The figure behind him was undoubtedly feminine. The body shape was too curvaceous to be a man. The arm slunk across his chest was too small to be male also, not robust enough to hold the muscles that men normally had. Her height overall gave away that she was feminine, unless it was Salvador pulling a trick. But Zer0 knew it wasn't, the clues clearly deducted that whoever was holding him was a female. But who?

The one day he decided to actually fall asleep in the compound of the Crimson Raider HQ, someone had climbed into his bunk with him, whether it be accidental or purposeful, and had fallen asleep holding him.

Initially, he was tensed and set off at the slightest move of the arm around his chest, waiting for a digistructed knife to be pulled out. But whoever it was who held him just held them close to them, fitting her body into his slightly curled form. A small snore escaped her every once in a while; no doubt she had fallen into a deep sleep. Any chance of movement from him would entice the arm around him to hold him tighter to the point where he thought his ribs would crack from the strength. He couldn't turn around or look down as the arm would simply tighten around him to hold him on place. He was frustrated as he was used to being able to move around, not confined to one place for too long without concentration. But the snoring, the warm feeling of another body pressed against his back, and his heightened senses made it impossible to concentrate and fall asleep in hopes that whoever held him would be gone when he woke up.

Zer0 couldn't even wake her up either. Any attempt to shake her awake simply led to his ribs becoming more potent to cracking. Any attempts to reach behind him to push her off made her move closer, clearly not wanting to leave him. Any attempts to move out of her arms led to, as previously stated, his ribs becoming more potent to crack and a less of a chance to escape. His ECHO recorder was across the room on the couch so he had no chance of grabbing it to call up one of the Vault Hunters who were out. He was only allowed to simply lay there and become this woman's "cuddle toy".

Speaking of "this woman". Who was she?

Maya?

Couldn't be, she's out/ Currently raiding a camp/ Krieg is with her, too.

That deducted Maya from the equation. Zer0 doubted she even had to strength to hold such a strong grip on him, but he didn't doubt her siren powers giving her a helpful hand in it. Besides, if Zer0 knew the Psycho, Krieg simply would not leave her alone for more than 10 minutes without him being at her side. There was something special that glinted in the large, robust insane man's eyes whenever he spotted the young Siren. Love, perhaps? Most likely.

Then, could it be Lilith?

Her? A thing for me?/ No, she has a thing for Brick/ She speaks nice of him.

Both Sirens were deducted then. It was true that Lilith could be the person holding him, but she didn't exactly 'like' him that way. The two of them were close, yes, but not to the point where emotions would play a part in it. Lilith even confided in him that she enjoyed Brick's company, and liked him. Maybe even loved him. So it could not be Lilith.

Gaige, perhaps?

She's out with Deathtrap/ I doubt she has enough strength, too/ She couldn't hold me.

The young adult- only 18 - was currently a bright young woman. However, she showed no direct interest in him before, so that left her out of the equation. Unless she was holding him with her robot arm, which the arm that currently held him pulsed with warmth, there was no way she would be able to hold him this tightly.

Then, maybe, Tannis?

No.

The... vibrant woman was certainly knowledgeable in many categories. However, Zer0 knew that she wasn't good with physical interaction and wouldn't dare do this without hesitations in a large degree. Yes, she had asked about his anatomy and which species he was and such, but he knew that she never wanted this sort of relationship with him. Not that he minded of course.

Who could be left then? Moxxi was out at Ellie's in an attempt to mend the break in their relationship. Almost no Sanctuary citizens approached him, unless they were asking him questions in a drunken stupor. Then who could it-

The arm loosened and slid itself down to his stomach before resting its hand over his stomach plates. He could move slightly now, and he took his chance. He turned him head around to try take a look at the woman who had held him against her for the past few hours. Only when he was barely up was the arm suddenly back around his chest and holding him against his will once again.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit/ Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit/ Shit, shit, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!

So close, but so far away of course. His curiosity was truly getting the best of him now as his thoughts wondered once again to whom was holding him. He began to think of the way she was holding him.

The arm was strewn across his chest was no doubt in a protective, possessive manner. It was muscular as well, scars lain across the surface of the tanned skin from what his peripheral vision allowed him to see. The fingers splayed across his chest to allow her to push him against her easier. He couldn't see past her wrist as the darkness of the room didn't allow it. She had molded her body against his, forming it into his rested form. Her face was pressed in between his shoulder blades, forehead resting across the nape of his neck. Knees were barely touching the back of his thighs.

She's short.

He was abnormally tall, but she was much shorter than him. A foot? Maybe even more.

Well it is something/ To go on with this name game/ But it barely helps.

As he continued to draw this woman in his mind, he continued down to her legs. Her bottom leg was laying flat against the bed whereas the other was resting across his own in a possessive manner. Her body language told him that she did not want him to move, it was a simply explanation. There were multiple theories as to why:

She didn't want him to move, possible her instincts told her that she had to hold onto him so that he wouldn't be in danger. Almost in a motherly, or sibling-like, manner. Her arms and legs would definitely suggest this as they were locking him in place, making it close to impossible for movement to come from him.

She was worried and kept him close so that she could keep an eye on him. Again, her limbs would suggest this and also her head placement. Placed across his upper back and lower neck, she had access to arms so that he could not simply push her away. An undeniably theory, but with holes in it.

Or she could've just simply gotten into the wrong bunk and passed out before realizing her mistake. Accidentally holding onto him like a plush doll.

Hmm...

The arm moved again. Stretching her whole arm across his chest to get a better grip in holding him. More scars, more tanned skin. Same old, same- What is this?

A black tattoo shaped like an... owl? Which woman in Sanctuary, or all of Pandora, had a tattoo shaped like a strange, deformed owl?

Zer0's thoughts raced. The woman wasn't from Sanctuary, he would've recognized her. She couldn't be from the surrounding areas, it was too cold for the sun to properly tan her skin to this amount. She was a traveler, but she was here for a reason. Perhaps captured by the Raide-

It popped into his head quickly. If he could see his mask, there would probably be a red '!' on it.

This woman was none other than Athena, the Gladiatrix the Raiders had hunted down and captured. He had seen her a few times around Sanctuary since the halt in her execution by the mysterious Eridian. She was a mature, serious young woman. Undoubtedly, a haunted past that she refused to talk about. A worthy opponent for any enemy. A beautiful maiden who refused to acknowledge her own beaut- What is he thinking?

He shook his head and continued to think about why she was holding him.

Could it be she possibly just slipped into his bunk on accident? It was quite possibly, he rarely saw her sleep in the few weeks she had been here. The few times he did, it was quick 15-30 minute rest and she was back on her feet quick as a flash.

But why the possessive arm and leg placement? He couldn't place that, unless it had something to do with her past. But he knew she wouldn't dare talk about that to anyone- no less him.

He could possibly try to wake her up now, maybe hearing her name would rouse her from her slumber.

"Athena."

No response other than a slight snore.

"Athena?"

A slight mumbling from his neck and a tighter, but undeniably gentler, hold on his chest.

"Athena..."

A nuzzle against the leather plates on the back of his neck and with that she seemed to be in a deeper slumber than before.

He let out a frustrated groan and settled back against the mattress, finally allowing himself to be willingly held by this woman. Ironic how he, the assassin, was being forced to stay still against his will by her, an ex-assassin. He almost chuckled at this thought, before his eyes began to stray around the room.

His ECHO recorder was still placed in the exact spot as it was before: on the couch. However, as he looked closely he could see another ECHO recorder, alongside a small pile of rusty red colored, weathered armor plating. There was a shoulder guard, a piece of flexible metal to wrap around someone's thigh, combat boots, a black glove, a dark gray glove with a large,red contraption connected to the wrist, and a flexible leather chest-guard. If only he had been paying more attention to his surroundings he would've caught on quicker to whom his holder was.

Speaking of surroundings...

He looked outside and saw it was close to evening time, perhaps it was about 41 hours into Pandora's day cycle before the 46 hours of night would come. It was strange how Pandora had a 92 hour day/night cycle and Zer0 still couldn't get used to the long days and nights. A good time to go to sleep no less.

He heard more mumbling behind him, before Athena nuzzled her face once again into the back of his neck.

He sighed and accepted his fate.

Zer0 hoped she would wake soon.

There was explaining to do on her part.

Author's Note: Should I make a Chapter 2? This is based off a headcanon that I created on my blog (you can go see that and others if you want) and I thought it would make a nice story. Thanks for reading.

Update 11/19: Fixed grammar mistakes and added a few extra words in.