#(update it turns out redheads never Actually get grey hairs. their hair is actually either blonde or white when they get older!!)

[hyp3rfixation-h3ll]

ok so we can All agree there was some insanely missed potential with the suprema siblings yeah? ok. here's them as lil babies feat. my headcanon that sunny was thoroughly unhinged and got into ALL kinds of shenanigans

[chierafied]

Much Tweeting About Crushing

JILY CHALLENGE | @chierafied vs @tadasgay  Social Media AU

in which James has a hopeless crush on his neighbor and tweets about it, which is fine. Until Evans follows him.

My belated submission for September’s @jilychallenge. You know you’re in too deep when you make a secondary Twitter account so you can get screenshots to include in your silly one shot... >_>

James blinked at the grey cat curled in the middle of his bed.

The cat stared back at him, seeming to dismiss him at the same time.

Feeling confused and just a little surreal, James did the only fathomable thing: fumbled for the smartphone tucked in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled it out.

The cat studiously ignored him as he snapped a picture, then clicked to share it on Twitter.

James’ fingers skimmed across the screen to furiously type a tweet.

The cat yawned.

The doorbell rang and James hastily pocketed his phone; glared at the cat who didn’t as much as twitch.

James shook his head as he made his way downstairs, tugged at his hair as he pulled open the front door.

And then stared slack-jawed at the gorgeous redhead wringing her hands at his doorstep.

“Hi,” she said, flashing him a nervous smile.

“Hi,” James echoed, his fingers jumping to his hair again.

He was staring. Had she noticed he was staring? God, he hoped not.

“So… I just moved to one of the flats next door,” she said, “like three, four days ago…”

“Oh. Right. Cool,” James said, suave as ever as his attention wandered between her captivating green eyes and the full lip she was biting.

“And, well…” She sighed, shrugged her shoulders. “My cat’s gone missing. Have you seen him? He’s grey and –”

James held up his hand. “There was a cat on my bed when I came home. Pretty sure he’s yours. Must’ve left my window open or something…”

A true, brilliant smile bloomed on the woman’s lips.

James’ breath caught.

“Really? He’s here?”

James nodded and made room in the doorway. “Right here.”

He turned and started to go up the stairs, painfully aware that this fit neighbour was both in his house and following him to his bedroom.

She squealed as they reached it, quickly crossing over to James’ bed to scoop up the cat.

“Don’t you go wandering again,” she spoke sternly, wagging a finger in the cat’s disinterested furry face. “You had me worried sick!”

She turned, the cat in her arms, and gave James another heart-stuttering smile. “Thank you so much. And I’m really sorry about all this, I hope he didn’t bother you –”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. He wasn’t trouble, really, more like a source of confusion. I’m glad I could help.”

He grinned at her, hoping he managed to look charming.

“Welcome to the neighbourhood.”

The woman’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Oh, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you were preoccupied.” James held out his hand. “I’m James Potter by the way.”

She shifted the cat in her arms to free her hand, grasped his.

Her skin felt both warm and soft and something in the pit of James’ stomach fluttered.

“I’m Lily Evans. Nice to meet you.”

“Charmed,” he managed, vaguely aware that he was grinning again, probably looking more like a loon than a proper Prince Charming.

“Well, thanks again, and sorry for the trouble. We will just get out of your hair.”

She turned to leave and James followed her back downsairs.

“Yeah. Okay. See you around?” He winced at that hopeful lilt in his voice. She hadn’t noticed, had she?

She paused in the doorway and smiled, and James stopped caring.

“See you,” she said.

He lingered there for a moment, letting his gaze trail after her, until he realised he was staring again.

James shook his head and firmly closed the door.

His fingers trembled a little as he dug out his phone. He typed out another tweet while his mind was still busy playing over the encounter.

James went to put the phone away, then paused. After a second of hesitation, he typed out another tweet. 

James turned off the screen and put the phone away.

For the next two days, James found his thoughts straying back to his neighbour. She had been gorgeous, yes, but also so nice and sweet and… God, he was really pathetic wasn’t he?

“Smitten” was the word Sirius had gleefully flung in his face when he’d met his friends over a pint and told them about Lily Evans and her cat.  

And now, James had a sinking suspicion that was exactly what he was, because he’d wasted half the work day either thinking about Evans or trying to make up some believable excuse to go knocking on her door so he could see her again.

He sat himself on the couch, clicked Netflix on the TV and tried his best to immerse himself in an old favourite show because he really needed to not think about his neighbour for a while.

He was half-way into the episode when the doorbell rang. James jumped out of his seat and rushed to the door.

When he reached the door, cool irritation drowned and killed the eager hope bubbling within. Anyone could be behind his door so why had his thoughts immediately jumped to Evans?

He was still mentally chastising himself, when he pulled open the door.

The sight of his beautiful, red-haired neighbour offering him a hesitant smile was a jolt to James’ system. His heart jumped as he stared at her.

“Hi.” Her voice was as sweet as her smile.

His mouth had gone dry, and he had to clear his throat. “Hey there.”

“I’m sorry to bother you again…” she began, squirmed a little on the spot.

“I doubt you could be a bother if you tried,” James said, his brain too frazzled to even try to play it cool.

The corner of her lips quirked. Amusement flashed in those captivating green eyes. “Careful, I didn’t even plead my case yet.”

That sparkle of humour and teasing lilt in her voice had James’ stomach plummet all the way to his wobbly knees.

Blimey, how could she be so perfect?

“Go on, then,” James said. “I’m all ears.”

“Well, I got some new furniture earlier today. Had a friend help me get started putting it all together but she had to go and I’ve been at it for hours and am going cross-eyed at the instructions…”

A grin rose to James’ lips. He could just picture her, biting her lip while those green eyes darkened in frustration.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Assembling furniture has that effect on people.”

“Yeah.” She grimaced. “So, at the risk of sounding like a bloody damsel in distress… I could use some help.”

James was beaming at her. “Well, now, how could I say no to that?”

She returned the smile, her shoulders slumping a little in relief. “Great.”

James grabbed for his keys from a side table and was out of his door, following her to the neighbouring townhouse.

He returned several hours later, a goofy grin on his lips and a stumble in his step. It had been an interesting evening, he mused to himself as he stopped before his front door to fumble with his keys. 

Lily had managed to put together the dining table and chairs with her friend but had lost her patience with the bedside table. James had let out a few choice words himself as he had struggled between the instructions and the actual assembling. The bookcase had been much easier, though it had taken the both of them to finally prop it up against her bedroom wall.

James shut the door, tossed the keys back to the side table. He plodded through his house, raking his hand through his hair. He definitely was smitten like Sirius had said; no female he’d harboured feelings for had ever had him so neatly wrapped.

If only he could tell how she felt about him. She’d been perfectly friendly and they’d shared more than a few laughs and even two glasses of wine when the furniture was finally in one piece and in its place. But he just couldn’t glean if there was any hope for something more…

James grabbed his phone from the sitting room coffee table, then headed upstairs to his bedroom.

It was a very nice day, James decided as he deposited the rubbish into the bin. Warm, but not too warm; cloudy, but not in a gloomy way. He should go jogging later, if it stayed like this.

Lost in thought, he didn’t see her until she called out with a cheery “Hi!”

James turned, a smile immediately rising to his lips as he saw his neighbour.

“All right, Evans?”

She stopped beside him on the pavement. “I’m fine, how’re you?”

“Fine, thanks.” James scrambled for something more to say, and in a classic small talk fashion, defaulted to weather. “It’s a nice day.”

She flashed him a smile. “Yeah, I was getting sick of all the rain earlier this week. Glad to see the sun’s still up there.”

James laughed.

It might have been her appearance that had initially attracted him to her – and he still found her every bit as gorgeous as she had been when they’d first met – but now that he was actually getting to know her, little by little, it was her sense of humour that reeled him in, had him falling deeper.

He tried to adopt a casual pose. “How’s the cat?”

“He’s being his charming self.” Lily paused, and shook her head. “Woke me up at 3 AM last night. He was sick on my carpet.”

“Ouch.” James grimaced. “I’m suddenly very glad I don’t own a cat.”

She laughed, the lovely sound causing wild flutters to erupt in James’ stomach.

“They can be a handful,” she agreed, “but I wouldn’t know what to do without him.”

“Must be nice to have the company.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

James nodded down at the bags Lily was carrying. “Got some shopping done, eh?”

She glanced at the bags, then met his eyes. “Yeah. My wardrobe needed some updating. Moving is a real hassle, but it gives you the perfect opportunity to sort through your things, don’t you think?”

“Definitely. You never realise how all this stuff just accumulates in the cupboards you never open…”

“I know. I threw out so many useless things you wouldn’t believe.” Lily rolled her eyes.

“You’ve settled in all right?” James asked next.

“Yeah, yeah I have.” She smiled, and her green eyes sparked. “I love this neighbourhood. And the house is great, really beautiful. I mean I know I only have a basement flat since that’s all I can afford right now... But I just love the atmosphere, this historic vibe.”

“Glad to hear you like it here,” James replied.

And he was glad. Her enthusiasm was captivating, and he couldn’t help the grin tugging at his lips.

“Well, I should go and put my new clothes away.” Evans grinned back at him. “See you around!”

“Yeah,” he called after her. “See you!”

He really, really hoped he would, as often as possible.

James went inside. Then fumbled for his phone and opened the Twitter app, punched in a tweet as he whistled off-key.

James had barely got through the door and shrugged off his coat when the doorbell rang. He turned with a frown, ran his hand through his hair and opened the door.

His heart jumped at the sight of his neighbour.

“Hullo,” Evans greeted him, smiling that gorgeous smile that stole James’ breath away.

“Hi,” he said, certain that the grin rising to his own lips was on the side of goofy.

Evans shuffled her feet. “I hope I’m not intruding…?”

“No,” James hurried to reply. “Not at all.”

“It’s September so I decided it’s time for an apple pie,” she said, glancing at the pie in her arms. “Only I realised I’m probably not gonna be able to finish it all by myself. And since you’ve been so great and welcoming and helped me with the furniture back in July… I figured I owed you baked goods.”

“You don’t owe me anything, but I won’t turn down baked goods.” James grinned again, and stepped aside. “Come in, please.”

“Cheers.” Evans came in, and James shut the door.

“Make yourself at home,” he said, glad he’d just cleaned up a few days ago. “I’ll go put the kettle on.”

Instead, Evans followed him into the kitchen, set her pie on the counter and then stood watching him putter around.

“Can I give you a hand?”

“I appreciate the offer,” James said, and glanced over his shoulder at her. “But my mum would skin me alive if I let a guest help.”

She laughed. “All right. I’ll have a seat then.”

“Please do.”

James got out mugs and plates and spoons, and set the table while the water boiled. He had to keep busy to distract himself from the fact that the woman he adored was sitting at his kitchen table, just a few sparse yards away.

He begged his racing hard to calm down as he filled the teapot.

And then there was no more stalling. The table was set, the tea brewed, the pie waiting to be cut.

He sat down at the table, hoping against hope he wouldn’t spend the whole time staring at her like a lovesick loon.

He poured her tea, while she sat patiently across from him.

She arched her brow, humour flickering in her eyes.

“You mum really did teach you well, I see,” she commented as he set in front of her the plate with the slice of pie he’d cut for her.

“I was not the best of students, but she was very particular about manners.”

“I find it a bit weird to just sit and wait and not help out… But I guess it’s also nice to be a guest, when the host is such a gentleman.”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone else,” he said. ”I’ve worked too hard for my troublemaker image to have it all ruined now.”

“Troublemaker? You?”

“Evans, you have no idea.”

She cradled the mug in her hands, her green eyes brilliant and trained on him. “Enlighten me, then.”

So he did, and they talked and laughed and ate and drank… and James couldn’t help wondering what it would be like, to share evenings at the small table with her, day after day.

After Evans left, he collapsed onto the couch and pulled out his phone, typing up a tweet even as his heart was close to bursting.

After a long and busy week, James was looking forward to a quiet Friday night at home. It was closer to six PM when he got home, his feet dragging a little as he trudged upstairs to his bedroom to change his clothes. He came back down decked comfortably in pyjama bottoms and an old worn t-shirt, and headed to the kitchen. He heated up yesterday’s leftovers, then grabbed the plate and walked right past the kitchen table.

He plopped on the couch, flicked on the telly and kicked back.

It was some time later, after he’d gone to take the dishes back to the kitchen but before he started on a new episode of the series he was intent on binging, when he grabbed his phone from the coffee table to quickly check any messages or notifications.

There was one routine Twitter notification in his email inbox that James barely glanced at – then stopped when the name registered in his brain. Heart leaping into his throat, he did a double-take… And swallowed thickly as his world screeched to halt.

“Shit,” he managed, staring helplessly at the e-mail.

“Fuck. Shit.”

James’ fingers were numb and trembling as he raked them though his messy hair. What had his latest tweet been again? Something sappy and stupid about her smile…

He squeezed his eyes shut, forced himself to remember.

Yeah… it had been sappy and stupid, as Sirius had been quick to point out, but at least James hadn’t mentioned Evans by name.

He zeroed in on that silver lining, his brow furrowed in concentration. He didn’t think he’d ever actually mentioned her by name. That was good. He could work with that.

Although early on he had made those tweets about his fit neighbour…

Shit. James grimaced.

Evans was quick and clever. She’d put two and two together in a heartbeat.

He was so busted.

Unless…

A wild sudden hope dawned amidst all the panic.

Now that James thought about it, he hadn’t mentioned even the neighbour-thing in a while. So unless Evans scrolled through months of tweets, his secret would be safe.

And she would have to be seriously invested to bother to wade through all that.

He doubted she’d go through the trouble, so she wouldn’t figure it out all those tweets were about her.

…Right?

The doorbell rang.

James jumped, clenched his jaw. His knees felt a little weak when he got up, his heart beating erratically in his chest as he made his way to the door.

His fingers clutched at the doorknob like a lifeline, dread pooled and built into a crescendo as he turned it.

James pulled the door open.

The panic was still bubbling at the back of his mind, but his face eased into a smile.

Evans looked the same as always, the dark red hair, green eyes, the bright energy stamping each feature.

A rush of warmth and giddy excitement flooded him as it always did at the sight of her.

He had just enough time to notice the gleam in her eyes. Then her slender hand fisted in the front of his T-shirt and yanked.

More than that sudden jerk of her hand, it was the feel of her lips crashing against his in a kiss as hot as it was demanding that staggered him.

His heart burst and he melted into the kiss, responded to it with great pent-up enthusiasm.

James panted for breath when they finally pulled apart, his hazel eyes glazed.

Evans watched him, her eyes dancing with the same mirth curling her lips.

“How hard would it have been,” she said, her amused voice just a little breathy, “to say something to me in between all that tweeting?”

James ignored her teasing question in favour of tenderly cupping her cheek.

Then, he smothered her smile by pulling her into another kiss.

[writteninsunshine]

Work-Shy - Axel/Demyx, Hades/Demyx - SFW

Title: Work-Shy

Author: Donnie

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Setting: The Grey Area, The Underworld

Pairing: Axel/Demyx,

Characters: Axel, Demyx, Hades, Saïx, Luxord, Xemnas, Pain, Panic

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Rating: T

Chapters: 1/1

Word Count: 2644

Type Of Work: One-Shot, Part of the 8 Days Of Axel series

Status: Complete

Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, MLM, Mentioned Sex, Hades is into Demyx, Manipulation, Heavily Implied Hades/Demyx

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything.

Summary: Demyx needed a babysitter, and just to ask about a stupid Stone.

AN: Hey guys, it’s me again! Just thought I ought to say, if you want vague updates and to talk to me more, I have Twitter and Tumblr, too! Twitter is Sunshinecackle, and Tumblr is Writteninsunshine! I also have a writing Discord that is currently pretty dead. xD I can PM it to people who want it on FFN, for everyone else, it’s here: https://discord.gg/FyaWw25

Alright, so, I finally got this done. Late, again, but I’m hoping to get the other one done as soon as possible. I want to try and make day four on time, instead of being a day behind every time. Fave AU day is gonna be fun. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this! It was fun to work on! Hades is pretty thirsty for Demyx.

Kingdom Hearts Fic Masterlist

Work-Shy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time Axel was done trying and failing to fall asleep, most of the other Organization members were off on their respective missions. When he entered the Grey Area, only Demyx and Luxord were seated, both on the same couch to the left of the walkway. Running a hand through his red hair as he yawned wide behind his hand, Axel’s green eyes turned on Saïx, standing before the floor to ceiling window as usual, who regarded him with cold golden eyes.

“Are you here for your mission or do you intend on taking the day off?” That sharp gaze flitted to Luxord and Demyx whispering conspiratorially on the couch, leaned close enough to one another to become one being. Whatever they were saying, Axel didn’t know if his friend could hear it, but it had his eyes narrowing that much more. Any more and his eyes would close. Axel couldn’t help the small, fond smile on his lips as he took in the other’s irritated expression. Really, Saïx never changed.

“I wanted my mission but I didn’t know a day off was on the table.” Axel’s smile, all teeth and no actual friendliness threatened to overtake his whole face and Saïx rolled his eyes. An unprofessional move, sure, but this was Axel he was talking to. It wasn’t like he was actually going to care, nor report him to the Superior.

“As usual,” Saïx sighed, “You’re just as lazy as your predecessors.” Gold flicked to the two blonds on the couch, and he rolled his eyes again, clearly put out by this. “If you’re so inclined not to do your work, perhaps instead you would like to help Demyx with his business for the day.”

Demyx gave a full-body flinch, hissing a little through his teeth, slowly turning to look over his shoulder with what looked like it was supposed to be a sunny smile. It was three shades of queasy away from being sick, and Axel had to hide his sudden desire to laugh behind a fake cough. Saïx’s yellow eyes cut to slits for him and he gave a pseudo-apologetic smile.

“I thought you said I was, uh, off the hook today?” Demyx asked, his voice soft and hesitant. 

“You were. But Axel has volunteered to help you.” Saïx’s frigid smile had Demyx on his feet, reluctantly joining Axel in front of the berserker. “Now, run along, the two of you. Axel, your mission is to make sure that Demyx completes his objective. Just think of it like you’re helping a new member learn the ropes.”

“Hey! I know the ropes--”

“Do you?” Saïx rose a delicate brow and gave a stern frown that made Demyx shift uncomfortably before summoning a portal and making a beeline for the Underworld. Axel followed after lingering for a moment, torn between resigning himself to his new job or arguing the point with his friend. 

The two Nobodies surfaced in the Underworld after a few minutes, and Demyx sighed, put-upon and grumpy. 

“Sometimes, I swear, all he wants to do is make my life hell.” Ironic, considering where they were, he supposed. 

“I think he just wants you to, you know, do your job, Dem,” Axel replied, following him towards the gate that Cerberus usually guarded. “What even is the job today?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at the other. Demyx spent so much time in the Underworld it was amazing he still had something to do here. Then again, when you were as big a slacker as Demyx was, one would probably find things to do that didn’t pertain to work at all. 

“Uh… I think I’m supposed to be gathering info on the Olympus Stone.” Demyx replied flippantly, waving his hand as though shooing away the thought of doing actual work. “We’ll probably just go hang out with Hades for a while, throw Saïx off our trail, and then head back.”

“Can we at least ask him about the Stone?” Axel didn’t feel like getting chewed out because Demyx was neglecting his duties. After all, if he was on babysitting detail, that meant Saix would get on his ass about the tiniest thing if it didn’t go according to plan. 

“I mean, I guess. He gets kinda chatty about things like that, though. I guess we could take notes, that’ll probably make Saïx happy, keep him from mounting our butts above the door of the Grey Area.” Demyx sighed again, dramatic as always, and slumped forward. For someone who could run at the first sign of danger like a damn gazelle, he sure hated walking long distances. Axel figured he was probably just upset that he didn’t get a chance to bond his rump to the couch all day. 

“Mounting our-- Woah, Dem, that’s a little extreme, don’t you think?” Axel shuddered, “So if you come here just to slack off, what do you even do?” He asked as they made their way up the bending road to Hades’ throneroom.

“Hang out with Hades, mostly. He’s a pretty cool guy, actually, for being such a hothead. Don’t talk too much about Hercules and the other Gods and you’re pretty golden.” Demyx grinned, “He plays electric guitar, I play the sitar, and we jam sometimes. It’s really nice, actually.” 

“That… Actually does sound kind of cool.” Axel nodded, before pausing, “I don’t play any instruments.” 

“That’s cool, you can just vibe with us.” Demyx offered, “And maybe we can figure out that Olympus Stone stuff so that we can avoid getting lectured.” Or threatened. Xemnas wanted the Olympus Stone for some reason, even if Demyx wasn’t sure what that reason could be. If he were honest, he didn’t see a point in his missions here, because it was never laid out for him what he was supposed to do. What was the point? Why did they need reports on Hades and his movements?

Even if his main movements when Demyx was around had to do with strumming a guitar or touching the sitarist, he reported things as necessary. It wasn’t like anyone really cared what he was doing. Saïx usually just nodded and shooed him off after he handed in his paperwork, typically glad when Demyx took up a spot on a couch and began to play music. It wasn’t like that ever got old for either of them.

“So… Do you think he’s going to get mad about us asking questions?” Axel asked as Demyx slipped into the throne room. The blond shrugged before waving in a broad gesture, grinning like a madman and looking like he was ready to party.

“Hades, my man, what’s up?” He called, only to get a look from Hades that told him today was probably going to be rough.

“Hey, Dem.” That sigh was a big indicator that he was already frustrated, and Axel figured it would be best to try and get him into a better mood before they interrogated him.

“Aw, what’s wrong, dude?” Demyx asked, slipping up to the throne and sitting on the arm like he belonged there. Hades rubbed his forehead and sighed through his nose again, before tenting his hands and pointing with them at nothing in particular.

“You just can’t find good help these days. That little inconsequential ‘hero’,” Full air quotes included, “Is really throwing a wrench in my plans. Every monster that I throw at him, he manages to overcome. That Philoctetes keeps helping him, naturally, and his pegasus…” And Meg wasn’t pulling her weight, typical of the henchman he seemed to employ. Tapping his fingers on the other armrest, Hades gave a low huff that nearly sounded like something Demyx would expect from Cerberus.

“Pain and Panic not working out?” Demyx asked, head tilting slightly as he scooted over, his boots finding a spot on Hades’ thigh. Axel rose a brow, clearing his throat. That brought Hades’ eyes to Axel, and he sat up a little straighter, cutting a glare at the other man.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh!” Demyx hopped down, striding over to Axel and taking his arm, “This is Axel, he’s a good friend of mine.” Axel gave him a look. They had slept together, he sure hoped they were good friends. “He’s a hothead, too. Show him, Axe!”

Axel smirked a little, raising his hand slowly with his fingers all held together. Letting them open in the shape of a tulip, fire blossomed at his fingertips. Hades seemed impressed, watching the ball of flame dance around his fingers, and he leaned back in his seat, grinning with all of those sharp teeth.

“I like him, a firecracker’s always welcome here, Dem, you know that.”

“Yeah, man! Axel’s a lot of fun, and he’s babysitting me today.” Demyx replied, nearly skipping back to the throne to sit back on the armrest.

“I don’t have to sit up there like him, do I?” Axel teased, and Demyx leaned back a little, crossing one knee over the other. 

“Not if you don’t want to.” Hades clapped, calling out, “Pain! Panic! Give our new friend a comfortable seat.”

The two minions ran from seemingly nowhere, morphing together into a chair for Axel, comfortable and inviting. Blinking in confusion, the redhead looked between the chair and then Hades, at a loss for what to do.

“Well?” Hades asked, narrowing his eyes, “Sit.” 

“Yessir.” Axel was on his ass against the maroon cushion in seconds, ignoring the grunt from his seat as he forced a smile. “It’s nice.”

“They’re good for something, at least.” Hades rolled his eyes, clearly moody as he glanced at Demyx. “You want to have a jam session?” 

“Yeah, Dem, you guys should play for me. I want to hear it.” Axel chirped, and Hades turned slightly, pointing at Axel.

“I like this guy, he has good taste.” Hades nodded definitively, reaching beside his throne to grab the electric guitar from its stand. Demyx summoned his sitar after hopping off of the throne to give Hades a wide berth away from the water, dramatic flare in full display. After settling back into his spot, Demyx started up a slow, soft melody. Hades joined him after a moment, and Axel found himself both confused and impressed; That actually worked really well, and he found himself relaxing, closing his eyes to soak in the melody.

Axel had no idea how many hours crawled by like that, sitting in relative silence save for the music being played tirelessly by the couple of musicians, but eventually, he began to wonder. Was Hades’ mood better, now? Did that mean that they could finally ask him about the Olympus Stone? He was almost scared to ask. It wasn’t like getting scorched was a big problem for him, but he didn’t want to take all of Demyx’s hard work getting Hades on his side and throw it out the window.

“Hey, guys?” Axel finally implored, getting both men to look at him, the music slowing back down. “Uh, Dem, we got work to do, right?”

Demyx blanched, nodding slowly, almost dumbfounded by the statement. The hadn’t been playing all that long, had they? Then again, time flew when they did duets. He’d spent a whole twelve hours down here just making music with Hades before. Saïx had a day’s worth of lecturing to do and Demyx had had to stand there and take every word. He didn’t want to do that again.

“Uh, yeah.” He turned to sit with his feet on Hades’ thighs again, watching him adjust a string on his guitar. “So, uh, you know my boss.”

“The tight-wad, yeah.” Hades nodded, “Reminds me of someone I know, too.” But he didn’t need to go into that right now. “What about him?”

“Uh, well, for some reason, I really don’t know why…” Maybe he should have paid attention during his mission debriefing, “He’s interested in the Olympus Stone. And we were hoping you could, uh, tell us about it? Just some intel, that’s all we need. Then I won’t get axed.”

Axel snorted a little at the word choice, shaking his head a little, spikes flicking against his back. Hades nodded slowly, sighing through his nose again as he tented his hands and tapped his lips with his pointer fingers a couple of times.

“The Olympus Stone makes it so that the draining effects of the Underworld don’t affect the holder.” Hades explained, “It’ll free you from the curse so you can still use your abilities. The curse doesn’t work on those that belong here, though. If you want it, you’ll have to go to Mount Olympus.” Making a face like he’d smelled a foul odor, he shook his head, “Have to deal with the whole peanut gallery up there.”

“Huh…” Demyx was small, slippery, sneaky, he could probably swipe it pretty easily. The little smile on his lips made Axel roll his eyes.

“You thinking about stealing it already?” Axel asked, and Demyx nodded emphatically.

“It’s going to help me out a lot. Means I could actually fight if I have to.” Demyx spoke, batting his eyelashes, “My good looks don’t stop the Heartless down here.”

“I’ve helped you out, Demyx,” Hades replied, smarmy and sweet all at once. He drug a hand up Demyx’s arm and Axel suddenly stood up.

“Dem, I think we gotta go.” He pulled out his Gummi Phone like it was going off, but the screen was blank. “Saïx needs us to check in.” There was not a single message on his screen but he wanted to go ahead and get out of there. Demyx looked skeptical, but he hopped down and let his sitar dissipate. Giving a wave to Hades, he watched Axel make a portal.

“Guess I’ll be back tomorrow.” Demyx told the God, “See you then?”

“Sure thing, babycakes.” Hades laughed, waving with only his fingers. Demyx returned the motion, getting a kissy face he didn’t get to reciprocate. Axel grabbed his arm, dragging him through the portal as he made goo-goo eyes at the God he was leaving behind.

“What do you see in that guy, anyway?” Axel asked, green eyes narrowed, obviously grumpy. He was aiming for fury and flames but ended up looking pouty and whiny instead.

“He’s cool, he’s fun and he’s nice to me,” Demyx replied, shrugging. “And people give you more information when you present yourself as open and interested.”

Axel paused at that, blinking a couple of times in confusion before tilting his head and looking at the blond. That made sense, sure, but he didn’t think that Demyx would be the kind of guy to resort to that kind of behavior.

“So… You’re just manipulating him?” Axel asked, frowning as it finally sunk in. “You don’t actually like-like him?”

“I mean, I kinda do.” Demyx smiled fondly, “He reminds me of someone that I do really like. Fiery temper, but can be really sweet. Talented with things, and uh… Really into me.” Axel might as well have been wagging at that.

“Me?” He pointed to himself, sucking his lips into his mouth.

“You,” Demyx replied sweetly, taking the other’s hand and drawing him along. “We can go talk to Saïx and then you and me should go hang out somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.” Winking playfully, he took them through the next portal into the Grey Area and marched right up to Saïx. Giving his report orally, as he did sometimes, he let Saïx write it down before finally taking Axel off towards his room. Lightning coursed through his veins just from holding the other man’s hand, and he was ready to get closer to him again. Sometimes, he missed Axel when they weren’t even that far apart.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Welp, that took a turn I didn’t expect. Hades literally almost called Demyx ‘sugar tits’. Here I am, writing things that are definitely at least a little bit dirty. Oops! I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Prompt: 8 Days Of Axel Day 3 Missions