A/N: So this one has been in progress for a while (for forever) and originally I had this really great lemon scene planned ('cause, duh, you can't have an AkuRoku fic without some citrus) but then I finally finished writing it and was like, well heck this thing is getting long. Anyways, point is I'll only add in the second chapter if people want it, 'cause I'd really hate to go to all that work if no one wants to read it. So anyways, let me know!
XIII
A tall lanky redhead ambled his way down the sidewalk of a busy main road, black headphones on his head and music blasting in his ears, effectively drowning out all outside noise of passing cars and bustling pedestrians. Startling green eyes were closed as their owner lost himself in the music, trusting his feet to take him where he needed to go.
The people who walked this busy street often easily recognized the unmistakable redhead with baggy cargos, ripped shirt, and patched messenger bag slung carelessly over his shoulder. He was as much of a permanent fixture to the street as the newsstand on the corner and the homeless man mumbling nonsense on the ground.
The street itself had numerous businesses and stores on it, each displaying carefully and tastefully chosen window displays appealing to the wealthy. This was where all the 'well offs' of society came to assure themselves they were above everyone else. The redhead hated it, which is why he refused to open his eyes and blasted his eardrums out so he wouldn't have to listen to all the prissy cell phone talk. With his wild red spikes pulled back in a messy ponytail and his choice of attire, he stuck out on the street like a straight guy at gay pride, but unfortunately he had to take this street to work.
Without opening his eyes even a crack he could tell when his surroundings morphed from stiff facades to wild and loud freedom. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he finally opened his eyes to see bright neon signs and half dressed people laughing and falling over each other. He had finally entered club strip, his world.
Picking up his pace in eagerness, the redhead straightened up from his slouch to strut proudly down the street filled only by people and very few cars. It was only mid afternoon, hours away from the street's busiest time, but there were still plenty of people around to wave or call out cheerfully to the familiar redhead.
Scuffed up sneakers carried him halfway down the street before stopping before a more understated building than the wildly colored or brightly flashing ones. Other than the plain door with a curious looking symbol on it, the building front had a simple sign stating in large black roman numerals the number thirteen.
XIII. The most well-known and successful escort agency.
Grinning to himself, the redhead resettled his headphones around his neck before pushing the door open. His eyes closed in bliss as his senses met the welcoming scent of jasmine incense that one of the escorts always kept lit around the place. A quick look at the fresh sticks burning in the entrance hall showed that the pink haired man was already there.
Walking up to the welcome desk to casually lean against it, the redhead looked down at the petite little blond, also one of the only females employed at the agency.
"Afternoon Nami," the redhead smiled charmingly, causing the blond to look up and smile back.
"Good afternoon Axel," Namine greeted back.
"The whole gang here yet?" Axel asked as he waited for Namine to sign him back in.
"Not quite, we're just missing Number XIII now." Namine replied before waving him through the door to the left of her desk, as the other door was for the clients.
As Axel entered the large room painted with dark walls and lit with paper lanterns, the soft strumming of a sitar greeted him as well as the scent of more incense. There was a low coffee table in the middle of the room with plush red couches around it, a tall table with bar height chairs in a corner, and a large wooden table along the wall opposite the door with a coffee maker, tea, lime and lemon water, and some all-natural snacks. The entire room gently embraced by the jasmine incense and sitar music gave off a calm, peaceful vibe.
Making a beeline for the only beanbag in the room, Axel plopped his bag to the floor and snuggled his tall frame into the soft chair before surveying the occupants of the room. A tall, sturdily built man with white blond hair sat at the table with two other men, one with a long black ponytail with a streak of gray and the other with determined looking eyes and his hair up in dreadlock like things. The three of them were glaring at each other over their hands of cards with a pile of money in the middle of the table.
A soft humming from Axel's right made him look over to see a porcelain skinned man with soft pink hair that reached to below his shoulders tenderly tending to a white flowered bonsai tree in his lap, baby blue eyes shifting every now and then to the man seated on the floor a ways away from him. While the pink haired man was comfy on a hand woven silk rug with potted greenery surrounding him, the other man with long free flowing blond hair sat on the wooden floor with papers strewn all around him and several books opened among them. His emerald green eyes looked annoyed as he absently ran a hand through his hair, not noticing the blue eyes wistfully watching his every move.
"Zexion," the blond man called towards the sofa area to a smaller man who had been intently perusing the pages of quite the heavy looking book. A head peeked over the top of the book, the one eye not covered by long silvery blue bangs looked towards the blond man curiously. "I can't figure out your notes." The blond shot a glare at the papers around him before turning back to the younger male.
Zexion's visible eye narrowed as his unseen mouth huffed out a breath. He snapped his book shut with a small thud before placing it on the coffee table and attempting to stand up but found himself hindered by a pair of previously unseen legs. Zexion looked down in surprise before sighing and turning to his sofa companion.
"Demyx, I can't stand up with your legs on me."
The blond in faded ripped jeans and a band T-shirt looked up from his steady sitar playing with a slightly lost look in his innocently wide aquamarine eyes, making Axel snort to himself. Demyx always took at least a minute to function after being pulled from his music.
"The legs," Zexion repeated, poking at the offending objects with an impatient look in his eye. "Move them or lose them IX."
"No need to be mean Zexy," Demyx pouted as he shifted his beloved sitar more securely into his lap before moving his legs.
"Blame Vexen." Zexion grumbled as he stood up and stretched his arms up, causing his long sleeved navy blue shirt to ride up just enough to reveal the roman numeral VI tattooed in the middle of his lower back.
As Zexion moved to help Vexen decipher his research notes, Axel reflected upon how they all ended up here with numbers tattooed to their backs. The owner of XIII, Xemnas, and his partner Saix had come up with the idea during a drunken night in college with two of their friends, Xigbar and Xaldin. When they woke up the next day the hangovers had not taken away the idea for an escort agency, and two years later Xemnas made it happen.
In truth, all the escorts in the room had originally joined for the money and a place to take shelter in, as most of them had either just been scraping by or were totally broke and homeless. XIII was like their sanctuary, and Xemnas fed and paid them well while Saix taught them hot to be escorts. Now, the thirteen of them were like a tight knit family and never took on any new escorts after number XIII.
"Axel…Axel!" A loud voice in his ear made Axel jerk awake from his napping. Narrowed green eyes opened to see electric blue ones smirking down at him.
"Bug off Larx," Axel turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but Larxene was not going to leave him be.
"Aw, was someone up late last night?" She asked mockingly in a baby voice.
"For your information, I was." Axel attempted to kick at Larxene's shins with his eyes still closed. "Damn woman hadn't gotten laid in ages and wouldn't let me sleep," he grumbled.
"I'm hoping you took a shower before dragging your ass back." Larxene wrinkled her nose as he started backing away.
"Larxene, kindly f-off and leave me alone." Axel said pleasantly as he opened his eyes to see a different, much more welcomed blond walk through the door. "Roxy!" he exclaimed happily as he reached out to grab his best friend.
"Oof, Axel!" Roxas glared up at the redhead from his awkward position sprawled across Axel's lap.
"I missed you Roxy," Axel held the blond tight as he nuzzled soft blond locks. "You know I get lonely when you're in school." He continued with a pout.
Xemnas had a strict rule with customers, they could have any escort they wanted and have their way with them for an entire night and morning, but all escorts were to be released by noon to either come back to the agency to work or go to school. Roxas was taking some afternoon classes at the community college where Vexen and Zexion would often go to for the library or science labs to work on whatever it was they worked on. Marluxia was in charge of taking care of the agency's atmosphere when he wasn't in his little greenhouse, Luxord took care of all agency finances due to his head for money, Demyx occasionally taught sitar and guitar lessons, and the rest of them just sort of drifted between the town and agency.
Although it was never stated it seemed to be an unspoken rule amongst the escorts that everyone was to be home by five, and no one had ever broken that rule.
A tall lean man with blue hair, amber eyes, and a curious X-shaped scar over the bridge of his nose chose that moment to walk in. His eyes took in everyone who was sitting around, obviously ticking them off his mental list of names.
"Where is number V?" Saix asked.
"Shower." Xaldin grunted in response, not taking his suspicious eyes off his cards or Luxord for a moment.
"Someone call?" A deep, slow voice filled the room as a door behind Axel and Roxas opened to reveal a tall, broad shouldered man with way auburn hair and kind blue eyes.
"Never mind Lexaeus." Saix waved it off as the man walked into the room, still running a towel over his damp hair. "Is everyone ready for their assignments?" he addressed the room in general.
There was a short shuffle and scuffle as everyone stood from their various sitting spots to line up before their second in command according to their numbers.
"Number II, you are with Miss Nea tonight. Number III, you've been requested as an escort to a dinner part, dress accordingly. Number IV, I hope you dance." Saix paused in his list to give Vexen a smirk as emerald eyes widened in apprehension. "Number V, Dalia has requested you again. It seems she has taken a shine to you." Saix raised a brow at his list before shrugging and moving on. "Number VI, a young man named Shie has requested your company for the night." Zexion nodded impassively while on Axel's other side Demyx gave a low growl of annoyance, causing the redhead to glance over curiously. "Number VIII," here Saix paused, looked down at his list critically, glanced at the very end of the line, then back to Axel. "It seems you've got the night off." Saix gave an unreadable smile before moving along.
Once Saix had finished his list and left the room everyone dispersed to get ready for the night.
"If he so much as touches you." Demyx was trying to look menacing but failing horribly, only succeeding in making himself look even more adorable than normal.
"I'm an escort Dem, it's kind of a given that he's going to touch men." Zexion replied flatly, causing Demyx to pout and turn away. Zexion looked up from changing his clothes and noted his friend's rigid back. "Demyx," still shirtless, the shorter of the two wrapped his arms around the taller's waist and started saying something quietly enough that no one else but the two of them could hear.
"I have to please a woman." Marluxia, if at all possible, was more surly and pouty than Demyx at the moment as he carefully placed his plants around the room.
"Aw, did Marly want to spend the night with a good hard-"
"Larxene!" Marluxia took a swipe at his cousin, and so started their daily bickering match.
"Hey Roxy! Looks like we both have the night off." Axel wrapped his arms around the blond, who had a peculiar look on his face as he watched Zexion and Demyx talking. "Um, Roxy?" Axel poked at Roxas' cheek, causing the blonde's head to snap around and glare at the redhead.
Roxas was about to open his mouth to tell his best friend, again, that he did not enjoy being poked at, but Saix had just finished helping a grumbling Marluxia into his form fitting clothes and walked over to the pair still sitting in the beanbag. Axel grinned up at the older man while Roxas simply shot him a reproachful glance.
"Number XIII, are you going to swallow your pride or shall I ask for you?" Saix got straight to the point, as Saix was oft to do. Axel looked curiously from an impatient Saix to a slightly blushing Roxas, who was staring determinedly at the floor, and then back to Saix. The second in charge heaved a sigh before sitting down cross-legged before the two. "Roxas, you knew this was going to happen sooner or later." Saix said in the gentle voice that he'd only ever used when fishing drowned red haired rats off the street.
"I'd rather it be later." Roxas mumbled.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Axel finally had to ask, unable to stand being out of the loop.
Saix looked at Roxas' unyielding form before turning to the other. "Roxas has had his first male request, but he had never entertained a man before." Saix put it bluntly, causing the small blond to wince and curl further into the beanbag chair.
"Well, that's not big deal Roxy! I'd be happy to show you how it's done." Axel grinned down at his madly blushing friend.
"Which is why I kept you both here alone tonight." Saix huffed before straightening back up in his usual brisk manner and striding over to the other escorts.
"This is so embarrassing." Roxas' voice cam from within the beanbag chair he'd almost completely disappeared into.
"No it's not," Axel rolled his eyes as he fished the blond out and held his face between cool palms. "Roxas, you are an amazing and beautiful guy, you hear me?" Axel's eyes were locked onto cerulean blue and full of seriousness that was not often there. "And if you weren't straight I'd be after you faster than Larxene can scarf down a pizza." Here he paused to make sure the sadistic girl hadn't overheard him. "Point is, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Got it memorized?" Axels' face broke out into his trademark grin, causing Roxas to blush even harder and give a slight nod.
"What makes you think I'm straight though?" Roxas asked quietly, averting his eyes but still unable to move his head due to Axel's hold on him.
Green eyes widened. "But you've never been with a guy before. You've only ever accepted female clients." Axel, for once, seemed utterly lost.
"Well duh." Roxas rolled his eyes as if it were blatantly obvious. "It's so much easier to escort when your nerves aren't jumping and you know you won't get emotionally attached."
"So you're gay?" Axel cut in, a deliriously hopeful look in his eyes.
Roxas glared at the redhead before pointedly removing said redhead's hand and standing up. "Yes I'm gay, happy now?" The next thing Roxas knew he was flat on his back with his best friend hugging the life out of his midriff.
"Roxy's mine." Axel purred, nuzzling his face into Roxas' stomach.
"S-since when am I yours?" Roxas demanded, face burning and voice flustered. Axel looked up with a devilish look in his face.
"Since right now."
A/N: So what do you all think? Should I add in the second chapter?