Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.

Yoru: Hello! I missed you all so much!

Kuronue: You updated this maybe a week ago…

Yoru: Am I not allowed to miss my readers for a week?

Kuronue: (sweatdrop)

Even a week after the Q&A session in Vexen's lab, Zoine and Lexaeus still hadn't spoken. The Silent Hero would take Zoine to Vexen's lab and bring him back to his cell, but he barely glanced at him throughout the day. Zoine wondered what he'd said to cause this silence.

The experiments were getting more and more painful. Lexaeus had to carry Zoine back to his cell the past three days, because the boy hurt too much to walk. Zoine always curled up on his cot, too tired to read. Today, Vexen had (with many profuse apologies) cut open his arm from wrist to elbow for the sole purpose of watching the blood pump out. He then injected Zoine with a pigment changer to color his blood blue so that Vexen could better study the direction of flow.

"Haven't we established that I have a heart?" Zoine gasped out after the initial pain of incision. Vexen nodded with a frown on his handsome face.

"Superior Xemnas insisted that I do whatever I can to learn more about the functions of the heart and blood. I told him that I could find the information in the library, but he seemed to think that I could find more if I did experimentation. When I tried to deter him, he turned it into an order. I am sorry, Zoine."

After healing Zoine with a small potion, Vexen went on to hit him with a small metal bar, causing a bruise to blossom. The pain was dull compared to the cut, but Zoine still winced. Vexen then prodded the bruise, seeing how much of a reaction he got from Zoine.

The real pain came from the knowledge that Xemnas was using Zoine to punish Axel. No one had to tell Zoine this; he inferred it from the fact that Vexen had only recently been ordered to do experiments that would hurt. He figured that Xemnas must have caught Axel coming to visit him the week before.

"All right, Zoine. You can go." Vexen turned away, writing on his clipboard. Lexaeus wordlessly held out a hand to Zoine, who took it and used it as leverage to hop off the table. The big man let go immediately, simply escorting Zoine out of the room. They started the trek down to the dungeons.

"Why don't we ever take portals?" Zoine wondered aloud. Lexaeus didn't answer, only continued to walk. Zoine sighed and followed.

"Why don't you talk to me anymore?" he asked, barely noticing that they were nearing his cell. Lexaeus was again silent, but once Zoine was in his cell, he spoke.

"Because I'm afraid that I'll say something that I'll regret later," he murmured. Zoine grabbed Lexaeus' arm before he could leave.

"Like what?"

A hesitation, and then Zoine got his answer in the form of a kiss.


Axel sat with Roxas and Demyx, watching television. His thoughts kept drifting to the boy in a cell several floors below.

The experiments would be over by now. I could go… The thought trailed off as he winced. Xemnas had found out about the first visit, and Axel had paid dearly. He unconsciously rubbed the still-healing scar on his stomach from Saix's punishment. He hadn't been allowed a potion.

Roxas looked at him worriedly from his Demyx-pillow.

"Axel, are you all right?"

"When am I ever?" Axel muttered to himself, "Fine, Roxas."

"I heard that first part." Demyx stopped his playing with Roxas' hair and frowned at Axel, who rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I have a massive scar from a claymore on my stomach, the man I love is dead but in the form of a boy that Xemnas insists on torturing, and I'm used several nights a week as a sex toy. My apologies for trying to make Roxas feel better by pretending to be all right." Axel stood and left the room, ignoring the pain from his stomach.

He hadn't meant to let it out like that. Demyx certainly didn't deserve it; he missed Zexion almost as much as Axel did. Roxas only tried to be a good friend, and Axel only served to make him cry. Quickly summoning a portal and transporting to his room, Axel flopped onto his bed. He made sure to land on his back.

Unzipping his cloak, he ran his fingers gently over the scars engraved in his stomach.

Xemnas

Saix

And a heart. Axel felt like hitting something as his fingers traced the curves of the final symbol. If he continued to let it heal, as he was ordered, he could never get rid of them. If he did take a potion and heal them, he knew that Xemnas would have Saix do something much worse.

Dammit, Zexion. I do this for you. I let them control me for you. When you come back to me, and I know you will, you'd better be grateful.

And then he felt like hitting himself for even thinking those words. He let his fingers dig into the scars, gritting his teeth to keep the cry of pain in. As his thoughts drifted to Zoine and how much he wished Xemnas would just do what he was planning to with the boy, Axel let his fingers dig in farther. He shouldn't be thinking like this. He shouldn't wish for Zoine to be erased, for Zexion to return to this hell.

But he's the only thing that will keep me sane. I'm going crazy with pain and regret and loss, and only Zexion can help me.


Lexaeus pulled away, leaving Zoine confused and a little breathless.

"You…why did you…"

"I've been thinking about what you said to me," Lexaeus said quietly, "About how much Axel loves Zexion."

Zoine sat down on his cot, touching his lips, "But why…"

"Let me finish. I thought about it for a long time, and suddenly I realized that I had fallen in love with you."

"Me? But…but Zexion…"

"Doesn't exist anymore. It's only you, as Zoine."

"But…but Lexaeus…" Zoine wasn't really sure what to say. Here was his chance to have someone to love, and he was so hesitant to take it.

"Lexaeus, I'm not going to be around much longer. Xemnas is going to return Zexion, and to do that he's going to have to erase me."

"I'm aware of that. It doesn't change anything for me." Lexaeus sat on the cot next to Zoine, a bit hesitantly.

"You do realize that if we get into something and Xemnas finds out, he'll punish you."

"No doubt."

"You're willing to risk that? And risk so much pain when I'm gone?"

Lexaeus took his hand, "I'm not afraid of punishment. And I'm going to hurt when you're gone anyway."

Zoine sighed, and then leaned up and kissed Lexaeus gently.

"You do know you're going to regret this later, don't you?"

"I'll manage."