CHAPTER NINETEEN

Roxas' feet crunched loudly over loose stones. Axel sat with his back to the blond, gazing out over the deep ravine that circled the base of the castle. The Crystal Fissure was nearby, Roxas had followed him here, had listened to the echo of his rapid footsteps.

Despite the sheer, massive drop, Axel wasn't poised and ready to jump, like Roxas half-feared. He was just sitting there, cross-legged, the suddenly barren landscape awash in silver, blue and black. His hair still managed to be bright in the darkness.

"…So, I guess you didn't spend all your time watching me," said Roxas quietly When Axel didn't respond, he added dryly, "But then, why would you want to watch a nobody?"

Axel's head jerked to the side, mouth opening as if to speak… He subsided, opting for continued silence. Roxas sighed, rubbed his chin, cleared it of the pooling sweat. "Axel, I chased you all the way here. Do you have any idea why?"

A long pause. This time, Roxas just waited. Axel's curiosity would get the better of him. "…You hate me, and want to tell me to my face."

"Oh, bravo, that's exactly it," Roxas replied with heavy sarcasm, arms folding over his chest. "Some guy with a metal arm tells me to go after you in case you jump off a cliff, and the whole reason I listened was to let you know how much I hate you before you die. Just to lend you that extra bit of motivation. Wouldn't want you to back out, now."

Axel's lips hardly moved, his voice almost inaudible. "I can, you know. If that's what you'd like. I can just… go away."

Angrily, Roxas said, "No, wait, I know – let's see if we can come up with something more dramatic that our current situation. And we'll write ourselves fucking scripts and everything, just to get the right amount of bullshit, idiotic statements in. Like that one you just made! Fucking gold! Can I borrow it?"

A dry, harsh laugh. "You think this is some kind of joke, huh?"

"Yeah, it's why I'm laughing so fucking hard," the blond snarled. Axel subsided into a bitter half-smile, turned away, facing the sprawl of the ravine.

"I know what you're thinking about me, Roxas. I know exactly how this is going to play out."

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Axel froze, shoulders hunching. "What?"

Roxas swallowed, shut his eyes, wished he could hit himself. Fuck. "You heard me."

Weakly, the redhead asked, "Was that – just said for effect? I say 'I know how the conversation's going to go', and you shout, 'Surprise, fucker!'?"

"I didn't shout 'surprise fucker'. I told you… I think… I more than like you." Roxas' voice jumped around, weight shifting from leg to leg. "I don't know what you think of me, exactly, but… I'm not stupid, Axel. And I'm not so totally unreasonable."

The redhead drew a deep, shuddering breath. "Why aren't you screaming at me?" he muttered. "You're supposed to be screaming. You're supposed to be upset."

"Oh, I'm upset," the blond snapped. "I'm completely fucking furious, Axel – but it's not at you."

"It wasn't my evil twin who fucked half the town, Roxas," Axel said loudly, a halting bite to each word. "It was me. Just like they said."

"All those bastards did," the blond yelled, pointing violently back towards the city, voice echoing, "was humiliate you. They knew they couldn't win on intelligence, so they dragged you down until you panicked!"

"And now you know why," Axel cried, voice cracking. His knees drew up, hands finding his hair, pulling hard. "I'm such a fucking screw-up."

"How are you a screw-up?" Roxas demanded. When Axel didn't reply for too long a moment, the blond marched up to him, sat down sharply in the dirt, a mere foot from the edge, glaring across at him. "Tell me what you did that was so wrong."

"Uh…" Axel laughed slightly, an almost hysterical sound. "Were you not paying attention, Roxas? Did you miss something back there?"

"What am I, retarded?" the blond shot back, hands flattening against his denim-clad thighs. "Yes, I heard what they said. I don't see how that gives you the right to call me a nobody, as if you don't care about me at all, and run off like a cheerleader who just got dumped for her best friend by the school jock. I mean, do I have to get Cloud to start lending you his high heels, or what?"

Axel's head came up, bewilderment etched over every inch of his expression. "Cloud – wears…?"

"Okay, no, don't fuck with me," Roxas fumed. Axel blinked, drew back, eyebrows knitted together.

"I'm not, I just – you're the one that…"

"How about," the blond cut in, "you start off by explaining everything that happened back there?"

Axel's teeth clicked together. Desolately, he turned away, a desperation touching his features as he started blankly across the landscape. "It – I was lonely, Roxas. I was alone. Is it… really so bad to want – but…" He lowered his gaze to his hands, eyes emptying. "All I ever wanted was…" He blushed, closed his eyes firmly. "You," he said harshly. "You're the one I wanted. I told you I was obsessed, and I was, Roxas. Yes, I fucked a lot of different people. But – but – !" He twisted, eyes flashing open again, blazing. "Do you want to know why I did it?"

"I wouldn't mind having it confirmed," Roxas replied quietly. Anger crashed over the redhead's face, born of defensiveness.

"I didn't want anyone but you. If I stayed with someone, I might've grown attached, and I didn't want that, Roxas. I didn't want feelings for any of them!"

"So you risked losing someone great just to chase after a guy you didn't even know would return your feelings?" Roxas demanded. "Okay, now I'm mad. What, are you dense? Didn't you get how bad that was for you? Emotionally, physically – mentally, Axel. That's going beyond fixation, it's just – " He smacked him suddenly upside the head, gaining a startled yelp. "I mean, could you be any more self-destructive?"

"It was for you!" Axel exclaimed, gripping his head with an injured look and leaning away. "I did it because I love you!"

Roxas glared. "Hey, I know, let's go skip arm-in-arm into the realm of scary obsession, Axel! Because God knows we're heading there fast!" He fixed him with a hard look. "Don't bring me into this. It's fine to want to be loved, but don't use me as an excuse to – "

"It's not an excuse," Axel snapped. "It's just the way things were, Roxas! I was so fucking caught up in you that I – I just – "

"You had sex with random people and pretended it was me?" he finished, torn between fear and disgust.

"I was going to do it anyway," the redhead said heatedly. "And I preferred to think of you, yes!"

A brief, angry silence fell between them. Axel exhaled sharply, head cutting to one side, gaze averted. "Let me clear something up for you. I'm not the whore of Hollow Bastion, okay?" He raised his glinting eyes, determined. "You really think Demyx would have let me go become some disease-addled universal fuck-toy? I just – " He straightened, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I was a normal guy in need of sex, and out of – a fear of getting attached, I – I switched partners pretty regularly. I'm not an addict, Roxas, I don't want to pin anything that breathes, I just – I kept it casual. And – I wished it was you." He sighed, a large part of the tension leaking from his posture. "That was bad enough. Cheating on you like that…"

"Cheating? Cheating?" Roxas groaned, head dropping to his hands, fingertips digging into his scalp. "It's not cheating if we weren't together, Axel. See, this is what's frustrating me. You're expecting me to leap down your throat and start wailing that you're some kind of unfaithful slut, but I didn't know you then. I didn't know you existed, and I don't even know how you could maintain that level of feeling for someone who didn't remember you." He stuck his elbows on his knees, fingers shifting into his blond spikes, propping up his head. "I guess that's where the obsession comes in, right?" Blue eyes slid shut. "You know what really gets me?" he asked tiredly. "The more things come to light about you, the more I realise how goddamn patient you've been with me. Patient, understanding, respectful – everything. I don't even know how, or why you'd bother. I mean… you waited all this time. All your life, practically. And you're just… letting me flail around over here while I figure out my feelings, and deal with a new life, and swing between wanting to hug you and wanting to punch you… The whole time, you're just waiting for me to get a grip. How are you even doing this?"

Axel hesitated, shrugged one shoulder awkwardly. "I don't know. I just… I don't want to lose you. I'm not so blinded by it all to be stupid and try and force you into anything. I'm just… standing on the sidelines and hoping, Rox."

Roxas sighed. "I know." He gripped his face, aggravated. "I know." He sucked in a breath between his fingers, lifted his face slightly to gaze over at the moon-drenched ravine. "And I'm getting there," he said quietly. "I really am. It's all paying off, Axel."

The redhead picked at the sole of his shoe, nodding half-heartedly. "Sure you are, Roxas." He smiled crookedly, chanced a glance sideways. "But do you really want to be with someone whose… whose mouth is the anatomical equivalent of a chemical toilet?"

The blond glared. "Whose side are you even on? Work with me here, bean-pole, we're meant to be reconciling."

He snuffed a laugh, tugging a piece of black rubber into his hand. "It's been a few days since I heard that one…" He trailed off into moody silence. "Hey, Rox? Are you ever – going to try and pull them out of the network?"

Roxas tilted his head, sighed, started picking at Axel's other shoe. "I'd like to. It'd be nice to have friends of my own again." He poked the redhead in the side. "Quit changing the subject."

Axel shrugged. "Wasn't. Just wondered all of a sudden."

"Well, don't worry about them. Worry about this thing we've got."

Axel shook his head. "I didn't even think the thing would still exist after what happened back there."

"Yeah, well, it does," Roxas growled. "So you can stop being stupid and mean, and go back to being you."

A half-smile. "How do you know that being stupid and mean isn't me?"

"Because I know you better than that by now," the blond replied quietly.

They were quiet for a while, tearing the loose threads from Axel's soles, the only noise out in the barrenness their nails against the rubber. Roxas began prying out little stones, cleaning the dusty patterns. Axel sighed.

"I told you you were nice," he murmured. "I can't think of anyone else who would be this reasonable."

"Yeah, well, I can't think of anyone who'd spend thirteen years obsessing over me," Roxas muttered. "It all works out in the end. And those guys were being assholes, anyway. They were just trying to upset us." He frowned, flicked his gaze up to the fair face. "So, while we're here and I'm feeling so very generous, is there anything else I should know about? I understand why you didn't tell me about this – it's not the kind of thing you say to a new boyfriend, or whatever the hell I am – but since it's all coming out in the open anyway…"

Axel smiled, spikes swaying from side to side in a negative. "Naw. I'm pretty sure that's the whole can of worms right there. Anything else, I don't know I'm doing wrong." He looked over at the blond, almost nervous. "So, while we're on the subject of whatever the hell you are – um… what the hell are you?"

Roxas eyed him uncertainly. "What do you want me to be?"

Axel snorted quietly. "My wife?"

The blond was amused. "I don't see me in white. Sorry."

He grinned at the ground. "Well, a lot of weddings these days are pretty contemporary… We could be creative, get you a dress in blue, maybe, to suit your eyes. And you can borrow Cloud's high heels. By the way, I'm dying inside from that mental image."

Roxas shook his head. "Maybe… Okay, let's stop being little kids about this. Grown men, right?"

Axel glanced up, arched an eyebrow. Roxas took the opportunity to lean forward and kiss him. It was clumsy from how fast he went in, and he started to overbalance. Axel grabbed his wrists, kept him steady, and twisted slightly. Roxas opened his mouth, let his tongue out, coaxed Axel's lips apart, hands slipping free and sliding up his shoulders, around his neck, pulling closer. Axel inhaled suddenly through his nose, broke them apart, nose pressed to Roxas', and said hoarsely, "You sure you want this? Me?"

Roxas found a way to punch his chest without drawing away, muttered, "Stop being a drama queen." Axel sighed, kissed his mouth, his cheek, his jaw. He moved down to Roxas' throat, gently sucked the flesh there, pulling breaths from the blond's chest. Roxas tipped his chin down, rested it against Axel's cheekbone as the redhead shifted around to various points of his neck. He swallowed hard, Axel's fingers like spiders, crawling under his shirt to caress his hips.

Some rocks clattered nearby, drawing their attention, disturbing them briefly from their intimacy. Axel wrapped his arms around the smaller male's body, drew him close, resting his chin on his shoulder, eyelids dropping sleepily. Roxas' hands swept up and down his back in slow, soothing motions, his head turned so he could breathe against the redhead's throat. Axel turned his mouth to the blond's ear, whispered, "I think there's someone watching us." Roxas stiffened. "Probably Vincent."

He relaxed. "Probably checking to make sure you didn't kill yourself."

A soft chuckle. "Two options, and I'm pretty sure I know the answer: one, we make like horn-dogs and give him a show he'll never forget, or two, we head back to the castle, pretend that everything's fine, and go get smashed off our faces and play poker."

Roxas nuzzled against him. "Everything is fine." He waited a beat, realised Axel was expecting an answer, rolled his eyes. "The second one, Axel."

"Ah, you're no fun." He drew back reluctantly, a shivery smile in place as he studied the blond. Roxas stood first, kept his hands on Axel's and tugged him up. The tall man stretched out the kinks in his muscles, and at last, after such a crazy, overflowing evening, they headed back to the castle.

.o.O.o.

They returned to the castle, the lights serving as a beacon as it huddled high above the city. For the first time, Roxas was relieved to be coming here – it was beginning to feel like home. But then, maybe that was just the overall contentedness that had settled through him. Emotional exhaustion made anywhere you could sit and relax the next best thing to home.

Axel was nearly hanging from him as they ascended the path up to the side entrance, the events of the last couple of days mingling with the lack of sleep, draining him right in front of the blond's eyes. Roxas peered under at his bowed face concernedly. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. "You could just go to bed… Where are you sleeping these days?"

Axel grunted, roused himself, closed his eyes and briefly shook his head to dislodge the clouds thickening within his skull. "I've taken over Dem's room. He's staying with Zexion. They're always sharing one or the other of their rooms anyway." He smiled. "I'm okay, though. I can't let you go to your first poker night without an escort."

"So I won't go," the blond insisted. "It's really not a big deal."

Axel arched a brow. "Are you okay?"

Roxas frowned at the abrupt digression. "What? Yes. Why?"

They had entered the light, revealing the full extent on Roxas' bruises, young and old. Axel gestured vaguely to the blond's face. "You keep getting beat up. Do you have funky pheromones, or what?"

Roxas blinked, tenderly touched his swelled skin. "I honestly have no idea. Ouch." He winced, shook his head. Axel smiled proudly.

"Well, at least we know you don't mind getting hurt in a fight. Maybe I'll tell Zexion and Dem about it. We can put it towards your training."

Roxas moaned. "Don't talk about training. Not until I've had a half-decent sleep at least. Please."

Axel chuckled, tightening his grip on the blond. "I've got an even better solution." He led Roxas through the castle, towards the dining hall and then beyond it. As they came to a halt outside on door in particular, Roxas could hear noises from within, voices rumbling. Axel shot him a wry grin. "Prepare yourself, Roxie. It's… not necessarily going to be pretty." He placed a hand on the latch, opened the door and ushered the teen inside.

The first thing that occurred to Roxas was that the entire room was different to anything he'd seen so far in the castle. As a general rule, no matter how many people were living in it, the place had a hollow feel to it, sort of lifeless. It was just a structure to be used.

This room, on the other hand, looked like something directly out of a gentlemen's club. It even had a half-naked woman sitting at the elaborate card table. Larxene glanced up, noticing their entrance through the haze of cigar smoke. Some old jazz was playing quietly in the background, jaunty and smooth. She adjusted her bra strap, and warned, "Newbie alert."

The occupants of the table turned, Leon using the time to check out shirtless Cloud's rippling muscles as he twisted in his seat to gaze over at them curiously. A small smirk couldn't be kept from the brunet's face. Demyx let out a squeal of glee, bouncing up from beside Zexion and running around the table to greet them, still clutching a fan of cards. Luxord, a cigar clamped between his teeth, smirked, eyeing Roxas off like fresh meat.

"Axel, I didn't think you'd end up bringing him," the white-blond man said, letting out a breath of smoke with each word. Sora blushed, sinking down into his seat, also shirtless, a hint of silk below the table telling Roxas that neither did the boy have his pants on. Beside him, fully clothed, sat Riku, a faint, perpetual smile in place.

Demyx whirled, also in only boxers, pausing in his crushing of the pair to frown. "Of course Axel brought him! He can't miss poker night!" He turned back, grinning. "So cool that you're here!"

"What happened to your face – again?" Riku asked sceptically, silver brow rising as he slipped his cards together, pressing them idly to his cheek, hiding them from the desperately peering Sora.

"Some jerks in town got on our cases," Axel muttered, hunching his shoulders, sinking down slightly. Demyx scowled.

"What jerks? Someone beat Roxas up again?" He looked quizzically at the blond, stepped back, tapping his chin for a moment as his ocean-coloured eyes swept up and down. "I don't see it," he reported at last. "I'm not picking up on the hurt-Roxie vibes." A second later, he amended, "Axel's Roxie."

The pair exchanged glances, grinning slightly. Roxas shook his head. "Forget it." His eyes narrowed, hands finding his hips, unable to keep the twisted smile from his lips. "So, um, no one told me this was strip poker."

"Told you Luxord was gonna steal your clothes!" Demyx sang, skipping away. He leapt over the back of the lavender sofa behind the card table, evidently landing on a person judging from the keening cry that ensued. "Wakey, wakey, Kairi!"

Axel tipped his head back, slapping a hand over his face. "Please, tell me she's out cold for the night," he groaned. "I can't handle seeing my sister in her underwear."

"She's done," Leon drawled, eyes still glued to Cloud. The blond turned when he spoke, glared promptly, pulling his chair in until he was pressed against the table, arms folding. The brunet man shifted his attention to Roxas, and for the first time noticed the bruises. He scowled. "Which jerks?" he echoed. "Who did this, and why?"

"Don't worry," Axel muttered sullenly. "Vincent'll give you a full report in the morning."

Yuffie, who had been lying with her still-clothed upper body sprawled across the table, drooling gently, sat suddenly, fingers still curled around a shot glass, hair a mess as she mumbled, "Vincent?"

"He's not here, Yuffie," Cloud sighed. "He'll come in the morning, Axel said."

She wiped her mouth off, pushed her hands through her hair to remove it from her eyes, and blinked hard several times. "Oh. Okay." She spotted Roxas and grinned. "Hey, there, good lookin'. You come to join the party?"

Roxas stared. "Weren't you just… unconscious?"

Larxene snorted. "Yuffie passes out every five shots."

"Hey!" The ninja slapped the table. "I wake up again, don't I?"

"So," Luxord cut in, still grinning, "are you two going to join the fray, or simply stand on the sidelines and appreciate the gradual strip show?"

"I know I'm in," Axel said emphatically, removing his arm from Roxas to clap his hands and move towards the table. "Gimme a goddamn, fucking drink."

Luxord waved a hand lazily, calling, "Oh, barmaid!"

At the side of the room, where Roxas hadn't seen her, Tifa leapt to her feet from a stool beside the small, brilliantly-stocked bar and called, "What'll it be, Axel?"

"Everything. All at once. In a mug. With a curly straw. And make one for Roxie, too."

Roxas' eyes widened. He trailed after Axel, took the empty seat beside him, entering the dim, warm light, breathing the undulating smoke, on the other side of Larxene. "Uh, I'm thinking I should start off a little lighter…"

"Then you'll never enjoy getting naked," the blonde woman stated flatly, sorting through her cards, straightening them, perfecting the fan. She flashed him a quick, squinty smile. "And I can tell you're the sort who'll be stripping nice and fast."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. Tifa came over a moment later, sporting two drinks, one a mug with a curly straw, the other a tall glass, contents clear, bubbling, with a slice of lime. She gave the harmless-looking one to Roxas with a wink. "Enjoy, okay? I figured I'd use my own discretion with your one."

He frowned slightly as she started to move away. "Not playing?" he asked curiously.

She laughed, shook her head. "I prefer my clothes to stay on. I," she added wickedly, "come for the show."

Roxas mimicked Sora, blushing and sinking down. The brunet boy caught his gaze and nodded miserably. "It's true, she does. She starts whistling."

Roxas closed his eyes, a half grin in place as he breathed, "Fuck."

"Is everybody ready to continue?" Luxord asked. Noises of assent were made, Yuffie suddenly scowling.

"Hey, where's my cards?"

"You've been out of the game for three rounds, dear heart," the man drawled. "You can join with Roxas and Axel in the next."

She pouted, crossing her arms and legs, and threw back the shot she'd fallen unconscious before being able to down. Roxas wrapped his hands around the fizzing beverage Tifa had got him, playing idly with the lime as silence fell across the table. Sora, obviously out already, had his head tipped back and was staring at the ceiling, breathing slowly. In front of him, a set of nine empty shot glasses were set out, all in a pretty row. Riku had his cards out again, holding them in one hand while the other drew lazy circles on the half-naked teen's stomach.

The blond sipped his drink, found the alcoholic taste not overpowering, decided he quite liked it, considering that the few drinks he and Hayner had managed to smuggle in their younger years had been almost uniformly revolting. Could have been the fact that the beer was simulated. Either that, or cheap. And the vodka, that time on the beach – ugh. Paint-stripper.

Axel shot him a happy look, sipping at his straw, the fluid visible through the thin plastic. Roxas' brows came together. "Is that really – everything?"

He shrugged. "Clothe enough," he lisped around the tube, the line of liquid momentarily dropping back. He instantly replaced his lips and kept sucking, the drink shooting back through and into his mouth. Obviously, Roxas realised with a wry smile, the redhead had recovered successfully from their trauma. And to think, an hour ago it had seemed like the man was ready to throw himself off a cliff if Roxas had wished it.

He shivered a little, coming over cold all of a sudden, glad he had made the choice he had. He was aware of the way it all could have turned out… All he'd had to do was get angry, start leaping to conclusions again… Either he'd grown out of that habit, and fast, or, to his credit, the larger issues instantly earned more thought. One way or another, this was definitely the most positive outcome either of them could have hoped for, and he was endlessly grateful that he hadn't done or said anything stupid.

The round of cards finished, Zexion being the loser, while Luxord, in a three-piece suit and burgundy tie, swept the winnings into his already enormous pile. It seemed they were playing with… chips. Literally. Potato chips. Larxene stole one of the man's, crunching it down, earning a powerful glare. "Bitch." She shrugged, pushed her chest out at him tauntingly, low-cut bra revealing more than it concealed. Roxas wondered if she wore that style all the time, or if she did it deliberately for poker nights in order to distract the gambler in just this situation. As it was, Luxord seemed to forget his qualms with her, and collected everyone's cards. Zexion peeled off his shirt and threw it to the ground, Demyx instantly falling over him, hands happily scratching the skin beneath the slate-haired man's ribs. Zexion shivered slightly, muttered something sharply, and sheepishly, the blond pulled away. Zexion then leaned his head against Demyx's shoulder, and for a moment, they just looked utterly content.

Roxas felt a pang, and understood at last why Axel aspired to be like them. He wondered what the last year had been like for the redhead, seeing those two together, knowing that Roxas' time was coming, envying their easy, loving relationship and waiting for the chance to build his own – hopefully. The blond shook his head. It boggled the mind.

During the break, as Luxord expertly shuffled, the table's occupants stood and stretched, Tifa quietly refreshing their drinks. Riku and Sora went to bend over the back of the sofa, the brunet poking the slumbering girl on the cushions. After a minute, Riku left him to murmur to the momentarily roused, sleepy girl, going to check on the music, before returning to the table and coming to stand between Roxas and Axel. He grabbed one of the red spikes and idly tugged, Axel accepting the motion with a grunt and continuing with his drink. The teal-eyed teen glanced down at Roxas, smiled slightly.

"So, how'd that happen, anyway?"

Roxas shrugged, chose not to answer. Axel had no such compunctions. "He was defending my honour," he said proudly, honestly. "Bickson told him he was on the arm of the town whore, and Roxie tried to tear his shoulder off with his teeth."

Riku's eyebrows rose, the smile growing. "Roxas, all right. Fight, fight, fight."

The blond scowled. "It's not like I didn't get it back three times as worse."

Riku frowned. "Oh, I see. He had his dogs with him, then. Well, wasn't that a brave little battle, then. Assholes."

Roxas twisted to look at him. "Did you really gut that guy? Or was it Zexion?"

"Zexion can't gut, he fights with a book," Demyx insisted. Zexion growled and pinched him. "Ow!"

Riku smirked, drew a hand through his hair, leaning on the blond's chair. "Oh, that was me. Fun times. The hospital stuck him on a colostomy bag for a few months. I slit his intestine, it was great."

Axel shot him a narrow look. "So, you're not being a bitch to Roxie anymore?"

Riku sighed, rolled his eyes. "No, Axel, I thought you heard that conversation this morning, but evidently you never got past the 'Axel smash' instinct in order to actually listen. Roxas and I made a deal, and I'm sticking by it."

Roxas smiled a little, pleased. He had figured it was all just lip-service on the silver-haired boy's part. This would definitely make life easier.

Sora came over, wrapping his arms around Riku from behind, standing on his toes in order to place his chin on the teen's shoulder. He rolled his eyes, gesturing a hand up and down the boy's body. "Roxas, would you look at this? Isn't it disgusting? He's managed to keep all his clothes."

"I lost one game towards the beginning," Riku reminded him mildly. Sora glared.

"You pulled out your hair tie, Riku. That barely counts."

"Ah, but barely is just enough," the teen replied smugly.

"How long have you guys been playing?" Roxas asked, grinning. Riku shrugged, Sora's head moving with the motion.

"About three hours."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you getting bored by now?"

There was a sharp cough from the other side of the table, Luxord glaring over at them. "I'll forgive you that this once," the man warned, "simply because you're a beginner. But I dare you to repeat that once you've actually had a taste of the game, Roxas. Poker doesn't get boring, not while there are still chips on the table."

"I see Leon isn't letting you use money again," Axel observed, stealing a handful from the brunet's pile as he and Cloud stood across the room, hands on hips, engaged in some sort of staring competition. He started to eat them, one by one. Luxord pouted.

"No. As long as he keeps coming, we can't use money." His expression grew distressed. "And he always comes!"

Yuffie, who hadn't left but had her feet propped up on the table, smirked. "Especially now that Cloud plays. We used to be able to get away with a proper game about three times a month before. Now, it's chips all the way!" She pumped a fist into the air.

Tifa, sitting momentarily in the seat beside her, started grinning. "I told you, didn't I? It's only a matter of time, dear, before those two are all over each other." She turned, glancing over at them, and snorted. "God, you could cut the tension between those two with a knife."

"Sexual tension," Axel clarified. Yuffie nodded emphatically, waving a hand in his direction. Then she suddenly remembered her earlier convictions about the redhead, and glowered. She sat up sharply.

"You. And Zexion. Hurting Roxas. Bad."

"Don't worry, Yuffie," Demyx sang from the bar. "Uncle Demy's come to save the day. I'm part of the process now, and I'll beat up anyone with my sitar that doesn't agree!"

Apparently satisfied with this arrangement, Yuffie backed down. Sora brightened.

"I'm always the last to know everything," he complained, with an odd mixture of happiness in his tone. "So that means you're one of us now, Roxas?"

Roxas nodded. "Yep. The cuts on my chest agree, at any rate."

Both Axel and Zexion winced. "You know," Zexion called from beside Demyx, "you can probably let that go now. Aerith got to me earlier after you two left and chewed me out about that little mishap."

Axel shoved more chips in his mouth. "Glad it wasn't me," he muttered through his food.

"All right, enough chit-chat," Luxord declared. "Everybody to their seats in five seconds, or you're out of the round."

There was a flurry of motion as everyone returned to the table, Larxene toting a mostly filled bottle of vodka, sucking on it periodically. She resumed her seat beside Roxas, glanced at the lowered level of his drink, popped the glass neck from her lips and started glugging the fluid into his glass. Roxas tilted his head. "Uh, that's not…"

"Your drink is vodka and lime," she explained patiently. "I'm just upping the vodka, newbie."

"I see."

When it was filled almost to the brim, she tipped the bottle back towards her mouth and sucked on the end of it, tongue pressing down into the neck in a distracting fashion. Roxas blinked, shook himself, turned to look at Axel, who was similarly diverted by the blonde's antics.

"Larx, stop giving head to the vodka," he said intently after a minute. "You're giving me a headache."

She chuckled huskily, shooting him a sly look. "Sure that's not a ball-ache, Axie? What are you waiting for, your boyfriend's right next to you."

"Yeah, you shut up," the redhead grumbled. "I'll ball you, alright."

"Please, she's not worth it," Luxord muttered, flitting out cards to the gathered. Deciding he'd like to keep his dignity intact, Sora had opted out, was sitting on Riku's lap, glancing curiously as his hand revealed itself.

"Sora, stop looking," the silver-haired teen sighed. "You'll give me away."

"Sora, keep looking and I'll give you a cookie," Demyx promised. Sora met his boyfriend's eyes, Riku having paused to give him a meaningful look. After a beat, the brunet dutifully turned his gaze to one side. "Sorry, Dem."

Roxas picked up his own cards, Axel's place on the table blank, Luxord leaving him free to explain the rules and guide the blond's actions. As Roxas took a swig of his drink – decidedly more vodka – the redhead lowered to his ear, breath hot and moist, the smell of booze assaulting Roxas' nostrils. "Okay," he said quietly, "let's see – a three, two sevens, a queen and a ten. You need to keep your face totally straight when I say this, but that's a shitty hand, Rox. Keep the sevens, keep the queen, palm off the other two."

Roxas slipped the offensively useless cards from his hand, lay them flat on the table, expression emotionless. Axel rapped his knuckles on the table. "Give us two." They flicked across instantly, coming to a sharp stop under Axel's fingertips. He peeled up the corners, said loudly, "Demyx, fuck off." The blond yelped, drew back from where he'd been peeking, smiling sheepishly at Roxas' reprimanding glare.

Luxord called, "Tifa?"

"Dem," she warned, "once more and it's a forfeit. That means you go naked again."

"And no one's ready for that," Leon muttered. "I'm not nearly drunk enough."

"I've got my eye on you, Demyx," Tifa finished. The blond whimpered and cowered.

Axel murmured, "The cards are okay. You won't lose." Roxas picked them up. A queen and a five. "Two pair." The redhead shrugged slightly, eyes darting around the table. "Larx is holding out. Look at her."

Roxas glanced up, saw the blonde was back to fellating the vodka bottle, pausing every now and then to swig. A slight smile twitched the corners of her mouth. "Either that," he replied softly, "or she just really loves giving blow jobs." Axel snorted a laugh.

The door opened, a tired-looking Vaan entering the room as Axel placed a bet of four chips on Roxas' behalf. "Hey, everyone," the teen greeted, shifting instantly over to the bar.

"Thought you'd be here earlier," Riku said, glancing up. The guy shrugged, pouring some scotch over a couple ice cubes in a tumbler.

"Naminé got me talking when she started her shift. Wants me to get her some colours for her art."

To Roxas, Riku explained, "Vaan's got contacts in the – er – "

"Trade business would be the polite term," Zexion supplied, faintly smiling.

Vaan was looking uncomfortable. "Yeah, 'trade'. Just keep quiet about it. If there's something you want but can't find around town, leave me a note and I'll see what I can do."

"…Right," said Roxas slowly. "Thanks."

The white-blond teen came over to the table, took Sora's old seat, settling his glass carefully on the green felt. "So, I'm guessing Sora's out for good." The brunet ruefully plucked at the elastic of his boxers. Vaan pushed his chair back, dipped his head under the table. "Everyone but Dem still in pants." Then, "Larxene, put your legs together."

"Skank," Axel added. She sneered, Vaan returning to the surface, taking a mouthful of scotch.

"You techies are all about charm," Cloud drawled. He tossed down his cards. "I'm out."

Tifa wolf-whistled. "First to fold! Off with them, Cloud!"

He shot her a dirty look. "This is only so I don't lose all my fucking chips." Indeed, his pile was pitiful. He unbuckled his belt, slipped it out of the loops, dropped it on the floor.

Yuffie howled and slapped the table several times. "Now the pants! The pants!"

"You know, this really isn't fair," he muttered. "You get off on me stripping, and I could care less when it's the other way round."

Yuffie scoffed. "Oh, come on, it's not like you don't get to get off. You perv on all the guys, Cloud."

"Do not," he shot back, unbuttoning his jeans and slipping them off. Leon, to everyone's amusement, followed the motions hungrily. Only Cloud was oblivious, caught up with glaring at Yuffie. The blond sat back down, disgruntled. Larxene slid low in her seat, grunting with effort, then a moment later sighed, pushing up again. "If my legs were longer, my foot would be all over your cock right now, Cloud."

Roxas drank deeply, Axel snorting and rolling his eyes while Cloud choked and Leon glowered. Larxene flipped him off, as he reached for his chips to place a bet. He frowned. "Where's all my chips? I had more than this a minute ago…"

Cloud swivelled in his chair. "You know, Leon? You can go fuck yourself."

The man spluttered, astounded. "Wh – what? What'd I do?"

"What'd you do? Oh, so you're not accusing me of stealing your chips. Oh, great, that's fine then. I just steal everything else as far as you're concerned."

"I still haven't accused you! You're accusing yourself!"

"That may be, but at least I know I didn't do it!"

"Hello, guys, game going on here?" Axel raised his eyebrows, waved two fingers. "Yeah, hi. Shut the fuck up. Keep it to the bedroom."

Again, both men nearly had coronaries at the suggestion. Tifa snorted loudly, Yuffie chugged back another shot, and Vaan quietly sipped his whisky.

"Rii-ku, I wanna see your cards. It's boring not knowing!"

Kairi sat up suddenly. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Go to sleep, bitch," Axel yelled. She fell back down.

"She sleep-talks when she'd drunk," Riku explained to Roxas, who was clutching his cards like life-support. "You have to be firm, or she'll start walking around."

"You're all completely insane," the blond said dubiously. "You do know that, right?" His gaze swept the table, many sets of innocent eyes watching. "Right?"

"Time to show your hand, Roxas," Luxord commanded. Axel pushed their cards to the table. Everyone stared for a moment. All other cards were already down, their faces showing. "Beginner's luck," the man grumbled at last.

All the chips went to Roxas.