A rose.

Marluxia sought something as delicate as that. As pristine and beautiful as the most romantic of flowers.

To find that in a human being was difficult. Near impossible. Besides himself (in his own humble opinion), there was nobody else who came so close to being perfect. Others were flawed, ugly, even disgusting in his azure blue eyes.

However...there was an exception to everything.

He thought it would always just be him. Yet there was you.

You were...so unique. He wanted you above all others.

More importantly though...he didn't want you to be corrupted by others in this world. He didn't want to see another with you. Ever.

He only wanted you to be on his own arm.

Hollow Bastion was your home, rebuilt after the attacks that had ravaged it before. You naively thought that the peace would remain...that perhaps after the terror of Ansem and the like, it would be enjoyable living here these days.

There was no predicting what actually ended up happening.

Organization XIII invaded. Their black cloaked selves filtered in like a plague, enacting the plan that had been sitting on the back burner for weeks. Chaos was set into motion among the relatively small populace who still lived there, and you tried to flee with your friends.

You thought you could at least make it out alright. You were a nobody so it wasn't like any of those menacing folk would be targeting you in particular...

Right?

Little did you know that Marluxia himself was only really here for one reason, and it was you. The pink haired devil appeared at the end of one curving alleyway and cut you off on the cobbles, as you foolishly took a detour to try and catch up with the others.

Your body froze. In the first instant you had no idea what to do, what you possibly could do except back away with fright. He was several steps ahead of you anyway, so it was futile. As soon as you tried to retreat, your body ran right into his, a shower of scarlet and pink petals indicating his shift in location.

“G-get away from me!!”

Hands hovering defensively before your own body, you raised your head to look at the man who had chosen to pursue you in particular, baffled as to why he had in the first place.

He was admittedly handsome, and he seemed to know it too. His eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue, and his soft, frayed pink hair framed his face beautifully. Yes...he was picturesque.

However...he was undoubtedly malevolent. You dreaded what he might actually do to you.

The tension in your heart was strong.

“...Now why would I do that? You're the exact reason why I'm here...my love...” Marluxia trailed off with a smirk on his lips. You swallowed thickly, shakily, as he started to advance on you, backing you up towards the dead end of the alleyway. At least now you knew for sure that it was a bad idea running in this direction.

Eventually the wall met your back, an embrace you had not been looking forward to. The taller fellow walked towards you calmly, the breeze lightly ruffling his hair. He was just feeling so content to have finally cornered you. There was no doubting that this was precisely what he had been waiting and hoping for.

'My love'...hearing him say that to you was startling. Largely because, well, he didn't know you...

Did he?

His eyes scanned you from top to toe, teeth biting down on his bottom lip. He tugged on it and walked right up to where you were cowering, placing his gloved hands either side of your head and pinning you with his shadow.

“I've been watching you for quite some time...my love, no...my rose.”

He was comparing you to a flower now...you couldn't understand this man. Was he out here to kill you? The others were being cut down ruthlessly...but he was taking his time.

Things seemed to be confirmed when his gloved hand snaked up the side of your neck, cupping your cheek. His touch was delicate and yet at the same time he seemed ready to grip your throat at any moment. In a way he did. After admiring you so closely for a moment longer, that same hand of his came to a rest around your gullet, holding it, not quite squeezing, but certainly clutching.

“I can understand your confusion. I should be trying to kill you right now, no? You're an enemy of the Organization after all...but...while I did consider it...I think I would rather keep you.”

“Keep me!?” you stuttered out, gasping and shaking your head in pure alarm. “You...can't be serious...”

“Why?”

Suddenly his scythe materialized. It was as fittingly ornate and as magenta as you might have expected. He brought it around and pushed it up before the front of your neck, the sharp edge tickling your skin.

“Would you rather I killed you instead? Because if you're so desperate for it, that can be arranged.”

Your eyes started to well up with tears.

“N...no...”

“Of course you don't want that. You're a clever girl, I've known that right from the start. Aren't you?” Marluxia just chuckled haughtily and dematerialized his weapon, before suddenly grasping your arm. His hold told you that he wouldn't be letting you go.

“I don't intend to let you wither in the arms of another man.”

He tugged you to his side, and started walking back towards the others. Deep down you knew this was the last time you would ever see your home.

Despite how cruel it all was, he looked as delighted as he felt. His voice uttered softly, ominously by your ear, as he leaned down closely again.

“You're going to be mine.”