Well, folks, here it is-my first published TWEWY fanfic. I have been trying for years to write something even halfway decent for the NekuxJoshua pairing, and finally, after reading mikanchan94's ABC's of Love fic for Code Geass, I wanted to try something similar for our favourite proxy and Composer. ^^ By the way, if you are into the LelouchxSuzaku pairing, go read the aforementioned fic. It's awesome.

In any case, the way this fic is going to work is that I'm going to write little drabbles or ficlets for ten words that start with each letter of the alphabet. They'll take place anywhere from before the Game, during the Game, and mostly after the Game. Many super-awesome thanks to my best fanfiction friend and awesome real-life friend Akiame9 for providing me with all my words. I did change some, only if I couldn't get any ideas for them, so I hope you're not mad at me, Aki-chan!

Well, let's get show on the road. Enjoy, guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You. Everything but this stupid little fic belongs to Squeenix.

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Attention

Neku scowled as Joshua's annoying giggles echoed through the cold night air.

"You should pay more attention, Neku dear," the silverette chastised with that smug smirk of his. "We don't need you running into light poles or mailboxes, now." With that, he spun on his heel and continued walking, still several steps ahead of the emo teen following him begrudgingly.

One glance at those tight, dark wash jeans clinging to Joshua's fine ass, however, diverted Neku's attention once again. One would think he'd learn after already running into a few signs in front of shops, or colliding with a couple passersby on the sidewalk, that he needed watch where he was going. It wasn't until he ran into a newspaper stand and face planted into the ground that Neku finally realized he probably should only pay attention to things above Josh's waist from now on.

Applesauce

"What the hell are you eating?"

Lavender eyes glanced up from the bowl of brown mush on the table. "It's applesauce, Neku," Joshua said matter-of-factly, spooning a hearty-sized scoop of goop into his mouth.

Neku looked appalled as he eyed the disgusting-looking substance. "But…it's too brown to be applesauce," he said with a cringe. "It looks like shit."

Joshua giggled and gulped down another delicious spoonful. "I like my applesauce with a bit of cinnamon."

"I think that's a little more than a bit, Josh…"

Appease

If there was one thing Neku learned right off the bat, it was that Joshua was very demanding. And if he didn't get his way, he would either whine in his annoying Joshua manner, or demean Neku until he got what he wanted. Neku usually just ignored the former, but man, Josh knew how to push his buttons with the latter. He'd usually get so frustrated that he'd eventually cave into the silverette's ridiculous requests.

"Come on, Neku. Let's play one more round of Tin Pin," Joshua suggested, already preparing his pins for the silly little game.

"No way," Neku declined, "I'm sick of this game." And he had every right to be; they'd been at it for the last two hours already.

"Nekuuuuuuu," Josh whined, already employing his first "Neku Persuasion Technique." Too bad the redhead paid absolutely no attention to it. Following a couple more childish moans and groans of his proxy's name, he switched to the technique he knew would work. "You're just mad because I've finally been able to beat you, dear."

At that point, Neku wanted nothing more than to smack that cocky grin off Josh's face. However, he tried out a brilliant tactic of his own that was sure to get the insufferable prick to back off. Neku leaned over the table, knocking most of his pins on the floor in the process. He fisted the collar of Joshua's shirt, and pulled him forward to steal his lips in an aggressive kiss. That should be enough to appease him.

A few breathless moments later, Neku broke the kiss and allowed his lips to curl into a smirk. "Now will you shut the hell up?"

Audience

"J-Josh…ah, stop…people will see…" Neku tried his hardest to push the silverette off of him, but all the kissing and sucking on his neck sapped whatever ounce of strength he had. The redhead tried to stifle a groan as Joshua slid his cool hand up his shirt and tweaked a pert nipple.

"We're in the UG," Joshua whispered, nipping at his proxy's earlobe. "No one can see us." His tongue glided along Neku's jaw line, causing the boy to shiver. Joshua smirked at the reactions he was getting from his beloved boy toy.

Oh, the things they could get away with without a public audience to witness them…

Absent

Neku never thought the hole inside him would be so huge. He was supposed to hate Joshua, wasn't he? Hell, the guy shot him twice, and that was more than enough reason to hate anyone. Yet… he couldn't bring himself to do it. In fact, he fucking missed the brat, of all things.

But, Neku thought, he had changed because of Joshua. If he hadn't experienced that whole three-week fiasco, he wouldn't be where he was now. Instead of trudging through life with an emo soundtrack blasting in his ears, Neku actually enjoyed life—he had friends, he was pursuing his art, he appreciated the little things the world had to offer. And it was all because of Joshua.

So when Neku spotted Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki waiting for him by the statue of Hachiko, he felt the void in his chest spread. Joshua, the brat, the snarker, the composer of Shibuya, the annoying prick of a partner, the boy who killed him, the man who had given him a second chance was completely absent…

…just like always.

Abstract

"That's a beautiful mural."

Neku let a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he wiped the sweat and paint flecks from his cheek. "You really think so?" he asked, falling backwards onto his butt. It hurt a bit when his tailbone collided with the concrete, but he was too tired to care.

"I don't waste my breath on false flattery," Joshua said, He took a few steps forward and knelt beside Neku. His lilac eyes scanned over the masterpiece that was still fresh and slick from the brush. "I'm surprised Sanae let you paint this here. Udagawa has been solely his terrain for ages."

Neku's smile widened as he too admired the fruits of his labor, wet and shining under the afternoon sun. "It's more of a collaborative piece," the redhead admitted. Colour-stained fingers combed through his sweat-dampened hair. "He told me what he wanted, and I painted."

A giggle escaped Joshua's mouth. He stood to his full height and studied the wall even closer, hundreds of shades and colours assaulting his vision. "What did he want, exactly? It's beautiful, yes, but it's just a collage of colours."

With a roll of his eyes, Neku let out a sigh. "Haven't you ever heard of abstract art, Josh? It's not supposed to be anything specific; everybody sees something different."

In his typical pensive fashion, the silverette crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his chin with his forefinger. "Well," he began, glancing down at the spiky-haired artist, "what do you see?"

Neku smirked, still staring at the newly-decorated concrete wall. "I see an annoying, impatient, bratty kid who thinks way too much," he said teasingly. "What about you?"

A few moments of silence passed before the Composer decided to sit next to his proxy, leaning close and speaking quietly. "I see a compassionate boy with a big heart and even bigger dreams," he said as he took Neku's hand and laced their fingers together, "a boy who's been given a second chance, and wants to live more than anything."

Neku laid his head on Joshua's inviting shoulder, unable to restrain the few chuckles that rumbled his chest, or the blush creeping across his face. "You see some pretty weird things, Josh."

Acerbate

He couldn't take it anymore.

The kid was insane! And on top of that, he was annoying as hell. Neku had no idea how he was going to be able to put up with the brat for the entire week.

They had only been together for ten minutes and he already wanted to wring the silverette's neck. They didn't even know each other, and already this Yoshiya Kiryu was making fun of Neku, demeaning him, all while smirking that fucking smug smirk of his. This was going to get old really fast.

Even with Minamimoto spouting all his stupid math jargon at them as soon as they reached 104, Neku thought he'd almost rather be partnered with the arithmetic fetishist than his damn stupid partner.

Authority

Neku Sakuraba and Yoshiya Kiryu stood in a deadlock at the foot of the bed, their eyes boring into the other's without wavering. Deafening silence passed over them. The tension could be cut with one of Neku's slashing pins. Joshua was so used to ordering people around and getting his way that when Neku refused to do as he was told, it shocked the Composer. Well, not really, he had to admit, because this was Neku. But he still didn't like it.

"I said lie down on the bed," Joshua commanded firmly, narrowing his gaze.

"No," Neku retorted, his stare intensifying by the minute. "I want to top tonight."

"But I always top," said the silverette matter-of-factly.

"Oh come on, Josh, you loved being bottom the other night," came Neku's side of the argument.

Joshua opened his mouth to speak, but closed it immediately after, having nothing to say on the matter. Neku smirked, knowing that he had finally won this battle.

"Now," the redhead said as he shoved his lanky lover down on the mattress. "Swallow your pride for once and just enjoy yourself, okay?"

Joshua hated being told what to do, but as long as it was Neku giving the orders, he could learn not to mind so much…

…Especially when Neku ravished him, taking him to heights even greater than the angel's highest planes.

Addition

An aggravated growl echoed through the room as Neku slammed his head down on the open textbook in front of him. He'd had enough math with Minamimoto running around during his time in The Game, and now he had all this math homework to do. Screw that.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Joshua questioned with a knowing smirk, setting the book he had been reading in his lap.

Neku scratched his head furiously, little flakes of dandruff raining all over the problem set on page 372 of his textbook. "Math sucks," he said, his voice muffled by the pages filled with numbers. "It should learn to solve its own problems for once."

Joshua chuckled. "You could try asking Minamimoto for help if you don't understand something." His chuckles erupted into full-blown laughter when Neku shot the darkest, most murderous glare his way. The Composer held his hands up in defeat. "Jeez, Neku, I was only kidding."

Neku jumped in his chair when he felt the silverette yank the pencil out of his hand. Josh had already stolen his graph paper notebook before Neku asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

The bratty composer scribbled some weird kind of math problem on a blank page before handing the notebook and pencil back to the redhead. "There. It's an easy one. Try to solve it."

As his blue eyes glanced down at the equation in his hands, Neku couldn't help but deadpan. Written in curly, girly cursive was:

You + Me = x

x = less than three = love

What does You + Me equal?

"Really, Josh? This is the best you could come up with?" Neku asked incredulously. Joshua was usually pretty witty, but this was just cheesy and lame.

Joshua shrugged noncommittally, returning to his oh-so-interesting book. "I'm not a mathematician," he stated simply.

Neku facepalmed. It was times like this when he wished he could just subtract Joshua from the love equation.

Action

Neku shivered a little as Joshua traced circles across his naked chest with his cool fingertips. The silverette curled into Neku's side, lying on top of his arm. Despite the near pitch-black darkness, Neku could still clearly see the lavender glow of Joshua's eyes as the Composer gave him a half-lidded stare. His swollen pink lips curved just slightly into a smile—not his usual smirk, but an actual smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Neku asked in a mocking kind of whisper. His hand rested on Joshua's bare shoulder, his thumb idly stroking the soft, pale skin.

A tired giggle erupted from Joshua's vocal chords. He laid his palm flat on Neku's chest, feeling the boy's heartbeat beneath his touch. "You love me, Neku," he whispered, resting his head in the crook of his proxy's neck.

"Tch," Neku scoffed, thankful that the darkness could hide the blush creeping onto his face. His hand traveled upward, and he was now gently running his fingers through Joshua's silken silver locks. "When did I ever say that, moron?"

Joshua pulled the sheets up to his shoulder and settled in for sleep, cuddling closer to Neku and placing his hand back atop the redhead's heart. He allowed his eyes to slide shut as a blissful sigh swept past his lips. "Actions speak louder than words, dear," he breathed, quickly losing consciousness and drifting into dreamland.

Neku set his hand on top of the hand Joshua had laid on his chest, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. The little brat was right, as always; he'd realized Neku's feelings for him without being told straightforwardly. Neku almost scowled, but then he half-smiled as he glanced down at the sleeping Composer in his arms. It was okay, really; Neku was never one for words anyway.

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Well, what do you guys think so far? Do I epically fail? XD In all honesty, I've had fun writing these. "Abstract" and "Action" were my favourite ones to write for the A's. Now to get started on the B's!

Until next time,
Chibi