Number XI gently caressed the outer layers of his most prized possession; a rare, gorgeous blue orchid that only flourished in the coldest of places.

The thought of such a delicate thing surviving in such conditions astounded me, and how I wished I could cut, open each shimmering petal and poke and prod and jab until it all but disintegrated in my hands, so I would be able to learn its inner workings. However, my body made no move to enter the garden and request a bud. I remained stationary, with my eye fixated on the great beauty before me.

XI once again touched the plant and shivered as his noticeably bare hands connected with soft petals, be it the chilly nature of the frozen flora, or the current frigid state of his personal quarters I was unsure, however, the soft movements his body, the gentle bounce of his hair and the innocent look that crossed his face made me wish I knew, just to see it again.

I tilted my head slightly as he began to mumble while inspecting the stems of the flowers. I wish I knew of what he spoke.

Blackmail is a very powerful thing.

The sight of number XI tripping, in an attempt to avoid crushing what little vegetation he had left, pulled me from my train of thought. As I watched, a part of me wished he would land and crush some plant he held dear, while another prayed he would come out unscathed.

He landed with a thud, on his side, and I heard a soft groan escape his lips. At that moment I decided his physical form would not be the only thing hurting today.

I walked in saying, with a hint of smugness, "Not very Graceful, are we?"

I watched as he stood, running a hand through his hair, subconsciously noting how soft it looked.

"Icy as always, I see." He replied with a hint of a smile.

I laughed inwardly.

Snakes don't smile.

"Rather. I came to request a few buds of your bloom."

His face dropped slightly. "Should not comrades begin a conversation with a friendly 'how are you faring?'?"

I suppressed a groan. "Number Eleven,-"

"Please, Vexen, call me my name."

I suppressed another groan. "Number Eleven." I repeated. "I wish to run a few experiments on your bloom, will you deny me?"

"Do you wish me to deny you?" not to sound like a 15 year old girl, but, man he is annoying!

"No," I began slowly. "I wish to resume my studies and I-"

"Then do so, without the use of my pets."

It hit me. That strong scent of lilac that all but engulfed me when I so much as shared a room with him. Being so close to the source made me gag.

"Vexen? Are you ill?" he asked in a … concerned manner… im sure that look on his face was comparable to that of concern.

Once again I laughed inwardly.

Snakes only care for themselves…

And possibly their young… but I rue the day that he produces an offspring.

"Quite fine," I managed to say without swallowing my tongue.

"Good," he said quitely, almost … gently, an unidentifiable something filling his voice… malice? Smug arrogance? No that wasn't it… something else…

I blinked a few times, realizing he had resumed his not-so-good-humored banter and was leading the conversation in a general 'Vexen, get the bloody hell out of my lab before my scythe and I make you' direction.

I raised my hand to silence him, saying "If you want me gone that badly, I shall return to my laboratories." I made a move to brush past him in a not-so-gently manner; grateful to get away from that man and his flowers, and extremely annoyed that I was walking away from that man without his flowers.

Wait, no, I did not feel grateful or annoyed… I felt nothing… we nobodies feel nothing, especially not hate towards a cocky, selfish, arrogant, rude… flower controlling thing like him.

Not knowing my that my incredibly out of character train of thought had distracted me from my "leaving", I realized that I was suddenly off balance and falling towards a dirty floor, arms flailing in a desperate attempt to grab onto something that would help me regain balance.

Fortunately, my hands did grip something.

Unfortunately, that something turned out to be a certain "evil in Nobody form" and that something was Graceful enough to lose footing the second I clutched his… now, what was I holding… no, I'd rather not know.

The fall was relatively painless; the only thing really hurting was my knees, mainly because I landed on them... and him. I began to speak an apology, as is proper however; there was something soft pressing against my lips. Something soft…With a sweet taste… One that I wouldn't mind experiencing again.

Thanks to the curious nature that seems to come naturally to every scientist, I began to open my eyes, wondering what could be so soft and taste so good. As a scientist, I had a few theories but I begged them to be inaccurate. Being a good scientist, however, meant my theories were usually right, and as my wide eyes met an equally wide pair of bright blue irises, I began to wish I had never entered this stupid garden in the first place…