A/N: Yola, peoples. Yay for me finally finishing this fic so I can post it. (dances a jig around laptop) I'm here to tell you guys some important stuff right from the get-go. If you'll kindly look up there and see the letter under rating (you'll note that it is an M), you will see that this will have content not suitable for kiddies or those of prudish origins. Also, I would not recommend this to yaoi haters. Hey, if you don't want to read it, don't. You've been warned, so I don't want any reviews like "Ew, boi seks! How gross!" If I do receive such reviews, I will post them at the beginning of the subsequent chapter and proceed to make fun of them. I thank you and good day.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Squeenix, or Disney. (I do own a Mickey Mouse watch I bought in Disney World this past summer. It plays music. You know the song in Disney Castle in KH2? Yeah…that song…)
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"Who was the fool, who the wise man, beggar, or king?
Whether poor or rich, it's all the same in death."
Chapter 1
Demyx sat in the waiting room of the hospital, staring at his folded hands in front of him. He knew he had to get going. Axel would be waiting for him and he didn't want to ruin any of the redhead's plans, but still he felt as if he couldn't move. What good were doctors if they couldn't tell you what was wrong?
He'd been having bad migraines and feeling really tired. He'd assumed it was the flu, but the doctor hadn't been so sure. He'd assigned some painkillers and said to come back the next week for a further check up. He'd been so sure it was just the flu…what else could it be? He didn't have the time or resources to deal with going to the doctor all the time.
Now, he not only had to study for his final exams, do his job, and take care of everything at home, he also had to come to the hospital and pay the bills for it more then once. Demyx pulled himself to his feet with a sigh and made his way out the door. He dashed across the street and started making his way down to the small park a few blocks away. He'd just come around into view of the park when he heard a shriek of, "Daddy!"
Knowing what was coming, he bent at the knee and threw his arms out, catching the little blonde girl as she came barreling into his arms. He scooped her up into his arms and started walking over to where he could see Axel and Roxas waiting.
"Daddy, guess what?" she exclaimed excitedly.
Demyx couldn't help but grin at his daughter. She was easily the most beautiful little girl to ever grace the earth and she was his. Even if the circumstances of her birth left much to be desired, he didn't regret it.
"What?" he asked with a grin.
"Uncle Axel and Uncle Roxas bought me ice cream!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"They gave you sugar?" Demyx asked with a slight grimace. He loved her, he really did, but giving the girl sugar was the biggest mistake in the world. She was hyper enough without it. They finally reached Demyx's friends, who were waiting for him all the way across the park on a bench. As soon as they got there, Demyx glared at them.
"Hey, babe," Axel greeted. "Why the glare?"
"Ice cream?" he demanded. Axel started laughing and Roxas smiled a little guiltily.
"She was begging," was Axel's excuse. "You know I can't deny that cute little face."
Demyx sighed and looked over the playground at the little kids rushing around, teeming with energy, their tired parents following after them. He was too young for this.
"Hey Lyric, how about I go push you on the swings, huh?" Roxas asked.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him away.
"I think your daughter is trying to steal my boyfriend," Axel grumbled jokingly. Demyx laughed, watching Roxas push Lyric as she giggled and shrieked, the wind rushing through her dirty-blonde pigtails. He'd recently become quite good at little girl hairstyles.
"She's four, Axel. I think you're safe. Besides, I'll kill any guy who thinks of putting their hands on my baby girl," Demyx declared, frowning slightly at the thought.
Axel laughed out loud, throwing his arm over Demyx's shoulders.
"Your fatherly instincts definitely make you scarier then anyone could think you'd be," Axel informed him.
"I'd tell you you'll understand one day, but unless Roxas grows some ovaries, I don't think that's gonna happen."
Roxas stopped the swing and Lyric jumped off, running in the direction of the slide. On her way over, she tripped and landed flat on her face in the dirt. Demyx made to make his way over as she sat up, looking utterly confused. After a moment, though, she just giggled, got up, and started toward the slide again.
"Down boy, she's fine. You're too overprotective."
"How do you expect me not to be?" Demyx murmured. "She's all I have."
Axel was silent for a long time, both of them watching the most important people in their lives goofing off together.
"Thanks for watching her today, Ax. I really appreciate it," Demyx sighed. He knew it was a lot to ask of them. Lyric could be quite the handful and they had their own lives. But he really had no one else to turn to.
"Hey, no problem. You know we love Lyric. She's so damn cute, not to mention I can start molding her mind to the love of flame from such a young age and you can't do a thing about it!"
"Bastard," Demyx snarled jokingly. It was strange to have the word pass his lips. He'd taken to censoring himself around Lyric, and after four years, it just sort of stuck.
"By god, Dem, was that an obscenity?" Axel gasped with mock horror.
There was a loud buzzing noise and Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open with a greeting of, "Yo!" Demyx turned his attention back to Lyric, who was now clutching to Roxas' leg, pleading for something. Roxas was fighting a valiant battle, trying to deny the "pleading eyes of death" as Axel called them, but he was losing horribly. It almost hurt to watch.
"Dem, it's for you."
With his own living costs, plus that of Lyric's, Demyx couldn't afford a television or phone, cell or landline. For important issues, Demyx used Axel's cell phone as a contact point. He was usually with Axel, and if he wasn't he was with Lyric, so the emergency couldn't be too bad if she was safe.
"Hello?" he greeted, holding the phone to his ear.
"Hi, Demyx?"
"Yes," he answered.
"This is Kairi." Kairi baby-sat Lyric for free. She was a couple years older then Demyx and she watched Lyric for him while he was at school. She was a sweet girl and Lyric adored her.
"Hello, Kairi. Is something wrong?" he asked. Kairi never called unless something was wrong.
"I've come down with the flu, Dem. I'm really sorry, but I can't watch Lyric for at least a week. I'm sure you understand, wouldn't want her getting sick, right?"
"No, of course not," Demyx answered, shaking his head even though he knew Kairi couldn't see him. He looked up at the bright blue sky, cursing it while everything around him was falling to shit. "I hope you feel better, Kairi."
"Thanks. I'm really sorry, Demyx."
"It's fine. Focus on getting better. Bye," he hung up the phone.
"Well, shit," he sighed.
Axel looked over at him, cocking his head to the side just slightly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"That was Lyric's baby-sitter. She's sick and can't watch Lyric all week."
Axel let out a hiss of breath. "Tough break, man."
Demyx nodded, dialing a number into Axel's phone and holding it to his ear.
He loved Lyric more then life itself, but finding time and people to take care of her was increasingly getting harder. He'd lost contacts and couldn't make more because of her, but he wouldn't trade her for the world. It was an interesting situation, to say the least. The phone rang five times before it was answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Principal Xemnas? This is Demyx Capulet."
"Hello Demyx, what can I do for you on this fine Sunday evening?" his principal greeted. Demyx got the point.
"I'm very sorry to disturb you, but I thought I'd call myself in sick for the week while I still had the time," Demyx explained. There was a long silence on the other end. Demyx was beginning to wonder if the call was dropped when the principal spoke again.
"You're only allowed twenty days of absence before you're audited from all of your classes, Mr. Capulet. You only have two left," he explained patiently.
"Yes sir, I realize that, but my baby-sitter just cancelled and I can't leave my four-year-old home alone all day," Demyx explained, just as patiently. There was another long silence.
"Demyx, I know that things can't be easy for you, raising a child all on your own and still sticking with high school. I'm very proud of you for pulling through. You have two months left in your senior year and then you graduate. I can't stand by and watch you throw everything away now that you're so close."
"I'm sorry, but what am I supposed to do, take her to all my classes with me?" Demyx demanded.
"Yes. Do that. I'll alert your teachers ahead of time, shall I?"
Demyx was stunned. He could honestly say that was not how he had expected that conversation to turn out. He shook his head and made a strange gasping noise before he could speak.
"I'm sorry, sir. Did you just suggest that I bring my daughter to my high school to sit through all my classes with me?"
Axel cast him a questioning glance. Demyx had to turn away so he could concentrate on the conversation.
"Yes, Mr. Capulet, that is exactly what I'm suggesting."
"But…that won't do me any good…she'll distract me and the rest of the class…"
"Mr. Capulet, at this point in your high school career, I hardly think it matters. You just need to come to school everyday for the next two months to pass, so that everything you worked for wasn't a complete and total waste."
"Um…all right. You're gonna tell my teachers? So I don't get screamed at?"
"Yes, your teachers will be contacted. They'll know what to expect."
"Thank you…so much," Demyx managed to choke out.
"Have a nice day, Mr. Capulet."
Demyx was met with dial tone a moment later, still slightly in shock from the events that had just taken place.
"Lyric is seriously coming to school with you?" Axel demanded as soon as Demyx handed his phone back.
"Uh…yeah," Demyx answered. They were quiet for a long time until Axel said, "Hey, so how'd your doctor's appointment go?"
Demyx glanced over at his friend. His best friend, the one person who'd been there for him his entire life, and he felt scared.
"They…don't know. They don't know what's wrong with me," Demyx murmured quietly. "They want me to go back." Axel nodded at Demyx in understanding. He knew that the blonde hated hospitals more then anything. People always died when they went to the hospital.
"It'll be fine, Dem. You'll see."
Armed with Axel's kiss on the cheek and attempted reassuring words ringing in his ears, Demyx made his way over to his daughter, scooping her up and beginning the long walk home.
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Hmm…so, what do you think? Like, dislike? Let me know. WITH A REVIEW! By the way, some things might seem vague. They're supposed to be that way. Everything will be revealed in time, you just have to be patient.