"So, I was, like, thinking," Demyx said as he draped his arms around Marluxia's broad shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. "We should put together a dance here. We've been here for like, two months and no one does anything but study."

"You know that's the point of college, Demyx." Vexen muttered without looking up, taking the words right out of Marluxia's throat.

"So? It can't, like, be good for you to just stare at books all day."

"Some of us actually do read them, unlike you."

Marluxia didn't need to look up from his pasta salad to know that Demyx's green eyes were glaring daggers at the blonde sitting across from them. He's been hanging around with Axel too much. Demyx had always been easy to influence and the redhead obviously knew that. Even if the changes were subtle, it was painfully clear to him that Axel was beginning to influence him. And yet, Marluxia knew for a fact, Axel had yet to make a move on the dirty blonde. It was very vexing, though it wasn't as if Marluxia had much room to talk.

The week after Vexen's suggestion, he had transferred into the sociology class Demyx shared with Zexion with the promise to Xigbar that he would copy notes from Demyx and make up for lost time. Originally Marluxia had planned on sitting next to Demyx so he could be close to Zexion, but instead he had taken to sitting at the back of the classroom, though on the same end seat as the older man. It only took one class for Marluxia to notice how his presence put the aqua eyed man on edge. It only took a week and a grand total of Zexion walking by him twice on his way out of the classroom for Marluxia to realize that he would never look up to meet his gaze.

He hadn't expected the pain that tore through his chest when he realized that.

Rather than try to pursue Zexion, Marluxia left him to his own devices and simply watched him. The entire situation reminded him painfully of when they were both in high school and he always stole a glance at Zexion when he could. The difference was that then he hadn't known what it was like to be intimate with the older man. There had never been any pain from watching him then.

Every time he felt that throb in his being he thought back to when Zexion bumped into him before school started. Really, it had been a precursor to what was to come and Marluxia cursed the fact that it even mattered that much to him.

"Anyway," the youngest in the trio huffed and the warmth of his arms disappeared from Marluxia's shoulders and moved to his side, throwing himself down on the metal bench, forcing the pink haired teenager from his thoughts and to the situation at hand. "I was talking to Cloud about it, and he, like, actually said it was a good idea. The word just has to get out and like, we could have a party in here or something and it could be considered a project for the drama department."

Before Vexen could voice any further opinion, Marluxia raised his head to look at Demyx. "Tell me, Demyx," he began, pushing the pasta around on his plate. "What is the real reason you're trying to put this dance together?"

"Well, it's just – you know." Demyx explained and reached out to take the fork from Marluxia to take a bite of his pasta. However this time, before Marluxia could level him with a glare for repeating the conversation they had had months ago, Demyx continued with a look in his eyes that reminded him an awful lot of Axel. "The semester is like, already halfway done and you haven't even tried to talk to Zexy. He's a sucker for slow dances, right? I could totally hook you up with a jam, dude."

Vexen looked utterly confused while Marluxia sighed heavily, knowing exactly where Demyx's mind was and what he was getting at. "He is? I thought Zexion loathed dancing."

Demyx shook his head animatedly. "They, like, totally danced together during prom and everyone was whistling at and for them. It was way cute."

"I don't think that'll happen this time, Demyx." Marluxia said evenly and took his eating utensil back to eat what was left of his pasta.

"I don't know, dude. I think everyone would still whistle at you two."

Marluxia sighed heavily and said nothing else, leaving his two friends to talk about the idea of having a dance – or more correctly, Demyx attempting to warm Vexen up to the idea of going to the dance and dancing. His mind was once again far from the conversation and when it came time for him to go to his next class, Marluxia was thankful for the distraction that calculus offered. The distractions continued long into the night, when Riku invited him to go to Hatter's with him for some late night coffee and studying.

"Would you two like the usual?" Alice asked them with a smile. They had become regulars after the first week of classes. Like most of the students at Radiant Academy, Riku and Marluxia quickly discovered that coffee was a complete must to survive and appeared in Hatter's more often than most of the other students, even the likes of Zexion who Marluxia knew was a complete addict to the concoctions Alice and her friends served.

Riku offered the petite blonde a dashing smile as he shrugged out of his black leather jacket and shook the snow off out the door while Marluxia did the same with his pink coat. "Please." The way the silver haired teenager made the girl blush made Marluxia want to roll his eyes. It was no secret that, like himself, Riku used his looks to his advantage, but unlike himself there was more attitude than anyone could have imagined underneath the image Riku projected. Marluxia had learned of it very quickly between being the boy's roommate and then through stories Sora, Riku's best friend, told him and of course stories Demyx told as well.

Alice met them at their table in the back of the café, near one of the windows, and set two steaming mugs in front of them. The contrast between them, from looks to everything else, became even more visible in their coffee. In one cup there was black coffee without a hint of cream or sugar while the other cup held a warm hue of brown and Marluxia wasted no time adding more hazelnut cream to his coffee while Riku drank his straight from the pot. Marluxia had asked him the first night he had tasted Riku's coffee, simply because he couldn't believe he took it black, if Riku had a chest of hair. All Riku had done was lift his shirt with a smirk and show off the smooth expanse of flesh and muscle from his chest down to where his jeans hugged his hips.

They studied their history textbooks for the first three cups of coffee, but by the fourth they had lost interest and ended up talking instead. Conversation came surprisingly easy between them and the subjects were never boring. If Riku wasn't talking about his lover, his drama instructor Leon, which was a very interesting subject of its own, then they were talking about the academy and classmates. Despite speaking very openly about his own relationships, sexual or otherwise, Riku never pushed Marluxia to open up about his own, though Marluxia was aware of the fact that Riku knew about Zexion. It was yet another thing that Marluxia learned about his roommate. Riku's intuition was frightening.

"Have you heard about the dance the drama department is going to put together?" Riku asked after Alice had refilled their cups for the fifth time. It was a very casual way of asking, 'Has Demyx talked your ear off like he has mine about the dance he wants to put together?'

Marluxia nodded and relaxed further into his chair with a sigh. "I have. I'm surprised Leon and Cloud agreed to it."

"Demyx can be very persuasive," Riku said and brought his mug to his lips. There was a mischievous light to Riku's blue green eyes that made Marluxia wonder how much of the persuading had been on Demyx's part and what had been Riku's doing. "And I can tell by your tone that you're excited about it, Marluxia."

"Very." The older of the two drawled as he added more cream to his coffee. "If it is approved, are you going to ask Leon to it?"

Riku smirked a little and shook his head. "No, I'm going to ask Sora. I figure Roxas needs a bit more jealousy in his life." The smirk fell from Riku's features and his expression took on a more pensive look. "Are you going to ask Zexion?"

The question made Marluxia's chest throb and he turned his gaze out the window, shaking his head while his fingers tightened around his mug. "I don't know."

"I think you do." Riku finished the last of his coffee and shifted in his seat to pull out his wallet to pay for his coffee. "There's no harm in asking him. If he says no, ask someone else if you want to go or stay in our room and study. You'll have it to yourself." Standing, the pale teenager set the munny down on the table. "And if he says yes, then everything works out. What do you have to lose?"

More than you realize. Marluxia thought but said nothing as he stood, setting his own munny on the table. The prices were engraved in their memory and Alice never brought them the bill anymore because they kept track of it themselves. He left a generous tip for the girl, as thanks for serving them as much coffee as they wanted and always to perfection, before he followed Riku out the door, pulling his coat back on to battle the cold that awaited them.

No more words were exchanged between them and the silence left Marluxia to be devoured by his thoughts. Somewhere between Hatter's and the train station his thoughts left him as he came to a decision on what he was going to do about the dance and, more importantly, Zexion. Riku was right; there was no harm in asking Zexion to the dance. The only harm that could come of all of it rested in how the steel-blue haired man reacted.