I decided to make something a little depressing... BUT IT GETS BETTER! hopefully...

A few months have passed since our gracious heroes have beaten Jack, the Warrior, and Hyperion itself. Normal chaos resumed between the psychotic and the slightly saner beings as if nothing had disturbed the already disturbed planet. Sanctuary grew stronger as people that had once been controlled by Jack fled to the floating city. Some have even said that Sanctuary was Pandora's heaven, but with no real threat hovering over everyone's heads, even the make-shift heavens can split apart with time. Maya had decided to reside with Lilith in her Firehawk lair, since Maya's only related family was with the red Siren. Mordecai had retaken his post out in Tundra Express, aided by Zer0 most of the time. Salvador had decided to return home with no hesitation. Axton took on the role of leader at Sanctuary, whereas the other Vault Hunters in close proximity agreed on mutual leadership. Gaige had stayed in Sanctuary, since it was the only place she could really talk to her dad without losing a signal. Kreig was living amongst the other cult members that had followed the two Sirens and Maya would make time to see him when the other cult members weren't around.

The appearance of the other Vaults were taken care of by Brick and his endless army of Slabs. After all, he did call dibs. Everyone didn't doubt his abilities to take care of what was inside, but were worried about the unsuspecting victims that would say the wrong thing at the wrong time to the Slab King. He would give regular progress updates to everyone and ask about how everything's going. All seemed too calm to our favorite cold-blooded assassin, but that wasn't the problem with Zer0.

On the few occasions when he's in Sanctuary, he would run into Gaige, or more accurately go looking for her, and they would talk and share a pizza and drink. She would update him on her latest adventures with either Tina or Death Trap while he would listen intently. He enjoyed the weekly ritual they had set up subconsciously, but his gut told him that it would all end eventually.

One night, as rain had started to pour into the streets of Sanctuary, Gaige had sat in front of him in Moxxi's bar with a mix of excitement and sadness. Zer0 had tilted his head at her as she cleared her throat.

"H-how's it goin'?" She asked. She didn't meet his face, which arose a wave of panic in Zer0's chest.

"Everything is fine/

Nothing exciting happened/

You're worrying me." The masked-man had blurted out. His haiku's weren't really effective in everyday conversation.

"What do you mean?" Gaige asked as her head snapped up to him. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and she leaned forward as if Zer0 would display his meaning on his helmet. Zer0 sighed and leaned closer so no other person could hear.

"You're not acting like you normally do." He muttered, his hands reaching under the table to find hers. Her breath hitched in her throat as his eight fingers found her hands.

"I have good news. Well, good for me, kinda bad for you." Gaige said with a shrug. She pulled her hands away from Zer0's before putting them on the table in an invitation for him to take them again. He did so and felt a pang of panic and worry.

"Please tell." Zer0 practically begged. Gaige sighed and hung her head, her long red hair brushing the table.

"My dad got a shuttle for me to come back home. I leave tomorrow morning." Gaige said as a single tear slid down her pink cheeks and onto the ring-stained tables of the booth. Zer0 reached a careful had towards her and wiped the tracks of the tear away with the pad of his gloved thumb. She looked up with reddening eyes and lashes stuck together in clumps. She bit her lip in worry for a moment before Zer0 had placed a finger on her chin and gently pried her lip from her teeth with his thumb.

"We can make the best of it." Zer0 said simply as he slid out of the booth and held his hand out to the Mechromancer. She took it and Zer0 lead her out of the bar.

They walked through the Arid Badlands with the stars glistening above their heads. They talked for hours, wandering the deserted area hand in hand. Zer0 had opened up about himself as much as he was comfortable with and Gaige was equally grateful and shocked with his words. The sun had started to make it's way up over the horizon and both bad-asses made their way to Sanctuary.

Once safely inside the floating city, Zer0 accompanied Gaige to her rather small apartment and helped the girl pack. She had very few items to pack away since she had distributed her weapons to everyone. Her bags were placed by the front door at the foot of her bed.

"I don't have to leave for another four hours. Maybe we could just stay here?" Gaige asked Zer0 as he leaned against the wall, trying to control the range of upset emotions he was feeling. Zer0 nodded as Gaige laid down on her bed for the last time. She raised her head at him and motioned to join her. Zer0 steadied himself before pushing himself off of the dingy wall to walk towards the bed. He propped his back on the backboard of the bed and crossed his ankles. Gaige scooted closer and placed her head on his chest, her fingers snaking their way down his arm to his palm. Their fingers entwined and Zer0 felt the young girl- young woman- shaking with sadness as she clung to him with her free arm. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and held her close, feeling hot tears prickle at his eyes. He untangled their fingers and removed his helmet and placed it on the bare wooden nightstand. Gaige looked up and ran her eyes over his exposed face.

His hair was long and curled at the ends. It was pure black and felt soft to the touch. His face had only two scars: one running from the center of his cheek to the corner of his mouth and one right through his left eyebrow. His skin was pale and smooth and his eyes were green with wisps of blue around the iris. He ran his knuckles against the side of Gaige's face before place a finger gently under her chin. He brought her face up to his before pulling close so their lips would meet. After a moment, they pulled back with their foreheads pressed together.

"I'll miss you." Gaige whimpered slightly.

"I would miss you more." Zer0 said after finding his voice. "After helping you walk through the snow after the train detonated, you were like a beautiful flower growing amongst the flurries of white and the carnage that stained the ground before me." He said before pressing his lips to hers once more. Their lips seemed to dance together, their arms wrapped protectively around once another.

Time didn't seem to hesitate in speeding to dawn. Zer0 had held Gaige close and wished that she wouldn't have to leave. As the sun started to rise, Gaige raised her head and new tears made their way from her red eyes. Zer0 looked down at her and felt tears of his own start to form. He held her in a close embrace.

"I'll find a way to be with you. You mean more to me than anything." Zer0 muttered. "I just can't go with you. The others need me." He said sadly. Gaige looked up at him and winced before giving a watery laugh.

"My dad wouldn't have really approved of you anyways." She said as she sat up. She gather her bags at the end of the bed and looked sadly at Zer0. "It's time to go." Zer0 stood up and grabbed his helmet. He held it in one hand and took Gaige's hand.

I'm not sorry for making something depressing. I'm making this a two part story, so enjoy this cliffhanger because I'm evil! (Not really.)