Title: Miserere (Have Mercy) - Chapter 3
Author: DJ aka
_sexorcist_
Rating: PG-13 overall, rating may increase later.
Warnings: Language
Pairings: Zexion/Demyx, Xemnas/Saix mentioned, other pairings may develop
Summary: AU. Zexion is finally living his dream, working at a prestigious scientific laboratory right out of college. And when he's given an important position in an upcoming project, he thinks life couldn't get better. But will he change his mind when the subject of his research tests his morals, his beliefs, and his dedication to his trade?
Author's Notes: This chapter fought me like a rabid hamster with a thorn in its foot. But hopefully now that the chapter from hell is out of the way, I can get back on my regular schedule of updating every day, or every other day. I hate long gaps between updates!
Link to Chapter One
Link to Chapter Two
“What happened last night?”
Zexion lifted his chin, trying to ignore the fact that Larxene was circling him like a vulture, just waiting on a wrong word or phrase to pounce on. She’d been frustrated and suspicious all morning- mostly because Demyx would only do what Zexion asked him to, and paid no heed to anyone else’s requests.
“Nothing. Everything that happened is notated in my journal.”
“Bullshit.”
Zexion raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
“You go off on break, and the mermaid suddenly goes deaf,” Larxene said, finally stopping in her circles and crossing her arms. “Then you come back, and he’s a perfectly well behaved little experiment. You did something.”
Zexion knew what she was fishing for. A bribe, something of that sort. And that’s exactly what had occurred- but like hell was he going to actually tell her that.
“Maybe he just appreciated the peace and quiet.”
“It, Zexion,” Larxene said, her tone unyielding. “It’s a fish. I won’t have you humanizing it and causing issues among the other scientists.”
“You’re the only one who has an issue with the pronouns.”
“Do you want to be taken off this project?”
Zexion sighed. “I’m sorry, ma’am, that was out of line. It won’t happen again.”
“Good. Now get back out there so we can drain the damn tank.”
Zexion was more than willing to leave Larxene’s office. He headed back out to the lab, where Xigbar was standing by the computer console. Demyx was beside one wall of the tank, and the merman brightened considerably upon seeing Zexion again.
Xigbar chuckled. “I don’t know what you did, Zexy, but you worked some magic,” he said, and Zexion shot him a glare.
“Don’t call me that. Just start the drain.”
Xigbar shrugged, then pressed a few buttons and flipped a switch, and Demyx jumped in surprise as the water shifted and suddenly began to drain into the chambers on each side of the tank.
Zexion wished he could’ve warned Demyx, but as he’d explained to Demyx last night, he couldn’t appear to be ‘attached’ in any way. Larxene might very well take him off the project if it appeared he was getting too emotional about the subject.
Obviously, Demyx wasn’t too worried about it. All morning he’d only responded when spoken to by Zexion, and he was notably happier when Zexion was in the room. The merman was too happy-go-lucky to think that anything could go wrong now that they had a plan.
“One minute till full drain,” Xigbar said, watching as Demyx flailed, the water rapidly getting shallow. The merman shot Zexion a fearful look, but Zexion simply turned his attention to the sensors, making notes of Demyx’s body temperature and heart rate.
The water was getting too low for Demyx to swim in. He was lying on the floor of the tank now, supported by his arms only as his fin became useless without the water. Soon, all the water had drained, and Saix flipped the ladder into the tank and climbed in.
Demyx did not like Saix, not one bit. He scrambled to move away, but there was no chance of escape- Saix knelt down beside him, grabbed the merman’s arm, and started to sterilize his arm.
Demyx shot Zexion a panicked glance, and for once, Zexion did respond.
“He’s taking a blood sample. It’ll sting, but it will be over fast, alright?”
Demyx hesitated then nodded, his attention fully on Zexion as Saix plunged the needle into his arm. He yowled with pain and tried to pull away, but Saix was too strong, holding him in place and pulling back the plunger to reveal blood so dark that it was almost black.
Overabundance of red blood cells, probably, Zexion thought, making a note of it. He needs the extra red blood cells to keep oxygen flowing more rapidly to the organs, as he can’t breathe in as much oxygen as a normal human while underwater.
Zexion was surprised, though; even for Saix, that was a pretty violent way of going about that. Something seemed to have been bothering the blue haired man all day. Saix climbed out of the tank, leaving a pitiful looking Demyx to rub his arm, eyeing the pinprick where the needle had gone in. The merman looked up at Zexion again.
“Can you bring the water back now?”
Zexion shook his head. “Sorry, no. We’re observing the effects of gradual drying.”
“But my fin hurts when it gets all dry!”
“So switch to legs when it starts to hurt.”
“But…I…”
“Stop making excuses,” Larxene said from where she stood by the door. Her lip curled in contempt, and she finished with a harsher tone. “Your precious Zexion asked you to do it, I don’t see the problem.”
“Give him a break, Larxene,” Xigbar said. “You should be thanking Zexion, or the kid would still be biting people.”
“Fish. Not a kid, a fish. For God’s sake people, I thought I hired professionals!”
And so, the experiments continued. It was routine stuff, testing the effects of dry air, hot air, cold air, cold water, hot water, all while keeping a close eye on Demyx’s physical and mental reactions. Luckily it was nothing too painful, not for the first two days, and at the end of each day Demyx wanted nothing more than to curl up at the bottom of the tank and sleep.
He said he missed having a soft bed, but Zexion knew Larxene wouldn’t have anything contaminating the water purity.
Demyx said that was okay, as long as he got to go home soon. Zexion only wished he could promise the merman that much.
----------------------------------------
“Come on, Zexion, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone, scouts’ honor!”
“…You were never a boy scout.”
“I could’ve said ‘pyromaniac’s oath’, would that sound better?”
They were back in the tiny bar where they met for drinks, two nights after Zexion’s first night watching Demyx. This time he had the morning shift, and Xaldin had the night shift. He already missed the chipper blonde, but he also had a breakfast meal stashed away in the lab refrigerator to give the boy.
Bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, all in limited amounts for him to try. Zexion had already brought him McDonald’s and Taco Bell; he was determined to uphold his end of the bargain.
“Look, Axel, this experiment…it’s a very big deal. And I just know you’ll want to sue someone over it.”
The redhead smirked, as if proud of that fact. “So?”
Zexion rolled his eyes, and Axel leaned forward, grabbing his short friend’s hand tightly. “Come on, you know me. I didn’t tell anyone when you came out to me, I didn’t tell anyone when you accidentally killed Mrs. Pearson’s hedgehog in 6th hour…”
“That was you.”
“Well, yeah, but I conned you into taking the blame if anyone found out cause I already had a record, so it would’ve been you in trouble, but I didn’t tell, now did I?”
Zexion eyed Axel for a few moments, then he sighed heavily. “Fine. Fine, I’ll sneak you in on my morning shift for a couple hours and explain everything. The security guard still owes me for the time I caught his boyfriend hiding under his desk when Larxene came in early.”
Axel grinned. “Awesome! Thanks, man, I owe you one!”
“So, what’s going on with your case?” Zexion asked, waving off the ‘thank you’.
“It’s going great. I’m actually expecting the judge to dismiss the case tomorrow,” Axel said, taking a long drink of his beer. “We dug up some security footage from the mall that clearly shows my client outside the window. That puts him 12 blocks from the scene of the crime 30 seconds before it happens.”
“Convenient,” Zexion said, swishing his straw in his iced tea. “Any other suspects?”
“Nope. They haven’t got a clue. The only thing the three victims had in common is that they all worked as deckhands on the same boat. The Dianna Marie.”
Zexion checked his watch, then sighed. “I think that I’m going to head home and get in a couple hours of sleep before we go to the lab. Meet me by pier 4, five o’clock?”
Axel nodded. “Whatever this shit is, I hope it’s worth a 5am trip.”
Zexion was tempted to correct him, but he restrained himself, for now. It would get too complicated at this moment if he asked Axel to call the experiment a ‘he’.
----------------------------------------
Just as asked, Axel was waiting by pier 4 for Zexion when he arrived. The redhead was smoking a cigarette, his jacket wrapped tightly around him to fend off the cool sea breeze. The city was nearly dead at this hour, minus a few odd cars and some guy with his dog.
“S’frickin’ cold out here,” Axel said as Zexion approached, and Zexion gestured for him to follow. He led Axel to the lab, where he once again used his security card to get inside- only to find Cloud asleep at the desk.
“Effective security you’ve got there,” Axel whispered, and Zexion chuckled.
“He’s a nice guy. Let’s just let him sleep,” he said. “I’ll go tell Xaldin I’m here. You wait down in my office, second door on the left. I’ll come and get you when he’s gone.”
Axel did what he was told for once, and Zexion headed into the lab, where- surprise, surprise- Xaldin was asleep as well. All the dreadlocked man cared about was his boat, so it didn’t surprise Zexion that he wouldn’t give a shit about the most important experiment of the decade.
“Hey,” he said, and the massive man jerked awake with a near growl. Zexion raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m here. You can go polish your decks, or whatever you do.”
Xaldin spared Zexion only a glare before grabbing his bag and leaving the lab, and Zexion immediately turned his attention to the tank, where Demyx was sleeping peacefully. He hated to wake the merman, but he didn’t want to scare him, either.
He tapped on the glass lightly, and blue-green eyes opened sleepily, lighting up when Demyx saw who was outside the tank. “Zexion!”
“Hey there,” Zexion said. “Listen, I brought you breakfast, and a visitor. He’s a very good friend of mine, a bit of an asshole, but I think you’ll like him.”
“Really? Will he like me?”
“Relax, he’ll love you, I promise,” Zexion said, chuckling as he pulled the breakfast foods out of the refrigerator. He used one of the burners usually used only for experiments and set a pan on it, tossing in the bacon and sausage to let it start cooking. “I’ll go get him.”
Zexion could feel his anxiety growing as he fetched Axel and brought him back to the lab. Would Axel be mad at him for going along with this? It was a possibility. Even with the bargain they had, the way Demyx was living was a bit cruel.
“Alright, just…try not to scare him, okay?” Zexion said, stopping Axel at the door. The redhead gave him a confused look.
“What, is the thing skittish or something? Doesn’t like the color red? It’s a fish, right? We can just use bait.”
“…not really.”
Axel frowned. “Zexion, what…”
That was when Zexion opened the door. Axel could clearly see the merman in the tank, as Demyx had his hands pressed to the glass, curious to see Zexion’s friend. The redhead gaped, his feet seeming glued to the floor as he stared.
“I-Is that…?”
“Yep.”
“You’re not…”
“No.”
Axel finally stepped into the lab, every step slow as he approached the tank. Demyx sank down a bit in the water, to get on Axel’s level as the redhead touched the glass.
“Is he real?”
Demyx laughed, and Axel jumped in surprise, as if he honestly thought the merman was fake. Zexion smiled, leaning against the tank.
“Axel, meet Demyx,” he said. “Demyx is a merman, from the gulf.”
“Holy shit…” Axel breathed out, and Demyx grinned.
“Hi.”
Axel jumped again. “Whoa, whoa, he can talk too?”
“He speaks English, just like us,” Zexion pointed out, moving to continue cooking the breakfast. Axel had already spotted the stairs, and he headed up to the second level, where the tank was partially open. Demyx glanced up, then followed, getting to the surface with one powerful thrust of his fin.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it,” Axel murmured as Demyx broke the surface and leaned on the edge of the tank. Demyx frowned.
“Fucking?”
Zexion nearly burned himself, fumbling with the pan. “Axel, don’t you dare start setting him up with your bad habits!”
Axel laughed, sitting down by the tank. “Can I touch your fin?” he asked, and just as Zexion was bringing up the food, Demyx laid back in the water to bring his fin to the surface. “Sure!”
Axel reached out and gently trailed a few fingers down Demyx’s fin, and Zexion, out of sheer curiosity, decided to do the same. He set the food aside and knelt down, brushing his hand along the scales.
He expected it to feel, well…like a fish, but it didn’t at all. The only thing he could compare it to was when he went on a summer research trip to tag dolphins after his junior year. The scales were thick, slick, and rubbery, and when he gently kicked the fin to stay afloat Zexion could feel the thick muscles shifting underneath. Like a dolphin with scales.
“That’s so incredibly fucking cool, you have no idea,” Axel said, acting like a kid at a petting zoo.
“I can have legs, too!”
“Really?”
”Yeah! See, watch th-”
“No!” Zexion suddenly snapped, grabbing on to Demyx’s fin to stop him. “Not right now. You can show him later. Preferably when I have clothes to give you.”
“What’s wrong with not havin’ clothes?”
Axel raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Yeah, Zexy, what’s wrong with not having clothes?”
“I’m not getting into this discussion with you two. Now come on, I have breakfast for all of us here, and it’s getting cold.” Zexion said firmly, setting down the tray on the edge. He couldn’t really describe what had overcome him in that moment- although it felt a lot like possessiveness that kept him from allowing Demyx to show off his amazing ability. Somehow, the idea of someone else, even his best friend, seeing Demyx minus the clothing was enough to make his blood feel like it was preparing to boil.
Demyx moved upright again, and eyed the food on the tray. “What are they?”
“The long strips are called bacon, the short round things are sausage, and the brown saucer-shaped things are called pancakes,” Zexion explained. “The yellow stuff is scrambled eggs.”
“You never cook for me when I visit,” Axel said with a mock pout, and Zexion slapped him on the shoulder.
“That’s because all you do is complain about how overcooked or raw it all is.”
Demyx grabbed a piece of bacon and stared at it for a few moments before taking a tentative bite, chewing thoughtfully. “…Hey, this isn’t bad!”
The meal that followed was much of the same- Axel complained about Zexion’s special treatment of Demyx, Demyx tried all the food, and Zexion made sure that Axel watched his language around the naïve mermaid. It wasn’t until the food was gone that the conversation took a more serious turn.
“Xaldin just slept the whole time he was here,” Demyx said softly. “I was afraid he’d be mean.”
“He usually is,” Zexion agreed. “Guess he was just tired.”
“Probably from all that fighting.”
Axel and Zexion both looked at Demyx curiously. “Fighting?” Axel repeated, and Demyx nodded.
“Yeah, last week I was hunting for seashells to bring back to mom, and I heard a big commotion on the surface. When I went up to look, two boats were really close to each other. Xaldin was on one of ‘em, and he was yelling all mean-like at the guys on the other boat.”
Complete silence. Then, slowly, Axel asked, “Did you see the name of the boat, Demyx? The one Xaldin wasn’t on?”
Demyx thought back. “Yeah…yeah, they’re both the weird boats. They go out, but they don’t fish. Let’s see…somethin’ about a Dianna…”
Zexion looked up at Axel wide-eyed. “Xaldin had a fight with those guys a week before they turn up dead?”
“Sounds like a lead to me,” Axel said, but Zexion shook his head.
“It…couldn’t have been Xaldin. I remember distinctly, the night that those murders took place he was helping us unload the new microscopes and shelving. It went on all evening, and I don’t recall him leaving…”
Axel grinned mischievously. “This calls for an investigation, boys,” he said. “Demyx…how would you like to get out of this stuffy lab for one night? Three sets of eyes are better than one.”
Zexion blinked. “Axel, if we get caught…”
“We won’t get caught,” Axel said with a dismissive gesture. “We’ll check with your guard pal when he wakes up, and we’ll show Demyx the sights while we check out this new lead. It’ll be fun!”
“Aw, please, Zexion?” Demyx pleaded. “Please? I’ve always wanted to explore…”
Zexion hesitated, then sighed. He was getting softer by the moment around this adorable, beautiful blonde.
“Fine. But I’m not letting you get him drunk, Axel.”
Author: DJ aka
_sexorcist_Rating: PG-13 overall, rating may increase later.
Warnings: Language
Pairings: Zexion/Demyx, Xemnas/Saix mentioned, other pairings may develop
Summary: AU. Zexion is finally living his dream, working at a prestigious scientific laboratory right out of college. And when he's given an important position in an upcoming project, he thinks life couldn't get better. But will he change his mind when the subject of his research tests his morals, his beliefs, and his dedication to his trade?
Author's Notes: This chapter fought me like a rabid hamster with a thorn in its foot. But hopefully now that the chapter from hell is out of the way, I can get back on my regular schedule of updating every day, or every other day. I hate long gaps between updates!
Link to Chapter One
Link to Chapter Two
“What happened last night?”
Zexion lifted his chin, trying to ignore the fact that Larxene was circling him like a vulture, just waiting on a wrong word or phrase to pounce on. She’d been frustrated and suspicious all morning- mostly because Demyx would only do what Zexion asked him to, and paid no heed to anyone else’s requests.
“Nothing. Everything that happened is notated in my journal.”
“Bullshit.”
Zexion raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
“You go off on break, and the mermaid suddenly goes deaf,” Larxene said, finally stopping in her circles and crossing her arms. “Then you come back, and he’s a perfectly well behaved little experiment. You did something.”
Zexion knew what she was fishing for. A bribe, something of that sort. And that’s exactly what had occurred- but like hell was he going to actually tell her that.
“Maybe he just appreciated the peace and quiet.”
“It, Zexion,” Larxene said, her tone unyielding. “It’s a fish. I won’t have you humanizing it and causing issues among the other scientists.”
“You’re the only one who has an issue with the pronouns.”
“Do you want to be taken off this project?”
Zexion sighed. “I’m sorry, ma’am, that was out of line. It won’t happen again.”
“Good. Now get back out there so we can drain the damn tank.”
Zexion was more than willing to leave Larxene’s office. He headed back out to the lab, where Xigbar was standing by the computer console. Demyx was beside one wall of the tank, and the merman brightened considerably upon seeing Zexion again.
Xigbar chuckled. “I don’t know what you did, Zexy, but you worked some magic,” he said, and Zexion shot him a glare.
“Don’t call me that. Just start the drain.”
Xigbar shrugged, then pressed a few buttons and flipped a switch, and Demyx jumped in surprise as the water shifted and suddenly began to drain into the chambers on each side of the tank.
Zexion wished he could’ve warned Demyx, but as he’d explained to Demyx last night, he couldn’t appear to be ‘attached’ in any way. Larxene might very well take him off the project if it appeared he was getting too emotional about the subject.
Obviously, Demyx wasn’t too worried about it. All morning he’d only responded when spoken to by Zexion, and he was notably happier when Zexion was in the room. The merman was too happy-go-lucky to think that anything could go wrong now that they had a plan.
“One minute till full drain,” Xigbar said, watching as Demyx flailed, the water rapidly getting shallow. The merman shot Zexion a fearful look, but Zexion simply turned his attention to the sensors, making notes of Demyx’s body temperature and heart rate.
The water was getting too low for Demyx to swim in. He was lying on the floor of the tank now, supported by his arms only as his fin became useless without the water. Soon, all the water had drained, and Saix flipped the ladder into the tank and climbed in.
Demyx did not like Saix, not one bit. He scrambled to move away, but there was no chance of escape- Saix knelt down beside him, grabbed the merman’s arm, and started to sterilize his arm.
Demyx shot Zexion a panicked glance, and for once, Zexion did respond.
“He’s taking a blood sample. It’ll sting, but it will be over fast, alright?”
Demyx hesitated then nodded, his attention fully on Zexion as Saix plunged the needle into his arm. He yowled with pain and tried to pull away, but Saix was too strong, holding him in place and pulling back the plunger to reveal blood so dark that it was almost black.
Overabundance of red blood cells, probably, Zexion thought, making a note of it. He needs the extra red blood cells to keep oxygen flowing more rapidly to the organs, as he can’t breathe in as much oxygen as a normal human while underwater.
Zexion was surprised, though; even for Saix, that was a pretty violent way of going about that. Something seemed to have been bothering the blue haired man all day. Saix climbed out of the tank, leaving a pitiful looking Demyx to rub his arm, eyeing the pinprick where the needle had gone in. The merman looked up at Zexion again.
“Can you bring the water back now?”
Zexion shook his head. “Sorry, no. We’re observing the effects of gradual drying.”
“But my fin hurts when it gets all dry!”
“So switch to legs when it starts to hurt.”
“But…I…”
“Stop making excuses,” Larxene said from where she stood by the door. Her lip curled in contempt, and she finished with a harsher tone. “Your precious Zexion asked you to do it, I don’t see the problem.”
“Give him a break, Larxene,” Xigbar said. “You should be thanking Zexion, or the kid would still be biting people.”
“Fish. Not a kid, a fish. For God’s sake people, I thought I hired professionals!”
And so, the experiments continued. It was routine stuff, testing the effects of dry air, hot air, cold air, cold water, hot water, all while keeping a close eye on Demyx’s physical and mental reactions. Luckily it was nothing too painful, not for the first two days, and at the end of each day Demyx wanted nothing more than to curl up at the bottom of the tank and sleep.
He said he missed having a soft bed, but Zexion knew Larxene wouldn’t have anything contaminating the water purity.
Demyx said that was okay, as long as he got to go home soon. Zexion only wished he could promise the merman that much.
“Come on, Zexion, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone, scouts’ honor!”
“…You were never a boy scout.”
“I could’ve said ‘pyromaniac’s oath’, would that sound better?”
They were back in the tiny bar where they met for drinks, two nights after Zexion’s first night watching Demyx. This time he had the morning shift, and Xaldin had the night shift. He already missed the chipper blonde, but he also had a breakfast meal stashed away in the lab refrigerator to give the boy.
Bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, all in limited amounts for him to try. Zexion had already brought him McDonald’s and Taco Bell; he was determined to uphold his end of the bargain.
“Look, Axel, this experiment…it’s a very big deal. And I just know you’ll want to sue someone over it.”
The redhead smirked, as if proud of that fact. “So?”
Zexion rolled his eyes, and Axel leaned forward, grabbing his short friend’s hand tightly. “Come on, you know me. I didn’t tell anyone when you came out to me, I didn’t tell anyone when you accidentally killed Mrs. Pearson’s hedgehog in 6th hour…”
“That was you.”
“Well, yeah, but I conned you into taking the blame if anyone found out cause I already had a record, so it would’ve been you in trouble, but I didn’t tell, now did I?”
Zexion eyed Axel for a few moments, then he sighed heavily. “Fine. Fine, I’ll sneak you in on my morning shift for a couple hours and explain everything. The security guard still owes me for the time I caught his boyfriend hiding under his desk when Larxene came in early.”
Axel grinned. “Awesome! Thanks, man, I owe you one!”
“So, what’s going on with your case?” Zexion asked, waving off the ‘thank you’.
“It’s going great. I’m actually expecting the judge to dismiss the case tomorrow,” Axel said, taking a long drink of his beer. “We dug up some security footage from the mall that clearly shows my client outside the window. That puts him 12 blocks from the scene of the crime 30 seconds before it happens.”
“Convenient,” Zexion said, swishing his straw in his iced tea. “Any other suspects?”
“Nope. They haven’t got a clue. The only thing the three victims had in common is that they all worked as deckhands on the same boat. The Dianna Marie.”
Zexion checked his watch, then sighed. “I think that I’m going to head home and get in a couple hours of sleep before we go to the lab. Meet me by pier 4, five o’clock?”
Axel nodded. “Whatever this shit is, I hope it’s worth a 5am trip.”
Zexion was tempted to correct him, but he restrained himself, for now. It would get too complicated at this moment if he asked Axel to call the experiment a ‘he’.
Just as asked, Axel was waiting by pier 4 for Zexion when he arrived. The redhead was smoking a cigarette, his jacket wrapped tightly around him to fend off the cool sea breeze. The city was nearly dead at this hour, minus a few odd cars and some guy with his dog.
“S’frickin’ cold out here,” Axel said as Zexion approached, and Zexion gestured for him to follow. He led Axel to the lab, where he once again used his security card to get inside- only to find Cloud asleep at the desk.
“Effective security you’ve got there,” Axel whispered, and Zexion chuckled.
“He’s a nice guy. Let’s just let him sleep,” he said. “I’ll go tell Xaldin I’m here. You wait down in my office, second door on the left. I’ll come and get you when he’s gone.”
Axel did what he was told for once, and Zexion headed into the lab, where- surprise, surprise- Xaldin was asleep as well. All the dreadlocked man cared about was his boat, so it didn’t surprise Zexion that he wouldn’t give a shit about the most important experiment of the decade.
“Hey,” he said, and the massive man jerked awake with a near growl. Zexion raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m here. You can go polish your decks, or whatever you do.”
Xaldin spared Zexion only a glare before grabbing his bag and leaving the lab, and Zexion immediately turned his attention to the tank, where Demyx was sleeping peacefully. He hated to wake the merman, but he didn’t want to scare him, either.
He tapped on the glass lightly, and blue-green eyes opened sleepily, lighting up when Demyx saw who was outside the tank. “Zexion!”
“Hey there,” Zexion said. “Listen, I brought you breakfast, and a visitor. He’s a very good friend of mine, a bit of an asshole, but I think you’ll like him.”
“Really? Will he like me?”
“Relax, he’ll love you, I promise,” Zexion said, chuckling as he pulled the breakfast foods out of the refrigerator. He used one of the burners usually used only for experiments and set a pan on it, tossing in the bacon and sausage to let it start cooking. “I’ll go get him.”
Zexion could feel his anxiety growing as he fetched Axel and brought him back to the lab. Would Axel be mad at him for going along with this? It was a possibility. Even with the bargain they had, the way Demyx was living was a bit cruel.
“Alright, just…try not to scare him, okay?” Zexion said, stopping Axel at the door. The redhead gave him a confused look.
“What, is the thing skittish or something? Doesn’t like the color red? It’s a fish, right? We can just use bait.”
“…not really.”
Axel frowned. “Zexion, what…”
That was when Zexion opened the door. Axel could clearly see the merman in the tank, as Demyx had his hands pressed to the glass, curious to see Zexion’s friend. The redhead gaped, his feet seeming glued to the floor as he stared.
“I-Is that…?”
“Yep.”
“You’re not…”
“No.”
Axel finally stepped into the lab, every step slow as he approached the tank. Demyx sank down a bit in the water, to get on Axel’s level as the redhead touched the glass.
“Is he real?”
Demyx laughed, and Axel jumped in surprise, as if he honestly thought the merman was fake. Zexion smiled, leaning against the tank.
“Axel, meet Demyx,” he said. “Demyx is a merman, from the gulf.”
“Holy shit…” Axel breathed out, and Demyx grinned.
“Hi.”
Axel jumped again. “Whoa, whoa, he can talk too?”
“He speaks English, just like us,” Zexion pointed out, moving to continue cooking the breakfast. Axel had already spotted the stairs, and he headed up to the second level, where the tank was partially open. Demyx glanced up, then followed, getting to the surface with one powerful thrust of his fin.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it,” Axel murmured as Demyx broke the surface and leaned on the edge of the tank. Demyx frowned.
“Fucking?”
Zexion nearly burned himself, fumbling with the pan. “Axel, don’t you dare start setting him up with your bad habits!”
Axel laughed, sitting down by the tank. “Can I touch your fin?” he asked, and just as Zexion was bringing up the food, Demyx laid back in the water to bring his fin to the surface. “Sure!”
Axel reached out and gently trailed a few fingers down Demyx’s fin, and Zexion, out of sheer curiosity, decided to do the same. He set the food aside and knelt down, brushing his hand along the scales.
He expected it to feel, well…like a fish, but it didn’t at all. The only thing he could compare it to was when he went on a summer research trip to tag dolphins after his junior year. The scales were thick, slick, and rubbery, and when he gently kicked the fin to stay afloat Zexion could feel the thick muscles shifting underneath. Like a dolphin with scales.
“That’s so incredibly fucking cool, you have no idea,” Axel said, acting like a kid at a petting zoo.
“I can have legs, too!”
“Really?”
”Yeah! See, watch th-”
“No!” Zexion suddenly snapped, grabbing on to Demyx’s fin to stop him. “Not right now. You can show him later. Preferably when I have clothes to give you.”
“What’s wrong with not havin’ clothes?”
Axel raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Yeah, Zexy, what’s wrong with not having clothes?”
“I’m not getting into this discussion with you two. Now come on, I have breakfast for all of us here, and it’s getting cold.” Zexion said firmly, setting down the tray on the edge. He couldn’t really describe what had overcome him in that moment- although it felt a lot like possessiveness that kept him from allowing Demyx to show off his amazing ability. Somehow, the idea of someone else, even his best friend, seeing Demyx minus the clothing was enough to make his blood feel like it was preparing to boil.
Demyx moved upright again, and eyed the food on the tray. “What are they?”
“The long strips are called bacon, the short round things are sausage, and the brown saucer-shaped things are called pancakes,” Zexion explained. “The yellow stuff is scrambled eggs.”
“You never cook for me when I visit,” Axel said with a mock pout, and Zexion slapped him on the shoulder.
“That’s because all you do is complain about how overcooked or raw it all is.”
Demyx grabbed a piece of bacon and stared at it for a few moments before taking a tentative bite, chewing thoughtfully. “…Hey, this isn’t bad!”
The meal that followed was much of the same- Axel complained about Zexion’s special treatment of Demyx, Demyx tried all the food, and Zexion made sure that Axel watched his language around the naïve mermaid. It wasn’t until the food was gone that the conversation took a more serious turn.
“Xaldin just slept the whole time he was here,” Demyx said softly. “I was afraid he’d be mean.”
“He usually is,” Zexion agreed. “Guess he was just tired.”
“Probably from all that fighting.”
Axel and Zexion both looked at Demyx curiously. “Fighting?” Axel repeated, and Demyx nodded.
“Yeah, last week I was hunting for seashells to bring back to mom, and I heard a big commotion on the surface. When I went up to look, two boats were really close to each other. Xaldin was on one of ‘em, and he was yelling all mean-like at the guys on the other boat.”
Complete silence. Then, slowly, Axel asked, “Did you see the name of the boat, Demyx? The one Xaldin wasn’t on?”
Demyx thought back. “Yeah…yeah, they’re both the weird boats. They go out, but they don’t fish. Let’s see…somethin’ about a Dianna…”
Zexion looked up at Axel wide-eyed. “Xaldin had a fight with those guys a week before they turn up dead?”
“Sounds like a lead to me,” Axel said, but Zexion shook his head.
“It…couldn’t have been Xaldin. I remember distinctly, the night that those murders took place he was helping us unload the new microscopes and shelving. It went on all evening, and I don’t recall him leaving…”
Axel grinned mischievously. “This calls for an investigation, boys,” he said. “Demyx…how would you like to get out of this stuffy lab for one night? Three sets of eyes are better than one.”
Zexion blinked. “Axel, if we get caught…”
“We won’t get caught,” Axel said with a dismissive gesture. “We’ll check with your guard pal when he wakes up, and we’ll show Demyx the sights while we check out this new lead. It’ll be fun!”
“Aw, please, Zexion?” Demyx pleaded. “Please? I’ve always wanted to explore…”
Zexion hesitated, then sighed. He was getting softer by the moment around this adorable, beautiful blonde.
“Fine. But I’m not letting you get him drunk, Axel.”
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