Life's Cheat Code
-Level 18: Begin-
Despite intentions otherwise, Roxas thought that the stay at Axel's father's house had been…uneventful. Mostly what had happened was the two of them idly chatted about the goings on in their lives in the few days they had spent apart (Mostly Roxas talking about Sora this, Sora that) and a two-hour movie that both boys fell asleep to up in Axel's room.
Roxas had briefly woken up to hear Akino shuffle down the stairs early in the morning to head off to work before going back to sleep.
It was Saturday morning. They had woken up slowly and teasingly before heading downstairs.
Roxas sat attentively across from Axel at the dirty kitchen table that sat in the middle of Axel's father's house, looking up at the redhead. Axel had his eyes pinned to the dingy floor that was in desperate need of sweeping and with a sigh, he placed one arm on the table and finally met eyes with the blond boy.
"I smoke pot."
Roxas shifted slightly, not breaking their eye contact. "Yeah, okay. So, what?"
"Like, all the time."
Roxas stared. "Okaaay…and?"
Axel perked up. "…Does that bother you?"
Roxas scoffed, "Well, I just already knew that. What, you thought I would never catch on?"
Axel lowered his gaze. "Look, I only wanted to tell you because I knew you wouldn't like the thought of me-"
"You're right, I don't like the thought. But I think if I ask you to stop…" Axel looked back up at Roxas.
"…I don't know. So I just don't ask. It doesn't bother me, anyway. "
"If you ask me to stop, you think I'll leave you."
Roxas glanced up and down quickly. He couldn't stand the thought of Axel walking out of his life, especially knowing he was already moving to Midgar. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship if he had the choice not to.
Roxas didn't need to answer.
"Well, that would be a dumb reason to break up." Axel was up out of his seat and had a hand cupped around the blond's face and brought it up to his own.
"You can ask me to make the world stop turning and I would do it."
Roxas locked eyes with the redhead.
"You're so gay, Axel." Roxas giggled before reaching up and kissing the taller male.
Axel suddenly jumped away from the blond, jumping excitedly. "Oh, oh, oh! Guess what, guess what, guess what!"
Roxas jumped up from his seat and jumped in time with the redhead. "What, what, what!"
"I have an interview in two weeks for a theme park that's opening up in Midgar!" Axel shouted.
"Awesome!" Roxas shouted back, wrapping his arms around Axel as they jumped.
The two stopped jumping after a moment, giggling like schoolgirls. And then Axel's face fell and his body slumped.
"Oh, but that means I'm also detoxing…"
"Oh, poor baby," Roxas said, walking to the couch and picking up his jacket. "Can we get ice cream?"
Axel turned to him with his shoulders hunched over. "It's 12 degrees outside."
"Then how about hot chocolate? Anything to get out of the house."
Axel perked up and grabbed his coat. "NOW you're talking."
/L-C-C\
Sora stood in the doorframe of his house, unable to move, despite the bone-chilling winter wind gusting by him and through the living room. His pajama pants whipped in the wind as he stared at the yellow envelope peeking out of the mailbox and taunting him slowly.
Sora grabbed it and the other mail from the box after a few moments and closed the door. He trudged to the kitchen table and made eye contact with Mayuka.
"Why'd you leave the door open for so long?"
Sora hesitated, putting some of the letters addressed to resident and his mother on the table as she read the newspaper. "I, uh, thought I saw someone I knew."
"Oh," she started before opening a pen with the cap in her mouth and circling an ad, "well, I'd better get going. I have three interviews today."
Sora smiled, dropping the last letter and tucking the envelope behind his legs. "That's great."
"Two CAD positions and a receptionist job at the Yahoo building downtown." She giggled to herself as she danced into the kitchen. Sora headed for the stairs when Mayuka stopped him, popping out of the kitchen. "Soraaaa?"
Sora cringed. "Yeeeess?"
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, you know, just…getting ready to go…out. And do…stuff."
Mayuka quirked and eyebrow and brought the rest of her body out of the kitchen to cross her arms. "You're staying away from…"
"Yes, of course."
"Because if any of those bastards come around here I'm coming after them with a bat. You understand?"
Sora scoffed. "You won't have to, I'll go after them with the bat, Mom."
Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "I've already gotten in touch with the police and the DA. An officer is coming today to get a report, okay? They're going to get their asses handed to them for putting a minor out on the streets like that."
"I know, but… I did what I had - "
"No, Sora, you did not have to resort to doing that." Her eyes flashed as she struck the wall with fist. "People like them are sick, and they pulled you in; you are the victim, Sora, and they will get what they deserve for what happened to my baby." She started tearing up, her body trembling with rage.
"Ugh, I can't smear my damn makeup," she said before disappearing into the kitchen for a paper towel.
Sora followed her, setting the envelope on the table. He set a hand on her back in comfort and sighed.
"And I know those are your test results."
"What…?" Sora snapped up, eyes wide. There was no way in the world that she could have known about him getting tested.
She sniffled before drying another tear. "I'm really glad you did that." She turned to him sternly, grabbing his shoulders tightly and locking their gaze.
"If they catch anything, Sora, it will be okay. We can handle whatever - "
"Mom, I get it. It will be okay. This is getting really awkward - "
"How many people touched you, Sora? They need names. How many times a week?" She was going around the kitchen now, making her peanut butter sandwich lunch for the day.
"Mom - "
"Did you have sex with any of them? People today are just so fucking sick, it's ridiculous - "
"Mom -"
"Ugh, those people are going to burn in Hell a thousand times over for - "
"Mom! Stop! Please."
Mayuka was silent, smearing the peanut butter angrily on the bread, avoiding Sora's eyes.
"Look, I got names and faces. I did some weird shit, and I'm not happy about it, but can we please stop talking about it? Don't let it ruin your day; don't let it go through your head during your interviews."
Mayuka stopped smearing the peanut butter, and sighed, angrily and slowly.
"I'm trying not to. But I will be angry about this for the rest of my life. Even if they get what's coming to them, I will never be able to forgive something like that."
Mayuka finished the sandwich and tucked it into a bag.
"I know, Mom…"
"Well…what are you waiting for? Go open that envelope. Call me with the results." She turned around and smiled at him.
"Okay mom." Sora replied, kissing her cheek, grabbing the envelope as he headed up the stairs, his heart pounding.
"Break a leg today!" he shouted behind him before hearing the front door close.
/L-C-C\
Despite being in his room for the past hour, Sora was hesitant about opening the yellow envelope that held his fate.
He turned the idea over in his head. What if he had every disease known to man? He'd have to be euthanized or something so he wouldn't pollute the earth with his infections. What if he had something completely irreversible and fatal?
He didn't want to open it – not alone, anyway. He picked up his phone and dialed a number he knew well.
/L-C-C\
It was another hour before Riku actually got to Sora's doorstep. Sora was waiting for him, occasionally peeking out from the blinds until he saw the car pull up. He ran outside without any shoes on, kissed the silver haired boy on the cheek, and let himself be carried back to the house.
Sora had the envelope sitting on the table in the living room. Riku set him down, and Sora led him by the hand to the couch. When the brunet sat down, he couldn't take his eyes off of it.
"So," Riku began, holding the envelope with two fingers and looking at it. "You need me to open it?"
Sora nodded. "Its kind of menacing to think about right now. I can't do it."
Riku nudged the metal prong open, but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Wait…"
Sora took his hand away and sighed. "I… Just read it to yourself first. And whatever that paper says-"
"Sora. You used protection, right? With everyone, right?" Riku pulled the envelope away from his face for a moment and looked the brunet over.
"Yes."
"No mishaps, no busts. Right?"
"…Right."
"Riiiight?" Riku lifted an eyebrow.
"Right, right!" Sora shook his head, coming out of his daze. "I used condoms, each and every time, and nothing failed. But…there's always that thought in the back of my head, telling me there's…something wrong. Just… just tell me what it says, okay?"
Riku smiled, turning his attention back to the envelope. "Okay."
Sora hid his face in a pillow as Riku slowly slipped the concealed paper out and glanced at it. His eyes scanned the paper scrupulously before giving a heaved sigh, making Sora cry out.
"I have everything, don't I!"
"Well," Riku began, pointing to the paper. "It says here that the tested you for gonoherpasyphilaids, and…"
Sora looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed together. "What the fuck…?"
"It says you're actually negative for everything. I was screwing with you. They tested for the basics, and-"
The lips pressing to his own was what cut Riku off. Sora wrapped his arms around the older boy's neck and pulled him close. He felt Riku's lips pull up into a smile before he pulled his neck back and smiled himself.
"Do you need proof?"
"No, I trust you. Unless you're lying to me just to get into my pants?"
"Always," Riku said, easily laying himself on top of the other boy and pressing kisses to his neck. Sora sighed into Riku's ear, making him shiver.
When the doorbell rang, Riku found himself suddenly on the floor.
Sora scrambled to his feet. "Uh, sorry! It must be the attorney. I have to talk to him about our case for a bit. Um… it might be best if you stayed in my room?"
Riku groaned, getting himself up into a sitting position. He must have smacked into the coffee table, because his side ached like he was stabbed. Sora ran up to the door and fixed his hair before turning the handle and greeting the man outside.
Riku hurried upstairs, despite his aching side. He hid himself at the top of the stairs and listened to their hour long conversation about what Sora had been doing all this time. About his mother's money issues and how Sora didn't know any other way to help. He talked about the many, many men he had been with, and gave him names and addresses. He talked about Rufus Shinra and Felicity. He heard Sora choke back tears at a few points and all he wanted to do was make it all go away.
Riku sighed silently, not knowing what to think. When he heard the attorney and Sora exchange goodbyes, Riku hurried into Sora's room and casually laid himself onto the bed, closing his eyes and evened out his breathing.
Sora opened the door with a loud groan and slumped on top of the silver haired boy. Riku chuckled and wrapped his arms around the brunet's thin frame.
Sora held himself up by his elbows. "I knew you were listening."
Riku was only half surprised. "Well, I wanted to know."
"It know. I wish it was just a little bit prettier, but…"
"It's okay. Its behind you now."
"Yeah… I guess."
/L-C-C\
"I have a brilliant idea." Axel said, sipping at the last of his hot chocolate.
Roxas perked up next to him. They were sitting on a bus stop bench in the middle of the snow-drenched sidewalk.
"What's that?" Roxas asked.
"We should go down to that hell-hole that Sora crawled out of… and we should blow it up."
"Really, now?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. He took a gulp of his hot chocolate and turned to the redhead. "You know how to make explosives?"
"Roxas, we have the internet. We can make anything we want," he chuckled, tossing his empty cup into the trash can near the bench.
"Let's go see Sora. I'll bet this plan of yours will make him laugh. He went to the clinic recently, did I tell you?"
Axel stood up and stretched his long limbs. "For what?"
"Getting tested for…stuff." Roxas was already walking toward the parking lot.
"Oh. Well…I hope he's okay." Axel came up after the blond and draped an arm over his shoulders. They climbed into the car together and drove off.
Roxas already had the phone pressed to his ear. "Soraaaaaa, come onnnnn. Well, we're coming over, no matter what the heck you're doing! Prepare yourself!" He closed is phone. "He didn't answer."
"I guess not. That's okay. We'll surprise him."
/L-C-C\
Riku dropped down suddenly next to Sora on the bed, his hair sticking to his forehead and his breathing coming in gasps. Sora was equally spent, still riding the waves of an orgasm he was sure he had about a minute ago.
"How…many…times…?" Riku breathed, curling up closer to the brunet and closing his eyes.
"Four… I think." Sora said, catching his breath and feeling his muscles already stiffening from soreness. He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and attempted lazily to clean off his torso, throwing the tissue in the general direction of the trash can.
"I need a shower." Sora stood and walked over to his dresser, pulling the top drawer open as he searched for a pair of socks before warm arms snaked around him and pulled him away from it.
"How about one more for the road?" Riku coaxed, his hand already slithering down Sora's stomach, making him shiver.
Just when Riku was about to wrap his hand around the brunet boy's member, the doorbell rang.
Sora groaned, slumping his body and began looking for his boxers.
"Why are you so popular today?" Riku asked, already fitting his pants back on and looking around for his shirt.
"I wasn't expecting anyone else. Just wait up here; if it's a Jehovah's Witness, I'll need your help in chasing them down the street." Sora said, pulling on a pair of pants and a shirt.
Riku chuckled. "That would be hilarious." He set himself down on the bed while Sora opened his bedroom door and trotted down the stairs.
He grabbed the handle and turned, pulling open the door slowly to see the visitor. He glanced up at the tall, bald man standing on his porch and suppressed his urge to gasp.
He would recognize Rude anywhere.
"What do you want?" Sora said, keeping the door only cracked open. He eyed the bald man warily, and could feel Rude eyeing him back despite the black Ray Bans.
"I have a message from Mr. Shinra," he began, his stance stiff and business-like. "He offers his apologies."
Sora lifted an eyebrow.
"He doesn't want this mishap to disrupt your…business together." Rude reached into his coat pocket fluidly, bringing out an envelope. "He's offering to pay for any…damages. Inside this envelope is a blank check."
Rude handed the plain white letter-sized envelope to the brunet. Sora took it shakily. He stared in disbelief at the back, realizing the lid was not even sealed.
"Mr. Shinra also has another message." Rude said, only continuing when the brunet looked up at him. "He wants to offer you your original job back. On the catwalk, with double the pay."
Sora looked back down at the envelope. He turned it over in his hands, already losing the feeling in his fingers and when his eyes landed on the imprint of his name written in fancy cursive script on the front, he broke.
"I don't want his fucking money," he hissed, ripping the envelope in two.
"I don't want his sympathy," Sora ripped the halved envelope into fourths.
"I never want to see his fucking face, or yours, ever again!" Sora ripped the papers a third time, throwing shredded papers at the tall man's chest. Rude did not flinch.
"Hey, buddy."
The voice came from behind them. Rude turned his body to the side, allowing both of them to see Axel and Roxas standing in the walkway.
"What kind of business do you think you have here?" Axel said, his arms firmly crossed. Roxas stood at his side, his hands balled into fists and his eyes narrowed into a death-stare.
"Actually, I was just leaving." Rude said, his voice still calm and collected. He adjusted the lapels on his coat and cleared his throat. "Thank you for your time."
He began walking down the cement pathway, but stopped when Axel stood in his way. Sora watched, suddenly noticing his heart beating wildly as Axel glared at Rude straight through his sunglasses.
"We'll see you in court," he whispered, stepping aside slowly to let the bald man through. He paused briefly before walking down the path and driveway to his limousine.
The three of them didn't take their eyes off of him until he had driven down the street. Sora made a small noise when he felt Riku's hands on his shoulders, pulling him away from the doorframe as the other two boys entered the house.
Sora only nodded when Riku asked if he was okay. His body was numb and head ringing suddenly - he couldn't feel when they walked him over to the couch and set him down. He didn't feel it when Roxas wrapped his arms around him and stroked his hair. He didn't feel it when Riku sat on his other side and held his hand while Axel tried to find something on the television in front of them.
He was thinking. He thought about how awful the last few months had been. He thought about what he had put the other three boys through and how it all had gotten him nowhere. He thought about how he wanted to wrap his fingers tightly around the thick neck of Rufus Shinra and squeeze until his knuckles turned white and his fingers were about to break.
He thought about how he pushed everyone away and had nightmares of never escaping the lifestyle. He thought about how, even though he pushed and pushed, Roxas still came back and made amends. He thought about how Riku was so distraught for so long, and how he welcomed Sora back even before Sora knew he was coming out of it. He remembered how the ones closest to him came through when he was sure it was hopeless.
He hadn't realized some time had gone by before he came back to reality. South Park was flashing on the television when he looked over at Axel in the chair, staring lazily and offering a chuckle at one of the jokes.
Sora noticed Roxas asleep on his right shoulder and freed his arm to pull the younger boy close. Roxas shifted to accommodate the movement, snuggling closer and sighing contently.
Sora felt Riku move on his left and turned to look at him. Their cupped hands were warm when Sora moved his fingers, giggling when Riku wiggled his in response and brought their noses together.
Sora looked back at the television with a sigh and felt energy rush through him like a flood. He jumped up suddenly, startling everyone in the room as he dashed down the hall and dug out a board game from the closet.
No one needed much convincing to sit down at the coffee table and set up the dominoes for a game of Mexican Train.
Soon they were all laughing and Sora, for the first time in a long while, felt like he belonged in this moment.
This was what he needed. Just Riku, Roxas, and Axel.
+Insert Coin To Continue?+
A/N: Almost done. ALMOST Done…I love dubstep. And Skrillex. HUUUUMAGAWD.
And the lovely Beta-job is courtesy of ilovecats86. :D