~o~ Chapter 2! ~o~
Over the next two months since Roxas had come in for that last tattoo, Axel found himself not only thinking about the customer on a daily basis, but also wondering just what Roxas did for income. Clearly, he had a well paying job, with his designer clothes and fifty dollar bills. Besides that, his brother seemed to also be well off. Axel wondered if the pair worked together, or if one lived off of the income of the other, or if they had rich parents who they mooched off of. They did give the vibe of spoiled rich kids.
Axel wasn't the only one in the shop who had wondered. Larxene was the one who brought the subject up one day, during her lunch break that she shared with Axel and Leon. She turned her microwaved burrito between her hands, which are covered in small tattoos. Her left hand has a different type of flower on each finger, with a rose on her index, then on the other three fingers a daisy, a posy and a daffodil. The right hand respectively had symbols, with a dream catcher, an anchor, a thin cross and a diamond. On both hands, she had a heart on the thumb, and the back of both were tattooed with detailed butterfly wings. She had rings on, with golden mid rings and diamonds. Larxene's best quality had always been her hands, even though the rest of her wasn't bad, either.
Thoughtfully, she set the burrito down on the table. "Axel, do you remember that twink boy that came in a few times? The one who had that hunk of a brother-," Leon looked at her then, and she went on, "What does that kid do?"
Of course, Axel knew exactly who she was talking about, and he couldn't say that he was surprised that she had already forgotten Roxas's name. Axel looked away from her, down to his lunch, and said, "He's not a kid. And I don't know."
Larxene leans back in her chair, setting it on it's two back legs with her feet on the table. She'd taken her shoes off at the door of the break room, and was now barefoot. Her toes are perfectly manicured, and she has a black scorpion tattooed on her left foot, the tail trailing up to her ankle. She takes a large bite of her burrito, talking with her mouth full, "He looks loaded. What's his name, anyway? And his brother- I wouldn't mind getting his number. Rich blonde boys are my type."
"I don't think you're his type, Larxene," Leon cut in, seemingly irritated with the whole conversation. "He didn't even look at you the whole time he was in here."
Larxene rolled her eyes at him, throwing her burrito on the table in a fit. "I can make him look at me, you prick. You may not have noticed, with your queer-goggles on, but I'm not exactly ugly, okay? If I put on the right shirt and pair of shorts, I can easily get him. So, fuck you."
"Fuck you," Leon returned, pissed off now. "You can't just wiggle your hips and get any guy you want. That's not how the world works, you dick. And furthermore-"
It went on like that for the rest of their lunch break. It definitely wasn't the first time Leon and Larxene got into an argument like that. In fact, half of their friendship was them arguing. That didn't keep them from hanging out with each other after work. If Axel observed them correctly over the last few years, he would say that the two are best friends. In fact, he'd actually thought the two were dating for awhile, until he found out that Leon didn't pitch for Larxene's team, and Larxene's type mostly included blondes and rich boys.
For the better part of the next month, the rest of the shop slowly got into the mystery of what Roxas (and his brother) did for a living. Larxene figured that Roxas had a rich sugar daddy who kept him well supplied. Seifer and Reno had come to a mutual agreement that the "business" Roxas and his brother own is actually an underground drug ring. Leon assumed that the two own a restaurant. Axel didn't know what he thought, but he knew that everyone else's guesses were wrong.
Reno was the one who found out what Roxas actually did. Everyone was going about their usual work day, and it was Reno's day off. Axel was manning the front desk, taking care of appointments and eating out of the complimentary chocolate bowl. Everyone else had appointments their last appointments of the day, and were finishing up on tattoos. Leon was in the back giving birthday nipple piercings to a newly turned eighteen year old and her friend. Larxene was finishing up on the last tattoo of the day, rubbing on tattoo goo to the bright red flesh. He handed the payment to Axel and was heading out the door right as Reno was walking in, his Macbook in his arm.
Everyone greeted him as they were putting on their normal clothes, Leon shrugging on his jacket and Larxene pulling on her snow boots. Reno threw his jacket off onto the counter, and pushing Axel over with his hip he set out his laptop and unlocked the screen.
"Okay," he started, and everyone gathered around him. "You guys are going to think I'm so gross, but I don't care. I figured it out. I figured out what Roxas does."
Everyone's interest was peaked, and they peered over his shoulder to watch the screen as Reno connected to the shops WiFi and opened his browser bookmarks. Then he opened a website, and everyone watched it load to a website called...
.
"Reno!" Larxene shrieked, covering her eyes and turning her back to him. "Oh my god!"
Leon sighed and turned to walk away. Seifer was laughing, putting a hand to his chest as he started to double over. Axel just groaned and rubbed his forehead. Reno turned red, and turned back to them defensively. "Hey! I'm serious, you guys have to see this!"
Leon sighed again and came back behind the counter next to Larxene, who was repeating "ew" over and over as Reno pressed play on the video and opened it to full screen.
What they saw next would stick with them forever. The video opened up to a scene of a older teen sitting on a bed, in just his underwear. Axel quickly realized that he'd seen this boy before, just a few months earlier the first time he'd met Roxas. It was Roxas's friend Sora, who he had brought in for a tattoo cover up of a bad YOLO tattoo. Axel suddenly felt really uneasy, fully knowing that this was a porn video that had something to do with Roxas.
The audio was turned down, so he could just make out the sound of someone saying something to Sora, and then Sora's laughter as the camera got closer to his face. It trailed down his body to his underwear, where there was an outline of his man parts and a delicate hand that wasn't his resting on his thigh. The camera followed that hand up a thin arm, to a face that Axel knew too well.
Roxas looked much younger here, though Axel couldn't assume an age. He was looking up at the camera, a small smile on his face with his eyes half lidded. He was told something, and Reno turned up the volume just enough for them to catch Roxas saying, "What do you want me to do?"
The reply from an unknown voice was, "Touch him." The voice from the cameraman was deep, raspy. It was full of what could only be called lust. He backed away to get both Roxas and Sora in the view of the camera, Roxas leaning on near Sora. He was wearing a shirt and underwear, more than Sora, and was sitting with his legs crossed. Sora had his legs thrown over the edge of the bed, and was smiling wide. Roxas's hands traveled higher up, then back down along Sora's thigh.
Then Roxas said, "Come here," and the camera was set down on a surface to film without the camera man holding it. The back of the man came into view, walking towards the bed, hair corn rowed and pants baggy. He was muscular with tattoos inked into his dark arms. He stood in front of the bed, face unseen. Roxas took a hold of the man's hips, pulling him closer with his dick in his face behind the cloth of his jeans. Then, Roxas's fingers worked to undo the jeans, and he man pulled them down his hips himself, his erection bobbing in Roxas's face. Roxas was reaching up to touch it...
Axel slammed the laptop shut, and Larxene was screaming and covering her face again.
"Oh my god." Axel covered his mouth, turning his back to the now closed laptop. He was aware that everyone was watching him now, but ignored them and slipped out from behind the counter to pace around the lobby of the shop. He needed a minute. He needed ten minutes. He spent ten minutes pacing in an oval, trying to comprehend what he'd just seen. Porn... yes, that was definitely porn.
After the ten minutes of everyone getting over their shock and chattering about the video they'd just seen, Reno cleared his throat and said, "That's not all. I decided to Google him, too. Turns out he and his brother are pretty famous in the porn industry."
Reno opened his laptop back up and started to type things in. Axel reluctantly joined the rest of the tattoo artists behind the counter again, the group looking more uncomfortable this time around. The screen was opened up to Bing as Reno looked up Roxas and Cloud Strife. Some of the links were purple, meaning Reno had opened them up earlier. The links read different things, such as Strife Bros. Storm the Industry, a link to a news article on a website called TwinkDaily. Another reads Cloud Strife arrested in Radiant Garden's- again. Reno opens the first link, opening it up to .
The website opens up to the news article they'd gotten a preview to on the search engine. The article was surrounded by pictures of the Strife brothers, together in every one. Reno scrolled down the article and explained, "Okay, so basically these two are brothers- which we already know- who own a porn business. Like, I guess they moved here to get a fresh start, and Roxas ended up acting in low budget porn films."
"What about Cloud?" Leon asks.
"Oh, dude, that's the weird thing. Cloud Strife is his manager. He got the porn gigs for Roxas, and was on set when his brother was getting fucked on camera. I know that they're close and all, but isn't that weird?"
"What's weird is that you were on a gay porn website in the first place," Leon says defensively. Defensive about what, they don't know.
Larxene nods in agreement. "Yeah, Reno. I mean, clearly we're not homophobic, but- well, is there something you need to tell us?"
"Oh, shut up. I knew I shouldn't have told you guys," Reno grumbles, closing the website and opening the one about Cloud's arrest. "Anyway, so Cloud Strife is also a felon. One strike, a shit ton of DUI's, drug use, drug possession... Basically, these guys are bad news. They can't be trusted."
They can't be trusted. Well, that's a given. Roxas had said he did low budget films when he first moved to Hallow Bastion, but Axel had assumed they were indie films and commercials. He felt lied to, to be completely honest. It's not that he cares about the porn. Everyone has a job, and if Roxas wants to have sex on camera for money, then power to him. Actually, Axel isn't sure what he's really mad for. He's come to terms with the fact that he's head over heels for Roxas, but that doesn't mean Roxas has to feel the same way about him. And clearly, Roxas doesn't. So, Axel doesn't have any right to be upset over something like this.
He just wished Roxas had been more truthful with him. He had thought they'd really connected when Axel did his tattoo. Clearly, he was wrong.
"So," Reno sighed, closing the laptop, "Long story short, they moved here, Roxas did porn, his brother is his drug addict manager, and now they own a huge gay porn business. I'm going home to enjoy the rest of my day off."
Reno leaves without another word, slamming the door shut behind him. Now, the shop empty with just the artists who were on work that day, they all stood in silence and processed the new information.
Larxene cut the silence by asking, "So, none of us came up with the idea to just Google them in the first place?"
Seifer laughed and went to gather up his things from his station to go home. Larxene, Leon and Axel continued to stand together, Leon with his arms crossed and staring down at a spot on the ground, brow furrowed in thought. Axel had both of his hands on his hips as he thought over his life and his decisions up until this point.
He's in love with someone he'd be lucky to see every few months.
He's in love with someone who doesn't have any feelings towards him whatsoever.
He's in love with someone who does gay porn for a living- and keeps it a secret.
He only wishes he had a way to contact Roxas. He never got his number, and looking him up online for contact information would be weird, right? God, he wanted to see Roxas again. He wanted to talk to Roxas, but there's no way for him to. The only thing he was able to do was wait for Roxas to come to him.
At the start of spring, where the days were starting to finally get warm enough to not have to dress like an Eskimo and the sun was hidden behind rain clouds instead of clouds puffed with snow, Reno received a message on his business email that he had listed on the shop website.
An invitation, inviting all of the shop's artists to visit the Keyhole night club on the edge of town for a night of free drinks and VIP passes to the back rooms. The invitation is a thank you for their great service and skills, and is signed digitally by Roxas Strife, the co-owner of the club. Reno reads the email aloud to his coworkers, and a cheer breaks out among Seifer and Larxene as Seifer pumps his fist in the air and woots, "Party! Party!" while he takes a lap around the shop. Larxene starts talking fast about how "shit faced" she'll get off of the free booze. Leon laughs and leaves for a back room, and Reno runs a hand down his face and mutters about how bad it will be to get this group of people drunk together. Axel is taken over silently by a wave of excitement and anxiety at the idea of going to Roxas's club.
Reno replies their acceptance of the invitation, and the reply comes fast for a date and time. Saturday at nine.
The week following before the weekend is long. Everyone is in a slum, because all they can think about is the night of partying awaiting them. Even Leon, who usually kept the same cool composure and professional attitude, was tired of work and wanted Saturday to come just as fast as everyone else. Larxene spent most of her time in the shop sleeping, from boredom and irritation with the lack of fun. Axel had anxiety that whole week, and every time he thought about going to Roxas's bar and seeing Roxas again, his stomach hurt. For him, the week was going by too fast. He wanted to see Roxas again, there was no denying that, but he didn't feel ready yet.
By Saturday, Axel is worn out.
They all agree to meet at the shop and take Reno's car, and deem Reno to be the designated driver. Axel would volunteer, but the angry look on Reno's face when they tell him is too good to change. They all climb into Reno's car, filling every available seat. The small compact area smells like a mix of Larxene's perfume and the different colognes the men are wearing, the heater cranked up even though it's officially spring and it's just a bit warmer outside. The night club is far on the other side of the city, at the end of town where the city meets with the nice city it neighbors with. It takes a total of thirty-two minutes to get there.
The club's parking lot is full, people stumbling out in heels and dress shoes after having too many drinks, even this early in the night. The building is two stories and on the corner of a busy street. Outside, the lights are colored vibrant pinks and blues, lighting up the walls. Two large bouncers wearing neon yellow shirts with the club name stand by the door, cross armed and not letting anyone past the red velvet rope as people stand in a long line trying to get in, the line stretching past the building. People look on enviously as Larxene leads the group to the front, and says, "We're VIP. Roxas Strife invited us?"
One of them nods, and the other unlinks part of the rope to let them in, getting a loud chorus of dislike from the line as people ask why they're allowed in but not themselves. Larxene winks and blows them all a kiss before Leon guides her inside with a hand on her back.
Inside the club, walking through the hall that leads to the dance floor, they can hear the club music thumping against the walls and causing vibrations from the bass. The hall is lighted with the same colored lights as outside, the walls lined with art. The hall opens up to the dance floor, where people dance and rub against each other to the music, half of them drunk, the other half high. The lights flash overhead, a rainbow of neon colors that change with the bass. The dance floor is made of clear tile, underneath lit up with similar changing lights, forming in shapes and the wall is the DJ, with an actual turn table and a fist in the air, jumping to her own music as people feel the beats and shout their encouragement to her with their drinks in the air. The ceiling is made entirely out of mirror, reflecting back the lights and people.
"This club is so nice," Larxene shouts over the music, admiring the ceiling. "The nicest club I've ever been in!"
Leon scans the club, and his eyes land on the bar. The bar is shaped as half an oval around a bartender and a wall of liquor with a green light behind it, illuminating the bottles in color. The stools are mostly filled with already drunk club goers. Seifer disappears as soon as they get in, and attaches himself to a tipsy dark skinned girl in the middle of the floor, curled hair bobbing around her head as she laughs and dances with him. Reno looks bored, without the privilege of being able to drink and no one in sight that interests him.
Axel's anxiety is at it's peak as he looks around the club. He doesn't see Roxas anywhere, and the thought is disheartening.
Larxene and Leon get drinks and bring him one, a vodka on the rocks, which he drinks quickly and hands back to Larxene. She gives him a disgusted look at how fast he'd downed the drink, and he shrugs it off. He needs something to calm his nerves, and the burn of alcohol is the best substitute that he has at the moment. He gets another drink before he realizes that he really needs to see Roxas, as soon as possible, before he goes crazy waiting.
Larxene seems to catch on to his thoughts, and leans in so that he can hear her. "Are you okay? Worried about Roxas?"
"Yeah," Axel admits, chewing on a piece of ice. "I'm making myself sick from thinking too much."
She pats his shoulder. "You'll be fine. We'll run into him, the club is just packed and he's small. He wouldn't invite us and then ignore us."
That's not what Axel was worried about. He was worried about what he'd say when he does see Roxas, how he'll act and what he'll let slip. Axel doesn't trust himself around someone he has feelings for. Especially around someone he knows he shouldn't be in love with, but somehow he finds himself head over heels for, when he's only seen him a handful of times before.
Axel is starting to wonder if it would be a better idea to leave and move on with his life when he catches a flash of blonde hair, blue eyes and cigarette smoke.
Roxas, wearing a white t-shirt and dark, tight jeans, is standing in the smoking room under the dim light. He's talking to someone, laughing, and stubs out his cigarette and says his goodbye. Then he catches Axel's eye, so far away, and smiles with a light wave. Larxene grabs Axel's hands, and leads him around the outside of the dance floor towards him.
"Roxas!" she greets, and lets go of Axel's hand to hug Roxas, drink held up in one of her hands. "Oh my god, this club is so nice!" She looks around again for emphasis, taking another sip of her drink. It's her fourth one already.
Roxas's smile grows bigger, more polite. "I'm glad you like it. That's a pretty dress you're wearing."
Larxene looks down and smooths out the skirt of her strapless black dress, forming to her body with shimmering fabric and glitter. Her black stiletto heels make her taller, and she towers over Roxas. "Thanks! It was on sale, I got it last week..." She goes on about where she'd gotten the dress, how much she'd spent, and how they had clothes for men that Roxas would like. Roxas nods along interestedly, and promises that he'll check the store out when he gets the chance. This satisfies Larxene, and finishing up her drink, she touches Axel's shoulder lightly and excuses herself to get a drink, leaving Axel and Roxas alone.
Roxas smells of cigarette smoke and vanilla, a strangely appealing mixture that has Axel wanting to lean in for more. He looks around, blue eyes scanning over his club, then towards the corner where two people are hidden in darkness and doing a bit more than dancing. He laughs, and his eyes land back on Axel. "This club is getting trashier by the day. Can I get you anything? A drink?"
"Uhm, no, I had a few..." Axel rubs his neck, awkward now that this moment has finally come. His heart is beating fast, pressing against his rib cage, and he makes an effort to keep his breathing normal even though his lungs are begging for deep breaths. The room is suddenly hot, and Axel hopes that the dim colored lights don't show how red he is.
"Oh, cool. Well, if you need anything..." He trails off, pulling his phone out of his back pocket at a new text. Then he curses, and types a fast reply before looking back up to Axel again. He smiles apologetically. "My brother."
Axel frowns. He thought the Strife brothers got along. "Is he coming tonight?"
Roxas rolls his eyes. "Yeah, of course. I was hoping he wouldn't, but he never does anything I want him to do. He's been really off the wall recently. Y'know how it is. You have an older brother."
Axel laughed and looked around to find his brother. Reno is pouting in one of the lounge chairs against the walls, glaring around at the people having fun and drinking. "Yeah, I feel it."
The music changes to a Lana Del Rey dubstep remix, and Roxas perks up. "This music makes me want to drink. Come with me to the bar."
Roxas takes his arm without getting an answer, hand holding on to Axel's bicep as he leads him towards the filled bar. They pass Reno, who's eyes follow Axel in a heated gaze, and at the bar they encounter Seifer, who is with the same woman as before as she laughs at something he's said. Larxene is dancing with a guy now, a tall blonde man who, even in her heels, Larxene only meets at shoulder length. There's no sign of Leon anywhere, but Axel suspects that he's lounging somewhere with a fruity drink and his cell phone.
Roxas leans over the counter and gets his bartender's attention, who abandons the customer he's talking with to come over. The bartender is a tall women with red hair and a tattoo trail of stars along the side of her face, her ears pierced with over a dozen piercings. Her nose ring has a gold chain that is attached to one of her earrings. "What can I get you, boss?"
"A bottle of Sky," Roxas says. "Two glasses, a bucket of ice, and a key to the back room. Thanks, Stacey."
When Roxas is handed the bottle with the keys and silver bucket of ice, two cups shoved into the ice to keep them cool, he turns around and grins at Axel. "Follow me, Axel."
~o~
Leon found himself in one of the sofas towards the front of the club, a Sex on the Beach in his hand and his phone in the other, scrolling down a CNN news article on a kidnapping in the Middle East. The drink, half gone, has condensation around the glass. The water is cold on his hand, but the club is hot and full of life. People stare at him, wonder why he isn't up and dancing with strangers and getting shit faced, but this isn't Leon's scene. He's more into drinking with friends, or alone, or with a date (not that he's had a date recently). Dancing isn't really his thing, and mingling with strangers bores him. Besides that, there's no one here who interest him, both for a new friend or a one night stand. Despite this, he isn't bored. This is his fourth drink, and he's quite entertained by the music and the people, and of course by the news website that peaks his interest more with every article.
He's reading up on the issues happening in Ukraine when he hears a familiar voice, one that he's only heard once, and one that he'll never forget. Cloud Strife strolls into the club, his arm thrown around a much smaller boy- who has to be over twenty-one, but looks as if he's fourteen. He's laughing, and the boy-man is giggling at something he said, but the boy-man isn't the one who has Leon's attention.
Cloud Strife is just as glorious as the day they first met. His button up shirt is haphazardly tucked into his black dress pants, and his tie is loose from excessive tugging. The sleeves of his button up are rolled up to his forearms, showing tattoos and a silver Rolex watch that is circled with diamonds. He's wearing sunglasses, even inside, and runs a hand through his blonde hair. He pulls the boy-man closer, steers him towards the bar, and sets him on one of the empty stools and takes the place next to him. Then he orders a bottle and two glasses, and pours it himself, leaning closely into the boy-man as he talks.
Leon wants to sleep with Cloud.
In his lifetime, Leon has had six one night stands, with complete strangers that he'd met at a gay bar, and one woman that was more than amazing but not quite his type. He never called any of them after that, never added them on Facebook, and never went to the bar he picked them up at again. He wouldn't be able to bring himself to blow off Cloud like that. He couldn't just have a one night stand with someone like Cloud. He interested Leon too much.
Now Cloud is touching the boy-man's leg, hand sliding up the leggings the smaller one is wearing. Then his hand is on a hip, the other brushing hair from out of eyes, pulling the smaller closer, kissing him in front of everyone.
Leon sighs and looks away. Finishing his drink, he leaves his empty glass on the coffee table next to his seat and gets up to look for Larxene. He finds her dancing, a drink in her hand and lifted in the air, in the middle of the dance floor. She's nearly blacked out with how much she's already drank, the night hardly starting. Leon pushes people out of his way to get to her, and when she sees him she shrieks and runs to him the best she can, falling onto him when her heels trip up. She laughs and takes a large gulp from her margarita.
"You're already drunk," Leon sighs, holding her up by her sides as she puts her free hand on his shoulder.
"And you're observant," she returns. She drops the cup, and whats left of it sloshes in green against the colored floor, the green lit up by pink, the glass broken. She laughs again. "Whoops!"
Leon rolls his eyes and for a moment worries that someone may slip in the mess, but decides that if anyone slips in it, it would be Roxas's problem and not his own. Now that both of her hands are free, Larxene settles both on Leon's shoulders. She continues to dance to the music, against her friend who is less than uninterested, and she complains about her lost drink. She lolls her head back, then forward and nearly hits Leon's face. Leon's had a lot of experience with drunk people, so he doesn't get mad when she stomps on his foot, and doesn't really care when she calls him the wrong name. He does care when she notices Cloud, and obviously points him out through the crowd with her finger, shouting, "Look! Your- your boyfriend is here!"
"Please, don't start." Leon pulls her closer to shut her up, and once again she laughs and continues to dance. He wonders if Seifer is as drunk as her, but he'd seen him earlier at the bar with a girl, and when he's with someone he's interested in he tries to stay mostly sober. Sober enough to function. He looks around and doesn't see any of his friends, not even Reno who had been pouting in a chair earlier. He assumes that Seifer left with the girl already, something that he's good at. God knows where Axel is. If he ran into Roxas, he's probably following the porn star around like a puppy.
His eyes fall back on Cloud. Now he's kissing the boy-man's jawline, and the kid is loving it. He has a look of bliss on his face, eyes closed as Cloud works his way to his mouth again.
Leon curses and turns back to Larxene. She looks as if she doesn't know where she is, but she's enjoying it anyway. Then she looks at Leon as if he's a stranger, tries to say something, but it doesn't come out as words to him. The last drink must have finally hit her. He wonders how many she's had, and decides that it is probably in the double digits.
She puts a hand to her face, which is a mixture of pink and green. Her eyeliner is smeared on one eye, and her eyebrow is smeared to her hairline. She moans, and says, "I needta sit down... don't feel good..."
Leon supports her to the seat where Reno had been sitting and sets her down in it. She sinks down, groans, and kicks off one of her heels. The other stays on. She runs her hand down her face again, and then retches, but doesn't throw up yet. People watch them and some are laughing at how "trashy" Larxene is, making Leon mad but not mad enough to say anything. He pushes a loose strand of hair away from Larxene's damp face, and decides that if she throws up she can throw up on this floor, and hopefully on the shoes of the people watching.
Larxene is retching again, dry heaving over the side of the chair, and Leon is sure she's going to throw up this time. He probably should have taken her to the bathroom, but it was too far and she wouldn't have made it walking over there. Besides, his contempt for the people around them makes him want them to witness something as disgusting as vomit. He kneels down and helps her keep her hair out of her face, and is bracing himself for the stream of vomit he's about to see when something is being handed to him. The cool steel of it makes him realize that it's one of the buckets the bar provides, and had previously been filled with ice. Larxene snatches it out of his hands ass soon as she sees it, and with that, she's throwing up.
Leon looks to see who had handed him the bucket, and looks up the tall form of Cloud, standing above him and smirking. His date is still at the bar across from them, glaring distinctly at Leon, accusing him with his eyes of stealing his man away.
"You look good on your knees, Squall," Cloud says smoothly, using Leon's real name, something that Leon isn't used to. The only people who call him Squall is his family, and even then it bothers him. Somehow, though, it doesn't feel wrong coming out of Cloud's mouth.
Leon doesn't reply, but takes a hand that is offered to help him up. He notes the lingering touch Cloud gives him, but is drawn back by the sound of Larxene's continued vomiting. He looks back at her, ashamed to be associated with this sort of company in front of someone like Cloud.
"You can take her to one of the back rooms," Cloud says, looking at Larxene, too. "Roxas cleared out some of the back rooms just for you guys. Full access to the bar back there as well. Of course, I have my own key to the rooms. I'd be more than happy to let you back there. You know, for your friend."
Leon goes over his options. He could always have Reno take Larxene home, but Reno would want everyone to leave then, and he's sure that Axel would be pissed if they did. He could also call Larxene a cab, but he doesn't trust cab drivers to take a drunk girl home alone, and he doesn't want to leave with her just yet now that he's finally gotten Cloud's attention. The back room is the best choice he currently has, and he accepts it after a pause.
Larxene has to be carried, and when Leon scoops her up in his arm and Cloud grabs her discarded shoe, she leans her head against his shoulder and mumbles something. They leave the bucket filled with vomit when Cloud assures him that someone in the staff will grab it.
The back rooms are led into from the same room that holds the dance floor, led down by a long hallway with purple doors. The hallway is illuminated with dark purple lights from the ceiling, and the doors have numbers on them, from 1 to 15. Cloud leads him to room number 10, and pulling a key from his back pocket with a pink rabbits foot attached to it, he unlocks the door. Leon hopes that it's not a real rabbits foot.
Cloud pushes open the door with his shoulder, and reaches on the wall to turn on the lights. The room illuminates with normal lighting, though dim. It has a black C-shaped couch around a glass table, a mini fridge on the other side of the couch, and a mini bar against the far wall with various little bottle shots on a shelf. The carpet is also black, and the walls are painted white with framed photography on the walls. While the room is magnificent, Leon's eyes are still on the rabbit's foot in Cloud's hand.
Cloud follows his gaze and laughs. "Don't worry, it's not real. I don't eat meat, I wouldn't be walking around with a chopped off rabbit limb in my pocket."
Leon relaxes his shoulders in relief. His little vegan heart wouldn't have been able to handle something like that. Even for someone like cloud, a real rabbit's foot would have been a deal breaker.
Leon set Larxene down on the couch, and she groaned and laid back, rubbing away any visible trace of vomit from her mouth with the back of her hand. She seems to fall asleep immediately, or at least blacks out enough to stop any moving besides her deep breathing heaving at her chest. Her dress has ridden up to around her hips, and Leon fixes it for her, pulling it down as far as it will go, and then takes off her other shoe. He tosses it on the table where Cloud had put the other one.
He grabs two bottles of water from behind the bar, and put them on the edge of the table for if Larxene wakes up. He even opens them up for her and replaces the lid, knowing that she always has a hard time opening bottles on her own when she gets like this. Then he puts a pillow under her head, and deciding that she's comfortable enough now, he turns back to Cloud.
"Thanks."
"Are you guys, like, dating?"
Leon has long since lost track of how many times he's been asked that. "No. I'm gay."
Cloud laughs. "Ay, me too. I don't see how you would have known that, though. I'm so good at hiding it."
Leon catches on to the sarcasm instantly, and is reminded of the boy-man Cloud had been with earlier. Shouldn't he return to his date? "Oh, yeah, I never would have guessed. What happened to your date, anyway? He looked pissed when you came to save us."
Cloud shrugs and turns to go to the bar, picking up a few Jack Daniels shots. He pours four into a glass and puts ice in it. As he does so, he says, "Yeah, he's a little much. He got mad because I pointed you out. I ain't about that. Can't be with a guy who won't let me hang with the bros."
"The bros," Leon repeats. When Cloud offers him a drink, he puts his hand up in denial. "We're bros?"
Cloud takes as sip of his drink. "Only if you want to be."
Cloud drinks the whiskey all at once, and then pours Jaeger into the same glass. He drinks this too, and then throws the empty shot bottles into a trash can behind the counter. The leaves the glass and the few ice cubes inside it on the counter.
"So. You gonna watch her all night? Or do you wanna go to one of the other private rooms?"
Leon wonders if that's a good idea. He looks over at Larxene, his passed out friends, and isn't sure if she'll be safe here alone. He doesn't want anything to happen to her just because he wants to spend time alone with Cloud. Then again, what could Cloud possibly want to do with him? The idea is appealing, much more appealing than watching a drunk girl toss and turn while she sleeps.
"Don't worry," Cloud says, walking up to him from behind the bar. "The room locks, and I'm the only one who has a key to every door, besides my brother. And anyway, he doesn't carry his key with him when he comes in, so don't worry about anyone walking in on her. It's completely safe."
Leon frowns. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Then... Yeah. I'll go with you." Leon isn't sure if he'll regret this decision or not, but he's willing to take the chance.
Cloud leads him down the hall to another room, labeled room 7, and when Cloud closes and locks the door behind him, Leon knows he's in for a night. He wonders briefly what Axel is doing with the other Strife brother, but the thought is pushed out of his mind as soon as Cloud presses his lips against his own and pushes him against the wall.
~o~
In room 8, Axel and Roxas are lounging on the C-shaped sofa that takes up most of the space in the back room. Roxas had made them both martinis out of the vodka they brought and flavored shot bottles that were already in the back. The martinis, which they put in the rocks glasses that Roxas had gotten from the bar in the dance room, are sweet and bitter at the same time. Axel has never been big on flavored drinks, and usually prefers hard alcohol with ice, but these are good. The fact that Roxas has made one especially for him makes it taste ten times better.
Roxas had taken off his shoes, leaving himself in black socks that he had on the edge of the couch with his knees up to his chest. There's music playing from a speaker that connects to the DJ outside, the control panel to which is on the wall next to the light switch. It's turned low, letting in a stream of pop music into the room from four speakers positioned in every ceiling corner. Axel sits awkwardly, tensely, with his drink gripped tight in his hands on his lap and a whole couch cushion between himself and Roxas. Roxas is talking, and he's listening intently to every word and every syllable that comes out of that perfect mouth.
"So, Axel," Roxas sloshes the drink in his glass, staring down at it before looking back up to Axel. "Tell me something about yourself."
"Uh..." Axel isn't sure what to say. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Something. What's your favorite color?"
Axel hesitates. "Red."
"Oh." Roxas's eyes flip to his hair, and then back to his eyes. "Like your hair. But I'm sure you get that a lot, don't you?"
Axel shrugs.
"Well, mine is blue. Pale blue." Roxas sips from his drink, thinking of another question. "Okay, so what about music? What are you into? What's your favorite band?"
This feels a lot like a job interview, Axel decides. "Uh, Glam Metal, I guess. I like Mötley Crüe. I have all of their CD's."
Roxas giggles- giggles at something he said- and pushes Axel's arm playfully. "Wow, you are such a stereotype. Mötley Crüe? Really? I bet you like Guns N' Roses, too."
Axel would be ashamed to admit that his name came directly from the lead singer of that band, Axl Rose, because his parents were huge metal fans back in the day. He pouts, pushing air on one side of his mouth, and looks Roxas over. "That's rich, coming from the stereotypical twink porn star."
Roxas mocks offense. "I'm not a twink!"
"Yes you are! You're practically the definition of twink!"
"And how is that?" Roxas crosses his arms stubbornly.
Axel counts off on his fingers, "You're small, blonde, sexy, and you take more dick than you can count."
Roxas laughs. "Sexy, huh? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were hitting on me."
Axel draws a blank and stares at Roxas for a long time, face red and embarrassed that he probably was flirting. He hasn't done any real flirting in years, and he has no idea how to do it. And anyway, he doesn't know how to flirt with guys at all. Especially guys like Roxas. So it wasn't his intention when he said that, honestly. If he had the courage to say something like that in an honest, flirtatious way, then he would have tried to date Roxas the first time they met. Unfortunately, Axel has no courage and is in a constant fear of being shot down by someone like Roxas.
Roxas laughs again and pats his shoulder gently. "Hey, I'm kidding. Don't worry. I don't have a thing for straight guys."
"Oh." Axel continues to stare, because what else is there to do? The room fills with a tense awkwardness that is all his fault, his creation for calling Roxas sexy, for being a stupid straight idiot. His mind doesn't let go of the way it felt to have Roxas touch his shoulder.
"Oh, come on. Don't get all quiet on me now. I'm only teasing you." Roxas frowns, scooting closer to Axel on the couch. He sets his hand gently on Axel's upper thigh. He touches people a lot. "Why don't you finish your drink, and then we can go back out and find your friends. I'm sure your blonde friend is falling all over herself by now, and your brother is probably fuming."
Axel nods and takes a short sip of his drink. He doesn't actually want to go back out there. Besides, Larxene should have Leon taking care of her. She's probably fine.
~o~
With two hands sliding up his thighs and hooking into the belt loops of his jeans, Leon is sure that there is no place in the world he'd rather be in that moment. Cloud is kissing his neck, murmuring in hot breathes. With his head back just a bit, Leon moans out from the contact. He slides his hands up Cloud's shirt and feels the hot skin of his sides on the palm of his hands. His head swims from drinking and from lust that only intensifies when Cloud starts to kiss his mouth again. He tastes like mint gum and whiskey. He kisses rough, tongue licking against Leon's lips and invading his mouth. Leon almost can't keep pace.
Suddenly, Cloud drops down to his knees, fingers working to unbuckle Leon's belt and pull it off quickly. He throws it behind him somewhere and then starts to unbutton his jeans. Pulling them down Leon's hips, his boxers-briefs are the only thing hiding his manhood from Cloud. His half hard dick is outlined by the fabric and Cloud looks at it, then up at Leon, a half grin on his face. He asks, "Is this okay?"
Does he really need to ask? Leon nods shortly.
Cloud laughs lightly and starts to pull down the underwear slowly and seductively. He pulls them to join Leon's pants halfway down his hips, and Leon's cock is fully out now. Cloud looks back up at Leon with the same cocky grin. Digging in his pocket, he pulls out a purple condom package with a cartoon grape on the wrapper. He looks back to the penis. "Hey, big guy. I got just the thing for you."
He rips the condom wrapper open with his teeth and then takes hold of the cock in one hand, rubbing his hand up and down to get Leon completely hard. Then he positions the condom on the tip of his cock and pinches the tip, rolling the condom back. He winks up at Leon. "Grape flavored."
And finally, Cloud takes the base of Leon's dick and takes the whole thing in his mouth at once. Leon groans and tangles his fingers in Cloud's hair, feeling Cloud bob his head along his cock. He hasn't been deep throated like this since college.
"Fuuuuck," Leon drags out, closing his eyes and letting himself feel everything. The way Cloud's throat tightens, his lips graze his dick, his teeth just slightly scrape against his skin. He hums, mouth vibrating, and goddamn that feels good.
Cloud is staring up at him, watching his every reaction, and Leon would be lying if he said that being watched like this didn't make the blowjob feel ten times better. Those eyes can watch him all day. He pushes some of Cloud's bangs away from his face to see them better, and they catch the light above them. He's loving this, smiling around Leon's cock up at him when he sees Leon staring. He pulls the dick out of his mouth with a wet noise and wipes his mouth with the back of his free hand. Leon bites the inside of his cheek and keeps back his noise of disappointment.
Cloud is pumping Leon's dick now with one hand. "You like that? Huh? You want me to do it more?"
"Yeah," Leon shakes his head and caresses the side of Cloud's face. Cloud nuzzles his hand affectionately and then licks up his palm with a moan. Fuck, he's so sexy.
"How much do you want it?" Cloud asks.
The only thing Leon is able to choke out is, "Please, Cloud."
"Ooh, I like that..." Cloud slows his pumps. "Keep saying my name."
He takes the cock back in his mouth again and this time goes faster. Then pulls back, pumps with his hand, then takes the dick again. The whole time, Leon periodically moans out his name, and every time he does Cloud does this thing with his throat that drives Leon crazy. And then, after a surprisingly extended amount of time, Leon finally feels himself giving in. honestly, he's surprised he'd lasted this long, with the way Cloud was working him. When he cums, he moans out Cloud's name loudly and his grip on Cloud's hair tightens. It makes Cloud moan and pull his head back, reveling at the way Leon handles him. He has a huge grin spread on his face and his hand keeps pumping as Leon orgasms, riding it out for him for maximum pleasure.
Leon is left breathing heavily, Cloud still on his knees in front of him. Cloud pulls off the condom and just tosses it on the floor, wiping off any sperm from Leon's dick with his hands and shaking it off. It gets on the carpet, but he doesn't care, and just pulls up Leon's underwear and pants for him, zipping and buttoning them back up. Then he pats his hips and stands. "Well, that was fun. Let's do it again some time."
Leon blinks and watches Cloud walk in a circle around the room in search of his belt. He finds it on the edge of the couch where it fell when he threw it. Before he goes back to Leon, he stops by the bar and fills a high ball drinking glass to the brim with a brown liquor. Then he walks across, tosses the belt to Leon, and opens the door. Before he leaves, he looks at Leon thoughtfully. "Mmh, I have to unlock the door to your friends room. I almost forgot. Come on, just leave the condom there. We have janitors."
"Oh, uh, okay," Leon drags out, pulling back on his belt. Then he follows Cloud out the door and Cloud slams it shut behind them.
~o~
The club is starting to thin out by the time Axel finishes his drink and Roxas finishes three more. The dance floor is still packed as everyone grinds to a Katy Perry song, and the only one in his group who he can find is his brother Reno who is still in the same seat as he was before. He looks livid as he glares into the crowd of dancers in front of him. Axel almost feels bad. He'll have to make it up to him later, he decides.
Roxas is looking around, too. He has to shout over the music. "I can't find my brother. I wonder if he went home with someone."
"Yeah, I can't find any of my friends," Axel shouts back. He absently notes that the song playing is about to come to an end. He looks to the bar and still, none of his friends. He'll have to text Leon soon if he doesn't find anyone.
The song changes to a song that he's heard a few times, but doesn't actually know. He pays it no mind at all and peers into the crowd for anyone he knows. Still, no one. Next to him, Roxas makes an excited noise and draws his attention. He looks up at Axel excitedly and tugs on his arm. "I love this song! Let's dance!"
He pulls Axel out to the dance floor without getting a confirmation. Axel still has no idea what song this is, but he knows that it's by Nicki Minaj, and everyone is jumping to the beat. Roxas leads him direction to the middle of the dance floor where the lights underneath them change in a rainbow of colors. Roxas presses against him and moves his body in a seductively smooth way, and Axel doesn't know how to dance so he mostly just stands there and tries to figure out the name of this song. Maybe he has heard it before.
After a few moments, Roxas stops his dancing and frowns up at him. "What are you thinking so hard about?"
"What's the name of this song?"
Roxas gapes. "You haven't heard this song?! Do you live under a rock?" He takes Axel's hands and starts to sway his hips. "It's Starships. Join the real world sometime, Axel."
Axel laughs and decides to focus on more important things, like the way Roxas is holding his hands and moving against him. He's just a little drunk and Roxas is even worse, tripping over his feet, falling into Axel's arms and laughing. He presses his face against Axel's chest and compliments his cologne. Axel blushes and runs a hand down his face, muttering "Oh man." Yeah, he's got it bad for this guy.
His chest feels light and he's not sure if its from the drinking or from the love high. The chorus of the song takes over and Roxas turns so that his back is pressed against Axel, and he has his hand placed gently against Axel's neck as he dances. His nose nuzzles against Axel's chin and his other hand guides one of Axel's to his hip. He laces their fingers together while he moves against him, rolling his body and turning his hips. God, if Axel could actually dance, this would be the most amazing moment in history. Of course, it still beats out any moment in his life so far, even if he's just standing there while Roxas grinds against him.
For a moment, with the way Roxas is caressing his face with his own so close, Axel almost thinks that Roxas is going to kiss him.
But the moment is gone as soon as it happens when the song ends and Roxas steps away, turning gracefully to face him again. He's smiling, looking up at Axel almost fondly. "You can't dance, can you?" When Axel shrugs, he just laughs and takes his hand again, squeezing it lightly with his fingers. "Maybe I can teach you some day. Would you like that?"
More than anything, Axel thinks, but he swallows and says, "Yeah, that would be cool."
Roxas continues to smile, looking drunk and happy and for the first time genuinely happy in front of Axel in a not excited-for-my-new-tattoo way. He looks like he's about to say something, and Axel is anxious over it, but then something behind him catches Roxas's eye and instead he says, "Oh! There's my brother. Come on."
He drags Axel by his hand, pushing people out of his way as if they're not his customers. Cloud is standing with Leon on the edge of the dance floor waiting for them, looking down at his phone and one hand in his front pocket. Leon has Larxene leaning against him and she looks sick, one arm around his shoulder and the other pressed against her mouth. Reno comes and joins them as well.
"Hey," Roxas greets his brother, and Cloud grunts and pockets his phone. "Where have you been?"
"Where do you think?" Cloud puts on that cocky half grin that Axel has seen a few times on him.
Roxas rolls his eyes. "Yeah, okay, I'll send a janitor."
"I think it's time we called it a night," Reno speaks up after clearing his throat. "I mean, Seifer is missing and Larxene looks like she's dying. And it's getting late."
"And you're not having fun," Axel says what his brother doesn't want to say, but means. Reno glares at him and then turns to Leon when he laughs.
"Well excuse me for not having a fun time sitting in that chair all night."
"No one told you to sit in that chair, jackass."
"Well, what else was I supposed to do!"
"Dance?"
Reno turns red from anger. "You know I can't dance!"
Roxas chuckles, fingertips placed gently against his mouth, and looks to Axel. "Does it run in the family?"
"Unfortunately," Axel grumbles. He goes to Larxene and takes the weight off of Leon by taking her, instead. She mumbles something about hating them all and wanting to get the fuck him when she puts her arm around him. "Yeah, we'll get you home, Larx. Don't worry."
"We should definitely call it a night," Leon says.
Roxas pouts. "Damn, so soon? Well, okay. I hope you guys have fun, even though..." He nods to Larxene. "Well, she was having fun at first. May have drank and danced too much. She had roughly twelve drinks, which is a little much since we don't water down our drinks here." He looks to Cloud. "Can you carry her out? I want to talk to Axel."
Cloud groans, but listens to his little brother and walks up to Larxene with his arms out and says, "Come on." He picks her up bridal style like Leon had done earlier and she looks confused at first but goes with it and presses her forehead against his shoulder. Before he turns away to walk out with her, he says, "If you throw up on me, I'm dropping you." She nods.
Leon and Reno follow them out, Reno looking back at his brother uncertainly, but Axel nods him on knowing that Reno doesn't trust the porn star that he's in love with. Roxas watches them walk all the way out before he turns back to Axel.
He almost looks shy, standing there with his eyes downcast and kicking one foot slightly against the tile. It's probably just the lighting, but his face seems to be just the slightest shade of pink from a blush. Of course, that's impossible because everything Axel is feeling is one sided, and will probably always be one sided. There's no way Roxas would go for someone like him.
"I realized that you don't have my number," Roxas says finally, and he holds out his hand. It takes Axel a moment to process that Roxas wants his phone. He nearly drops it in a panic to pull it out of his back pocket, and then unlocks it before handing it to Roxas. Roxas types into it at expert speed and is done in ten seconds flat before close mouthed smiling up at Axel and handing him back his phone. "I want you to call me next week so that we can go out some time. As friends, I mean. No homo."
Axel had completely gotten his hopes up only to get them knocked down again. He deflates. No homo. But Roxas doesn't notice and simply pats his arm before saying, "I'll see you around, Axel. And don't forget to call me."
And then he's gone again. Once again, Axel is left alone without Roxas, standing there dumbly and watching him walk away.
Roxas isn't interested in him.
But at least he wants to be friends.
At least this time, Axel has his number.
And that feels really nice.
~o~
"Oh, goood, I am never drinking again," Larxene sighs, holding a ice pack to the side of her head. She has her head pressed against the cold counter top of the front counter of the shop, trying to beat the killer hangover she'd gotten from the night before. All she's wearing is a sports bra and yoga shorts, having stripped off her shirt because the shop was too hot for her.
"You say that every week," Seifer stares at her irritably. He's mad because the girl he'd taken home last night didn't leave him a number. She didn't even leave him a name.
Larxene moans, head throbbing from Seifer talking to her. "Shut the fuck up."
Reno is also in a bad mood, still angry from last night. He's holding a grudge against everyone who had gone and actually had fun last night, having not been able to get a drink himself. From his seat in the lobby, he glares at where Axel and Leon are standing by the entrance, waiting for opening time. "And what are you two so happy about?"
Axel hadn't even realized that Leon was actually in a surprisingly good mood, and Leon had just figured that Axel was happy not to be hungover. Neither of them actually know what had happened to the other and their specific Strife brother the night before, but they both just assume that it's their own personal business. They won't question each other or pry, unlike the other members of the shop. Neither of them will ever mention it around the other members of the shop in fear of being exposed themselves. And neither of them will admit now, of all times, that they have any sorts of feelings for the porn porn star or his manager brother.
So both of them just shrug, and leave it at that.
~o~
So this fic will be about 5 chapters long, plus an epilogue. Also, I changed the fic from past tense to present tense, so sorry for the sudden change in the writing. Get ready for a lot of gay and drug use! See you guys next time~!