IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! I know a lot of you are disappointed that it took me two months to update this, but I'm loosing momentum for this Fandom. It's disappointing for me too, but I cannot guarantee the presence of any updates after I finish running the Seven Deadly sins. :/ If you like this story, I'd suggest putting it on alert because if I do update after WRATH, it will probably take a while. Sorry kids.

LadyV.2102: I think the biggest thing with using a song for a story is making sure people get it without bashing them over the head with it. You could always do like a songfic like some of my older works where the lyrics that influence the scenes are in the middle of the story. But if you want to do something full length, you can just make a "mental video" that goes with the song and write it like that? I wish I could help more, but a lot of my "techniques" are "unorthodox", haha. I think I'm probably oneo f the only people in the world who writes cute fluffy scenes while listening to Killswitch Engage, haha.

blo0d StaiNed Rose: Tada! Here's more. Though the updating schedule can only get more erratic from here... :(

LawleyPop024: Chase strikes me as the type of person with an addictive personality, the type of person to need any kind of rush he could get his hands on. So this wasn't a stretch for me, haha.

Dark Angel's Blue Fire: I couldn't let Caleb help him. I think Caleb tries to play the hero too much and too hard. You can't win them all, and I feel that's what he's trying to do. Gotta prove him wrong, hehe.

beginningxofxthexend: Yeah, that last one flowed better. I think this one is shitty though. I couldn't make it work out, you know? I dunno... I enjoyed breaking everything down into stages for Chase because my Mum's a nurse in the ICU, as well has having worked in ER and anywhere else you can imagine and she's seen a lot of detox and she talks about what it does to people and I felt that little bit of realism could help make this more believable. I'm glad you liked that one, hope you like this one, and I adore your honesty.

silentlullaby: Everyone should watch Rocky Horror at least five times in their life. XD

xxFuturistico: I used your pairing for this chapter. It really helped me get started again, actually, haha.

AwayForLunch: Sometimes puns aren't very "punny". Ahaha... 'Cause it's a pun of "funny" and "pun" and... Nevermind. XD Glad you like it. :3

Their relationship was anything but giving. They had their reasons for their greed, and that was good enough for them.

Chase had strict rules against attachment. Giving anything would begin the long and unnecessary process of getting attached to someone he didn't need to be close to. What did he need love for? It did him no good and would probably only serve to distract him from whatever goal he was chasing.

Aaron was greedy and selfish for a different reason. He was terrified of what he was doing. As much as he'd picked on Reid and Tyler for their relationship, here he was in one so similar... So he kept everything that was his to himself. A fuck buddy doesn't constitute a relationship and makes him nothing like those freaks.

Chase's birthday passes without so much as a card. He doesn't want the attention or the attachment, and Aaron doesn't want any proof of his doings lingering where they could be discovered.

Aaron ages another year. Chase nods to him in the halls as normal, but no congratulations are passed. Aaron would probably kick Chase's ass if he tried anything mushy, and Chase would rather die than bother trying to pick out a gift. They keep their money and their gifts and their cars to themselves and only share bodily fluids.

Valentine's day rolls around and is treated with sharp and bitter disdain from both parties. They decide to celebrate their sameness with a quickie in Chase's dorm.

Easter Sunday arrives. There are no hollow chocolate bunnies or Snicker's bars shaped like Easter eggs or little baskets filled with candy. Chase is bored and Aaron has nothing better to do, so they have at it. Neither notices or comments on the lingering gazes as they dress and go their separate ways.

Thanksgiving. Chase has no family, so he spends the holiday in his room with Chinese food. Aaron doesn't feel like dealing with his mother's shit, so he crashes in Chase's doorm and they split the cost of the Chinese and the soda and the movies they rent. It's just an excuse for them to avoid facing all the shit they hate more than spending time with each other that doesn't involve sex. They don't have a reason to share anything with one another. Love can't grow in the presence of greed and they don't want to be burdened by some cheap, poetic emotion.

It snows on Christmas Eve and Aaron wasn't about to run the risk of crashing his newest Porche or scratching it on an icy branch. So he stretches out on Chase's bed and ignores how close he is to the broody bastard. They're just sharing the bed out of convenience and when the morning comes, they'll swap spit and semen for the same reason. There's no need for attraction or love or any of that shit.

New Years. There's a party at the Dells, just like every year. Chase and Aaron see each other from across the bonfire and share almost imagined nodds. Two hours later when half the party is wasted and the other half is fucking in the sand, they meet up in the woods and share sloppy, booze-flavored kisses and stumble back to Aaron's car, swerve their way to the dorms, and fuck in Chase's bed. It's almost unheard when Aaron mutters "Happy New Year" around a drunken yawn. Chase blames the tequila for Aaron's outburst and the vodka for his own response of "Yeah, Happy New Year."

Valentine's day again. They celebrate their similar disdain for a corporate holiday with more sex, but this time it seems different. Were they moving slower? No. It was just a figment of their imaginations and born of overworked minds.

Christmas is the first measurable difference. Chase is tired of hearing Aaron whine about some car part that he can't seem to find, and Christmas is an acceptable reason to give it to him without looking too mushy. Aaron gives Chase that new laptop he was wanting for the same reason. They look at each other for a few long minutes before examining the packages in their hands and they know that there will be no turning back. There's proof of their doings and that means that there is an attachment.

Chase glances at the watch Aaron got him for his birthday and he sighs. Greed was his favorite sin, and here he was sharing...

"I swear to God, if Caleb Danvers ever finds out about this, I'll beat you." Chase growls.

"Yeah, yeah." Aaron smiles. He kisses Chase's cheek and continues watching the movie playing on the television in the apartment they're now sharing.