Jasmine here! Things really start picking up in this chapter! Hope everyone likes it!
Also, Cami and I decided to try to update once a week, every Saturday. We have a few chapters stockpiled, so hopefully we'll be able to stick to the once a week schedule!
We don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.
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Cloud followed Larxene as she quickly entered The Hardware Store Place, hoping that he had gotten her here on time so that she wouldn't get in trouble with her boss. They should have just made it, but Cloud was still worried and planned on taking the blame if Leon got upset. He looked around at all of the tools and things on display in the store, and wondered who came up with the horrible shop name when Larxene suddenly stopped in front of him and he saw a frowning brunette striding purposefully towards them. Guess they didn't make it on time after all.
"Larxene, you're late. Again." Leon said, stopping in front of them and crossing his arms, "Hey, Cloud."
Larxene shifted, grumbling something under her breath about detours and stupid roommates and cars being left in parking lots when there was no actual reason for them to be there.
Leon raised an eyebrow, "What was that?"
"Leon." Cloud said, taking a step forward. "It's my fault Larxene's late; I insisted we make a detour this morning on our way here."
Leon glanced over at Cloud as if only realizing that he was there (which is strange because he had clearly acknowledged his presence only a moment earlier.) "Oh." he nodded.
"Sooo... do I still have a job?" Larxene asked, sounding hopeful.
Leon sighed, wondering how he got himself into these situations, "For now. Go get to work."
"Will do, boss man! Thanks!" Larxene dashed off, calling a thank you to Cloud as well as she vanished into the break room.
"Thanks, Leon. Listen, we need to talk. Do you have an office or something?" Cloud asked.
"Uh, sure." Leon nodded, "Come on."
Cloud nodded, following Leon as he walked through an "Employees Only" door and opened one of the office doors inside. He couldn't help but notice how good the brunette's ass looked in those pants, shaking his head to dispel those types of thoughts as he took the seat Leon motioned to.
"So..." Leon said, waiting for the blonde to start the conversation, "What did you need to talk to me about?"
"Your idiot roommates." Cloud said. "You've been getting pranks, right? Things sent to you, supposedly from me? Oh, did you get the magazine yet? That's from Xigbar, by the way."
Leon gestured in the general area of the trash can and nodded, "I know they're not from you. Seifer and Xigbar are idiots that have it in their head that this is amusing."
"So far, Xigbar sent me chocolates with a corny note signed by 'you' and apparently it was Seifer who signed me up for a phone sex subscription. I know Xigbar sent you the trashy magazine; he admitted as much this morning when I very nearly beat him to a pulp - that's why Larxene was late, by the way. Did you get anything else?" Cloud asked, morbidly curious.
"Flowers, the other day. Handed them off to a random person on the street." Leon answered.
Cloud just shook his head. "They obviously don't know either of us as well as they think - did they really think we would fall for something like that? In the beginning, it was entertaining; now it's just annoying. I think we need to teach them a lesson, don't you?"
Leon chuckled, "I'm up for anything in which Seifer gets his ass kicked."
"Great." Cloud smirked evilly. "You all live together, right? What do you think - " Cloud was cut off by a knock on the door.
"For everyone's sake, I hope no one broke something. Come in!" Leon called.
The door opened, revealing a delivery guy dressed in the typical brown uniform of most delivery companies, complete with a cap which was currently restraining his black hair and hiding his eyes. He carried with him a medium sized box wrapped in plain brown paper. "I've got a package for Cloud."
Cloud frowned. "I didn't order anything to be sent here..." He groaned as realization hit. "Not again! Look, whatever it is, I don't want it. So just take it back to Seifer and Xigbar. Return to sender."
"Sorry, Cloudy, but I know it's for you." The delivery person said, setting the package on Leon's desk and looking up, his blue eyes sparking as they met the blonde's.
"Zack?" Cloud asked, confused. "I didn't know you worked as a delivery guy! Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want whatever it is those two idiots told you to give me."
Zack just smirked. "I'm sure you'll change your mind." With that, he ripped off his cap and threw it to the floor, his black hair cascading around his face. With a grin, he ripped open the package and pulled a silver boombox out of the box. Cloud opened his mouth to question what his friend thought he was doing, when Zack turned on the player, a thumping dance song coming on, as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his toned chest.
"Zack?" Cloud yelled, his too-stunned brain not processing the image before him. Zack smirked and proceeded to wiggle his hips to the beat as he slipped off his pants and kicked off his shoes, leaving him standing in nothing but a gold thong.
"Wh-what the hell?" Cloud exclaimed, a light blush dusting his face.
Zack laughed, continuing to dance to the pounding beat. "C'mon, Cloudy. Use your head. I'm not a delivery guy, I'm your stripper for the day. I've been ordered to give you a lap dance, but maybe the brunette cutie over here would like one first?"
"Most definitely not, thank you." Leon said, "I'm actually going to go on break right now and kill my roommates." he said, looking like he was three seconds from throwing Zack out the window. He probably would have, if it hadn't been for the potential lawsuits and the fact that Cloud seemed to recognize him.
"Aww, you're so cute when you're mad." Zack said with a wink. Cloud took one look at Leon and leapt to his feet. He might be pissed at Zack, but there was no way he'd let Leon kill his friend. He quickly bent down and gathered the delivery uniform, thrusting it at Zack while staring firmly at his jaw.
"Zack. For all our sake's, put the damn clothes back on!" Turning to leave his friend to it, he quickly turned off the music.
"Leon. I'm sorry my friend is stupid enough to get roped into this - he really is a good guy and I'd appreciate it very much if you didn't kill him." Cloud said, noting the anger clearly visible on the brunette's face, trying to think of some way to calm him down.
"Aw, but Cloudy, the fun - " Zack was cut off by an extremely pissed and flustered blonde. "Zack! If you value your life at all, you'll shut up and leave! Now!"
Zack pouted but after taking another look at the brunette, decided that maybe this had gone far enough and he should leave now. Gathering the boombox and packaging, he fled the suddenly tense office.
Cloud frowned slightly at Leon, as he still hadn't said anything. "Leon?" He said tentatively.
"I was serious about taking my break and killing Xigbar and Seifer. Are you coming?" Leon asked, standing up and grabbing his keys.
Relieved he wasn't going after his moron of a friend, Cloud nodded. "If you give me directions, we can take my bike. It'll be faster."
"Sure, sounds good." Leon nodded, "My apartment's not far from here. We might need to swing by The Rusty Wrench to kill Xigbar, though." Letting Cloud out of his office, he shut and locked the door behind them. Larxene was coming down an aisle towards them, so he called for her, "Larxene, I'm taking my lunch break. Be back in an hour."
"Sounds good." Larxene smiled, waving, a little more happy and polite than Leon had ever seen her. He brushed it off as her not wanting to get fired and let it go, heading out the door with Cloud to kill his roommates.
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"Yes, Sora, I understand that you're confused." Kairi spoke into her phone, leaning back on the couch and giving her sister a look.
"But he freaked out!"
"I know. You just said that."
"Kairiiii."
Kairi rolled her eyes.
Namine smiled at her sister. "I'm sorry, Riku." She said into her phone. The two were attempting to watch TV while also both on the phone.
"Nami, it was horrible! He had no idea why I was so upset!"
"Oh, Riku. You should know from years of friendship that Sora can be a bit dense."
"Yeah, but I never thought he'd be this dense! He doesn't get it. How can he not see it? I don't know what to do..."
Namine sighed, glancing at her sister, thinking of some positive advice to give her friend.
"No, Sora, I don't know why he almost ran out on you." Kairi said, "And I highly doubt that you did anything wrong."
"But he freaked out as soon as you left."
"And do you remember what I did right before I left?" Kairi rolled her eyes, wondering how long it would take Sora to realize what had happened.
"Uhh..."
"I kissed you on the cheek, remember?" Kairi asked, using the voice she used to talk to small children.
"But you do that all the time!"
"Riku, have you tried telling him how you feel?" Namine asked carefully.
"Of course not! I couldn't take it if he hated me because of it. If I can't have him like that, I want to at least be able to remain friends and see him regularly. I need him. I don't know what I'd do - SHUT UP RENO, I'M NOT EMO! - Sorry, Nami."
Namine grimaced, rolling her eyes but nodding while saying, "It's all right. Tell Reno I say hello. Back to Sora - maybe you should give it a try. I really don't think he'll hate you."
"I... I tried. But when I looked him in the eye, I just couldn't. You don't know what it was like, to stand in his house while he wondered why it would bother me or hurt me at all if he was with your sister - and he's definitely not, right? I mean, he said as much, but Kairi doesn't think...?"
Namine laughed, glancing at her sister. "No, I promise you Kairi isn't secretly pining away for Sora."
Kairi pulled her phone away from her ear, "Why are we having the same conversation with two different people?"
"Because they're both too clueless to actually work things out between themselves?" Namine answered, while making sympathetic noises to Riku who was still detailing his plight.
Kairi rolled her eyes, "No, Sora, the kiss did not mean anything more than what it usually does."
"Well, if you can't say it with words, say it with actions. Take him out one on one. Kiss him. Do something!" Namine said into her phone.
"But what if - "
"Riku, I love you like a brother but you cannot live your life always asking 'what if'. If you don't try, Sora will eventually become someone else's boyfriend and then you'll never know what you could have had. You are a smart, funny, attractive man who has known Sora for years. You can do this. I'm hanging up now. Go get your man!" With that, Namine sighed loudly and dropped her phone into her lap.
Kairi gave her sister a look that expressed her extreme jealousy at her being off the phone. "No, Sora, I will NOT talk to Riku for you!" she snapped, "You need to suck it up and just talk to him already." She snapped her phone shut.
"Do you think those two will ever get together? Maybe we should do more to push them together..." Namine said, worry on her face.
"Nam, I am ready to lock the two of them in a fucking closet if it will stop the whiny phone calls." Kairi grumbled.
"Did Sora figure anything out? Because Riku is extremely upset about his cluelessness." the blonde said, rubbing her temples as a headache started making itself known.
"Sora's a clueless idiot. He still has no idea." Kairi sighed. "Seriously. Can I lock them in a closet?"
"I think we should save that as a last resort. Right now, if that happened Riku would either have a panic attack or molest Sora, and either way Sora would freak out because he wouldn't be able to find the closet door - literally and metaphorically." Namine replied.
Kairi sighed and mumbled, "Fine..."
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Riku sighed as he heard the click of Namine hanging up on him, closing his phone and placing it on the table next to him. He was laying on the couch in the living room of his apartment, someplace he rarely ever was but he couldn't exactly go to Sora's right now. It was too awkward. He placed his arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling, trying to picture taking Sora out on a date or kissing him and failing miserably.
"You're kind of a major drama queen, Riku." His brother's voice broke through his thoughts. "Oh, no, dear me, my best friend doesn't realize that he's madly in love with me, what ever will I do?"
"Shut up, Reno." Riku said halfheartedly. He closed his eyes, not at all in the mood for his half-brother's teasing.
"Stop being mean, Reno." A female voice spoke up.
"I wasn't being mean..." Reno grumbled.
She rolled her eyes, ignoring him, "Riku, do you want something to eat? I'm making lunch."
Riku opened his eyes and sat up. "Sure. Thanks, Aerith. See, Reno? Why can't you be more like our sister? You know, nice?"
"Because then my name would be Aerith, not Reno." Reno stated as if it was obvious.
Aerith smacked him.
Riku snickered. Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it." Riku said, standing up and moving over to the door. 'Maybe it's Sora!' He thought, his hopes soaring... only to be dashed as the opened door revealed not his favorite brunette but his sister's husband, Zack.
"Oh. Hey, Zack." Riku said, trying and failing to keep the disappointment out of his voice.
"Whoa, what's wrong with you? I've got just the story to cheer you up! You'll never guess what I just did!" Zack said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him, following Riku into the kitchen.
"Hey Reno." He said, making his way over to Aerith and kissing her. "Hi, babe." Zack grinned.
"Hey, hon." Aerith smiled, "You have a story? What did you do?"
Riku ignored the way his stomach flipped at the obvious display of affection, instead focusing on Zack's story.
"Well." Zack started. "I got a call from Larxene, Cloudy's roommate, asking if I wanted in on a chance to prank him. Of course I said yes, and was told to get to The Hardware Store Place as fast as I could dressed as a delivery guy with a boombox as my 'package'."
Riku's jaw dropped. "You didn't!"
Zack laughed and winked at him. "Of course I did!"
Aerith's eyes narrowed and she repeated her previous question with more emotion, "What did you do, Zack?"
Reno laughed at the tone in his sister's voice.
"I gave Cloudy and his friend a little show, naturally!" Zack gleefully answered. "Although, they declined my offers for lap dances that Larxene insisted I give. And I never did get the brunette's name..."
"Why did I marry you again?" Aerith asked, smacking him and going back to making lunch.
"Aerith!" Zack whined. "You married me - "
" - for his good looks. He obviously doesn't have a brain." Riku said, grinning.
"Aw, Rikuuu. Don't be mean." Zack said, pouting, before suddenly grinning himself. "Hey, at least I cheered you up! See, Aerith? You married me because I'm kind and caring and I love you."
Aerith rolled her eyes, "I'm still not convinced."
"Aerith!" Zack said. "Reno, help me out here!"
"You're on your own, man." Reno laughed, "I'm not helping you win my sister over again."
"Hey! I thought you were my best friend!" Zack said, poking Reno in the shoulder.
Riku snorted and rolled his eyes. He missed this. He missed his crazy family. Maybe he should hang out at home more often...
"You can't use that excuse again." Reno gave his brother-in-law a look, "You did the same thing when you were trying to convince her to marry you."
Aerith raised an eyebrow, "What's this now?"
"Nothing, sis. Just make lunch." Reno grinned at her.
Aerith shrugged, "Okay, then you're not getting any."
"Zack guilted me into helping him convince you to marry him." Reno said, "Now do I get lunch?"
"Reno!" Zack yelled. "You are not helping! Just stop talking!" Zack put his hands around Aerith's waist. "Baby, you know I love you. You're just so damn perfect, I was intimidated to propose to you. I was afraid you'd shoot me down."
Riku sighed. Then again, this was why he avoided home. This mushy crap bugged him, and especially got to him today.
Aerith chuckled, "Fine." she rolled her eyes, leaning back into him as she continued to finish up making lunch, "You still don't get any lunch, Reno."
"What?" Reno whined, "Why?"
"Aw, you know he'll never shut up if you deny him food. He was just helping me 'cause we're best friends. It's in the rule book. Please don't make me split my lunch with him and give him his own?" Zack begged on Reno's behalf.
"Speaking of, Aerith, are you almost done? Do you need help? 'Cause I'm starving." Riku said, attempting to save his half-brother and brother-in-law from destruction-by-Aerith.
Aerith rolled her eyes, "I'm done." she said, pulling herself out of Zack's arms and putting a plate of sandwiches on the table. She rolled her eyes at Reno and gestured towards the table in a sort of, "Fine, go ahead" movement.
Reno grinned and ran to the table, more than happy to.
"You're the best." Zack said, spinning Aerith to give her another kiss before grabbing a sandwich for himself.
Riku quickly took one off the stack. "I'll be in my room." He mumbled, fleeing the room as the happy couple made gooey eyes at each other.
Aerith frowned as he left, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna try and talk to him." she squeezed Zack's hand and walked down the hall to Riku's room. Knocking on the door, she spoke, "Riku? Can I come in?"
Riku hastily swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and gave a muttered 'come in', turning from where he was standing looking out his window to lean against the wall next to it so that he was facing the door as Aerith entered.
"Hey..." Aerith said, walking in and shutting the door behind her so that they would have some privacy, "Are you okay? You... seem a little off." she said, hesitantly.
Riku ran a hand through his hair and tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Aerith clearly didn't believe him, "Riku, you can talk to me."
He sighed, crossing his arms and avoiding her gaze. "I know, Aerith. It's just... complicated."
She frowned, "If this is about Sora, I heard you on the phone with your friend."
"So then you should know what's bothering me. Sorry I just ran out of the kitchen and left you to deal with Zack and Reno." Riku said to the wall.
"I'm used to it, Riku, that's not a big deal." Aerith sighed, "I think you need to talk to him."
Riku sighed. "I know. It's just... I love him so much. And I know he loves me too. But what if... what if I'm wrong? I mean, he's never dated a guy before, that I know of. What if I'm wrong in thinking he has feeling for me, too? And then if I make a move... he'll hate me."
"As long as you're careful, he won't hate you. I'm not telling you to jump him, Riku." Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"I know, but he's my best friend. I just don't want to screw things up between us." Riku closed his eyes, letting his head thunk back against the wall.
"Well, it seems like you're stuck with a choice, Riku. You're obviously not happy with the way things are now, but to advance anything, you need to figure out if you're ready to possibly risk him reacting wrong." Aerith said, "Either way, you need to talk to him."
Riku took a deep breath and when he opened his eyes and focused on his sister, they shone with determination. "You're right. You and Namine are both right - I have to do something. 'Cause the way it is right now is just hurting us both. Thanks, Aerith."
Aerith smiled, "No problem. Now come back outside and spend time with your family. We never see you anymore."
Riku grinned. "Okay, okay. As long as you and Zack keep your hands to yourselves and behave."
Aerith rolled her eyes, "Fiiiine, I promise." she smiled.
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"Dem?"
Demyx glanced over at his friend, snapped out of his thoughts.
"Alright, what's going on?" she asked, plopping into a chair across from him. The two of them were sitting in her living room, a random music station playing on the radio as they attempted to plan out Yuffie's party. "We're not in the classroom now, so you can tell me, right?"
"There's nothing going on, Yuffie." Demyx insisted, "I'm just tired."
Yuffie shut her notebook, "Well, then, we can plan later." She shrugged, "The party's not 'til Saturday, and it's only Wednesday." She leaned back in her chair, "Are you sure you're okay? You've seemed really off the last few days."
Demyx shook his head, "I'm fine, Yuffie. Thanks for worrying, though."
Yuffie sighed, "No, you're not. I've known you for years, Demyx, you'd think you would trust me."
"But there's nothing—"
"Demyx, you're lying to me! Stop it and tell me what's wrong before I find a knife to poke you very hard with!" Yuffie snapped, clutching her notebook. "If there was something wrong here, I'd tell you!"
"That's just it, Yuffie! There's nothing wrong here!" Demyx snapped back at her, "Nothing is ever wrong in your perfect little life where you can blackmail your perfect little parents and get everything you want!"
Yuffie stiffened.
"I'm just—" he frowned, starting to lose steam, "I have to go." He stood up, grabbing his backpack and walking towards the door.
Yuffie grabbed his arm, "Demyx, wait—"
He pulled his arm out of her grip and left, slamming the door shut behind him.
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What a dramatic chapter ending! Expect the next one next Saturday!
Review and let us know you liked it!