Hey! Sorry for those who were waiting for SUCH a long time for this chapter... *cough cough* FREYJA! *cough cough*...haha. I told her and a couple other of my besties that I would update...like 2 weeks ago...obviously...those were empty promises...hehe. And I'm also currently in a bet! XD I bet Freyja that I could get to episode 199 in Naruto: Shippuden by Christmas. If I lose I have to give her five bucks, make a video saying how awesome she is and put it on Facebook AND I have to draw Choji swirlies on my cheeks and wear it to school for a whole day! I'm only on episode 66...IN THE SECOND SEASON! I have more than 200 episodes to watch...I'm screwed. XD BUT I WILL PREVAIL! I want to she Freyja wear those ADORABLE swirlies! ;D Anyways...I had fun writing this chapter! :D I really did...hehe. :3 I hope you like it too! It's not a chapter that has action or a lot of drama in it, but it's more of a filler chapter...like a chapter that helps prepare the story for the main climax! :D BOOSH! Now enjoy, dattebayo!
~Dolphinz514

Chapter 10:

Lust Is Her Name

"That was the best game EVER!" Maes hollered as he collapsed on the bed, causing the pillows to fly off of the covers nearly a foot. Sitting back up, he looked at Riza, who was gathering some clothes then he looked at Roy, who just closed the door to their hotel room, still blushing madly. "Well, I sure had fun! Did you guys?"

Maes was answered with a couple of glares from the other two members in the room, hinted with both utter embarrassment and confusion.

"Oh yeah," Roy responded coldly. "Oodles."

Maes laughed at his friend's lack of comfort due to previous events as Riza walked towards the bathroom with a pile of clothes in her hands.

"I'm taking a shower," she stated as he reached for the bronze handle on the bathroom's door.

"Didn't you take on earlier?" Maes questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I'm taking another one!" Riza answered back, closing the door behind her.

"...Well then," Maes muttered to himself. He looked over at Roy, who was slumped on the other side of the bed. "You okay?"

"I guess," Roy replied slowly, his eyes studying the grain in the wood floor as he recollected his thoughts. "I'm just so confused..."

"About what?" Maes pondered, turning around so he was sitting beside Roy. He raised his eyebrow once more and smirked slyly as he placed his hand on Roy's shoulder. "That you liked kissing Riza?"

"SHUT UP!" Roy yelled, turning quickly to face his best friend. "NO That's...that's not...exactly it."

"Wait, not exactly? What do you mean, Roy?"

"I mean...it was so awkward. She's one of my best friends, and kissing her...just made things awkward beyond belief. Then when..."Roy trailed off, returning his gaze to the floor.

"When what?" Maes asked, removing his hand from Roy's shoulder.

Roy looked back up at Maes, hesitating as he thought whether or not he should tell his friend. Taking a deep breath, Roy closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them once again as he spoke."When I had to French kiss her...something...came over me. Something that I couldn't control...as if..it was possessing my thoughts and actions. Then, my palms started to sweat, my knees started quivering and my mind was merely a puppet. I...I actually liked kissing her, Maes, but I don't know why! I don't like her that way! I'm so confused..."

Maes looked at Roy, contemplating upon what Roy was dealing with. He noticed that Roy looked scared. In fact, he looked terrified, but for what reason? Maes knew that he would get over kissing Riza eventually, but the fact that Roy liked it? That was a different factor. He thought about Roy's situation a while longer, before raising both eyebrows when realization hit him like a freight train. Maes then added a half smirk, half smile to his countenance, and gave Roy his solution.

"I believe you met Lust," Maes answered finally.

"What? Are you sure?" Roy interrogated. He can't be serious...and what exactly does he mean by "Lust?"

"Well...hm...how should I put this?" Maes asked himself, placing a hand to his chin and he stared at the ceiling. "This was your first kiss, right?" he asked, now looking at Roy, who nodded a reply. "That makes perfect sense, then. That was your first experience of an "intimate" action. By "intimate action," I mean an action such as a desperate first kiss, or a passionate hug."

"I'm confused at what you're getting at, Maes," Roy stated bluntly, placing his chin in the palm of his right hand, now sitting criss-cross on the bed facing Maes.

"I'll give you an example. When had my first kiss, I also had a feeling of confusion, yet I also liked the situation. It was awkward at first, then as the kiss grew, it wasn't as awkward. Lust is one of the seven sins, known for causing it's "host" to have feelings, thoughts, and actions of attraction towards another being," Maes answered not out of pure knowledge, but also experience.

"But I'm not attracted to Riza," Roy stated calmly. "How did this "Lust" person-thingy control my thoughts if I wasn't even attracted to her?"

"That's the weird thing," Maes replied. "Lust accepts all kinds of victims, especially the ones that are the least prepared."

"Hmph," Roy mumbled under his breath, looking at the wall to his right. "Great. I just hope Riza won't be mad at me."

"She'll get over it, dude," Maes said easily as he stood up and grabbed his pajamas out of his backpack. "Don't worry about it. You two are very close. She won't let that come between your friendship. Oh, and just a warning: You might be thinking a little...differently for the next couple days, especially towards Riza. Lust just works that way."

Great, Roy thought as he also grabbed his pajamas. After slipping into the cool fabric, the bathroom door opened, and Riza stepped out into the room, letting a cloud of steam release from the bathroom. Roy couldn't help himself but gawk at the sight as Riza's wet hair flowed around her shoulders, water dripping onto her arms and the floor. Her cheeks were flushed a slight pink due to the warmth from the shower and her skin looked fresh and clean. The water on her body underneath her pajamas, caused the silky fabric to stick to her body just enough to show of her curvacious figure. Before Maes and Riza could notice Roy's feverish blushing, he turned around towards his backpack and looked up at the ceiling, silently cursing Lust and her evil ways. This is going to be a long night.

"Okay," Riza began as she placed her dirty clothes in her backpack. "I'm alright now, but I am never, EVER, playing that game with Rebecca again."

Roy laughed at looked back at Riza, who smiled back in return. So she's not mad at me...what a relief! Roy thought as he sighed and mentally wiped his forehead.

"I'm with you on that one!" Roy agreed, as he sat back down on the bed and him and Maes shared, the red color finally leaving his baby-faced cheeks.

"What time is it?" Maes asked as he attempted to glance around Riza to see the inconveniently placed clock.

"ADVENTURE TIME!" Roy yelled as he pumped a fist in the air, causing Riza to start roaring with laughter.

"...What?" Maes questioned Roy's random cry of nonsense.

"Nothing," Roy replied, smiling widely. "Just an inside joke."

"It's almost two in the morning," Riza answered turning back around. A distinct amount of exhaustion crept into her voice as if seeing what time it was suddenly made her tired.

"Oh gosh," Maes muttered, walking to his side of the bed in their quaint hotel room. "I'm going to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"What time do we have to be there?" Roy asked, now also curious to see how much sleep he will be receiving tonight.

"Seven,"Riza answered again, drawing the curtains closed before walking over to her bed.

"In the morning?" Maes questioned, nearly yelling.

"No, Maes, at night," Riza replied sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"It was an honest question, sheesh," Maes defended, putting his hands up in front of his chest. "I'm not going to get any sleep tonight."

"Same here," Roy answered, plopping his head obnoxiously on the comfortable down pillow.

Riza crawled underneath the sheets in her bad, leaning back to lay herself down on the pillows. "Let's call it a night," she finally said, closing her chocolate brown eyes under tired eyelids.

"Agreed," Roy commented, pulling the covers over his shoulders before laying on his stomach.

Maes turned of the lamp in the room, leaving the room in complete darkness. Soon, the sound of shuffling blankets gave away that he had also moved under the bed's sheets. "Good night."

Roy lay awake in his bed as he laid on his back, gazing at the ceiling. This is troublesome, he thought. I can't fall asleep. And it's nearly four o' clock! He turned his head to the left to look at Riza, who was fast asleep. Roy couldn't help but blush again as he watched the rise and fall of her chest as her lips were slightly parted as she breathed silently. Her eyes would occasionally flinch as if her she was dreaming about something intense and life-threatening. Lust, huh? So that's her name...hmm...

Roy turned his head to face the ceiling once more as he closed his eyes. He shivered as a burst of cold, crisp air flowed through the window that Riza had opened earlier before she closed the curtains. Roy closed his eyes tighter, as the cool breeze found its way under his blanket, and he tried to bury himself even deeper into the warm mattress. I wonder if...

Roy shifted his body so he was laying on his stomach, like he was previously and glanced at Riza in the process.

...if Riza met her too.

Haha...again. I had fun writing this! If you guys got the whole "ADVENTURE TIME" comment...then you are an amazing person. Review if you know what it's from! I wanna know your thoughts! ;) I wasn't sure what Roy should say there, but I wanted it to be comical, and I remembered Freyja quoted "adventure time!" earlier on our Chamber Chorale tour bus on the way home today and I was like "GENIUS!" Freyja herself if pure geniusness! ^_^ What are besties for? Haha. She helped me edit this chapter...so thanks! :D And I'm glad to hear you're loving your Naruto manga I got you! The manga section at Barnes and Nobles was so conveniently placed! I love it! XD So please review! If not...I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH! (Another quote from an awesome movie...if you know what's it's from, guess! OOH! I wanna see who can get them first! If you know what show/movie either of these two comments are from: 1) ADVENTURE TIME! and 2) I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. ...then guess, and whoever gets it first will win! And I'll mention you in my next author's note for chapter 11...hehe. ;) Hope you liked the chapter, and review! PLEASE! I wanna know what your fangirl/fanboy minds are thinking! Some of you must think I'm telepathic or something, cause I have over 2,000 hits..and like...25 reviews...HOW? I'm not a psychic! XD But if I was, how could would that be? 8D
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more to come! (How cheesy was that last sentence? VERY! Haha. Yay for cheesiness.)
~Dolphinz514