Zexion liked to keep to himself, he didn't care for mindless chatter. The only person he really enjoyed spending time with was Lexaeus. They knew each other when they both were whole beings, and even then they got along very nicely. As foolish as it sounds, Zexion liked having the big lug around, even if they weren't talking. It made him feel.... safe. Protected. Perhaps even a little happy? Zexion wouldn't admit it though, he claims Lexaeus is nothing but a mere henchman. He was a Nobody, what feelings could he ever possess for the Silent Hero?

~*~

Zexion walked down the empty hallways of the Castle That Never Was and marched up the hallway with a scowl. Zexion marched up to the tall, white door and pounded his fist onto it. "Lexaeus! Open up!" the young man shouted. Zexion crossed his arms over his small frame and waited for Lexaeus to open the door.

Finally the door opened and the tall, muscular man appeared. "What is it?" Lexaeus asked. Zexion unfolded his arms and scowled harder.

"Where have you been? I called you down to the lab 20 minutes ago! I needed your help and you almost jeopardized the whole experiment! Thank Xaldin for saving my ass!" Zexion blew a few loose strands of hair out of his face and planted his hands on his hips.

Lexaeus merely shrugged. "I was busy." he said.

"Busy? With what?! Your stupid puzzles?!" Zexion glared daggers at Lexaeus. It would've been another story if the man had actually had something important to do, but the only thing more important than Zexion was a mission!

"You got someone else to do it, what's the big deal?" Lexaeus turned his head away from Zexion's glare. Zexion let his arms drop to his sides and stared at Lexaeus, utterly shocked at how he could be so.... Standoffish.

"...What's this really about, Lexaeus?" Zexion walked towards the tall man, only to be pushed away. "Why are you pissed at me?!" Zexion tried to give Lexaeus a menacing look, but the only facial expression that would appear on Zexion's face a was a pained one.

"Get yourself another lackey, I'm sick of being just your body guard." Lexaeus turned to walk back into his room. He was halfway into the room when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist.

"Don't you dare walk away from me like that! Where is this coming from? You were fine yesterday!" Zexion glared.

"I talked to the guys yesterday, and they helped me realize I shouldn't be your punching bag anymore." Then Lexaeus shook Zexion's grip off his wrist and went into the room. Zexion stood in front of the door, trying to fathom what just happened. What on Earth could they have said to him? Lexaeus didn't let anyone get to him, he was smart and self-secured. There was only one way to find out what was up.

Zexion marched into the recreation part of the castle and saw all the guys playing in one of Luxord's poker games. Zexion stood at the head of the table next to Luxord and tapped his foot impatiently. "What's up, half-pint?" Xigbar looked up at Zexion with a toothy grin.

"You know exactly what's up, Xigbar! What did you tell Lexaeus last night?" Zexion folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't going to bother with the comment on his height.

"I didn't say anything! I merely... Helped the other show our dear friend he can do better than you." Xigbar grinned annoyingly.

"Do better?! We're not doing anything!" Zexion hissed with venom in his voice.

"We could all see that, it doesn't take a scientist to figure that out." Larxene piped in and smirked at Zexion from the other end of the table.

".... You're not implying what I think you're implying?" Zexion looked at the others incredulously. It was idiotic to even consider such a thing.... They were both guys, and they couldn't feel! What on earth could they possible do?

"You can think what you like, but just ponder that for awhile. And if you decide that this is some joke we're playing just to see you squirm, well.... More fun for us." Luxord smirked as the others laughed.

"You all can go burn..." Zexion muttered and marched out of the room. Leave it to those imbeciles to screw everything up... They had something good going, a certain understanding, if you will. 'What exactly did they mean from that.... Lexaeus couldn't be with anyone else! There couldn't even be anything to do without hearts.' Zexion thought. There was only one person to go to when facing abuse, Vexen's lab.

~*~

"Sorry to disturb you, but I need to talk." Zexion leaned against the doorframe to Vexen's lab. Vexen was filing paperwork on his various experiments. It was times like this when Vexen was actually glad to be disturbed.

"What is it? You normally talk to Lexaeus if there's a problem with anything." Vexen stacked the papers onto his desk and sat in his chair. He turned the chair to face Zexion. "Is Lexaeus on a mission?" Vexen raised an eyebrow.

"Well.... The problem is actually Lexaeus... And the others. Lexaeus isn't speaking to me, he's mad at me because of something the others told him!" Zexion sat on one of the sterilized operating tables in front of Vexen.

"And by 'the others' you mean...?" Vexen asked.

"Luxord, Larxene, Xigbar, and possibly more. It's so.... Ugh, I can't even explain how angry I am!" Zexion let out an exasperated sigh. "Why would they even think of doing something so stupid?! What's the point in it?" Zexion rubbed his temples, he was starting to get a headache.

"You know how they get with their little games, they're just bored. All will fix itself in no time." Vexen dismissed and went back to his files.

"Do you now see the severity of the situation?! They're simply doing this to mess with me! And Lexaeus is none the wiser! He's an idiot!" Zexion jumped off the operating table and clenched his fists to his sides. "Who would be foolish enough to fall for any of Xigbar's tricks?! My Lexaeus would never fall for this!" Zexion turned Vexen's chair to face him once again.

"Did you just say 'my Lexaeus'?" Vexen looked at Zexion questionably. Vexen just shooed Zexion away, he had no time for this nonsense. "Maybe he's not being tricked, maybe he's coming to his senses." Vexen went back to the files on his desk and began ordering them correctly.

"What good are you, old man! You are losing your mind, and your hair is next to go!" Zexion stormed out of the angrier than when he walked in. Oh what help that was, he now had a headache. Who else was he suppose to talk to? It seemed like everyday in this damned castle everyone lost a chunk of their mind.

Vexen peaked behind him to see if the boy was still there. "The coast is clear." Vexen said. Just like that, Xigbar had appeared in the middle of the room. "You need to be more careful, you almost got caught." Vexen stood up and walked to the passed Xigbar. He put three manila folders in the top draw on his filing cabinet.

"It's not my fault! Larxene nagged me to come up here and check if Zexion came up. I already knew he'd come here, but she wouldn't leave me alone! You know how that woman is." Xigbar raised his hands in front of him defensively.

"Whatever you say.... Do you honestly believe this is going to work?" Vexen looked at Xigbar with a puzzled expression. "You know how stubborn Zexion can be, he was that way even when he was Ienzo."

Xigbar pinched the bridge of his nose and made a 'tsk' sound. "You underestimate our power.... Vexen, if I didn't know Zexion would go for this, would I even attempt this?' Xigbar asked and placed a hand on Vexen's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

"Yes, yes you would. Did you forget you like to see others suffer by your own hand?" Vexen said.

"Excellent point!" Xigbar laughed. Xigbar let his arm fall over Vexen's shoulder and said, "But seriously, this will work! Even the Superior's getting into this! No hurry upstairs, we're about to start the bets."

"Bets?" Vexen groaned with agitation. This thing was getting out of hand before it had even taken flight.

~*~

FFFFF. I SHOULD BE SHOT ;D Might be rated M in later chapters ;P