Marluxia came into consciousness as the morning sun failed to shine in through window. He fidgeted a little and promptly fell off his bed onto a hard floor. He didn't remember going to sleep last night, the last thing he remembered was talking to Vexen. His jumbled mind tried to work it out. Was alcohol involved? Marluxia didn't remember anything about it but then again he didn't remember much at all.

Something moved next to him, and he looked round to see his bed sitting up, rubbing its eyes and mumbling incoherently.

"Vexen?"

Marluxia admitted to himself that he had been wrong earlier; Vexen didn't look at all like a rabid squirrel.

The old man cursed quite suddenly.

"Damn! Did I knock you off?"

"No, I fell off as I woke up,"

"So you woke up before me,"

"Yeah."

There was a long silence much like the many others that had come between them in the past few days. "Why was I sleeping on you anyway?"

"Uh... I dunno. I fell asleep on the couch yesterday a few minutes after you, I think,"

"But we were in a different position before," Marluxia was presumably oblivious to the terrible sexual innuendo he'd just made. Vexen unfortunately wasn't, and it made him wince slightly.

"Must have moved in your sleep," The scientist was quick to reply. Like hell was he going to admit anything. Marluxia coloured a little.

"We don't tell the others, okay?"

"Agreed."

And indeed, the other three never found out.

Or would never have found out, had they not already known.

Demyx giggled at the photos on his phone that he'd snapped of the couple sleeping on the sofa.

"You were right, Xig! They look so cute together," He grinned.

"Of course, I'm always right," Xigbar replied from the other side of the room where he was packing up his clothes.

"I never thought I'd see the day when someone called Vexen cute," Xaldin laughed from the doorway. He was already ready to go.

"Who's calling me cute?" Came Vexen's voice as he rounded the corner carrying his bag.

"Oh, nothing, dude," Xigbar quickly lied, hiding a devious grin. "Just something Marluxia said,"

"Marluxia? Hm."

Vexen wandered off again.

"...That was not the response I expected," Xigbar deadpanned, and Demyx doubled up laughing.

The group was just about to leave.

Vexen was once again outside, snow falling softly. It covered him in a tiny layer of snowflakes that would never melt on him.

He contemplated.

He contemplated many things, and often. Such was his nature.

Today he contemplated the events of the past few days. Most importantly, the events concerning Marluxia. He had been positive that he despised the man, but now he wasn't so sure.

And that last comment Xigbar had made...

He contemplated deeply, weighing up the evidence like it was some court case.

Someone came up behind him, and he spun around, hoping that maybe-

It was Demyx.

"We're gonna go now," The small nobody said. "Marluxia says he'll stay behind if you want a few more minutes out,"

"Thanks. I'll be ready soon,"

Demyx ran back inside, greeted by Xigbar who gave him a hug.

Such a ridiculous display of affection that couldn't even be felt. Just like the hint of jealously that Vexen didn't feel as he watched them laugh and joke.

He turned back to the endless snow. It calmed him.

"Having fun there?" Came a deep voice from a while away. Approaching footsteps crunched on the virgin snow. "The others have left already,"

Vexen imagined Marluxia behind him without turning around.

Weight on one leg, hand on hip. Blue eyes staring directly at him, a slight cocky smile. Hair playing restlessly in the wind.

"I'm coming. Just a few more minutes,"

Marluxia waited patiently.

"Marluxia?" Vexen finally asked. "Did you really call me cute?"

The flowery man laughed, coming up beside him.

"That's not what you're supposed to say, Vexen," He grinned. "You're meant to confess that you love me too and then by the time you realise it was a trick it's too late,"

"What's that supposed to mean? You didn't even answer my question!"

"As a matter of fact, I did call you cute," Marluxia murmured.

Vexen was thrown off by the answer. He'd expected a no.

"Why?"

"Why not? It's true," Marluxia replied. "Why must you always make things so difficult for me, Vexen?"

There it was again. That stupid, ridiculous way he said Vexen's name that was somehow so endearing. So cute.

"Fine. You're cute. Happy now?"

Marluxia sighed.

"You're obviously missing the point,"

"If you'd kindly alert me to it I'd be happy to help!" Vexen exclaimed, exasperated. "I have spend this whole holiday having no clue what was going on! Perhaps if someone actually told me something for once I'd be able to understand all these cryptic things everyone's been saying!!"

"I know what's going on. Would you like to know?"

"Did I not make it obvious?"

Marluxia smirked, looking out across the snow. After the recent stormy weather, everything had become calm, the sky a perfect cloudless blue.

"The rose was from Xigbar. It was a set up to make us fall in love. This entire holiday was."

Silence.

"Oh. So that's all there is to it. No secret hidden messages after all."

Vexen sighed, because he should have known. Marluxia was nothing more than a colleague, albeit one who found him cute. He turned back to collect his bag and go.

"There is one more thing you don't know," Marluxia said from behind him. "It worked on me."

Worked on... Vexen stopped in his tracks.

"You mean...?"

Marluxia sighed, and began to walk back as well, passing the blonde.

"It took a lot of courage to say that," He muttered over his shoulder. "You could at least give a proper reply,"

He walked right to the porch, and picked up his bag. Vexen stood speechless in the snow.

"...Wait!" He finally yelled after the man, all too late.

Only the fading traces of darkness remained where the nobody had stood.

It was as good as rejection, Marluxia mused as he set down his luggage, spilling its contents onto the bed. He began to sort out his things, returning to their usual homes.

Well. That was the last time he'd ever confess to somebody.

Although Vexen had admitted that Marluxia was cute... that was a start, right?

Then again you could find somebody cute and not have any feelings towards them. Or non-feelings or whatever was messing with his head right now.

He quickly got bored with unpacking and headed down to the kitchen to find food.

It wasn't common knowledge (more of a well-guarded secret), but Marluxia had a tendency to comfort-eat. In fact, of the Organisation, only Larxene knew and that was just because she'd seen him sneaking food up to his room at the dead of night after Axel burned half of his garden down a couple of years ago.

He searched the fridge for something edible and found his way to half a cheesecake.

Cheesecake is good, he mused, pulling it out and fumbling for a fork.

"What's got you this time?" Came a feminine voice from the doorway.

Marluxia spun around, caught red handed, but relaxed when he saw it was only Larxene. He made his way to the table and set himself down.

"Just... stuff. General,"

The cheesecake was very good.

"You just had four days off!" Larxene exclaimed. "Shouldn't you be happy? Anyway, how'd it go, with old Mr Smartypants with you?"

She was given a murderous glare across the table and decided to be a little more serious. "Seriously, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it,"

"That bad, huh," Larxene mused.

"Yes." It was a very definite and final answer.

Seeing that conventional means wasn't going to get an answer out of the assassin, Larxene pulled away the cheesecake. Marluxia pouted.

"Vexen was looking for you earlier," She informed him. Sure, it was a lie, but she needed information. The flash of hope in Marluxia's eyes wasn't quite what she expected, but it was something.

"Why didn't you say so? Did he say why?"

"I didn't think it was that important, and no," Larxene continued to spin her web of lies. She passed back the cheesecake, and Marluxia began to eat again.

"He probably just wanted to moan at me anyway,"

"You did something?"

"Yeah. I said I thought he was cute." Marluxia suddenly blurted out.

"Seriously?! Vexen?!" Larxene all but shrieked.

"No need to make a fuss about it," Marluxia mumbled, turning delightfully pink and looking down at the cheesecake.

It was becoming more and more appetising as the moments progressed.

"Anything else?" The savage nymph had calmed herself down now.

Marluxia explained the entire ordeal to her, starting with Vexen seeing him half naked before the trip and ending with his confession in the snow. The tale received varying reactions from the Organisation's only girl. Laughter, shock, and then an ominous maternal smile that Marluxia wasn't sure he could trust. "My little Marluxia, falling in love! That's so sweet," She grinned.

"No, it's not," Marluxia grumbled. "He doesn't even feel the same way about me,"

"How do you know? He said you were cute, right?"

"He could have just been saying that to get answers from me. Or because I am. Anyway it doesn't prove anything,"

All too quickly, the cheesecake was gone.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," Larxene advised. Marluxia shook his head, carefully putting the fork in the dishwasher. Then he left her.

Vexen paced.

For whatever reason, he could never keep still when something was playing on his mind. So he paced, up and down, in and out of the weaving corridors of the underground labs.

He'd tried to find Marluxia earlier, and failed miserably. Perhaps the assassin was avoiding him now.

Vexen cursed, angry that he hadn't been just a little quicker earlier this morning.

"What's up?" Somewhere above him was Xigbar. Eavesdropping as ever.

"I don't want to talk about it. Especially not to you,"

"That's harsh, dude. What's old Xigbar done this time?"

"I'll advise you one thing, II, and that's never try to play matchmaker ever again,"

When numbers were used instead of names, it meant somebody had crossed a line. Vexen continued to pace, leaving the Freeshooter behind him. He was quickly caught up with.

"You love Marluxia, huh?"

"As if," Vexen found himself beginning to copy Xigbar's speech patterns. He would have laughed at the irony had the circumstances been a little different.

"You should go talk to him. He's in his garden right now,"

"I don't want to go anywhere near that stupid pansy,"

Vexen wondered how blatantly obvious that lie was.

The flowers rejoiced in his return, although their cries of joy were soon replaced by their thirst.

Marluxia set about watering every one, the perfect amount, until the entire garden was content. Then he began to pull out all the weeds, careful not to break them. They weren't supposed to be there but that didn't mean they deserved death. The weeds would be planted in the next room later.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," He called, and someone opened the large doors a crack and slid in. Marluxia took a break from his gardening to turn around and talk to his visitor.

"Marluxia, I need to talk to you," Vexen said as he shut the door with a satisfying clunk.

"Yeah. Let's just pretend-"

Vexen cut him off.

"I'm sorry. About this morning. And don't interrupt me because if I stop now I won't finish."

Marluxia stayed silent.

"I want to apologise, because I didn't realise what you meant until you were gone."

"Is that all? Save your excuses,"

"No. There's something else. I..." Vexen paused, anxious. Just tell him already! voices inside his head were screaming. It's not like he doesn't feel the same way about you.

He shouldn't feel at all, if the rules applied like they were supposed to, Vexen reminded them.

"Just say it, Vexen." Marluxia said quietly. Say what I always knew. That you hate me. How could he have been fool enough to think differently?

"I... I love you, Marluxia,"

There. It's over.

Wait.

What?

Marluxia was suddenly glad he wasn't in the possession of a heart, otherwise it might just have exploded of happiness.

"I thought you hated me," Was all he could say. Vexen laughed.

"Me too,"

Suddenly Vexen was all around him and it took a moment for Marluxia to realise he was being hugged. It was all he could do to return it, burying his head in Vexen's chest.

And somewhere, or perhaps nowhere if you're being technical, next to a monitor, two nobodies were performing an elaborate victory dance.