On the corner of 1st Avenue and Border Street was a small subway shop. A subway shop, as in the sandwich. But not that store chain. This shop was called, "Hot Stove." The name reflected the pyromaniac, head chef and owner, Axel. His food was always slightly overcooked, his kitchen and clothes always smelled of smoke. The only other employees were two teenagers, named Roxas and Xion. The two were caught at the bad end of economy, working at any job available before and after school. The shop was open from 5 a.m.-11 p.m., so the kids were there. Almost constantly. The sad thing was though, the shop itself was run-down and didn't get many customers. The only thing that sustained it were two regulars: a greasy-haired, shabby-looking, ex-cop and a smartly dressed business man.
"Yo! Axel! Hit me up with the usual wouldja?" The former cop yelled. He was there, every morning, as soon as the shop opened up. Though the building itself wasn't much to look at and the food certainly didn't keep him, the man kept returning. Maybe it was the friendly employees. Maybe it was the history this place had. One factor was definitely the man in a snazzy suit walking to the front.
Roxas rushed to open the door for him. "Welcome back Luxord!" he greeted, cheerfully.
"Why, thank you Roxas!" Luxord handed him a small tip. The business man tried to help the two sweet kids in any way he could.
"Hey! Am I invisible or what!" The other man yelled. Xion brought him his order and he shoved some down his throat, looking away and pretending to pout.
"Oh, lighten up Xigbar," Luxord made his way to the table, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket, " Are you going to sulk like a child or are we going to start the game?"
Xigbar grinned. "You're going down you prick!" he declared.
They had been coming to "Hot Stove" for 6 years, everyday, except for the day when Xigbar took a bullet to the eye, ending his career. They were good friends with the employees and were inseparable when it came to each other. Every morning, Xigbar came first, cause he had nothing better to do anyways, and ordered the usual: a Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich with curly fries and a plate of cookies, and a chicken burger with a side of bread rolls, breadsticks, and home-made tortilla chips. Not much of a breakfast but it all disappeared during the intense card games the duo would play.
"How about a bit of Black Jack today?" Luxord suggested, shuffling his cards.
"Sure, I'm game." Xigbar shoved a breadstick in his mouth. Slightly burnt, with a fiery aftertaste, just the way he liked it.
An hour and a half later, with all the food gone, Luxord got up to leave. "It's time for me to go to work." he stated.
"Yeah right! You're just upset because you LOST!" Xigbar laughed. He knew this was not true, of course, but he only won every once in a while and he had to let it soak. He cheerfully threw his winning hand of cards in the air and did a little jig.
"Hey! Be careful with those! My grandfather hand-crafted those himself!" Luxord hissed, bending to collect them. He stuck them back in the box and stuck it in his pocket. "Do you have any idea how important those are to me!"
"Geez, sorry man. How come I never heard that before?"
"It never came up." Luxord answered pointedly, "And besides, he is deceased."
"Ouch. Sorry dude. Didn't mean to rub a soft spot."
"That's alright." Luxord sighed, "And now I really must be going."
He picked up his briefcase and left. Roxas flashed him a quick smile before he turned the corner. Luxord smiled back.
The next morning, Xigbar got up to go to "Hot Stove." He scooped some money off the counter and ran out the door, forgetting to lock it, as usual. It wasn't like he had anything worth stealing anyways. With the small income of retirement money he recieved monthly, he really couldn't afford much. Back in the good old days, he would earn decent wages for being a cop and, every once in a while, the nearby church would bake pastries and bring them to the station. Xigbar sighed as he remembered the shootout that made him lose his eye, and his career. He went into "suggested" retirement and dreamed of a day when he might be accepted back onto the force. Nobody took a one-eyed, poker playing retiree seriously though.
Xigbar opened the door to a 'heated' argument between the teens and Axel.
"-I don't know, but I think 'Hot Stove' is kind of a lame name." Roxas was saying.
"Hey! My father named this place!" Axel retorted, "The least you can do is give the man some respect!"
"Sorry!" Roxas looked worried that he had genuinely offended his boss.
"Nah, chill man." Axel reassured him, "I gotta admit that I agree," he admitted.
Xion giggled, "Why don't we think of a new name? One that won't suggest that this place is run by pyromaniacs?" Axel gave her a hard stare.
"Yeah, like Casa de Xigbar!" Xigbar piped up, "In honor of your number one customer!"
"That's stupid!" Roxas retorted.
"Hmmmm," Axel was deep in thought.
Xion sighed. I guess it's up to me to keep life moving. "Will it be the usual today Mr. Xigbar?"
"You know it girly, and I told you to skip the formalities! We're all friends here!" Xigbar plopped himself in a chair and propped his feet on a second one. Xion rushed away to get Xigbar and Luxord's order ready.
Xigbar glanced at the clock perched precariously on the reception counter. 5:47. Luxord would be arriving soon. Xigbar grinned as he remembered his victory only yesterday. That one was the 23rd one in 6 years.
5 hours later, all the food was gone, but it had all been eaten by Xigbar himself. Luxord hadn't shown up but Xigbar still waited, only slightly worried. He was showing Roxas how to easily escape from hand cuffs, in record time. Xigbar had kept all his police equipment from when he was in active duty. He enjoyed showing Roxas and Xion how cops could pinpoint your exact location, use dogs to find you, or knock you out in less than 7 seconds. Once Xigbar had let Xion do just that and he had woken up in the substation at 2 a.m.
Xigbar guffawed as Roxas tried to weasel his way out of the handcuffs. When he saw the time, he nearly fell out of his chair. Luxord, who had never missed a game of cards, had just been marked absent. And this freaked Xigbar out.
"Hey guys? Where do ya think Luxord might be?" Xigbar asked.
"Maybe," Roxas panted, "He got sick or something." Roxas managed to slip one hand out, got surprised that he did it, and fell backwards.
"Yeah," Xion went to help Roxas up,"I hear there's a bug going around. A lot of people weren't at school yesterday. Luxord probably just caught it and is at home. Good thing it's Saturday, or he would have to miss work."
"Yeah, true." Xigbar admitted. He looked at the clock again.But Luxord was feeling fine yesterday... "But what am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?" It was hardly 11 o' clock. Usually, I would go bowling or watch the game with Luxord... Xigbar sighed. I really gotta make more friends...
"You could just stay here with us!" Xion suggested. "It's sorta lonely on the weekend, when we don't go to school and it's just the three of us."
"Yeah!" Roxas agreed, trying to pry the other loop of the handcuff off. "And Axel sometimes plays his 80's cds so it gets really annoying too."
"Young people these days! Don't appreciate good music!" Axel yelled from the kitchen.
Xigbar suppressed a smirk. "Nah, how about you lot come with me to the bowling alley?" he suggested.
Roxas' eyes widened. "R-really? I mean, it'd be great but, y'know,we still got work and-"
"Get out of here!" Axel popped his spiky red head of hair through the doorway. "You two need to get out sometimes!"
"But what about the sho-"
"I can handle my own damn shop!" Axel argued, good-naturedly, " Now get moving you crazy kids!"
Roxas and Xion excitedly grabbed their coats and bookbags and followed Xigbar out the door. They climbed into his old pick-up as Xigbar started it up. He asked as he pulled out of the parking lot: "You two know a good place? I only ever go to one area and it's sorta run-down. Don't know if you kids would even like it."
"Oh, anything's fine." Roxas quickly waved away the thought, "Truth is, we've never been bowling before so we don't know much about the hot spots."
"Never been bowling!" Xigbar was shocked. He sadly shook his head at how fast the world was changing. "In that case, I know the perfect place."
6 hours, 9 games, 3 stuffed animals, 5 key chains, and 1 large pizza later, Xion and Roxas were in the backseat of Xigbar's truck, fast asleep.
That was the last kind of fun Xigbar had for 4 days. Every day, he would carry out his usual routine, and every day, Luxord didn't show. Xigbar had had a nervous breakdown the day before:
"What if he's mad at me? For something I did? Insults! I insulted him!"
"Dude, relax. You've been insulting eachother for the past 6 years!" Axel reasoned.
"Then what? Maybe he's embarrased at being seen around me or-CARDS! I threw his cards on the ground! It must be THAT!"
"I don't think Luxord is that unreasonable." Axel soothed, "I'm sure there is a 100% plausible explanation as to why he's not showing up. Did you try calling him?"
Xigbar had called Luxord's number, one of the only numbers in his phone, a billion times with no response. At the one billionth and one try, a gruff sounding male had picked up the phone and said,"Sorry, wrong number."
The same had happened with Xigbar's dozens of texts. No responses until the person on the other side had written: You have the wrong number! Text me again and I'll call the cops!
Xigbar had sunken to near-depression. One of his only friends, seemingly gone without a trace. Their daily routine in tatters, no way of contact, and Xigbar felt ready to arrest someone. He decided to go pay Luxord a visit, his address had to be right, right? That was another thing that left the black-haired man confused. Sure, he hadn't used the number very often but the times that he had, it had been Luxord's. Did Luxord change his number? If so, then who was this man who now had his old one? Xigbar always thought that people reused their old cell phone numbers, not recycled them. Xigbar looked at his phone one more time to make sure he was headed in the right direction. He stopped and muttered a curse. To get to Luxord's place, he would have to go through an expanse of freeway, and Xigbar was on foot. "Damn! And my doctor told me walking would benefit me!" He grouchily turned around and began walking back home. By the time I get home and go in my car, it'll be dark.I'll try again tomorrow but for now, I might as well take the long way.
Walking through the scenic park was relaxing. Kids running around, screaming as their older brothers and parents sprayed them with hoses; dogs barking at everyone that walked by; and families gathering together to celebrate Suzie's Seventh Birthday! There were even some yard sales at the houses along the edges of the park. Xigbar couldn't resist digging through someone else's trash. He was cheerfully scanning the items for slae when his eyes stopped on a box. A small box of cards.
Hey those look just like the ones Luxord and I- he stopped mid-thought. The box had the exact same pattern that Luxord's had. Xigbar snatched it and looked inside. Sure enough, the design on the back of each card was all too familiar. Only one way to know for sure...Xigbar searched through the deck until he found the ace of spades. In Luxord's deck, the spade mark in the center was half rubbed off, revealing a purple hued base underneath. Xigbar's eyes widened when he saw the familiar marking. What did Luxord say? 'My grandfather hand-crafted those himself?' 'Do you have any idea how important those are to me!'
"Hey, you interested in those?" Asked the man running the sale. He was dressed in a heavy jacket, with the hood pulled down and the collar pulled up. Sunglasses covered his face. Now, who would need a jacket and sunglasses in this weather, at this late in the day?
"Erm...yes," Xigbar reached for his wallet, "How much?"
"I'd say 5 dollars." the man replied. "Sure it's a little beat and it's just a deck of cards but you won't find a design like that anywhere else in the world."
"No, no, I'd say that's perfectly reasonable," Xigbar nodded, taking a five out and handing it to the man, "They must also carry a lot of sentimental value." Xigbar almost hissed it out, but caught himself.
"Oh, not really, they were from...a friend."
"Ah, I know the meaning of that all too well," Xigbar grinned, because he actually was starting to understand the meaning.
"Right then, good day to you sir."
"Good day." Xigbar watched as the man stuck his bill in the cashbox and started to pack up for the day. Then, whistling to himself, the ex-cop made his way back to the police station.
Epilogue
"Your sentence is 26 years in prison." the judge smacked the gavel against the podium. "Court dismissed!"
Xigbar happily ran out the door with Luxord following behind, more slowly. It turns out, the yard sales man was the notorious Saix Black, wanted for theft of countless banks, museums, palaces, and convenience stores. The microchipped bill Xigbar gave him had led the cops straight to him. He had made the mistake of jumping a buisness man a few days back and taking all his possessions; his phone, his car, his I.D., and, most signifigantly, his pack of cards. Luxord had been stranded on the more rural side of town when this occurred so contact with the police was nearly impossible. A few days later, Saix was trying to get rid of some of his more worthless pickings, when an obsessive ex-cop chanced upon his stand and saw through his guise. The police department had been so amazed at Xigbar's feat that they were accepting him back onto the force. Invited to the ceremony were his best friends: Luxord, and the crew at "Hot Stove", now called "Denny's" thanks to a breakthrough by Axel. Xigbar accepted the offer and his badge back, silently daring anyone to not take him seriously now. He made sure to mention Denny's in his acceptance speech, buttering it up so it seemed that the only reason he survived all these years was because of the little shop. This put Denny's high on the charts for most popular substations so Axel decided to remake it as a restaurant. It was a huge hit and soon, it was one of the most popular restaurant chains in America. Xion and Roxas were making a huge amount of money from the sudden success, and could go bowling every weekend from now on.
"Congratulations!" Luxord slapped Xigbar on the back after the ceremony. Xigbar was happily sporting the police uniform, letting the world know that he had a life again.
"Thanks. You wanna go grab something to eat? Those pastries were not very filling." Xigbar patted his stomach.
"Alright, sure, it wouldn't hurt you to put on just a little more weight now would it? Luxord teased.
"You know what? I'm not even insulted!"
"No?"
"Nope! 'Cause the last one there has to pay anyways!" Xigbar yelled as he took off down the street.
"Hey! You deceitful coward!" Luxord took off after him.
Unfortunately for Xigbar, Luxord caught up to him at a red light. As they continued, neck to neck, Xigbar tripped on an irregular bit of sidewalk and Luxord beat him to the he arrived at Denny's, panting, Luxord was sitting at the table, looking over the menu.
"Well well, it appears that you will be paying the bill today old friend." Luxord commented as Xigbar sat.
"Whatever dude, you still owe me five bucks."
"What? Whatever for?" Luxord reached into his pocket and frowned. He remembered the events that had beheld the pocket's former contents. With a sad sigh he put his hand back on the table.
Xigbar grinned as he reached into his own pocket. "This," he replied as he pressed a deck of cards into his comrade's hand.
Parts of this story were inspired by a run-down bowling alley I used to go to and Denny's. The first time I went, my cheeseburger was over-cooked. Anyways, everyone who is anybody should know where the 'Black" in Saix Black came from. (If you don't know, it's from Harry Potter.)
This is my first finished fanfiction, not my first ever fan fiction. The other one never got reviewed, I don't know if it even got read... Please review! I gotta know how I'm doing here!Be brutal, be nice, I don't care! I would appreciate it!
I do not own anything except for that overcooked burger that is now inside me. And the idea to throw all this together. Thanks :)