A Glint of Hope
Marluxia needed time.
For the most part Xemnas saw the pinkette like he had been a beautiful china doll that had always been taken care of but then had been shattered, put back together with a weak glue, then smashed again. For the first time someone was attempting to piece back together the man with some real effort. Marluxia was a broken man in need of healing, and a lot of comfort. Xemnas did manage to convince Marluxia to go see a doctor via taking him to his work and having one of the medical officers stitch him up. When his bossed asked why Xemnas just told him it was a really touchy case and he couldn't have them upload any information about Marluxia being there. His boss hesitated but reluctantly agreed after Xemnas practically begged him, he was told that he couldn't expect this again but Xemnas understood that.
After that, it was just time Marluxia needed.
Xemnas would come home to find Marluxia sobbing into his hands over something on occasion and all he could do was sit there next to him and let him know that he was okay and that Saïx couldn't touch him here, often times Xemnas would end up holding Marluxia in his arms while the male sobbed into his shoulder. Xemnas would rewatch the videos when Marluxia was busy taking notes on everything he could have Saïx arrested for if he were to get him. He was finding himself get more and more pissed off at Saïx watching him mistreat the male, though he hid this while he tried to help the male recover. Xemnas still slept in the same bed as Marluxia, when he tried one night to sleep in his own room he was awoken by Marluxia screaming in complete terror before calming down once Xemnas came into the room and rubbed his shoulders until the screams turned into sobs. Marluxia hated this feeling of utter helplessness, it took a while but Xemnas got Marluxia to go see a family friend who was a therapist. He didn't want to go afraid that if he did Saïx could trace him but Xemnas swore he would protect him if Saïx even came looking for him.
The first meeting Marluxia didn't even talk to the man about what was going on, he just kind of just got to know the guy. After a few sessions Marluxia finally told him about the abuse with a lot of details missing, mostly so he wouldn't scare the man. As the therapist stared at him once he finished he offered a comforting smile telling him he was proud of how far he had come in such a short amount of time. While Marluxia was taking plenty of steps forward there were times Xemnas felt like they were back to square one: a nightmare where Marluxia would wake up and seriously think about finding Saïx and begging for forgiveness, Marluxia would have moments of panic when near strangers, the dreams Marluxia refused to tell Xemnas what happened just insisted that he needed Xemnas to tell him he wasn't a terrible person, and the worst thing to Xemnas just finding Marluxia sobbing bitterly into his hands unable to tell him why. It broke his heart to hear him crying like that.
As time went by Marluxia noticed he had managed to stay away from Saïx for almost three months but the plan Vexen had come up with was gone. The man was dead, now what?
In the middle of April Marluxia awoke with a terrible headache, which was odd since he didn't recall having any nightmares. Since Marluxia would wake up and cry or scream over the nightmares he tended to get headaches in the morning. But this headache was bad enough he swore he could hear his pulse running through his ears. Shutting his eyes for a moment he whined softly but climbed out of bed getting ready for work, he didn't want to wake up Xemnas seeing that the man finally had a day off. As he walked towards the bathroom he noticed his throat was beginning to bug him, it wasn't that bad but it was still something he noticed. After using the bathroom, he walked back towards the room to grab his uniform off the dresser he had set it on last night after cleaning his laundry pausing to cough. It sounded a bit dry to him, the cough must have woken up Xemnas as the male sat up suddenly. The tan male looked to Marluxia in slight confusion and the pinkette offered an awkward smile "Sorry." His whispered, the soft voice hoping to avoid putting any strain on his throat and to keep the man from waking up completely. Xemnas got out of the bed and walked over to Marluxia
"Everything okay?" he asked his voice hoarse from just having woken up. Marluxia offered a smile to him
"Yeah just a bit of a headache and sore throat." He told him "I'll just take a bit of aspirin before I go." Giving a slight shrug before heading downstairs. Xemnas followed him worried for the male, Marluxia stopped at the bottom of the stairs to cough again before shuffling his nose "Drainage?" he could barely hear him whisper. Xemnas tilted his head before running upstairs and retrieving a thermometer out of his bathroom, when he got back down the stairs he found the male warming up a cup for tea. He held the thermometer out to the pinkette, the male sniffled "Why?" he asked, Xemnas just sort of gave him a look before speaking
"You're sniffling and coughing. I don't think this is just a headache." He offered the thermometer again. Marluxia took it in hopes to prove to him wrong placing the object into his mouth, when the device beeped he took it out of his mouth and handed it back to Xemnas
"There I've proven that…"
"You're running a fever." Xemnas stated before Marluxia finished his sentence. That caused Marluxia to blink a few times
"What?" Xemnas showed him the number on the screen, while it wasn't too bad it was enough to be considered a fever
"You've apparently caught a cold." He told him "You should probably call out."
"I don't feel that bad admittedly." Xemnas had to resist rolling his eyes, sometimes Marluxia was too stubborn for his own good on occasion. Xemnas looked about him
"Marluxia, you're sick. You wouldn't want to get any coworkers sick would you? What about the nice lady who visits every day?" he asked having heard about a frequent customer who was an older lady who apparently liked to pinch the worker's cheeks. Marluxia face scrunched up in displeasure for a moment before sighing and looking at the ground "It's okay to get sick once in a while." Xemnas told him putting a hand on his shoulder.
Once Marluxia called out sick he retired to bed to try and recover a bit, Xemnas checked in on him just before lunch to see he was still sleeping. At about two he walked in to find the blankets had been pulled over his head, Xemnas walked over touching Marluxia's shoulder "Hey…" he called softly rubbing his shoulder. The pinkette's head appeared from under the blanket just blankly staring at him, he thankfully didn't look pale or had circles under his eyes but just seemed really tired. Xemnas offered a smile "You want lunch of something?" he offered, Marluxia shook his head
"Not really hungry." He told him. Xemnas nodded
"You need more medication?"
"I think I'm good…it's eight hours right?" Marluxia asked. Pausing Xemnas held up a finger then vanished downstairs before returning
"It's six hours. When did you take it?" Marluxia didn't response right away
"I think at…eight?"
"Then you're going to need another dose soon." Setting the small packet of the pills on the small night stand next to the bed Marluxia was curled up in at the moment. Marluxia mumbled something that sounded like thank you, Xemnas ruffled Marluxia's hair
"Feel better." He told him
"I'm trying." Marluxia mumbled before rolling over. Xemnas smiled a bit before leaving the room, he really hoped he would feel better soon. Two more days before Marluxia felt better, Xemnas slept on the floor via an air mattress which Marluxia felt terrible about but Xemnas didn't mind. He had tried the first night to sleep in his room assuming Marluxia wouldn't need him but unfortunately the dreams came back. Xemnas helped out when he could, bringing Marluxia pills or a glass of water or even bringing him chicken noodle soup since he said that sounded good to him. When Marluxia was healthy again he returned to work but Xemnas did notice that Marluxia seemed a little more comfortable around him. When he questioned him about it Marluxia just shrugged "I don't really have a reason, maybe because you helped out while I was sick?" was his only idea.
Xemnas was glad to see Marluxia was willing to get closure but he never pushed it, if he got too close Marluxia would awkwardly step away or seem very uncomfortable. Xemnas was slowly figuring out the male's boundaries but a few changed from when they first met. While he wanted to be more to him than just a friend Xemnas knew he had to hold back until Marluxia was comfortable and healed again. One night Xemnas awoken to Marluxia screaming, instead of him being asleep screaming he was wide awake screaming. Xemnas instantly went into police mode looking for an intruder or something when Marluxia stopped putting his face in his hands and began weeping. Xemnas turned to look at Marluxia and gently touched his shoulder
"Marluxia…" he whispered the male eventually removed his hands to look at Xemnas for a moment tears streaming down his cheeks "What happened?" he asked wiping a tear off Marluxia's face with his thumb
"…. I'm terrible aren't I?" Marluxia asked has he looked at his arms, focusing on the scar left from the stitches. Xemnas sighed
"You know you aren't." Xemnas told him placing a hand on his shoulder again and rubbing it a bit. Marluxia didn't respond just stared at his arm "Marluxia…" he whispered softly "What's wrong?" he asked concerned
"I am terrible…" Marluxia whispered wiping his eyes as new tears fell Xemnas sighed pulling Marluxia so his head was resting on his shoulder the pinkette not rejecting the embrace
"You know you aren't terrible…" Xemnas whispered beginning to run his fingers through Marluxia's hair in a comforting manner. Marluxia sniffed trying to calm down a little while they sat there Xemnas looked at Marluxia "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Marluxia mumbled
"In one of the videos…there was a blond haired man. Who was that?" he asked. Marluxia sat up and looked at Xemnas "I thought I heard Vixen but…" Marluxia stared at Xemnas before sighing
"Vexen." He told him. Xemnas stared at him blankly "Vexen was a man Saïx brought back from a whore house I spent the night in…" Marluxia paused
"Wait…you spent a night in a whore night?" Marluxia shrugged
"I got kidnapped after leaving work." He told him before continuing like he was talking about the fact it had rained one day "Vexen took care of me there and Saïx killed someone in order to bring me back to his house. I think he would have killed Vexen since he would have been a witness but I begged him to leave him alone so he took him captive. He…." Marluxia blushed suddenly "Meant everything to me after a while." He admitted. Xemnas sat there for a while before he nodded solemnly, so Marluxia was dating someone. Most likely in secret while he lived with Saïx, that did explain some of Marluxia's reaction to the kiss Xemnas gave him. Marluxia took in a sharp gasp causing Xemnas to look at him again "But…that fire in Germany…" he sniveled wiping one of his eyes "I think the body they found was his." He told him before sobbing. Xemnas quickly hugged Marluxia hearing that, he said nothing but felt Marluxia's arms wrapping around him needing comfort. As Xemnas held him listening to the sobs he felt his heart ache, listening to the man sob like this reminded him that Marluxia was broken. But he was going to help him finally be fixed, as he held him Xemnas sighed
"So…what makes you think your terrible?" the tan male asked. Marluxia sniffed
"What kind of man lets the man they love make a plan that gets them separated and then does nothing until his house gets burned down leading to the death of the person they loved?" he asked sniveling again. Xemnas sighed
"It's okay…I know he doesn't think ill of you." Xemnas spoke softly "If he truly loved you he would have thought as he laid dying 'I only want the best for him…' meaning you." He told the pinkette who sat up to look at him "He also would be so proud of how far you've come." He offered the pinkette a smile who just stared at him
"How can you know that?" he asked wiping his eyes a few times Xemnas smiled at him again
"Because I'm proud of you. Comparing you to when we first met you've come a long way and that's something to be proud of." He told him, Xemnas spent the next hour lulling Marluxia to sleep telling him words of comfort.
The next few weeks seemed to go by in a blur, Marluxia and Xemnas seemed to be closure. Marluxia still on occasion would flinch if Xemnas gave a touch that was a little too close to one a lover would give but those flinches were starting to lessen. Xemnas wasn't sure if Marluxia was just getting used to them or actually wanted to start a relationship but he figured the prior was more likely. Marluxia was doing better, even the therapist he had been seeing told Xemnas he had improved quite a bit which pleased Xemnas. Marluxia was finally beginning to feel normal again, he was gaining freedom from Saïx. He didn't have to stick to a schedule Saïx gave him, he could make choices that he wanted to do, and he just overall felt free. He did thank Xemnas for that seeing the male didn't give up on trying to help him, and he thanked Vexen even though he was gone. Vexen had helped him take steps to get away, he missed him terribly but he couldn't change the past.
But like life seemed to enjoy doing to Marluxia a twist arrived.
The night had been like any other night, Xemnas and Marluxia had decided to finish watching some on TV movie that they had started to watch while eating dinner. Once it was over the two would go to bed, however Marluxia had worked a few extra hours so he was rather sleepy. At some point he tipped over his head on Xemnas's lap, Xemnas was being lulled to sleep by the gentle breathing of Marluxia so he was dozing off with his chin on his hand. His head ever so slightly leaning to the right, just as he was fall asleep he would snap awake but then he would start to fall asleep again. Just as Xemnas was about to give up and just sleep on the couch that night he was startled awake by someone knocking on his door. He sat there unsure if he had been hearing something on his TV or if someone had indeed knocked on his door.
There was another knock and since the movie had ended showing the credits Xemnas blinked, looking at the clock it was near ten at night. Looking at Marluxia he gently shook the male who opened his eyes slightly, rolling to be looking at the officer with confusion in his eyes "Can you sit up?" he asked not telling him about the knocking at the door. Marluxia nodded only sitting about halfway up but it was enough for Xemnas to slip off the couch, once Xemnas was fully standing and stretching a bit Marluxia flopped back onto the couch seemingly falling asleep. Xemnas heard the sound of Marluxia flopping and looked at him, taking a blanket he had draped across the back of the couch covering the male. Walking to the front door Xemnas peered through the peeping hole to see a hooded figure. Blinking a few times Xemnas opened the door slightly, he had two locks on his door one that locked the bottom of the door and one that was a chained lock so he could open the door but only a few inches.
Xemnas peered through the crack "Hello?" he called confused, his hand moving towards the bottom lock. If he had to he could slam the door shut, lock it, wake up Marluxia, and get his gun. The figure walked a few steps forward
"Are…are you Xemnas St. Peter?" he asked his voice shaking a bit. It was seemed to be a combination of tired and nervousness, Xemnas nodded
"Yes…who are you?" he asked. The figure didn't answer him instead letting out a sigh of relief
"…Do you know Marluxia?" the figure asked. Xemnas immediately went rigid and defensive, was this Saïx? Instead of answering there was a groan from Marluxia who sat up before walking over to Xemnas
"Did you call for me?" he asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes his voice hoarse from waking up. Xemnas shook his head
"It's okay, just go…" Xemnas was interrupted by a soft gasp coming from the hooded figure, Marluxia looked at the figure noticing him for the first time
"Who's that?" Marluxia asked but he squinted his eyes. That voice sounded so familiar to him. The figure stood there before raising a hand to the hood of the coat he was wearing gripping the edge, pulling the hood off in one move Marluxia gasped "Impossible!" he yelped looking at the figure. Long pale blond hair that hung around the figure's face except for an obvious part created by two clumps of hair. Bright green eyes were slightly wide from surprise, Xemnas blinked. Wait wasn't that…" VEXEN?!" Marluxia shrieked having to hold onto Xemnas from falling to the ground. Xemnas unlocked the door the rest of the door opening it fully to see the tall man
"Marluxia." He sounded very relieved to see him, Marluxia pushed past Xemnas and embraced the male tightly who returned the embrace. Xemnas felt like he had been smacked in the face hard but hid it
"Why don't you come in? I'm sure you have a lot to talk about." Xemnas offered and Vexen nodded.
Entering Xemnas's house and sitting in the kitchen Xemnas set a few cups of water in front of them "So…"
"How did I find out about you?" Vexen offered not even waiting for Xemnas to finish his question
"I suppose that could be a good start." Xemnas said sitting in a chair next to Marluxia who was sitting so he was across from Vexen. Vexen revealed a photo of Marluxia which the pinkette recognized from one he had given Vexen when he was planning to escape with him, he pushed the photo towards Xemnas
"I had this photo and asked if anyone had seen anyone who looked similar. A blond man at a café mentioned that he had seen Marluxia with you at the café."
"Of course, Luxord." Marluxia spoke and Xemnas nodded along with Vexen
"When I asked who you were he told me you were a police officer and I began looking around after that on a library computer. Eventually I found an image of you, after asking a few neighbors one of them pointed to your house."
"Why would you ask my neighbors?"
"I needed to find you to see if you knew where Marluxia was. I didn't except that you would be in the house." Vexen told Marluxia who offered a smile
"I'm really bad at finding motels." He told Vexen though the smile turned sheepish. Vexen just smiled at the pinkette. Xemnas spoke next
"So…where have you been?" he asked, Vexen nodded
"I was in Germany for most of the time, however after seeing the news of Marluxia's house burning down I quickly made plans to come find Marluxia."
"But…I saw the news…the body in the dumpster…" Marluxia began
"That…was someone else." Vexen sighed "By the time that happened I had already gotten on a plane headed here. I hung low to avoid him looking for me." He told the pinkette
"How did you hang low? This is the main island I should have seen you once" Xemnas asked
"I hid on one of the smaller islands for a while." Vexen explained causing Xemnas to nod. Marluxia nodded as well Xemnas couldn't come up with anything more to ask and Vexen seemed quite tired, he offered to let Vexen stay over since it would be quite a trip back to the motel he had been hiding in. When Vexen retired he was in the guest room and Marluxia wanted to stay with him
"Are you sure? The nightmares…" Xemnas asked concerned
"They should be fine. If I'm wrong, then I'll apologize in advance." He told him offering a smile that convinced Xemnas to sleep by himself for that night. After a while Xemnas peered into the guest room he had been sleeping in to see Marluxia and Vexen curled up together. Pinning his back against the closest wall Xemnas sighed and felt like crying.
Vexen was back and a small part of Xemnas, hated him.