Friendship

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up. Argh. someone broke my 'puter. .o; this chapter's okay, I guess. There will be a plot eventually, I'm sure. nod in any case, happy reading.. and stuff.

la la la... uploading old crap. I keep forgetting about this. o.o; i can not be held responsible for any trauma induced by this fic. o.o; it's so old. collab with shibby. much better to read. more collab. disturbing and much better to read. o.o

Still Waters..

Zero sat quietly in the HQ's cafeteria, looking over X's folder. The rookie had been staying with him for three days now, and they still had yet to fight. He flipped through the weapon information, poring over every detail. 'I don't understand.. With a weapon's system like his, why is he so afraid to fight?'

It seemed that every time Zero mentioned training, X would quickly disappear. Every training session he held, X would come up with an excuse to miss it. It was frustrating, to say the least. "Damnit... Why is he making this so difficult?!" He shut the folder quickly, and stood up. 'I'm going to find him... And settle this. I'm tired of trying to chase him down!'

He ran out of the cafeteria, in hunt of the small reploid, a determined look in his eye. He searched everywhere he could think of, and then some, but found nothing. Finally, he started toward his quarters, hoping he was still in his room. He came in through the back door and looked around. Nothing. He wasn't there. " ... X?"

He blinked slightly, hearing voices outside his door. Two people arguing. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized who the voices belonged to. X and....

"I only came to get my book, that's all!" X exclaimed.

"How dare you use that tone with me, you insolent rookie!" The other retorted, obviously offended.

"Listen, I just want my book! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

Zero leaned against the wall next to the door, listening.

"Like hell you aren't! Sneaking into your commanding officer's room! Heh. If you can call him that."

"But I'm staying with Zero. And he's a great commander!"

Zero blushed slightly at that. He'd figured X hated him, and skipped his training sessions because of that. " .... he likes me?"

"Watch your tone with me, boy! Do you know who I am? That uncouth, reckless leader of yours is the worst commander the 17th unit has ever seen!"

"I know you're a jerk!"

Zero flinched. It looked like the rookie was going to need a bailing. He swung the door open quickly, before the other reploid had a chance to blow up.

"Sigma! Hey, long time no see! Gotta have a drink some time, you and me." He spouted, then turned to look at X.

X stared up at him, wide-eyed. His cheeks were pink, and his eyes were almost tear brimmed.

Zero winked at him, then turned back to Sigma quickly. "Oh! Thank god you found him! He had an accident earlier today, hit in the head, has a concussion. I've been trying to find him since he left the medical wing! Poor thing just hasn't been himself all day!" He wrapped an arm around X and pulled him closer, protectively.

"X, say hi to Sigma. The leader of the Maverick Hunters!" He squeezed X tighter, hintingly.

Sigma blinked. "X... X?" He raised an eye slightly. "Yes. We've.... been introduced, you can say." He gave X a studying glance, then frowned. "You'd better teach your soldier some manners, Zero." That said, he walked past X, shoving him out of the way as he went by.

X stumbled, maintaining his balance through the hold he had on Zero. He looked up at him, fearfully. "Hi. Did I do something wrong, Commander?"

Zero sighed slightly, stroking X's hair lightly. "X... There are some people here you just... have to be careful around. I appreciated the ego boost, though." He added with a laugh.

X turned red. "Y.. You heard me?!" He exclaimed. He stood there, letting Zero pet him. His fingers ran so smoothly through his hair... It was almost comforting.

Zero stopped suddenly, realizing what he was doing. He reached around in his armor quickly. "Oh yeah.. Here. I guess after all the trouble you got into for it, you might want this." He held up a tattered, dog eared book in his hand.

X took it quickly, hugging it close to his chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble, commander." And then he did something Zero had never seen a soldier in his unit do in front of their commanding officer before.

X cried.

Zero closed his eyes and shook his head, exasperated. Wailed was more like it. "C-c'mon, X. It's not that big a deal, really!" He exclaimed, trying to calm the smaller reploid down. Still, he wailed. Finally, he sighed, and dragged X off down the hall. "A nice bath will calm you down, that'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

X simply sniffled and wiped his eyes with his free hand as Zero dragged him down corridor after corridor. " I... I guess." He hadn't been to the baths yet, and had been planning to go that night anyway, so he had no real objections.

Zero halted in front of a smooth, pale green door, and glanced down at X, a small smile meeting his lips. He was glad to see X had ceased his crying, he didn't know what he would have done, had he continued. Zero never was good in emotional situations. Emotions got in the way of getting the job done.

"Here we are." He sighed deeply. A nice warm soak in the bath was definitely what the both of them needed. "After you."

"O-okay.." He opened the door, and stepped into the room quietly. He looked around, slowly... And dropped everything in his arms.

The room was surprisingly large, the bathtub was more like a miniature pool. But that wasn't why he dropped his things. That wasn't why he was so shocked. They weren't alone. There were other males in there, reploid and human.

X cried out in surprise, and turned, fleeing from the room, nearly knocking Zero, who had been walking in, over in the process. Once in the hall, he slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, face aflame with humiliation.

Zero stood in front of him, in the middle of the hall, confused and worried. "X?! What's wrong?? What did you see? Is there a maverick..." He trailed off, reaching over his shoulder for his sabre, frowning.

X stared at the floor, getting brighter and brighter as the seconds past. "There... There are other people in there... N-naked..... " His blush grew even deeper, as he realized that Zero was neither surprised nor disturbed.

"Well... Yeah... Uh... It IS a public bath...." He explained, confused.

"What kind of a place IS this?!" X cried, angry.

Zero groaned. He was starting to lose his patience. " It's not that big a deal, really."

X crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "I'm not going in there naked, with all those guys just standing there! They'll see meeeeeah!!!!!" He screamed, as Zero picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

"X! I have been training all day! I have been doing field tests, I've handled a maverick attack, I've chased you down! I'm tired, I'm sweaty, and I'm not in a good mood!" He held X, slung firmly over his shoulder. "How do you expect to be a maverick hunter, when you can't even take a bath in public?! You're going to get in there, get naked, get clean, and have a damned good time doing it, whether you want to or not!!"

X blushed deeply and quieted down, hanging quietly over Zero's shoulder as he opened the door to the baths and entered. Once inside, he dropped X gently onto the ground.

X looked around, quietly, cheeks still a heavy pink tint. It wasn't as bad as he had first thought, most of the other hunters were wearing towels, or submerged in the water. With a slight sigh, he gave a mental command, and his armor faded into his aqua body suit. Standing in the corner, he unzipped his suit gently, sliding it off his thin, yet fit form. Wasting no time, he jumped into the water quickly, before anyone saw him.

Once he was in, he looked around slowly and cautiously, for Zero. "Commander Zero...?" He asked, timidly. The place was clearing out, considerably, which was good, but he still couldn't see him.

"You can call me just Zero, X." An amused voice stated, from behind.

X turned, startled. " I don't think that's very pro-agh!!!" He shielded his eyes quickly, Zero was standing half a foot behind him, nude. He had turned new shades of red.

Zero simply laughed, then slid into the water, next to him. "God, you're so shy, X. It's only a body. I'm a male, too. Nothing you haven't seen before." He sighed slightly, noting that X was turned around, his back to him.

"That... That doesn't make a difference.. You.... shouldn't do that around me, Commander Zero. You don't realize..." He tucked his knees to his chest, gently. Zero was gorgeous, and it made him hot, so hot. This was so embarrassing. If the water wasn't there and churning... "I... I'm very shy.. about my body... anyone's body.."

Zero sighed slightly. How could this be X? "Come on, it's not that bad... Look, everyone else is gone. It's just you and me, you don't need to be so shy." He leaned back against the edge quietly, and let his hair out.

Slowly, quietly, X turned back around, and leaned back as well. " ... I guess." He stared down, into the depths of the water. Now that they were alone, they had nothing to talk about. "So..."

Zero looked over at X, carefully. He looked much calmer, much more relaxed. Now was as good a time as any, to bring up his training. He cleared his throat slightly. "Look, X. I know you're still new here, so you probably aren't used to the way things work here, but we need to have a talk. About-"

"I know." X cut in with. He rested his head against the side of the bath and opened his book, scanning mindlessly over the pages- Not reading it, just using it as something to look at. "I know... You want to fight." His hands clasped tight over the book. " ... Right?"

Zero put a hand on X's shoulder firmly. "X, I'm supposed to train you. That's my job. How do I do that if you won't fight? I don't blame you for being scared of me, but I'll go easy on you, okay?" He grinned jokingly.

X closed his book and tucked it away, getting up. "I'm not scared!" He looked down, flustered. Zero's touch, his words, everything was too much. "I'm not scared... I just..." He clenched his hand tightly, setting the book back down.

'Tell him you hate it..' He sighed slightly. "I just don't... feel well. I have to go now." He jumped out of the water, throwing a towel on quickly.

"X, wait!" Zero exclaimed, sitting up straight. But X was already gone, he'd even left his clothing behind. Zero sat on the water's edge for a few minutes, before he finally got up, a determined look in his eyes. "I'll make you a hunter yet, damnit!"

X lay quietly in bed, writing more in his journal. He was wearing a flannel nightshirt with pants, stretched out lazily. It had been nearly an hour since he had left Zero to his own devices in the bath, and he still hadn't returned.

Today was terrible. Commander Zero's such a jerk sometimes! He dragged me down to the baths, and there were so many naked men. He doesn't understand what it's like, for me. I didn't ask to be like this. I'm just too shy, I guess. Maybe he's right. I want to fight, for him. To prove that I'm not just some rookie who's going to lose his head, come his first battle. But I just don't know if I can. Maybe then we can become friends. I'm so lonely. No one seems to like me much, not really.

I saw him naked. He really is hot.

He put away his journal quietly, and sat up, hearing a noise. Zero stood in the open doorway of the room. Slowly, he slid the door shut, then locked it. "X..."

X sat on the edge, staring at him quietly. "Commander...?"

Suddenly Zero leapt at him, madly, sabre drawn.