Kingdom Hearts: Marluxia x Aerith Gainsborough
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Pairing: Marluxia x Aerith Gainsborough
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG
Notes: Pre-CoM, hints of Cloud x Aerith, obsessed stalker-ish themes, out-of-order timeline, and lots and lots of punctuation abuse.
On another note, holy mother of reindeer, I actually finished this. *faints*
#01 - Air The look in his eyes is cold and merciless enough to make Aerith forget how to breathe, but the scythe is swinging toward her now, and as muscle memory brings her staff up to defend, she realizes that this is no time to get caught up with such details.
#02 - Apples “Ooh, I just love these twisted fairy tales,” Larxene cooed as she steepled her fingers and thought the cast over; “the flower-tart’s the princess, of course, so I guess that makes you the wicked sorcerer ready to deliver the poisoned apple to the unsuspecting maiden.”
#03 - Beginning Aerith smiled brightly when the elegant stranger stopped and commended her for the care she treated her flowers with, and as they talked, something other than the plants began to grow.
#04 - Bugs “I dunno, something about that new friend of yours just… it just bugs me somehow,” Yuffie tried to explain with utmost tact for once-“I won’t try to tell you to stay away from him, but please Aerith, be careful.”
#05 - Coffee “I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t show,” Aerith cheerfully scolds him, and Marluxia can only stare, dumbfounded, at the amount of work she’s already gotten done-all by eight in the morning.
#06 - Dark Marluxia really had no business being here, since Traverse Town wass supposed to be a haven for those who already lost everything to darkness, but Aerith was just too tempting to leave be, and besides, what’s one more lost heart?
#07 - Despair No heart means no emotions-so would Nobody please explain to Marluxia why listening to Aerith describe another man with such a tender look in her eyes brought up such a sickening sensation from, if not his heart, then his gut?
#08 - Doors It’s a little odd, Aerith realizes, that Marluxia is always the one to come and knock on her door; she has never seen his house, let alone his own front door.
#09 - Drink Marluxia gagged and swept a murderous scowl around the room to no avail; the peppy ninja who had brought him his drink with such an innocent smile while he waited for Aerith was long gone.
#10 - Duty “You’re gonna get your heart back through completing Kingdom Hearts, not by hanging around some chick,” Axel reminded Marluxia after another visit; “so try to remember that the next time you get an off-world mission, capiche?”
#11 - Earth “You have a spot of dirt on your cheek,” Marluxia observed one day while they were gardening together, but Aerith simply laughed and got up to fetch even more potting soil before he could make his move and kiss it away.
#12 - End “And so the curtain falls,” Vexen murmured as Aerith watched Marluxia’s brutal nature reveal itself-it was worth going to the trouble of fetching her just to see Marluxia’s idle fantasy finally die.
#13 - Fall When Aerith falls, Marluxia will be right there to catch her; he’s the one who’s going to push her, after all.
#14 - Fire Aerith knew that laughing right now wasn’t nice, but the look on Marluxia’s face as he struggled to explain how the seeds he had promised to bring her somehow ended up roasted and lightly salted between when he carefully wrapped them in paper and when she opened the packet was too much to resist.
#15 - Flexible So what if he doesn’t have a heart to give and she’s still waiting for the man with hers to come home-there are ways to make it work somehow.
#16 - Flying Aerith laughed softly and asked if Marluxia had been a scarecrow in a former life as she watched the birds he chased out of the fields fly away-the almost murderous glare she got in response was enough to make her quietly excuse herself and head home early.
#17 - Food When Aerith suggested a picnic in a vibrant meadow, Marluxia saw the perfect chance to carry off his Persephone once and for all-the plan was quickly dashed when she went on to explain how Yuffie was bringing homemade lemonade and brownies while Cid and Leon would try to get away with store-bought potato salad and chips.
#18 - Foot “Now Aerith, your judgment is usually dead-on in these cases, but this stranger you’ve been hanging around with lately, well,” Cid groused around the toothpick between his lips before he took it out and pointed it at Aerith, “if he tries to pull anything, you just shout and I’ll be all too happy to begin by ramming my boot up his fruity little ass, got it?”
#19 - Grave There’s no use in acting anymore-the blood on his weapon, the look on her face, and the fading wisp of black shadows beside her are all damning enough-so Marluxia smirks and makes a sweeping bow with his scythe as he speaks: “Aerith, why so grim; are you that surprised to finally see the real me?”
#20 - Green It will do more harm than good to his goal to destroy the obviously cherished photograph, and that’s the only reason Marluxia bites back the bile rising in his throat when he sees Aerith and some blond posed together in a frame on the end table.
#21 - Head Aerith laughed softly as she held a few flowers against Marluxia’s hair and told him that she had yet to see petals that matched his exact shade; he smiled and told her he was glad he could be unique in that regard.
#22 - Hollow Marluxia could understand now why Axel obsessed so much over bringing Roxas back; Aerith’s smile and warm gaze helped ease the numbness of being incomplete, and Marluxia would do anything to keep that feeling from disappearing.
#23 - Honor He asked if she would please honor him with a dance during the festival, and it was so gratifying to see her blush for a moment before accepting his hand.
#24 - Hope Marluxia had given up on hoping long ago-if he wanted something, like the Organization, his heart, or the caring flower girl, he’d simply have to work for it and take it himself.
#25 - Light A girl like Aerith is so full of warmth and light that anyone would naturally be attracted to her, so it’s no big surprise when Marluxia’s shadow also draws near.
#26 - Lost “I pray that those who are lost may someday find their way back home,” Aerith told Marluxia one day, but since his home fell under the Heartless, he’ll have to make her his new one.
#27 - Metal As the fight begins and their weapons clash against each other, Marluxia comments on what a fool he was to not know that Aerith’s floral delicacy could be capable of such ferocity; she’s thinking the exact same of him.
#28 - New “I know how hard it can be to adjust when you’re new here,” Aerith explained when she offered to show Marluxia around Traverse Town.
#29 - Old The girl from Marluxia’s old life is standing with her back to him in his dreams again, but when he takes her hand and turns her around, pale curls turn into a brown braid, and it’s Aerith who smiles sweetly and offers him a flower (it’s getting harder and harder to remember the differences between their faces these days.)
#30 - Peace It’s strange just how relaxed Marluxia feels around Aerith whenever he visits her-even stranger is the urge to destroy that calm at the first opportune moment.
#31 - Poison If Marluxia stays close to her for too long, he’ll end up rotting Aerith’s pure soul-but so long as she’s with him, he doesn’t care.
#32 - Pretty “Well, isn’t this just the cutest couple ever,” Axel sneered, “the lovely, sincere flower girl and the manipulative, heartless sociopath-tell me, when’s the wedding?”
#33 - Rain The falling rain won’t wash away Marluxia’s sins, but because Aerith looks so serene while she watches it drip down the windows, he figures that there’s no harm in pretending it can for a short while.
#34 - Regret It only happens occasionally, but there are times when Marluxia wishes he still had his heart, so that the feelings he pretends to have for Aerith wouldn’t be so grossly twisted.
#35 - Roses “Well, have you considered getting the lady some flowers?”-Demyx soon learned to never offer romantic advice to any Organization member ever again.
#36 - Secret Someday, once the Organization is his and his heart is restored, Marluxia will come back to Traverse Town and stay by Aerith’s side for life-she just doesn’t know it yet.
#37 - Snakes Aerith shouted in alarm as Marluxia’s vines twisted and coiled around her arms to keep her from striking back-“just hold still, and maybe this next part won’t hurt quite so much,” he advised her.
#38 - Snow “She was bound to lash out against you anyway, once she figured it out on her own,” Vexen calmly explained as he derailed Marluxia’s lunge toward him with a patch of frost on the floor; “I was merely the catalyst.”
#39 - Solid “You’ve got to be pretty thickheaded if you think that anything good will come of this relationship,” Axel scolded-“Good or bad, all that matters is that something comes of it,” Marluxia explained, ignoring his subordinate’s nerve, “something that will make the effort of regaining my heart worth it.”
#40 - Spring “I think you’ve got a crush on someone,” Yuffie teased when the extra spring in Aerith’s step became obvious.
#41 - Stable “I’m sorry, but if you believe I can be pulled down into the darkness so easily, then you’ve greatly underestimated my strength, Marluxia,” Aerith said as she blocked the Graceful Assassin’s attacks each time.
#42 - Strange Marluxia had an odd scent to him that was barely perceptible beneath the smell of soil and petals, and his hands were always so cold whenever they lingered on Aerith’s skin-she couldn’t bring herself to identify the reason just yet.
#43 - Summer Everything seemed to last longer during those lazy, innocent days: the life of Aerith’s flowers, her laughter, and the shadow that followed wherever she went.
#44 - Taboo “Oh, how bittersweet,” Vexen drawled when he walked in on Marluxia assembling a bouquet for Aerith; “you’re still trying to win her heart even though you don’t have one of your own.”
#45 - Ugly The day she saw what Marluxia was really like, Aerith firmly ordered the man she thought was a friend to get out before she’d be forced to call for the others-and before she could lose her restraint and scream with horror and betrayal.
#46 - War “I’ll be back to get what I want, Aerith,” Marluxia snarled as he opened a portal back to The World That Never Was-“So be it,” she replied coldly, “I’ll fight to stop you when you do.”
#47 - Water “See, this is exactly what I was talking about,” Demyx rambled, pointing at Marluxia even though he and the water-user were the only Nobodies in the room; “if we don’t have any heart at all, then what’s pushing you to go after this girl?”
#48 - Welcome “I think you’ve worn out your welcome here, bud,” Cid warned Marluxia, and with him, Leon, and Yuffie backing Aerith up, taking her with him suddenly became a lot less viable-and all the more desirable.
#49 - Winter There’s a sudden chill on the wind one evening as Aerith walks home alone, and a man who reminds her very much of Marluxia for some reason offers her his hand out of nowhere: “come, it’s time you learned the truth about him.”
#50 - Wood It was part grace and part luck that allowed Aerith to dodge the swing of Marluxia’s scythe, and both of them could only stare in dumbfounded shock as the weapon lodged itself into the tree that had been right behind her-Aerith finally broke the spell by using the immobilized blade to slice through her bonds and free her arms for the next round.
Pairing: Marluxia x Aerith Gainsborough
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG
Notes: Pre-CoM, hints of Cloud x Aerith, obsessed stalker-ish themes, out-of-order timeline, and lots and lots of punctuation abuse.
On another note, holy mother of reindeer, I actually finished this. *faints*
#01 - Air The look in his eyes is cold and merciless enough to make Aerith forget how to breathe, but the scythe is swinging toward her now, and as muscle memory brings her staff up to defend, she realizes that this is no time to get caught up with such details.
#02 - Apples “Ooh, I just love these twisted fairy tales,” Larxene cooed as she steepled her fingers and thought the cast over; “the flower-tart’s the princess, of course, so I guess that makes you the wicked sorcerer ready to deliver the poisoned apple to the unsuspecting maiden.”
#03 - Beginning Aerith smiled brightly when the elegant stranger stopped and commended her for the care she treated her flowers with, and as they talked, something other than the plants began to grow.
#04 - Bugs “I dunno, something about that new friend of yours just… it just bugs me somehow,” Yuffie tried to explain with utmost tact for once-“I won’t try to tell you to stay away from him, but please Aerith, be careful.”
#05 - Coffee “I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t show,” Aerith cheerfully scolds him, and Marluxia can only stare, dumbfounded, at the amount of work she’s already gotten done-all by eight in the morning.
#06 - Dark Marluxia really had no business being here, since Traverse Town wass supposed to be a haven for those who already lost everything to darkness, but Aerith was just too tempting to leave be, and besides, what’s one more lost heart?
#07 - Despair No heart means no emotions-so would Nobody please explain to Marluxia why listening to Aerith describe another man with such a tender look in her eyes brought up such a sickening sensation from, if not his heart, then his gut?
#08 - Doors It’s a little odd, Aerith realizes, that Marluxia is always the one to come and knock on her door; she has never seen his house, let alone his own front door.
#09 - Drink Marluxia gagged and swept a murderous scowl around the room to no avail; the peppy ninja who had brought him his drink with such an innocent smile while he waited for Aerith was long gone.
#10 - Duty “You’re gonna get your heart back through completing Kingdom Hearts, not by hanging around some chick,” Axel reminded Marluxia after another visit; “so try to remember that the next time you get an off-world mission, capiche?”
#11 - Earth “You have a spot of dirt on your cheek,” Marluxia observed one day while they were gardening together, but Aerith simply laughed and got up to fetch even more potting soil before he could make his move and kiss it away.
#12 - End “And so the curtain falls,” Vexen murmured as Aerith watched Marluxia’s brutal nature reveal itself-it was worth going to the trouble of fetching her just to see Marluxia’s idle fantasy finally die.
#13 - Fall When Aerith falls, Marluxia will be right there to catch her; he’s the one who’s going to push her, after all.
#14 - Fire Aerith knew that laughing right now wasn’t nice, but the look on Marluxia’s face as he struggled to explain how the seeds he had promised to bring her somehow ended up roasted and lightly salted between when he carefully wrapped them in paper and when she opened the packet was too much to resist.
#15 - Flexible So what if he doesn’t have a heart to give and she’s still waiting for the man with hers to come home-there are ways to make it work somehow.
#16 - Flying Aerith laughed softly and asked if Marluxia had been a scarecrow in a former life as she watched the birds he chased out of the fields fly away-the almost murderous glare she got in response was enough to make her quietly excuse herself and head home early.
#17 - Food When Aerith suggested a picnic in a vibrant meadow, Marluxia saw the perfect chance to carry off his Persephone once and for all-the plan was quickly dashed when she went on to explain how Yuffie was bringing homemade lemonade and brownies while Cid and Leon would try to get away with store-bought potato salad and chips.
#18 - Foot “Now Aerith, your judgment is usually dead-on in these cases, but this stranger you’ve been hanging around with lately, well,” Cid groused around the toothpick between his lips before he took it out and pointed it at Aerith, “if he tries to pull anything, you just shout and I’ll be all too happy to begin by ramming my boot up his fruity little ass, got it?”
#19 - Grave There’s no use in acting anymore-the blood on his weapon, the look on her face, and the fading wisp of black shadows beside her are all damning enough-so Marluxia smirks and makes a sweeping bow with his scythe as he speaks: “Aerith, why so grim; are you that surprised to finally see the real me?”
#20 - Green It will do more harm than good to his goal to destroy the obviously cherished photograph, and that’s the only reason Marluxia bites back the bile rising in his throat when he sees Aerith and some blond posed together in a frame on the end table.
#21 - Head Aerith laughed softly as she held a few flowers against Marluxia’s hair and told him that she had yet to see petals that matched his exact shade; he smiled and told her he was glad he could be unique in that regard.
#22 - Hollow Marluxia could understand now why Axel obsessed so much over bringing Roxas back; Aerith’s smile and warm gaze helped ease the numbness of being incomplete, and Marluxia would do anything to keep that feeling from disappearing.
#23 - Honor He asked if she would please honor him with a dance during the festival, and it was so gratifying to see her blush for a moment before accepting his hand.
#24 - Hope Marluxia had given up on hoping long ago-if he wanted something, like the Organization, his heart, or the caring flower girl, he’d simply have to work for it and take it himself.
#25 - Light A girl like Aerith is so full of warmth and light that anyone would naturally be attracted to her, so it’s no big surprise when Marluxia’s shadow also draws near.
#26 - Lost “I pray that those who are lost may someday find their way back home,” Aerith told Marluxia one day, but since his home fell under the Heartless, he’ll have to make her his new one.
#27 - Metal As the fight begins and their weapons clash against each other, Marluxia comments on what a fool he was to not know that Aerith’s floral delicacy could be capable of such ferocity; she’s thinking the exact same of him.
#28 - New “I know how hard it can be to adjust when you’re new here,” Aerith explained when she offered to show Marluxia around Traverse Town.
#29 - Old The girl from Marluxia’s old life is standing with her back to him in his dreams again, but when he takes her hand and turns her around, pale curls turn into a brown braid, and it’s Aerith who smiles sweetly and offers him a flower (it’s getting harder and harder to remember the differences between their faces these days.)
#30 - Peace It’s strange just how relaxed Marluxia feels around Aerith whenever he visits her-even stranger is the urge to destroy that calm at the first opportune moment.
#31 - Poison If Marluxia stays close to her for too long, he’ll end up rotting Aerith’s pure soul-but so long as she’s with him, he doesn’t care.
#32 - Pretty “Well, isn’t this just the cutest couple ever,” Axel sneered, “the lovely, sincere flower girl and the manipulative, heartless sociopath-tell me, when’s the wedding?”
#33 - Rain The falling rain won’t wash away Marluxia’s sins, but because Aerith looks so serene while she watches it drip down the windows, he figures that there’s no harm in pretending it can for a short while.
#34 - Regret It only happens occasionally, but there are times when Marluxia wishes he still had his heart, so that the feelings he pretends to have for Aerith wouldn’t be so grossly twisted.
#35 - Roses “Well, have you considered getting the lady some flowers?”-Demyx soon learned to never offer romantic advice to any Organization member ever again.
#36 - Secret Someday, once the Organization is his and his heart is restored, Marluxia will come back to Traverse Town and stay by Aerith’s side for life-she just doesn’t know it yet.
#37 - Snakes Aerith shouted in alarm as Marluxia’s vines twisted and coiled around her arms to keep her from striking back-“just hold still, and maybe this next part won’t hurt quite so much,” he advised her.
#38 - Snow “She was bound to lash out against you anyway, once she figured it out on her own,” Vexen calmly explained as he derailed Marluxia’s lunge toward him with a patch of frost on the floor; “I was merely the catalyst.”
#39 - Solid “You’ve got to be pretty thickheaded if you think that anything good will come of this relationship,” Axel scolded-“Good or bad, all that matters is that something comes of it,” Marluxia explained, ignoring his subordinate’s nerve, “something that will make the effort of regaining my heart worth it.”
#40 - Spring “I think you’ve got a crush on someone,” Yuffie teased when the extra spring in Aerith’s step became obvious.
#41 - Stable “I’m sorry, but if you believe I can be pulled down into the darkness so easily, then you’ve greatly underestimated my strength, Marluxia,” Aerith said as she blocked the Graceful Assassin’s attacks each time.
#42 - Strange Marluxia had an odd scent to him that was barely perceptible beneath the smell of soil and petals, and his hands were always so cold whenever they lingered on Aerith’s skin-she couldn’t bring herself to identify the reason just yet.
#43 - Summer Everything seemed to last longer during those lazy, innocent days: the life of Aerith’s flowers, her laughter, and the shadow that followed wherever she went.
#44 - Taboo “Oh, how bittersweet,” Vexen drawled when he walked in on Marluxia assembling a bouquet for Aerith; “you’re still trying to win her heart even though you don’t have one of your own.”
#45 - Ugly The day she saw what Marluxia was really like, Aerith firmly ordered the man she thought was a friend to get out before she’d be forced to call for the others-and before she could lose her restraint and scream with horror and betrayal.
#46 - War “I’ll be back to get what I want, Aerith,” Marluxia snarled as he opened a portal back to The World That Never Was-“So be it,” she replied coldly, “I’ll fight to stop you when you do.”
#47 - Water “See, this is exactly what I was talking about,” Demyx rambled, pointing at Marluxia even though he and the water-user were the only Nobodies in the room; “if we don’t have any heart at all, then what’s pushing you to go after this girl?”
#48 - Welcome “I think you’ve worn out your welcome here, bud,” Cid warned Marluxia, and with him, Leon, and Yuffie backing Aerith up, taking her with him suddenly became a lot less viable-and all the more desirable.
#49 - Winter There’s a sudden chill on the wind one evening as Aerith walks home alone, and a man who reminds her very much of Marluxia for some reason offers her his hand out of nowhere: “come, it’s time you learned the truth about him.”
#50 - Wood It was part grace and part luck that allowed Aerith to dodge the swing of Marluxia’s scythe, and both of them could only stare in dumbfounded shock as the weapon lodged itself into the tree that had been right behind her-Aerith finally broke the spell by using the immobilized blade to slice through her bonds and free her arms for the next round.