Part 10: Container Search

The boys were on their way just as the last lights of the sun faded from the sky. Xigbar offered to drive again while Vexen sent an email to Sora via cell phone. No one seemed to speak much. Marluxia took Vexen's hand in his own; the blonde didn't refuse him. Demyx first tried to count the red meteors they found in their path but gave up once he cleared a hundred. Xigbar kept looking back at Vexen. Since they had found out about Xemnas' involvement in the Heartless issue and the likely possibility of Kingdom Hearts he was worried about the blonde. His mind recalled the day they had first met. The fourteen year old's haunted expression would stay with him forever. A small beep could be heard from the back. Vexen flipped out his phone. Glancing over the email he sighed. "Apparently Riku is there and according to the lady Mulan, Saix it starting to bunch a lot of holes in the mountain." He grinned. "It seems our Berserker is having a lot of trouble."

Xigbar smirked. "Good, serves that cocky bastard right."

"Where are we gonna land at?" Marluxia asked. He was getting an ass cramp from sitting for too long.

"We're actually almost there. Land of the Dragon's isn't very far, especially if we use the express pathways." He threw his head back and laughed.

"Xiggy, meteor." Demyx said pointing.

The scarred man looked forward, "Crap!" He dodged the large rock easily but kept his eye on the path ahead now. "Heh, 'cept the path's are a little more treacherous."

Vexen rolled his eyes.

"You okay?" Marluxia asked leaning over.

"Huh?"

Concerned blue eyes examined the blonde. "You look a little worried."

Looking away, Vexen sighed. "Well, Xemnas is most likely attempting something idiotic so of course I'm worried."

"But it seems like more. Like something distant is bothering you." The pink haired man took Vexen's chin between his fingers, making the blonde face him. "If you want to talk,"

"No, I'm fine." Vexen spat and turned his face away.

Sensing a bit of hostility at the mention of whatever was bothering him, Marluxia let it drop. The blonde didn't want to talk about it and so he'd wait till he did. About twenty minutes later they landed in the courtyard of the palace. Riku was there with Mulan. The four former Nobodies stepped out of the ship. "Where is the Time Lapse?" Vexen asked as he approached the boy.

Riku looked at Mulan, the girl pointed to the west. "Up on the cliffs on the way to the snow peaks."

They all turned. The snowcapped mountains stood to the Southwest. Xigbar ran his fingers throw his hair and tied it back. "Great. It was way too damned cold up there the last time I was here."

"Oh, that was you." Mulan smiled. "Sora had told me about what had happened to you as of late."

Demyx looked at her. "Yeah, we're the good guys now."

Vexen sighed. "Okay, we need to hurry or else we'll be here all damned day." He grabbed the boy by the hood of his hoodie and dragged him to the gate. "Thank you for your assistance, Mulan." He smiled and nodded at the girl.

She bowed. "If you need any help please don't hesitate to ask."

Riku stayed behind to act as an informant to Mulan and the Emperor. He didn't really have a ton of time to try and show Mulan how to use a computer or Cell phone, and he figured the four men wanted to do this on their own.

"Xigbar, get your butt out of my face!" Marluxia grumbled as he took a hold of the rock. His foot had found a perfect nook to rest in but he couldn't climb higher till the other man moved.

"I am working on it!" Xigbar called back. "This was so much easier the first time." He muttered.

"WHEEEEE!" Demyx flew by there, riding a fountain of water. Both men looked up. The boy sat on the edge looking down at them. He waved. "Hurry up, slowpokes!"

"Cheater." They both grumbled.

Xigbar decided that this whole rock climbing thing was totally overrated thus teleported himself to the top. Standing next to Demyx he grinned, "How you like them apples."

Demyx clapped.

"Hey, Marly, better get a move on!" He snickered down at the pink haired man still stuck to the rock face.

Glaring up, Marluxia grit his teeth. He flicked his wrist making vines appear. With the rose vines in hand he tossed them up to the top. The thorns slammed into the ground like they were made of steel next to Xigbar's foot.

Before the scarred man could move, the Graceful Assassin was before him glaring.

"You were saying." Marluxia growled.

"You could have taken off a toe, you psycho!" Xigbar pointed to his foot.

"What's another body part to you?" Marluxia raised a brow and turned to look down the cliff. "Vexen, you coming?"

The blonde had been leaning on the cliff side waiting as the others had climbed. Cracking his knuckles he stepped away from the cliff and looked up. With the snap of his fingers a couple dozen ice spikes formed, he pointed to the cliff and the spikes flew at the rock; each one puncturing it all the way up. Brushing his hair from his shoulder the blonde placed his hands and feet in each hole as he easily climbed the cliff. When he got to the top he dusted off his clothes and looked at the other three men. "Well, don't just stand there with your mouths opened, we have to get going."

Marluxia looked at Xigbar as the blonde passed them. "I tell you it's criminal."

"What part?" Xigbar grumbled. "The fact that he did it, or the fact that he made it look so easy?"

"Both." Marluxia sighed.

On the path Vexen began to slow. "Mulan said it was around here so we need to be careful.

Marluxia was next to him. "What would happen if we walk into it?"

Vexen thought a moment. "Well a time lapse would change time for whoever was in it. In theory if Xigbar walked into it he could most likely disappear because time changes for him."

"I'm confused?" Demyx raised a hand.

"Fine." Vexen rubbed his temple. "Think of it this way. If I walk into it time will change either forward or backward for me. I could suddenly be in that same spot at 1 pm or 1 am depending on how time shifts. Meanwhile you'll all be here at 3 pm. Make sense?"

"So it'll change what time we are at that spot, but even though we're there it'll appear as if we've disappeared from the others?" Marluxia asked, getting the idea.

"Exactly." Vexen grinned. He looked at the boy. "Understand, Demyx?"

"Oh." Demyx snapped his fingers. He was still for a moment before adding, "I still don't get it."

Annoyed, Vexen turned to walk again. "Xigbar, you explain it. I don't have the patience."

The other man laughed as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Don't hurt yourself, little dude."

Demyx pouted but let it go. Further down the path Vexen paused. Taking a rock he tossed it about fifty feet ahead. They didn't see nor hear it hit the ground. "And there you have it." Vexen grinned.

"Super, now what?" Xigbar raised a brow. "I still can't maneuver my way in there till I know exactly where he is."

Vexen shot him a glare. "I am aware of that. I was just showing you where it was." Annoyed at the man the blonde began pondering. They needed to find out the exact radius of the Time Lapse. In theory Luxord's Container should be in the center.

Marluxia suddenly went stiff and with one quick motion he summoned his scythe. "We have a problem."

Vexen turned and found the Berseker they had been waiting for. Saix was on the path separating both Vexen and Marluxia from Xigbar and Demyx. All of them readied for a fight, but as to whom the Heartless would go at first was unknown.

Instinctively Marluxia stepped in front of Vexen. "Can we take him, do you think?" Marluxia asked over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure. The four of us maybe, but he's random and unpredictable when he's angry." He held his shield at the ready.

Saix made the move for them. He went for Demyx.

The boy was put off for only a moment before strumming a tune and wrapping water replicas of himself around the Berserker. It slowed Saix down enough for the blonde boy to dodge him.

"Nice." Xigbar grinned aiming.

"Thanks." Demyx grinned.

Marluxia and Vexen ran to them.

After firing off a few rounds and barely doing damage the scarred man looked at the blonde. "How the hell do we stop him?"

"Dodge!" Vexen yelled and the four of them scattered at an impact hit the ground. Dust littered the air and they coughed as their vision cleared.

Saix was growling now, his luminescent eyes glaring furiously at them.

"If we take him out will it limit the possibility of him being whole?" Marluxia asked.

"No, but he may take longer to wake up." Vexen brought up a wall of ice to separate them from Saix while they decided what to do.

"Fine then. Drop the wall." Marluxia walk forward.

"What the hell are you going to do, throw him a doggy bone?" Xigbar spat. "Perhaps we can teach him to sit."

"Drop the wall!" The pink haired man glared at them.

Not appreciating the anger Vexen snapped his fingers and dropped the ice wall. His green eyes glared angrily at the other man.

Turning Marluxia lunged at Saix backing the Heartless up. With speed almost untraceable he rounded Saix instantly, a flurry of petals surrounding them. The ground rumbled and vines sprang out, each one writhing viciously as they wrapped around the Heartless.

Saix howled in pain as the thorns ripped into his skin. Running over the Heartless the vines did their damage before sinking back into the earth. The Heartless fell.

Marluxia stood over him. "Sit."

Xigbar whistled. "Man, remind me not to piss you off."

Before they could celebrate though, low growl rumbled from Saix's chest. He was clawing into the rock, his body tense.

"Shit." Marluxia quickly dodged just as the claws ripped into his shirt. Looking down he cursed again. "You ripped my shirt!"

"He's gonna rip more than that if you don't move!" Vexen rounded Saix and made an ice puddle so the Heartless lost his footing. "We can't win this now, move!" He glared at Marluxia.

Taking the advice the graceful Assassin retreated. Vexen was close behind. "We'll have to jump into the lapse and see what happens." The blonde glanced over his shoulder at the raging Berserker.

"Are you crazy, we could end up anywhere!" Xigbar ran after him.

"What would you suggest then?" Vexen called back. They were nearing the Time Lapse border.

"I still think we should throw a stick or something!" Even in the midst of danger the man still made jokes.

Vexen stopped to yell at the man but as he turned he saw that they were once again separated from both him and Demyx. Vexen held up his shield just in time to escape the claws and raked over it. Falling back into Marluxia the two scrambled up. "He's really pissed." Vexen muttered.

Xigbar pushed Demyx behind him. "What now?"

The blonde thought quickly. They both couldn't escape the same way. "Take Demyx and teleport yourself now."

"Where?"

"Anywhere." Vexen grabbed Marluxia's arm. "We'll go into the Time Lapse and meet back up with you."

"What?" Xigbar and Demyx moved as Saix barreled after them.

"Just do it, you idiot!" Both Vexen and Marluxia crossed the border and before Xigbar could try and yell back a snide remark the two had disappeared.

"Dammit" Xigbar hissed. "Come on, little dude." He held onto Demyx. "Close your eyes and hold on tight."

"Okay." Demyx clung to him as the scarred man bent space, sending them to a destination he didn't know.

Saix skid across the ground where they had once been. In a rage he clawed into the earth. He tried to find some trail or scent that would lead him to his prey, but nothing remained and more frustrated then ever he howled in anger, sending the call through the entire Chinese Kingdom.

Marluxia knew that they had entered the Time Lapse because of two very distinct things. The first was it was now sunset, the second was that it was raining and by the looks of the puddles at their feet it had been for quite some time. "You have got to be kidding me!" He sputtered as he shook the water from his limbs.

"We either jumped ahead or jumped back." Vexen brushed his wet hair from his eyes.
"So now what?" Marluxia whined wiping the water from his eyes. "It's monsooning out here, we lost Xigbar and Demyx, and we don't even know when the hell we are!"

"Stop your bitching and come on." Vexen didn't look too happy about the wet situation either but there wasn't a whole heck of a lot they could do about it. Cold and wet the pair continued up the trail. They were still a ways from the snowline.

"Hey, is that a cave?" Marluxia pointed up the path. Off the path the cliff wall veered to the right revealing an opening. Sure enough a large cave was there, and not wanting to stand in the rain much longer the pair proceeded inward. Once inside, Marluxia shook his head, water sprinkling from his pink hair. When he stopped little drops of water sparkled in his hair like crystals.

Vexen removed his coat and draped it on a stalagmite.

"Should we build a fire to get warm?" Marluxia asked as he took off his sopping wet coat.

Vexen raised a brow. "I hope you've been given the gift of fire, because I'm useless in that department."

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Ha ha." It appeared someone had used this cave before. Some dry pieces of wood and straw were in a pile on the floor, partially charred. "Well, I suppose this is promising." He grabbed a couple of rocks. "Guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way." Crouching down he set to striking the rocks over the straw to get a spark.

Vexen sad down on a rock nearby and watched him.

Twenty minutes later and Marluxia dropped the rocks and fell back on his ass, annoyed. Amusingly enough both men were thinking the same thing. God, I wish Axel was here. Though neither would admit it since the pyro was not on their list of favorite people, but then again neither had each other.

Still annoyed but not giving up on the idea of a warm evening, Marluxia grabbed the rocks and tried again. His efforts prove fruitful as after five minutes of trying he got his desired spark and a fire began to feed on the straw and wood. "Yes!" He raised his hands in the air triumphantly.

Vexen clamped his hands. "Congratulations, caveman, you made fire."

The pink haired man glared at him. "Do you want to sit out in the rain. Cause since I made the fire I can choose whether I want to share it with you."

The blonde snorted. "Fine fine, good job."

Still annoyed but feeling victorious Marluxia began to peel off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Vexen yelped in surprise.

Marluxia paused. "I'm taking off my wet clothes so they'll dry. You should do the same." He gestured the Vexen's wet ensemble.

"I'm fine, thank you." Wrapping his arms around himself tightly Vexen stared at the fire.

"Do you want to catch pneumonia?" Marching over to the blond he yanked his arms apart and tried to lift his shirt.

"Let me go!" Vexen tried to push him away.

"Dammit Vexen, stop being such a baby!" Marluxia growled.

"Then stop trying to undress me!" The blonde struggled so much he fell backward taking Marluxia with him. Hitting the ground Vexen stared up at the graceful Assassin that was now on top of him. It was a miracle that his heart wasn't echoing in the cave.

Carefully Marluxia lifted himself off of Vexen. "Sorry." Moving back to give him room he stared at the fire sheepishly. "I just don't want you to get sick."

Trying to calm his heart, Vexen looked at the man. It made sense, he needed to stop acting like a child. Taking off his shirt he laid it on the rock next to Marluxia's. He unbuttoned his pants and was starting to take them off when he saw the wide-eyed expression of his companion. "What?"

"Um, you," Marluxia seemed a little dumbfounded.

"Well, all my clothes are wet, aren't they?" Taking off his pants he flung them on the rock. With only boxers on he sat down at his original location and tried to get warm. "You should probably get the rest of your wet clothes off too." He mumbled.

A grin crept over the other man's lips and he did as he was told.

A few minutes later they sat next to one another, both leaning near the fire. Marluxia left about an inch of space between himself and Vexen, but it seemed to get smaller as he tried to inch closer.

"Do you think you're being smooth or something?" Vexen asked annoyed.

"I just want to cuddle." Marluxia pouted. "It's cold and body heat s the best source of warmth in these types of situations."

"Is that all it really is?" Vexen looked at him, a small grin on his face.

The other man looked away, a smile on his face, "Well, maybe I was hoping that we could really cuddle." Turning back to the blonde he cupped his cheek. "We are all alone after all."

"I knew that was it." Vexen turned away. He was playing coy but a part of him felt the excitement in his chest that he had whenever Marluxia played his seduction card. He knew he would stand no chance against him once the flowery man decided to make his move so he played hard to get for as long as he could.

This only seemed to spur the pink haired man on, and wrapping his arms around the back of Vexen he kissed along his neck. "Are you saying that we should waste such a moment?" He nibbled on the pale skin that turned pink at his touch.

Vexen tried to shake him off. "Now is hardly the time for this."

"It's always the time." He giggled.

Finally turned his head to protest further he found Marluxia's lips waiting and as he tried to utter a response he was taken in by the kiss. Feeling the other man's warm moist tongue press into his he melted under the force, and forgot what he had wanted to say.

Not far from where the other two were, but many hours ahead of them Xigbar and Demyx landed in a nice patch of snow. Slamming into the snow Xigbar cursed, "Sonuva…"

"Are you okay, Xiggy?" Demyx knelt over him, his teal eyes bright.

Feeling the pain eave him it pinched the boy's nose. "Never better." Still feeling a slight shock in his back he got up rubbing it. "Where the hell are we?"

Demyx shrugged. "I don't know. You're the one who's been here before?"

Around them was a nothing but snow. They were at the mountains peak." Xigbar stared down below. The mountain ran down at a narrow slope, and at the edge to the right he saw the pathway that lead them down the mountain.

"Are we in the time thingy?" Demyx asked.

"I don't think so actually." Still a little confused as to how far out of the area they had gone he looked around, nothing but white stuff and rocks. "Damn it's cold."

Demyx was rubbing his hands against his arms. "Y…yeah…itttt…kkkinda issssss." His teeth started to chatter. He breathed out and gapped at the sight of his own breath.

Wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder Xigbar decided they needed to get out of the snow, but go where? Trying to see if there was a back way off the mountain and hopefully away from the Time Lapse he searched. That was when he saw it. A little down the other side of the mountain peak he saw a patch of rocks that stood above the snow. "Well, I'll be damned." He grinned.

"Ww…wwhat?" Demyx chattered and looked in the same direction. "H…hhey! Ittttt'sssss Luxxxxord!" He pointed.

"Looks like we landed right where we needed to be, little dude." He ruffled Demyx's hair and the pair began crossing the snowy terrain. Xigbar looked Luxord over. The blonde bastard was totally fine, just sleeping. "I'm glad we found him and all but what sucks is I'll have to carry him." He sneered at the man. "Stupid brit better not be heavy."

Demyx giggled. "Wwww…wwanttt me ttttooo helppppp."

"Nope." Xigbar tossed the blonde brit over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I got him. Let's start getting down the mountain before you freeze to death." He pushed the boy down the peak. "If we have him with us the Time Lapse should either disappear when we leave this area or won't affect us."

"Wwwwhattt abbbb…out…Vexennnn anddd Mmmmarly?" The boy shivered more violently.

"They'll be fine." The other man laughed. "Between the two of them I'm sure they'll find a way out. Let's call Riku and see about getting a Gummi Ship to meet us at the camp a little ways down the pass.

"Oooookaaaay." Demyx smiled, lips quivering and blue.

Marluxia kissed all along Vexen's neck then moved slowly down his shoulder. The blonde wasn't resisting anymore. He almost leaned into Marluxia as their lips met. The fire crackled in the cave, but it was the sound of the rain outside that made the most noise. Marluxia could barely hear the beating of his own heart in his ears over it. Carefully he grabbed his coat and laid it down on the floor before moving them onto it. Vexen could complain about Marluxia's sexual appetite all he wanted but the blonde wasn't complaining now, and that pleased the pink haired man to no end. His hands grazed down Vexen's sides, making him shiver. "I love you." He whispered in the blonde's ear.

Vexen didn't respond anymore then moaning a little.

"I love you." He said a little louder.

Vexen still didn't say anything.

A little annoyed, Marluxia pulled away. Vexen stared up wide-eyed and confused by the sudden halt in action. Every bell went off in Marluxia's head to stand down and let it go, but his pride wouldn't allow it.

"What?" Vexen asked confused.

"I keep telling you I love you but you never say anything back." He blurted. Okay, not the best way to go about it.

"So?" The blonde's blunt response just added fuel to the fire.

"So? Don't you think I would like to know how you feel about me?" He sat up. "I mean it wouldn't hurt for you to maybe say it once, even if you mumble it, I don't care!"

"I thought you were going to wait patiently for me to decide." Vexen snapped.

That was it. Marluxia slammed Vexen back down onto the rocky floor.

"Ow, you bastard, that hurt!" The blonde glared.

"I think we are way past the point for you to be deciding anything, don't you?" His voice held that familiar annoyed tone Vexen always received when the two had been near each other as Nobodies. "If you're still deciding at this point then it's completely pointless."

"Pointless?" Vexen shoved Marluxia off him and sat up, his expression almost hurt. "Is that what you think this whole thing is? Pointless!"

Biting his lip Marluxia looked away. "No, that's not what I meant, I just feel so frustrated with you sometimes."

"Well, I'm sorry I frustrate you." The other man muttered.

"Don't start making assumptions, you know what I mean!" He moved his hand as if wanting to reach for him, but the acid expression he was getting from the man made him pause. "I just want to know how you feel about me. How you really feel about me. I want to hear you say you love me too."

"I've risked my life for you, I told you I didn't want to lose you." Vexen argued. The desperation in his tone made it clear he thought this meant the same thing.

"Not the same, Vexen." Marluxia shook his head. "I know you care about me, but the real question is, do you love me? Is it lust making you weak to me or is it cause when I kiss you you're really being honest about how you feel?"

"I," Vexen paused. Was that it?

Marluxia wanted to say more but he realized that the light in the cave was not only from the fire anymore. Thinking now the rain had stopped as well. Looking to the mouth of the cave he could see the sun shining brightly as if it had never left. "Hey, it's day again."

Vexen snapped out of his thoughts and looked. "The Time Lapse." He got up. "It must have broken."

"Does that mean Luxord has been moved?" He stole a glance at the blonde before going to get his now dry clothes.

"Yes, but the question is, who?" Vexen went to dress as well. "It's a high possibility that Xigbar found him when they teleported."

"Let's hope so." Marluxia didn't want to think about trying to track down Saix if he'd been the one to get Luxord. "So the Time Lapse is gone?"

"Yes." Vexen said as he went to the cave opening. "I'll call him in a moment to find out where they are."

Nodding Marluxia followed. The issue they had been discussing before had not left his mind yet. He wasn't going to let it drop either. He needed to know. IT wasn't fair that he was the only one saying anything.

Vexen followed the trail back down the mountain. It was obvious that the cave conversation wasn't sitting well with him either. He didn't say anything, but his body was tense.

Marluxia only sighed. Xigbar had been right; they were idiots.

"Look about before," Vexen turned, "It's not that I'm trying to avoid it,"

Marluxia raised a brow.

"Fine, I am trying to avoid it, but," Vexen stopped talking, fear in his eyes.

Before Marluxia could turn to see what the concern was about he was being yanked to the side. He only saw the flicker of blue hair in his peripheral vision before hitting the rocky path.

Vexen had his shield up and slid back as Saix made contact. The Berserker was furious. Quickly taking a moment that the Heartless backed off to attack again, Vexen used his shield to swipe at him. He made contact and Saix stumbled to the edge of the path. Falling from here would mean a very long drop. Shaking it off Saix looked over the path then back at Vexen. He wasn't so dumb as to not see what the man was doing. With a grin, the Heartless lunged at Vexen, when he was met with another whack from the shield he snagged Vexen's coat.

Marluxia had regained his footing. Looking up he watched as Vexen smacked Saix off the edge, but the Heartless was not going alone.

Saix tugged at Vexen and brought the blonde over the edge with him.

Vexen cursed but he couldn't do much else but fall at this point.

Not thinking Marluxia dove off the cliff's edge after him. He locked the blonde in his arms then, using his scythe, he cut the coat where Saix had his grip. Now that they were short 1 body he used his wines to grapple onto the cliff.

"Marluxia, what are you,"

"Hold on." Marluxia hissed as the thorns caught. "This is gonna hurt a lot."

Vexen turned and saw that they were going to slam into the rock face. In the fastest bit of calculation he'd ever performed he quickly spun them so that the only one to hit the cliff would be him. He braced himself for the pain. When he hit he swore he could hear one of his already broken ribs crack again. Pain shot through his whole body, and the air left him.

"Vexen?" Marluxia called to him in panic.

Vexen didn't respond as he blacked out.

"Dammit! Vexen, answer me!" Hanging off the edge, Marluxia could only hold the blonde in one arm while he struggled to find a way up. "Hey! Anyone around!" He wouldn't be able to pull them up on his own and his arm was starting to get tired. "Someone! Help!" He struggled against his own muscles to hold on just a little longer, but with Vexen passed out and all his weight on him he didn't know how long he could hold on to them both. "HELP!!!!!!"

"I hear you!" Xigbar leaned over the edge. "How's it hanging?"

"Not the time to joke, Xigbar!" Marluxia growled. "Pull us up!"

"Yeah yeah." The vines began pulling them up.

Marluxia still held Vexen close. What the hell had he been thinking by letting himself take the hit? It was bad enough his heart had stopped when he fell but now this. He finally could see both Demyx and Xigbar pulling them.

"What the hell have you been eating?" Xigbar wined. "You way a ton."

"I've got dead weight in my arms." Marluxia lifted Vexen onto the path. The blood in his arm began to flow again and it tingled painfully as he shook it out. "A little longer and I might have dropped him."

"When I saw you both tangling there I about had a heart attack." Xigbar sighed. "Not sure I could fix you both if you really died."

"Yeah." Marluxia panted. Lying on his back he tried to catch his breath. Everything had happened so quickly his head was still spinning.

"We found Luxord." Xigbar smiled.

"We figured."

"He was up at the peak. I got him down in the Gummi Ship by the river." He went to get Vexen.

"I got him." Marluxia rolled over and crawled to the blonde.

"You sure?" Xigbar didn't seem convinced.

"Yeah." He lifted Vexen into his arms and started walking. "Let's hurry before that rabid dog comes back." He pretending not to notice how tired his one arm was.

He knew he wasn't dead when he regained consciousness cause his whole back felt like he'd been run over. Slowly opening his eyes he about jumped. Marluxia was staring down at him concerned, his blue eyes wide. "Marluxia?"

"Are you all right?" He was running his fingers through Vexen's hair.

Now noticing it he realized it felt nice. Finally looking around he realized they were in the Gummi ship. He was laying stretch across the back seat with Marluxia leaning over him. "Where are we?"

"Back at the palace. Xigbar and Demyx found Luxord." Still worried he asked again, "Are you okay?"

"My back hurts a little." Vexen confessed. "We made it off the cliff?"

Marluxia nodded. "Xigbar and Demyx got there just in time. I almost dropped you." He seemed either mad at Vexen or mad at himself, but he didn't want to think to hard about it. "What the hell was the point of letting yourself get hurt instead of me? You already have enough cracked ribs."

Vexen sighed and closed his eyes. "You're stronger then me." He muttered.

"Huh?"

"I wasn't sure out hard we were going to hit and if you passed out I know I wouldn't be able to hand on to both you and the vine." Opening his eyes again he tried to focus on Marluxia, "I made a decision."

As if he'd been holding his breath Marluxia let out a large sigh and slumped over. "I swear sometimes I just don't know what to think."

Vexen wanted to ask what he was mumbling about, but as he opened his mouth to speak he found them busy. Marluxia kissed him gently. Oh well, it didn't matter.

Xigbar shook his head. "Those two." He turned back to Riku. "Well, sport, it was nice of you to come and save us from the icy death of the mountain."

"No problem." Riku smirked.

"We'll get the crazy brit back to Castle Oblivion while you guys cover your end." He pointed over his shoulder. He found it a little amusing that Marluxia and Vexen didn't seem to mind the fact that Luxord's empty body was laying not more then a few feet from them.

"We'll contact you with any information." Riku nodded.

"Come on, little Dude, we gotta go before the Gummi Ship becomes unusable for about fifteen minutes." He thought to himself that he was being a little generous by giving Marluxia fifteen minutes when it'd probably take five.

"Okay." Demyx said goodbye to Mulan and Shang before running back to the ship.

Marluxia didn't leave Vexen's side the whole way home, and both Xigbar and Demyx found it amusing. The pair giggled to themselves how they had totally saved the day by finding Luxord and demanded that Marluxia have to cook dinner for them.

The other man complied. It didn't take them extremely long to get back home. Xigbar flung Luxord over his shoulder again and carried him inside receiving instructions from Vexen on where to put him.

Both Marluxia and Demyx helped Vexen inside. Once inside he insisted on checking Luxord over.

"You know what, you're not doing anything till you rest. You probably ruined all that healing you did so I'm taking you to bed." Marluxia directed him to the bedroom.

"I'm perfectly fine." Vexen argued.

"If that were the case I wouldn't be helping you walk."

"I'll go make some hot tea for you, Vexen." Demyx suggested. "That'll help."

"Can you also get a heating back for him?" Marluxia asked.

"Yeah." Nodding Demyx ran off to the kitchen.

"You don't have to baby me." Vexen mumbled.

Smiling Marluxia sighed. "I know, but I love you so let me take care of you, okay?" Knowing he had taken a little jab at the blonde he was relieved to see that Vexen had simply let remained quiet as they went to his room.

Once in bed Vexen took Marluxia's hand. "I just need a little more time."

Pausing Marluxia thought a moment. He was finishing his sentence from before, when they had been on the mountain. "Okay." It's not like he could deny him when he said it like that. "Get some rest."

Vexen looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped. "All right." He laid down.

Marluxia watched him as he closed his eyes. Sure, the man hadn't told Marluxia how he felt, but his actions spoke volumes that he couldn't deny. Vexen did love him, in his own way, he just needed time to form the words. He signaled Demyx to be quiet when he came in.

"How is he?" The boy placed a cup of tea and a pot on the bedside table. He handed the heating pack to Marluxia.

"He's fine." He slid the heat pack under Vexen's back making the blonde shift a little.

"You know, maybe you could talk to Xigbar about Vexen." The boy said.

Marluxia looked at him.

Giggling at the expression on the Graceful Assassin's face Demyx added, "You just looked really worried about something other then Vexen being hurt."

"Oh."

"I'm sure if you asked he'd tell you anything you wanted to know."

"Yeah, but," Marluxia thought a moment, "I want to hear it from him."

Demyx nodded. "I know, but maybe even knowing a little may help." Patting the man on the back Demyx went to the door. "Besides, I know Vexen loves you."

"I know."

The boy slowly began closing the door then added, "You still owe us dinner too."

Marluxia smiled. "I know."