Enjoy, all five of you.
Chapter 5
Luxord had the strangest habit of hiding the good memories deep within the confines of his mind, while focusing on the darker ones. It wasn't like he was depressed or angry with life, but after experiencing a near death experience, his subconscious decided to best ensure survival was to learn to expect bad things to happen. No one is sure why or when he came to this decision, only that he did sometime after he was twelve, when the sudden death incident occurred.
Now, it wasn't Luxord who had personally experienced this sudden death moment. No, because even as a young boy he naturally avoided the many dangers of life. Yes, he had no problems with approaching the teeter totter, especially at his age, but other things did make him question his own motives. And being the mature boy he was, not counting the internet festivities and the occasional swear; he would come to the conclusion that he should avoid said action, whatever it was. Of course, the near death experience was something that couldn't be controlled by action either, unless you were a physician.
Yes, the cancer had returned, and it had arrived with the intent to take its revenge upon its past failure.
It was like a scene from a horror movie. Luxord watched as, one day, Larxene ran about, healthy as ever, only to end up in her bed, incapable of moving on her own, the very next. It wasn't fast, this act took several weeks before Larxene ended up bedridden, but it seemed like an overnight incident to Luxord. To see your best friend, whom you care deeply about, who once had pinned you down and threatened to feed you dirt suddenly end up in bed with needles all over their body, unable to move about due to easy bruising and deteriorating muscles…it really left an impression on you. It was the most frightening thing Luxord had ever experienced.
Now, for the longest time Luxord's parents were expecting that there would always be a possibility of this happening. It was his father who had decided to drag the boy from the dark lair called his room and take him out to the car where he would have "the talk".
"Luxord," he father had said, not really looking at the poor twelve year old.
"Yeah," Luxord said, not really making eye contact with his father.
"You know Larxene is sick," he said, fiddling with the steering wheel. The car had yet to leave the driveway.
There came a great pause, a combination of Luxord trying not to break into tears, lest he feel humiliated, and his father trying not to swear to himself, because he knew he just made his twelve year old son feel even worse. Bad enough he was going through puberty. It was here that Setzer wished Celes had been to one to talk to the boy.
"Look," he said, "I'm going to be completely honest with you."
Luxord then turned to his father and stared intently at him. Because despite knowing the man for twelve years, he hadn't a clue of what his father was capable of. Whatever words would be said would be surprising to say the least, and Luxord could only hope at that time that the words would not result in making matters worse.
"I'm not religious," his father said. "You know this. I've never been to church. I don't believe that there is some guy out there watching us and choosing when and where we'll kick the bucket. And I don't think he's fighting our battles either."
Luxord would have gone wide eyed if it were not for the fact that his mind was settled on Larxene. Not having yet to follow in his father footsteps, it was strange to hear such things from an adult, let alone his parent. Luxord believed in god. He believed in god, and during this hectic time of panic, he did nothing but pray to that strange being in hopes that he would find it in himself to give Larxene another chance. True, at his age it seemed sort of foolish to pray to an invisible man in hopes of curing cancer, but it was all Luxord had in his limited arsenal. But he kept on listening to his father.
"You're friend, Larxene," his father continued, "She's a sweet girl. She's strong; fought this thing before now, didn't she?"
Luxord nodded his head slowly, keeping silent.
"And she beat it," he said. "She beat and she got better now, didn't she?"
"Yeah," Luxord had said.
"Well now," his father said. "Do you think, right now, she's hoping god will help her fight this battle?" Setzer leaned over a bit and looked the boy into the eye. "Do you think she's depending on him to save her…or do you think she's fighting on her own, only depending on the aid of a good doctor?"
Luxord remained silent.
"I'm not saying there is a god, or that you should or shouldn't believe in him, Luxord," he said in a most serious tone. "I'm saying that, in reality, we have to deal with the hand that's been given to us, and that we can't have someone try to help us out of it. Life simply doesn't' work that way." He frowned. "I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but such is. You've been given a good hand, and your life has been good. She hasn't."
Luxord sank into his seat and had begun eyeing the car door. At his age the last thing he wanted was to hear things like this. The last thing he wanted was to think that he would lose a friend.
"Listen. Luxord," he heard his father say. "Before you leave the car, think about this; considering that Larxene has been in this situation before; wouldn't you have faith in her to believe that she may have another trick up her sleeve to get out of this situation?"
Luxord turned to his father and frowned.
"Life not some stupid game," he said bitterly.
"I'm not saying that it is," his father said, "however, it has several traits of a game. There are winner and there are losers."
Luxord grabbed on to the car door and opened it. No sooner had he done this did he feel a hand grab on to his shoulder.
"And if you want to win, you need a winning strategy."
The conversation had ended here. Luxord walked away from the talk and returned to his room. He and his father went back to hardly saying a word to one another, and Luxord decided that he would do whatever he could to not end up like him-a fruitless task.
But that wasn't to say that words were wasted. Luxord really did think about what his father had told him, and to some extent it sank down.
Life was not a game, but it was like one. The main difference was there were no winners, because in the end you'll end up dead like everyone else. It was a rather dark thought for a twelve year old boy, but it kept him going for an extra week as he lay on his bed, contemplating over his life and such.
A week later Larxene would finish her chemo, her health taking a surprising turn for the better. She would be able to walk on her own five days after that, and she would get to hear the lovely news that both her kidneys were still functioning, though only at a minimum. And Luxord soon decided to expect the worse in things. Because winning games all the time was just plain unrealistic.
…
It was three in the morning when Luxord woke up. His eyes peeked through the many sheets that he covered himself in, and the very first thing he saw was the window. A thin residue of liquid seemed to coat the layer of glass, produced by him no doubt. From the cloudy other side he could see white flakes dropping at an incredible speed. He blinked a few times in order for his eyes to focus better at the falling shapes.
One by one they fell, and Luxord continued to watch in silence. He could hear nothing, absolutely nothing.
He soon fell asleep.
The first day was something close to bearable for Luxord as much of it was spent just moving his belongings into the hotel room and resting himself from the all too long drive. He had one the game of rock-paper-scissors, and was granted to have one of the three bedrooms, leaving Alden and Xigbar to fight over the remaining one, as it was obvious that Larxene would get a room by default. Xigbar ended up getting the pull out bed located in the living room, which to Luxord could either be a good thing or a terrible mistake. He had no idea whether Xigbar was a clean enough fellow to be trusted with the couch-bed, but at the time of the decision, it really didn't matter to him. The only thing that seemed to have gone though the platinum blondes mind at the moment was hurrying up and unpack so that he could fall into a deep coma and hopefully get through the week without waking up other than going to bathroom.
But he was only so lucky, as he usually tended to be.
As soon as he was done packing, he and Xigbar were sent to go and get some much needed groceries. So instead of him passing out as planned, he found himself right back in a car, sitting and waiting to get to their next destination. After buying said groceries, and growing a deep hatred of cars, Larxene suggested they walk around the area. Why? Well….if only Luxord could figure out that very answer himself. Of course, he flat out refused this offer, suggesting that he'd just acquaint himself with the hotel room, and that Larxene and Xigbar could be on their merry way. Believe it not though; Xaldin did decide to go out with the two, leaving Luxord to wallow in his upsetting state of misery alone. He tried to go to sleep, but found the cold air to be too cold for his liking. There were blankets in the many closets, but Luxord didn't feel too comfy with using them, not all too sure whether they had been cleaned properly. He had seen the many dogs on the car ride to the hotel and to the store, and the last thing he wanted was dog on him. So he gave up soon after and decided to wander about the hotel, figuring it would be warm enough for him to walk around without the worry of possible frostbite. How on earth Larxene was going to run about in short he had no idea.
Eventually some time passed and Luxord found himself lying on his bed, trying to think of a way to entertain himself without the use of a laptop or computer, when he heard the door open and the sounds of his beloved friends. He would've strangled Larxene on sight if he had the strength to walk down the fleet of stairs…a walk through the hotel; had taught him one thing about this place, and that was that he simply did not belong.
An hour later of sitting around, it was decided that dinner would be bought, and that it would be fast food-because anything else simply would not do. This time it was Larxene who would venture out to the strange world that was full of trees, snow, and dare we mention…fresh air. Now, she asked Luxord if he wanted to come along, and that if he did he could pick the burger joint, but he flat out refused, assuming she was only picking on him. But it should be known that this was not so. Larxene had seen Luxord, and she knew he was in distress from the sudden changes and that all he really needed was a bit of closure. She was actually trying to be nice for once, and figured s a ride with her would be enough to soothe him a bit. After all, what better way to help ease the suicidal thoughts that spend time with someone you've known since childhood, right? But yeah, Luxord said no, so Larxene went on her way without him while Luxord sat on the couch, staring blankly at Xaldin's camera and the pictures he had taken of the snow. She'd even offer up buying ice cream, but it didn't help Luxord budge. Apparently pictures of snow were much more appealing to him.
This pretty much summed up the rest of the day, not including Luxord eating food in silence or later attempting to not freeze to death as the weather then dropped several degrees, leaving his heaviest jacket, a dark blue Hollister jacket-which we all know isn't enough to keep someone warm in these conditions, utterly useless. Sometime later he woke up to the second day, which would prove to be much worse than the previous one. In fact, if it were not for the following day, Luxord was sure the first would have not been bearable at all….it would have been lousy at best. But no, the next would prove to make the first look like a walk through the park, which was really saying something considering he had spent several hours trying not to go crazy in a car.
But yes, the second day. He woke up at five, which alone was enough for him to homicidal on everyone, to find Larxene and Xigbar leaving and getting ready for their morning run. He wasn't sure why they had to get up so early, considering Larxene had never done such a thing while they were together, but rather than question the situation he decided to try to fall back to sleep. He eventually gave up on this as he realized that he was awake in a room that wasn't his, in an environment where he really didn't belong, and his nerves could detect the unbearable cold weather. So he got out of bed and went about what would be his normal morning antics; clean himself up and get some food in him. Taking a shower worked out well…for about ten minutes, and then he decided to get out only to find his body exposed to barely forty degree weather. Even after getting dressed he found himself shivering, realizing that he probably should have done more to look up on the weather for this godforsaken land.
He spent most of the day in the car again, driving from place to place, trying to understand what the hell Xigbar was telling him as he gave out what had to be the vaguest directions ever. There was actually no direction in particular; the whole point of the drive was to simply find a place with enough snow for the four to play with. Larxene and Xigbar had seen and held snow before, being that this wasn't their first time in Mammoth, but Luxord and Xaldin were not so lucky. Neither Luxord nor Xaldin had ever played with the white stuff, whatever it was, being that they had spent most of their time in southern California, where the odds of snow falling and lasting more than a few minutes were up there with winning the lottery. Luxord had seen snow a few times during those few winter breaks where he and his sister had been so unlucky to have been dumped at their grandparents in England, but he had never held it in his hands. His father had made it a goal to hurry over and hurry back, not finding the company of his in-laws to be pleasing. Luxord could say with embarrassment that he had spent three hours in a foreign country before going right back on the plane.
"Who would have thought there would be so much snow in the park," Xigbar said with a laugh.
"Who would have thought-you're an idiot," Xaldin hissed angrily and he held on to himself. He looked around the park and shook his head and he tried to keep himself from freezing. "There's nobody here by the way…"
Luxord took a deep breath, not minding the sting it gave him and then gave a long sigh, staring at the steam that rolled right out of his mouth. He gave a glance around the park, staring at the many mounds of snow that seemed to be all about the area. It was quite an interesting scene. He couldn't quite give a reason to it, but he found the area to be quite quaint. There were a few people walking around, but it was rather quiet and there didn't seem to be enough people to become too bothersome. He actually liked it, finding the one and only advantage to this awful weather.
"I wonder if there is enough to build a snowman," Larxene muttered, looking around at the cluster of snow. "I mean…I really don't want to have to use dirty snow." she frowned and made a face at the very though if it. "I really wouldn't like that."
"Fuck the snowman," Xigbar said. "We'll make snow balls and throw them at passersby."
"What," Luxord said suddenly. The very notion seemed to frighten him beyond belief. Not frighten…it also angered him and disgusted him. There was also a spark of curiosity that seemed to light up at the thought, but he knew better than to feed that urge. Face it, in the real world, people who throw snow balls get cited for disturbing the peace.
Larxene smirked.
"And what, dare I ask; do I tell the police when they arrive to arrest you?"
"Tell them I have ADHD," Xigbar said with a laugh, "and tell them I left my Adderall at home and just couldn't help myself."
"That's terrible," Xaldin said. "How could you joke about that?"
"Who said I was joking," Xigbar said as he knelt over to roll up his first ball of snow. "I left the shit at home-figured I wouldn't have to concentrate on having fun."
Luxord watched in fascination as a ball of white was created. It was a strange sight to behold, never really seeing real snow being shaped before, and never doing so himself, and it almost made him want to join in on the activity. Xigbar soon stood up, the white misshapen ball in his hand and smiled proudly at it.
Xigbar turned to Larxene.
"Hey beautiful," he said.
Larxene glared at Xigbar, her arms folded
"Xigbar, I swear to god I'll castrate you-"
One would assume the reason behind Larxene not finishing her sentence was because Xigbar had pummeled her with the ball of snow. I bet that's what you were all thinking right now, wasn't it? The snowball hit her in the face and therefore she couldn't finish her sentence. Because that's just how mature he was.
Well, you're wrong.
What, in fact, had happened was that Xigbar, not Larxene, had been hit with a snowball; and Xaldin had been the one to throw it. The reason why Larxene didn't finish her sentence was because she was too busy laughing as Xigbar tumbled to the floor.
Luxord turned to Xaldin, the look of slight surprise on his face.
He smirked, "how long have you wanted to do that?"
"Ever since he decided to go along with Larxene's plan and drag us here," Xaldin answered as he kneeled down and began forming a snowball. "That and I figured he just naturally deserved it."
"I suppose," Luxord said. He turned, looking over at Xigbar. "You aright?"
"Screw you," Xigbar hissed, getting up from the ground and dusting off any dirt and snow that ended up on him.
"Just concerned," Luxord said, trying his best to not laugh.
"Xaldin," Xigbar yelled, gaining his balance and hurrying over where Xaldin knelt; while he was at his weakest.
Xaldin looked up and smirked.
"I will destroy you," Xigbar hissed.
"Now, now," Larxene said, placing a hand on Xigbar. She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Xigbar. "No need to get murderous over a silly snowball fight now?"
"Says you," Xigbar said. "You look like you're about to freaking die from laughter!"
"Because it was funny," Larxene said. She smirked and glanced down to Xigbar. "My knight in shining armor?"
"Expect one to hit you soon," Xaldin replied.
"Now Xaldin, I'm sure you want to be able to have kids later when you get married," Larxene said in a somewhat threatening tone. She looked up to Luxord and smiled. "Why don't you play with Luxord-he could use the attention."
"Don't you dare bring me into this," Luxord said immediately after. He took a step back, not that he was expecting to get assaulted by snow, but in an attempt to get closer to the car in case he should be assaulted by snow. To summarize it; he really didn't want to get hit with a snowball. "That aside, three against one isn't really fair…"
"Who said I was playing," Larxene questioned. "I just wanted to make a snowman. I'm not like you guys; I'm peaceful and sophisticated."
"Bullshit," Xigbar coughed. Larxene reacted to this by hitting the backside of his head.
"That's still two against one," Luxord pointed out.
"Are you really that afraid," Xaldin questioned, getting up from his position. He chuckled a bit. "I knew you weren't one for physical activities…but seriously; it's just snow. It's not like it's going to kill you."
"Says the man with the weapon in his hands," Luxord said as he eyed the white ball in Xaldin's possession. He took another step back. Just three hundred more steps and he'd be safe within the car.
Xaldin shrugged. "Perhaps; would you prefer a free for all?" He looked and turned to Xigbar, "we each roll up a ball and then fight-no teams whatsoever…"
Actually Luxord disliked that. He didn't like having to deal with two different strategies. One thing if it were both Xaldin and Xigbar together, he could figure some sort of defensive strategy from that. But having to deal with two?
"I can do that," Xigbar said. "I don't need to worry about Luxord being a threat, just as long as I get you back-"
"-would Larxene like to partake in this battle," Xaldin asked, ignoring Xigbar's threat as if it were something of little importance. "I'd like to think a woman of your status would be able to gain a point or two."
Larxene feigned a laugh. "Am I supposed to believe in any of the words you're saying?"
"Yes," Xaldin said. "Yes, in fact, you are."
"Ha," Larxene said. "I'll be waiting in the car. When the three of you are done making a mess of yourselves we can go do something more creative."
"Because snowmen are far more important," Xaldin said.
"Exactly," Larxene said.
Right now Luxord really wanted nothing more than to get out of this. He didn't care how pathetic it would have sounded; he would have made a mentioning to Larxene's snowman idea being acceptable right now if it could get him out of this mess. That and he really didn't want his first experience of snow being frightening and in need of harsh repressing. There was nothing harmful about building three giant balls of snow and putting them together. He wasn't a coward or anything, he just disliked getting cold and wet and bruised at once.
"You're just afraid I'm going to hit you with a ball of snow," Xaldin said. "A ball of frozen water."
"Looks like those years at college are finally paying off,' Larxene said. "So good to know."
Xaldin sighed. "Fine, go off…"
"I will," she said, walking off in the direction Luxord so desperately wanted to go. He sank a little when she passed him by, smiling proudly at herself for getting away with a cold genocide in the making.
"Right," Xaldin said. He turned back to Xigbar. "You and Luxord go make your first snowballs, that way we'll all be ready and equal in status."
Luxord sighed. He leered over at the melting snowball in Xaldin's hands, staring at its shine and changing density. Luxord had only taken a year worth of chemistry, but even he saw the unfairness in Xaldin's snowball. It was smaller, but it was hardening in his hands.
"What about you," Luxord asked.
"Hmm?"
"You're snowball's melting," Luxord pointed out.
Xigbar immediately looked up and stared intently at the small snowball.
Xaldin smiled. "Why yes," he said, lifting his hand up and staring at the melting ball. "It appears to be melting alright."
"Yes."
"Mhmm."
"…maybe you should get rid of it,' Luxord said.
"Probably," Xaldin said.
"Most definitely."
"Yes…"
"…'
"Well," Luxord said.
"Give me a minute," Xaldin said, staring at the small ball.
Luxord took another step back, causing Xaldin to chuckle a bit.
"Now, now," Xaldin said. "You just get to making that snowball of yours…" He took a step to the side and hurriedly grabbed some snow from the ground and added it to his snowball. "…oh, and get up."
Luxord frowned, "why?"
Xaldin looked to Xigbar and then to Luxord. "Because if you don't Larxene's probably going to think you threw the snowball, Luxord."
"What?"
"And she'll most likely have no problem killing you," Xaldin said.
Luxord shook his head.
Xaldin nodded his.
"Xaldin…"
"Do it," Xigbar said, grinning widely. It seemed he forgot all about Xaldin's past offense and only seemed to think about what Xaldin was scheming.
"Don't," Luxord said. "We have five more days up here and the last thing I want is to have to go through them with a pissed off Larxene!"
"Better than going through a pissed off you," Xigbar commented.
"Yeah, well I'll be pissed as hell," Luxord threatened. "Bad enough I'm stranded here, and now you're acting like a child!" Luxord stomped his foot into the iced ground, glaring at Xaldin. "You, out of all the people, decided to go native?"
Xaldin rolled his eyes.
Then he threw the snowball.
And as it passed by Luxord and made its way toward it designated target, you could bet that Xaldin and Xigbar were hauling ass to the playground, figuring it to be the safest place aside from the snow filled woods. And Luxord just stood there, like and idiot, only making movement when he heard the snowball hit Larxene with a hard crunching sound.
All Luxord could do was flinch when he heard the loudest, crudest swear he had ever heard in the past several hours-not coming from him.
Oh god he was going to kill Xaldin.
"There's nothing to watch," Xigbar whined. He grabbed hold of the remote and began flipping through the channels. Luxord glanced up from the book he was reading and looked over to see the stations on the television being changed every other second. He went right back to the book. "Nothing," Xigbar whined, throwing the remote to the floor.
"Try not to destroy the blasted thing," Xaldin muttered as he walked out from his room. He walked over and picked the remote from the floor. He analyzed carefully and sighed. "You were serious about that Adderall, weren't you?"
"Yes," Xigbar said. "Why on earth would I joke about that?"
Xaldin groaned.
"Don't suppose we can get you a prescription over here, can we," Xaldin asked.
"Need to be a resident," Xigbar said. "Sides, not like it's a bad thing, like, one out of six people have it or something…"
"That explain so much," Luxord muttered.
"Oh look, it talks," Xaldin said, smirking at Luxord.
"Not at you," Luxord said.
"You technically are right now," Xaldin said.
Luxord pouted and buried his face in the book.
"Try to not ruin the next few days," Xaldin said, taking a seat in the armchair next to the sofa where Luxord and Xigbar sat. "I'm sure Larxene will forget all about it in a few hours."
"I didn't deserve that," Luxord said, lifting his head up and leering angrily at Xaldin. "I did not deserve that at all…"
"Poor Larxene," Xigbar chuckled. "Bet she didn't expect that to happen…and to think she thought you were the one to do it…"
And that's what seemed to upset Luxord the most. The very notion that Larxene would assume that he would go and throw a snowball at her…him? He had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with this everlasting winter wonderland, and that he also didn't want to partake in the snowball fight, and she thought he threw a snowball at him. And she gave him absolutely no chance of explaining himself. Even when the evidence was clear that he didn't do it either. Xaldin and Xigbar were nowhere to be seen, surely that would have been enough that he was innocent? Sure, he didn't have a snowball in his hands, but he doubted that would be enough for her to assume that he was guilty…right?
This brought a whole new meaning to lost in translation.
Luxord had only seen Larxene so pissed off very few times. And he had been lucky enough to say that he had never been the cause of her outbursts. Until now, he was usually good with staying on her better side. He never had to wonder what she would be like if angered by him. He couldn't imagine what it was lie, until now.
"I didn't do it," Luxord said. "And why on earth she didn't realize you were the culprit-"
"You know," Xaldin said, "you ought to go have a talk with her." He chuckled. "It would be the mature thing to do."
"I despise you," Luxord said.
"What a terrible thing to say to your beloved friend," Xaldin muttered sarcastically. He played with the remote, checking to see if it was in working condition. "…congratulations, Xigbar; you've destroyed the thing."
"New record," Xigbar said delightfully.
"No, I seriously do," Luxord said. "I had a wonderful relationship, without a care, and now she's out to murder me while I sleep."
Xaldin stared hard at Luxord for about four seconds before settling into his seat and laughing his heart out. He held on to himself as he tried to control his laughter, Luxord left only capable of getting more upset at this act.
"What's so funny," he asked defensively. He put the book on the table, a sign that this conversation was beginning to go downhill. As if it hadn't already. And as if it could be called a conversation to begin with.
"That look on your face," Xaldin replied.
"What look," Luxord asked.
Xaldin took a breath and calmed himself. "You know you smiled, just right now, when you talked about Larxene?"
"…"
Luxord had cupped his hands together, his face looking down as he questioned whether he had performed such an act without realizing it. He figured he had some restraint over his actions, no matter what they be. Truth be told, he cared for Larxene a lot more than a friend should, but he never tried to change that. He knew better than to question over and over why Larxene dumped him out of the blue, and he knew better than to try to reconcile without cause. Of course, he thought about it, but knew he'd never get anywhere. So it remained a thought. A simple thought. A thought that he had controlled of.
"Did I really do that," he said, burying his head in his hands. He groaned. "Ugh…"
"Oh you poor thing," Xaldin said, not really paying much attention to Luxord's self loathing. Something like this probably should be taken seriously, but after the twenty something periods where Xaldin found the younger man just lying around in anger and frustration, wondering why someone as perfect as him could lose someone just as equally perfect as Larxene, sort of downplayed it.
Still, as a friend, he found himself in a situation where trying to make Luxord feel semi better about all of this was something of a requirement.
"Shut it," Luxord said.
"Is this the part where I leave," Xigbar asked.
"No, you can stay," Xaldin said. He paused for a moment and looked over to the hallway, inspecting it carefully. "Actually, can you check to see how long Larxene will be in there? I mean, I know women take long showers, but this moment calls for privacy and I would really hate it if Larxene were to walk on a conversation of this importance." He frowned. "Life changing moments like these need to be handled seriously."
Xigbar stared, awed by what had just been said. Everything Xaldin had said was said in such a tone, said in such a way one would wonder whether life of death was being put into the matter. And he had said it with a straight look on his face as well.
"Life changing moments," Luxord questioned. He sighed and sank into his seat a bit. That had to be the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, and it had come from Xaldin no less.
"Yes," Xaldin said, "because to insure your very survival you need to adapt and evolve from the state you've grown so accustomed to."
Luxord's only reaction to this was his jaw dropping just a bit. Despite seeing the good intention behind the man's actions, he was a bit upset with what he was hearing. It disturbed him. Xaldin had just gone through a break up, how dare he try to make him feel better about his current non existent relationship. It was one thing when he attempted to help Xaldin out when he was dumped, another when he tried to help him.
Consider it a pride sort of thing, but Luxord didn't want his help. The man's mind was a strange sort of thing. He could solve all sorts of problems, and yet here he was trying to hide from the fact that he was a mere human, thus flawed.
Oh god, what was wrong with him?
"I hate," he muttered.
"You need to get over her," Xaldin said.
"You didn't get over your ex," Luxord pointed out.
"But I will," Xaldin said. He smiled. "Oh yeah, it sucks, it really sucks when you're dumped. I feel like there's no point, that everything is over and nothing can good will ever happen again, but by god I will get over her." Xaldin leaned closer to Luxord. "Because, unlike you, I'm not hopeless. I refuse to spend the next half year wondering why she dumped me when I was so obvious perfect and everyone else is mediocre at best."
"I never said anything like that," Luxord said. He gave a quick glance over to the bathroom and then glared at Xaldin. "I never said she was perfect, nor did I insinuate that I was."
"You think it all the time," Xaldin said. "And right now, as you did, you got all giddy-"
"Giddy? I did not get all giddy," Luxord snapped.
"Oh yes you did," Xaldin said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have smiled…"
"You make it sound like I hardly do," Luxord muttered. "I'm not a downer, you know. I actually do smile. And I know you've seen me smile to. I smiled when you threw the snowball at Xigbar."
"I'm pretty sure that counted more of a smirk than a smile," his friend said.
Luxord got up from the sofa he was sitting on and approached his friend. Xaldin gave only a small glance when Luxord hovered above him, standing ever so confidently at him. When the remote was snatched away from him, by Luxord no less, he found himself forced to look up and stare Luxord right in the face.
A very nice face it was.
"Right," Xaldin said, confused. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
"You see this," Luxord said, pointing at his face. Xaldin's eyes rested on the forced smile spread across Luxord's strained face.
"You're constipated," he asked.
If it weren't for the brotherly love, Xaldin would have suffered a blow to the head.
"I'm smiling," he said.
"And you're not fanaticizing about Larxene?"
"Keep it up Xaldin, go ahead," Luxord said. "I understand. I screwed up and I forgot, for one second, that she and I aren't together…"
"-and you over reacted to the snowball," Xaldin said.
"No, I doubt that," Luxord said.
"You would have laughed if she was with you," Xaldin said. "Even if you hadn't thrown it, a likely possibility since you're afraid of harming a fly."
"That's because it wasn't funny," Luxord hissed.
"It was funny," Xaldin retorted. "And if you were together, you would have been the one to tell her it was a joke-not trying to defend yourself."
"Not funny," Luxord muttered.
"Hilarious," Xaldin replied. "Absolutely, positively hilarious."
"Listen," Luxord said. "This conversation, this life changing moment; it's going nowhere. And it's pissing me off. And I'd rather it end now."
"How cute," a voice said from right behind Luxord. A sarcastic voice.
Luxord turned around, his eyes widened. Xaldin remained in his seat, though he had a look of modeate surpsie as well, though he seemed more amused than anything. In fact, as he caught glimpes of the figure he found shimself doing whatever he could from not laughing.
"What's so "cute"," Luxord asked.
Larxene smirked. "You and your boyfriend." She turned and walked over to the door. "I'm leaving. I'll probably be back in about twenty."
"Where are you headed," Luxord asked.
"None of your business," Larxene said with a cute smile spread across her face. She stared at Luxord's serious expression and gave a quick roll of the eyes. "But, if you must know, I'm walking over to get a coffee, that's all?"
"Why walk to get a coffee," Luxord questioned.
Xaldin sighed, "she's walking, Luxord. Exercise."
He frowned.
"Aww, does Luxy want to come along," Larxene asked. "Or are you afraid a deer will get me?"
"No," Luxord said defensively.
"Still upset over everything, hmm," Larxene said. She feigned a sigh. "Oh well, I wasn't going to invite you anyway. Not after that plunder of yours…"
Luxord didn't even bother.
He watched the young woman walk out the door, closing it swiftly and disappearing from his sight. He stared at the door. And stared. He then looked back to Xaldin.
"And what were you going to say, exactly," he asked.
"Aside from you being absolutely hopeless," Xaldin said, "need to either get over her or just get back with her…"
"She dumped me," Luxord said, "and I don't even know why…"
"Then just get over her," Xaldin said.
Impossible. How on earth was he supposed to do that? He wasn't. It was the only conclusion he could come to. Simple as that. There was no other option. If he could just "get over her", he would have a long time ago. But obviously he couldn't. Why else would he still be waiting for her? Waiting for her to walk right up to him and say "oops, I made a mistake", and for everything to go right back to normal. It was a foolish, wishful thought, but it was something that Luxord honestly thought deep within his subconscious.
"Luxord. Don't you dare…"
"I didn't say a thing," Luxord said. "Not a thing…"
"She's not just going to walk up to you and ask you if you want to get together again," Xaldin said. "This is not one of your stories, this is real life…"
"People do get back together in real life," Luxord said. "After fights or stuff…like that…"
"You two never fought," Xaldin mentioned carefully, trying not to upset his friend. "Larxene would say something and you would do it. No fights whatsoever…"
"Which is why I can't figure out why on earth she would dump me," Luxord said distastefully. He groaned, shaking his head in frustration. He pouted. "It's not fair…"
"Life is never fair," Xigbar said. The older male walked out into the living room, the two noticing his hair down and wet. "Look at this way, man; she's in a better place."
"…"
Luxord thought hard about Xigbar had said for a wondrous milli-second before calling it bull and going back to his previous thought. Xaldin had said that there were only two options. He really didn't want to watch Larxene fall in love with another man. Greed and instincts, along with some of that pure love mentioned ago in the first chapter, wouldn't let him do such a thing. He wanted her all for himself, and as awful as that may have sounded, it was full of good intent. But in the end of it all, he still didn't know why she had left him. How was he supposed to build something after that missing piece of information? Even if he could get over her…without knowing why he wasn't good enough left him a small dark hole within the pit of his stomach. So what exactly was he supposed to do?
"Damn," he muttered.
"What now," Xaldin asked.
"I can only think of one option," he muttered quietly. "But I doubt it would work…especially since its Larxene…"
"Murder is illegal," Xaldin said.
"Not murder," he said, "though, it might as well be, knowing my dignity will only go to hell once this is done."
Xaldin looked up in surprise. More than moderate. He was really shocked. And a shocked Xaldin was a rare thing, to say the least.
Xigbar frowned.
"I don't get it," Xigbar said, "What's he talking about?"
Luxord sat himself down and continued to ponder in silence, thinking carefully about the approach to task ahead. He had been with other women before, Larxene not being the first and only. But she wasn't like other women. She didn't go gaga over flowers and chocolates. She was so much more independent, and she didn't really on many things that normal girls did. But what could he expect from her? She grew up living a life where something horrible could possibly be waiting around the corner. She had to be different, stronger, better than other girls. That's why he loved her so goddamn much after all…
"…this will hurt," he concluded.