#yruslex

Despite himself, Ienzo felt the blush, hot and insistent, though he dared not change his expression. “...Anything?”

Demyx smiled slyly. “Well, within reason. Or maybe not. I can be pretty… magnanimous.”

“I see you’ve picked up some new vocabulary,” he said evenly. 

“Hard not to when I live with you nerds.” He leaned forward, his eyes bright. 

Ienzo’s heart rate had picked up, but he kept himself composed. “In that case… my answer is still no.”

Demyx groaned. “Ugh, really? You’re the worst boyfriend ever.”

He took a quick breath; the mood, light as it had been, seemed to shift and nearly to shimmer. 

Demyx seemed just as shocked by the admission, and had turned very red. He grasped at the back of his neck. “Uh… sorry,” he said quickly. “I was just messing around, you know, I didn’t actually mean… any of it.”

Ienzo shook himself a little. “Well… it’s the truth, or something close to it,” he said. “We can’t keep pretending… this isn’t what this is.”

A few heartbeats of silence. Demyx looked away and bit his lip. 

“I’m aware things are still… complicated for you,” he continued. “But I… I know you’re capable of good. And I should like to be there to see it. Even if this is over something so simple as a costume.” Ienzo smiled, more to himself than anything. 

He nodded very quickly. “Yeah, um, no. Right there with you pal. Buddy. Er.”

“With that settled.” He cracked open his book again. 

“Would you put that down for a minute?”

“Whatever for?”

Demyx laughed a little. “You make me work for everything.”

“I like seeing you put forth the effort. That way I know it means something.”

He sat forward a little. “So.”

“So.” Ienzo could feel his heart beating hard, the color in his face, but he held firm. He knew where this was going, the inevitable end of this conversation. He felt Demyx’s hand on his cheek, the skin a bit rougher than he expected. Demyx kissed him so softly it took all of Ienzo’s willpower not to completely melt. Then--too soon--he pulled away.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he said.

“As have I.”

He laughed a little. “Good. That’s good.”

A few more beats. Nerves almost paralyzed Ienzo. To break this sudden anxiety, he said. “So. Tell me more about this costume.”

He blinked. “You’ll do it?”

“Consider me… worn down.”

Demyx sprung up and reached for the bundle, then hesitated. “Kinda seems dumb now.”

“Humor me.”

Demyx unraveled the first of the two; a red cape with a shoestring cord to hold it shut. “A superhero. Get it? Cause… Keyblade and stuff?”

Ienzo blinked. “I see.”

He started rumpling it back up. “I knew it was dumb.”

“Keep it.” Ienzo smiled. “I think it’s adorable.”

The blush on his face seemed permanent. “If you say so,” he said.

“And what did you have in the cards for me?”

“I kind of… figured you wouldn’t want to be seen.” He held up the white mass. “Sheet ghost. Get it? Boo.”

Ienzo laughed a little. “I figure next year we can be a bit more creative.”

“Oh! You, um. You think?”

He nodded. 

Demyx tossed him the sheet. “Well, let’s get ready. Don’t want to be late.”

Ienzo stood and took the sheet under his arm. “One more thing.”

“...Sure.”