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For a thing like a Nobody, a thing without a heart with which to feel things like appreciation or affection, it really was the thought that counted. It was the idea of something else wanting to offer Demyx affection that appealed to him. Especially a guy like Xigbar, who knew everything and was actually competent at what he did.
Mostly, it was on slow nights when everyone had been ordered for downtime to wait things out. When everyone was in their own personal space to think things over to pretend to sleep for some sort of faux comfort that Xigbar showed up in Demyx’ personal space.
That night, instead of his normal faux sleep, Demyx was trying to perfect his art. Trying to make water mimic things other than his himself. Maybe one of his Nobodies. Maybe mimic how dumb Marluxia looked when he was on one of his slow rants with big words that probably didn’t even mean anything and his awful smelling flowers. He had a rather impressive rant going, he thought, before the whole projection was destroyed by a bullet he could only ever describe as something Xigbar made.
“Hey, kiddo,” came the chuckle from behind him. Demyx turned, hands falling to his sides in something like annoyance.
“Hey, Xig,” Demyx sighed, going to put the water back in its container. No point in leaving the place a huge wet mess, he supposed. “I thought you were supposed to be gone for the next few days on some super important thing from our boss.”
“Yeah, well you know how those go,” Xigbar drawled, going to sit on the sofa, lounging on the thing really. “You get there, sneak around, and shoot around and before you know it, you’re done. It didn’t take nearly as long as anyone hoped.”
Demyx considered that, going to sit on the end of the sofa Xigbar wasn’t quite taking up. “So what you’re saying is, you showed up, got bored and left?”
A grin split Xigbar’s scarred face and he chuckled, the sound completely hollow. Demyx figured it might have broken his heart if he had one. “That was right on the target, kiddo.” Xigbar shifted to accommodate Demyx a little better, and then again to encroach on his space a little more effectively, so now they were actually touching. Demyx didn’t move away from it.
“Superior will figure it out, too you know. And then who knows what’ll happen.”
“Who knows,” Xigbar said, tone dropping though that empty amusement was still there. “I’m valuable here, kid. He’d not gonna do anything aside from a slap on the wrist and everyone knows it. The mission wasn’t that important, anyway. Watching a kid? Hardly stick around worthy if you ask me.”
Demyx rose an eyebrow at that, his own smile spreading across his face. “Watching a kid, huh? A kid like me or a kid even younger?” He teased him, leaning over Xigbar’s body now, enjoying that cool physical contact between the both of them, especially if he couldn’t have an emotional one.
“Younger,” Xigbar nearly purred the word, shifting again to allow the new position and even going to pull Demyx a little further up on the sofa.
“You’re a gross old man, you know that?” Demyx chuckled, settling himself down beside the offending party at that point.
“Yeah, well…” Xigbar wrapped an arm around Demyx’s waist, pulling the both of them closer together. “You’d like it.”
Demyx pretended to think about that as he raised a finger to trace the lines of Xigbar’s jaw. “Maybe I would,” he admitted. “Maybe the person I used to be would love a gross guy like you. Maybe if the guy you used to be were married, the guy I used to be wouldn’t care.”
There was a few seconds of quiet as Demyx thought about that and as Xigbar at least looked like he thought about that. “Maybe if the guy I used to be were married, he would still like you, too.” Xigbar pressed a kiss to Demyx’ temple, pulling a soft sigh from him.
“That’s kind of gross, Xigbar,” Demyx laughed, the sound equally empty and hollow and it made him wonder why he even bothered making the sound at all.
“Yeah, well…” Xigbar trailed off again, though this time it wasn’t followed up by anything else. Instead they just lie there with one another, listening to the silence of the castle and the silence of their chests, comfortable with the physical attention and the gentle motions of breath.
They stayed there like that for a long time until the castle grew dark and it was time for them to part. They murmured quietly that they would meet again soon, that maybe Demyx’ mission wouldn’t take long at all and he’d be back before either of them really knew it and they could spend the evening on the sofa again.