A/N: Aanndd... here I come with another childhood!Zeki fic! I just love them! 3 My second attempt at it, and my first one went over pretty well. I was very happy about that. Well, then, here's to hoping this one will be just as good. (I have an obsession with one-shots...) By the way, I imagine Yuuki calling Kaien 'Father' at the age she's at now, so just bear with it, kay? Thank you!
Zero sighed harshly through his nose, turning to glare at the creature clinging to his arm. Huge, wide brown eyes stared back at him, tears threatening to overflow. He shook his arm experimentally, but the cling-on creature held tight. "Yuuki..." He growled through gritted teeth.
"Y-yes?"
"Why are you clinging to me so tightly?"
Yuuki's eyes darted around the small room they were in, a small panicked noise escaping her lips. "B-because...it's scary in here!" Her eyes implored him to understand, though Zero only scoffed and looked away.
He could really do without all of this. Really, he could. Why had he allowed himself to be wrapped up in this in the first place? He glanced down to the brown frightened eyes, and frowned. "C'mon..." He grumbled, pulling Yuuki into the attic.
Another small noise of panic erupted from the brown-eyed cling-on.
"What did you want out of here again?" Warily, Zero eyed the small room. It was a small, enclosed room, with a very odorous smell to it. He crinkled his nose in distaste, quickly eyeing the cobwebs filling the room. His hand reached up to flick on the light, and scowled when he found no such switch.
"T-there's no light?"
Zero didn't say anything, squinting to see through the dark. He didn't want to frighten Yuuki anymore than she was, and he definitely wanted to get out of here as quick as he could. "What did you want out of here again?" Zero asked, annoyance clear in his tone.
"My favourite pillow..."
Zero's eyes rolled when Yuuki's grasp on his arm tightened, even though they'd only taken a couple of steps into the room.
"F-father said it'd be in a box near the door..."
Zero nodded, turning to his left, where the closest group of boxes were sitting. He walked towards them, Yuuki sticking to his side like glue. He reached out with one hand, and popped open the first box when Yuuki's high pitched squeal rang in his ears. "Yuuki, ca-"
"S-something moved there!" And then, before Zero could blink, Yuuki was on his other side, and tugging him towards the exit.
"Don't you want your pillow?"
Yuuki froze. He could feel her fingers shaking on his arm, and for reasons unknown to him, grabbed both her hands in his. He tugged her back towards the direction of the boxes, murmuring, "It was nothing. Don't worry about it. It won't hurt you." He heard her quiet agreement behind him, and finally reached the boxes. "Close your eyes if you want. I'm right here." And he was glad for the dark as he felt his cheeks heat up.
"Okay..." Yuuki's small voice agreed.
He finished rummaging through the first box without running into anything like a pillow. After the second and third box, and Yuuki's quiet whimpering, he was starting to get suspicious. He wasn't running into any pillows – or anything with a fabric material. It was all old toys, books and dishes. Definitely not what Yuuki was looking for.
"Yuuki..."
"Hmmm?" She replied, voice shaky.
"Go back downstairs. I'll keep looking for it. You don't need to be up here."
"But...do you know what pillow I'm talking about?"
He nodded, and realized that she probably couldn't see him nod, and said, "The one with the teddy bears and stars on it, right?"
"...Yeah, but I'm not leaving without Zero!"
He sighed, but gave in. He continued to search, Yuuki's shaking hands now clutching the upper part of his arm. He searched and searched, but no boxes he came across held any fabric material. "I don't think it's up here, Yuuki..."
"What?" Yuuki's sad voice tore into him. "But Father said..!"
"Let's go ask, then."
" ...'Kay."
And her grip tightened impossibly further, as they crossed the attic's floor once more. And finally, when they were out of the attic, Yuuki let out a huge sigh of relief. She turned to give Zero a huge, grateful smile, and darted away into the kitchen with a loud cry of, "Father...!"
Zero shook his head, and followed silently. He entered the kitchen to see Yuuki standing with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out in anger. Kaien Cross stood in one of his frilly aprons, a confused expression across his face.
"...wasn't in the attic?"
"No!" Yuuki countered, eyes narrowing, "And you made me and Zero go into that scary place!"
"Are you sure it wasn't in there?"
"...We checked." Zero cold voice cut in, "...All the boxes."
Kaien's eyes darted to Zero's before glancing off to another place entirely, then resting back on Yuuki's brown ones. Zero's eyes narrowed further, glancing off in the general direction the Chairman's eyes had gone seconds before.
"I was sure..." Kaien mumbled more to himself than anyone else, then continuing more loudly with a smile on his face, "Oh, well. I'm sure it will turn up somewhere." He shrugged, then turned back to the sink full of foamy dishes.
"But, Father!"
Kaien didn't answer, instead working on getting a tough food spot off of a plate.
Zero watched Yuuki frown, and turn angrily on her heels. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes down the hall. And, then suddenly, her face lit up and she laughed, darting into a room just off the hallway. There was a brief noise of irritation, and Yuuki re-appeared. "Look, Father!"
And Yuuki was holding the teddy bears and stars pillow. It was bigger than Zero remembered, it was more like a bean bag chair, and it could easily fit two people on it.
"You found it!" And even though Kaien was smiling, it didn't sound like he was too surprised about her finding it there. Zero's eyes narrowed and locked on the Chairman.
"Zero, Zero!" Yuuki's voice broke into his thoughts of revenge on the Chairman. "C'mon, c'mon!" And she grabbed his hand and tugged, dragging him out of the kitchen, his eyes on the Chairman the whole time. And the Chairman smiled, much to Zero's chagrin.
Zero was brought, again, out of his revenge plot when Yuuki's hands tugged him down. He flopped down into the bean bag chair beside Yuuki, a huge smile lighting up her face as he did so. Glancing around, he noticed that she had placed the bean bag chair in front of the fireplace, and he jumped when Yuuki's legs were pulled under her, and her head landed on his shoulder.
His back straightened immediately, his eyes darting down to the crown of her head. "Yuuki..." He warned, attempting to shift away. But Yuuki curled into him and a very sleepy, "Hmm?" Came in response. And within seconds, Yuuki was fast asleep on his shoulder.
Zero stared at her for quite a while in shock, then finally relaxed, gingerly placing a hand on her head. He smiled softly, patting her hair.
And then a very loud click and flash had him blinking spots from his vision. Almost immediately, a loud 'aww' erupted, and Zero twitched visibly.
"You guys look so cute!"
A venomous glare fixed itself on Kaien's face and the Chairman laughed, "Shh. We don't want to wake up Yuuki!" And then he danced away into the kitchen, his laughter mocking Zero as it fluttered away.