-1Disclaimer: I really wish I did own Square Enix, or Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy, or anything like that. I'd be rich! Yes….but I don' so sorry.

Music: This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy

Author's Note: Long time to update, I know. But I got distracted with many other stories, including Dirge, which I recently completed. It's actually novel sized, coming it at a whopping 120 pages. If you like CloudXRiku, I suggest reading it. But beware, it's angsty.

Song of Desperation

Zack smiled his sick, twisted fake smile and sat down on one of the nearby bar stools. "What exactly would you like to know?"

"I think you better stay out of this." Cloud growled, clenching his fists. "You've done enough damage already."

"I don't think I've done anything Cloudy…I'm simply here to collect what's mine."

"Guys….shut up, seriously," Sora sighed.

"Thank you, Sora." Riku turned to look at the two older men. His eyes drifted over Cloud, then over Zack. He already hated Zack, the man was an asshole, it didn't take a scientist to see that. "Now…you two, shut up. Cloud…tell me what's going on."

Cloud sighed and leaned against the counter. He ran a hand through his hair gently, making sure to keep his gaze averted from Riku. "Zack's going to make me pay him all the rent from when we were living together. But I'm broke."

Riku looked over at Zack, examining him. The man looked like a wolf. "That true?"

Zack nodded, that fake grin stuck to his face as if by superglue. "Pretty much."

"How much money are we talking about here?"

Cloud made sure his eyes were still averted. He sighed once, then replied softly, "Twelve grand."

Riku's eyes widened. "Twelve grand? That's an awful lot of money for just rent."

"We lived together for almost two years," Zack replied. "He owes me the money for all that time."

"Two years? Jeez, talk about commitment. How many times did you do it?" Sora was leaning against the counter, a cookie in his hand and a grin on his face. He had stolen the cookie while Cloud had been distracted. Unbeknownst to the others, 4 more cookies where shoved into his jacket pocket.

"That is none of your business." Zack growled, losing his cool for a moment. He looked scary without his grin.

"We never did." Cloud snickered. "I wouldn't bottom for him, he got pissed, we never did it. Besides, his dick is the size of a Vienna sausage, not the greatest tool for sex."

That got a kick out of the others. Riku and Sora both started laughing. Zack only flushed with anger. "Oh yeah? You think you're really funny don't you? Well, we'll see how funny you think it is when I say that your deadline is one month."

That shut up all three people. Cloud choked and stood up straight, a look of pure horror across his face. "You're fucking with me. One month? How the hell am I supposed to get that much cash in one month?"

Zack shrugged and grinned again, only this time it was an evil, malicious grin. "I guess that's your problem. Otherwise, you're going to be sucking Vienna sausage for the rest of your life."

"You sick fuck, I'll never do that."

"You wouldn't want your little boyfriend here to lose his shop would you?"

Cloud's eyes widened. "You can't do that!"

"Can't I?" Zack hissed. "You live here and are employed here. By law, I could sue your ass, and get him in trouble as well. You mess with me, and I'll take everything." The older man stood up and pushed past Riku, heading toward the exit. "Have a good day."

Once the man was out the door, Sora's eyes traveled slowly to Riku. The silver haired teen's eyes were wide at the prospect of losing everything. "He….he can't do that can he?"

"I don't know…" Cloud whispered softly. "I'm not a lawyer, for all I know he can." He took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. "And Leon wonders why I write angst."

"Well….we'll just have to find a way to raise the money." Sora stood up and looked between his two friends. "I mean, how hard could it be?"

"I'm broke," Cloud replied, leaning down and resting his head on the cool countertop. "And I'm not getting paid for working here. Not to mention that it'll take a hell of a lot more time to circulate a book even if I had one. There is no way in hell I could raise twelve grand in a month."

"I don't even make that much in a several months…" Riku said, sitting down next to Cloud and running his fingers through the older man's hair. "I'd help if I could, but I'm totally useless in a situation like this."

Sora looked between them, then smiled brightly. "You two are so cute together…when are you getting together?"

Riku's hand immediately pulled away from Cloud's skull. Both their faces flushed and they looked in opposite directions. "What makes you think we're getting together?"

"Oh come on…" Sora pouted. "I mean, look at you two, you're like a match made in heaven."

"We have more important things to worry about than relationships," Cloud said. "Besides, I should leave. If I don't live here, Zack can't take your place."

"Screw that," Riku responded. "I'm not kicking you on the street over this. We'll work this out somehow, but I'm not going to abandon you like this. You're my employee, but more importantly, you're my friend. And whether that develops into anything more we'll see." Riku looked up into Cloud's eyes and smiled slightly. "I'm not going to make you go thorough this on your own."

Cloud smiled and leaned over the counter as far as he could so he could hug Riku. "Thank you…"

"Aw…how cute!!" Sora squeaked, just before one of the kitchen knives somehow found it's way into the counter next to his arm.

"Out….now…." Riku hissed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you go…. Sorry I've taken so long to update. But right now, I'm going to try and go back to some of my old stories and continue them. Hope you enjoy!

R&R

-Koji