Hi all! Jasmine here! I hope you are all as excited to read this next chapter as I am to post it! We are writing quite a lot so the updates should become fairly regular and not so spaced out! Yay!

…And since Cami never includes the disclaimer in her author's notes, here it is: We don't own Kingdom Hearts.

XXXX

"Well, you're coming in pretty late." Larxene raised an eyebrow as Axel walked into the apartment.

"Sorry, I didn't know I had a curfew." Axel said, giving her a look, "Riku's car broke down, so we ended up at his friend's house for dinner."

"Uh, Ax? You drove to work." Larxene said, "You took my car, and drove to work. So, Riku's car breaking down should not affect your method of travel home."

"Riku's friend happens to be Roxas's older brother." Axel told her.

Pieces clicked into place. "Ahhh, I see." Larxene smirked, "So, where's my car?"

"Still in the Box Depot parking lot." Axel said, "I'll grab it for you tomorrow, don't worry."

"And if I need it tomorrow?"

"Well, we'll figure it out somehow." Axel shrugged, "Cloud can give you a ride or something."

"Oh, hey Axel. Larxene." Cloud said as he made his way into their house, keys in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other.

Larxene glanced over, "Who are the chocolates from, Cloud?" she asked in an obviously-I'm-trying-to-tease-you voice.

Cloud grinned. "Xigbar."

"Your coworker gave you chocolates?" Larxene raised an eyebrow, "He's the one with the black hair, right? I guess he's cute."

"Okay, one: it's a little creepy that you find Xigbar 'cute'. And two, he had them delivered to me as a joke. Him and his friend Seifer have gotten into their thick skulls that their other friend Leon and I are meant for each other. They have a bet going on whether we'll hook up by Christmas or Easter." Cloud said, rolling his eyes.

"Leon?" Larxene asked, "Like my boss Leon?"

"I have no idea. He's about my height, brown hair, blue eyes, kinda quiet and a little lazy. He was at the shop the other day and before you ask, yes there is some kind of attraction there, but he seems way too laid back to do anything about it. That's how I knew there was no way these chocolates were from him. Besides, chocolates? That's so corny." Cloud explained, slipping his sneakers off and plopping onto the couch.

"Yep, that's my boss." Larxene said, leaning forward on the counter, looking like she was deep in thought.

Axel raised an eyebrow, "Well, if he's too laid back to do anything about it, why don't you?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't seem all that interested. Plus it looked like he was involved with Xigbar's other friend, Seifer. And even if they aren't, I don't want to walk into a cluster-fuck of drama. Plus, I'm kinda curious how far Xig will take these pranks. Here, look at the card he sent." Cloud snorted as he threw the card to Axel.

"Didn't you say Seifer was in on the bet?" Larxene asked, "Why would he bet how long it would take his boyfriend to hook up with another guy?"

Axel caught the card and snickered as he read it over, passing it to Larxene.

Cloud just shrugged again. "Maybe they aren't together any more? Either way I don't want to cause shit by making a move. I hardly know the guy, anyway. I'm not looking for a fuckbuddy."

"You aren't going to know the guy until you get to know him." Larxene shrugged, "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"I guess." Cloud said, frowning as he thought about it. "But I bet Xigbar is also sending him pranks with my name attached to them. I kinda wanna know his reaction to those first. Hell, I'm not even 100% sure he's gay."

"Either way, don't rule it out so fast." Larxene winked, hopping off her stool, "I'm getting some sleep. Cloud, any chance you can give me a ride to work tomorrow? Axel left my car at the Box Depot."

"Sure. What time do you need to be there? I have the day off." Cloud said, taking the note he had gotten with the chocolates back from where it had been dropped and tucking it back into the box. He wanted to keep it for future blackmail against Xigbar.

"I start at noon." Larxene said, "Thanks, Cloud!" with that, she headed down the hall to her room.

XXXX

"Larxene, you ready to go?" Cloud yelled as he made his way into the kitchen from his room to grab a bottle of water before they headed out. His phone vibrated in his pants pocket and he frowned, taking it out and realizing he had one missed call. Shrugging, he had just started to play the voicemail when Larx stepped out of her room.

"Yep, I'm ready." Larxene nodded, walking into the room, an earring in one hand, slipping it in and grabbing a can of soda from the fridge, "Who's on the phone?"

Cloud almost dropped his cell. His eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open. He barely registered Larxene's presence, too stunned by the voice message he was listening to:

"Cloud Strife, this is your lucky day. We here at Sandy & Miles - S&M for short, cutie - are ready to please. Our skilled operators are standing by for you to activate your subscription - we have all ages and genders, so your pleasure is guaranteed! Call today to live your wildest fantasies and explode with an experience you'll never forget!"

When the message stopped, Cloud slowly pulled his cell away from his ear and stared at it as if the machine was possessed and about to attack him at any given minute.

Larxene raised an eyebrow, "Cloud? You in there?" She waved a hand in front of the blonde's face. "Oh shit, I think I broke him."

"Xigbar's flipped his lid!" Cloud suddenly exploded, thrusting his cell at Larxene. "He's gone batshit crazy! I-I-I...arg! I'm gonna kick his ass! This goes way beyond a simple prank! Just listen to the message so that we can go kill my coworker before your shift starts!"

Larxene raised an eyebrow, taking the phone and listening to the message. As it finished, she burst into laughter, "Your coworker is officially amazing!" she smirked at Cloud, "I'll call Leon and tell him I'll be a little late. Let's go kick his ass."

XXXX

"Xigbar!" An extremely pissed off Cloud yelled, striding purposely into The Rusty Wrench, Larxene in tow. He maneuvered quickly through the tools and spare parts and general piles of junk cluttering the shop until he came to where his coworker was leaning up against one of their repair jobs, apparently take a break.

"You are sick. The chocolates, I get. A cute, harmless prank. Even the bet, I get to some extent. Gotta spice up life, right? But the subscription to phone sex? What the hell is wrong with you? You better have a real good answer to that question, or you'll be waking up three weeks from now black and blue in a hospital bed!" Cloud growled, fists clenched, giving his coworker a look that had knocked out weaker men.

Xigbar apparently did have a good answer to the question, "Seifer did it." he said, grabbing a magazine off the roof off the car he was supposed to be working on and tossing it over, "I subscribed Leon to that."

Cloud took one look at the magazine he had just caught and threw it to the ground, disgusted. It was one of those horribly trashy sex magazines, and this one's cover boldly proclaimed: "Sex on the Beach has never Tasted So Good! Details inside!"

"Seifer, huh? How convenient." Cloud muttered, before forcing the tension to leave his fists. "Looks like I won't be kicking your ass today, after all; if you really subscribed Leon to that trash, your days are already numbered anyway."

"Leon won't kill me." Xigbar laughed, "That's the genius behind me pranking him instead of you. He's not going to believe that Seifer didn't do it. So either way, Seifer gets beaten up. I'm just avoiding him beating me up." he shrugged, "So, who's your friend?"

Larxene walked up beside Cloud, "I'm Larxene." she said, "Xigbar, right?"

"That'd be me." Xigbar nodded, holding out a hand for Larxene to shake. Larxene took it, shaking, and when Xigbar pulled his hand back, he there was a piece of paper in it. Larxene just winked and stepped back to glance around the shop for a clock.

Finally finding one, she shrugged, "You're one of Leon's roommates, right? Think you can convince him not to fire me when I'm late?"

"You work for Leon?" Xigbar asked, surprised, ignoring the slip of paper in his hand.

"Yeah." Larxene said, "For now. But if I'm late again, I'm not so sure. And since it's pretty much your fault that Cloud needed to stop here before dropping me off..."

"Seifer's fault." Xigbar corrected.

"Either way." Larxene shrugged.

"We've still got five minutes before you're late - and it's my fault for not dropping you off first. Sorry, Larx. Don't worry, though. With those new upgrades I made, the bike'll get you there on time." Cloud said with a grin of pride and mischief. "Oh, and Xigbar!" Cloud called over his shoulder as he started for the exit, "I won't forget to let Leon know that he has you to thank for his new reading material! See you later!"

Larxene winked at Xigbar once again before running to catch up with Cloud. Once they were gone, Xigbar pulled the piece of paper out of his hand, reading it.

I'll double whatever you and Seifer put down on this Cloud and Leon thing. They'll be together by Halloween. - Larxene

XXXX

"Hey, Namine!" Kairi called up the stairs of her and her twin sister's house. "Have you seen my black boots?"

Namine sighed and walked out of her bedroom and stood at the hallway landing, looking down at Kairi. "No, I haven't. Honestly, you need to take better care of your things, Kairi!"

"Oh, come ON, Nam." Kairi whined, "I take perfectly good care of my shoes. I just don't know where I put them!"

Namine rolled her eyes. "Have you checked by both the front and back doors? And in your bedroom? And your closet?"

"Check check check..." Kairi paused for a second, "And check. Yes I did."

"Hmmm... Could you have left them at Sora's?" Namine asked, running out of ideas as to where her sister had abandoned her boots this time.

"I guess it's possible..." Kairi said, "I guess I'll give him a call." she grabbed her phone, speed dialing Sora, "Can you check your room for me?"

Namine sighed but nodded, heading back into her room to look even though she KNEW the boots wouldn't be in there. Kairi's fashion sense was... unique, and as her twin, Namine often found herself wondering how some crazy combination could look so stunning on Kairi and so awful on herself. This resulted in the blonde rarely borrowing any type of clothing from the vibrant redhead.

XXXX

"Hey, Sora, it's Kairi." Kairi leaned against the back of the couch, itching to find her boots.

"My phone still rings as you shouting for me to find my phone when you call, Kai." Sora's voice answered, "I know who it is."

"Smartass, you love that ringtone." Kairi rolled her eyes, "Anyway, are my black boots are your place?"

Sora paused, "Uhh... I have no idea. Want me to look around?"

"If you don't mind." Kairi smiled, "I'm kind of at a loss as to what other shoes to wear. Plus, I really love those boots."

Sora laughed, "I'll look around and call you back."

"Sounds good! Thanks!" Kairi grinned. Sora hung up, and she did the same, heading back over to the stairs and shouting up, "Find anything, Namine?"

"Sorry, Kairi. I didn't." Namine responded, coming back out of her room and leaning on the stair railing, looking down at her sister.

Kairi frowned, "Sora's looking. I hope he finds them, 'cause if he doesn't, I have no other ideas."

Namine frowned. "Want to borrow a pair of my shoes? Maybe you should try retracing your steps to find out where you put them."

"I have other shoes." Kairi frowned, "I just really want my boots back. I'll see if Sora found anything first."

As if on cue, her phone rang. She quickly pulled it out.

"Kairi, why were your boots hanging from Roxas's ceiling fan?"

Kairi blinked, "OH. I put them up there as a joke to see if Roxas would notice. Did he?"

"I'm assuming so, since he knew where they were when I asked if he'd seen them. Can you come over and grab them?"

"Yep! Thanks so much, Sora!"

"Yeah, no problem. See you." There was a click, and he hung up.

"So I take it Sora found them?" Namine asked.

"Yes he did." Kairi said, "I'm gonna head over and pick them up, you wanna come?" Kairi asked, walking up the stairs to grab some other shoes from her room.

"Sure!" Namine said, quickly grabbing a jacket from her room and throwing on a pair of sneakers before heading down the stairs to the door, making sure to grab her keys, too.

Kairi pulled on some sandals and grabbed her own keys, quickly heading down the stairs.

Namine opened the door for her sister, quickly locking and closing it behind them. The pair walked down the street to Sora's house. Namine admired the changing color of the leaves around them, before realizing that it would be Halloween soon. Thinking about what she would do this year, she didn't notice they had arrived until she walked into Kairi.

Kairi glanced over her shoulder to make sure her sister was okay before knocking (more like pounding) on Sora's front door.

A minute later, he opened the door, giving her a look, "Really?"

"Really what?" Kairi asked, putting an innocent voice on.

Sora rolled his eyes, "Hi, Namine."

Namine grinned. "Hi, Sora. May we come in?"

Someone inside the house shouted, "Who's at the door?"

"It's Kairi and Namine!" Sora called back, stepping out of the doorway to let them in, "Get your lazy ass out here, Riku!"

Grumbling about pushy brunettes, Riku made his way into the entryway just as Sora was shutting the door behind the twins. "Hey, Kairi. Namine. What're you guys doing here?"

"I left my boots here." Kairi said, disappearing up the stairs to find them. Sora just shook his head.

Namine sighed and shook her head. "Hi, Riku. How are you doing?"

Riku gave her a small, genuine smile. "I'm doing my best to hang in there, Nami. What about you?"

"Fine, thanks. Rooting for you, of course." Namine said with a chuckle, squeezing Riku's shoulder as she passed him on her way to the stairs, calling out to her sister: "Kairi? Did you find them?"

"Yep!" Kairi grinned, walking down the stairs with her black boots on, "I love these things."

"Then stop leaving them here." Sora rolled his eyes.

"She wouldn't be my sister if she didn't lose her favorite things at least twice a day." Namine stated with a grin.

Riku laughed and swung his arm over Sora's shoulders. "You two ladies joining us? We were just watching a movie."

"What movie?" Kairi asked. "Because if I have no interest in what you're watching, I'm going home."

"The remake of 'Hair'." Riku deadpanned.

"In that case, I'll pass." Kairi rolled her eyes, "Stupid boys and your stupid movies."

Sora just laughed.

"Nam, you coming?" Kairi asked her sister.

Namine nodded. "Yes. You two enjoy your movie. See you later!" She waved and opened the door, waiting for her sister to say her goodbyes.

"Bye, Nami. Bye, Kairi." Riku said, grinning.

"See you Riku." Kairi smiled. She gave Sora a friendly kiss on the cheek as she passed, "Thanks for finding my boots." she said, "Bye!"

Riku's grin faded from his face and he pulled his arm back, staring at Sora as the door shut behind the twins. His voice was even, with no hint of emotion, when he spoke: "I didn't know you and Kairi were like that."

Sora raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Riku glanced away, no longer able to look at Sora without losing it. "I wasn't aware you and Kairi were together. An item."

"We're not." Sora frowned, "And even if we were, would it matter?"

Riku's head whipped around to stare at Sora incredulously. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He closed it, closed his eyes for a moment, then tried again, hurt evident in his voice. "I guess it doesn't really matter after all." With that, the silverette turned to leave the house.

"Riku!" Sora called after him, surprised.

Riku stopped, but didn't turn around to face Sora as he spoke. "What is it, Sora? I should be getting home, Reno'll worry..." He trailed off, well aware the excuse was a pitiful one.

"Reno doesn't worry." Sora frowned, "Look, I don't know what I said, but I'm sorry for whatever it was."

Riku let out a short bark of laughter. "No, you wouldn't..." He muttered. He turned to face Sora, his best friend. "Sora, I..." Riku looked into those piercing blue eyes staring at him expectantly, and his courage fled. "It's nothing. I was just overreacting about you and Kairi. Forget it." Riku tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it.

Sora frowned, "Riku..."

"Let's just finish the movie, okay?" Riku said, avoiding Sora's gaze as he started to make his way past the slightly shorter brunette.

Sora frowned, but nodded, "Alright, sounds good..."

XXXX

…My characters all need therapy.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked it, we worked really hard on it! The plots are starting up, it's gonna be one messy ride but (hopefully) worth it in the end!

Please REVIEW and let us know if you liked it / what you think. Thank you!

And just a quick thanks to everyone reading. Okay, I'm done for real now.

Byee :)