Chapter One. Make Me Beautiful. This is Riku's Story.

Lush green eyes misted over the heavy puffs of steam rising from the coffee cup in hand. It was a black and white cow-print cup, with an ugly cartoon of a cow smiling ridiculously up at the poor, thirsty, victim. He huffed and pushed the cup away from him, cow facing the opposite direction. It was early; the sun had only just risen, and he was there to watch it. He always was. Footsteps padded into the kitchen, sneaking up behind him. Long fingers snaked around his shoulders, pressing and digging into all the right spots, working out all the tension he'd forgotten he had. He allowed himself to let out a relaxed sigh, and heard a sexy smirk from right behind his neck. Kisses, licks, and little nips were directed at that area, and he let his head tilt far back.

"Good morning, Axel," he breathed. "You're…excited this morning."

"Riku. Come on now, it's me. I'm always 'excited.'" This, 'Axel' delivered one final suck on Riku's earlobe before slinking away to the coffee maker, where coffee was brewing deliciously. He had long hair the color of flames dancing in a sunset, and wore nothing but loosely slung boxers.

"You haven't showered yet?" Riku asked, noticing this. The red head just sipped his coffee through a smirk, and shot eyes brimming with desire over at Riku from the rim of the mug.

"Baby last night was amazing," was his reply. Riku's mind sparked memories of sheets and sweat and other bodily fluids, making pale skin slick as long bodies ran against each other. Moans and screams ripping through the air, clutches of red and white hair between fingers and on pillows. He had to adjust his pants once the thoughts left. Of course, his lover picked up on this.

"I don't have work today." A thin red eyebrow was raised after the statement left his lips.

"Well…I guess I could call Leon and tell him I'll be late…" Riku suggested.

"How late?"

Riku looked at the neon clock on the table next to him.

"A few hours, I guess."

Axel practically slammed the cup he was drinking from on the table, before jumping on the silver haired one.

"That, lover," Axel whispered as he tugged on Riku's belt loops, "Is exactly what I wanted to hear."

Thick grey smoke burned Riku's eyes and nostrils as his lover sucked upon a long cigarette next to him. It was about two hours later and both were clothed only from the tangle of sheets that wrapped around them on the bed they shared. Axel was lying on his stomach, spread across Riku's own abdomen, a smoldering cancer stick resting in his mouth. Riku had a book in hand, reading in the dim, mid-morning light leaking in through the window.

"I wish you wouldn't read so much, Riku. You're killing your mind and eyesight." Axel said before exhaling; causing long, curling tendrils to slip out of his mouth through the words. He blew the excess out.

"I wish you read more," was Riku's reply, not taking his eyes off the Dicken's novel he was glued to.

"And I wish you didn't smoke inside. You're stinking up the house. Can't you smoke outside like normal people?"

Axel glared at him.

"Most normal people are allowed to smoke in their own homes. Here, I know watching me smoke is killing you."

The red head reached below the bed, just a dip away from where he was, and pulled out a packet of more smokes. He lit one from his own ashes and handed it to his companion. Riku really didn't like smoking over books, but Axel was right, he was dying for one. He put the book down and sucked in the cigarette from Axel's fingertips. He slowly inhaled, savoring the smoky taste and letting it fill up his lungs till they were tight. Then he exhaled and felt the release in his chest. The two didn't speak; they'd been together for years now and lived together for longer. They'd reached a point in their relationship where they didn't talk much at all. It was mostly just sexual release, and Riku was okay with that. He'd never experienced any relationship but.

Just as he went into another dip in the cigarette, the doorbell rang.

"Who the hell is that?" Axel asked, irritated. "Don't answer it baby, it's probably just those damn salesmen trying to make money."

Riku nodded, and went back to his smoke. Their room was simple: red curtains, black sheets and pillows, red comforter. Black carpet and maroon walls. Axel's favorite colors were red and black, obviously. They had the bathroom and kitchen painted blue and yellow, Riku's favor—

--ites. They lived in a city called Hallow Bastion. It had been under re-construction for years, but now it was all fixed up and back to its charming, yet high-tech nature. It had grown quite substantially over time as—

"God, don't they ever give up?!"

--well. Riku softly pushed Axel off him as he got up from the bed, wrapping a sheet around him. Axel's eyes followed him.

"You're not really going to answer it like that, are you?" He asked.

"Does it look like I have time to get changed?" Riku responded coldly. He felt Axel jump up.

"Well then, I'm going with you! There's no way I'm letting some horny jerk make a move on you!"

"Do as you wish." Riku had traveled down the hallway of the small apartment, towards the door.

Feel the cool metal of the doorknob. Turn it. Hear the clicking release of the lock. Wince at the screech of the door hinges as it's opened…

Revealing a smiling boy with chocolate tan skin and auburn hair. His eyes were closed, and his hand scratching the back of his head, ruffling his long spikes. He rested his light weight on his toes as he laughed nervously.

"Hey! I, like, just moved into the neighborhood with my brother, who is being a complete douche right now and 'unpacking.' Really he's probably just jacking off to gay porn—" The boy chose now to open his eyes and jumped back in shock at the sight before him. Riku: much taller than him, milky pale skin; tight, rippling muscles; long silver hair, with bangs that shaded sea foam green eyes; and a beautifully hard chest, with perky pink nipples.

"Wow, um…y-yeah…u-um…clothes much?" It was just as this statement burst from his lips that another gorgeous male popped out from behind Riku. He was wearing just as little as the silver haired one was. They both smelled thickly of sex and cigarette smoke that caused the boy to wrinkle his nose.

"Yeah kid, well, we would be wearing clothes if you hadn't have interrupted us right as we were having hot, delicious, raunchy sex." He shoved a hand in the boy's face for him to shake. "Axel. This is my boyfriend of four years, Riku. He's my boyfriend. Of four years. We live together and have sex together and our hard dicks pound inside each other daily. Got it memorized?"

Riku would usually have pushed Axel out of the way and scolded him imediately at such a comment, but he was too busy staring at this boy to notice. He couldn't pin-point exactly what it was, but for some reason he was completely thrown off by the boy. He must have been about two years younger than Riku, making him seventeen and still illegal. But wow, he was just so…arousing. And not only in a sexual way. He felt his soul being aroused, his mind, his senses. He'd never experienced anything like that before, not even with Axel. He watched the boy's smile, casting a warm glow around him. The brunett literally seemed to be glowing.

"Sora." That was his name.


It fit him so perfectly. He couldn't hear Axel's reply or the birds or even his heart beating rapidly in his chest, or the extent of his breathing. All he heard was Sora's voice. When that boy spoke, the whole world shut up and listened. Riku listened, really listened. He listened and instead of thinking nervously about what he was supposed to say next, he thought deeply about what Sora had said. Even if it was such a silly thing as his name.

"So you just moved in, and you have a twin brother?" It must have sounded stupid, and he knew it did. But he needed to know if he'd heard correctly. He needed to know and understand everything about this newcomer.

Sora nodded, picking up on the serious of Riku's atmosphere and (attempting) to make it his own. It made Riku smile at how cute the boy was when he tried to act serious and intimidating. Axel stared at him in shock. He knew what must have been going through his head—something along the lines of: Riku can smile? Since when?! And he has teeth…

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Axel pout and throw his arms over his chest defensively. But all Riku could think about was this angel's twin. Could there really be someone as remarkable as this boy in front of him? Not even possible.

"We're not fraternal, really. We look nothing alike. We just have the same birthday and some similar features…I guess." Sora shrugged.

Riku wanted to ask so much. He wanted to know where this boy had come from, why he was here, why he could Hollow Bastion, what his brother's like, what happened to his parents, why he was so happy, why he wore a crown shaped necklace. In the end, it just boiled down to the fact that Riku wanted to hear the boy talk.

"Well, since you just arrived you must not be very aquainted with the neighborhood. Maybe we should give you a tour?" Riku included his boyfriend in the offer, but really he was hoping Axel would refuse and leave them alone. Which ended up happening. Axel decided he was simply "too jealous and too heartbroken to leave the lonely confines of his room where he will pleasure himself, alone, and cold."

Axel always was overdramatic. There was nothing to be jealous and heartbroken of, as far as Riku was concerned. Axel was his boyfriend of four years. They lived together, they were best friends, and they'd been through everything together! There was no way Riku could give that up over a boy he could never even have, legally, and was way too young for him anyway. Right? Right.

"Okay, Axel. Do as you wish." He threw on a dark blue, sleeveless turtle neck as he said this. But when he pulled his long, silver hair out of the shirt and allowed it to billow sexily around his shoulders, he glanced around at Axel and gave him a sexy smile and reassuring wink. This gave Axel enough confidence and hope to quitely shut the door behind Riku and this strange new threat that had just entered into their lives.