Okay, here's a jab at a Zer0/Gaige fan fiction... I'm nervous to even think about these two in fear I might capture them wrong.
~x~x~x~x~x~
Zer0's POV
Everything about her drove me crazy. I'd get a fluttering feeling in my chest as she smiled at me, her eyes twinkling as she gazed at the stars while she got lost in her own imagination, how her walk was sassy and bubbly at the same time. I've tried so hard to tell her how I feel, it's just that I can't get the words out. I've considered giving up, but I kept reminding myself that it wouldn't be a challenge if I didn't push to get her.
"Zer0, what the hell kind of trick shot was that?!" Mordecai yelled. I snapped out of my mind and stared at where my bullet had landed. It knocked off a Goliath's helmet and was now running ramped through the camp. I grimaced and raised my rifle again to take out the now psychotic brute. "What's wrong?" Mordecai asked, setting his bottle of Rakk Ale on the metal platform of his Crow's Nest.
"Nothing, Mordecai/
Just a little distracted/
By my own problems." I said, watching Mordecai sneering.
"You can knock that haiku bullshit off. I know you're not a cold blooded assassin wrapped in mystery." Mordecai said, causing me to cringe a little. I sighed and removed my helmet.
"I have these, feelings, for another Vault Hunter." I said, twiddling my thumbs over one another.
"Oh you should've said it before!" Mordecai said with a laugh. "I'm totally okay that you're in love with me!" He laughed, doubling over in hysterics.
"No, you are not the interest in question." I said as I rolled my eyes.
"Okay, then who is it?" Mordecai asked after he was done with his fit. I muttered Gaige's name and Mordecai quirked an eyebrow. "Sorry buddy, ya gonna have to speak up."
"Gaige. I think I'm in love with Gaige." I said loudly before lowering my head in embarrassment, hiding behind my ebony black hair.
"Aw! Zer0 and Gaige, sitting in a tree-" Mordecai sang before I punched his shoulder. "Ow, okay I'll stop... dick." Mordecai muttered.
"I'm serious! I don't know what to do! I want to tell her that I love her, but I can't! I'm a coward..." I muttered, throwing myself down on my back on the metal platform. "I don't even know if she likes me the same way. She fawns over everyone, so can't be so sure." I said before sitting up. "I sound ridiculous right now."
"Nah, you're no coward. Just go and tell her that you like her and if she tells you to get lost, throw her out the window or something." Mordecai said around the lip of his bottle. "I do that when she's bugging me too much." He said with a chuckle before throwing back the rest of the bitter liquid.
"You throw her out a window if she's being too much?" I asked, feeling shocked at the sudden revelation.
"Kind of... I just pick her up over my shoulder and let her dangle over the balcony. She laughs about it... eventually." He said as he threw his now empty bottle down towards Tina's cave, where she walked out a moment later and swore at Mordecai for throwing his garbage at her home, and ran back inside, yelling about how cold it was.
"You're odd." I noted. He nodded his head before grinning wildly.
"Well, I'm off to ruin your life." Mordecai said with a smile as he stood up to leave.
"Like hell you are!" I yelled, tackling him as he tried to leave. He gave out a yell and we both tumbled off the platform to the ground. Thank God Pandora doesn't have much gravity, or the fact that most physics don't apply, or else we would be screwed.
"That was fun... Let's go back up and do it again!" Mordecai said, pumping a fist in the air. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach and covered my head with my hands.
"Someone please shoot me." I muttered.
"Why? Gaige would miss ya!" Mordecai said as he nudged my shoulder.
"You are an asshole for making me think you would do such a thing." I growled. Mordecai laughed and sat up, shaking the snow and dirt out of his dreads. He stood up and picked up my wrists, dragging me up to my feet. I scowled at him and he smirked.
"How about I help you overcome you're fear? Plus if she says she doesn't like you, I'll put her out on the balcony." Mordecai said with a helpful smile. I sighed in defeat and followed him to the Fast Travel Station.
~x~x~x~x~x~
We crept to the HQ for no apparent reason, (Mordecai told me to, and like the Lemming I am, I followed) and walked up the stairs to find everyone either sleeping or on the verge of nodding off. Mordecai huffed like a child and crossed his arms.
"What's going on?" He asked Lilith, who was resting her head on Axton's shoulder, while he was supporting his head on his hands.
"Tannis put something in the vents and now we're too tired to do anything." She yawned. "It cleared out hours ago, but there's nothing we can do." She said as she nuzzled her face into Axton's shoulder.
"That's boring..." Mordecai muttered. He turned and saw Gaige sleeping with something clutched tight to her chest. He turned and grinned at me, walking towards the sleeping Mechromancer. He pried whatever it was from her hands and tucked it away in his back pack. He nodded his head towards the balcony and I followed him once again.
"What do you have?" I asked as I lowered my helmet.
"The brat's diary. " He said as he brandished the book in question. It was black and worn with a white painted skull on the front, almost exact to the one on her shirt. There was gold embroidery that spelt out "Gaige's Diary" in shimmering thread.
"You shouldn't have touch that!" I whispered fiercely. He giggled like a child and proceeded to open it.
"Hey lover boy, it might help solve your dilemma." He said as he opened to the first page and started to thumb through it from there. It went on for a minute before he stopped and peered at the page.
"Dear Diary, It's been a month since I've been away from home. First off, I got blown up on a train GETTING HERE! by some jack-hole named Handsome Jack. God he's such an ass hat! Anyways, I've met other really awesome Vault Hunters! There's Axton, Maya, Salvador, Krieg, and Zer0..."
"Aw... she put little hearts around your name!" Mordecai said, watching me blush and glare at the same time. "There's a whole list of descriptions about the others, but I'll just read yours." Mordecai said with a smirk as he continued on.
"Then there's Zer0. He's so freaking mysterious! He wears a whole black body suit with a helmet that no one can see through! (Unless you get really close up... don't judge me!) He speaks in haiku's and from what I could tell, he seems like a really cool person. If only he wasn't such a butt about keeping his past a secret. Seriously, everyone's spilled their pasts, why can't he? Love, Gaige."
"I like her first impression of you."
"Oh shut up!" I whined. I brought my knees up and laid my head down, wrapping my arms around my head in the process. I heard Mordecai turn the pages until he stopped again, clearing his throat with satisfaction.
"Dear Diary, I'VE GOTTEN TO SEE WHAT ZER0 LOOKS LIKE UNDER HIS HELMET! I can't believe how freaking hot he looks! I told Maya and she asked me why because all she could see were scars, but I honestly couldn't understand what she was talking about because I was busy staring at Zer0! God, I just want to lick him!"
Mordecai stopped and looked me, trying to hide miserably behind the book before busting out laughing.
"She wants to lick you?! What the hell does that mean?!" Mordecai cackled. I groaned and looked at him, trying to make him stop.
"Keep reading..." I muttered.
"I wish he'd notice that I like him. For crying out loud, I've even made it bluntly obvious to the point where it was embarrassing! Love, Gaige."
"You bitch!" Mordecai said, hitting my arm. "You seriously didn't know?!" He laughed. He continued to flip through pages, grumbling that most of it was repetitive until he stopped and just sat there, mouth open, and looking as if he found the key to life.
"Dear Diary, I nearly died today as we were heading to Thousand Cuts by tripping into a bottomless cavern. How I survived? Zer0 saved me. After he pulled me out of the cavern, he held me close while I cried on his shoulder. I don't know how different it is to almost die in a hole than to die from some crazed thing with a weapon. Anyways, Zer0 followed me around that day, saying he was only making sure I was okay. It was really sweet actually and when I went to go to bed, he HUGGED ME! I'm still blushing! Love, Gaige."
Mordecai finished and looked at me, shock clearly seen on his face.
"Okay, you have to be inbred or completely blind to not know that she likes you." Mordecai said as he shook his head.
"Look, I've never really had a real relationship like this!" I hissed, looking over to see nearly everyone passed out. "Besides, that was months ago. I'm sure she's moved on from there." I said.
"I call bullshit!" Mordecai laughed. He flipped the pages until he gave a disappointment look. "This is the latest entry... He said sadly.
"Dear Diary, I think I'm in love! I can't explain it, but I can tell who I'm in love with! It's Zer0 and not because he's a tall, mysterious guy, but because he's TOTALLY different from what I expected. He's actually really sweet and not like all the other jackholes here. I was crying one night on the rooftops and Zer0 found me and asked what was wrong. He wrapped his arms around me while I cried and told him it's been a whole year since I've seen my dad. He said that there might be a way that I could talk to my dad again... I hope he's right. Love, Gaige.
Mordecai looked up and gave a genuine smile.
"Ya know, you're actually a pretty cool guy." Mordecai said as he stood up. I followed and watched as he put Gaige's diary back in her arms.
"What do we do now?" I asked, looking at the sleeping Mechromancer.
"When everyone's back to normal, leave huge hints that you like her." Mordecai said, as if it were that easy.
"Like what?" I demanded. Mordecai smirked and motioned for me to follow.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"You got some fucking nerves to call up a favor like this..." A voice said from a large computer monitor that had a veil of static draped heavily over the image of the girl Mordy was talking to. We were in the outskirts of Opportunity in one of the control centers that was still operational. I was listening to Mordecai and this girl argue for a moment until the girl snapped at him.
"Yeah, I know, but listen... I'm helping my buddy Zer0 and he really needs to get info on Gaige's dad on Eden 5. I'll make it up to you somehow." He said, rubbing his forehead.
"How? You still owe me from all those times before!" She said. Mordecai gave a nervous laugh before continuing.
"Please. He really likes this girl and if you do this for him, I'll find a way to make it up to you." Mordecai said, sincerity laced in his voice.
"I'll try my best... I'm still with Hyperion, ya know." She laughed. "Give me five seconds." She said. I was about to ask Mordecai about the girl when she called out.
"You got it?" Mordecai asked excitedly, as if he were a kid on Christmas.
"Yeah and you'll owe me. I'm not sure when, but you will. Who knows, I might get to see you face-to-face." She said before signing off. Paper started printing from one of the slits next to the monitor that was still covered in static.
"Who's she?" I asked as I walked behind Mordy, who was busy tinkering with an ECHO device with the paper in his hand.
"Old friend... she went with me to take what's mine from this damned Universe since she was banished from a planet or something. She decided to stay on a planet called Utopia. Didn't work out for her though... Got ran out because she blew up something major. Bit of a pyro in my opinion." Mordecai said as he threw the ECHO at me. "I put a note on there that says it's from you. Don't screw it up, got it?" Mordecai asked as he pointed a finger at me.
"I got it." I said, clutching the ECHO like my life depended on it. "Thanks Mordecai." I said, smiling at him. He smiled back and pushed me out the door.
"Why are you into Gaige?" He asked.
"Everything about her seems amazing to me. She's young yet she's survived and handled everything well. She's strong and so beautiful." I said, feeling a blush creep along my cheeks.
"Ugh, you disgust me." Mordecai said making a face before laughing. I gave a small laugh too, even though I didn't clearly hear what he said.
~x~x~x~x~x~
I placed the ECHO next to Gaige's head, placing a blade flower next to it, feeling as if there were bubbles bursting throughout my whole body. It's an odd feeling, really, but I enjoyed it all the same. I crept out of her apartment, closing the door gently when Maya appeared. I jumped at the sight of her and she scowled.
"What're you doing?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips.
"I made a promise/
Unintentionally though/
You should not worry." I said, coming up with a haiku on the spot. Maya stared at me, clearly not buying what I was saying.
"If you're being a creep, I swear I'll vaporize you." She said, pointing an accusing finger at me. Her Siren markings were glowing, adding more intimidation to her words.
"I will heed your words/
but I'll confess; I'm in love/
with the red-haired girl." I said, feeling a blush spread across my cheeks under my helmet. She gave a light smile before patting my shoulder.
"Just be careful." She said before walking off. I put a hand to my chest, feeling it thump wildly even through the layer of my armor.
~x~x~x~x~x~
Axton and I were playing poker the next morning, and so far I've gained $684 from Axton. He scowled at me as he laid his cards on the table, knowing I had a good hand.
"You're cheating somehow, I just know it!" He yelled as I collected the $42 he placed on the table at the beginning.
"You're just a sore loser." I said with a smile. "Want another round?" I asked.
"ZER0!" Gaige yelled out, running towards me with the ECHO in hand. "You are the sweetest guy ever!" She said before planting a kiss on my lips. I was stunned as no one has ever kiss me before. Her lips felt soft against mine and she was practically sitting on my lap. Her arms were wrapped around my shoulders and I wrapped my arms around her waist slowly, not knowing what to do. She pulled back with a loud smack and grinned wildly at me.
"I'm not the sweetest." I said in modesty, giving her a small grin.
"You're awesome!" She said as she planted more kisses on my lips.
"Get a room you two! Jesus!" Axton laughed. I don't know what came over me, but I raised my hand and flipped him off. Gaige giggled as she pulled away, her forehead pressed to mine.
"I owe you for this." She said.
"How 'bout sharing a pizza in an hour?" I asked, butterflies knocking against my stomach.
"Deal." She said as she kissed me again and walked off.
"I've never seen someone that happy before." Axton noted, shuffling the cards. "What did ya do for her?"
"Got her a chance to talk to her dad." I said, watching as Axton dealt the cards.
"I helped!" Mordecai called from behind me. I turned my head and saw bottles upon bottles piled up around him. I shook my head and stood up.
"I've got to go." I said, grabbing my helmet on the way out. "Have to meet up with Gaige and all." I said, feeling my cheeks heat up. God, I sounded like, well, a teenager.
"Good luck, man!" Mordecai called as I walked out of the building. I held my head up as I walked through Sanctuary, my heart beating faster than ever. So, this is what it's like to be in love? I like it.
~x~x~x~x~x~
FIN!
I can't describe how awful this is in my eyes... I've spent a lot of time on it and I still think it's crap. Oh well.
Constructive criticism is welcomed.