A/N: Okay, so perhaps you've noticed that I didn't reply to the signed reviews, like I normally do, but my laptop and internet are both the gayest thing ON EARTH! When I try to reply to your wonderful, glee-inducing, reviews my internet will cut letters out or it won't let me type certain letters and I end up smacking my keyboard in frustration. I've done it before…trust me. So, it's not that I don't like talking to you, because that's what I feel like I'm doing everything you review me, it's just that I would like not to break my laptop before I've even owned it for half a year. I'm trying to work out the bugs to make it work better…but technology is proving to be smarter than me still, so it may be a while before I actually try to reply to your reviews. But I still love the lengthy ones and I love the funniness of them, so keep reviewing me!

Also, this chapter wasn't beta'ed. I haven't been able to find my beta. She got a new e-mail address and when I typed it in and sent it, yahoo sent it back to me. I was like…shit! So if you notice any errors tell me…I promise I'll fix it.

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My love, I'm outside of your window with my radio. – Niki FM by Hawthorn Heights

There was a crash downstairs. That was what originally startled Riku out of his sleep that night after the Days of Our Lives marathon had finished at eleven. Then, after the initial shock, though his heart was still hammering at the sudden sound in the dead silence of the night, he could hear footsteps, loud footsteps, echoing along with the occasional thump, as whatever was downstairs ran into the walls.

Riku sat tiredly in his bed, crinkling his eyebrows, his hand nervously throwing his hair behind his ear, straining his ear for any sound from whatever it was downstairs. Cautiously, he crept to his doorway, not noticing the cold that immediately shot up his spine from the cold winter air that had seeped into the floor. There was a sharp 'crack' against the cheap wood, on his way to his door, and Riku stopped, listening as it went further down his hall without another pause, the heavy footsteps echoing loudly through his house until there was a loud thud in the hallway.

He plucked up his courage from his stomach, where not butterflies, but moths had been munching on said debatable strength, and grasped the cold doorknob firmly in his hand. He took a deep breath and pulled his door open, causing it to bang loudly against his room's wall. He stepped into his hallway, daintily, closing his eyes for a brief second before he gazed upon whomever it was causing such a ruckus in his home.

What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

"Mom?" He breathed, tears pooling in his eyes, as he looked at the masses of thick silver hair pooled on the floor, resting over her delicate form, hiding her face from him. His breath caught in his throat, and distantly he heard the faint noise of running water from somewhere in the house, as she twitched, her shoulders heaving. She was crying. "Priti?" He stepped forward, eagerly, unbelieving of the sight before him. He stopped however when she heaved a pathetic, whimper, her fingers gripping her hair tightly, pulling and tugging as the name, "Larxene," was torn from her lips

"What…the…?" A loud ringing rushed passed his ears, and he had to close his eyes at the sudden headache the made an appearance behind his temples. His body seized up for a moment, all of his muscles clenching, ending with him nearly stumbling to his ass. When again he opened his eyes, still in his room, the door still closed, though everything was hazy, and it was still cold around him, his mind seemed clearer. He shook his head, wildly sending his hair, glinting brightly in the moonlight streaming through his window, around him. He opened his door, and peered into the dark corridor. "Seph?" He stepped into the hallway, peering intensely at the stream of light coming from under the upstairs bathroom door. "Sephiroth?" He called louder than before, he walked quickly down the hallway, halfway to the bathroom, when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Turning on his heel, he made his way to the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time in his decent to the kitchen, where his brother's tranquilizers were. He ran quickly down the hallway, taking the first entrance to the left into the kitchen. He didn't immediately notice the drawer that was pulled from its track, the box smashed on the ground with knives and kitchen scissors lying scattered across the floor. No, he only dashed instantly to the fridge, pulling the door open, looking where the eggs would normally be, but now his brother's tranquilizers should be. They should be there…but they weren't. Riku's heart skipped a dreadfully needed beat, as he crouched down to look around in the door, but he found none of the syringes that carried the clear tranquilizers.

He rushed to his cell phone, which he had left on the kitchen counter after his uncle had left; dialing Aerith's number with shaking fingers. When he had the phone pressed to his ear, the ringing becoming incessant in him mind as movement completely stopped upstairs, he couldn't focus on anything but the thought: Aerith! Pick up! But she didn't. He got her voicemail right as his eyes landed on the shattered drawer lying empty on the ground, with the knives and scissors scattered across the floor. His heart began hammering harder on his ribcage, harder than it ever had in his life as he yelled into the speaker, "Please, Aerith! Come back! I can't find his tranquilizers!" he clicked the phone shut, not bothering to leave any name with the message as he was sure she knew exactly who it was and whom it was he was referring to. He dashed upstairs again, throwing the phone away from him, without thought in his haste to reach his brother.

He grabbed the bathroom knob, his body slamming into the actual door with the momentum he had built up. He lingered there with his ear pressed to the door, hoping for some sort of noise, but he heard none. Twisting the knob harshly, though it gave willingly beneath his grip, he shoved the door open, a plume of steam exiting quickly as he did so. There, in the bathtub, fully clothed in his jeans and black button-down shirt, adorned with his old necklace, and a few rings that he had loved so much before Angel's disease, sitting in a foot of scalding water, was Sephiroth. His eyes were closed, and his breathing even; Riku would have mistaken him for asleep if it hadn't been for the tightness of his lips, which he always lost in his sleep.

"Sephiroth?" He called shakily from his position at the door. He looked around frantically for a knife or sharp object of some sort, indicating to whether something had happened to him or not, but he found no trace of anything in the room, save to his brother, and the hairbrush resting on the sink counter.

When his gaze returned to Sephiroth, his brother's cat-like eyes were open, and staring at him with the same harsh intensity that he had become accustomed to as a small child. His mouth opened, the thin line moving bleakly, the lines that had almost faded from his face when Angel's disease had taken over his mind, returning with a vengeance as he said, in the same smooth and cold tone, "Riku, it is unwise to disturb a madman while he bathes."

Riku was taken aback for moments on end, too speechless to retaliate. When he did gather his scattered thoughts, he took a hesitant step foreword, his eyes still darting around the room for anything sharp that his brother might be using. His eyes landed Sephiroth's soaking clothes. "It would help if you took your clothes off." He said, taking a step towards his brother, as if to begin taking off the clothing for him.

The older reeled away from him, glaring at him with poison in his eyes. "These are the clothes I want to be buried in." He snarled.

Riku stopped in his tracks, his breath refusing to release from his lungs. "Sephiroth?" He choked out, his tongue seeming too big for his mouth.

"It's becoming much too tiresome trying to parry Death." Sephiroth told him, emphasizing the point by pulling an arm from the water, resting it on the ledge of the tub, to press his head into his hand. "I've had my fun, and now I am simply a burden." He pulled out a rubber duck from the water, giving the poor yellow toy a hard squeeze, expelling a pitiful quack from its mouth.

Riku watched the water slide down onto the floor from Sephiroth's arm, feeling helpless as it pooled into a puddle. He looked back up at his brother, who was making the duck dance before his eyes with a twisted fascination. "Seph, you're not a burden."

"Do not lie to me!" He hollered, his face screwing up in anger as he lunged towards the side of the tub, splashing more water over the side of the tub in the wave he created. Riku took a step back from the hostility in the words. "I'm not stupid. I know what dealing with me has done to what's left of this family." He growled, his hands gripping the tub, until his knuckles turned white.

"Sephiroth…" Riku pleaded.

Sephiroth leaned closer, rubber duck forgotten in the water. "Life isn't worth the effort, not worth the helplessness." He said his voice so low Riku nearly didn't hear him.

He was shaking, as he said, "Sephiroth…you're having an attack…" in a hopeful voice, nodding his head as if to reassure himself.

Sephiroth gave to notion not even one second's consideration, before he said, "Perhaps…but perhaps this has all been an elaborate plan towards my death, my impending doom, my…self-destruction." A maniacal smile spreading across his lips at the last part of his declaration. He stepped out of the tub, water slopping everywhere onto the floor, as he took the short steps need to reach his little brother. "Trust me. It is for the better, Riku." He said as he grabbed the back of Riku's neck, taking any will-power that Riku may have had, as his neck was grasped harshly, immobilizing him as he was shoved out and the door closing and locking behind him.

"Sephiroth! Don't!" He yelled as he threw himself at the door, trying with all his might to get the door open with brute strength. "Sephiroth!" He ran from one side of the hall to the opposite, away from the bathroom, then afterwards he ran towards the door again.

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The paramedics arrived with Aerith in the back of the truck, not even ten minutes later. Riku vaguely heard the truck rumble into the driveway, and them get out. He did hear, quite clearly, the voice of Aerith as she called for him, for Sephiroth…for anyone. He didn't reply, and even if he had, he didn't think he would have been heard. His voice was so raw from yelling for Sephiroth. Eventually, though, Aerith found him upstairs, leaning against the door, his hand holding the locked knob. She yelled for the paramedics to bring something heavy, something they could break down a door with. Then she leaned next to him, pressing her hand to his forehead.

"Riku?" She asked gently, her hand coming to his cheek to make him look at her. "What happened?"

He shook his head, everything that came to mind being fuzzy and gapped. "I don't know." He whispered.

The men came upstairs with something Riku didn't recognize, but looked like it could double as some sort of steel statue. Aerith had to pull him away from the door, so he wouldn't get hurt from the blast that ensued after they were away. The door was knocked off its hinges after two hits with the steel statue, and it fell to the floor with a loud bang before they rushed in.

Riku didn't go after them, not even when Aerith left him to help the men in the bathroom. He stayed on the floor, where Aerith had dragged and left him, his eyes blank of any emotion at all. Even as they passed him again, carrying Sephiroth between them in a cradle of arms and effort. Aerith stopped at the head of the staircase, letting the men juggle Sephiroth to safety, and looked back to Riku's still immobile form.

"Come on, Riku." She said, gently, her hand resting on the banister as her eyes watched him worriedly. "We need to get him to the hospital."

Lethargically, he said, "I don't want to go." And it was true. He didn't want to move. He had banged on that door until he was damn near ready to pass out, and his brother had still done whatever it was he had done. It hurt; his brother's rejection of life, and in a round about way, Riku himself, it was agonizing. Sure, he had been telling himself that his brother's death was immanent, but in the end it didn't make it hurt any less when his brother tried to escape life by his own means.

"Riku, why…?" She walked towards him with sure steps, leaning down by him again to look directly into his dazed and tired eyes. He was sure she could see it again. He was sure it was more pronounced now…Whatever it was she saw, he was sure it was only getting worse. Spreading from his eyes to cover his face in a mask that soon not even he would be able to see himself through.

"You get him to the hospital." He begged, pushing her away from him weakly. "I just…can't."

But she didn't leave. Instead, she asked, "Are you okay?" in her smooth, soothing voice.

"I'm fine." He said, coolly, snaking his way away from her, and towards the staircase, which would lead him to his cell phone, and to a man who could take his mind off of this nightmare. Still on all fours, he could hear her get up to her feet, and follow after him, keeping her cautious green eyes on him.

"You looked…" scared…tired…cold…beaten.

"I'm fine!" He snapped, feeling heat prick his eyes, and tears worm their way out of his eyes.

He wasn't fine at all.

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The other end of the line rang endlessly; it seemed to Riku, as he held his cell phone to his ear, sitting in the hallway, away from the kitchen, and the mess of knives, which enraged the butterflies in his stomach. His fingers tapped impatiently on his chin, as he chewed his bottom lip, hoping, praying for him to answer his cell. He feared that the other wouldn't answer his phone. He knew that people only magically woke from the dead of sleep to save the…savee in the movies, but he had to talk to him. I made him feel stable.

Ring…

'Hang the phone up.' He thought as he lit a cigarette.

Ring…

'He's not going to pick up.'

Ring…

Taking a drag from his cigarette, his nasty little voice continued, 'He's not Prince Phil-' "Hey?" Axel's voice broke his internal dialogue, and firmly startled him out of his half-coma.

He sat up straighter against the wall, exhaling the smoke quickly; his heart thumping at how happy he was that Axel had woken up, how happy he was that he had answered his phone. He wet his lips, excitedly, tasting the cigarette smoke on him, "Yeah. Axel?"

"Mhm." Came a sleepy reply from the other end.

He smiled, and leaned back against his cold, ungiving wall, his head resting against the sheetrock. "It's Riku." He said his voice thick from keeping his tears from falling.

"Hey Riku." He heard the slight incline in Axel's voice, going from groggy to only a slightly worn tone.

"Hi."

"Hey, what's wrong? It's four in the morning." Axel asked. Riku could just hear the disappointment in his voice as he looked at his alarm clock.

"I wanted to talk to someone." Riku shrugged, biting his lip hard, as the reason why he was calling at four in the morning preyed on his mind. "My…my brother went to the hospital today." He whimpered, shamefully, pressing his forehead into his palm. He had been ready for this, damn it! Preparing himself ever since Sephiroth had found out about his disease.

"Oh. Man, that's rough." Riku nodded, even though he knew Axel couldn't see it. Vaguely, he heard a door slamming in the background, but he paid it no heed, as the redhead continued. "Where are you?"

"At my house." He said with obvious disdain, glaring at the hallway as if it were the ninth level of hell. He kicked at the nothingness that was on the ground, managing only to scramble the dirt on the floor around.

"Why didn't you go with…?"

"I don't like hospitals." Riku interjected, vehemently, cutting him off, completely.

"Okay. Okay." Axel said, soothingly, calming the smoker down considerably. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure." Riku muttered, putting his cigarette out on the wooden floor of his hallway. "I can't…think. It was so weird."

"What happened?"

"It just was. I woke up…and I…I don't even think I was really awake." He said, pitiably as his little nightmare was replayed in his mind. "I went to the door, and I was so sure my mom had fallen in the middle of the night." Riku told him, taking step by step, in his mind that the he had in his dream.

"That's…odd." Axel encouraged when Riku quieted.

"Yeah." Riku agreed with a hazy mind. "But then I woke up on the floor, and my brother was going to my bathroom. I went to go get his tranquilizers and…Axel, they weren't there. They were gone." Riku grabbed his hair as it ran over his mind again and again. "Then I went back up to the bathroom…and I went in, expecting to be dealing with another of his episodes. But he was lying in the bathtub, completely clothed."

"Talk about weird."

"But he wasn't out of it. He was completely lucid."

"What do you mean?" Axel asked, confusion lacing his every syllable.

"He wasn't having a fit." Riku said. "He said he was just tired of living."

Axel listened intently to the quiet tone of Riku, his heart going out for him, as Riku relived the past hour over and over. "What did he do?" When the silence from Riku had spanned for more than a minute.

"He threw me out of the bathroom and locked the door." He shrugged, reminiscing, and focusing on the pain he had forgotten about in his left shoulder. He rotated his neck experimentally, still imagining the stiff feeling in his muscles from when his brother had grabbed him.

"Is he okay?" He dutifully asked.

"I don't know." Riku shrugged, finally feeling the numbness settle over him, as the memories finally left him alone. "I didn't want…anything to do with it. I was so empty." He breathed.

"Empty?"

"I felt…listless."

"Listless, huh?" Riku could hear the light smirk that was surely on the redhead's face.

Riku couldn't share in the light mood he was trying to cast, though. "My mind was so slow to comprehend everything that went on after I stopped trying to get back into the bathroom." He said emotionlessly. "I couldn't…think. My brain might as well have said, 'Fuck you, I'm on vacation.' I was so lethargic." He said as his head lolled to the side as if to prove his point.

They were silent for minutes afterward, in which time, Riku thought that maybe he should let Axel go back to sleep, but it was comforting to know that if he needed to re-vent his frustration, the redhead would be there to hear him out all over again. He listened to the breathing that Axel was heaving into the speaker, with vacant eyes, having relit a cigarette and extinguished it already, before the redhead began speaking again. Riku was sure it was to say goodnight.

"Riku?" He asked.

"Hmm?"

There was a pause, where Riku could only look at the ceiling bored out of his mind. After a bit, Riku was sure that Axel had fallen asleep on the phone, but then, "Open your door."

Riku chuckled, perplexedly. "W-hat?" He choked out.

"Open. Your door." He repeated in a firmer voice.

Riku instantaneously hopped off the floor and padded down the hall. He unlocked his door cautiously, his heart beating rapidly at the strange request, as he turned the deadbolt. Slowly, bracing himself against the cold that would be waiting on the other side, he opened the door, wrapping his arms instantly around his stomach , though he still tried to keep his cell phone against his ear, to shield himself from the gust of wind that blew the door open.

There, in his open doorway, with nothing but his light, black, jacket on, was Axel. His hair was windblown, and tangled from being asleep. His entire face was red from the biting gusts that cut across the human skin like whips. But he was smiling down at Riku's shocked face as he said, "Hey."

Riku heard it echo through his phone, into his ear, which Axel had spoken into. He watched, with his jaw open, as Axel shut his cell phone, but he didn't, still much too shocked to do anything but look at the other. The other's mere presence made the lunar-haired teen's heart inflated to astronomical sizes.

"Thought you might want some company for a bit." Axel said, with a casual shrug, reaching out the take Riku's phone away from his ear.

The contact made Riku jump a little, a jolt running over him completely, but he still stared at Axel in shock, his eyes running over the entire six foot five length of his body to make sure of something only his mind could comprehend. He touched the other's arm, making sure he was real, and that he hadn't fallen asleep on the phone himself, but when he felt the cold jacket, practically frozen from in the icy cold, he knew it wasn't a dream, and that Axel was indeed in front of him at four-thirty in the morning, offering nothing more imposing than his company.

Riku smiled, sure that the other could hear his heart beating happily inside his ribcage. "Come inside?" He offered, his hand held out for Axel to take.

"Okay." The redhead said quickly, eager to get out of the cold and into the warm-ish house.

Once the door was shut behind Axel, Riku spun on his heel, rushing to close the short distance between them. He nearly bowled Axel over, with shock as he threw his arms around the other's neck, pressing tightly to the other, but then Axel wrapped his arms around his waist, looking down at him with confused eyes. He didn't wait to explain anything, to explain that he was just so pleased that the other had walked all the way to his home to stave off his loneliness; he only pulled Axel down to his level, melding their lips together before the redhead could stop to ask questions.

"What are you doing?" Axel asked, raggedly, pulling away from the other's addicting lips when his jacket was unzipped and pushed off his shoulders, following right behind it, his t-shirt, when he pulled his lips away. He watched his silver hair glint in whatever dim light the hallway had, as Riku pressed light kisses to his jaw.

"I want you to touch me." Riku said, just as breathless, just as hurriedly, moving Axel's hands under his tank top, and shuddering at the warmth that spread like fire at the simple touch of his fingertips. His hands moved further up on their own accord, and after this Riku curled further into him, his hands wrapping around the redhead's neck, and his head resting on Axel's shoulder.

"Riku…" Axel sighed, pulling Riku away from his shoulder, but keeping his hands where they had stopped on his sides. "I can't just fuck you, if that's what you want." He said, giving the other a gentle shake.

"What do you mean you can't just fuck me?" Riku asked; hurt shining in his crystal eyes as they met Axel's poison green. "You've done it before!" He ran his hand through the red, tangled tresses that had fallen over the other's bony shoulder, provocatively, watching the way the dim light glinted off of it.

Long fingers wrapped around his wrist, having left its position on his side to keep the wretch from using his own body against him. "Riku, it was before I knew you." He whispered, hoping to reason with him before he made a mistake he would regret. "I can't just stave off my feelings for you. I can't just use you, or let you let yourself be used." He let the pale wrist go, watching it fall the other's side so he didn't have to meet his gaze; so he didn't feel guilty. "Even if it's to forget tonight."

But Riku wouldn't let go so easily. He brought his hand to the Axel's slightly freckled cheek; still cool from being outside despite the fact that everywhere else on his body was scalding hot from the interaction between them. When the other had enough courage to look at him, he whispered, "It's why I'm asking for you, and not my corner." He nodded his eyes boring into unsure depths. He kissed Axel firmly, stopping, resting his forehead on the stooping redhead's. "I just w-…I need you to touch me." He said again, placing one of Axel's long fingered hands back on his side.

Moments, hundreds of moments passed by them as they stared at each other, clear blue begging luminous green to submit and give into what they both wanted. Then, he did. He pushed Riku against the wall, attaching his lips to Riku's in an attempt to rob him of his very breath. Hands moved under the thin black tank top, and smaller ones raked down the broad expanse of burning white flesh, digging nails in and dragging to mark the taller, to claim him. The redhead gave small whimpers of pain, pushing the younger harder into the wall, causing a gasp to break apart their kiss. As soon as the kiss was broken, Axel was immediately on his neck, erupting moans, sharp and loud, from Riku's lips as his hands wove into his wild hair, keeping him where he wanted him, and furthering the tight warmth in his stomach.

Axel disrobed him of his shirt, lips leaving his collarbone only long enough for the fabric to come from his head before he threw it down the hall, and, shivering in the cold air that rushed over his heated skin, Riku pulled him closer, if possible, feeling the other's hard member pressing into his navel. His eyes shifted to the ceiling, gasping as the erotic feeling in abdomen spread over him, and he wrenched Axel back up to kiss him again, his tongue pushing into the other's mouth, wanting, demanding that the other return play. Both sets of hands wound into each other's tresses, pulling, caressing, demanding that they further what they were doing, as Riku kicked off the wall, pushing Axel into his kitchen, banging walls, doorways, counters, before Riku was pushed onto the table, all cups that had previously rested on it, shattering loudly against the tile floor the were pushed onto.

Axel stood over the lunar-haired smoker, his hooded eyes raking hungrily over his exposed chest, heaving from their kiss, and abdomen, his fingers trailing not long after his eyes, until they rested at the hem of his sleeping pants. He sent his eyes back to Riku's, searching the wild, dilated eyes for permission. Smaller hands covered his, helping his fingers curl under the elastic hem of his gray pants and beginning to pull them down before he stopped movement all together. Eyes still glued to Riku's he pulled on the other's hands, having to twist his around to get them between his fingers, until he had Riku in an upright position, sitting on the table with his legs swinging over the edge. The redhead took the other's face in his hands, running his thumb over the bottom of his parted lips. When Riku breathed out, Axel could feel his breath rush over the skin of his thumb, as a smaller hand once again wrapped around his wrist, the one that was brushing pink lips with its thumb, and brought his thumb into his mouth, wrapping his sinful lips around the appendage, and rubbing the nail with the flat of his tongue.

He brought Axel's hand away from his mouth, with a winning smirk on his face that became wider when the redhead grabbed the base of his neck and brought his lips upon them with the same ferocity that Riku had when he guided them into the kitchen. "We need somewhere more comfortable." Axel breathed, having tried for moments on end to break the kiss but only succeeding in placing smaller, heat-filled kisses on his lips for an unknown span afterwards. He gazed into the other's aquatic eyes, catching the moon's rays reflecting off the tumultuous bay. "I think the benches in that locker room were enough wood for us."

"My bedroom's just upstairs." He answered, his hands slithering into Axel's as he hopped off the table, and began a fast ascent up the set of stairs, running as quickly as his feet would take him, Axel running behind him, pressuring him to run faster, up the stairs. Axel shut the door behind them (old habit, one could say), spinning, sending his hair flying wildly around him, as he advanced on Riku again, an animalistic gleam in his eyes. Once within arms reach, Riku began undoing Axel's pants, his drawstrings already half undone with Axel's long arms and fingers. With the faux-bronze button and zip undone, he yanked the pants and boxers off Axel's sharp, angular hips ("Jesus, it'd be nice if you ate more." Riku hissed over his thundering heart.), his gray pajama bottoms already pushed to his ankles, leaving them both nude in the dim moonlight.

The only sounds in the room afterward were repeating gasps and moans as both of them neared completion, and the breathy pleads, repeated over and over, "Harder…Please, go harder…" Sinking further and further into a world in which only the two of them existed, Riku bit Axel on the shoulder, drawing blood as he came, quickly, shooting his seed across their stomachs. Only a few seconds after did Axel last, emptying himself into the condom he had rolled on ("Safety first, kiddies." The redhead had murmured into Riku's ear as when whined pathetically against his neck.), after, he moved off of Riku, throwing the useless condom into the waist bin next to the dresser.

Resettling himself by Riku, leaning on his elbow, while Riku rested cozily from his pillow, he brushed the lunar locks out the younger's face. He smiled at the odd look of adoration breaking through his hazy, aqua eyes. "You know…" He started, beginning to brush his fingers over Riku's lightly tanned shoulder. "I came over with the intent of drinking lemonade and watching late night info-mercials with you."

"I think this was much better for our health." Riku smirked.

Axel nodded. "Nothing like early morning exorcizes to help prepare you for the day."

"It'd be a good cardio workout for you." He nodded, knowingly.

"I would exorcize every damn day if my dietician said told me sex was a good workout."

Riku snorted, pushing his redhead away from him, making him bump against the wall gently before he rebounded, dramatically, falling to cover Riku's torso, his hair thrown out over the side of the small-ish bed. He rested there, listening to Riku's heart beat in a calming, rhythmic pattern. Then, after a minute or two, Riku's hand came up to pet his shoulder, which, as Riku had mention in a very odd exchange of sex-chat, also had freckles. Contently, they stayed in the position, until Axel glanced up at Riku's alarm clock, which blinked five forty-five.

He sighed, lifting himself off of Riku, feeling the unusual sticking of skin to skin as they hadn't yet showered, not that the redhead honestly cared. However, it was getting late…or early, and he had left his house without even leaving a note for his harpy parents. "I should go." He said gently, when he met Riku's curious eyes. "My parents are probably wondering where I am." He pushed himself up further, stopping in his way to all fours to scope the room out for some articles of clothing, thankful that Riku was rather tidy. So the only clothes on the floor were his jeans, and Riku's pajama bottoms.

"Please don't." Riku asked, sitting up, too, so that him and his redhead were eye-level. "I don't want to stay in this house on my own. It's too big for just me." He explained, half-heartedly, knowing that that was the actual reason he wanted Axel to stay, knowing that he just wanted to have his former enemy's company for as long as possible. "Please, stay?" He asked again.

Axel looked into Riku's open, pleading eyes, giving in at once. "I'll stay." He agreed, lying back down on Riku's bed. Riku let out a breath of relief, reaching down by the side of the bed to grab his several thousand blankets, even though Axel was an inferno, which easily gave out heat. Sighing comfortably when the younger lay down on his chest, pulling the blankets over the both of them, he began running his fingers through Riku's tangled, silver hair, until he fell asleep.

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A/N: So…cough I, uh, was so over my head with this chapter. Could you tell? I did not like it one bit. I tried to make everything flow but at the end of everything would work, so I let it go in this rendition. If you didn't like it as well, we'll start a rehab group to make us all feel better.

Review! I love them all so much. I've started naming them. I have Oney…and Twoey…and threey…Foury…but Joe is my favorite. le sigh Can't wait to hear from ya!

InnocentGuilt