"Tell me a story." Young Yuuki looked at young Zero, who lounged on the couch with a book, to see his reaction. He tilted his head to the side a little, then looked up at her.

"You want me to tell you a story?"

She nodded.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Really."

She suppressed a giggle, but nodded again.

He looked over at the window and leaned back into the couch.

"Once upon a time…"

Yuuki, of course, perked up.

"Once upon a time, there was a freak hellstorm and everyone died."

And this was so… like Zero, that she half-smiled.

"That's a sad story."

No shit.

"Life's tough."

He glanced at Yuuki, and, seeing her annoyed expression, sighed.

"What's the story got to be about?"

She perked up again, opened her mouth, then closed it.

"You're supposed to decide, stupid." She smirked.

"Alright, alright. A story." He looked up at the ceiling as if looking through a file of stories. Were there any good ones from books he had read that could be translated into a story suitable for Yuuki?

Could he still back out? Were there rules about backing out of a storytelling? Were there rules about storytelling? He tried to think if his mother had told him any stories, but the memories were too clouded with liquidized pain- the tears of the past.

"Okay, so once there was this girl with really really long hair, and she was locked in a tower by this evil witch 'cause her father was tricked into selling her for this fancy lettuce stuff to feed his greedy wife-"

He stopped when he saw the incredulous look on her face.

"What?"

She sighed. "Repunzel?"

"What?" he cried in exasperation. "It's a story!"

"Repunzel is so overdone. Tell me a more original story. Make up something!"

Really. He combed his mind once more before deciding on a story he was a little more sure she hadn't heard.

"Alright, alright. Once upon a time-"

"Make it a love story! They're soo cute!"

"-There was a boy, and a girl."

Yuuki leaned forward in her seat in anticipation.

"And just this boy and this girl. They lived in a world where all they had was each other. But… There was a wall between them. They couldn't hear each other, they couldn't touch each other. They could only see each other. They would sit for hours, just looking at each other."

Yuuki's eyes: Aww!

"So they of course, wanted to be together. But as the boy looked at the girl, one day, he realized that he really knew nothing about her. He didn't know her name, he didn't know even if she was a good person. He knew she could very well be wishing to kill him as they looked at each other. He knew she could be something different than what he saw. And, he knew that they were somehow different.

"The girl, meanwhile, was focused on how to get to the boy. She wanted to be with him, she wanted to tell him how much he mattered to her, but the wall still sat between them.

"And then…"

Zero closed his eyes, lost in his story.

"Then one day the boy stood up. He was tired of the wall. He put his hand against the thick glass.

"And punched. Not a dent. So he punch it again, and then again, until it suddenly shattered. As far as they could see either way, the glass was shattering and crumbling to the ground."

Zero opened his eyes.

Yuuki was smiling, obviously happy with the story.

"So do I pass?" He glanced at her. She raised her chin, pretending to calculate his score.

"Do they live happily ever after?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Pht, no." He sat up, grabbing his book. "The glass regenerates before the boy gets his hand back and cuts off his arm. They're still stuck on separate sides, to this day."

And the look on Yuuki's face was priceless. Slack-jawed, she could only stare.

Until she straightened up and spoke, setting her jaw.

"I don't believe you."

Priceless.

Are there rules to storytelling?

"Uh, I don't think it works that way."

"No, I think after the glass crumbles the boy steps across and swoops the girl up in his arms-"

"And they live happily ever after?"

Nod. Stare. Pause. Smile.

"Life's tough."

End.

A/N: Alright, so I was totally peeling this idea out of Once Upon His Return. Tell me a story was first written for it, but I decided to do two different things. Here, they are young Zero and Yuuki. I dunno, some time after they've become accustomed to each other but before they're… older. Story is based on Draw With Me, Youtube video- real cute, go watch it right now :)

It is 11:32 PM right now, March 26, 2011. I am laying in bed, waiting for Fullmetal Alchemist to come on… And I really just sat down and wrote this, instead of writing it and waiting forever to post it. It's a miracle.

Thanks to Matsiro Hino for the inspiration to start writing, and to my reviewers for their support :)