Demyx was known throughout the Castle as the slightly goofy guy who always had a smile for someone. Even though he liked to deny it, Axel had always thought that out of all of them, Demyx deserved his heart the most. Even Roxas wasn't as kind, and just…innocent.

So everyone knew of Demyx, knew him by sight and the characteristic smile that almost always adorned his face. Even so, only a few people noticed the day Demyx died.

Axel looked around, having heard a portal open in his room. He turned to chew someone out, but stopped when he saw Demyx. His sea-blue eyes were dull, devoid of their usual sparkle and were red-rimmed. Dark shadows haunted his face, and his smile was nowhere to be found.

"Whoa, tough mission, Dem?" Axel asked, letting out a soft whistle at the state of his friend. His robe was slightly tattered, and the zipper had been ripped free. Demyx nodded and limped towards Axel's door.

"Sorry," he rasped, his voice hoarse and no louder than a whisper. "I didn't mean to bother you." He opened the door and limped out, shutting the door quietly behind him. Axel frowned. Something wasn't quite right with his water friend. There had been something lurking in those dull eyes…fear. Fear and sorrow. He walked out in the hall, not caring that he only had a pair of loose pajama pants on.

Knocking on Demyx's door, he said just loud enough for Demyx to hear him, "Hey, Dem! Let me in, please." He paused. No answer. His concern deepened. Demyx always answered his door, even with a yell to go away. "Dem," he called once more to be sure that the blonde sitarist simply hadn't fallen asleep.

When he still got no answer, he portaled directly into Demyx room. What he saw about made him choke. Demyx was curled up in a tight little ball on his floor, his face clenched in pain. His ribs barely moved with breath, and Axel immediately knelt to the ground, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Demyx's eyes snapped open and he screamed silently, terror in every line of his body. He tried to scramble away, chest heaving in panic. Axel felt his heart-no, he didn't have a heart-he felt his gut twist in pity and a slow, burning anger. He would find out what happened, no matter what. It pained him to see his formerly cheerful companion reduced to a mindless heap of fear and pain. He saw tears starting to track their way down his friend's cheeks and hesitantly stretched out a hand to console him.

With a cry of sheer anguish, Demyx clawed his way backwards, the sleeves of his robe raising enough for Axel to see the fierce red rope burn on his wrists. There were also finger-sized bruises on his arm, and more than one set of bite marks.

Axel's jaw clenched, and he could feel his anger burning hotter, stronger, fueled by Demyx's pain and suffering. He was about to portal out and demand that the Superior start a manhunt, or something when he saw Demyx flinching and trying to move even farther away, his face becoming pink. Axel smelled heat and glanced down. He was blanketed in living flame, the tongues of fire licking across his body with a will of their own.

He instantly smothered the flames, realizing how hot he must have felt to Demyx, whose eyes were wide and whose face was pale with shock, the trembling in his body showing the fire-wielder just how badly Demyx was terrified. He saw a bead of blood slip down Demyx's neck to spatter on the floor, the scarlet drop marring the surface.

Axel started crooning soft consolations and gently took Demyx in his arms. Instead of fighting to free himself, Demyx merely seized up and trembled, pupils dilated in fear. Axel hesitantly tucked a stray lock of hair behind Demyx's ear, feeling him relax only slightly. He started running his fingers gently through the younger man's hair, soothing him softly and rocking slightly.

Demyx finally relaxed and buried his face on Axel's shoulder, tears slipping from behind closed eyelids. Axel just held him close, feeling the tremors of Demyx's silent sobs. When Demyx fell asleep, still clinging to Axel like he was his only link to life, Axel gently stood up from the floor, wincing as his legs started to tingle as the blood flowed back into them. He sat down on Demyx's bed, reluctant to release his friend. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was only midnight, and neither of them had a mission the next day…or that day, technically.

Lying down carefully, he arranged the blonde sitarist in his arms, so that their faces were almost touching. He kept a comforting hand on Demyx's ribs, rubbing gentle circles and relaxing tension.

Despite his best intentions, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Demyx's lips, unable to pass up the opportunity. Thankfully, Demyx didn't wake up, just snuggled closer to Axel, his face seeming slightly troubled as he slept.

Axel woke up to Demyx's thrashing and whimpers. He groggily looked at his friend and saw his eyes were closed. Shaking the blonde's shoulder urgently, Axel tried to wake him up from his nightmare. When Demyx's eyes finally opened, they locked with Axel's as they filled with tears.

"Save me," he whispered, a sob slipping from between his lips. Axel placed his forehead on Demyx's, his hands cupping Demyx's face and his thumbs gently smoothing away the tears.

"I'll do whatever it takes," he murmured quietly, trying to send his sheer reassurance and warmth to Demyx, who was almost cold to Axel's fingers, instead of his usual slightly cooler. He opened his arms as much as he could while lying down, inviting Demyx closer and offering him comfort.

Demyx hesitated, looked deeply into Axel's eyes and let his back rest on Axel's chest, the taller redhead gently curling his body around Demyx, warming him and letting him have the option of retreating if he needed to.

Demyx stayed, though, his arms hugging himself and his spine tense, but he stayed. Axel cautiously wrapped his arms around Demyx's waist, feeling him tense slightly before relaxing. Murmuring in his ear, Axel hugged Demyx close. "The bastard that did this is going to pay."

The musician took a shuddering breath and gasped out, "Marluxia. It…he…"

"Shhh…"soothed Axel calmingly, even though in his mind, he was plotting several painful deaths for the pink-haired flower man.

The next morning, Axel left Demyx sleeping and left him a short note before portaling directly to the Superior's office, where he explained what had happened quickly and as emotionlessly as he could. Despite his struggles, flames still flickered over his body, leaping between his fingertips and crackling in his hair, but not burning anything.

Xemnas had broken out in a sheen of sweat before Axel was finished, the redhead's anger increasing the room's temperature until it was almost unbearable for anyone but himself. He knew he was making an impression, and fought down a smirk. His bright green eyes were bright, sparks of light winking in them for fractions of seconds. He concluded and crossed his arms.

"So do I get to kill him now or what?" he growled, a particularly long tongue of flame whipping out and snapping inches from Xemnas's face. The man's orange eyes flashed in anger and he ordered Axel back to Demyx.

"If he is as scarred as you say he is, then he should always be in the presence of someone he trusted. As of now, that person is you. I will let you know of my decision. Understood?"

Axel nodded bitterly, not wanting to have to wait for vengeance, but portaled back to Demyx's room. He frowned when he didn't see the blonde. Suddenly, the sharp taste of fear rose in his throat. There were large spatters of blood on the floor, leading to Demyx's bathroom.

He ran to the door and shook the knob, finding it locked, as he had desperately hoped it wouldn't be. He frantically melted the lock off and threw the door open, seeing Demyx sprawled on the white tiled floor, surrounded by a vivid crimson stain. Axel seemed to be running in slow motion as he raced for the blonde.

Clamping his hands over the deep gashes on Demyx's wrists, Axel felt despair rising in his throat. "Fuck," he whispered, the blonde's wrists as cold as ice to his fingers. He released the wounds just long enough to grab two towels and tie them around his friend's wrists, keeping pressure firm, feeling the rush of blood slowing as it clotted to the towel.

He put his ear close to Demyx's chest, barely able to find the faint whisper of breath in his lungs. Hot tears welled in his eyes and splashed onto Demyx's face, which was as pale as Death itself. He consoled himself with the fact that Demyx hadn't started fading yet. He growled under his breath; of course this was the week Vexen had to be gone many worlds away. Damn!

Axel scooped Demyx up in his arms, somewhat awkwardly due to his need to keep pressure on the still-bleeding wounds. He portaled to Zexion's room, surprising the short Nobody, who had his shirt off and was toweling his hair. He looked up with a scowl, mouth open to berate Axel, but abruptly closed it when he saw Demyx.

"What the fuck-" he began, but Axel cut him off rudely.

"I just need bandaging. I can do it myself. Come on, we don't have all day, damn it!"

Zexion bristled and argued, "I have worked with a trained medical professional-"

Axel snorted, plucking the bandages from Zexion's surprised hands. "Yeah, you've studied under a mad scientist. He's going die! He's been broken…by a fucking flower."

Zexion's wide eyes told Axel that the short platinum haired Nobody had understood him exactly. He waved Axel off, eyes darkening. Axel almost shivered, because when Zexion wanted someone to hurt, they'd hurt.

After portaling back Demyx's room, Axel gently lay the blonde down on the bed and removed the towels, cleaning the deep gashes and gently winding them up in the bandages, taking care not to hurt him any more than was necessary. When he had done everything he could, he leaned back and let the burning in his eyes surface slightly, the liquid vanishing in a quick hiss of steam.

"A-Axel? What's…what's going on?" Demyx's eyes were sad, but there was a deep shame hiding in their deep depths. Axel blinked and pushed Demyx down when he tried to rise to a sitting position. He saw the blonde wince and sternly told himself to be more careful. He was going to seriously hurt Demyx if he wasn't careful. He was just so fragile…

"You tried to kill yourself," he said flatly, refusing to let any of his feelings slip from behind the barrier he had erected over his…trace memories of a heart. He saw the hurt he caused Demyx, and decided that if Demyx was broken enough to try to kill himself as soon as Axel left, he wasn't the right person to glue him back together.

"Look," he said bitterly, trying to word what he was going to say cautiously, "I understand I'm not the greatest person around but…why would you rather kill yourself than…have to put up with me?"

Demyx looked shocked. "That's not…not what it was about," he finally rasped. He started picking at his bandages, rather than look Axel in the eyes. "I guess…it's because I'm useless," he whispered brokenly.

Now Axel was confused. "What? How are you useless?"

Demyx glared at him through a veil of tears. "Damn it, don't you understand? I wasn't strong enough to…make him leave me alone! I was scared! I'm a worthless coward that deserves everything…" he trailed off.

Axel shook his head firmly. "Not true, none of it. Dem…you're stronger than half the people here. Maybe not physically," he added, cutting of Demyx's angry retort, "but definitely mentally. I don't even know if I could deal with what you're going through."

Demyx's anger faded, and a blank, numb expression replaced it. Axel tried to coax Demyx into even a hint of conversation, but it was like someone had cut the main power for Demyx's response and acknowledgement sensors.

Finally, all Axel could do was gently tell Demyx to try and get some sleep before turning off the lights and sitting in a chair, not far from Demyx's bed. He glanced out the window and saw a large wall of massive black clouds rolling in, lightning flickering and dancing in the murky depths of the storm.

"You and me, Dem," he murmured, sighing heavily. "We'll weather the storm, even if…even if we drown."

Hello, my fine reader and hopefully reviewers! I suppose that's a bit too cheerful for someone that just shattered Demyx's mind and self of self-worth by having him raped…wow. Not good. Anyway, this is the first part of a two shot. I'm not going to extend it any more than that, because I'll get lost. So…yeah. Tell me if you like it, hate it, whatever. Just one itty-bitty request, though: Will someone tell me if I start going overboard on the emotions? I'm playing this by ear, folks. Vielen Dank dafür, die Zeit zu nehmen, um es zu lesen! (Thanks for taking the time to read it!)