Chapter Text
“Welcome to Camp Moon Lake, located smack in the middle of Heartache Forest, a name that stuck because of the numerous “lost love” myths that take place here,” the camp director boomed. It was quite the opening to the camp staff’s “brief” welcome for training week, and seemed to Zexion to be more of a sales pitch. He sighed once, then turned his attention to the director again. What was supposed to be a 10 minute welcome and introduction to Camp Moon Lake turned into a half hour affair.
During this time, Zexion’s eyes glazed over as he became lost in thought, wondering how his summer would go, and if it would be better than working at his uncle’s like he did last summer. Despite the fact he was made to serve drinks underage, it was a pretty decent job. He would definitely look into bartending as a side job in graduate school year, as the tips were pretty decent. But for now, his father’s friend got him this job last minute as a family favor.
He was brought out of this reverie when he slapped his arm, where a mosquito had just landed. He heard a snicker from somewhere behind him, and decided against turning around to glare. He didn’t want to make any more enemies at camp. And yes, the bugs were what he considered his natural enemies. But Zexion wasn’t complaining about camp, he just liked being indoors more. ‘Too bad I couldn’t get a job in the kitchens,’ he thought to himself, just as director “Wolf” finished his spiel.
Apparently they went by nicknames here, so he would have to make a good enough impression on his fellow staff members if he didn’t want to get stuck with something humiliating. Because of course you can’t make one up for yourself. Zexion sighed once more before standing and departing to find his cabin again. This was going to be a long summer.
After the half mile trek back to his cabin, Zexion began to finish unpacking. First off, he got out his water bottle and filled it with water and chugged half of it. The day was climbing up into the high 70s and low 80s slowly but surely. He looked around the cabin. It was pretty big, for the two people who were going to be living in it. It was originally made for four people, and there were still four beds and two side tables. But the overnight camps only needed two counselors per camp site, so Zexion supposed they were used during off-season camping. However, there were four beds to choose from, so he pulled two together to make a bigger bed.
After this, he unpacked his gray sheets and red plaid sleeping bag. The sleeping bag added extra cushioning to the hard, springy mattress the camp provided. Then he sorted all his clothes to make sure he could access the various items, and sorted his (few) toiletries. The last thing he did was take out his chargers and plug them into the outlets nearest to him. It was only a phone charger, laptop cord, and alarm clock, but there were only three outlets in the cabin.
He heard voices and snaps of twigs and other assorted nature outside the cabin. ‘Must be some co-workers.’ They sounded buddy-buddy out there, ‘And they must know each other,’ Zexion mused. And indeed, when the owners of those voices came into the cabin, Zexion could hear queries of “You think they removed our carvings at the dining hall?” and “I wonder if the weather will be better than last year’s.” The guy asking about vandalism had a shock of bright red hair, all pulled back in a ponytail, and the stray ends contained somewhat by a blue bandana. He had two tattoos underneath his eyes, and Zexion could see he had others barely hiding underneath his shirtsleeves. He asked his question to a slightly shorter guy, who was slightly shorter than Zexion’s 5’6 height. This guy had dirty blonde hair, spiked in all directions but still relatively short, and wore cargo pants with lots of zippers. He had a somewhat serious expression, despite the smirk on his face.
The last one to enter through the door was about an inch or two taller than the red-head and a bit thinner, or was it lankier? He had blonde hair spiked up in a sort of Mohawk/fohawk, and the shorter (shaved?) hair on the sides was brown. He had the biggest grin on his face, which Zexion found himself staring at when it suddenly became focused on him. “Oh hey, who have we here?” the red-head asked. His voice oozed mischief, and sounded slightly rough.
Zexion blinked and stood up, hand out to introduce himself. “Hello, I am Zexion. I’m going to be a counselor with you guys, I guess …” he trailed off. Introductions were not really his forte. The red-head chuckled and took his hand. “I’m Axel, a.k.a. Pyro. I’m not a counselor this year. But my buddy Roxas here is!” He nudged the shortest guy. “I’m gonna be working in the kitchens. So stay on my nice side if you want the good stuff!” he added with a wink. Roxas shot him a look, before turning to Zexion and holding his hand out as well. “Hey, yeah, I’m Roxas like he said. My camp name is Zippers but I like to be called Zips. I’m the other counselor for this site, so I hope we get along.”
“I’m sure we will,” Zexion replied with a polite almost-smile. Zexion was relieved, he was worried that Axel would have been a far too troublesome roommate.
Turning his attention to the tallest figure, Zexion let his eyes trail up from where Roxas’ head ended and his chest began. He was met with the dirtiest smile he’d ever seen. It was almost a smirk. Except… the eyes, such a light blue in contrast with his own darker, blue-grey ones, added to the smirk, and the gleam was so suggestive Zexion felt his face heat up. He mumbled a “Nice to meet you” before turning around to plug in his phone and zip up his bag. A familiar laugh met his ears, louder in this small cabin than in a crowd. Zexion turned around again. As Roxas had begun to unpack, and he heard Axel talking quietly to him on the other side of the room, he suspected that the laugh was from the unknown guy still standing in the door. Still standing there, and still smirking at him. He met the man’s gaze, this time holding it with his own defiant expression, before the crackle of a walkie-talkie broke it off.
This caused the blondie to break the gaze, as he exited the cabin to answer the call. His voice was nice, bubbly and bright, definitely not matching the previous expression. Zexion caught himself wondering if he should have gotten his name, but decided that this was a person who might be looking for trouble, and Zexion was unwilling to play along. Instead, he decided to just focus on making friends enough with his cabin buddy and co-counselor for the summer, Roxas. Oh. And his… boyfriend?
Zexion hadn’t noticed how the hushed talking had turned to silenced whispers. But when he looked over to assess his “roommate’s” state of affairs, he quickly looked down. Axel’s figure leaned over Roxas’ in an encompassing hug, whispering into his neck and ears, and Zexion had just witnessed a kiss on the neck and oh a very heated expression from Roxas. Perhaps it was time to step outside, and check out the map.
Fuck. He might be lost. Almost? Zexion had ventured out to find a quiet spot to sit and think, something he enjoyed doing in the solace of the library at home. But he had not consulted the map of camp for this, and was now trying to figure out where he was. Sighing, he brushed his bangs out of his face. He was glad his mother insisted on him wearing his hair back, it really alleviated some of the heat with it not plastered on the back of his neck. The stray pieces that couldn’t be contained in the back, though, were starting to aggravate him. He might have to invest in a bandana, like Axel’s.
And speaking of Axel… He hoped his roommate wouldn’t be keeping him up all night with his… lover? Zexion didn’t know what the two were. But with a week of preparing for the campers and going over rules and regulations and safety instructions, they had better not be fooling around after hours! He decided to confront Roxas about it during dinner.
His stomach growled, and Zexion looked at his wristwatch. Crap, it was almost 5! Didn’t the director say something about punctuality? And they were supposed to actually physically be in their seats at 5… Getting up from the place of refuge he privately marked out as his own (and physically marking it with his Swiss army knife), Zexion again consulted the camp map. ‘Let’s see…’ he pondered, ‘if the dining hall is north of the main area, and my site was south east of that, and the sun might be setting over in that direction…’ Nope. He was definitely lost. He was 21 years old and he felt like a kid again, helpless without an experienced adult to guide him. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he decided to just head north and hope to stumble across a familiar setting.
Five minutes later, he came across the waterfront area. Checking his map, he noted that it was to the east of the dining hall, and northeast of his site. ‘Ok, so if I go a bit northwest…’ Finally, he had it figured out! A small smile made it to his lips, as he turned himself to face NW. As he started again on his journey, Zexion did not notice the figure that had just popped out of the waterfront storage unit. Nor did he notice when said figure began silently following him. That is, until Zexion reached one of the roads that surrounded the camp’s forest. He had gone too far north. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. This is why they use the buddy system at camps.
“So, like, where are ya goin?” a bodiless voice came from the trees behind him. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he knew at the same time he had not heard a voice exactly like that before. Zexion turned fast on his heels and blew away some stray hair from his eyes. “Well, I was trying to get to the dining hall, as I am late,” he huffed, glancing around the general direction he heard the voice from.
“I could probably help, given that it’s my third year here.” The voice grew closer, and Zexion heard the rustling of leaves underfoot. “But I might need you to do me a favor when we get there,” the tall blonde guy stepped out and Zexion understood why the voice was familiar. He had only heard the bubbly, innocent tones before, but this was the voice that matched the dirty smirk and gaze. It was deeper, and almost… huskier? This time, though, his expression was slightly amused.
“Fine, but tell me what the favor is, and allow me to agree to it or decline, right now.” Zexion was aware of the traps that were set up by owing “favors”, he read enough fanfiction to see where that could go. The guy sighed and rolled his eyes. “Wow, you’re no fun! I was just gonna ask ya if ya wanted to eat with me and my buddies, since you know them. Y’know, Roxas? Your roomie?” Oh, ok that didn’t sound too bad. “I accept your offer,” Zexion stated matter-of-factly.
The two arrived at dinner very late, at 5:10. Zexion felt all the eyes on him and would have left immediately, if it weren’t for his growling stomach. The other just smiled happily at the glaring Wolf, and led him to the table where Roxas and some other people were sitting. Zexion chose to sit at the end, next to Roxas. The still unknown friend of Axel and Roxas glared slightly, his plans foiled. He dejectedly sat down in the empty space between a petite blonde girl and some brunet guy. After they filled their plates with that night’s dinner, chicken tenders and mac and cheese with salad, Zexion found himself being informed about everyone at the table.
“So, Zexion, you know me, and Axel’s still in the kitchen cleaning up. The guy across from you with the silver hair is Riku, a.k.a. Knight. He got that nickname because he’s protective of the kid next to him, Sora. He has yet to be given a nickname since he’s new here, like you. He also happens to be my cousin. Kairi is the red-head girl on the other side of me, she’s super nice and is going out with Sora. Her nickname is Biscuit since she’s sweet, like really nice. Namine is the girl next to Kairi, she’s the blonde one? Yeah, her nickname is Angel, and when you talk to her more you’ll understand. She’s a counselor with Kairi, but she’s real great at the arts. Xion is across from her, she’s another counselor. She’s new this year too, but she arrived here from Japan real early and got to stay with Namine. We all live sorta nearby each other. And I see you met Bubbles. He’s from Norway but he’s lived in the U.S. most of his life. He and Axel have been working here for like 3 years now. We’ll see him around.”
Zexion was thankful for the information, and introduced himself to the others formally, after dinner. They invited him to sit with them for the First Night Campfire, a longstanding Camp Moon Lake tradition. S’mores were made, songs were sung, and Zexion felt content just relaxing in the background of it all, observing his new acquaintances and enjoying the campfire smell. There may be a long summer ahead of him, but that night he let his worries disappear.