Roxas hesitated a brief moment as he looked at the gate to Maribelle gardens.

To anyone else, it would have been imperceptible. To Roxas, his hesitation was everything. He didn't belong here and he knew it. He was as completely out of place as a clam thrown up on the beach. But it was his job not to show it and he walked through the gates confidently.

Theoretically, Maribelle gardens were open to everyone in the city. In actuality, the stern faced guards at the gate kept the riff raff out, so the merchants and lesser nobility didn't have to have their gardens sullied by the lower classes. Which was quite unfair to the working class Roxas had been born in, but that was life. His current class would be most emphatically not welcome, but he wasn't dressed in his usual clothing. He was dressed in a nice silk shirt and slacks for his meeting in the gardens. Roxas was vague on the details, just that the man he was meeting couldn't afford to be seen entering the establishment or having a call boy sent to his home. They would casually meet in the garden and go off to a hotel room for the rest of the tryst.

As little as he liked it, such meetings were his job. This one was just a bit more cloak and dagger than the rest. He'd meet the man, get it over with and then he'd –

Roxas thoughts slithered to a halt as he heard something… beautiful. Someone was playing an instrument, something he'd never heard before, and it was filling the air with sad, haunting music. Roxas hesitated, glancing around, but he couldn't see anyone else there. It was early in the day, his customer probably hadn't arrived yet. He could take the time to see what this was and he desperately wanted to hear more.

Roxas stopped, stunned, as he saw the man sitting on a bench and playing the pan pipes. It was a beautiful instrument, made of fine dark wood and gently curved, and the man playing it was handsomer than anyone Roxas could recall seeing. He had beautiful red hair, gorgeous green eyes and a body that made the blonde lick his lips. Then his eyes widened as noticed the moving 'tattoos' on the man's skin. They were black, intricate patterns that swirled and knotted as though they were alive. Which was in fact the case.

Roxas had only heard about Silhouettes, but he knew the history behind them. Generations ago, strange creatures of darkness had broken into the world. They'd threatened to destroy humanity and the great wizards of the time had done several things to prevent it. They had created weapons of light, the Keyblades, to defend the world… and had created the Silhouettes in case those blades failed. They hadn't, but that didn't mean the Silhouettes had just vanished. They had survived and prospered, using their abilities with ruthless intelligence.

Now, the time of technology had arrived and while magic was still potent, it wasn't the only force in the world. But Silhouettes were still here and mostly rich, a force to be reckoned with at all times. Roxas took a deep breath, blinking, and reflected that he should just leave. He had a job to do, and a Silhouette certainly wasn't it. Marluxia would have mentioned something like that.

But despite how logical leaving would have been, he found himself walking up to the Silhouette. The man lifted his head, surprised, and Roxas swallowed as he met those green eyes. For a moment the man's lips tightened and Roxas thought he was going to be asked to leave. But then they twisted into a rueful smile, and the man moved over a bit on the bench.

"You can sit here if you want." He said politely and Roxas hesitated before taking a seat beside him.

"Your music is beautiful." He offered and the man just shook his head. "Uh… I'm Roxas."

"Axel." Axel smiled, this time more genuinely before he offered Roxas a hand. Roxas vaguely noted he was wearing a single ring, a very strange patterned ring in gold and silver. It looked like the gold was an upper layer and it had somehow been etched to reveal the silver beneath. "So, Roxas, what are you doing in a place like this? You seem too young and handsome to be lounging around the gardens."

"I could say the same of you." Roxas pointed out. "But I'm here to meet someone."

"Really." Axel toyed with his pipes a moment, before firmly setting them aside. "Odd. I'm here to avoid someone." Roxas blinked and looked at him curiously, silently inviting the Silhouette to expand on that. "You wouldn't… no, actually, a human probably would understand. You people have arranged marriages don't you?" Roxas gave Axel a dirty look before realizing the question was serious. How old was the Silhouette? Rumors said they lived forever but he hadn't believed it until this moment.

"Well, sort of. It depends on the family." Roxas frowned. "And the culture. Mostly not. Why, do you have to get married?" That was a disappointment, although plenty of married men came to the establishment. So maybe… Roxas squelched the thought firmly. Men this handsome didn't come to the establishment, they worked at it. Axel shook his head with a smile.

"Oh no. Silhouettes don't marry the way you humans do." Axel's tone turned sour. "However, I've been informed by the Patriarch of my clan that I WILL sire a child on a woman. Which I could live with, I suppose, if she weren't so… unpleasant in bed." There was a bite to his voice and Roxas frowned.

"What, is she ugly?" If so he wasn't really that sympathetic. He dealt with ugly old guys every day. But Axel shook his head.

"Oh no. She's pretty. She just likes to cut things. The last man she took to bed almost didn't survive." Roxas winced at that and Axel reached into his pant pocket, pulling out some gum. "Want a stick?"

"Sure." Axel clearly needed something to do to relieve his tension and gum sounded nice. Roxas smiled at the familiar taste of Juicy Fruit. "So there's no way to refuse?" Axel shook his head, blowing a bubble with the ease of long practice.

"Not if I want to keep my balls, and I do mean that literally." Axel stared away bleakly before glancing at Roxas. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to load you with my problems." Although it was nice to speak to someone who wouldn't condemn him out of hand for not being willing to sire Larxene's child. Roxas hesitated, then laid a hand on the redhead's arm, ignoring the way the black marks moved under his hand. They felt warm and almost good anyway.

"I have to go. But if – if you want to see me, you can find me at the Pink Hibiscus." The was the horrible name Marluxia had given the establishment. Axel's eyebrows shot up and then he grinned.

"Roxas, I don't have to pay for sex usually." Roxas blushed. He was sure that was true. But then a warm hand caught his chin and he felt his mouth go dry as he met Axel's warm green eyes. "But for you… maybe I will." Something about this human child was just adorable. Roxas winced and pulled away as his cell phone went off. That had to be the man he was meeting, wondering where he was.

"I hope so." Roxas beat a hasty retreat, pulling out his cell as Axel watched him go with a thoughtful look on his face.

It had been a long time since he'd seen someone he really wanted. Maybe he would have to look into this.

Roxas sighed, leaning against the balcony and watching the cars go by outside.

It had been a week, and he was resigned to not seeing Axel again. The handsome stranger had just been a passing ship in the night, it seemed. It was a shame really. He'd always wanted to have a lover like that, young, hot and interesting. Although he didn't really know Axel yet, he could be cruel or into some kind of fetish… but Roxas had a hard time believing that. Although, was Axel actually young? Some of his word choices had sounded a bit old fashioned. But maybe that was just the Silhouette culture. He didn't really know anything about them.

Wrinkling his nose at himself, Roxas shook his head and started getting changed. He was going to be in the lobby tonight, displaying himself until someone took a fancy to him. He didn't like it, but he didn't have any steady customers. Most of the whores working for Marluxia dreamed of attaining that elusive thing, a really steady customer who might eventually become a sugar daddy and take them out of this place but Roxas had given up on that years ago. He was trying to save enough to start some kind of business when he was too old to work here anymore, although he wasn't sure what kind. Maybe a beauty parlor. He'd have to learn about haircuts but he certainly knew all about makeup. Speaking of which… Roxas quickly and expertly applied his own makeup and was pleased with the result. It was nothing too obvious, just a bit of delicate blush and some careful eyeliner to bring out the bright blue of his eyes. A bit of flesh toned lipstick to make his lips look kissably moist. Looking at himself critically in the mirror, Roxas adjusted his shirt. It was a nice white dress shirt, left unbuttoned to display a bit of his chest and his necklace, a little silver cross set with a blue stone. One of his customers had given it to him, a long time ago.

Roxas arranged himself on a chair, giving anyone who came in a shy glance and sweet smile. He was still young enough to play the virgin convincingly, and a lot of Marluxia's customers would pay very well for that.

"Who do you think you'll get tonight?" Demyx asked, irrepressible as always, and Roxas sighed. The sitar player actually seemed to like the job and Roxas just couldn't understand it. But then, Dem had plenty of regular customers.

"What does it matter?" Roxas murmured, distracted from the door. So he didn't see the man walk in, but he did see Demyx's eyes widen and his mouth drop open.

"Oh my gosh I want that one! Mine!" Demyx hissed to him and Roxas idly turned his head to see what had caught his attention… and stared.

"Axel." He breathed as the redheaded man looked around. He looked a bit tired and slightly in pain, but he was here. That was just amazing. Marluxia spotted Axel looking around, a bit lost and clearly new, and glided out to meet him.

"Hello sir." His eyebrows arched as he caught the dark marks on Axel's skin. Axel was wearing a long sleeved shirt, but the edges were still visible as well as the marks on his face. "We rarely have Silhouettes here. I trust you won't cause any damage?" Roxas frowned, wondering what Marluxia meant. But then, Silhouettes did have an unsavory reputation in some ways. Axel grinned tiredly.

"No damage, unless you count possibly making one of your boys too sore to walk tomorrow." Axel paused to evaluate himself. "No, I don't think I can manage even that. Do you have any cute blonde's?" Roxas wanted to jump up and scream as Marluxia considered Axel for a moment, but that would get him in trouble. Then Axel's gaze landed on him and he couldn't hold back a full out grin. "Like, oh, that little cutie." Roxas heard Demyx muttering imprecations under his breath, but ignored him as Marluxia nodded, satisfied.

"Roxas. An excellent choice, sir. Would you like to sign up for one of our membership cards?" Axel was clearly bemused by the idea of a membership card at a whorehouse, but Roxas understood why Marluxia had done it. Things were very competitive in the red light district of Twilight Town. Axel probably didn't know that.

"Sure, why not?" Axel filled out the forms obligingly, although he laughed a little as he filled in a few of the questions. God only knew what a Silhouette would make of some of it. Roxas licked his lips, standing up and walking over as Axel took his new card, making it vanish in a puff of darkness.

"Right this way sir." Roxas said, trying hard to make his voice soft and seductive. Axel grinned, taking his hand and Roxas could feel the jealous looks on his back. Most of the others here had never even seen a Silhouette, much less slept with one. This was going to be a serious coup. Not that he really cared about that. What he cared about was being with Axel. As soon as they were out of sight of the others, Axel put an arm around his waist and leaned close, speaking into his ear.

"You don't have to try that hard. I like you already." Axel's voice was tinged with laughter and Roxas blushed, embarrassed. He hadn't meant to be so obvious. Was he really that transparent? Probably. But he'd never actually been interested in one of the customers. Axel glanced around, interested, as Roxas brought him into his room. It was a warm room that reflected very little of his personal taste. Instead, it had been designed with the comfort of the customers in mind. Although Roxas did rather like the magical, glass fish lamp that was on the desk. Little glass fish seemed to be swimming through the air around the globe and it attracted Axel's attention immediately. "How cute. I have one just like it in my rooms at the clan house. Where did you get it? I thought they stopped making those a while ago." Axel walked up to the lamp, gently touching a fish and smiling as he made it alter its course around the lamp. Roxas shrugged.

"I didn't. It came with the room. Axel, do you want to…?" Roxas slid his arms around the redhead then suddenly pulled back with a blink as Axel winced. "Axel?"

"Just a touch sore Roxas." Axel sighed and began stripping away his shirt. "I prefer the show part of show and tell, so…" He turned around and Roxas gasped, his eyes going wide as he looked at Axel. Instead of the perfect chest he'd been expecting, there was a mess of half-healed scars. Loops and whorls crossed Axel's skin in almost artistic patterns, but they were red, puffy and clearly very painful. Axel just met Roxas' gaze calmly as the blonde raised his eyes, feeling stunned. "I'm fine. It wasn't much fun at all, but it's over." Roxas was sure that wasn't quite the truth from the flash of pain, quickly hidden, in Axel's green eyes. But he decided not to question it as Axel picked up a card from the table. "A menu? This place has room service?"

"At grossly inflated prices, yes." Roxas said frankly then winced. He wasn't supposed to say things like that. But Axel just laughed and tossed the card onto the table.

"Well, maybe later. For now…" Roxas smiled as he felt himself folded carefully in warm arms, and reached up to grip Axel's shoulders. They were mostly unmarked, so that wouldn't hurt him. "Have you ever wondered about those stories about Silhouette's?" Axel's tone was teasing and Roxas felt his cheeks heat again. How could the redhead do this to him? He hadn't been a virgin in years but Axel could still embarrass him.

"Err, a little. Is any of it true?" A lot of it was pretty alarming and he could tell some of it was true already. Like the penchant some Silhouette's had for sadism. But Roxas didn't think Axel was like that. And some of the rest of the stories were really pretty intriguing. Roxas felt something warm around his shoulders and looked down, his eyes widening as he saw it was liquid darkness, a tendril flowing from Axel and sliding around him.

"Almost all of it. Let me show you." Roxas caught his breath in anticipation and a bit of fear as Axel began to disrobe him. His shirt and pants were soon on the floor, and Axel's pants followed a moment later, carelessly kicked away. Roxas drew Axel down with practiced ease, kissing him deeply… then moaning in pleasure as little tendrils of darkness slid over his skin. They felt so good, those feather light touches, and they ignited desires that had been buried for longer than Roxas could recall. He'd never really liked his job until today. Axel smiled and kissed him, holding himself up with one arm as the other hand rested on Roxas' chest. Roxas frowned, a bit puzzled, then gasped sharply as those light touches moved down to something more sensitive.

"A-Axel!" Roxas whimpered as the tendrils enfolded his erection, stroking him in a slow, sensuous glide that made him arch up, his hips bucking as he tried to thrust into the feeling. More tendrils slid between his legs, finding his balls and giving them slow, feather light touches. It was like he was being touched everywhere at once, and Roxas felt his orgasm building as a fire in his belly. But then the tendrils tightened around his base and he cried out as they stopped his release. "Axel! Stop…"

"Stop? But you like it." Roxas blinked, his vision feeling hazy as he felt Axel give him another tender, almost loving kiss.

"It's great but… please… inside me…" Roxas managed to choke out, trying to squirm and finding that Axel was holding him down very effectively. The redhead clearly wanted to drive him completely wild and it was working, oh, it was most definitely working. Axel laughed softly and Roxas arched as the tendrils slid into him, so tiny and painless but then slowly thickening, stretching him out. "Do you do e-everything with those things…?" Roxas managed to pant out, before the tendrils found his prostate and slowly, almost thoughtfully stroked it. Roxas eyes went wide and only the grip on his base kept him from coming right then. "Axel!"

"Not quite everything." The tendrils suddenly retracted with a small pop, and Roxas moaned at the empty feeling. But then Axel was there, swiftly inserting himself, so much bigger and warmer than the tendrils had been. But Roxas was vaguely aware that the tendrils were still there, they were part of Axel's skin, and with every thrust they helped him find that wonderful spot, making him gasp and cry out at the almost unbearable pleasure. Axel kept the one on his base but used his hand to stroke him instead, his palm warm and slightly calloused against Roxas' throbbing length. Roxas gasped and rolled his hips with every thrust, gripping Axel's shoulders tightly as he felt himself being driven so close to the edge, but held back from his release.

"Axel! H-Harder!" He begged and frustratingly, Axel slowed for a moment. "N-No… anh…" Then the thrusts speeded again but the tendril around his base was gone and Roxas cried out loudly as he finally released, a powerful orgasm that sent milky white fluid all over them both. Axel just laughed and released a moment later with an ecstatic cry. The two men stared into each others eyes for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Axel sighed then, a sound of pure contentment before he lowered his head to catch Roxas' lips.

"Mmm. That was good." He murmured and Roxas silently agreed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt something that good. He wasn't sure he'd ever had an experience close. "Let's get cleaned up, then check out that overpriced room service you mentioned. Hmm?" Roxas laughed tiredly, nuzzling Axel's throat fondly for a moment.

"Sure." If Axel was going to pay for a meal, he would definitely help eat it. And he was actually feeling hungry now, as well as tired. "Axel… will you be coming back here again?" Roxas was worried that this was going to be just a one time thing. He wasn't sure he could bear it, Axel was just too amazing. Axel smiled, ruffling his hair.

"I'm sure I'll be back… and for tonight, I think we'll sleep together. I can pay for your whole night." Roxas eyes widened at that. He wasn't the most expensive boy Marluxia had, but the rates per hour were pretty high. The paperwork Axel had filled out would have specified that. "As many nights as I want. The stories about Silhouettes being rich are not at all exaggerated, Roxy. Not in the slightest bit." Then Axel grinned, a quick flash of teeth. "Although any stories about us being useless drones are lies."

"I don't think there are any stories like that." The stories agreed that Silhouettes were always on the move, always acting and gaining new advantages. Axel blinked, then smiled faintly.

"Good. Now… clean up time." Pulling away, Axel stood, a bit wobbly. Roxas followed, feeling more drained than he had after four customers in a row.

Axel really was amazing.