Author's Notes; One-shots from both sides. Slight angst possible. I originally thought about dividing the two sides of this into chapters but decided against it..How lost and depressed I feel lately..Lost or not, jealousy isn't my thing so here goes nothing..Please enjoy..This can also be considered as a summary of the more noticably slashy events between X and Zero in Command Mission..
I watched in sheer horror as he fell from the ruins. That memory playing over and over in my head. It was the only thing I could really focus on and I prayed he was still alive. I knew I had to follow orders, but I also wanted to go back to the ruins and search for him.
Regardless of befriending these other reploids, I felt very lonely. It just wasn't the same without Zero by my side. In previous missions, if he was scouting around, I understood, but otherwise, I felt the most comfortable with him beside me. He always did his best to comfort me, he had so much faith in me.
"You can do this, X. I know you can."
He always turned out to be right. We've been through so much together. It will never be the same without him.
The colonel's news of a signal near where we lost sight of Zero brought me both relief and excitement. I knew in my heart that he had to be alive, he just had to be. I dragged the others with me, some willing.
It was tedious, fighting through the enemy base and avoiding all the traps. At one point, I thought we had found him, but it turned out to be Axl instead. He was looking around for more intell on his Copy chip.
"Have you seen Zero?" I asked him eagerly.
"No, I haven't." He shrugged.
That began to make me worry more and start questioning if Zero really was here. Axl saw me get discouraged when I quietly mumurred, "I hope he's alright."
"C'mon, this is Zero we're talking about here. He's too strong not to be alright. Let's keep looking!"
That kid knew just how to cheer me up in these situations sometimes. We found him at last, but he was in big trouble. He had found one of the villains and was down on one knee. We had to do something, otherwise he really would die. I immediatedly took that initiative and fired a charged shot as I got between our foe and Zero.
"X!" I heard Zero call in excitement. "And Axl?!" His voice toned down to a more questioning tone.
Seeing what he was up against, our target got away with haste. At the time, I didn't care. How I missed my red-clad crush. We stared into each other's eyes, I was overjoyed to see him again. Just looking into those deep blue eyes, I could tell that he felt the same.
"Save the chat for later, we've gotta get a move on!" Interrupted Axl.
Zero agreed. I stood there for another minute, secretly wishing that we could've stared at each other a little while longer but there would be time for that later. Without much ado, we set chase.
When all was said and done, we headed back to our own base. I told them I had some introductions to make. Axl followed along behind me without a word. Zero stayed where he was and I could swear I heard him mutter, "Introductions?" in a questioning, somewhat suspicious tone.
He was angry with me seeing all these other reploids and stomped off. I ran after him and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him, but once I did, he batted it away.
"Shadow betrayed us, remember? The others could go Maverick at anytime!"
I looked down with a sigh. 'This isn't normal behavior for him.' I thought. 'The only times he acts like this are...Wait a minute...Is he...jealous?' Inside, I had to smile. I don't know if he realized it, but I saw it and after all these years, I thought it was unrequited love from me. He just demonstrated how much he didn't want to lose me, his feelings must be deeper than I once thought. Realizing that, I had to make one more try.
I swallowed and quickly blocked off the door outside. "Don't go, Zero. We need you for this mission. I need you."
Something behind the rage in those sapphire eyes said, 'I need you too.', I'm sure of it.
"You clearly don't. You have others now, so I'll go it alone from now on." He said, shoving me aside lightly and walking out the door.
The others said he needed time to adjust and that he'd come around. I hoped so, I felt so hurt by it all, practically everyone saw it. Everyone noticed my sorrow and pain, but I wouldn't say what it was when they asked. It was none of their concern.
I was so distraught that when we set off again, I was off my game. I took countless hits and didn't dodge like I could have. I certainly could've done better if my heart didn't hurt so bad, but onwards we went.
That traitor, Shadow soon confronted us. He had me cornered, that is until someone saved me. I couldn't believe it, Zero saved me.
"Man, am I glad to see you." I said happily.
"You're too soft, X, it only leads to trouble." He said firmly as he looked at me.
That Shadow was a sore loser. Even after we beat him, he made an attempt to attack Zero when he had his back turned. That is until Spider jumped in. Shadow took out Spider's arm, but regardless, Spider finished him, thus earning Zero's respect.
Back at headquarters, Zero wanted a word with me in the hallway. I gulped, wondering what he was going to say as I followed him. He leaned against the wall staring at me quietly. I stared back and it wasn't long before I felt something gripping my hands. He held my hands and looked down.
I blushed as I felt his touch. "What's this all about?" I asked trying to hide my excitement.
"I'm sorry for my earlier behavior. I was..." He began to grip my hands tighter.
My eyebrow furrowed when he paused. "You were...what?" I asked a little confused.
He kept his head down as if he was hiding something. He budged upwards a little as he looked at me again, that's when I saw that he was blushing too. I was right. He was jealous.
"Were you jealous, Zero?" I asked him.
I felt his fingers lock with mine as he suddenly pulled me towards him, my chest against his looking into those deep ocean orbs and his blushing face was nearly the same color as his armor.
"I was madly jealous, X, of all those reploids around you." He replied.
I knew it and I was sure I knew his reason, but just to check my theory..."But why?"
He leaned in close to my ear port and whispered. "Because you are mine. All mine."
I'm sure my face went so red at that. I hoped I wasn't dreaming. My feelings for him finally returned.
He smiled, I'm sure it was from my blushing. "X, I love you. No one else is getting you."
I knew I'd probably feel silly for asking this. "So, did you already know how I've felt towards you?"
"Yes, I did, but we were always so busy, I never had the time to return them. I'm sorry for such a delay."
My heart was racing so much, I was so happy, that I barely cared when he traded spots, pushing me to the wall and gave me a deep kiss before continuing our mission.
What happened? How'd I get here? Oh, right, I fell. I was knocked out for who knows how long after my fall. After I gathered my thoughts, there was only one thing to do; Find X. I rose to my feet, slightly off balance, and observed the area carefully. The only other building in sight was what appeared to be a base. With my balance regained, I set off for the base immediately.
I was frantic and eager to find that green-eyed hunter. I tore through all in my path like a feral beast escaping its cage and manuevered through the traps with ease. Everything seemed to go surprisingly smooth. Until I came across one of the bosses. The fight was brutal and rendered me exhausted and on one knee. This would be easier if my X were here.
That's when he found me. A charge shot fired at the boss I was confronting. Before I knew it, there was X, between me and the target. I wasn't expecting to see Axl, but I felt strong again just from seeing X and rose back to both feet.
Our target fled, but neither of us cared. He turned to look at me, I stared at him. Those emerald eyes seemed so happy to see me again, I got lost in them for a while before Axl interrupted, demanding we give chase. That fucking kid...but he had a point. The staring could wait, this needed to be done.
With the target and his mechaniloid minions demolished, I felt like I could finally relax for a while. That is until X mentioned some 'introductions to make.' I stood still as they began to exit the base. I didn't like where this was going.
Seeing all these new people around the one I treasured so much, I felt a mixture of emotions flood through me. Pain, anger, and strong jealousy. I felt un-needed in such a crowd so I stomped away. He rushed up behind me and grabbed my hand, which I batted away as I reminded him of Shadow's betrayal, knowing the same was possible with these reploids.
His head lowered and I turned away, continuing towards the door. He made one more attempt to stop me, blocking the door, trying to convince me that I was needed for the mission and he needed me. Seeing the others, I doubted him, pushing him lightly to the side, and walking out the door.
Travelling to the next area had given me time to straighten my thoughts, but I still didn't like the idea of all these others around X. When they entered the building, I swiftly jumped to the side, watching and following from the shadows.
When they came across some of the enemies, I noticed something very off with X. He was usually very precise about attacking and evading, but not this time. His shots missed, he didn't evade, it had been a long time since I'd seen him that clumsy. I was beginning to feel sorry about what I had said to him, I knew he felt down because of me. My anger settled, but I still wasn't ready to cooperate with those other reploids.
Soon after, that traitorous Shadow appeared. I gritted my teeth, just looking at that bastard. It was the last straw when he cornered poor X, I had to do something. I jumped swiftly from my cover and lashed at him.
X was very happy to see me again. Inside, I admit that I was glad to speak to him again, even after calling him too soft. When my back was turned, Shadow took aim at me and much to my surprise, Spider saved me, finishing Shadow off, but losing an arm in the process.
Even if I didn't want his help, he earned my respect after that move.
While on break at headquarters, I brought X to a corner of the hallway for a talk. I apologized for my behavior towards him earlier. He already seemed to suspect my jealousy. Sharp as ever X.
Apologizing wasn't the only reason I got him alone. Something was on my chest that I needed to confess to him, but was always too busy to do in the past. My face and armor were the same color when he asked if I was jealous. I had his hands in my own and my fingers began to lock with his as I pulled him close and against me.
"I was madly jealous, X, of all those reploids around you." I answered.
"But why?" Those innocent jade eyes watched me as he waited for an answer.
I hesitated slightly, but quickly summoned my nerve again and smiled, whispering to him. "X, I love you. No one else is getting you."
Both of our faces were crimson red now. I saw such happiness and excitement in his eyes, it made the same feelings well up inside me.
"I guess you've known about my feelings towards you then, huh?" He asked shyly.
I nodded. "I've always known you've had eyes for me, X. I've always had eyes only for you."
He hugged me tightly and I drew him into a deep kiss before we continued with our mission. We led the group out of the base, hand-in-hand.
I leaned and whispered into his ear port before our departure. "Together forever, X, I promise."
