused, before saying, “If you don’t know the word ‘virgin’, look it up, it’s wild stuff. Again, you didn’t hear it from me!”

“Working on faith only leads to easier exploitation,” Bianka sniffed…before she grinned excitedly. “Though, if you’re offering your credentials?”

“Bi, don’t feed the ego, Miu Iruma really doesn’t need another interest piece written about her. I’ve read some, and the paper back home sucks donkey shit,” Mike scoffed…though by the way he’d stuffed his hands in his pockets?

Enoch smiled. He was happy his friend was so excited, and it really was something worth being over the moon for. And Mike really deserved it. 

While the boys looked a little puzzled, Bianka nodded with a grimace. “It’s weird. Usually I’m all for expanding knowledge! But stuff about virginity gets strange, on like a cultural level.”

Enoch tilted his head a little. “How did you hear about it, Bianka?”

The blond stuck her tongue out a little. “I overheard Char say that Dad has ‘moans like a virgin, I’ve gotta get him pregnant’ energy. Having a little sister would be cool if it happened, but Dad’s already up against the ropes with the three of us, and Char’s really not in Dicea often enough to help raise a baby.”

“PFFFFFFFFFFFF-WAAAAAHAAAAAAT!??” Miu both gasped and laughed, holding her stomach as she cackled, needing to physically look away from the kids. “OH MY GOOOOOD HAHAHAHAHAAAA ahem anyway I never had this conversation with you kids,” she said, calming down as she looked back at them.

(There was no need for any context to be added to this conversation, but in short, within Dicea, ‘virginity’ was more of a kink idea than an actual cultural reality. Some people enjoyed the idea of ‘losing, giving away, or gaining’ virginity in some sense. And what did or didn’t make someone a virgin, or what type of virginity they had, tended to differ from kinkster to kinkster, and like all kinks that were largely based on foreign cultural ideas, had mostly entirely lost the original point or limits of the concept from the cultures said kinksters had lifted the idea from.)

(For instance, Luminary had a pretty set relationship with what being a virgin did or didn’t mean, but that was because there were religious rituals people could do for the loss of their virginity, if you wanted to do certain kinds of prayers. For priestesses, it was encouraged to give up at least one type of virginity for their graduation from acolytes to being officially a part of the priesthood. If said new priestess was experienced in most types of sexual activity? Finding something new she was a ‘virgin’ in tended to become more about stretching the imagination, rather than strict ideas of penetration or arousal.)

(In Danganronpa, one was considered a virgin strictly until they had penetrated their first non-Flora. Anything else was just considered ‘playing around’. For this reason, most Ronpan’s would self-identify as virgins, regardless of sexual experience with each other.)

(There were other countries that had more or less strict ideas of the practice. But for Dicea? Yeah. Basically entirely kink.)

“Alright, well, you should know, one of the things me and the prince have already discussed is how this apprenticeship will work long term,” Miu said, scoffing, “I suggested you move back to the city with me, but there was some stuff about ‘uprooting you when you had just gotten established’ and ‘I’d need to ask your mother’ and ‘I can’t just take a kid because I want to make another prodigy to rival myself for the next generation’ and nonsense like that. So, if you sign the contract? The current idea is that I’ll be taking a sabbatical from my research for a year to set up a lab here, which you will be assisting me in establishing. Once that year is up? We can renegotiate how an apprenticeship will work between us. Sound good, squirt?”

The three kids just stared at Miu for a moment, not getting what was so funny. For Bianka, she kneeeeew Char and Lio had that spicy forbidden romance going on, but sometimes the realities of that were just strange, rather than intriguing. Mike literally couldn’t conceptualize why anyone would string those words together, let alone enjoy it, and Enoch, well… The world took all types, he supposed. 

But as Miu calmed down?

Mike’s eyes widened a little as…yeah. Really really. This was happening.

The most famous inventor in the world was taking a break for a year and setting up a lab in a new city just…because of him. (Someone had noticed the worth in his work and wasn’t just pandering to him.)

With more sincere of a smile than he’d like, Mike nodded. “Guess that’ll work. I’ll let Medli and Doris know, if they’ve gotta sign stuff too.”

“Yeaaaah, I’ll be sitting down with them at some point, doing that whole rigamarole,” Miu agreed, looking over her shoulder when there was an eruption of cheers, “Sounds like that fight is over. I gotta run. I’ve got it under good authority that the next person going is a ruthless fighter, and I’m hoping some clothes get torn to shreds in the process! Again! No one heard me say shit! Uh, poop! Whatever! Later, nerds!” 

Ugh. Well, Doris just had to sign her name, it didn’t have to be anything. 

“See you,” Mike called, still a little stunned that…yeah. He would see Miu Iruma later, because she was going to take him on as an apprentice. That was a thing that was happening. 

“...eeeeeee!!!” Bianka cheered under the cheers of the crowd, taking one of Mike’s hands and jumping up and down with it, encouraging him to move too. 

(And, well, with it looking like it was mostly from her?)

Mike rocked in her grip, a smile burgeoning on his face as he looked at the ground. Life really looking up for Mike Teavee.

-

It was a pretty rare call, for this fight. Elia and Dante both knew it’d be tough, since if they weren’t sandbagging, a spar between them could go on for quite some time. But not wanting to literally take all day, and with a girlfriend to impress?

Even Dante looked surprised as Elia threw him through the air, forcing a ring out. 

Kaito and Shuichi were cheering her on, Shuichi clapping and Kaito straight up whooping, but Maki just smirked and lifted her chin slightly, clearly radiating pride. Damn right. Look at how impressive her girlfriend was. Jealous?

“Damn, Maki,” Kaito said to her after he was done loudly whooping for Elia. “Where do you find these people? She’s scary~” Kaito said, clearly more than a little impressed, a redness in his ears and neck.

“She’s taken. Keep it in your pants,” Maki said, still incredibly pleased.

“That Dante guy doesn’t seem so impressive anymore,” Shuichi said, pointedly not looking at Kaito as he said, “All that height and muscle didn’t stop her in the end.”

“True, true, Elia’s a powerhouse,” Kaito nodded, “...really made you jealous, huh handso–oof!”

“Thank you, Maki.” Shuichi said. 

“Needed the warm-up for our fight anyway. Let me go congratulate my girlfriend and then I’ll meet you at the stage, Kaito,” Maki said, heading into the crowd, not looking back to see Kaito try to rasp an affirmative as he collapsed to his knees, holding his stomach.

Heading through the crowd, Maki smiled when she caught up to Elia. “Congrats. That was a good fight.”

Elia and Dante shook hands as he climbed back up to head back over to his husband and son, before Elia met up with Maki. Sweating a bit, looking exerted, but not winded as she grinned brightly seeing that gorgeous smile. “Thanks! Man, D really put me through it, gonna be feeling it in my joints for a while,” she laughed.

Just like Elia hadn’t wanted to immobilize him, Dante hadn’t locked Elia down either…but she’d swear most of her misses were more to do with the sanguimancer’s meddling. Nothing that’d give her trouble the rest of the day, but Elia did feel a little more aware of her body. 

“Though, I had someone I couldn’t let down.” She winked at Maki before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “Give Kaito terror, yeah? I’ll admit, I’ve been excited to see what a spar between you guys looks like. Though I know who I’d bet on~” 

Maki lit up slightly, clearly pleased with the light kiss on her cheek, though she couldn’t help but puff out her cheeks in embarrassed fluster at the wink and the encouraging words. Elia brought out something shy in her, as she nodded, taking Elia’s hands and squeezing them lightly, before moving around her to head to the stage.

Once Elia was out of ‘fluster Maki’ range, Maki’s expression cooled as she approached Kaito, who was waiting for her before climbing up.

“Hey, just to be clear?” Kaito said, “One, how serious do you want me to be for this spar? If you just want a punching bag, I don’t mind–”

“Put your all into it,” Maki said. “I want a real fight.”

“...okay.” Kaito said, “Then my second point: what is this grudge match about? Anything specific? I know you’ve been telling everyone it’s mostly just for fun, but…”

“I did mostly sign up for fun,” Maki admitted. “...but. If we had to make it something specific? I’m still resentful for when you used Timothy and our parenting skills as an example of you influencing Kokichi to be ‘worse’. I know we already sparred and argued and danced over that. I’ve mostly forgiven it… but I haven’t forgotten it. I never want Tim to be your ‘other’ child. Honestly, I’m not always fond of feeling like your ‘other’ family,” Maki admitted, “What we have going on between us is weird, I know, and I know it’s not always the easiest thing to define between us. We… both say a lot of things to simplify it, but between you and me? I don’t want to pretend it’s not complicated.”

“Yeah,” Kaito said softly, “I know.”

“I just don’t want to wrestle with that, and still be the people you’re willing to throw under the carriage, the family you consider less important, when it comes to your ‘real’ family,” Maki said, glaring at him, “And the fact that you did that just to get Kokichi to say more during therapy? That’s not good enough. I can’t trust that you’ll treat Tim equal to Miyako, if it takes that little to do to him what I know you’d never do to her.”

‘Or do to me, what you’d never do to them.’ Maki didn’t say, but communicated still.

“...I’m sorry, Maki,” Kaito whispered, eyes reddening a little, “I’m sorry. I regret it. I really failed you and Tim in that moment, I know… It makes sense you’re still angry about it. I had no right to do what I did, I should have never considered it. I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Maki said, before smiling lightly, gesturing to the crowd around them, “That’s why I can do this, in a setting like this. We’ve already talked about it. I know you understand what you did wrong. And I’ve almost forgiven it… but taking it out of your ass will still feel good.”

Kaito grinned warily. “You sure you want me to fight back? I make a great punching bag.”

“...Elia’s watching and I want to look cool,” Maki whispered, blushing lightly.

“Got it. 100% in then! You’ll get a chance to show off, I promise!” Kaito laughed, giving her a nod before heading to his side of the ring. Present Mic announcing them as the two climbed up to the stage. 

Kaito took a deep breath as he waited for the countdown. A real fight, a real fight… It had been a long time since he had been in a real fight. The last time had been with Maki. Honestly they tended to scare him now. Kaito both afraid of his opponents, himself, how he looked in the eyes of others, Kokichi’s eyes. Most of it mixed together into this awful sludge of Kaito wanting to run from the fights. Afraid of flashing back to horrors that he had found himself over time less capable of handling, rather than hardening against. 

Electricity lighting up his whole vision as his body suddenly became something that didn’t belong to him, a prison that he could only scream within.

Kokichi small and pale and shivering violently, covered in Aba’s blood, Kaito too slow and too worthless to help him, Kaito feeling a sort of terror in that moment that had changed his whole understanding of himself as a person. 

Broken, red memories of Kokichi’s neck in his hands. Changing Kaito’s relationship with his own hands, his own grip. 

Kaito’s weapons becoming guilty, hidden treasures, Kaito unsure if he was allowed to have them, seeing them a constant reminder of his own inability to be trusted with them. The last time he had held them against a mentor who had betrayed him and left him. A boy who would be Kaito’s son. Maki, again, in the last time Kaito would hold one and feel any sort of confidence or joy in it. Kokichi, again. Kaito’s first big mistake in Dicea.

Kaito’s relationship with fighting and sparring had been, likely irreparably, altered by his experiences in Dicea. He’d likely never be a fighter again. When it was time to teach Miyako how to fight, Kaito would likely only manage the basics, and then it would be Aunt Maki and Elia who would teach her to truly know how to fight. Kaito would cheer her on and defend the practice. But he’d likely not be a fighter she could learn from by that point. Losing the skill entirely.

Sometimes Kaito grieved it. Other times, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his own disappointment in that. What had he ever needed to learn to fight for anyway. It had been a boy’s understanding of what being a hero looked like. These days, Kaito’s understanding of what being a hero was had pretty radically shifted. He likely wasn’t one himself, for one. And two, if he was? He was one of those niche, unexpected types. The ones who didn’t help people by winning fights, but by losing them. His ability to lose giving others a chance to get what they need.

Maybe that made no sense. Kaito was still trying to figure out the wording, for the feelings he had on the subject. He was pretty sure he was onto something there, though, as he stepped out onto the center mat, again not wanting to be cornered on the edge, as he tensed for a moment, watching Maki come at him, feeling that fear well up in him again… and reminding himself that this fight was for her, not for him, he let out a breath, and relaxed into his fighting stance. Maki’s movements slowing down dramatically, to his calmed vision, as he brought up his arms.

Maki had been the one to teach him how to fight for real. Like Shuichi, it made Kaito one of the people uniquely equipped to react to her opening moves, as he noticed the shift in her moving her shoulders, and immediately brought up his arm to block the kick he knew was coming. 

After that, they were off. 

Maki, when she sparred without a weapon, tended to focus exclusively on her legs, especially against a larger opponent. A kick to Kaito’s waist–blocked–rapidly turned to a kick to his face–blocked–before she adjusted her weight and stepped onto his knee, taking advantage of the leverage of him stepping back to avoid her knee to launch herself up and quickly spin into a kick against the other side of his face. 

This one landed, Kaito’s head whipping to the left and Kaito moving backwards a few steps. But while the ref stepped forward, certain that was going to be a knock down hit–it had been straight to his damn temple, of course he was going to go down–Kaito’s head just whipped back, his eyes wide and unseeing, likely briefly dazed and blinded by the hit, but swinging heavy as he lurched himself forward, knowing Maki was going to be open while she was landing. 

A solid SLAM, SLAM into Maki’s chest and then arm, Kaito unable to aim for her face because he couldn’t really see her in that moment, was just moving forward towards her, still knocked her back in the air, Maki flying through the air as she arched backwards from the blows. 

She arched more though, throwing herself into a backflip and landing on the matting like a cat on all fours, skidding backwards in the momentum for only a moment before she kicked off the mat and threw herself back at him, grabbing his front and spinning herself around him–a little like how Shuichi had on the ground, but her in mid-air–as she wrapped her legs around his neck, trying to get him in the same vice grip that Shuichi had learned from her. 

But Kaito just grit his teeth, grabbed her legs, and threw himself violently onto his back, Maki gasping aloud as her back and head was THUMPED onto the mat, Kaito scrambling away from her while she caught the wind knocked out of her, losing her grip on him.

“WOAH, THAT WAS A HEAVY LAND FOR BOTH FIGHTERS, IS THAT GONNA BE A REF–NO? OKAY, APPARENTLY NOT, NO ONE’S BLEEDING SO THEY CAN KEEP GOING, THOUGH THAT LOOKED LIKE A BACKBREAKER TO ME–OH, NOPE, SHE’S UP FOLKS! MAN, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THESE TWO ARE SETTLING AS A GRUDGE BETWEEN THEM, BUT MAAAAAN IT LOOKS A BIT LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO RIP EACH OTHER IN HALF ABOUT IT! HAHAHA KEEP AN EYE ON IT, REF!”

Kaito had managed to get himself up before Maki had recovered, and hoping to knock her out before she recovered he had run back, trying to slam his boot into her neck. But Maki had rolled out of the way and pushed herself up onto her hands, spinning her body around to kick Kaito beneath his jaw, Kaito’s head shooting up even as he grabbed her ankle, grabbing her thigh and with a shout, whipping her body up, and then slamming it down on the mat–

“HOLD FOR BLEEDING!” the ref called, before trotting into the ring. 

“Bleeding?” Kaito asked dazedly, looking down at Maki, who was catching her breath sprawled out on the mat, “Maki-roll, are you bleeding?”

“No, it’s you. That kick to the jaw cut something in your mouth,” the ref said, taking out a flashlight, “Open wide.”

Kaito opened his mouth, the ref looking in, before nodding. “You bit your tongue. You want to continue the match or call it now?”

“N-nah, I’m good,” Kaito said, looking down at Maki, who nodded.

The ref nodded, heading back to the side of the stage. “RESUME! 3, 2, 1–”

Maki kicked Kaito in the jaw again, scrambling out of the grip on her ankle as this time the kick knocked Kaito on his ass. Now Kaito was starting to slow down, clearly wobbling as he got back to his feet, just barely bringing his arms up in time to block against the barrage of kicks that were slamming one after another against his arms and shoulders, Maki trying to kick his head again. 

Kaito knew he didn’t have another head kick in him. In a desperate attempt to brute force the fight back in his favor, he leaned back and brought up his leg, kicking out straight in the hopes of getting Maki in the stomach. But Maki had seen that coming and just jumped just as Kaito kicked out, landing on his knee and literally doing a spinning kick off his raised leg, hitting him so solidly against his head that even his protective arm didn’t slow it down, his arm just knocking against himself as Kaito, this time, whited out, collapsing from the blow. 

“TAKEDOWN!” the ref called, as he ran to go check on Kaito again. 

Kaito’s vision focused as he woke up, his eyes still rolling as the ref looked him over, before focusing on Maki, who was staring at Kaito, an expectant look on her face… and Kaito felt proud as she nodded slightly, Kaito managing to push himself up and stand again, even as he said, “Yeeaaaah, I yield. Ow.”

“AND THAT CALLS THE FIGHT, FOLKS! DAMN, THAT’S TWO FIGHTS IN A ROW NOW THAT MADE ME WORRY IF WE WERE GONNA NEED SOME HEALERS! LET’S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO OUR TWO CONTENDERS WHO REALLY PUT THEIR ALL INTO THIS, MAN, I HOPE THAT HELPED WHATEVER THEY WERE FIGHTING ABOUT!” Present Mic said, cheers filling the air as Kaito waved next to Maki, mostly just proving he was fine… and swaying into Maki a little, Maki steadying him as Present Mic called, “LEEET’S GET A HEALER OVER TO CHECK ON HIM JUST IN CASE! Wait for them over there, they definitely need to check on your head.”

“Goooot iiiiit,” Kaito said dizzily, Maki helping him off the stage. 

“Kai-chan! Maki-chan! Good fight!” Kokichi cheered, meeting them as they went down to the healers on standby, Kokichi getting that special husband privilege of getting to be nearby at all. And, for his efforts, he only looked a little worried as he looked over his friends, Kaito being helped into a seat. 

As a healer checked him over, Elia, without spouse privileges, stood to the side, looking at Maki in…something that looked a lot like awe. And there was an amount of that in there, to be fair. 

“Heeeeey babe,” Kaito grinned woozily, a healer flashing lights into his eyes as she asked him to turn his head this way and that, “Not bad, right!? Tell me I lasted five minutes, at least!”

“Just about,” the healer said, “Look up for me.”

“Yeeeessss, just about five minutes. That’s really good for me.” Kaito grinned, still clearly a little loopy from the head blows. The healer would eventually announce he would be fine though, likely just a headache occasionally for the next few days that an over the counter painkiller could help.

Maki watched Kaito get looked over for a bit, before heading over to Elia, briefly looking past her to look for Shuichi… who was idly making conversation with Drake, having apparently spotted him in the crowd during all of that and saying hi. Yeah, that made sense. Shuichi had grown up watching her and Kaito spar, it’d take more than that to worry him about it. Hopefully it was good enough to make up for jealousy teasing at least.

Focusing on Elia, Maki smiled a little shyly. “I know that was a bit theatrical, but you know, Kaito and I dance a lot. I don’t think we can help it by this point.”

“You were very impressive, Kai-chan,” Kokichi assured, holding Kaito’s hand as he got his bearings back. “I’m glad I made it back in time to see it. It’s been a while even since I’ve seen you and Maki-chan dance, I think I forgot just how in sync you guys are.”

Not sticking out so much from the crowd today, Drake was a little banged up. However, would it really be him if he’d simply gotten injured in a spar? Elia forcing Dante into a ring out was probably the safest ending their spar could’ve had, a microcosm of holiness against the undead playing out to an unknowing audience. However, ring outs, when there was actually a ring and not just mats on the ground or a defined but non-literal boundary were generally pretty dangerous ways to end Epakohta spars. Drake had just been unlucky enough to break the fall of someone who’d ended a fight being thrown earlier. 

Looking Maki over with that amazed look, Elia tucked a loose bit of Maki’s hair behind her ear. “...god, you’re so hot. How lucky am I, to call a woman that fights like she’s dancing on air my girlfriend…” Elia grinned as she leaned closer, speaking more intimately with Maki. “You have no idea how much I want to kiss you senseless right now. You’re beautiful.”

Maki turned bright red, her hair puffing out in a flash of steaming heat coming off her body as she puffed out her cheeks, radiating embarrassed heat. 

Kaito peeked at the two women whispering to each other, and grinned fondly as he saw how flustered Maki was. Yaaaaaay. He had done a good job. Kaito chuckled, looking back at Kokichi and wrapping his arms around his shoulder, bringing him in for a hug as he sighed, “You know, I really thought there’d be more challenges for me today, but honestly I’m probably lucky there weren’t. That took a lot out of me.”

“Eh?” Present Mic said, having overheard that as he told the next planned fighters to come to the stage, peeking over to Kaito as he said, “Don’t I have one for you this afternoon? Your 3 o’clock match?”

“....my what?” Kaito asked. “With who?”

-

There had been a bit of a debate among themselves, if the Luminary party would be allowed to go enjoy the festival festivities. There was a fear that the party would make some social guffaw, still new to the area, and perhaps it was better for the party to remain in the castle and out of the way.

But, eventually it was decided they could go out, so long as they traveled in pre-established trios, each person in the trio accountable to the other two for remaining polite to the locals, staying out of trouble, and out of the way. If anyone wanted to whine, it was pointed out that the king himself was sticking to the rule, escorted by Priestess Selka and Mister Cahalan as they looked around the stalls.

“Oh, it’s all so lovely, isn’t it!? What a fun event!” Selka said cheerfully, admiring a little duckling racing game some kids were playing, rubber ducks propelling through the water as kids moved obstacles out of their way, “Truly, Atua is pleased that we arrived just before such a fun day!”

“I’d agree,” Shin said goodnaturedly, particularly relaxed that day, eating a corndog from a stick… and startling lightly as someone called out to him.

“Sou! Sou!?” Kaito called, coming through the festival aisle, frowning, “Did you challenge me?”

“Did you not get the message?” Sou asked, his smile looking closer to a smirk, “Well, you did mention you don’t check your mail. Bit of a bad habit, don’t you think?”

These were Deere’s final hours before death. Honestly he would’ve rather spent them napping, but he could admit the festival was nice. It was, like the other Dicean holidays they’d stumbled into, far more elaborate than the sorts of holidays he was used to, and this one even more so, being a full-on city-wide festival. There had been another near the beginning of their trip in Dicea, and in hindsight Deere was able to piece together some decorations and general festive mood, but they had been on the road during the actual festival day, he had to guess. Actually being part of one now?

It was nice. There were so many different kinds of food for sale Deere could hardly believe it, and even Sou’s appetite seemed to be whetted. He had to admit, the pretty little translucent spiky hard candies he’d found he was pretty fond of. 

Still, the tolling bell seemed to get closer as Prince Kaito flagged them down. 

Slouched and sulking, in his own way, Deere bowed to the prince and said, “Not to worry, Prince Kaito, his grace wouldn’t actually expect you to fight the king of another country; I will be acting as a proxy for the match.”

TT〰TT And signing his own fate, fighting the prince of another country.

Kaito glanced over at Deere. He hadn’t actually had a chance to say much of anything to Deere yet, social etiquette requiring he give Sou his whole attention during their breakfast. Considering it had been his first breakfast with his cousin, he hadn’t worried about it much, determined he could be more free with his attention in future interactions. Because that was respectful. To the king. 

But as Deere bowed to him while explaining he’d be fighting in royal stead, and Priestess Selka’s eyes widened, looking caught off guard by all this, but deferentially staying silent even as she worriedly glanced at Deere… all that with Sou looking entirely self-satisfied in the center of them?

Shin straightened his shoulders and lifted his head, saying, “If you must have an explanation, officially it’s just to be involved in the culture, mere playacting between two family members. But you should know, Kaito, you had no right to–h-hey! Hey! W-what are you doing!?”

Kaito, furious, had grabbed Shin by the collar and was now dragging him along, heading to the outskirts of the festival stalls and towards the foliage. Shin eyes had gone wide as saucers, dead-legging as he said, “U-unhand me, you can’t–”

“Here I can,” Kaito growled… before stopping, Deere having thrown himself in his way. 

“Sou?!” Deere startled in worry. It wouldn’t hold up as an argument against his execution, but despite all his training and his duty to protect Sou, it had been just straight up utter surprise that froze him for a second as Kaito grabbed the king. Kaito hadn’t looked pleased approaching, sure, but…Deere hadn’t noticed any aggression on him. And in all other things, Prince Kaito seemed genuinely happy to have Sou in Usott. 

He never learned, did he. How well elites could act. 

Refusing to abandon hope at the first mistake, though, Deere followed and threw himself in front of Kaito, spreading his arms and (with a few cracks, admittedly) standing to his full height for once, no longer really looking up at Kaito. His expression firm. 

“You will not. Harm Sou,” he said. Voice low. 

Kaito grit his teeth. Swallowing his desire to order him down… before he took a step back. Straightening Sou in his grip and letting go, Sou shakily lurching forward and putting himself behind Deere, notably shaking. Kaito’s view of him partially blocked from the other end too, as Priestess Selka hurried forward, nervously putting herself in front of him on her other side, even as she said, “I-I’m certain all of this is a misunderstanding. Perhaps we should all sing a hymn together to calm down?”

Kaito frowned at the trio, concerned about the reactions… before he took a breath. “Sire,” Kaito said, bowing lightly, “I would appreciate it if you’d speak to me in private.”

“I don’t think–” Selka said.

“And by private, I just mean away from the festival,” Kaito said, his voice lowered, not deeply, but in an attempt to whisper as he insisted, “Away from the Diceans.”

Shin was still shaking. It had been a long time since someone had grabbed him like that. And admittedly, partly he was just intimidated, as after a moment he nodded. Kaito huffing and going around them, heading into the brush, expecting them to follow. 

Trying to calm his own shaking, Shin did. Following him through some bushes, past some trees, until the festival was a distant sound, partly muted by the dense forestry, as Kaito took another deep breath… before turning around. “Okay, now we can talk about this.”

“Y-yes we can,” Sou said shakily, lifting his chin, trying to compose himself as he stammered, “Y-you–”

“What the hell kind of Momota are you trying to fucking be!?” Kaito shouted at him, gripping his hands into fists, “Because I am sick to DEATH of the conniving, manipulative, controlling types! I’m done with it, Sou! You are not coming to my husband’s country, to his festival, and playing stupid fucking mind games with me! Not in my own god damn backyard! I’m not putting up with it! And if you’re going to fight me, it’s not while making a mockery of my husband's culture, taking advantage of their rituals, and throwing your servants at me! You are not going to embarrass yourself, me, or Luminary like that, I will not let you!”

Deere just made himself bigger when he saw Sou shaking, keeping his eyes focused on Kaito. Sou wasn’t really the soft, demure act he put on, and while it maybe applied to his health, Deere wouldn’t call Sou frail. 

But no matter who you were, being suddenly grabbed and taken away and threatened by an angry person twice your size? It was scary. And Deere wasn’t about to just let Sou be threatened and hurt. 

He still wanted to advise against it, but they ended up following Kaito away from the festival, Deere keeping himself in between the royals.

And what happened?

(...he told Sou it was a bad idea.)

While Deere was less intimidated by a pissed man shouting, it was still…a very angry noble, shouting at someone he was supposed to protect, but…but if Deere spoke up, that was absolutely out of turn, wasn’t it? It was one thing to interfere physically, but cutting off Sou’s ability to defend himself was implying that Sou couldn’t defend himself, and Deere really couldn’t afford that right now, not when his head was already on the chopping block, so…so…

…w-what did he do here?

Under the gloom, looking clearly out of his depth, Deere decided on just…staying between the royals. Keeping his mouth shut.

(Nobles never really wanted to hear what commoners thought anyway.)

Shin was trying very, very hard to stop shaking. 

He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t this. Yes, okay, Kaito had a temper, it had been a well known thing back in Luminary too. A temper even more explosive than his father’s, one whose existence had partly given the mob that had turned against him among the elites more fodder for getting Kaito taken out of the line of inheritance. Yes, Shin knew his history, he had known that.

…but he had never seen Kaito’s temper for himself. And, honestly, what he knew about that discontent was that Kaede had been a massive part of that particular whisper campaign. A fact that wasn’t even necessarily secret from the elites themselves, or even Kaito. 

Kaito had a reputation for a temper, yes, but Kaito also had a reputation for, well… being pretty easy to manipulate. Borderline push around. For those who knew the truth about Kaede’s whisper campaign against him, it was generally considered fair play, Kaede somewhat humanely getting herself closer to the throne. If Kaito wasn’t so, well… stupid. Easy to socially take advantage of? It wouldn’t have worked. And the fact that it had worked had meant, to anyone who knew, well, that Kaito was less suited to be king than Kaede queen. Fair play. Job done.

Shin had met Kaito in truth only a handful of times, and Kaito had just seemed more or less like a smiling buffoon every time. A buffoon that had toppled all of Shin’s hard work in a phone call. Revenge would be sweet… but it was also supposed to be easy.

Shin had mostly expected Kaito to just shut up and take whatever wrath he threw the prince’s way, about this. But Kaito was furious. And Shin suddenly felt very, very vulnerable. 

…it was almost entirely his pride that forced Shin to spit out, “O-oh, you’re sick of controlling M-momotas!? Wh-why don’t you look in the mirror and s-spit in your own face! What do you call the fact that I’m even here!?”

“God dammit, you know why…” Kaito glanced at Deere and Selka, before saying through gritted teeth, “Sire, this would be a much easier conversation alone.”

“Prince Kaito, with all due respect?” Selka said, suddenly stepping forward, standing beside Deere as she tried to hold her small body to equal standing, the top of her hair at Deere’s shoulder. “You’ve already manhandled our king once, and him even hearing you out in this manner, away from the safety of his guards in the festival and after direct threat? We’re being very generous already, the king could turn to leave at any moment should he desire,” she said. That last part pointed. Like maybe she was trying to say that to Shin more than Kaito. “You may be a prince, but… you mustn't forget that you are merely a consort, and one from an excommunicated family. Harming King Sou is not a family squabble, it is a crime.”

Kaito, briefly, looked incredulous. Like five different sarcastic thoughts had raced through his head all at once… but once again, he backed down, stepping back at Selka’s stare as he bowed his head lightly. “Apologies, priestess. I’m not trying to hurt your king. I am trying to have a damn conversation with him though,” Kaito said, glaring past them, at Shin, “Which I wish I could have had before you tried this shit… but I’m sorry that I laid a hand on you. I’m trying to be better about doing that to anyone, let alone family… Sou, can we please have a real conversation?”

And when he saw Sou was still shaking, still frozen in place… Kaito sighed. Before carefully getting onto his knees. Putting his hands demurely in his lap as he said, “Please, Sou?”

…Shin’s trembling eased a little. “...fine,” Shin said, voice still a tad small, “...but once you stand back up? This conversation is done.”

Kaito sighed, nodding, “On my knees, got it. I’ll stay.”

It was harder to be angry in the face of Sou’s obvious fear. But…what did he even mean? Sure, maybe Kaito had been the springboard for the vacation, but Kaito and Kokichi weren’t even forcing ambassadorship on him! If Kaede hadn’t even told him, even for the most controlling person on the planet, he couldn’t imagine their queen was that desperate that she’d sabotage their country like that, so it wasn’t like she was forcing him to take the job either!! Sou’s life was filled with choices!

But no matter how frustrated with Sou Deere was? There was no chance he was leaving him there alone with Kaito. And he was deeply, truly grateful for Selka that she could articulate that better than he’d ever manage. In a way elites would actually listen. 

For a brief moment, Deere readied himself, thinking he may have to fight Prince Kaito without rules and referees anyway, but then…?

The prince backed down. 

(Deere briefly had a puzzled look cross his face, at the real remorse Kaito spoke about in laying hands on another in anger.)

Kaito not moving from his spot, it seemed, Deere finally allowed himself to look back at Sou. Still not wanting to embarrass his king, but… Deere raised his eyebrows, tilting his head a little, trying to silently ask if Sou was alright.

Shin caught Deere’s gaze, giving him a tired, somewhat embarrassed look back… before he took another deep breath, stepping forward. Trying to show strength by not having Deere and Selka literally stand between him and a man kneeling on the ground, as he said, “Fine, we’ll have a conversation.”

“...Sou, there’s things I can’t say in front of these two,” Kaito said, a tad desperate, “You know I can’t–”

“Priestess Selka has proven herself to be deeply devoted to her faith, and a reliable priestess… and she’s been very kind to me even when social decorum did not insist she had to be,” Shin said, “And Deere has seen me through this trip vulnerable, frustrated, and saved me from some bad choices… but mostly, they’ve both been exceptional in their work. They have not let me down once in this entire journey, and… I am choosing to believe that if I asked them not to repeat whatever they hear here, to anyone else? That they wouldn’t.”

“....you may speak freely in front of them. I trust them,” Shin said, “More than I trust being alone with you.”

Kaito warily glanced between the two, looking for a moment like he wanted to argue… before he sighed, nodding. “Who am I to doubt someone else's faith in their escorts? Fine. Sou, I’m sorry I… actually, I don’t entirely know what I did,” Kaito admitted, “I’m sorry I invited you to Dicea?”

“Invited?” Shin scowled, his anger bringing his courage back, “You threatened Kaede into ensuring I’d come! Did you think she gave me a choice, after that? I was packaged up and shipped off to a journey that both ways would take me a year, to appease you. A year of my life, sacrificed to soothe the grand moral daydreams of the damn party prince!”

“Sou, you were in danger there!” Kaito insisted, glaring back at him, “God, how many times is this going to happen… I do NOT regret pulling you out of an abusive situation! I will NEVER regret it! I don’t care how many villains in how many stories I end up, I will ALWAYS pull people out of shitty, abusive homes! Even if you’re king!”

“I wasn’t being abused! You hero obsessed, shonen-wannabee idiot!” Shin shouted back, “I had already rescued myself! You know when I needed rescuing!? The years you and your lot were all content to forget Kaede even HAD a husband! I become king, your family is taken off the throne, and suddenly it’s important to know what’s happening with Sou Momota!? Where were you for the last four years!? Why was it important now, just when Kaede had taken everything from you, oh, suddenly you need to drag her husband away!?”

“I didn’t… know what was happening before now,” Kaito said, gritting his teeth, but this time honest regret on his face, “I didn’t know what she was doing, Sou, I just thought… Honestly I assumed you had other friends in other social groups, it never occurred to me you were just in the manor literally all the time. There was no social or political reason for you to come around much, so I assumed you were doing other things. I didn’t realize what was happening!”

“And you still didn’t! I had finally convinced her that I could participate! I was reading bills, looking at proposed social plans, writing line by line notes over programs that Kaede herself was reading through for advice and approval!” Shin said, “I was finally, finally worth something! And the first bit of freedom I was given, the first bit of trust!? There comes Kaito Momota like a god damn hurricane! And suddenly all of that exploded, and I needed to leave! All of it, gone in an instant, and suddenly I’m back to being told where to go, and what to do, back to being an accessory… you could have just talked to me!” Shin said, “Why wouldn’t you just ask to speak with me?”

Kaito hesitated at that, clearly looking for an answer and not really… Warily he looked down at the grass. “...” he licked his lips, still looking for an answer, “...”

Then, finding it, he winced. “....okay maybe… maybe it was nice to… get to tell Kaede what to do, for once… maybe that felt more satisfying than asking you about any of it…”

Priestess Selka was sweating.

All of that talk about Sou trusting her had been incredibly sweet! She had practically felt giddy hearing that! She knew it was impractical, but she actually quite liked the idea that King Sou considered her a confidante, even a friend. She liked him too!

But OH WOW. Okay! That was… what were they talking about!? WOW.

Deere tried and failed to not look utterly bewildered by Sou vouching for him and Selka. Yeah, there had been points during their journey that…Deere really liked. Moments away from the rest of the party when Sou would talk to them like people, moments where he felt comfortable talking about the things that made him Sou the Person and not Sou the King, brief moments where he asked about Deere and Selka in turn. 

It had apparently garnered a kind of faith that, yeah, Deere had hoped to prove with his competence, but hearing it, he realized he never really thought he’d achieve. 

…but what that faith revealed?

Deere gave Sou a shocked, wary look. Queen Kaede had…abused him? That…maybe explained some of what Sou had mentioned, and his determination towards freedom, and definitely complicated some of the stuff he’d heard Sou mention about Kaede, but…

Deere’s eyebrow twitched as he looked between the royals, gloom increasing as his slouch started pulling his posture down again. 

“...why on earth would you two even entertain telling the queen what to do?” Deere said, voice a little disparaging in its resignation. “The person higher in the hierarchy makes the rules, tells you what to do, and gets to treat you however they want. Trying to fight against that is just a recipe to make yourself miserable. I’d get it normally, your graces, but why are you even talking about choices when it comes to the queen?”

Surprisingly, considering how the two of them had both been in this conversation by this point, Kaito loud and insisting, Shin trembling and defending, it was actually Kaito who winced in learned, instinctual guilt at Deere’s question, like his impulse was to agree, while Sou openly and immediately scoffed, like the idea was laughable as he said, “Hierarchy only works if you have someone willing to brutalize you to enforce it. Otherwise it’s just flavor-dressing at parties to make people feel like they’re a part of something, rather than just idiots in it alone.”

“It has its places…” Kaito whispered, a thousand old scripts and lessons and brutally reinforced socializations making that his first thought… before he closed his eyes, reminding himself of everything he had mentally taken back in the last year, “But… but one of those places isn’t justifying abuse. Or harm. The queen can’t be allowed to hurt people just because she’s queen. Anyone. People at the top of the hierarchies are supposed to look out for those below them… but Luminary hasn’t done that in a long time.”

“It just… it can be different. I have to believe it can be different,” Kaito said, gripping his hands into fists, “And that starts with holding Kaede accountable. And that starts with the people who can safely actually do that. Like her cousin who’s well out of reach. If I can’t argue with her, who can?”

“W-well… to Deere’s point?” Priestess Selka smiled nervously, “...no one? Well, I guess in truth other elites can argue, at least, but threaten–”

“I’m really sorry, this whole conversation isn’t fair to you two,” Kaito frowned, looking between Deere and Selka, “I wish we were talking philosophy over pints and you two weren’t in the middle of two feuding Momotas. I promise you, neither of you are at risk right now. In truth? I’m literally barely even a prince at this point, like, socially and legally, I can do literally nothing to either of you without putting myself at serious legal risk. Honestly, even small tokens of respect that you’ve shown me here is… there’s no precedence for it here. I’m not above you here. There isn’t a hierarchy in Dicea, just whatever one we bring from Luminary and playact here.”

Deere didn’t ease at Sou’s laugh, just looking at him with a solemn, unamused, bitter look. 

If you have someone willing to brutalize you. 

When had that ‘if’ ever been in question in Luminary? When they only this year got rid of a system that took away your home and purpose and agency for stepping a toe out of line. When jobs were given out not by the quality of your work, but by who you knew. When people were killed and silenced and threatened and kept on leashes all on the whims of the people above them. When Deere had grown up in the very machine Luminary had to impose its will onto others?

There was always someone above you. And as much as they smiled and shared and maybe even made you feel like a person, they would always choose to wield the real power they had like a weapon to ensure that you never actually forgot where you stood in comparison. 

It was all niiiice and goooood to think it could be different. But Deere had never seen anyone actually achieve that. Present company included.

Deere let out a small, frustrated sigh. “It may not hold as much sway, but there’s plenty your word can still affect in Luminary, where it isn’t playacting, if the right people hear, and it’s convenient for them, Prince Kaito.”

Kaito winced. “I know. But there’s only the four of us here. Well… maybe…” Kaito looked around the foliage, aware his bodyguard probably was listening in too, “...look, Kaede will only hear about this conversation if one of us tells. I have no desire to tell her Sou and I fought about this, I’d prefer she never know. And Sou, you–”

“I can speak for myself,” Shin grumbled, glaring at nothing for a moment… before he looked warily at the two people he just vouched for. “...I was scared to talk to Kaito alone, but I shouldn’t have asked you both to hear this. I…”

…Shin looked away, suddenly looking a little defeated as he said, “Would you both please excuse us? You can go back to the festival, I’ll have Prince Kaito here escort me safely back to the castle.”

“Um…” Priestess Selka placed her hands together, fretting a bit, “...your grace, we shouldn’t really leave you alone…”

“I’d still like to trust that you won’t spread rumors,” Shin said, staring at the grass, “But if it helps? Consider it an order. Return to the festival. Forget all about this. It’s not your business.”

“Sou, are you kidding me?” Kaito frowned, “You were basically calling them friends a second ago, dismissing them isn’t helpful.”

“I will meet you in the castle later,” Sou said.

Deere gave Sou a small frustrated look. And given his argument, what he just said…he should just follow orders. Do what his king asked him. There was nothing else he could do, Sou was a king, and Deere was just…

(A guy who’d always treated the upper classes around him more as people than they treated him.)

“Sou, with all due respect, what the fuck do I have to gain?” Deere said with a tired force. The butler was always tired, but now another definition joined, the teen just looking fed up and strung out. “I spread rumors, it’s a bad look for the royal family, I’m dead. I leave, you get hurt when that’s literally my main purpose here, I’m dead.”

“It never fucking matters,” Deere bit out through gritted teeth, closing his eyes tight as the gloom increased around him. “You two will fight, you’ll make up or ignore each other or hellfire, maybe someone will die! But life will always move on, except for the people always having to clean up your messes and live in the tremors left behind.”

“If you’ve hated this trip from the beginning, what a bummer, you have to spend a year looking around a beautiful country with your every need and security met; you can choose to stay and get a job people would kill for, go home a-and, what, do a job you sounded just fine with, while talking about your shitty cousin and shitty vacation, and either way…”

…Deere would never win. He didn’t ever think he was the type to want to, but…seeing it in front of him now?

Always, always, always an elite would prioritize their whims and goals no matter the expense and he’d always…

…he should’ve just let them keep him as a trophy. At least being an accessory wasn’t being executed. 

“O-oh, dear, um, Deere, perhaps we should all calm down and, and… he certainly doesn’t mean any of that, your grace!” Selka said, stepping between Shin and Deere, smiling brightly at him even as she sweated, hands folded in her lap, “He’s simply stressed, we’re still recovering from a long trip, this conversation has been enlightening, and it’s caused a minor fit–”

“You don’t need to protect him from me, priestess,” Shin said tiredly, both exasperated and a little hurt by her nerves, “You’ve never taken any outlandish threat I’ve said to heart. But Deere speaks out of turn one time and, what, you think I’m going to throw him in a dungeon?”

“It's your title, Sou,” Kaito explained, frowning, “Look, I know no one’s ever had this conversation with you, it’s never been relevant before… but it takes a lot more for people to trust us then just telling them they can. You’re inherently dangerous. Everything you say is inherently dangerous. When just existing makes you dangerous to other people? You have to work extra hard to make yourself less dangerous to them–”

“Kaito, I’ve heard through Kaede all the ways you think you ‘make yourself approachable’ to people,” Shin scowled, “The truth is you just sleep with people. Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. Just let me talk to my party, who I’ve been traveling with for–”

Deere suddenly burst into tears. 

A shockingly loud sob bursting from him, as the teen looked horrified to be doing what he was doing, but he just…couldn’t stop. Something like a nervous breakdown shattering perpetual fatigue and apathy and consideration, and a childhood of expectations he could never live up to, and every single one he’d tried to find in other people crumbling down around him too. 

No wonder his parents couldn’t wait to get rid of him. 

Shin startled, giving Deere a wide-eyed look as he stammered, “D-deere? Are you… hurt? What is–”

“Oh, dear,” Selka said, immediately turning and reaching up to him, pulling his head down to her shoulder, rubbing his back, “Oh, dear, oh dear…this is a lot. This has been…” Selka paused, brow furrowing as she pursed her lips… before she suddenly looked at Kaito. “If you’re trying to help Sou, then you will escort us regardless of the festival, and Sou,” she said, turning to look sternly at him, “If you’re serious about taking us on as friends or confidantes, then you are going to wine and dine us. Because this is no fun to talk about in some strange bushes with everyone yelling and neither of us able to say anything!”

“And also I’m hungry! I thought I’d be able to get some food at a stand, and then all of this happened just when I was picking what I want to eat, and now I’m very stressed and very hungry and I think it’s time you two do something about that,” Selka insisted, lightly but firmly stomping her foot, still rubbing Deere’s back as she said, “Take us to get something to eat! If it pleases you! Sires!”

Kaito and Shin both stared at her.

“...iiiiiif I can stand up, I can take you to a ramen place that I know will still be open today,” Kaito offered, “Do you guys like ramen?”

Saints above, this was mortifying.

Sometimes Deere wondered what was up with him, that true embarrassment seemed to pass him by. Knowing glances from the priestesses as he signed out a prayer room, getting caught napping in all manner of places by all manner of people, the nearly endless lectures from Jacob, most of which were hardly private…

But uncontrollably crying in front of his boss, his boss’s cousin, and a priestess? 

How pathetic could you get?

And yet Deere could only huff around sobs as Selka pulled him down, Deere almost fully curled around her side from the height difference, soothed like he was a child, even though he could feel her own tension in her back. He was supposed to take care of everything, not even be noticed for how efficient he was, and yet…

-

Deere had rarely looked more 18 on the trip than he did squished into the booth at the ramen place, not looking at anyone else even if a turned face could hardly hide the reddened eyes and blotchy face. He’d already gone through two handkerchiefs trying to clean his face. 

Kaito, in turn, was staring at him. Hands pressed together in front of his mouth. Brow furrowed. 

…then he glanced at Selka, who was still worriedly fussing over Deere, nervous and slightly overwhelmed but trying to hide it. 

…then he looked at Sou. Who was staring at the table. Looking guilty and pouting. 

“......I have a question,” Kaito said, the four waiting for their order to arrive, “...how old are you? Deere, Priestess?”

“19, Prince Kaito,” Selka said without missing a beat, “And our dear Deere here is 18! Why? Were you thinking about buying us drinks after all? I’m afraid we’ve had some difficulties with that in the Luminary Party, since arriving to Dicea.”

Kaito blinked slowly. “...why?”

“Oh, most of our party don’t match Dicea’s honestly somewhat unreasonably strict age limit.” Selka sighed, “I imagine you had a similar issue when your party came as well.”

“...not really,” Kaito said dryly, “There weren’t many… teenagers in my party.” Zero, There had been zero teenagers. Because why would they send teenagers to a cross country, highly sensitive, international mission? That’d be so damn strange, Kaede.

Kaito glanced at Sou again, who now looked even more stressed out, still staring at the table. Kokichi had hinted to Kaito that Sou was much younger than he had been presented to be for Kaede’s arranged marriage. But Kokichi hadn’t seemed to know the real number.

He had always been on the thin side. Short too…was he really all that much bigger than when Kaito had first met him? Kaito had been 19, when Kaede had gotten married. Just barely turning 20. He remembered thinking Sou was… sickly looking. Too thin for his height, and not that tall. 

(Like someone going through a growth spurt their body wasn’t healthy enough for?)

“.........I can feel you staring, Kaito,” Sou said. 

“What’s the harm in telling me your age?” Kaito said, “Really. In anyone knowing, by this point? You’re king. No one can do anything about it now.”

Sou narrowed his eyes at the table, wanting to argue that he was 23. As he had always said he was, just a tad younger than the second prince himself… but sitting next to Kaito? Who was tall and built and at 24 already had some wear to his face, his features hardening to adulthood?

Shin looked like a kid with a fake ID, trying to get into a bar.

“..........19,” Shin whispered, “I think I’m 19. I’m not sure.”

Kaito gave a shaky laugh, looking at the three teenagers he was suddenly responsible for, trying to not let the panic show on his face as he grinned. “Well, see, that helps already! Now we’ve got one more thing out in the open! Now, being a teenager is already hard enough with the… body changes and hormones and all of that! It’s totally reasonable to be emotional even on a normal day, especially for 18 year olds, 19 year olds,” Kaito said, looking imploringly at Deere, “And entirely justified to get fed up and tired when things are stressful for too long! Nothing unusual in that!” 

Though he still refused to look at any of them, Deere nodded a bit as Selka briefly described their party’s struggles with the sky high age of adulthood in Dicea. From what he knew, there had been over a hundred people in the party Kaito had arrived with. It seemed a little strange to Deere that there would’ve been more older adults willing to give up their lives for over a year, but Deere supposed that with higher stakes, and only an international war, people might’ve volunteered more readily. Or had been volunteered. 

Considering he got in, Deere got the feeling that the selection process for Sou’s party had been more casual. 

(...though if there was another criteria?)

Grey eyes flicked over to Sou in surprise for a moment, before they avoided the group again, Deere slouching more with a grimace at the pointed words Kaito decided to give. And before he could really help himself, Deere cringed feeling his father’s words in his mouth. “It’s unprofessional and has no place in the workplace,” he muttered, “And despite the age limit here, your grace, I’ve been in professional spaces for a long time.”

Though as soon as he broke himself from that, Deere glanced over again, giving Sou an indecipherable look. “...they married you off when you were 14?”

“...I had light green hair and dark green eyes,” Sou murmured. 

Kaito realized what Sou was saying and, as much as he wanted to encourage these three to break down this social barrier between them, maybe!! Some things should still be kept close to the chest!! As he interrupted, “Luminary was more interested in the trade agreements Sou and Kaede’s marriage would ensure. My brother arranged the marriage to ensure the trades. Sou’s age was likely considered less important than the trade agreement.”

“Yeah,” Sou sighed, shoulders falling, “Basically.”

“And, yes! I’m sure both of you,” Kaito said, turning to Deere and Selka, “Have been in professional spaces most of your lives! And even in Dicea, you’re both close to Dicean adulthood. I don’t want to try to reset the clock with you, suggest either of you are less capable or less experienced than you are. You’re a butler and a priestess so respected that you were entrusted with the safety and care of the king!” Kaito said, “That’s very impressive! But.”

Kaito put his hands back together, brow furrowing. “But, but… but! As both a prince and the only adult here? Um, only Dicean adult…um. Look, I’m just expressing concern. Because even for professionals, this is a difficult situation. And teenage professionals usually can rely on older people in their field to mentor them, but you three seem to be handling this on your own. Which is difficult. Even the Indentured Program recognized the importance of older mentors through their careers! Maki and Shuichi were still directly reporting to their mentors in their twenties! It’s an understandable need!”

“Oh, I do understand that myself a bit, your grace,” Selka smiled, “When I was first taken in by the temples from the Indentured program, the first thing they did was assign me a mentor, and Priestess Lilah is still my rock! She was very excited for my assignment!”

“Oh cool you grew up in the program,” Kaito said, a stressed smile across his face, “But, yeah, exactly, so… so… so!”

Deere gave Sou a confused look--why…would his hair and eye color be important--before he sighed, looking disgruntled and upset. Nothing mattered. Everything sucked. Other people would always run your life, and they’d run it into the ground. 

“That’s fucked up,” he said quietly.

Slouching back against the booth, Deere could only give Kaito a tired look--sparing a softer one for Selka, as she spoke of her mentor--before sighing. “I basically traveled from my compound right to the capital in time to leave. As far as I’m aware, the only other full time royal attendant was Mr. Amami, who had already been on vacation by the time I showed up.”

For most things, being trained by the butler to a high ranking general wouldn’t be so much different than for a king, in day to day duties. And despite Jacob constantly belittling Deere and telling him he’d never be as good as him, his father did train him. 

“Rantaro’s on vacation?” Kaito asked, eyebrows raising slightly in surprise. 

“Good riddance too.” Shin scowled. “I hope he stays gone.”

“Indentureds can’t be blamed for things they’re ordered to do,” Kaito said automatically, before giving Deere a concerned look, “You come from a compound, Deere? Are you a military type? Another ex-Indentured?”

Deere gave a short nod, looking to the side. “14th company. I was never submitted to the Indentured Program, though, my family’s military. When news of the position openings for Sou’s party reached us, my parents jumped at the chance to sign me up. Not that I really had an objection.”

“Your parents signed you up,” Kaito echoed, “...Selka, why did you join the party?”

“Oh, I was looking for a way out of my hometown,” the priestess admitted with a sheepish smile, “A lovely place, but not the easiest area to move away from. I asked for transfers in the temple but was denied, but my mentor clued me in on a once in a lifetime chance to travel! So I took it.”

“I see, I see…” Kaito murmured. “...do… either of you have a lot to look forward to, heading home, or…”

Now Shin raised an eyebrow, looking at Kaito. “What sort of question is that?”

“Dicea’s a nice place, isn’t it?” Kaito said, ignoring him, “Lots of seasons, lots of food, lots of opportunities. Actually, this might be a conversation I’d ask King Aiichi if we can have with all of the Luminary Party… Dicea is a good place to move to. Luminary is going through some hard times right now.”

What did he have to look forward to?

Parents that hated him. 

More reminders of a broken heart. 

(Working for the rest of his life for…a woman that abused the husband she married when he was barely legal?)

Or struggling to find a job at all when…

Deere grimaced, looking at the table. “My job is to escort Sou on his vacation. I’m not going AWOL on that.” Glancing up, looking a little offended now, Deere told Kaito, “I’m not going to abandon him out of self-interest.”

“I’m already working on getting him to stay. That was literally the reason I asked him to come,” Kaito said, “Now I’m also wondering about you two.”

“Me…?” Selka asked, frowning a bit. “That’s… quite a thing to think about, out of the blue.”

“Isn’t it?” Shin somewhat sulkily said.

“Look, it’s no secret that Luminary is a hard place to live right now.” Kaito said, “And life is long, and strange… I’m not saying you should abandon being Luminary entirely, forsake the homeland, Dicea forever. But Dicea is a great place to exist safely and figure some things out for yourself, especially at this point in your lives, where you don’t have children or spouses you need to think of. While you’re here, escorting Sou, doing your jobs, maybe look at Dicea with a more critical eye! Try to imagine yourselves here longer term! That’s all I’m saying!”

“And you,” Kaito said, turning to Shin, “...look, I understand you’re angry with me. I didn’t talk to you about my plans. But I really, genuinely believed you were going to know the full story before you ever left the capital, let alone Luminary. It never occurred to me Kaede would keep the reason I asked you to come from you. I know I took you away from a situation you had finally managed to make better, but I’m offering one that doesn’t suck from the get-go, and doesn’t come with an addendum that everything can go back to right how it was before if the person in control of your life gets irritated one day. Ambassadorship is an extremely honorable job. Honestly, Sou… you would do a lot of good here for a lot of Luminaries. Luminary just dealt with a mini-famine that’s probably sped up the big famine we all know is coming someday. We’re depending on our international relationships and that’s going to get more vital every year. Ambassadors will determine how many of our people die to starvation in the next one hundred years more than any internal Luminary policy ever could. It’s important.”

“And you wouldn’t be alone trying to manage it here,” Kaito added in gently, after a moment, “You’ll have a support system here, that you can count on. People who care and want to be there, not servants who feel like they have no other choice but to be a yes-man. Our ambassadors can’t be mindless figureheads. They have to be able to handle scrutiny and be accountable and work with other people. And I think you can do that, Sou. For the most part, your party seems to respect you, they take you seriously. I have to assume you at least didn’t become a laughingstock to them over this trip.”

“Oh, no! Not at all!” Selka said, brightening up, “King Sou had many moments of genuine leadership! Thoooough we also had our moments of dealing with tantrums.”

“...apologies,” Shin grumbled. Looking embarrassed.

It felt impossible to think about. Wherever Sou was until his vacation was over, whatever that turned out to look like, that’s where Deere would be. …after that? It barely even felt like his decision to make. If they all went back to Luminary, Sou turning the job down…he had said before he’d vouch for Deere getting a castle job. And despite learning more about what the queen was like, that was still an incredible job. 

…only if Deere hadn’t completely ruined that vouch here, being so unreliable and…oh god he’d yelled at the king, hadn’t he…

As Deere’s soul left his body a little, he contemplated the other futures. Sou taking the job, and Deere returning to Luminary anyway. Getting a job on a vouch…maybe less likely to get it, since he’d left the king in another country (and apparently wasn’t valuable enough for the king to insist he stay). So…that was back on the job hunt, with the awful state of the market. 

…Sou taking the job and Deere staying? Would he still work for Sou? In the same capacity? Deere couldn’t imagine being shuffled into a different, more diplomatic role. It just sounded absurd. 

(Deere couldn’t even conceptualize staying and finding his own way in Dicea. He’d never had that sort of freedom in his life.)

Deere closed his eyes, wishing he was asleep. “Sou is a capable, effective leader that our group respects. While the circumstances of a vacation are probably unique, he’s shown himself to be someone that respects his people in turn and values their happiness and safety. I’m proud to work for him.”

He opened his eyes, looking dully at the ceiling. “...the ‘I’m king, I can do what I like’ rants make more sense now, if your wife was abusing you. …I’m sorry for scoffing at the notion that you even had anything to rebel against.” Deere looked more tired. Lost. “It was an assumption based on your station. But…I really barely know you.”

Shin frowned, hearing Deere and Selka vouch for him. “...but I really couldn't have done anything without your assistance. Genuinely none of it.”

“I think that’s why I found myself… find myself wanting to trust you both, even though I know we’re not really friends,” Shin confessed, looking warily at Deere and Selka, “It’s hard, to cross that professional border into friendship, I know. But… I found myself relying on you both so much throughout this journey. It just… it made me want to trust you.”

“I know it was your professionalism, your duty, to stay by my side and help me manage the party and ensure we would all get here safely,” Shin said, “But it was a comfort to know I wasn’t expecting to do this alone. When a guard would get arrested or there’d be grumbling among the ranks or, gods above, when we lost Deliliah in the city for three days.” Shin groaned, rubbing his temples. “...you both were reliable. Trying to figure out how to solve the problems with me. Sometimes despite me. And I just…”

“...I wanted to know you better, during this trip,” Shin said, “But I have so many secrets to keep. It felt like saying almost anything, any random word, put those secrets at risk. And my wife… if I make a mistake? And someone uses it against her?” Shin closed his eyes. “...I can’t go back to living the way I did before. I just can’t. It’s too hard to let your guard down, when there’s so much to lose.”

“Well…” Selka laughed lightly at that, “I think we all know how that feels, in various ways. Not to downplay what you’re saying, your grace, I just mean… this has been the sort of trip where everyone has potentially a lot to lose! A mistake here could destroy our careers, get us arrested, ruin our reputations… You’re in good company, if losing your freedom was your biggest concern, is what I mean. I think we’ve all worried about that, at some point on this trip.”

“It’s what we’re here for,” Deere said softly. “No one in power ever actually does things alone, they’re always backed up by other people. It’s just if they’re doing it right, they’re supposed to be invisible.” Gloom seeped over his eyes. “Silent. Confidants without any risk of things getting out.”

‘Friends’ without risk. 

(...a few times, it had felt so close to real friends though. But especially now, Deere just felt foolish for thinking that.)

Sighing, he nodded with Selka, looking down from the ceiling finally. “I know I said it as a joke half the time, but if things went wrong enough, we really all could end up executed over this trip. In another way, the guards could all be dismissed from service, we could find it impossible to ever be hired anywhere who isn’t just looking for pure body labor. In some of the worst cases, it wouldn’t just be to us who’re on the trip, it could reflect on our families too.”

Ciro was on the trip to try and gain royal confidence back to his family name, after all. If he could do that, then the opposite was true for all of them as well. 

Looking a bit disgruntled, Deere gave Sou a commiserating look. “For being a vacation, there’s been a lot that’s been the opposite of relaxing.”

…and yet, everyone had still tried. Enjoying local sights and attractions and food, and…most days, not letting that hanging sword over their heads ruin them from living their lives. Enjoying each moment and each opportunity as much as they could.

Shin sighed, nodding. That was all true…

But before he could say anything about it, four bowls of ramen were delivered to the table. Steaming hot and tasty for the cold festival day, Kaito relieved to dig in a bit, letting some noodle and broth warm and soothe him a bit…

“Honestly?” Kaito said, blowing against his ramen, “I think you three are getting in your own way, when it comes to working together. You all are doing the ‘playing stupid mind game, win stupid prizes’ thing us Luminaries love to do.”

“Oh… in what way, your grace?” Selka asked politely, though her tone suggested that she thought Kaito was being a bit dim in saying so, “There are undeniable difficulties in people across the classes working together.”

“Suuuure, I know, I know… but after a certain point? That’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy. You guys have hit that point,” Kaito said, sipping at his noodles, “It sounds like at one point you all really could have trusted and relied on each other. Counted on each other. But then you got around other royals and got into your own damn heads about it, because you feel like you’re being watched again. But you’re not. The only person here watching you is me. And I’m not going to tell on you, you guys have plenty of time and space to figure things out privately before tackling the world alone again.”

“Just because ‘no one’s watching’ in the moment doesn’t mean we don’t have to keep our guard up,” Shin frowned, “And anyone could still be watching at any time. There are definitely people in my party reporting to Kaede.”

“Oh, sure, of course, but even that’s not always reliable as ‘that person’s the enemy’. The people who reported me to my brother during my most vulnerable moments are all still living in the castle, just normal people I see day to day, and they were basically useless to the guy. Just… don’t tell them I said this if you ever find out who they were, but they were wildly incompetent, I really lucked out.” Kaito chuckled. “But my point is, it’s not the end of the world, and I ended up fixing that problem after it was beaten in my head a thousand times that I should just talk to them. Which I did. And they helped me out. Just because I was in trouble and they liked me better than him.”

“Sometimes you can just trust in that. That people will help you because they like you. You don’t have to assume they’re enemies because, well… society set them up to be, essentially,” Kaito mused, “...my husband refused to be friends with the people who worked at the castle too, when I first met him. In a place where hierarchy doesn’t even exist, and he still felt that professionalism wall stop him from just admitting the people in the castle could be trusted. When I found that out?”

“I told him the greatest trick I ever pulled, was convincing my husband Shuichi to love me, and convincing my concubine Maki to raise a child with me,” Kaito said, “Though, she’s not a concubine here, I just really want to stress that she’s very much someone I value in this arrangement… my point is, they’re two of the most important people in the world to me. And that couldn’t have happened unless I got out of my own way and let myself care about them… and the same for them to me.”

“Not that I’m saying you three are in love,” Kaito added in after a moment, “but, like, you could not treat each other like you’re separate species. That’s all.”

Food definitely helped. Oh, sure, Deere had just humiliated himself in front of people whose respect he valued and who had utter control of his welfare, and his life was rapidly spinning out of control…but he felt marginally less like he was actively dying with some proper food in his stomach. He’d been skeptical of what he initially thought was just incredibly wet pasta, but all the noodle soups they’d found across Dicea had an odd quality of feeling nostalgic and comforting despite them all being brand new to him. 

The power of good food was really something magical. 

So of course that just meant even more of a shitstorm of a conversation, right? 

Deere wasn’t too terribly worried about whoever was reporting back to Kaede directly--it was more of a problem of literally everyone since Deere’s vague role meant that if someone was in trouble or upset, it in some way was his job to fix. And so literally anyone taking up issue with his work would suck. 

But as Kaito went on more to describe how oooh, different classes could totally intermingle without issue, it’s just--

[It’s all just a weird, old-fashioned game, isn’t it, Deere? We’re all just people, no one’s born any better or worse. The class structure keeping everyone apart is just mind-games to keep people divided. 

That’s what makes us so special, my love. Just by our existence, our love is humanity’s rebellion, speaking the truth.]

Food be damned, Deere burst into tears again, putting his hands over his face in embarrassment. “I can’t,” he said, voice strained, cracking in desperation. “I can’t do that again.”

Kaito siiiiiipped at his broth. Worriedly looking between the teens now. Hm. Whelp. That sounded like lore backdrop if he had ever heard it. 

“O-oh, dear, Deere! I’ve only got so many handkerchiefs!” Selka fretted, though Kaito was mildly impressed to see that ‘so many’ still included a third fresh handkerchief, reaching to dab gently at Deere’s cheeks. Honestly, that was both a strange and impressive amount of handkerchiefs. Did she have even more??

Shin gave Deere an equally nervous look, just not used to seeing Deere this distraught… or, well, honestly seeing anyone this so distraught. Having literally no social life for years did not prepare you to soothe crying people, as he stammered, “D-do what again? Trust again?”

“Love again?” Selka whispered, eyes suddenly wide with wonder.

“Again, I don’t think you guys are in love, maybe don’t make that leap,” Kaito said, raising his hand to the ramen chef, “Pardon grandfather! Could I order a bottle of sake! Four shot glasses! Thank you!”

“I don’t really drink much,” Shin said, having also barely touched his food.

“The bottle’s mostly for me, you all can have one shot, if you want one, but you need to drink a full glass of water after,” Kaito said, giving the chef a grateful grin when he dropped off the bottle, before sighing as he immediately poured himself a shot, “Why am I always out drinking with teenagers…”

Deere could only shake his head, trying, and failing, to regain any composure. Which was usually so easy! Deere couldn’t even remember the last time he’d cried like this, usually it was quiet! And less messy! And after he stopped crying once that was the end of it!

Really, the last time he could even guess of was after…

Deere let out another shuddering sob, managing to get out, “S-selka, Asura’s a n-noble.”

“Oh no!” Selka gasped, before turning to Kaito and Shin and saying very, very seriously, “We hate Asura.”

“Oh shit, fuck Asura,” Kaito agreed, nodding as he poured himself a shot, “Who the hell would like Asura? Fuck Asura.”

“Wait… who’s Asura?” Shin asked uncertainly, feeling like he was entirely not keeping up.

Kaito nudged him, shaking his head. “Nope. Your friend hates Asura, so fuck Asura. Then you find out why you hate Asura.”

“...” Shin gave Kaito an incredulous look, before seeing Selka determinedly nod her head again. Then, considering Deere was still crying?? “...fuck Asura, we hate Asura.”

“What’d fucking Asura do?” Kaito asked, sounding exasperated, “This time?”

Deere sniffled, trying to get some breath back. Even if Sou was encouraged for it, the just…easy acceptance of people on his side felt…wrong. Untrustworthy, not really like he thought Selka would stab him in the back for it, but like if he finally explained more than, ‘they’re my ex, it was a bad break-up’ she’d…just look at him and retract any support. Call him stupid for even…

A little whine left Deere’s throat before he caught his breath enough to speak. “...they’re m-my ex-girlfriend. We broke up before I left…I broke up with him. Not ‘cause I-I was leaving… I…”

Deere let out a pained breath, the look on his face like he was putting pressure on a physical wound. His voice softening and turning a little higher. “...I-I found out they were only dating me t-to get…s-street cred for d-dating someone sO,” his voice cracked, “lowborn.”

Kaito’s nose immediately wrinkled. “Oh. That type.”

Shin, though, just felt more confused. “...street credit? What does someone get credit for out of dating someone lowborn? It’s lowborn people who are meant to get a reputation boost being with someone highclass… well, if they’re lucky enough that they actually consider it ‘dating you’ rather than just… ‘having you’,” Shin said tiredly.

Kaito sputtered again, again worried that Shin was being too loose with the one bit of information that genuinely could be dangerous if used against him, and also hearing the optics of someone who didn’t grow up poor saying something like that, as he tried to cover, “M-man, you must have had some shitty peers in Kimigashine, Sou! Buuuut it can be utilized more ways than one, if you have some sort of goal from cross-class dating outside of, you know… just dating someone you like. I saw that sort of thing less with nobles, but more with rich commoners growing up. New money types who don’t really fit in with the lower classes anymore but who don’t feel like nobles either… though, if I’m honest, I went through a phase where I did something similar. Though mine was stealing with friends that I ended up not really being friends with, rather than dating.”

“They’re an idiot either way,” Selka pouted, giving Deere a stern look, “You have so much going on for you, and they focused on the one thing that doesn’t matter?! You’re handsome, yes, even when you slouch and are sleepy and grumpy, you’re dutiful and hard working, you’re kind and very patient! You’re a whole package! What were they thinking!?”

“...you’re literally one of the richest people in the world, why were you stealing?” Shin asked Kaito dryly, giving him blatant side-eye.

“Shhhh, we’re helping your friend, not shitting on dumbass 16 year old me,” Kaito whispered. 

Shin sighed, before turning his attention back to Deere. “You dated a noble and they betrayed you? What happened?”

Deere let out a gargling sound that almost sounded like a laugh at Sou’s confusion. “I-it sounds backwards, right?”

It hadn’t been something Deere had considered much, considering the more physical consequences of their relationship being public, but it was something he had known that people would think. That he was gold-digging, dating someone soooo out of his class. But even when the thought had crossed his mind, Deere hadn’t cared, because he had…

He let out another sob, before taking a deeper breath, accepting another of Selka’s handkerchiefs to once again try to not be completely gross. 

“We met when we were 14,” Deere sniffed, swallowing hard, “They’re an artist, a-and she’d just started doing bigger things with music, and one of those things was being hired as a-an entertainment event for military camps. Even back then, I thought…” He cut himself off with a swallow, just shaking his head. “...o-on later visits, we started talking more, a-and eventually started dating.”

Another sniffle, as Deere looked miserably at the table. “...I knew it was never going to work out forever. Asura…” Even just saying their name made his heart ache. “...he disagrees with a lot of societal rules and expectations, and was never afraid to say it. But even with that, we never t-told anyone we were dating. House Vallia could easily pull funding or just f-force Asura to stay on their lands, I knew my parents would be terrified… There was too much to lose, and…” Deere squinted. “...we were just happy spending time with each other.”

He breathed through another sob. “I knew it’d never work out, it wasn’t a ‘forever’ relationship…” He shrank into himself, voice trembling. “...b-but…my parents married between classes. I… I felt so stupid for believing it could ever work out…but I still felt it.”

Hugging himself, Deere grit his teeth through another pained look. “...it’s not like there weren’t warning signs. Every time they introduced me to their friends, she always…I thought I was just hearing things, the emphasis she put on explaining I was a military servant. And he always assured me that…that it was fine to say, because we were among…o-open-minded, enlightened friends. Other people that thought class and expectations were bullshit.”

Shrinking more, Deere put his palms over his eyes, and just shook his head. Unable to explain more than, “...I overheard them.”

What, apparently, Asura had really valued in their relationship.

“Ugh, 14. Tough age for a relationship to blow up in your face like that,” Kaito grumbled, “Especially when someone’s taking advantage…” But, that said? 14 was also a dumb age where it was easy to hurt people through sheer ignorance alone. Kaito didn’t really doubt that whoever this Asura person–Vallia? Did Kaito know anyone from the Vallia family? Nothing was ringing a bell–was likely a different person by now. Growing up and learning themselves. 

But. That didn’t change what they had done to Deere, and it didn’t really matter to Deere’s situation, who Asura might be now–

“Four years!?” Selka gasped, looking frustrated, “You dated for four years and they were still acting like that!?”

Oh, wait, nevermind, “They dated you four years for street credit!?” Kaito gasped, also looking shocked, once Selka had cleared that up, “...are they stupid? Deere, honestly? You dodged a crossbolt. You can do waaaaaay better than that, that person was a moron.”

Shin, though, frowned. “...is that why you joined my party? Because you had just had a big breakup?”

Deere could only helplessly shrug. It had been four years of getting to know each other and helpless pining, waiting for each visit Asura could arrange to go to the compound, and sending secret letters to addresses in places they’d set up and spending every moment they could squirrel away from others’ eyes to spend with each other. Four years of Deere just…being an oblivious idiot. 

Sniffling, he shrugged again. “Not totally. My parents didn’t know about the relationship or that I broke up with Asura, so when they brought up sending in my credentials to apply… Obviously getting out of the country sounded appealing…not that I totally managed to avoid everything…”

Slouching down more, manners be damned, Deere defeatedly thunked his head on the table. “...if I was unwanted everywhere else, I thought maybe I’d actually be useful in the party. I know how to schedule and manage resources, I’m great at cooking, I can fight, I have medical training… That’d be great in a traveling party.”

Great enough to be the king’s personal escort, apparently the castle had thought.

“Well, that part certainly worked out for me, yes,” Shin said, frowning still, “I can’t imagine you were unwanted, though. You’re well liked within our party, you defused a lot of difficult situations with locals… well, admittedly with Selka’s help, but the priestess is a relentless and terrifying extrovert.”

“I am!” Selka said cheerfully, before looking sternly at Deere, “But our king is right, Deere! We’ve seen the good qualities in you since day one, they shine with all the splendor and glamor of Atua’s temples! One person being an absolute hateful cunt does not define you!”

“Uuuuh, strong way of putting that, priestess,” Kaito said, before smiling gently at Deere, “I get it though. When someone breaks your heart? It feels like… not that the world’s ending, but it’s going on without you. You’re just stuck in this awful, neverending moment where you feel just… like you’ve been shoved out of place from everything else. Especially if you had put a lot of your self-esteem or self-worth into that relationship? Which they’re totally willing to reinforce and praise and build up, riiiight until they’re done with you, and then bam! It’s like suddenly your trash they couldn’t be bothered with. It’s devastating.”

Kaito tilted his head, considering the story Deere had told, before nodding as the priestess reached for a glass to steal a shot from his sake. “Who ended up breaking up with who?”

Deere was sure his work within the compound had been appreciated, sure, but…his father had been eager for years for Deere to Not Be There. But no one ever left the military, even retiring from service just meant that you lived in the compound more peacefully, occasionally giving advice. 

All until the structure of their country had a tremor that shook it up, and suddenly? Leaving was possible. And his parents had jumped on that opportunity. 

Deere couldn’t help but smile a little at Selka’s vigor, but…even why they had started talking about this in the first place. “...I just can’t go through that again. Asura was supposed to be an elite that was different. But…” He sniffed. “...and even just now you two were accusing each other of being ‘another controlling, manipulative Momota’. Elites just…don’t change.”

And when you ever believed they could, they took advantage of that to just use you as one of their resources. 

Deere swallowed thickly, even with the support otherwise, feeling the taboo knot his stomach. “...I broke up with them.”

Shin pouted at the accusation, hurt coming over him…

But Kaito just lightly chuckled at that, hearing it with the ease of someone who had heard similar accusations his whole life growing up, though rarely that directly. Hell, Shuichi and Maki’s mentors still said shit like that to him today. Kaito had accepted that nothing he could ever do for Maki and Shuichi would ever clear him of suspicion from the two older now ex-Indentureds. They would always be afraid Kaito was taking advantage of them, using them, or just not appreciating them enough because of the massive class differences. Kaito had learned that the only way to ease their fears was to… well, do what he always said he had to do in order to breach that class or power divide. Make himself less. Easily intimidated, easily mocked, easily sheepish. 

He couldn’t convince Mr. Nidai or Miss Kirigiri to trust him. But he could let them feel like he was too incompetent to be truly dangerous. And that had meant Kaito could spend his life with the two best people he had ever known before Kokichi, and that had been more than worth it.

It wasn’t impossible to make a relationship with someone who couldn’t trust you. It just meant you had to make concessions or changes you otherwise wouldn’t have for others.

Kaito grinned, lighting up at Deere’s confession as he said, “Hey, good for you! I was afraid it was going to be the other way around, but hell yeah, know your worth! I’m having a drink to that one, actually.” Kaito cheerfully laughed, pouring himself another shot. “Would you like one Deere? Sou?”

“I can’t stay with someone who just wants to use me as an accessory for their own ego,” Deere quietly groaned, the pained ache in his chest really not feeling like it had been dulled with time, bringing this all up again. “I’m not going to spend my life trailing after anyone just…hoping for scraps of genuine affection. I can’t do that.”

He grimaced. “...can’t drink on the job.”

It did feel tempting right about then to lose the pain in liquor, though. 

“If it makes you feel any better, my bodyguard’s watching out for us,” Kaito said, “And we can all head back to the castle together.”

Shin frowned, looking around. “Bodyguard? What bodyguard?”

“Whaaaaat? Do you think I, a foreign prince sent to end a highly contentious war to a still emotional population, would be left without a bodyguard?” Kaito said, sounding deeply amused… before he shrugged, “I’m pretty sure that guy’s around here somewhere. I think he’s an amazing individual capable of keeping his distance and allowing me a certain level of privacy while still looking out for me, or, he’s a fantastic scam artist who has my dumb ass convinced I’m being guarded while he fucks off to do who knows what. Preeeetty sure he’s around somewhere though.”

“Your ex sounds like a real piece of shit, Deere,” Selka said soothingly, patting him on the back, “And I don’t know if you have to trust elites. In truth, King Sou has simply asked us to not spread his secrets, which I think is the sort of normal thing elites want from their personal staff, honestly… it can just still be that.” Priestess Selka said, glancing over at Sou, who looked more tired the more she spoke, “...but it is odd, that both of you started this journey getting away from a cunt of a partner–”

“Still going with that phrasing huh?” Kaito whispered.

“--that’s a bit of something you both have in common that I wouldn’t have picked up on.”

Shin frowned, bristling slightly at that as he looked away. “I don’t need anyone to take pity on me. I’ve already apologized for trying to suggest we were friends. It was unprofessional, I shouldn’t have done it.”

Kaito rolled his eyes. God, the pride. He was suffocating on the fumes, he swore.

Deere too gave Kaito a skeptical look. He…hadn’t seen any sort of security detail around the prince at all. Granted, they’d arrived two days ago, but security detail was kind of supposed to be obvious, wasn’t it? That presence was a first defense deterrent in the first place. 

He could only sigh as Selka patted his back…before he looked over to Sou. The hurt pride from wanting friends, but the circumstances not working out for it. 

“...at least I could break up with Asura,” he sighed. “You can’t exactly dump the queen. That’s a bummer, I bet you’d make quite the statement about self-worth leaving her.”

Shin winced, before giving Deere a dry look. “Divorcing a royal? If I could even find a judge willing to sign the paperwork, I’d still be assassinated before the ink dried. Kaede would never let me leave her.”

“Mmm, in Luminary I wouldn’t recommend it,” Kaito agreed, “but if you lived here? It’s not an impossible idea. I disowned Byakuya not that long ago, legally and everything.”

“Byakuya is a disgraced lord who’s been banished from Luminary,” Shin said, giving Kaito an even drier look, “Truly, how brave.”

“Okay smartass. What would you say if I said I talked about divorcing Kokichi once,” Kaito said, swelling his chest proudly. 

“What!?” Priestess Selka gasped, before starting to sweat again, “Why do we keep learning alarming royal secrets today!?”

“Relax, we didn’t even get close to actually doing it,” Kaito said, shaking his head, “But we did, briefly, talk about it! So, like… it doesn’t feel impossible! Unlikely, sure, and admittedly the only reason it even feels possible is because my Kokichi’s a good man who wouldn’t ruin my life over it, I think.” Kaito frowned. “...but my point is, a lot of things that are socially impossible in Luminary are way easier here. Things that I really wish were more common in Luminary! Like being able to leave the head of your family without your life falling apart or people turning on you. Luminary’s hierarchy system leaves soooo much room for abuse. There is so much abuse happening back there. It’s really depressing,” Kaito admitted. “And besides, I would have never thought Kaede would let Rantaro go on a vacation either. She let you come here and I didn’t threaten her thaaaat much. I think she can be reasoned with, if you really wanted to consider it.”

“I still wish we had gone to that concert,” Selka pouted, “I’d have given that cunt a piece of my mind.”

“Okay, three times is too much. Can we cool it on the c-word?” Kaito said desperately, looking around, “People know me here.”

Deere returned the look just as dryly. “That’s why I said it’s a bummer. Because you’re stuck in a relationship with someone that sucks.”

…and if he wasn’t stuck?

Deere gave Kaito a skeptical look. Even if you could legally distance yourself from people higher than you in Dicea…that was only the legal side of things. Kaito even said it was possible because of his husband’s personality (though wasn’t that a terrifying prospect, the treaty marriage falling apart)--that meant that socially? People could still absolutely ruin your life if they wanted to. 

Even if Sou could legally leave Kaede, she’d ensure that there was no place in Luminary for him, and being stranded on a different continent from your homeland in that circumstance? Sou deserved to be treated better, but there wasn’t any way around it. 

(...other than accepting a job in another country, Deere guessed.)

Deere groaned miserably. “You’ll still get the chance, depending on how long we stay. That big music thing we saw on the poster is happening in Usott.”

“THEN WE’LL GO TO THAT AND BOO THEM AS LOUD AS WE CAN!” Priestess Selka shouted, looking fiery.

“You’re going to get me kicked out of my husband's favorite ramen shop,” Kaito whined pitifully. “He’s a good guy, but he can lay a guilt trip hard, so maybe don’t do that? Also, what are we talking about? The battle of the bands concert? Maybe…let’s not have Luminaries go to a Dicean concert and boo anyone there?” Kaito said a bit imploringly, “Though, do you want to confront your ex, Deere? Personally I find that sort of thing really cathartic, but some people hate it. How do you feel about it?”

Deere looked a bit sick. “I just want to pretend the last four years of my life never happened. If I see them and they still…just act like I’m throwing a tantrum? …ugh, you guys don’t even have quicksand in Dicea, can the ground just swallow me already?”

“Forget them then,” Kaito agreed, shrugging, “You have your own life that you’re living, you don’t have anything to prove to them. You’re out here, succeeding at your career, being trusted with crazy important assignments, in a foreign land! You’re doing great without them!”

“Oooooh, but it feels like divine destiny, that they’d be here at the same time, in the same place,” Selka pouted, “Like Atua himself wants us to punch them in their face!”

“Mmmm I doubt Atua wants us to punch any particular person in the face,” Kaito grinned lightly, “But I do get how it’s too good to feel like a coincidence. Maybe it’s gonna be a divine opportunity for them to find out by chance how much better off you are, once you got rid of the dead weight.”

Deere was doing great without them. 

(Just…with a broken heart that never seemed to quite heal. And trust issues that made him feel foolish and like he was repeating the same mistakes over and over and over.)

“Maybe,” Deere said quietly, before sitting himself up to eat more than just a few bites of his ramen. “...it doesn’t seem like there’s a need for it on a festival day, but…Sou? Can…you request something for me to make? Please?”

“Oh…” Shin paused, considering his options… before he asked, “Deere, could you make that batch of raspberry tarts that you made in Cordilla? It’d be a great treat for the party when I call everyone together to get a report of how the day went. They were a favorite when you made them last.”

Deere let out a little sigh that audibly sounded relieved, some of the crying tension in his body easing out. “Absolutely. They’ll be ready by the report. The castle kitchens have been very gracious about explaining how sharing supplies works for cooking endeavors outside the main needs of the castle. Apparently there’s another set on a higher floor that comes highly recommended.”

“Oh, yeah, I can show you where that is. You have to make a tart for Shuichi and Kokichi in exchange though. They’ll kill me if I don’t secure them some pastries,” Kaito chuckled, “...metaphorically, not literally, I’m very happy in my relationships.”

“Brag much.” Shin huffed. “Anyway, speaking of the party, we should finish up eating and make sure to let the announcers know I won’t be participating in that match before he calls it. If our guards hear me called and I’m missing? They’ll think something’s gone wrong. We don’t need to cause undue stress.”

“Maybe I could ask my guy to send a message, and… man, I really have no idea if he’s around,” Kaito admitted, looking around before shrugging, “I’m gonna have another shot and then I’ll go get the match canceled. Also, I need a new painkiller. I got my ass kicked earlier, by this point I need to hug my baby and take a nap. Can I at least hear you guys say that you’ll consider the invitations Dicea’s offered to stay? We don’t need an answer for a long time, and we can discuss details more at some point. It’s just…I’d hate for any of you to feel like your only option is heading back and dealing with the situation in Luminary right now. Maybe Luminary will be a great place to live soon! But right now it’s haaard.” Kaito winced. “Things are better in Dicea.”

“...” Shin sighed, “Of course I’ll think about it.”

“I’d have to think about what my life would even look like in Dicea,” Priestess Selka frowned, “I’m not running from an abusive situation, I’m just trying to find a way forward in life. But, I will admit, this is something I’ve never considered before. It’s certainly an interesting thought experiment, if nothing else!”

“Of course,” Deere said softly. “I’d be more than happy to make extra for our hosts.” Even if, as he’d noted, the festival really had no dearth of treats to enjoy. But, well, Deere knew his would stand out regardless, and he hoped Prince Kokichi and Lord Shuuichi would enjoy it.

Deere grimaced a bit as Sou pointed out just how long they’d been gone. A quick look at a clock in the restaurant said it wasn’t even close to three, so they had plenty of time before shit actually hit the fan, but better to err on the side of safety, and not their entire party tearing the city apart looking for Sou. 

“I’ll consider it,” Deere sighed, before he pushed himself up from the table. “Shall I get take out containers for everyone?”

“Thank you, Deere,” Shin agreed. 

Kaito watched Deere walk away… before he reached over and pinched Shin’s ear.

“Ow.” Shin flinched, glaring at Kaito. “What?”

“You’re gonna have to be waaaaay more persistent and understanding if you want to get close to that guy,” Kaito told him. “But? I’d recommend you do it. Deere seems like a good guy, and it’s hard to find good people. You get someone like him? Like her?” Kaito said, gesturing to Selka, who seemed to fret in her seat a bit, “It’s worth giving up some of that pride and having some patience, for people like that. They’re worth it.”

Shin glanced at Selka, who was staring at him… before he nodded his head towards Kaito and, elaborately, rolled his eyes. 

Selka giggled. 

“Oh, sure, fine, that’s a way to bond. Make fun of Kaito. Brilliant,” Kaito grouched. 

But he wasn’t actually that mad, as Selka giggled guiltily again, while Shin actually smirked lightly at that. Yeah, alright. Worth it.

-

Ugh. 

Marluxia was boooored. It had only been a few days, sure, but he and Lauriam were already working out things between them, and right now that meant that Lauriam was in charge of his body…but he wasn’t even doing anything fun that Marluxia could listen in on. He was just doing some of the group’s mending, not even chatting with anyone. Boring. 

And sure, he could work more on the dragon, or do some maintenance in their world, but he’d done that so much over the last few days, and as much as he enjoyed it, he needed a break. 

So…that meant going into another world, right? Like they’d always done to pass the time. …but Marluxia didn’t want to do stuff alone. 

There was an easy fix to that, but there was just one tinsy eensy problem…

As far as he could tell, feeling the island? The only person around right now was Xaldin. And Zexion, he guessed, since the little guy couldn’t exactly just leave, but from the amount of power coming from Ienzo’s world, he figured he was working on one of the nerds’ projects. Which could be interesting to interrupt! 

(...ugh. As much as it made Marluxia’s skin crawl to act like he was crawling back to that jerk, begging for attention…he wasn’t scared of Xaldin, and he wasn’t going to walk on glass around him.)

So it was with a lazy, haughty attitude that Marluxia dropped himself into the dig site, lying back on a slab with his head tipped upside down over it, demanding of Xaldin, “I’m bored. What are you doing?”

Xaldin startled, looking away from the door he had been inspecting to see suddenly: “Flower? For fuck’s sake, why does no one ever knock? I could have been doing anything in here, does no one ever think of that!?”

It was… weird. Seeing Marluxia. Xaldin had known he was back for a few days now, but like he had told Aqua, had been determined to give the guy space. He and Lauriam were already dealing with a lot right now, they didn’t need Xaldin coming in and adding more fuel to the shit fire. 

But, well… now he was here. So…

Xaldin frowned, unsure what to say, before glancing back at the door. “I’m trying to see if there’s a way to open this door by myself. I’m not trying to get whole right now, exactly, but I’m curious if there’s a way I can get to where Dilan is without the whole… show these things always become,” Xaldin admitted, glaring at the sanded edges of the tightly locked door, “Quiet-like.”

“......how are you feeling?” Xaldin asked, still looking at the door.

“What, you’d be that mortified if I caught you masterbaiting?” Marluxia said dryly before rolling his eyes. “Maybe that’s right, though, I’d roast your ass for why the hell you were doing it in here when you actually have a body to use.”

He just barely caught himself before making some joke about Xaldin asking him to join. Obviously that wasn’t how Xaldin felt about it all, apparently. 

Raising an eyebrow, Marluxia bent a knee up before crossing his other leg over it, looking over the door upside-down. “Really. Because you saw how well that went for me.”

Sighing, he somersaulted himself backwards off his slab and dusted himself off, coming over to look at the door. “Oh I’m fantastic,” Marluxia said with a false light giddiness, putting his palms over the sides of the door, inspecting it, “Lucky for me, you did slap me in here, so Loseriam and I don’t have to deal with a gross bruise over our face for ages. That miiiiight be attention-getting if we make a pit stop somewhere.”

Xaldin tsked, “I’m not taking dynamite and trying to blow the door up, I’m just seeing if there’s a way it’ll open normally. It’s a door, whatever Namine did to me, my version of it must have come with the idea of it opening. It’s all symbolic, right? It’s literally a door.” Xaldin frowned, glaring at, indeed, the door. “Why am I locked out of my own damn head? I know we were all locked out of the rest of our minds as Nobodies, but having it be literally a locked door is just insulting.”

“I half thought you’d will a big ol’ bruise on your face just for the dramatics of it.” Xaldin frowned, stepping back a bit as he watched Marluxia look around the door, inspecting it for the same openings Xaldin had been looking for. “...I’ve heard you’ve been busy. Doing a lot of mental repair work. How bad was the damage?”

“You could try~” Marluxia sang-song, though it was clearly a pointless jab, his gaze focused and considering as he looked over the door. Unfortunately, for as much as he knew, Marluxia wasn’t exactly a stone expert, and…it did just seem like an old stone door that wasn’t budging. “Though, you are right about that. It is symbolic, so maybe you need to start looking within~ to open a door to something, rather than looking at the actual door.”

Sighing, Marluxia leaned back from the door and rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard pieces, but I still don’t get just how bad he fucked everything up. Things were barely growing, and there was all this stupid-ass metal, signs ‘n shit, buried in the ground. I get why he got rid of the pits, but that’s still a terrible replacement.” 

He shrugged with a haughty sniff. “I’ve been making use of it. Not like there’s much else to do.”

Xaldin huffed, before squaring his shoulders and pacing out his feet to be squarely aligned with them, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he clapped his hands together. 

“Inward, inward….” Xaldin murmured, brow furrowing, his body starting to tremble as he tensed every muscle, “Open… sesame!”

He pushed his palms out to the door as he shouted, and a small puff of air erupted out of his skin, really showing that mentally he had been doing something… and that something was fuck-all, the door remaining firmly shut. 

“Can’t say I didn’t try,” Xaldin grumbled, letting his arms fall as he scowled at the door. 

“I didn’t actually realize Lauriam had replaced the pits,” Xaldin admitted, sighing as he leaned against the stone wall, letting himself glance at Marluxia now, “...I knew the garden was emptier, but he was recovering from a whole… event.”

“...you know, it’s nice to see you, and all of that,” Xaldin said, looking away, “You’re looking good. Like the new outfit.”

There was a part of Marluxia that went oh shit. Not because what Xaldin did was particularly impressive--it wasn’t--but because there was a part of him that thought there was a real possibility in that moment that…that might actually work. That maybe it was go time, despite Xaldin saying he wasn’t trying to become whole, and it’d just…

It was a little relieving that nothing happened. 

Snorting, Marluxia clapped for the attempt, before…Xaldin looking at him for a second? 

“Awww, thaaaaanks,” he cooed, cupping his face and doing a little twirl. “Not exactly fancy, I know, but it’s good for working, unlike wearing a blanket all the time,” he rolled his eyes, referencing the Nobody robes, before smirking, “And, well, definitely prettier.”

Considering he still wasn’t wearing the overalls properly, it was a nod to just his bare torso. Marluxia notably buffer than Lauriam, though still not even close to the body-building mass Xaldin and Lexaeus had built up. 

Xaldin’s gaze glanced over again, following where Marluxia gestured, before suddenly looking straight ahead. Letting out a loooooooong breath, he pushed himself off the wall, walking back to the dig site stones, looking around like he had forgotten something there… before muttering to himself, “This is what I get for never giving myself things to fuss with in my own world.” 

Then, looking back at Marluxia, he asked, “Look, Flower, you… wanna get a drink at Luis’ casino with me? We could…” Xaldin huffed, crossing his arms and looking away, clearly struggling to look directly at Marluxia, “Talk a bit, maybe?”

Marluxia’s smile dropped as Xaldin turned away, his eyes narrowing in aggravation, hands balling at his sides for a moment. But he looked completely relaxed by the time Xaldin looked back, just raising an eyebrow before grinning like a cat, swaggering over to Xaldin’s side. “My, Xaldin, are you asking little ol’ me on a date~?”

The smile dropped again as he rolled his eyes with a huff, slapping Xaldin on the back as he continued forward. “Just kidding, that’d be hard to do when you can’t even look at me. Yeah, sure, let’s talk. It’ll be interesting to find out if I can get Loseriam sloshed by me drinking.”

“Who’s struggling to look at who? Just got other things to look at, stop looking for drama that isn’t there, flower.” Xaldin scoffed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he led the way out of his world, hopping back to Destiny Island. 

It was a quick trip to Luis’ gate, the two heading in and immediately stepping into the brightly lit, colorful setting of Luis’ world. Music, pervasive and somehow still neutral, played throughout the air, instruments floating on a small stage in the far corner, while excited, yet still somehow neutral, voices murmured through invisible crowds of people, the sound implying players and game masters that didn’t exist.

Well, mostly didn’t exist. Xaldin frowned as he noticed one game master announcing the result of some invisible player pulling the roulette wheel, its janky, mechanical motions not helping the wooden, faceless mannequin look any more human as it gestured toward the wheel. “Step Right Up, Step Right Up, Perhaps You Will Be Tonight's Big Winner!” 

“I really wish he’d give those things faces,” Xaldin said, leading the way to the drinking area of the casino, a lavish bar with booths and small tables, all reflected by large glass walls that shimmered like gems in the light, reflecting off the rows and rows of bottles of fancy liqueurs… all being served by, sigh, another janky, faceless wooden mannequin, its upper body animatedly gesturing for its guests to sit, while its lower body was literally a metal pole lodged into the ground, giving it the ability to slide back and forth behind the bar where the track of its pole was already open.

“Good Day, Esteemed Guests, How May I Serve You Tonight?” the mannequin bartender asked. 

“A malt on the rocks for me, hint of mint, and whatever the beauty to my right wants,” Xaldin said, smirking as he joked to Marluxia, “Drinks are on me.”

“Sure, sure~ Just Mar seeing things that aren’t there again, completely reasonable,” Marluxia hummed, rolling his eyes again as they headed over to the casino. Honestly, of all the worlds he could’ve chosen to head to to solve the mind-numbing boredom issue, Luis’ had been a strong contender, even alone. There were some games that were perpetually available, regardless of the energy or focus Luis put into his world, and at least to the point Marluxia had noticed, they weren’t just repeating easily noticed patterns, so the games really were games. 

It wasn’t a bad place to hang out. 

If you didn’t mind the aesthetic. 

Snorting as they headed over to the bar, Marluxia grinned deviously. “How pissed do you think Luis would be if I got some of my materials and made faces myself? By this point I have to assume it’s an aesthetic choice, but maybe he’d be enlightened with a makeover.”

Smirking back at Xaldin, Marluxia drawled, “What a gentleman,” before ordering, an idea suddenly coming to him as he grinned wider. “A Necromancer, please~ Thank you~”

Looking a little more cooly at Xaldin, Marluxia asked, “Well? What did you want to talk about?”

“I know the teens did that once. I think it all just reset after they left. Maybe he just can’t maintain it.” Xaldin shrugged, though he suspected the guy might just be attached to the way the mannequins looked. Xaldin knew that Luis pretty regularly talked to his mannequin staff, lamenting or even testing out jokes. Xaldin swore he had walked in here once and saw Luis drunkenly try to flirt with one of the mannequins. Maybe he liked being able to project on them whatever he wanted them to look like.

In retrospect, that was probably a sign the guy was lonely even among them. Luis, as far as Xaldin knew, hadn’t slept around or indulged in any ‘special’ relationships in the group. Xaldin had just assumed back then that it was a personal preference, but knowing what he knew now? It might have been one more step in Luis’ elaborate self-punishment thing. Unpleasant but, in Luis’ mind, necessary. 

Yeah, well… they were all damaged. Hopefully Luis would cut that shit out soon.

“....so,” Xaldin said, sipping at his malt… before rolling his eyes and gulping the malt back, because fuck it, in for a copper in for a gold, “So you were kinda having a hard time, the last few times I saw you. Just uh… I don’t know. I know I already asked how you’re doing, but I guess it’s still on my mind. Like, yeah, we’re talking about Lauriam killing the garden once you were gone, but you were digging holes in your psyche. And I’m wondering if you’re… good.”

“Booooo.” Marluxia pouted, looking around. He probably had some clay he could mess around with, could even weld something if Luis’ rules didn’t set everything on fire. Hell, he could even just nick a marker or something from Kairi. But if it’d just disappear when he left? Not even good for a fun surprise.

A little more reserved with his drink--though that wasn’t hard--Marluxia let out a slightly aggravated sigh. “Wondering if I’m not just bat-shit crazy. Well, I’d think that’s a matter of opinion, darling~”

“I’m fine,” he said more dryly, staring across the bar. “Loseriam and I talked, I’m not about to pummel your boyfriend, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Xaldin said, stirring his drink with a toothpick, before chewing on the wooden end a bit, “We are a ‘situationship’, is the word we’ve settled on. How much has anyone updated you on what’s happened since you left?”

Marluxia glowered as he drank more of his Necromancer. “Enough to know that basically as soon as you could, you two banged, then he flipped out into the famous ‘fire flower’ and almost killed us.”

“As soon as we could is… alright, maybe not entirely inaccurate.” Xaldin winced, drinking deeply again. Hoping to get some liquid courage through this whole thing. “It escalated quickly. And then that escalated quickly. Imagine throwing a marble off one of Sora’s skyscrapers. That rate of acceleration. Just…” Xaldin mouthed the sound of an item falling through the air as he mimed through something small over the counter. “Then boom. Sora’s stabbing Lauriam in the chest with a construct I didn’t even know he was making.”

“And it’s not fair to say he ‘flipped out’, I was being… you’d have killed me,” Xaldin scoffed, playing with the toothpick around his tongue, “Like, I wanted to kill me, you’d have killed me. Lauriam only tried to kill me, and that was restraint, by that point… I mean, I’m joking, obviously, but not by much. I was giving that poor bastard every mixed signal in the book.”

Marluxia gave Xaldin a condescending look before nodding as the man didn’t even try to argue that, greatly enjoying the neat quirk of Luis’ world that meant unless you wanted a different drink, or just enjoyed the ritual of ordering more, your glass would just keep refilling. 

“I’ll admit, that wasn’t something I saw coming,” Marluxia mused softly, having talked with Sora a little about his keyblade, “Wicked scar it left, huh?”

At first he wanted to condescend again--he was part of Lauriam’s brain, he knew what flipping out was--but when Xaldin actually explained the parts he was talking about… Marluxia huffed. “What do you mean ‘was’ giving--you’re still giving mixed signals. Lauriam’s practically already resigned himself to being ignored once you find Dilan, it’s pathetic.”

“Ugh,” Xaldin groaned, rubbing his temple with the cool side of his glass, “What can I say. The garden duo has me acting stupid. I change my mind mid-sentence, talking to you guys, what the hell I’m trying to say. Talking to you two spins my brain in circles.”

“How’s the scar, by the way?” Xaldin asked, glancing over, “Lauriam and I haven’t talked much, outside of when he was a ball of light. It hurting you any?”

“At least you’re self-aware,” Marluxia scoffed, definitely looking a little flushed by this point, especially as he raised an eyebrow and gestured up and down his bare chest. “Uh, no? And as far as I can tell, which is basically absolute considering our little arrangement, it doesn’t hurt Loseriam either.”

Marluxia huffed, resting his elbows against the bar. “Other than his psyche, I guess. I would call him a coward again, but…I do get why he doesn’t want to tell Sora that he’s terrified of the kid.”

“He’s terrified of the teen?” Xaldin asked, raising an eyebrow at that slightly, “The ray of sunshine one? Not even the witch or Mr. Darkness or Perpetual One-Upper or Little Miss No Sense of Self Preservation? …that’s fair. Kid did stab him. You. Both of you.”

Another sip. “...are you scared of Sora?”

Marluxia nodded a bit, eyes closed with a knowing expression. Just because Sora was ‘a ray of sunshine’ didn’t make him the least scary of the teens--in a true ranking, that title would often shift around constantly--but he did tend to be a type of scary that didn’t actually make people scared of him. And yet…?

A snort. “No. While you’re getting ahead of the technicalities, it seems I missed out on the visceral memory Loseriam has of getting stabbed. So no new trauma-based fear for me~” Marluxia shrugged a bit. “I can’t really find even glimpses of memories around that, like I can for some other stuff. Guess it makes sense since apparently Pink Prime himself was basically broken down into base essence too.”

“Yeah, that’s essentially what it was. It was pretty scary stuff, honestly. We had no idea when he was going to reform, if he’d be okay when he did. We were lucky that the Ouma had seen the same thing happen before, we might have just thought mentally you two were through. Rest in peace, garden duo, what the hell do we do with the body, sort of thing.”

“It was bad. Bad times,” Xaldin admitted, “I’d take it back if I could… I’d take back the bet too. So you know. That was a bad idea too. We should have waited for you to get your head around the idea that you were even a Nobody. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize how serious you were about that until after you were gone… I still don’t understand how that happened though. I’ve known both you and Lauriam for ages. Why did you stop thinking Lauriam was a thing?”

Marluxia raised his glass before drinking in toast. “Sounds like I have another debt to the Ouma, then. Cheers for weird tiny altruists. Though it feels a bit in bad taste to treat him to a drink or something with the money he gave us.” Though bad taste wasn’t something that’d necessarily stop Marluxia. 

He glanced over to Xaldin for a moment, watching the man fuss with the toothpick in his mouth. Knowing he was rolling it around with his tongue. 

…he’d take it back, huh.

Huffing, Marluxia looked forward and traced the far rim of his glass lightly. “...did Luxord ever tell you where we found Lauriam?”

“I never asked. Figured it was just the bottom of that hole,” Xaldin admitted, “More to it than that?”

“It was a set of sand graves,” Marluxia said dully, “One for Strelitzia, and one Lauriam was sitting against. With his name on it, before he changed it to mine in some baffling display of catharsis, I guess.”

Marluxia wrinkled his nose a bit as his little skating fidget was interrupted by him tapping on his glass a few times. “I knew he felt like a zombie when we were little. But I always got the sense that went away as time went on. Might’ve just been more subtle, though, and if Loseriam wanted to disappear, well, then good thing he already made someone to take over.”

Rolling his eyes, Marluxia shifted to the side, crossing one leg over the other as he faced Xaldin with a smirk. “That’s one theory, anyway. I could’ve just been broken, isn’t that a fun thought?”

“I don’t think Lauriam making you to replace him means you’re not also broken. You were built with a few screws loose,” Xaldin snorted, reaching over to poke Marluxia between the eyes, “But then, maybe I’m built broken too. As far as I know, Dilan’s got his shit figured out, and I still don’t wanna go anywhere. Think he’s just feeling lazy and that’s why he won’t open his own damn door?”

“Because it doesn’t make any sense to me otherwise, why the hell I’m still here,” Xaldin muttered, cracking the toothpick between his teeth, chewing through it for a bit, before picking it off his tongue with a sigh, putting it aside and grabbing a fresh toothpick. A habit he had developed pretty much strictly in Luis’ world, almost never seeing toothpicks in the real world. “I’m not fighting him. I’m trying to find him. Everyone else seems to need to ‘let go’ in some way, but I’m just waiting for Dilan to show up. We lived together before. The hell do I need to return to base essence for him to get his ass up and start doing shit again?”

“....what was it like?” Xaldin asked, “Being whole again?”

Squinting at the poke, Marluxia lightly batted Xaldin’s hand with a scoff. Fair enough point, sure. He didn’t really know why it had just seemed so obvious to him that the Nobodies were all there was. That even with how different some of them looked, that was just…mental preference. That they were who their Somebodies had become, had grown to be, after the factory. 

Able to see it clearly? He knew how ridiculous it sounded. But he’d really thought…

Marluxia couldn’t help the little shiver down his spine as Xaldin snapped the toothpick, eyes trained on him. 

“Mm, you guys had been in the factory for a while. It’s absolutely backwards, since you were the one doing all the work, but maybe he’s taking his sweet time with this forced vacation,” Marluxia guessed randomly, before smirking, “It does sound like you to make yourself work for it.”

For a moment, Marluxia just looked at Xaldin. There were all sorts of answers he could give, ways to stoke or ease his anxieties…

(...but for all that he had thorns, flowers were still sweet.)

“...you want the actual answer?” he asked softly.

“I think I do, yeah,” Xaldin admitted, looking away from Marluxia and calling to the mannequin, “Hey, bartender? Make me something random, surprise me. Pull something from ol’ Luis’ head that I wouldn’t know how to ask for. Might as well get myself a ‘fun’ drink if I’m about to get terrible news.”

“I don’t even know what I’m expecting you to say,” Xaldin admitted, “But I think not knowing what to expect isn’t helping anything. So yeah. Actual answer, flower.”

Marluxia snorted softly before sighing, leaning on the bar again as he rested his jaw in his hand. 

“...it was nice,” he admitted quietly. 

“It’s hard to really…pin down an exact opinion. Because I wasn’t really ‘me’ as I am like this. That might be good news, we’re not just trapped in a little cage and forced to watch someone else live their life,” he softly huffed. “But for the things that make sense as ‘my’ experience…it felt good. It felt like…finally being able to relax after rushing around for ages. Things felt a lot ‘more’. Guess that proves that ‘whole’ is the right descriptor.”

“It was also aggravating, sometimes, but I can’t really tell if that wasn’t just Lauriam being aggravated with things in general. But it’s like…” Marluxia closed his eyes, his brows coming in a bit as he lightly licked his lower lip, struggling to articulate the experience. “It’s like…wanting to cheer someone on? But that person also being yourself. And when you cheer it feels like, oh, you can suddenly…go beyond. It’s not a passive feeling. And it’s…”

Marluxia was quiet for a few more moments, before he let out a breath and opened his eyes again. “I don’t know. When it’s good, it feels really good, but regardless of it being good or not, it just feels powerful. That’s the best I can describe it.”

Xaldin watched Marluxia speak. The other Nobody looking more relaxed and at peace describing what being whole was like than he had seemed ever since he had woken up. Xaldin hadn’t expected it, considering how Marluxia had woken up, but–

“Your Drink, Gentleman.” 

“...bartender, the hell is that?” Xaldin asked, staring at the drink, “Why’s it got a… what is that?”

“It Is A CandyCane.” The bartender said, “Enjoy your Spiked Cinnamon CandyCane Eggnog.”

“I don’t even know most of those words individually. This thing really brought me, like, thick milk,” Xaldin grumbled, taking the drink and, glaring at it suspiciously, took a sip, “...no nevermind that’s fucking amazing. Try that, flower.” 

“Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, you were pissed when you were brought back. But I’ll admit, I guessed you were pissed because you were just going through a bad time in general, with Lauriam. There was a lot of hatred there, I thought maybe you were taking being Lauriam just a little too personally, as weird as that is to say,” Xaldin said, unaware of the thin line of eggnog on his upper lip, spinning the toothpick between his fingers now while he tried his new drink, “But you were happy? Damn…”

“...I won’t lie, I was happy to see you, Marluxia,” Xaldin said, “But if you need me to go beat the shit out of Vexen and get him to undo this? Then that’s what I’ll go do. I don’t want to see you go, but I don’t want you here if you’re going to be miserable. I can convince that old fuck.”

Marluxia blinked at the drink, before snickering relentlessly. “Ask and you shall receive, can never say Luis doesn’t know service. You’d never have asked for that in a million years.”

And, true to Luis again, Marluxia wasn’t surprised that it was good. Taking the offered sip, his eyes widened in surprise, sputtering a little after he swallowed. “Wh-what the hell? Why is that candy minty?!” Not that it made the drink bad or anything, but…candy was supposed to be sweet! And, like, usually fruity, if not just pure sugar! What???

Wiping the excess nog off his lip with his thumb, Marluxia could only scoff. “I was pissed, sure, but I don’t hate Lauriam. I hate some of the shit his dumbass self-destructive self does, but if I actually hated him I don’t think we’d actually be able to function right now.”

“And I’m over it,” he said with a haughty sigh, “I’m here, whatever, Vexen’s dumb. Loseriam desperately needs my help, so I’m not going anywhere, especially with all the work we’ve done to balance things between us.”

“...but you know,” Marluxia hummed, an edge to his voice as he braced a foot against the stool crossbar, sitting up and leaning toward Xaldin a bit, “I don’t think you’re happy to see me. Considering you can barely look at me at all.”

“You’ve got new purpose?” Xaldin asked, genuinely startled. 

And it was a non-existential question, between constructs. Xaldin couldn’t remember who had pointed it out first, that the Nobodies might be struggling because they had lost purpose, since leaving the factories. But hearing that Marluxia might have been given new purpose was the first moment that it occurred to him that might be a serious solution to some of the mess that had been his own mind for a long time now.

Look, look… even taking account that brief, glorious moment in the storage closet with Lauriam? …the happiest Xaldin had been since he left the factory was beating the shit out of Seifer. He used that memory to lull himself to sleep these days, that night calming him when the anxiety and frustration and confusion really started getting bad. The way Seifer had tried to negotiate, the way he writhed, the way he bled and broke and whimpered…

It was like everything had made sense again, for a moment. Xaldin acting how he was supposed to.

He had been made to hurt people, and Dilan had let him feel pleasure from it. Maybe Dilan was just trying to be kind to Xaldin when he had done that, but now that Xaldin was free and Dilan couldn’t get his ass up to open the door, it was agony. Nothing Xaldin did felt right, or enough. He felt adrift, and useless, and didn’t like himself that much, hating the fact that seeing half his family returned and whole again and getting help from the Ouma and pressing against Lauriam in that rare, sentimental moment that should have just been lust but had felt like so much more…

And it still didn’t feel right. Seifer still the only moment that shone.

Xaldin heard the possibility that Marluxia had been given new purpose, and for the first time felt like he’d almost salivate with longing. Actual jealousy running through him. Imagine having a new fucking function… god…

But Xaldin’s wonder at that idea, his genuine desire to hear more about it, flinched away from the front of his mind. The other big longing in his world calling him out, as Xaldin glanced over at Marluxia, who was leaning forward… and out of the corner of his eyes he could see the curves of his skin–warmed by the sun, patches of dirt and smeared mud dipping around the curves of his chest, painting around pink nipples—

Xaldin looked up and looked away, sipping on his weird-ass eggnog, as he said, “No idea what you’re talking about. We’ve been hanging out for like forty minutes now.”

“Who’d’ve guessed, it makes a construct miserable to have nothing to do,” Marluxia rolled his eyes before he half-shrugged. “After Ienzo fixed us, he recommended we do a whole negotiation about our existence, I guess. I am not about to be a walking ‘how are you feeling’ sign for Loseriam, but Zexion has made some guesses about the connection between a long-standing construct like us, and our Empaths. But for now? I’m helping fix the damage in our mind, and we’ll figure out more as we go along and that isn’t a full-time job anymore.”

One of Zexion’s guesses was that a reconstructed Nobody really would act like the second ego they were, encouraging their Empath to be honest. Not to become a little goodie two shoes, but to recognize their own feelings honestly and stop sabotaging because of lies they told themself. 

Apparently what Marluxia had come out swinging with had given the little nerd the idea that it was more than just something Zexion was doing. But seeing what Lauriam had done? It was a role that needed to be filled.

(Though Zexion was also thinking, because Marluxia and Lauriam hadn’t built in a power disparity between them, that maybe Lauriam would be doing that for Marluxia too.)

Though! Even full-time jobs had breaks. 

Scoffing, Marluxia pushed off his stool, all but hopping onto Xaldin’s lap as he got in his face between the man and the bar, acid green eyes glaring accusingly at him, more focused than they had the right to be with the amount Marluxia had drunk. “Forty minutes, and oh, you can talk to me…well, fine for you. But I can count the number of glances you’ve sent my way on a hand, and you’ve yet to actually look at me straight on.”

Marluxia bared his teeth slightly. “What, I’m that uninteresting to you without Lauriam?”

“Motherfucking–what are you, a cat!?” Xaldin balked, his lap suddenly full of Marluxia. 

And, while he wanted to say that the reason his hand went to Marluxia’s hip was an instinctual desire to steady the other man, not wanting him to fall… it was just because his hand had been near enough to feel the heat. Near enough for Xaldin to remember what it had felt like, to put his hands there, keep them steady, push fingers into soft, yielding skin and–

“Flower,” Xaldin growled, forcing his gaze away from Marluxia’s mouth– sharp little canines, Xaldin had always wondered if Marluxia and Lauriam had ever even noticed that little aesthetic change between them, Lauriam’s more natural looking–though he couldn’t convince his hands to let go, “...I hurt you really bad not that long ago. Sora had to stab you to fix a mistake I made. Honestly, by this point? I’m hoping Dilan can salvage this, because I fucked it up. I don’t… want to hurt you again. Either of you.”

“............and the hell do you mean you’re not ‘interesting enough’ without Lauriam?” Xaldin scoffed, still looking away but his hands, little betrayers that they were, squeezing tighter around Marluxia’s waist, “Coming into my mind wearing almost nothing. How the hell am I supposed to look at you?! Do I strike you as the kind of construct that can ‘look respectfully’ when you look like that!?”

There we go, eyes finally on him~ Sure, Luis’ world was an attention span nightmare, but Xaldin was no Conditioned, he should be able to resist the allure of a wall. 

The hand on his waist was a nice surprise too. Something that harkened back to…

…something that hadn’t just been Marluxia. 

“Oh please, didn’t you and Loseriam already talk things out? I’d think a ‘situationship’ isn’t just a coward’s way of saying, ‘on the verge of never talking to each other again’.” He snarled a little more, leaning more in Xaldin’s face. “We’re not going to implode by you looking at me. Or giving us the damn time of day. You’ve always been a bastard, but you should know damn well by now I’m not going to let you make me beg.”

Growling a little as he stepped up on the crossbar of Xaldin’s stool, evening out their heights more, Marluxia snapped, “Oh, maybe because I can count the number of times Xaldin and Marluxia have kissed on one hand, and you were with Lauriam for five seconds before fucking him!”

Xaldin took advantage of the fact that Marluxia was already standing, tightened his hands on his hips, pushed him up, and slammed him down onto the bar counter. 

Xaldin grit his teeth, staring down at Marluxia. A mess of emotions running through him. Some genuine anger, mostly, though, just… okay, admittedly mostly just thinking with his dick, but fuck, it was hard not to when Marluxia looked like that and was literally on his lap pissed that Xaldin– “I’m not asking anyone to beg for it,” Xaldin growled, “...both times? He made a pass at me.”

Or, well, Xaldin had thought Lauriam had asked. But his point stood, as he said, “You drive me so damn crazy, flower. But I always promised myself that I wasn’t going to do anything until you wanted it. The hell am I supposed to do, insist!? Things were already too damn complicated between us, I couldn’t just fucking guess! If you didn’t get what you wanted, you didn’t ask for it.”

Marluxia couldn’t control the breath that left him as Xaldin slammed him on the counter, but a fire of interest blazed in his eyes as his lower stomach tightened, the focused, intent anger in Xaldin’s gaze on him finally feeling like things were clicking into place.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still pissed in his own right. 

“I’m not talking about fucking!” Marluxia breathily growled, gripping onto Xaldin’s collar, even if the larger man was still pinning him down. “I know Lauriam brought it up! I’m talking about making us beg to fucking be noticed. To ask if we can even spend time together without your fucking guilt complex making it so you can’t even look at us. I am not going to let Lauriam spend our life trailing after someone who’s ashamed of us!”

“And what the fuck do you call every time I kissed you?!” Marluxia demanded, kicking Xaldin’s thigh, “Or when our flirting went way beyond what the others should even hear? Yeah! Yeah, okay maybe I never walked up to you saying, ‘hey Xaldin, fucker I’ve been flirting with for six years, I wanna bang’, but did I really have to be that explicit for you to just…”

Marluxia’s voice lost strength as an embarrassed vulnerability colored him red more than the booze, eyes crinkling up at Xaldin. “...kiss me because you wanted to, once? Or…am I just not enough without him?”

“Ow.” Xaldin grumbled as Marluxia kicked him, the grip on his collar straining and pulling at the back of his neck as he glared down at him, still baring his teeth… before his expression softened into regret. 

“....I hadn’t meant to make you both feel like you’re something to be ashamed of,” Xaldin admitted, “I just felt ashamed. Fuck, I’m… I didn’t mean for that to become this big burden on you. I kept thinking you’d just snap out of it one day, and maybe when you did you’d be grateful I didn’t take it further…”

“...Flower, I kept seeing you in him, the entire time you were gone,” Xaldin admitted softly, “There’d be moments where our Dandelion would say something sharp or laugh or just look so self-satisfied, and it’d break my heart, because for a second, there you were. And it hurt, how happy that made me every time. Those little glimpses of you.”

“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again,” Xaldin admitted, “And it’s so hard to look at you, because I want so much of you. I want all of you. Anything you have to give. I want to tear it from you and hold it and keep it, because you were gone. And all I had were brief, awful glimpses…”

“God, don’t offer me a little, because flower,” Xaldin whispered, leaning forward to brush his lips against Marluxia. Not quite a kiss, but a whisper’s breath from one as he confessed, “I’ll take the whole damn thing. I’ve been starving.”

“We’re not dumb,” Marluxia grumbled, still looking embarrassed, “We know we put you in a shitty position, and that it’s something to reconcile in yourself, all that. But maybe hate yourself a little less? Because it fucking sucks feeling like someone’s biggest mistake.”

Marluxia swallowed, looking up at Xaldin. It was hard really parsing out things that were ‘him’ when he was in base essence…but the things Xaldin talked about didn’t feel like things he just knew as fact, from Lauriam’s memories. They felt like a part of him too. Which it all was, but…ugh. 

“...I missed you,” Marluxia admitted in a murmur, “Which feels ridiculous. Because I know I’ve just seen you, and it feels that way too. But I’ve missed your dumb bravado and annoying waffling.”

Marluxia looked up at Xaldin through his eyelashes, lips so, so close… “If I ask, will you actually kiss me?”

“...Hey, flower,” Xaldin whispered, “Can I kiss you?”

…

Marluxia smirked. “I don’t know, can you?”

Xaldin laughed. “Such a brat.”

And then he leaned in and kissed him.

-

Lauriam fumed as he stared at the wall his bunk was affixed to, curled up in it. Not that he really had a choice not to be, it wasn’t quite right for his height, but right now it was vital. 

Ooooh, think you’re so fucking funny, do you Marluxia? 

…because obviously Lauriam hadn’t just started daydreaming about Dilan as he worked on the mending pile, and had gotten worked up to the point he’d had to quietly excuse himself in a carriage full of people to lie down and hide his boner over nothing.

…whine. He wished Dilan was there. Or just that they had a bathroom. 

-

Why was Luis driving again? When did he become the default driver!? There should be some sort of rule about drinking and driving carriages! The rule being ‘let Luis stay on the carriage to drink more!’

Pouting, Luis sipped at his flask before putting it away, tiredly watching the road… 

…god he felt randy. Maybe it was the cold. God knows it wasn’t sitting down-wind of horses’ ass.

-

If Marluxia had looked oddly peaceful talking about his return to base essence, then his satisfaction now looked oddly light for him. It was no strange expression on his face to be satisfied, some smug observation delighting him or a plan all coming together perfectly, but this expression was…well, lighter. A rare deep happiness surrounding Marluxia. 

And, as the man was wont to do when he had a good thing, he ran it for all it was worth. 

Pulling Xaldin along by the arm, Marluxia took them to Lauriam’s world, more of that more recognizable smug look curling at the corners of his smile as they dropped in.

“Ta-daaa~” Marluxia showed off, the metal skeleton of a dragon roaring fiercely and about to take off posed in the flower field, somehow completely feeling a part of it despite the seemingly clashing aesthetics. It was still a work in progress, but one with a vision more than the artist could see, some of the sign plates even having been molded and shaped to give more form to certain areas. “I know, I know, too stunning even for applause.”

Xaldin had been ready for a nap by the time things had settled down, but damn, none of that had slown Marluxia down at all. And by the time Xaldin’s body–whatever, his projection, he knew how he felt–had cooled, he had been thrown his clothes and dragged out of Luis’ mind, assured that it was time to see Marluxia’s cool new efforts.

Thankfully, stepping out of Luis’ mind had stopped that drunk feeling, giving back Xaldin most of his energy as they had passed through the beach. Which gave him enough energy to startle as he said, “Woah! Shit, they weren’t kidding,” before whistling low, stepping close to crane his head up as he looked at the details, “What the hell inspired this thing, flower? It’s a whole damn dragon, right?”

Marluxia preened at the genuine startled shock, crossing his arms with satisfaction as Xaldin gawked. Oh yes, take it in~ The most impressive piece of art any of them had seen in years, not even a part of their travels~

“Mhmm~,” Marluxia hummed happily, before patting the armature for the legs. “It’s not like we exactly have a dump around here, and since it was a part of the ground, it’s not like I could just get rid of all this metal willing it away. And without the pits, well, the plants are nice on their own, but we’ve never been just one note.”

The inspiration had come from a few places, honestly, but, “Before we split up, Dem-Dem was talking about you guys maybe getting to pass by the dragon skull-canyon thing by the capital,” Marluxia explained, “And I guess it stuck around Loseriam’s head long enough that it reminded me of some of the stories about it we heard as a kid. With Volvagia and Guppy out of commission, at least one of us needs a cool giant beast for the wow-factor.”

“This thing isn’t going to get up and chase me around, is it?” Xaldin smirked, though when he reached out to touch the legs he was very careful, like he was a little worried he’d smudge it or something, “Volvagia was more or less fine any time I had a reason to visit Axel, but Guppy? I swear that thing wanted to eat me. Larxene had it out for me, I guarantee it. Can’t tell you how many times I had to kick a tentacle off of me.”

“It’s damn impressive,” Xaldin admitted, moving around the dragon, taking in the skeleton meshing of what he could assume were going to be full wings at some point, “So this thing is made out of the stuff you used to condition people with? Talk about repurposing.” 

“Not yet, though thanks for the idea,” Marluxia snickered, before a deviously fond look crossed his face. “Only person Guppy ever liked was Larxy; even other ‘friends’, yourself included, were far too funny to piss off. I have no idea if squid ink even works like that, but every time I’d boo a performance I’d have to come back here like black’s the new pink.”

Being terrorized by a giant squid monster or no, those had been some fun times. Just…hanging out with Larxene as she showed off new performance ideas. Bitching about the others. Telling each other how they’d wow the world if they ever had the chance. 

At Xaldin’s question about materials, Marluxia’s pride faltered slightly, looking over his sculpture as he rubbed the back of his neck with some confusion. “I guess? I mean, I don’t really know what in Loseriam’s logic turned bones and rot into metal scrap, but it is easier to work with so I’m not complaining.”

“Mhm. I guess I can understand it. Bones, ribcages, I could see that symbolically equaling metal and cage…es… hmmm.” 

Xaldin frowned, finishing his little walk around the dragon… before this time reaching up and wiping it more firmly. Taking some of the dirt that had smudged and caked itself on during the forming process, tilting his head to read. “...oh. Hm.”

Nothing valued is here.

“Hey, flower,” Xaldin called, “Did you turn Lauriam’s fiery flower self-hatred signs into art?”

Marluxia blinked, before raising an eyebrow, walking towards where Xaldin was looking. “His what?”

“Yeah, I thought that was a pretty wild choice, I figured maybe you didn’t know. Does Dandelion know??” Xaldin asked, stepping back to squint more at the metal, seeing more of the words that he had seen while hopelessly looking for a solution in Lauriam’s mind, though the work done on the metal in the dirty area had covered a lot of them, “Yeah, me and the rockstar wannabe came in here when Lauriam was trying to kill the rest of us, hoping we could calm him down somehow? Not so much, but the place was covered in these signs. A lot of ominous, anti-graverobbers at ‘cursed’ old burial grounds sort of vibe.”

Finding another bent piece of metal, Xaldin squatted down, wiping more dirt off. “...yeah, like this one. What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. Love the use ‘was’, he really thought that was gonna be the end, huh?”

Marluxia looked over the sign plates Xaldin uncovered, his jaw dropped (slightly!) as he looked at them incredulously. 

(But even so, there had been a part of him that had known. An Empath’s mind knew itself. But, as a construct in a brand new role…or just a differently defined one, as Marluxia had been made from the beginning to protect Lauriam, the moment he had started caring for the field flowers and had noticed the metal in the ground? He had been struck by inspiration, not about to leave thoughts of self-hatred and hopelessness and lack of worth to bury and fester in Lauriam’s mind. 

Real plants might not care much about old metal in the ground, but Lauriam would never be able to fully bloom with the metal in his. 

And what better project was there, to turn insecurity and depression into something that would awe and astound, bring joy? And, maybe one day, even defend.)

Marluxia huffed as he grumbled, “That moron…what the hell was he thinking.” Scowling, Marluxia closed his eyes and concentrated. Finding the right part, like all of a root network, and pulling--

❀ㆁoㆁ !!!

Lauriam startled as he appeared in his world, popping up through the dirt and looking confused at his Chibi body before glaring up at Marluxia.

❀ㆁ^ㆁ What’s your problem~? You can just talk to me normally if you want to say something~!

❀ㆁ^ㆁ I could’ve been doing anything, Marluxia, you can’t just pull my conscious in here whenever you w…

The chibi trailed off as he noticed he wasn’t the only other person in their world. 

❀Ȱ//ᯅ//Ȱ Xaldin~?

“Holy shit,” Xaldin said, staring in genuine, open bewilderment, “Flower, did you just pull Lauriam from the ground like a damn cabbage? Wait, that is the dandelion, isn’t it? What are you…” 

Xaldin squatted down, still giving Lauriam just a bewildered look… before reaching out and poking Lauriam’s stomach. “...you know, you did not look like this the last time I saw you. The mouth is new. Did you two really go through the effort of making yourselves pretty in this form?” Xaldin smirked, growing deeply amused, as he poked Lauriam in the cheek next. “Damn, you’re so squishy. What the hell.”

Lauriam could only stare at Xaldin for a moment, before, 

Poke.

Poke.

❀ㆁ`m´ㆁMarluxia~

The construct burst out laughing, doubling over even as Lauriam popped back to his usual form, flushed but giving Xaldin an unamused look as he sat splayed on the ground. 

“Oh come now, Loseriam, I thought you were excited to show off our new design,” Marluxia snickered, grinning without a hint of shame as Lauriam glared at him. 

“Is that all you wanted?” Lauriam grumbled, “Seriously, I could’ve been doing anything when you pulled me in, I thought we were trying to avoid extra brain damage.” Taking a breath, he turned back to Xaldin. “Having no mouth really wasn’t working, so we needed another option. What you just saw was it.”

“It was cute,” Xaldin smirked, “Almost as cute as you fully grown. Well, almost.” He gave Lauriam a wink… before clearing his throat, stepping back a bit.

He did not just have sex with Lauriam. He could not get that confused. He and Lauriam had very much not figured out shit yet. He tried to make up for the slip by asking, “So, uh, what were you doing when he called you in then?”

Lauriam snorted a little at the wink, before sighing. “I…was…” Lauriam spoke slowly, looking between…Marluxia’s upbeat, playful mood, Xaldin’s flirt, the fact that the two of them were apparently just hanging out, despite Xaldin not having been by before, and…

Lauriam’s cheeks went red. “Did you guys seriously have sex in my head?!”

“Not yours~” Marluxia grinned, looking even happier with Lauriam’s scandal. 

While Lauriam made an odd high-pitched noise, maybe ‘scandal’ wasn’t the right word, from how he scrambled up from the ground, heading over to Marluxia and furiously whispering to his construct. There were some rolled eyes, a few shit-eating grins, Lauriam just looking at nothing glassy-eyed for a moment…before he turned back to Xaldin, looking a bit hot under the collar. 

“...I think we should talk about this.”

“Yeeeeaaaaaaah,” Xaldin sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and tapping his heel into the dirt a bit, “Yeah. We probably should… not at Luis’ though. I’m hoping that place self-cleans.”

Lauriam could never talk to Luis again. Or at least for like a week. 

“Considering your guess about the mannequins, that’s the running theory,” Marluxia purred, draping an arm over Lauriam’s shoulders and just looking smugger with every bit of discomfort the other two showed. “Otherwise I don’t think the bar would be food safe ever again.”

Lauriam steamed, looking at nothing again before he shook his head. “Okay, that’s what I mean! Look, we’re all adults here, we don’t need to talk around things--”

Looking furiously red, Lauriam admitted, “I’m in my bunk in the carriage because I definitely noticed what you two were doing. So we need to talk, because as funny as you might find it, me wanting to jump your bones out of the blue is definitely going to cause problems.”

“...” Xaldin couldn’t help it, the endlessly amused grin spreading across his face as he asked, “Did you at least… get to a good stopping point?”

Lauriam gave the giddy looks on either side of him a flat stare. “I’m trapped in a box with six other people. I’m not jacking off with them around.”

“Pfff,” Marluxia wheezed, before he took some breaths, “Okay, okay, lemme--”

Closing his eyes again, Marluxia was quiet for a few moments…before his cheeks started to flush too, his breath getting a little heavier. Obviously a little distracted when he opened his eyes again, even with how he tried to smirk at Lauriam. “Well, obviously it’s not a one-to-one reaction.”

Leaning towards his Empath again, Marluxia held a hand up to whisper to Lauriam, “We could see if he’s up for another round?”

Lauriam’s gaze went glassy again.

“Oh god damn, this brat’s gonna be the end of us,” Xaldin groaned, putting his head in his hand, before bringing up his arms into an X, “No, no, hold on, look, as much as I… god, I’d love to take advantage, you have no idea… ahem. As much as I want to? Lauriam here didn’t exactly edge himself on purpose. We’re talking this through, not having a damn… beautiful, sexy threesome…”

Xaldin’s face twisted, like he wanted to punch himself, struggling to finish his cautioning thought. “...dammit. Is there anywhere we can go that’ll block out the horny? Which world has a damn freezer?”

…a threesome…

Lauriam wasn’t exactly attracted to Marluxia, but he wasn’t repulsive. It was just, like…being with yourself. Literally. But there being two, with Xaldin…

Lauriam groaned as he covered his face, Marluxia patronizingly patting his back, before they both grimaced. The answer a turn-off in itself. “Vexen,” the garden duo said together.

“Look,” Lauriam said as he swallowed, “Mostly I just want to say! Like, maybe don’t have sex when our body’s in the middle of something! Or where we can’t have any privacy! Because if all this,” he gestured to Marluxia and Xaldin, eyes lingering on Xaldin more as he looked up and down his figure, “has a physical reaction too, then it’s not just a fun cheat while we’re not around in person.”

Marluxia snickered, putting his arms around Lauriam’s middle. “You were trying so hard to avoid saying ‘screwed’. Though you’d like to be, huh? A little harder to bend over something out here, though I’m sure Xaldin wouldn’t mind you on your hands and knees~”

“You know, Lauriam, you made a similar joke back when we were in the closet. Do you just really want to suck my dick?” Xaldin mused, once again getting caught up in Marluxia’s energy… before he shook his head, putting up an X again, “Calm the hell down, we are talking. Using our damn words! No one’s sucking any dick till I know what the hell’s happening between all of us! Don’t think I won’t drag your asses to Vexen’s freezer!”

Huffing, Xaldin sat down in the grass with a thud, crossing his arms and taking another steadying breath. “...so dandelion. You’re not pissed then? I was kinda worried you would be.”

Lauriam made that high-pitched noise again before huffing, nudging Marluxia off of him and following Xaldin’s lead, sitting down. Er…in a few different positions, sitting cross-legged not seeming like the best idea right then. Rolling his eyes, Marluxia followed suit, flopping down on his front and crossing his ankles behind him in the air. 

Blinking at Xaldin, Lauriam tilted his head a little. “No? Why would I be mad? I mean, I can assume now you guys didn’t know I knew what was happening, so it wasn’t about that, so…”

“Because you’re insecure and jealous and,” oh yeah, there was a reason Marluxia had pulled Lauriam’s consciousness in, “apparently have a lot of defeatism that’s honestly super depressing and gross.”

Lauriam stiffened a bit before glaring at Marluxia. “Like you’re a good judge of whatever that even means. If someone’s not willing to throw hands at the drop of a hat for anything, they’re a loser in your eyes. And why would I be… Look,” he sighed, looking between Marluxia and Xaldin, gesturing to each of them, “The three of us, and Dilan for that matter, have been flirting in pretty much every combination that isn’t self-flirting for years. If I was going to have an issue with it, I think it would’ve come up a long time ago. But now?”

He rolled his eyes a little. “Obviously you two are into each other. Tell me something I haven’t known for years.”

“I’ve flirted with Dilan,” Xaldin said dryly, resting his chin on his fist, before smirking, “It was fun because it freaked him out. Maybe it was somewhat my fault that he stopped visiting after a while. Whatever. He’s the one that gave me a sadism kink.”

“Sure, I guess I already knew you were cool with me and Marluxia, but… I guess I sort of thought a caveat of that was you and I had to be cool too,” Xaldin admitted, “And we haven’t exactly figured ourselves out yet. I think I’ve told everyone we’re in a ‘situationship’ except you, because we’ve been… well, I’ve been dancing around this topic for a while… Lauriam, do you even still want to be with me? How are you not fed up with this yet? ‘This’ being me asking you when you’re going to realize you’re fed up with me, I mean.”

“Maybe that’s a Nobody thing,” Marluxia hummed, winking at Lauriam. “Or no~ot and La-La’s trying to save a little face. He should really know better by now. Though to the answer of ‘how’? Xaldin, I would’ve thought you of everyone would know a masochist when you see one.”

“Shut up,” Lauriam said without any bite, turning pink again before he sighed, giving Xaldin a plaintive look. “I do hate you asking over and over how I’m not fed up, and to look at other people, and to stop hanging around a guy I was trapped with. I know we…didn’t really get to finish that conversation last time.”

Looking to the side, Lauriam looked regretful before he turned back, jaw set with determination. “If you’re just going to call me stubborn, fine. I do get what you’re trying to do, asking me to take advantage of the rest of the world now that we can, but damnit, Xaldin, I think asking once is enough before you might even try to trust me to know how I feel!”

“Yes!” he said a little desperately, “Yes, I do still want to be with you! Enough that it drives me crazy, because I should say enough’s enough with a guy that can’t even decide what he wants to be to me and does nothing but send mixed signals, and sometimes acts like I’m talking to someone already dead. I should have enough respect in myself not to pine over a guy who, once he’s whole, is just…going to look at me like I’m pathetic and embarrassing and…wrong.”

Lauriam balled his fists at his sides, but even with how tense he was…a little smile crept up on his face. “...but I know I need you in my life, one way or another. Friend, family, casual fuck, maybe even telling you I love you,” he quoted, that smile a little melancholic, and a little amused, “...but over and over, I just keep finding myself wanting the latter. And if I’m going to make a fool out of myself trying, then I may as well be honest about it and commit.”

It took Xaldin a second but… “Geez, I really said something like that? I’m a sap,” he grumbled, feeling a little embarrassed… but also a little flustered. It was different, hearing it from Lauriam. “...look.”

Xaldin paused. “Look,” he said again, sighing in frustration, “I can’t say one way or another what Dilan’s going to do. I know he likes you. I know it. But he knew I liked you too, and I think he saw me as the worst version of him. Honestly, he might have decided this was all as bad as he thought it is, because I was so into it. But I don’t really know. We had gotten into a big fight years ago, we were barely talking by the time the factory happened…”

Xaldin rolled his eyes, grumbling, “If he didn’t want me to like it, he shouldn’t have designed me this way… anyway. Not knowing what he’s going to do makes me nervous. It makes me want to hold back and not raise your hopes.”

“But dammit, if it was just me? If I was the only person involved in this?” Xaldin said, turning to look at Lauriam, gritting his teeth, “I don’t want to be a ‘casual fling’ you have, I hate the idea of you with other people, I want to fuck you three ways every damn three days, and I also want… all the stupid love shit Demyx was whining about for a few days there. I want to be able to tell people I’m with you, and take you out to places, and just hold you, sometimes, just because it’s nice to. I want… I don’t know…” Xaldin said, crossing his arms and shrugging, “...I want to be your man. And I want it to be good. Something you’d be happy to have.”

Xaldin paused, brow furrowing. “...do I need to get you cookies and balloons too!? God dammit Ienzo, that kid raised the bar so high, we’re not even going to be in the same place for ages…”

Lauriam knew Dilan liked him too. Hellfire, Marluxia knew Dilan liked him. They had been a big mess of ego and flirting and unsaid, vaguely implied feelings. And while it was usually easy to tell, there had been some times where…well, neither of the garden duo were really sure which of them it was, let alone if they had been talking to Dilan or Xaldin. Maybe, more than they ever thought, it had been both, on both sides. 

It had just…gotten more and more complicated, over the years. And with Xaldin saying all sorts of things about him hating himself and Dilan hating him, it was hard not to feel pessimistic. 

So in the face of the unknown?

“If Dilan breaks his heart,” Marluxia said simply, jabbing a thumb Lauriam’s way, “I’ll break his face.”

Lauriam snorted softly, though the glance he gave Marluxia was warm. But that turned out to just be the warm-up of declarations. 

As Xaldin explained what he wanted, if it was just up to him, Lauriam’s eyes widened, and he felt his heart start to flutter. In no uncertain terms, Xaldin saying he wanted to be with him. Fully and utterly. 

“I wouldn’t say no, but I’m not opposed to you finding your own creative path,” Lauriam said, a bright, goofy, genuinely happy grin on his face.

An expression Marluxia couldn’t help snorting at, before he gave Xaldin a lazy grin as well. “You’d need to, since I’m absolutely not just an add-on to whatever you do for Loseriam. I’ll accept nothing less than a full, unique date.”

“Don’t be greedy, I just took you on a date,” Xaldin scoffed, before considering the logistics of dating two different beings at once, “...oh this is going to get expensive, isn’t it? When the others ask me where all our gold is going, I need you two to back me up that it’s bandits sneaking in and stealing it, one date at a time.”

But the joke was what it was: a joke. Xaldin grinning, feeling excited. Was it… seriously that easy? Was it just as simple as telling them he wanted to date them? Why had this taken so long?

“So we’re really doing this?” Xaldin asked, “What am I calling you? Partners?”

“And I can absolutely demand that you take me on one in the physical world eventually too,” Marluxia grinned, “We’ll definitely need the advanced notice to make sure to snag the date money before Ienzo, Demyx, and Zexion claim it all. Ienzo has grant money, he doesn’t need to use our regular funds.”

…he knew they had just talked it out, that Xaldin had assured him that Marluxia wasn’t just a lacking version of Lauriam…but it was still nice to hear that none of that changed with Lauriam firmly in the fold as well. There was a certain softness to Marluxia’s smile that made for a rare expression, and it didn’t even fade away as he hummed coyly. 

“Mm, not quite ready to commit yourself as a devotee, huh?”

Lauriam shoved Marluxia’s shoulder with a huffed laugh before he gave Xaldin an adoring look. “I’d like ‘boyfriend’.”

Marluxia sighed dramatically. “Fiiiine, we can go with the classic.”

“Geez, boyfriends. The hell am I doing having two ‘boyfriends’. Vexen’s gonna run me through the coals… though, he’s in deep shit right now, this might actually be the perfect time to announce I’m dating you two.” Xaldin smirked. 

He stared at the two. Two different shades of pink, green, tan. Pretty, but in two strikingly different ways. His flower and dandelion. Both of them staring back in ways that made Xaldin feel like… this could work. How could it not work? They looked happy, amused, how could he fuck it up by this point?

Xaldin was not going to fuck this up. This was too much to lose. He’d do this right.

“....so,” Xaldin said, with all the self-awareness of a lemur chilling out at the edge of a cliff, smirking, “You still in the bunk, dandelion?”

Marluxia’s canary-caught grin sharpened as he looked over to Lauriam as well. “C’mon, we might not be the science nerds, but we absolutely have to find out if you can cum by getting wrecked mentally. Looook~”, he purred, “I’ll even front next if you’re too shy about it.”

(Lauriam was very aware his body had barely calmed down while they were talking. And with two gazes like that fixed on him?)

Lauriam huffed amusedly, before he started unbuttoning his shirt. “It almost seems like a game now, how long we’ll go before ever trying out a bed.”

Marluxia grinned brighter. “And you know we always play to win.”

-

Vexen squinted at his clipboard, looking through his list, as he asked, “And you’re certain you don’t want one for yourself? So far, everyone else seems to be on board.”

Luis gave Vexen a somewhat nervous smile. “Right, but… I never had a Nobody? So it’d be, what? All the Nobodies hanging out, who have known each other forever, and then some poor, random, brand new construct I’ve made trying to fit in with them? I don’t think that’s a good idea, Vexen.”

“Your mannequins have all been around a long time. Perhaps a chibi version of them?” Vexen mused, tapping his pen against the clipboard.

“My mannequins… you want me to just throw into the group a wooden, mindless puppet construct?”

“Chibis, as far as I can tell, are very good for the Empath who’s created them. Lots of recorded benefits for mental health. Besides, I’ve seen hints of personality in your mannequins.”

“No, you’re seeing the personality of the casino itself, expressed in the mannequins, and the casino is very much still just me,” Luis said a little desperately.

“You made a casino your Nobody?” Vexen asked, perplexed, “The scenery itself?”

“I’m sooooo specifically explaining I haven’t, mate,” Luis insisted, starting to sweat, “I know how my constructs and figments and memories work, none of them are independent. I don’t think I should create one to just, what? Round out the group???”

“Again, it may be good for you, I wouldn’t not recommend it,” Vexen said, before seeing movement at the corner of his eye.

Someone’s head had poked out of Ienzo’s gate, and then gone back in. 

Luis noticed Vexen’s gaze drifting, looking back at Ienzo’s gate, before sighing, “You really should go take care of that, mate. I know you had a wee bit of a breakdown there, but that’s not on the lad. Especially if you’re going to go whole soon? You don’t want to be having this conversation while you’re two bits tall and compulsively singing every word.”

“I’m afraid I may say the wrong thing,” Vexen admitted, “...and a part of me is still a bit upset with him. It’s still hard for me to see how my rationale was flawed. I’ve mostly stopped because it caused the rest of you so much distress. Not because I want the Nobodies to be revived any less.”

“Mate, you have got to let yourself listen to us. Nobody’s… you know what I mean,” Luis said, rolling his eyes, “None of us are mad you wanted to save the others. We’re mad you tried to strong-arm us all mad-scientist-like rather than risking talking to us about it. Again, the ‘breakdown’ bit, paranoia and fear got the best of you, I hear you. But you talking to the rest of us wasn’t you ‘letting us’ choose to murder our kin. You’d have been telling us you had a different idea of how we could go about this, one that would stop the fucking endless heartbreak we’ve been experiencing lately. This should have been great news! Instead, you went and… well, hurt all our feelings, mate.”

Luis paused, before adding, “And gave Lauriam and Marluxia a mental breakdown. And told your kid he was killing his friends if he went against you. You have a lot to apologize for, but it’s not ‘forcing us’ to take the Nobodies back. It’s feeling like the answer was to force us at all.”

“It felt like betrayal, to ask permission,” Vexen said softly, staring at the gate, “Who asks ‘permission’ to save their loved ones?”

“The hard truth is ‘most everyone’,” Luis said, sighing, “But that’s only if you’re confusing ‘communicating that something is happening and getting cooperation’ with ‘asking permission’. It is two different things. But I can see how it’d feel interchangeable when you’re panicking.”

“...I see…” Vexen frowned, seeing the logic in that, “...how is it always you that ends up talking me out of my head, Luis? I feel like this is the dozenth time we’ve had a conversation like this. And no offense, but it never actually occurs to me to go looking for your advice.”

“Offense a little taken? I’m not dumb, I’m just eastern bumpkin,” Luis pouted, “Don’t let the accent fool you.”

“Or the drunkenness.” 

“See, now you’re just being mean. Go talk to your kid, if I want a chibi, I’ll make one after everyone’s calmed down and established.” Luis sighed, waving Vexen off and heading back to his own world.

Vexen sighed, before heading to Ienzo’s gate. Knocking on the door and, for once, waiting.

It had been days, so Zexion hadn’t just spent the whole time curled up in Ienzo’s consciousness, sulking. There was always work to be done, and while they were trying to be better about taking breaks, that still meant that there was something to take a break from, and between keeping Ienzo’s mind in order, passing out the transcription factor, and considering what they had done for Lauriam and Marluxia, and what that meant about the nature of Chibis, Zexion had a full plate. 

…but there had been a lot of just letting himself exist in the comforting corners of Ienzo’s mind. 

They didn’t really fight with their dads…Zexion wasn’t sure what to do. And while he’d seen Vexen on the beach when he looked out, and thus the knock on the door wasn’t surprising…Zexion just let Ienzo know he had it, and opened it up. 

Looking up at his dad. 

ㅍ_ㅍ …

ㅍ_ㅍ Hello, Vexen. I’m sure it won’t come as much of a shock to you, since Ienzo has made his boundaries clear, but he doesn’t want you as a casual guest in his world either. If there’s a certain book you need, I’d be happy to fetch it for you.

“Good day, son,” Vexen said, “I’d actually like to speak with you, if you have time today.”

o_o Oh. 

o_o Uh, yeah, I have time.

Zexion glanced around the doorway, before stepping out, letting the boundary meld back into the trees as he gestured a little to Vexen. 

o_o Is there anywhere you’d prefer to talk?

“I think I’d be more comfortable deferring the choice to you, but, if you would like a suggestion, perhaps a walk down the beach would make a sufficient place?” Vexen asked, “While it is a bit out in the open, the beach does have the benefit of being one of the calmer areas among the worlds. Outside of your library, perhaps.”

ㅍ_ㅍ That sounds amenable to me. And other than Luis, I suppose, I haven’t noticed the others on the island much today. I know Marluxia and Xaldin went by a few times, but it was brief. 

Leading the way down to the beach, Zexion paused before nodding a bit. 

o_o I suppose that objectively the library is calm, these days. It always seemed so to me, but I’m not unaware most of you found the noise a bit distracting.

“Perhaps to the others. The libraries I knew were full of students failing to be silent, so it was rather familiar noise, to me. Many young minds, bustling about, whispering to each other in a cacophony of silence,” Vexen said, “You’d have been quite taken with university life, I think. I do regret that’s something you’ve not gotten to experience. I’m certain you would have excelled.”

Both Vexen and Zexion walked onto the sand. Both, individually, looked somewhat distastefully at the sand. Great. Walking on sand. 

“Perhaps making your father’s training island the goal would be the wise next move,” Vexen grumbled, looking longingly at the small bit of rounded land, devoid of sand. 

ㅍںㅍ While I’ve only ever heard things about it second hand, it still does seem like something we’d enjoy. More than the realities of primary school, at least. 

o_o Though considering the flow of our interest, I’m not so sure we would’ve successfully been able to commit to a single area of study. We’d have been an advisor’s worst nightmare.

There was something nice about the nature of a chibi, that the logic that routinely applied to others did have some wiggle room from them, at the moment the effect of environmental mess, but…yeah. Sand was a bit unpleasant to walk on when the purpose was a walk. 

ㅍ_ㅍ We’ll head that direction, then. 

ᄀ_ᄀ …

ㅍ_ㅍ …it’s not usually like you to ease into a conversation like this.

…Zexion had to resist hard from asking if he was in trouble. He knew that Isa had kept his word about getting the rest of the old guard to talk to Vexen, but…well, he didn’t really know the outcome of that. So with the information he knew, however outdated, in Vexen’s eyes he was in trouble. It just wasn’t something Zexion thought was wrong.

“It’s not very often I find myself in a conversation like this,” Vexen confessed, “As a rule, I’ve tried not to be the kind of person who takes anger at my actions personally. I have done a great many things that have upset a great number of people, sometimes to the point of creating dire consequences for myself. I’ve often never seen a point in internalizing that resentment. Why reprimand myself when others are so keen to do it on my behalf? They can force my actions to change, yes, but not my beliefs.”

(The fact that that was what Vexen’s major conditioning criteria was–literally changing people’s values and belief system–had been…a trial on Even. A bit of cruelty that he knew he himself would have raged against, abhorred.)

(Vexen had often wondered if that was true of all the Nobodies. If conditioning had been partially based on things they knew they themselves could have suffered most under.)

(He hadn’t studied it very much. But he suspected there was a truth in it.)

“...so it’s not very often I feel… that I’ve done something wrong,” Vexen said, “And I’m not sure how to begin with that.”

They walked in the sand a bit–crunch, crunch, crunch–before Vexen asked, “Do you find me intimidating?” 

Zexion couldn’t help but huff in amusement at that. Oh, yes, he knew. Zexion had always known his dad to be someone that knew himself well, and had clear ideas of the goals he wanted to achieve. It made for someone that was determined and clear-cut and just…incredibly stubborn. It wasn’t that Vexen didn’t take accountability for his actions, he just tended not to make ones he regretted, even once the consequences came to be. 

…Zexion hadn’t been surprised by Vexen’s unwillingness to listen to him. But he still wished he had. 

And, he supposed, it didn’t give much practice in making apologies. 

Zexion blinked, looking up at his father for a moment. 

o_o In certain manners, yes. While it’s not an intrinsic pair, I do find that respect and intimidation often are found together. 

ㅍ_ㅍ You’re a highly capable, knowledgeable, and practiced Empath, and all of that has come by way of a search for knowledge that you display in many mannerisms. In a similar fashion, you’re a level-headed leader with true wisdom. 

o_o And you’re also my dad.

o_o Even if Ienzo and I were ever able to succeed more with disregarding the judgment of others, you are always going to be a person that we’re going to seek approval from. Your opinion matters to me, and that’s its own form of intimidation. 

“I was more worried about appearing intimidating due to my paternal status, yes,” Vexen agreed, sighing a bit, “It’s perfectly natural for my intellect and aggressive form of science to be intimidating. But I did hope to be a different sort of parent than that.”

Vexen took a deep breath and sighed a bit. “...I made an error, in how I spoke to you last, Zexion. I don’t wish to be the sort of parent that frightens their child, even if you are a grown one now. I won’t try to justify my mistake as a failure to communicate my intention. My intention had been to intimidate you. Or, rather, to make an argument that your decision would cost the lives of our family.”

“And while I’ve continued to reflect on how I feel about that argument on its foundation, whether it’s how I still feel about the subject when presented in a vacuum… my philosophy on it was not presented in a vacuum. In that, I mean, even if that had been true, the other factors of you being my son, and my responsibilities to you, should have required that I prioritize that first, over my desire to have my way.”

“...I acted childishly with you, and I am aware I hurt you in the process,” Vexen said, “I regret that.”

He usually was a different sort of parent than that. While Zexion and Ienzo had gone through their own struggles of what being a child in a relationship meant, it had never been Aeleus or Even or Lexeaus or Vexen ever reinforcing those ideas that Zexion and Ienzo needed to earn their care. His dads had just…loved him. Doing their best to raise him, and trying everything they could to counteract that Zexion had grown up in a prison with wardens that hated him and had to torture innocent people. 

It seemed like an impossible task, but his dads had taken to it with gusto, and for all that Zexion knew he still had issues, he thought they’d done great with him. 

That was why what Vexen did felt so shocking. It felt like a betrayal of everything Zexion had ever known, and without any of the resistance to the general cruelty of the world to protect him, because Vexen had always been safe. 

That had been new. And…so was Vexen apologizing for it. 

…

இ﹏இ …do you really think everyone’s gonna die if you talk to them?

“I believed it when I said it.” Vexen sighed, mildly relieved that they had managed to get to the end of the beach at this point of the conversation, wanting to sit down on the rock wall that helped separate the training ground from the beach. “Perhaps that will seem foolish to you, but I don’t want you to think that I lied to get a certain reaction out of you. That was not my intention. In that moment, I believed everything I said.”

Sitting down on the wall, reaching down to offer Zexion a hand up, Vexen said softly, “I was simply… wrong. And my actions were a result of my truly believing something that was wrong. I made an error, which is not truly unusual for me. But I regret how viciously that error was turned against you. Even believing the others were in danger, I should not have made that your responsibility.”

Zexion hadn’t really believed that it was a fabrication. Maybe that’s why it really had stalled him from saying anything, even though he knew what Vexen was going to do. He didn’t always agree with things Vexen truly believed, but with that kind of vehemence, he just…

Allowing Vexen to help him up, Zexion scrambled on top of the wall, but once he was there he was full-sized, an unsure, wavering expression reading with more subtlety and nuance than was possible on a chibi face. One leg up on the wall, Zexion picked at the seam of his pants. 

“I never…agreed that it’d truly be my fault,” he said softly, “Ienzo explained the situation to Demyx after everything, and for a moment I think he struggled to understand what had happened, because that fallacy was so glaringly egregious. And seeing the panic and pain it caused Lauriam and Marluxia, and the heartbreak it caused Namine, I… It was a mistake on my part to let that hesitation decide my actions.”

Zexion’s eyes scrunched a bit as they shimmered, the man hunching into his hoodie more. “...I feel as though I killed many of my constructs. Which is unequivocally my fault. And I allowed that regret to compound with your assertion which…i-is why I believe I feel so strongly about what you said.”

Vexen’s eyes lowered, a deep regret filling him. “...I will never understand who made it so that when we’re feeling sad, the island suddenly starts to act as if it’s going into sunset,” Vexen huffed, looking at the sudden orange and pink hues around them, the sun in the distant horizon perpetually hovering somewhat over the edge, though no amount of time would actually set it. “This is a common area, who had the time and the gall?”

“...Zexion, our existence. You and I. I’m still trying to comprehend what we are, at this point,” Vexen said softly, “Before we left the factory, Nobodies either were damaged into decaying states of being, which was considered the worst thing that could happen to us… or we died with our Somebodies. That is the only reality I have ever known for us. And for all my research into Empathy and supernatural beings before I was locked away in the factory? That’s all I know about how Empaths work at all. Just what was passed down from one generation of stolen Empaths in the factory to the next.”

“Every Empath, brought to the island to permanently connect to the greater mind, so that they could successfully and quickly use the group’s power and experience to make themselves a Nobody, something that would have been impossible for most of us… most of them,” Vexen said, looking around the island, “at all. But knowing how to create something does not mean any of them understood how we functioned. What our true limits were. If we even had limits.”

“Whether or not our existence was ethical, whether or not our existence had any inherent value outside of our primary purpose we were created for, whether or not we deserved kindness or respect or consideration… that never came up,” Vexen said, “It was never relevant before, until now. Some of the Empaths treated their Nobodies like siblings, such as Namine and Kairi. Some cursed their Nobodies as evil versions of themselves, such as Dilan and Demyx, to an extent. Some considered them tools with no greater value, such as Riku. Others beloved pets, which I would argue was how Sora viewed Roxas and Xion, for all of his love for them.”

“Those who came and went before us? Were even more demanding of their Nobodies. Perhaps because the older Empaths were still struggling to learn to perfect the process,” Vexen said, “Dilan did not learn to hate his Nobody in a vacuum. Many of the older Empaths considered their Nobodies ‘evil’ versions of themselves. And the Nobodies accepted that, understood it to just be true of their reality, their existence. Died believing that. It was Even, in all of his practical, uncaring, unconvinced of binary moral standards nature, that did away with the practice. He did not condemn my actions. He just accepted that I had been born into a position where that was what I was compelled to do. That a Nobody’s nature could not be defined by that, nor their sense of morality, nor their inherent value when speaking or being engaged with outside of that parameter. It was… a bit of a revolution, for Nobodies, though no one called it as such. Because it was still not considered something that we could desire. Only what our Somebodies desired for us.”

“...I apologize,” Vexen whispered, “I am data-dumping to avoid saying anything about the nature of your destroyed constructs. I do not know if their existence, independently, had value. I cannot say if you were right or wrong to do what you did. On a practical level, it might have simply been what needed to be done, at some point, no moral value to be usefully applied to it. But then… the same could be argued of us.”

“It seems fitting,” Zexion said softly, glancing out at the sunset. Sometimes this one did feel more real than the ones he and Ienzo could now see out in the world. “As much as we can seek to understand and quantify, the domain of Empaths is emotion. Representations of emotion seem natural to occur regardless of the actual mechanic driving it.”

Zexion looked over at Vexen as his dad mused upon the nature of Nobodies, the evolution of their treatment and his experience. Just like Ienzo and Demyx had talked about…it was so difficult to understand, because when compared to the greater history of Empathy, they were such far, far outliers. Having done something that an Empath in a supportive, safe atmosphere would never even briefly consider. That even an ambitious one would likely disregard on the grounds of the danger and difficulty and…honestly cruelty. 

Who would want to split their mind into pieces on purpose? And then divide those pieces into ranks to serve one? To put the serving pieces through constant trauma and abuse?

They were phenomena born of very, very specific circumstances, and ones that no one would ever want to recreate. So that left them…

Zexion took a shaky breath. “I think…on the whole, most of us, at least, needed to be reintegrated. Ienzo’s, and, my, to be honest, disinterest with the world outside of ourself was not entirely a conscious choice. Very literally, we were split in too many directions. So if we were to be a person, people, more than a computing machine…we needed more of ourself in one place.”

That was function, no moral judgment. 

A grimace took over Zexion’s face as he closed his eyes. “...some of them were scared, when I absorbed them. Sad. Some of them didn’t truly understand what was happening, despite knowing that it was a process I was enacting. And it wasn’t always just…a process. We’d long figured out how to swap places with each other and I didn’t…see an issue with doing so defensively.”

Zexion cringed into himself, sweating a bit. “...we were all just…interchangeable. It shouldn’t have mattered, losing one here or there. Especially if we were just going back to base essence after.”

…and for those who weren’t? Then it had been more important for Zexion to be unharmed, holding more of Ienzo’s consciousness within himself. 

…he had made the decision that his life was worth more. 

“...You were raised, at least in part, by a man who when he makes a choice, follows through,” Vexen said, perhaps able to fill in the silent regrets between Zexion’s explanations, “One who taught you that sometimes personal sacrifices needed to be made for self-preservation. One who taught you that ends justify means, though I like to think that I instilled in you worthy ends to pursue.” Vexen frowned. “I am not always perfect in my reasoning, and in some ways, I see that perhaps I’ve passed those imperfections off to you. I cannot say I would have made different choices, than you did. But I also cannot say those were the correct choices to make. I think it’d take more time and reflection, to come to a conclusion.”

“......I often wish my madness, for I do have some, could have been better used to protect you and Ienzo,” Vexen admitted softly, “I felt very often pulled in two directions, raising you. One one hand, the practical side of me knew that appeasing our wardens, playing their games, sacrificing some of our own comforts and morals, would ultimately keep us all safer, longer. A humbling and depressing world view, but I still stand by it. True, open rebellion would have ruined us.”

“But every time they hurt you? I would find myself pacing the floors, inspecting the walls, looking at our tools and food, looking for anything that could give me some advantage,” Vexen said, eyes darkening, “I used to daydream of finding some excuse to be given batteries, and breaking them open to poison the supervisors’ food with the acid. An impractical daydream in multiple parts, no less so for the fact that I had only ever seen them eat in person once. I would trace my fingers against the metal linings of the doors and walls, and every time my skin caught on some shrapnel, I imagined pulling and breaking off large cuts of it, able to use as a makeshift dagger. I imagined holding one of them hostage, getting out the door, dragging you back, dragging you out.”

Whenever Zexion was gone too long? Vexen had found himself trying to negotiate, make trades, try to smooth talk him back. One time it had just come down to begging. The supervisors had thought it was funny. It had worked that one time and then never again. The supervisors bored with the new trick they had taught him.

Vexen did not bring it up. He did not want Zexion to know the lengths Vexen and Even had tried to debase themselves, in their attempts to help him. It would be a burden.

“...imagining you returned to base essence? Without a chance to argue for your value? It just… decided, one day?” Vexen frowned, “Filled me with that same sense of crawling up the walls fever, needing a way to rescue you. To rescue the others. If the Somebodies could make us disappear on a whim? I wanted to know how to bring you back. Whether they approved or not.”

“It was an unkind assumption to make about them,” Vexen said, “But that was the fear I was fighting.”

Zexion nodded slightly, just…holding himself tensely for a moment, before he let out a slow, even breath, opening his eyes to look at the sunset again. There was no hiding from what he’d done. The fear he’d instilled in his fellows, their last conscious moments made awful by him. At the time, it was what had needed to be done. To live outside the factory, to preserve his own existence, to maintain order in a mind breaking down. 

Now? He regretted the pain he caused them. There had surely been other ways. But the only thing he could do now was be mindful and look for those other ways, so that people aren’t caused undue pain because it’s what’s needed for an end-goal. 

Perhaps as time went on, that perception would change even more. That was what it meant to live and grow. 

Zexion looked over, giving Vexen a look that was…a lot of things, as he talked about their time in the factory. What Vexen’s role as a father had meant to him, in that lens. It was sad, hearing the lengths of desperation and frustration his dad had been driven to. It was understanding, having felt those lengths himself. It was a deep affection, knowing that those lengths happened, because he had been loved. 

Scooting over a little, Zexion lightly leaned into Vexen. “...I told you then, that I understood where you were coming from. I don’t want anyone to go either.” He looked out into the ocean, the pinks and oranges reflecting in little pieces like confetti. “Our whole purpose for so long was to protect our Empaths. In a certain manner, we had been created to sacrifice. It had just seemed like the necessary process at first, but more and more it seems unfair that we are expected to sacrifice everything to wake our Empaths up. That’s hardly a fair choice to make.”

But one almost all of them had done, at the end. And while, for the most part, the Empaths were doing better, now whole…

…the island was so quiet. 

So there being an option to give that choice again, far more fairly?

“...I thought I would go back to base essence, when we found Ienzo,” Zexion quietly admitted. “Not just because it was the process we had observed before. He was already awake before any decision had been made, after all.”

Zexion squinted into the horizon. The world he and Ienzo had grown up in. “...I had been made to be his friend, when we were little. He didn’t expect anything of me, he just wanted someone to talk to. And maybe just by the nature of that desire, I wanted to listen. I wanted to learn everything he was excited about too, and share my thoughts on it, and he almost seemed even happier with that.”

“Even before Namine sent them all to sleep, Ienzo had been gone for a long time. It wasn’t all my fault, but it was partially,” Zexion murmured, regret weighing his voice. “He’s my best friend, and I helped trap him with every regret and fear we had. I was destroying him…of course he’d send me back to base essence. I was a broken construct.”

With a small breath, Zexion straightened and looked back at Vexen. “...but he didn’t. He couldn’t bear to, the thought of losing me, our lives together, is physically painful to Ienzo. So he fixed me instead, and the two of us decided on a new balance that…” Zexion smiled regretfully, “...wouldn’t have one of us grow into an egotistical killer, and the other too scared to open his eyes.”

“I know the rest of our family doesn’t have the same kind of relationship Ienzo and I have…but I do trust them to consider their Nobodies as more than objects, or unfortunate experiments that were necessary for survival. Especially with everything we’ve been through. I want to trust them with that consideration. And I think we all deserve some choices that aren’t made in desperation and fear.”

“And if they say no,” Zexion said quietly, “I still don’t think that means their Nobody is gone forever. Literally, within them, but…people grow. They change their minds. And I’d rather see someone again a little later, than see them struggle in pain and distrust.”

Vexen closed his eyes. “Patience and negotiation with those who control our lives, over foolish rebellion that will cause us all more immediate harm… it is never the option that feels best, is it. Though, I suppose some of the sting is numbed by remembering that those who control our lives, at least in this instance, did not do so out of some cruel delight in it. They’d likely balk to even consider themselves wardens. Perhaps that’s simply my bias in calling them as such.”

“...many of my fears are not fair to Ienzo, Zexion,” Vexen confessed softly, “I’d ask you to use some discretion, if he asks what we talked about. He can not help that is Somebody any more than we can help we are Nobodies. My fears do not mean to reflect poorly on him, but… that is just the nature of fears of people who are in a different place in life, in the hierarchy, for lack of a less weighted term, than ourselves.”

“And my son,” Vexen said, placing his hand around Zexion’s shoulder, holding him close, “...if Even proves to be one of the ones who does indeed need time to grow? To consider things? It is okay to allow him, I will not consider it a betrayal. Just know that I… was quite fortunate, to get a chance to be a father to you. If one indulges the theory of multitudes in timelines, I am certain that I, a Nobody born in a factory, getting a chance to raise a son as fine and respectable as you, is slim to none. I consider it a great privilege and a great honor, that I could do so.”

Zexion let out a little huff. “Difficult to choose for the notorious radical, I know. Though if this reasoning is anything to mull over--in society, in the factory… While it’s impractical to suggest a form of rebellion that separates you from the hegemony, it’s still possible. However, separating ourselves from our Empaths is not. Even to transfer oneself is a transfer to another Empath. For better or for worse, we’re with them forever. To me, that makes the option of negotiation and compromise one easier to accept.”

For Zexion, it was for better. He had seen what his life without Ienzo, in one of the closest true ways they could get, had been, and he didn’t like the person he was then. It had been hard to recognize, amid managing dozens of constructs and keeping safe in the factory and then adjusting to life outside of it…but he had missed his best friend. In more ways than just who Zexion had become without him. 

As difficult as life was these days, he was happier with Ienzo around. 

…and he didn’t exactly love the prospect of keeping secrets from him. But Zexion valued Ienzo’s relationship with Vexen as well. 

Zexion nodded, though he looked a little uneasy. “...I believe that Ienzo will forgive you as soon as he hears that you apologized to me.” Zexion paused, mulling around his words before he slowly tried, “It has been…an experience I’ve found to be pleasant, in a way, to have someone very strongly want to defend how others treat me. It makes me happy, and proud, that that’s a quality Ienzo has, and that he wants to utilize it for my sake.”

It was a nice surprise, that for all that Zexion had protected Ienzo over the years, Ienzo wanted, and did, do the same for him. 

He had a family that loved him, more succinctly put. 

Zexion looked over as Vexen put his arm around him, leaning in towards his dad with a little smile. His visible eye crinkling with a fond warmth. “I love you too, Dad. I won’t be too annoying making sure Even gets you back to us soon.”

“You can annoy him a bit. As a treat. He has left me to look after you all during a very difficult time, he could do with some bothering.” Vexen scoffed, before returning Zexion’s smile with a fond one himself. “...you will likely get to bother him soon. I am almost done with my list. I suspect I’ll be ready, once it’s done.”

Zexion’s shoulders raised in a quiet laugh, before his expression softened with sorrow for a moment. Bringing his arm around to hug Vexen back. Though, when he spoke again, his expression was even. “Ienzo and I will obviously be assisting you with the process.” So it wasn’t goodbye yet. 

Almost like he could see where Vexen’s clipboard was, Zexion hesitated, before asking, “If that’s a list concerning your Chibi project, I would assume he wouldn’t be on it… Have you spoken with Marluxia again yet?”

“Not yet,” Vexen confessed, this time his sigh more exasperated than sad, “I figured I should save him near last, if not last, so that if he sets me on fire or some such, you all will at least have the list. I’d hate to deteriorate with my very last project made worthless.”

“In truth, I don’t really want to apologize for all of that,” Vexen pouted somewhat, glaring at the sunset horizon, “I told Lauriam what I intended to do, he agreed, and Marluxia could not be more forewarned than that. Outside of telling everyone else? I really don’t know how I could have handled that better. Lauriam’s not a child, I should expect him to be able to make decisions.”

Zexion sighed, his Lexicon idly appearing in his arms as he tapped the side of it. “I fundamentally agree with you. It was why I was more than happy to do some theorizing together on the nature of Chibis and how to purposefully create one. You got Lauriam’s consent.”

A little exasperatedly, Zexion glanced over to his dad. “I preface that, to make clear I’m not trying to argue with you about what you should’ve done. …have you read about the psychological and physical injuries of depression?”

Regardless, Zexion carried on. “I’m really not qualified to say whether Lauriam has depression or not, but we know for a fact he’s been in such a poor mental state that he confided in you about feeling suicidal.” …Zexion really wasn’t trying to argue with his dad, but personally he didn’t think the most helpful response to someone asking for help that way was to come up with a plan to completely take away the driving agency of their life. But anyway.

“What a lot of the studies on depression have found, is that there’s a neurological inability for a person with depression to consider cause and effect. Similar to the natural brain development of someone growing up, that a person mid-development literally cannot consider how their future will be affected by their current actions, a person with depression literally cannot contemplate their future, whether they genuinely plan on ending it through suicide or not.”

Zexion shrugged, though the downturn of his eyes was a little sympathetic. “You’re right, Lauriam’s an adult and his autonomy should be respected. But I really don’t think he was in the right headspace to make a decision that life-changing, especially without a breakdown of the consequences and time for consideration. All that shouldn’t have been expected of you to provide in full…which is why I think not telling people was the biggest misstep. Which you know.”

“Yes, that’s a fair assessment of the situation… but you simply know Marluxia is going to be insufferable about it anyway,” Vexen scoffed. 

“And yes, I’m aware Lauriam is feeling suicidal, and no doubt you got half of that knowledge out of both mine and Isa’s head, if you didn’t find it in Lady Momota’s library while we were there,” Vexen said, “But my offer was a sincere thought of helping. I was planning the exact same chibi lifestyle for all of the rest of our family. If Lauriam needed a break from his life, time to pull away and consider things? Why not do it in the manner I was expecting the rest of us to live.”

“You came to mind as a justification, actually,” Vexen admitted, “Ienzo did the same thing, in his depression. As foolish as it was to give up his childhood, I do not actually think he was entirely misguided to rely on you, at least for a bit. I’d rather someone dissociate and disengage from the world for a while, rather than bash their skulls against the wall in a fit of discontent.”

“And I thought Marluxia would perhaps prefer to return as the fronting personality,” Vexen explained further, “It had occurred to me by that point that some of us might find a chibi lifestyle… unfulfilling, if our Empaths could not find a new purpose for us. Marluxia is a strong and independent personality. I thought he might be thrilled.”

“But no,” Vexen said dryly, clearly still annoyed, “Not even a little. I cannot argue I made the correct assessments on the matter even slightly, because both of them did not even come close to acting as I had hoped they might. It’s mildly frustrating, to be so wrong about something. And now I have to go and face them about it, in all my wrongness. Devastating.”

Zexion winced a little, looking away. His arrangement with Ienzo didn’t feel quite the same, as one of the people in it. Originally, it had been something Zexion offered in a traumatic moment. Zexion had always had feelings, sure, but when he had only been a few years old, and far, far less developed of a construct, more of a figment at that point, really, it had been far easier for him to objectively handle a situation. So while Ienzo was in shock, Zexion handled the responsibilities the high pressure situation their life had turned into in his stead. 

After that? It had almost been a game, had they not felt so sad so much of the time, of who was fronting. To them, it never mattered much, because they were always talking. Even after they arrived at the factory and Ienzo had learned that he was meant to use constructs to avoid things…well, they always conferred that information anyway, and they all used each other to avoid things. That’s why there had been so many of them. 

And it was just incorrect to say that Ienzo had been doing nothing while he wasn’t fronting. In a lot of ways, the research he had been doing with all the new books they plucked out of people’s heads had felt like the real life, Zexion and the other constructs just peeking in on the dream that was the physical world. All until Ienzo had been so buried in research Zexion couldn’t find him at all, and things happened in the physical world that started feeling more real. 

It didn’t feel like a situation to aspire to. 

Zexion gave his dad a skeptical look as he called Marluxia independent, before snorting softly. “It is more difficult to let failure be a learning opportunity when other people are involved. And with Marluxia, you can’t even count on the grace of that other person to ease the blow. I’ll wish you luck, with that.”

“Cruel child. Can’t even give the old man an out by suggesting I just let Even do it.” Vexen sighed, before smiling lightly, reaching up to run his fingers through Zexion’s hair a little, pulling it out of his face a bit. “...thank you for your patience today. I love you very much.”

“If I can pass on any wisdom from my own trials, it’s that you have to let people deal with their own problems sometimes,” Zexion said sagely, before smirking a little at his dad. “Feel free to refute me, but I think you would regret not confronting him and being able to explain yourself with your own words. Perhaps you wouldn’t care at that point, but I think there’s a chance Even and Marluxia would be content to put the blame of all hurt feelings onto you alone.”

Zexion smiled more as Vexen carded through his hair, both eyes sparkling with a quiet happiness. “Thanks for apologizing to me. I love you a ton, Dad.”

-

Marluxia said he’d front next, and he would…but it turned out, yes, Lauriam could cum from Empath sex, and yes, it was just as exerting. So in favor of not giving them a massive headache, Marluxia was ever-so graciously letting Lauriam snooze, letting himself bask and enjoy a nice afterglow. 

Now this was a good way to be welcomed back. 

Laid back among plush mosses and clovers, Marluxia lifted his face to the sun. Day couldn’t get better than this.

“Marluxia,” Vexen said, frowning lightly, “Why on earth are you naked?”

Ah. But it could get worse. 

“It’s my world, why can’t I be naked?” Marluxia shot back, not even opening his eyes.

“I’d imagine you’d wish to be somewhat presentable should Lauriam pop in, but, I suppose beyond that.” Vexen shrugged. 

Nudity was one of those non-issues by necessity, when it had come to the factory inhabitants. Unless you wanted to give the supervisors an easy way to humiliate you, you got used to the nude body very fast. And even outside of that, there was too little privacy available at too close quarters. They could take steps to hide themselves from the others, sure, and sometimes they did. But for the most part it wasn’t a massive priority.

Still, it took mental effort to do away with clothes in their worlds. What was the point of being naked there? Vexen supposed maybe Marluxia was simply enjoying the sensation of sun-bathing.

“I’ve come to speak to you about what happened,” Vexen said, “I will likely be becoming whole soon. It’d be wise for us to come to some sort of understanding before I go.”

Marluxia snickered deviously. “Kind of a moot point when La-La knows very well what I look like naked.”

Because he made him, sure, but for more applicable reasons currently. 

But, with Vexen determined to stick around, apparently, Marluxia sighed and cracked open an eye. “Oh yeah? Good for you, then, though I have to assume the surprise gift has lost that adjective.”

Lifting a hand, Marluxia lazily waved Vexen off. “Sure, sure, I get it, I heard. La-La was being a sad sack, you wanted a test subject, you leaned too hard into mad scientist mode while he was just moping, then boom, here I am out of nowhere. Made to fix everything again, no, no, no need to thank me.”

Vexen considered Marluxia, tilting his head a bit. “...La-La? Not Loseriam? You don’t tend to give up your mean nicknames without a fight. Did you two resolve your differences?”

“Oh, he still is Loseriam, but not right now,” Marluxia snorted, “It feels a bit lame when he’s winning.”

“But yeah, we did ages ago,” Marluxia hummed, as if a day or two could be considered ages. “Ienzo and Demyx came to yell at us, and while the nerd practically collapsed and Dem-Dem sat in a bush, La-La and I did get talking. We did the whole existential negotiation thing, we’re cool.”

Marluxia let out a dramatic sigh. “I guess I can’t be that surprised he was a mess without my direct, real-time advice.”

“Hmmm,” Vexen hummed. “You do seem in better spirits now. Still, I suppose I should follow through on my… I suppose an apology, when it comes down to it.”

Pausing, Vexen considered what he had to apologize for…

“...I could have been gentler in refusing to return you to base essence when you asked me to,” Vexen said, “I could not have brought myself to do it. But I could have been less… cold, in my refusal. I hadn’t meant to put you through such an ordeal as it turned out to be, Marluxia.”

Marluxia blinked, before looking at Vexen for another moment, and blinking again. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, unable to fully hide the surprise on his face. 

…Vexen was apologizing? To him??

“Oh,” Marluxia said simply, before an indecipherable look came over his face. “Well, I’d hope not. I know we’re not exactly buddy-buddy, but we’re still, you know.” While Marluxia gestured vaguely, he did actually have the word he didn’t say: Family. Marluxia was haughty and standoffish, but, while not as explicit in relationship as with Zexion, Vexen had been one of his guardians since Lauriam had ended up in the factory. He hadn’t thought Vexen would ever purposefully want to hurt him. 

Looking a little unsure of what to do with an apology like that, Marluxia somewhat helplessly looked around the field. “...Xaly and I were talking about it earlier. So if you’re curious, it’s nice being back in base essence.”

“I guess not stop you from returning,” Vexen said, his expression carefully neutral, “I simply hope you will stay.”

“...oh, unless you meant for my comfort,” Vexen startled, before chuckling lightly in amusement, putting his hands behind his back, “If I may be honest, Marluxia, I’m hoping I will not be gone for long. We’ll see, of course, Even might need time to process everything that has happened. But I do hope to return at some point as some insufferable little thing with musical tones and large eyes.”

“But it is nice to know that the in between, however long that will prove to be, won’t be… well, in truth, I expected it to feel like nothing,” Vexen admitted, “A devoid of experience. I’m a little surprised to hear you were conscious of yourself at all. Perhaps your reflection on it has added a conscious perspective you didn’t have in the moment, or perhaps that consciousness is one of the reasons we can bring you back from base essence at all… there’s quite a lot about ourselves we do not yet know. It’s both exciting and utterly frustrating.”

“You spoke to Xaldin?” Vexen said, eyebrows raising at that, “Did you come to an understanding with him as well? I know things were…confusing with him, to put it the least, when you returned to essence.”

Marluxia blew a raspberry to the side. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, I’m staying. You see the difference I’ve already made in this place?” he gestured to the vibrant field around them, “La-La needs me and I’m not that cruel to leave him floundering.”

Shrugging a little, he admitted, “It might be on reflection. Even now I can’t really describe it, but the things I do know aren’t, like, the utter horror of being trapped in a corner of a mind, or passively judging everything your Somebody’s doing, or total groundless dissociation. I just,” Marluxia paused for a moment, “Felt like me, which was Lauriam, but more.”

Looking self-satisfied again, Marluxia nodded haughtily. “A total shit-show? Yeah, but we’ve got things allllll sorted out. Well, at least until Dilan’s back, but we’ve got something of a plan for that too.”

Vexen went over to sit next to Marluxia, wrinkling his nose as he had to settle on the flora that Marluxia was currently using as bedding–why was it oddly damp?--but still settling as he sat down, giving the man a tired but determined look. “You know, I tried to keep it from you. I didn’t want you to feel you had done something wrong. But I know it likely got back to you immediately…I was very concerned, when I heard that Lauriam had kissed Xaldin, all those years ago.”

“It all matters less now, my concerns. Time has gone by and with it melted many of the issues I had with it… but you were always a bit of a concern for me, in that regard. Though, I never found a good time to talk to you about it,” Vexen frowned, before shrugging, “Considering I may be obliterated soon, I may as well push my luck now and simply ask you: were you okay? Lauriam made quite a leap that I know changed your dynamic with Xaldin…the fact that he kissed Xaldin, and not Dilan, as well? I had worried it’d put undue pressure for you to, well… fall in line, as it were.”

“It is hard to ignore the romantic feelings of our Somebodies,” Vexen frowned, “I hope you are not feeling pressured.”

Marluxia scoffed. “‘Are’ pressured? No.” What a strange thing to ask now of all times. 

Hehe~

“Back then? Maybe that’s actually a question worth asking,” Marluxia sighed, shrugging a little. “Looking back it’s a little easier to notice things, but at the time, the kiss came out of nowhere. Just La-La being an impulsive little idiot, and, of course, immediately freaking out about it. Seems that that hasn’t actually changed,” he said dryly.

Marluxia snorted after a moment, looking amused. “...did Dilan ever tell you about the conversation we had after the kiss?”

It had been more of a rare dynamic the four of them had among the Somebodies and Nobodies. While usually they made groups on strict sides of those lines, only ever talking to their own Nobody, Lauriam, Marluxia, Dilan, and Xaldin had all regularly spent time together in various configurations. Maybe that’s why things had gotten as tangled up as they had. 

“He did not,” Vexen said, “I will admit, I may have made it… difficult, for Dilan to say much of anything, during that time. If he had been abusing you, of course he would not tell me so. I focused most of my attention on talking to the others, trying to look for things I may have missed.”

“I know that might sound outrageous and perhaps a bit insulting, but you have to understand,” Vexen grimaced, frustrated he even had to say it, “You were a very… pretty child. Just objectively so. When I had first heard of the kiss, I remember being furious with myself, for not taking that into consideration. I had just wanted to trust the others, that I never thought about it, until that moment. And then once abuse became a possibility. Well, of course it’d be Lauriam and Marluxia. I should have paid more attention, is what I thought. How could I have been so naive.”

But that was just reflecting on his feelings at the time. Now, Vexen knew, he should have worried about someone taking advantage of one of the children… but for her power. Not his beauty. 

Naive. Vexen was still grieving it. 

“What was the conversation after?”

Marluxia shrugged a bit. It had been tense and scary and mortifying at the time, and he could remember Lauriam just being in this constant state of panic trying to convince everyone that Xaldin hadn’t done anything to him growing up, but looking back? As more of an adult than a 19-year-old with a chip on his shoulder? The fucking lockdown Even and Vexen had put them all into had been important. 

Did it actually manage to catch a groomer? No. But Marluxia got the worry that had spiked up then. 

Understanding did not keep Marluxia from making the incredibly bad taste joke of, “My, Vexen, I’m only hearing this now? Should I be worried about Aeleus busting into my world in a fit of jealousy any time soon?” accompanied with a wink as Vexen called him objectively pretty. 

Snickering, Marluxia tipped his head into the breeze with utter amusement. “Well, La-La had just gotten his first kiss, so naturally I refused to be left in the dust. To be honest, it pissed me off that he got his before me. So the only reasonable thing, of course, was to go up to Dilan and demand one of my own.”

Laughing, Marluxia let himself fall back on the mosses. “You wouldn’t believe how furious he was.”

Vexen rolled his eyes at the come-on–seriously, this child–though his face fell a bit at the explanation. “He should not have done that, Marluxia. You were a young man trying to explore your options, Dilan should have handled that better.”

“I know we can be a bit harder on you, than the others,” Vexen said, brushing his blond hair–white, in the real world–back over his shoulders, “You always seemed so much more eager to grow up, than all the others. Always in such a rush…and now that you are grown, beyond a doubt, I wish I had taken more pains to tell you to slow down. To let us care for you a little longer. Take some of those burdens off of you.”

“I hope you’re aware we love you,” Vexen said, giving Marluxia a stern look, “I could not help you return to base essence, after dragging you out, because I could not watch you leave again. It was…such a relief, that I could bring you back. I did not want to lose you.”

“Oh yeah,” Marluxia drawled, “You should really handle your closest friends of decades all launching a demon hunt after you on the grounds of thinking you’re a pedo, followed by the other half of the idiot that instigated that not just making an impulsive move, but making a planned calculation, manipulating relationships with others, with utter decorum.”

It made sense how Dilan had reacted. 

(It had scared the shit out of Marluxia. If it had just been Lauriam too embarrassed to look Xaldin in the eye after the kiss, Marluxia wouldn’t have avoided him and Dilan just to appease that. But…well, Dilan had called him out. Stressed about everything else, no doubt, but pissed that Marluxia was treating his relationships with other people like games and things he could ‘win’ at. That things like love and relationships were something he needed to compete with Lauriam in. That he could just demand things like kisses, that meant things to other people, and get them like little trophies to flaunt.)

(If Lauriam had been scared he’d ruined his relationship with Dilan and Xaldin by being impulsive, Marluxia had been scared he’d ruined their relationship by being selfish.)

(It was after a lot of reflection, years down the line, that Marluxia had finally thought to ask himself why he had asked Dilan, if all he wanted was to keep pace with Lauriam. He could’ve asked Larxene for a kiss that meant nothing, and she likely would’ve agreed with no fuss at all.)

(Vexen was right, that it was hard to ignore the romantic feelings of your Somebody. But while Lauriam hadn’t been aware of his feelings until they moved his body for him, Marluxia’s had been growing right alongside them. It just hadn’t been something he acknowledged until…well, maybe even recently.)

(It had been easier to treat his desires like a game, and then play along with flirting banter.)

“You sure it wasn’t just because it was easier to let assholes be?” Marluxia asked dryly. Because it hadn’t seemed to him like he had been trying to grow up fast. He had just never seen the point in sugar-coating anything--the world was full of cruel people that would take advantage of everything you had, so in that world Marluxia would be the best. That was how Lauriam had made him to be. Trying to pretend that things weren’t as bad as it was, or that the people that said they could protect him actually could seemed…idiotic. So he made sure to tell them so. 

(But even so?)

(He’d still called Aqua and Terra ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ too. And it hadn’t been sarcastic.)

(He’d still found little parts of Luis’ casino to hide away and sulk in when he was upset, and the smug Eastern bastard always managed to get him into a conversation that somehow got around to Marluxia saying what was on his mind.)

Marluxia huffed, looking away at the declaration of love. “Sure, sure, I know. Didn’t think you’d be so quick to say no if there wasn’t something in it for you.”

Vexen supposed that was the best he was going to get. Reaching over to pat Marluxia on the shoulder, he stood up, brushing off the back of his coat. “Is there anything you need from me before I go? I don’t plan to become whole tonight, but if you have a more complicated request, now would still be the time.”

Rather than shooting back right away, Marluxia really considered that. Maybe Vexen wouldn’t be gone forever, but gone for a while…? Were there any last words, or a last request he wanted?

(Was I good? Did I do good? I didn’t know what I was doing but I tried so hard to do what they asked of me. I’m sorry I always fight with everyone. Do you really love me? Can you say it again?)

“Lauriam really has to use the bathroom, so if you manage to give us some space to skedaddle next time we stop, that’d be appreciated.” Marluxia smirked, giving Vexen a little wave. 

-

“Do you think Ansem will actually want to come back?” Riku asked, the three teens conversing over the subject as Vexen continued to make little notes on his clipboard, “I mean…I get why the rest of you are so eager to get your Nobodies back, but I don’t think mine was conscious the way your guys’ was.”

“What are you talking about!?” Sora gasped, giving Riku a bewildered look, “Ansem was conscious! He was my friend!”

“Was he?” Riku asked, raising an eyebrow, “I literally can’t imagine how that worked, I did not make him with that in mind.”

“You must remember, Riku, this version of Ansem lived much longer than the others you created, and lived independently from your surface conscious for a year,” Vexen explained, “Perhaps he hadn’t been more than a figment, truly, when you left, but there were many signs that Ansem had developed into just as complex a construct as the rest of us.”

“I’m still really hoping Xion can be brought back with Roxas,” Kairi said, though she frowned, “Though, she and Namine would have… a lot to talk about.”

Sora grasped his hands into fists, looking determined. “Roxas, Xion, Namine and Ansem… we can do it, we can bring them back… If Ansem doesn’t have a lot to bring? Then we’ll still get the little piece of him we can! But I swear, Riku, Ansem was a good guy. He was nice to me.”

“A little devoid of internal motivation outside of his purpose, but more time and development as a chibi will help with that,” Vexen said, “Now remember, the key thing to this process is you all must think about what new roles your Nobodies will have in your minds. Talk to the others and each other about it, perhaps speak to Amaina and Zexion if you need specifics. You can ask Marluxia as well, but he might try to tell you his role is making that dragon sculpture, which feels so-so as far as advice.”

“What kind of chibi will you be, Vexen?” Kairi asked.

“I have no idea yet. I imagine Even will have some ideas by the time he brings me back,” Vexen said, not mentioning ‘if he brings me back’. “But it’s important to have one in mind for us. While we are far more developed than probably most Empaths’ constructs ever will be, we are still constructs, and a lack of purpose is not good for our well-being. If you bring a Nobody back as a chibi? You must be prepared to utilize them in some way.”

“Jeez, what could Ansem even do,” Riku sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I never even talk to that guy…”

“He was really observant, and really patient, and really good at playing pretend,” Sora recited, “And he was creative! He made customized worlds for everyone who came to be conditioned to him, like Namine did! But his were based on understanding what they wanted. He was really good at reading people–”

“Yeah, yeah, alright,” Riku said, pushing Sora on the arm, who squawked in outrage, “Whatever, I’ll think of something, stop trying to sell him to me. I’ll bring him back.”

“I want Namine back as well,” Kairi said, blowing out some air in a poof, “I know me and her weren’t doing that well by the end, but… that wasn’t her fault. I knew she was hiding memories from me, that was largely why we were fighting, but now that I know more what the memories were?” Kairi shrugged, smiling a little sheepishly. “She was trying to save us. It’s hard to fault her for it. I just wish she would have asked for help, but, well, I didn’t exactly design her to think that way.”

“You will have time to work things out with young Namine,” Vexen said, jotting one last thing down on his clipboard, “...and that’s it. That’s everyone.”

“What is, Vexen?” Sora asked.

“Everyone I need to talk to,” Vexen said, “...if you’ll excuse me, children, I’m going to head to my world to go become whole.”

“Woah, what!?” Sora gasped, the three teens running around Vexen to stop his walk back up the pier, “Now!? Right now!?”

“Don’t worry. This isn’t goodbye, not truly. I expect to return,” Vexen reassured them, “At worst, consider me just on a trip for a while.”

“But…” Kairi hopped on her heels nervously, “...but what if something goes wrong!? And we can’t get you back!? Shouldn’t you stay?”

“I cannot ask Even to sleep much longer, to delay what might be inevitable,” Vexen explained, reaching over to pat Kairi’s head, “Instead, I will go and become whole, hoping that the next time I see you all, it will be among everyone else. Do not waste any fear or grief on me. In some ways, I feel like I’m simply going to go fetch the rest of our family, and I will come back with them. It is a happy feeling.”

“...” Sora frowned, looking to the others. The others nodded back to him.

Vexen was an older man, and while the teens enjoyed throwing themselves at people, physically, they were gentle with him. Moving in to hold him, Vexen sighing as he felt their weight press gently around him. Allowing himself to bask in it, one more interaction that, as a Nobody, should have never been his… and he smiled gently at the three as they pulled away. “It won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Sora said, the teens stepping back, “...see you soon.”

Vexen nodded, before heading to the cave, sending out an almost idle ping to the others, {I’m heading off.}

There were some messages back.

{♡ Good luck, Vex, see you soon♡} came from Aqua, who was on navigation duty and otherwise would’ve appeared in person. 

There was a sleepy sense of farewell, Lauriam having a foggy brain day, but not about to miss another goodbye. 

And, well…

Ienzo, Zexion, and Aeleus appeared at the cave, Zexion and Ienzo promptly trotting over first to meet up with Vexen. Ienzo gave his dad a small, soft smile. “You’re ready, then?”

“Yes, I am,” Vexen said, manifesting his clipboard again, and passing it to Ienzo, “This is everyone’s decisions, as well as step-by-step instructions on how I brought Marluxia back and also how I forced a switch between them. I’ve given directions to what part of the mind you need to get into, what symbolism you’re looking for, how much power you’ll need from the island, and a few formulas based on wavelengths and body temperature that I marked down for you to compare to in regards to physical effect correlations. Considering we will only ever have so many chances to test this, I’d recommend having everyone keep a journal of their physical experience for the day when the chibis are created. Double check to see if they need to poop at all that day, Lauriam never spent long on a bathroom break that day, I’m curious how a mental manifestation might affect bowel movements.” 

Ienzo took the clipboard, almost off-handedly reaching down for Zexion to pull his chibi up to hang off his shoulder so they could both glance over it, holding the figment with the same care he held his Lexicon with. Smiling fondly as Vexen went over his findings, Ienzo nodded. “I’ll be sure to remind everyone to keep the logs as the chibis return, and I’ll mark down relevant findings, as well as what I had to personally tweak with Lauriam and Marluxia after the fact so hopefully we can hone in on a process that goes as smoothly as possible. So you know, it was to do with the built-in power imbalance that you set in upon making Marluxia a chibi initially--two points isn’t much data, but between Zexion and I, and those two, it may be a personalized level for the needs of every pair.”

Zexion nodded in agreement. 

O_O It’s part of the role negotiation process, but we’ll make sure to mediate it so it doesn’t become a strain on anyone. 

ò_ó Including us. Sorry not sorry if it becomes another on-going process, but we’re not going to burn ourselves out on this.

“Good,” Aeleus hummed, patting Zexion’s head and then Ienzo’s back, before putting a hand on Vexen’s shoulder. The soft look he gave him saying a lot without words. 

This is not goodbye, but I will miss you when you’re gone. I have always been proud of your work, and the causes you put it to use for. I’ll keep an eye on the kids while you’re away. Be well. I love you.

“Very well. I would not want to ask you to. It would be cruel to ask a chibi to go against his purpose,” Vexen said, reaching over to pat Zexion’s head, before running his fingers through Ienzo’s a moment, smoothing out his hair and detangling it a bit. Stepping back to observe them both, as if he were committing them to memory… before turning to look at Aeleus, when he placed his hand on his shoulder.

Silently, Vexen leaned against him for a moment. Just slightly pressing into the hand… before moving towards his door. “Come along then. Perhaps my little stunt with Lauriam was my big ‘breakdown’ moment in this process.”

As they entered the lab, he continued, “I think it’s fair to assume that while returning to base essence is the ending factor to waking up our Somebodies, there is still the matter of locating the Somebody. I cannot say for certain what would happen if I attempted to return to base essence before we did that, but I know that my instincts are insisting that I shouldn’t. Even Namine, who seemed, based on Xaldin and Zexion’s tellings, to have the most immediate control to return to base essence, still hadn’t managed it until Kairi was revealed in her trapped form.”

Pausing, Vexen put his chin between his thumb and index finger, musing, “I wonder if I were to try it, if it simply wouldn’t accept me back into base essence, or if I’d end up in a coma right alongside Even… that would be a bit of a conundrum, but it is fascinating to think how that would actually play out in observation…”

Zexion tilted his head a little.

o_O Can? A construct return to base essence completely on their own? Even with all the ‘returns’ we’ve seen so far, the ‘acceptance’ part doesn’t seem like it’s actually the impetus or mechanism for returning, and I’ve never encountered any other situation where a construct could return on their own. 

Ienzo nodded slowly. “It’s either been caused by the Empath, too much damage to remain formed, or, in your case, Zexion, another construct doing it for another. You know, it did occur to me to wonder, because all our constructs had mutually agreed to reintegrate, why it always had to be done at your ‘hands’ so to speak, a conscious trigger… Interesting.”

“Perhaps something to test another time,” Aeleus advised, getting his scientists back on track. “Vexen. Do you think the ‘important memory’ theory holds water for Even?”

“Perhaps that’s why ‘acceptance’ tends to reveal the Empath. Maybe it’s less to do with the Nobody returning to base essence, and more the Empath becoming aware enough to do it themselves,” Vexen mused, though upon Aeleus’ prompting, “Important memories still seem to be the universal constant for where an Empath is located, yes. Kairi might be an exception, but it could be argued that she did experience important, life-forming memories in Namine’s section of her mind. After all, Namine was going through quite a bit of personal trauma in that room, and Kairi seemed aware of what was happening, perhaps even was directly involved in some cases, to the point where Namine’s memory altering needed to be used on her… though, I imagine Kairi had to be willing to have her memories manipulated, at least on some level, for her own construct to successfully do it. Repression?”

“Nevermind, it’s a thought for another day,” Vexen said, looking around the lab, “I imagine my ‘important memory’ for Even was the day I was officially accused of being a demon. Let’s see if I can draw that memory out.”

And putting out his hand, Vexen focused for a moment, as in his hand formed at first a bit of water, then it shifted into flakes of snow, and then hardened into a perfectly round, perfectly clear ice ball… and then the ice expanded rapidly, the memory inside of it swallowing them all up as–

“Woah, woah, wait, we’re here!” Demyx shouted, stumbling into the room with Luis, Axel, and Xaldin at his heels, “Did you start, are we starting!? Why did you announce it out of nowhere, Luis had to park to trade with Isa!”

“Ah, I was hoping to actually keep this a smaller party, actually–” Vexen tried to explain, but was interrupted as a canister suddenly burst in through the window, pink smoke filling up the room. “Ah, hm. I guess the memory is just going to keep going.”

“EVEN MCDOWEL, YOU ARE SURROUNDED! YOU ARE CHARGED WITH DEMONIC COLLABORATION and DEMONIC ROOTS! RELEASE YOUR HOSTAGE IMMEDIATELY AND SURRENDER YOURSELF!”

“Woah!” Axel shouted, dodging out of the way of the smoke canister as another one was thrown into a different window, “What the hell!? What did we walk into!?”

“An important memory,” Vexen said dismissively, “Honestly, it’s very kind you all came to help, but I really doubt I’ll need it–”

“What the hell does he mean by ‘hostage’ mate!?” Luis gasped, before looking past Vexen and shouting, “VEXEN, WHO THE HELL IS THAT?”

Vexen looked over his shoulder at the body strapped to the table with most of his limbs cut off, and sighed, “Oh, hardly a hostage. He was officially ‘dead’ when I acquired him, it was up to him if he came and went, I certainly couldn’t make him stay. I still believe he overreacted with all of this.”

And almost as a direct contrast to Vexen’s calm in the situation, a much, much younger man, with cropped blond hair and wide, manic eyes, suddenly stepped out of the smoke and, CACKLING, hopped up onto the table the body was tied to, reaching up to a lever that was above it and shouting, “ARREST ME ALL YOU WANT, I WOULDN’T TOUCH THE DOORS OR WINDOWS IF I WERE YOU! YOU MIGHT GET A LITTLE–” he pulled the lever, the machine had been working on in the smoke crackling to life with crackling, sparkling electricity, “--JOLT!! HA AH AH AHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“Holy shit!” Xaldin said, looking at the sparks that started snapping off the metal framing of the doors and windows, “Vexen??”

“Ah, to have the energy of youth again,” Vexen sighed, watching the memory of his younger self scramble off the table and, unhitching some sort of stopper, rolling the table– a gurney more clearly now–towards the open freezer in his lab. 

“I did warn you that this was going to get worse before it got better,” the body on the stretcher sighed. 

“Hush, you, there’s still time to preserve some of the experiments,” Young Even insisted, stopping inside the freezer and urgently looking through some vials and jars, “There’s still time, I can preserve the work, there’s still time!”

“There wasn’t,” Vexen said, walking towards the freezer and peeking in with a mildly exasperated look, “I’d find out later that the notes and body parts I’d freeze would be found and destroyed. It was foolish of me to bring his head in there, in retrospect. I might have gotten away with it otherwise.”

Ienzo sighed a little as the memory played out, carefully side-stepping a canister. All the ‘capture’ stories were intense, but…well, prior to finding out Lauriam’s, Ienzo had thought that his dad’s took the cake. It was certainly still the most high octane. 

ㅍ_ㅍ I don’t think I ever asked… Had you been hoping to preserve your experiments for yourself later? On the hope that being caught wasn’t intended to be permanent. 

Ienzo took another look at the person on the gurney, before a soft enlightenment came over him. “Oh…you actually knew a Flora personally. I really didn’t put that together until you explained what Danganronpa was to us all.”

And with how Even had described what a Floran hivemind was…yeah. Preserving the Flora’s head with the things he had wanted to hide was a misstep. Honestly experimenting on a Flora at all was, with the power the people had over Luminary.

“Oh yes, I certainly had hoped to escape and come back to retrieve my work,” Vexen said, watching Young Even start sawing more pieces off of the body to freeze into the jars, which had been bordered by other meats to camouflage the pieces, “I wasn’t aware back then, exactly how thorough the Flora’s network was. I had stumbled upon them quite by accident, doing illegal experiments on stolen bodies from the crypts. I tried to pick bodies that no one might miss, preserved within the crypts so long that their names were lost to the records. But, to my surprise, one such body opened its eyes to chastise me for experimenting on it, and insisted I either return the body or incinerate it, now that it had been discovered.”

“And you chose to… cut off pieces of it?” Demyx said, looking queasy as Young Even continued sawing into it.

“Well, Even did,” Vexen said, looking around the lab, “This is an important memory to him, but nothing I did as myself, of course. Perhaps it’s just being older and more experienced now, but I imagine I would have done these experiments entirely differently. If you must have the head, young Even, why couldn’t you have at least sewn its eyes shut?” Vexen sighed, shaking his head at the young scientist. “But, of course, he got greedy. We were still secretly exploring our Empath abilities, and getting rid of the head was, to him, losing the most useful part of the body to explore. Alas.”

“You mutilated a living corpse in real life?” Xaldin asked, watching the events in the locker far more keenly than everyone else, whistling low, “Lucky.”

“He didn’t express as much pain as you’re likely imagining, Xaldin.” Vexen said, “He mostly just scolded us. I’d have to revisit the memories, but I also believe he tried to flirt with us, at one point. I got the sense he was lonely. Based on what I know about Flora now, I think until things hit a boiling point, he had been fancying the idea of keeping me as a fascinating little pet, should he have managed to get Flora to capture me without help of the Luminary human guards.”

There were preservation methods, of course, but Aeleus thought that--in retrospect, so all benefit of the doubt given to Even--finding a body in good enough condition to do more than experiments on bones but had been in the crypts long enough to be forgotten was a warning sign. As it turned out, that warning sign was a Flora sign, a favorite trick, and perhaps even the origin of Luminary’s burial practices, of the species to remain below notice of the predominantly human population. 

Giving his boyfriend a softer look, Ienzo walked over to Demyx and took his hand. It wasn’t that Ienzo was wholly desensitized to bodily mutilation, but, well, he knew about this memory, so it was less of a surprise. 

…and, well, it was a memory. It wasn’t fair to the Flora--regardless of Danganronpa’s impact on Luminary, and the fact that they had gotten his dad arrested--to be mutilated and experimented upon against their will. Even if they didn’t experience pain the same way, Ienzo highly doubted it was a pleasant process, and…that sucked. But it was something that happened a long, long time ago, so…

Nothing to be done. 

Listening to Vexen’s musings, a particular phrase pinged in Aeleus’ memory, his eyes widening slightly in consideration. Ah. ‘Pet’. Perhaps young Anthony was from Danganronpa, then? If they had their own Empaths, then he could imagine that human experimentation didn’t need to be as covert, as Flora and human experimentation was as they were seeing now. 

“Hmmm… but where is Even? Present-day Even, trapped in my mind Even,” Vexen asked, before calling into the freezer, “Ahem. Even? Even, my boy, may I have a word?”

The Flora being carved into looked down at the faces peeking into the freezer, before looking up at Young Even. “Pardon, but you have an audience.”

“What?” Young Even frowned, wiping some bright pink blood off his face as he peered out the door… before he sighed in exasperation, “CONFOUND IT I suppose this means I ended up getting caught after all?”

“You gave them a very valiant chase across some rooftops, before you made a bad judgment call on how well you could hang off the edge of one of the rounded roofs,” Vexen explained, “Ended up locked away in a factory with a broken leg on top of everything. It healed, but still aches in the cold. If it makes you feel any better, a true bastard of a man shows up in your mind one day and gives you every answer you could possibly hope for, on this subject.”

“Oh…?” Young Even paused, “So do all the cut pieces grow into new Flora then?”

“You’re almost right. They actually regrow into this exact same Flora, so no, it’s not their form of giving birth to new Flora, as you were theorizing,” Vexen explained, “Just more of this one.”

“Who is ‘this one’?” Young Vexen asked, nodding his head to the Flora.

“Oh, actually, he wasn’t lying, he didn’t have a name at the time that we knew him, he really did just have to make some up to appease us,” Vexen explained, “Not that long ago we were told he picked a new name, he goes by Togami these days. Presumably he still does, though it’s been nearly a decade since we received that bit of gossip. The person who told us thought we might have a laugh about it, since that’s the name–”

“--of our factory, yes, I’m aware. I remember now. But I am still just a memory. I’m not sure where Surface Conscious Even is,” Young Even said, holding up his bonesaw as he suggested, “Though, as important as the ‘important memory’ is, might I suggest that most of the time when we discovered the ‘important memories’, it was by exploring what is arguably the Nobody’s most important memories first: our conditioning.”

“Oh, hmm…” Vexen frowned, “I came to a similar theory, but that’s tricky for my world. My conditioning method was a bit hands on, not unlike Xaldin’s. I can’t exactly strap myself to a table and start dissecting.”

“It’s fine, I’ll assist,” Young Even said, heading out of the freezer. 

Like his father, Ienzo suddenly realized something with more context, making a small sound of surprise. It really wasn’t relevant for finding Even, so he just leaned towards Demyx, speaking softly. “I’d forgotten… When they first came here, Maki asked if we had the name ‘Togami’, because ‘the only other person from the factory she knew had adopted that name’,” he paraphrased. “I suppose we really have no way to know how common of a practice that was considering our limited exposure, but…what do you think the chances are of that? That they might be the same person?”

Perking, Zexion trotted over to Vexen, blinking up at him. 

o_o Experiment time? 

“Oh man, I have no idea. Maybe he still looks the same, we could ask? If only to warn them he’s a Flora,” Demyx whispered back, before balking, “WAIT, WHAT EXPERIMENT!? WE’RE NOT DISSECTING YOU!”

Vexen rolled his eyes as he sat down on the fresh, clean gurney now in the lab. “Hardly, Demyx. No more than I’ve ever actually dissected anyone in the factory. We’re simply simulating it, though I have the benefit of no one actually trying to change or alter my mental landscape through the process. Ugh… messy work,” Vexen grumbled, laying down, “Zexion, would you and Ienzo please assist Young Even? Or perhaps just Zexion, Ienzo, if you’d feel more comfortable observing. Demyx, please, you’re going to vomit in the carriage if you keep looking at me like that.”

“M-maybe I should go?” Demyx squeaked, still looking pale, squeezing Ienzo’s hand, “Button, you don’t like gross things either! Maybe just say goodbye to your dad now?”

Considering the news they had gotten from Kokichi, Ienzo had to figure that Maki knew what Flora were, at least, and while he didn’t particularly want to disrupt someone’s established life considering that the power Danganronpa had was in shambles… Well, he didn’t think it’d hurt to send a message. 

As Zexion nodded, Ienzo gave Demyx a soft look. “I can’t dismiss that even a simulation of dissection on Vexen might be distressing to me, but it’s hardly a form of discovery and experimentation I’m unfamiliar with. But it’d definitely be distressing to you.” Ienzo paused, before whispering to Demyx, not wanting to say it so clearly in front of the others, “...I could send more power to Zexion so he could more easily assist, if you’d prefer company not watching us do this to my dad?”

Demyx whimpered a little… before he sniffed, biting his lower lip as he lifted his chin bravely. “I… will go by myself.”

Xaldin rolled his eyes. “Truly, a pillar, this guy.”

“Shut up! I just don’t want to disrupt things! Besides, you should be here for your dad and his weird, brain cutting stuff,” Demyx said, nose wrinkling, before calling to Vexen, “It was nice knowing you, Vexen!”

“You’re not rid of me yet, boy,” Vexen said, settling down on the stretcher, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve yet to take my son anywhere that he’d particularly like even on his own. Once things calm down and I return, you will be doing at least half the things you were whining for him to do for you. Or else.”

“Eep,” Demyx whispered, giving Ienzo a quick kiss on the cheek, before rushing over and quickly kissing Zexion’s cheek, before shouting, “Okay, I’m going, bye!”

“I think we’re gonna stay, but hang back,” Xaldin said, he, Axel, and Luis hanging by the walls, “Just in case this ends up being a fight after all. We’re here for you, Vexen. Whether you need us to kick your ass for you or not.”

“I appreciate it,” Vexen said, Young Even dotting a line across his forehead as Vexen’s cloak and shirt disappeared, more lines going down his chest, stomach, and across in various areas, x’s indicating more cutting points, “And relax, this isn’t a particularly realistic process. My conditionees tended to find just the act of dissecting distressing enough to make them open for conditioning, it didn’t have to be medically accurate to give me access to their beliefs, loyalties, love…”

“You know,” Vexen said, as Young Even asked Ienzo to put on his medical gloves for him, Zexion holding his tray of tools for him, “The supervisors used to talk about my work like it was the least amount of conditioning you could do to a person. Devotion. Loyalty. General obedience. They’d talk about those who got these conditionings as if almost nothing had happened to them at all, for how ‘mild’ the conditioning was… I always wondered how they’d feel about it, if they saw how invasive I had to be, to get to the pieces of the Indentured who came across my table, to change such fundamental aspects of them.”

“At the end of my conditionings?” Vexen said, ignoring the scalpel approaching him, “You could tell them that the sky was green, and they’d believe you… I destroyed fundamental abilities to self-reason… What a terrible thing.”

Ienzo gave Demyx a soft look. He didn’t want to leave Demyx to nerves and uncertainty, but…

…Vexen was his dad. Even was his dad. Ienzo wanted to be there for them. He knew that his dads would be able to put aside the emotional aspect to it all, but Ienzo just didn’t want that to be a factor. He appreciated that Demyx didn’t ask it of him. 

Returning a kiss on the cheek as Demyx left, Ienzo joined Zexion’s preparations, the two fist bumping as they were suddenly changed into lab gear, medical gloves and masks on and their hair secured back with headbands. Just because there was no real risk of infection didn’t mean that Even and Vexen hadn’t drilled into their heads what proper safety measures looked like. 

As they assisted the memory of Even, Aeleus didn’t stay quite along the walls like the others, but stayed out of the way of the procedure, making sure to be in Vexen’s eyeline. He gave a small sigh. “I believe it’s why the program went on so long without much objection. Anyone capable of questioning things or saying no would only ever know the true process in the most intangible ways. From what they saw, people sitting in rooms was a level of ‘harmless’ that made their benefits from the program seem like a no brainer.”

They just didn’t comprehend the true torture the Nobodies enacted. It was a burden they had to bear alone, not understood by anyone else in the process. A moral injury--Vexen, unhindered curious mind that he was, forced to eradicate free-thinkers--that they were forced to repeat indefinitely. 

“Making first incision against the skull,” Young Even said, starting to cut.

“I doubt he’ll be there. It feels too obvious, doesn’t it? Where is Even hiding? In the mind. Certainly I’m more innovative than that,” Vexen huffed, ignoring the trail of blood that started to fall down his face as the cut went across his forehead, “Harmless… like any of it was even in its conception truly harmless. Young people trading their ability to reason to get out of a mere few years of prison… Do not tell him I said this, but Demyx’s story makes me unbearably sad. His debt was paltry, it would have taken two years to clear it in the prison. But he volunteered for five because it seemed ‘freer’ and they do promise them a job, at the end of it… a work program. For someone with financial troubles, that must have seemed like an ideal long term solution. Demyx thought he was being responsible, poor fool.”

“I was the one that discovered Demyx,” Vexen recalled, as his skull was pulled back, a glowing ball revealed beneath, slightly pulsing as he spoke, “I was preparing his conditioning when I noticed his abilities. I must confess…I thought of trying to hide what I had discovered. Warning his other conditioners and advising them to keep quiet… but when it’s discovered we attempted such a thing, we all were punished quite harshly…”

“I get it,” Axel said, looking away with a sigh, “I remember what happened, when Luis tried to cover for me.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot it had been Luis who had discovered you, Axel,” Vexen frowned, “That whole time period is difficult to remember. Quite a lot happened for a week there.”

“Mhm.” Luis hummed grimly, crossing his arms. “Axel’s signature was so weak I really thought if I kept my mouth shut he’d get through just fine. But, Tengan was visiting me pretty regularly back then…it might have been inevitable or it might have been a bit of bad luck. Either way, he saw it.”

“I knew Tengan visited a lot of us throughout the years, but I’m starting to think he fixated on some of us more than others,” Xaldin realized, giving Luis a worried look, “Did he just have a thing for blonds, or what the fuck?”

“He had a thing for powerful Empaths,” Luis said dryly, “But he also wanted to know my particular methods. Guess my way of conditioning was easiest for him to use for whatever project he was working on.” Luis paused, before shrugging tiredly. “I say ‘whatever project’ like I didn’t know, but I guess there’s no need to keep the secrets from you all now. I didn’t like to tell you guys about his visits because I didn’t really want to… well, I both didn’t want to admit what my power level really was back then, and also I didn’t want you all to worry about how much he was visiting. If I had realized he was doing the same thing with Namine, I’d have said something, but I really thought it was just me because of his project.”

“You mentioned hints of it, I recall,” Vexen said, Young Even poking at different parts of his pulsing light, “But like Xaldin said, I always thought it was the same level of visits we were all getting, for the same reason of torment. But he had more practical reasons to visit you and Namine, it sounds like.” Vexen winced. “Ouch.”

Young Even raised his eyebrow. “Did that hurt?”

“It… echoed.” 

“We’re going to cut that piece out then; Ienzo, please prepare a clean tray to place samples on, Zexion, I’m going to cut down the center next, I’ll need the saw for this.”

To Ienzo, Demyx was a particularly unfortunate case of what happened to a lot of people. Or, well, a different sort of unfortunate, at least. 

From what he had heard since they’d been out? You heard plenty of horror stories about actually living as an Indentured, though always backtracked to moralizing poor conditions and abuse if the wrong ears were around, but hardly anyone ever mentioned the factory itself, despite Chonis being right around one. 

But prison? Yes, being a former convict had its own issues, but those tended to be overlooked when compared to prison itself. So two years of prison work, to five of indentured servitude, where the work was really a luck of a draw for who bought your contract? Another no brainer. After all, conditioning was ‘meant’ to wear off once the contract was up. 

It was a perception Ienzo theorized that was built on purpose, to increase the flow through the factories. They ‘needed’ prison labor too, but at least ‘creating jobs’ sounded more civilized. 

Zexion glanced away as they discussed the perils of hiding a new Empath. Tengan had been quite happy when he found their ability to sweep through Empath channels. Originally, it had been another escape attempt of sorts. The precautions in the factory meant that the Empaths’ range had been severely shortened, if there was anyone even strong enough to reach out far in the first place, so…that meant that no one could call for help. 

The sweeping technique had been their attempt to circumvent that, but finding that while they could hear a lot of what was happening in the greater psychic space, they still couldn’t send anything out…they had been forced to make it into a weapon. Constant surveillance for any new ripples or…talk about undoing conditioning or anything that…well, would threaten the program or the Flora. 

Ienzo had tried to hide what he found, sometimes. Tried to just make up things in his reports. 

His shoulder ached. Even if Lauriam had already forgiven him, Zexion…still regretted it. Knowing what had actually happened, maybe more torture would’ve been something to bear through. That was hard to say knowing that it’d all be in vain with Tengan able to pick the information out from their head anyway. And if he hadn’t picked up the Light of Heart Trio himself, it was only a matter of time before they found Axel’s birth parents anyway to follow up. 

Both Ienzo and Zexion refocused at Vexen’s flinch, Zexion sighing a bit as he prepared the saw. ㅍ_ㅍ You’re always so quick to the bonesaw. Sometimes I wonder if you just enjoy the dramatics of it.

“Do you have a better tool with which to saw through bones with?” Young Even scoffed, holding his hand out for the saw, before carving into Vexen’s chest. 

“I’ve never told you all my theory that our conditioning methods are things that frighten ourselves, have I,” Vexen asked rhetorically. He knew he hadn’t. It was a recent theory. “Axel, are you afraid of fire?”

“Fire specifically?” Axel asked, “I don’t think so. But, I’m not a fan of being hurt by something bigger and stronger than me. Though, really, who is?”

“I suppose so,” Vexen said, “Aeleus, you sparred people into conditioning. But you don’t fear spars. Perhaps that’s where the theory falls apart.”

Aeleus hummed consideringly, thinking that over. “I do not. And I do not fear losing them. However…” He was quiet for a moment, ordering his thoughts. “Spars can be used to settle disputes that aren’t related to fights or physical strength, it’s perhaps even a good method for resolving conflict in a manner that leaves little to ambiguity. But that’s when there’s an effort to establish that framework.”

His expression darkened a bit. “I find it wretched when one conflates their success in a spar to superiority in all things. That to win a fight means to completely subjugate someone’s will and being under you. Considering that is what my conditioning process was, it may not be fear, but it is something I find personally distasteful.”

As the group considered that, Zexion piped up, o_o Ienzo’s scared of being alone and not being able to trust his perceptions.

Ienzo twitched a little, before glaring at Zexion. “I don’t know why you singled me out to say that. Jerk.”

“Now, now, boys, I was going to ask, but we shouldn’t volunteer each other for information,” Vexen said, before wincing again, “Ow.”

“Cutting a piece of your liver out next then. I think we’re on to something,” Young Even smirked, eyes wide with excitement at discovery. 

“I know I don’t fear being tortured,” Xaldin said, “No more than reasonably, anyway. But Dilan hates that I’m a sadist. He went green around the gills, any time he heard of what I was doing. And considering he half-designed my method? That feels like a ‘Him’ issue, rather than a me issue.”

“Well I can tell you, I also found mine a bit distasteful,” Luis admitted, “Like you, Vexen, my goal was to change their beliefs, but mine was through self-doubt, rather than changing their ability to rationalize entirely. Entirely destroy someone’s ability to trust their own actions, and they become easy to control. I don’t suppose I have to mention why that unnerved me.”

“You marched your ass to the factory just because of that, yeah, we can see the connection.” Xaldin scoffed. “Who do you all think came out better? Vexen or Luis’ Indentureds?”

“Poor taste, man,” Axel frowned, “...but my guess is Vexen’s. I feel like you have to be able to gain back self-confidence over time, that sort of conditioning feels like it would erode.”

“Nah, not if you add that every time you succeed, it’s someone else's accomplishment,” Luis said, shaking his head, “Then there’s nothing to build your self-confidence on. If you lose, it’s because you didn’t listen. If you win, someone else managed to help you despite yourself. I can’t imagine any of the people I conditioned are doing well right now.”

“That’s a thought. Now that Ienzo’s cure is out there, helping people break conditioning, I wonder what our methods are going to linger as just as, like… side effects,” Xaldin frowned, “They don’t remember what I did, not really, so maybe the people I conditioned will actually just feel normal once the conditioning’s gone? Or maybe they’ll still be afraid if however I terrorized them gets reminded to them. Muscle memory sort of thing.”

“I like to think my method might not leave a residue once the conditioning itself is broken,” Vexen admitted, as young Even started sawing into his ribcage. “The benefit of my conditioning being somewhat precise in nature.”

“That’s the part I’m most concerned about, to be honest,” Ienzo sighed. “And it’s not a cure, Xaldin, that’s what Prince Ouma, Mr. Alter Ego, and the Templar’s method is. My transcription factor only blocks the symptomatic compulsions, what the conditioning is mechanically triggering. Anything that’s a learned behavior because of living a life while conditioned…?”

ㅍ_ㅍ That was something we simply couldn’t test with Rantarou and Xiomara. By the nature of them being volunteers, every test we did was with the hope that conditioning is gone. 

Ienzo nodded a bit, moving the tray closer in preparation. “Simply put, someone with the transcription factor has to think to resist a compulsion, and they’ll find they’ll be able to. But if they are following what their conditioning would have them do of their own will, because they don’t see the point in resisting what they’ve always known to happen? My method can’t alter that.”

ᅙ_ᅙ The timing is a bit unfortunate. It’s good that we have this method at all, of course, but after nearly a year of people who ‘should’ have had their conditioning wear off, and finding it hasn’t, I think we missed out on the biggest wave of people testing themselves naturally. 

“We can only hope that word will spread from those that never stopped testing their compulsions,” Ienzo sighed. 

“I’m sure it will,” Vexen said, staring at the ceiling as Young Even put the saw away and took the scalpel again, carving into Vexen’s heart, “Do we ever really stop testing our limits? Maybe not physically, but who truly submits in their hearts? In their private thoughts, safe and away from brutality, who truly, entirely believes they must be subservient? That they must ask no questions? That they are capable of no great feats, or have no wisdom to rely on?”

“If Luminary had wanted just physical bodies to do what was tasked, they could have gotten whips and broken backs,” Vexen mused, “But they wanted the mind, the soul. The pieces of people that take so much attention and trickery and pressure to compel… and still people found ways around our conditioning. Still people kept their personalities, as much as we tried to rip and tear and cut it away from them. I guarantee it that those Xaldin and Aeleus brutalized found moments of strength. That Luis’ broken faith had moments of victory. That Zexion and Ienzo’s obedient children had moments of rebellion. Perhaps Axel’s Indentureds did face something larger and stronger than themselves, and hold true. Maybe Larxene’s had moments where they felt like the stars of their lives, rather than trapped in the audience.”

“I doubt Ansem’s Indentureds never found themselves wanting something else, than what they were conditioned to,” Vexen murmured, as Young Even pulled away the muscles from the heart, like the liver and brain, it a small, pulsing ball of light, “Namine’s knew they had forgotten something, and likely wondered what it was. Roxas and Xion’s must have eventually found homes they could rely on…”

Vexen winced in pain at the jab to his heart, even as he said softly, “I like to think, that any of mine who had been told obvious, intrusive lies, will have had a moment, or will have a moment soon, where they’ll look in the sky and just… know. And that when they do, they might have a sense of accomplishment. Like, look, look, the reason I had to keep asking these questions, the reason they had to keep telling me what was true and what was false… I was right to doubt,” Vexen imagined, eyes far away, looking… paler, as Young Even pulled out the piece of his heart, “The sky… it’s blue.”

“...I feel very…” Vexen murmured, closing his eyes, “Tired.”

And Young Even, taking off his gloves and tossing them aside, picked up the carved pieces of organs he had taken out, looked at them in curious astonishment… and then opened his mouth wide, and ate them all whole.

For all that they had greatly and intimately hurt people…those people had never not been people. Sometimes conditioning had failed, and unlike what the supervisors thought and punished on, it wasn’t because the Empaths had just messed up. 

It was because a person had refused to submit. Nothing they could ever do would truly erase who a person was. And for all the heartache maybe that caused…Ienzo was glad. 

(...there were certain expectations, of a lab setting. Of being in the middle of an experiment. Certain behaviors that were appropriate. Ienzo knew that, just as he had been taught lab safety.)

(You didn’t squirm or fidget during a dissection, or grow over emotional in any way but perhaps getting excited about a breakthrough.)

(A lab was a place of reason.)

(So…)

So. 

oᯅo

oᯅo …Dad?

Aeleus narrowed his eyes at the memory eating parts of Vexen, his instincts telling him to be alert. This was a precipice. Ienzo and Zexion couldn’t look away from Vexen, still and pale and eyes closed. Looking the part of a cadaver on a stretcher.

“...yes?” Even asked, confused as he looked up from blood covered hands, his chin and cheek covered in smears of blood, “What is it, Ienzo? Or… What is it…”

Even frowned, giving the room a confused look. Looking absolutely bewildered… until Vexen disappeared, and Even suddenly relaxed. “Oh. I see. Interesting.”

And then, swaying, he started to fall over.

Aeleus was there in an instant, catching Even. …yes, that seemed right. His husband would likely be enthralled by this memory later.

But that was later, and looking at how Ienzo and Zexion had frozen…

“We should confer later, once Even has rested,” he said firmly, drawing his sons’ attention. “Go tell Demyx the news.”

Ienzo nodded faintly, but he didn’t disappear or even move. Just…looking at the space where Vexen had been, and then the blood covering Even. 

Luis stepped in, heading over to Ienzo, carefully putting his hands on his shoulders as he whispered, “Come on, lad. He’s only gone for a bit, remember? There’s nothing to mourn here.” 

“Man, he speaks like such a stick in the mud that I forget how theatrical the old bastard is,” Xaldin said, placing his hands on Zexion’s shoulders and steering him towards the door, “We’re gonna have to make fun of him for this whole show when he’s back, yeah?”

“For not being a fight, that was pretty intense still.” Axel frowned, warily looking at the stretcher. “I wasn’t a fan.”

“...y-yeah,” Ienzo whispered back, letting Luis steer him away.

Zexion put up some resistance against Xaldin for a moment, before letting himself be moved, casting one look back at Even, taking in the nod Aeleus gave him. 

oᯅo …I think Ienzo might be sick. He should sit by the window for a while…I think.

Aeleus shared a look with Luis and Xaldin as they left, trusting them to keep an eye on Ienzo, and as everyone left?

“Took ‘consumed by science’ to its most literal metaphor, hm,” Aeleus hummed, sounding half reproachful, half amused. Gently, he replaced the bloodied stretcher and memory of defeat with a kinder one that Even had shared with him first long ago. A couch in student housing that was far more comfortable than it had any right being, surrounded by books and assignments that were far too close to the due date to be as unfinished as they were. 

Lying Even down, Aeleus smoothed his hair out of his face. “Welcome back, Even. Rest well, love.”

-

“Uh, hey, Maki-chan?” Kokichi said, sounding a little…confused, and mildly concerned as he knocked on Maki’s door. “You have some time?”

“Come on in, Kokichi,” Maki called, “The door’s unlocked.”

Elia had been very, very good for Maki, in a lot of ways… but the one many of those closest to her were very, very grateful for, was how Elia had taken one look at Maki’s busted up, bare minimum room, plywood hammered into the window, weapons on the floor, and a punching bag covered in stitching and duct tape… and was like…

No.

So over the months, Maki’s room had been transformed into something far more cozy and a little elegant, artwork–mostly made by the tattoo artists at Elia’s shop–hanging on the wall, along with some of her nicer looking weapons ‘on display’ in easy to quickly reach areas. The plywood had been removed and instead pretty red see-through taping meant to look a bit like mosaic glass had been put onto the windows, along with reinforced frames, all covered by silky, red curtains that put the entire room on a sunny day in a warm, red glow. 

There were also a ton of pillows on her bed now. Just an obnoxious amount of large, stuffed pillows on a thick, clean bed-spread that was dark red and had a golden dragon stitched onto it. 

There was also an inexplicable rocking chair next to her slowly filling bookcase, Maki admitting on an outing one day that she had always thought rocking chairs seemed nice and Elia taking that as a personal challenge to make sure they got home with one. It had been heavy and a workout between them to get it to the room, but it turned out to be a great find, as Maki did indeed spend a lot of time in it, reading, writing in the journal Dr. Mariah had convinced her to finally take up, or more often, cleaning one of her weapons.

She was currently cleaning out a crossbolt, lubricating its parts, as she asked, “What’s up, Kokichi? Everything alright?” 

Entering Maki’s room, Kokichi gave her a smile--always nice seeing Maki chillin’ out--before letting go of a small breath. “Yeah, things are fine. I just got a ping from Ienzo, though, and he asked if I could connect you guys? So I said I’d ask.”

There was a pause, as Kokichi ran a hand through his hair. “He, uh… Sounds kind of frazzled. I asked how everyone was doing on his end, how their travel’s been, and he said they’re okay, but… Well, I guess I’m letting you know that.”

“What’s he gotten himself into this time,” Maki said, rolling her eyes a little as she put aside her crossbolt parts, “Sure. You ready to do it now? You can chill out on my bed if you want.”

“Yeah, thanks Maki-chan,” Kokichi nodded, heading over to her bed to sit down. “He didn’t really say he wanted to talk to you alone, but I’ll try to give you guys some privacy anyway, though, of course, I’ll notice if you call out to me. You ready?”

“As I ever am for these,” Maki said, relaxing into her rocking chair, closing her eyes. 

And, because some habits don’t die, she flicked her wrist and made sure she had her dagger in hand, before she felt herself disappear to wherever Kokichi was sending her.

-

Ienzo looked around the…tea area? In the middle of a fountain? With complete bewilderedness, though that didn’t tone down the haphazard, frazzled energy coming from him. He jumped slightly from looking around the fountain as Maki appeared, and he gave her a greeting bow. 

“Hello, Maki, thank you for speaking with me on short notice,” he said, “I hope I didn’t give Prince Kokichi the impression that this was an emergency of any sort, or even something that needed to be passed on with urgency, but I thought to speak with you anyway.”

Not hesitating with pleasantries, he asked, “When you first met us as a group, you mentioned knowing someone named ‘Togami’. May I ask you about that person?”

“Hello, Ienzo,” Maki said, giving the environment a cursory look–pretty–before going to sit at the tea table. Gesturing for him to sit. “Don’t be rude, Kokichi’s left us refreshments. We may as well use them.”

Pouring herself some tea–the white tea they got at Dr. Mariah’s. Nice– she passed him the kettle next, sipping on it as she said, “He didn’t say it was urgent, but he was worried about you. He said you looked frazzled. I agree. Did something happen?”

Then she narrowed her eyes slightly, sipping at her tea for a moment. “He’s an absolute brat who ruined my best friend's life for a while, and had the gall to act like we were the ones being unreasonable about it. I killed him, once. It didn’t stick. I can get more specific, but what do you actually want to know? Who he was to us? His job? Where he came from?”

“Ah, you’re right, my apologies,” Ienzo murmured, the words sounding a little distracted before he actually made any moves to sit down. Though, he did look a bit curiously at the kettle and tea as he poured his cup, pleasantly surprised at the incredibly delicate scent of the tea. 

“Nothing bad,” he assured first, before shrugging a little. “My father became whole today. I’ve not yet the chance to speak with Even again, considering what the process takes out of you, but I’m happy to have him back, and Vexen did a substantial amount of research and planning into, oh, well, I suppose it’s been a bit.” Ienzo cut himself off, jumping through thoughts. “Our perspective of our Nobodies has shifted since, well, me, I suppose, and Dad had been looking into reconfiguring everyone into more stable constructs, as Chibis. He reached a breakthrough before becoming whole, and passed on his research to me and Zexion, so we’ll be working on that project going forward. Ah, that is…I’ll likely be seeing him again soon.”

Refocusing, hands just surrounding his teacup, Ienzo frowned a bit. “Killed but didn’t stick… Those questions I do think might be important, but mostly I wanted to ask you for a physical description.”

Meeting Maki’s eyes, Ienzo frowned slightly. “I only made the connection today, revisiting the memory. My dad was initially caught by the authorities because of his experiments on a body he excavated from the crypts. A body that turned out to be far from dead, because it was that of a Flora. Dad later found out that that Flora was going by the name Togami, and hearing that…it reminded me of your comment.”

“Admittedly, I don’t know if naming oneself after the corporation was a common practice I just never encountered,” Ienzo shrugged lightly, “But I thought I would pass on that information, if it so happened that they were the same person.”

“It’s a bit difficult to say what he looked like. He told us he was a master of disguise, which is expected of Luminary spies, but I think he might have been a shapeshifter,” Maki said, “I can show you what he looked like the last time we saw him… Kokichi! Kokichi, can you send us one of those weird clone memory things you make, of Togami?”

And after a moment, Togami appeared, standing in the fountain not far off from them, still and looking in their direction… with his face all morphed into ༼ +ل͟+ ༽with a big bold GROSS written onto his forehead.

“Without the theatrics, Kokichi,” Maki called, amused. 

And then Togami’s real face came through, staring calmly back at the two of them. Black hair pulled back into a neat bun. 

“He also looks like Byakuya Momota, sometimes,” Maki said, “Like I said, physically tough to pin down, he can look like anyone. But a Flora named Togami? Hanging around Luminary and won’t stay dead? As far as I’m aware, there’s only one of those around. No other Togami I’ve ever heard of went strictly by their last name. Just him.” 

“So if your dad is fine,” Maki asked, looking back to Ienzo, “Why do you look nauseous?”

A shapeshifter? Ienzo’s eyes widened in wonder at that information, some of his usual curiosity calming everything else…but just for a moment. 

Ienzo couldn’t help but snort a little at Prince Kokichi’s very opinionated memory, but looking the person over, and with everything Maki said after… “If you already knew, and quite a bit more than me, then I suppose the message was unneeded.” He gave her a small, sheepish grin. “Still, I’m glad you’re aware either way.”

Really, that was that, all Ienzo had to say, and there really was a lot he needed to do--

“I am not nauseous, I’m not throwing up,” Ienzo said quickly, paling. “I don’t care what Zexion says, I’m fine. And not going to be sick.”

“Ah yes. You sound fine,” Maki said, sipping her tea, staring at him from over the brim of the cup in a manner that would have made Dr. Mariah proud, “Whenever I see someone on the brink of tears, I think, wow… that person has it all together.”

“Just tell me what happened,” Maki said, placing her tea on its little plate and reaching for the cheese plate, “Consider it me thanking you for taking the time to warn me of that worthless bastard. I’d love to send him down a river again. It wouldn’t stop him, but I’d find it satisfying.”

“Freezing and dismemberment and decapitation don’t work, but I have it on a relatively good word that fire works,” Ienzo muttered distractedly, tapping his fingers on the teacup. “For actual death, I mean. Depends on the goal you have.”

…

“...he dissected and ate himself,” Ienzo said quickly, staring at the table. “Then he died.”

…

“Not died, of course,” he muttered, “Constructs can’t really die until their Empaths die, or base essence is destroyed, I suppose, though I really have no concept of what that would look like in actuality, without death. And we know for a fact we can reform constructs that have returned to base essence.”

“That sounds really fucked up.” Maki said, eating another cheese bite, “Does everyone have to do that, to become ‘whole’?”

“No, it’s all been rather different for each of us,” Ienzo shook his head, still tapping on his cup distractedly. “Well, I suppose you saw Roxas and Zexion’s process. For many of us, it seems to be a process of acceptance or letting go, or a musing of the past or future of some kind. I’ll admit, despite being present for most, I’ve yet to concisely encapsulate exactly what the process is, because of all the differing methods. It may be something beyond quick description, though I feel identifying a common underlying thread should be possible.”

“Do most of them involve miming dying with your kids?” Maki asked, “Because that sounds like the outlier.”

“Terra did, technically.” Tap, tap tap. Ienzo’s voice softened. “He didn’t mean to. Sora lost control, a-and Terra stepped in to protect Lauriam, it…it was an accident.”

“Luis and Aeleus don’t have Nobodies, though Dad talks like we’ll need to have a look around his world in another fashion, and Xaldin hasn’t gone yet. And Axel and Isa aren’t quite in that sort of relationship with the rest of us so…well, I suppose that is two for two now.” 

“Hmm,” Maki said, before putting down the tea and standing up. 

Going around the table, she said, “I’m going to touch you. Don’t be weird about it,” before carefully grasping his head in her hands. Having him look up at her, then tilting his head to the right, then the left. Up and then down.

“...you probably need a hug,” Maki said, “Do you want one?”

Putting down his untouched tea, Ienzo followed Maki with his eyes as she moved around the table, appreciating the warning and--

…o-oh. 

What a strange habit to have in common.

Ienzo clenched his jaw, before nodding, getting up to meet Maki’s height. 

“My apologies,” he said in a strained voice, “I did intend to just pass on a message.”

“Yeah, yeah, crybaby,” Maki smiled lightly, putting her hands around his shoulders and pulling him in for a hug, “Then why do you get all teary every time I see you? It certainly can’t be me, I have a very warm and charming personality.”

“This is becoming a concerning habit, isn’t it,” Ienzo murmured, gently putting his arms around her waist as he let himself be held, closing his eyes against the stinging tears building in them. “Though a warm and charming personality may be just what allows people to accept their own vulnerability.”

“Though I don’t only cry around you,” he whispered. “Unfortunately I do live up to that nickname.”

“I’m not surprised. You don’t strike me as the tough and stoic type,” Maki teased, patting Ienzo on the back, “It sounds like your dad’s not dead, but it’d be weird to not be weirded out by him going through the process of dying. I have a story about Mr. Nidai for you, but we can wait for me to one-up you in parental figures pretending to die when you’re done with the hug.” She paused. “Just… whenever you’re ready.”

Another meaningful pause. “You better appreciate this, my son gets less hugging time than this.”

“We’ve done so many experiments together, the dissection didn’t seem any different. But you don’t usually see your subject die after removing their brain, having mused upon the strength of the human will.”

It hadn’t really hit Ienzo until Vexen had sounded so weak, closing his eyes. And then he was just looking at his dad who was…

(Maybe he really should’ve left with Demyx. Ienzo had already seen enough corpses of his parents.)

He shuddered a little in the hug, the tears finally falling. 

“...does he not enjoy hugs?”

“I think he does a bit, but he likes to be too tough for them,” Maki said, patting Ienzo’s back some more as she felt her shoulder start to get wet, “Don’t worry, Kaito makes up for me being frigid. I’ve seen him literally chase that kid down for hugs. Which works, because Tim gets to continue to be too tough for hugs, but still gets to have some. I was pretty similar at his age, actually. Mr. Nidai didn’t like to hug me, but he enjoyed complimenting me and patting my hair, and I used to give him dirty, unimpressed looks for it. Always had to prove I didn’t need them.”

“....have you removed someone’s brain before and they didn’t die?” Maki asked, sounding bewildered.

“That sounds fortunate, that he can have things both ways, though he may be missing out on your hugs. They’re quite nice.” Saying that, though, he pulled away with a small sniffle giving Maki a grateful look. “I’m glad you could have that with your father too.”

Ienzo laughed softly, the sound barely there. “I meant that usually a subject is dead far before extraction of the brain. Even in the mindscape, where no actual body trauma occurs, it still seems a bit cruel to perform live dissections, at least to those who haven’t volunteered for it.”

His smile saddened as he wiped his eyes. “That was some of the point, I suppose.”

“You suck at trauma dumping,” Maki sighed, patting Ienzo on the shoulder, before nodding at him to sit back down again, getting into the chair close to him as she said, “I really have no idea what you’re talking about. I realize I’m a bit spoiled on the people I spend time with, they’ll tell you everything wrong with them in long, drawn out monologues that leave nothing out. You? No idea what the context is for the things you’re hinting at. I need one of the idiots I spend time with to teach you to monologue.”

“Why was that the point?” Maki asked, sounding exasperated for every word she had to ask. 

“My bad,” Ienzo apologized, “My idea of relevant context is a bit skewed.”

Sitting back down, legs crossed high on the chair seat, Ienzo explained, “That was my father’s conditioning method: live dissection. Thus, the need for cruelty. And a very on the nose visual for opening up the most private parts of oneself.”

Ienzo glanced down. “As we performed the dissection, Vexen proposed a theory, that our conditioning methods were related to things we personally found scary or particularly distasteful. It…seemed still like a theory in progress.” He squinted a little. “I look forward to hearing his developed thoughts about it when he returns. …upon Even’s consent.”

“Dissection huh?” Maki seemed to consider that, reaching across the table for her tea, “Was I dissected? Or, maybe don’t answer… no, why not, do answer. Was I dissected?”

Sipping her tea, she asked once she was satisfied with his response, “Upon ‘Even’s’ consent. I’m assuming Even’s the Somebody Vexen turned into. Is that what has you all freaked out about it? That he might not come back?”

“No, you were one of Namine’s,” Ienzo answered, pausing at her consideration before explaining more of the conditioning Maki would’ve actually gone through. “She created an endless staircase in a tower to wear people down, during which time she would observe them to create a room specifically tailored to them. What yours was I can’t answer, since I don’t know. Namine has elected to return, if Roxas and Ansem do, so you likely can ask her if you’re more curious about it.”

Nodding a bit to confirm that, yes, Even was Vexen’s Somebody, Ienzo paused, considering that, before he slowly shook his head. “...I don’t believe that Even wouldn’t want to bring Vexen back. They had a cordial relationship before everything, and I’m sure Even will be interested in the Chibi research once he’s awake.”

Ienzo frowned, looking at the table. “...I think I just wasn’t prepared for the final transition to feel as…real as it was. Some Nobodies were just…gone, not much of an indication one moment to the next at all.”

“...he really looked dead, lying there,” Ienzo admitted, his voice softening. “I suppose that caught me off guard.”

ᅙ_ᅙ Given all we understand about childhood trauma, I don’t think there will ever not be that ‘inner child’ within us who can’t truly process why a parent isn’t waking up. Even in this case, when we know that’s not true. The visual was still enough. 

Zexion sat on the table, his legs dangling off it as he held a miniature teacup in his nub arms. 

Maki supposed that didn’t sound too bad. Climbing up a bunch of stairs? Training sounded harder. Though, she supposed there was probably more to the process than that. Maybe she’d ask Namine someday.

She glanced over at the new guest. “...you’re much smaller than I remember,” she observed, “Zexion, right? You’re like Amaina and little Kaito now?”

=_= Zexion nodded.

ㅍ_ㅍ Hi, Maki. This is part of our new arrangement, though given your familiarity with Amaina, you may know that a ‘Chibi’, with all that entails, isn’t necessarily a ‘downgrade’ in power or ability. 

Ienzo gave her a small, sheepish smile. “After meeting Chibi Kokichi, our brother told Zexion that we could use a mental health construct similar to him. As Zexion and I were reconfiguring our system, I suppose the idea stuck, though I wasn’t aware of the actual nature of Chibis at the time.”

“Though,” he gave Zexion a fond look, “I suppose it’s fortunate, since it’s led to the research that may bring the rest of our family back.”

ㅍ_ㅍ I don’t think you met him much, but we’ve already retrieved Marluxia from Lauriam. They’re in the group heading straight for Dicea, so should no progress be made from this point, you’ll at least meet them. 

“I don’t know a Marluxia or a Lauriam, but I’ll keep it in mind,” Maki said, “You don’t sound confident. Honestly, you look defeated.”

ㅍ_ㅍ We just watched our dad die, what do you want from us.

ᅙ_ᅙ It’s been a rough few days. In a rough month. In a confusing year on top of a rough decade.

ㅍ_ㅍ I’m confident we can bring the others back. Ienzo single-handedly fixed the botch-job Vexen made of Marluxia and Lauriam. It’s just been a lot.

ᄀ_ᄀ …you know, I’m not sure if he told you. You know why half of us aren’t going straight to Dicea?

ᅙ_ᅙ We’re going to offer to kidnap our mom’s son that was stolen from her, and to cover for that, Ienzo and Isa’s going to argue to the royal court for his inheritance and to have the Seisears’ deaths acknowledged as a murder. 

=_= It’s a lot.

Ienzo grimaced a little, tapping on his ankles and looking to the side as Zexion mentioned their court appearance. 

“Metal,” Maki said approvingly, “The helping a mom get her son back part. Less so the sad and depressing bits.”

“I know a therapist who’d probably want to write a book about you, if you ever need a recommendation. She likes unusual cases. Honestly you’d be doing me a favor, I have got to get her less hyper fixated on my family. She’s really into analyzing us, I honestly think the fact that we pay her is the only reason she’s still professional about it and isn’t just straight up making a timeline of our individual lives,” Maki mused, “But she’s very good.”

“But, for the less helpful response…I dunno. It sounds tough,” Maki agreed, “It might be nice to get your inheritance, though. And get your parents’ deaths acknowledged. If you want, I can go assassinate the queen if she says no. I’m getting a bit restless, I could use the warm-up.” 

“That sounds a bit like a conflict of interest, professionally,” Ienzo hummed, before smirking softly. “I would absolutely do the same. Good for her, finding work she enjoys so much.”

Sighing, Ienzo tipped his head forward to pinch the bridge of his nose, easing the tension up into his browbone. “You and Prince Kokichi have quite the opinion about the queen… No, I don’t think that will be a problem, actually. My case request was answered and accepted into the highest court actually suspiciously quickly. It gives the impression that someone is rather invested in me getting my inheritance.”

Looking up, Ienzo gave the air in front of him a disgruntled look. “...it stinks of a political plot I don’t know the pieces of yet.”

ᄀ_ᄀ And it’s scary considering the actual responsibilities we’d have with a lordship. Obviously we’ve been outlining ideas for wealth redistribution and transforming Seisear’s lands into a refuge for ex-Indentureds, but there’s a lot of framework to actually achieve that we don’t have access to until it’s actually happening. 

ᄀ_ᄀ And all that seems difficult to do while we’re simultaneously trying to flee the country while not looking like we’re kidnapping a 13-year-old. The last thing we’d need is House Shard catching on while we’re within reach. 

“Maybe just give it to someone else to do that then?” Maki shrugged, “If you’re not going to live in Luminary, take your inheritance and then let someone else inherit it. I don’t have any recommendations for who. Maybe the 13-year-old you’re not not kidnapping?”

Ienzo sighed, looking…well, just about as tired as someone who’d done everything he had that week should look. “I suppose I should get on that, then, though considering if things go well, Ventus will be coming to Dicea with us, I don’t think he’s a viable option.”

Maki had been mostly teasing–she’d never entirely treat rich problems seriously–but her eyes widened slightly as something he had said earlier now connected to what he just said. “Ventus? The Shard family… you’re kidnapping Ventus Shard? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea who supplies most assassins? I broke into their home once to test myself when I was young and dumb and nearly died, Kaito had to basically throw himself at their son to save me. And I’m good at this. How are you going to kidnap their kid?”

Some of it was Ienzo’s own fault, he knew, for the small handful of people he knew. For all nobles he knew, he really only trusted Maya to carry out the resources his inheritance would grant respectably, but she hardly seemed to want to run her own inheritance…and, again, he didn’t want to put her in the royal spotlight. Rantarou seemed to have enough on his plate just figuring out what his life looked like now, and Xiomara… Well, she never seemed that enthused with responsibility, but Ienzo supposed she had never really been given any. Maybe that was something to message her abou--

Ienzo gave Maki a mildly surprised look--she knew Ventus? House Shard wasn’t that surprising, but Ventus specifically--before he shrugged a little, blinking at her. “So far the plan is to ensure he and Aqua have a chance to meet, and then present him with the choice to leave with us. Given that he is 13, he can legally emancipate himself, which, admittedly, would be easier if he just chose to leave home for a while, and then did so in a physically farther area.”

ㅍ_ㅍ Axel just wanted to grab him and run, but Terra didn’t want to deny Ventus choices in his own life. We want to respect that too.

ㅍ_ㅍ And Aqua is very convincing. 

For a moment, Ienzo mulled what Maki had said over in his head--Kaito threw himself at their son…--before he looked at her with a truly hopeful, soft look. “...you’ve met him?”

“I have. As I said, Kaito dated his brother for a while, I’ve broken into his home, but more than that, as an assassin, one of the two major weapons manufacturing families was sort of… maybe not necessary for me to know,” Maki admitted, “There was some… I guess celebrity status about it, with the members of those two families. But the eldest son was closest to the youngest and I saw the kid a few times up close because of that.”

“He’s nice enough,” Maki said, “A little shy and a little earnest. Clumsier than he should be, for as much as he’s no doubt been trained. I think he was trying to specialize in dual-wielding swords, which is impressive if he’s managed it…”

She looked around. “Kokichi? Can you dig around my brain and replace Togami with a Ventus Shard?”

Ienzo hung on Maki’s every word with something like awe, a true wonder coming over his face, before he softly laughed, the sound itself almost twinkling. “Aqua’s going to be over the moon… Though she likely would for whoever Ventus grew up to be.”

✪๐✪

ó_ò For some context, Maki, until recently, we all believed Ventus to be dead. That grief was something our family carried for a long time. 

óvò We were thrilled to hear he’s alive, and so hearing a bit about the person he is, more than a concept, means a lot to us. 

There was a pause, before the feeling of a thumbs up, and the memory of Togami was replaced by a young boy with dark blue tousled hair and golden honey eyes, wearing a customary Shard mask, but his gaze not quite beaten by cutthroat cynicism. 

Ienzo was…truly speechless, eyes going from Aqua’s coloring to Terra’s…before they started watering again. Another step of proof of Baby Ventus, nearer and nearer to them. 

“I’m glad I could offer something,” Maki said, “Now let me offer you one more thing. There’s a guy there named Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. He’s tiny, cute and has a complex about it, he’s foul mouthed and aggressive, and worse, he’s from a yakuza family, who are funneling into the capital basically all the weed you can find in the center of Luminary.”

“He’s a friend of ours,” Maki said, sipping her tea and shrugging, “If you find yourself in trouble in the capital? Go to him and tell him Shuichi Saihara sent you. Not me, he won’t ask anything of Shuichi, but I don’t want to be an assassin who owes him a favor. Got it?”

Trying to more quickly dry his eyes this time, Ienzo gave Maki a mildly surprised look before nodding, albeit with a hesitant look. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you. If we got into that level of trouble, I don’t think we’d really have much choice otherwise, but… Well, I just hope there aren’t any old grudges about Axel’s arrest…”

ᄀ_ᄀ I mean, they were on good enough terms to clue Isa in, so I don’t think there’d be bad blood after all this time. 

Ienzo shared a concerned nod with Zexion, before he glanced down for a moment, giving Maki a sheepish smile. “Ah, I can’t say it hadn’t occurred to me before, though I didn’t initially intend on bringing it up. You’re more familiar with the capital, so I wanted to ask--do you have any date recommendations in NGP?”

Maki choked on her tea for a moment. Giving Ienzo a long look.

“...what kind of person are they?” Maki asked, before clarifying, “Like, what sort of things do they like?”

“We’ve already gone to a couple concerts, and he really enjoys those,” Ienzo started, a subconscious smile turning up his lips, “And he’s made it clear he wants to fully embrace perhaps stereotypical date events and locals; we had a particularly nice cafe date before we left. While they’re not off the table, he is pretty extroverted so I’ve been more focused on things that are experienced in public and among others, rather than more private events.”

“He has a friend whose lobby is the beach of where they live, and the friend was very excited to show him tide pools and the creatures within; I’ve been thinking of finding an aquarium? But that might be something to look more into when we get to Dicea,” Ienzo mused. 

Maki sipped her tea, before calling out, “Kokichi. Get your boy.”

{One sec!}

-

Quickly, Kokichi got off of Maki’s bed and poked his head back into his own room. “Kai-chan, do you have a sec?”

Kaito and Miyako, who was sitting on his chest, both looked at Kokichi as he entered.

“Dada!” Miyako squealed.

“Daddy,” Kaito gently corrected her, kissing the bottom of her foot, before saying, “What’s up, ‘Kichi?”

-

It was barely a minute later, Maki in the middle of saying, “I think there is an aquarium in the capital, but it’s pretty expensive and I think the Dicea one is better–”

Kaito landed hard in one of the tea table seats, Miyako strapped to his chest in a baby carrier looking equally determined as Kaito knocked the kettle refreshments off the table and SLAMMED a map of the city around the castle down on the table. “Alright, listen up! I’ve got ALL the deets! I know every dating spot in a twenty mile radius of the castle gates, and no, that is NOT hyperbole! I hear he’s extroverted and outdoorsy!? You are going to blow his mind with this area over here.”

Kaito spun his finger around one area of the map, and then brought his hand up, that part of the map turning into a 3D figurine space with little faceless people wandering through as he said, “This is one of those ‘only the local locals know about it’ sort of merchants streets, it’s this long series of twisting stairs that was supposed to just be a way for a few different districts to get to each other quicker, like super out of the way and not easily found unless you really need the shortcut sort of situation, BUT! A bunch of people got together and put up a lot of shops by using the backs of the living buildings that the stairs were just supposed to cut through, now it’s one of the most cozy and romantic spots in Luminary! Easily one of our best kept secrets, GOD I’d take ‘Kichi there in a heartbeat.”

“D’AAH!” Miyako shouted in solidarity, kicking her feet sternly.

Kaito slapped his hand against the table again, glaring sternly at Ienzo. “You have to do what I can’t. You have to take your date to all the cute Luminary dating spots! I hate all this dating knowledge that I can’t USE now! Use my knowledge! Does he like poetry!? There’s a store HERE,” Kaito said, pointing to another part of the map and bringing that area up to 3D, showing a very plain looking building, “Is a poetry shop where in the basement they have this amazing little wine tasting shop and you can listen to people recite poetry all night, I know it looks plain on the outside, but the inside is AMAZING.” 

“GYAA!!” Miyako crowed. Amazing!!

Maki sipped her tea some more as Kaito kept showing Ienzo more and more spots, until his ‘map’ looked more like a 3D model. Kaito literally panting with effort, trying to remember all his favorite dating spots, huffing and puffing as he finally took a breath to ask, “W-was there anything specifically?? Y-you were looking for?”

Ienzo quickly lunged up, catching Zexion as Prince Momota burst into the strange fountain tea room, though it was only momentary surprise before…well. Kaito gave them the deets. 

Eyes widening with interest, Ienzo summoned his Lexicon, quickly taking notes on the places Kaito talked about, interjecting here and there about open hours and potential etiquette codes where it seemed applicable and vibes. Meanwhile, Zexion shuffled around the edges of the interactive map, little shimmering barriers slowly scanning each area of the city as Kaito talked about them, integrating this map into their personal world one. 

And by the time Kaito finally slowed down?

Ienzo’s eyes were practically sparkling with a quiet giddiness. “That all sounds perfect, Prince Kaito, thank you.” Glancing at his notes, Ienzo smiled softly, smitten. “Demyx is going to be thrilled.”

=ں= We’re going to be so romantic.

“Yeah!!” Kaito shouted, triumphant!

“GYEEE!” Miyako howled!

Sipping at her tea, Maki rolled her eyes. Romantics.

-

{SAM!!}

{Hey man, I know it’s not band night, but I was wondering if you want to hang out anyway? I was hoping to introduce you to my boyfriend(s)/it’s been a tough week!/just wanted to hang out because you’re a cool guy~}

{DEMYX!!! :DDDDDD}

{Aw dude, I’d LOVE to meet your guys, that’s so awesome, CONGRATS!!! :O 🥳 BROOOO you have boyfriends!? FUCK YEAH! :’( I’m sorry it’s been a tough week, yeah, let’s totaally - totally chat, oh, oh!}

{I am hangin’ with my buds right now too, would you be down for more hang out? HAng outs? Haha, should that be more than one???}

“I think he’s drunk,” Demyx frowned, looking at Ienzo, “And there’s other people. You still down for it?”

Ienzo blinked in surprise, before his head tilted with interest. “You’ve said before that inebriation has religious significance to him, right? Yeah, I’d be down. I’d still like to meet Sam sober eventually, but it’ll be nice to meet him either way.”

He gave Demyx a small, shy smile. “He’s your friend, so I’ve been looking forward to it.”

…and just…doing something that was fun for Demyx, and not just a massive bummer. 

-

“Guys, guys!” Sam cheered, completely oblivious to the fact that he’d already said everything he sent to Demyx out loud, “Demyx wants to hang, do you wanna meet him?”

He was maaaaaasively losing their pool game anyway, thus being several shots in. And it’d be fun! All his cool, sexy friends together!

“Ehhhhh?” Sebastian said, blinking blearily at Sam, practically using his pool cue as a walking stick, “Which Demyx?”

“What do you mean, which Demyx? How many Demyxs do you know!?” Abigail laughed, while Sebastian just groaned, “Come on, you’re just pouting because you put so much money on this game. We weren’t even betting, why did you want to bet so much!?”

“I was going to win!” Sebastian declared, raising his fist in the air, looking fired up for a moment, “Win it all! …what were we talking about?”

“Oh! Demyx! Yeah, let’s do it!” Abigail said, tossing aside her pool cue and going to jump onto the couch, “Come snuggle, boys!”

In Sam’s mind, came {Yeah we’re down to hang man! Meet on the beach?}

{:DDDDDDD!!!!!}

“Brooooo, my broest of bros, Bassy, prince of pool, sultan of snooker… You always win,” Sam laughed, before winking at him, “The game at least. I’m always a winner getting to see you bend over a table.”

With a cheery, “Wheee~!!” Sam dropped his cue and pranced over to the couch, throwing his legs over Abigail’s. “Aw, yes! Abby, your new eyeshadow is sooo cool, and I suck at doing that mind’s eye thing so this’ll be so much easier to show off! Let’s do it!”

-

And on the beach? 

Things were pumping. There was music playing through the trees and the beach itself looked half set up for the summer feast, lights strung up over the docks and somehow beautifully twinkling even if it wasn’t quite night overhead. That was kind of how everything looked, actually, bright and shiny and attention-getting. 

And in the center of it all, Sam stood with his hands clapped together, focusing hard to try and bring non-Empaths into his mind. 

Sebastian landed in the sand, before going ‘oof’ as he sat down, laying back in the sand. “Mmmmm, there we go~ little bit of music, nice chilly sand, this is how to spend a Friday night. Not losing money to Abigail again.”

“Again, I don’t make these bets! You do!” Abigail laughed, landing in the sand next but keeping to her feet, whistling low as she listened to the music, moving her hips a bit as she said, “Oooh, new mix-tape we’re trying out, Sammy?”

“Not like you don’t make it back off of me,” Sam laughed, dropping his hands with a pleased look on his face. Oh yeah, who was a kick ass Empath? This guy~ “You’d think Gus’d finally give a discount after all these years~” 

Beaming as Abigail commented on the music, Sam hopped up and down in excitement. “YEah! Like, we all thought that altered tuning was pretty sick, right? So I was like, but what if I took it further!” And, indeed, there was a sort of…wavy, almost underwater quality to the music, while keeping the upbeat rock groove. “One day I’ll figure out how to get this or somethin’ similar out there so we can play it together,” he promised with an easy grin. 

“Hey, it just means I get early listener privileges. I was a fan of your new-age music before it existed in reality,” Abigail laughed, poking out her tongue as she continued to dance in the sand.

After a moment, Demyx landed next, grinning as he looked around. “Woah! Nice upgrade! It’s so… shiny? I don’t know how you made a beach shiny, but you did! Sam, this is… oh, wait, he’s not here yet,” Demyx said, looking around with a pout. “Button?”

“Dude, really have the most hipster demo disks in my head,” Sam laughed, before perking as he felt Demyx drop in. Calling his friend’s name excitedly, Sam ran over, fully tossing himself at Demyx in a hug. “DEMYX!!! Dude, it’s so great to see you; thanks, haha! I dunno why it looks like this either, or how I did it!”

…

…Ienzo was dating Demyx. Because of that, some of his…conceptions about Sam had eased. However, seeing the--yeah, wow, they did look very similar--blond toss himself at Demyx with a vibrant ease of affection…

Ienzo stiffened a bit, before bowing lightly to Sam, then the other two people in his mind. “Hello, thank you for hosting us to your mind, Sam, and nice to meet you. I’m Ienzo.”

“Nice to meetcha!!” Sam greeted with a sunny smile, dropping off of Demyx to--to Ienzo’s shock--throw an arm around Ienzo and partially lift him off the ground in greeting. “Name’s Sam, aaaaas you might’ve heard, and these are my besties, the coolest people on the planet and real knock-deaders, Abby and Bas…”

Sam suddenly trailed off as he set the slightly dazed Ienzo down, squinting at him, before looking back to Sebastian laying out on the sand. Looking between them before he lit up. “Oh no shot.”

Bounding over to Sebastian, Sam hefted him up from his armpits and carried him over to Ienzo, waving Demyx over to stand next to his boyfriend, while Sam stood next to Sebastian. Eyes glittering as he called proudly, “Abby, look.”

“HA! Sam!!” Demyx laughed, easily catching Sam’s jump, the two swaying on the sand a bit, almost looking like they might fall into it, before Sam fixed his weight against Demyx, “Hey-a~! Thanks for agreeing to see us so last minute! I’m glad I didn’t catch you working again!”

As Sam went to go greet Ienzo, Demyx smiled brightly, “Ienzo, Sam! Sam, Ienzo! Ienzo’s my boyfriend! I have a boyfriend! He’s bought me a balloon!” before looking over to Sebastian and Abigail, bowing to them lightly before greeting cheerfully. “The famous ASS! I’ve heard a lot about you guys–oof!” 

Demyx had to dodge out of Sam’s way as he went to go collect Sebastian, who groaned as he was made to get up, Demyx hurrying to the spot indicated by Sam when prompted. Abigail stopped dancing, peering at the four… before laughing, “No way! Twinsies!”

“Twinsies?” Demyx asked, looking around, “Is Zexion here?”

“Ugh, something has gone catastropically wrong in my life if I’m working on a Friday night,” Sam groaned, sticking his tongue out, before he gave Abigail an eager nod, giggling along with her laughs. 

Though it wasn’t long before he gasped, turning to Ienzo. “Oh!! Zexion’s your little guy?! You know,” he laughed, “I feel like I should’ve been able to tell from the looks, but that’s super cool! I never thought about making a construct that looks just like you, and he’s a cool dude!”

“He is,” Ienzo agreed, still a little shaken, before glancing to Sebastian. Twinsies? What did that…

It was like several arrows pointing things out at once. Short hair that was longer in bangs that were parted to the side of the face. A tired expression. Shorter than their excitable, blond counterpart. Hoodies. 

Ienzo tilted his head a little. “...I can see it.”

“A pattern so great it needed to pop up in different places around the world,” Sam agreed, squishing his head on the top of Sebastian’s affectionately. 

“Cooome ooooon, not every emo looks like each other. We’re totally different,” Sebastian groaned, waving off Sam’s wrap around his shoulder, “We both just clearly have the same taste in music.”

“Oh, uh…” Demyx tilted his head, looking Sebastian up and down, “Oh that’s a music look? We don’t know it in Luminary, you just look like you’re rocking some dark hoody clothes to us. What’s emo music?”

“Like… a few different things,” Sebastian said. “Alt pop, punk, grunge, but usually the lighter side of all of that. Soft edge. You don’t listen to that sort of thing?” Sebastian asked Ienzo, not sounding accusatory, just genuinely surprised, “You have ‘soft goth’ radiating off of you.”

Sam pouted, making a wounded noise as he flopped onto the sand after being dismissed. Oh he punch Sam! He toss Sam away like gridball! 1000 years condemnation! 

Ienzo similarly gave Sebastian a confused, yet intrigued look before he shook his head a little. “Soft goth? No, most of the music I listen to is what Demyx plays. I suppose I have been branching out a little more, but it’s not something I seek out often by myself.”

“I guess that would be kinda hard to do in prison, huh,” Sam mused from the ground, before he smiled sunnily up at the couple. “How’re you liking the branching out stuff then? I bet I can guess,” he cheekily winked at Demyx, “But have any new favorite genres?”

Sam’s eyes widened for a moment, remembering, “Oh, oh! What’s your disco?!”

Demyx lit up at the question, before turning to Ienzo and explaining, “Basically what’s the music that defines you. Like, if you had to pick some music that’s a part of your identity? What would you lean towards just, now, today, in this,” Demyx reached over to put his hand on Ienzo’s chest, looking far too serious, “moment.”

“Have you guys heard of Amy Lee-an?” Sebastian asked, looking distinctly unimpressed still with Demyx’s passion as he went to sit next to Sam, patting him on the head, “She sings some goth stuff. She’s cool. She could be my disco right now.”

Ienzo gave Demyx a soft, amused smile, before looking intrigued. “I see, it’s a term for encompassing identity, but with expectations of change and fluidity built in. That’s quite interesting, for it to be music-specific. Though…isn’t ‘disco’ a genre on its own as well?”

“Ha ha! I asked the same thing when I heard about it!” Sam laughed, looking pleased with the head pats he was getting, “Though there’s a whooooole thing about the etymology that makes disco the concept different from disco the music, though disco the music was some people’s disco? It’s cool stuff!”

“Juuust like Amy Lee-an,” Sam nodded with Sebastian, “Bas has one of her records and she has some pipes.”

“I haven’t heard of her, no, but I’ll keep the name in mind,” Ienzo promised. It would be interesting to see if there was some sort of reverse correlation he could test. Usually a music culture informed styles of dress in that order, and, in honesty, trying to prove it backwards would likely just be the result of a coincidence, but it was still fun to test the concept.

“Myyyyyy diiiiiiiiiscooooooo wooooouuuuld beeeeeeee,” Abigail closed her eyes, “...rock feels like such an easy answer for me. It’s almost insulting!”

“Because you eat rocks?” Sebastian asked.

“BECAUSE I EAT ROCKS!” Abigail agreed with a shout, falling to her knees and shaking her fists at the sky in ironic grief, “And also because I’m a wild adventure gal! Counter-culture! Who else is going into the mines with me!?”

“Thheeeeee farmer?” Sebastian said, “And old guys?”

“Rock rules though,” Sam pointed out, grinning fondly at Abigail, “Even if you’ve got some irony twisted up in it doesn’t mean it isn’t badass, and dooooes fit you.”

Ienzo blinked, looking fascinated. “Do you eat rocks for the taste or for some digestive or nutritional benefit? Or because of pica, I suppose.”

“I just like the crunch,” Abigail said, shrugging a bit, “The way people enjoy eating ice? But I don’t like how cold ice is. Besides, the flavor between different types of rocks is fantastic. Ever eaten a gem?”

Demyx blinked. “...noooo?”

“Try one, any of them, they’re soooo good,” Abigail groaned.

“Don’t eat rocks, she’s a freak and I don’t understand how her teeth haven’t broken yet,” Sebastian said dryly, “....so. You’re both Empaths too then?”

“Yep!” Demyx smiled, gesturing back and forth between him and Ienzo as he said proudly. “Pretty advanced ones I’ve learned too! Yeah, we’re kind of a big deal, totally made super difficult to make constructs, apparently. Sort of things you see once in a lifetime! Ooooor 13 times in a lifetime,” Demyx paused, “14 times! We know one other– FIFTEEN! Two other people who have done it too! Oh man, maybe it’s not very rare to make semi-independent constructs?”

“Fascinating,” Ienzo hummed, his Lexicon appearing in his arms. “Not to diagnose or pathologize you, of course, but there’s been a notable correlation between people that habitually eat ice for non-temperature regulatory reasons, and iron deficient anemia. It’s not necessarily something like a macronutrient or vitamin craving, though depending on the water source there may be iron within ice, but that seems wholly different from eating gems, specifically, considering that crystallization is an entirely different process from sedimentary or metamorphic formation.”

“...whoa,” Sam said softly, only really getting maybe half of that, before again he said, “whoa,” before laughing a bit. “Fifteen out of, like, all Empaths? Still think that’s pretty rare. And, I mean.”

He gestured to Sebastian and Abigail, sitting up a little from the sand and leaning lightly against Sebastian, “I told these guys a bit about your island? You guys made that from scratch, it’s not just literally what you see all the time. You guys are pretty wild with all the Empathy wizardry you do.”

Demyx smiled proudly, hands on his hips… before chuckling sheepishly. “Well, I think Ienzo actually understands how the island works better than I do, admittedly. Empaths before us actually first made the thing, we just connected to it. And honestly, if I had to start making a whole new island from scratch? I don’t even know how you’d start to do that. Do you, button?” Demyx asked his boyfriend.

“Button?” Abigail smirked, sticking out her tongue and winking, “That’s cute.”

“He calls me Sunshine.” Demyx grinned brighter.

“Oh my goooood stooooop cute.” Abigail cackled. 

“Hey, have you guys ever heard of Empaths, but for… items?” Sebastian asked, tilting his head, “We know a guy who talks to items a lot, and I think he really expects the items to say things back. He might just be a looney, but there’s a lot more surrounding him and his… partner? Co-worker? I don’t know, his friend, that I wondered if maybe that was a magic thing to look out for?”

“Forget that, what sort of vitamin do you guys think I’m deficient in? It’s definitely not sunshine,” Abigail mused, “....wait maybe it is, I spend a lot of time in the mines.”

“I have some theories, but every thought experiment I’ve tried has run into the same issue that we have in reality,” Ienzo shrugged, “You need a pillar. Theoretically I believe it should be possible for a collective to be built entirely of low or mid-level Empaths, but whenever I take that theory to its logical conclusion, the possibility of the collective collapsing on itself seems too high. I’d really have to observe another collective for proper data, since only having seen ours doesn’t give much--for example, considering the separation we went through, I’ve started contemplating the possibility that the collective works specifically because we have such a wide range of power levels within it, and that while the ‘balancing act’ takes effort from the island, it’s like the concept of tensegrity, the collective holding together by its strain.”

Sam continued to just look amazed as Ienzo barely stopped for a breath before giving Sebastian an intrigued look. “For inanimate objects? No, I’ve never heard of that for Empathy. However, and excuse the fact I’m not as familiar with other psychic abilities or magic as a whole, I have heard of psychometry, which from my understanding seems to fit your description. It’s similar to what an Empath can do with memories, but for physical objects, as far as my understanding goes.”

Wow…uh. Demyx’s boyfriend was quite a talker. That was…really cool, honestly. Sam didn’t think he’d ever heard someone say so much at once, other than…well, him, and sometimes Emily if she was really on a roll. 

Perking, Sam ooohed, “Ooooh, neat! I dunno if Harrier even really knows what his deal is, but I’ll ask him about it anyway. You’d be surprised, sometimes he brings up, like, really detailed observations out of nowhere,” Sam giggled, “Guess that helps with being a detective.”

Flopping back to look at Abigail, Sam drawled, “You aaaaaaaare definicient in vitamin lameness, for sure. But if you’re craving some sun, you could always come to the beach with me.” He gave her a wink. “Dunno if shells’ll really do the same for ya as gems, but I’d always be willing to go pearl-diving.”

Abigail’s eyes widened in delight, sparkling as she licked her lips, “Pearls straight from the oysters.”

“Okay, I do not want to be teased about this, but… what’s an oyster?” Demyx asked, “I know it’s a beach thing, I know I’m into beach stuff, but I don’t casually get to go to a beach very often. Though I like to add new ocean stuff I learn to my world, so I gotta know! What’s an oyster, and how is it related to pearls?”

“Ummmm, how to explain it… it’s like…” Sebastian frowned, “You know beach shells, right?”

“Yeah.” Demyx nodded.

“It’s like if one of those was alive, but not a starfish? And if they’re connected together, like a sandwich? And if you pry it open, sometimes it’ll have a little pearl inside of it on its meat, which is usually what people eat. The meat, not the pearl. Again, Abigail is weird.”

“People compare them to vaginas a lot,” Abigail said happily.

“...it’s a sea vagina with jewelry in it?” Demyx asked, “....Larxene would have loved that. That’s so weird.”

“There is sooooo much weird stuff in the ocean, dude,” Sam laughed, “Mollusks are just little guys! Weeeeird little guys. Oh, and if you’re following the junk trend, can I guess you guys have never seen a geoduck before?” 

Ienzo raised an eyebrow. He’d…sooort of heard of oysters before, and he did know what mollusks were, but… “No, I’ve never even heard of it.”

Sam snickered, before popping himself upright (wobbling over for a second before correcting himself) and taking Demyx and Ienzo’s hands, dragging them along to look over the beach where the waves came over the sand. Before long, he spotted a little hole and quickly dug through the wet sand, triumphantly pulling out a creature that was…

“Ah,” Ienzo said, understanding. 

“Bullshit,” Demyx said, blanching and looking a little scandalized as he stared at the… “There’s no way that’s real! Are you guys fucking with us!?”

“It’s real.” Abigail snickered, “When you clear one out for cooking, you have to squeeze the juice out first? Guess where it squirts out of?”

“HOW IS THAT REAL!?” Demyx gasped, “Wait, so what do oysters look like?! Do they actually look like…!?”

“Didn’t think I was being literal until now, huh?” Abigail asked, “I’d argue they actually do look like that, yeah. It’s pretty incredible really, how two different sea-shell creatures both ended up looking like dead ringers for sex organs. What are the odds?”

“It’s a shame you two aren’t actually here,” Sebastian said, scratching his neck. “We’ve been drinking tonight, but I don’t really know if I’ve reached my core self yet. I kind of want more. And we can’t offer you any real drinks here.”

“You are absolutely your core, Sebastian, I know this because I have 54 copper with your name on it,” Abigail smirked, “But it would be nice to get to drink with you guys.”

“Ummmmm,” Demyx tilted his head, “...we could ask our friend Luis for help?”

Sam burst out in uncontrollable giggles as he let the geoduck back into the sand, wobbling again as he bent over before correcting. “Dude, you sound like my mom. It’s not that easy to catch geoducks in real life, but when Willy set up a beach cleaning day when I was little and got one, she didn’t let me or Vince go to the beach for like a week.”

“Huh,” Ienzo mused, tilting his head a little. “Those were just the eponymous valves of a bivalve, though, right? I know mussels have the largest penis to body ratio of any animal, I wonder if geoducks are similar…”

Sam gave him an easy-going shrug, having no idea, before giving Demyx a wide-eyed look. “...dude, you are not saying what I think you’re saying. You know how to Empathetically get drunk?”

“I don’t know how, but Luis does! And I know he can make it so other worlds can get drunk too, temporarily, if the Empath the world belongs to allows it,” Demyx said, “We could ask him to put together a temporary construct here and…”

He gave Ienzo a sudden, incredulous look. “Mussels have dicks?”

Sam looked back at Sebastian and Abigail with an amazed look, pulling a very, ‘are you hearing this shit right now?!’ expression. Their friend could mentally instill the unlocking of your divine core just…at will!

Sam’s eyes were wide and wobbly. “...dude, I think your friend might be like a prophet or saint or something.”

Ienzo nodded, before shrugging. “They’re not like centipedes, they do have to search out compatible partners at least somewhat.”

“What does that mean about centipedes?” Demyx whispered, though he was startled away from learning more about the animal kingdom by Sam’s just… total excitement. “Oh, prophet? Um, no, he’s… mostly an alcoholic, really.”

“Really dependent on his core self? Yeah, I get it,” Sebastian sighed, “I miss my core self when he’s gone too. Then he comes back and I wonder what the hell I missed, as he spends all my money.”

“Again, YOU! You are Sebastian’s core self! You are not sober! I have so much of your money right now!” Abigail cackled, before clapping her hands together, “I say let’s do it! Empath style prayer! Call your friend!”

“I’ll ask, he might be busy,” Demyx said, before concentrating. 

…after a moment, Luis appeared on the beach, looking vaguely uncomfortable as he looked around, before waving at the new people. “Um, hi. Nice to meet you, I’m Luis. Demyx, you wanted alcohol constructs?”

“Yeah, just a temporary one for the night! Is that something you can do off the island?” Demyx asked. 

“I haven’t tried it off the island before, but so long as you’re here and connected to the island, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work…” Luis mused, looking around the beach. “Who’s world is this? Yours?” Luis asked, looking to Sam, “Is your landscape gonna do anything crazy if I try to alter the landscape here a little?”

Sam crossed his arms and closed his eyes, getting a slightly consternated expression as he thought that through. Suuuuure, abuse of alcohol wasn’t exaaaaactly prayer, but…that didn’t seem the same as being able to unlock your divine core mentally. That just seemed like enlightenment, right? 

That was already too much philosophizing, and Sam was back to a big grin and a wave as Demyx called over his friend. “Heya!! Nice to meetcha, Luis, name’s Sam. Welcome to beach party central, all day every day, location my head~”

“Though, uuhhhh… I don’t think so?” Sam said, looking around the beach curiously. “It’s not like I spend a ton of time in here, but it’s always been the beach.”

“Alright, well, let me just…” Luis started walking around the sand, tapping his foot against different parts of it. Murmuring to himself as he said, “Not here… not here… too soft, it won’t stick…”

“What are you looking for, Luis?” Demyx asked, curious about Luis’ process.

“Oh, I have to do this when I want to share alcohol with you guys in your worlds too, I just usually know where the spot is almost immediately. It’s like a feeling of where your ability to visualize what being drunk is like in your mind? If I don’t put the construct somewhere you’ll believe in it, it won’t work,” Luis explained, walking over to Abigail, “Pardon lass, do you mind if I check there?”

“Sure!” Abigail said, hopping up from the sand and letting Luis look over the spot she had been in, “That’s a fun accent, by the way. Is that the right way to compliment an accent? Fun? I’ve never heard it before.”

“Ah, eastern Luminary.” Luis said, “Though I hear it’s a similar accent in northern Luminary. Just anywhere that borders another country, apparently, you start getting different strands of this particular accent. There’s a guess we might have been our own neighboring countries separate from Luminary and the others at some point in history, but you know, that’s impossible to say for sure.”

“Why is it impossible to say?” Sebastian asked, “For who? You could just ask a historian.”

“Nah, Luminary lost its history back at the start of the oligarchy days. So we don’t really know why there’s such a massive difference in accents from region to region,” Luis said, taking out his flask and digging a hole in the sand, before pouring some in and then burying it. Taking a step back and gesturing for the others to clear the area as well.

Then after a moment, a bamboo beach bar grew from the sand, and out sprouted a wooden mannequin. 

“How May I Serve You,” the mannequin said, before drawing in knowledge from the Empath he was in, “Dudes?”

“There we go, that works,” Luis said, smiling proudly. 

Sam tilted his head a little. “There’s a specific part of that? I guess that makes sense, brain stuff is like…specialized. Though your divine core is like,” Sam did a little shimmy, waving his body back and forth as he gestured down it, “allllll of you. It’s your whole being! Sharing in the wisdom of divinity, fuck yeah!”

“That does bring up a point,” Ienzo hummed, “Given that your sense of spirituality is so tied with imbibement, I wonder if that does impact the physical experience of drunkenness…”

Giving an awed, amazed sound as the bar popped up, Sam let out a whoop, before clapping his hands over his head and bowing it to Luis. “A miracle before our eyes! Hey, and we can find that out right now!! No better time to pray than celebrating with new friends!”

Luis stepped back, rubbing his arm a bit as he said, “Well, if that’s all you need–”

“Come on man, don’t feel like you have to rush off, I’m sure none of us want to kick you out,” Demyx said, looking around at the others but barely even pausing to let anyone speak up as he said, “you can hang!”

“Uh…” Again, Luis looked a little uncomfortable. Shy. He wasn’t used to spending time with new people anymore, and he clearly didn’t really know how to act, even standing a little awkwardly, flexing his hands like he wasn’t sure what he was doing with them, even as he said, “I could sit down for a drink sure, but the construct will hold so long as you two are here. So I don’t need to stay. Just so y’all know.”

“Okay, but I have a question about this,” Abigail said, gesturing to the mannequin. “...why?”

“Why does it need to be a bar and a mannequin?” Luis asked, “It doesn’t, that’s just how I’ve conceptualized sharing a lot of alcohol in a group–”

“Why is it a wooden faceless monstrosity?” Abigail asked.

“Monstrosity? I think they’re cute.” Luis pouted. 

“Thank You, Dude.” the mannequin said, its whole body jittering and shaking with every word, like talking took a full body effort, “I Am Very Cute.”

“See? Adorable,” Luis said.

“Aw, c’mon!” Sam laughed brightly as he straightened, throwing an arm around Luis’ shoulder and swinging them both towards the bar, “You can’t do thaaaaaat, that’s so cute that you share constructs that you like ‘cause they’re cute!! Hey cool bartender friend!! Could we get a round of Coco-nonos? Let’s welcome everyone in true Solar style~”

Ienzo snorted quietly as Sam with absolutely no hesitation brought Luis into the fold. Leaning towards Demyx, he quietly asked, “I do realize he’s already drunk, but he’s just like this, huh?”

“Oh yeah, since the first moment I met him,” Demyx whispered back, taking Ienzo’s hand and, just because he was close by, giving him a quick, chaste kiss, “Do you want to have a drink too? We don’t have to, we can just hang out with them.”

Ienzo flushed lightly at the kiss before looking down with a small, flustered smile, squeezing Demyx’s hand lightly. “Considering the cultural significance, I don’t think I’d mind having one, though…” Ienzo glanced over to the group by the bar with a small smirk, “Probably not what Sam’s ordering. Since none of us mentioned at all how much stronger Luis’ constructs are than actual alcohol.”

“Oh, right, shoot!” Demyx said, eyes widening at that little slip-up, calling to the four at the bar as drinks were passed around, “Hey, guys, you should know–!”

“A toast! To new friends!” Abigail said, raising her glass, “Let’s party so hard that we’ll be the envy of Iony!” 

And then she gulped back the entire drink at once, gulping it down in three heavy swallows, before calling to the bartender, “Another!” 

“Oh, damn, that wasn’t a small glass–oh, you too huh?” Luis said, watching Sebastian also gulp down his all at once, “These are really meant to be more sipping drinks…”

“Toast and getting toasty~” Sam laughed, raising his glass with Abigail, and, as part of the true ASS trio, he shot his drink back just like them. 

Ienzo could only smirk, watching what was likely about to be a carriagewreck. Though, he was a little impressed that Sam’s mind still seemed so stable, and that Abigail and Sebastian were still there. Given Luis’ whole purpose for his construct, and Ienzo’s experiences with weed, he had started to hypothesize that being under the influence in any way had a sort of dampening effect on Empathy, and the way Sam talked seemed like he wasn’t a particularly strong Empath in the first pla--

“DEMYX!! Ienzo!” Sam cajoled, bounding up to the couple in a second and putting his arms around them, “C’mooooon, you don’t have to stand by yourselves even if you’re not drinking! And I’d hope you didn’t come over just to make out in a corner, though I knooooow my mind is just so awesome that the party vibes are off the charts.”

Dragging them over, it was one person to the next as Sam plopped his chin on Sebastian’s head, putting his arms around his waist. Preemptively, Sam sang, “And doooon’t go saying that hanging out in a corner is the best part of a party--that would be combo team attacks, wouldn’t it?” Immediately he started giggling at his own joke. 

“Projecting much? I think your favorite part of any party is grabbing us and making us chairs and pillows and blankets,” Sebastian huffed, though his expression had rapidly relaxed after that drink, leaning easily into Sam’s hold, his eyes drooping blearily. “We’ve shared plenty of corners.”

“Wow this stuff is strong!” Abigail gasped, taking the fresh drink the bartender had given her and wrapping her arms around Sam and Sebastian, leaning around to press the cup to Sam’s lips as she said, “Taste mine, this is strong, right!? Are yours as strong as this? I felt mine immediately, it was like getting full body slammed by a bat!”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I tend to make my drinks strong, so that it doesn’t take me long to get drunk on them,” Luis said, sipping at his, face already turning red and flushed despite not slamming his down like the others had, “It’s been so long since I’ve had to explain to someone how it works. Forgot to say that bit… Ey, uh, maybe it’s none of my business, but are you three lads–” Luis said, gesturing to the ASS team, neverminding the lass among them as he asked, “--together? Or something?”

“Sam’s pretty touchy,” Demyx explained to Luis, passing Ienzo a drink before grabbing his from the bartender, “I mean, maybe they still are, I don’t actually know? But you can’t judge it by Sam throwing hands around.”

Sam giggled again. “Not wrong, though I have a lot of favorite parts of parties. You and Abby are the most consistent factors, though~”

Freeing one of his arms to embrace Abigail as she came within grabbing distance, Sam immediately tilted his head back a little to let her pour some of the drink in his mouth, nodding vigorously as he swallowed. Though, he laughed brightly at Luis’ question. “Love is love~ You don’t need to put a label on anything to know how it feels.”

(...sometimes, maybe, labels would be nice, though. As he and Demyx had once talked about, the concept of someone being actively, explicitly romantic was like a dream to Sam. If someone gave him a bouquet, treated him well, treated him like a person with his own thoughts and ability to self-advocate and not just good vibe central then…honestly he’d follow them to the end of the earth.)

“But I don’t just throw hands!” Sam gasped in exaggerated offense! “I’m affectionate! And lovable! And…”

As he spoke, a distinct guitar slide rang out through the beach, before the music started to become more present, a glimmer getting into Sam’s eyes. And as a drum fill kicked up, lights started to spin over the sand. 

Sam’s Divine Core truly starting to shine through. 

“OooOOOOH here we go~” Abigail smirked, canines baring as she started to drum her thighs, tapping her toes as the music started to swell. 

There was an odd glow starting to happen around her body. Nothing intense, but like purple mist was dancing on her hair and skin, flickering around her clothes. Sebastian, whose fingers were starting to tap and strum against the counter, had a deep, dark blue that was also forming around him, that seemed to thicken and grow the more the music played. 

Luis watched this curiously, before looking at himself and then Demyx and Ienzo. No glow. Maybe this was the power of belief, then? How the three viewed their faith, manifesting itself.

Or maybe Novis folk were built differently. It was hard to tell at this point. Whatever it was, it clearly was real to them, as the three’s bodies joined the shifting, playful lighting of the beach. 

Demyx grinned, watching this, before leaning in and whispering in Ienzo’s ear, “I want to dance with you.”

Ienzo watched with rapt interest as Abigail and Sebastian started to glow, mind whirring at the implications of the change happening to non-Empaths…though the whirring stopped at the whisper in his ear. Ienzo flushing and looking a little flustered as he smiled embarrassedly, before nodding. Taking Demyx’s hand, as Sam glowed yellow and a solid condenser microphone appeared in his hand, flinging himself in a little spin.

And, with shocking clarity, his words not slurred, and singing far more from his chest and with just…true open joy than any time Sam had demoed lyrics during band practice, he sang with his whole heart:

“You’re looking like a new philosophy, touch down, new queen, you’re killing me, you’re looking so independent!”

There was a brass fill, the trees around the beach seemingly swaying to the music too. 

“I’m craving what you’re showing me, an emotional currency, you’re looking so damn infectious!”

“Look at you, just living like limelight, I could be your spotlight, shining on your best side, show me your bad side!” Winking at Abigail, Sam did a little shimmy with his shoulders. “So cute and you don’t even know it, you’re walking that talk and I love it, I love it, show me how you do it, oh, I want it, I want it!”

Leaning towards Sebastian again, Sam met his best friend’s eyes as he sang, “I’ll be your cheerleader, ah!”

Sebastian snickered, before he and Abigail both gave out “WOO! So cute!” While Abigail’s was louder and more enthusiastic, Sebastian was a good backup vocalist too, humming and echoing to the song as he mimed out the keyboard parts of the song, all three of them dancing and swaying their hips, though Sam was really putting in the moves! 

Demyx laughed–he hadn’t heard this song yet–doing another spin of Ienzo before moving their hands back and forth, swaying together in sync with the sway of the literal scenery around them. Everything moved and danced. 

For Luis, it was almost enough to make him a little motion sick, as the only person sitting now and watching the younger folk dance suddenly like that had been all they had wanted to do that day. It was fun, and reminded him of how he’d spend his time before the factory. He didn’t feel much up for dancing himself right now, still feeling a little out of place and shy around the new people. But he was tapping his feet, enjoying the music and generally enjoying being in the environment.

The wooden mannequin, not currently mixing a drink, was doing the Robot behind the counter. Because Luis had made the things to be cute. And they were dammit. Everyone else just needed to see The Vision. 

Spinning towards Abigail, Sam straightened her vest. “Your style is a cosmic getaway.”

And a spin towards Sebastian, Sam running some fingers through Sebastian’s hair, exposing more of his face as his voice slid higher, the transition buttery smooth. “Your smile is a national ho~li~daaaaaay~”

Back to the center he continued, “Scratch off, you’re a winning ticket, woo! So cute and you don’t even know it, you’re walking that talk and I love it, I love it, show me how you do it, oh I want it, I want it!”

“I’ll be your cheerleader! I’ll be your cheerleader!”

Ienzo still wasn’t a great dancer, but his shoulders could only bounce with quiet laughter as he spun and swayed with Demyx, the mind they were in treating rhythm as a fundamental rule of the world, which made it easier to keep up. 

Even as the breakdown started, Sam clambering up some platforms on the nearest dock. 

“What are you holding that you didn’t pick up? Drop it! Don’t keep it in the dark, you gotta let it shine! Don’t stop! Put your hands up, high five, whip sound! Look at you just living like limelight, I could be your spotlight, you’re a disco ball shining so bright, show me your bad side.”

It was part of the song dynamics that that part was softer, and for a moment, there was a true tenderness in Sam’s eyes as he looked down on his friends. The glows around them really almost like spotlights, Abigail’s grin and the ribbon in her hair, the upturn at the corner of Sebastian’s mouth and the glimmer of his piercings, things just seemed a little clearer, a little emphasized for a moment. Not just their own glows, but a sense of deep, devoted affection surrounding them. 

And then Sam jumped off the platform, doing a kick mid-air. 

“WOW! So cute and you don’t even know it, walking that talk and I love it, I love it, show me how you do it, oh, I want it, I want it, I’ll be your cheerleader! He’s so cute and you don’t even know it, she’s walking that talk and I love it, I love it, show me how you do it, oh, I want it, I want it, I’ll be your cheerleader! I’ll be your blow it up, hype you up, CHEERLEADER!!”

“WOO!” Demyx shouted, wrapping his arms around Ienzo’s waist and picking him up, spinning a bit before putting him back down, entirely caught up in the rhythm and fun and movement of the song. 

Luis still watched this all idly, sipping his drink… before drunkenly leaning over and ‘whispering’ to the bartender, “I keep waiting for this Sam lad to just kiss them, honestly. For just being friends, he does a great job of looking smitten.”

“Some Relationships Are Hard To Define But Easy To Embrace,” said the part of Sam’s mind that the bartender was taking that from. 

“I always thought denial would make a beautiful name for a river too,” Luis said, the phrase one of his local linguistic sayings. “Ah well. At least they’re all enjoying themselves.”

“SO CUTE!” Abigail and Sebastian chorused out, easy and relaxed and basking in the glow of their friend’s gaze and their own spotlights, “CHEERLEADER!” 

Ienzo’s eyes widened slightly as he was suddenly off the ground, but with his hands on Demyx’s shoulders he could only grin, pulling Demyx into a more grounded spin once his feet touched down again. Just having fun with his boyfriend. 

And as the song ended triumphantly, Sam spun his microphone around by its cord before letting it dissipate in the air, laughing as he walked forward and threw his arms around his friends again, snuggling them both close. “So, yeah, I’m waaaay more than a hot bod and a master hugger, so there.”

“Uuuuuh, no doi!?” Abigail laughed, leaning in hard as she wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a wet kiss on his cheek, “You’re the best! You’re just ALSO those things! Doofus!”

“You messed up my hair,” Sebastian pretended to pout, like he wasn’t flushed and sweating slightly and clearly happy as he leaned into the hug as well, placing a calm hand on the arm wrapped around him as he grinned, “We nailed the song this time though.”

“It’s a bit easier when we don’t have to actually play our instruments,” Abigail laughed.

“Wooo! Bravo, bravo! Damn guys, what a song! Did you write that!?” Demyx asked, clapping his hands loudly as he finally pulled away from Ienzo, the two having snuggled for a second at the last chord of the song. “That’s a great song!” 

Sam preened at the returned affection, holding his friends close and looking like everything was right in the world. “Hey! I know that, but I’ve gotta defend my honor somehow,” he laughed, before giving Abigail and Sebastian each a kiss on their heads, “And please, like you don’t always look amazing.”

Cheeks delightedly pink, Ienzo joined in on the applause. He’d been pretty focused on Demyx as they danced, admittedly, but…well, he didn’t miss the indication that there were other things to judge togetherness here than Sam’s casual touch. “It’s a bop, for sure,” he agreed.

“Eheh~ thanks!” Sam grinned, swaying the ASS trio a little. “It’s still one we practice with, but it does rule, right?”

(As with most of their music, the tune had been collaborative…but the lyrics? It was nothing short of divine inspiration, Sam praying for help with a new song, after an elongated bout of, well…

Sebastian staying in his room for days and not wanting visitors, and Abigail doing a deep mine dive after a fight with her parents. Sam seeing his friends struggle [and…maybe feeling a little lonely too] and wanting so much to help them. He couldn’t fight their fights, but…well, he could cheer them on.)

(It was something Sam pretty much only sang when it came from his divine core, though. Too sheepish about his voice otherwise to put his heart into it, which felt integral to the song.)

“It’s so cool the way you guys write music. I’m still trying to get a few… certain songs,” Demyx grinned sheepishly glancing at Ienzo, “to sound right? Actually Sam, at our next band practice, don’t let me forget to run some ideas by you, I’d love the help.”

“That glowing thing that happened, does that happen when you all hang out in Sam’s mind a lot?” Luis asked curiously, though his head was starting to tilt in a way that suggested he was finding it heavier. His mind clear enough, but his body feeling the full effect of his own construct. “Or was that something just for this song?”

“Glowy thing… oh, that’s our cores shining through,” Abigail smiled, “The best we’ve ever figured out? It’s just what it looks like, when it looks like how it feels.”

“Absolutely!! I’m always down to help a bro out with music. Honestly, with some of the pieces you’ve shown me, it really seems like you’re one epiphany away from something magical, dude,” Sam cheered. Sharing a grin with Ienzo, absolutely having heard one of Demyx’s reasons for a new song, Sam sighed wistfully. “Lucky guy~”

“Definitely,” Ienzo agreed, smiling softly as he tilted into Demyx’s side for a moment. 

As they all headed back to the bar seats, a bit more swaying this time, Sam nodded. “Oh, yeah! Like…open, expressive creation is a big thing for our cores, so when we do that, like, no kidding, right? ‘Course that should manifest in a visibly emotional way.” He squinted a little as he tilted to the side, balance not quiiiite all there. “Does the fact that I believe that mean that it happens? That’s like…a thing, right?”

“The internal logic of a mind, yes,” Ienzo confirmed, “But a mind’s logic isn’t exactly the same as making something up. As much as any sort of reality is defined by perception, but that’s an entire branch of philosophy on its own.”

Sam giggled a bit as he was nudged into letting the bar help stabilize him a little. “Demyx did say you were a smart cookie, but you really know a lot about a lot, huh?”

Ienzo shrugged a little. “I enjoy the process of learning.”

“He’s the brains, I’m the brawns!” Demyx said proudly.

“Pffffff.” Luis snorted in his seat.

“Okay, FINE! He’s the brains, I’m the… beauty!” Demyx grinned.

“Eh,” Luis said, tilting his hand side-to-side.

“He’s the brains and I’m the…….. One that got the guy who has the brains!” Demyx said confidently. 

Luis just snorted. Good lad, sweet of him to play along. 

“Ienzo’s dad just came back too, and that guy is also the brains, so it’s just been real brainy lately,” Demyx said, “He’s got a lot to catch up on after being gone for a year, so he’s spending a lot of time reading notes and asking everyone questions that, honestly, most of the time he sounds like he already knew the answers to. Show off.”

“Where’d your dad go off to for a year?” Abigail asked.

“No, this is like the… mind thing they’ve got going on,” Sebastian told her, “Remember? Mind prison?”

“Ooooooh yeaaaaaah. Bummer.” Abigail said, “Glad your dad’s back!”

Ienzo huffed softly, before entwining one of his arms around Demyx’s. “The person that can weaponize optimism better than anyone I’ve seen, the funny one, the creatively skilled one, the passionate one…the list can really go on.”

Sam looked up curiously as Demyx mentioned Ienzo’s dad, before he tilted his head a little. “Oh, so, like…the other version of your dad is a part of him now, right? Like Larxene is for Demyx?” There was a moment of hesitance as Sam tapped lightly on the bar before he asked, “Is it weird seeing your dad again after a year?”

Ienzo looked a little sheepish at the question, half shrugging as he traced his fingers lightly over Demyx’s wrist. “Yes and no. It’s a bit…more involved with that, considering it’s been a bit longer than that since I’ve seen my dad.”

“Annnnnd I’m lost,” Sebastian said blearily, squinting at Ienzo, “What does that mean?”

“Oh, Ienzo’s been stuck in his head a lot longer than the rest of us,” Demyx explained. 

“How much longer?” Abigail asked.

“Uh…” Luis glanced warily over at Ienzo, “That’s a complicated question. A while.”

“The whole time?” Demyx said, tilting his head curiously, “Since I’ve known him, I think. Sort of.”

Abigail blinked. “Oh! So… you guys have just met?”

“No, not really, I’ve known Ienzo for years!” Demyx grinned, “...but also I’ve known Zexion for years! I gotta introduce you guys to Zexion too, I’m dating him too.”

Ienzo looked around the beach, not really looking at anyone else as he shrugged. “‘Stuck’ is a relative term, at least as long as Demyx and I have known each other. He definitely has met me as me before recently, but it’s a bit complicated.”

Sam looked at Ienzo’s discomfort for a moment before smiling. “Doesn’t sound so complicated if you’ve gotten things sorted between yourselves, don’t have to go explaining every detail for our nosiness.” He perked, giving Demyx an intrigued look. “Oh, really!?”

ㅍ_ㅍ Yes, really, and no, before you manage to form the question, we weren’t dating when we met before, Sam, so you weren’t missing anything.

Sam blinked, before chuckling at the Chibo. “Aw man, I’m really that easy to read?”

“Zexion!” Demyx cheered, leaning over and placing a kiss against the little chibi’s cheek, “You did come! I thought you were staying in tonight?”

“WOAH!” Abigail shouted, before squinting at Zexion, “You’re so itty bitty.”

“You were right, he is like a little doll,” Sebastian told Sam.

“It’s just a form he’s choosing to wear right now for power reasons,” Luis explained, “He can change it at will, so maybe don’t actually treat him like a doll, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah, no, obvi,” Sebastian said, staring at Zexion… before reaching over to pat his head, “Cute.”

“Literally what did I just say?” Luis said dryly.

=ں=

Zexion smiled a bit at the kiss.

ㅍ_ㅍ I was, but I heard you all talking about me. I likely won’t stay, but I don’t mind stopping in for introductions.

Sam giggled a bit. “Man, you can just drop into people’s heads too? You guys are really something… But you don’t have to drop in an’dout, the more the merrier!”

ㅍ_ㅍ Mostly because Ienzo’s here, which is also another reason why I’m in this form. Considering you’re a group of inebriates right now, I elected to not needlessly confuse you all. 

Ienzo gave Zexion a searching look for a moment before explaining, “Zexion and I look really similar when he doesn’t use the chibi form. Not identical, at least anymore, but I suppose it could be confusing.”

Sebastian stared at Zexion… before reaching out with his index finger… wanting to poke his stomach– “Ey!” 

“No Touchies,” the bartender mannequin said, having lightly slapped Sebastian’s hand, Luis nodding his head approvingly.

“So, can I ask an intrusive question? It’s a super intrusive question, but considering your whole situation… how do you two, you know…divvy him up?” Abigail asked Ienzo and Zexion, gesturing to Demyx.

“What? Divvy who up? Me?” Demyx frowned, “I spend time with both of them, they don’t need to divvy anything.”

“So you do that at the same time then?” Sebastian asked, frowning as he considered that… before pouting, “Lucky bastard. Some people get everything.”

“Get what? What are we… oh!” Demyx turned red, “It’s not relevant yet!”

Zexion gave Sebastian a flat stare, before very intently watching everyone’s reactions to Abigail’s question. Taking in Ienzo’s slight confusion, and Demyx’s fluster…and sweating a little. That quite important conversation having not happened yet, despite what Zexion had implored Demyx to start. 

ㅍ_ㅍ It’ll be something to talk about, I guess. It’s not as if I have a physical body, so I do understand your curiosity.

With a small, “Oh,” as he finally got it, Ienzo hummed, tapping his chin lightly. “You can simulate physical touch incredibly convincingly, though. Interesting.”

“Ah!” Demyx groaned, putting his head in his hands, “We don’t need to stimulate–I mean simulate anything! There’s a lot happening these days! We’re busy!”

“Awww, that’s cute, you’re easily flustered, huh?” Abigail laughed, “I’ll be honest, I love that sort of thing. Ienzo, enjoy that while it lasts, it won’t be forever.”

“What is there to enjoy!?” Demyx flustered, before calling to the bartender, “I want a martini! With a cherry!”

“Very Well, My Dude,” the bartender said, starting to mix the drink.  

Ienzo smiled softly, leaning into Demyx and rubbing his back lightly. “He is right, though. Even if we were in the mindset to consider things, we are currently on a cross-country roadtrip of sorts with four other people in the same space, and that’s not even to consider the other things consuming our time.”

Sam gave them both an amused look before humming. “Oh yeah, Demyx mentioned you guys were moving to…” He looked up, trailing off, before laughing at himself. “Well, somewhere. I do not remember.”

ㅍ_ㅍ Dicea, though we have some business to attend to elsewhere before heading east properly. 

>_> So we will likely be occupied for a while.

Zexion glanced notably at Demyx. 

“Yeah, you know… c-cause otherwise? We’d be, you know,” Demyx grumbled, looking away with a notable pout, lips pursed and everything as he fidgeted in his chair, “We’d be sooooo all over each other. Like rabbits. But we’re busy! With stuff! Important stuff!”

“Sure isn’t slowing Marluxia, Lauriam, or Xaldin down,” Luis muttered around his drink.

“Okay but they’re impossible to keep up with! Who moves that quickly?! Both Marluxia AND Lauriam were only back, like, a day each before Xaldin made a move! He’s crazy!” Demyx sputtered. “Pervert old man!” 

“Hey, I’m teasing them, not you. It’s not a race.” Luis shrugged. “You’ve got your whole lives to dance around the conversation.”

“IT’S NOT GONNA TAKE OUR WHOLE LIVES, COME ON!” 

“Haha!” Abigail laughed, drunkenly leaning against Sam, “Cute! Awwww, I wish I had someone to easily fluster. I need to meet someone I didn’t literally grow up with for once.”

Okay, that got Ienzo. He had still been sipping the same drink from before ASS’s impromptu musical number, but he promptly started choking as Demyx said they’d be fucking like rabbits had they not been busy, turning bright red as he coughed into his elbow. 

Looking a little concerned, Zexion reached over to start patting Ienzo’s back, though he gave Luis and Demyx a dry look. 

ㅍ_ㅍ Is that even a surprise, though? They may have finally put a name on things, which I am glad for since it seemed to be bothering Lauriam quite a lot, but…

≖_≖ It’s not as if this is a new dynamic. Even I know those three have been a dynamic for years. 

Meaning, that if anyone had been fucking like rabbits at any time, it was them. 

Sam looked fascinated by the new gossip, before he snorted, leaning back towards Abigail. “Hey, you always know I’m up for being practice~ I bet you can definitely get me red and stuttering, Abby.”

“Don’t tempt me, Sammy-boy~” Abigail smirked, reaching over and tracing her finger down his cheek and around his chin, “I’d do terrible, lecherous things to you. I’d get Sebastian to help too.”

“Pfff,” Sebastian snickered around his drink, “Why am I suddenly involved?”

“Why not!? This is great booze. I feel so in touch with all of me, right now. Like I’m one with the universe, and wholly know myself… and considering we’re in your brain, Sam, that means I’m one with you.” Abigail’s eyes widened. “Am I already pegging you? Emotionally?”

“I’m very sorry for how sober you’re going to be when you leave this place, and have to grapple with your emotional pegging theory.” Luis smirked. He wasn’t taken too off guard by any of this. Alcohol made people if not strictly randier, then usually more open to just making off-hand, unguarded comments. He was used to this bit of it.

Sam’s gaze was fixed to Abigail as she traced his face, hanging on every word. And, as intended, he did start blushing a bit, though, maybe unfortunately for what Abigail wanted, he just started grinning, before draping himself over Sebastian. “...Baaaaaaaas, can we spend the night tonight?”

Ienzo and Zexion shared a look, starting to feel like this was somewhere they shouldn’t be. 

Looking over at Luis, Sam laughed a bit. “Oh dude, we were already drinking before this, so it’s not gonna be sober sober. I have had just…so many shots tonight.” Whining a little, Sam fell out of his seat and plopped his head on Abigail’s knees. “You guys are so meaaaaaaan, I’m not that bad I really had to take every penalty shot legit, right?!”

Drinking wasn’t really a ‘punishment’ in the pool game they had been playing, but rather an idea that the loser, accidentally sinking others’ balls or the cue ball, would have an edge by unlocking their divine core. 

Sam had gained no such edge, and his core was certainly unlocked. 

Demyx gave Sam a curious, somewhat bewildered look. He was joking, right? Yeah, obviously. Right?

Sebastian blinked, watching Sam get on his knees for Abigail, who giggled in the most aggressive manner… and asked, “What would I be doing?”

“Oh, plenty,” Abigail said.

“Whelp! It’s getting kind of late isn’t it fellas?” Luis said, looking down at his wrist like it had a watch on it, “We have a long day of traveling tomorrow. Moooore traveling.” 

“I mean, most of us don’t move much during the day,” Demyx said, still somehow not picking up on the main issue.

“Noooooooooo,” Sam tearfully whined, taking being ignored as his friends saying, uh, absolutely every shot you took was your own fault, you’re terrible at pool, Sam. AND HE WAS! It wasn’t fair! He played it…well, not just as much as them, some days Sam didn’t go out to the saloon that they did because he was hanging out with Vincent, but he still played a lot! How was he still the worst?!

Ienzo started sweating a little, and Zexion took the hand up to be able to whisper in Demyx’s ear. 

ㄱ//_//ㄱ Sunshine, they’re talking about fucking, and I can feel Sam is absolutely into it. We should go.

Demyx’s eyes widened into saucers. 

That was NOT how sex started in the brothel shows! God it was so hard to keep up with what was going on! It was like everyone else was speaking a different language than him, fuck!

Abigail was gently cooing at the tearful Sam as she ran her hands through his hair, while Sebastian glanced at the others, taking in their body language as he asked, “Are you guys leaving then? It was nice to meet you.”

“Same to you. Again, be ready, once we’re gone, so is my construct. It can be a bit dizzying, the sudden shift in alcohol levels,” Luis warned, getting up and walking over to Demyx, peering at his flabbergasted expression. “We need to talk, lad. I’ve clearly missed something with you.”

“Uh, uh… Sam?? Bye?” Demyx called, feeling very much like he was leaving his friend to the leopards. They were totally going to eat him. They were circling him and everything.

As Ienzo and Zexion echoed the ‘nice to meet you’s, ‘thanks for having us’s, Sam gasped before scrambling up, wincing a little as he knocked his head against the top of the bar, but it didn’t stop him from drawing his four guests into a hug. The logic of his mind completely smashed enough to manage a little twirl with them. 

“Thanks for hangin’ out! This was fun!! I’ll see you next practice, Demyx!” Sam cheered, grinning brightly at them. 

“They’re gonna eat that poor guy alive,” Demyx whispered, “Later!”

And when the visitors were gone… there was an odd, spinning feeling for a second. It wasn’t sobriety, they had all been drunk before they arrived, but Luis’ last few drinks had been starting to lead them from drunk to obliterated, and now they had been forcefully reversed back to drunk, to the point where Sebastian covered his mouth and made a small gagging sound, and Abigail rubbed her temples and closed her eyes as she said, “Ooooh, can we open our eyes? I feel–”

-

“--weird,” Abigail said, opening her eyes in Sebastian’s basement. “Oh that was a strange feeling.”

“I need another drink,” Sebastian groaned, rubbing his eyes as he straightened up on the couch, “That was like that time you jerks wouldn’t let me off the merry-go-round at the park.”

“My father never forgave me for getting puke on that dress,” Abigail recalled. 

“Gah,” Sam said softly, bracing against the couch for a moment as his head spun, not really realizing that he was breathing heavily from the Empathetic heavy lifting he wasn’t exactly used to. It helped a lot that three (four?) stronger Empaths were supporting themselves in his head! But Sam reeeeally wasn’t used to…well, having more than Sebastian and Abigail ever fully connecting to him. Or Miku and Demyx, though Amaina was there too, but Sam never really noticed her presence other than her being right in front of him, but--

“Hey, so, what’d you think?” Sam asked, grinning as he started to take his legs off Abigail’s lap. “First time I’ve met Luis and Ienzo, but they’re all cool, right?”

“Demyx is cute, Ienzo is pretty cool in a super smart sort of way,” Abigail said, playfully wrapping her arms around Sam’s legs and pulling them back on her lap, “Hey, stay here for a second~ Luis was harder to get a read on, I think he felt uncomfortable. I get the sense he wasn’t sure what could bring to the conversation.”

“Do you guys want water too? I felt like we were doing okay on water to not be dead tomorrow, but that whole thing has me really confused on if we’ve kept up with water or not enough,” Sebastian said, tapping Sam’s shoulder, “Lift up, let me out, I’m gonna get us water.”

Meanwhile, Abigail was playing with Sam’s legs, running her fingernails up and down his legs, as she smirked down at him. “Luis was wrong about one thing. I’m not regretting the existential pegging question.”

Sam made a pleased sound as he wasn’t evicted--from one direction, at least--before he nodded. “Demyx hypes up Ienzo and Zexion so much I felt like I wasn’t that surprised, but they’re cool! Aw, man, I’m so happy for them, he seemed a little, like…not exactly bummed out, but wistful about relationships before? They seem like a good group.”

“And Luis does seem kinda shy. His construct is insane, and I get the vibe that he can be really fun when he’s comfortable? Hopefully he still had a good time,” Sam mused, even as he pushed himself up a bit to free Sebastian, giving him a thumbs up for more water. Even if he didn’t need more because of drinking more, he definitely needed some just for exertion. 

…though he wasn’t exactly getting much calmer, with the sparks that danced through his skin at Abigail’s touch. His stomach tightening a little at that smirk, a grin started growing on Sam’s face. “...yeah? So your core wasn’t pulling something that makes no sense now?”

“There was something about seeing the Demyx guy get so flustered about it that made me realize it was genuinely on my mind,” Abigail admitted, her smile surprisingly calm and easy, for staring down at one of her best friends and casually admitting she genuinely wanted to fuck him, “The cheerleading song didn’t help anything either. You’re such a flirt, when your core is showing… and if my core is flashing back to it?”

Abigail placed a hand higher on Sam’s thigh, but gently took his hand with her other one and, straightening his index finger with her thumb, placed her darkly-painted lips around it to the base of Sam’s knuckle, placing the top of her tongue at the underside of his finger and slowly sucking it back as her hand on his thigh boldly and firmly traveled upwards, squeezing his inner thigh as her knuckles brushed against the curve of his bulge… 

Abigail smirked as she lightly bit at the edge of his finger, before placing a light kiss against its tip, winking at Sam. “Who am I to ignore it?”

“Uuuuh,” Sebastian said, having come back with waters and another bottle of whiskey, “Should I just go and let you two fuck each other? You look like you’re about to ravage him, Abs.”

“Hell no! Come here and ravage Sam with me! It’s a ravaging Sam kinda night!” Abigail insisted cheerfully, though she glanced down at Sam, “If you want to be ravaged?”

It was far, far, faaar from the first time Sam had flirted with Abigail and Sebastian. Even further from the first time his core had flirted with them. It wasn’t really sure when his core had become flirt central, but, well, who was he to dismiss the wisdom his divine core was trying to show?

But in any sense of romance or sexuality, how one person felt about it was only half of the equation, so it usually just remained flirts. 

Usually was a word doing heavy lifting. 

Sam let out a shaky little breath as Abigail went down on his finger, sliding her hand up his thigh, and he couldn’t help but lean towards her a bit, parting his legs while (obediently) keeping them on her lap, and he swallowed hard as she bit the tip, gaze fixated on her. 

Though, he let out a laugh as Sebastian returned. “Dude, it’s your house! That’d be so lame to kick you out! And I,” he winked at both of them, blushing a bit and his semi visible through his pants, “aaaaabsolutely want to be ravaged. Abby-Seb-lutely, you could say.”

“Okay, but we’re not punning our way through sex, that’s just not happening,” Sebastian said, going to place the drinks on the coffee table, sitting down next to it with a plop, “Also, I’m mixing my shots with coffee then. Otherwise I’m going to get sleepy and out of it.”

“Aren’t you a virgin, Seb?” Abigail asked, “I sort of thought you’d be more excited or maybe nervous–”

“It’s not like I was dying to lose my virginity,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes as he pulled out a thermos of coffee that he had brought with him from the kitchenette his family had in the basement, a small thing that was literally just meant to be an elaborate pantry for game nights in the rec room. “I’m not gonna spaz out about it. It’s just sex, I wasn’t avoiding it, just wasn’t seeking it out either.”

“I remember a 16-year-old Sebastian whining that he was going to die old and alone.” Abigail smirked. 

“That kid was having FOMO, and I refuse to take responsibility for what he said.” Sebastian huffed, before glancing at Sam… or, well, south of Sam, as he said, “You got him hard, Abigail.”

“What!? Already!?” Abigail said, looking down and noticing a massive tent was starting to form, “Oh, whoops, my bad. I wasn’t ready to start! I need my pegging stuff!”

“Pushing my hard limits already, huh?” Sam snickered, before worming his back across the couch cushions to reach out to Sebastian, as he sat on the floor. Giving him an affectionate, excited look as he tucked some hair behind an ear. “Good, I’m excited for that, but we don’t have to push yours, man. Don’t think we’d be able to pressure you into it anyway! But…so you know.”

Sam trusted Sebastian if he said he wasn’t, like, idolizing his first time or scared of it, but still! He didn’t want to push his bestie into anything.

Just because Sam was very into it. 

“What do you mean ‘already’?!” Sam huffed, whining, “You can’t feel me up and then be surprised when it turns me on!” Whining more, Sam flopped his head back on the couch, though he couldn’t keep a couple chuckles from breaking through. “You’re planning on hiking it all the way to your house?”

“I was thinking about it!” Abigail pouted, before stretching out against the back of the couch, letting her head lay back on it as she sighed, “It’s a visual thing for me. Nothing gets me going like putting something into someone and finding just the right spot and tempo to just make them come undone. It’s worth all the effort, just for the excitement of it all.”

“She says, like someone who’s had sex more than twice,” Sebastian said.

“That first time was magical. I’m always chasing that high,” Abigail said, her eyes sparkling with a memory… before she pouted, “Second time not so much.”

“To be fair to that guy, it always sounded like you brought up the ‘pegging’ part of it way too late,” Sebastian said, “Just because the first guy loved it doesn’t mean everyone does. I’m still surprised second guy even went along with it for as long as he did.”

“I thought I was being obvious! I told him I was going to put him on his back and make him see stars, what did he think I was going to do!?”

“Ride him, probably.” Sebastian snickered, this an old conversation between them now as Abigail just stuck her tongue out at him. “Just try it a different way this time, we don’t have any pegging stuff.”

Abigail pouted, looking around the room as Sebastian scooted on his knees over to Sam’s reach out, placing his chin on the couch cushion to look up at Sam. “You’re so drunk and horny, huh?” Sebastian asked Sam. “But you’re usually touchy when you’re fully your core self. You sure you won’t regret this when you’re fully Sam again? You’re not pressuring me, but we can stop if your core is being an idiot right now.””

“I’m not saying it doesn’t sound hot,” Sam snorted, having heard the stories plenty of times by now, “I’m just pointing out it’s a bit of a walk back to town. Fiiiiiilled with opportunities to run into any of our parents.”

…well, probably not Sam’s. Jodi tended to stay home Friday nights. Which was nice for Sam, because it meant he could go full out and not have to worry about his divine core getting him back home to make sure his little brother wasn’t alone in the house, but… He did ask if there were weeks where she wanted to…do. Anything. But his mom would just laugh and tell him to go have fun. 

But Sebastian’s folks went out so regularly that he usually walked back home with them if they all went to the saloon, and Abigail’s dad was there most Fridays too. Sooooo~

“Pshaw,” Sam playfully scoffed, grinning that Sebastian came closer, “I’d be down for this core or not, I’m not jumping into something I’m gonna freak about in the morning. And it’s not like it’s the first time the three of us have fooled around, you know?” Sam bounced his eyebrows playfully, before laughing, leaning forward to kiss Sebastian’s forehead. “Though thanks for checking in~ That’s part of why I know all of me is super down.”

“Kissing feels a little different from what I think Abigail has in mind for us,” Sebastian pointed out dryly, glancing up at Abigail and following her line of sight, “...No? No.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Abigail squeaked, looking a bit embarrassed as she tore her eyes away from the pool cues. “B-but really, what’s the difference between that and a dildo!?”

“The difference is we’re not 12 and desperate,” Sebastian said, pouring himself another shot, “Also, I don’t know how to prove this, but instinctively I want to say we shouldn’t shove anything wooden up Sam. Just call it Iony whispering ‘don’t be a dumbass’ in my ear.”

“I’m almost certain I’ve seen wooden dildos,” Abigail said, “...in textbooks. From the olden days.”

“Did they come with footnote warnings about splinters? Maybe Sam doesn’t want anything shoved up his ass anyway. Hey, Sam, do you want us to shove things up your ass?” Sebastain asked, pouring two more shots and passing them to his friends. “Or do you want to do some shoving? Or rubbing? We have options.”

Sam looked baffled for a good few beats, before finally catching onto what Sebastian and Abigail were talking about, his eyes widening as he quickly put his arms up in an X. “Uhhhh, yeah, vetoing that too. I wanna be wrecked~” he bounced his eyebrows, before grimacing, “not wrecked.”

“Though I dunno,” Sam shrugged, “As long as, like, you put a condom over it? Something wooden would be basically the same, right?” 

Taking the offered shot, Sam happily, thoughtlessly raised it before humming in thought. “I think I’d be down for anything, though I know Abby’s pegging thing so I kinda assumed stuff was going up my ass. Kinda easier that way for more options if you two really were planning on teaming up,” he snickered.

“Oh! I’ve got it!” Abigail said, lifting up her shot excitedly, it only spilling out over the side a little bit as she pointed dramatically at Sebastian, “YOU will be my dildo!”

“Hmmmm,” Sebastian squinted at her, “...elaborate.”

“Oh, shit, really putting me on the spot here,” Abigail muttered, taking down her shot, before cheering with a satisfied smack of her lips, the whiskey burning going down as she slammed her shot down… before saying, “Alright! By that I mean I’m going to get his ass ready, and then you’re going to plunder that booty in my stead! We’ll figure it out as we go, trust me, this is a foolproof plan!”

“I hear zero plan beyond ‘Sebastain fucks Sam’, but alright,” Sebastain said, with a shrug, “I’m down for at least the one part of the ‘plan’ you’ve got.”

And with that, Sebastian sat straighter on his heels, leaning over Sam and tilting his head towards himself, leaning in to kiss him. 

Abigail enjoyed the sight for a moment… before blanching. “Do we have lube!?”

“Augh,” Sebastian groaned, resting his head on Sam’s forehead, “...actually, I think I do. Do those things expire? Let me go grab it from my room.” 

Sam giggled a bit, looking over his friends fondly. “You know, that juuuust sounds like it might work. Another brilliant idea, Abigail~”

And one they were all on board for, as Sam went along with Sebastian’s nudge and kissed him with a happy hum, the taste of booze between their lips a divine reminder of the oneness between them all. And the taste of Sebastian a reminder of Sebastian, as Sam kissed at his bottom lip, bringing a hand up to cradle Sebastian’s head…

And giving a chuckle as they remembered one more item of prep. Trailing his fingers down Sebastian’s neck and rubbing the muscles there lightly. “Think we should move the party to your room? Or we good out here?”

“The bed will probably be easier, and if the folks come home? It’d be nice to have one more wall between us and them hearing us,” Sebastian admitted, standing up with a stretch before grabbing Sam’s hands, helping him up and off of Abigail, “I mean, I doubt they’ll care, but at the same time… mortifying.”

“Agreed,” Abigail said, getting up with a hop and collecting the drinks, the three heading to Sebastian’s room. 

It was literally just the far end of the basement. Sebastian’s room hadn’t always been his room, he had used to have a room on the second floor. But as a gift for his fifteenth birthday, his parents had built a wall halfway through the rec room and converted the space into a bedroom, with essentially a blank check to make as much noise as he wanted to.

This was, in part, because Sebastian constantly had over both a band, and also, that the individual members of that band were both loud, as Abigail cheered, bouncing onto the bed as she said, “What did that blond say? We’re going to fuck like rabbits!” 

“Shout it louder, maybe the neighbors didn’t hear.” Sebastian snickered, heading over to his record player and calling back, “Any music requests?”

“Nothing slow,” Abigail said, gesturing for Sam to come over as she wiggled happily on the bed, “High energy!”

“Good to have that embarrassment precaution,” Sam laughed, stumbling a bit as Sebastian pulled him up, but he just found it funny as he put an arm around Sebastian, nuzzling him as they walked the long, arduous, grueling trek all, like, maybe twenty feet over to his room. A sacred place that, of the three of them, was the only room not literally right next to their parents’. 

“We’ll just have to make up for what Demyx and his boyfriends can’t do~” Sam laughed, before rolling his eyes as he launched himself onto Sebastian’s bed, putting his arms around Abigail and continuing to roll until he’d basically maneuvered her on top of him, giving her a peck. 

“Oh, what about that…aw dude, I’m gonna sound dumb, but I only remember it as those dudes singing like, ‘COCAINE, KETAMINE, SPEED, AND AMPHETAMINE’, that record was hype,” Sam suggested, as he started kissing down Abigail’s neck. 

“I know the one you’re talking about, hold on,” Sebastian said, looking through his collection of records–the three of them had been buying records basically since the first week they had become available on the island near their town, though it took a day trip to the city to see what new ones had come out–and pulling it out, letting the record start and turning up the volume a bit. 

It was loud, but the three were used to talking and chilling out in loud environments, especially when it came to music. Abigail, straddling Sam’s hips, felt his hard on press against the curves of her backside, and she rolled her hips back into it a bit as she pressed down on him, kissing him as she carded her hands through his hair, though she laughed and tilted her head accommodatingly as he kissed down her neck. “Mmm~ We’re going to have to keep that mouth nice and busy, hm? Sebastian, how do you think we should keep Sam here occupied while I play with the lube?”

“I feel like you’re leading me to a specific answer. Trust me, Abs, you’ve already thought this through more than I have, just tell me what you’re thinking,” Sebastian said, going into his nightstand and pulling out a small bottle, reading it over. “...we’re good! It does have an expiration date, but we’re still a few years off. I tried using this all of once and just never got into it,” Sebastian said, passing Abigail the lube.

She caught it, but pouted. “Come on, it can’t just be me telling you guys what I want to do. You’ve had dirty fantasies! Make suggestions!”

“I suggest you tell me what you had in mind,” Sebastian said, plopping down on the bed, resting on his arms.

“Let Sam suck your dick while I prep him,” Abigail said, rolling her eyes, “Or something, I’m just saying, have fun with it!”

Sam laughed against Abigail’s skin as the music started up, the thrashy, upbeat beat feeling perfect as he groaned, hips tilting up against Abigail’s as hers went down. Though, he didn’t linger in the bliss of friction for too long, happily going back to Abigail’s neck, sucking lightly against her pulse. 

And farther down as she looked up to catch the lube, kissing against her collarbones above the neckline of her shirt before he grinned at his friends. “Absolutely tower me~ Aw dang, I’d been thinking about getting another piercing too, would’ve been fun with a tongue piercing, eh, Bas?” Sam winked, pressing his tongue against his lip piercings.

“Ah! But! Iiiiif we’re gettin’ stuff ready…” Sam wiggled his hips under Abigail a bit, looking delighted every time his breath caught, before he managed to reach into his pocket and pull out his key finder, shaking it a bit to make the packets of condoms fall out. “I mean, you guys know, but gotta insist on my big Have To.”

It wasn’t like Sebastian could actually get him knocked up, but as the kid of an accidental pregnancy? Sam didn’t fuck around with being prepared. 

“You’re gonna need to wear one too,” Abigail decided, getting off of Sam’s hips and tapping lightly at the top of his erection, “If I don’t get to peg, I at least get to ride.”

“I thought you weren’t into that? Isn’t that what went wrong with guy number two?” Sebastian asked, starting to take off his clothes. Pulling his hoody over his head and letting it fall onto the floor, unbuttoning his jeans as he said, “You barely even felt anything?”

“I think I was just so not horny by that point that it became a chore,” Abigail said, “Watching him whine and complain through my favorite thing was a pretty bad buzzkill, I mostly just wanted to finish and leave by that point. I think it’d be different while watching you two at the same time.”

“Oooooh, so this isn’t a ‘taking turns’ situation,” Sebastian realized, kicking off his socks and shoes, but glancing at the door, “Think I should leave my jeans on just in case I need to make a mad-dash to the door if someone knocks?”

“Your folks aren’t even going to be home till like midnight, what are you so worried about?” Abigail asked, shrugging off her jacket and neatly laying it over a chair. 

“Again, I will die if they see anything. My mom will never let me forget it. She’ll laugh about it forever,” Sebastian said dryly, one hundred percent certain. “She’ll think it’s the cutest story to tell people twenty years from now. The ‘time I found my son playing around with his friends, but in that way.’ Immediate death.”

Sam’s eyes sparkled as he gave Abigail an excited look. “Dude, you two are actually going to wreck me. Ha! Guess you’re getting the doubled luck you were complaining about earlier, Bas!” Both his friends on him at once? His brain was going to turn to goo.

Very much appreciating the view of each of them getting undressed, Sam just watched for a moment, his gaze roving, before quickly getting into action himself. Making a little relieved noise as he unbuttoned his jeans and wriggled them off, pulling his jacket and shirt off in one go, albeit getting lost within them for a second. 

Though, focused more on his clothes, he off-handedly mentioned, “Eh, you get used to living with the mortification after a while.”

“See, that story? That story specifically is why I’m leaving my jeans on,” Sebastian decided, “If I hear someone coming down? I’m throwing my jeans back up and body-slamming the door, I swear.”

“What happened again? This was the summer I went abroad, right?” Abigail asked, pulling her shirt over her head and again folding it over the chair, before wiggling out of her boots and her pants, “I just remember Sam spazzing out every time someone brought it up for a while.”

Sam snorted, rolling his eyes. “At least your folks actually knock. That’s plenty of warning.”

Sighing with a beleaguered groan, Sam pouted over at his friends. “So, like, you know my mom just walks in on me if I make literally any noise that isn’t music practice, right? You know this, I know this, it’s a known thing, I’ve come to terms with making the most of my time when she’s at worship or hanging out with your mom, Abby.”

Despite saying that he’d come to terms with the embarrassment, Sam still flushed, pouting more. “I tooootally thought I was in the clear, she was out, Vincent was hanging with Jas, Penny and I were just talking. Aaaaaand talking turned into more.” Rolling his eyes, Sam flopped back on Sebastian’s bed. “Mom literally walked in while I was between Penny’s thighs. Penny didn’t talk to me for like two weeks because she just got so embarrassed she couldn’t speak, Vince asked if he needed to beat me up if I did something mean.”

“You know, you’re right,” Sam groaned, covering his face with his hands, “Full power to the instant door slams.”

“Oh no!” Abigail laughed, adjusting her panties before deciding to just pull them down, though they were abandoned on the floor, her bra left on as she tightened the straps around her shoulders, “No wonder Penny wouldn’t tell me what happened! Awww, poor girl, that is not the person who can laugh off being caught. She’s already so shy about that sort of thing, I can’t even imagine. Also, I’m leaving my bra on, I don’t like the way my boobs flop everywhere when I’m on top. If you guys want some nipple action, you’re gonna have to enjoy them through the lace.”

“Fine with me,” Sebastian said, reaching into his boxers and… “Okay, this part is kind of embarrassing,” Sebastian admitted, “If I have a weird dick, just no one tell me, alright? I’m living in blissful ignorance.” He pulled his cock out, still pretty limp.

“Totally normal, don’t even worry about it!” Abigail said, giving Sebastain a thumbs up, who sighed slightly in relief, “Be warned, Sam is an outlier and should not be considered part of the study!”

“What does that mean–oh, come on!” Sebastian whined, looking down at Sam, “Rude.” 

“I’m teasing, he’s just erect,” Abigail laughed, reaching over and lightly grabbing Sam’s dick, starting to rub her thumb up its base, “...well, it’s maybe a little more than just that he’s erect. I’m certainly not complaining.”

“Yeah,” Sam snorted softly, “I think that’s what made it waaaaaay worse than any time Mom’s just caught me jackin’ it, you know? I felt terrible for how upset she got. So, uh.” Finally lifting his hands off his face, he gave Sebastian a cheeky smile. “Sorry not sorry, for my ulterior motives in asking to be somewhere else if the night’s action-packed.”

The smile softened into fondness as Sebastian fully dropped trou, though that was about as considerate as Sam was, before he let out a wolf whistle. Clearly checking Sebastian out. “Nice cock, bro!”

Though, he just laughed through a pleasured sigh as Abigail started touching him. “Good? I think I’d just have to curl into a ball of shame if you said my dick was big enough to complain about. I’d just go full service-hole until the end of time.”

“Nice cock bro, he says,” Sebastain said dryly, shuffling onto the bed, his movement a little awkward and stilted as his jeans still hung around the upper part of his ass, and more than that, he wasn’t sure where to put himself. Eventually settling on putting his knees on either side of Sam’s head, still looking mildly confused even as he teased, “He’s got a python in his pants, but sure, mine’s ‘nice’.”

“Guys put too much weight onto the whole dick size thing. It’s not like I’m comparing clit size with the girls in the locker,” Abigail said, “It doesn’t change too much either way.”

“One,” Sebastian said, “Boobs. Girls compare boob sizes, for the exact same reason guys are comparing cock sizes. Two, how would you know, you’ve literally only let one guy put it in–”

“I have dildos!”

“That was literally gonna be point number three for me, if size doesn’t matter, why do you have dildos and peg toys that are literally sorted by size in your drawers?” Sebastian asked, his expression entirely neutral as he said, “I’m not saying I have a bad cock. I am saying people are absolutely judging. Including you.”

“I have different sizes for different experiences,” Abigail argued, “None of them are ‘better’, they’re just different! Speaking of, if we ever do this again, Sam? You’re absolutely just a service-hole next time.” Abigail smirked, rubbing her hand up his cock and over his lower waist, pressing into his stomach lightly. “I have a new belt extension that I’ve been dying to try out on someone. I bet I could feel it here~” she said, lightly rubbing circles a bit below his belly button. 

“Size doesn’t matter, she says,” Sebastian grumbled.

“Come ooooon,” Sam laughed, looking up adoringly at Sebastian as he nuzzled a cheek into Sebastian’s thigh, “It is! Dude, I can’t wait to get my mouth around you, though, uh…” he glanced amusedly down at Abigail, “Think I should turn over for that. I’d try, man, but I think this angle’s just gonna choke me.”

Nodding along with Sebastian’s points--he agreed somewhat, yeah, size didn’t really matter, but people definitely noticed--Sam, well…

He flushed hard as Abigail traced up his lower stomach, fingers trailing over his scars before rubbing circles as she brushed by his cock, swallowing noticeably. “Way to hype things up,” he laughed, though the sound was noticeably strained, “though maybe jumping the crossbolt a little? We still have alllll night ahead of us yet.”

“So!” he said, slowly starting to push himself up, but there was something a little…expectant, in the way Sam glanced to each of them. Something…eager. Obedient. A hesitation before he really flipped himself over. “Wanna get to it?”

Sebastian smiled lightly, reaching over to pet Sam’s hair a bit, scratching lightly at the side… before looking up at Abigail. “Are we ready?”

“Geeez, this is gonna be me guiding you through this whole thing, isn’t it?” Abigail smirked, taking the lube bottle and battering it back and forth between Sam’s thighs, encouraging him to widen his stance a little. “Alright, fine, I’ll embrace my role here. Yes, we’re starting. And Sam here,” Abigail said, running her hand up Sam’s back, the move exploring and eager to rub against the dip of his spine, ending with her hand in the back of his hair and gently but firmly directing his head towards Sebastain’s cock, “Is gonna get you all ready, while I get him ready. Got it!? We’ve got our game plan?” 

She placed a quick, smacking kiss on the back of Sam’s neck, before shuffling back and, with a giggle, lightly slapping Sam’s ass. “Get to work! Gotta put that work, work, work in! If you want him to fuck you silly in a bit!”

Sebastian caught Sam’s eyes and rolled his eyes at their friend, before shrugging, leaning back and looking absolutely lazy about all of this as he said, “You heard her. Gotta get to work, Sam, boss’s orders.”

“I am the boss, thank you~” Abigail sang-song, squirting the lube onto her fingers.

On his elbows and knees--spreading them wider at Abigail’s prompt--Sam beamed brightly before lowering his head towards Sebastian’s dick, kissing his thighs and smiling a little more at the kiss against his neck. “Aye, aye, captain~” he agreed, before glancing up fondly at Sebastian. “You can just say to, too, but tap my shoulders twice if you need me to back off, okay?”

With another nuzzle against Sebastian’s legs, Sam dove in, at first just entirely taking the whole of Sebastian’s cock into his mouth. An enthusiasm that was entirely Sam, yeah, but also to get a size judgment (yeah, he could do this). Then, as he pulled back, another benefit being instant spit, he reached forward to start gently stroking Sebastian from his base, as his mouth focused on his tip. Slowly working from both ends to the middle.

“O-oh.” Sebastian jumped, some of his calm, aloof nature startled out of him, like he hadn’t entirely believed Sam was about to do that. “That’s… geez.”

“Feels weird, right?” Abigail said, warming up her hands by rubbing her fingers against her own palm, heating up the lube a bit, before lightly pressing her finger against the pucker of Sam’s asshole, pressing against it gently to mostly warn him she was there, before slowly, carefully pushing in. “There’s always that moment of ‘someone else is touching me somewhere no one ever touches’ weirdness. It’s alright if it doesn’t feel amazing, immediately, just let yourself relax first… that’s the same for you, Sam! Your asshole’s trying to break my joint already! Do you not play with this place?”

There was an offended hum from Sam--who was trying to relax, thank you very much!--before he pulled off of Sebastian to pout back at Abigail. “Sometimes! Sorry not everyone has a giant dildo collection, and my wrists start hurting from the angle after a while! And if we’re not getting your stuff, I didn’t think we’d go out to get poppers either. Just gimme a sec~”

Huffing a little--mostly performatively--Sam nuzzled against Sebastian’s thigh a bit before looking up at him. “You still good for me, dude?”

“Gonna absolutely break my hand at this rate. He’s gonna flex his asshole and just snap,” Abigail said, lightly rubbing her finger around the immediate insides of his walls, not really able to get any deeper yet. It’d take her a bit to open him up properly, honestly. 

Sebastian took a steadying breath–somehow feeling cool air on his dick again, after it had been warmed against Sam’s tongue, was an even more intense feeling–before he smiled lightly at Sam. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I don’t think I can turn off the sarcastic comments even in the middle of getting my dick sucked, it’s a bit of a condition of mine. I only know how to engage with things with sarcastic comments and dry wit.”

“That’s fine, Seb, but you have to make sure to give Sam more than that. If you’re feeling a little noise coming in? Play it up! It’s encouraging, we like it!” Abigail said, before cheering, “I got it to the next knuckle! Hand unbroken!”

Sam chuckled fondly. “I wouldn’t expect otherwise, man, I love it about you. And I am all about noises,” he winked, before his expression softened again, “but I get feelin’ self-conscious about it. Just do what’s comffff--” A wobble went through Sam’s face as he shivered, before letting out a heavy breath, “c-comfy, man.”

That was absolutely an indication of what Abigail was celebrating, but Sam didn’t linger much longer for her to draw out more noises from him, as he went back down on Sebastian. Moving a little slower this time to acclimate his friend, though he adjusted his stance a little to rest on his elbow higher up, able to touch and trace shapes around Sebastian’s hip and the side of his ass. 

Sebastian let out another little startled sigh, but this was less of a jolt this time, as he adjusted to the feeling of Sam on him. Resting his hands on Sam’s shoulders and back, it felt like a very odd hug, if one part of the hug was firmly around Sebastian’s cock. “Mmmm…okay, that’s, o-ooh,” a shiver went up Sebastian’s spine as Sam ducked his head low again, Sebastian able to appreciate more this time the feeling of his throat briefly swallowing around him before easing back again, “that’s good. What do I do if it just pops off on its own? It might.” 

“You mean if you cum? Just don’t do it down Sam’s throat, that’s rude. Give him a warning,” Abigail said, pulling her finger out and adding more lube to her fingers, before pushing it back in, this time the finger going in much easier as Sam’s ass softened at the attention, “Also, the music is so distracting, I keep wanting to laugh.”

Sebastian smirked lightly. “Sorry, I forgot how many joke songs these guys have on their album. Still can’t argue it’s not high-octane though,” he said, as the group enthusiastically and heatedly described fighting off various birds, starting with doves and pigeons and then slowly realizing they were outmatched as geese and ostriches entered the picture, “I don’t think any of us are in the position to go and change it, so just live with it, I guess.”

Abigail snickered, but took a moment to enjoy the view she had. Sam’s little head bobs at the end of a long line of back and ass, burying himself in between Sebastian’s legs, who had this glazed, red-pinked look on his face that Abigail would bet a thousand gold on that he had no idea he was wearing right now, while he stared down at Sam. 

It made her excited, warm arousal flooding her stomach and up her chest as she watched it… which was mostly what motivated her to take her second finger and sort of shimmy it in, grabbing Sam’s dick and rubbing it to sort of ease and distract from the additional finger pressure as she massaged it down towards the bed. 

Sam smiled a little to himself as he felt Sebastian start to relax, heard, indeed, little sounds of pleasure. By now he was warmed up a bit--maybe more than a bit--so Sam could bob over more of his dick more easily, moving his hand farther down the base of Sebastian’s dick and making up for that space with his mouth. Though, he gave an agreeing hum as Abigail passed on some tips. 

Suuuure, he wouldn’t be pissed or anything if Sebastian shot down his throat, but they’d probably need to pause for a sec for Sam to hack up a lung. Didn’t really follow the vibe of the night, even if that vibe was playful. 

Flatting his tongue against the bottom of Sebastian’s cock, Sam laved up it, before flexing as he got to his head, pressing against the vein there as he hollowed his cheeks slightly…before there was a completely unpurposeful movement back down a bit as he shuddered, his back bowing a bit as a whine was able to surface above the volume of the music. 

“Ungh…” Sebastian groaned, feeling like his body was melting inwards towards his hips, like the whole thing was just collapsing towards one central spot, his fingers digging into Sam’s back a bit… before he startled, “Oh, did I hurt you?”

“No, that was me! My bad, sorry-sorry-sorry!” Abigail called, stilling her fingers in his ass but increasing the pressure around his dick, letting him adjust to the stretch while pumping him full of pleasure. Literally. “...you guys ever think about how a guy's dick is like literally using a lever to pump him full of endorphins? Like drawing water from a well?”

“No?” Sebastian said.

“I’m just saying, there’s something there. That’s a metaphor, or something,” Abigail said, lightly rubbing her thumb against Sam’s ass as she said, “We good, Sam?”

“Nn-mm,” Sam grunted around Sebastian’s dick, patting his side in reassurance. It hadn’t been oh shit stop bad, but it had been a little too much too fast. Shit, maybe Abigail was right, maybe he should work on his ass more. 

…uuuuugh but he needed his hands for muuuuusic and the wrist cramps suuuuuucked!

Well, at least Abigail was willing to be patient somewhat, and as Sam got his flow on Sebastian back, though with some heavier breathing, he hummed, “Mm-hmm!”, his hips even canting a little against her fingers, well, from both ends. 

Sebastian groaned again, Sam back to work on him. His skin was starting to heat up and he leaned back on the bed after a bit, his stomach and chest stretching tightly against his ribcage as admitted, “Fuck, mmmm… I need, um… Sam, I need you to stop. Or I’m gonna cum.”

“You can if you want, it’s gonna take a bit of time to get Sam open, you’ll probably be ready by the time he is,” Abigail said, testingly thrusting her fingers in and out again, leaving his dick alone now that the tension in Sam’s ass seemed to be more just reflexive then spasms of pain now. 

“I can?” Seb asked a little dizzily, “You sure?”

“Sure! Paint him white!” Abigail said enthusiastically. 

“Paint him…?” Sebastian asked, his glazed expression now just pinching in confusion again. 

Sam did stop at Sebastian’s word, not coaxing for more even with Abigail’s encouragement. He was fine with it, but…uh, well, while they were talking he just caught his breath for a moment, trying to keep relaxed but feeling himself clench slightly every time Abigail pushed her fingers in deeper.

And when he looked back up at Sebastian with a grin, it was with flushed cheeks and a slightly glazed expression as he pointed to his face and said, voice a bit lower, “Come here often?”

Sebastian gave him a bewildered, ‘are you stupid’ look for a second… before his eyes widened in realization, his pale features reddening a little more, looking like a sunburn especially around his cheekbones. “O-oh!” 

“Oh~” Abigail snickered. 

Sebastian licks his lips, before somewhat hesitantly leaning forward, putting his hand on his dick and, feeling like he ought to help steady Sam’s face if he was just going to hang it there expectantly, cupping his chin fully with his palm. Adjusting his sitting to elevate himself a bit, as he began to rub at his dick. 

He was already close because of everything Sam had just done, but it didn’t happen right away, and he could feel himself starting the process of tensing into a release. Maybe he’d argue he needed the help if he stopped to think about it, but he found himself slowing his grip on his dick for a moment, entirely to give himself more time to look at Sam’s face. Wanting to enjoy how sexy his friend looked in that moment. 

He looked so eager. Eyes wide and looking up at him expectantly, lip-rings that Sebastian had put in himself glinting lightly as Sam seemed to subconsciously play with them with the side of his tongue, waiting for Sebastian to finish. 

Abigail saw the way Sebastian was lingering, lazily pumping at his cock as he stared at Sam, and snickering to herself lightly, just to give him a hand, she turned her fingers down and started pressing down hard towards Sam’s stomach, rubbing more insistently. 

Sam gave a breathy little laugh at Sebastian’s realization before he made a pleased sound at the hand cupping his chin. Settling happily on his elbows and Sebastian’s hand, pliant and ready. 

…good god, Sebastian was pretty. 

It was something that Sam noticed a lot, but, just…damn. Flushed, eyes dark with pleasure, fixed on him… He loved the way Sebastian’s bangs hung forward a little, from how his head was tilted down, how his friend’s usual basement-dwelling, night excursion pallor was now tinted pink, at least in some places. Sam wanted to bury his face in his chest, put his arms around his waist and touch everywhere. Ease the back pain Sebastian complained about from desk work, trace over the scars he had from the rock crab that attacked him when he snuck into the mines when they were teenagers, yeah, suck his dick for those cute noises Sebastian ma--

“aa-AAUH~!” Sam loudly, startledly, moaned, his dick jumping and his back arching at the jumpscare of electric pleasure shooting through him. Eyes fluttering for a moment as he gasped. 

“H-hhaah!” Sebastian stuttered, eyes widening in shock, as his arousal sky-rocketed in an instant, Sam loudly moaning and shivering in Sebastian’s cradling hand, mouth opening wider as his eyes fluttered closed–

Sebastian’s hand went quick and hard on his dick, but it was almost like his friction was trying to catch up to his orgasm, that rush of arousal doing more to push him forward than the tension around his dick’s head as he came hard, his body shuddering and tensing as he groaned, a thin line of cum spurting out and lining down across Sam’s face, at first one long stream but then a few more sputtering splatters across his lips and chin as Sebastian groaned in pleasure, rubbing his dick out more as he chased that aftershock. 

And honestly? Seeing Sam’s face covered in his semen did not help with the rush of arousal at all, Sebastian warm and still heavily aroused, staring at him, as he pulled Sam’s chin in closer, trying to put his dick back in his mouth. Panting as he chased that burning high. 

Abigail did not let up after the initial press, and it was all Sam could do to pull even a single coherent brain cell together after the first shock of it, uncontrollably whining as his hips stuttered against her fingers. The sound was probably, uh, strange, with how it mixed with a satisfied laugh watching Sebastian lose it, tasting his load in his mouth and quickly closing his eyes the rest of the way just in case. 

His ass spasmed around her fingers, but undeniably became more and more pliant as she ruthlessly rubbed his G spot.

He’d barely had time to swallow, feeling himself drooling a little, before he felt a more insistent pull on his jaw, and Sam obediently opened up again as he took Sebastian’s dick down once more. Even as he moaned around it, his own dick leaking and twitching with need as he kicked Sebastian’s bed in energetic frustration. 

“I’m glad you’re having fun over there, Sebastian. Meanwhile, my hand’s nearly broken and Sam’s gonna explode with need.” Abigail teased, laying off Sam’s prostate and gently pulling her fingers out. Giving his ass a small, sympathetic pat, before grasping his dick and pulling it towards herself, lightly tapping her thumb against his wet, leaking tip, “Though, seriously, for you to feel it that much from your ass without practice Sam? I am definitely pegging you at some point. We’d have a great time.”

“Sh-shut up,” Sebastian panted, still warm and shaking from his aftershock, whining lightly as Sam continued to suck and lick at his sensitive cock, “Nngh! F-fuck.”

“What do you think, Sam?” Abigail asked, rubbing Sam’s back lightly, “Wanna cum now? Or try to hold it for the main event? …Seb, could you let him talk??”

“A-augh… sorry,” Sebastian grumbled, gently pulling his cock away from Sam’s head.

Sam could barely catch his breath--because of the dick in his mouth, mostly--as Abigail stopped, his whole body shivering as she pulled out of him. He still felt floaty, and even once Sebastian pulled out too, Sam could only pant for a moment, Abigail handling his cock not exactly a reprieve. 

“I-I can hold it,” he managed after a moment, slurring more than when they had been in the middle of drinking, voice low, but still holding notes of a laugh. Peeking up at Sebastian, he dopily grinned, face flushed and hazed with lust. “You good, man?”

Sebastian panted a bit, staring at Sam a bit, wiping some of the sweat from his face with the back of his hand… before he winced, his vision clearing a little as he looked around, “Shit, I got it all over your face. Umm, let me grab my shirt, you can wipe off.”

“Post-nut clarity? Relax, he’s fine. You’re fine, right Sam?” Abigail giggled, lightly slapping Sam’s ass again. How could she help herself!? It was right there! He had a very slappable ass!

Sebastian scoffed, still leaning over the bed and grabbing his shirt to pass to Sam, “I noticed between the three of us, only two of of us are about to lose our minds. Really think you’re getting out of this without acting stupid once, Abs?”

“This is all foreplay to me, like I’ve said, I’m a visual sort of person.” Abigail shrugged, now just lightly tap-tap-tapping Sam’s ass like a drum, “Being licked out and fucked is nice, but seeing Sam be so, soooo good for us and you look not half-asleep for once? Is doing plenty for me, trust me.” Abigail smirked.

“I did ask you to,” Sam giggled, though he did accept the shirt, very narrowly avoiding falling onto his shoulder as he wiped his face. “A-and yeah, I’m fine. Hangin’ out with my buds on either side of - of me is usually a great time, and this version still rules.”

Actually a dream come true, some might say, though things made a lot more sense than the dreams Sam had had about this. His friends just being themselves, which felt a lot less goofy than the purely sex-oriented dream figments, paired with a jam in the background, and even Abigail slapping his ass was kind of funn--

‘Sam be so, soooo good’

Immediately, Sam turned crimson, a sudden squeeze of need clenching in his gut as his dick throbbed, Sam instinctually sliding his knees closer together to keep from instantly cumming as a wobbly groan was forced out of his mouth. 

“Woah! Uh, Sebastian! I told you to hold off a bit, give him a second, he won’t last otherwise.” Abigail pouted, rubbing Sam’s back sympathetically.

“W-what? What did I do? I just gave him a shirt to wipe down with, I haven’t touched him since.” Sebastian argued, though he too, partly taking Abigail’s lead, reached over and soothingly rubbed Sam’s scalp, lightly scratching between his hair.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit fuck!

Sam bit at the backing of his lip ring as he rode out the fucking inferno sloshing through him, gripping onto Sebastian’s sheets and shaking a little. The breath he let out sounded like he’d been punched, though he let out a weak, breathy laugh after. “Uh, so you know like ffff - f-five seconds ago when I said I could last? Might’ve been a total lie.”

Looking over his shoulder, desperate, he asked Abigail, “You wanna get on now? O-or wait a bit?”

Abigail squinted at Sam… before declaring, “Seb! Hold him down!”

“What?” Sebastian said dryly, “No.”

But Abigail ignored him, determinedly grabbing Sam’s legs and, with a huff, flipping him over. Then, she sort of flopped forward, landing on her side next to Sam, propping her head up with her arm and brushing her hair back over her shoulder as she looked Sam up and down, before rubbing Sam’s stomach a bit, before tracing the tip of her fingernail up and down his front, as she said, tone full of suspicion, “What did I just miss?”

“You’ve been playing with his ass for five minutes, of course he needs to cum soon.” Sebastian said, shuffling to sit more cross legged, wincing as his dick lightly frictioned against his jeans as he shifted. He was definitely gonna need to wash these after. 

“No no no, pas si vite.” Abigail said, now walking her fingers down Sam’s front, like a man on a stroll, before tapping at his dick, which was now hovering above his stomach, full and twitching. “Sam’s holding back on us… Sebastian! More shots!”

“We are so gonna be dead tomorrow,” Sebastain grumbled. This was a lot of alcohol, even for them, as he went to go grab the whiskey bottle. “I don’t know where the glasses are, just drink it from the bottle.”

“I’m talking to Core Sam right now,” Abigail said, tapping Sam’s dick some more, her inner-rhythm unable to be contained as she stared at him, “You need something.”

“What?” Sam breathed in time with Sebastian, before he was suddenly flipped over, the rest of his body getting the memo from his legs after a moment and turning over. He gave Abigail a confused smile and put a gentle hand on her side, taking advantage of no longer holding himself up, even if her trailing figures left goosebumps in their wake. 

He glanced over, watching Sebastian get the whiskey bottle curiously, before giving Abigail a slightly strained grin as he chuckled, “I’m siding with Bas here, uh, yeah, cumming’s inminant.” He squinted. “Iniminiminant. Immimant.” Sam stuck his tongue out. “Soon.”

“Without help?” Abigail asked, raising an eyebrow, taking her hand back from his dick, grinning cheekily as she said, “You have a talented ass, but you’re not cumming without any assistance. Except, exceeeeeept– oh, thank you,” Abigail said, taking the whiskey bottle from Sebastian and taking a quick swig of it, before placing the bottle next to Sams’ lips, “You almost just did. Not moving, not with either of us touching you? I watched your whole body clench, you fought it. Sooooooo,” she tilted the drink up carefully, “core? Why?”

Sam drank when prompted, coughing a bit at the burn from this angle, before he smiled. Turning onto his side a bit too and gently tracing Abigail’s cheek. “What, can’t I be turned on jus’ bein’ around the two hhhottest people in town? Who aslo happen to be th’ funniest ‘n coolest too? Mmmmn’ close to th’ most talented.”

Abigail followed his drink with a swig herself, before passing it over to Sebastian. She smiled warmly, giggling as Sam traced her face, before exaggeratedly pouting, grasping his chin and pursing her lips as she leaned in and placed a quick kiss against him, “You’re not gonna flatter me to distraction, buster! Buster muster! Huxter buster cruster–”

“Remember when my dick was getting sucked?” Sebtastian muttered, sipping his whiskey, “Those were good times.”

“--duster! I know you’re holding back on something! So!” She pouted again, booping Sam’s nose sternly, “Be a good boy! And tell Abigail!” 

Sam giggled happily at the kiss, glancing up fondly to Sebastian, his mouth opening to say, well, something, he hadn’t really decided yet, but--

Once again Sam noticeably flushed, this time just full on reaching down to grab his dick, squeezing his base to keep from cumming as he bit his lower lip, a small, horny whine escaping him. 

“...okay, yeah, I saw that one, you’re right Abs.” Sebastian admitted.

“Yes!” Abigail shouted, falling onto her back and kicking her legs into the air, “I did it! I was right! I win! …what was I right about!?” She demanded, looking dizzily over at Sebastian.

“Did you guys drink the water I brought you? I definitely brought water at some point,” Sebastian muttered, looking around for the water glasses. 

But Abigail remembered what they had been talking about, as she kicked off her back and swung herself over Sam’s hips. Grabbing his wrists and pulling his hand off his dick, as she pinned them to either side of his head, smirking down at him. Her hair failing over her shoulders and curtaining around him, eyes almost glowing in the shadow of their hallow, as she purred, rubbing the folds of her pussy against the base of his dick, “Are you good for me, Sam? Do you like being told what to do?” She smirked, lowering her head and gently grazing her lips against his, as she breathed, “Are you obedient?”

Sam panted, entirely focused on not cumming, so the little startled sound he made as Abigail stole his wrists and flipped him back onto his back was genuine. He stared up at her wide-eyed, pupils blown and eyes a little glazed…and not even trying an iota to free his arms or roll her back off. Entranced. 

And as she grinded him, voice lowering, asking him…

“Oh fuck, Abby,” Sam gasped in a strained voice, his hips rolling up against hers as he panted, “Y-yeah, yeah, I-I’ll do whatever you want!”

“Cool,” Abigail grinned, before giggling as she grasped his wrists at a slightly different angle, pulling backwards with a laugh to lift him to sit up, still sitting with her legs wrapped around his as she said, “Sebastian, you ready to fuck him?”

Sebastian gave her an annoyed look, looking down at the glasses he had just found full of their water, before looking down at his dick which was, okay, yes, that had been hot to watch… “Yeah, I guess.” He scoffed, putting the glasses down and heading onto the bed, “Am I laying down or…?”

“No, just let him sit on your lap, he’s gonna do a lot of the moving.” Abigail kissed Sam hard before reaching over for his condom packets, throwing the whole packet to Sebastian after tearing one off for Sam, smirking at him as she cooed, “Give me one second, you’re about to make me feel amazing.” Then she opened it up and slid it onto his dick.

When Sebastian said he was ready, Abigail grasped her hands against Sam’s asscheeks, Sebastian scooting in behind him as Abigail whispered into Sam’s mouth, “Lift your ass up so that we can get you all nice and plugged up, yeah? That’s a good boy…”

Sebastian grasped Sam’s hips with his hands, helping guide him back onto his dick, moaning slightly as the tight squeeze of Sam’s ass made it hard for him to move down on Sebastian’s dick for a moment. But the extra weight forced the issue as Abigail quickly–somewhat urgently–positioned herself onto Sam’s lap to slide herself onto his dick. “Oooh,” she whispered breathfully, wrapping her arms around his shoulder and neck. “There… that feels good.”

It was pretty much entirely Abigail’s strength pulling Sam up, his head lolling a little behind his body as his mind rolled in a haze of booze and lust. But, whether fortunately or unfortunately, he wasn’t completely gone yet, and he could only shiver in anticipation as, as Abigail called it, the main event started to begin. 

He kissed Abigail back as she claimed his mouth, running fingers down her spine and tracing her side, though, when it was time to take orders? Sam could only moan against her as he lifted himself, trusting Sebastian’s hands as he slowly sank down on him. His dick certainly bigger than two of Abigail’s fingers, but Sam could hardly think as she pushed on top of him as well, finding his head now on her shoulder as he made soft, aborted sounds for a moment, just trembling between his friends. Feeling their heat inside and out, the people he trusted most entwined as one…

Eyes tearing a little, Sam let out a gasping, bubbling little laugh before he testingly moved his hips. 

“Oh fuck,” Sebastian groaned gently, lightly kissing the back of Sam’s neck and shoulders, “I don’t know how long I’ll last.” 

“It’ll be fine, it’ll–OH!” Abigail groaned, the sound almost surprised, as she felt Sam’s dick start to pull and press inside of her. She was undeniably, unbearably horny at this point, and honestly any stimulus would have driven her nuts by this point. But as she started to bounce on Sam’s lap, giggling a little as her bouncing immediately got a half curse, half groan from Sebastian, the feeling of Sam’s hands on her and her chest rubbing against his pecks most certainly helped as she moaned.

The slick, wet sounds between them got a bit engulfed by the music. But Abigail herself had absolutely not problem with shouting at the top of her lungs as she bounced harder against Sam’s thrusts, “OH FUCK! Just like that, oh GOD! Oh fuck Sam, you’re so good, keep going, just like that!” Then she leaned in to kiss him, before practically growling against his lips, “Give it to me harder, baby! There’s a good boy.” 

“You’re t-telling me,” Sam breathed, reaching around just to blindly touch Sebastian, even if it was uncoordinated. Really, it was taking all of the coordination and focus Sam could possibly manage to move his hips, constantly pushing into Abigail or pressing against Sebastian, a persistent thrum of stimulation. And, of course, it was more than just that too. 

The harder Abigail bounced, the more desperately Sam had to sink down on Sebastian, and the more friction that was created between them, the more little moans escaped Sam, overstimulated tears gathering in his eyes. Iony, fuck, he needed to cum so bad, please please please--

And they really were practically magic words, Sam letting loose a high-pitched warble against Abigail’s mouth as his hips broke rhythm, just desperately pistoning between his friends as hard as he could. His vision completely whiting out. 

There was a flurry of momentum for a moment there. Abigail seemed to barely notice that Sam had finished entirely chasing her own high–which had really come with her first ‘just like that’ and then just kept going–as she bounced and rolled her hips against him. Meanwhile, Sebastian groaned, Sam’s body tensing and spasming around him, making it impossible for Sebastian to not spill into his own condom next, just barely able to keep Sam up and against him for a moment, before Sam’s weight forced Sebastian to lay down, panting in his own exhaustion.

Abigail stopped, breathing heavy as she watched both of her friends basically collapse onto their backs, giving them bright eyed, bewildered looks as she said, chest heaving heavily, “A-are you done?”

“Abs, I will pay you actual money to not ask that,” Sebastian groaned, “At least not in that tone of voice. Don’t tell me you’re not!?”

Abigail pouted briefly… before she smiled, leaning forward to kiss down Sam’s chest, “Good, good, you did so good, you both did so good… are you sure–”

“Abigail I’m so drunk, and now I’m tired, and Sam’s gonna suffocate me with you on top of him,” Sebastian groaned, “I need water, a painkiller, and weed. Not in that order.”

“Fiiiiine,” Abigail pouted, kissing up Sam’s neck and kissing lightly against his lips, “Are you awake, Sam? You look… out of it. Want some weed? And other stuff?”

…

…huh, he was horizontal now? Neat. 

Abigail and Sebastian were talking, that was neat~ He always liked listening to them chat, even if it was rarer since a conversation Sam wasn’t participating in didn’t happen that often. But it was happening now, he guessed?

Feeling kisses against his neck and lips--Abby~--Sam blearily smiled, indeed looking out of it, before he eloquently said, “Hhhmuh?”

“Oh, he’s soooooo gone,” Abigail realized, briefly attempting to look ashamed… before she giggled, resting her head on his chest, “He’s sooooooooo goooooooone.” 

“Abigail, do not fall asleep on him, I am so squished down here!”

“Sooooo gone,” Abigail giggled, snuggling into Sam’s chest some more, “Good boy~ Good boy~”

Sebastian groaned. He was stuck and squished! Also, his dick was still very firmly planted into Sam’s ass, which was becoming increasingly distracting and uncomfortable. He had to talk these two idiot cores into getting off of– “Sebby? Sebastian, have you seen the cork screwdriver?”

Sebastian, with the strength of a thousand suns, hefted Abigail and Sam off of himself, pulled up his pants with speed gifted by the gods themselves, heaved his blanket over Sam and Abigails’ murmuring, giggling forms, and zoomed with the speed of dragons of old, and just managed to SLAM his body into the door frame as his mom knocked, before opening it up and peeking out, “Oh, sorry, Mom, I think I left it in the sink.”

“I knew Demetrius didn’t look everywhere in the kitchen then,” Robin huffed, “Sam and Abby go home yet?”

“Nah, they’re staying the night. They’re asleep now actually,” Sebastian whispered.

“Already? Well, no midnight band practice, alright? If I feel the floors vibrate I’m coming down.”

“Yeah Mom, okay, fine, goodnight,” Sebastian said, clicking the door shut and blowing hair out of his face… before damn near collapsing.

“I need a smoke.” He groaned.

-

It was a quick exit from Sam’s mind, though once they opened their eyes in the physical world again, Ienzo turned to Demyx with a mildly concerned expression. The others weren’t really paying attention to them, focused on the camp they’d set up for the night while he and Demyx--and Luis too--had been in psychic space, so Ienzo just leaned a little closer, saying quietly, “Could we talk for a moment?”

“That was nuts, right?” Demyx whispered back, rubbing his eyes with the ends of his palms, before laughing sheepishly, “Man, didn’t see the night ending like that. Hope you weren’t super scandalized.”

“It can be embarrassing to suddenly realize you’re in the middle of basically a mating ritual, yeah,” Ienzo drawled a little, before frowning worriedly at Demyx. “...but are…you okay?”

Pausing for a moment, Ienzo gave his boyfriend a difficult look before saying firmly, but not unkindly, “Even if we weren’t on this trip, I don’t think I could ‘fuck like rabbits’ with you, Demyx. I’m far from opposed to being more physical with you, but I’ve never had sex before, and I can’t just agree to…” He looked around a little, before sighing softly. “Are you disappointed with the pace of our relationship?”

“Eh?” Demyx said, giving Ienzo a… look, it was just a Surprised Pikachu face, that was what it was. A small smile still lightly open, still as he gazed at Ienzo, trying to process what the hell he just said, “...OH!” 

And then Demyx freaking dug his heels into the ground and, laughing way too loudly, literally propelled himself backwards by pushing into the dirt several times, a small pathway of dirt sinking below him as his movement backwards only stopped when his back hit the carriage wheel, hands up as he said, “OH THAT! WHO SAID THAT? DID I SAY THAT!?”

“The hell are you two doing over there?” Dilan called, still eating as Luis napped against his shoulder, “Stop tearing up the ground and eat your food!”

Ienzo watched Demyx literally slug his way away from the conversation, frowning the farther away Demyx pushed himself. Just looking at Demyx, before he sighed and got up. “I would like to have a genuine conversation about this with you, but it’s obviously one you don’t want to have right now.” 

Taking his barely touched bowl of a small portion to start with, Ienzo started heading over to start the process of securing their leftovers and doing dishes. “You know where to find me when you do.”

“W-what!? What!? Eh!?” Demyx stammered, eyes widening into misty circles as he watched Ienzo get up and go, “What did I?”

As Dilan watched Demyx watch a clearly mildly reproachful Ienzo walk off with the most hang-dog look the blond was capable of, Dilan glanced at the others circling around the fire, before placing his finger on his nose, “Not it for asking what’s wrong.”

“Mmm.” Isa hummed, not able to find the word, but putting his finger on his nose too. 

Aqua rolled her eyes, swallowing her mouthful. “You three are some of the most cowardly people I’ve ever met.” Shaking her head, she got up and crossed around the fire, plopping down next to Demyx since Ienzo was radiating ‘don’t talk to me’ energy. 

“Alright, lay it on me,” she prompted, knocking her foot against Demyx’s, “What happened? Meeting didn’t go well with your friend?”

Demyx turned his wide, wobbly eyes to Aqua… before he whiiiined, laying his head on her shoulder as he went, “I-I-I don’t knoooow?!”

“Hey! Whining’s Isa’s thing! Stay in your lane, rockstar!” Dilan called, before snickering as Isa shot him a glare at that, dodging as a fleck of meat was thrown at his head.

“H’aaaaaagh,” Demyx wheezed, blinking through his shimmering eyes… before he straightened up and said urgently to Aqua, “I think Ienzo thinks I’m some sort of pervert and now he’s gonna break up with me. What do I do!?”

“Aw, bud…” Aqua sighed, putting an arm around Demyx and rubbing his shoulder. From the little bit she’d heard as Ienzo started walking away, she could guess that the ‘I don’t know’ was genuine. As much as he tried to be open with communication, Ienzo did sometimes ‘put things together’ within a conversation and just expected that others had done the same. So confusion on Demyx’s part might’ve looked like obstinance…

“What do you do? Well, first take a breath with me,” Aqua commanded, knowing that one of the worst things that could happen was full speed reactions. Exaggeratedly taking a breath, waiting for Demyx to follow, Aqua only spoke again once it was done. “Okay, talk me through it, love. Let’s say ‘Enzy thinks you’re a pervert. Why would he break up with you over it?”

Demyx took a wet, wobbly breath, once, twice, before sniffling… “Because he’s not a pervert? Because he’s cool and I’m a weirdo? And now that he’s gotten,” Demyx frowned, putting his index finger suuuuuper close to his thumb, “the tiniest view of it, he’s gonna realize he totally wasted cookies and balloons and a poem on me because I’m a gross freak!”

The guys, who were all just… really close by, all gave Demyx a bewildered look.

“...you hang out at brothels.” Dilan called out, Luis snorting slightly in his sleep on his shoulder, “Demyx, what the hell are you talking about!? We all know you’re a pervert already!”

“Yeah, but like a real one!” Demyx insisted, “The kind who actually does it in real life! And not just watching it on a brothel show!”

Isa also gave Demyx a slightly bewildered look. 

“Gah! What do you guys know!? You’re all weird perverts too!” Demyx pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground, irritated. 

They did say love was blind, but…Ienzo was a weirdo too. Also cool! But around the same proportion of cool weirdo that Aqua thought Demyx was. It didn’t help Demyx right now to say that, no, Ienzo wouldn’t just break up with him for that, not when it seemed the bigger problem was…

Aqua blinked, before giving Demyx a concerned look…and reaching over to pinch his ear.

“Ow! Whyyyy?” Demyx whined, wincing as his head followed the pull of the pinch a little, “Ow, ow, ow.”

“Having sex isn’t perverted,” Aqua said bluntly, letting Demyx’s ear go after a moment, “Having sexual desire isn’t perverted. Nothing about that makes you weird, or undesirable, or wrong. We didn’t raise you saying that it was, so don’t trick yourself into believing it because you’re freaked out.”

Her expression softened again as she moved to rub Demyx’s back between his shoulders. “...and it’s okay to be freaked out too. Even if…” Her expression grew puzzled, having heard from the others what the last year had been like, and remembering bits and pieces from Terra. 

“...Demyx?” Aqua’s voice was gentle, “Has only Larxene had sex, between you two?”

Demyx pouted more, rubbing his ear, before sighing, resting his elbows on his knees, “Yeah, I know… I guess.”

But Demyx hadn’t only been raised by the facility family. He had been mostly raised by his parents. In very, very cramped living spaces. Who had literally uprooted their whole lives and changed everything because Demyx’s body would just… wake up. Doing things! That he had no control over!

It was hard to not feel like sex was perverted, when your first experiences with arousal was met with scolding parents and hushed arguments about what they were supposed to do about it. Sometimes not so hushed arguments too. 

Demyx knew some of that tension was just his parents realizing the single carriage life was unsustainable long term, as their son grew up into a teenager, the two grappling with the realities of that. But boy was that not what it felt like in the moment. And then, when he had gone to live in the art house, Demyx had been so uncomfortable with how much of it was just… sex. And so little art. And he wasn’t entirely sure what he had signed up for, but had to get okay in a hurry with a lot of things if he wanted to be ‘one of the group’.

The factory had buried that whole issue for a while. A lot more pressing matters to dwell on then Demyx being sex-shy. But even in the factory, it had come up. Especially because Larxene seemed to take Demyx’s insecurities as a challenge and–

“Yeah,” Demyx admitted softly, “...but I mean, that’s not that crazy to hear, right? Everyone knew they were sleeping with Larxene. She, you know…” Demyx winced, “Got around.”

Aqua nodded, knowing that even if neither she nor Terra had ever actually slept with Larxene. That kiss goodbye had been the most physical thing they’d done. But Aqua was aware she had been in a unique position the last few years, having been grieving a partner. 

Smiling slightly, Aqua said, “There were only so many of us, so it makes sense how many of us took comfort in each other. Though…” She gave Demyx a contemplative look for a moment…before looking up at the group. Narrowing her eyes a little as she studied them. “...did? Everyone know that they were sleeping with Larxene?”

“I mean…” Demyx frowned, raising an eyebrow at the question, “I think so? Yeah?”

He paused again, pouting… before he called to the fire, “Hey! You guys all know you were fucking Larxene, right!?”

“I did NOT raise you, it was FINE!” Xaldin balked, Luis eye’s widening in drunken surprise when he was jostled off Xaldin’s shoulder, getting pushed back and onto the dirt as Xaldin raised his arms as an X over his chest as he said, “I am NOT about to feel bad for this one, I didn’t groom SHIT!”

“W-what are we talking about!?” Luis groaned, pushing himself off the ground and rubbing his face, “Ugh, my head…are we talking about the Lauriam thing again?”

“No,” Isa whispered, staring at his food and looking mildly embarrassed, trying to cover up his fluster by filling his mouth full of stew.

“Not me! Larxene!” Demyx insisted.

“Yeah!? You, her, you two! I heard.” Xaldin scoffed.

“Noooo,” Demyx frowned, “Lar-xene.”

Xaldin squinted at Demyx… before he looked to the other two, “The hell is he saying?”

Aqua sighed, before giving Xaldin a dry look. After a moment, though, she stood up, starting to stretch. “Oh, Xaldin, I’ve been meaning to say… Now that you’re officially dating him, should I expect a spar challenge for me choking Lauriam? Partners’ honor, sort of thing.”

“What? No. Guys an asshole, sometimes he needs choking.” Xaldin scoffed, “What kind of question is that? Besides, he can take you.”

“Was that even those two anyway?” Luis groaned, rubbing his temples, “Wasn’t that the other two? Terra and Marluxia?”

“Oh, yeah, that too. Not that he still can’t take you either way… or doesn’t deserve a good fight sometimes.” Xaldin said, “For fun. Gives him enrichment.” 

“I think you’re missing her point,” Isa whispered with a frown. 

“...” Xaldin squinted at Isa, then Aqua, then Luis, then Demyx, “...no, I mean, I’m not mistaking Larxene for Demyx. I’ve fucked both of you! At different times! As you.”

Demyx’s expression, which had grown more and more horrified, caused Xaldin to falter, “...didn’t I?”

There was silence among the group for a moment.

“...oh GOD DAMMIT LARXENE!”

Aqua snorted a little. “Could be a good fight, though those punks better not forget who taught them how to cartwheel around like that in the first place.” Though, that was getting off topic. 

Sitting back down, she gave Demyx another soft look. “...from what I remember through Terra, she was very good at pretending to be you. I knew that Larxene had been sleeping with some of us, yeah…but I definitely thought you were too, Demy.”

“I… maybe…” Isa frowned, “...also thought that I’ve been intimate with you, Demyx. Which is now… coming into question.”

“I never slept with Demyx,” Luis blinked blearily, “...I did have a night with Larxene though. It didn’t really go well. I got really in my head about it.”

“I know Axel’s slept with you both,” Isa whispered, “...or I suppose, thought he did?”

“Oh noooo,” Demyx groaned, putting his head into his hands, “...I’ve seen one of those memories. And I felt like such an asshole about it. Because it felt weird, seeing something I wasn’t supposed to… but now I’m hearing she… ugh. Dammit Larxene. She better be ready to tell me what the heck she was thinking!” Demyx shouted, looking pissed.

“...oh no,” Demyx suddenly whispered, “Did Ienzo think I was sleeping with half the factory?”

Demyx suddenly stood up, worriedly heading to the carriage. Knocking on the door, before rolling his eyes to himself and heading inside, calling Ienzo’s name.

Luis sighed, rubbing his eyes, “Was hoping to talk to him more about this in the morning. I’m too drunk for this right now.”

Aqua gave Demyx a concerned look at…well, she supposed a sudden revelation in retrospect. She wanted to point out that if Ienzo had thought that Demyx was sleeping around, then that wouldn’t have come up as an issue now, so whatever it was that they’d been talking about before wasn’t about that…

But she could just watch him go as he headed inside the carriage. 

-

Inside, Ienzo was sitting on the floor in the middle of the carriage, stubbornly shoveling the rest of his dinner in his mouth, a little teary and looking a little nauseous as Zexion glowered down at him, the two of them looking up as Demyx came in. 

ㅍ_ㅍ Don’t let him get distracted.

ò_ó He was trying to get away with eating like one meal again today.

Ienzo huffed, eating more. Looking just…uncomfortable. 

“Can you eat and talk at the same time?” Demyx asked, going to sit down in front of him, looking absolutely determined as he said, “I’m ready to talk! I know what I did wrong now! Totally!”

Clapping his hands together, Demyx took a deep breath… before bowing low, folding himself over his lap, “I will never, ever, EVER ask you to have sex! We won’t fuck like rabbits! I’m sorry I’m a weird pervert who’s fucked literally all of your dads! Well, not your literal dads, but the others! Also I can’t guarantee I haven’t fucked your literal dads! I am not entirely sure who I’ve fucked!!”

ó_ò what

Ienzo blinked, staring at Demyx for a while, before opening his mouth, and…huffing under Zexion’s glare, ate more, before swallowing and saying, “I…don’t want to hear if you’ve fucked my dads. I don’t really care if you did, but I just don’t want to hear about it.”

Eating another bite, Ienzo gave Demyx a more concerned look. “...I don’t think that really answers my question from before. Do you not want to have sex with me, or is it a concession you’re making in our relationship? As I said, I’m not opposed to it, I just…”

Looking around again, like their conversation before, Ienzo made a miserable little groan as Zexion nudged him into eating again. Meanwhile, the Chibo looked at Demyx consideringly for a moment. 

ó_ò I’m bullying Ienzo into eating, because the physical experience of eating still feels foreign and unpleasant to him. So, left to his own devices, he just won’t. 

“‘Ah wi’,” Ienzo grumpily protested, mouth half full. 

Zexion gave him a flat, unbelieving look, before looking a little more nervous as he turned back to Demyx. 

ㄱ_ㄱ …a lot of things are like that right now. Our body doesn’t entirely feel like…us. More like a separate part that’s not quite in sync. 

Ienzo looked away, lightly flushing as his shoulders hunched in. 

Demyx gave Zexion a mildly bewildered look, “...Zex, button, we already talked about this, little buddy, I’m not gonna trick Ienzo into raping me! I totally took all that back, remember? No bullying into bullying happening, promise!”

“WHAT?!” Ienzo choked, coughing into his arm a bit as he inhaled food, but no less looking between his boyfriend and best friend with horror.

“Oh, don’t worry, Zexion and Maya talked me out of all of that… well, Zexion talked me out of it, and Mad Lady Maya sort of helped talk me through why I wanted to do that?” Demyx said, scratching his neck lightly as he said, “Because I wanted to be… bullied,” Demyx grinned, giving Zexion a knowing wink, “into not being freaked out about sex! Eh? See, I was following, Zexion. Picking up what you're putting down… oh, button, keep eating though, he’s still right about that.”

Okay, that was definitely more clarifying, so the horror lessened, but Ienzo still stared at Demyx with an alarmed, bewildered expression before he ate another mouthful…

…and burned bright red. Swallowing and saying in a tense, embarrassed voice, “...Demyx, I can’t remember ever having a boner. I have trouble eating, because I can’t remember how it feels to put food in my body, and doing it feels uncomfortable. When you woke me up that first morning, I couldn’t remember how to use the bathroom, and it’s still difficult.”

Looking down in embarrassment and shame, Ienzo admitted, “My body feels more like something I have, than something I am, and a lot of just…functions? Feel alarming. I’d want to have sex with you, but I feel like my first instinct if I got aroused would be to panic. So I thought… Y-you said you’d want to have sex a lot, and I don’t think I physically can, so…I wanted to ask if you feel unfulfilled. That’s all.”

Demyx made a small ‘oh’ motion with his lips, though he kept quiet sa Ienzo explained, his eyes widening a bit… before he smiled brightly, “No, that’s perfect!”

“Well, not perfect in the sense that apparently you’ve been struggling with stuff and I didn’t really notice,” Demyx admitted, looking a little guilty about that, “I guess technically I knew all of that, but I guess I thought maybe it was just you getting used to yourself for the first few days. I assumed you weren’t eating much because you weren’t very hungry.”

“But… if you’re not ready to have sex? I’m not really ready either?” Demyx frowned, “But I felt bad about that, because I should be ready! I’ve literally already had sex! Apparently! I guess??” Demyx sighed, crossing his arms and hanging his head, “...I asked you to go to all this effort to date me. I felt bad to be the one that’s keeping us from doing more intimate stuff. You put in all of this effort and don’t even get a reward, because I get freaked out for it over reasons that I still really can’t put into words. And that… sucks. For you.”

“It sucks a lot less knowing you’re not ready for it either,” Demyx laughed lightly, lifting his head again, “Though, man, you’ve never had a boner yet? They’re so weird! But I don’t know, you might like it once it happens, it doesn’t feel bad.”

Still flushed, Ienzo groaned a little as he scraped up the last of his dinner, fulfilling the threats that Zexion had leveled at him. “Hunger pangs suck. But sometimes they suck less than feeling food go down my throat, at least until I start feeling dizzy and nauseous. What bullshit is that, that you can feel nauseous from not eating enough…” he grumbled. 

Finishing dinner, a triumph, Ienzo sighed before he scooted over to Demyx’s side. “...the effort of dating you is the reward to me, Demyx. I like going to concerts with you, and surprising you with treats, and thinking about all the things we can do together. That is the good part. Sex, or even other physical reciprocation, isn’t an endgoal or something I’m wading through everything else to get. I just like doing fun things with you, because I like you.”

He let that sit for a second before huffing in mild embarrassment. “I objectively know I’ve had a boner before. I just can’t remember it.”

Demyx smiled lightly at that, feeling warm as he took one of Ienzo’s hands, squeezing it a bit, “I like all of that stuff too. And yeah, I know sex is just one small part of it all, not an endgoal… I just didn’t want you to be disappointed. You’ve been really cool with me, Ienzo, even when I was whining about stuff that hadn’t even happened yet and made you jump through all those hoops to even start dating me…I was just worried that you’d be upset, if I wasn’t willing to do things for you too.”

“Plus, it would be nice to be more intimate with you someday,” Demyx admitted, “I like the idea of sex, it’s just… it felt easier to imagine you pressuring me into it, then just going for it myself. I’m not sure what it’s going to take to make the panic feeling go away when it comes to that stuff. But it’d be nice if it did someday, if it means I get to be with you like that.”

Squeezing Ienzo’s hand again, Demyx smiled warmly at him… before chuckling, “Oh, samesies. But about sex in general. I’ve seen a memory of Larxene fucking Axel in my body once, but that’s about all I know from first hand experience. I’ve just kind of heard the same ‘I get around’ rumors everyone else has.” 

Some of the embarrassment eased as Ienzo laced his fingers with Demyx’s. “I’m not doing anything I straight out don’t want for you, and I don’t expect that of you either. I’m expending extra effort, yes, but as I said, I find that fun. And how you treat me makes me feel special too.” He smiled softly at Demyx. “So to be explicit: I’m not disappointed. Dating you is a joy.”

Tracing the side of Demyx’s hand, Ienzo’s smile took a worried tinge. “It does sound like you and Zexion and…Maya?” Ienzo glanced at Zexion, getting a nod. “Talked it over, so I suppose we don’t have to get into it, but I’m not really sure I’d be comfortable pressuring you into sex. I think seeing you unsure or panicking would just make me panic.”

…though, Demyx panicking over sex wasn’t really something that Ienzo had…considered. Because…

Ienzo’s eyebrows raised as he tilted his head a bit. “...none of that was you? Do you just enjoy brothels for other reasons, then?”

“Well, Larxene was going to the brothels first. But in truth, I used to go to brothels before the factory too, which I think was how she knew how to be in brothels in the first place,” Demyx said, looking away uncomfortably, “And before the factory all of my friends were having sex and I was the weird one that acted weird about it, so I started to go to brothels to rip the bandaid off, only I never did that part of it because it was way less intimidating to just go to a show then actually rent a room and…”

Demyx hesitated, arguing with himself. To the point where he held his breath, clearly fighting with himself as his face got redder and redder… before he said in a gush of breath, “But brothel shows are SO INTERESTING! They have all these little skits that come with them and sometimes for repeat customers the sketches will have this sort of running through line of a greater narrative story behind it! Well, not every brothel does that, the vanilla brothels tend to just be really easy to follow one-off stories, but the dungeon brothels?” 

Demyx’s eyes lit up as he explained, “They really get into it! I mean, I think that’s just part of it for them, the whole BDSM being these, like scenario things, but the ‘scenarios’ become really involved and elaborate, for instance, the brothel I was going to regularly before we left had this whole elaborate alien invasion abduction story-arc going on, and the main character, Busty Betty, had to escape from their ships, and ended up needing to align herself with the demons to fight back against the secret alien invasion and,” Demyx paused, “Okay saying this aloud, it’s occurred to me that sounds a lot like the Danganronpa thing. Maybe it’s not obvious from the summary, but the aliens were green and had these vine looking tentacles and the demons could mind read and make elaborate fantasies to have sex inside of, yeah, my brothel show might have just been riffing off current events.”

“...which is cool.” Demyx smiled. Eyes sparkling.

Ienzo’s eyes widened a little as Demyx started raving about, well, what sounded like acted soap operas, but with a shockingly competent ongoing narrative. Listening raptly to his boyfriend’s excitement, Ienzo brought one of his arms up like he was holding his Lexicon, forgetting to even be disappointed with just touching air. 

“That sounds fascinating,” Ienzo hummed, “Though…I would be quite surprised if it was riffing off current events, considering the concept of Flora is secret, and so is the concept of Empaths. But it isn’t impossible that someone who knows both works for that brothel and decided to wow patrons with a fantastical story.”

ㅍ_ㅍ I wonder if that’s the brothel that we conned.

Ienzo blinked, giving Zexion a confused look. 

ㅍ_ㅍ Marluxia and I made counterfeits for money emergencies, and Larxene brought a gang associated with a BDSM brothel back to the tavern because they wanted a compensation fee for her sneaking in and trying to play during a performance. I negotiated a lower payout by threatening to out them to the temples.

“Oh damn, really?” Demyx asked, “...that’s cool too, Zexion, you’re kind of a badass huh?”

“Thooooouuugh that said, you’re not supposed to busk in the brothels, they get super mad about it,” Demyx said, “Because people think you’re associated with the brothel and will pay you, which means less money goes towards the actual performers. That’s a good way to get your knee broken, I’m surprised she didn’t get us more hurt from that.”

ㅍںㅍ Yes.

o_o They did mention that while she was hiding behind Axel and he was trying to bargain for her cleaning the floors, yes.

ㅍ_ㅍ While how we’d go about it has changed drastically now, there was a reason the others volunteered her second. It felt like it was just a matter of time before she got you two killed, or brought trouble home that we wouldn’t be able to talk our way out of. 

“Yeah, she was a spitfire… and apparently pretending to be me sometimes when sleeping with the others!?” Demyx scoffed, “Just wait till she comes back. I’m so gonna have it out with her!”

“Honestly, sometimes I wonder if maybe Larxene being as out of control as she was might have been my fault though,” Demyx admitted, “I mean, a lot of the other Nobodies weren’t like that. Zexion of course has his own thing going on, it’s not fair to compare the others to you, but like… Ansem was super polite and nice when he wasn’t performing torture mode! And that guy was apparently only a year or so old! He was such a nice toddler!” Demyx said, “Why didn’t I get someone like Ansem?!”

Ienzo opened his mouth, before pausing, before seeming to consider that even more, before saying, “I was going to say that’s kind of fucked up, before I remembered that Zexion and I would willfully obfuscate which one of us was which all the time…but I still think pretending to be you while sleeping with someone is fucked up beyond my own hypocrisy.”

ㅍ_ㅍ People just made assumptions on their own with us, and I feel there’s a difference in physical and emotional vulnerability there. 

ᄀ_ᄀ (Not just to say that to cover my own ass.)

Half shrugging, Ienzo squeezed Demyx’s hand and nudged his shoulder with his own. “As much as you designed Larxene with the intent of making someone entirely unlike you? Our Nobodies are still part of us, so there’s an inherent link there. Riku isn’t a demure personality, sure, but,” Ienzo smiled softly up at Demyx, “I have difficulty conceptualizing any part of you that’s subdued. And Larxene certainly wasn’t.”

“Yeah, I’m on your side, button,” Demyx pouted, “It was already weird enough knowing Larxene was sleeping with people. Knowing that they thought it was me? …I feel like that explains some things actually, in retrospect.” Demyx said, recalling several flirty comments over the years that had been met with puzzlement and mildly hurt feelings. “Pretending to be me when sleeping with our family iiiiiiiis ugh.”

Demyx shivered. He’d probably have to have a talk with a few people. 

…that was alright. He had always wanted to apologize to Axel about watching him and Larxene have sex anyway. This gave him an excuse to finally have that uncomfortable convo.

“Heh, that’s true. If any of us was gonna make a Nobody that wanted to be The Most Extra at it, it makes sense mine and Riku’s would have been directly competing for a while… and would have both still lost to Marluxia. Easily.” Demyx sighed, wrapping his arms around Ienzo and squeezing tight, “So, we’re not gonna fuck like rabbits, and we’re gonna hold off on all that for a while? I can’t say I’m not a little relieved. This is tough!”

Ienzo nodded with a scrunched frown. He could conceptualize that there were reasons Larxene had done that that were more complex than she just didn’t give a shit, as uncomfortable as it was regardless of reason. He hoped Demyx would be able to have a real conversation about it with her.

…soon. 

“I think he’d be pretty happy with that sort of win,” Ienzo mused, before a huffed laugh left him at the squeezed hug and he nestled into Demyx’s arms. “I would prefer that as well, yes. The idea of being intimate with you, in several manifestations of that meaning, are alluring to me, but the concept of sex itself is daunting. So I would be happy just moving at the pace we have been, together, and not putting undue expectations on each other for more without talking it through. Yeah?”

“Alright~” Demyx smiled, his shoulders notably relaxing. He nudged Ienzo lightly, laughing lightly as he said, “That was a mean way for me to tell you about the whole ‘pressure you to pressure me’ thing, huh? Sorry. I half hoped Zexion had told you already, but then, I asked Zexion not to, and he’s a good guy. Thanks Zexion,” Demyx said, looking to his smaller boyfriend, “I just wasn’t ready to have this conversation till now. It’s still been on my mind, but nowhere near as bad as when I had confided in you. I appreciate you kept it to yourself.”

“It wasn’t the least alarming way to hear about it,” Ienzo mumbled, worming his arms around within Demyx’s hug to hug him back.

ㄱ_ㄱ I do tell Ienzo most things.

ᅙ_ᅙ But sometimes I overhear things I wasn’t able to before, and it’s less just interesting knowledge, and more just…things I’m genuinely not meant to hear. And it doesn’t feel fair to you guys to make it anyone else’s business.

ㅍ_ㅍ If you never talked to Ienzo about it, I would’ve said something, but here we are.

Ienzo’s eyebrows raised a little. “...what do you mean you can overhear more things now?”

ㅍ_ㅍ I don’t think I hear all of it, but while we all hear general intent in the island, I can hear direct messages between people now.

“Oooooh. Is that what happened?” Demyx asked, looking surprised, “I’ll admit, I forgot you picked that thought out of my head. I think I assumed I had just given myself away somehow. That’s… can all the chibis do that?” Demyx asked, suddenly looking alarmed, “Can Marluxia do that?”

Whatever he had been about to say about his thoughts on Zexion being able to do it–which had been mostly mild but pleasant surprise–was followed with grim realization as Demyx said, “Guys, we can’t let Marluxia hear every bit of info and random thoughts we have, he’ll laugh at us for days. Forever. Over whatever! I don’t even know what he’d pick out of my head to tease me about, but it’d be something, and it’d be devastating!”

ㅍ_ㅍ I’m not ‘picking it out of your head’, I still can’t hear your thoughts, any more than strong emotions that Ienzo could always do as a basic Empathetic ability. I just hear messages that are meant to be private.

ㅍ_ㅍ I heard you when you and Lauriam were talking about, as he put it, your ‘intimacy issues’. 

Which still wasn’t great, for terms of said privacy, but Ienzo looked amazed. Zexion’s powers had certainly changed since their change in dynamic, but this seemed like something brand new akin to the changes some of the others had reporte--

Ienzo blinked, looking at Demyx in surprise. “You talked to Lauriam about all that?” He didn’t sound hurt in the slightest, just genuinely surprised. 

Tilting his head a little, Ienzo hummed. 

{Hey Demyx, what do you think about Marluxia’s new clothes? It’s certainly nothing I would’ve guessed, considering he’s tended to have more of a fixation on beauty over the years.}

“Oh yeah! Yeah, I did,” Demyx said, “I think Lauriam noticed and asked me about it? I mostly just remember that day being really emotional and busy…oh, you know, it was the same day that everyone separated off for hangout days? A lot of us went to that bar-pool, we were hanging out in the jacuzzi, the teens were off apparently tearing up the rest of the manor in a game of hide and go seek or something… I don’t know, I don’t really remember why it even came to mind for me to tell Lauriam. It was just something I was freaking out about that day.”

Demyx gave Ienzo a bewildered look for a moment… before he snickered, realizing.

{I think he’s going for a humbler thing this time? Which I think suits him! His last look was definitely too flamboyant for how modest a guy he is.}

Ienzo gave a small understanding hum before smiling softly. Demyx and Lauriam weren’t exactly people who’d historically gotten along the best, but even in the most disparate pairs among them, they were still family. Ienzo was glad that Demyx had been able to confide in someone about something that was freaking him out. 

…mostly he just hoped Lauriam hadn’t made the situation worse, but as of yet he had no reason to think so. 

{I agree, it definitely makes more sense for someone rolling around in the dirt all day to be dressed how he is now.}

Ienzo waited a few more beats before smirking a little. “...well, either Lauriam’s way too tired for Marluxia to be able to do anything, or he can’t hear direct messages.”

“Let’s be real direct real quick,” Demyx said, before concentrating, {HEEEEY MARLUUUXIAAAAA}

{GUESS WHAT I KNOW?}

{I KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY’S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES–}

Demyx paused. “...okay, if that doesn’t rile him up, nothing will. He hates that song.”

Ienzo’s shoulders bounced in a silent laugh. “Didn’t he try to take over Lauriam’s body to fight you over that song once? I think you had been around for just about a year, at that point.”

“He diiiid,” Demyx recalled, before pouting, “Your dads took his side too! I had a shiner from that for a week!” 

But when no Marluxia appeared to try to shout Demyx into submission, Demyx shrugged, “I guess it’s just a Zexion thing then. Weird! My little eavesdropper boyfriend!” Demyx snickered. “Little peeping tom dude!” 

Giving Demyx a soft look at the pout, Ienzo tilted his head to kiss his cheek. They had all gone through many modes of finding entertainment in the factory. And some of those modes were annoying the living hells out of the others. 

ㅍ_ㅍ It’s not so different from what we used to do, I suppose. We have practice just storing away information that isn’t helpful and isn’t for our ears. 

Ienzo gave him a sheepish look. “It would be interesting to see if some of the habitual ways we used our abilities does end up manifesting in stronger abilities in you guys as Chibis. Or in general. Though I don’t quite see the throughline for you being able to drop into others’ minds, sunshine.”

“Who, me? You lost me there, button, I feel like I missed a part of the conversation,” Demyx admitted, “Why would I, or Larxene, be dropping into other people's minds?” 

“That’s my point,” Ienzo said, a tinge of a laugh in his voice. “That wasn’t something either of you did with any sort of regularity, and yet, what began your theory of our emerging new power levels was you dropping into Sam’s head. So I can’t say with any confidence that how new abilities might crop up may be related to previous habits, at least without more examples.”

While Ienzo was quite happy just snuggling with Demyx, he did hum softly as he recalled the circumstances in which they were snuggling. “Oh, did you actually get to finish dinner yourself?”

“Oh yeah! No, that was weird, right?” Demyx frowned, “I felt like I had literally slipped in… but I was listening to his music radio thing at the time. Actually, when it happened, I thought he had done something to pull me in. But I guess it was just on my end… is it too presumptuous to think maybe the music? Had something to do with it??”

Demyx had no idea how music would give him the ability to mind hop. It hadn’t been something he was even close to capable of before the factory, and before the island. He just had never been a very strong empath. But, well… it had felt easy, sliding into Sam’s mind. Effortless. 

Yeah, in retrospect? Weird! 

“I think I had a bite,” Demyx admitted, grinning sheepishly, “I spent most of it crying on Aqua’s shoulder. Also, I told everyone that it wasn’t me sleeping with them, but that’s probably gonna have to be a conversation I have in more detail with all of them soon. Sorry if you overhear any of that, I’ll try to do it on our worlds so you don’t have to hear your boyfriend apologiizng for kind of?? Sleeping with people?? But not really??? …Dammit, Larxene! We need to get her back so I can yell at her!”

Demyx then laughed lightly, shrugging, “We’ll get them all back soon. We can’t leave it too long. Vexen would be so mad if it took us, like, months after everything he said and did. We have to get everyone back.” Demyx glanced at the door, saying softly, “Just Xaldin next, and then we can bring everyone back. Right?”

“I don’t think it’s too presumptuous, no. Sam isn’t directly connecting with people when he broadcasts, but there still is a connection, so it wasn’t like you hopped to someone completely out of the blue.”

ㄱ//_//ㄱ Considering that music is tangibly your connections to other people, Demyx, there’s actually a lot of merit to the idea that it was hearing Sam play that allowed you to travel.

Ienzo gave Demyx a sheepish look back before sighing, glancing at the door as well. “Correct. Theoretically I could start bringing people back, I think, but considering Dad’s strain, and that that’s likely affecting Xaldin too, it feels wrong to start on another project before we find Dilan. Considering how hectic everything’s been, I’ve felt too tentative to ask him if he’s ready, the last few days…”

With another soft sigh, he gave Demyx a light squeeze. “Let’s go make sure you get the rest of dinner. If I can’t skip meals, then I’m not letting you do it either.”

“Okaaaaaaay, okay~” Demyx smiled, shuffling up as he used the bed cubbies for leverage, before giving Ienzo a hand up, “I kinda wanted more food anyway, if I’m honest. The stew smelled good! I just couldn’t eat it among the heartbreak.”

And with that, Demyx leaned in, giving Ienzo a quick kiss on the cheek, before looking around for Zexion, wheeeere–oh! He was on the edge of the bed cubby now! Grinning at him and leaning in to give him a quick peck on the forehead. “Thanks buds~”

-

It really hadn’t been that long, in the scheme of things, that they had been traveling, but things were starting to settle into a rhythm. Put together breakfast in the morning, confer over a map generally where they were heading, even though there weren’t a ton of branching roads, then head off, pretty much going in a straight line for as long as daylight lasted with pit stops for trading drivers, bathroom breaks, and stretching. Then, before it really got dark, they’d find somewhere off the main road to make camp, make dinner, then go to bed and do it all over again. 

Sure, there were some events within that routine, including three of their members becoming whole and everyone almost losing their minds, but generally! That’s what things were like! 

Until they veered off the road around midday, with a town just up ahead. 

“Alright gang, don’t think everyone needs to go in if they don’t want to, and someone should at least stay to watch everything, but!” Clara chirped, stretching as she got down from the front carriage’s driver's seat, “We’ve made it to our first supply stop. Welcome to Romeliad.”

Lauriam, who hadn’t been paying a ton of attention, blinked, before he laughed lightly and turned to Clara. “Sorry, I think I misheard. We’re in…?”

“Romeliad,” Clara repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Not the biggest town, so don’t think it’s in geography lessons much, but they have a decent market and trade because it’s a mining town, or at least used to be before miners moved closer to the mountains, so it’s a good pit stop heading to the border.”

Lauriam nodded lightly at her explanation, jaw set, before he promptly turned around and headed back to the carriages. “Well, you all enjoy town then, I can keep an eye on things here.”

“Nonsense, Lauriam, I intended to remain behind with the carriages, there’s certainly no need for two of us to stay behind,” Even said, finishing giving his list of supply requests to Aeleus. “Besides, all of you need to take this opportunity to get warmer clothes, now that we’re closer to the border. With the way each night has gotten colder than the last as we travel, I fear our jackets and coats will not be enough soon.”

“Plus, if I don’t move around a bit, I’m pretty sure I’m going to die,” Kairi said, Sora nodding fervently beside her, “Riding in a carriage all day was fun for the first day, but now it’s like we’re living in an even smaller space than the factory! We’re decomposing!” 

“Come on, it’s not factory bad.” Axel sighed, hopping off and stretching, “Where was all that excitement to drive, huh? You wouldn’t be stuck inside the carriage all the time if you were driving more.”

“It’s coooooold,” Sora whined, huddling with Kairi, who nodded.

“Another reason for more reliable winter gear,” Even said, calling out, “Riku, you are already too far from the group. Return.”

“Maaan,” Riku muttered, having been curiously already starting down the path to the town, wanting to get a better look at the buildings, before heading back, “Let’s get going already, Kairi’s right. We’re all gonna decompose at this rate.”

“It’s not that bad to me,” Lauriam shrugged, looking away from the group. “So sorry, you’ll just have to deal with not getting total peace and quiet by yourself.”

“Well, I mean, I’m staying too,” Anthony piped up, though he looked more glum about it than Lauriam’s obstinance. “Not really keeping to the whole ‘low profile’ thing for a big ol’ gnashy thing to suddenly show up in a town.”

Aeleus gave Lauriam a considering look. “We would make sure to get supplies for you as well. But I would think you’d prefer to pick out your own.”

Lauriam twitched a little, hearing Marluxia seething in his head, but he just gave an unbothered shrug. “I doubt you’d all want to literally spend all day at a market either, so for everyone’s sake I’ll stay here.”

“Whaaat? Anthony, you can’t come?” Sora asked, disappointed. He didn’t know Anthony that well at all yet, but that was partly why he was disappointed. He had hoped the trip to town might be his chance! “We’ll bring a sheet, throw it over you if anything happens! It’ll be fine!”

“Not at all, Sora. His safety is as much at risk as ours is, should he be discovered,” Even scolded, “Do not pressure him into a dangerous outing. That said? Lauriam, if you are going to stay, perhaps you could assist me in airing out the bedding. I refuse to go back to the days of sleeping in filth, not when we have means to freshen up.” 

Anthony snickered, waving the sleeves of his oversized cloak. “Look, I definitely have tried that method, and it works in a pinch. Such a shame to cover up a pretty face, right? Buuuuut risk isn’t the name of the game anymore,” he sighed dramatically, “So you guys go have fun for me, okay?”

“That sounds fine to me,” Lauriam agreed easily, already heading back into the carriage to grab their bedding. He assumed that they’d be spending the night here anyway, but the more time they had for cleaning, the better. 

Aeleus gave him another look before sighing to himself and straightening, giving a nod to Axel, Clara, and the teens. “Shall we head out, then?”

“I bet I can beat you guys to the first building,” Riku said, pointing to the building in question.

Kairi took off, Sora gasping as he shouted, “No fair!” before running after her, Roku giving them both a head start before bolting as well. 

“ALL THREE OF YOU ARE TOO FAR FROM THE–ugh, nevermind, Axel, please go collect them before they get themselves lost.” Even sighed, giving his husband a wave before heading back to the carriage. 

“You know what I miss about Roxas, Xion, and even Namine and Ansem? They didn’t run off like this.” Axel groaned to Aeleus, giving Clara an exasperated look before running after the teens. 

Aeleus gave Even a wave back, before the three adults headed after the teens. “It’s a good thing, though not ideal for safety,” Aeleus agreed softly. It was nice seeing the kids so excited for life. Sora certainly hadn’t lost that vivaciousness, but seeing the three of them actually get to experience it, to be a part of the world they were excited about, rather than just dreaming of it?

He was glad they had the opportunity now.

-

Out front of a small house in Romeliad, a middle-aged woman with fading pink hair loosely pinned back with metal hair stakes knelt in front of some potted plants, putting in new dirt and spreading out their roots. 

Axel wasn’t sure why Aeleus had insisted he be allowed to walk off from the group and walk around the town alone for a bit. He hadn’t felt particularly stressed, or like he needed the space… but maybe he had, because the longer he walked through what Axel recognized as the ‘living’ part of the town, the more his shoulders fell, an ease running through him that he hadn’t realized he hadn’t been feeling before.

…okay, maybe he had been stressed for a while now. 

But they were all stressed, it was normal. Axel wasn’t more or less troubled than anyone else. He missed Isa a bit, but he saw him all the time still, so it was the most superficial sort of missing him. He missed Roxas a lot. Maybe it was silly, but Axel had felt more like a brother to Roxas than he had Kairi. Something about the two of them had just clicked. When Roxas needed someone to talk to, or be near, or grieve around–there had been a lot of grieving, when Xion was gone–he had come to Axel. He had come to him as another Nobody, on top of that, trusting Axel, not Lea. 

Axel wondered if Roxas would feel hurt, when he realized Axel was different from himself. He hoped the kid would forgive him. Axel hadn’t realized he was deceiving him. He had just been deceiving himself, about the realities of the group. 

Walking around a relatively smaller town was… a bit weird. Axel had grown up in poor districts of large cities. His parents had moved with Kairi to a better area based on the money they had gotten for selling off Axel, but when he was growing up? It had been small apartments on streets where you had to pay very close attention to which block you were walking, because it might not be your block. 

Actually joining the yakuza’s that had partially made those streets so difficult to live in had helped. He had gotten to live in nicer buildings, got to separate himself from the rest of the impoverished by merit of being one of their hired terrors. But it was still barely a separation, more of an imaginary line than anything else, and it had still been in the clutches of the city. 

From that, to the factory, back to a different city? Axel had never seen a place like this first hand before. Where the skyline of buildings didn’t cast permanent shadow on you. Where you could smell trees.

It was both nice and a bit surreal. Axel subconsciously found himself putting on his ‘job’ walk, pushing his hands into his pockets and leaning himself backwards a bit, trying to look tough, because he felt vulnerable in an unfamiliar area with unfamiliar rules. If he looked tough, no one would mess with him. He’d be fine.

Linnea had noticed the young man, of course. In a small town like this, you always noticed someone new coming by, though these days it did seem more frequent than…before. Usually, however, that was something she noticed going to the market, finally kicking her ass to do it after months of hiding in her house, not…on her street.

It was a kind of cowardice that sickened her, really. What kind of person had she become, to look away from others’ gazes and feel threatened by strangers on a walk?

But she couldn’t go back. 

Holding herself a little tenser, Linnea grabbed her gardening trowel, waiting--and hoping--for the stranger to pass.

Axel slipped on ice and fell.

It just came out of nowhere. Why was there even ice here!? What the hell was ice doing on the ground, that shit didn’t happen!? Ices were for freezers! If you could afford a freezer! Otherwise you bought ice from the local community freezer and you put it in a room that could be converted into a freezer if you had the money, but no one did! Ice?!

What Axel didn’t realize is that he was far enough east that the cold nights and mornings could freeze water. And that the ground was fertile enough in this area of Luminary, that the locals could keep little gardens, which needed water, which this town was lucky enough to be able to pipe easily from the local water-reserve town, which meant sometimes the water people put in their gardens veered off onto the pathways, and then overnight–

BAM

Axel stared up into the sky, bewildered. None of this info available to him. Just suddenly magical ice on the ground. Slippery beneath his boots.

Linnea fully looked up, too bewildered to even laugh, but before she knew it she had stood up and walked over to the man, looking him over in concern. “Are you alright, dear?”

Getting down on a knee, her expression firmed. “I’m going to touch you, to check your head, don’t be startled.” Gently touching the back of his neck, she moved her hand up, checking for a wound without moving the young man. 

(He looked to be maybe in his early 30s. That’s how old Strelitzia would be if she…)

“Any tenderness? The ground is harder than it looks in some places.”

“Ah, sorry,” Axel said, still dazed, but now more embarrassed than hurt, starting to sit up despite the ache that was still running through his body and dulling his senses, as he explained, “I’m alright, I’m–ah.”

Maybe he wasn’t alright actually. He gave his eyes a chance to settle, as they had felt like they were rolling around his skull for a moment, before he winced at her touch on the back of his head. “Yeah, I definitely hurt something back there… is it bleeding?”

Axel felt a little pathetic to even ask. He had grown up in the streets, and his supervisors had been cruel… but admittedly, physical punishments in the factory had been rare, and more ‘creative’ then truly damaging. Beatings had been almost unheard of, and while some of the supervisors had been quicker and taken more open delight in whippings and physical punishments, most of them hadn’t. 

In a way, Axel had gotten soft, over the years. He couldn’t recall the last time he had been in real, physical distress. Psychologically stressed, absolutely. But a knock to the head? Ooooow. 

“Oop, tsk,” Linnea lightly scolded him sitting up, though she wasn’t unsympathetic to the pain. However, this was a better vantage to actually look at the back of his head, and she frowned at the slight tackiness on her fingers. “Just a touch, it looks like.”

For a moment, Linnea looked back to her home, something nervous flitting over her face, before it hardened in resolve. “I have a first aid kit, would you be alright sitting in my garden for a moment?”

“Um, yes, thank you.” Axel said, standing up with a groan–his head really smarted, dammit!--before shuffling into her gate, sitting on her grass.

He felt a bit bad about that. Grass was rare in the city, and in the center of Luminary as a whole. It was something mostly people who could afford them had, and while it was becoming more common to see the further east they got, he still felt like he was potentially spoiling something very valuable that this woman had worked hard on, squashing the grass beneath his feet and ass. He tried to will himself to be lighter as he waited for her to return, and when she did, sheepishly said, “Sorry about the grass.”

As Linnea returned with not just a first aid kit, but a small bowl with water and a cloth, all balanced in her arms, she tsked lightly. “Plants aren’t something to just look pretty from afar, they’re to be enjoyed, and part of grass’s enjoyment is sitting on it. Never you mind, young man.”

Kneeling behind him, she started cleaning the wound. “Ah, it’s just a nick, thankfully. You might’ve just hit a small rock in the dirt… Are you thinking clearly?” She gave a soft, awkward laugh. “I’m afraid I can’t really test you on your name or birthday or anything.”

“I think I am. I really am sorry, I swear I’m usually more composed than that… what was that? Was that ice?” Axel frowned, looking over at the treacherous pathway. He had known it was ice when he slipped on it, but that was simply because instinctively he knew nothing else felt that slick and smooth to step on. He had walked on glass and tile and smooth stones. It was an entirely different feelings, as impossible to mistake as stepping into swallowing quicksand, even if you had never experienced it first hand before. 

…still. “I didn’t think anywhere in Luminary could get ice on the floor,” Axel said, bewildered, “I grew up in the capital, I’ve never seen anything like that before… sorry, my names Axel. Axel Dareka. Thank you for helping me.”

“Ah, that’d explain it,” Linnea hummed, giving a small warning before pressing a bit of iodine soaked into cotton against the cut. “Yes, that was ice, it happens this far east. Out towards the capital you’d think end times were coming if you see ice outside,” she lightly chuckled, “but we’re close enough to the mountains here that if there’s a bit of water on the ground, you have to be careful on winter mornings. A lesson learned, hm?”

Already the cut stopped bleeding, and there was no need for stitches, so Linnea packed up the kit and moved more around into Axel’s line of sight. “You’re very welcome, Axel. I’m Linnea Belrose.”

“Ow,” Axel whined slightly, flinching at the sting, before sighing, again embarrassed. “Thanks… have you been as far in as the capital then yourself? This is the furthest east I’ve ever been, that’s why I ask. Any tips or tricks you’d give to a desert lizard seeing a tree for the first time?”

Belrose… did Axel know that name? Was that Lauriam’s last name? Nah, probably not, though he chuckled as he admitted, “You remind me of a friend of mine so much, I’m literally trying to think if his last name’s the same as yours. I’ll have to ask Lauriam if he has long lost cousins this far east.”

“Oh, sure, sure, I used to travel all over Luminary for work,” Linnea nodded before smiling softly, “Well, you’ve probably already noticed it with the ice, but the temperature drop-off is steeper than you’d think. If you’re going to be in town for at least the next few hours, I’d recommend looking at some thicker clothes. And it might’ve just been my experience, but I’ve noticed people are a little less formal regularly than towards the capital.”

She rolled her eyes a little. “We have our own batch of high-and-mighties, but the distance from the center of nobility might’ve done that.”

Linnea had been in relatively calm, friendly spirits, seeing Axel hurt taking the edge off her paranoia and fear. But all that dropped over her face, looking stricken as Axel said his friend’s name. 

“...you…know a Lauriam Belrose?” she asked, honestly sounding a little faint.

“We have noticed that, yeah. The nicer shops around here don’t formally greet you and bow when you come in, which had us a bit confused at first. We were afraid we were coming in before they opened or something, but no, it’s just less of a thing out here.” Axel said, reaching back to lightly touch the bandage through his hair. That would pull some hair when he took it off, but that’d be worth not letting the back of his skull bleed onto his clothes. Head wounds were about as overdramatic blood wise as he was being right now. 

He meant to thank her again and maybe offer her a few copper as payment for the help and the bandage, but the way she asked… “I might?” Axel smiled warily, now wishing he could remember entirely what Laruiam’s last name was. “It sounded familiar. He might introduce himself as Dareka too now, though. It’s a relatively new thing for us, I’m not sure how much he’s sold on it. He can be a bit contrary. Do you know a Lauriam?” Axel asked, entirely sure she didn’t know this Lauriam. She’d have had to have known him when he was barely old enough to sign contract-work, he’d have been just a kid. 

Axel sounded casual. Not too casual, but Linnea knew she wasn’t a - an acting coach or anything! People could be deceiving! And people from farther west were confused by the weather, so it was possible the slip hadn’t just been a ploy to talk to her, get her guard down, and it was such a weird angle to try and get to her through…

Linnea’s expression hardened a bit as she looked at Axel searchingly {reaching out to see if he was hiding anything…}

Axel blinked. {Oh shit.} he thought back nakedly.

“Oh fuck!” Linnea squeaked in shock, before hurriedly looking around in worry. Quickly, she got up, pulling Axel up with a surprising amount of strength before pulling him into her house and quickly shutting the door. Rounding on him with an expression that was worried and amazed. 

“You’re an Empath too?!” she asked incredulously in a loud whisper, before looking increasingly worried. “How do you know my son?”

“Oh geez,” Axel whispered, practically tripping on his own feet as he was brought into the house, having just enough paranoia in his life to wonder if he had just made a massive mistake, pinging back so casually to an empath probe. 

This was the first empath Axel had ever come across, in person, just… in the wild. It felt very different, from speaking to the Ouma or listening to Demyx’s ‘radios’ or listening briefly to empath chatter in the rare times their group literally even could, the empath ‘community’ still a strange, foreign entity to them. 

Maybe empaths in other parts of the world were chill and generous and kind, but empaths in Luminary were demons, taken to factories to be torturers and brainwashers, or worse, presided over all of that with the glee of what someday had felt like having the personal attention of an extremely sadistic god.

Luminary empaths didn’t have the luxury of being decent people. Axel had no idea who this woman would turn out to be, or what she might do next. For all he knew? Axel had just outed himself to another Tengan, and was about to disappear into another horror-inspired assembly line. 

…….admittedly, her first question distracted him from some of those fears, as he sputtered, “What?! Lauriam’s your kid!?” before putting his hands up and going, “Wait, wait, are you sure? Lady, I don’t mean to rotten an egg, I-I’m sorry if I gave the wrong impression, but I’ve known this guy since he was, like, 15. I really doubt we’re talking about the same guy!”

It was a long shot. More than a long shot. It was someone saying a name and that she reminded him of a friend and that maybe their last names were similar, that was nothing. 

But Linnea was a woman who had been grieving for as many months as she’d been back in Romeliad, and despite the hardship of life, there was still a part of her that could hope. 

Giving Axel a difficult look, Linnea unclasped a locket from under her shirt and opened it, showing him the two portraits inside. On the left was a young grinning boy of around 9 with pink hair fluffed out like a dandelion, and on the right was a teenage girl with a sweet smile and strawberry blond hair in two low ponytails. They both had the dark green eyes Linnea herself sported. 

“Are you talking about them?” she asked intently. 

“...oh no,” Axel whispered, staring at the locket, “...phoo, okay. Yes, yes, I’m talking about… him.” Axel stressed, putting his hands in surrender, a deep wariness filling his heart heavily, like bile in his chest, as he worried that he was giving news a mother shouldn’t have to hear so late, “...just him. Not her. She… I’m sorry. She didn’t make it.” 

Linnea was quiet for a moment. Looking at the portraits for a moment, before gently closing the locket and holding it to her chest. Breathing. 

“...when I came back, they told me Lauriam and Strelitzia were dead,” she said softly, head slightly bowed. “Had been for years. That there were screams in the night, blood in the street… They never found bodies, but… I thought I had been safe, that those monsters at Togami had no idea where my children were…”

Linnea looked up, her eyes glistening. “...Mr. Dareka, my Lauriam’s alive?”

Axel, still absolutely stunned by this development, opened his mouth to answer and–

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Axel’s mind went blank, his jaw going slack and the wall holding him up as his thoughts scattered. All he could hear was a consistent, unidentifiable ringing sound. Like nothing he had ever heard before, but it filled his whole mind, every attempt at a thought shattered and ruined from conception as the EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE remained consistent. 

It was only her trembling hands that gave away the small woman’s fear, as Ava said, “Step away from him Linnea, I’ve got him under control. I’ve already called the others, they’re on their way.” Then, glancing away from the intruder just in time to see what Linnea was wearing, she said urgently, “Go fetch your mask, hurry. It’ll block whatever he was doing to you.”

Linnea sighed, pinching her nose. “Ava, dear, he wasn’t…” Her hand almost tossed down, she gave the woman an exasperated, and slightly desperate look. “This man knows my son, Ava. Stop scrambling him.”

“Linnea, he must be lying, he’s probably trying to get into your mind to take us back–oh thank goodness, Xigbar, please check on Linnea, a man got into our house! He was telling her he had Lauriam!”

“Ah shit, really??” Xigbar huffed, resting his hands on his knees, the older man strong but nowhere near the endurance of his youth as he put up a finger, “One second, hold him one second… okay! I got this!” Xigbar said, hurrying forward and, pulling out a dagger, lifting the brim of Axel’s coat and saying, “Let him go now, Ava!”

Ava lowered her arms with a clear sigh of relief, and just as Axel’s eyes focused, a massive BANG sound next to his ear startled a cry out of him, Axel staring in confused horror at the knife that had just been smashed through his jacket collar and into the wood wall behind them, “O-oh shit!”

“Yeeaaaaah, that’s right, freckles! Thought you were gonna steal some nice old lady empath alone? Well BAM! The cavalry's arrived! Not so easy pickings NOW is it!?” Xigbar laughed, swaggering back with his hands on his hips… before saying, “Oh dammit, Ava, could you grab my mask from the desk in the study, I forgot it! Hehehe, if you thought you had some sort of magical upper hand, wait till you see…thank you Ava,” Xigbar said, taking the mask from her as she hurried back with it, before showing it triumphantly to Axel, “THIS!” 

It was a half-metal mask of what looked like a very happy, floppy-eared dog. It had a metal tongue flopping out beneath its nose. It was maybe the most un-intimidating thing Axel had ever seen, as he waited for his brain to work again, saying after a moment, “What was that?” he asked, looking around for the source of what had happened to his mind, “I couldn’t think!”

Xigbar pouted, before quickly putting on the mask, “Yeeaaaah, well, you won’t be able to do much else soon either. Like steal our Linnea! What’s this about him knowing where your boy’s at?” Xigbar asked, whispering it to Linnea, “Is that really what he said? You think he meant it?”

Linnea could only facepalm, shaking her head a little. Yes, she had been wary about inviting a strange man into their house, that’s why she had treated him outside. But it was dangerous talking about Empathy where people could overhear, which was why, despite the danger, she’d dragged Axel inside. Not to…ugh.

“He said he had a friend named Lauriam, and he couldn’t remember his last name, but it seemed similar to mine when I said it,” Linnea said flatly, before her expression softened, “And he recognized my picture… Mr. Dareka hasn’t asked me to go anywhere, or even to come inside, and he hasn’t coerced me.”

“And Xiggy, darling,” Linnea smiled sweetly, the edges sharp like thorns, “Just who are you calling an ‘old lady’?”

“Did I say that? I’m pretty sure I didn’t say that? Our young, beautiful flower Linnea, was!! …oh, about to find out where her son is, uuuuh, we should definitely let you get back to saying where, exactly, that is–” 

“MISS LINNEA, MISS LINNEA, I’M HERE!” shouted a man–or, at least he seemed to be–crashing in from the back door and, mask affirmed to his face, holding up what could only be called a broken apart anchor hook, though he brandished it like a battle axe as he demanded, “Where is he!? I’ll bury him in the garden, use him as fertilizer! How dare you accost Miss Linnea!” 

“Stand down, Aced! You’re not hooking up with anyone today! Eh, eh?” Xigbar smirked at Linnea, “Get it?”

“What, but… Mr. Xigbar, Ava said they needed help?” Aced said uncertainly, still holding up his massive hook like he was ready to bludgeon someone to death over it, but looking a little lost over where to put it now. “Togami’s attacking?”

“Apparently not! Maybe not? I’m not sold, who the hell are you?” Xigbar asked, turning back to Axel. 

“I-I’m Axel–”

Axel shouldn’t have even been surprised by this point, as three more people came barreling in, each putting on their masks, hidden in their clothes, as they headed inside, though one of them stayed by the door, looking out of it as if he was looking for signs of other intruders, while the other two approached warily, the one wearing a unicorn mask asking, “Has he already been subdued?”

“Of course he has! Has he already been subdued, like we’re amatuers or something,” Xigbar scoffed, nodding to the twins, Invi and Ira, before calling out to the boy at the door, “Gula, get in here before you let in a draft! If there was anyone else out there someone would have sensed them already!”

“Unless they were wearing a mask that covers them from being sensed.” Gula called dryly back.

“Well what are the odds of…” Xigbar frowned, looking at all his masked family around, before huffing, “Don’t be a smartass, get in here! I swear the mouth on that boy. Anyway, enough playing around! Who are you–”

“I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!” Axel shouted, now just absolutely fed up, pulling at the dagger connecting him to the wall and pointing it at them defensibly, as he said, “The NAME is Axel DAREKA! GOT IT MEMORIZED?!”

“...geeeeeeez, touchy much? We were just asking.” Xigbar huffed, while the others around him groaned. 

Linnea let out a deeper sigh as the rest of the group barged in, taking point. She really should’ve expected this…

“Aced, I’m fine,” Linnea assured, completely ignoring Xigbar’s terrible, terrible joke, “Kids…”

She took a small step back as Axel took out the dagger, eyes widening for a moment, before she took a breath, straightening. “Everyone, chill out! I apologize for frightening you, Mr. Dareka had an accident outside our home, and I invited him in. This is not an attack, this is not a coup, or a ploy, or anything.”

Gesturing to Axel, she said, “He is an Empath that happened by, and is acquainted with my son. And I would appreciate you not threatening my son’s friend.”

There was silence. Well, mostly silence. Heavy breathing from the recent runners, while a small, exasperated huff of breath from Gula, before most of the party turned to look to Xigbar. Waiting for his permission to relax, as he was usually the one in charge when things got ‘dangerous’...

And Xigbar shrugged, “You heard the lady. Calm the fuck down, you little weirdos! Who got you all hot and bothered in the first place, chill oooouuuut, sheesh.”

More exasperated and bewildered looks, though everyone relaxed, as Invi was the first to ask, “So, may we take off our masks, then?”

“Eh? Sure.” Xigbar said, taking off his mask and tucking it into his coat, before turning his attention back to Axel, “Can I have my dagger back?”

“No.” Axel said.

“You know what, fair, fair. Caaaaan we have her son back?” Xigbar asked, gesturing to Linnea.

“What? I– I don’t… we’re not ‘keeping’ him, he’s…” Axel frowned, before he focused.

{Lauriam, hey, sorry to bother you, don’t freak out, I have your mom?? Here???}

{...should I tell her where to find you??}

{???¿¿¿???}

-

There was no way Lauriam was stepping foot in Romeliad again. From the weather he’d maybe figured in the back of his head that it was farther east than Chonis, but it hadn’t been anything he’d been actively thinking about. He hadn’t considered once that he’d ever step foot in his hometown again, and when it had suddenly been brought up, he was sticking to that. 

…it’d just hurt. Seeing where he grew up. And that wasn’t even getting into the issue of anyone possibly recognizing him. He had no idea what became of anything in Romeliad after he was taken, but with his luck Togami had spread some rumor like he had been the one to kill his sister and fled the town. They were just there to get supplies, he didn’t want to make even more drama. 

But he’d felt Axel’s sudden panic, before it abruptly cut off. 

And Lauriam had bolted. 

It’d been 14 years, but he still knew the streets like the back of his hand. 

-

Lauriam couldn’t even think about the fact that he was running straight for his house, as he shoved open the door--right into someone--after Axel’s message, looking for his brother as he shouted in worry, “AXEL?!”

Linnea turned, startled as the door slammed into Gula, before her jaw dropped. 

“Gah!” Gula shouted, falling forward, Ira doing his best to lurch forward to catch him, but knocked down by Aced, who also lurched forward about two seconds after that, which meant that for the most part Gula just now had two large men crushing him, making a strangled sound beneath them as Invi hurried to try to help them up.

During all of this, Ava gasped in shock, before putting up her hands towards Lauriam and– “Woooooah, no no no, mama Linnea would kill you, little love!” Xigbar said, putting his arms up in front of Ava, before turning on his heels, his gaze more thoughtful, calculating, as he waited to see how this progressed. 

Axel, still holding up the dagger, gave Lauriam a startled look, as he said, “L-Lauriam, they’re all empaths! And they’re super jumpy!” he said, leaning further into the wall as the fallen empaths got up, now all turning and bracing themselves at Lauriam. 

Lauriam nodded once, steadying himself for attack. He hadn’t had any time to make sense of what Axel’s message had meant, but he knew a situation about to explode when he saw one--you could say it was from personal experience--and he just readied himself. 

But instead, someone else broke the tension. 

“...Lauriam?” Linnea said softly, looking at the…man. The grown man with sharp, intelligent eyes and a confident pull to his shoulders, and a wisdom about him that pulled at her heart. She looked at him like she was trying to commit every bit of him to memory. “...is it really you?”

Lauriam didn’t back down any, still looking at the formerly fallen Empaths warily…before he glanced at the woman who’d spoken. Confusion flitting through him for a moment…before he full-on balked. 

“Mom?!” Lauriam said incredulously, glancing from her, to the others, back to her, to the house, to her… The words were a little too quick to really fulfill any sort of levity, a little too thoughtless, but he still said, “You know, I did wonder why I was running to my house.”

“This is your house?!” Axel said, looking around, before giving Lauriam a frustrated look, “You couldn’t have given us a heads up that you LIVED HERE? Lauriam! You have got to stop hiding your backstory from us! It’s been too long of this shit, man!”

“Interesting, interesting,” Xigbar whispered, looking between the two, “...there’s another factory group here, then…”

“Factory group?” Ira said warily, “What do you… factory empaths? A different factory?”

“Which one?” Aced asked. 

“Does it matter?” Invi asked, “I’m not sure I would even know the difference.”

“I’ll put money on it not being the one that blew up.” Gula said.

“W-wait, so…” Axel turned to the others, “Are you Togami empaths too?”

“I didn’t think it mattered!” Lauriam huffed, giving Axel a look that, in many other circumstances probably would’ve been heated in some way, but right now just looked embarrassed. “I wasn’t coming into town, so it would’ve been anywhere else for you guys! What, I-I was supposed to assume that my freaking mom who abandoned me and my sister was here with a whole motley posse?!”

Linnea winced a little at that, before she sighed. “I realize we’re heated, and I apologize for the hostility, Axel, but I think you understand why we’re a bit on edge… But can we all take a breath for a moment?”

Holding her locket in her fist, Linnea took a breath before slowly walking towards Lauriam, her gaze softening at the wary way he looked at her. “Yes, we’re Togami Empaths. Lauriam…can we talk, please?”

Looking oddly sheepish, Lauriam looked to the side, tensely shrugging. “Sure, I guess. If you’re not going to assault Axel anymore.”

“Okay, before we have any more miscommunication, your mom didn’t assault me, Lauriam!” Axel called, “...just everyone else here! At various levels of intensity. I’m still keeping the dagger!”

“We should have lunch~” Xigbar said cheerfully, clapping his hands together, before turning to the other empaths, “Alright, you munchkins! Time for all the rugrats to head to the kitchen and Make Some Food! I’m thinking lasagna, because I know that’ll keep you all busy, you nosy nancys’!”

The group hesitated. “...but, Mr Xigbar, sir,” Aced said, “We should still protect–”

“Protect who? Me and Linnea? We’re the most powerful people in this room right now, don’t get cocky on me, Aced! All of you, go go go, lasagna time, I want it done in forty minutes! By the time they’re all done talking, we’re gonna be SWIMMING in pasta! Also, seriously, where are the boys?” Xigbar scowled, looking around, “You guys put out an All Hands and they still didn’t come? Brats. Just wait until they come back tonight. Did I say keep staring? Go, kitchen, now!”

As the other empaths hurried to the kitchen, Xigbar turned back to Linnea, Lauriam and Axel, smiling cheerfully, “We have the most wonderful table patio in the back, the way Linnie decorated this place is just, muwah!” Xigbar said, kissing his fingers, “Should we retire back there and enjoy the garden?”

Lauriam gave Linnea and Xigbar a tense look, before he looked over at Axel. Trying to get a read if he was okay, if they needed to bail, just what the fuck was happening--

Marluxia rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure, it’ll be interesting to see. Since I can only imagine what a dump this place looked like if you got out the same time we did, and, you know, that means it would’ve been abandoned for the past 14 years.”

Linnea let out a heavy sigh. “The neighbors kept an eye on the place. Miss Tega next door, if you remember her, had been using some of it for storage just so there was more reason to come by. Since she noticed that me and Mama weren’t coming by, and…after what happened to you and Strelitzia.”

There was a wince, before Lauriam closed his eyes to clear his head. Though he gave Linnea an uncertain frown when he opened them, following her out to the patio. “...Mom, Strel…”

“Your friend told me,” Linnea said quietly.

Lauriam nodded, looking down and tugging on the cuffs of his shirt. “...is Mama still working, or…?”

Linnea looked out at the sun as they walked onto the patio. “...Ammy, Mama came back home on leave and found her wife missing and all the neighbors saying her kids were dead. I think she moved on a long time ago. I hope she did.”

Axel didn’t have any answers for Lauriam–he felt as lost about this situation as his brother did–but sat down at the table of the patio, giving a somewhat bewildered look to the backdoor as he heard the hustle and bustle of the kitchen inside. That would have never worked on them…

But today was a day of terrible news and grief, as Axel winced at Linnea’s reply, mostly just feeling for Lauriam, “Maybe… word can be sent to her? I’m sure she’d want to know her family is alive.” He didn’t add ‘most of them’ though he could feel it in the air. 

“We all made a decision as a group to try to get our lives under control, before we tried reaching out to the families,” Xigbar said, “Reuniting with loved ones is great! But not if they’ve decided you’re some sort of demon and want to report you or sell you. Better everyone here have the funds to run and a safe place to go first, before we start taking risks like that.”

When it had just been her? Yes, that’s what the group had decided, but… Linnea wasn’t the same person she had been, the last time she saw Briar. If her wife had moved on with her life, Linnea didn’t want to drag her down with baggage of a broken, traumatized person. 

…but with Lauriam alive?

“...you two are traveling, yes?” she asked, looking between Axel and Lauriam. “I’d understand, but this is a long time to be on the run from your factory…”

Marluxia huffed, picking at his nails. “You’d be right; we have gotten our lives figured out. But, you know, somehow I still don’t feel like reaching out to the other person that abandoned us.”

Linnea’s shoulders dropped. “I know it’s a pitiful excuse to say I never meant to. I know Mama didn’t either. Just where we found work--”

Marluxia’s eyes flicked up, somehow still reading acidic even with Lauriam’s hue. “Oh, because it’s surprising that working in the mines doesn’t leave a lot of time to be home, or just getting a letter that you found a job and wouldn’t be back for months and then never coming back.”

“Ammy, the job I got was signing up for the program,” Linnea said softly, her eyes filled with regret. “I couldn’t let them know I had kids, or where I was from, that’s why I traveled so far, they’d just come debt collecting to you and your sister. I’d be under contract for a few months on and off, then… But you know why that didn’t happen.”

Lauriam’s eyes lost focus for a second before he stared at her. Still tense, but voice a bit softer as he said, “...I didn’t even know you were an Empath.”

“Neither did I,” Linnea replied with a half-smile.

“It’s a real shitty way to find out, isn’t it?” Axel said, though he wasn’t sure if he should have. He felt like he was sitting in on something painfully personal. Honestly, he wished he could give Lauriam some privacy with his mother to deal with this. But he was afraid to leave Lauriam alone in this situation, especially since the guy with the eyepatch seemed to have no qualms with sitting in.

“You know, I knew in a technical sense, those indentured we were sending out were lifers. Brainwashing wise, of course,” Xigbar said, scratching at his nose, “There is no cure for conditioning, after all. Or at least there wasn’t, all sorts of rumors happening these days. But I always envied them a bit. Enough of them had to be getting out of their contracts to keep the myth alive, right? Imagine if it really had just been work contracts for a couple of years? Lucky bastards.”

“I met your mom here… god, I don’t even know how many years ago it was now. Linnea?” Xigbar asked, looking to Linnea, “But I’ve known her now longer than I’ve known anyone else. Well, anyone still alive. And I know one of the things she took a lot of comfort in was the idea that her kids were still out there. Alive and well… kind of wish she was more than half-right. I’d have loved to have met Strelitzia. She always sounded like a wonderful girl.”

“Likely one of the worst,” Linnea agreed, an amused huff in her breath. “Though, after a time it made me even more glad I kept work separate from you two,” she said to Lauriam, regret filling her eyes again, “Since I heard it was genetic.”

Lauriam tensed more. “...it wasn’t you. I got myself caught.”

Sighing softly, Linnea gave Xigbar a small nod. “Would probably be 17 years now. As much as I hated knowing that you and your sister were on your own, Lauriam…I thought you both were free. And if nothing else, then knowing that…”

Marluxia grit his teeth a bit at the mention of Strelitzia from someone who’d only heard second-hand from someone who barely even knew his sister. But he bit out, “Instead, one was murdered and the other was in the same fucking kind of prison you were in. Glad the idea of us was so nice for you, since yet again, the real versions were things you couldn’t be bothered with.”

“Lauriam,” Axel whispered to him, a look of frustration coming over him, “Come on, man, what are you doing? This is your mom. What, are we gonna say that anyone caught in hard times going to the program has it coming? No one in our group had full on kids to feed when they got caught, and we all ended up there too.”

“Nicely said, freckles.” Xigbar said, “Well, nicely whispered, but I have good ears.”

“Why do you keep calling me freckles? I don’t have freckles.” Axel frowned.

“You don’t?” Xibgar squinted at Axel with his one… reasonably good eye, before leaning in to whisper to Linnea, “He doesn’t? I thought all red-heads had freckles? Damn. Anyway! I guess I can’t blame you for having a bit of a sharp tongue there, Lauriam. After all, you survived your factory too after all this time, the neighbors said you ‘died’ at 15! It’s impressive you’re still here! Like mother, like son, tough bastards, the both of you.”

“Of course not, but the only reason Lauriam even got caught was because she left us!” Marluxia hissed, starting to really seethe, “She barely even knew us, you know the number of times Lauriam could even remember anyone besides our sister being home? I’ll tell you, it wasn’t a lot!”

“He doesn’t,” Linnea whispered back, “I think he’s a different kind of red-head, dear.”

Steaming more, Marluxia growled, “He was 12.”

“Lauriam, I get you’re angry,” Linnea finally addressed, “I get why. I should’ve been there for you more…but Axel pointed out just why I…I abandoned you and you sister. You know how tough things were, if I couldn’t bring more money in, then we’d likely all have been scooped up by the program. I’m sorry, how things ended up, believe me,” she gave a sad, stressed out little laugh, “But I’m trying to talk to you now. You being here is like a miracle to me, I never thought I’d get to…”

Linnea trailed off for a moment, before squinting her eyes a little, looking Lauriam over. “...why are you talking in the third person?”

This time, Axel caught it. Well, it helped that Marluxia had literally used Lauriam’s name, but he caught it! 

But then, Linnea had caught it too, which left Axel in a bit of a predicament. He really wished everyone else was here, but also, he was afraid of crowding Lauriam at the same time. This was so difficult…

“He… sorry, we’re…” Axel rubbed the back of his neck, before crossing his arms and crossing one leg over his knee, “We’re still figuring out our Nobody situation? But this is Marluxia. Lauriam’s Nobody.”

“.......you keep using this word,” Xigbar said, squinting at the reasonably defined mesh of colors that was the different sort of redhead. “Soooo confidently. Like we’d know what it means. All that to say… the hell are you talking about, kid?”

Axel blinked. “I’m not a kid, I’m probably in my thirties.” 

“I didn’t mispeak,” Xigbar said.

“Neither did I… you don’t know what Nobodies are?” Axel asked, looking more bewildered, looking to Linnea for confirmation. 

“Be.Cause.I’m.Not.Lauriam,” Marluxia growled, before wincing, holding the bridge of his nose for a moment. 

Linnea gave him a concerned look. “...no, I really don’t know what you mean by a ‘Nobody’. But…” With only that as hesitation, Linnea reached out, putting a hand on the top of Lauriam’s head.

And with an involuntary little sigh of relief, Lauriam dazedly blinked, looking a little awkward as he leaned away from her hand. Frowning with unease as he said, “...Marluxia’s a part of me, he’s not,” Lauriam looked more uncomfortable, “something to heal away.”

Linnea smirked slightly. “But you did have a headache. Maybe that’s a little overkill, but give me a break wanting to do something for you.”

Lauriam flushed a little before looking away.

“...” Axel was a little lost on what just happened. She had healed him? Lauriam hadn’t seemed surprised. He supposed he’d catch up on it at some point, but a ping from Aeleus, checking on him, made him wince as he said aloud, “Our family… well, half of our family is in town. I have no idea where we go from this point, Lauriam finding his mother feels too important to just kinda brush aside to keep on schedule for our trip. Can I invite everyone here? We have things we need to talk about, I think.”

At this, Xigbar glanced quietly at Linnea. Xigbar was in charge when things were immediately dangerous, he had the mind and the ‘sight’ for it. But Linnea had a cooler and calmer head that Xigbar trusted over his own, when it came to plans and how best to tackle the days ahead. 

Maybe Linnea’s kids had missed out on it, but Linnea had learned to be a resourceful tactician, when it came to resources and getting people what they needed. Keeping them alive… well, as much as any of them had been good at it, long term. 

The supervisors hadn’t believed in keeping too many Empaths at once, or considering any of them ‘overly valuable’. They had pushed through Indentureds at backbreaking speeds and high numbers, relying on only a handful of Empaths at a time to do so. Didn’t make quota? Pissed someone off? The supervisor just got… bored with you?

You couldn’t afford to make a mistake, in the factory. No one got second chances. And Xigbar would trust Linnea’s instincts with his life, and had, a thousand times.

Family…

Our family. 

For a moment, Linnea’s eyes lowered. In a thousand chances in a thousand worlds, she would ask Lauriam to stay. For the two of them to reunite the part of their family they could, and move into the future. 

…but she couldn’t destroy another family for him. 

She took a slow breath. 

“Xiggy, could you let the kids know we’re having guests?” Linnea asked without looking at him as she rose. “Ammy, Axel, let’s wait for your family out front. I need to bring in the first aid kit and finish with the pots anyway, and I don’t think they’ll be as confident with directions as you, Lauriam.”

“Likely not,” Lauriam hummed, “I’m almost surprised I still remembered it, honestly.”

“Alright! Guests! Who’d have guessed!” Xigbar shouted triumphantly, standing up and clapping his hands together… before grinning at them, “Eh? See what I did there? Eh? Anyway! Hey, munchkins! Whatever you’ve made, triple it! We’re feeding more!”

-

After a bit, a carriage arrived. Some of them making the choice that, if a quick escape was needed, they’d want horses… and some of them deciding, if this was going to be a late night, having bedding nearby would be nice. 

The teens hopped out, looking curiously around the neighborhood, but suddenly quiet and uncertain at seeing the unfamiliar people standing with Axel and Lauriam. Hanging back as they waited for the others to park and come out as well, which one by one they did.

Even stepped forward first, glancing over Axel and Lauriam to ensure they were alright, before giving a cool, if somewhat guarded look to Linnea and Xigbar, bowing to them. “Well met. I’ve been informed we share a family member… how wonderful,” Even said dryly, his guard still up as he looked to the two older people, before sending, {And more in common than that?}

Linnea bowed back to the older man, taking note of how all the others, not just the (kid) kids, waited for his lead. “Nice to meet you, and welcome to our home. I’m glad you all accepted the invitation. My name is Linnea Belrose, I’m Lauriam’s mother.”

There was momentary alarm, but that feeling more ingrained than reactionary, before a feeling of amusement. {Indeed~}

With that initial introduction, Aeleus bowed as well, before raising an eyebrow at Lauriam, who flushed and grumbled defensively, “I didn’t think it’d come up!”

“What’s done is done,” Even whispered–a mantra that he kept close to the chest–before announcing, “I’d like to make further introductions, but would expect it might be practical to wait until the rest of the group arrives. I’m under the impression it was more than just you two?”

“Oh, sure, we’ve got everyone inside! They’re making food for all of us! Busy hands keep the demons at bay, or however that saying goes, I can never remember!” Xigbar said cheerfully, “Please, come inside! The backyard’s semi-private so if you want to stay out of the way of the cooking process, I’d recommend there, people will be running in and out of the living area. But first we can do intros! Come in, come on in, don’t be shy! We don’t randomly attack! Ha!”

“Uh huh,” Axel said dryly, nodding to the group as he headed in. 

“Hey!” Xigbar clapped, the noise and murmuring in the kitchen quieting. “Whatever’s cooking, put it on simmer and come out to introduce yourselves! We’ve got cousins! Or something, I don’t know, that feels right, right? Cousins? Cuz?” Xigbar said, giving Even a wink. “Oh, maybe not cousins though, unless we’re kissing cousins? I love a man our age with a full set of hair.”

“I’m a bit older than you,” Even said, and while clearly uninterested, not insulted either.

“Just makes it more enchanting, doesn’t it? Out, I said, come on!” Xigbar called to the kitchen.

Five people came out, the nerves on them obvious, as they seemed to almost subconsciously align themselves into a perfect row, ever so slightly curved from end to end as if they had long learned it was easier to give some central figure the ability to look at all of them at a glance. One of them, a man with a thick, tall body and a surprisingly young face, said, “Mr. Xigbar, are we putting on the masks?”

“What? No? Why?” Xigbar frowned, before saying knowingly, “They are very cool looking, aren’t they? You can show that off later! Also, seriously, the boys still aren’t here? They’re going to drive me mad someday.” Xigbar sighed, before grinning at the group. “These are my pride and joys! Introduce yourselves.”

“My name is Ira,” said the second tallest of them, a man with square shoulders and a thin patch of hair that faintly went across his chin, long blue hair swept back in a way that would have reeked casual confidence, had his eyes not been soft and vaguely worried as he bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. This is my twin sister, Invi.”

Invi had that same deep blue hair and golden eyes, though she was smaller in stature than her brother. But while his expression betrayed someone who was worried something was about to go wrong, hers was merely resigned, maybe even a little sad, as she bowed and said softly, “Well met.”

“Absolutely reliable to a fault, these two! If you need anything, they’re more than happy to help!” Xigbar said cheerfully.

“I’m more than happy to help as well!” said the tallest, a broad, bear of a man who seemed a little envious at the attention Xigbar had given the other two, bowing earnestly, “The name is Aced! Please feel free to rely on me as well!”

“Strong, loyal, eager. Excellent man, our Aced,” Xigbar agreed, Aced looking like he’d melt at the compliments, until he added, “Just try not to overwhelm him!”

“My name is Ava,” Ava said softy, bowing as well, soft, pink hair that was so light in tone it was nearly white briefly brushing her shoulders, “And I apologize, Axel, for my actions earlier. I had thought we were being invaded, and that perhaps you had Linnea under a spell or perhaps a mental trance.”

“She would think that! She’s our expert at them! I know we’re all technically some flavor of magic, but Ava here is magic. And we’re grateful every day for it!” Xigbar said.

“Thank you, sir,” Ava said softly. 

Finally, the smallest of them, and who seemed the most overtly irritated with this lineup and intro, still bowed stiffly as he said, “The name’s Gula. You lot have made this a very weird day for us.”

“Aww, our Gula. Clever, resourceful. Too much lip on him, admittedly, but thankfully he actually wasn’t in the factory very long before we closed down! I consider that a blessing, personally, it’d have been a shame to lose that fun spark of personality.”

“Thanks,” Gula said, feeling the others’ eyes on him as he sighed, “Sir.”

“And I am Xigbar! I like to think of myself as helpful in a crisis! And of course you know our lovely flower, Linnea, for whom without no doubt we would have all ended up locked in a basement somewhere or left in a gutter without her leadership! And yes, she’s also our familial connection!” Xigbar said proudly, gesturing between her and Lauriam. 

“...What a very…” Even struggled to find the right words, “...descriptive introduction. How organized.”

“You guys sound like you’re being auctioned,” Anthony noted, unconcerned with careful phrasing, “It’s kinda creepy. Buuuut, yanno, been there, done that, happens to the best of us!”

“Well, we are cattle! Or, we were~” Xigbar laughed cheerfully, “Habits and all of that! You know!”

“If we come off as ‘organized’, then it was a necessity to be so,” Linnea said, shrugging a little. 

It wasn’t just the coincidence of also being called ‘flower’, but seeing Lauriam next to Linnea? Aeleus thought the resemblance was uncanny. Different shades of pink, but it was obvious Linnea’s was different through age, but the same shade of green, the same turned shape of their eyes that tended to favor more amused expressions, and the small polite smile Linnea had given them was Lauriam 100%. 

With one set of introductions done, Lauriam let out a little huff before gesturing to his family. “Even, Aeleus, Kairi, Sora, Riku, Clara, and Anthony. They were in the factory too,” he gestured to the first three quarters of the list, “While Clara and Anthony are our guides, sort of, on our trip.”

“I see,” Linnea said, looking a little surprised to see other factory Empaths teaming up with, well, other people. “So…you know, then?”

Clara smiled tightly. “I’m an anti-psychic abuse advocate, ma’am, no quarrel with me against Empaths who just got a rough draw of the cards.”

“I was in a human experimentation prison,” Anthony shrugged with a lazy grin, “Do not have a leg to stand on against whatever weird Luminary concepts of demons y’all got going on.”

“Well met, everyone! Alright!” Xigbar clapped, looking to his five, “Come on, food! We can’t keep our hungry guests waiting! Go go!”

The five hurried back to the kitchen, Sora whispering to Riku and Kairi, who nodded, following them inside. “Well, hopefully they won’t be too in the way,” Xigbar chuckled, looking to the others as the noise in the kitchen rose, “Backyard? Too loud in here to have a proper conversation.”

The group headed out, and Even took a look around. “I can see you came by your green thumb naturally, Lauriam. Or, rather, Marluxia, perhaps, since he’s been more into the decorating side of things lately.”

“Yeah, that’s a whole other thing,” Axel said, leaning against the wall considering the limited number of seats, “They have no idea what a Nobody is. They’ve never heard of it before.”

“Hmmm… that’s not terribly surprising. We’ve never been able to converse between factories,” Even said, sitting down, “But maybe that’s not as important as the situation for Lauriam, right now.”

“Situation? No situation. Nothing but good vibes~” Xigbar smiled lazily. 

“Hmm,” Even hummed. Unconvinced. 

Without thinking that Axel was getting jumped this time, it had been…harder. To stand in front of his house, and not just…look. It was a dirt road, so of course there wouldn’t be any sign after so many years, but even still, Lauriam was having a damn battle to either have his gaze fixed on that spot, or to look anywhere but it. And walking through the house now, things had changed enough with nine people living there, but even then the running narrative in Lauriam’s head was:

There’s where they held Strel hostage. This is the corner I turned before killing someone. That’s the chair Strel brought home piece by piece. That’s where she sat me down when I thought I broke my hand from punching someone. That’s…

“There’s a reason we all gravitated towards it,” Marluxia rolled his eyes, before giving Even a pleased, sharp grin, “But thanks for recognizing that I can actually do things about it.”

Linnea gave Lauriam another considering look, before turning to Even. “Perhaps, but I would be interested in learning a little more about it. Ammy, you said your ‘Nobody’ is a part of you, but what does that…mean? The way you’re all speaking sounds like ‘Marluxia’ is another person.”

“Ooh, would you hear that~” Marluxia muttered, not entirely speaking to anyone, but not quite just to himself, “My own mother doesn’t think I’m a real person. Good thing that’s something I’ve never had an issue with, concerning my identity. It’s almost like I can’t really claim those memories as my own, who would’ve guessed~?”

“That’s not fair to her, Marluxia, and you’re doing yourself no favors putting words into her mouth. Don’t make yourself miserable for misery’s sake, we already have enough going on right now,” Even sighed, “Marluxia, and all Nobodies, were our factory’s well-established coping mechanisms for the process of torturing Indentured. We essentially created constructs that isolated the parts of ourselves that had to do the tasks, and gave those constructs enough personhood to do said tasks well. They were quite well crafted tools… right up until they weren’t. Now they’re a bit more complicated than that.”

“That’s wild,” Xigbar said, eyebrows raised high, “How on earth did you all pull that off? You all must be very powerful Empaths.”

“Not necessarily.” Even said, “We connected our powers together, created a sustainable central powersource that our weaker members could draw from. I imagine you must have done something similar, as I don’t know how many of our Empaths could have conditioned at all without it.”

“Man, I wish we had thought of something that sophisticated,” Xigbar said, his grin now showing signs of exhaustion, “With us? You either got good or… got got. But most of us got good! We were very good at training weak empaths to make the best of their abilities. Conditioning people doesn’t take that much raw strength, if you know what you’re doing.”

Axel frowned. “And… the people who couldn’t learn?”

“Eh, we did the best we could, so! How ‘complicated’ is this Nobody situation? Because it sounds like, yeah, like Linnea said, you just got a whole ‘nother in there.”

Marluxia grumbled and crossed his arms, looking away. 

It made Linnea’s heart ache, and also made her want to smile. She supposed she couldn’t really know how much she had been talking to Lauriam and how much his Marluxia, but all of it… He had so much personality still. She could see glimmers of her excited, prideful, sweet little boy, but so much more too, and she was just…relieved it hadn’t all been beaten or scared out of him. 

That necessity hadn’t robbed him of himself. Really, it sounded like it had given him more of himself. 

Linnea gave Even a bewildered look for a moment. “You completely mentally connected each other? That seems…” Dangerous. What did they do when someone died? Invasive. They’d gotten used to close quarters, but not even having your mind to yourself? …ingenious. If they had managed to find a way for everyone to succeed no matter the power or skill level? “Complex.”

Aeleus nodded a bit. It was. 

…got ‘got’, hm? His eyes flicked back towards the kitchen. Considering the notably younger Empaths inside, and how they acted around the older ones. 

Blinking a few times, Lauriam looked around, reorienting himself, before he sighed softly. “It basically is that, now. Marluxia is a construct, but he’s his own person for the most part. We’ve worked out an arrangement that’s more or less having us work in tandem.”

Linnea blinked, before a slow smile came across her face. “...so you’re saying I have two sons now?”

“S-sorry?” Lauriam stuttered, taken off guard by that.

“Essentially, yes,” Even said, “And if not in practice, then for our collective mental wellbeing, then yes. I’m still doing research on exactly where we might have… gone ‘wrong’ in the practice, for lack of a better word. Our Nobodies were never meant to be so sophisticated as to be considered independent. But constructs by their very nature do not forget they are constructs, or their place in our base essence… and yet our constructs clung to life. I fear that denying those parts of ourselves their place in our lives and mental landscapes would do considerable harm to any of us that wished to try for it long term. We’ve become a bit dependent on them.”

“You sure like to talk a lot, green eyes~” Xigbar grinned, “I can’t follow half of what you’re saying, but you do say it pretty.” 

“Hm,” Even hummed. Still unimpressed but unconcerned. 

“Pardon,” Ava said, coming out and bowing slightly, “Food is ready. We planned to serve it to you, but the three inside said you might feel uncomfortable if we did so.”

“Well, who wants to make our guests uncomfortable? We can self-serve today! Come on, they make great meals when they’re all working together! Our little troopers!” Xigbar said.

“Linnea,” Even said, “Could I trouble you for a word between us? Perhaps a walk around your garden here, while the others figure out matters of food?”

That did explain it more. But, well, however it came to be, the reality in front of her was that her son was now two sons, and at the end of the day? That’s what Linnea cared about.

Anthony’s eyes widened a little, grin not budging, as he leaned over to Clara to whisper, “...that’s fucked up in Luminary too, right? Like I’m not just stumbling over a culture thing?”

“...it is a bit concerning. Let’s see how this plays out, for now, before we decide what to do. I’ll try to pull Sora aside when we go in to ask him what he talked to the others about,” she whispered back. 

Aeleus shared a look with Even before leading the others of their group in, while Linnea rose, giving him a nod. “Sure thing.”

As the others went in to get food, Even frowned lightly as he walked into the grass. Not for the same concerns Axel had had, but mostly because his boots lightly sunk into the dirt. Couldn’t track that back into the carriage, he’d have to wipe them down. Ngh.

But as he walked with Linnea, he sighed. Doing his best to straighten his back and keep a calm appearance, as he said, “I apologize for the theatrics, I just suspect with the number of us around I will have few opportunities to naturally find a quiet word with you.”

“It does tend to be a rarity with large numbers in small quarters,” she hummed, smiling lightly, before she let go of a little sigh. While Even had straightened himself, Linnea took a step back before bowing low. “I have to thank you, truly, for looking after Lauriam I can only imagine all these years. While meeting him again now is better than I could’ve ever imagined…I know the factory, any factory, regardless of the differences between ours, is far, far worse than any imagination. So…thank you, Even, for keeping my boy alive. You have my endless gratitude.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Even said softly, bowing back, “Though it was far from an individual task, and Lauriam and Marluxia both repaid us all in kind many times. Survival tends to be a group effort. In some ways I can see you all have also embraced that. Though, I can see that without the tricks we were taught by Empaths who came before us, you had to approach it in a much more… stifling manner.”

“I cannot judge it. Sometimes a group must be saved despite itself,” Even murmured, looking to the house for a moment, before focusing on her again, “I’m bringing this up too early, I’m aware, but our immediate future already looks uncertain. We expected to spend little more than a day here. But you are a delay that it’d be unspeakably cruel to Lauriam to ask him to rush through for the convenience of travel plans. I cannot ask him to do that and have no intention to.”

“But safety for my family is across the border, not in it,” Even said, his expression cool, “If you have thoughts of asking Lauriam to stay? To remake a home with you here? I’d ask you to more seriously consider coming with us instead.”

Linnea smiled a little sadly as she looked back to the house as well. “...they’re good kids,” she said softly. “They all were good kids. All of them deserved to have long, vivacious lives spent how they wished, but that wasn’t the reality we lived in. And I would rather see someone quiet than dead.”

Unfortunately, she saw far too much of both. 

Even all this time later, now in a stable home, at least relatively, she wished she could say that things could be different, and in a lot of ways, they were. 

But in a lot of ways, there still were people around any corner waiting to kidnap anyone they could subdue to make work for their will. And Linnea wasn’t about to let that happen to the others again. 

…any corner in…

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You’re all going to Dicea?” That was in itself something to think about, but where it came to Lauriam… Linnea let out a soft, sad laugh. “...I like you. You’re a protective one.”

Linnea closed her eyes as she traced her fingers along some tall tulips, their colors bright as they waved in the mild wind. “...when you contacted Axel, before…he called you all ‘our family’. No names or other qualifiers necessary, just ‘our family’.” Opening her eyes, Linnea looked sadly at her garden. “...I do get why, I believe, Marluxia’s so mad at me. It’s been seventeen years since I last saw Lauriam. And even before that, I couldn’t be home as much as I wished. …if they found him when he was 12? Then he’s spent most of his life with you. I’ve missed him hitting double digits, all of the teens, getting more into the flow of adulthood…”

“Mr. Even, I couldn’t ask him to even consider leaving you all,” Linnea said quietly. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

She glanced back to the house, a worried expression flitting through her face. “...offering me to come along, though… I can’t leave them either.”

“I wouldn’t think you could,” Even said, “I did not offer with only you in mind.”

Looking back at the house, he said softly to her, “Your partner called you the reason this group had survived out here as long as they had, and I’ve chosen to believe him. He’s the sort of buffoon you can only get at that age with that sort of background where if you ignore his words simply because he said them in an irritating way, you’ll quickly either be stabbed by him, or by the thing he was trying to warn you about. Old buffoons are rarely wrong about who they owe their lives to.”

“But Luminary is dangerous for Empaths,” Even whispered. “Dangerous in general, right now, and doubly so for anyone that could give someone an advantage in dangerous times, or is ‘other’ from them. You ran back to your home because it was a familiar, safe place. I understand the desire, and am glad it has worked for you so far. But this is not a long-term solution,” Even said, gesturing to the house, “Especially as changed as they are? People will always recognize them as well-trained Indentureds, whether they ever truly were some or not. They’ll want to take advantage. They’d be better off in a country where people can’t recognize them for what they are, and won’t call them demons for more than that.”

Linnea snorted softly at Even’s comments on Xigbar. Though, she didn’t quite correct them. Her son’s family or not, there still were things she’d keep close to the chest. Xigbar was loud-mouthed, irritating, yes, but Linnea wouldn’t call him a buffoon sincerely. 

If she was the tactician, he was the general. When things had burst into flame, Linnea would trust no other hand more to pull her out of the fire. And while, yes, there was a certain need to ‘stifle’ things, as Even put it…Linnea attributed any amount of time in the factory that wasn’t spent in tears or deadeyed to Xigbar. 

…maybe soon it could even be laughs. 

Linnea’s lips pursed, tense. 

She had come back to Romeliad because…well, in part because she’d hoped to come home to her children. But she hadn’t just been chasing hopes and leaving Xigbar and the kids out to dry. Her home was hers; left without money or a roof over their heads, it was somewhere she knew that they could go and be safe. 

…but it was only safe in a relative sense. They were always looking over their shoulders. 

“...I’ll consider it,” she said quietly to Even. “We’ll talk it over. You said that your plans would be delayed regardless but how much time are you willing to give?”

“I’m not sure. I will have to ask my own people as well. Clara is the one who is safely escorting us through the border, her and the boy with her. Truly it’ll be up to them how much we can delay.” Even said, “For Lauriam and Marluxia’s sake, I would offer for as much time as you need. They’re angry now, but they’re always angry. Sullen men. But they’d regret it forever, to dismiss you without time to resolve all of this. I’d rather bratty and sullen, then genuinely grieving.” 

“You’ll see,” Even said tiredly, “It’s two very different things for them. One of them leads to flower fire explosions, I’ve heard.”

Linnea nodded, accepting that, before she laughed softly. “I’ll have to ask about that; perhaps one will be willing to snitch on the other. I never could get the stories of Ammy’s fights directly from him, at least at first.”

She huffed another amused sound. “I didn’t comment on it before, but they enjoy flowers, huh? I wonder what happened there, Lauriam always hated gardening.”

“I couldn’t begin to imagine. He’s always had a garden theme to his world since I’ve known him,” Even said. “If he was anything with you as he is for us, he was being contrary for contrary's sake. Your son is easily my most difficult child to manage. It’s impressive, honestly. I’m fairly certain he’s the reason my hair went white,” Even said dryly. Not a hint of irony or sarcasm. “I was blond when I met him. Now I’m white.”

“Ah, my little sun… Kids will do that,” Linnea hummed, before she gave Even a curious look. Something almost a little hesitant to it. “...you have the three that have met mine more, Ammy, Axel… Are…they your group? Axel did say that this was half of you.”

“There were 13 of us by the time we left,” Even explained, “Half of us are escaping to Dicea to set up a home base, while the other half have headed to the capital to rescue one of our own. Aeleus and I are leading this group, my son Ienzo and…” Even tsked, trying to pick. “...goodness, one of them. Ah, Aqua, likely, now that she’s not Terra, are both leading that group to the capital. I’ve partially raised many of them. It’s the nature of living in the factory, as you know, they find so many Empaths still in adolescence. But Ienzo I raised from the time he was 7,” Even said, his voice fond, a little sad, “He’s grown to be very clever, perhaps a better researcher than I ever was. I’ve missed the last year of his life, with my Nobody taking on the responsibility of looking after him… It’s been a trying year.”

“Sorry, your question made me think of my son,” Even sighed, “Thirteen of us, yes. We all plan to reunite in Dicea. Why do you ask?”

…he called a child he met in the factory his son. Even had talked about raising Lauriam, there was a parent-child dynamic there, a family one no doubt, but this Ienzo was his son. Unambiguously. 

Linnea’s expression softened as Even talked about his son, her heart panging hearing that the boy had been brought in at 7, but still just feeling empathetic, hearing another parent talk about their child. 

“No need to apologize for that,” she said softly, before sighing. “You mentioned having multiple children to manage, so I was curious about that. It…sounds like you’ve gotten to raise them fully.” Linnea glanced down, before looking at Even straight on. “I apologize if I’ve drawn the wrong conclusion, and I’m about to be hurtful, but from some of the things you all have said, I think your factory had a much smaller ‘turnover rate’ than ours. Especially if you’ve gotten to raise your children.”

If he had been able to consider them his children at all.

“I did wonder why there were so few of you,” Even admitted, “As I told the others, it wasn’t as if we could communicate with other factories. We don’t really know what happened in ones other than ours… but seven Empaths seems too few. Nine if I count the missing boys Xigbar mentioned. That’s still quite few. And my group was more, not that long ago. At our height, there were 20 of us at once.”

“Empaths grew old, in the factory. I have to imagine there was some design to it, though I can’t imagine how they pulled it off. It always seemed like we got new Empaths in batches, and they always came when our eldest Empaths were starting to slow down.” Even said, “We lost a few to violence. Over my lifetime, we lost three, and to most of them, they’ll only remember losing the one. But most Empaths we just lost to old age. Or, old for us. Most of us started to break down in our sixties, which is too early for it to be ‘old age’, but… that’s still what it was. We just broke sooner.” 

He turned to her, frowning in concern. “That is not what you experienced.”

Linnea’s eyes widened. 

…twenty? Twenty?!

She looked at Even in stunned awe as he described his experience in his factory. Twenty at their height. Three lost to violence, but to most of their group, one. Most of them living to their 60s, and dying of age, even if that was accelerated. 

“...” She was at a loss for words for a moment, before shaking her head. Gently rubbing circles into her wrist. “...no, that was not our experience.”

“I was put in the factory at 46. That already made me the oldest Empath all of those I met at the time had known,” Linnea said softly, looking stunned. A little lost. “...Xigbar called us cattle earlier, but I think that would be too generous. We were a cheap, disregarded resource. If you made a mistake, if you caused a problem, if one of the supervisors just didn’t like the look of you that day…we didn’t get second chances.”

“This is the most of us we’ve ever had. Sometimes, it was just the two of us,” Linnea murmured, “I got to see the kids make it to 30 twice. One, because he had been 29 when he was brought in.”

“...no wonder you all never learned the tricks we did,” Even said softy, “Your factory never gave you a chance. I can’t even imagine the madness of your supervisors, to do that. Our Empaths specialized in certain conditionings, they grew skills that were difficult to replicate, gained value over time… What is the sense of murdering us like that? Certainly they must have…”

Even grit his teeth, looking away. “The man who ruled over the whole process loved cruelty for its own sake. Who could begin to guess what led to your executions, but we cannot assume it was reasonable. So much of our pain wasn’t…”

“...the fact that you not only survived, but managed to bring anyone with you? Is an accomplishment,” Even whispered, “It is not your fault that the supervisors did not value your lives. If any of mine speak out of turn about it, or critique you? I will correct them. If your wardens mean to hurt you, there is very little you can do to dissuade them. Almost nothing you can do to stop them. It was out of your control.”

“I had always attributed it to hatred. Blind, cruel hatred, that dehumanized us. There was no changing them, or fighting them…only appeasement, if only just to not give them the idea that day,” Linnea said, the weight of so, so many lives reminding her of their presence. “I’d thought most of the factories were like that.”

Most, because…

Linnea glanced up at Even, stiffening, at…him. 

“...I’ll thank you for the consideration, I don’t mean to gloss over that, but--” Linnea leaned towards Even, even if he was much taller than her, and spoke in a quick whisper. “I have to ask, do you know what became of…the man that ruled the process?” The epithet was said stiffly, hints of anger only tempered by fear in the suddenly frantic question as Linnea looked up at him pleadingly. “He had a particular interest in two of my boys. None of us were powerful enough to stop him, so I had to ask the boys to play along for their own sakes, but…”

There was a fire in green eyes Even might recognize. “If I ever see that bastard face to face I’m going to make him into mulch.”

Even smiled lightly. “You are protective too. It’s a good quality in a leader.”

The wrinkles on his face deepening into a grimace, he said, “We’ve only recently learned we had a similar problem with one of our girls, though it’s not who you’d imagine. Still, I do not appreciate hearing that he even targeted one of our young Nobodies, who like your boys, felt compelled to ‘play along’ for our collective safety.”

Reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder, he said, “I’ve heard from a reliable resource that he’s dead. More than dead… mentally obliterated. All trace of him gone, a full mind-wipe. If the trials, unlikely as it would be, were real? He could not even follow us there. He is gone… is what I have heard. And I believe it.”

Linnea matched his grimace. “I’m sorry, though I’m not surprised… When we got Hao and got him to talk about him, and realized it was exactly what Xeha was going through? I had the idea that it might’ve been something happening in a lot of factories. That bastard ensuring that his nasty little roots were dug into each one.”

Though, hearing that Tengan was…dead? 

Linnea’s eyes widened…before a cruel grin spread across her face. “Really?! Ha, it’s fitting that even news about his death is upstaged by meeting my son again. Get fucked,” she laughed lowly, a grim delight taken in the news. 

She hadn’t been able to do it herself, but no one was going to touch her boys and live to do it again.

“It is a bit of a relief, isn’t it? One less thing to worry about,” Even sighed, patting Linnea on the back, “Anyway, thank you for hearing me out. We can discuss this more as a group, but I wanted to approach you about it first. Test the waters, so to speak.”

“Incredibly,” Linnea agreed, letting go of a breath and calming again. “And I appreciate your discretion. As your Axel has seen, and I do apologize for all of that, we’re a bit on edge lately. Having the time and space to think about your offer is something I greatly appreciate.”

Gesturing back to the house, she smiled lightly. “But, before any decisions, let’s eat. The kids really are some wonderful cooks.”

-

The ‘kids’ were some of the quietest, more nervous people the heart trio had ever seen, and they had regularly tortured people. So like… they knew what quiet and nervous was. This was quiet and nervous.

They always seemed to gravitate towards the half circle thing too. There was only so much table space, and it had been decided without really being said that the older folks would have access to the chairs and tables proper, while the rest of them headed to the living room to sort of make-do with what was there. Perhaps being generous to the guests, the other Togami Empaths had all volunteered to sit on the floor, again in that little neat half circle, while the rest of the Empaths had found whatever spot looked more comfortable to them in that moment, which included the couch, an easy chair, a piano bench seat, or kneeling next to the coffee table. 

It was quiet, as they ate. There was some murmur and discussion from the table where the older Empaths were, but in the living room everyone just sort of awkwardly stared at each other, trying to figure out what to say.

“...so!” Sora said, smiling, “The food came out really well! This is delicious.”

“Ah,” Ira startled, before bowing his head politely, “Thank you. We did our best.” 

Sora laughed awkwardly, not sure how to say they definitely didn’t need to bow to him. He wasn’t anyone. He was 16! But before he could say anything, Riku asked, “So, is there anyone else from your group? It’s not just you guys, right?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” Ava smiled softly, “We have two more of us. The boys, Xehanort and Hao. But they like to go out and wander. We’ve tried to corral them a bit, but, well–”

“Totally untouchable. Spoiled, honestly,” Aced grumbled, digging into his food.

“Aced, come on now,” Ira said, giving his friend a troubled, disappointed look, before smiling warily at the others, “Sometimes they come back if they know food is ready, so perhaps you’ll meet them soon.” Ira then seemed to falter out of nowhere, frowning, before bowing his head slightly, “Apologies, we were rambling. Forgive us if we just go on sometimes. Of course we’d love to know more about you.”

“You barely said anything,” Kairi laughed, only sounding a little uncomfortable, before saying gamely, “But, sure! Though it feels like there’s so much to tell that I don’t even know where to begin! Um… oh, I know! What city was your factory in? Ours was Chonis!”

Gula gave a small nod at Aced’s grumble. Yeah, it was just because he was super jealous of, like, anyone Xigbar and Linnea praised, but he did still have a point. Those two had even been in the factory longer than him, and yet? It was like they were, well…normal teenagers. If being normal meant you had a god-complex or were a complete people pleaser. 

And as the youngests? They were certainly treated that way. Spoiled. 

Her head bowed demurely, Invi said quietly, “We were in Ribata.”

Lauriam raised an eyebrow. “Wait, hold on, isn’t Ribata way out west?”

“Yupp,” Gula drawled, cutting his lasagna into little pieces with probably more force than was needed, “Linnea said she knew a place when we all got kicked to the curb. Crossing the country seemed like a better idea than trying to find a corner that had an overhang and wasn’t already taken.”

“That must have been quite a trip,” Axel said on the couch, digging into the food himself. Riku was a great cook, but this was the sort of thing you could only eat from a kitchen, and it seemed the group of five were excellent collectively at cooking. “We’ve stayed in Chonis up until recently. Which was a bit of a mixed bag, as you can guess, since the supervisors stayed too.”

“But we managed to hold up in this abandoned tavern thing that was a building in some dead-end back alley… at least that’s what I’m told,” Riku laughed, shrugging, “We also had this whole thing where our Nobodies took over our lives for a whole year. It was Kairi’s fault.”

“Hey!” Kairi pouted, “I mean, yeah, but don’t tell them that.”

“Oh, actually, they don’t know what Nobodies are,” Axel explained, seeing the politely blank looks on the five, “Their factory didn’t do Nobodies. Or an island.”

“What!?” Sora gasped, “You didn’t do either!? That’s…” Sora hesitated, trying to think of the most diplomatic way to say this to their hosts, “...brave? Of you?”

“You guys don’t share Empath links?” Riku asked curiously, “I can’t even remember what it’s like to be really alone in my head. We’ll have to show you our island, it’s a nice place to hang out actually.”

The five sat uncertainly. Everyone was talking a lot and very fast. They weren’t sure when they were allowed to interject or add anything to the conversation. Finally, when there seemed to be a pause in conversation, Aced said, “Well, we have cool Empath tricks we know!”

“Not that it’s a race,” Ira said.

“Not that it’s a race!” Aced said, “But we learned all sorts of difficult and nuanced tricks to torturing Indentureds!”

“Not that we’re proud,” Ira said.

“Not that we’re proud!” Aced huffed, “But we did!”

“Though creating a sort of collective Empath space between all of you is very impressive,” Ira smiled softly, “I’m sure we’d be honored to see it. When you’re willing to have us.”

Invi glanced up with an alarmed look she quickly hid, and Gula found himself puffing up a bit. They’d stayed where their supervisors were?!?! Did they have a death wish?! 

But while their conversations seemed to be a little slower on the uptake, it was becoming clear that the Chonis factory and the Ribata factory were very different places. 

Gula gave Riku a curious, skeptical look. “Sharing Empath links--isn’t that super distracting? Like, do you guys just hear each other’s emotions all the time?”

“You get used to ignoring white noise,” Lauriam shrugged, before he smirked a little, “Though you’re not wrong. It can be a little much. Which is why we’re not just inviting you over this literal second, since I doubt anyone would enjoy faceplanting on their plates.”

“Man, every new thing I hear about your island sounds so cool,” Anthony whined, before light-heartedly rolling his eyes, “But I guess I’ll just have to live with descriptions.”

“Oh! No, you don’t have to!” Sora said, excitedly looking to Anthony, “We can bring you! That’s totally a thing we can do!”

“It could make traveling less boring, if you wanted to hang out with us on the island,” Riku shrugged, “You keep to yourself a lot Anthony, we weren’t sure if you wanted to hang out with us like that.” 

“I am sooooooooooooOOOOOOooooOOOoooOO boooored!” Anthony tipped his head back, wiggling himself from his shoulders. “Clara’s great, she’s perfect, she’s an angel sent from above, buuuut she’s also really busy. You know what I’ve done for like the past two months?”

Anthony stuck his tongue out, the fatigue in his eyes betraying the childish action. “I’ve been sitting in a cabin trying to be the zennest guy ever. It’s so boring. At least I had stuff to do in prison sometimes.”

He let out a dramatic sigh, putting his chin in a hand. “Buuuuut sweetcheeks and I don’t think I’d take someone messing with my head, even all friendly-like, well, and I know you guys haven’t really seen it, but you do not wanna see me freak out.”

“Um,” Ava hummed, looking between the Chonis Empaths and their guide curiously, before focusing on the guide, “Well, if you’ve been bored, perhaps we could all do something in the real world together today? We play cards.”

“You were imprisoned?” Aced asked, looking oddly keenly interested, “What was it like living in a dungeon? Did you live in one of those underground old fashioned ones? What was your crime?”

“Aced,” Ira sighed, “I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about it. Please don’t mind us, Anthony, we can change the subject.”

Anthony did perk at the mention of cards--sure, it wasn’t the most exciting thing, but when you had been doing literally nothing it sounded like a blast!--though he laughed at Aced’s questions. “Man, I wish! Nah, I was imprisoned in a lab, so it wasn’t even cool imprisonment. And I was thrown to the not-dungeon dungeons for the heinous, unforgivable, awful crime of--!!”

He struck a dramatic pose, his voice hanging with the gravity of horror. “Being a human!”

Gula squinted, clearly having a ‘wtf’ kind of expression. “...what?”

“Gula,” Ira chastised ever so lightly, before smiling at Anthony, “I’m assuming that’s a joke? It’s very funny.”

“Yeah, we can tell, because you laughed so much,” Riku said.

“Riku,” Sora chastised ever so slightly harder, “Though, yeah, Anthony, what does that mean? I feel like you’ve told us you were a part of experiments before, but that was by Empaths, right? Do you just mean a non-Empath human?”

“I assumed it was the transformation stuff,” Kairi admitted, “Did it not start with the transformation stuff? I feel like it’d start there.”

Lauriam looked at Anthony for a moment. “...you said you were from Danganronpa.”

“Ding, ding, ding! Ooh, points for a good memory!” Anthony laughed, before sitting up. It was story time~ “Mhmmmm, and you are sort of right with the transformation stuff, Kairi. I’m from Danganronpa, the land of, yikes, if you’re born human and not already someone’s pet, you better keep that shit secret! Which didn’t work out for me in the long run, whoopsie, so I ended up in a human experimentation lab run by Empath Flora who were veeeeery interested in the sort of mad science that was happening in NEST in the days of yore.”

“Now, you guys heard that story, I’m told,” he waved at the Chonis Empaths, “But for the newbies! Another set of your factory cousins were kind of psychos! And were working on some mad science that turned people into mindless monsters, before everything went to smithereens! Buuuut that info got out, and paired with all the experiments Flora do on humans anyway, that allll resulted in what happened to me.”

Invi looked at Anthony with wide-eyed shock. Almost feeling like she wasn’t supposed to speak at all, before tentatively asking, “...what’s a Flora?”

“I was a bit curious about that as well,” Ira whispered to his sister, before smiling warily, “Though, of course, if it’s not our business, consider our curiosity abated.” 

“Um,” Sora gave Anthony a worried look–was he good?--but still did his best to answer, “Flora are a species? Like us, but different. They come from Danganronpa. They’re… plants or something.” Sora shrugged a little helplessly. “We’re just told they’re the main reason the factories existed and that if you encounter a Flora? Get away from it. They’re dangerous.”

“What’s worse, the sort of Empaths Anthony here is talking about? Were apparently there voluntarily. Which I didn’t even think was an option for anyone… well, other than the Head Secretary, of course,” Axel sighed.

“It does seem a bit unfair, doesn’t it?” Hao said, sitting between Axel and Lauriam on the couch, eating some lasagna. “You’d think at least the offer would have been made to everyone. Perhaps they simply already knew which Empath would say yes or not.”

“Yeah, that’s a theory–WHO THE FUCK!?” Axel shouted, practically flinging himself away from the boy, who gave him a gentle smile as Axel gave him a bug-eyed look, “When did you GET THERE?!”

Anthony just grinned at Sora. “That advice pretty much sums it up, yeah. I mean, the queen’s dead and everything was on fire last I saw, so it’s not as dangerous now, which is why I’m not bein’ all sneaky-sneaky about it, but it’s generally a good idea to get as far from a Flora as you can.”

Lauriam jumped as well, startling at the sudden kid??? Though by Gula’s stifled snort, and…

“We came back a while ago, don’t throw a fit,” another teen rolled his eyes, leaning on the back of the couch with his own plate. “Better question, who the fuck are you?”

“These are Empaths from another factory, Xehanort,” Invi explained, before nodding to Lauriam, “And this is Miss Linnea’s son.”

“Not actually dead, obviously,” Gula added.

Ira swallowed a sigh. Oh, good. The boys were back. {Sir, the boys have returned,} he sent to Xigbar.

{Great! And also I know! Relax, enjoy some time with your new friends!}

Sure.

Ira smiled warily. “Though, still be gentle with Linnea about that conversation. Unfortunately, the same good news couldn’t be said about her daughter.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. But also, that’s quite thrilling, that you and Miss Linnea found each other,” Hao smiled warmly at Lauriam, “Today is a good day then. Though, we don’t usually talk to this many new people. I’m sure our friends are sweating a little.”

“No, of course not! We’re delighted!” Ava said.

“We’re not going to let other Empaths scare us. We’re tough, they have nothing on us!” Aced huffed.

“Not that we want a fight,” Ira said.

“Not that we’re looking for a fight, obviously,” Aced said.

“Anyway. May we introduce the two final members of our factory. This is Hao,” Ira said, gesturing to Hao, who bowed his head lightly, “And this is Xehanort,” Ira said, gesturing to Xehanort next, “They’re… extremely adept Empaths, and are a bit mischievous with that ability, sometimes. I assure you they mean no harm.”

“You must be relieved, that you’ve escaped such a terrible situation,” Hao smiled at Anthony, “I think we can all relate. Though I’m glad you managed to escape other Empaths as well.”

Lauriam smiled a little awkwardly back. “It’s…certainly been something. Can’t say I was expecting to run into any family when we stopped through here.” Lauriam… It was a good thing, wasn’t it? Okay, maybe he did have more resentment than he thought, that Marluxia was more than happy to bring up, but Lauriam didn’t hate his mom. Yeah, learning that she had been imprisoned too was a lot worse than just assuming she’d skipped town to have a life without child responsibilities, but it was good to learn she was free now…right?

…he wasn’t really sure…what to feel about everything. 

Instead of bowing, at his introduction Xehanort nodded his head up a little. 

“Oh yeah, totally,” Anthony agreed with Hao. “Like, Clara, angel she is, was suuuper considerate when the prince was chattin’ with her about, like, my boundaries and stuff, but--” He shrugged a little, looking around the group. “It sounds like you guys were in the same boat I was, doesn’t really matter that you’re Empaths. So we’re all cool, and bein’ cool while free.”

Xehanort hummed shortly at that, before looking at the new Empaths. “So what can you guys do? I assume not just what you needed for conditioning,” he said, the last part edging a little into disparaging.

“What do you mean?” Sora asked, “I mean… the normal Empath stuff, I guess?”

“Jump in people’s minds, pull and use their memories, look for greatest fears,” Axel said, “Well, some of us can do that.”

“Make Nobody constructs to act as separate people,” Riku said, knowing a challenge when he heard it, narrowing his eyes at Xehanort, “Turn those constructs into really sophisticated Chibis. Which, totally understandable if you’ve never heard of those. Pretty advanced stuff. Not for amateur Empaths.” 

“Mindwipes,” Kairi said idly, “Memory alteration… Why, do you guys have specialties?”

“...you can alter memories?” Aced asked.

“I’m still trying to understand how you make a separate person,” Ava frowned, “Do you mean… metaphorically? Or as an example? Not literally, yes?”

Xehanort narrowed his eyes right back at Riku, though there was something more searching about the look. 

…okay fine yeah, he didn’t know what a chibi was!! An advanced construct? Like, sure, he got that concept as it was, but a construct could be literally anything, and anything could be advanced, but if an advanced construct had a specific name then that meant it was a Big Concept so he wanted to know.

But he couldn’t just ask this guy!! Look at his face! 

Ignoring the wary look Invi shot him, Xehanort {reached out to look for what a chibi wa--}

“What the fuck-?!” Xehanort gasped, reeling back.

Sitting himself up more, Marluxia glowered down at the addled teen. “Oh dear, was someone snooping around~?”

“Oh! Wait, what’s happened–” Ira started to say, while Aced started to stand up and Ava immediately put her hands together, lowering her head as if briefly in prayer, before putting her palms up…

Hao watched everyone freeze in place. 

At least, everyone in the living room did. In the dining room, the others were still talking, unaware anything was happening. Occasionally, one of the others would blink, or take a deep breath. But for every other sense? To most people in the living room, time had ‘stopped’.

Hao stood up, walking to Xehanort, giving him a soft, worried look, “Are you okay?”

Straightening himself, Xehanort scowled, before tempering the expression into dismissive disinterest. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just surprising.”

He glanced over to Lauriam. The famous son of Linnea. The person he’d seen her grieve for the past few months, returning to Romeliad to hear that her children had been killed in the street. Quite different from the 9-year-old they’d seen in the few memories she’d shared with them…quite different. 

Xehanort smirked a little, sharing an intrigued look with Hao. “Looks like these guys really do have some tricks up their sleeves…if a bit on the nose. I saw a dragon.”

“A dragon?” Hao whispered, looking to the man as well. “That’s interesting… Some of the things they’re saying? Sound beyond what we know. Which is odd, isn’t it? If so, why were we chosen, and not them… Also, have you noticed? No sign of her.” Hao smiled a tad sadly. “Perhaps she died before we were released. That’s a shame–”

Hao suddenly grit his teeth. Leaning against Xehanort, whispering as he barely kept his eyes open, “Something’s wrong. Xeha, something–”

Kairi gripped the armrests that bordered her where she sat on the recliner, sweating as she focused, focused, focused–

Hao blinked. He had a headache. When had he… moved to sit beside Xehanort? 

“...sorry, you all were saying something about… chibis?” Hao asked, trying to make sure he remembered what just happened more than actually asking about the chibis themselves. “What are… we were just speaking of that, yes?”

“Yep,” Kairi said stiffly, sweating on her armchair, though she shakily stood up, “Though, excuse me! I need some water! Anyone want anything while I’m in there?”

“O-oh, you don’t have to trouble yourself,” Invi said quickly, though seeing that Kairi was on a roll, she instead just came to slightly behind the teen’s side. “Let me show you where the glasses are, at least…”

Gula watched the girls go for a moment, frowning slightly. 

…something had just happened, hadn’t it. It wouldn’t be the first time someone pulled something out of their bag of tricks that just completely bypassed his brain, but this was the first time of it happening with new people, and despite what Linnea said, ones that he was sure would be more than willing to fight them if it came down to it.

Lauriam blinked, a little disoriented, before he sighed softly. “Our resident Chibi expert isn’t here, but basically they’re semi-independent, super powerful constructs.” He half shrugged. “Marluxia’s technically one, if you’d like to meet him more properly and see for yourself.”

“Semi-independent? That sounds incredible, and borderline fantastical… which I’d trust less, if everything for the last three years hadn’t been fantastical,” Ava laughed tiredly. 

“...three years?” Sora asked. 

Ava smiled proudly, squaring her shoulders as she said, “Almost four. I know I seem soft, but I can manage when it counts.” 

“Manage what, you were barely–ow!” Riku oofed, Axel glaring at him, having thrown a couch pillow at him, “What!?”

“Sorry, my brother here can be a dumbass sometimes,” Axel said, ignoring Riku’s glare as he grinned at Ava, “And yeah, that is impressive! Though, I don’t think I’m saying anything new by adding ‘wish you hadn’t had to’.”

“No, of course not,” Ira laughed softly, looking tired, “But still. It’s good to celebrate the small victories. That’s what Xigbar and Linnea always say.”

“Quietly,” Aced said, crossing his arms, “In our heads.” 

{🎉} Hao playfully sent. 

“I feel like we had really different experiences,” Sora said, before looking past them, “Welcome back, Kairi! Get your water alright?” 

“Yeah, sorry. I just felt shaky all of the sudden. I think all the traveling has caught up to me,” Kairi admitted, nodding thankfully to Invi for helping her, “Does anyone know if we’re spending the night tonight? Or are we still leaving today?”

Lauriam raised his eyebrows a little, though he had more sense than Riku to say it out loud. …three years? Of course there was the part of him that was glad Ava had only had to deal with the factory for three years, but…even the teens had been in for five, and it had really seemed like they’d only scratched the surface of being there. 

Huffing with a soft sound, Gula sent back a more sarcastic, {🥳}

Different experiences was right.

“Uhhh, I’d figure we’re spending the night, right?” Anthony said, looking a little surprised that Kairi was even asking, before he gestured to Lauriam. “You said it was like 17 years or something since you and your mom have seen each other right? Seems a little quick to say hey for an afternoon before skipping town.”

Lauriam shrugged a little, missing casual and landing firmly in ‘uncomfortable’. “Seems so.”

“I’m mostly just confirming because I think I need to go to bed early,” Kairi admitted, “I’m beat, I need a nap.”

“It’s barely the afternoon, Kairi,” Riku frowned, “Are you feeling sick?”

“It’s probably that time of month,” Sora said wisely, almost mindlessly dodging the pencil thrown at his head. “Get some sleep, Kairi! We can explore the town more later!”

“We actually do need to clean all of this, and there were other things and errands we were running when we were all called here,” Ira said, his brow starting to pinch as he recalled all of the things they were now not getting done, “And we were also supposed to start a load of laundry this afternoon too, while the sun was still high…”

“I hear my Ira here needlessly worrying~ Geez, man, what’s it gonna take for you to stop thinking every minor task I give you is some life or death thing?” Xigbar said cheerfully, coming in and idly petting Ira’s hair, who looked down at his lap, embarrassed. “This is a special occasion! Laundry can wait!”

“Though, the dishes and kitchen can’t,” Xigbar said, clapping his hands together, all five of the others immediately standing up as he did so, “Come on, gang, work together and it’ll get done as fast as making the food did! And then, after that, I want a report from each of you of what tasks you were accomplishing today, and we’ll assess if it’s urgent they still need to get done today or if we can put it off. Then we can all relax! Perfect, right~?”

“Yes sir,” Ira said, before turning to the other four and saying, “Gula, would you help me collect everyone’s dishes? We’ll join everyone else in the kitchen once we’ve grabbed everything.”

“U-uh,” Sora looked around fretfully, “We can help–”

“Not at all, you’re guests! Relax, they’ve got this!” Xigbar said cheerfully.

It was notable that Xehanort and Hao made no move to go to the kitchen, and no one so much as glanced at them to see if they would. 

Xigbar turned to the Chonis Empaths, and smiling wide, said, “Look, our home is your home. It’s especially your home, Lauriam! You’ve been traveling a long time, a lot on your minds, I get it! Enjoy the town, enjoy the house, enjoy that nap, girlie!” Xigbar said, giving fingerguns to Kairi, “It’s a day for relaxing! Enjoy!”

Gula narrowed his eyes a little. Definitely something. But if ‘something’ happened, then prodding Kairi to see what exactly she was tired about would likely cause another ‘something’ to happen. 

…and there were already enough somethings to do today. 

Sighing a bit as the taskmaster came by to get things into shape again, Gula got up, grumbling indistinctly but nonetheless starting to collect dishes. 

Lauriam looked to Hao and Xehanort, then the other five, before he got up to bring in his dishes before either Ira or Gula could get to him. “If today was meant to be a laundry day, then could we make use of the waterline? I could put the lines out and get started on our own laundry, and it’d be faster to just do many loads at once.”

Anthony gave Lauriam a bewildered look before leaning towards Sora. “He usually like this? Dude just got free rein to not do chores and his answer is, nah, I’ll do ‘em anyway??”

“Not really??” Sora whispered back. Lauriam had never tried to overtly skirt chores, but they were far from his favorite thing. “Maybe he just needs to keep busy… Speaking of, Anthony, Kairi might be taking a nap, but me and Riku are still up. Want to go find trouble in town?”

Ira fretted a little to see Lauriam get up with his own plate, but quieted down when Xigbar patted his shoulder. “Well! If laundry would help out our guests and they’re doing it anyway, I guess there’s no harm in you getting back to it, Ira. After dishes… besides,” Xigbar said quietly to Ira, “It’d be good to get to know Linnea’s son, right? He’s important to her, so he’s important to us, and I’d like it if we made a better impression on him. I know you won’t let me down, champ~”

“I… yes,” Ira whispered back, before calling out to Lauriam, “There’s a river nearby that I’ve found makes washing a little quicker. Would you like to make a trip with me?”

Anthony lit up, before there was almost visible--and for an Empath, it was very obvious to feel--guilty hesitation. He really wasn’t supposed to go into towns… Not because it was just something Clara had told him, she wasn’t his keeper, for all that he owed, well…everything to her. He knew just how bad things could get if he got freaked out or overwhelmed or, damn, even just kind of excited in a public place. 

…but gaaaaaawd he had been so boooooooored!! Anthony had never really had the opportunity to be a social butterfly, but before they had been sold out there was at least some stuff he could do! And seeing a real, bustling human town…

“Absolutely.” Anthony grinned

Lauriam glanced over to Ira. 

He knew where the damn crook was.

“Sure, sure, that sounds good,” Lauriam agreed. “Gathering up everyone’s laundry will probably take me a moment, so don’t rush on my behalf.”

“Great! Glad to see everyone getting along! This isn’t so hard!” Xigbar said cheerfully, looking around, “Oh, and boys–nope, they’re gone.” He sighed, seeing Gula picking up their plates, “One of these days I’m gonna give them a real talking to about that. Ah well, boys will be boys. Linnea! We should take Even and Aeleus to that pastry place! Get some dessert!”

-

It was a quiet walk to the creek. 

Ira was pulling a wagon behind him, filled with soiled clothes and linen. With so many people, even doing laundry frequently still meant there was always plenty more to do. And while they had discussed everyone doing their individual laundry at different times, Xigbar had argued that larger batches were easier to schedule, and thus easier to keep track of where everyone was and what everyone was doing. It was very easy to know who was doing laundry, if one person was assigned and it was literally a half a day’s worth of a task.

Ira didn’t mind. He liked the laundry, actually. It was quiet, and it was nice to sit by the creek, even if it was cold as they started to sort the clothes. 

“...” Ira shot Lauriam a slightly worried look, setting up the basket to work on the larger pieces first, as he asked, “So, is it nice to be home?”

Lauriam hadn’t really been doing a lot of laundry, over the past year. Marluxia hated it, so when it had been time to divvy up chores, he always jumped at the chance for other things, and looking through scattered memories, a lot of that had ended up being sifting through debris for anything usable or helpful. Then, well, when he had come back, Lauriam hadn’t been in a state for doing much of anything. 

But when he was a kid? Laundry had always been a two person operation. Looking back, Lauriam figured that Strelitzia just hadn’t wanted him running around while she was stuck somewhere for a while. And in the factory, Lauriam had gotten skilled quickly at doing laundry in a sink. 

Hefting their mesh laundry bags over his shoulders, Lauriam started setting up the drying lines before getting started on the washing. 

“I don’t mean to make conversation difficult, but not really,” Lauriam said, sounding calm as he got to work. “I didn’t really leave here on the best terms. Has it been nice for you? I imagine nine people in that house does cause some bumped elbows.”

“Oh, no, you don’t make it difficult. It’s understandable if you just don’t want to answer a question,” Ira said, lathering and starting to scrub at the linen, the water flowing in and through the basket, “Yes, actually. Traveling across the country, especially at the time we did, was… challenging.” 

Crossing the country with almost nothing to their names was hard. Doing it during a mini famine and in the aftermath of a ruthless civil war had been more-so. Honestly, they had been lucky no more of them had died.

They had Xigbar and Linnea to thank for that.

Ira was grateful. 

“When we arrived, it was actually a bit of an adjustment period, to trust that we really were going to stay here for longer than a week,” Ira admitted, “Linnea kept saying we were coming to safety, to stay, but I rather thought that when you and your sister weren’t here? That we’d move on quickly. I was surprised when we stayed, but it’s been a relief.”

“I suppose you can understand that rather intimately,” Ira said, “Traveling as you have been… um.” Ira frowned, scrubbing. “I believe I am currently occupying your room. Along with a few of the others, but, I can speak for all of us when I say if you wish to reclaim it tonight? We can make due elsewhere, it’s no bother.”

“I could only imagine,” Lauriam hummed. “I guess it’d be different actually having a goal to travel to, but travel seemed impossible to even start to organize without help. It’s no small feat you all managed.”

He could only imagine how weird it was to think about staying, too. They hadn’t gotten into it, but Lauriam had asked Marluxia a bit about those first few months out of the factory. And that constant expectation that they were just in a lie, that any second they’d be sent to a new factory, a new prison, new masters… 

For people like them, safety didn’t feel safe. Not until they were beaten over their heads about it, and even then it was a tough pill to swallow. 

Lauriam looked down for a moment, as Ira mentioned him and Strelitzia not being there, before he took a small breath, the lines up, and joined Ira by the water, starting the bigger pieces from his own group. Though, he snorted a bit at what Ira mentioned next. “I don’t, don’t worry about finding somewhere else. I sincerely hope you’ve made it more comfortable for yourselves than whatever I decided was cool at 12.”

Lauriam paused for a moment, before glancing up at Ira. Green eyes searching. “...the five of you are very…accomodating. Was that something my mom and Xigbar taught to all you?”

“Thank you,” Ira said, smiling somewhat relieved, “For both the room and the compliment. We try very hard.” 

“They did, and we’re very grateful,” Ira said, taking the piece he was currently working on and flipping it over, scrubbing the other side, “Though, with that said? I’m a little astonished at how… vibrant, your group is. Your teenagers especially. I mean, ours also have a good deal of spitfire to them.” Ira smiled softly. “But thankfully Gula knew when to stay quiet when it was important, Aced could listen to orders, and the boys… well, you’ve seen it. They’re not noticed, if they don’t want to be. Which wasn’t strictly just their abilities in the factory, since our abilities were a bit strangled within the hieroglyphic walls. They were just good at not being where the supervisors were.”

(And there had seemed to be some level of… favoritism, even from the supervisors. Like the boys were off limits.)

(Ira didn’t let himself think about that. Xigbar and Linnea had both said that jealousy caused harm to the group and put the person who was jealous at risk. Better to ignore someone else's better treatment, than let it drive you to gaining attention.)

Ira was very grateful. 

“And considering how many people seem to be in your group? I’m… assuming your supervisors were less strict, on how to speak to them?” Ira asked. “It was a bad idea to speak out of turn in our factory, and Xigbar and Linnea worked very hard to make sure we all knew and could manage that expectation. But you all speak much more casually.”

…uh-oh. Of all reactions to that observation, Lauriam hadn’t expected gratitude. Uh-oh.

“Hieroglyphic walls… Is that what they were?” Lauriam hummed in interest. “One of my brothers started calling them moons and that kind of stuck. I suppose they didn’t just come out of nowhere, though.”

Maybe that was something Dilan would know about. 

Sighing a little, Lauriam thought for a moment before he answered. “It still wasn’t a good idea to speak out of turn, but I’m getting the impression our punishments were pretty different from yours. And we didn’t carry that formality when we were among each other, though considering we have the island for actual privacy away from the supervisors? Again, a difference.”

Lauriam paused. “And a lot of the time, our Nobodies were the ones more frequently actually talking to the supervisors. One of my brothers basically spent his entire life in psychic space, while various constructs he made managed his body. I’d have to ask him, but I’m not sure he ever actually spoke to a supervisor past when he was initially brought in.”

“Oh, I don’t know what they’re properly called. It’s just what they always reminded me of. Moons is a romantic name for them.” Ira smiled lightly. Moons. That was a sweet way to interpret them.

Though, what Lauriam said next… “I… still struggle somewhat, trying to understand that,” Ira admitted, “...is it…”

Ira looked around quickly, like he felt nervous saying this (and he did. Saying anything ‘unusual’, even as a question, was usually a bad idea. If someone couldn’t reasonably guess what you’d say next, then that was an ‘inside’ thought.).

“...anything like dissociative identity disorder?” Ira asked, smiling apologetically for the oddness, “It does sound a bit like that, the way you all describe it. An ‘other’ personality, coming in to protect the core personality by doing the difficult things for them. That, but as a construct?”

“It’s not the easiest to explain to someone who doesn’t have a concept of it,” Lauriam said easily, not irritated or annoyed or exasperated by Ira’s confusion. “From what we’ve heard from some community Empaths, it’s a technique that seems like it’s edging into taboo territory. We hadn’t heard of it either, so I wouldn’t expect you to, but apparently it’s a really intense version of an auto-pilot defense.”

Though, it seemed that Ira wasn’t quite as confused as Lauriam thought. He looked up in brief surprise, before humming, nodding a little. 

“Oh, basically, yeah. All that stuff is more of the nerds’ territory, so it doesn’t come to mind for me, but you’ve got it. Some of us have a complete separation of memory too, which Even’s said happens sometimes with that disorder? So even more.” Lifting one of his linens for a moment, looking it over, Lauriam nodded a little to himself before working on the other side of it. 

“...though, because they’re more advanced constructs now, we’re moving away from having them only deal with the difficult things, or that they’re only in service to us,” he said softly. “They’ve developed into their own people, so while they do still need explicit purposes, they should get to enjoy life as people too.”

Lauriam smiled uneasily at the water. “...right now, only me and my brother Ienzo have our Nobodies back as chibis. But while they have an arrangement where Zexion, Ienzo’s Nobody, can’t take over his body anymore, since that was basically Ienzo’s whole life up until recently…Marluxia and I have decided to try out something closer to 50/50. He’s not a big fan of staying in my head or the island all the time.”

“That sounds challenging,” Ira admitted, “It’s already difficult enough taking care of the others. Having someone in your own mind, as a part of you, that you also have to be aware of and consider them? It’s a lot to juggle, it seems like.”

“Ah, so… I suppose I should expect to see this Marluxia person at some point then?” Ira asked, pulling out the blanket and squeezing it out, before taking it to drape over the drying line, “What is he like then?”

“It’s been a lot, lately,” Lauriam laughed quietly, amused at the massive understatement that was. 

Though, that quickly turned into some sheepishness. “Ah, well… You’ve…already spoken to him, I think,” Lauriam mumbled unsurely, though before he could get into what Marluxia was like, his eyes suddenly closed for a moment, before opening. Ponds replaced with gems. 

Making a disgusted look at the laundry, Marluxia huffed before holding up a finger to Ira. “Don’t believe a word all these losers say, it’s like one of their favorite pastimes is slander.” Smiling tweely at the younger man, Marluxia barely gave him a nod. “Marluxia, at your service, if you need it said that explicitly, darling. If you have questions, which, I’m sure you do, because who wouldn’t for me, just ask me to Loseriam’s pretty face instead of hearing it with all his hemming and hawing. Much better this way, hm?”

“O-oh,” Ira said, flinching as Marluxia jabbed a hand towards him. Then, feeling sheepish, he straightened his back, playing it off as if he hadn’t as he observed this… well, it still looked like Lauriam, of course. But there was definitely a change of demeanor and voice. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d be listening in.”

“Um, questions…” Ira frowned. He was meant to be making a good impression on Lauriam, to make the other man feel comfortable. Did this still count? He supposed it did. Wasn’t this technically also Linnea’s child? “...so you did most of the difficult things, in the factory? That’s impressive. I’m certain your mother is very grateful for you.”

Marluxia scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Of course I’d be listening in, didn’t La-La just say it? We’re 50/50. And he’s so damn stressed out he’s about to rip his spine out just from the tension, someone needs to keep an eye on things.”

Leaning closer to Ira, holding a hand up as if he was telling a secret, despite the fact that Lauriam was likely also listening in, Marluxia spilled some tea. “Did you know~? Loseriam didn’t tell a single soul this was our hometown, the little coward was just going to watch the carriages all day without stepping foot back here. And yet! We’re continuing the trend of his utter failures, because just what did we do but run along right back here when you had Axel backed into a corner. It looooks like hoping to just ignore that this place exists was never going to work out!”

The playful, almost sing-song tone dropped as Marluxia grimaced, sitting straight again as he flicked his fingers a bit in the water. “Oh I’m sure the woman I remember as my mother, but I never actually existed while we could’ve interacted is thrilled that I exist. I’m sure every parent eagerly awaits the day their kid rips their brain in half.”

A full-body wince shivered through Lauriam’s body before he scrunched his eyes shut and he pinched his nose. 

“...sorry,” Lauriam said more softly. “I think he’s been wanting to complain to someone. Mom seemed…weirdly excited when we explained just who Marluxia is. But we still haven’t really talked that much.”

Ira listened to Marluxia with all the restrained uncertain wariness that a man who had watched several people randomly get killed by smiling, friendly supervisors could possibly possess. It was very much a ‘maybe if I don’t make any sudden movements, he’ll distract himself from killing me’ sort of stiffness, a carefully neutral expression on his face that betrayed no particular judgment other than caution.  

And yet, despite that, at Lauriam’s explanation, Ira’s first thought was, “Oh, I don’t mind. It can be nice to vent in private to a sympathetic ear. And it’s not as if I can’t sympathize. I doubt any of our parents will be thrilled with who we’ve become. I suppose all of us have picked the more cowardly path of avoiding home, for now, I can’t fault, uh… Lauriam’s mindset, nor can I fault… Marluxia’s frustration with it. It’s a frustrating choice.”

“And I know you’ll get more opportunities to speak. Linnea keeps calm in almost any situation, and that includes joy,” Ira said, returning to his scrubbing, “But I know she’s happy to see you. I’ve spent almost five years hearing about her beloved son Lauriam. She bore it well, but… she got very sick, when we first came here and heard what the neighbors had to say about your passing. She didn’t wail in grief or become inconsolable, but it was as if her body was suddenly failing her, and some terrible flu had her bedridden for almost three weeks, trying to fight it off.”

“I think it was just sadness that made her body stop defending itself,” Ira said. “It happens like that sometimes. Emotions make your body vulnerable. We were all very worried for her. We all owe her our lives…”

Ira looked over, smiling lightly. “That said. The offer to be a sympathetic ear stands. Even I have sometimes wanted to complain about Linnea, and I owe her everything. It’s understandable you’d have even more to say.”

Centering himself, Lauriam slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ira for a moment, before shaking his head a little as he got back to the laundry. “Even if you’re good humored about it, it’s still inappropriate,” Lauriam stressed to, well, himself, in a sense, “You didn’t sign up for it, and we really don’t know you. And I know Marluxia can be a lot.”

He frowned slightly. “...you may have learned to accommodate others for your well-being, but…I’m not going to punish you for, well, anything. I’m not someone you should have to serve, or make yourself palatable or smaller for. I’m just a guy, for as much as you might’ve heard about me from my mom.”

And what Ira heard seemed like quite a lot more than Lauriam had ever mentioned about Linnea to his family. He had mentioned her before, his mama too, but it wasn’t something that had come up that often. 

Lauriam simply hadn’t had a lot about them that he could say. 

He slowed a bit as Ira described Linnea’s grief, guilt falling on his shoulders, before he frowned at the water, mindlessly wringing something and taking it over to the line. “...honestly, I don’t think so. In all likelihood, you know her better than I do. Even if you do owe a lot to her…is there anything you’d want to talk about?” Lauriam gave Ira a small, though genuine smile. “Promise I’m not a snitch.”

“...?” Ira frowned, surprised at Lauriam’s insistence that Ira treat him more casually… before he laughed a little sheepishly, “Oh, it’s that bad then? Sorry, I thought I was being casual. I was making an effort to be, at least.”

“Xigbar tells me I’m being too stiff and formal all the time as well,” Ira admitted, grabbing some of the underwear, as smaller pieces would be easier on his wrist and he was growing a little tired, “He says I take things too seriously. But… for a long time, everything was very serious. And that’s not something I can… turn off like a switch.”

“I’m not sure any of us can, but in our defense, ‘relaxing’ has only been an option for the last few months,” Ira said. “We weren’t being encouraged to take things less seriously traveling through the country. We still have to be ever diligent, ever mindful, ever watchful even now, because now there’s the risk that us staying in one place too long might make us easier to corner and capture.” Ira sighed, “I’m not making myself ‘lesser’ to accommodate you. This is just how I am right now. Maybe someday I’ll be different, but I don’t even know how to begin relaxing yet.”

Though, at Lauriam’s offer… Ira bit his lower lip. Often the easiest way to get close to someone, was to accept their help. Ira did not consider his earnest attempt to get to know Lauriam better the same thing as making himself lesser for the other man. Linnea’s son was here and Xigbar had asked Ira to make friends. It was a reasonable request for a reasonable reason.

Probably not to the point where Ira was required to reveal secrets or insecurities to succeed. But he wasn’t thinking of it as a sacrifice. Just accepting the offer for what it was: Lauriam being nice. Friendly.

“I owe everything to Linnea, but she can…” Ira licked his lips, trying to think of how to word it, “Be a bit… not oblivious, but, she does seem to sometimes underestimate how much work we put into keeping the others out of trouble,” Ira admitted, “Myself and my sister. She’ll sometimes act like, if she notices we’re doing it at all, that it’s foolish and we didn’t have to? I don’t think she realizes how many times my sister and I have literally had to pull the others out of trouble and run, or apologize to someone on their behalf, or practically beg them to do a chore that she didn’t seem to notice even needed doing… Sometimes I think she believes that if me and my sister stopped doing anything to manage the others, nothing would change. Like they’d all just naturally keep doing everything they’re supposed to do, rather than it being this… endless tug of war.” Ira sighed.

Lauriam nodded understandingly. It sounded like they’d had many more opportunities to have less serious moments in the Chonis factory…but for the most part, it had been a serious, depressing place. They’d had a few people devoted to making things better, but sometimes it was just…hard. Not to let that solemn depression shape you. Consume you. 

And it made the person that came out of it kind of a mess. Lauriam certainly understood that. 

“I can understand that,” Lauriam said softly, lightly sharing that feeling of understanding, not entirely on purpose, “And I’m not trying to chastise you. It’s hard, being on the outside. Even if you can’t find yourself trusting it, I’m just saying…I won’t hurt you, okay?”

Glancing over at Ira as he…actually did vent a little--Lauriam found himself a little surprised that the man actually took him up on that--he smirked a little, tiredly shaking his head as he took more washed pieces to the line. “Mom and that Xigbar guy really put you in ‘Oldest Sibling Syndrome’ huh? That’s rough. No offense to your own efforts, but your two youngest seem like they’ve embraced the brattiness that comes with being the babies of a group.”

“Xehanort and Hao?” Ira smiled thinly, “Don’t get me wrong, they’re not that bad. I’m sure my sister and I wouldn’t have been any different at their age or in the same circumstance. But… I don’t think it’s even just that they were youngest? They were just…”

Ira’s smile waivered. Still scrubbing the underwear, as he said, “The poor, poor prodigies. Too powerful for their own good. Nothing we could do to protect them, so we had to feel guilty and make up for that, but also, oh, we always had to be in awe of what they were capable of. And so young. Young, perfect, poor prodigies…Linnea was always worried about them, Xigabr was impressed with everything they did, they were youngest so everyone else had to look out for them, and it all accumulated into this scenario where if we weren’t being chastised for not taking care of them well enough, we were being chastised for not measuring up to them.”

“I know everyone thinks I’m the reason Aced acts the way he does, but if Xigbar just didn’t play favorites when it came to power levels… Aced would get more praise if he was stronger, not if he was leader. He just can’t seem to accept that, because one of them he has the ability to improve on, and it’s never going to be his Empath abilities. He just can’t compete. Xigbar doesn’t try to be cruel about it, it’s just obvious how he feels when he’s praising everyone else for it.”

“Meanwhile, Xehanort and Hao? They can get away with almost anything. Entirely because Xigbar thinks it's impressive they can get away with almost anything.” Ira said dryly, “If you can use your Empath abilities to get out of chores? Or make someone else do it for you? Or make the chores unnecessary? Well then they earned not doing chores.” Ira’s jaw set a bit. “Good for them.”

Lauriam blinked at Ira, before smiling a little to himself as he scrubbed. There we go.

“Why’s it always the rugrats that end up being more powerful?” Lauriam pondered, “I’m starting to think it isn’t just a ‘small data size’, as my brother would say…” He snorted. “What brats. I’d pay to see them with Aqua for a week, they’d try to pull some shit like that and she’d put them in an octopus hold until they were asking if there was a chore to do. I know from experience. And maybe that payout would be enough that you could go stay at some overly fancy hotel and sleep for a week.”

Ira laughed lightly, “I’d be grateful. But they’re hard to manage. They do a trick similar to what Ava can do, where she stops you thinking? But it’s more complete. You can’t even remember that you stopped. Which you can imagine, makes it tough to discipline them.”

“Could you imagine sleeping for a week?” Ira said lightly, “What bliss that would be…”

Turning to look at Lauriam, he gave him a small, knowing smile. “Well, you’ve managed to get me to talk about myself a great deal. And yet, I recall offering to hear you out first. Do you think I’m a snitch? …don’t answer that, I know how I come across,” Ira laughed lightly, “But despite appearances, no, I wouldn’t tell your mother. Some things are fine kept private.”

“Ouch, and I thought Namine and Kairi’s memory manipulation was rough,” Lauriam sympathetically winced, “That’s some real bullshit.”

Sleeping for a week? Ha. Imagine if that happened. 

Snickering softly, Lauriam gave Ira a wink as he called him out, before he groaned. “...oh no, that’s actually a thing that can happen now, isn’t it. I’m doomed.” Despite that light-hearted start, though, Lauriam hesitated, smiling hesitantly at his washing. “...um, hey. So I really wasn’t kidding that you likely know her more than I do… It’s fine if you don’t know, I can’t imagine how it might’ve come up, but…”

Lauriam fussed a bit with the cloth in his hand, likely someone’s shirt. “Do…you know how she’d react to, for instance, one of you starting a relationship with someone?”

“A relationship?” Ira asked, sounding genuinely confused. Like he literally didn’t know the word… just because it had been so long since he had even considered such a thing, that it felt like a concept entirely separate from what it meant to be a factory Empath. “In… the romantic sense?”

Lauriam flushed before nodding. Hating every second he could feel himself getting warmer as he kept his eyes down, focusing on the laundry. 

“Um…” Ira ummed uncertainly, “...um. I can’t… imagine why she would be upset… in a general sort of way.”

“...not within the factory though, right?” Ira asked. “When would you have found the… space? Or time? Or person?”

Lauriam made a strange sort of strained, gravelly sort of sound, skin starting to match up with his hair more as he looked fixedly on the laundry. “I mean. It happens. I certainly wasn’t the only one, a-and where else would it have happened, I’ve spent most of my life there and it’s not like I’ve talked to anyone else since being out since I only woke up not even a month ago and another week of that I was basically in a coma so of course I don’t even know anyone else and I know that’s what he was getting at but I don’t really care because he’s great and I’m not going to let anyone say otherwise, especially not my mom because what does she even know about me or him or anything--oh would you shut up?!”

Marluxia scowled, before flicking his hands out of the water with a distasteful look. Looking up at Ira, he glared challengingly. “Yeah, we’re fucking a guy we met in the factory, got a problem?”

Ira listened to Lauriam… well, it wasn’t a polite word, but really he was just ranting, speaking quicker and about things Ira couldn’t hope to follow, Ira’s stiff posture straining little by little the more it went on… before he flinched lightly at the sudden yell.

But like before, Ira himself seemed to barely recognize the flinch, and surprisingly, he didn’t duck his head at the challenging glare, though his expression was still carefully neutral as he considered what… Marluxia? Had said.

“I… no,” Ira said softly, “I don’t have a problem with it. But, for our own good, we were pretty strictly told not to do things like that. It made things too complicated. Made it harder to keep the group safe. I’m just a little surprised your factory was able to get away with it.”

Not that there… hadn’t been moments, of course. All of them were only human, Ira himself included. Little moments of temptation. Of comfort. Especially if a supervisor had… done something. Which thankfully, had seemed taboo among the supervisors, on the grounds that the Empaths were inherently filthy in some way. That to touch them was to taint yourself.

But sometimes a supervisor would be a little too bold or wandering in their handling. And Ira, once, had been kissed very gently and held very close by other wandering hands, a quiet moment where the two had tried to ‘erase’ what had been done…

…he had died a few months later. Unrelated reasons. Ira had told himself he hadn’t been in love, and sometimes, he even believed it.

“....if you’re unharmed?” Ira said, “I can’t imagine your mother would judge you for it. And I don’t see why I would. Again, I’m just surprised you could. Wasn’t it dangerous?”

Marluxia frowned at the flinch, before sitting back with a huff. Wishing he could just will away the lingering flush and pounding heart Lauriam had worked himself up with. That was one part about sharing a body he’d gotten spoiled not having while Lauriam had been asleep. 

“Like…yeah,” he pouted, “We got the same warnings…from the married couple. But it’s not exactly something you can control with a bunch of depressed, desperate, stressed people who you’re going to be stuck with for the rest of your life.”

Lauriam grimaced as his shoulders rounded. “...not that that’s why we like Xaldin and Dilan. They’re genuinely good guys and it’s not just…limited choice.” Lauriam sighed softly. “...yeah, it was dangerous. Not just from the supervisors, we saw after Terra died…”

He glanced over at Ira, with an earnest sincerity. “...but we were always encouraged not to kill the parts of us that make us human. I can’t stop the part of me that wants to love, any more than I can stop breathing. It’s possible, but it makes a sort of life that begs to question if it’s worth it.”

“I can see your logic,” Ira smiled lightly, “I suppose it was just… hard to get invested, for us. Not for just our sake, but the other person as well. You never knew when…”

“...Xigbar says it’s best to not dwell on the people we lose,” Ira said, looking back to the laundry. “For a while we called it going ‘off to holidays’. So and so didn’t have to work anymore, they had gone off to holiday… but then everyone who used that phrase with me and my sister went… off to holiday. And new people came in and… we just lost the saying. People went back to just being dead.”

“...I don’t think your mother would be upset that you’re dating. Linnea’s not petty, I imagine she’ll be happy for you.” Ira said, “...it’s really not any of my business to ask, and maybe it doesn’t matter. But who was Terra?”