I hardcore fell in love with this couple over the past year, but this is the first time lazy me has gotten off of her butt to write something for them. I wrote it as kind of a companion piece to an RP I was working on with a friend, so forgive any random references to it throughout. They aren't major enough to confuse anyone, so I'm not too concerned.

Hope you enjoy!

How to Break Tables (XigDem)

Part One

Unable to contain a mischievous smirk, Xigbar placed both of his hands on Demyx's narrow shoulders and carefully guided his blindfolded partner through the empty hallway. In front of him, Demyx was walking with short, hesitant steps, his hands instinctively groping in front of him in an attempt to feel out any obstacles in his path. Despite the blindfold, his was head twisting back and forth in a vain and fruitless attempt to gain a sense of his surroundings. With a smile that betrayed only a slight bit of nervousness, he turned his head back in the direction of Xigbar,

"So…where are we going?"

The smirk growing ever wider, Xigbar carefully maneuvered the blonde around a corner and lifted a hand to tap the tip of Demyx's nose teasingly. "Nowhere special. Just to my room."

Facing forward again, Demyx smiled and felt a twinge of triumph in his chest. After hours of begging and pleading for even a small hint as to the surprise Xigbar had planned, this was the first time he'd managed to illicit a response that was more than just a teasing smile and a promise of 'You'll see'.

"I thought you said it was a surprise." Demyx taunted, and heard Xigbar laugh.

"It's what's inside the room that's the surprise, squirt." Xigbar replied, and bent down to press a kiss to the soft hair on top of Demyx's head. In truth, he hadn't planned on making his plans for the night into a big deal, but when he saw the little glimmer of excitement and anticipation cross the blonde's face at the mention of a surprise, he couldn't help but play it up. As small as the surprise was, he had no doubts that it would make Demyx immensely pleased.

When they arrived at his room, Xigbar reached over Demyx's shoulder, letting his cheek brush against the Nocturne's and felt the other boy smile against his skin as he opened the door and guided him inside. Careful to position him for the best view of the room, Xigbar made one last check that everything he had set out was in place and slowly began to remove the blindfold from Demyx's face.

"Alright Demy. You can open your eyes."

As the fabric fell away, Demyx curiously peeked with one eye, then the other, surveying the room with excitement and a growing sense of confusion. He hadn't been sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't anything close to this. Knowing that there had something about it he was missing, he tilted his head to the side and regarded it a little more closely.

"My surprise is…a table?"

The confusion was evident in Demyx's voice, and Xigbar couldn't help but laugh and ruffle his hair affectionately. "Not the table…it's what we're going to be using the table for."

A million thoughts, ranging from the most perverse to the downright mundane raced through Demyx's mind as he tried to make sense of Xigbar's cryptic words. The table wasn't anything special, just a simple folding card table that Xigbar had no doubt dug out from some rarely used closet in the castle. Nothing about it seemed remarkable or gave even the slightest hint as to what Xigbar had in mind. Unsure, Demyx decided against guessing and possibly making a fool of himself and instead looked back towards Xigbar with a questioning look.

"What is it for?"

Grinning, Xigbar stepped past Demyx and approached the table, tapping its surface a few times before walking lazily over to his bedside table and opening the drawer. "Just a little lesson, Squirt." He answered as he pulled a deck of playing cards from the drawer and turned to wiggle them at Demyx teasingly. "You did say you wanted to become a better card player, didn't you?"

Demyx's face brightened almost instantly, and Xigbar felt any doubts that he had that Demyx wouldn't enjoy the surprise disappear. It didn't take much to please the musician. While some people required expensive gifts and material objects, all that Demyx needed was a little attention and to be shown that people actually listened when he spoke.

He practically bounced over to Xigbar's side, eyes bright with excitement as he took the cards from his hands.

"Really?! You're going to teach me to play better?"

Xigbar laughed, watching with amusement as Demyx pulled the cards from the box and began to shuffle through them. "Well of course. Can't have ya losing to Luxord every time you play. 'Specially when the game is strip poker."

Laughing, Demyx shook his head and leaned in close to narrow his eyes in mock anger. He knew there had to be another reason for Xigbar to put this together so quickly. They'd only played the night before.

"So that's it, huh? You just don't want anyone else to see me naked."

Xigbar gave him an incredulous look. While making Demyx happy was his main reason for setting everything up, he couldn't deny that his desire to keep Demyx fully clothed during their poker games played a huge part. He shook his head. If only Demyx had seen the look Luxord and Marluxia had given him when he'd lost the last hand and in return lost his pants, he might have understood Xigbar's motivation to help him improve his game. Having to watch his fellow Organization members slide their eyes over his boyfriend's exposed body was enough to make his blood boil and seriously consider pulling rank on them.

"Well can ya blame me, kid?" He asked, knowing full well that Demyx wasn't actually mad. As a reassuring smile crept across the blonde's face, he took a step forward, placing his hands on Demyx's shoulders before running them slowly down his arms. He could see the green eyes start to cloud over with affection at the slight touch, and smiled softly. "I'm the only one who should get to enjoy that."

"…Wasn't like I was naked anyway…I still had boxers on." Demyx chuckled, recalling the previous night. "Luxord never got to find out whether I was a natural blonde or not like he asked."

Xigbar gave him a stern look, feeling the same white hot flash of anger he'd felt the night before when a slightly tipsy Luxord has posed the lewd question flare up. Worse than having the gambler ask the question however was the fact that Xigbar absolutely knew that Luxord had hoped to make Demyx prove himself one way or the other.

"And he never will." Xigbar growled, giving Demyx's arms a possessive squeeze. "By the time we're done tonight, you're going to be able to hold your own against him. Now…" he gave Demyx a slightly forced smile, trying to push the unpleasant memories from his mind and focus on his main reason for doing this: to make Demyx happy. "Go have a seat. Let's get this started."

Still grinning, Demyx bounded to the far side of the table and sat down, folding his hands with the deck of cards in front of him and watching as Xigbar strode over with a chuckle. Demyx was, as ever, an eager student. He pulled the cards to himself and began to shuffle them almost lazily as he plopped himself into the empty chair.

"Alright Squirt. You already know the basics," He started, and Demyx nodded in affirmation. "so I'm not going to go over those." Tossing two cards across the table and taking a peek at his own, Xigbar sat back and continued. "Now, playing by Luxord's rules, if ya fold any time after the flop you automatically lose and have to strip, so this first round of betting is important. Got it?"

Demyx nodded, lifting his hand to his face, eyes flickering back and forth between his cards before returning them to the table in front of himself. He sat quietly, absorbing Xigbar's words eagerly.

"Now, ya never know what's gonna happen with the flop, so usually it's a good bet to stay in the game until then if you ever wanna win, but in same cases, it's best to get out early. For example," He flipped his cards face up and slide them towards the center of the table. "If ya ever get stuck with a two and seven off suit, it's a good idea to just fold."

Blinking in confusion, Demyx leaned forward to more closely examine Xigbar's discarded hand. "How come?"

With a chuckle, Xigabr shook his head and sat forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Well think about it Squirt. What's the best hand you can have with those two cards?" He gave a Demyx a few seconds to think before continuing. "Can't get a flush cause they're off suit, can't get a straight cause they're too far apart, so the best you can do is get a full house."

"But," Demyx questioned, pushing his own hand away from himself and biting his lip in thought. "A full house is good, right?"

"Yeah, but it's not likely, and since you've already eliminated two possible hands…"

"…My chances of winning go down." Demyx concluded with a nod.

"Atta boy." A grin crept over Xigbar's face and he gathered together the discarded cards to reshuffle them. Demyx would probably never be a poker prodigy, but he was a quick learner, and there was no reason he wouldn't be able to hold his own against, at the very least, Axel and Marluxia. "The other time you'd want to fold is if someone raises on the first bet. Could be a bluff, but when ya risk losing clothes, better just to fold. Got it?"

With another nod, Demyx accepted a re-dealt hand and glanced at it quickly. With a peek at his own hand, Xigbar continued.

"Now, beyond that point, if ya have anythin' at all, you're going to want to stay in till the end. Never know when someone's gonna have less than you and save ya from stripping." He grinned and Demyx laughed softly. During games, their hands had often ended with two players having nearly equally abysmal cards, with only a slight advantage saving one over the other.

"Got it."

"Alright then. Let's play a couple rounds, and I'll give ya some tips along the way."

Demyx grinned, picking a chip from the pile Xigbar had laid out early and toying with it. "Are we stripping?"

Xigbar stared at him, not hiding his surprise. Of all of the stupid questions he thought he would ever leave the blonde's lips… "Hell yes we're stripping! You think I would pass up that opportunity!?" He shook his head. "But since I doubt you're wearing much more than your coat and pants," he continued, and saw Demyx grin in confirmation of his suspicions. "What d'ya say we amend the rules a little?"

Before any normal game played with Luxord, Demyx would always take care to layer as much clothing as he possibly could underneath his coat. Not only would it keep him from being rendered the naked loser and triggering a possessive, antsy response from Xigbar, but it kept the game going for much longer. Tonight however, he'd only been anticipating a normal evening with the Freeshooter; a situation that dictated that the less clothing he wore, the better.

"Sounds okay." He replied. "How should we do that?"

A mischievous grin spread across Xigbar's face and he let out a chuckle, tapping his cards against the table top. "Make it real strip poker. First loss, you unzip your coat to here." He raised a hand and pointed to his chest, just below his sternum. "Second time, ya unzip it completely, then ya remove it the next time. After that ya unzip your pants, and finally lose 'em all together. Got it?"

Demyx grinned. "Got it."

The next half hour found Demyx leaning back in his chair, pants unzipped and his coat discarded on the bed. He groaned, watching as Xigbar, whose coat was fully unzipped but still on his shoulders, chuckled and shuffled the deck.

"Man…I'm still losing." He whined and frowned as Xigbar simply shook his head and dealt the cards.

"That's cause it's just the two of us. If it was all of us, ya may not be winning, but definitely would still have most of your clothes." He smiled, trying to reassure a Demyx he was sure was starting to become slightly discouraged. "You've gotten much better already. Ya got a good poker face, you're learnin to bluff…"

Demyx face seemed to brighten at little at Xigbar's reassurance, and he sat forward with a small smile. "You think so?"

"Not a doubt in my mind, kid. But, you are pretty close to being naked so… I think it's time we amended the rules again."

Demyx titled his head to the side, regarding Xigbar with a curious look. "How so?"

The expression on Xigbar's face slowly became more carnal, and he looked Demyx up and down before answering. "How about…from now on, whenever ya lose, you have to do something for me."

A chill ran up Demyx's spine as he felt Xigbar's gaze wash over him. He recognized that look. A grin slid across his face, and he blinked at the man across from him playfully.

"Like what?"

Xigbar could only chuckle and give Demyx a suggestive wink. "You'll see…"

As the next hand turned and saw Demyx once again staring down a losing hand, Xigbar began to feel the tingling sensation of an emotion he remembered as guilt. The kid wasn't necessarily doing anything wrong; he'd gotten rid of his tell and was learning to bet smarter, but poker with only two people was difficult enough, and Xigbar was starting to suspect that Demyx was just downright unlucky. Concerned that the blonde was starting to become discouraged, he entertained the idea of telling him not to worry and suggesting that they abandon the game in favor of something more fun, but when Demyx flashed him his trademark cheerful smile from across the table, any doubts he had were assuaged. The blonde might have been losing horribly, but at the very least it seemed like he was still having fun, and Xigbar thanked whatever deity he could that the kid was as big an optimist as a man without a heart could be.

"So." Demyx questioned, mindful of the recent change in the rules. "What do I owe you for this round?"

Xigbar could think of a dozen different things off the top of his head that he would like Demyx to do, but for the sake of continuing the game, he decided to settle for something small. Besides, if Demyx's luck stayed the same, and Xigbar had a sneaking suspision it would, he would have plenty of opportunities to ask for something more later. For Demyx's benefit, he pretended to contemplate his options, leaning back in his chair and taking the time to let his gaze wander over his boyfriend's mostly exposed body. With one hand, he crooked a finger in Demyx's direction, beckoning him over.

"'Spose I could settled for a kiss." He finally answered, and gave the blonde a mock serious look as he saw the smile grow a little. "But you better make it a good one."

From time to time, Demyx proved himself to be a very literal Nobody, and so Xigbar didn't find himself the least bit surprised when the blonde decided to close to the distance between them in the quickest way possible: by crawling over the table. A single dark eyebrow quirked as Xigbar watched the blonde advance on hands and knees towards him and idlely he wondered how much of what Demyx was doing was playful innocence, and how much was his own brand of serious seduction. Despite all his perceived innocence and naivety, there was nothing unsexy about the way his mostly undressed boyfriend crawled toward him across the table, and Xigbar couldn't help but smirk as Demyx braced both his hands on the table's edge and craned his neck forward to press his lips to Xigbar's.

The kiss was soft, sweet, exactly what he expected from Demyx, but not nearly enough to make up for his losing hand, so Xigbar ran his tongue over soft lips until they parted and allowed him to slip his tongue inside. He brought a hand up to tangle in the longer hairs at the base of Demyx's neck, stroking them softly and holding the boy close. He felt and heard the blonde shift on the table, his lips pulling away to linger near his own briefly before returning, and he opened his eye to find that the blonde had changed position. He was now sitting on the edge of the table, still leaning forward to reach, but letting his dangling legs brush against the outside of Xigbar's thighs.

After what was, in Xigbar's opinion far too short of a time, Demyx pulled away, titling his head back against the hand still braced on the nape of his neck and smiling.

"How was that?"

Xigbar chuckled, placing his other hand over the one Demyx had braced on the table and squeezing it. "That'll do, Squirt."

Demyx grinned, leaning forward to give Xigbar a quick, unprovoked peck on the lips. "Good. So. Are you going to deal the next hand or what?"

Brow furrowed, Xigbar gave Demyx a look. "'Course." He laughed, ruffling his hair. "But you gotta go back to your seat first."

With a shrug, Demyx leaned back on his hands and looked down at Xigbar playfully. "Nah…think I'll stay here." He winked and Xigbar shook his head. "I promise I won't look at your cards."

Gathering the scattered cards and reshuffling them, Xigbar laughed and shrugged. If Demyx really wanted to stay where he was, the Freeshooter certainly wasn't going to object. He dealt the cards, keeping his own hand close to his chest and out of Demyx's line of sight, before glancing up and raising an eyebrow.

"Not gonna complain bout you staying here, Squirt, but all of your chips are on the other side of the table."

Demyx looked unperturbed, and merely shrugged, flopping down onto his back and reaching over his head to find his chips. Xigbar took one look at the way Demyx had laid himself out across the table, hands blindly groping until they fell on his pile of chips, and had no doubt in his mind that the blonde knew exactly how tempting a display he was putting on.

Xigbar smirked. The tease. The blonde sat back up slowly, chips clutched in his hands, and Xigbar couldn't help but stare at the way his ab muscles tensed under pale skin with the effort of pulling him upright. Not willing to let him know he had been staring and falling victim to his wiles, Xigbar looked away and refocused his attention on the cards in his hands as Demyx settled himself back up right and dropped the chips to the table beside him.

"See? Not a problem."

Xigbar chuckled and laid out the flop across Demyx's lap, balancing the cards on his leather clad thighs. "Awful lot of work to just sit up here, don't you think?"

Demyx just shrugged, his gaze flickering between his hand and the cards on his legs. In the short time since they had played the last hand, he'd already lost some of his momentum, and he found it difficult to keep his mind one hundred percent focused on the game. He chanced a look at Xigbar, who was toying contemplatively with his stack of chips, and tried, unsuccessfully, to read the expression on his face. The Freeshooter always had had an amazing poker face, one that even Demyx, who probably knew his emotions best, had difficulty deciphering. He frowned, suddenly unsure if he was going to be win this hand on his wits alone.

Xigbar seemed to be taking his time deciding how he wanted to bet, so Demyx glanced at the cards on his lap one more time. He had a decent hand already, and there was the potential for him to get an even better one depending on how his luck went, but judging by the way Xigbar was picking up stacks of chips and putting them back down, Demyx had the sneaking suspicion that he had a much better chance of winning. Demyx felt a pout growing. He actually wanted to win a hand and make Xigbar strip, and at the moment he didn't quite care how that happened. Slowly, an idea began to dawn on him. He may not be able to gain better hand by the end of the game, but at least he could give himself an advantage.

Keeping his eyes locked on his cards and biting his lip to keep a smile from peeking out, Demyx slowly ran his foot up Xigbar's leg, watching through his peripheral vision as the Freeshooter lifted his head slowly to stare at the blonde. Demyx had to fight down a giggle; the expression on his boyfriend's face showed a man torn between chastising him, and giving in to the flirtatious implications.

Clearing his throat, Xigbar shifted, trying to ignore the way Demyx was brushing his leg against the inside of this thigh and creeping ever closer to sensitive parts of his anatomy. Focusing on the game had been hard enough to begin with, and now the blonde was making it almost impossible. He raised his gaze, glaring half heartedly at the way Demyx examined his cards with an innocent expression and resolved that if he won this hand, he was going to use his advantage to end the game. For good.

He placed his bet and watched as Demyx did the same, thanking his good luck that he had been dealt a good hand to start off with and turning the next card. He placed it down on Demyx's leg next to the others, letting his fingers brush over his leather clad thigh.

"Cheater." He growled out, chuckling a little as Demyx looked up and pouted.

"No I'm not." Demyx protested, as Xigbar placed his next bet and shook his head. Technically he wasn't actually cheating; it wasn't as though he was peeking at Xigbar's cards or anything like that, he was just evening out their luck. Quickly, he placed his own bet and watched anxiously as Xigbar flipped the last card, successfully killing his chances of a better hand. He couldn't help but frown. His only hope now was that Xigbar had not only fallen victim to his wiles, but that lady luck had abandoned him in his time of need. Nevertheless, he still had a pretty good hand, and with a grin, he turned the cards for Xigbar to see. "Two pairs."

Xigbar chuckled and shook his head. At least the kid hadn't been relying on his charms alone to win the hand. It was all well and good when they were on their own (Xigbar definitely didn't mind the attention) but he was too keen on the idea of Demyx using the strategy in a game against Luxord. Or, God forbid, Marluxia.

"Not bad kid, unfortunately for you…" With a growing smirk he turned his cards, laying them out on Demyx's lap and gripping his knee. "Full house."

The Nocturne's jaw dropped, staring at the cards on his legs in a mixture of disbelief and shock. He had been so sure that this hand was in that bag. Raising his eyes, he gave Xigbar a small pout, hoping to garner some sympathy from the Freeshooter when it came to his punishment.

"So…what do I owe you…?"

The teasing smirk on Xigbar's face suddenly became predatory, recollections of Demyx's flirtatious strategy playing in his mind. He might have let the boy off easy, but after to put up with the increasingly tempting display, he was in no mood to play nice.

"Oh after that? Ya owe me a lot squirt."