Ok, I'm rewriting this fic, so don't worry if it doesn't make any sense to you ;)

Marcus' POV

Right, so here I was with this beautiful angel in my arms and my eyes the size of coffeemugs. Blank's face was pressed against my chest and everytime he exhaled I felt a warm sensation tickling my skin. Finally he lifted his head to look up at me with surprise in his eyes and a charming blush on his cheeks. He looked so cute I couldn't help but smile. Luckily, he smiled as well, making the situation a little less embarassing.

'Thanks, bro.' He said softly, checking if the unfortunate accident hadn't damaged the herbs. Just as I was preparing myself to answer as casual as possible I noticed (much to my fright) that Baku was marching up to us, taking giant steps which meant he was pretty pissed. 'HEY YOU TWO PUNKS!' He roared as if we were standing miles away from him. (though he was practically yelling right into my ear). I winced and looked for the nearest way of escape, butBlank seemed to be oblivious of the pain that awaited us. ''S up, Boss.' He asked casually, as if there was no giant, furious dogman standing next to him. Baku growled in anger, pushed me roughly aside to grab Blank's arm, and proceeded to drag the poor unfortunate boy back to the crashed ship. 'Don't think you'll escape yer punishment!' He warned me. I stared after them, silently cursing Baku for ruining that one moment I had an excuse to hold Blank close to me.

Baku's POV

I'm afraid that Zidane's 'gay-jokes' are closer to the truth than he realizes, what else could those two brats have been doing all the time?

I glared sideways at Blank, who was grinning slightly to himself. I raised a suspicious eyebrow, but decided to leave the matter for the moment. I litteraly kicked the redhead into one of the trashed storage rooms and pulled up a chair for myself. Blank desperately tried to keep his balance, but ended up on the dusty floor anyway. I laughed out loud and waited for him to crawl up and wipe the dirt of his clothes in embarassment. 'Listen here, boy.' I said after he'd regained his composure. 'This is important: I want you to go after Zidane and make sure he gets to Lindblum without getting his monkey-ass hurt, got it? I don't trust him like I do you.' Blank scratched the back of his head. 'O-k. But how are we supposed to get out of this forest while the ship's wrecked?' He questioned logically. I pulled an old worn map out of my sock and handed it to him. The boy took it from me without much enthousiasm. 'That oughtta show you the way.' I explained, standing up to leave. Blank stuffed the dirty thing in his boot with a disgusted look on his face. 'You sure?' He queried, clearly not so happy with the mission he'd just been assigned to. I couldn't blame the kid, I mean what normal person would like to run around in this freaky forest, chasing a crazy monkey? I layed one of my giant paws on his shoulder to reassure him. 'Don't worry kid, there are tons of people dying to be member of Tantalus, you'll be easily replaced.'

Blank's POV

Argh, life sucks...

I sauntered down the half burnt stairway, cursing Baku and this suicide mission I was going on. It was always the same thing: Zidane would get into trouble and the Boss would send good old Blank to save his ass. Not hard to guess who's the favorite... Just as I was about to put one of my boot-clad feet outside the ship, I heard a soft voice calling my name. I turned and saw my bro slowly approaching with his arms folded, and his sword clanking slightly against his leg. I grinned widely and blushed a little at remembering what had happened earlier that day.

'Where are you going?' He asked me, his voice carrying an undertone of concern. 'Out.' I stated, pointing my head in the direction of the forest. 'Baku wants me to go after Zidane.' Marcus' eyes widened for a second, before narrowing into an angry frown. 'Has he mentioned the thousands of bloodthirsty monsters out there, or did he forget that insignificant detail?' The goblin boy growled in a dark, low voice that promised a lot of pain for their big gang leader. I felt warm inside and chuckled. Oh, Marcus, always the stage talk... I waved my hands in the air. 'Don't worry about it, bro, the Boss and I both know what we're doing.' I grinned cockily, resting one hand on my blade. Marcus glared at me. 'I'm not so sure about that...' He shot back, baring his fangs just slightly. I rolled my eyes and turned around. 'Gee, thanks for putting so much trust in me, man.' I whined sarcastically.

I startled when a hand grabbed my wrist and spun me around. 'I'm not joking Blank.' Marcus said seriously. 'What if something happens to you?' He tried to look me in the eye, but I averted mine. 'I wouldn't know what to do, you know.' He admitted, his voice and grip suddenly a lot softer. This time I did look up, to see the flash of sorrow in his chestnut eyes. I immediately felt guilty for pushing his concern aside and carefully layed my hand on his arm. 'Marcus,' I assured him. 'I'll be fine! Really! Just trust me...' I gave him the biggest smile I could manage. He didn't look convinced but let go of my wrist anyway. I patted his shoulder and turned to leave, but his voice made me stop in my tracks. 'Blank, I, um-' He trailed off shyly. I spun around on my heels to see him blush and look away. 'Yes?' I held my breath and felt my heart pounding slightly. What the hell was wrong with me? Marcus cleared his throat and gathered up the courage to look me in the eye. 'You better come back alive and well, Bro.' He warned me, folding his arms and glaring at me. Then he cracked a small grin. 'For the sake of our boss, that is.' I smirked boyishly. 'Aw, you really do care about him!' Damn, I'm not even getting a goodbye kiss? As I left, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit disappointed.

Normal POV

'God, I'm glad we're out of that cursed forest!' Baku exclaimed dramatically, succesfully stating everybody's thoughts. Marcus just rolled his eyes and sauntered over to open a treasure chest he'd spotted behind a fallen branch. The forest actually seemed kind of peaceful in the morning sun, but the frightened thieves still held their weapons close by their side, not trusting the threatening silence. Somewhere up a tree, Cinna was complaining about the absence of water for his morning cup of coffee, while Baku warningly reminded him of the cruel punishments for gang members who didn't obey their Boss' orders. The bouncy kid shrieked and literally jumped to fulfill Baku's wishes. Marcus sighed almost inaudibly as he stared at the potions he'd found inside the chest. The liquid in the bottles was an emerald green, beautifully reflecting the pale morning light, and Marcus'slightly glazed, chestnut eyes.

'Poh!' A shrill shriek sounded right beside my ear. My heart stopped beating and my left pointy ear went deaf for a second. I turned my head to the side, expecting to see something horrid, like a bloodthirsty demon or (even worse) Cinna with his stupid balloon-joke (A/N: Use your imagination, people!). No, none of that: it was a cute, pink little moogle. The round and bubbly thing held out a letter to me. 'Letter for Baku and gang!' It stated, quickly adding a few 'kuppos'. I stared at the little animal, still in shock, until I heard my ear pop. 'Umm...' I started, scratching the back of my head. The moogle raised an eyebrow at me and turned to look for a more intelligent being. It bumped right into Baku's giant belly, and the burly man plucked the paper out of the moogle's little claw. He cleared his throat and read aloud:

Hi, guys!

We made it out of Evil Forest! The princess got busted up pretty bad, but she'll be up at it again in no time! Vivi and Rusty are fine too, except the last one's constantly accusing me of 'taking advantage of the princess's situation' when I'm just looking! I have to make sure she's alright, don't I? Like she'd mind a babe like me looking at her!

Um, there's another thing I need to tell you…After we rescued Garnet, we were being chased by Mist Spawns. Me, Vivi, Rusty and Garnet made it all out, but…Blank didn't…He pushed me out of the way when one of those monsters wanted to grab me, and got caught himself. After our escape, the forest got completely petrified. And Blank, well…But don't worry, we'll find a cure for him. Oh, and thanks for the map!

Take care of yourselves!

Zidane

Everybody was silent after Baku had stopped reading. Even de Moogle didn't 'kupo'. Finally, Baku folded the paper and put it in his pocket. 'Well, it's good to know that Zidane made it out too. At least we now know that our mission isn't completely ruined…And about Blank, like Zidane said, we'll find a cure for him, don't worry…' Everybody nodded without words. Except Marcus, who had sunk to the ground, pale as snow.

Man it took me damn long to rewrite it so you better review :p. THANKS TO ALL REVIEWERS YOU GUYS RULE. cookies for everyone