Larxene stared, wide-eyed, at the perceptive Cloaked Schemer. "What do you mean?" she questioned, though her shaky voice betrayed her unease.

Zexion allowed a small smile to grace his thin lips. "I know," was all he said.

"How?!" Larxene couldn't stop that word spewing from her mouth.

"Simple: his scent is all over you every time I'm near you."

"We spar a lot, okay?" Larxene spat, lightning twitching inside her.

"Like I said: all...over...you..." Zexion's visible silver-blue eye glittered with mischief and triumph. Before Larxene could utter a protest, the Cloaked Schemer gave a startled grunt, and Larxene spun around to see Marluxia heading purposefully toward the pair.

"Stop badgering her, Zexion," Marluxia told the Cloaked Schemer softly. Turning to Larxene, he asked, "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Larxene's eyes darted to Zexion, the younger man becoming disinterested once more as he submerged into his book again. She knew Zexion would not breathe a word about her and Axel, but she was still on her toes with this. Looking back to Marluxia, she returned, "Yeah, why not?"


Really, there was hardly any place to walk but the hallways, but Marluxia and Larxene found leisure in walking along the transparent walkways of Ruin and Creation's Passage, the massive room adjacent to the Altar Of Naught. It always gave Larxene pleasurable shivers of frightful delight to fathom jumping to the bottom, seeing the unnerving distance. Her head turned to Marluxia, though, when he cleared his throat quietly.

"Little, sister," he murmured. "How fast you mature before my eyes. I know we do not age physically, but like everyone else, we grow mentally."

Larxene stopped and faced the Graceful Assassin, her eyes alert and her posture prepared for...whatever it was that was coming. "Marluxia?"

"How you've grown," he admired, smiling sincerely. "When you were first brought into the Organization, you were a weakling who shot her mouth off to even the higher-ups. But now, look at you: you are the swiftest member; you are a strong fighter; a cunning strategist in battle; a proud, self-respecting, and brilliant woman. And now, you even have a lover who I know you chose wisely."

Once again, Larxene felt like she was blown off her feet. "How do you--"

"I heard what Zexion was talking to you about," Marluxia explained flatly, his blue eyes bearing absolutely no trace of hostility that he had once had for Axel. "I should have seen it coming, really. He was so hell-bent on redeeming himself to you, that I knew he would eventually get close to you one way or another."

Larxene looked away, not wanting Marluxia to see her burning face. When she was certain her flushed cheeks had cooled down, she looked to him again. "Look," Larxene began steadily, "since you already figured it out, then...can I talk to you about...something...?" Larxene nearly broke off her speech altogether, but Marluxia's gentle gaze kept her going.

"Of course, dear sister," he answered, welcome evident in his eyes.

The two resumed walking when Larxene began. "Axel...brought something up yesterday," she whispered, loud enough for her brotherly companion to hear. "About...children...," Larxene had to drag the last word out as if thorns were attached to it and they were scraping her throat.

"Children?!" Marluxia repeated, flustered. "Already?!"

"No no no!" Larxene quickly corrected. "He just told me that he had often thought about having children! He never said that he wanted one with me!" Larxene licked her lips nervously. When Marluxia gave her a look that told her to go on, Larxene took a deep breath before continuing. "If he wants children, does that mean we'll have to get...you know..." she shuddered.

"Married?" Marluxia asked. "You don't have to, technically. Besides, I once looked at a study and it concluded that a great deal of passion dies in almost all relationships after marriage. And believe me, hon, you don't look like the type to get married anyway." He smiled benignly at the Savage Nymph, whose shoulders relaxed. "And if Axel already wants a child with you," he said seriously, "you'll know that your love is being spent too fast. Far too fast." Suddenly light-mannered, he said, "Or he must really, really love you!" Marluxia snickered after saying that last part.

"Enough to give me a child," Larxene finished flatly, her eyes narrowed to slits in a comical fashion. "You're the best not-blood-brother I can ever ask for, Marluxia!" she hissed sarcastically.

Marluxia bowed in an exaggerated fashion. "Always here to please you, sister!"


Axel waited on her bed, head hanging, deep in thought. He was disturbed that he had not seen Larxene at all so far today, mainly because he suspected it had something to do with yesterday. Too deep in thought, he did not register Larxene walk through a portal silently and prowl behind him. He noticed her, however, when her slender arms snaked around his neck from behind. Axel laughed low and deep within his throat, reaching back to cup the side Larxene's face. She nibbled his ear in response, the action serving as a stimulant for Axel to slowly turn around to hold his lover and nuzzle her neck.

"Where were you?" Larxene murmured, allowing a touch of hurt to creep into her voice as Axel continued rubbing the nape of her neck with his nose.

"Looking for you," he answered, hugging her tighter, but not enough to hurt. "Did I upset you?" Axel whispered. "Yesterday?"

Larxene visibly froze up for a split second, Axel taking notice of her action. He stroked her hair, soothing, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Before Axel could continue, in which he would have spilt over more apologies in many forms, Larxene put a finger to his lips.

"It's fine, Axel," she said in a neutral tone. "But I really don't think I'm good enough to bear and raise a child." She stared at him, Axel detecting a faint trace of...regret? "That is the one thing I'm afraid to give you..." Larxene whispered.

Larxene...afraid? That was one thing Axel had not exactly thought of seeing in her. Tracing his fingers along her jaw, he kissed her briefly before saying softly, "Larx. You don't have to fret, you know...about a child. I love you all the same regardless of what you give and take. It doesn't matter." His eyes glittered like emerald stained glass as he kissed Larxene's neck in reassurance. "But what concerns me is the fact that you doubt yourself," Axel purred. "Do you think yourself unable of properly bearing, raising, caring for, and loving a child?"

"Hell yes!" Larxene was quick to answer.

"I beg to differ," was all Axel had to say before unzipping her coat.


"Why are we here?" the older man snapped irritably to the one who had summoned him.

The man who had been addressed allowed his golden eyes to glitter before answering, "We are here to weed out the traitorous rats who dare to call themselves members of our fine Organization, Vexen. Wouldn't you agree that they need disposing of?"

"I beg your pardon?" Vexen asked, intrigued. "I believe your talking namely of Marluxia, Axel, and Larxene?"

"Who else?" the other growled. "They were at the roots of our corruption back in our life in the living, we must prevent this sort of thing from possibly happening again."

"Saix," Vexen spoke softly, cupping his own chin, "exactly what do you propose to do?" Vexen's comrade beside him listened intently to Saix as well.

"Simple," Saix returned, "by means of simple annihilation."

Zexion, beside Vexen, looked up sharply, his nose instinctively quivering. "You still bear a grudge, Saix?" he asked coolly. "Let bygones be bygones, already."

"No," Saix snapped, "simply because of the reason I have stated: we must prevent further corruption!" When Zexion fell silent, Saix challenged, "Was it not Axel who brought about your death? Yours as well, Vexen?" When the Chilly Academic gave him an unreadable stare, Saix continued by saying, "And we must take out Marluxia and Larxene for plotting a rebellion."

Zexion sniffed disdainfully. "They have already received their punishment: death at the hands of the Keyblade Master. Axel has also already--"

"Silence, Number Six!" Saix snarled, daring to order a higher-up.

Zexion's silver-blue eyes glittered dangerously before the Cloaked Schemer turned on his heel and left via portal, but not before hearing Saix growl a threatening message:

"If you warn them, I will personally kill you."


A/N: Here's the next chapter for you all. And I do see Saix as a vengeful person, really. But ooh, tension... Also, I really did read a study about what Marluxia said: marriage and passion. It was in an issue of National Geographic. My aunt wanted me to read it when I was 12 or 13 ( . ) and it had...other stuff in it that I don't think I should have been reading yet...