WARNING, THIS FIC CONTAINS MILD MALExMALE SUGGESTIVE
THEMES, MINOR CURSE WORDS, AND EXTREME FLUFFINESS.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
_
Vexen raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the taller blond (now sitting on the counter in his lab with a rather sheepish look on his face) and chuckled quietly.
"You do realize that we could get in a lot of trouble for this," He said, more concerned about what Demyx was asking for than the consequences.
"Yeah, of course I do!" Demyx chuckled too, rubbing the back of his head nervously like Axel did so often...
"You realize there could be dangerous repercussions if it doesn't work? If Axel finds out too soon?"
"Yes of course I do! But he deserves to be happy! We at least gotta get him thinking about confession!" Demyx was suddenly on fire, so passionate about his cause that Vexen raised the other eyebrow to join the first.
"You do realize what you're asking of me..?" Vexen said quietly, his own icy fire burning deep in his eyes. His intensity with the last statement caused a bright red blush to spread across Demyx's face. The taller blond only nodded his understanding.
Vexen considered him for a moment, going over the options in his head as he thought about this new proposal brought to the table.
"I'll do it," He finally said, though he'd already decided from the start that he would.
"Really? Yay! You're the best, Vexen!" Demyx cried, jumping off the counter and throwing his arms around the other. "This has got to work!"
'I sure hope it does.' Vexen didn't say it out loud, but he meant it none the less.
"Axel!" Demyx shouted, flying down the hall toward the redhead's door. Just as it opened and Axel came out to see what the ruckus was, Demyx crashed into him, sending him to the floor in confusion. "Axel! Guess what?"
"What?"
The sandy blond leaned down to Axel's ear and whispered conspiratorially. "I think I'm gay..."
Axel's eyes shot open. "Say what?" He demanded, his face turning slightly pink.
"I think I'm gay... How do you feel about that?" blue eyes stared down at Axel, who only got flustered. "You tell me this on my lap? Can you get any more creepy?" the redhead snapped.
"Marluxia, Xigbar, Luxord,"
"Point taken..." Axel grimaced, pushing Demyx off of him. "So you think you're gay?" Dem nodded. "Do you like someone?"
Demyx blushed scarlet.
Watching from around a corner behind Axel, Vexen could have sworn Demyx really had a serious crush. The boy was a better actor than he realized... "Damn, this will be harder than I thought..." Vexen murmured.
"Yes," Demyx nearly sang, drawing the word out into a short melody. "I do,"
"Who?" Axel asked, a challenge clear in his voice.
The red darkened as Demyx hesitated. "Guess." He finally said, sticking his tongue out at the other.
"You want me to guess? How am I supposed to guess?"
"Can we go in your room?" Demyx asked, looking suddenly embarrassed, as if he really was serious. "Please?"
"Sure," Axel said, a little confused as Demyx glanced around, looking guilty.
The two of them walked into Axel's room, Demyx taking his time looking up and down the hall to feign making certain they weren't going to be spied on. Just before the door closed, Demyx caught sight of Vexen's face down the hallway, and winked quickly before pulling it shut.
Vexen smiled back, but too late for the other to see. He was very curious how it was going to go, but he decided that eavesdropping at this point would only get him caught. He went back to his lab to await results.
"Vexy? May I come in?" Demyx called, knocking gently on the lab door.
"Sure, Demyx." Vexen answered, his voice slightly muffled by the surgical mask he was wearing. When the door opened he handed one to Demyx. "Wear this."
"Why? You know I hate these things," Demyx whined.
"I'm working with some chemicals that when mixed together create a noxious gas. I'm not sure how it will affect us, but it's better safe than sorry." He told Demyx as he looked up from his work. "Put it on."
"Fine." Demyx muttered, tying the mask to his face. "Do I get goggles, to?" He asked hopefully. Vexen smiled, it was always adorable to watch Demyx with the goggles, he loved them.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Vexen reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the special blue goggles he had just for the other blond.
"Yay!" Demyx shouted, quickly pulling the goggles on and sidling up next to Vexen. "Now I'm ready!" He said.
"Great," Vexen poured a violet liquid into a vial of yellow goo, watching as the colors slowly mixed. Where they met, the liquids turned a faint orange, and began to boil quietly. Some of the orange started to move up, and float into the air as tiny orange bubbles. Demyx giggled as the first one popped.
"So what's to report?" Vexen asked, poking at the liquids with a glass stick. "Did all go as planned?"
Vexen nearly didn't catch the blush that spread again on Demyx's face. "Perfectly. He believed every word. He even confessed his love for Roxas!" He hummed happily.
"Fantastic. So when do I come in?" Vexen asked.
"Well, you and I pretend to flirt for a while, and then get together, and then Axel sees it's okay and confesses his love to Roxas!" Demyx smiled, proud of himself for thinking up such a plan.
"So what happens when he realizes it was all a farce?" Vexen asked, choosing his words carefully.
Dem's face fell. It was almost comical with the mask and goggles. "I didn't think that far ahead..." He mumbled, chagrin obvious in his tone.
"I think, when the time is right, you'll know what to tell him," Vexen said quietly, poking at his experiment a little roughly.
Vexen coughed in surprise, as the orange gas quickly began pouring out of the beaker it was in. "Out!" He gasped, suddenly smelling the very strong scent of an experiment gone FUBAR.
Demyx wasted no time, grabbing Vexen's hand and pulling him into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind them and both began to cough like crazy.
After a good forty seconds, though, Demyx started to laugh. And laugh, and laugh, until Vexen couldn't help but join in. The slid down the wall just next to the door they'd come through, and giggled for a solid five minutes.
"Nine? Four? What's so funny?" Xemnas walked past them, looking pointedly at the two giggling lunatics on the floor.
"Nothing, sir." Vexen choked, Demyx only snorted harder, falling over and holding his sides.
Xemnas raised an eyebrow but didn't push it, continuing on his way down the hall.
Finally, Demyx stopped giggling long enough to pull the mask and goggles off his face, but only began again as soon as they were off. "You should take yours off too." Dem suggested.
"Sure," Vexen agreed, following suit as he glanced at the door. "Can you help me make another 'Temporarily out of service' sign? The other seven are still in there." He chortled again, realizing how useless those usually were after one use.
"You should come up with a way to keep them in the hallway, that way if this ever happens again-"
"Which it will,"
"Right. If it happens again you have one already out here." Demyx said brightly, giggling again.
Vexen blinked. "That's a brilliant idea, Demyx! I'll ask Xemnas about it next time I talk to him!"
Demyx was suddenly very close, his nose inches from Vexen's. "Seriously? I am smart?" He asked excitedly.
"From time to time, you do have a legitimate idea, yes. But it's quite a rarity," He chuckled at the disappointed face the other gave him.
"Well you're so über-smart, it only looks like I'm dumb." Demyx huffed, crossing his arms. "I can be smart, too, you know."
"Oh really? Prove it." Vexen laughed.
Demyx starred at him for a moment, considering the challenge. "I don't know how," he admitted.
"Well, how about this: This stupid 'cupid' plan of yours works, I'll have to admit it was a smart plan. If it fails, then I get the satisfaction of locking you in a room with Marluxia and Xigbar. How's that?"
Demyx's was so surprised he lost all concept of speech for a moment. "Wh-what?" He asked.
"You win, you're smart(ish) after all. You fail, I get to do something awful to you for my own satisfaction." Vexen's grin made Demyx shiver in terror.
Being the dolt that he actually was, Demyx agreed with a small nod, biting his lip and not catching the sarcasm in Vexen's voice. "But no longer than five minutes!" He begged.
Vexen was surprised, but only for a moment. "Ten."
"Six?"
"Nine."
Demyx considered. "Seven, final offer."
Vexen hummed quietly, feigning consideration. "Considering this is all about Axel, My final offer is Eight minutes."
Demyx huffed quietly, looking at his fingers in his lap. "Done." He grimaced. "THIS HAS GOT TO WORK!" He shouted to the hall, getting up and taking off.
Vexen laughed, shaking his head as he watched the other go.
Curious, he opened the door to his lab and took a quick whiff. It smelled like Pineapple.
He started to chuckle again to himself as he went about checking for anything harmful in the lab.
The next few weeks went by both too fast and too slowly for Vexen. Every time Axel was in the room, Demyx would pretend to stare at Vexen, a dreamy look in his eyes. Now and then, Vexen would turn around and catch him, enjoying the blush that spread on the others face and smiling back. Now and then he would even wink, and leave Demyx 'flustered.'
Axel most likely bought it, Demyx being a much better actor than Vexen had ever imagined. And there really wasn't any acting on Vexen's part, just the pretending in is own mind that it was real.
"Vexen?" Came a soft voice from just outside the Chilly Academic's room.
"Yes, Demyx?" He asked, pausing in the act of pulling off his shirt. "Come in,"
"I uh, I had something to ask you-" Demyx's eyes widened and he looked at the ceiling.
"What is it? Vexen asked, still not moving from his spot, his undershirt pulled across his elbows.
"C-could you put that back on for a moment?" Demyx asked, his voice shaking slightly. Vexen noticed, and was instantly concerned.
"Did something happen?" He demanded, dropping the shirt back and coming over to the other. "Did something go wrong?"
"No, um..." Demyx swallowed, glancing down and realizing the other was still dressed. "I was just about to say that... Well, this is working but it's kinda about time that..."
"Spit it out, Demyx." Vexen said, sternly.
"The flirting, it's working but Axel hasn't made a move on Roxas. ..." He spit out, sounding embarrassed.
"Say that again?" Vexen asked
"I think that... we should step it up..." Demyx nearly whispered. "Make it look... closer..."
"How much closer?"
"..." Demyx bit his lip, his face a mask of dark red embarrassment.
"Explain yourself, Demyx." Vexen said calmly.
Hesitating, Demyx glanced up at Vexen and removed his lip from between his teeth. "I dunno, closer." Demyx said quietly. "Make it look like we're... dating..."
"Hmm..." Vexen thought to himself. "Like, holding hands, dating? Kisses on the cheek dating?" He asked. Inside, he was pleased, but also worried about the look on the taller blond's face. "Demyx are you okay?"
Demyx nodded.
"Are you breathing?"
Demyx shook his head.
"Breathe." Vexen sounded exasperated.
Demyx let out a heavy sigh and his face started to loose some of it's unusual color. "Yes, okay? Kissing and holding hands dating. But we gotta be careful 'cause if Xemnas of Saïx found out we'd be screwed."
"I'm up for it, but I'm a little concerned that you're not. You seem to be rather good at this, but you act so nervous about it when we're alone." Vexen placed a hand on Demyx's shoulder to try and comfort him. "Do you need like, dress rehearsals?" he asked.
Demyx stopped breathing again.
"Demyx," Vexen warned.
"What do you mean, dress rehearsals?" He demanded.
"Do you need me to do such things when we're alone so you can get used to it?" He usually hated reiterating himself to Demyx, but at the moment he was so concerned he couldn't find it tedious.
Demyx bit his lip again. (Absently, Vexen worried he would give himself some painful bruises from doing that too often,) Cautiously, he reached out a hand to turn Demyx to himself, pulling him into a loose hug.
Demyx was still for a moment before relaxing, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around loosely Vexen's waist.
And it worked even better. Vexen and Demyx exchanging their little winks and smiles, and now the small hugs and kisses to the cheek, brushing hands and sitting too close.
And then Axel began to make his own moves.
Slowly, he started getting closer to the boy, sitting closer, being around him more often, hugs lasted longer; He started being much more suggestive, too, which Demyx found mollifying at times, but Vexen only found it amusing.
Eventually, Roxas began to hint back, and from there it quickly turned to hidden hand-holding and stolen kisses in the halls.
Demyx only got happier as the whole thing went on.
One day, at least three months after the whole ordeal had started, Roxas called in his first sick day. And didn't come out of his room until late afternoon.
Vexen was sitting in the kitchen, poking at a sandwich. He was staying at the castle at Demyx's request while he was on a mission.
When Roxas came in, Vexen barely noticed, glancing up only at the sound of a faint cough.
Roxas was standing in the doorway, looking like hell, and rubbing at his ass.
He moved to the fridge, slowly and apparently painfully, grumbling to himself about stupid redheads and high-energy-consuming activities.
Vexen grinned widely: It had worked.
As soon as Demyx got back, he was attacked from behind in his bedroom.
"It worked!" Vexen shouted excitedly, hugging Demyx tightly. "It totally worked! You were right, Demyx!" Vexen laughed.
"Right? Really? About what?"
"Axel and Roxas, you dolt. Roxas walked into the kitchen today with a very obvious limp, and a smile on his face that clearly screamed 'Axel's fault.' You really are smart sometimes."
Demyx's face lit up. "They did? That's wonderful! Than it was all worth it!" Demyx shouted with joy, turning to hug Vexen properly.
Vexen froze, suddenly realizing something. "Then... I guess... When do we tell them?" He asked.
Demyx froze too. He frowned. "Still haven't thought that far ahead."
"Than since it worked but you don't have part of the plan, I still get five minutes." Vexen joked.
Dem's frown deepened. "I'll figure it out somehow... But, honestly... I kinda enjoyed this." The frown disappeared, and he looked up at Vexen gratefully.
Vexen smiled. "Yeah, me too, kinda."
They sat there for a while, just looking at each other contentedly.
"What would you do if I told you that my front was a front?" Demyx asked quietly.
"Hmm?" Vexen asked, distracted by the sudden question.
"What if I started this to do something else aside from the Axel and Roxas thing..?"
"Depends on what else you had in mind?"
"..." Demyx blushed darkly again. "Well... This..." He looked down at Vexen's arms around his waist. "It's so nice, when we do this. I don't... don't want it to go away."
Vexen felt suddenly lighter. He pulled Demyx to himself again, and kissed him on the cheek. "It doesn't have to," He said quietly.
Demyx's smile was so happy Vexen nearly laughed. And then it turned small and shy rather quickly. "Do you realize that during this whole thing, we've never shared a proper kiss? Like... on the lips?"
Vexen watched his face for a moment, mentally thinking over the others words and thinking back to verify them. "You're right. We never did. No wait..." Vexen said lightly, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Demyx's gently. Quick and sweet, but it counted.
"Yes we did," he joked, kissing the others nose.
"Oh yeah, we did." Demyx laughed, dropping his head onto Vexen's chest, grinning widely.
Vexen's laugh was low and pleased as he planted yet another kiss on the other, this time in his hair.
"So we're not telling them is started as a scheme?" Demyx verified.
"No, not yet."
"Vexen?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you smell like pineapple?"