Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix, or Disney. The characters and places used belong to their respective owners and universes.

Warning: "M" rated for varying degrees in language, drug use, violence, sexual situations, drama, angst, and future plot points that will not be revealed at this time in order to avoid spoilers.

-Modelos-

-Chapter 1-

-There Were Cigarettes-

He watched the trail of smoke at the end of his cigarette, a cloud of grey escaping his lips as he let out a breath. Riku brought the filtered end up to his mouth and took in one more drag before tossing it over the balcony railing. He exhaled once more, feeling the stinging sensation in his throat. The 21 year old year heard a tapping sound behind him and turned his neck to see a woman holding up her hand.

"Five minutes, gotcha." he replied with a simple wave.

Silver hair fell over his shoulders and ended sharply at the middle of his back. Sea green colored eyes were adorned with ashen like ashes, a small thin streak of black eyeliner enhancing his already mesmerizing eyes. He was so tempted to rub his hand against them, but the last thing he needed was another perky make up girl fumbling to re-apply the eyeliner as she ogled him with a hungry gaze.

One would imagine that as a model this was something one would get used to. The constant turmoil behind the scenes, the flamboyant designers having a screeching fit when god forbid, the slightest wrinkle appeared in their equally god awful designs. The fluffing of the hair here, a passing or two of hairspray there, and the clacking of shoes as everyone ran around. And that wasn't even including the photographers and the photo shoots themselves. This type of environment was where Riku currently found himself. He reached for the bottle of water sitting next to him before heading back into the high story condo.

There were a multitude of people on the set, including two other male models Riku worked with on past projects over the years. An overweight man with thinning hair and a plethora of gold jewelry was busily shooting the two men dressed in rather tiny swimsuits. One wrong step and something very inappropriate could come falling out. He stood there for a moment, watching as the two interacted with one another.

"That's right, now, Seifer baby I need you to move-there you go! And Leon, arch your back-perfect!"

Seifer and Leon were about a year or so older than him and were in fact, friends of his. The industry loved them. Riku always told himself it was something about the opposing scars on the bridge of their nose that drew in the crowds. But when it came down to it, the two men knew what they were doing. Seifer was signed up with international agencies and Leon, the most experienced, had an extensive portfolio he built up over the last eight years. Riku, not to be excluded from the pack, held his own very well.

He'd been modeling since he was 17 and was signed to the most elite agency in The World That Never Was. It was here that he called home, or at least, for the time being. With this line of work you could be anywhere. He felt around in the pocket of the jeans he was put into by the stylist and pulled out his cell phone, the time reading a bit past 11 p.m. Riku let out a tired sigh.

One would also think that this life was glamorous. Sure, Riku had been working hard and very successfully in this cut throat industry, but a lot of people don't realize how exhausting and difficult it can be. Everyone looking through the ritzy windows will see a bunch of beautiful people, all dressed in extravagant clothing and drinking expensive champagne. They will all be making small talk, smiling with their fake porcelain veneers and secretly wishing they could be that much better than the next person walking besides them. It's all one pretty picture to be photographed and put on magazines for everyone to see. But that's not reality.

Midnight was rolling around by the time Riku was finishing up with the shoot, a tiny white swimsuit doing very little to qualm the imagination of those around him. Seifer and Leon had already finished and were changed, waiting for Riku as they were planning on hitting a bar or a club on their way home. The silver haired man ruffled his hair and let it fall as his eyes keenly fixated themselves on the camera. A few more flashes of light and the photographer was done.

"Wonderful Riku, always a pleasure to work with you."

Riku would have enjoyed the praise, had it not come with a quick and secret pat on the ass. He simply rolled his eyes and balled up his hand in an effort to not punch the old man out. Again, one would think one would get used to this kind of treatment, but Riku would always have to bite down and just smile.

"Hey, it's about time," Seifer said as Riku approached the duo, "Go and get changed and we'll head out."

"What can I say?" Riku responded, "The camera loves me."

Leon chuckled inwardly as Seifer gently elbowed him in the side. Riku grinned. It made perfect sense as to why the blonde and brunet seemed to have great chemistry and were usually booked together. The two models were dating and that made for a much more interesting dynamic in the industry. Riku watched as Seifer casually trailed his hand up Leon's back and let it rest for a moment before Leon would arch away, sly eyes looking sideways at him.

"Ugh, I'll go get changed before you two get carried away."

"That's for later," came Leon's teasing words.

Riku left them for a few minutes, stripping out of the white bathing suit and throwing on the clothes he walked in with. Tight blue jeans and a sleeveless white shirt with the logo to his agency. Even in his free time he was working. He walked back and smiled at his two friends.

"Alright, let's go."

-XXXXX-

"Holy crap! God damn it!"

Three empty shot glasses came slamming down on the counter. Riku attempted not to make a face as he felt the aching burn traveling down his throat. Seifer on the other hand, was a bit of a wuss when it came to drinking and was already taking the poor lord's name in vain. He rolled his eyes.

"Why do I let you talk me into this?" The blonde said taking a long sip from his diet coke.

Leon nudged his knee against him, forcing it between his legs. "Makes it easier later."

"Oh whatever," Riku began, "Like you really have to try to get Seifer into bed, Leon."

Seifer had his back to the counter, Leon pressed in between his legs and arms already at the blonde's waist. Riku could tell everyone around them was looking. From the straight gaggle of girls to the jealous stares of other gay men in the corners of the club. The two didn't seem to care.

"So Riku, I hear you're heading off to Esthar for their fashion week," Leon said as he tugged on the loops of Seifer's jeans.

Riku nodded, placing his elbows on the counter. "Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow night. It'll be a 14 hour flight, so that's the part I'm not looking forward to."

"I wish I could go too, but I was already booked for another shoot later this week," Seifer responded.

"Don't worry about it, it's not the first time I've done this on my own."

"True, but it helps when your friends are with you. Particularly when we're talking about flying half way across the world."

Leon was finding it boring that Seifer was not giving into his teasing and removed himself from his boyfriend's grasp. He took a hold of his drink and looked over at Riku.

"What designers are you walking for?"

The silver haired man pursed his lips. "Oh, probably for Quina Quen, Amarant Coral, and Kuja's lines. But I could very well be doing other ones. It all depends on what my agent says once I get there."

Leon arched his eyebrow. "Kuja? That uptight prick designer? He rejected me last year because he said "brown hair" was over. Can you believe that shit?"

Seifer and Riku were stifling their laughs. Leon responded with a gingerly punch against each of their shoulders.

"Well, don't let them work you to the bone, have fun. Do some shopping while you're there. You know Esthar is known for great shopping." Leon added.

Riku felt his phone vibrate and glanced at the text he had just received. He read it over a few times, the look on his face clearing indicating that he wasn't happy. The two took notice and didn't hesitate to ask.

"What's with the face?" Seifer asked finishing his diet coke and motioning for the bartender for a refill.

Riku tucked his phone away in his pocket. "I think I'll have another shot."

"Don't tell me it's what I'm already thinking?" came Leon's question.

The silver haired man nodded. "Oh yes. Guess who's coming along on the same flight I am?"

Seifer and Leon exchanged looks and shook their heads. They didn't need to hear any further.

"My agent told me Roxas would be working here during Esthar Fashion Week. Now, it seems he's booked to walk for the same designers I am."

Roxas. 20 years old and a rising model in the agency. Riku immediately took a disliking to the younger man, not because he felt in any way threatened by the work he did, but the simple fact that Roxas could not take no for an answer. Roxas had the major hots for Riku and made it very clear whenever he could.

"Can't you file some kind of restraining order against the guy?"

Riku scoffed at Leon. "Sure, I'm going to get a restraining order against a guy I have to see on a regular basis. That's going to work out just fine for the agency."

Leon hunched his shoulders. "Yeah, stupid question. Forget me, I'm just going to disappear into the background."

Riku got the bartender's attention and mere moments later had a shot of paopu liquor in front of him. He tossed it back, feeling that sweet burning feeling once again.

"Take it easy on the alcohol, you'll hate yourself in the morning and when you'll have to go an extra half hour on the treadmill at the gym."

"Yeah, yeah, tell that to someone that doesn't have to fly with an obnoxious asshole wanting in your pants."

Seifer followed Leon's actions and hunched his shoulders.

"Sorry buddy, just do what you can and don't let it get to you. Hey, look at it this way. You'll get to see the sun."

The two gave Riku a kiss on the cheek and disappeared into a different section of the club, more than likely one of the dance floors in the club's three different levels. Riku took a seat and fumbled around with his phone, his mind trying to come up with any way of getting out of this trip. But he wasn't stupid, as much as he would like to it was a huge event and saying no to his agency could very well land him on their bad side.

"I need a smoke."

Riku maneuvered his way out of the club and lit up a cigarette, the familiar sight of grey materializing. It was truly a disgusting habit, he knew that and every friend of his told him the same thing. But, it did its job in calming him down and suppressing his appetite. It's no myth that when modeling your intake of food drastically decreases. Anyone that thought differently was seriously delusional.

He could hear the blaring club music every time the doors opened. It was out here in the streets, underneath the eternal night skies of The World That Never Was that Riku found himself thinking of his hometown. Destiny Islands, a country split up into thousands of smaller islands and lavished with beautiful weather year round. Not to mention, the sight of a sun. If it weren't for his constant traveling to other countries, Riku could count on both hands how many times he'd seen the sun in the last four years. And it was always Destiny Islands where the sun was the most beautiful. Well, at least to him.

"Hey, mind if I bum a smoke of ya?"

Riku's thoughts were interrupted by a club guest, his thin frame and baby face telling the model he couldn't have been more than 15. How he got in that was his deal, Riku didn't care. He held out his pack and the young boy took one out before nodding his head in appreciation. Letting out one more puff, Riku finished up and glanced at his phone.

"Better head home," he muttered.

-XXXXX-

Riding the subway was yet another thing for him to get used to living in such a huge city. Destiny Islands had nothing of the sort, and driving was out of the question. It wasn't a matter of money, Riku could have any car he wanted. But driving was a hassle and vapidly slow in getting from one place to another. Chalk it up to it being yet again, a huge city. The subway was just fine in his mind, even if it took the first year to get used to it.

Riku had his head resting against a window, the blurring environment outside one continuous picture. There were a handful of others besides himself in the train compartment, mostly other club goers already wasted out of their minds. He paid them little attention as he noticed his stop would be coming up soon. Slowly, the train came to a halt and the doors flew open, a few people leaving and a few more walking in. Riku casually looked up in order to glance at the newcomers, his eyes finding the sight of chocolate brown hair. He lifted his head away from the window and peered closer at the man as he found a seat on the opposite side of him. Riku's attention was slightly piqued.

He seemed to be his age, 20 or 21. Brown spiky hair seemed to jut out at every possible angle, making Riku wonder what he could have used to make it stick out like that. The young man was dressed in baggy jeans and sporting a tight fitted red button-up shirt. When he looked up to meet Riku's gaze, the silver haired man was gifted with a pair of bright blue eyes. Whichever way Riku looked at him, the guy was hot. Riku licked his bottom lip.

"Arriving at stop 240, arriving at stop 240. Thank you for riding with us tonight."

The announcement died out and once again the train was coming to a stop. This was Riku's drop off point and there was the slightest hesitation in having to leave. The brunet sitting across from him lifted his head up, taking another look at the model. Riku gripped the metal pole in front of him and got up, sticking one hand in his pocket as he made his way towards the doors. He could feel those blue eyes digging themselves into him and it was just so difficult not to look back. The doors opened up and he walked out onto the platform.

"Hey."

And he looked back. The brunet had stepped out and was standing right in front of him.

"You, uh, left your phone on the seat."

He extended his hand, Riku's phone resting on his palm. The silver haired man picked it up and slid it back into his pocket, nodding at him.

"Thanks, I would have killed myself if I lost it."

The slightly shorter man ran a hand through his spikes, never breaking apart and springing back into the same position.

"Yeah, no problem."

Riku wasn't sure what to do next. "I'm sorry, this probably wasn't your stop. I hope that wasn't the last train home for you."

The young man shook his head. "No, don't worry about it, I'm sure there's one left running."

Riku reached into his pocket and brought out his pack. "Can I offer you a cigarette?"

"Sure," was his reply.

He took one and Riku flicked his lighter for him, the small flame wafting with his breath. The shorter man leaned in slightly, lighting the tip and moving back.

"I'm, uh, I'm Sora."

"Riku," the model replied not far behind with his cigarette. "It's going to sound stupid, but are you from the city?"

Sora took a drag. "Yeah, I live in the southern district. Not the safest of places, but it's home. What about you? The way you worded that, I get the feeling you aren't."

Riku blew a breath out. "Yeah, I'm from Destiny Islands, but I've been in The World That Never Was for about four years now. I, um, I do modeling."

There was a slight chuckle from the brunet. "I kind of realized that when the advertisement above you back there on the train had your face on it."

Riku couldn't help but laugh. "Oh god, I completely forgot about that ad. I did that a few months ago, I'm surprised they're still running it."

"Why are you surprised?" he asked. "You're a good looking guy, makes sense for them to keep it up."

"Yeah, well, I guess you have a point there," Riku admitted with a grin. "Totally not boosting my own ego here."

"Eh, no worries."

They carried on for a few minutes, the cigarettes held between their fingers nearing the tan colored filters. Riku found a nearby ashbin and tossed his, letting out a final trail of smoke. The digital clocks around them now read 2:30 in the morning. Riku ran a hand through his long silver hair and sighed.

"I should get going, I have to catch a flight later tonight and I still have a lot to do. The most important is actually getting some sleep."

Sora chuckled. "Guess that's the life of a super model such as yourself, jet setting from one place to another."

Riku smiled at the younger man. "It can get exhausting, believe me."

"For sure. Well…" Sora trailed off. "It was nice chatting with you for a bit. I'll let you get on with your night."

"It was, thanks again for the phone…" He too losing his words. "Maybe when I come back you'd like to do coffee or something?"

There was a sudden flash of darkness in those bright blue eyes. Sora was fumbling with a button on his shirt as he attempted to compose a smile. Riku was not blind to this and immediately wished he hadn't said anything. Maybe he was being too forward, maybe Sora wasn't gay at all. Perhaps the constant circles of gay models had left him thinking all guys were.

"Well, I'm gonna head off. I'll um, catch up sometime."

Riku turned his back to Sora and walked away, disappearing up a flight of steps. Sora was left in the empty subway corridor, the next train arriving behind him.

"Sure…sometime."

-XXXXX-

It was a series of exclusive circles that Roxas found himself in. Celebrities, celebrities' kids, politician's kids, all members of an elite class that enjoyed the more refined things in life. He was quick to adapt to this lifestyle, one where he went from party to party, enjoying the connections he got through his modeling career. In whatever room he walked into, eyes would be on him. People knew his name. And that was the part that Roxas enjoyed the most.

He plopped down on a white leather couch with a soft thud, a glass of champagne in one hand and his phone in the other. Every so often he'd look up, a mass of people filling out the large high story condo belonging to a friend currently hosting a party. There was a heavy dance beat, the bass from the speakers drowning everything out with a numbing wave. Roxas couldn't help but grin as he looked over a text he had just received from his agent.

"Looks like somebody is happy about something."

There was another thud on the couch and a hand resting itself on Roxas' shoulder. He looked over at the blonde woman, her hair swept over to one side and dressed in a rather skimpy white dress.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Namine."

She smirked at Roxas as her hand remained on his shoulder. "You can't lie to me, it's written all over your face."

Roxas rolled his eyes at her. "Okay, fine. Looks like I'm going to Esthar Fashion Week tomorrow. I'll be walking in a few shows."

Namine's eyes lit up. "And?"

The blonde model licked his lips. "I'll be going with Riku."

"Ah! See, I know you too well," she said leaning up against him. "You're so lucky you get to go."

"I could care less about the show Namine. I'm more interested in other things."

She brought a finger to her lips. "How's that going by the way? Making any headway?"

Roxas ran a hand through his blonde spikes. "It's a matter of time. There's only so much he can do or say to me. He'll come around, just watch."

There was having a crush, and then there was having an obsession. Roxas would like to say that it was a crush, but who was he kidding? The moment he walked into the agency and saw Riku he was completely and utterly smitten by the silver haired model. He was never quite given the chance to work with him, but he was always watching, hoping to catch any and all opportunities where he could talk with him. Yet, and this was odd to Roxas, but Riku didn't seem to give off any vibe that he was interested in the blonde. But, how was that possible? He was Roxas. People knew who he was and would do anything to be around him. Why was it that Riku could not see that? To Roxas, it was a challenge. One way or another, he would get his attention. And if he played his cards right, it would be much more he'd be getting in the end.

Roxas looked at his cell phone and quickly raised his eyebrow. Namine had her head resting on his shoulder and grinned.

"Is that who I think it is?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, he'll be coming up. Let's go meet up with him."

The two removed themselves from the couch and maneuvered their way around the dancing bodies, the music still thick with heavy bass. They reached the front door and walked out into the hallway, white pristine halls adorned with lavish artwork.

"Will he have it?"

"Why wouldn't he? There'd be no point of him contacting me if he didn't."

The two friends spent the next few minutes making small talk, the elevator dinging alerting them that he had arrived. The doors flew open and a young man walked out. Roxas walked up to him and gave him a brief hug.

"It's been a few days."

"I know, I was waiting for some product."

The man reached into his baggy jean's pocket and brought out a small plastic bag, immediately handing it to Roxas as he handed him a wad of cash. Namine peered over his shoulder, eyes fixated on what was in his hand. The blonde model turned his back and began walking towards the party, a giddy Namine in tow. He waved at the man.

"Thanks Sora, I'll be in touch with you soon."

The spiky haired brunet rested against a wall near the elevator.

"Sure…soon."

~00000~

Author's Note: Thank you for reading, please leave a review when you find the time.

A couple points I wanted to make that will give you a better understanding of what to expect:

Any name of a person, place, term or item written in italics like this will indicate something from the Square-Enix universe. Many fans of the Kingdom Hearts series may not be familiar with the original Final Fantasy games and its terms, so I do this as a way for them to familiarize themselves with characters and items they would otherwise not know.

It's my strict and personal style with Kingdom Hearts to not use any original characters. All characters mentioned by name, exist in the Square-Enix and Disney universe.

And the most important. This will have varying degrees of drama and angst. Please do not expect the characters to suddenly fall in love and get together within the span of one chapter. This is not what I am intending. So if you cannot go a chapter without smut or romantic interaction between characters, this is not the kind of story that will pique your interest. Later chapters will deal with very angsty issues.

~Addictive Personality