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Daddy Cross
Kaien Cross hummed busily as he moved about his kitchen, trying to do what appeared to be "cooking", stoping every now and then to listen for the door then sigh when he heard nothing. The cause of Kaien's worry was Zero, Zero had left a hours before and still hadn't come back, of course this was nothing new for Zero, he did it quite often ever since Yuuki left. After Rido had been defeated and the Kurans had left, Zero had stayed with Kaien to help rebuild the academy, but as previously mentioned, he had taken to going out lately and not returning until late at night. Kaien had no idea where he went and when he returned, Zero would always insist on being left alone afterwards, it bothered the headmaster but Zero just ignored Kaien's many questions, and basically told him to buzz off. Kaien pouted, it was so cruel of Zero, he only asked because he cared, he sighed again, then shook his head to clear away the negative thoughts, oh well, he would make extra food incase Zero came home early! Kaien grinned cheerfully, he would put lots of love into it so it would be delicious and Zero would be sure to love it this time.
Kaien waited up for a few hours, then decided to change into his pajamas. He sat on the couch tiredly, Kaien mournful looked at the wall, only goodness knew where his poor Zero was at right now, was he safe? Was he well? What if he needed his daddy? Should he look for him? Or should he throw in the towel and go to bed? After all, Zero always came back eventually, and even if he did come back while he was still up, Zero would just yell at him, Kaien cringed, that would not be pleasant, he sighed and looked up at the ceiling contemplatively, on the other hand, it was his job as a good father to stay up and wait for his son, to support him essentially. Kaien hummed and smiled, well that settled it then, he was nothing if not a good father, he stood up and brushed himself off, in the mean time, he should make some tea!
It had been another hour, and Kaien had again been considering going to bed, when a loud thump against the door surprised him. He blinked and hurried toward the door, was it Zero? He hadn't heard Zero make noise coming in before, but then again, he thought sheepishly, he had probably been asleep when Zero came home late before. Kaien opened the door, but he hadn't anticipated Zero falling into him, so he toppled over onto the floor, Kaien lay stunned silence with Zero draped on top of him for a moment, then panic kicked in. "Zero! My precious son, are you alright?!", Kaien struggled to his feet, holding Zero up, "Were you attacked by bad guys?! Should I get the band aids!?", Zero shakily stood on his own feet, and took a unsteady step back then sniffled and rubbed his eyes. Kaien couldn't believe his ears, Zero had just sniffled, what on earth made Zero so upset?! "Zero, what's wrong?! Did my dear son actually get attacked by bad guys?!", while fussing, Kaien finally took in Zero's appearance, though he didn't appear to be physically harmed, his cheeks were flushed and he seemed a bit off balance.
Kaien stared, wheels turning in his head, it was almost like...Zero wasn't...was he? He took a step closer and smelt Zero's breath, then pulled back and put his hands on his hips and frowned at Zero disapprovingly. "Zero, have you been drinking? You are to young! You'll develop bad habits like Yagari's-", Kaien shook his finger at Zero while scolding him, "Say no to drugs! Don't do alcohol! What if-", "Are you mad at me?" Zero interrupted, bottom lip quivering, Kaien looked at him, wide eyed for a moment, then hurriedly flung his arms around Zero, "Oh my poor Zero! No! I'm not mad, I love you! What's wrong with me?! Are you okay?", Zero sniffled and leaned into Kaien's hug, the act caught him off guard but made Kaien beam with pleasure, he patted Zero's head, "I'll get you some water".
The headmaster helped Zero into the living room and sat him down on the couch, then, after reassuring Zero that he wasn't leaving him, went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. Kaien slowly filled a cup with water from his sink, it was clear that Zero was drunk, but why? Why would Zero be drinking? Was that what Zero had been doing every time he went out? Kaien's heart ached, he hoped it wasn't because of Yuuki, Kaien gave a startled gasp at the feeling of the glass overflowing, he turned the water off and headed towards the living room, but when he got there he was greeted with the surreal and worrisome sight of Zero crying into a pillow. Kaien rushed to his side, sloshing the glass onto the table, "Zero what's wrong?!", Zero choked back a sob and looked up at him, "I-I tried to stand up but I fell and h-hurt the table", Kaien furrowed his brow, confused, hurt the table? Did Zero mean...he tried to stand but fell on the table? But in his drunk state he thought he hurt the table and was worried? Ah~ his son was so cute! Kaien patted Zero's knee and grinned cheerfully, "I'm sure the table is fine, goodness knows I've bumped into often enough, but are you?", that seemed to calm Zero down and he nodded somberly, and started wiping away his tears, Kaien patted Zero's head affectionately, it looked like Zero was an emotional drunk.
Kaien sat down beside Zero and picked up the momentarily forgotten glass of water and offered it to Zero, "Here, this will make you feel better", still sniffling, Zero took the glass, and with Kaien's aid, downed it. Kaien helped Zero to his feet, "I think you should probably go to bed now, Zero", he suggested brightly, "You're going to have a heck of a headache to fight tomorrow", Zero looked at him groggily, "What?", Kaien waved a dismissive hand, "Nothing~ now let's get you to bed". Kaien helped Zero take his jacket and shoes off and helped him into bed, after tucking Zero in and saying a few encouraging words, Kaien finally headed to his own room to get some sleep, he sighed contentedly, tucking Zero in for the first time felt fantastic! Zero had never let him do it before, of course Zero had been drunk but that was beside the point, he still didn't know why Zero had gone out and gotten drunk, but he could interrogate Zero in the morning.
Zero woke up feeling like he'd been run over by train, he sat up, groaning and holding his head but was immediately hit with a wave of nausea, he gagged and scrambled for the bathroom then proceeded to vomit for what felt like forever, when he was finally done, he staggered back to the bedroom, laid down, and fell back asleep. Zero blearily opened his eyes, blinking at the rays of sun filtering through his window, he moaned and rubbed one eye, fuck, he felt like shit, though, thankfully not as bad as he felt earlier, he winced at the memory, then sighed and buried himself deeper into the blankets, at least Cross had helped him into bed last night, he probably would have ended up sleeping on the floor if he hadn't, suddenly Zero's eyes shot open, Fuck! Cross had helped him last night! Which meant he-Damn it!-saw him, fucking, drunk. Zero jumped out of the bed, memories of last night flooding back, then he slowly collapsed back and held his head between his hands, damn! Damn! Damn! He had made such a fool of himself! Crying his eyes out over a table?! What was wrong with him?! He had acted so clingy too! Why the heck had Cross even been awake?
Kaien hummed as he attempted to fry eggs, though they were starting looking a little crispy and pink, he wondered why, maybe he shouldn't have added those spices with whatever sauce he had found in the fridge? Was he not supposed to put spices on fried eggs? But he was sure he saw Zero use spices on them before..., or did he use seasoning? What was the difference? Oh well, pink was a pretty color anyway! The sound of feet shuffling behind him made Kaien turn, he smiled widely at Zero, "Zero! You're just in time to sample my eggs! They're so full of flavor they're turning pink", Zero glanced at the eggs and mumbled something that sounded like he wasn't sure if it was flavor or toxins, he shook himself and looked away from Kaien, "Um, last night, I was drunk and uh sorry for causing...trouble", Kaien stared at him, Zero shifted uncomfortably and held back a blush of embarrassment, Kaien's eyes filled with tears and he flew at Zero and gave him a huge hug, "Oh my Zero! You're so sweet! You weren't trouble at all! You were cute and sensitive and precious- I wish I'd taken a picture!-", Zero pushed Kaien off, face completely red, "I just wanted to say thank you!".
Kaien looked up at Zero from the floor and smiled softly, "You're welcome, Zero", he patted Zero's knee, "Don't ever hesitate if you want me to help you, alright? We're family", Zero nodded stiffly then practically ran from the room, Kaien picked himself up off the floor then sniffed the air, he looked at his eggs and sighed, darn it, he had burned them, well, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again! And much to Kaien's delight, that night Zero stayed home.
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