Title: The Scent Of You

Pairing: Vexen x Marluxia/411

---

Vexen liked to keep his things sterile, that included the whole room itself. So in a usually sanitary environment, he was able to notice the difference in scent very easily. The room emitted a sweet aroma, similar to that of a garden. He did not remember recently bringing in any plants for experimentation purposes, and he could clearly see none sitting around anywhere in his lab.

This bothered him all day as he was working, not just the matter that he couldn't find the source which the scent had come from, but the fact that the scent would not go away. He couldn't concentrate on the work in front of him while his mind was distracted by this smell, trying desperately to identify it and match it to something he remembered could have possibly brought it into his workspace. Vexen grumbled and complained to himself aloud as his usually neat handwriting turned to chicken scratch as he scribbled out notes for his project. It was obvious that something so simple as an unknown aroma was annoying him, he was always able to identify problems easily and come up with solutions to fix them, but the only thing he could think of was sterilizing the room again.

After doing so, the scent seemed to have faded, but still lingered in the air lightly. At least he was able to get back to work now without it being too distracting.

The next day though, he awoke with a headache. The smell which he believed had died down was now stronger than before. It was early in the morning and the sun hadn't even risen yet, but Vexen got out of bed and stumbled into the lab, scanning the area for anything foreign. It was empty like he left it before going to bed, nothing had been added except for that damn smell. He cursed under his breath as he returned to bed hoping it would not disturb him if he was asleep.

Vexen finally had to force himself out of bed, realizing he had slept in, no thanks to that scent, the only thing keeping it from bothering him was sleeping. But this one simple little smell was still driving him crazy on the inside because he couldn't figure out what it was, where it was coming from, and how to get rid of it. He decided that maybe he had been locked up in his lab for far too long and it was time that he go outside for fresh air.

He walked down the halls of castle oblivion, frowning at the 'all-too-brightly-painted' white and blue walls as he passed by them, this reminded him exactly why he liked to stay locked up in the lab by himself.

Vexen suddenly stopped when hearing foot steps other than his own, and quickly turned around to see Zexion following behind him. "What is your reason for following me, Zexion?" He snapped at him, still partially annoyed in the back of his mind from before. Zexion quietly stared at him for awhile looking confused, then answered. "I picked up your scent, but..." He paused, still looking puzzled. "I was expecting to find someone else." Vexen shared his confused expression, then asked. "Who did you identify the scent as?" If Zexion could smell it too, that meant the scent was not in the lab, it was directly on him. "I know your not going to like this, but trust me, I'm not trying to insult you..." Zexion sighed before continuing. "The scent emitting from you is comparable to that of Marluxia." Vexen choked for a second, in shock from the name he had just heard. "Wh-what?!" If the scent belonged to Marluxia, but was on him, then how the hell did Marluxia's smell rub off on him? Come to think of it... he hadn't seen the particular botanist in a matter of days, a week almost. So if number 11 wasn't around, how could he have brought his scent to number 4? Vexen stormed off towards Marluxia's room, knowing for sure he was at fault for this somehow. He knew Marluxia couldn't just put this off as another one of his crazy scientific theories, he had both the proof and Zexion to testify for it.

When he arrived inside number 11's room suddenly, Marluxia jumped up and turned to face him. "Why, Vexen... I didn't expect you so soon. Have you completed the reports I asked for that quickly?" He smiled sweetly, but Vexen was oblivious to the unusually sweet tone in his voice as he was prepared to rant, bitch, and complain about the disturbance brought upon him by the suspected botanist. "Reports?!" He laughed. "How do you expect me to finish them before your set deadline when you are exactly what's keeping me from finishing them?! If you were serious about this mission, you would leave me to finish the reports before the deadline expired! But I guess you just see this as one big game, where you get to throw obstacles in my way and see how long it takes for me to go mad!" Vexen expected Marluxia to come back with some smart-ass comment or at least a threat, but instead he stayed silent and even looked a bit surprised. "I..." He said softly as he looked almost as if he was on the edge of getting ready to cry. "What is keeping you from working properly?" He quickly changed expressions and tried to look more serious about the matter. Vexen wanted to start yelling again but stopped himself, he remembered seeing Marluxia look scared for just those few seconds. "This... smell. It won't go away, and even when I do try to get rid of it, the next time I wake up, it always comes back, and sometimes stronger than before." Vexen tried to speak calmly, though Marluxia could clearly see his frustration. "Do you dislike the scent? Does it smell bad to you?" Marluxia asked, turning away as to not let the scientist see his sad expression as he said this. Vexen wasn't quite sure how to answer to that question. He had to admit, the scent was very sweet, but it was also very distracting... distracting because it pulled his thoughts of work away and lead him to think of the botanist, yet the thoughts were comforting and he didn't exactly want them to go away forever, he just wanted them to not interfere with his experiments. "No... Marluxia." He sighed softly. "It smells beautiful. I just simply request that it not take my mind away from important issues which I must attend to before a certain time period." Marluxia turned back to face him, a shy smile reappearing on his face. "I understand. You should go back to work now, then." Vexen felt just the slightest bit of happiness now as he faded back through a portal, returning to his lab.

Two days had already gone by since number 4 and number 11 spoke to each other, and not once did he question exactly how Marluxia had gotten his scent on him. Vexen's work was progressing as usual, and the scent had not come back for awhile. In terms of work, he was relieved, but in terms of loneliness, he actually quite missed the sweet aroma. He had been working hard all day and his project was near completion, only a few more days until it was ready to be delivered to the Superior for approval. Yet, he found himself busy with another side project ever since the scent had inspired him to do so. The scientist decided to call it a night and go to bed.

Vexen didn't sleep as heavily this time, as he was not annoyed by anything like before. He could feel something lightly brush against his skin, but did not open his eyes to see what it was. Then he felt something warm softly press against his lips, it stayed for a minute or two, then pulled away. That smell... so sweet and attractive, like rose petals and honey... the familiar aroma filled the room once again. Vexen laid still, yet he couldn't keep himself from smiling slightly, knowing he wasn't alone. Gentle hands caressed his face and neck, fingers running through his long blonde hair. A faint whisper spoke in his ear. "Vexen... I love you." The voice sounded sweet and sincere, yet a small bit of sadness could be heard in it's tone. Vexen looked through half lidded eyes and smiled, seeing layered strands of pink hair hanging over him. "Shh..." He put a finger against the soft lips above him, just barely apart from his own. "There is no need to cry anymore, Marluxia. I love you too." He whispered before taking his hand away and putting his lips against Marluxia's. Though they were lacking hearts and could not properly feel much of any emotion, the feeling they shared now was enough to be called 'love'.