A/N: Dear lord, we couldn't stop ourselves. After an afternoon of talking about all the things we'd done fanfiction wise, and one thing led to another and BOOM! We thought about our wonderful characters from one of our most popular stories. And then we added a twist. Normally, Alice voices Dem and Reyaa voices Zex. This time...we switched! So, along with a continuation on a story we thought we'd never touch again, we did something we never thought we'd do. Weekly updates, and please enjoy!

Zexion

I found myself chuckling as I reviewed the security tapes in my office. It shouldn't have been funny to see my fellow tattoo artist get schooled by such a young looking guy, but it was. The blonde pointed at the wall of my best work and then gestured at Saix who shook his head while moving his lips. When he finished, the kid glared, pretty harshly, and stomped out while waving something and causing Saix to go rigid and narrow his eyes.

Oh yes, I'm sure the blonde had said something insulting, hence why I was double checking the security footage so I could witness the event myself. It was too easy to smile at my poor second in command's discomfort as I grabbed my keys and wallet. This was actually the perfect excuse I needed to do something I'd been putting off for far too long. Armed with Saix's information about why the kid was here and his next destination, I locked my office behind me and went to the front of my shop.

The Poison Pin had been in business for a little over two years now, and I suppose I was as proud of it as I should be. It brought in above the average revenue, not to mention that we had a reputation as being expensive but worth it, which was far better that being cheap and accessible. In the tattoo world, quality was worth its weight in gold. The serious customers were what I was trying to cater to and besides one other shop in the area, that is precisely what I was doing.

Speaking of that shop, I saluted to Saix, who rolled his eyes and ignored me, and left the building. I suppose I should thank him more often for putting up with all the shit I ignored as the owner, but I had a sneaking suspicion that he got validation by telling customers off and being in charge when I wasn't around. No need to inflate his ego more than necessary.

Deciding I'd rather use a rusty needle on myself than take the public transportation known as the bus, I rested my hands in the pocket of my hoodie and started walking towards Bloody Ink's. There wasn't a particular reason I'd avoided going to the only other tattoo shop worth mentioning; I just never thought about it.

Axel and I had never been what I would call best friends, but I suppose he was the closest I'd ever come to one. Xigbar, my mentor, had taken on the young artist a few months after I'd persuaded him I had talent and during the next few years, we'd been together learning what it took to be the best. I'd even let Axel tattoo my arm for me as I'd done for him. I suppose that was as trusting as I'd ever get with anyone. Why I'd avoided seeing him these past few months or year after he'd opened up his own shop was hard to reason out.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw Bloody Inks' sign and twitched my fingers, resisting the urge to straighten my hair. There was no reason to be nervous, and I took a deep breath before pushing open the door and hearing a small chime alerting the inhabitants to my presence.

And there was the hair I hadn't seen in years. He certainly was hard to miss. Axel looked good, his eyes were clear, his hair longer than I remembered, and I acknowledged deep down where I'd never admit it out loud, that I'd sort of, maybe, might have missed him a miniscule amount.

He smiled up at me absently, returning his eyes to whatever he was busying himself with behind the counter, but when it registered I was the one that had walked in the store, he did a double take, looking very surprised indeed.

"It's been ages." He said with a grin, apparently happy to see me.

Feeling myself smiling in return, I walked forward and shook his hand, marveling at how much he'd matured, but still reminded me of the same old Axel. "It's nice to see you again, Axel." And it was. I knew I should have come by sooner.

"So, how can I help you? Please tell me you got some skin left that you'll allow me to fucking ink, because shit." He shook his head with a defeated sigh, the telltale sign of a talented tattoo artist forced to ink meaningless art.

My heart beat faster and I remembered that I had been planning something along those lines for a few months and here the only other person besides Xigbar allowed to touch me. "As a matter of fact," I started, but remembered I was here for a reason, but filed away my interest for later. "Nah, some other time." I leaned against the counter and looked around, before continuing. "I came by to with a warning to my fellow tattoo artist." I ran my fingers through my bangs hanging over my eyes and tucked them behind my ear while meeting his eyes. "Have you heard about the blonde?"

He frowned deeply, shaking his head. "I haven't. What about the blonde?"

I chuckled and leaned in. "So, the other day, I'm out and about running errands. You know, checking on the local ink and gun guys, checking to see if they have anything new, when apparently, this guy with spiky blonde hair came into my shop. I'm sorry I missed his original tantrum, but it was enough to put the hair up on Saix's back. Like, the guy was scared shitless or at least annoyed to high heaven. The blonde insisted, like demanded that only the owner, the original artist, be the one to ink him. And since I wasn't around, he threw a fit and left." Again, I shrugged, not sure what his problem had been. "Come to find out, he's been in and out of tattoo parlors all week, checking out the ink styles and demanding certain artists. And it's not like he's got that many choices. There's you, me, and about two other decent artists in town. And guess who's next on his list?"

"Shit." Axel muttered. "Well, I just hope I'm behind the counter and not Demyx."

I frowned. Who was Demyx? "Demyx?" He opened his mouth to tell me, but then smiled and gestured at the man appearing from behind the curtain.

As first impressions go, it is rather odd to meet someone while they are carrying a bloody needle in their latex covered hands. But that detail was quickly forgotten as I took in tan blonde hair, sea-foam green eyes sparkling with humor, and the cutest most mischievous smile I'd ever seen. A punch to the gut, that's what he was. Beautiful.

"Another fainter." He announced to Axel in a matter of fact way before he noticed me. His eyes lingered and the smile grew coy before he waved his needle wielding hand my way. He didn't stop smiling even when he turned to walk away into the room that said 'Private'.

"My piercer." Axel told me as the door closed behind Demyx.

That snapped me out of it, and I tried not to blush, something I hadn't done in years, as I hoped he hadn't noticed me watching said his piercer's ass. I was only human and that perfection deserved to be ogled. "Where the fuck did you find him?" I blurted out.

The redhead's eyebrow raised and he smirked while leaning back into the stool, clearly understanding exactly what was going through my mind. "He's a treasure. Be nice to him."

I scoffed, annoyed that he knew me well enough to know what I was really asking. "When have I ever not been nice?" I winked and waved before turning towards the door, already thinking I could kill two birds with one stone. Visit Demyx and pester Axel about a future tattoo. Which reminded me, and I grinned when I realized that Axel had followed Demyx to that back room.

Ignoring my better judgment, I quickly walked to the back of the store and leaned against the wall next to the door. Ignoring my creepiness for the underhanded tactics I was prone to use, I held my breath and hoped that maybe I'd made half the impression on him that he had on me. One minute there was silence and then the next I heard a loud thud coming from inside the room, followed by an amused cough on Axel's behalf.

"Has he done any jail time?" Demyx's voice reached my ears, followed by a chuckle from the redhead. I assumed he'd shaken his head since the piercer moved onto the next question. "Does he do any drugs?" Probably another shake of the head for a response since I hadn't done any drugs and Axel knew this. "Have you ever had sex with him?" I choked and tried not to make any noise at the idea of Axel and me having sex. My nose wrinkled. Gross. Axel must have had a similar reaction because the next thing that came out of Demyx's mouth was the answer I'd been looking for.

"Splendid." The piercer said happily.

Axel laughed at Demyx's conclusion. "I think you forgot to ask the most important question."

"And that is?"

"If he's gay." My old friend pointed out slowly.

Demyx chuckled. "I felt his eyes on my butt as I walked away. He answered that one all by himself."

I heard some rustling and winced when I realized that maybe I didn't want to be here right this second. He was obviously in the middle of work and I'd made the impression I'd wanted to. I quickly walked to the front of the store, and arranged myself to appear as though I was investigating the picture wall before leaving. Once more with the eye contact and I'd be satisfied. I hid my smirk, too easy.

Demyx's smile was bright as he walked out of the room, armed with a cookie that would soon be given to his fainter. When he noticed my presence, he halted in his steps, tilting his head to side while letting his eyes travel over my figure, biting his bottom lip as he did so. I smirked and couldn't help myself from doing a slow turn, giving him the full picture. Oh yeah, this was definitely going perfectly. I heard him laugh softly, letting out a breathy sigh next and from the corner of my eye I could see him fanning his face as he walked towards the curtain and then vanished behind it.

I chuckled loudly enough to be heard behind his mysterious curtain, pushed my way out of Bloody Ink's and squinted in the sudden sunlight. As much as I wished to go back and ask Demyx out for a drink, it was slightly too early in my book. No need to look desperate. That was one surefire way to drive off a potential bed mate. Humming to myself, I headed back to work.

Demyx – Later that evening

"Guys like him should wear a warning." I declared at Bloody Ink's ceiling. I heard Larxene laugh at my words, leading me to look her way and raise an eyebrow. She only shrugged. She did that a lot, shrugging. She was a shrugger.

"Don't you think the large amount of tattoos and his job description gave you the warning you wanted him to wear? You've told me this many times, Demyx, you avoid types like myself, Axel and Zexion like the plague because you know they can't offer you the sense of stability you look for." Another shrug. I don't know why I bothered talking to this girl. So far, she'd never proven useful.

I sighed, knowing full well what she said were in fact my own words. "But he's sooo-"

"Hot." She cut in, waving a hand flippantly my way as she tossed the last of her tattooing material in the nearest available trash bin. "I know. You've said so a million times ever since his fine ass exited the shop's door earlier today. Would you stop?" Walking over to the counter behind which I was sitting, she playfully slapped my cheek, this leading me to pout. "Continue describing him in such detail and I'll end up dreaming about him while my boyfriend is doing me."

The pout vanished as that lit a light my mind. "So, you don't like to dream cheat on him? That means you are into monogamy, contrary to what you just said by repeating what I always tell you."

She blinked, probably needing to repeat my sentence in her mind for it to make sense. "That's not fair. You're tricking me into saying what you want to hear." She paused. "But no, I don't cheat." And there was another shrug. "Look, just... ask the guy out. He's friends with Axel and Axel didn't tell you not to date him. If he didn't stop you from thinking about this Zexion like that, it's got to mean something. He knows you inside and out. He'd know if this Zexion would do harm rather than good in the whole dating scenario."

I'd been nodding along with her words frantically, finally hearing exactly what I'd been wanting to hear. "You're absolutely right Larxene." I said joyfully. "If Zexion had been a bad idea, Axel would have warned me out of it."

My eighteen year old tattoo colleague smiled at my words, reaching over to pat my head. "Your type hasn't given you what you wanted so far, maybe it's a good idea to change your type. Maybe this type, is in fact your true type."

Pushing over the counter, I nudged her towards the exit. "Go away, you're starting to sound like me." Laughing at that, she did as I asked, grabbing her backpack on the way, telling me she'd see me tomorrow bright and early.

Running a hand through my hair, I sat back in the stool, pursing my lips thoughtfully. She wasn't all wrong. Every guy I'd dated so far had ended up being a disaster, contrary to what they presented themselves as. Doctors, architects, lawyers... Serious in their jobs, not so much when it comes to relationships. Lawyers, ironically, tended to remain in the closet, believing that being openly gay would make them appear less masculine and thus, less scary in court. Liars, through and through. Architects are like artists, they never know what the hell they want. And doctors... Well, they are about as complex as a heart surgery would be to my eyes.

"Axel!" I called out, wondering where he'd gone. He had this ability to vanish and with his history, I felt the need to always know exactly where he was located.

"Leave me alone, mother! I'm not shooting up, I swear!" Was his response and I smiled as now I knew that he was on his way up to his apartment. Unfortunately, that also meant he'd suddenly decided I was the one that would close up the shop today. Groaning softly, I decided to be lazy a minute longer and let my upper body drop onto the counter dramatically, whining unintelligibly about my boss slash best friend. Not that it was hard, I just had to check on each room to make sure everything was in order, turn of the lights, lock the front door and then take my leave.

Puffing out some air, I figured I better just get to it so that I could go home, sit on the couch, watch some useless TV, make myself some delicious dinner and then either decide to call this Zexion and ask him out on a date, or just think naughty thoughts of the guy in the shower. Jumping off the stool with new found energy, I was about to make my way to Axel's tattoo room but was halted when I heard the door's chime.

I grinned. "Hah! We're closing, sucker. Make sure to call your mother tonight so she can talk you out of getting a tattoo." I loved denying people ink. Turning my head to see the face of my victim, the grin vanished when I saw it was Zexion.

Earlier in the day, he'd been wearing a simple black long sleeved shirt, only giving me a few glimpses around the collar and wrists of his ink. Now, he took two steps inside the shop and I blinked as his entire arm came into view and I recognized Axel's work. Intricate and beautiful. Instead of black, he was now wearing a white t-shirt, black stripes gave the sleeves a slightly edgy look. I recognized the black pants as the same and I watched as he smirked when he caught me eying him again.

"Are you interested in seeing the back ink? Axel and Xigbar both worked on it." His bluish purple bangs were dropping in front of his eyes slightly, before he pushed them to the side.

"Yes." Was I gulping? No. I was salivating, that's what I was doing. "Please get naked..." Is what escaped my big, unstoppable mouth next while my eyes were fixed on his gorgeous body. And that face...damn.

"I mean-" I coughed, suddenly realizing what I'd said may have been a tad more forward than I'd wanted it to be. "Nevermind." I smiled brightly up at him, feeling my cheeks heat, knowing they must be blood red right about now.

"We're closing." I repeated somewhat timidly, averting my eyes and trying to busy my hands by grabbing the shop's front door keys. Then I reminded myself not to jiggle them nervously in my hand because that is one of those green lights you see in movies all the time for the boy to kiss the girl. Boy takes girl out on a date, they have a great time, boy brings girl back to her place, they stand in front of the door, she holds the keys in her hand, she jiggles them in her hand nervously, extending that moment in front of the door shared with the boy further in hopes that those extra minutes pretending to be looking for the right key will give him the courage to plant a good one on her.

Not that I didn't want to kiss him, or for him to kiss me. The idea was really, really... "Hot." I nervously choked out, reaching up with a finger to tug on my shirt's collar as to give my throat some air. He thankfully didn't comment on my stuttering, instead giving me a knowing look as he continued to stand there, ignoring my indication that we were closing. The attraction between us was thick in the room and I waited for him to speak up.

"You work in an ink shop, and yet, I can't seem to see anything on that lovely skin of yours. Got something against it?" For how flirty that statement was and how that smirk still sat on his face, the question was asked in a simple curious way. As if he was generally concerned about my lack of tattoos.

I was grateful for the topic, it instantly cleared my foggy mind. Lifting a finger, I pointed at my face. "Piercings, plenty of those. I'm a piercer." I shrugged. Larxene was rubbing off on me. "Besides poking holes into people." As my elder brother, Seifer, would so gracefully explain my job. "I also work the counter. Axel sucks with receipts and everything related to paperwork. I'm the one allowing silly girls to get their hello kitties since I'm the one that hands them the contract and have them sign it. Drunk guys wanting to tattoo their fling's name on their arm. Girls wanting to tattoo their supposedly eternal boyfriends names on the top of their butts." I grimaced. "I just think ink should be done with meaning and it should also be thought through. Most customers that come in here are the opposite of what I just said. It makes me cautious about ink, is all. Not against it."

He nodded, thoughtfully. "I see what you mean. And it is a rather permanent form of art on something you can't just change." He paused for a moment. "Still, how do you feel about tattoo artists themselves then? Those of us who give those permanent pieces of drunken love?"

I pressed my lips together, eying him carefully. Could he tell I felt the need to be cautious about him too? Hmm. "I like Axel." I offered and when that made a frown appear on his face, I did a double take. "Gosh, no, not like, like. Just, he's a good guy, and I respect what he does. I mean, you've worked with him and seen his art, he's amazingly talented. It's because of that that I allowed him to tattoo me." I grinned then. "It's hidden though." That didn't really answer his question. Naturally, I'd done it on purpose since I had no idea what to tell him. It probably wasn't a good idea to say I avoided tattoo artists and the likes of them in the dating area as generally all they looked for was a one night stand. At least, that's the only side I'd been shown by them.

"Hidden, you say? Well, perhaps one day I'll find it." He winked, but didn't push further than that. Already he was showing that he wasn't all about the flirting and obvious innuendo and that was something to note. "Listen, I was wondering how you felt about meeting me for drinks this week? Or if you felt up to it, I've had my eye on a movie that I wouldn't mind sharing with someone." Again, he flashed me a smirk, this time with a wink.

"I don't really do drinks." I told him matter of fact.

"So, a movie it is then. What's the best time for you?" It was as though he'd heard my rejection to drinks as a yes to the movie. "And don't worry," he grinned. "Popcorn is included."

Funny guy. I smothered the smile, more than sure he was smart enough to have figured out what I'd been doing rejecting his offer of drinks. "I don't do one night stands." I was dead serious now, needing to warn him right off the bat so I wouldn't end up going on a date with him, have an amazing time and then once I'd get home, worry if I'd hear from him ever again. I hated that feeling and I'd made a rule to make sure to not let it happen if I could do something about it. "They piss me off. Thinking about them right now is pissing me off." It was. They made me angry.

Suddenly, he was in front of me, and I felt a quick brush of skin as he kissed both cheeks before leaning back. "Why would I limit myself to only one night with you? That seems rather disappointing all around. Believe me, I'm not into one night stands either." He stepped back out of my immediate space, giving me a chance to think without him breathing my air.

Biting my lip, I couldn't stop myself from touching one of the cheeks he'd kissed. The blush had also returned. Was I easy, or desperate? Then again, I don't think I'd ever felt this attracted to anyone else before. With Zexion it had been instant, and it just kept growing the more seconds flew by. Not easy, nor desperate. Just really, way, very into him.

"I'm not against making out on first dates though." That should make for a nice yes on his movie proposition. Feeling a grin tug on my lips, the previous shyness melted away as I managed to look him in the eyes without flushing a deep red. I reached up then to gently tuck the bang of hair behind his ear, letting my fingers linger on his cheek a moment before slipping them down to his neck so my hand could end up resting on his shoulder. "Whenever and whatever time is fine by me." I murmured. "Soon, please."

"Tomorrow night around six?" I watched as he dug around in his back pocket, then held up a business card between us with a smirk. "Text me where you want me to pick you up. And you might wanna wear something a little warm. Theaters are always a little cool inside." Once again, he was leaning in close, his breath fluttering over my face as he whispered. "I also answer when people I like call me. Just a heads up." And then, he was pulling away and taking my hand from his shoulder and folding the card into my palm.

I could only nod, mutely tucking the card into my front jeans pocket, showing him I was going to keep it and call him. I could just tell him right now that he'd have to pick me up here, but this way I'd have an excuse to call him later tonight or tomorrow if I felt like it. And I already knew I was going to feel like it.

"Can't wait." I told him honestly, smiling.

"Good. Neither can I." His voice lost the touch of flirtatiousness that had dominated the conversation and I saw a small but sincere smile flash across his face. "Until tomorrow, Demyx." And then he was out the door. I waited for him to be beyond my line of sight before I sagged back against the counter, sighing happily. The severe amount of butterflies in my stomach was overwhelming.

"I couldn't help but overhear." I heard Axel from the kitchen. Turning my head in his direction, I smirked.

"You mean you couldn't help but eavesdrop." I corrected.

"Same fucking thing." Larxene was rubbing off on him too since he shrugged now as well. "Wanna tell me all the details? I can tell you want too." I obliged instantly, knowing he probably needed a distraction from dark thoughts, and of course, he was right, I really did want to tell him.

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