"You killed me, Marluxia!"
There was fury in his brilliant green eyes as he tried to break himself free. Marluxia stubbornly held on to the scientist's arm as he struggled. "Let me go!"
Marluxia roughly pulled Vexen to face him. For a split second their eyes met and they were connected; wild, staring green with lidded, concerned blue. But then Vexen pulled himself from Marluxia's grasp, seething.
Those stupid blue eyes, so deep and seemingly sincere. Who knew he could hide so much deceit behind them? I believed him once and look where it got me. If he thinks I'm going to fall for that trick again, he's got another think coming.
"Look, Vexen, I'm sorry. If there had been any other way-"
"Because my death was obviously the only way for you to get the power you so desperately wanted," Vexen muttered. "Of course. That makes everything alright now,"
"I was a fool to think I could live without you,"
"You seem to be doing fine. I've been dead for two years now,"
No, I'm not fine. I've never been able to forgive myself for what I did. If there was any way, I'd do anything just to have you back. I need you.
A sudden aching pain washed over him and he collapsed onto hands and knees, unable to control his body. The power draining from his body to reanimate Vexen was really beginning to take its toll and Marluxia felt so weak that he could barely keep a hold of his consciousness. He felt it slipping but he fought to stay awake. Vexen was an urgent matter that he needed to address.
"I'm sorry," He repeated through harsh, sharp breaths. "I'm so sorry,"
Vexen knelt down beside his once-lover, his betrayer. He cupped a hand around the younger man's chin, lifting up his head.
"If you seek my forgiveness, you won't find it here," He glared straight at Marluxia, whose eyes were beginning to well up with tears. He tried to speak but he couldn't even form a single syllable. He'd already gone past his magical limits but he couldn't let Vexen leave yet. "Words mean nothing to me anymore," The dead man continued, jerking his hand to keep Marluxia's attention. "If I mean so much to you, then let go of your power. Leave everything behind,"
The near-delirious man looked up in confusion.
"Die, Marluxia. The afterlife isn't so bad."
Forsake everything for one person? I made the wrong decision before and I'm not going to make the same mistake again.
He almost let go of the shreds of strength he had left.
"I love you," He managed cough, voice cracking from the strain of trying to talk through the pain. He choked on his own dying breath.
"You killed me,"
"But I'll love you forever,"
Then Marluxia let the fading image of Vexen disappear as he reclaimed his strength. A warmth filled him as he collapsed onto the carpeted floor, and he cursed himself for his weakness. He had let his instinct for survival get the better of him and had failed to fulfil Vexen's last request.
Still... the afterlife. It would give him a chance to see Vexen again. Death couldn't be too bad...
I love you, I'll kill you.
But I'll love you forever.