Sorry about that guys, I guess when I updated there were problems, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

It was the first time in a long time that Riku could actually enjoy his shop. He had been leaning against the front counter filling orders and making light conversation with the regulars all morning. Kairi was doing most of the work, since she had a better handle on machines that held the warm coffee and other such beverages while Sora was cleaning tables and collecting dishes taking them to the back sink to wash. There was no more baking to be done, they had caught up and had a surplus of pastries. The last customer for the morning's rush left. It was a Saturday; they tended to be a bit on the slow side. Riku came around the counter and took a seat at one of the glass tables relaxing. The sun was streaming in through the windows; it was going to be a warm summer day.

"Kairi, Sora, why don't you take a break." He said. He was in a fairly chipper mood. Kairi, who had been up the previous night with her boyfriend, grumbled something incomprehensible, and climbed the stairs to help herself to their couch. Sora came over and flopped down in the chair across from Riku, letting out a big sigh. Riku smiled at the sound of the boy's exhaustion. "Tired?" He asked. Sora gave him a nod, stopping suddenly remembering the other couldn't see the gesture. He forgot about Riku's impairment sometimes due to the independence Riku had. It was astonishing how the man could run a business with such a handicap.

"Yeah." Sora said, he gave a light chuckle. "I was up all night looking at recipes."

"What kinds?"

Sora shrugged, "Just different stuff. Seasonal treats, like pumpkin rolls and spice cakes."

"We could always add that to the menu." Riku smiled. The other boy didn't say much more. Riku listened to the steady sound of traffic that was filtering in from outside. It was one of the warmer days and he knew he would have to open the window later to welcome any breeze into building. "So… how are you?" Riku trailed off. He wasn't quite sure what to say to the younger man since sometimes he was flirty and others he was completely unreceptive to any type of flirtation.

Sora shrugged. "Good I guess. What about you?"

"I'm pretty good. Just a bit bored." He said sending a smile to the younger male.

Sora smiled back, he bit his lip nervously. He had a burning question for the silver haired man, but he wasn't exactly sure it was appropriate. "Riku?" the other surrendered his attention to the brunette. "How exactly did you lose your sight?"

It wasn't that Riku got upset when he talked about it, but that everyone else got upset by his answer. He didn't want anyone's pity. What no one seemed to understand was that Riku had never mourned his lack of vision. The brunette was waiting. "I was born with a rare eye disorder called congenital glaucoma. You see the fluid the eye produces can't properly drain, and causes high pressure that in my case led to blindness. My parents didn't have me tested for any defects during my mother's pregnancy, thank god, and the doctors didn't figure out I had the condition until it was too late." He shrugged "I could see once, but those days aren't even in my memory, I was an infant."

Sora bit his lip. He asked, but wasn't sure how to respond with the newfound information. "I'm sorry," was all the boy could manage.

"Sometimes though, I wonder what it would be like to see…" Riku paused. "I'm curious to know what you look like…" he lifted his hands, "Can I?" Sora nodded with a soft, 'mhm'. Riku leaned across the table being met halfway by Sora. He placed his hands gently on the brunette's face tracing the bridge of his nose with his fingers and softly letting his fingertips brush over his eyes. He mapped out the others face with only his hands quietly and concentrated until the smaller male leaned closer and pressed his lips firmly against Riku's, parting slowly afterwards, leaving the silver haired man in shock. "What was that for?" Riku asked softly.

"I wanted to." The pair was silent once again; a sweet moment of anticipation and Sora leaned towards the other, pressing his lips to Riku's. He moved to deepen the kiss, Riku had to pull away.

"…Do you want to go in the back room?" Riku asked, his answer was received when he heard the scraping of the chair legs slide back as the other stood. Sora followed him to the back room where Riku quickly pressed the younger boy against the wall greedily pursuing his lips and staying like this for some time. The two indulged in exploring each other's mouths, Riku wrestling Sora's tongue into submission. The whole situation was strange for Riku, the younger male often acted shy around him, with the sudden turn of events Riku could honestly vouch that he was a bit breathless but planned to take full advantage of the situation. The pair was disrupted by the pounding of feet down the stairs. Sora pulled away from Riku and curiously turned towards the sound where he was greeted with a huge shit-eating grin plastered to the redhead's face and raised brow. Riku, slightly annoyed with the arrival of his roommate, simply smirked at the other. Sora, on the other hand, was mortified that he was caught by the redhead and shrunk down by Riku's side.

"Don't let me ruin the moment guys; I'm just coming down to bum some coffee from the machine." He said passing the pair and going out behind the counter out of sight. Riku laughed, smiling at Sora, who in return smiled nervously as well.

"Don't you have to go to work sometime, or did Ansem fire your ass?" Riku called out at the redhead who was now whistling a catchy little tune.

"Not for the whole weekend, the boss gave me it off so Roxas would run off and try to find me again."

Riku shook his head, walking out to the café area and leaning against the counter. Sora followed, a blush still present on his face. "What happened with the kid?"

Axel cringed, "Come on Riku, don't call him kid." Axel sighed, "It makes me feel like a pedophile or something." He took a slip of his coffee, wrinkling his nose at the taste; it was some pumpkin spice flavor he decided to try.

"Oh so now you like him? Wasn't that the problem just the other night?" Axel thought about it a moment and then shot the other a glare, not that Riku even care, he just continued smirking. "So what happened?"

Axel rolled his eyes, "Roxas ran off on them because the fucking dumbass nurse told him I wouldn't be in for the next couple days. He completely ruined my presentation; Ansem had to save my ass… didn't I tell you that the other day?" He was still a bit bitter but as he thought about the blonde his anger melted.

"Nah, you just bitched about your feelings."

"Oh, well I feel pretty bad because I can't see him but rules are rules. I learned them, and now he has to." Axel took another sip of his coffee.

"You miss him." Riku teased. The redhead just rolled his eyes once more.

"Yeah, I do, but it doesn't matter because I can't see him till Tuesday." Axel shrugged. "It will be good for him anyways. He has been falling behind in his studies and we wouldn't want Ansem to believe that he isn't smart enough or something." Axel grinned, shifting his gaze to look out the window and spotting a sleek black car parked across the street. It made him anxious and his eyes narrowed, setting his coffee down and examining it. Sora noticed the sudden change in demeanor and followed Axel's stare to the car, staring at it as well.

"Who's that?" Sora asked quietly. Axel shook his head.

"I'm not sure. It might just be a new store owner or something…" He suggested, quickly shrugging it off and shifting the attention from the car. Riku, who was confused simply ignored Sora's question when Axel blew it off. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "I'm going to take a walk," Axel said. "I'll be back in an hour or so." Axel exited through the front door keeping a wary eye on the car but it made no move to follow him, thus he continued on down the street. He was taking the long way to the Crystal Garden not wanting to use the short cut and go out of the back of the store, watching the car from the reflection in his phone.

҉

"You should seriously consider what Axel suggested yesterday." Xemnas said flatly. Ansem held his head in his hands, rubbing his brow in frustration.

"I am." Ansem sighed. "But I know Xehanort won't be happy with our change of plans."

"It's not his facility."

"Nor is it yours, Xemnas," Ansem snapped. Xemnas recoiled sitting back and closing his eyes for a moment in thought. Ansem let out a haggard breath. "You're right Xemnas, I'm sorry." The man pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll inquire with Xehanort the prices for a donor. I'm sure they will be a couple hundred thousand at least, the man likes to milk it when it comes to money." Xemnas smiled, the satisfaction only gracing his features for a moment. "But our sponsors are pushing the combination of our facilities. I'm not sure how they will handle us saying no. Besides, think of all the lives that we can save if we were to take it on."

"Maybe it would be most beneficial to simply exclude Roxas from the project."

"Oh, well yes I know that. We can very well produce organs and not need him, but his part in the project would significantly speed the process, then it would be a simple matter of cloning. But we will still need to have a means to keep the organs alive. I don't know… It's just-…" The elder man's, brow creased with thought. Xemnas sent him a questioning look.

"Should I leave you?" Xemnas asked, the other nodded and Xemans stood from his place and exited. Ansem watched him wearily, pulling out his cell phone once the door was shut, punching in a number.

҉

The park was as tranquil as ever. Axel was spending his time reclined on the bank of the small pond, orchids and lilies sprung up around the edge of the water instead of the usual cattails. It was moments like this that he wished could last forever. Him by the side of the water, secluded, nothing to do, if only Roxas was here… Axel jolted up, startled by the sudden vibration in his pocket. He gave a sigh, the peace of the natural setting being completely obliterated, and retrieved the device from his pocket. "Ansem?" He stated aloud, raising a brow once reading the caller ID. He pressed a button and raised it to his ear.

"Hello Axel," The voice said over the phone.

"Ansem… I thought today was my day off?" He chided, falling to a more somber mood when there was no indication of even a minor chuckle on the other end of the line.

"Would you meet me somewhere? I was thinking maybe the Sterlington on the corner of Crystal Plaza?"

"Uh...yeah sure. When?"

"Give me twenty minutes, and I'll be there."

"Okay." Axel said, the line on the other end went dead and Axel pulled the phone from his face giving it a curious expression. "That was weird," He mumbled to himself, then shoved the devise back into his pocket. Axel got up from his spot on the ground brushing himself off. He wasn't dressed to meet with the doctor and decided it was in his best interest to go change into something a bit more presentable. Axel made his way back out of the park and to the tea shop. Riku and the employees were out on the floor once more, preparing for the crowd that always came in around noon.

"That was a short walk," Riku commented as Axel entered the shop.

"Got a call from the boss," Axel shrugged, continuing past the tables and behind the counter, he was heading for the stairs.

"What, did the old fuck call you in? I thought you had the day off." Axel was already on the stairs causing Riku to raise his voice to get the message to the other man.

"He wants me to meet him for lunch. I'll tell you more in a second; I need to change my clothes." Riku rolled his eyes at that, listening to the sound of the door close up stairs.

"So, they really aren't anything special," Riku commented, he was showing Sora how they made the sandwiches for lunch. "There's roast beef, ham, and turkey. We use Swiss cheese, and let the customers decide what sauces to put on and if it's toasted." Sora raised an eyebrow.

"That's it?" Riku gave a nod.

"The only special part is that it's homemade bread." He shrugged. "But people buy them so why not. We make about forty a day, and that's it. If someone comes in asking for one and we no longer have them you offer them a discount on something else. I make six loaves of bread a night and refuse to do more," The silver haired man said with a light smile. Sora nodded. It was silent for a while, Riku enjoyed the brunettes company. He was soft spoken and didn't make a lot of noise moving around unlike Axel and Kairi who could be confused with a herd of elephants the way they stopped around most of the time. Riku leaned on the counter.

"What now?" Sora asked.

"We wait," Riku answered. Sora moved to lean back against the counter. Riku listened to the soft breathing of the brunette beside him, smiling. It was moments like this where he cursed his disability he would have liked to see the boy, for once he wondered what it would be like to see. "Sora," Riku started, interrupting the silence. "Would you mind if-" Riku was cut off by a loud crash, standing abruptly and listening. There was a harsh growl of a few profanities. "Are you alright Axel?"

"I'm fine. I tripped, that's all." He was soon down the stairs, coming behind the counter. "I'm heading out, do I look good," Axel asked giving a grin to the pair.

"Beautiful, asshole," Riku rolled his eyes, receiving a chuckle from the other.

"You know you love me," He teased as he proceeded around the counter and headed out the front door. Leaving Riku shaking his head at him in his wake.

"Yes." Sora said quietly.

"What?" Riku's attention was brought back to the brunette beside him.

"You were about to ask me out, right?" Sora gave him a smile, even though the other couldn't see it. "And I said yes." Riku smiled turning his face away and nodding, in all honesty he was just going to ask something random but he didn't mind the alternative.

҉

Axel hustled down the street to the corner of Crystal Plaza to a more formal dining establishment named the Sterlington. Ansem was waiting outside. He gave a small wave as the other approached. "Shall we head inside?" He asked, Axel gave a nod and the two went in seated by a petit waitress, they had a table by the window. "I assume you are having a nice day, Axel?" the man asked, unfolding his napkin and placing it in his lap.

"For the most part, it's leaned more towards an uneventful day if you ask me." The redhead said with a light chuckle.

"Yes, yes. You are a workaholic, aren't you?" Axel shrugged and they both gave light awkward chuckles. There was silence after that. The waitress came and took their orders after a moment, and Axel handed her the folded menus. Ansem lost his focus staring off out the window and down the street, the man was still as awkward and spacey as he was the previous day. "Tell me Axel," the redhead perked up as he was addressed, "Do you think Riku would give me the time of day if I were to walk into his shop?" Axel bit his lip, the old man turned his head from the window to read Axel's expression when there was a pause in response.

"I don't know." Axel admitted.

The elder was studying his face, and then gave a sagely nod muttering an, "I see…" before clearing his throat and moving on, his eyes looked down the road to the shop. "I called you here because I wanted to tell you that I agree with your idea."

Axel raised a curious brow. "What idea sir?"

"Buying donors from Xehanort…" he paused, "It will be costly, but saving a few lives is better than none." Axel's eyes widened.

"How many are you buying?"

"I'm not sure yet. I was wondering if you would ask Riku for me if he would take in anymore permanent residence to help him run the shop." Axel bit his lip. He wasn't sure Riku would accept help like that from Ansem. He was bitter and unresponsive to anything involving the man, save Axel of course, but that was due to a friendship forged long before the hate.

"I can ask." Axel paused, the waitress had came with their food the rest of the restaurant was void of life save a two other groups, this place was more for dinners. Ansem began to cut into his sandwich, Axel followed suit, taking a bite but still thinking about the donors. "If Riku can't take any," Axel said around a mouth full of food, "What will we do with them?"

The elder man shrugged. "Sadly where ever they end up it's going to be much like servitude." Axel cocked his head at the statement.

"Why?"

"I have a research facility Axel, not a boarding house. Where do you think the money would come from? I would have to dip into the facilities funds, and would eventually need them to pay it back." Axel was taken aback by the concept, constricting his face disgustedly.

"How would you expect someone who has been comatose their whole life to pay you thousands of dollars?"

"I wouldn't," Ansem stated. "But they surely wouldn't be living for free; I would expect them to provide free labor to the facility, work to earn their debt, but in a free flowing environment with housing and other necessities provided. Like children merely doing chores around the house," Ansem chuckled. "They could even be trained to do special tasks like assist in maintenance with the tanks. I'm sure they could handle that."

Axel nodded, he understood that the facility couldn't afford to buy them, care for them, and expect nothing in return. After all it was lack of money that got them into the mess; Xehanort would simply just be passing the debt. "Have you talked to him about it?"

Ansem nodded a slow 'no' as he chewed a bit more of his lunch. He took a sip of his water and loudly cleared his throat. "I haven't yet," The man paused whipping his face, "but he will be coming over tomorrow afternoon to discuss the plans of the new project with me. I plan to explain why I have to back down on the project until we have a surefire way to execute it and then discuss buying a few of his donors to help with the debt." The plan wasn't bad, Xehanort would probably be a bit put off by the fact that Ansem had backed down, but it was to ensure the safety of his own project, which he had been putting significantly more money into that the worth of all of Xehanort's donors. The two quietly ate for a moment, Axel was curious to ask about the blonde and how he was dealing with his punishment. Judging it as a safe topic Axel preceded with his inquiring.

"How is Roxas taking his first taste of punishment?" The question was light and had an air of humor about it. Axel didn't want to give the impression that he missed the blonde, or cared deeper for him than Doctor and experiment.

"He is as most teenagers are." Ansem stated a twinkle in his eye, as if he was the proud father. "He was a bit mopey this morning, Miss Tifa had him for class, she made a joke to Doctor Xemnas today about his behavior always being abnormal when he is around her. I sum it up to hormones," Ansem said chuckling as he pushed his plate back from him a bit, finished with the meal. "I don't know if you noticed Axel but she has very large… assets… if you know what I mean." The doctor wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The comment from the elder doctor took Axel by surprise, in all his years of knowing the man he had never heard such a remark from him. In fact over the years he was quite sure the man had no sex drive at all, but then again Riku was living proof against his theory. "Yeah, I've noticed," He answered with a breathless chuckle and shake of the head.

"Ah yes," The old man leaned back in his seat. "But she really is a great addition to the team if I do say so myself. Her notes are always very honest and very thorough." Ansem sighed, getting back the normal sitting position and looking at Axel. "Well I suppose I shouldn't be keeping you anymore. It's not fair to force you to listen to the ramblings of an old man on your day off." He gave another brief laugh and then alerted the waitress, who came bouncing over producing their check. Ansem covered the tab, getting up and heading to the door with Axel. Once outside the man sighed looking around at the clear blue sky. "I can give you a definite answer about the donors on Monday. All I want you to do is figure out if Riku will take some of them in. Then I'll have something lined up for you when you get back."

"I'm sure once I explain the situation with him, he will be eager to take them in." Ansem smiled at the comment, giving a wave and stepping off the curb and went to his car. Axel started the walk home, taking a detour and going through the crystal park.

It wasn't until later that night that Axel decided to come home. He had spent the majority of the day walking around outside doing nothing special. The park always provided a nice place where Axel could clear his mind, he even like to watch the birds. He then went window shopping; the park was surrounded by a loop of stores making it the second largest commercial center in the city. The sky had turned a soft hue of red, fading to a hot pink and purple. This is when he began the voyage home so caught up in the pleasures of the day that he hadn't noticed the sleek black car. Axel came in through the back door. It was around seven and Riku was cleaning up. He dismissed Kairi early since she wasn't feeling her best, and Sora had left around six. Riku was just flicking off the light, and proceeding to the door to flip the sign to 'closed' when Axel entered.

"Hey Riku," He called, making his way to the stairs. Riku smiled, finishing up his tasks and then meeting Axel.

"That was a long meeting."

"Oh I'm sorry dear, did I miss dinner?" Axel teased. The silver haired man snorted and rolled his eyes. "I actually took a walk. How were things at the shop today?"

Riku shrugged. "Pretty much the same as always. We had some old hag choke on a Danish, luckily Kairi was here and awake at that point and gave her CPR."

"Wow, that's strangely funny." Axel laughed at the other male.

"If it wasn't for the almost lawsuit that could have been on my hands I would agree." Axel shrugged starting to head up the stairs the silver haired man followed suit. Fumbling with the keys and unlocking the door, Axel practically ran to the sofa diving over the back and landing into the cool leather cushion. Riku cringed at the sound. "If you weren't a reckless idiot by nature I would be concerned by that sound, but I imagine what ever noise you just made was on purpose, and you're okay."

Axel laughed, "You're such a dick Riku, lighten up and get the tree out of your ass. Have a little fun!" He rolled onto his back and let his head hang over the edge looking at the silver haired man upside-down who was in the kitchen. He chuckled when Riku shook his head at the statement. The pair could argue at each other all day if they wanted and regardless of the names called and buttons pushed their bond still remained similar to that of two brothers.

"So what did the fuck-head have to offer today?"

The redhead cringed at the name. "Don't call him that," he said lightly, receiving no response from Riku. Axel shifted around so he sat normally on the couch. "He wanted to ask me something, well, tell me, and then ask you." There was a bang of dishes in the kitchen, and then absolute silence. Axel looked in at him; Riku was standing at the counter, staring down into the bowl in his hands blankly. "It's something we have to kind of sit down and discuss." Axel added.

"Whatever he wants, the answer is no." Riku stated sharply.

"It's not really about him."

"Then what's it about?" Riku asked, he was trying to keep his voice calm, but the tension was seeping into his tone.

"Come out here and we can talk about it Riku." Axel watched the silver haired man bite his lip in frustration, staring down at the dish still. He then gently put it down on the counter, then walked out to join Axel on the couch taking a seat at the other end.

"Well?" he asked softly.

Axel looked the other over, and then sighed. "Ansem met up with his old college Xehanort… just out of curiosity, do you know him?"

"I heard him mention the man a few times before, but no, I never met him." Axel nodded.

"Alright, well he operates the facilities that produce organs for transplants."

Riku cringed, "That's truly a disgusting business, no wonder the prick is friends with him." Axel wasn't sure how to respond to that, looking down for a second and then continuing on.

"Xehanort's business is going under from the withdrawing of funds from his sponsors and lack of interest form the public. He propositioned Ansem to merge facilities and use Roxas' DNA to grow organs that can be universally donated and grown individually. He was going to do it and use samples from Roxas, but Xemnas and I convinced him to do otherwise, a different approach. I am not really sure what's going on, but I really am going to steer the project away from Roxas."

"That's bullshit. Roxas shouldn't even be considered for that, he should have a choice..."

"You know just as well as I do that experiments like him have no say in these sorts of things…"

"It's bullshit." Riku sneered.

"Well, that's not what I'm supposed to be asking you anyways. Xehnort's facility is going under and he has to terminate some of his product." Riku's face contorted in repulsion. "Ansem had agreed to buy some of the donors to keep alive, but they need a place to go. He was wondering if some could come here and maybe help you with the shop." Riku was quiet; he let his head rest in his hand, and pulled on the skin of his lips incessantly with his teeth. "We could save someone's life, Riku." He was silent for a while and then nodded.

"Tell him I said yes." Riku answered softly, hardly above a whisper. "We can take two people."

"Thank you Riku." Axel then reached for the remote and turned on the television. "Anything you want to watch?"

"Put on something funny." Riku said, sighing and leaning back, spreading his legs across the couch. Axel flicked through the television, finding a show and leaving it. The rest of the evening carried like this, neither of them moving for the rest of the night.