Rhyme & Reason - Chapter 2

12 pm1

March 1st2

Marluxia sighed softly, his head still on his arms while he sat in the kitchen. The others were still on missions, while the words that Xemnas spoke at the meeting were fresh in his mind. It still hurt him to this day, and he couldn’t get over the fact that the others were actually not making light of this situation. It took some of the others awhile to realize what happened a year ago, but they knew eventually in one form or another. He just wished that Xemnas hadn’t brought up that exact moment.3

He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to relive what happened. But the voices were still in his head, and he knew he couldn’t get himself worked up. He frowned for a moment, tears falling down his cheeks. Marluxia knew he was never this sensitive, but he hoped that it would be over looked due to his pregnancy and the hormones that were part of it. That and he knew full well he’d have a hard time today because of the date. Thus making him more emotional than he was before.4

“Marly?” Demyx asked softly, seeing his friend with his head down on the table. He thought he heard soft muffled sobs, or at least the older male talking to himself about what he did. He hesitantly put a hand on Marluxia’s shoulder, mentally thanking the older male for not shrugging it away. 5

“Marly isn’t home right now… leave a message at the beep. Beep.…” Marluxia spoke softly, his voice muffled by the cloak sleeves and the table. At least the tears stopped falling, but his voice was still shaky. He couldn’t trust himself to talk much because of that fact alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Demyx’s gesture, but he didn’t quite feel like talking to anyone right now. 6

“Come on Mar… you can talk to me. I know today is bad, but it’s over in another 12 hours. Then you can look forward to the next few months.” Demyx spoke softly, putting his arms around the other’s waist the best he could. Marluxia wasn’t that big yet, but it was hard to do so with the other person hunched over the table. 7

“You were there yes… but you don’t understand how I feel. And Xemnas’ hour long speech about the subject didn’t help me any. He didn’t even look at me the entire time, no one did. It’s like they expected it to happen again.” Marluxia spoke softly, finally lifting his head up from the table. A very faint smile crossed his lips as he looked at Demyx standing behind him. 8

“I don’t, no. But I do know you’re sad, and I want to try and cheer you up. It won’t happen again, Vexy has been giving you all kinds of pills and other things. He told me before the meeting anyway.” Demyx smiled, hoping that he could at least succeed in making a real smile appear on his friend’s face. He knew Marluxia was being given just about everything to help make him and the unborn baby healthy for the remainder of the pregnancy. 9

Marluxia nodded, letting his eyes meet up with Demyx. He knew he had been getting bad tasting medicines and prenatal vitamins as a precaution. It was all for his health and the health of the unborn baby as well. He just hoped that the older male wouldn’t resort to putting him on bed rest as well. But then he saw a dusk appear from the corner of his eye and a low moan escaped his lips. 10

“What the hell does he want now…?” Marluxia sighed, standing up from the chair. But then he recognized the dusk as Vexen’s, causing his head to tilt to the side slightly. It wasn’t time for an ultrasound yet, he had another two weeks at least. That was unless Vexen decided to change it for precautionary reasons. Of course there was only one way to find out, and that was to actually go down to the lab and see for himself.11

“I’ll come with you. You need a friend on a day like today.” Demyx smiled softly as he walked with his friend to the lab. Maybe it was only a check up, or Vexen was sent to go on a mission with Marluxia. He didn’t know, but if the second was true, then it was rather bad judgment on Xemnas’ behalf. He knew his friend wasn’t entirely out of the danger point yet, and a miscarriage could still happen. 12

---13

Vexen smiled as Marluxia came into the lab, holding something behind his back. He knew that it was hard for him to even come to terms with the earlier loss, but this was hopefully something that would make things better. Or at least help him come to terms with the fact of their child being gone. He knew it was near impossible, but worth a try.14

“I hope this is good… I’m tired, my back hurts and I could have sworn I felt a faint flutter near my ribs.” Marluxia frowned, moving to perch himself up on the table. He knew he was slightly exaggerating, but his back did hurt and he was tired. He just possibly imagined their unborn child moving and faintly kicking him. 15

“Your back can’t hurt, Mar. You’re almost 15 weeks; the baby isn’t large enough to cause strain. I have something else that I think you might like.” Vexen smiled, helping the other lie back on the table before he went to wheel the ultrasound machine over. He put what he had in his back on the table for now, figuring he’d give it to Marluxia after the ultrasound.16

“Point being? My back still hurts, Vexen.” Marluxia frowned, lying back on the table while watching the other. He had heard some excited giggles coming from Demyx though, so maybe this wouldn’t be all bad. And he could see how the baby was doing, something he couldn’t do last time. 17

Vexen just smiled before he unzipped Marluxia’s cloak, then moved the undershirt up slightly before putting gel on the others stomach. He turned on the machine before he moved the transceiver over Marluxia’s stomach, smiling at the small bump. In a few more weeks he knew the younger assassin would be showing more, and in turn would have to find looser fitting cloaks.18

“That’s cold. Do you freeze that gel before you put it on people, or is it because you’re naturally icy?” Marluxia asked softly, looking up at his partner. He ignored the chill after a few seconds, feeling the transceiver move across his stomach. But then his smile got wider as he saw what appeared to be a small human shape or a rather large jellybean. 19

“I’ll warm it for you next time, Mar. Now look here… this is the head, you can see the eyes and the nose pretty well. And… the baby sucking his or her thumb. Its four weeks too early to tell the gender right now.” Vexen spoke, watching the unborn baby being rather cute for his or her own good. He moved the transceiver down along the others stomach before he stopped, a look of surprise on his face.20

“Marly… look…” Demyx smiled, planning to hug his friend once Vexen was done with the ultrasound. He couldn’t believe it, another baby. And this one was healthy too, moving his or her tiny feet. Plus the unborn had a rather good heartbeat, just like his or her sibling. This was actually rather exciting for the young nocturne, but probably more so for his older friend. 21

“Twins….” Marluxia spoke softly, a couple tears falling down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if it was tears of joy, or hormones. Or even a combination of the two, it was hard to tell when one was almost five months pregnant and had gone through a horrible tragedy with their first child. He saw the second one kicking, but he couldn’t feel it yet. 22

“Oh… Mar…” Vexen spoke softly, kissing the other gently on his lips. He couldn’t believe it, but he also didn’t know why the other was crying either. The babies were fine, and from the looks of things his partner was fine as well. He moved the transceiver from the other’s stomach before brushing a tear from the side of his cheek. Now he knew why Marluxia looked a little bigger than he should have at almost 15 weeks.23

“Just strange that we’re having two… and we find out on the anniversary of their older sibling’s death… I could see the second one kicking though. And I wasn’t lying when I felt a flutter...” Marluxia smiled, sitting up carefully once Vexen wiped the gel off his stomach. He never even experienced the first kicks with the other child since he or she died before that point. But he knew that their sibling was moving though. So that would be something he wouldn’t forget for as long as he lived. 24

“You’ll feel more than that soon enough. We’ll find out their genders in about three weeks at the earliest. Perhaps you should rest and we’ll come up with name soon.” Vexen smiled as his partner got off the table. It was still so surreal, but he would get used to it in time. Or so he hoped. He was prepared for one child, but how would he deal with twins?25

“You had something for Mar didn’t you? I saw you put something on the table.” Demyx spoke, helping Marluxia off the table before giving his friend a hug. He saw the confusion on the other’s face, but he figured that the older male wasn’t even prepared for another surprise. 26

“Oh, right. Well… I did some tests last year. And I know you don’t want to hear more about this, but I wanted to do this. To get some closure… mostly for you, Marluxia. I’ve come to terms with it, but you’re still taking this hard. I don’t blame you since you went through it…” Vexen started before pulling a small plaque from behind his back. It had a small sakura blossom on it with a name written underneath it. 27

Marluxia blinked, looking at the small plaque after taking it carefully from Vexen. He offered a very faint smile before he looked at the other, a few tears in his eyes. He loved the name, and the plaque made it even better. He lowered his head after carefully placing it down on the desk, carefully putting his arms around the older male. 28

“Vexen… it was too early… how did you know? And the name… Sakura…” Marluxia spoke softly, his voice shaking while he tried not to let tears fall on the other’s shirt. But right now he couldn’t help it at all, he couldn’t stop crying. Not after he found out what their lost baby was. 29

“The tests from the blood… and the fetus. It would have been a girl, and I know the sakura blossom is your favorite flower. It represents the fleeting aspects of life, and a fallen samurai warrior. So in a way it also represents death… and I see why you like it so much.” Vexen smiled a little before kissing Marluxia’s forehead. 30

Marluxia nodded, eventually calming down. He knew a good place for the plaque, but he didn’t know what Vexen would think. But he hoped the other would like it. He moved his hand over his stomach, looking up at his partner. Eventually a small smile crossed his lips.31

“We’ll put it in the garden… under my sakura tree.” Marluxia spoke softly, only to feel another kiss on his forehead. This would take time, but he knew that he and Vexen would be alright. And that their twins would be fine as well, especially if he took care of himself for the next few months. 32

“I love it Mar. It’s a good idea, and a great place. She would have loved it.” Vexen smiled softly, kissing the other on his forehead. He was going to do anything and everything in his power to make sure that their babies made it to at least 37 weeks at the earliest. He didn’t want Marluxia to blame himself if they were born any earlier.