Vexen stormed in, throwing his coat onto the chair next to the desk.
"I have had enough!" He announced as he unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off and dumping it onto the coat.
There was a disinterested huff from the bed.
"I mean it, Marluxia," Vexen grumbled, fetching a spare T shirt from the bottom of the drawer. It might have been Marluxia's. He didn't care.
Marluxia propped himself up on one elbow to watch Vexen change.
"What's got you this time?"
"This time! Hah!"
Vexen roughly grabbed a pair of jersey trousers and pulled them on over his boxers. Marluxia merely raised his eyebrows at this display of annoyance from the scientist.
"Well?"
"I think it should be obvious!"
Marluxia flopped back onto the bed.
"Feel free to share. As soon as you're ready,"
Vexen stomped over.
"I happened to want to take some money out today. I also happened to check our account balance. What've you done?"
"Don't worry. I have it covered," Marluxia replied, unperturbed, running a hand through his hair.
"Fifty thousand munny?" Vexen demanded. "You've lost us fifty thousand munny, and you're telling me you've got it covered?!"
"It's munny well spent," Marluxia assured Vexen.
"On what, may I ask?"
"It's just a project of mine. Don't worry about it,"
"That's my munny!"
"Since when is it yours? I thought we agreed that it was a joint account,"
"You don't even have a job! All that munny was earned by me. I demand to know what you've done with it!"
"Look, don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. It's all part of the big plan,"
Vexen snorted.
"And might I remind you what happened last time you had a "big plan"? We both. Died."
Marluxia narrowed his eyes, patience waning.
"It's not that kind of plan, you fool,"
"Don't you dare call me a fool, you-!"
"I can't be bothered with this," Marluxia interrupted. "Look. Just leave it, okay?"
"What the hell could you have bought that cost you fifty thousand munny?!" Vexen continued anyway.
"I thought I asked you to leave it?"
Vexen growled with anger, but didn't say anything more as he stormed out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, he returned.
"What was that all about?" Marluxia asked as he was roughly pushed over to his side of the bed and robbed of the duvet.
Vexen settled himself down in the soft mattress.
"Bathroom. Good night, Marluxia,"
A moment or two went by. There was a small light on Marluxia's side of the bed that wouldn't go away.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm timing how long it takes you to roll over and give me a furious snog,"
"What makes you think I'll be doing anything?" Vexen snapped.
"Just a hunch,"
"Oh, shut up, will you?"
"Make me,"
Vexen snarled, rolling over, just like Marluxia had predicted, to trap the Assassin underneath him.
"You know what I think our problem is?" Marluxia said lightly.
"Aside from the fact that you're a self obsessed, infuriating twerp," Vexen growled back with mounting annoyance. For goodness' sake. Was it too much to ask to just be able to get a good night's sleep?
"And you're a pretentious, insufferable fool. No, I think that we just haven't had enough sex for months,"
"You're just a sex-obsessed freak!"
Marluxia grinned.
"I'm being serious," He said, shifting slightly under Vexen's weight, and suddenly, he was able to flip Vexen over so he was the one on top.
Vexen let out a small growl just to show Marluxia that he wasn't going to submit to the pink-haired man's will without a fight, but it just made the Assassin smirk as he leaned down to bite at Vexen's ear.
Vexen gave a half-hearted attempt to push Marluxia off, but his heart wasn't in it. The pink haired man was, irritably, right; they'd not had sex - proper, good sex - for the best part of a month, and now that Marluxia was right on top of him, murmuring throatily in his ear, he was really beginning to feel it.
He grudgingly reached up in the dark to tangle the fingers of one hand into Marluxia's soft hair, no longer so tempted to just tell him to roll off and get some sleep.
Marluxia was already slowly ghosting strong hands down his torso, tugging at the hastily put on shirt, and he fought down a shiver, not wanting to admit to the pink haired man just how much he suddenly wanted this. The Assassin must have noticed, because he laughed, right next to Vexen's ear, so close and so tangible in the cosy darkness.
"There's no need to pretend you don't want this as much as I do," He whispered, and Vexen let out a little hmph, still stubbornly wanting to play the unwilling partner as he tried to wriggle out of Marluxia's grasp. He managed to get right over to the middle of the bed when the Assassin simply grabbed a hold of his hips and yanked him back into place.
It was easy to forget how strong the man was, Vexen mused, as Marluxia pushed him back into the ample pillows, slipping the shirt over his head with effortless ease.
"I really do hate you sometimes, you know," Vexen muttered as Marluxia manhandled him into a more comfortable position, as though that would justify the fact that he was already reaching down to strip Marluxia's clothes away from him.
Marluxia had the audacity to laugh, that stupid, idiotic, irritating, flirtatious, perfect, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous...
He leaned down to kiss Vexen properly and for a moment they were locked in a warm, stubborn impasse before Marluxia moved away down onto Vexen's neck, leaving little red bruises in a neat line to the scientist's collarbone.
Vexen squirmed a little as Marluxia leaned down to sweep a wet tongue across his bare nipple, hands stroking his stomach gently.
"Stop that!" He ordered, well aware that Marluxia knew full well that that wasn't what he meant at all.
Marluxia drew away with a lingering kiss to Vexen's stomach and for a few moments was utterly silent.
Then the horrifying realisation dawned on Vexen that Marluxia really wasn't going to continue.
"Marluxia," He hissed in the darkness, already aching for the other man to be pressing him against the mattress again. He wriggled a little, clinging to the feeling of warmth and intimacy that he didn't want to admit to liking so much.
"No," Marluxia said softly. "You told me to stop and for once I'm feeling generous,"
Vexen ground his teeth.
"You know that's not what I meant!"
"Oh? And what did you mean?"
Marluxia leaned right over him, dusty pink hair almost but not quite brushing against his cheeks and he glared into those deep blue eyes that he could just about make out in the gloom.
Marluxia was going to make him spell it out for him, the bastard.
"I meant don't stop," Vexen hissed as evasively as he could manage.
Marluxia gently sat on his hips, a smirk playing on his mouth.
"Don't stop what? Annoying you?"
"I don't think you could if you tried," Vexen huffed, reaching out to impatiently unbutton Marluxia's shirt and press his hands inside at the warm, smooth skin underneath, stroking, feeling, pulling Marluxia closer and desperately trying to pull a reaction from the other man.
But Marluxia just stayed stubbornly still, watching Vexen with amused eyes. Finally Vexen pulled away with an angry hiss.
"Goddamn you! You can't get me all worked up like this and then do nothing about it!" He shoved Marluxia back onto his side of the bed, ruthlessly pushing down lust and desire.
He thought that Marluxia might at least do something, but he simply rolled over, bid Vexen good night and was seemingly asleep within minutes.
---
It was a good half an hour later that Vexen tentatively called out into the darkness.
"Marluxia?"
"Uh-huh,"
So Marluxia had been awake this whole time.
"What was the point of all that?"
"I decided I wasn't so sure that I wanted to have sex with somebody who was constantly irritated by me after all,"
Vexen snorted.
"Fine," He said after a moment. There was no reply from Marluxia.
Vexen rolled over just to check that Marluxia wasn't too angry, and found that the other man was a lot closer than he'd anticipated, blue eyes gazing impassively into his.
"You know," Marluxia said, tone almost thoughtful, almost sincere. "It would be nice if you'd tell me that you did love me really every once in a while,"
"I do," Vexen replied irritably, insulted.
"No, you don't. Never. Vexen, saying "Okay, perhaps I lied about hating you," doesn't constitute as "I love you,","
"Oh, come on, Marluxia. You can't be so petty as to get worked up over the fact that I'm not constantly declaring everlasting love for you,"
"That's not what I'm annoyed about at all!" Marluxia argued back. "I'm just... For God's sake, Vexen, you can't be so bloody proud of yourself that you won't even occasionally tell your own lover he's appreciated,"
"Marluxia, you're making a huge fuss over nothing," Vexen replied, but he had to admit to himself that Marluxia did have a point.
"I am not! I am fed up with you always acting like I'm some burden on you, always! Just a chore, somebody you have to put up with but really would rather not..."
"You know full well that's not true,"
"There you go again! You'll deny things, fine, but you can't just bloody admit that you love me!"
"That's because if I do, you take it as a cue that I want sex and then have your kinky way with me whether I like it or not!" Vexen blurted out, and immediately regretted it.
Marluxia growled, actually growled, and the sound was aggressive and carnal and quite unlike anything Vexen had heard from the Assassin in a long time.
"Is that really what you think of me?" The pink haired man asked, tone accusing, but even more hurt.
"Well, maybe I was exaggerating. Come on, Marluxia-"
Marluxia had sat up and looked to all intents and purposes ready to leave the bed.
"Marluxia!"
He stood up and walked across the bedroom floor.
Vexen was shocked. There was no way that Marluxia would be that desperate; they'd had arguments before but Marluxia had never actually left him to sleep alone.
Goddamn that manipulative bastard. He always knew how to bully Vexen into submission.
"Fine. Fine, Marluxia, I take it back. I love you, I want you, I need you, look, just don't-! Don't leave. Please,"
Marluxia, hand already raised to the door handle, paused.
"Marluxia," Vexen called again, trying to fight down the desperation in his voice.
"Say it again," Marluxia said quietly.
"What?"
"Say it again. Tell me you love me. For all the times you didn't, for every time you dismissed me as nothing, for every time you said you hated me and just wished that I'd leave you alone,"
Vexen swallowed down his pride. Goddamn Marluxia for having this kind of power over him!
"I love you," He muttered, and would have shuffled his feet had he been standing up.
"Properly,"
"I already-!"
"You muttered it like a pathetic little child made to apologise when he doesn't mean it at all, Vexen. Say it like you mean it!"
"Goddamn you, Marluxia-"
"Without insulting me, please,"
"Fine. I love you!!" Vexen yelled desperately. "Now please come back,"
Vexen had forgotten just how fast Marluxia could move, but then suddenly he was there, pressing against him, hands in his hair and tongue in his mouth and Vexen couldn't care less what Marluxia thought any more as he kissed back, deeply and passionately, hands roaming and Marluxia was right - this was a feeling they hadn't shared for far too long.
He pulled Marluxia's open shirt off his shoulders and tossed it aside to continue his exploration of the Assassin's skin, both of them leaning back for more hungry kisses.
It must have been months since Marluxia had ever had to go on any physically gruelling missions, and yet he was still as lithe and muscular as ever, Vexen noted as he fiddled with the elasticised hem of Marluxia's trousers.
Marluxia himself was gently massaging Vexen's shoulders and nibbling at his ear, and Vexen had to admit that it felt good. Really good.
"Bastard," He muttered affectionately as he pushed down into Marluxia's trousers to clench tight buttocks in his hands. He drew a rewarding moan from the other man, and as punishment was pushed down into the pillows even as Marluxia stroked and caressed his chest, before reaching the top of Vexen's trousers.
He ghosted a hand over the jersey fabric, so tantalisingly close. Vexen bucked his hips with a gasp.
"Marluxia! Stop playing around!"
"It really has been a long time, hasn't it," Marluxia commented, pulling Vexen's remaining clothes down to stroke his already hard length.
Vexen moaned completely involuntarily as Marluxia leaned down and breathed, warm and seductive....
And then the assassin closed his mouth over Vexen's tip, licking and teasing with his tongue, so tight and wet and hot and it took a lot of concentration not to climax then and there. He would have done, had he not so desperately wanted that beautiful feeling to last as long as possible...
He lifted his hips a little from the bed, beckoning Marluxia to take him deeper. The Assassin seemed all to happy to comply, sucking carefully and gently, but also with enough force to leave Vexen helplessly squirming in his hands.
When climax came, it was hard and fast and Vexen had to bite his lip to keep from screaming out loud. He was reduced to short, shaky gasps as Marluxia dutifully licked the worst of the sticky fluids from him.
When the pink haired man was done, he let himself relax into the ample bedding.
"God, that was good,"
Grinning, Marluxia wiped his mouth with one hand, the other still resting on Vexen's hip.
"What makes you think I'm done with you yet?"
"Marluxia," Vexen whined quietly. "It's gone midnight,"
"So it's fine when our sex caters for your needs and not mine, but not vice versa. Okay. I get it,"
Vexen glared at him.
"Fine," He finally muttered, and reached up to grab a fistful of Marluxia's hair and yank him down for another kiss. He could taste himself on the other's lips, slightly icily sterile and bittersweet.
Once they'd broken apart, Marluxia quickly tugged down his own trousers.
"Lube's in the top drawer," He said, as if Vexen didn't already know. The scientist gave him another glare, this time unnoticed, and then reached out to pull the little bottle from the bedside table. He poured a decent amount out into his hands before reaching out to cover Marluxia's length in the slick liquids.
Marluxia moaned a little, eyes half lidded in unashamed pleasure as Vexen stroked him. When he'd finished, Vexen leaned up to kiss Marluxia's stomach and Marluxia smiled down at him.
One hand at his shoulder, pushing him back down, the other pulling one leg up as the Assassin got into position.
Vexen braced himself for impact, but he needn't have done. Marluxia was being unusually gentle tonight.
He hovered over Vexen's entrance for a moment, before pressing forward until he was fully buried.
Vexen couldn't help but moan at each slow, precise thrust as Marluxia found a deep, hard rhythm.
"What - ah! - happened to you? Treating me like a - hng - china doll all of a sudden,"
Marluxia grinned.
"Why? You want me to go faster?"
The teasing tone almost made Vexen want to deny it, but he simply fired off a smouldering glare.
"Hard as you can. Bastard,"
Marluxia complied and with the next thrust slammed into him hard enough to push him well up into the pillows. He moaned loudly, head thrown back.
He even managed another half-lidded glare in Marluxia's general direction.
"That all you can do?"
Marluxia pulled out completely and thrust just as hard again, pulling Vexen's leg up higher to open him even wider as he upped the pace. He smirked at the reaction it pulled from Vexen - the scientist gasped and squirmed, clawing compulsively at the bed sheets.
"Oh, God! Marluxia!"
When they came, they came together, a blinding flash of much needed lust and pleasure before falling down into blissful aftershocks.
After a few moments of heavy panting, Marluxia pulled out and gently flopped down onto Vexen. His whole body was hot to the touch.
"Now that was good," He murmured between deep breaths, wrapping his arms around the other man.
Vexen muttered something incomprehensible in agreement.
"Okay, I'll admit. You're right. We don't have nearly enough sex these days," He said after he'd caught his breath again.
"I'm always right," Marluxia replied, nipping at Vexen's ear affectionately.
"Pah," was all Vexen had to reply.
And then, really, really quietly; "I love you,"