Oi!

Who's up for another round of Axel sexiness?
I know I am!

So I've been doing a bit of self-evaluation and I've decided that it's time to exercise what my friends have deemed a "gift" for writing "some seriously morbid shit".

Those of you with weak stomachs need not apply.

I'd also like to say that this is the first time I've made one of my darker stories public in any way, and I'm scared shitless to do so. Half of you probably already think I'm a freak.

But whatever...please, no flaming.

And don't leave a review calling me 'sick', 'twisted' or 'fucked up'.

I really hate it when people point out the obvious.

Disclaimer: There's no way in hell Disney would sell me any rights to Kingdom Hearts. Especially not after what I'm about to do to it. Not that I blame them.

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"Prime Suspect"

The streets were slick with a few rains clouds' pathetic attempt at a downpour, the buildings along it dark and uninviting. A few stragglers from the 5 o'clock rush to get home still walked along the dirty sidewalks, the soles of their shoes scratching, scuffling and sliding across the wet cement. It was the dead of winter, as anyone could tell from the heavy coats and scarves donned by people on the streets, and sunset had come early, though it was completely eclipsed by the dark clouds. The outlines of the graphite billows had been tinged pink that evening with the last remnants of a blazing sunset. Beautiful in the simplest of ways to anyone who saw it, though Detective Axel Crowley hadn't been among the awe-struck sky gazers. He'd been locked up in his office all day, and for most of the evening, pouring over paperwork and wishing to god he'd gone to med school like his parents wanted him to. Being the one to sew people up and send them on their merry way seemed a much better alternative to being the one to find them, a week or more out, rotting in a pool of coagulated blood. As if desperate to break the deafening silence in the cramped space, the phone on Detective Crowley's desk began to ring. A high, shrill tone that always brought a scowl to Axel's face.

"Homicide, Crowley speaking." he said into the phone lazily, too tired to give damn about sounding professional. The voice on the other end was a woman's. Though it was mechanically dulled and distorted, Axel knew it belonged to Kairi, the Chief's receptionist.

"Axel?" her voice quivered with something far more than fear or respect every time she spoke to him.

"Mmm." Axel grunted into the phone, spreading a few sheets of paper out on his desk for comparison.

"You're still here?" she asked. Axel resisted the urge to snap at her for her seemingly endless stream of stupid questions.

"I answered the phone, didn't I?" he settled for something less harsh, and with fewer choice words.

"Uh yes, well..." she began. Axel rolled his eyes as she struggled to keep her libido in check long enough to spit out whatever pointless news she had for him. "Uh... the Chief wants to talk to you." she stammered.

"He couldn't call me directly?" Axel mumbled, still looking over papers.

"Actually, he's on his way to your office. I just thought I'd let you know." Kairi shook. Axel groaned silently and pushed the tip of his pen into the soft wood of his desk irritably.

"Thank you, Kairi..." he sighed, not waiting for a response from the girl as he set the beige plastic receiver back in it's cradle. Axel sighed deeply and muttered to himself as he began pulling the papers into a stack, reaching for another unsorted pile. The wooden door of his office swung open with a creak. Thanks to one of Kairi's many pathetic excuses to talk to him, Axel didn't even have to look up from his work.

"Evening..." he sighed, making large 'X's over chunks of text on his paperwork. The chief of the Twilight Town Police Department strode into Axel's office and sat on the edge of his desk. Axel stared at the man's ass where it invaded the personal space of his paperwork, clad in khaki. "Can I help you?" he demanded.

"Actually, I was hoping I could help you." said the chief quietly. Axel's eyes darted across more papers as he continued his work.

"Do tell me how you plan to do that..." he muttered.

"By sending you home. You look like a fuckin' ghost." the chief observed. Axel chuckled darkly.

"I don't see how that's any of your business, Seifer." he murmured, on a first name basis with the chief.

"It's not. But I'm the chief of police, and you're my underling." Seifer smugly pointed out. The chief of police possessed what Axel would have, under any other circumstances, perceived as a Napoleon Complex. But Seifer was anything but short. Axel had decided his boss was just like every other boss out there, an asshole. Nothing 'complex' about him.

"I have work to do, Ostroff." Axel told the chief, letting his 'underling' comment slide for the time being. Seifer nodded, looking around Axel's cluttered office.

"You can do it at home or tomorrow." Chief Ostroff mumbled. Axel stopped writing and stared up at the man.

"Why the hell do you want me gone so damn bad?" he questioned. Seifer shrugged. At that moment, Kairi appeared in the doorway, barely dressed as always, seeming a bit surprised to see that Axel was still there. Suddenly it clicked. Axel scoffed, disgusted.

"Right..." he said, gathering a few stacks of paper and cramming them into his briefcase. "I'll leave." Axel pulled on his black trenchcoat and shoved his police-issued .50 magnum into it's holster.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Seifer called as Axel extinguished the light in his office, ushering the two intruders out, and heading down the vast tile hallway. Axel didn't even so much as wave as he pushed his way through the double doors of the TTPD headquarters building. Not that it mattered much. He wasn't even halfway down the hall when Kairi was undoing his boss's belt with swift, thin fingers. Axel wasn't much for morality, as his track record more than proved, but he couldn't help feeling a twinge of remorse for Seifer's wife. "I hope she's at home right now, sucking off the neighbor..." he thought to himself as he descended the concrete steps, his dress shoes sloshing in the leftover puddles.

It was still drizzling as Axel began his walk to the bus stop, having lost his car to a defaulted loan a few months ago. The tiny drops of water landed on his hair, a beautiful shade of red, pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. It slid slowly down his face, caressing the twin purplish scars beneath his eyes that he'd had since childhood, the sick joke of the neighborhood asshole kid that always felt the need to pick on pale, awkward kids like Axel. For a while, his were the only footsteps, then a second pair joined the clatter. They were louder and slower than his. Axel had walked with his head down, staring at his feet as he trudged since he was a kid, but now he looked up. Not ten feet away stood a woman that wasn't particularly pretty in the face, though a head of matted black hair half hid it. She was thin. Too thin. The result of cocaine addiction, an eating disorder or both. Her clothes were tight and her skirt even shorter than Kairi's, and the shoes she wore... the soles of Axel's feet hurt just looking at them.

"Hey..." she smiled at him as he came to stand beside her, under the sign that said "Designated bus stop". Axel ignored her. "What's your name?" she asked slowly, reaching out to tug a bit on Axel's sleeve. Axel wanted to say "I'm a cop" and get her off his case, but then again...

"You always work near the bus stop?" he asked. The woman laughed softly, though the sound grated on Axel's ears.

"I work where I can." she said honestly. It was cheesy smalltalk, though there was a hint of pain in her deep voice. Axel turned his head to better look at the woman through strands of fiery hair that had loosed themselves from his ponytail. He noticed now, up close, that the woman had shining blue eyes, so pretty that they almost shouldn't have belonged to a hooker.

"You wear colored contacts?" he asked. The woman smiled.

"They're natural." she said. "So is the black hair."

"How the hell does that happen?" Axel asked, looking back out at the rain-slicked street.

"They call it 'Black Irish'." the woman said casually, still holding onto Axel's sleeve. Axel nodded, not looking back at her. "So..." she said in a voice that Axel now realized was accented, though he couldn't place the origin. "How long has it been since you've felt the touch of a woman?" she whispered seductively, pressing her lips to Axel's neck. The touch made his skin crawl, and he pulled away, cringing.

"That's not really a great sales pitch." he said. "Not many men like being reminded of how they can't get any."

The woman frowned, but continued to push herself into Axel's personal space.

"But that's the point...they can get some." she whispered, pushing her shoulders forward, making her breasts perk up. Axel glanced over. They were rather nice...

"How much?" he sighed after much deliberation. The woman smiled softly, pressing herself to Axel's side even harder.

"That depends..." she whispered. "What do you want?"

Inwardly, Axel groaned.

"Head." he shrugged. The woman giggled.

"15 should cover it." she said. This time, Axel frowned.

"You're worth more than that." he said. The woman seemed taken aback.

"You don't even know me." she said, as if Axel's statement had been meant as an insult.

"True." he reasoned. "But you're still worth more than that."

"Fine... 20." said the prostitute. Axel chuckled. It was clear he wasn't going to get through to her.

"Whatever." he muttered. The prostitute grinned, pulling on Axel's sleeve, leading him away from the edge of the sidewalk. "In an alley?" Axel asked as she pulled him into the darkened space between two buildings. "You don't think that's a cliché?"

The woman ignored him and began unbuttoning Axel's black work pants, gripping the zipper. Axel's hand covered hers, stopping the motion. The woman was already on her knees in the puddles and filth, and she looked to Axel with those shining eyes.

"What?" she asked, irritated that she'd been interrupted.

"I want to know your name first." Axel mumbled. The woman scoffed.

"Tifa." she grunted, pulling again on Axel's zipper. His hand still stopped her.

"Your real name." he said, knowing that prostitutes rarely told men they serviced their birth names.

"Alena." the woman sighed.

"Pretty name." Axel whispered. Alena ignored him and tugged on his zipper once more. Axel didn't stop her. The head wasn't that great, not that Axel expected much, though her mouth was wonderfully warm on so cold a night. When he'd finished, he handed her a 50 dollar bill, hoping to get his point across. He's not sure it worked, as Alena shoved the bill into her shirt quickly as if she thought Axel's generosity was an accident. Axel stepped out of the alley as the bus was pulling up to it's stop. "Convenient." he thought, climbing aboard the brightly lit bus. He looked out a fogged window and saw Alena step from the dark alley, brushing herself off, pulling the wrinkles out of her shirt. He scoffed quietly, not sure if he felt more sorry for her, or himself.

The ride back to his apartment was dull and irritating. Axel was the only person on the bus, save for a teenage girl in ripped up, baggy jeans and an oversized black t-shirt. She spent the whole trip arguing with her boyfriend on her cellphone. Axel was glad when she got off a few blocks before him. When the bus squeaked to a stop, it's hydraulic brakes protesting loudly, Axel climbed off and back into the humid, cold night. He trudged up the stairs of his apartment building, hearing muffled arguing and music through the doors that lined the corridor. Stepping into his apartment, he clicked on the light, revealing only a couch, television set and refrigerator in the kitchen. He tossed his coat and briefcase onto the couch, pressing the button on the blinking answering machine.

"You have three new messages..." chirped the electronic voice.

"Hi Axel! It's me again, Aerith." said a woman. "I uh... was just callin' back. Wasn't sure if you got my other messages, you never returned my call...anyway...call me." Axel shook his head, cursing the drunken night he'd given his phone number to a one night stand. He jabbed at the faded blue button.

"Message deleted." said the voice in the box.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Crowley, this is Janie calling from Compass Bank." began yet another woman. "I'm calling to inform you that there have been several returned checks on your bank account and that could result in inst-..." Axel cut the message short, muttering 'kiss my ass' as he waited for the last one. The machine again informed him that the message had been successfully deleted.

"Hey, it's Xig. Call me back." came a male voice in a short message. Axel stopped removing his shoes momentarily and stared at the machine. Xigbar was an old buddy of his on the police force in the neighboring town of Hollow Bastion. If it was important police business, he would have called Axel at the precinct. Most likely he just wanted to go tie one on with an old friend from the academy. It could wait till morning. Axel pulled off his shirt as he walked down the hallway. Once in his room, he removed his pants as well, throwing both pieces of clothing into a corner. He collapsed on his bed and turned on the TV, it's bright blue glow dancing off the metal of the antenna on top of it. Sighing, Axel reached into his night table and pulled out a prescription pill bottle. He removed the cap and shook three little blue tablets into his palm, popping them into his mouth and swallowing them dry. They'd been given to him after a mental breakdown he'd had over a year ago. Something about post-traumatic stress as a child. Whatever the case, they were meant to keep Axel from dreaming, and they worked incredibly well. Axel hadn't had so much as a flash of a dream in a year. He claimed he was still nervous at work so the doctor would keep issuing refills. He wasn't one to be addicted, but he loved those things. Axel hated dreaming, and he could never fall asleep, and they were potent sleeping pills. Axel turned on the news and they hadn't even made it to weather when he went out like a light, snoring lightly into the lonely dark of his room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The shrill ringing of the phone on Axel's night table broke the still silence of the early morning. He groaned loudly into his pillow, reaching blindly for the phone. He knocked the cordless phone off it's stand and onto the floor, swearing loudly, he reached over the side of the bed to pick it up, the sheets falling off his naked body. The cold of his apartment hit his skin and he scrambled to pull them back over his chest as he hit the "talk" button.

"What?!" he snarled into the phone, not caring who was on the other line.

"Mornin' princess." came a smooth voice. Axel's mind was too fogged with sleep to remember who's it was.

"Who is this?" he grunted, his voice hoarse.

"Your partner, jackass." said the voice. "Holy shit, you're still asleep, aren't you?" it asked.

"Well I was..." Axel corrected. There was a static rush of air as Axel's partner scoffed.

"Fuckin' deadbeat..." he said.

"Hey, blow me." Axel retaliated.

"Oh baby, don't tempt me now." said his partner sarcastically. "Get your ass up man, we got a stiff."

Axel groaned, covering his eyes and most of his face with his free hand.

"Of course we do." he mumbled.

"It's a real fuckin' treat, too. Just wait till you get here." his partner chuckled maniacally, knowing full well how badly Axel wanted to roll over and go back to bed.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Axel asked, sitting up, trying to will his eyes into opening. His partner gave him the address. It wasn't too far down the road, but Axel didn't even want to leave his apartment. "Alright, I'll be there." he groaned.

"Fantastic." chirped his partner. "Oh and Axel?" he asked.

"Yeah what?" Axel mumbled, cradling the phone between his shoulder and the side of his head as he pulled on a pair of pants.

"Try to remember that I take my coffee black." his partner said smugly. Axel swore out loud. It was his turn to get the coffee. It'd be a long walk to work after all.

"You take it black, huh? Like your men, Zexion?" he quipped, having to get that last bit of cynicism in there to start his day.

"Fucking eat me." replied his partner. Axel chuckled, the wheels in his head slowly creaking into motion.

"I'll be there." Axel said into the phone.

"Yeah." said Zexion. "And hurry. Forensics is already on their way."

Axel didn't bother saying goodbye. He pressed his thumbnail into the "end" button and tossed the phone onto his unmade bed. It was already a long day and it hadn't even started. What was worse, he'd have to deal with the forensics team when he got to the scene. In all his years as a homicide detective, he'd never met a forensic anything that wasn't a know it all, smartaleck twat. The ones that responded to the scene were always the worst. They always had to have their heads up the asses of the cops and detectives, throwing in their two cents where it wasn't wanted or needed. At least the ones in the labs were tolerable. Axel sighed heavily as he slipped a flask-sized bottle of vodka into the pocket of his trenchcoat. He was gonna need it.

The woman at the gas station where Axel stopped to get the coffee was a rude bitch, not that he wasn't used to it. But that of all mornings, he was hoping for a reprieve on this one. He filled Zexion's cup to the rim with searing hot black coffee, deciding not to mess with him by adding cream or sugar. He paid for both cups and headed out the door, walking slowly in the overcast. He glared up at the gray clouds as if daring them to rain as he pulled his jacket tighter around his body, guarding against the frigid, wet cold. It seeped through his clothes, clinging to every inch of his skin. By the time he arrived at the address Zexion had given him, he was worse than miserable.

"There you are..." said his partner as he reached out for the steaming cup of coffee in Axel's outstretched hand. He took it and sniffed the opening in the lid. "There better not be cream in here..." he warned as he took a sip. Axel drank his own coffee as he watched, waiting for his partner's approval. "Alright so you're good..." Zexion nodded, sighing after a long gulp. He motioned with his head to the building in front of him. "He's in there." he said.

"You're not coming in with me?" Axel asked him. Zexion shook his head 'no', his eyes closed in bliss as he sipped the hot drink.

"I need some fresh air." he sighed.

"How many weeks out do you think?" Axel asked, looking up at the foreboding building, his gorgeous red ponytail brushing his back.

"Actually..." Zexion said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "It's fresh. Police responded last night around 4 am to gunshots."

"So why do you need the fresh air?" Axel asked, taking a sip of his own coffee. Zexion chuckled darkly.

"CSI is already here." he said, a low growl escaping Axel's lips as he glared up at the building.

"You're fuckin' kidding me..." he groaned. Zexion laughed again, pulling a crushed pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"I really wish I was." he said, shaking one out and putting it between his lips. He looked to Axel, expecting a lighter. Axel shook his head. "What the fuck?" Zexion asked, his words muffled by the cigarette. "The pyro king doesn't have a lighter?"

"Not this morning." Axel muttered.

"Figures..." Zexion mumbled to himself, searching the pockets of his jacket for matches or a lighter as Axel held his breath, walking into the building. The place reminded him of his own apartment building, with doors lining the corridors. Only in this place, everyone was standing outside, watching the procession of forensic annalists and police. Axel followed the commotion and crackling police radio transmissions up the stairs and around the corner. He stepped into the apartment, shielding his eyes from the bright police spotlight that was positioned directly above the victim where he lay sprawled out on the floor in only a pair of tight blue jeans.

"Whats his story?" Axel asked a nearby cop, slipping on a pair of latex gloves. The cop flipped through his notes.

"Male. 24 years old, died from bullet wounds to the head and chest." said the cop, sounding like a bored bank teller. Axel slowly circled the body. The blood from the guy's head was sprayed across the white carpet. Axel flashed back momentarily to the memories of his own blood being splashed across virgin snow when his stepfather would take him into the backyard to knock him around while his dishrag of a mother would watch from the window with silent horror. He shook the image out of his head and squatted near the body. There were gaping bullet wounds in the man's chest and one right in the middle of his forehead. Though blood was caked over most of his face, you could tell his eyes had been open. Axel grimaced when he realized that bits of the man's shattered skull had found their way onto this chest, tangling with the blood in the soft hairs. Axel looked harder at the man's chest and discovered something shining in the crimson. Tilting his head, Axel reached for it.

"You can't do that!" cried one of the forensics agents. He'd been watching Axel the whole time. The irritated redhead didn't even look over his shoulder.

"Yeah actually... I can. Detective Axel Crowley, Homicide." he said dully, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his badge. He tossed it to the forensics agent and it skidded across the carpet, landing at the man's feet. He reached again for the thing shining against the victim's chest. It was a necklace. A pendant of some kind on a fine silver chain. Frowning, Axel unclasped the necklace and lifted it gingerly from the body. He let it dangle in his grasp, twisting this way and that, shining in the abnormally bright light. The pendant was in the shape of an urn, blue stone set into it suggesting that the urn was full of water.

"It's a zodiac symbol." said one of the cops from behind Axel. "He was an Aquarius." Axel stared at the cop, then back at the bloody pendant in his hand.

"You sure 'bout that?" he asked. "Could have been someone else's that he wore out of sentiment." Axel reasoned.

"We found his driver's license." the cop said, handing the victim's wallet to Axel, who dropped the bloody necklace into an evidence bag and stripped off his gloves. Axel took the wallet and looked at the man's picture, then at his description and name.

"Demyx Bailey." Axel said out loud. "Date of birth..." he began to read.

"February 5th, 1984." the cop finished. "He would have been 25 in a few months." he said, almost sadly. Axel stared at him.

"That still doesn't tell me anything about the necklace." the redhead stated. The cop only chuckled lightly to himself.

"February 5th falls almost exactly in the middle of the Aquarius bracket." he said. When Axel gave him a blank stare, he said "I took an astrology class in college."

Axel nodded slowly, still circling the body when he asked yet another question.

"So... do we have a motive?" he asked.

"Kind of." responded the cop with the college credits.

"Do tell." Axel said, again squatting beside the body.

"It seems Mr. Bailey was an... entertainer." the cop said, slightly amused. Axel's eyebrows shot up and he looked over his shoulder at the cop. "He was an exotic dancer at...ahem... 'Twilight Town's Young Gentleman's Club'."

Axel let out a low whistle, looking back to the bloodied corpse in front of him.

"So was he gay or was he just... seriously down on his luck?" he asked.

"We've talked to a few neighbors and confirmed that he was definitely gay." the cop nodded.

"So that's your motive? Someone shot the guy for being a fag?" Axel asked incredulously. The cop shrugged, getting defensive.

"It happens all the time, detective." he said. Axel shook his head and stood.

"But it doesn't happen in the person's home. There was no sign of forced entry, which means the victim knew the person who killed him." he said expertly, looking around for any other clue. The cop hung his head as Axel's partner came rushing into the apartment.

"We've got a lead on a suspect!" he called to Axel.

"Already?" asked the redhead. Zexion stood close to him and dropped his voice.

"Apparently our boy here had a lover. The guy's already gone down to the station to voluntarily undergo questioning." Zexion said, his voice skeptical.

"He thinks it will make him seem less guilty?" Axel reasoned. Zexion shrugged.

"Whatever the case may be, he's down there already. In a nice, cozy interrogation room just waiting for ya, buddy." he patted Axel's back.

"Why me?" Axel asked angrily.

"The chief's decided this is your case." Zexion said, walking away. "Today must not be your day."

Axel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. There are days you just shouldn't get out of bed. And this was definitely one of those days.

"Alright, but someone's driving me!" he called to Zexion.

Roughly an hour later, Axel was standing between Seifer and Zexion, staring through the mirrored glass at their prime suspect. Axel couldn't help but think of how non-lethal he looked. He was small. Even smaller than the victim, and his eyes were a soft aquamarine. Shimmering silver hair fell to his shoulders and he kept his head down, staring at his lap where his hands were gently folded. Axel wrinkled his nose.

"Whats his name?" he asked Seifer.

"Riku..." said the chief.

"Last name?" Axel asked him.

"Didn't give one. Said he felt that he didn't need to." Seifer grumbled, watching the boy inside the room look side to side, then right at the glass. He tilted his head a bit and produced a lopsided grin. A shudder ran through the three law enforcement officers. He couldn't see them... could he?

"All yours..." Zexion whispered, putting a hand on his partner's back. Axel breathed deep, setting a hand on the cold steel handle. He hated interrogations...

"Afternoon..." he said briskly, closing the door of the room behind him. He knew that everything he said and did was being recorded. The boy at the table looked up at him with shockingly beautiful eyes that could have put Axel's own green eyes to shame. His lashes were long and thick...he looked almost womanly with his slight frame and perfect hair.

"Good afternoon, Detective." the boy said in a deceptively soft voice. Axel's blood seemed to stop in his veins at the sound. It was deeper than he would have expected, and so unbelievably pleasant to hear. It wasn't too deep, or too high, or too much of anything, really. The kid sounded like an angel. Axel was tempted to stare at him, but he settled for shaking his head and standing near the silver table, opposite Riku.

"So... you came here voluntarily?" Axel asked, more of a statement than a question. Riku nodded his glorious head.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." he accused. Axel shrugged.

"It's not a bad thing. It just..." he began explaining when Riku cut him off.

"It's suspicious." he said. Axel nodded.

"I just have a few questions for you..." he changed the subject. "Why haven't you told us your last name?" he asked.

"Didn't feel the need to." Riku answered him.

"Do you plan to tell us?" Axel inquired.

"Not any time soon." said Riku. "What about your last name, detective?"

Axel paused for a moment.

"Crowley." he said.

"Like the revered Satanist writer." Riku said.

"I guess." said Axel.

"Are you related to him?" asked Riku.

"No." Axel shook his head.

"Are you a Satanist, Mr. Crowley?"

"No." replied Axel.

"Are you religious at all?" Riku asked.

"I was raised Catholic." answered Axel.

"Are you still a Catholic?" Riku persisted.

"No." Axel ground his teeth.

"Why not?" Riku wouldn't let up.

"Because." Axel groaned.

"Fascinating answer."

"You and Mr. Demyx Bailey were in a relationship until his death, is that right?" Axel moved on.

"No. It ended about a week ago." Riku said, his voice calm and smooth. Axel's eyebrows shot up.

"Ended?" he asked. "Why?"

Riku shrugged, flipping a piece of silver hair over his shoulder.

"Differences." he said simply.

"Such as?" inquired the detective.

"There were many things..." Riku mused, as if lost in a trance. "He worked so much that I never saw him, he stopped showing any appreciation for my work, even the lovemaking stopped..." he sighed remorsefully. Axel's eye twitched at the last statement, though he wasn't sure why.

"What line of work are you in?" Axel asked him.

"I'm an artist. A painter." Riku said quietly. Axel nodded, continuing.

"Was the break up messy?" he asked.

"Not particularly. We fought, but all couples fight, especially in times of emotional turmoil." Riku said confidently.

"Fighting with your partner isn't really healthy." Axel informed him. Riku gave him a blank stare.

"I'm sure that even you fight with your wife or girlfriend." he said. Axel chuckled darkly.

"Haven't got either." he said.

"I assumed so." said Riku. "I was just being polite."

"Why did you assume?" Axel asked, suddenly wondering if he looked like he couldn't get a girlfriend.

"You're a detective. That's not a status achieved by sitting around at home, spending time with your loved ones." Riku pointed out.

"So I can't get a woman 'cause I'm a cop?" Axel felt slightly offended.

"That's not the only reason." Riku said softly.

"There's more?" demanded Axel. Riku nodded.

"Your hair, while brilliant and lovely, is uncombed and you smell of body odor and alcohol. You look painfully tired and your gun holster is so tight around your chest, I'm surprised you can breathe. I haven't seen you cast a friendly glance since you walked in here and you scream 'I'm not a people person'." Riku listed confidently. Axel blinked at him and shook his head a little.

"Wow..." he muttered.

"That was just on the outside. If you'd like, I can thoroughly psychoanalyze you." Riku offered.

"We've got department shrinks for that." Axel said sarcastically.

"Yes I know. One was in here earlier. Laughing in his uneducated face was hard to resist." Riku said, staring off at the wall to his left.

"You think you're some tough shit, don't you?" Axel said.

"I'm a very well educated man, make no mistake. I received a Doctorate in psychology. The people who work here barely qualify to be high school guidance counselors." Riku said with disdain.

"So you're saying that you could mindfuck me and get away with it? Because you have a fancy Doctorate?" Axel challenged. Riku tilted his head, lifting his eyebrows.

"'Could' mindfuck you? Detective Crowley...what do you think I've been doing this whole time?" he asked innocently. Axel's blood ran cold. Riku only smiled.

"You're sick." he murmured.

"People fear what they don't understand. I didn't expect you to be different." Riku sighed. "Detective, my alibi checks out. I'm only here to be sure no one comes knocking on my door late at night demanding to know my life story and Demyx's as well."

"You sure don't seem very shaken by his death." Axel pointed out. Riku recoiled, offended.

"Emotion makes one vulnerable, and I've become very good at hiding them. If I could say the same for you, perhaps half of your department wouldn't think you're a drunken washout who's sanity is circling the drain." he snapped. Axel stared at him.

"They've said that?" he asked. Riku smiled.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Why don't you ask them?" Riku looked from Axel's face directly at the mirrored glass. The people behind it felt another chill. Axel's jaw clenched as he tried to stay focused.

"Just... tell me one thing." he said, bringing Riku's attention back to him.

"Yes?" asked the silver-haired man.

"Can you think of anyone who would do this? Anyone at all?" Axel pleaded. Riku seemed to be lost in thought.

"There is one man..." he said. "A frequent customer of Demyx's at the Twilight Town's Young Gentleman's Club."

"What about him?" asked Axel.

"He was particularly fond of Demyx. It was a bit of a one-sided love affair. He tried to convince Demyx several times to leave me, but he never did. The man became enraged one night and took a swing at Demyx. He was thrown out and banned." Riku recalled.

"You saw it?" asked Axel.

"Of course. I was with Demyx every night." Riku nodded.

"Reminding everyone that he was your property?" Axel assumed.

"If that's how you choose to perceive it..." Riku dismissed the accusation. "I was never the jealous type. I was there for his support and nothing else."

"Did you get the man's name?" inquired Axel. Riku wrinkled his nose.

"It's horrible etiquette to ask patrons of the club their names." he said.

"There's rules in gay bars?" Axel asked. Riku glared hard at him.

"There are rules in straight men's clubs where they all lay around in their own filth and drink themselves stupid while barely legal women throw their tits in the men's faces so they can go home and feed their bastard children with the pathetic bills men throw at them, aren't there?" he demanded. Axel was speechless.

"Detective Crowley, I believe this interrogation is over. I volunteered to be questioned, not insulted. You may leave." Riku's gorgeous aquamarine eyes darted towards the door and Axel, too stunned to say anything, left without question.

"You just got verbally bitch slapped." Zexion said as Axel entered the room behind the glass. Seifer himself was inside now with Riku, trying his hand at getting him to do anything but play mindgames. Axel didn't even respond to Zexion's comment. Axel's partner looked through the glass at Seifer who was quickly becoming frustrated while Riku sat docile. "He's not gonna get anywhere, is he?" Zexion asked. Axel's eyes widened and he shook his head slowly.

"Not a chance." he murmured. Axel turned to leave, wanting to return to his desk and fill out paperwork.

"You know..." Zexion called to him as he opened the door. "You're supposed to interrogate him." he pointed out. Axel looked over his shoulder at his partner.

"Yeah maybe if he was human, that would have worked." he said, almost fearfully. The muffled sound of Seifer's irritated yelling followed Axel out the door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yes, I know Riku isn't typically that ominous and creepy, but I feel like he really has the potential to be.

I always saw him at the one who could just snap at any moment and kill someone, and then be a total sociopath about it. I dunno... he just looks like a serial killer/rapist in KH2 (which is awesome, don't get me wrong) and I just kinda wanted to play with that aspect.

And yes, Axel really isn't that much of a mopey scumbag, but there's a reason why he is the way he is... yet to be revealed. (insert psychotic writer laugh here)

So yes, moving on...

Reviews?