"Rox?" Sora called out, searching through the dressing room for the blonde among the bustling dancers, feather boas, and shining mirror lights. He found the wrong blond, though, and frowned when Cloud's face came into view standing next to Zexion. "Where's Roxie? I need to talk to her."

"Sorry, sweet cheeks. You just missed her for the night." Cloud explained as he handed a costume to a dancer. Once he gave her a light tap on the ass he turned his attention to the bartender. Zex rolled his eyes at the owner and peered into his book for a few moments in his spare time.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, confused. Roxie had another number, didn't she? There was thirty minutes until close.

"We switched her number out for one of Yuffie's. A certain red-headed super star made her an offer she couldn't refuse." The owner shrugged. He clearly was implying that Axel had purchased Roxie's company for the night, and Sora immediately began stammering and stuttering, completely appalled.

"What?" He eventually choked out, blind-sided. Zex raised one eyebrow and looked up at the brunet, taking in the bartender's apparent distress.

"Yeah, he bought her yesterday, too. Paid a big old chunk of change but Roxie made me give it back. I don't know all the details. All I do know is that he seems extremely interested in our little girl." Cloud tapped his finger on his lips in contemplation.

"That's… that's insane! He can't just buy—" Sora trailed off when he realized Riku was doing the same thing to him.

Of course Roxie was upset when she found out about his and Riku's arrangement. The poor blonde thought she was solving their money troubles on her own by allowing the red-head to take advantage of her, yet Sora had hid it from her that he was selling himself too. She was angry because she had wanted it to be her burden and hers alone. The brunet could picture the look on her face when she found out, and how hurt she must have been that all her efforts were in vain. No matter what she tried to do for them, Sora was always the one holding things together.

His stomach twisted into a knot. That sweet, sweet woman had been struggling through hell and back, yet she was still trying to help Sora? His heart swelled when he thought of how protective of him she had gotten when she punched Riku, and he realized he felt just about ready to do the same to Axel.

Another thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Hadn't Luxord told Roxie not to get involved with someone? So far she had just been spending time with the men who purchased her company. She hadn't allowed them to do anything more than look, and she never showed anything too scandalous. But if Axel was paying a hefty sum for her… was she dishing out more than she could chew?

"Is she in the room?" The brunet questioned about the usual room that Roxie used for her meetings with buyers.

"I think so? I don't know where else she'd be." Cloud hurriedly stopped a dancer and fixed his outfit in passing. "Sora, what's going on? Is there something you're not telling me?" The blond asked, perceptive as ever. Zexion crossed his arms and waited patiently for an answer with the owner.

Cloud Strife was a rare breed of man. He often led people to believe he was boisterous, obnoxious, and loud with how boisterous, obnoxious, and loud he was. But there were layers underneath that a select few knew about; those select few were only people Cloud decided were worthy. The blond was delightfully intelligent (along with his lover) and his ability to sense the world was almost unreal. He knew things about people that they themselves didn't even know. He could tell a lie from a mile away, and both Sora and Roxie had given up ever trying to keep anything from the intuitive owner of the Cabaret.

"Um…" Sora stammered once again, wondering how much information he should divulge. Cloud was bound to find out sooner or later that he was sleeping with Riku again, but the Silveret had just told him that he wasn't allowed to say anything. He decided to stick to a safer subject (one that wouldn't potentially ruin the chances of him saving the Cabaret and paying off their debt). "Rox isn't really supposed to get involved with anyone. It's part of her therapy. We just needed the money so badly…" The brunet muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

The blonde wasn't really private about her therapy but something about "tattling" on her made Sora feel uncomfortable. She was a twenty-eight year old adult who could make her own choices. If she wanted to ruin her chances of getting better, Sora didn't really have a say, did he?

"You're shitting me." Cloud's face fell into disbelief. He immediately latched on to Sora's arm and Zexion's, rushing out of the dressing room with the two men in tow. "Why did you not tell me? I never would have let her do it if I'd have known." He felt himself fill with guilt at the idea of sabotaging Roxie's therapy.

He had been facilitating her selling herself. Cloud was a progressive man. He hated the idea of anyone being controlled or told what to do, so prostitution was no big deal for him. If you wanted to use your assets for money then in Cloud's mind you should go right ahead. That's how the world worked, right? He and Leon were good at putting on a Cabaret show, so they did it for money. Sora was good at writing, so he became an author. Riku had been good at singing, so he joined the music business. Everyone had a little bit of themselves to sell to the world. Roxie just wanted to sell a bit more. He hadn't seen the problem in that when she had brought it up to him. He hadn't found it troublesome to rearrange the room for her new uses. He hadn't bothered asking why she wanted to do it.

"Cloud, it's not your fault. I let her do it too." Sora tried to console him as they hurried their way across the Cabaret. It was close to closing time so the bar was filled to the brim with patrons looking for drinks. Leon had graciously taken over for Sora when the brunet had asked him and was now chatting away happily with an assortment of customers. Everyone was a regular here at the Cabaret and he had no trouble easing in and out of conversations. He did stop to raise an eyebrow, however, when he noticed his partner (the two had given up on the term boyfriend long ago, seeing as they had been together for over thirteen years now), one of his main dancers, and his bartender barreling across the room. Cloud was too focused on his destination to notice his lover looking at him, but Sora did give an apologetic glance and mouthed the words "Explain" and "Later".

"Did you study Kant in school, Sora?" Cloud asked as they wove their way in and out of human traffic.

"A little. He's a philosopher, right?" Sora wondered and Zexion confirmed with a nod of the head; the bookworm had graduated with a degree in philosophy. The blond had never taken a course on philosophy in his life, but was incredibly well read. He, Leon, and Zexion would often spend their afternoons off curled up in one of the private rooms discussing a book, and the owners of the Cabaret studied subjects that they hadn't been offered in their business and theatre majors.

"Kant preached constantly about the concept of coercion." Cloud stated. They had made it to the stairs and were now trying to take them two at a time. "Kant's version of ethics is actually one of the main reasons we don't have paid organ sales that are legal in America." He continued as they made it halfway up. Sora struggled to keep up with his friend's quicker pace with his smaller legs.

"Why's that?" The bartender mused.

"Because," Cloud paused as they reached the top of the stairs, slowing down slightly. "If paid organ sales were made legal, then those who were poor would be coerced into selling their organs to make money. Same idea with prostitution, in a way. Roxie isn't selling herself because she wants to; I thought she was. She's selling herself because the bills between the two of you are coercing her into treating herself as a means to an end."

"Means to an end?" Sora looked at the two other men in slight confusion. He had studied Kant before, but not to this extent.

"Kantian ethics clearly states to 'act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or the person of any other, never simply as a mere means, but always at the same time as an end'." Zexion recited word for word, obviously having studied Kant extensively in his college days. "Basically, human beings can't treat their bodies or their spirits as a tool to get what they want, because it devalues what it means to be human. Roxie is devaluing herself as an end by using herself as a mere means."

"Well, Christ, guys. As if I didn't feel bad enough before I knew that." Sora sighed, hating the sickening feeling he had. Zexion frowned slightly, brushing some of his silvery-purple locks out of his face. Stunning blue eyes looked back at Sora.

"Roxie is her own person. She makes her own choices. I know you take care of her, and everyone knows she needs it, but you can't hold her hand through everything, Sora." He reassured the brunet. Cloud rest his hand on the bartender's shoulder and smiled softly, sadly.

"We're all at fault. But now that we know, we can fix it. We'll find a way to keep her from doing it ever again. But we need to stop her from doing it today, first." Cloud swung his head toward the door to the usual room that Roxie used. Sora's face paled at the idea of confronting the blonde on the inside. Sora was terrified of confrontation.

Cloud, luckily, was not. He pushed the door open and burst in, assuming to find the blonde in some adulterous act. Zexion followed behind, holding Sora's have as he guided him along. If he hadn't have forced him, Sora would have stayed glued in his spot.

"They're not here?" Cloud looked around in astonishment. Roxie's heels and an empty drink stained with her lipstick sitting innocently on the edge of the counter with no further indication of where the blonde had went.

"Where could they have gone?" Zexion pondered, looking at the drink on the counter behind the couch. The ice was still sitting pristine and perfect, barely melted.

"Does it look like they struggled?" Sora blanched further and felt himself beginning to hyperventilate. Cloud snorted and rolled his eyes, hugging the smaller man tightly.

"Sora, honey, we're talking about Axel Andrus. The guy's constantly under media attention. I highly doubt that he kidnapped her." Cloud replied.

"Besides," Zexion smirked, his quiet wit seeping through. "We're also talking about Roxie Hart. She'd willingly go anywhere with him."

"I sure hope you're right." Sora still couldn't shake his sense of fear. But, then again, when wasn't Sora afraid of something?


Roxie had been fuming when she stormed her way into the usual room. Her feet were aching from her heels, her eyelash glue was sticking more than it should, and her spandex were chaffing terribly. She threw open the door, striking a "sexy" pose for Axel's enjoyment. The red head let out a laugh as the sight of the frazzled dancer.

"So I guess your mood hasn't improved, huh?" He asked playfully.

"That obvious?" Roxie snapped, rolling her eyes. She stomped her way toward him and threw herself dramatically onto the leather couch. The dancer then grabbed the rock star's drink and took a long, hard sip of the liquor. She happily exhaled, handing it back to the man before sinking into the plush couch and sticking her foot out. "Help a damsel in distress?" She questioned, wiggling her toes trapped inside her high-heeled shoes.

"You want me to take your shoes off?" Axel asked, slightly insulted. He was a god damn billionaire. Women were practically throwing themselves at him to do shit like that for him.

"No, I want you to stare at me with that dumb look on your face for a bit longer." She raised her eyebrows and wiggled her foot some more. "I'm not going to wait all day, Mister." She impatiently sighed.

Axel faltered for a moment before reaching for the strap of her shoe. He delicately worked his fingers against the latch of gold on her glittery stiletto and once it came undone he grasped the shoe by the pointed heel, sliding it off the dancer's foot. She smiled softly.

"There. I'm like your very own reverse Cinderella." She animatedly twirled her wrist and beamed at the rock star. "Now the other one, please?" She sugar coated the words and switched her feet.

"I've never done this before, you know." Axel smirked and moved his fingers to make quick work of the other shoe.

"Really? I feel honored to be your first time." She winked at him seductively and then let out a small laugh. "I guess you don't know how to court a woman if you've never taken off a girl's shoes."

"I've never 'courted' a woman, Little Miss Sunshine." It was Axel's turn to wink. "I'm far more concerned with the pleasures of the flesh than the pleasure of taking off shoes."

"You're living life all wrong, Mien Herr. The pleasures of the flesh are ten times better when you treat a girl right." She shrugged. Once both of her heels were safely off her feet she moved them to the side of the couch. She let her legs rest over Axel's, laying across the couch lengthwise.

"That sounds like bullshit, babycakes. I find no connection between how you treat a girl and how fucking her feels."

"How would you know? You've never tried."

"Well I suppose I could give it a shot. I take off your shoes, you bend over this couch…" Axel trailed off while raising his eyebrows suggestively. He wasn't being serious—she could hear the playful tone in his voice.

"Absolutely not." Roxie snorted, finding the humor in the fake suggestion. "It takes a lot more than removing my shoes to get me into bed, Mein Herr."

"What does it take?" Axel's tone switched from joking to far more serious. Roxie, taken back form the sudden shift in mood, shook her head.

"You'll never know, Mein Herr." She paused, thinking about her next words carefully. "I already told you that I'm not your type of girl."

"Then what type of girl are you, Sunshine?" Axel leaned forward, shifting his weight so that he was now leaning over her, inches from her face.

"I'm the type of girl that punches a rock star in the face, gets carried out of the room by a different rock star, puts on a song and dance, then immediately traipses into this room, where I'd normally be stripping for the enjoyment of whatever sleazy person bought me for the night." Roxie snorted and moved out from under Axel's peering glance.

"I don't think that's really who you are." He moved to grab her but she wiggled out of his grasp. The scene before the red-head was turning into the same one from the night before, where a teary eyed dancer left him alone with a thousand questions in his head. "Roxie, don't leave tonight." He demanded.

"Excuse me?" She turned her back to the door she had been heading for.

"What happened between you and Riku? Are you okay?" He asked, not really understanding where the words were coming from. He didn't care about her; she was a nobody in his world. She was just some girl he wanted to fuck and she obviously wanted him too. He just needed to chip away at her wall a bit more before he could have her and leave her.

Yet, here he was, finding himself intrigued by her. He couldn't help but want his questioned answered. In fact, he found more questions building up inside himself, begging and pleading to explode out of his mouth and be answered. This had never happened to him before. The list of people Axel didn't find boring was limited to his grandmother, his band, and maybe even Larxene. There was no room for Roxie on the list, but she was squeezing her way in.

"Does it matter? You already told me you don't care about me." Her tone wasn't cruel or harsh in any way. She sounded exhausted, truly, and suddenly Axel could see it in her eyes.

"You're right—I don't care about you. But that doesn't mean you don't have to answer my question." Axel smiled softly, knowing that his gentle grin would warm the blonde's heart. He wasn't unaware of how he could affect women with his looks. He had wealth, talent, and a handsome face to use on the opposite sex. He was a master of using all three.

Roxie, standing in the middle of the room (as she had been trying to escape the red-head's presence) staring at the rock star, suddenly let out a small giggle. She put her hands to her mouth as more laughs escaped, and Axel cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What's so funny?" He inquired, suddenly feeling out of control.

"You're an absolute idiot." She managed to speak in-between giggles. "Do you seriously get girls that way? What kind of woman would be willing to sleep with such an asshole?" She rolled her eyes and walked toward the tattooed man, pulling him up to his feet.

"Every woman but you, apparently." It was his turn to roll his eyes. He looked her up and down as she pulled him a little closer. She was as radiant as ever in her black dress. It went down to her mid-thigh and had splits on either side so that she could freely move her legs; she was shorter now that she wasn't wearing the heels to complete the outfit. Axel had to be at least half a foot taller than her, but he liked her lack of vertical advantage. It made him feel powerful and strong in comparison to her dainty and feminine form. "Though I'm not so sure you don't secretly want me."

"What on Earth would give you that impression?" The singer feigned ignorance, shifting her weight so she was inches away from the rock star, leaning up looking into his eyes. He stared back down at her shimmering lashes and felt his heart start pumping into overdrive. "It wasn't when I kissed you, was it?" She asked.

"Hmmm… you know, for the life of me I just can't seem to remember." Axel pursed his lips and played dumb, faking deep thought. "I bet if you kissed me again it would spark my memory." He wrapped his arms around Roxie's waist and pulled her hips close. She put her arms around his neck, bending backward so that she was arching away and he had to lean closer to her face.

"I thought you wanted me to tell you about my little spat with your band-mate?" She questioned. The tattooed man paused, then narrowed his eyes at her, sensing her tricks.

"Oh, you're cruel, Little Miss Sunshine. I have to pick one, don't I?" He realized her intention as she impishly grinned at him.

"Yup!" She chirped, then bit her lip. "What's it going to be?"

"You're clever. I want answers. Now." Axel demanded, choosing information instead of affection. Roxie wiggled her way out of his grasp and dipped her hand into his pocket, causing the red head to let out a soft cry of alarm as she snatched his keys. She shook them in front of his face, playfully prancing toward the door.

"How'd you know I had keys in there?" He tried to retrieve the shiny metal that jangled in the blonde's delicate grasp. She evaded his attempts and skipped even closer to the exit of the room.

"Well unless your dick is sharp enough to stab my leg—" she made reference to when he was holding her against his body, "-which I highly doubt it is, I made an educated guess." She laughed gayly as he chased her out of the room. Once in the hallway containing the private booths she took off in a full sprint.

"Hey!" Axel called out after her as she ran for the stairs, effortlessly gliding down them to the main floor. He sighed as he started running toward the blonde, coming to the sudden realization that he had never in his life chased a woman. He had only known the girl for a few short days and yet she seemed to be giving him all sorts of firsts that other women hadn't.

Roxie darted effortlessly in and out of the throngs of people around the Cabaret. She managed to avoid the sightline of a bartender with brown spiky hair that was engrossed in a conversation with a certain Silveret and she also managed to steer clear of both bosses. She wove her way toward the back entrance of the Cabaret and burst through the door into the fresh air. She spun in a circle wildly, with her arms flailing on either side, giddily laughing as Axel came out behind her, breathing heavily from their chase.

"Are you mad?" He walked down the steps and past the bouncer who was giving them a wary look but said nothing to the pair as Roxie ran further into the parking lot and Axel went after her.

"Which one is yours?" She began running up and down the rows of vehicles, tracing her fingers lightly across the hoods. She stopped in front of a sporty electric blue motorcycle that she suddenly recognized from magazines. "Holy shit. You brought Electra?" The blonde was in total awe.

Axel walked up behind the dancer and stuffed his hands into his pockets, finally able to regulate his breathing after their little escapade. He smiled softly, knowing the look on Roxie's face well. Everyone had that look when they saw her for the first time. Electra was Axel's baby, after all, and he took precious care of the bike. She was spotless, shining, and absolutely beautiful.

"I normally take her everywhere… well, when I'm allowed to." Axel added the remark after remembering Larxene's stern warning to him earlier that night.

"Even Axel Andrus has a keeper?" Roxie chided, and the rock star rolled his eyes in response.

"Remember the story I told you about my 'Momager', Larxene, and her deadly accuracy in the art of stiletto throwing?" He reminisced, and the little blonde let out a small giggle.

"How could I forget? I do not envy that woman's job, trying to keep tabs on you." She shook her head and then turned to face the tattooed man. "You wanted answers, right?" She reminded him.

"You punched my best friend in the face. Of course I want answers." He snorted.

"I'll tell you in exchange for a ride." The vivacious dancer nodded her head in the direction of the stunning motorcycle. Axel raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"You're full of surprises, Little Miss Sunshine." He moved to the other side of the bike and handed her the helmet that Riku normally used. She put it on her head, looking absolutely ridiculous in combination with her bare feet and shimmery dress.

"You have no idea, Mien Herr." Roxie laughed to herself as she climbed on the back of the bike.


Sora figured that since his best friend (of whom he was the sole keeper and was supposed to be taking care of around the clock, but had so blatantly ignored his responsibilities to the point in which she was gone without a trace and was refusing to answer any of his calls) was out of the picture for the evening, and there was only twenty minutes left of his shift before a certain Silveret came out from his private booth (where he had decided to spend the rest of the brooding) to whisk the bartender away for a thorough fucking, that it would be most opportune time for him to act out his master plan:

Get so shitfaced that going behind Kairi's back, sleeping with his ex-boyfriend, and getting so absorbed in his own personal life that he neglected Roxie didn't seem like the horrific, monstrous, and mortifying acts that they were.

By the time the Cabaret shows were done and closing was announced by the owners of the bar, Sora was already trashed. He had managed to drink himself nearly blind in liquor—shot after shot of anything he could quickly chase down with yet another shot. He was completely and belligerently wasted by the time that Riku, sporting a red mark but no bruise from the blonde's fist impacting with his face, came to take him back to the hotel.

"Ready?" The Silveret asked in a monotone voice, seemingly bored and eager to leave the settling down Cabaret. He absent mindedly noticed that the brunet had thrown on the clothes he had borrowed from Riku the night before. Sora nodded vigorously, drunken enthusiasm leaking its way out of him. He had always been a rather happy drunk.

The two walked in silence out the back door of the Cabaret and toward the Rusty Stallion. Riku noticed that there was a distinctive smell of booze about the brunet, but thought nothing of it due to the smaller man's night-life profession. He began to become a bit more suspicious, however, when Sora threw him the keys to the car, completely missing, and beamed at the rock star.

"You want me to drive?" Riku inquired, staring dumb-founded at his contractual lover.

"That I do!" Sora shrieked. The Silveret's eyes widened at the sudden loudness of Sora's voice, and the strange quality it held.

"You want me to drive that death mobile?" He repeated, trying to express his distaste for the ideas without being completely rude.

"Uh-huh!" Sora nodded hyperactively before throwing himself toward the passenger side of the car.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Sora?" Riku gave him a chance to explain the odd commotion that was his sudden behavior, but the bartender shook his head rapidly and smiled innocently to boot. He waited for Riku to unlock the doors before clambering in to the Rusty Stallion, curling up in the passenger seat after buckling his seatbelt. The rock star slowly did the same (minus the whole curling up into a tight little ball part) and let the car roar to life after sticking the key into the ignition. He felt a bit odd, wondering when the last time he had actually driven a car was. Normally Larxene made a point of having them escorted everywhere they needed to go, or he mostly caught rides with Axel on Electra. It had to have been years since he had driven a car, and there was a sense of power from the metal coming to life at his finger tips that he had somehow forgotten about in the years of its absence from his life.

He pulled out of the Cabaret and began his journey toward the hotel. The city street lights illuminated the pedestrians walking home from their respective bars for the evening and the road began to glimmer slightly as a small drizzle of rain came down upon the asphalt. Riku fumbled for a second with the placement of the wind-shield wipers, but when he found the level he felt a small beam of pride shoot through him. He may have been a billionaire and things like this may have been foreign to him for some time now, but it was nice to know that he wasn't completely incompetent when it came to the practicalities of daily living that he once had to suffer through.

Pulling in to the hotel parking garage was a slight struggle, Riku found, because he had no true idea where he was supposed to be parking. He hadn't really paid much attention to it before, and he decided that he was going to be very astute with his surroundings from now on in the future. He finally (after driving around in circles for about ten minutes) found the parking spot with Axel's name on it (who knew when the red head would be back, and it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission) and slid the Rusty Stallion inside the lines, admiring his handiwork. He turned to face the brunet, whom he hadn't realized he had been ignoring with all of his concentration on driving, only to find the smaller man passed out in the seat next to him.

The rock star frowned. Half of him wanted to wake Sora up so that he could fulfil his end of their deal; half of him wanted to let the smaller man sleep peacefully as he was. However, the former of the two won out due to the fact that the rain had brought a slight chill into the underground parking garage and the author would freeze if he spent the night in the shotty excuse for a vehicle.

"Sora?" Riku whispered, gently nudging the slumbering man once he made his way around the car and to the passenger side. When he received no response he tried again, this time a bit more forcefully. Sora stirred slightly. "Sora West, it's time to wake up." Riku raised his voice so that is was a smooth murmur, nothing too harsh but nothing too soft either. The little brunet was blissfully unaware of the Silveret's attempts to rouse him. He might as well have been dead for how little he heard the rock star's voice or felt his touch. Eventually, Riku became rather annoyed, the chill of the rain truly reaching his bones.

He suddenly remembered something, and felt a warm twinge in his chest.

"Sora Ian West, if you don't wake up right now I swear on my first born son that I will tickle you into oblivion." Riku, crouching over the brunet, poised his fingers in an attack position.

Just as the threat had worked years ago on the sleeping man, it worked now. Somewhere in Sora's unconscious mind the imminent peril that had manifested in the form of being tickled registered and his fight or flight response had told him to wake the fuck up if he didn't want Riku's fingers all over his sides and behind his knees, which were the most sensitive and vulnerable part of Sora's body.

"I'm awake—I promise!" Sora mumbled, obviously only half conscious, but fairing far better than he was.

"We're going up into the hotel room now. Can you get up?" Riku asked patiently. There was something about the child-like innocence that Sora held while he was sleeping that made the rock star feel nostalgic for the days when they were together and they'd wake up in each other's arms. The Silveret had used his tickling threat often in those days. His then boyfriend had always hated mornings.

"No." Sora replied, curling up into an even tighter ball.

Riku sighed, blowing some of his hair out of his eyes. "Sora, will you please get up for me?"

"I refuse to walk a single foot." The brunet stated, a sense of infantile finality about it. A small smile spread across the rock star's lips at the sudden pouty, temper-tantrum-like quality of the other man's voice.

"Then how on Earth are you going to get to the top of this hotel?" There was something melting away from Riku. He couldn't feel the pain in his cheek where he had been hit hours before. He couldn't feel the damp air that had once been chilling him deeply. He couldn't feel a trace of anguish that had been building up inside of him after the blonde dancer's cruel, yet absolutely true remarks. Right now he felt warm and happy and was fondly staring at the tired man in his borrowed clothes. "It's seventy stories up, Mister."

"Carry me?" The brunet peeked out from behind his knees where he had been cradling his head.

The question was so… genuine. There was something in Sora's voice that had truly sounded just like it had before the world caved in and they went their separate ways. He wasn't talking to bitter, jaded, exhausted Sora West of CityRise Publishing. He wasn't talking to reserved, apologetic, exhausted Sora West of the Cabaret. He was speaking to his other half again.

"Sora, I want to, but there could be people out here…" Riku bit his lip momentarily, hating the constraints that held him from doing what seemed so natural to do.

"Oh…" The author, even in his tired, intoxicated state, seemed to realize the danger in being spotted. He slowly moved his legs so that they stretched out in front of him, placed them on the concrete parking garage floor, and then shakily got out of the Rusty Stallion.

He immediately, without warning, tumbled directly into the Silveret's arms, unable to hold himself upright.

"Sora!" Riku couldn't stop himself from letting out a concerned holler. He looked around rapidly, hoping that no one was awake to see or hear them. The parking garage was often limited to valets only, though, and he had received special clearance to drive inside because he was Riku Fucking Docken, so as far as he could tell the coast was clear.

In a moment of bravery fueled by untamed glee, the Silveret scooped the brunet into his arms and took off for the elevator. He made sure that the hood of the sweatshirt that Sora had borrowed the night before was covering the brunet's face and quickly made it inside the elevator doors and sealed them. He knew there would be a camera in the elevator, but he also knew that Xemnas, the band's manager, had already made the hotel sign a contract stating that they wouldn't release any footage of the band what-so-ever, or they'd face a lawsuit so massive that it would potentially run every hotel they had in their corporation to the ground immediately. There were perks to being the most successful band in the music business; not many, but at least there were a few that came with the territory.

In the safety of the elevator Riku removed Sora's hood with the hand he was using to cradle the brunet's shoulders; his other arm was tightly hooked under the smaller man's knees as he carried his bridal style. Sora had his arms wrapped around the Silveret's neck and he nuzzled his face into the strong, sturdy shoulder available to him.

"This is nice." Sleepy Sora murmured, adoring the feeling of warmth that radiated off the other body in the elevator. Riku sighed in contentment.

"So we should do this more often, then?" Riku let out a small, deep chuckle that resonated in his whole chest. "What happened to the resistant man who wanted nothing to do with me an hour ago?" He asked, only half-playfully. There was a truthful curiosity behind the remark. Sora's moods had been so drastic the past few days. One moment he was at Riku's throat, and the next he was curled up in his arms? The old Sora West had never been so capricious.

"Riku…" Sora shifted a bit in the taller man's arms as the elevator soared toward the penthouse suite. "…I want you." He had shifted so that he face was at the Silveret's neck, and his breath was hot on the man's delicate flesh. There was a brave, pink tongue that lashed out and licked upward against the skin.

Riku wanted to moan with delight at the sudden display of primal affection from his once lover. He wanted to hit the emergency stop button and ravish the author right there in the elevator, no matter whether or not the camera was watching. He would have done it, too, if it weren't for the harsh, cruel sting of reality.

For in that moment that Sora had moved upward in the rock star's embrace to reach that delicious flesh he had been searching for, the author's breath had finally made its way into Riku's sense of scent.

That booze smell wasn't from the bar… it's him. Riku's mind stammered to a halt. He's completely shit-faced.

Sora tried desperately to get a reaction out of the rock star as Riku carried him out of the elevator, into the hallway, and eventually into the penthouse suite. The Silveret seemed impervious as he somberly walked across the main living area and kitchen toward his own section of the shared hotel space. He freed his hand from the brunet's shoulders by using Sora's newfound enthusiasm for his earlobe (the author was now practically straddling the rock star mid-air) and was able to retrieve the key from his pocket. Once his door was open, Riku walked to the bed and immediately detached the brunet from his body, plopping him down on the mattress. Assuming that this was a good thing and that he was going to get what he wanted, Sora began eagerly taking off his sweatshirt. A firm hand stopped him, though.

"Don't bother, Sora." Riku walked away from the bed and went to the mini-fridge in his small kitchen area. He pulled out a bottle of water and drank from it greedily, hoping that the liquid would wash away his thoughts, too. His efforts were in vain, however. They still plagued his mind like shrouds of black demons.

"Why?" The brunet pouted and crawled on all fours to the edge of the bed closest to the rock star. Riku closed his eyes and pretended that it wasn't adorable and that he wasn't feeling the things that Sora was making him feel at that given moment in time. It's not fair, this isn't fair!

"Because you're drunk." Riku explained.

"You were drunk last night." Sora frowned, recalling how the Silveret had drank before they had gone into the shower just barely twenty four hours before, his expression barely serious. He was a happy drunk. He wasn't a pouty, sad drunk, and Riku was making him into one.

"Not as drunk as you are. How much did you drink, Sora? You reek of booze." The rock star shook his head in contempt. He hated this. Hated every second of it.

"Enough." Sora hiccupped.

"I'm not sleeping with you when you're wasted." There was a certain sternness to Riku's voice that made the brunet cringe. "I refuse to take advantage of you like that."

"You're not taking advantage of me." Sora slowly began taking off his sweatshirt once again. "I want you, Riku. I really, really do!"

"Shut up, Sora." The rock star shook his head and moved around the kitchen counter toward the bed once again. He picked up the discarded sweatshirt that Sora had thrown off of himself and folded it neatly. He was then hit in the face by a shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

By the time Riku had removed the articles of clothing from his head, he noticed that Sora was completely naked in front of him. Tanned, delicious skin contrasted with the white of his silk sheets, and the smaller boy coyly smiled at him in a very come hither fashion. The Silveret swallowed, reigning in all of his will-power, and walked toward the bed. Once he was standing at the edge the author got to his knees, still a few inches shorter than the Silveret even on the raised mattress, and slid his fingers into the rock star's hair before pulling their lips together.

A thousand things were running through Sora's mind rapidly, as if his brain couldn't keep up with the emotions his body was producing. He could feel Riku's soft, supple lips underneath his own as they weakly moved against his ministrations. He could feel the heat radiating off of that muscular, pale body and wanted nothing more than Riku hovering over him, covering him with that warmth, making him feel whole again.

No—wait! Sora's mind tried to retrace its steps and figure out where the urge to feel whole had come from, because last time he had checked he wasn't broken. He was happy! He was getting married!

He tastes like whiskey… Riku thought to himself as he pulled away; he panted after a moment, resting his forehead against the smaller man's.

"Riku, don't think. Please, please don't think. I need you, Riku. I want you, too. I want you next to me, holding me, touching me, inside me. Please— please, please, please!" Raw emotion came pouring out of the brunet in the form of words. Riku went white as he listened to Sora speak, never assuming that he'd hear the words 'I need you, Riku' come out of the author ever again. They were trapped in each other's gaze and light grasp as well.

"Sora, you don't know what you're saying. You're completely trashed." Riku shook his head, trying to rid his mind of those beautiful words the author had said.

"I know what I want, Riku. I don't care if I'm drunk. You made me feel alive last night, and I haven't felt like that in years. I haven't felt that way since the day you left me." Sora choked out. "Please, Riku, make me feel that way again. Make everything else melt away so all I can feel is you and me and how perfect it is when we collide."

"Sora…" The rock star's willpower quickly began fading. He tightened his grip on the smaller man's biceps and looked into those cerulean eyes, trying to find some truth in them. Was this his chance? Was this his opportunity to finally win Sora back? If what he was saying was true, then obviously there was still something there between them. Maybe all he needed to do was to just say those three magic words that he meant with every beat of his heart.

It was then, in that crucial moment that was the make or break for their future, that Sora vomited all over the billionaire before passing out, never even hearing Riku's passion filled I love you.