Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Square Enix.
"You just need one."
Roxas scans the room as men converse and pick the snacks off of his platter.
"A loyal party goer, preferably one who's in a business deal with Marluxia. You'll be like a bond between him and Marluxia."
His eyes lock on a man probably more than twice his age. He stands tall in his black tuxedo, chin held high and a sly smirk shining. His black hair is brushed back, stopping at the base of his neck. Roxas watches out of the corner of his eye and waits until the right moment to move. When there's just two of them talking, Roxas strolls over and holds up his platter, simply muttering the name of the snack.
"The man that needs to reserve you is in charge of this huge arsenal trading service, along with this other guy."
He looks up while keeping his head down, locking eyes with the man who must be the business partner, a man with long dreads and intricate facial hair. He glances to the other, the one he'd come to speak to. Upon looking into his light amber eyes, the taller man's smirk grows.
"Marluxia needs to keep him close. That's where you come in. He reserves you, you make him happy, and he's happy with Marluxia."
Roxas nods, picking up his platter and heading out of the kitchen with Axel beside him. They stop before a crowd full of elegant black and white suits. Roxas takes a shaky breath in and tries to steady it as he lets it out. He's still nervous, even on his second night. Though he might be nervous for many nights. This is a hard thing to get used to.
Axel pats his shoulder and gives a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine."
Roxas smiles back weakly, "What's his name?"
"Braig." The man says, and nods at the other as he excuses himself. "And you are?"
"Roxas, sir."
"Nice to meet you, Roxas." Braig shakes Roxas' free hand. "How about we sit down?"
"I-I'd like that, sir." Roxas clears his throat and begins to follow the man to a sofa.
"Have a drink. Don't choke." Braig chuckles softly, as if he made some secret joke. He takes two glasses of wine from a table and hands one to the younger. "And don't call me sir, I'm not an old man."
"Sorry, um..Braig."
"That's better." He smirks, and toasts their glasses.
(...)
"Ding-dong-ding-dong~" Roxas chimes quietly with the grandfather clock as it strikes twelve.
Nearly an hour had passed and Roxas and Braig spent it drinking wine, eating snacks, and simply talking. Every once in a while, Braig would sneak his hand places that'd make Roxas a little uncomfortable, but the older man seemed to like waiting, or as he'd put it: 'teasing'.
In the beginning, Roxas was tense and Braig took note of it, thus encouraging him to drink and more. He was polite, encouraging simple talk of how the other's day was and such. Roxas loosened up a bit eventually, even surprising Braig with a joke or two.
"You're funny." Braig says as his laughter fades. "And actually...quite innocent. Usually by now, the butler would be quite touchy with me."
"You've had other butlers, huh? And gotten them tipsy?"
"Haven't you had other guests?" Braig asks, turning towards Roxas and resting his arm on top of the sofa with his hand holding his head up.
Roxas shakes his head, and leans back. "I've talked to others, but haven't been like this."
"Wow, so I'm a first."
"I guess." Roxas smiles and holds up the last snack, something that looks like a cracker topped with goo, but is actually quite delicious. "Oh no, last one, do you want it?"
"No, you can have it, kiddo." Braig smiles, and takes the platter from Roxas' lap. "How about I get more?"
Roxas nods, and places his hand over his mouth to avoid looking rude with a stuffed mouth.
"Hey, Roxas." A voice behind him whispers. He almost chokes on his snack when he gasps in surprise with a full mouth. "Whoa, man, calm down." A hand slaps his back until he regains himself.
"A-Axel?" Roxas turns toward the smirking redhead. "What is it?"
"Just checking how you're doing."
"I'm fine. Braig is nice."
"Yeah, he seems like that at first. But don't get too comfortable. You know Demyx?" Axel asks, and waits until Roxas nods to continue, "Well, he was Braig's first reserved. The guy seemed nice, but Demyx started to have bruises after each party. Turns out Braig has some dangerous kinks. Demyx is pretty tough, but he couldn't really do anything back."
"And you let me try to get reserved by him? ?" Roxas asks in surprise, his buzz lifting.
"Yeah, because I knew you wouldn't let him get too far. Play hard to get. He'll enjoy the chase, but know how to let him never get tired of it and still want more, you know? You think you can handle it?"
"I think so..."
"Thanks." Axel stands up. "It means a lot, really. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you."
"You promise?" Roxas looks up. Axel pauses as ocean blue meets acid green. For a moment, Roxas looks worried...and maybe even scared.
Axel bends over so he's eye to eye with Roxas. "I promise, Roxas. You'll never get hurt here."
Roxas takes a breath in, but it's steady and confident. "Thank you."
He smirks. "Unless you like getting a little hurt."
Roxas slaps his boss' shoulder softly. "No, perv."
"You heard him, he said no." Braig says as he steps up to Axel with a platter filled with more snacks.
Axel stands up, straightening his suit, and suddenly, adapts a regal air to him. "Hello, Braig."
"Axel, I didn't know you associated with your butlers in this way."
"I don't, but I was just checking up on him. He's new at this, so we're still teaching him." Axel glances at Roxas, the corner of his lips lifting a bit.
Braig nods, "Yes, he mentioned that. He does seem to be doing well though. I am certainly pleased with him."
"Wonderful! Does that mean you considered reserving?"
"Well, I haven't really reserved since...what was his name? Danny?"
"Demyx," Axel replies, clearly trying to hide his distaste for the other. "His name is Demyx."
"Oh, yes, right." Braig nods, and Roxas catches the hint of a smile. It practically gives him chills how each word seems to slither from his mouth. "But this one shows promise."
"I'm sure he does. Well, I better leave you two alone. Marluxia is probably looking for me now."
"It was nice speaking with you." Braig says as Axel turns and slips into the crowd. He turns his attention back to Roxas. "I'd rather speak to you though."
Roxas forces a smile. "For a longer time than Demyx, I hope?"
(...)
For some reason, Braig seemed to like his response. He probably found it funny. Or maybe thought that Roxas was hinting at being stronger than his coworker. Roxas really hoped it was the former, though he didn't think it was funny. He found it terrible that Braig treated Demyx that way. What confused Roxas was why Demyx came back. The possibility of it happening again by Braig or some other guest would be enough to keep Roxas from returning. If Roxas were in that situation though, he'd probably stay because of his need of munny. He didn't really know Demyx enough to know his motive though.
With more wine and snacks, Braig grew fonder and fonder of Roxas. Then as the clock struck two, he reached over and wrote 'Braig' on Roxas' tag. Roxas looked up at Braig afterwards, and smiled.
"Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you.." Braig's fingers wrap around Roxas' wrist, and he leans forward to whisper, "Can I do so...upstairs?"
"But I'm supposed to stay downstairs.." Roxas objects, subtly looking past the other's shoulder for Axel or Zexion.
"You're allowed to go if asked to by the one who's reserved you."
"Oh, I'm so tired though."
"You can rest in bed." Braig stands, holding tight onto Roxas, and begins to head out of the ball room.
Roxas searches for anyone who can help, and upon seeing everyone occupied, he begins to worry. He finds it hard to breathe, and could swear the room is spinning.
No, this isn't going to happen. It can't. I never intended for it to go this far. Roxas inhales sharply as he's pulled through the doors, up the stairs, and into the long hall. No. Please-
"Oh! I'm sorry, man!" Someone says after bumping into Roxas, spilling something onto his suit. "Or..lady?" There's a chuckle. "Look at you, you're soaked. You better change before that suit makes you do crazy things."
Roxas looks up, barely seeing the other man or Braig in the dim hallway. The lights are off, since no one is supposed to even be up here. The only lights are from the ones coming through the slightly opened curtains, and they create shadows all throughout the hall. One falls over the man standing before Roxas, almost covering most of his face, except for his forehead and mouth.
"Cause it's drunk, ya know?" A smirk is seen through the darkness.
Braig scoffs and lets Roxas' hand go. "More like you're drunk. Why don't you watch where you're going?"
"Sorry, it's pretty dark in here."
"What are you even doing up here? You're not allowed here unless with an employee or one of the residents."
"I'm an exception." The man replies, his lips losing the smirk he previously had.
"Oh, why is that? Who are you?" Braig reaches forward to grab the man, but he steps out of his reach, and towards Roxas.
For a split moment, Roxas' eyes connect with another. Light blue like the underwater part of an iceberg. Near the edges of these eyes are tattoos, just a curved line on either side. The eyebrows above are furrowed but raise upon locking with Roxas'.
Time seems to stop for that moment, but quickly floods back as the man grabs Roxas and pulls him into an open room, locking the door behind them. The door shakes slightly as Braig bangs on it.
"Hey, open this door right now! Roxas, come out here!" He yells.
Inside the room, it's completely dark. Roxas reaches forward, trying to find a light-switch. Before he can, a hand covers his mouth, muffling the scream that escapes him.
"I promise, Roxas."
I guess I'll leave it there.
Leave reviews on what you thought of this chapter please. Also, any predictions, I suppose?