Author: Trilies
Genre: Romance, slight Drama
Word length: 821
Sypnosis: The aftermath of an argument with Lucrecia gives Vexen something to think on.
Yaoi/Yuri/Pairings: Vexen/Lucrecia Crescent
Notes: This is actually the epilogue to a little roleplay session I had with Anakha the Silver on Gaia Online, where Vexen and Lucrecia had a super big argument, then made-up-made-out... Only the non-existent feeling didn't belong in a Nobody, so Vexen's powers kind of freaked the ******** out. He got better, but... 8D; Whenever he magically overexerts himself, he kind of loses control of his legs in my headcanon.
Empathy
Magic, if too much is asked of it, can have some serious drawback.s The same can be said, in a way, for the state of a Nobody. Memories and illusions of emotion are fragile, fi pressed too hard, they either become blank slate... or they shatter, like a fragmentation grenade. Perhaps it depends on the person, or the element, maybe the situation or any number of things... Although it must be said that Vexen has always been vulnerable to that latter option. In his case, it always affects his magic, which in turn affects him. Always.
Three days after the incident with Lucrecia which destroyed half of his lab, and Vexen's legs still aren't quite working properly. The Superior had been curious, of course; his top scientist, stuck in in bed after an event? Luckily, Zexion's lies are always smooth and believable, and the incident had been blamed on an experiment gone wrong. Fairly quickly, Xemnas had lost interest. Vexen smiles almost bitterly into his reflection in the window, although whether it's at Xemnas' perfect apathy or how he now owes Zexion double is hard to tell. When the door to his room creaks open, Vexen doesn't move. The window shows it all well enough, after all. Overlapping the eternal nighttime view of the Dark City is the reflection of his room, and with that, Vexen can see Xaldin with a bowl of soup. Those who know the truth have been taking turns watching both Vexen and Zexion, who had caught a cold due to his actions. Vexen would prefer to be left alone, but Light forbid anyone listen to him.
Still not budging, Vexen snaps, "Just leave it on the nightstand. I can still use the rest of my body, thank you.." He's pretty sure Xaldin rolls his eyes at that.
"I'm glad to see your mood has since improved," Xaldin deadpans, although he does as told lest Vexen do something stupid. There's silence after the clink of porcelain against wood. Glaring into his window, Vexen waits for the lancer to leave. After a few minutes, it becomes painfully obvious he's not going to. With an annoyed sigh, Vexen turns to him. "What do you want?"
"Cut the relationship off." Not mincing any words, Xaldin just frowns and crosses his arms. "You're just going to hurt both yourself and the woman. You almost died, and she almost had a breakdown." Vexen's mouth tightens at this, but he says nothing in reply. "Stop this before you both regret it." Again, nothing. Vexen only turns grudgingly back towards his window, hands folded over his lap. Shaking his head and hoping his old friend will see logic, Xaldin turns away. Right as he's in the threshold of Vexen's doorway, the scientist speaks.
"Xaldin." The lancer pauses. "Did you know I had given up?"
Turning around, Xaldin raises an eyebrow in puzzlement. "On what?"
"This." Looking suddenly very tired, Vexen gestures outside, where Kingdom Hearts floats, heavy and serene. "Getting back our hearts. Initially, I had tried so hard.
Noticeably, his hands curl into slightly shaking fists on top of his sheets. "I tried everything to fix my mistake. Do you remember?"
"I remember." The memory makes Xaldin frown. It's not a pleasant thing to recall, how hard Vexen had fought to remain in the labs, thrashing and struggling. They'd all been frightened and confused back then, displaying it in different ways: Lexaeus would disappear into the city to do who-knows-what, Xigbar would get quiet and just polish his guns, and Zexion had stuck close to whoever he could, acting like a child they had all thought he'd grown out of years ago.
Xemnas had been an enigma.
"Of course you do." For a moment, Vexen's mouth twitches into the shape of a dark smirk. It's gone in a second, and Vexen is covering his eyes with one hand. "Nothing worked. You know that."
"Then Xemnas suggested Kingdom Hearts."
"Yes." Vexen finds himself narrowing his eyes at Kingdom Hearts, hand sinking down to his mouth. "Yes, he did."
"You didn't trust him." Not a question.
"I suppose I don't." The small correction does not go unnoticed, he's sure. "Sometimes I wonder if Xehanort knew what would happen the deeper we went into the research. But I digress." Clasping his hands together and placing them on his lap, Vexen turns to look at Xaldin. "I'm going to start up my research again."
"...This is for her, isn't it?"
"Her name is Lucrecia, thank you," he grumbles. "And before you begin to lecture me on the dangers, I'd just like to say that yyou're one to talk." Vexen rolls his eyes. "Do I have to remind you of the time Dilan and Braig went hunting? They ran into a dragon and Even had to save them."
Xaldin's ears turn slightly pink, and he glares at the Academic. "He wasn't even there to save them. He only wanted the cake recipe."
"I still saved you, didn't I?" Vexen smirks. "So with all due respect, shut up."
