Okay, so, first submission to despite being reg'd on here for… I don't know how long. xD; ANYHOW! This contains le slash. M/M. And actually a tiny hint of F/F. And I currently do not know if I'm putting Palette and Axl together. Probably not, though. xD;; Anyhow, x2. Please, please be gentle with this. xD I accept critique.

Flames will be used to chase Axl.

Typical disclaimer applies—None of these characters, unless otherwise stated, belong to me.

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Part 1: The Loss

"I have to do WHAT?" the blonde exclaimed, staring at the four. "You have got to be kidding." With a huff, he folded his arms across his broad chest, frowning.

Area chuckled as Palette and Axl grinned.

"You lost the bet, Zero," Palette teased. "You have to! That was part of the deal." She smirked broadly, glancing back, for a split second, to Layer who merely flushed and looked uncomfortable. Area took the taller Navigator's hand in hers and smiled reassuringly.

"It's for a month," she explained to Zero. "Every morning, before the sun rises."

"If you're caught," Axl continued, "…well, we'll think of something by then!" He leaned on Palette, flashing Zero a thumbs up. "But you're a ninja. You should get out of it scott-free."

"…That's not what I'd call getting out of anything scott-free," Zero deadpanned. "And what the hell gave you lot the idea for THAT, anyway?"

Area, Palette, and Axl exchanged looks. Layer shuffled closer to the girl beside her. They shared a little laugh before facing Zero with smiles (except for Layer, who still fidgeted and avoided his gaze).

"…I don't get you guys," the red Hunter finally sighed. "Whatever. I'll do it."

"Remember the rules," Palette sang.

"Yeah, yeah…. And I hope you all get used to waking up –early-." And with that, Zero departed.

---

"Seriously, I don't get those guys…" Zero frowned at his reflection, pulling the white t-shirt over his head. He muttered some more before yanking on his jeans, ignoring the knocks at his door.

Wait, knocks?

Fastening the button on his jeans, the blonde scratched his head as he made his way to the door.

"Yeah, yeah; I'm coming…" Inputting the brief code, the door hissed unlocked and slid open. "X." Oh, great. This was going to be awkward, now, wasn't it? Zero did his best to maintain normalcy. "Hey, what's up?"

The brunette caught the slight off-ness to his friend's manner, but shrugged it off. It probably wasn't anything major.

"Nothing in particular," the smaller Hunter replied with a faint smile.

Zero froze.

"You aren't here to badger me in to doing paperwork, are you?" Zero hazarded. He was surprised when X laughed. Canting his head, Zero fixed X with a very confused look. "Buh?"

"No, if I were here to do that, I'd be dragging you by your hair to your desk and hovering until you got it done." X's little tongue stuck out of his mouth before he laughed again. Zero's expression was priceless. It had gone from being utterly confused to being horrified. "We haven't had any paperwork to do for a while, either."

"Do not drag me anywhere by my hair!" Zero declared in terror, completely ignoring the latter half of X's remark.

"Then don't give me reason to."

"…It's been a while since we could just chat like this, hasn't it?" Zero suddenly piped.

X fell silent, a contemplative look on his face.

"Yes… It's been a few months." Their duties had them constantly on the job, taking care of Irregular outbreaks when Sigma wasn't on the attack and when he was… that was a whole new story. Well, an old one that was recited on repeat. X closed his eyes as he smiled again. "It's nice."

"Definitely," Zero sighed, leaning against the doorframe. He suddenly straightened and grinned. "Well, are you going to stand out there all day or are you going to come in?"

X, startled, jumped a tiny bit. Zero held back a snicker.

"Oh; yeah." X rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, yelping when Zero grabbed him and mussed up his hair, pulling him into the room simultaneously. X flailed, struggling to get away, but Zero prevailed. As he cackled in victory, X complained and attempted to restore his hair to a somewhat decent level.

This was no time to worry about a stupid bet. In fact, Zero had forgotten all about it. They had sat around, chatting idly about everything and nothing, gone out for lunch, hung around town and caused the general havoc friends did together. After dinner, the pair wandered around and continued their idle chatter, hiding (from time to time) from Zero's overly adoring stalkers—er, fans. Yes, he'd long since forgotten the bet… until time passed and his best friend bid him farewell for the day before heading off to bed.

That's when it hit him. Hard.

"Ah, shit…"