COVERING THE SMELLS

Chapter Two: Resisting the Temptations

The phone was ringing. Ringing... Ringing... Why was it still ringing? It should have shut off by now. Axel's eyes fluttered open, letting out a large yawn, it was very inconvenient that the phone was ringing while he was trying to sleep. Wait, he wasn't in his bedroom? Where was he? It suddenly hit Axel like a two ton bag of bricks. He was at hi job right now and letting the phones ring off of the hook. Frantically grabbing the handle of the receiver, Axel pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Traverse Sounds, we have every CD that you need. Or your money back...guaranteed." Axel hated this catch phrase for the store and he was forced to say it every time he picked up the phone. It wasn't exactly the catch phrase that bugged him; it was the fact that it made absolutely no sense to him what-so-ever. "...Axel speaking." The man on the other side of the line was droning on and on about a certain CD that he had been searching for and about all of the different stores he had searched for it. This alone was starting to put the redhead back to sleep and he yawned loudly again before the man finally revealed the title. "Okay sir that is a very old CD so I will have to do an inventory search and see if we even have the item anymore." He jotted down the man's personal information before hanging up on him at last.

If he wasn't so tired he would have started the inventory check himself, but he had gotten barely any sleep last night. The party had lasted 'til at least midnight and the fact that he and Sora had fucked like bunnies in the spring didn't help him be any less tired. And it wasn't necessarily the fact that he was so tired that was beginning to bug him. No, he cold live with being tired, but the fact that he couldn't remember anything that happened was what got to him. All that he remembered were the two neighbors who had come over, and then the sweet love that Sora and he had made for hours after dinner was over. Footsteps were heard behind him and he whirled around, seeing a man with waist-length white hair standing behind him. Sighing heavily he handed Axel a large box that he was holding before getting onto the register next to the redhead.

"Why were you sleeping again?" White hair fell in front of his face when he looked down at the buttons on the register. Pale hands dug around inside the pocket of his white, sleeveless hoodie before pulling out two black clips, which he pinned into his hair. Looking over at Axel again he sighed louder. He reached over next to the register and grabbed a plain black coffee mug, taking a large sip of it. When he brought the glass away from his lips, a few drops of coffee managed to splash on the black skirt that he was wearing. "Damn it!"

"It's okay Taketo." Axel said as he grabbed a napkin and handed it to the other man. Something seemed different about him today, maybe it was the fact that his dog collar that he wore was a much darker color, and a lot thicker than it usually was. But he had seen the collar before, Axel just couldn't remember where. While Taketo was trying to get the stain off of his skirt another man walked out of the back room. This one was about the same height as Axel and had sandy blonde hair which was mostly done up out of his face. Several strands hung down near his eyes however, but they never seemed to bother him. Walking over to him, he slapped Taketo on the ass, giving him a little wink, and that was when it occurred to Axel when he had seen the collar before.

"Wait, that's your boyfriend collar isn't it!" Taketo just looked at him utterly confused. Demyx was shooting Axel the same look, which made the tall redhead feel about the size of a pea. "Never mind..." He said as he turned back to the register, fingering the buttons but being careful not to actually press them. Although it looked like he was upset, he was actually extremely relieved that the two weren't dating. For some reason they just seemed like a funky couple to him, they hardly got along anyway.

"Red." Why was he saying random colors all of a sudden? Axel thought as he looked over at his cross-dressing friend who obviously saw the look of confusion on his face. Low chuckles emitted from the kid mouth and he looked back at Axel. "Red is my dating collar." He smiled slightly, a rare sight from the man that everyone considered to at least be partly emo. Taketo then indicated the collar that he was wearing at the moment before beginning again. "This is my 'I just go laid last night' collar."

"Where did you meet this lucky guy?" Demyx half-asked half-laughed. His black shirt was rumpled slightly as he pulled on it next to Axel there was something attractive about this kid, but he usually shot for something a little more...mature. Some band logo was spread across the front and back of the shirt, with the names of the players on the back, along with a list of concert cities. Faded and ripped jeans were worn slightly limp below his waist and the gray waistband of his boxers was visible above the top of the jeans.

"What does it matter?" Taketo shot back, grabbing a box from the counter and walking into the back room. Why was he getting so angry about this? Demyx looked puzzled at Axel, who just shrugged. When the kid was ready to talk he would talk, but that was unlikely to happen. "C'mon sweet hips! Just tell us where you met the guy!" Practically running, or at least walking extremely fast, Taketo shot himself onto Demyx, tackling him to the floor. Punches flew onto the sandy blonde's face as the victim looked into the red eyes of his attacker. They danced like flames due to the rage. Luckily Axel managed to pull the two away from each other before the fight went any further.

"Don't Taky! Just resist the temptation to hurt him." He cried to Taketo, who was still trying to attack the rocker, who was laughing even though a few drops of blood were trickling down his face. "Look, you have to calm down, Taky." The white-haired man started to regulate his breathing as he looked into Axel's bright green eyes. "He only meant it as a compliment." Red hair fell down into his eyes and he brushed it out of the way, kind of ticked that it wasn't staying in place like it usually did. His last statement was a complete and total lie and both friends knew it. Demyx knew perfectly well that Taketo hated anyone commenting on his girlyness. Especially the fact that he possessed a perfect hourglass shape.

"Fine. Let's jut get back to work."

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"Roxas..." Blonde and silver hair peeked out from the sheets of the bed as both boys, Riku and Roxas, appeared finally having just had the second round of sex within the hours. Sweat trickled down each of their faces and their breathing was extremely heavy. "...That was incredible Roxas..." Riku sighed as he picked up his book from the end table flipping it open again to the marked page. The blonde hated it when he would just read after sex. Roxas felt as though he and Riku had slowly been floating apart, and it hadn't become obvious until those new neighbors had moved in. Feeling ignored the blonde reached onto the end table and grabbed a pack of cigarettes.

"I'm going out for a smoke..." Roxas said as he took a long white cancer stick from the box and pulled his lighter out of the pockets of his jeans which were casually thrown on the floor. Sadness immediately filled Riku's face. He looked at Roxas, disappointment filling his eyes. "Oh don't look at me that way baby..." Sure he had promised that he would quit when they moved in together, but he just had to rely on the old habit whenever things got a little rough. The silver-haired man moved closer to him on the bed, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist and giving him a kiss on the neck.

"Is everything okay?" Riku said, nuzzling his head into Roxas' neck. All Roxas did was give a slight nod before getting out of the bed and wrapping one of the sheets around his waist. Unlocking the balcony door, he steeped outside. Wind whipped past him and through his sloppy hair, the warmth of the afternoon made more clothes unnecessary. The blonde leaned over the railing slightly, lighting up the stick and placing it into his mouth, inhaling deeply. Something about the smoke filling him seemed to make Roxas feel whole again and he slowly exhaled. Feeling the green eyes that he had walked away from just a few moments ago still on him he inhaled again, trying to smoke his troubles away.

"That's going to take a lot of smoking..." Roxas muttered to himself, taking another drag from the stick. Ever since the dinner last night, he was questioning Riku's love for him.

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It was at least three hours into their dinner and Riku was officially drunk and off ranting about some strange topic that no one but Sora seemed to be interested in. Eyes wide and a pure look of wonder on his face, Sora looked dazed as he watched Riku tell the story. Roxas turned to the older man who was sitting across from him. A faint smile touched his lips and he immediately began to kick himself again. Stop looking at him that way! And wipe the drool from your mouth. He reached his hand up and wiped away some saliva that had slipped out of his mouth and cleared his throat, deciding to start some sort of conversation with the man.

"Our boyfriends are so classy..." Roxas stated jokingly, looking at a drunken Riku who was prancing around and muttering inaudible words. Sora was having a good time however, and was rolling with laughter, apparently able to understand what the muscular man was saying to him.

"You've got that right..." Axel responded, looking over at the ensuing scene as well. He turned his face back to Roxas, his flame-like hair swaying slightly as he looked into the blue eyes across from his spot on the couch. "Let's go get something more to drink." He said, getting off of the couch and walking through a small doorway into the kitchen, looking left and right before walking to a counter. Roxas followed after him, an empty glass was in his hands and he looked at Axel, who was riffling through a cabinet looking for some licker. He grunted a few times as he pulled out a large bottle of vodka. "Bloody Mary okay?"

"Um, sure..." Roxas responded as Axel began pouring, mixing, and pouring again. The blonde leaned up against one of the counters, watching Axel mix the drink rather professionally. "Did you work in a bar once?" It was the only explanation that Roxas could think of for his expertise of mixing a Bloody Mary. The older man laughed and shook his head, still concentrating on the drink. He stood back from the glass, muttering something under his breath and scanning the kitchen. Several cabinets were opened and riffled through before Axel looked over in Roxas' direction walking towards the boy, who sunk back even further. He was right in front of Roxas, who could feel his breathing on his forehead as he reached his arms reach past him, virtually trapping him where he was. Sounds of bottles and cans being moved reached Roxas' ears, but he wasn't focusing on the sounds, but instead the bright green eyes of this man in front of him. Stop Roxas, resist him! You have Riku, after all.

"Something wrong?" Axel asked as he moved his hands down onto the counter next to Roxas' hips. They were merely several centimeters apart now, each of their breaths entwining with the other's. Roxas gulped loudly and a small chuckle escaped the man's beautiful lips as he leaned slightly forward. Nothing else seemed to exist and Roxas leaned in closer as well, their lips were almost touching when a loud noise was heard in the living room. "Oh Sora you klutz..." Romance had disappeared from the air, and Roxas felt like the stupidest person in the world, he had just about kissed another man with his boyfriend in the next room. God I'm screwed...

"He tried to kiss me!" Sora's voice crackled like whip through the awkward silence that Roxas felt had overtaken the kitchen. An utterly confused Roxas ran into the room, finding Riku sprawled on the floor and clutching his cheek. The blonde knelt down next to him and moved the other's hand away from his face, revealing a bright red hand print. Roxas cringed slightly at the slight and told then to get him some ice. Sora nodded and ran off to the kitchen while Roxas tenderly touched the swelling cheek, seeing how painful the wound was. Riku screeched in pain as the brunette returned with the ice, handing it to Roxas and falling into Axel's warm embrace.

Well, I guess I saw this coming...Besides, I can't really be mad at him, I almost did the same thing.

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Behind him, Roxas heard the balcony door open and Riku's arms wrapped around his waist, kissing him again on the base of the neck. Blonde hair wiped against the taller man's face as Roxas spun around and planted a kiss on Riku's lips, throwing his cigarette onto the street below him. When they pulled away from each other, several loud coughs escaped Riku's mouth and Roxas laughed softly remembering that Riku hated the smell of smoke. Grabbing the sheets around him to ensure they didn't fall off, Roxas walked around his lover and opened the balcony door, walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to get ready for work Riks." Roxas called back as he finally removed the towel and walked into the tiled bathroom, calling back to his boyfriend again. "You can com take a shower too if you'd like!" The sounds of the balcony door closing and footsteps coming down the hall followed quickly as Riku was in front of him again, completely naked. Kisses were quickly connected onto each other's lips while Riku turned on the water. They stepped into the warm rush of the droplets as Riku pushed Roxas' face down lower on his body, trailing kisses lower and lower.

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"Hey Sora, where do these movies go?" A man no older than Sora's age asked, holding up several movie boxes, which the brunette inspected and pointed him to the 'action' section of the video store. Why did Zexion have to leave him to train the new help? He turned back to the fashion magazine that he had been scanning through as the front door of the shop opened. He didn't bother looking up, for he knew that customers took so long to shop here. However when a body stood in front of him and waited or a moment, the brunette was forced to look up.

"What, no hello honey?" Axel said teasingly, tousling his boyfriend's hair and giving him a kiss on the lips. Sora smiled, happy to finally have someone to talk to. Business had been extremely slow today, and training the new kid hadn't made the day go by any faster. Axel walked behind the desk and grabbed a seat, pulling it next to Sora and kissing him on the cheek. He finally noticed the fashion magazine, which was actually filled with bridal dresses. Please tell me this isn't supposed to be some subtle message. Axel thought to himself. And Sora clearly noticed the look of fear on the large man's face.

"I'm trying to help Kairi pick out a dress for her wedding." Once he had finished the short sentence Axel let out a large sigh of relief.

"Gosh, don't do that to me again. I could have died!"

"And I would have missed you and probably killed myself as well." Sora kissed the redhead on the lips passionately before breaking apart. "Find out what time the movie was?"

"Yeah, it's in like an hour." Axel said, looking down at his watch, and then he remembered that Sora was about to ask him to do something that he didn't want to do at all.

"Cool, did you invite Riku and Roxas yet?" His playful, childish cheer returned to his face, but Axel was so messed up on the inside. He remembered the heated and sensuous moment that Roxas and he had spent. Although they hadn't kissed, they had gotten close enough that Axel didn't want to be around him. But he couldn't tell Sora that he didn't want them to come, and he wasn't about to lie to the love of his life.

"No, not yet..." As he spoke those words, he knew, deep down inside, that this was not going to be a fun movie experience.

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Okay a few notes again!

Note 1: I by no means expect to be praised at all for this chapter. I had half-finished it when I posted the first one, but I'm positive that I rushed through the rest of the chapter. So please be brutally harsh in your reviews. But make sure not to flame...because I'll tare you a new one if you do! Also, if you want me to rewrite it better, let me know, because I will, I'm just not sure if it will be before or after the next chapter is posted.

Note 2: (for Arichu1) Your OC that you submitted will be in the next chapter, since Roxas works at the movie theater. I would have included her in this one but like I said, I'm sure that I rushed. Plus I'm not one for making extremely long chapters.

Note 3: The next chapter will be longer than this and much more time-consuming if I want it to be good, so it will take longer than a day to post.

Well, thanks to all, and I hope that this chapter doesn't turn any of you guys away from the story.

THANKS FOR READING!!! You guys rock!