Title: Lovely Stalker
Rating: T+16
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Pairing: Xaldin + Xigbar
Warning: Some Sexual Content in Later Chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, nor do I profit from this Story. Any persons , alive or dead, are fictional and otherwise coincidental.
Summary: Womanizing Novella Author, Braig Jaqcard (Xigbar) has always been on the top 50 writer's list- as number 50. When a late night typing-spree seems to be his answer to achieveing his long time dream of being number 1 on the charts, will that be enough alone? Or will he have to throw it all away because of his stories foreshadowing contents?
Author Note: Review at the end if so desired. PM's welcomed, along with flames :D. (Also, a big thanks to Jaspen for the idea! T_T I promise you a doujinnnnn~~~)
LAST TIME: "- The click-clack of her heels echoed down the hallway and lingered in the iron stair wells. Even into the wee-hours of the morning when Xigbar finally awoke, the sound resonated through the halls till it mixed into early-morning symphony. He was still vaguely dead to the world, groaning at the sharp sting of the morning sun..."
" Richard had had a hard time getting his report done, but when it came down to it, he worked his ass off. And was it worth it. Laura, from the telemarketing cubicle's, had finally caught noticed of his success. It was all up hill from there. All those late nights, constant lingering afterwards to go that extra mile for an extra glance- he was on the ball.
"Hey there," the gorgeous redhead was leaning on the wall, watching Richard make copys for the up comming presentation. "I heard about that mistake you found in the stock report."
"Ah, well...It was nothing." he found himself grinning, tring to act smooth. That was a bit difficult with that sultry woman giving him all sorts of biting of the lip, and rubbing of the legs. Oh man, did she dig him. "Anyone could have spot it... Just lucky, I guess."
"Well, with your luck, maybe you could.." Her eyes swept over his body for a brief second, her hands smoothing over eachother. "look over some of my work sometime over lunch."
Stay smooth, stay smooth. Richard gathered the compied documents, shuffling them into a neat pile. He was reeling her in now. "That sounds like something I could do." His eyes met her's in a slow fashion, his shoulders squaring back so he stood straigter as he strode pass her. "Whenever you need me, just, swing by the cubicle. You know where."
Laura had been a long-sought after prize. Always slipping out of the fingers of the most attractive man, and only seeming to get really 'worked up' by guys who took the time to work longer. Or maybe it was the aspect of having more money. Rumors leaned more to the overtime though. And rumors were what had Richard sitting at his desk on a saturday night, shifting through reports. the office was dark except for the few overhead lights that were flickering by the exit doors.
The tiny radio near the stacks of paper was turned on and airing some soft music to keep his mind alive as he looked form one sheet of paper to the other. The music was slowly making his eyes droop, the clock ticking past 10 o'clock. The work was dull, and the silence of the office didn't help his stiff body. Richard stretched within the chair, grunting out.
"Grrrrrroll" Richards hand rub his stomach with disdain, rubbing his eyes too. "Alrighty, time to take a snack break.." Richard stood from his cubicle, walking down to the vending machine room. He passed many cubicles, the low light making many of the other workers little pictures look very errie. Everything was definetly different at night. Thoughts of sexy Laura reminded the man of why he was there, and suddenly a grin was spread across Richards face.
Turning into the vending machine room, Richard flipped on the light, confused when they didn't flicker to life. he looked around the room not ready to start groping around for an alternate lighting source. The machines were light though, just not enough. Growling out at the inconvinience of the situation, Richard groped around his pockets for some change. He had managed to slip in the dollar bill when a noise from behind made him jump. A particulary loud bump sounded from beyond the room. His eyes were wide, obviously freaked out by the sudden noise. Curious, but cautious, Richard looked out of the room. "
- Passage from Lovely Stalker
Popping joints- eerie sounding in the too empty apartment- mixed with the sound of rustling paper. Xigbar stretched form his document nest on the computer desk, looking like some odd creature with paper fluttering to the floor around him. His hand scratched at the 5 o'clock shadow that had morphed into itchy stuble around his jaw. Blinking, stretching, yawning- and then blinking some more- continued for more than a few minutes as the novelist stared out the window where the blinds had alotted painful slivers of light to crack through.
His gruff statement of the day gave hint to what procrastination he hoped could be squeeze in for the remainder of it. "... Man I hate mornings... " Standing wearly with a palm on his temple, Xigbar staggered to the (clean!) kitchen, yanking at the coffee pot before he realized- Groceries.
He had none.
"...Well, damn," The pot clacked back into its place. The doughnut place around the corner came to mind, with his stomach instantly chiding in with a low growl. "But that means I have to get dressed... " His argumentive statement only made his stomach rumble more- the promise of quick warm food and cheap coffee sounding so appetizing. With the thought of Boston creme on the mind, somehow the man found the motivation to pull on some kahkis and a shirt that just made it past the "sniff" test.
The Manuscript.
No. He must be seeing things. Xigbar stumbled over to the battered dining set, scooping up the novella that took him 3 extra days to write- Warm My Heart was still there.
"Son of a-" growling lowly to himself, the man rushed to the back of the apartment and started to look for clothes. Any kind.
'She must've decided not to come... Or maybe she did, and couldn't get in... ?' Theory's ran through Xigbar's head. His movements were still stiff and hurried, stress and anxiety not helping the least bit. He should've stayed up, should've waited for Kairi. Maybe even took it to her after cleaning the apartment. No. No, then she would've smelt the clorox- and known that he had pulled yet another all-nighter. Or three.
Scoffing at himself, the author pulled back his hair quickly, combing it with his fingers when he couldn't find the brush. What if Kairi never really had a mind for the latest novella? Maybe she never really wanted to publish this one?
"pff... As if... " Xigbar mumbled reassuringly to himself as he tugged on some dress torusers. A quick sniff to a white undershirt, and that went over his head too. Half dressed, and now wide-awake, Xigbar rushed into the living room and picked up the manuscript. His feet moved him to the door before he realized that he was missing shoes.
"Dammit, I don't have time for this!" More cursing insued before leather shoes and keys where put into place. The ember eye scanned the apartment before Xigbar left, sighing out at the rushed manner. Maybe he should get a house keeper or something.
10:39 flashed at him from the computer screen. Only 2 hours before the publisher would be expecting the manuscript. Darting out, Xigbar slammed the door shut, locked it quickly, and jumped down the stairs- almost falling into a blonde man by his second flight.
"Woah, woah, woah! Where's thuh' fire, mate?" The man grinned at Xigbar, who fumbled and barely smirked back- not in the mood to banter. Luxord was a long-time card buddy of his, and it looked like he had missed a night of skirt-chasing and getting shit-faced.
"No time Lux, no time! I gotta get goin to the publisher's office!" Xigbar steadied himself for a moment, slapping the blonde man on the back, before making his way to the other flight of stairs. "See yah at the Hall later to night!"
Watching in a miffed manner, Luxord just stroked his chin a little and pondered vocally. "Now wut's got his knickers in a twist, I wonder... ?"
Morning traffic couldn't have been any worse. One look at the backed up cars made Xigbar growl out in utter frustration. There was no way he would be able to make it if he tried to drive. Looking down at his wrist, he soon found out he'd also forgotten his watch. No time. No time at all.
"Guess I'll be hoofin' it there," Dispondent in his situation, Xigbar took off at a quick-jogging pace, many people titlting their heads or just moving out of his way. The town was small but big enough to make even a man of such stamina like Xigbar loose energy. By 20th ave, the novelist was forced to take a quick break in front of the infamous Café Lé Créme. Home of the best frappe's in all of Radiant Garden. It was also home to the city's biggest book club- well, only book club. Gasping out, Xigbar took a moment to look in. There was a short man and a group of other people in the back of the coffee shop. They seemed excited- bunch of book freaks. Zexion was the short man, holding a black book and smirking his very rare smirk that he only let other's see when he was plotting- or when he was generally proud of something. This unnerved Xigbar a great deal. Mostly because he had only ever had the displeasure of seeing that look when he was the one on the recieving end. Pushing the disturbing thoughts from his head, he gave himself just one more second of rest and continued onwards.
The heavy feeling in the soles of his shoes made Xigbar pant even more as he jogged down the sidewalk. A few questioning looks here and there didn't distract him in the least. He needed to cover at least 10 more blocks before he was even close to Kairi's office. In the end, it was the growing stitch in his side that made Xigbar stop for the second time that morning.
"God dammit... this just isn't my day," He laughed in gasps, leaning against a window. The familiar bright signs of the shopping strip didn't bring good news to Xigbar's one eye, just made him sink deeper into dispair. He was still no where near where he NEEDED to be. Looking around hoplessly, Xigbar squinted across the street when he saw a familiar name. A little hope sprung into the mans chest. The one eye darted in both direction's as he checked the little road for on coming car's before crossing.
"I knew it! She did get the manuscript!" Relief filled the man's body upon seeing Braig Jaqcard's latest book now in! Support our city's local authors! displayed just outside the tiny book shop. The exclamation was written in a beautiful scrawl that took up the entire black board. Nooks N' Books had been a long time Braig Jaqcard supporter, and today wasn't going to be any different it seemed. Running his hand through his loose hair, Xigbar couldn't help but to laugh out at himself. All that worrying for nothing! Kairi had really pulled through for him this time.
But then, there was a little tugging. Just a growing feel of scruple of that began to well up in the man's chest as he began to scan the new stand of books. The novella's were black.
Black.
Not red. Not orange. Not any color having to do with "warm". Or hearts for that matter!
Not liking the feeling that urged him to investigate, Xigbar walked into the store. Little groups of women held the books in their hands and were giggling to one another, showing off certain passages that had caught their interest. Xigbar couldn't help but to grin. Maybe this was the best seller he was looking for... ?
"Oh, excuse me sir... !" A young girl with brown hair accidentally bumped into the distracted man, politely bowing as she backed up. In her hands was another paper back copy of that black novel.
"Oh no, It's fine-" Xigbar started to say, before another brunette pushed the girl out of the way.
"Come on Olette, get out of the man's way!"
Now this was odd. Never had any of his books drawn in the younger crowd. Maybe a few 18 year olds or a couple high schoolers who thought it was a good laugh, but never any actual teenagers. They even looked like they genuinely wanted to read it!
Stalking nearer to the stand, Xigbar saw that, indeed, this novel had his pen name on it. In white cursive-like scrawl was the infamous Braig Jaqcard gracing the shiny black cover. The title was what made him confused. Picking up the book, Xigbar flipped past the acknowledgements, the contents, the dedication mark, to the first page. The opening was as any other- the original, yet classy way he opened any story. His infamous character- Richard, started off the opening. Nothing unusual. Fingering the pages lightly, he continued to flip and scan the story until he got to a juicy part. His novella's never took long to get to the good stuff. It was by the second paragraph that Xigbar started to pale.
"This... this can't be... "
"HOW COULD YOU?"
Kairi sat in her chair, a small grin hiding behind her hand as a very disgruntled (to put it lightly) Xigbar stalked about the office. The black novel lay between them, along with the Manuscript for Warm My Heart. The redhead shrugged, frowning at the attitude.
"Calm down, Xigbar. This could be the book that makes you big-!"
"You think so?" A snarl made its way into Xigbar's voice. He was obviously highstrung. "You think some... some... homo book is going to get me to the top of the charts? Are you out of your mind?"
Kairi shrugged, smiling once more. "You're the one who wrote it,"
"I was half a sleep!"
The shiny black cover of the book reflected the evening sun off of the white fancy lettering that spelled out Lovely Stalker- the name of Braig's latest creation. Apparently.
"Look, obviously the women love it," a low muttering was followed. "Better than those other womanizing books, anyway... "
"Hey-!"
Reaching for the Novella, Kairi flipped through the pages- not reading, but scanning.
"Good plot. Same character, but the development gives the story a hint of... " Her blue eyes locked with the silent figure. "... macabre," Xigbar knew that Kairi had a certain savvy for finding good stories and publishing them. He had no doubt in his mind that without her, he would have never made it as far as he had. "Great undertones of 'right and wrong'," she continued, "but mostly... mostly, it's the change of dominance,"
The soft 'plop' of Xigbar sitting down made Kairi look up for a moment. "Hey, you wrote it big guy. And man, is it your best," The woman chuckled. "You really write well when at the end of your rope," the compliment made Xigbar smile, but it quickly dissapated.
"You still crossed the line, Kairi-!"
"Ah ah ahh," the red headed tsked, smiling perniciously. The look was a rare breed, making Xigbar stop short of further protesting. "We had a deal. You write, I sell. And sell I have,"
"...You're not going to recall the books, are you... "
A softer smile broke out onto the young womens face. "Xig... This could be your chance. Your dream- and within your grasp, no less! Just... let the book make it's self famous, okay?"
With his head bowed, and gaze fixated on his hands, Xigbar let the words settle into his thoughts before sighing. " I don't remember... anything in it,"
"What?"
"That book, I... I don't remeber what I wrote, okay?"
The woman unclasped her hands with a curious smile. "Then, " picking up the sleek book, Kairi tossed it over to him effortlessly. "read it,"
Xigbar couldn't help but to give the small book a look of distaste. "I don't like reading homo,"
Kairi didn't even have to look at the man for Xigbar to feel the disaproving daggers stab into his side. Such a look clearly meant buisness. Begrudgingly, Xigbar picked up the book and stood silently.
"Take a few days off. A week even," The editor took her gaze to the streets, looking down at the hustle and bustle of a regular Saturday afternoon. "Just enough time for you to get your thoughts together," Xigbar had progressed to the back of the room, one hand curled around the rung of the door. "alright?"
Kairi hadn't turned around to see the curt nod that followed the suggestion. The closing of the wooden doors made her sigh a bit, a weak smile taking the place of a stern expression. Time. Time is what he needed.
She hoped.
With the slick book hung in his grip, Xigbar jogged down the winding staircase filing out into the lower halls. He didn't stop when his shoulder hit the slight wall that extended into the larger steps. His hollowed out steps did not stop when he almost tripped on the last one. Even when a young women called out to him, Xigbar kept on. He hated to admit it, but his cheeks were aflame with embarressment. How could he have written such a story? And how could Kairi just... go and do something like publishing that story without his consent? Famous editior or not- good friend or not- it would be a while before he approached her again.
Willingly at least.
Namine was confused at best. There was an air of absolute vexation on the behavior of the man that just walked past with no acknowledgment of any sort. Not even looking up when she called for him? Highly unusual. Something had a definite hold of his attention. On any normal day, Xigbar would have been all over her- with flattery, of course- but today...
The various actions of people rarely surprised the young woman, but today Xigbar had accomplished that rare perplexed expression that took hold of the blonde.
"Was that the man you were speaking of so highly before?"
A large man dressed smartly in an Italian dress suit stepped up next to the considerably smaller woman. His broad shouldered physique was uncommon in this place of book business, but his manner was that of any high ranking editor. The man's dark violet gaze followed her own to Xigbar, the man absorbed within his own thoughts. The smooth tone allowed for Namine to clear her thoughts for a moment, looking up and smiling dismissively.
"He is that man- but do not be putoff by that behavior just now," Her small voice reassured, continuing her original destination to the Editorial wing. "He's a very nice man; sharp tounged... something's bothering him, by the look of his attitude,"
The white dress suit made little noise even with the hastened steps the woman took. Her smile never fading as different people passed by them. The man behind her kept up with an easy stride, his dreads shifting to the right of his shoulder with a quick movement. The pair looked odd, one behind the other, as many people did take a leasure to take a second look as they greeted the familiar blonde who took lead.
Cocking an eyebrow at the looks shot in their direction, an agreeing humph was the only reply to Namine's latter explanation. "Attitude, indeed,"
Namine hid a small smile, pausing in front of two large oak doors. They seemed overcompensating at best. A rapid knock sounded through the now empty vestibule, followed by an exaulted, "Come in!"
Kairi swiveled the chair around to the two new guests, brightening and standing immediately at the sight of the fragile looking woman.
"Namine!"
"Afternoon, Kairi," They both smiled at one another, but it was Kairi who strode over to the blonde girl and clasped hands.
"Oh, it's been a while!" She smiled, looking the other up and down with obvious disposition. "You've gained an inch or two!"
"As have you," Namine giggled a little, before clearing her throat and gesturing to the tall male. "Excuse my rudeness, Kairi, this is one of my best employees at Hollow Bastians Recording studio, Xaldin Gale. He's head of his department in Assistant Story Board Writer. He's my colleague, and my most trusted friend," The introduction seem to put the wind beneath the large man's sails; a pleased, yet apologetic smile gracing his previous serious frown.
The man protested with a sharp "Ma'am...," his tone cool and deep.
Kairi ignored the almost embarressed look, sticking out her hand in a formal manner to Xaldin. And in grasping the much large palm in an affectionate greeting, he relaxed.
"A great pleasure to be meeting a friend of my friend."
"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you."
The redhead wasted no time in showing the two guests to their seats, situating herself in one of the shairs with them.
"Before we catch up, " Namine started once Kairi had seated. "I wanted to know about what's troubling Xigbar,"
The editor scoffed and leaned agaisnt her arm, almost glowering out the window."You saw him, did you?"
"Wasn't too hard. I tried to talk to him, but he kept on walking. He looked... really upset," Namine tilted her head towards her friend a little. Xaldin payed it no mind. It wasn't his buisness after all.
"... Mmn," Kairi grunted. "He's upset because I published one of his books,"
This answer miffed the woman, her legs crossing onto one another as she comfortably placed her dainty hands into her lap. "He was upset because of something like that?
"Well... He didn't actually mean for me to publish it... and it was kind of a… spur-of-the-moment novel," The look given to Kairi even made Xaldin look away.
"Kairi, you didn't... "
"Look at the book before you persecute me. I think it's the best thing he's ever put thought into... or lack thereof," Before any protesting sounds were made, Kairi dug out another small black book and handed it to the other woman. Namine took the book delicately, looking it over and glancing up at Xaldin and Kairi.
"It's a simple design,"
"Very macabre, don't you think?"
A small 'hm' emmited from Namine as she began to read a little of it. Her eyes and expression didn't change at all. What did change made Kairi smile widely.
"Oh my... " The pale woman's face was reddening just a few paragraphs in, making even her companion look questioningly at the little novella.
"What is it?" Xaldin gingerly asked, quickly catching another one of the Braig creations oh-so delicately tossed at his head. Looking back at Namine, the book laid between the small hands, now looking at her friend inquisitively.
"He wrote this?"
"Took him an entire night- or god knows how long,"
"I would have never thought he was... " the trailed sentence made Kairi smile even more at the thought.
"Now that would be interesting... but sadly, that's the reason he's so mad at me," She scoffed and crossed her arms lightly over her dress. "He doesn't want anyone thinking he swings that way... wuss,"
Namine smiled and looked over to her companion who just started to open the book and read it. He didn't say much, but obviously enjoyed the story, for he did not put it down and refuse it.
"I think you need to see it from his point of view, Kai," Namine softly spoke out, shaking her head. "But for now... I suppose we just need to let him calm down,"