Flower Child - Chapter 2: Telling the Truth

Flower Child - Chapter 2: Telling the Truth

Characters: Marluxia, Vexen, Zexion, others mentioned.

Rating: PG-13

A month had passed since the discovery that Zexion had made, and now it was almost obvious to anyone that looked at Marluxia from a certain angle. But right now the rose haired man was trying his best to hide from his superiors, and even Roxas or Larxene. He trusted Demyx the most out of the entire group, he always had. Except for the two unfortunate times the water wielder accidentally drowned his flowers. He did attend meetings, but now he was becoming more paranoid than usual. Especially since this morning he noticed the change in his body was becoming a little more apparent now. That and he was a little more tired than he had been.

“You guys are lucky… all you do is produce pollen and that gets spread to other flowers, and then you create new flowers in the blink of an eye.” Marluxia sighed, looking over the various flowers he had been taking care of for the last two hours. He’d be scared if one of them started talking back, but then again he has been known to create strange things as of late. Namely a Venus fly trap that somehow grew a little larger than he had planned. Oh well, he could train it to be a guard plant. Or to eat anyone that spread the news about the latest revelation.

Marluxia looked around, thankfully not seeing anyone. But he was getting rather lonely, and talking to flowers didn’t really cut it for him. He hadn’t seen Vexen for a couple days, but that wasn’t unusual since his superior almost always stayed in the lower levels of the castle when he could. He hadn’t even seen Zexion since the poor boy was allergic to his flowers, and almost always sneezed when he was around him. That only left his friends that would be willing to talk to him.

“Marly? Oh there, you are. Xemnas said for me to get you for the meeting. He said it was important and he wants to speak with you afterwards. I don’t know what he wants to talk to you about. If he suspects anything, it’s been nice knowing you. I’ll take good care of your flowers if you get killed.” Demyx spoke, walking up to his friend.

“Good care of them means no drowning them, Demyx. Oh it doesn’t matter… I forgave you for that. Sorry… I really hate this whole mood swing thing.” Marluxia sighed, moving his hands over his stomach while looking at the blond Nocturne. He was halfway dreading what the meeting was going to be about. Or if Xemnas would actually notice the slight change in his form, but he knew it would be happening eventually. And that alone wouldn’t be something he’d look forward to.

“I know. But we should really go; I can’t even afford to be late. We’ll go together how does that sound? That way neither of us will be in trouble for being late, and Xemnas can go on for three hours with whatever he wants to rant about.” Demyx laughed before creating a portal to head to the meeting room.

“He’ll notice my stomach, you know that. I sit almost directly across from him.” Marluxia protested before he walked through his own portal, dreading what would be waiting for them in the stark white room. He sighed, praying that no one would really be able to tell except for the three that he trusted and already knew from day one of his discovery.
“I’m glad you can finally grace us with your presence, XI. Now as we all know, the urgency to collect hearts is at an all time high. I know all of you are worn out from your latest missions, but remember what is at stake here. If we want to be whole again, you must do your respective duties.” Xemnas started, looking directly at Marluxia before he leaned back in his chair. His arms crossing over his chest briefly.

“But aren’t you the least bit curious as to why he has been absent? Or neglecting his duties?” Saïx asked, looking up at Xemnas. He occasionally looked at Marluxia out of the corner of his eye, curious as to why one of the younger members was acting so secretive. And had been extremely cautious as to not carry heavy things or help his superiors with little odds and ends around the castle.

“Of course I am. And perhaps you can fill us in on these reasons. I know you were present last week, but you appear… different somehow. Is there a reason for this? You know the penalty for betraying and lying to me. I graciously gave you a second chance, but you’re on thin ice Marluxia.” Xemnas replied before looking over at the rose haired assassin. He knew that himself along with the other senior members were curious about this condition. However he couldn’t help but notice that Vexen and Zexion were strangely quiet about this.

“I can’t tell you right now, sir. Please understand that.” Marluxia replied, keeping his hands on his lap. Mostly to avoid putting one on his stomach, which he had been doing quite frequently as of late. He looked over at his superior, who had less than a pleased expression on his normally cold features. That is not a happy face…

“You can’t or you won’t? See me at the Altar of Naught, XI. The rest of you, you know your missions for the day. Do not come back empty handed. Vexen, I’m pairing you with Marluxia for a mission so stay behind and wait in the hall. It will take just a moment.” Xemnas spoke before he portaled out of the room with the others doing the same.

Vexen watched the two leave, a look of concern crossing his face. Actually amazed that the meeting lasted a full 15 minutes instead of 3 hours. But he also knew that Xemnas had to find out about the pregnancy sooner or later. He figured that four months into it was better than nothing, better than waiting until Marluxia was in labor. Then again if the pink haired assassin was as tired as he appeared, he could easily fall asleep in the office. Which wouldn’t bode well either.

“You alright Vexen? I haven’t seen you look this concerned since you accidentally gave Xemnas the wrong report on a mission.” Zexion asked, walking up to the older male. He had known Vexen for a long time, so he could easily tell when something was bothering the blond even if the other denied anything was wrong.

“Marluxia has been extremely tired the last week at least… has he been getting any rest at all? I’m just worried about what will happen if he falls asleep during the conversation with Xemnas. Or worse… when we’re at dinner. Or somehow he’d fall asleep on him… how I don’t know, but it’s the worst case scenario aside from Xemnas finding out just by looking at him.” Vexen replied, lowering his head for a moment. He sighed for a brief second as he directed his attention toward Zexion.

Zexion nodded, putting a hand on the taller man’s shoulder. He would feel partly guilty because his illusions were only for those that Marluxia chose to not know about his condition. Mainly those that he perceived as a threat, possibly including Xemnas, Saïx and even Larxene. Xigbar, he wasn’t sure. But he didn’t think that Marluxia felt threatened by the scarred man. Xaldin, he knew the other was afraid of him.

“He’ll be fine… trust me. I have an illusion that should hopefully work soon… the only problem is that Xemnas needs something of Marluxia’s so it would work. If he falls asleep on him, it’s safe to say he’d at least get a loose hair or something. Or maybe Marluxia will leave behind a pen or something by accident.” Zexion replied as they walked down the hall. He didn’t wish to leave the other alone, not until he was sure Marluxia was fine.

“A pen? He doesn’t carry a pen around. He was hooded at the meeting, Zexion. And we know for some odd reason whenever he removes his hood, or summons his weapon then sakura petals flitter around. So maybe if he does remove his hood, Xemnas will have a petal. Or is it the other way around? If Marly carries something around with him all the time, Xemnas won’t know about it.” Vexen suggested, trying to make sense of how the illusion would work for the pink haired assassin.

“Right… but you know we can’t carry around our weapons all the time… I’ll think about it. Right now we have to see if Marluxia is alright. They’ve been up there for a long time. And I don’t believe Xemnas will have the patience if Marluxia just happens to be asleep up there…” Zexion spoke before he portaled to the Altar of Naught, figuring that Vexen wouldn’t be too far behind him.
“XI… get off of me.” Xemnas growled, reluctantly holding the Graceful Assassin in his arms. He was in the middle of a long rant, yelling at Marluxia when the other passed out in his arms. Now the pink haired assassin was apparently either asleep, or dead. He didn’t know, and he really didn’t care at the moment. All he wanted was for Marluxia to get off of him and on with his mission. If he was alive of course. If dead, then he could easily be replaced.

Vexen tilted his head as he and Zexion appeared next to Xemnas. One look could tell the two that he was not amused at all. But what concerned him was the fact that Marluxia was passed out instead of standing there, talking to Xemnas. He had no idea what caused him to do so, or why he ended up in their superior’s arms. Deep inside he knew better than to jump to conclusions, so he decided to deduct a few possibilities of why the younger was passed out.

“Something wrong Superior? Perhaps we can help. I’ll have to see if he’s running a fever, something had to have caused Marluxia to pass out.” Zexion spoke, moving to retrieve the older male from Xemnas’ arms. He could easily see Marluxia’s stomach, but could Xemnas? The answer to the question scared him

“We were talking, however he was still being silent about what was wrong with him. I kept prying, then he said something about a baby… but I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Then he passed out in my arms. The only one of us that can do such a thing is Larxene… and as far as I know she’s not pregnant. So I want one of you to tell me what the hell is going on. And why he seems to be a little heavier than usual.” Xemnas started, crossing his arms as he looked at both Zexion and Vexen. He was a smarter man than most of the Organization had given him credit for.

“If you must know, this is strictly between the four of us. No one else is to know. But knowing Marluxia he told Demyx… but I digress. I’ll tell you what is going on with one simple request. For the next five months he is to have shorter, less strenuous missions. Perhaps only for Heartless detail in worlds that are close to us.” Vexen started, seeing the other’s amber eyes narrow at his request for Marluxia to have shorter missions.

“Oh do go on, IV. I’d love to hear what else you have planned. Or at least tell me why you want me to grant XI shorter missions and only place him on Heartless detail. What good is an assassin if he is doing menial jobs for me?” Xemnas asked, looking down into Vexen’s eyes. He already didn’t like the scientist’s request, and even less so since the other didn’t have a decent reason for it.

“Four months ago, things… happened in my lab… and now Marluxia is suffering from the effects of our actions. Or rather… the consequences. Which is more fitting considering he’s so low in the ranks…” Vexen replied, obviously avoiding the topic right now. He really wanted to just get Marluxia to his room, then go down to the lab to find a way to fix this problem. And if Xemnas found out that the assassin had a heart… he didn’t want to think about it.

“Get on with it! I don’t really care what goes on with the others around here. If you’re not on a mission, you know you’re free to do what you will. Just tell me what is going on before I decide to have Saïx get it out of you the hard way.” Xemnas growled, watching Zexion as he held onto Marluxia from the corner of his eye. Whatever it was, he wanted to know. Now.

Vexen sighed, knowing he had to tell their superior. Consequences be damned, it was better this way than waiting for another five months. Of course he had no idea what would happen to Marluxia, himself or the unborn child. That would have to wait until the months passed and it became more apparent as to the other’s condition.

“Well… it’s hard to explain… but Marluxia is pregnant. About four months and a week along… he’s due sometime in June from what I gathered. I will do everything in my power to make sure that he is taken care of during that time, and I will see to the delivery myself. If I am absent, I appoint Zexion as midwife since he knows what to expect. That is why I want him to have lighter missions, but he can still collect hearts for you Superior.” Vexen spoke honestly, fearing what the silver haired man would do or say in light of this revelation.

“I want proof of this pregnancy in the next month, Vexen. Create an ultrasound or take him to Twilight Town or anywhere that has a hospital for undeniable proof. For now I’ll honor your request, but if this turns out to be false he will have the same amount of time for missions as you and the others have. Am I understood?” Xemnas spoke, although he was still in a bit of shock and knew he’d probably end up screaming to the sky once his two senior members left him alone. He did appear to be calm, but on the inside he was far from it.

"You will get your proof by then. Thank you, Superior." Vexen replied before he turned to Zexion and Marluxia. So far he felt they dodged another bullet, but for how long? He was more surprised with how well their superior was taking the news however. He sighed, knowing full well the next five months would be a living hell for himself and Marluxia. Especially if Xemnas went back on his word, which was entirely possible with the amber eyed man.