Author's Notes; Royal AU. Shounen-Ai. Fluffy. Suspense. College has started for me which has impeded the rate at which my works, be it art or writing, are done..Thankfully, its only 3 days of the week and only in the morning; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday..Unfortunately, a certain someone in the house has been making me spazz out..Spazzed out so bad, I cried 3 times in one fucking day..so shameful..I've been a little depraved of ZeroX lately, not seeing many new artworks of them so I'm pouring fluff out the ass into this one..(Too..much..AVGN lately..but also thanks to playing X1 recently..Holy shit, the fluff..)..Now one chapter remains and this will be a bitch because I haven't had much experience with fight scenes..Might be the longest of the bunch because I have to figure out how to work an old idea in, but for now, please enjoy..

By this time, the soldiers had noticed that X was nowhere to be found. They searched the camp thoroughly, but none of them found a trace of him. Zero flew towards the campfire quietly, feeling X snuggling against him tightly. He smiled and held X's arms with his free hand. X grinned happily, opening his eyes a little, he was so happy to have his lover back.

Soon, Zero descended near the soldier's campfire which took some of the Russian soldiers by surprise. "Who goes there?" They asked, pointing their guns towards the glowing spots of Zero's armor. Zero's lieutenant, Storm looked up. "Lower your gun, its our Captain. Welcome back, sir." This caught the attention of some of the German soldiers. "Welcome back Captain!" "You're safe!" "How did you escape?" Several of them greeted, but his army was happy to see him again. The Russian captain overheard the commotion and went to investigate. "What's all the fuss?" "The German captain has returned but there's still no sign of the Prince." The captain looked towards the others and Zero, walking closer. "Come into the light...Captain." Zero looked towards him and did as he was told. The other captain looked at him suspiciously. "You're not human, are you?" The blond shook his head slowly, noticing that the other was observing him and his staff. "Your army certainly seems fond of you. Fine. Its a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to report that Prince X is missing again." Zero chuckled a little. "Prince X is safe." Everyone looked towards him, they couldn't see X because he was mostly hidden under Zero's long mane. "He's the reason I'm free. He's right here on my back." He gently pet X's arms as X rested his head on Zero's pauldron. The Russian captain was surprised. "Prince X, this is unacceptable behavior for someone of your stature." Some of the German soldiers looked at him surprised, but Zero smirked. "Come now, surely you know that I'm a prince too." This baffled the captain even more. "You...You are both children. I can't believe our Czar appointed permission of a child to utilize our army." The Germans chuckled a little as did Zero. "He's unlike any child you will ever see in a lifetime, sir. It also seems X is more courageous than any of us thought." Storm grinned. Zero couldn't help but find it amusing that the Russian captain was so baffled. X found it somewhat amusing too, but hurtful at the same time. The blond looked over at him, noticing that he seemed a little wounded by the captain's words. X felt Zero's eyes on him and looked back to him. Zero rubbed his cheek against X's to comfort him, taking X's hand carefully. Both armies watched them and couldn't help but smile. The brunette was a little nervous as Zero cuddled and comforted him, but the blond didn't care, which upon seeing the smiles of both groups made X relax and cuddle back. The Germans knew how close they were and the Russians found it interesting, but the Russian captain was even more surprised. He'd never met such an odd and hardy bunch in his life. "Very well...What's the plan then? Are we still striking at dawn?" Zero nodded slowly. "Yes. They were drinking heavily. The main enemy is also a warlock. Alcohol disables and wears down witches and warlocks' ability to use magic and fight back, which makes dawn very ideal for striking. We outnumber them due to recent fights so Sigma is the only real concern. By the time he comes to his senses again, he'll be helpless." The other captain nodded. "Make your preparations, everyone, we strike in several hours!"

Zero took X back to the wagon and crawled in the back, setting his staff aside. X gently leapt off Zero's back and sat beside him. The blond moved closer as he sat down too, pulling X to him. "You know, if you were a fighter, I'd make you my vice captain." He pressed the crystal on X's helmet, making the armor power down and come off. X shook his head. "I'm no fighter, you know that." The blond chuckled and nodded as X crawled into his lap, rubbing against his warm chest lens. "Fighter or not, I love you so and I'm indebted to you. If it wasn't for you, I would've become Sigma's 'general' in world domination. He wanted to strike your home first." X blushed slightly at first but then grew a little upset. "If you had become our enemy, would you have spared me and my father?" Zero leaned in closer to X and nodded. "Yes. Either way, I wouldn't be your enemy, it would be Sigma pulling the strings. If I did lead an invasion, I would hide you and Light away and get his army to revolt against Sigma." X nearly cried at this and pinned Zero down. "Zero..." The blond grinned and wiped away X's tears. "You were aware of that chance, weren't you? Don't worry, I'm never going to be your enemy. We're all on your side." X was so relieved and hugged Zero tightly. Zero's wings enclosed them as he hugged back. He could understand how worried X had been and why X would think such a thing. Zero felt he belonged to X and vice versa, their bond was far too deep for him to even imagine hurting X.

X cried happily, hugging him tightly. The blond rubbed away his tears where he could with his cheeks. "All these tears, hon." The brunette sniffled. "I'm sorry. You've done so much for me." Zero smiled a little, rubbing X's back. "You've been put through so much in the course of a few days. Don't worry, I'm doing all of it for you." This made X squeeze Zero even tighter. The blond smiled wider and squeezed back. "Should we contact your father and tell him you're alright? I'm sure he's very worried." He asked, unwrapping his wings. X nodded, letting go of Zero and starting to get up, but Zero pulled him back down, making X land on his pelvic armor. The brunette looked a little confused. "Please, stay on top of me. I like it when you have me under you." Zero smiled more. X blushed brightly and giggled a little. "Take my hands." X did as he was told, locking his fingers with the warlock's.

Back in France, Light was worried sick. Rock and Roll had heard what happened to X and how Zero went off by himself to save him. "His sacrifice for our brother is rather admirable, isn't it Father?" Rock admitted. Light nodded slowly. "Yes, but if worst comes to worst, I fear he may become our enemy." Roll wasn't thinking any better of Zero, but she had to admit his courage was impressive. 'Father? Father!' came X's voice into Light's room. Light looked around as did Rock and Roll. "X! Where are you?" 'Zero's using his powers to let me talk to you telepathically. We're in Lebanon.' X answered. "Are you alright?" Light asked. 'Yeah, I'm fine. Zero rescued me and took my place.' Roll was a little relieved that her brother was ok. "What of Zero?" Light questioned. "He hasn't switched sides, has he?" 'No, father. After his lieutenant brought his staff, Zero guided me to the bunker he was held in. He was forced by Sigma to start plotting for world domination, but I rescued him. He said that even if he had to start invading, he would spare us and get our army to revolt against Sigma.' Light smiled and sighed in relief. "Zero, you've got a great heart inside you." He could hear Zero chuckling. 'Like I told X, I'm not your enemy and I won't be.' Light giggled. "I'm glad to hear it. Are the German and Russian armies there?" Zero nodded. 'Yes, they are. They're making preparations to strike and capture the remains of Sigma's group at dawn.' Light raised an eyebrow. "Why dawn?" 'Sigma and Dynamo decided to celebrate my capture and have been drinking. Since he's a warlock, Sigma's ability to use magic will be impaired from all that alcohol. Dawn is the optimal time to catch him offguard. He's the only real threat, our last fights against him really crippled his forces.' Zero explained and Light nodded, seeing Zero's point. "I see. I wish you good luck, Captain and please keep X safe." X giggled a little. 'Don't worry, I think we stand a chance. By the way, there's something X and I feel we need to tell you. Your son and I are in love.' Zero told them, a little nervous but trying not to let it show. Light wasn't surprised at all. Rock didn't know what to think and Roll was grossed out. "I might have known it and I'm not bothered at all. I saw how you bonded while we visited in Germany. As kind, nurturing, and strong as you are, X needs you, Zero. You two are perfect." Light closed his eyes and smiled happily. Zero was at a loss of words, that went better than he anticipated. "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if you two were to someday be wed." Zero blushed brightly, thankful that Light couldn't see. X blushed brightly too. 'Since Zero is the next king, a marriage between us would unify France and Germany.' Light nodded. "That's right, X. Two countries operating as one." Zero felt as if his mind had been read, he had occasional thoughts of marrying X when the time was right but wasn't sure how society would see it. He wasn't sure why he concerned himself with that, no one cared for him as much as X did. He hadn't realized that it would unify their countries, he wanted to marry him for love and while a peaceful union of countries sounded nice, he found that he couldn't care about it.

After talking with Light, thin rays of light broke over the horizon. It was almost time. Zero let X catch some rest on top of him while meditating, preparing himself mentally for battle. Thoughts of marriage and Light's words made their way into his head, making his heart race. Spending his life with X sounded amazing to him. There was one concern of his though; He had to remember, X was human. Warlocks and witches could live from 3 to 5 times longer than humans. Among his kind, the witches and warlocks born with a heart in their chest are said to be capable of immortality. Zero believed this as he had managed to gift X with the black and white roses generated from his power that were immortal, he also remembered the old hermit mentioning that if he chose to cast immortality on himself, he would be able to cast it on one more person of his choosing, but it would render him powerless for a few months. Zero hated the thought of living to see X die, so he decided; He and X would be immortalized once they captured Sigma and returned home.