Thirty hours.

Thirty fucking hours of lying perfectly still.

It must've been almost half the way done with Pandora's night cycle and the young Gladiatrix was still snoring against his back, arms tight around him, sleeping soundly. How she managed to sleep so long was beyond Zer0. He could barely manage to sleep for 5 hours without waking up. However, here she was.

Zer0's limbs had long since fallen asleep due to the inactivity of them. His arms tingled whenever Athena's grasp grew tighter or softened. If she accidentally brushed them while trying to get a better grip on his chest it felt as if someone was penetrating needles against his flesh. His legs weren't any better. Sometimes she would move her own leg further down or up in an attempt to be more comfortable, unaware of the painful effect she was placing on him. Luckily, his torso hadn't fallen asleep or else it would be in more pain due to her constant changes in how she held him. Athena probably factored into why his whole chest and stomach area weren't dead asleep, like his limbs, due to her movements while, she herself was, asleep. Zer0 had given up trying to keep his limbs awake when he realized that she probably wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.

Not that that bothered him much. He actually found solace in the feeling of being held. It calmed him, surprisingly. To feel arms wrapped tight around him, body warmth being shared with him, someone trying to keep him from moving actually brought him comfort. Though she was asleep, Zer0 could tell Athena enjoyed holding him. Sometimes a soft sigh would escape her lips before she moved closer in an attempt to feel his body held by her arms. Her face nuzzled in between his shoulder blades every now and again, sending shivers up his spine and across his back. Athena's other arm had joined the first in holding his chest at about the 17 hour mark. Now, if he tried hard enough, he felt a heartbeat against his middle back. No doubt her's, who's else would it be? It was slow, methodical, and overall gave a sense of serenity. It also reminded Zer0 that this woman, who had almost single-handedly taken down an entire gun manufacturing corporation, this woman who had opened a Vault on the moon of Pandora, this woman who had played a hand in bringing Jack into power, was also human.

It was strange if you thought about it, how a human being could do so much. Athena was proof of it. Raised up in the corporation she destroyed, she became the top operative of the Lance. He didn't know why, she never mentioned the reason for it to the original Vault Hunters or him and his friends, but she decided to take down the corporation. Soon after, she became a hired gun, needing money for food. She accepted a job offer from Jack, a low programmer in Hyperion at the time, and opened the Vault the Elpis. Of course, along the way she also brought Jack into power and helped create many of the Hyperion bots that Zer0 and his friends fought daily. Constructors, EXP Loaders, GUN Loaders, many of them had her hand in making. But no matter what, he still had a deep-founded respect for her. She was desperate, he would probably make the same choice if it were him. She made mistakes, yes, but she couldn't be blamed for it all.

A strange sound came from her mouth before she pulled him back and pushed herself forward in an attempt to create less space between them.

Adorable.

Wait what? He could not be thinking of this right now. So he pushed it off to the back of his mind, instead focusing on finding the serene heartbeat placed against his back.

It took him a few moments, but eventually he found it. It was going slightly faster now. Could she be possibly having a nightmare? It would be logical as she held him tight and securely as if he were an anchor in her dreams. Another movement from her shot prickly needles throughout his left arm and he choked back a groan.

Zer0 looked down at the arm which had caused his pain, dangerously, as if it was watching him stare. The tanned, muscular skin was thick in scars. Similar to never explaining her past, Athena never gave an explanation to why she was so heavily laden with scars. Some were jagged and thick, as if caused by a rusty knife. Others were thin and straight, almost like it was done purposefully with precise accuracy. Zer0 could sometimes catch flecks of triangular shaped scars shaped across her upper arm and sometimes her neck whenever she wore her scarf down. Most likely shrapnel from an explosion blast, possibly a grenade. Definitely badges of a warrior. He would know, he probably had as many scars as she did.

The arm stiffened, as he was in deep thought, and suddenly tightened around his chest to the point where he could barely breath. Zer0 choked out a gasp and had to control himself from not breaking her arm right there to escape her grip. The heartbeat against his back was suddenly erratic, her breathing quick and uneven, her body slightly shaking. He couldn't see her, but he would sure she was covered in a cold sweat.

A nightmare. Poor girl/ She has to fight this one now/ Or else she'll wake up.

It took a few minutes before Athena calmed down. She let out a groan and loosened her grip on his chest, allowing his lungs access to breath. She began to breath in deep, erratic breaths before she calmed down and her breathing became shallow and light again. Her heartbeat softened down to its original slow tempo.

She's calmed down now, good/ She almost cut off my air/ She has a strong grip.

Zer0 began to wonder what her nightmare was about.

Curiously, Zer0 suddenly began to turn around. He had attempted it before, but her arms had stopped him in his place. His arms and legs screeched in protest as needles pricked his skin over and over in an attempt to cause him enough pain to stop him. This did not deter him however, and he managed to fully turn around in her grasp, surprised that she didn't try to stop him like usual.

What he saw slightly shocked him.

Athena only wore the red and black shirt that was underneath her vest and chest-guard along with her dark gray, weathered pants. Her scarf was probably placed in the pile of armor so that it would not scratch at her neck uncomfortably during sleep. Her mouth was slightly parted as she breathed in and out. Her black-blue hair was fanned across her face, some of it getting in her eyes while she slept. A small sheen of sweat was on her forehead, causing some of her locks to be stuck. There was no doubt that she had fallen back into a peaceful sleep, as shown with how she was breathing calmly and collectively. But the aftermath of the nightmare was still apparent also, as shown when her body would sometimes let out a shake, as if scared.

Zer0 gently lifted his hand and brushed her hair out of her eyes and off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. He took a good look at her face. A small scar underneath her chin and, as he expected, a small series of visible triangular shaped flecks across her neck leading over to her right shoulder. Her red lips slightly parted, letting out a hot breath every few seconds. Zer0 suspected that if he leaned in close enough a mist would form on his mask from the hot air. Her eyes were gently closed showing that she was, indeed, asleep. Her forehead and cheeks were covered in a light sheen of sweat that Zer0 could see from the light of the middle table of the command center in the next room.

Zer0 suddenly felt a little anxious. What if she caught him staring at her while she slept? No, that didn't sit well with him. He began to turn around once more, his limbs still barking at him for the movements that they disliked. The arms that had fallen to her sides when he moved were suddenly slithered back across his chest as she pulled him against her.

Same old, same old.

Or was it?

A sudden gurgle noise came from her throat, and her hands curled into fists. Zer0 began to worry that she was having another nightmare, until he heard a moan come from her.

Her leg unwrapped itself from on top of his and returned back to its place by her other. She kept her face hidden in between his shoulder blades as she fought the sleep out of her eyes, arms still tight around his chest.

She does not realize/ That what she is holding is me/ Hmm, peculiar.

As soon as that thought popped up, her arms and hands stiffened. She slowly spread her fingers apart and began to move her hand across his chest, before stopping over his heart. She kept her hand there, breathing hitched.

Eventually she unwrapped her arms around his chest and sat up, placing her elbows on her knees as she faced away from the prone assassin.

"Who are you?"

Zer0 wasn't very surprised. He had ran this scenario in his mind over and over again while she slept.

"Zer0, don't worry/ You fell asleep in my bunk/ While I was inside."

He couldn't see her face, but could tell she was anxious. From what he could see, she was anxiously tapping her index finger and middle finger against her knee, obviously a nervous tic on her part.

"Please, I assure you/ Nothing happened while you slept/ I would not do that."

A moment of silence.

"Okay, I trust you."

Zer0 suddenly realized he was holding in his breath and let out a sigh of relief. Athena began to get up, the darkened room made it hard for Zer0 to follow her with his eyes so he relied on his hearing to listen to where she was going.

Athena made her way over to the doorway leading to the command center and looked out the sky. From the light shining from the room, Zer0 could clearly see her stout figure in the doorway, looking out towards the balcony. She let out an unimpressed noise and walked back over to the bunk where she sat down on the edge.

"I'm sorry that I slept in your bunk while you were in it," she apologized.

"It's fine Athena/ You hadn't any control/ While you were asleep."

She nodded and leaned her back against the wall, closing her eyes while she did so. Zer0 eventually sat up and began to rub his forearms in an attempt to wake them up. Athena seemed to notice.

"What happened?"

"You held onto me/ For so long, my arms and legs/ Fell asleep, sadly."

"Rub your arms up and down, it helps get the blood into them faster."

He did as suggested and soon he had feeling back in his arms.

Don't forget, she had a nightmare.

Zer0 looked up at her face, partially glowing in the light. She was staring at the doorway, looking out from the balcony in the sky. Her blue gray eyes darkened from the lack of light to a dark grey, intimidating no less.

"You had a nightmare/ Can I ask about it, please?/ If you do not mind."

Athena leaned forward, eyes betraying that she was deep in thought. They quickly flashed over towards where he small pile of armor was before returning to gaze straight ahead.

"I do not mean to-"

"I dreamed about killing my sister again," she interrupted him.

A bright red light flashed upon her face, no doubt from his mask signalling a '!' to appear. It went away before returning again, probably a '...' or '?' this time.

"I... see."

It was quiet for a while, no words being spoken. No movements attempted to be made. No sounds except for the ones that were outside in the city of Sanctuary.

"You know... it's funny," Athena finally spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"I thought that I was okay with what happened. Killing my sister on accident. I guess my own guilty conscious got the best of me. I try not to think too much about how I just... killed her. I miss her, even though I only knew her for a few weeks. She reminded me that, 'Hey, you aren't as alone as you think you are.' Now she's gone, been gone for almost 5 years now that I think about it. Nothing dulls the pain, but I try to find ways to."

Zer0 felt something tug in his chest. Was this... sympathy? He could sense the guilt flooding off of her, even though the only thing that betrayed this emotion was her eyes. They were pained, as if lost in a hazy memory that she wished to have forgotten.

Something overthrew his logical thinking. Maybe it was the sympathy he was feeling before, maybe it was something deeper, but he reached forward, grabbed her shoulders and engulf her in an awkward hug.

He wasn't used to physical contact, despite spending almost 30 hours being previously held by her, but he made an exception. For her. Her arms were trapped between her body and his chest before, just as awkward as he did,she wrapped around his torso. It took a few moments before they finally released each other.

"You are not alone."

Athena gave him a small,genuine smile, perhaps the first he had seen her having one, and nodded in thanks. She got up off the bunk, causing it to squeal, and went over to the couch. Grabbing her pieces of armor, piece-by-piece she put them on with deft fingers as if she had been doing it her entire life. When she got done, she quickly wrapped the scarf around her shoulders, not yet pulling it over her head to use as a makeshift hood, before awkwardly turning towards Zer0, who had finally sat up on the bed as he attempted to bring the blood rushing back to his aching forelegs and feet. She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Zer0 barely managed to look up at her before a pair of lips was placed on the side of his visor, where his right cheek would be.

"Thank you... for not waking me up, and for what you said," she mumbled quickly before turning around and exiting the room by the stairwell, going downstairs into Tannis' office.

A shock feeling ran through Zer0 as he attempted to process what just happened. A smile graced his lips and he turned to face the balcony, seeing the Pandoran moon, Elpis, shine through.

Athena was interesting.

Interesting, indeed.

Author's Note: I got so much overwhelming support from Chapter 1, that I decided to take a few hours out of today to work on this. You can totally tell I ship Zer0 and Athena now, I suppose. Athena is still awkward as ever when it comes to looove. Anyways, thanks for reading.

Update 11/20: Fixed grammatical mistakes and added words.