Dance with the devil tonight...er morning

It was early on a monday morning. The buss of his phone at 6am am motioning for hi to wake up causing blue eyes to flutter open behind red lashes. He was flopped face first on the sofa his cheek nuzzled into a plush cushion. He sleepily took in the mess that was his apartment with smile. That was one heck of a party last night. Some of the girls he had flirted and danced with were extremely pretty. He sat up with a chuckle. He had missed being in Central having spent most of the time working in Esparia.

Standing up he strolled through his morning routine. Shower, wash, dress, coffee and head out. Done in 45 minuets soon Axel was strolling down the street humming to himself s he chewed on the end of an unlit stick. He knew where he was heading and he was bitter about the lack of a helipad on it. Then again if he took his baby there it would ruin his plan to surprise his mentor.

The walk didn't take long and soon he was in the entry hall. Slipping past the reception desk he quickly grabbed a pass to get pass the security gates with a cool whistle and click of the tongue. before letting himself into the elevator. Running his fingers casually down the buttons before he found the button he wanted. Pressing it with a chuckle he hoped the man wasn't in yet as the ding rang out signalling the opening of the doors.

He must of looked like he belonged...seeing no one had stopped him as he stopped in the staff room looking for a mug he knew must of belonged to his mentor and made himself his second coffee for the day. Before heading to the mans office and letting himself in. He sat himself in the plush chair and lent back placing his booted feet on the desk sipping the drink. Chuckling softly he sat and waited for the man to great Spade with the greeting he had used since they first worked together.

"What's up you old coot, yo!"

Okay, okay, alright so he was a little late, but after the fiasco Sunday what did they expect?! Luckily, he came out of it with his wallet (Shu's ring) and King Gavin's loan intact, however, he couldn't quite say the same about his liver. He swore it ached. That could also be because he was hungry and lacking the necessary supplies to sustain himself. Moaning under breath, Spade Aeries slipped away from the beckoning covers of warmth and sleep and comfortableness. Bare feet on the rough carpet dragged their way to the kitchen. Another moan was expelled upon the rediscovery of zero food. His stomach was like a fire engine at four AM; it wouldn't shut the fuck up. Swallowing water, he managed to trick the sorry sucker for the time being, parading around in just his underwear. Silence assailed the apartment, causing the brunette to wonder if it was secretly daylight savings time or the water had been vodka. Seriously, things felt amiss. He inspected himself out of suspicion, noting that yep, his new dice tattoo was still there, but nothing else. He was nearly naked, but that was normal...so what was it? He felt off as if something was going to happen. Hmm. Well, at least he knew that every time he felt like this it was always something minuscule and nothing like what happened the last time he was late for work (thank god--the bastard). Actually fuck that, don't thank his ass. Did he even see the damn damage RIOTE caused?! He had to borrow money from Carraig! And now he was late! That beady-eyed monster, Balthazar (newly referred to as: Tart), would fuckin' haunt Spade's mind eternally. Having not caught him, now every grate he passed by was like 'AHAHAHA We'll meet again, Lieutenant General.' As if--as if he was there. Why--whhyyyyyyyyyy?! Okay, he really needed to leave.

Fiddling like a fool with his car keys, Spade stumbled into his uniform, straightened himself out, tucked in his dog tags, and slicked his hair a bit so it wasn't as much of a wreck as it once was. Fairly content, he plopped into his spot in his snazzy seven, slamming on the gas like a madman. Running green lights like a pro, he stopped at red lights. Wait, wasn't that normal? Prolly. Like he'd know, really. Predicting when they'd turn, he was the first to start the race, gliding into a parking space like it was his fucking job, and it was. Grinning crookedly, he exited. Immediately, a hoard of paparazzi descended, brandishing microphones and questions like weapons of mass destruction. Spade raised a hand like an almighty king, silencing the swarms. The hand moved to slide down his aviators, looking over their rustic rims at the plastic faces of the anchors. "Hey there, girls," he cooed with a dark look, revealing not the declination to breathe the same air as them. "Do you think," he whipped off his sunglasses to fully reveal his cold, hard stare, "that preventing my entry to my work is going to help Amestris get back off the ground?" He chewed on one of the ear pieces of his shades, looking far more annoyed than he'd typically let bleed through. "Because it's not." Dead. Quiet. He flipped his key ring around his finger and pressed the lock button, getting a cute response from his car along with a flashing (that he wished Shu would do more often). "Fuck you." His finger pointed at one of them who had opened his mouth to ask another question probably pertaining to why he was acting so hostile. His finger wilted slightly. He was starved of food, beer, and cigarettes. What more did society want from him!?!? "And fuck you" He aimed his finger at a chick this time, sucking up the surprise on her face. Then, he turned to another one that was far more attractive. "Fuck you very much." Wink. With them distracted and half-horrified, Spade professionally escaped, went straight for the elevator, and paraded down the halls like a champion.

Hi's and hello's fell into his lap like a poor wrecked bastard's puke, wiped away with a steamy shower of paperwork. Ah yes, Shu-less paperwork. WONDERFUL. Just what he needed at 7:30 AM sharp. GLORIOUS. With a sewer-kissed Doc Marten boot he kicked open the door to his office and stomped through with a dank, deprived, and delirious look. WOAH. There was a hallucination sitting in his desk chair because no one who had witnessed Spade with a revolver who dare do such a thing. Red hair, blue eyes, the dude looked horribly familiar like good ole Axel Belial from his past as a detective. Funny, how he was envisioning him now of all times. It just didn't make any se-- "What's up you old coot, yo!" There was no way. Shocked into silence, Spade stood there stock still, blinking confused jade eyes at the man who was actually a man sitting at his desk. Foot up on the mess of papers and random shit, Axel was so effortlessly real that he almost needed to double take a few more dozen times before he was convinced.

"You haven't come up with any better ones in all those years?" Spade let a unbelievable laugh escape his lips, immediately heading over to bro hug his old friend (who happened to be young enough to call him a coot. Cringe). "'s been a while you outsourced bastard."

The man looked confused s he entered. Maybe for moment he was checking if he was high or something because Axel wasn't meant to be there was he. Or maybe he was Axel kinder was the type of man who threw his arms into the air and yelled. 'I DO WHAT I WANT!' Sure he hadn't contacted Spade in what felt like a lifetime but...he would run the risk of letting on he was a spy...that would of sucked.

He stood and walked toward the other as the elder snapped out of his daze. "You haven't come up with any better ones in all those years?" The two embraced in a brotherly man hug. "'s been a while you outsourced bastard." He laughed. "Hardly out sourced i just like the classic sometimes, yo." He gave the other a light punch in the shoulder, gently of course cause you couldn't risk breaking an old mans hip. Happily sitting in the chair he grinned looking up. "And I'm not outsource...I know for a fact every little detail on whats been going on,Yo! from the last meeting to your engagement to what you ordered for lunch 3 weeks ago." He teased taking another sip of coffee.

He wondered if the man's mind could keep up with him before he placed the mug down now empty. "We should totally party tonight, yo! Like old times." He laced his fingers resting his chin on the formed bridge letting out a light whistle. Bright blue met green in a warm connection....no homo! He has missed his mentor. There had been so many times when he felt like he had screwed up that he had almost called the other but had chose not too not wanting to look bad. Axel had become a man under Spade...Been changed from troublesome teen to someone he could be proud of all thanks to Spade. "I don't know how long I'm here for...After all I can't afford not to go without work for too long... especially with my habits.." He grinned to the other shutting his eyes briefly before exhaling. " Guess having a taste of the good old times would be great, yo!"

There were things about Axel that very often didn't make any sense. As they stepped away from each other after a long overdue bro hug, the guy said something that sounded like this: "Hardly out sourced i just like the classic sometimes, yo." To Spade, it didn't make a point, and in no way counteracted the outsourcing comment. This was why he needed training. Still even. To be a detective, he had to know these things. Sure, it was classic (he got that part right), but calling him an outsourced bastard was drawing on the 50% Esparian blood running through his veins. For example: if he was hired from Esparia to Amestris on a lower wage due to his halfbreed blood, he would have been outsourced. Of course, what made the joke funny was that Spade himself wasn't even half Amestrian; therefore, he was more prone to having been outsourced than Axel. Though specifically, more Esparians were outsourced to Amestris than Xingese, that still made Axel a more likely candidate than himself, thus humor. His joke fell on dead brain cells, leaving a perturbed Spade in its wake. His shoulder was punched lightly. Spade's frown lengthened. It was like...nothing changed. The frown vanished. Maybe that was a good thing. There was still someone in this world unaffected. Someone was still leftover, naive, blissful. He was almost grateful. "And I'm not outsource...I know for a fact every little detail on whats been going on,Yo! from the last meeting to your engagement to what you ordered for lunch 3 weeks ago."

"Hey, hey now slow down." Maybe he was getting old. Going on thirty and all... "You mean outsourced." He knew the guy was fucking with him this whole time. Totally 100% knew. There was no way he wouldn't have known what the word 'outsourced' meant. That was elementary. Spade peeked up his shades with a cocky smile. "I made my own lunch three weeks ago, man." WAIT PAUSE. His eyes secretly widened behind his aviators, hands at his sides. How did he know about their engagement? They hadn't told anyone really. Like, what, three people knew? Seriously? There was no way. It was impossible knowledge...unless he hacked into the credit card company accounts, somehow got into his and saw the refurbishing he did on his mother's ring to resize it to fit Shu and then miraculously put two and two together and came up with that?! Spade expression contorted into struggled contemplation. "Douché, douché. I see what you did there. What else do you know?" Giving away nothing was a dire part of asking questions. A mug clanked down empty on his desk, echoing heavily in his mind. Empty. He sucked in a deep breath. If Axel could get into his office, anyone could. RIOTE member, in, out, confidential information stolen. "Hold on, how did you get in here?"

"We should totally party tonight, yo! Like old times. ... I don't know how long I'm here for...After all I can't afford not to go without work for too long... especially with my habits... Guess having a taste of the good old times would be great, yo!" Spade tapped his chin in response, flopping down on Shu's rug that survived the war. Absentmindedly, he pet it with a hand. Good old times, huh? Back when he was a rookie himself he had to train a teenager how to behave, the art of deduction, how not to fuck up, how...yeah, you get the picture. He raised a callused finger and poked the redhead roughly in the temple with a long-shed crooked smile.

"Dude, why don't you stay here, I'll get you a job." That was all he said. He doubted Axel remembered Shirley or what had happened exactly to make him leave the force so suddenly. It was better to leave it at that. Let it fade--let it all fade into nothing. The good old times were just a nightmare. It was time to really live now.

"Douché, douché. I see what you did there. What else do you know?" Axel grinned tapping his nose. "Secret, Yo!" He clicked his tongue and lent back in his chair. "So I hack into your accounts every now and then to check your ok...heck without me you would of missed several bills you had to pay, yo." He stuck his tongue out playfully teasing the other before Spade started to panic. Whoops... "Hold on, how did you get in here?" Axel laughed hard. "You need better front door security and receptionists, yo. Walked in picked up a key card and let myself in.... Was way to easy, yo! Heck I get it harder trying to break into Esparian record facilities, yo."

He Watched the other flop down onto the rug petting it while the cogs turned in his mind. Axel lent forward his red ponytail dangling in front of the other as he pursed his lips waiting. Seriously had Spade gotten that old that it was taking him this long to agree to go out partying tonight. He pouted slightly in disappointment wondering if he really was going to be hitting town alone that night. His temple was roughly poked causing an odd "Oro!" to escape pouty lips and a frown to crease his handsome face. "Dude, why don't you stay here, I'll get you a job." He blinked. "But office work is boring, yo!!!" he whined like a child huffing. "I wanna party, yo!!!" He threw his fists into the air while he thew a mock tantrum. Before crossing his arms and huffing. He puffed his cheeks and sulked at Spade bright blue eyes boring into green. He would get his way he knew it.

"So I hack into your accounts every now and then to check your ok...heck without me you would of missed several bills you had to pay, yo." ... Blank stare. Lift hand to scratch forehead. Followed by an eyebrow twitch and finally insert vocals.

"What." He sounded angry. His security was lifted. His entire everything was revealed; it'd be better if he was standing now in his office butt naked than to have his online accounts hacked (hell, enough people have already seen him in his birthday suit). Then his credit could have been viewed by anyone--who else was watching his deficit spending like a horror film?! Oh no! "Thank you," he finished with a crazy grin on his face, "I never would have been able to afford that last keg otherwise."

Axel was laughing--a typical sound (because Spade was so damn funny). It was bridging on teenage maniacal. God, he'd never tire of it. The older man braced himself for the worst, jade eyes narrowed beneath the shade of his aviators. Bring it on, buddy; I can take it! As long as it wasn't him laughing at the fact that Spade was now bankrupt, that wouldn't be cool. Cause like seriously, he had a good sum of dough racked up from putting his life on the line all those years. If someone ever stole that from him, they'd be knocking on hell's gates that was for sure. Plus, he hardly would think Axel had the balls or the bad bone in him to do such a thing. Like he said, he just wanted to make sure he was alive. So hacking his account was a way of checking in on him? Alright. It was kinda one-way, but whatever.

"You need better front door security and receptionists, yo. Walked in picked up a key card and let myself in.... Was way to easy, yo! Heck I get it harder trying to break into Esparian record facilities, yo." Face in palm. Deep sigh. Okay, he definitely had a point. Dude, and look at the guy: red hair all spiky like. He wasn't a dead giveaway or anything. Come onnnn. A faint moan escaped his lips and he slid down backwards onto his hands. Fire all the receptionists or hardcore train them to memorize faces on file? Both seemed outlandish. That was probably why it was so easy. So he waltzed in and just swiped a card key? What were they doing, handing them out like free samples at a bakery!? He just couldn't win.

"But office work is boring, yo!!!" Ever. He side-glanced at his desk. Damn, why? Why now of all times. He could just silently return to stamping paperwork and being all regal with his job, getting compliments from everyone who knew his true nature. "Working hard, boss!" they'd say, but no. No, it just wasn't that easy. Life had to throw him a fucking whacked ball and now he was in the gutter. FINE. If it wanted to play this goddamn game again, he wasn't grey and he sure as hell wasn't sporting a cane just yet. FUCK IT ALL. "I wanna party, yo!!!"

"Stop whining." Pause. Serious look. "Get in the car." He rose to his feet, whipped up the phone, and pressed it to his lips. "Surprise, surprise, I'm taking the day off. Need me? You can reach me on my cell. Later." He slammed the phone down, seeing that Axel was dumbfounded by the flip of the coin. He winked, and slid down his shades to meet those sulky blue eyes. "Still got the Seven."

The other grinned like a cat with fresh cream. He had won like always. Spade was so easy to win over all one had to do was pout and whine like a child and bat his pretty eye's at the elder. Licking his lips and popping them as he followed Spade with a bounce to his step.

"So any good clubs recently? I Haven't been back in a while so...." He rambled on about his clubbing in Esparia slipping from music to women to drinks. The boy seemed to be stuck in this loop of playing the sexy spy and partying like a university student that he couldn't get out of. Heck he didn't even want out of it. He was loving every second of it. all he had to worry about was paying his bills....and heck he could hack so if needs be he could just add a few zero's to his account if he was that desperate.... not that he did that....often....

Looking to Spade he slowly stopped talking and watched the elder. It was odd to think his mentor and best friend had matured to the point he was getting married and was one of the most important men in the whole of Amestrist. Heck the type of responcerbility scared the ever living crap out of him. Axel was so use to when shit got serious just run the fuck away he had applied it to everything in his life. his fighting tactic was zap and run....his last job ended with him running the fuck out of there and any woman who wanted to be more then a casual flirting fling was ran the hell away from yet here was his mentor....Head of central and a national hero.....getting ready to get married...That was some scary shit, yo. Was that why Spade had offered a job? Did he think Axel as immature? Did he think he had to grow up?

Sighing loudly he looked to Spade with a twitching eyebrow. "Why did you suggest I work here....you know that's not my kind of shit, yo!" He was paranoid did Spade think he was childish?

"So any good clubs recently? I Haven't been back in a while so...." He heard that behind his shoulder, coming from the twenty-six-year-old toddler. It hurt if only just a little--enough to dumbfound him into a strange, uncharacteristic silence. He tapped his chin, staring into the void of visual conception. Esparia did this, eh? Well, it musta been a helluva place then. Clubs were for small fry, singles, and virgin fools learning to dance dirty. Wouldn't catch him dead there. Not after all the shit he'd been through. The idea of clubs now-a-days just looked so dang dank. At this point, it didn't matter to him if he seemed old or not. Hell! He was almost thirty anyways. Maybe it was better just to come off it. Accept it. He wasn't the young playboy spending his nights in cheap motels anymore. He had something--something Axel probably wouldn't understand unless he flat out explained the definition of 'engagement.' Save it for later; now wasn't the right time. He could become that retired, gray gambler tonight and leave that as his excuse. He wasn't chasing tail and getting drunk off his ass to erase his woes this time around. Somehow that brought a smile to his face--that crooked detective smile he thought was a dying breed of expression.

"Man, I don't go to clubs anymore. I'll take you someplace cooler. Let's see." He pretended to think about it, tapping his scruffy chin with a rough finger. He darkened. "Want to make some money?" Of course he did. But Axel was definitely not thinking about what Spade just said; he was thinking about something else entirely. Of which, Spade wasn't in the right mind to deduct. Therefore, he waited with an inquiring look, hand positioned just right on the door handle to open it to exit his security breached office. He tapped his foot, practically hearing the gears turning. He opened the door a crack and clutched his keys like gold from a treasure chest. Ah--ah! It was coming.

"Why did you suggest I work here....you know that's not my kind of shit, yo!" Needless to say, it wasn't exactly the dialogue he was expecting. But then again, that was why he and Axel went far back. This guy was someone Spade couldn't quite get a handle on--someone who wasn't an open book. The more cryptic the better. Yeah, he already knew he was a weird guy. Wanting what he couldn't have. Pursuing what couldn't be obtained. Befriending the seldom few people he couldn't read. Making enemies with fucking weird-ass chimera monsters that lived in sewers. Shudder.

"Let me make this simple." Spade turned with a straight look vicing his jade eyes. "I have a hunch. It's bad. Even if I'm wrong, there aren't many people I can trust." He paused, kicking at the door like it was the curb. "I've taught you most of what you know, so I know you're good. That may be conceited, but fuck, Axel you need to stop going to clubs and hit up the real world." As much as he had tried to avoid it himself in the past, he never had anyone try to wake him up.

"Let me make this simple." He frowned more his brow twitching in irritation. He hoped to dear truth that spade wasn't going where he taught he was going. "I have a hunch. It's bad. Even if I'm wrong, there aren't many people I can trust." Okay that didn't sound half as bad. The furrowing of his brow lessened as Spade mulled over his words. "I've taught you most of what you know, so I know you're good. That may be conceited, but fuck, Axel you need to stop going to clubs and hit up the real world." Nope scrap that!

"What the hell, yo!" He snarled huffing his cheeks as he glowered at Spade. "There is nothing wrong with my life!" Well bar the large overdraft and the lovely letters he would get from the bank that piled by his door until a large sum of pay from what ever spy job he had just done had gone in and suddenly gone as if nothing had happened. "I love how I live,yo! I'm not tied down I'm living the bloody 007 life style...just more sexy,yo!" He scuffed his boot along the floor in some frumpy childlike sulk. "I don't need security." He frowned at Spade his brows furrowed. Though this was the stage one should be careful. Sure he acted childish and was rather adorable yet drop dead sexy but... the small retracted rod that hung from Axel's belt that aided the mean swing that Axel had. He wasn't violent but his control on his temper was lacking.

"What the hell, yo!" Spade sighed. Well, it wasn't like he thought he'd score one right off the bat. He almost felt like he was talking to his past self: a wall. And it wasn't just a wall; it was an impregnable wall with a mirror on it glaring back. Yo 's been a while. He frowned and dropped the door, pacing a few steps forward toward Axel. Alright. Bring it on. "There is nothing wrong with my life!" Wait, had Spade said there was? I think not. "I love how I live,yo! I'm not tied down I'm living the bloody 007 life style...just more sexy,yo!" This was going to take longer than he thought. Spade tapped his foot, trying to look like he didn't want to strangle the living hell out of the curtains. They were just asking for it, being all navy blue and all. Blue AGH! It pissed him off! Why did everything have to be so damn blue!? The sky was blue for crying out loud, wasn't that enough?! "I don't need security."

"But clearly we do," Spade murmured under his breath, combing roughly through his hair with a stray hand. There was this thing, you see. This thing that Spade always did when he was bridging on frustration, and it usually involved touching his hair in some way, albeit briefly. One could hardly catch it, but he always did it without thinking. It was a mannerism of a sort. It didn't necessarily become him, at the same time, it was perfectly logical. In a sense at least. Still, the detective was taken aback by Axel's unorthodox outburst. Did he not understand what he had just said? Was he even listening? He knew he was right in saying that Axel had to face the music. Hell, breaking into his office alone was a criminal offense. One button, and the fiery redhead would be imprisoned for an undetermined amount of time. 'Course he'd never do that to an old pupil. Not in a million years. So, following that thought, Axel was really actually lucky that Spade was such a nice guy. He'd be royally fucked otherwise.

"James Bond is fictional. If you're living his life-style, then there is something wrong." Maybe he wasn't such a nice guy after all. Ugh, he just couldn't win. Why so tense? It was like the appearance of Axel in his chair shoved a stick up his ass. Why was he so on edge? The mentor in him was screaming at the top of its lungs. Yes, its. Spade wasn't that person anymore, so why was he trying to be? He paused. "I'm sorry, man." He looked down, adjusting his sunglasses with a bitter smile. I'm sorry for trying to be someone I was. I'm sorry for getting scared at the idea that anyone could break into my office so easily. I'm sorry for not being who you remember. "Just forget it; it's nothing." Spade shook his head, hiding the look of sprouting suspicion and pretending everything was okay. "Let's just go get fucked up." Because that was the solution to everything.

"But clearly we do," Axel frowned his finely shaped eyebrows knitting together. "James Bond is fictional. If you're living his life-style, then there is something wrong." He gritted his teeth. Spade saw him as a child...Still! In all the time they worked together it was never 'this is my partner Axel.' It was always, 'This is my student Axel.' Even when he was just as skilled as the other... Spade still looked down on him.

It infuriated the other as Spade rambled on he stopped with a irritated huff. Exhaling air through his nose. "Forget it, yo! I was stupid to think of coming here." He glared at the other. For a moment his fingers twitched as he wanted to truly throw his temper at the other, strip his beloved goggles from his forehead and throw them at the other but in the end he could bare to do it.

"If you have a problem with your damn central maybe you should find an ADULT, yo!" With that he shouldered past the other heading for the exit he desperately wanted a shot of something strong....or a whole bottle of tequila.

"Forget it, yo! I was stupid to think of coming here."

...

"If you have a problem with your damn central maybe you should find an ADULT, yo!"

...

Axel shouldered past Spade, forcing him to stumble just the slightest and grab onto the desk for support. Jeez, he could have gone around, you know? Slam, he winced and stared at him go. For a second, all he could think about was fixing the security. Once that passed, he looked off into the area where his old pupil had stood with a frown. He hadn't tried to chase him or add in his own two cents because, at this point, the redhead was on his own. If he thought visiting Spade was a mistake, that was his call, man. Spade wasn't going to force anything on the guy. He seemed to be having belittlement issues, lacking the old confidence that usually came springing up in times like these. Nothing. He had only been insulted by the older man's typical slander instead of shrugging it off as paranoia and the usual heed. Regardless, Spade was now alone in his office contemplating how things could have gone differently, what he did wrong, and perhaps a cup of coffee.

[EXIT THREAD]