(I own nothing)

~Chapter Eight~

**drugs in this chapter**

"So how long have you had him?" The vet tech asked, writing on her clipboard.

"Only a couple of days," I told her. "He just showed up in the middle of the night."

"And he eats regularly?" I nodded. "Okay, we'll just get a stool sample and a blood sample, to make sure he doesn't have any parasites or sickness, and then we'll give him his shots." Axel shrugged.

"Go for it. He's pretty chill." She smiled.

"Yes, he's a very sweet dog. I'm just going to take him in back for a few minutes, okay?" She led Moogle out the other door, leaving Axel and me in the room.

"Fuuuuck, this is gonna be expensive," he muttered, rifling through his wallet. "I thought I had more money than this?" He ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, right... I did get some groceries... still. Didn't think I spent that much. What've you got, Zex?"

"Not much... I will when Demyx pays me back, but he needed to get new work shoes and pants, and he doesn't get paid until Friday."

"What happened to his other ones?"

"Someone broke the locks on the lockers at work, and stole them. Oh yeah, he needed to buy a new lock, too." Axel shook his head.

"That sucks... you can't trust anybody any more! Well, I guess I'll use the card. I don't usually, but this is important." Axel had an account set aside, only for emergencies or necessities. The door opened, and the nurse led a slightly less-enthusiastic Moogle in.

"Okay, you're all set! Just head out to the desk, she's got all of your information." We approached the receptionist, dreading hearing the total.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"We're here with Moogle," Axel told her. It was nice when he did the talking; then I could just observe.

"Alright, so you've got the shots, the heartworm test and medicine, intestinal parasite test, and the base sitting fee, and you'll need to get a license for him, to show that he's had his rabies shot. Your total today is $235.80." Axel and I both cringed visibly. "But if you want to," she added, noting our reactions, "you can pay it in installments. How does... $60.00 sound?" Axel sighed hugely, and I smiled at her.

"Are you sure that's okay?" Axel asked. She smiled brightly at both of us.

"Oh, of course. People do it all the time. We know how expensive the bills are; we've all got pets." Good point. "Alright, you want it on the card, then?" Axel nodded, handing it to her.

"I might as well," He told me, "that way I can keep track of everything better." She handed him the card, and put the receipt in a bag, along with a box of heartworm medicine, and a brochure about the license.

"Here you are, make sure to give him the medicine once a month-although we'll probably see you soonish-and the license should come in the mail within two weeks. Do you have any questions?" Axel and I glanced at each other, and I shook my head.

"I think we're all set," he told her, giving her his best lady-killer smile. "Thank you very much."

"Thanks! Have a good day, you two! See you in a month or two for your next appointment." Moogle couldn't get out of there quickly enough, straining on the leash and ignoring everyone in the waiting room, and then resuming his usual, casual pace once we were outside.

"Ugh," Axel grunted as soon as we were outside. "Vet stuff is waaaaay to expensive." I nodded. "Well, it's Wednesday, so hopefully Demyx will be able to contribute too. I mean, he might as well be one of the owners; he's over enough, and he treats that dog like his own child."

"Well, they are rather similar," I pointed out.

"What, they're both hairy and have big ears?"

"You know what I mean."

"Well yeah, but you have to admit, the resemblance is striking." I shook my head, smiling at Axel's banter. "Anyway, we should take him home- actually," he interrupted himself, changing his mind mid-sentence, "we should take him to see Roxxy and Demyx!"

"Doesn't Roxas work tonight?" I asked, almost feeling bad as Axel's face fell.

"Yeah, he's at work... four to ten, I think. Well, we can still take him to visit Demyx. He's home, right?"

"As far as I know, although he might be working today. He said they might call him in."

"How would he get there?"

"He takes the bus, sometimes, although I told him I could give him rides on occasion... he feels bad making me drive, but I don't care. He has the car a lot, though, since you're Roxas's personal taxi service." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"I'm a lot of things to Roxas, most of them quite personal."

"Why must you bring up your sex life at every chance?"

"There isn't much that happens in my life that isn't-"

"Okay, enough." I cut him off, laughing. We pulled into a parking spot, and traipsed up the stairs to their apartment. We knocked, and after a pause, the door opened a crack.

"Hello? Hey, guys! How's it going?" He looked slightly out of it.

"Are you smoking without us?" Axel half-joked.

"Only a little... lemme get this cleaned up a little..." he hurried back into the apartment, shoving a bunch of stuff under the coffee table. "Ummm..." There was a half-smoked blunt in the ashtray on the table, and a pack of Swishers. "I was smoking this, but then... I forgot." He flopped onto the couch, patting for me to sit next to them. "Oh, Moogle!" He lay down on the sofa, his arm hanging off so that he could pet him. Moogle trotted over to him, licking his hands affectionately. Demyx giggled, then sat up, laying across my lap. He sighed heavily, smiling dreamily. "Zex... I love you."

"I love you too... are you okay?" He was a little loopy.

"Yeah, I'm just... out of it. I didn't feel so hot, so I took a sudafed, but it's only the night-time one... am I acting stupid?" Axel laughed.

"Just a little... you sure you're okay?" He glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, lighting up the forgotten blunt. Demyx nodded emphatically.

"Yeah, don't worry. Wanna watch some tv?"

"Actually, we should take him home. We just stopped by on the way... you wanna come?" His eyes lit up, but then he frowned.

"I do, but my boss called like, an hour ago, and I told them I could work at seven tomorrow..." He rolled his eyes, but then giggled. "At least finish the blunt," he offered.

"That was my intention," Axel assured him, passing it to me. When we were done, Demyx stood- rather shakily- and helped us to the door. He threw his arms around me, and I was surprised- he must have lost weight, or something, because I could feel his ribs, and he didn't look horribly healthy. Well, he had said he was sick...

"Bye, Axel, bye Moogle! Byyyyeee Zexxxxxy, I love youuuu!" He kissed me on the cheek, leaning heavily on me.

"I love you too, Demyx... have fun at work." Axel and I were silent until we were back in the car.

"Well... that was odd," Axel pointed out.

"Just a bit." I didn't know what to say, other than what had already been said. I felt the need to justify Demyx's odd behavior, though. "He said he didn't feel so good, and when he hugged me, I could feel his ribs. So maybe he hasn't been eating much." Axel nodded.

"Yeah, that pm sudafed really fucks him up, come to think of it." He laughed, apparently remembering some past antics. "We'll check on him tomorrow; I'm sure he'll be feeling better." I nodded, smiling, but I still felt that something was just... off.

Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid back.
~Author Unknown

I'm so poor I can't even pay attention.
~Ron Kittle

We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.
~Gloria Steinman

A/N: look how quickly I updated! I'm so happy. I put in three quotes, since the first one is anonymous. the second is funny, and the third- well, they're spending money on Moogle. But because I'm a bad person, I skipped Russian in favor of writing this. I'm sorry!

let me know what you think; I love your reviews.

~alex~