Indirect kiss
It was a sweltering hot day, despite the synthetic internal cooling fans working overtime to cool their heating circuitry it did little to alleviate the unwelcoming heat, even made worse by the fact that they are currently stranded in area 51 of which he was purely to blame, how was he to know that the hover bike he nonchalantly grabbed and consequently rode on was missing a crucial part? They shouldn't have placed it in the repair hangar in the first place
...
Okay so the area where the hover bike settled a few hours ago probably was a giveaway on it's current functionality but nevertheless, it could have been repaired by then, given Douglas' near OCD persona when fixing devices, so really, it's not HIS fault entirely.
A drop of sweat rolled down the back of his neck and as Zero wiped at it with one red armed gauntlet, it was all he could do from verbally swearing out loud , "Nothing here could make this shit even remotely bearable" at the very least he did mentally swear out the sentiment
"C-commander..." A tiny sound, almost a squeek came from beside's Zero's hearing range
Here Zero looked to his left to which a brunette navigator stood, leaning over him with that innocently inquiring look, and for a moment Zero forgot what he was so angry about
"Yeah Iris?" Zero asked, the heat and all around discomfort on his face momentarily replaced by his undivided attention to his unfortunate passenger, not my fault, Zero reminded himself
"U-umm, well, the thing i-is..." the girl fidgets, placing her foot one on top of the other ever so slightly and obviously hiding something behind her back with an all too familiar blush gracing her face, Zero never understood why the young girl always acts this way around him, not that it was unneeded per se, rather, even with her apparent awkwardness around him Zero still finds her to be one of the easiest person to talk to next to X hence why he invited her to tag along with him in the first place saying that there's a flower field along the way to which she might enjoy sightseeing. Of course the whole plan exploded, literally, midway into said flower field amidst the raining of hover bike parts every which way after which they are then inconveniently stranded to where they are now,
Again, not my fault
something metal and cold touched Zero's sweating cheek which abruptly pulled Zero from whatever denials he might have mentally conjured
Looking straight into the black E engraved blue container, it took the red hunter a full minute before he realized the e tank held out to him by Iris who's face was currently hidden by her bangs
"I-i thought y-you might n-need th-th..." Iris stuttered, the E can quivering slightly from her outstretched hand
"Where'd you get that?" Zero asked, hardly entertaining the thought that a transporter much less a refrigerator is anywhere near this goddamn desert
"I-it was in the side compartment of the h-hover bike." Iris replied, hands almost giving away from being outstretched for minutes now
And here Zero had to smirk inwardly, guess good luck doesn't stray too far away from bad luck after all, still, 2 reploids and 1 E can hardly seems fair at all
"Tell you what, you drink half of it first and I'll get the rest, X should be here any minute now anyways, no sense in not drinking it now while we can, it's practically hell out here."
Zero didn't know whether it was something he said or did but, Iris jerked and almost dropped the can on the sandy floor had zero not reacted with lightning fast reflex to catch it just in time to spare it from being covered in sand granules
"Oh OH NO COMMANDER NONO, yo-you drink the whole thing I inisist i-i-well -ii-!"
If the young girl was flustered before now she was just downright mortified, you'd think the red hunter forced her to do something vile
Zero had to tip his head in confusion as to why his navigator reacted the way she did just now and continued to stare at her as she swivelled her head in defiance , Zero finally realizes that Iris must have stubbornly want him to drink first, it is common knowledge around hq that the girl is known to be too giving at times which is what gravitated the red hunter to her in the first place.
Here Zero tried to soften his features more, just in case, and smiled warmly at her "C'mon, I insist, Commanders orders" he added jokingly with a laugh
Iris face went redder if it was at all possible, poor girl must be parched hence thinking this was the right approach, Zero then handed the E can to Iris to which the young girl took with small lithe hands , who timidly opened the can and drank slowly, her face all the while covered by her bangs, after a good long while of which Zero continually making updates with X using his helmet communicator, Iris handed back the can to Zero
"Good work navi." Zero teased again to which the young girl shyly nodded before drinking the half emptied cup in one go, zero hardly threw the can on the ground before X arrived minutes after riding a hover van
After a little spat on what exactly happened to the now just confirmed owner of the hover bike (X's), Zero went to sit beside X on the front while Iris sat withe the forgone hover bike at the back of the van, there simply was no more room in the front seats, not to mention that Iris insisted to sit in the back all the while hiding her face as much as she can, after the back door slammed albeit a little loudly, they finally went to the general direction of hq
"What'd you do to her?" X asked, and of course he had the good grace to look stern like a mother chastising her child
"I didn't do anything." Zero answered
"Are you sure?" X continued, still looking straight ahead on the road but still sounding stern all the same
"Of course..." Zero answered again, sounding a little annoyed now
After a couple of silence of which Zero expected more barrage of questions X opt to remain silent instead.
Then after 15 minutes of Zero drowsily gazing at the setting sun
"Well...I just asked her to drink from the cup first before i finished the whole thing, don't see what the deal is though..."
If possible, the van ride became even quieter, Zero was getting more confused at this point if X himself was acting strange
"You ...actually told her to... "
And of all things for X to do, the bastard just laughed, like he just got in on the inside joke of the year
"I don't know what your hung up about!" Zero almost shouted, definitely annoyed this time. "If it were the both of us I-I-i..." Zero blanched, and had to shut up at this point before his thoughts become quite dangerous, with X barely containing his laughter
It was then zero understood Iris' behavior, and he thanked whatever deity there is for the glowing red sunset which conveniently hid his blushing face this time.
And here Zero's core tightened and whirled a little faster, awakening the monster inside.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: PTSD ZERO'S BACK BABIES BD *coughs* Though he's frighteningly cheery here coz he's with Iris because c'mon, it's Iris were talking about, she's effing cute dammit, anyways, made this amidst some training time of mine, hope you enjoy it, critiques are welcome, R&R and have a great day c:!