"Flowers and Books"

"Lexaeus, go capture Riku. Don't disappoint me like Vexen did." Zexion ordered in a voice that held much superiority despite its bored tone. Lexaeus simply nodded his head and opened a portal. "And be wary of number VIII. Don't let him get to you." The Cloaked Schemer warned. "We don't need another traitor in the Organization."

Lexaeus frowned and put his foot in through the darkness but as soon as he stepped in, a gloved hand firmly pushed him back. A tall, hooded figure entered the dark room. The man glanced towards Lexaeus. He was a bit confused but his face remained stoic nonetheless. "Sorry." The man mumbled. Zexion, who seemed uninterested up until a moment ago sat upright and laid his book upon the desk in front of him.

"Lexaeus." Zexion said, standing from the couch. The Silent Hero grunted in acknowledgement. He didn't need to be told that these two needed some time to chat alone, so he moved back into the slowly diminishing portal and with it, disappeared into the darkness. Zexion stood there unmoving as the cloaked man started rearranging some flowers on a nearby desk. The only sound they could hear was the shuffling of leaves.

"Your flowers are wilting. They need some light. Why are you staying in such a dark, dreary room anyway? How can you read in this place?"

"What are you doing here, Marluxia?"

The visitor stopped arranging the flowers and laid some others on the table. He turned towards Zexion who involuntarily took a step back. "Now, now, no need to be so hostile. I just dropped by… I just dropped by to say hello." There was something in Marluxia's voice that seemed unnatural. Of course, there is nothing suspicious about that. Zexion thought. Nothing suspicious at all, especially after traumatizing me during our last encounter. His eyes narrowed a bit as Marluxia dropped the hood of his cloak and delicate pink flower petals fluttered down to the floor, but before they reached its surface they disappeared. Marluxia frowned a bit.

"Why do you stay here?" He asked in a whisper.

"The superior told me to." Zexion answered without even the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice.

Marluxia's hand clenched into a fist and his cheeks flushed a shade of pink that could match his hair. "Why are you so loyal to the Organization? To that, that… nobody!" Zexion's eye twitched a little but Marluxia didn't see because it was hidden behind his slate-gray hair.

"You do realize that we're also nobodies, right?"

"You know what I mean!"

Zexion sighed. "No, no I don't. We've had this discussion before. You should know by now that I'll never be able to understand your view on the Superior and this Organization… and you'll never understand mine."

---

"I'm not lonely, Marluxia." Number VI retorted as he tried to push the Graceful Assassin back. Marluxia held his wrists tight and pulled him so close, Zexion could see every detail of Marluxia's deep blue eyes.

"Yes, you are. I can sense it. You're dying in the place! Come with me; let's overrun this messed-up Organization together with the others. Xemnas should mean nothing to you! He's just using you!"

"Shut up and go away! You don't understand why I even choose to stay here, why I choose to follow Xemnas' orders!" Zexion struggled to be rid of Marluxia with all the strength he could muster. Realizing that he had nothing more to say, Marluxia let him go.

---

He sat back down on the couch and crossed his legs. He folded his arms over his chest as he stared straight into Marluxia's eyes. How was he supposed to understand Marluxia? How was he supposed to understand him –a traitor to something he was loyal to? How was he supposed to feel the kinds of things Marluxia felt when both of them aren't supposed to feel anything in the first place? And if Marluxia would somehow be able to understand him, would he be able to accept the truth?

"He's not doing anything. Where is he anyway? All this fuss about Kingdom Hearts… He's taking too long." Marluxia took his seat on the chair opposite of Zexion, and as he raised his head, there he was face to face with him with only the coffee table dividing them.

"And you think you'll be able to get our hearts back faster than Xemnas?"

"We don't even know if that plan is going to work!"

"Is that why you're sending Axel to kill off members of the Organization? What are you going to do with Sora? You should know, Xemnas needs him, too."

"We're not traitors."

"You want to take over the Organization and you don't call yourself a traitor?"

"Why are you so loyal to the Organization?" Marluxia asked again, this time his cheeks turning darker than his hair. "Why do you care?" Zexion snapped. He doesn't need to know. I don't want him to know. After a moment of silent tension, he asked, "Why is it you hate the Organization so much?" Both looked away and let their eyes wander around the dark room. There was another silence between them. Marluxia gathered all his thoughts. What was he going to say? Did he really want Zexion to fully understand him or would that only jeopardize the relationship they had, even if the relationship isn't very friendly?

"My flower, the one I care about the most, is dying." Marluxia answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He said it like it was some great tragedy, like… …like it was said with a pain that came from someone who had a heart. Zexion couldn't believe it. He wanted to take over the Organization for a stupid flower? Not even a garden of flowers, not even a bouquet of flowers, but a flower.

"How is it that that darn flower is more important to you than the lives of the other members?" Zexion asked, incredulity evident in his voice. But as the words left his lips, somehow, in his non-existent heart, he felt that what he really meant to ask was, "How is it that that darn flower is more important to you than me?"

"Because like me, if that flower dies…" Marluxia picked up a rose from the vase. He crushed its petals and let them fall to the floor. "… it'll fade back into darkness. Like it was never meant to exist."

"Flowers like that don't exist." Zexion commented, shaking his head in emphasis.

Marluxia smiled a little and said, "I guess not. Now answer my question, it's only fair. Why are you so loyal to the Organization?"

Zexion glared at him. Before answering, he glanced at his bookshelf where books were neatly arranged. No pages were missing and dust never gathered there. "If you must know, then here's my answer. I have this book, you see."

Marluxia rested his chin on his hand. "A book?" He questioned, slightly amused but very much annoyed at the fact that Zexion was using the same tactic of avoiding the question.

"Yes, a book. It's one that I haven't read until the end yet. I don't really see this book as often as I want to. It's always getting lost then reappearing at odd times of the day. If you become Superior of the Organization, I won't be able to see that book as often as I do now, or maybe I won't be able to see that book ever again."

Marluxia listened carefully to Zexion. His voice as he spoke changed in a way that it was like listening to a sad song on the violin. His voice was beautiful, yes, but sad.

"Books like that don't exist." Marluxia smirked at him.

Zexion gave a small laugh. "I guess not."

Marluxia stood from where he was seated and created a portal. From the darkness, Zexion could smell the sweet scent of lilies and roses and violets and daisies. There was no unique scent. He couldn't smell a flower that was given special treatment. He couldn't smell a flower that was wilting. Everything was the same.

"Goodbye." Marluxia muttered. Taking one last look around the room, no book was out of place, he'd seen every book there and there wasn't one more so he turned his back and left Zexion alone in the dark room where some wilting flowers lay on the table.

You don't know, but what I'm doing, I do because I love you…