Love
Alia!
Chapter 10
"True Feelings"
By
MEGAMANX411
Mega Man X looked at his friend Zero in awe. He never really expected this to come back up. It wasn't entirely surprisingly in reality though. After all, Zero did lose a loved one. But still, X had just gotten used to Zero being a prankster. That was kind of the way Zero handled himself. He felt much better if he played jokes and had a good time…or at least, that's what X assumed. He never really thought ill of Zero for it. Even though some claimed X couldn't take a joke that well, deep down he knew his friend meant him no harm whatsoever. He really didn't mind anyway.
Zero, on the other hand, was thinking about what he should say. He typically kept a cool and calm demeanor, but this sudden outburst of emotion really shook him up. He tried his best to look cool again, but he was having trouble doing so. He wanted to be faithful to Iris' memory, but he knew that he had to let it go if he wanted to move on. Also, he really pondered on the effects of his actions. He never really thought about the feelings of his friend, or Layer for that matter. What she just admitted took a lot of courage, and in the heat of the moment, Zero rejected her pretty harshly.
"Hey Zero?" asked X, turning to face his friend.
"Yeah, what is it X?" Zero replied, almost in a daze still.
"I was just wondering…you know, about Layer," X answered, his voice becoming increasingly quiet.
Zero lowered his eyes to the ground, and a somewhat sad look washed over his face. To be blunt, Zero had to admit that he didn't have any significant feelings for Layer. He didn't mind her company, and Zero could always count on her to be a valuable ally, so he enjoyed having her around. Still, he didn't feel that strongly about her. Would it be worse to play along and admit he loved her, even if it was false?
"Honestly…I feel pretty bad for her. I mean, she's a good person, and I value her as my ally. But I don't think I have strong feelings for her," Zero answered, trying to sort his feeling out.
X nodded in agreement. He understood what Zero was trying to say, or at least he thought he had some idea. If the person loves you, but you don't love them back, what is there to do?
"Well…I suppose maybe you should just go out and tell her, and an apology wouldn't hurt either. After all, you're a lot better with girls than I am, heh…" X joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Heh, X cracking a joke? When did this happen?" Zero replied, a smile coming on his face.
"Zero?" X asked.
"Yeah, what is it this time?" his friend replied.
"I was also wondering…you know, with you teasing me…was it kind of a way for you to deal with how you felt?" X asked.
Zero chuckled a bit at X's words. He never really thought that deeply about it before. To him, joking around was a way for him to relieve his feelings, and to get his mind off things. He preferred to keep his cool demeanor, and to keep a level head. So to do that, he had to keep his feelings in check. He had to find a way to balance out any negative emotions. Usually they were just ignored or discarded, but what happened to Iris really stuck with Zero despite his tendencies. He really only joked around just to feel better, he supposed.
"Well…because it's fun, I guess," Zero joked, an arrogant smirk appearing on his face.
X instantly knew what Zero meant at that moment. So he just smiled back, and then walked with his friend back to the resort. At this time, it was almost morning. The dark clouds had given way to the rising sun, and the rays of sunlight were gently cascading over the land, seemingly signifying some sort of divine renewal. The cold, dark night had given way to a warmer morning. It was kind of funny how things worked out that way; both hunters smiling, acting buddy-buddy all the way back home.
Everyone else was up all night, waiting for X and Zero to return. In fact, it was Alia who first spotted them coming back. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly ran over to the others to tell them that X and Zero had returned. After getting everyone else, Alia quickly ran towards the two hunters, and hugged X tightly.
"You brought him back!" she shouted, a big smile appearing on her face as well.
"Yeah, I did. I think we got some things sorted out," X replied, turning to his friend.
"Sure did…hey Layer? I need to talk to ya for a sec," Zero shouted, motioning to her.
Layer slowly went out to face Zero. She still looked a bit sad, but she clearly was much happier now that Zero had returned. It was just Zero's time to clear up a few things.
"Well Layer…listen, I can understand how you feel. I've been in love before too. I value you strongly as an ally, and I wouldn't want to lose you. But to be honest Layer, I don't think I really do have the same feelings that you have for me. I want to apologize to you Layer. I must've really hurt your feelings, and that was not cool of me. I'm sure you'll find someone one day, but honestly, I don't think it would work out between us. I'm very sorry Layer," Zero declared, trying to comfort her as he spoke.
"Zero…I don't know if I can change how I feel. I accept your apology, and…well, I just have to accept how you feel as well," Layer replied.
Pallette then came down to face everyone. She did admit that trying to set everyone up into becoming couples was kind of a game she was playing, but she never intended for it to go this wrong. She wanted to fix things.
"Listen everyone…I was the one to kind of set this all up. I wanted to try to set up X and Alia as a couple, and Layer and Zero as a couple, because I thought it'd be fun, and I thought that's what you guys would've wanted really. After I saw how happy X and Alia were together, I thought the same would've worked for Layer and Zero…but I didn't count on past experiences. I'm really, truly sorry…" Pallette announced, lowering her head.
"Why you guys getting all sad for? We have a vacation to spend still!" Axl shouted, trying to cheer everyone up.
"Hey, he is right you know. Maybe we should go out and enjoy it some more before Signas calls us back!" X added.
"That's what I wanted to hear! Come on, I'm sure there's still tons of fun stuff we can do before it's time to head back!" Zero shouted, trying to get everyone psyched up.
The entire group was getting really excited for more vacation time, and all of their escapades they would share together. Zero got a familiar smirk on his face as he looked back at the others, and he thought of all the good times he could have with his own little pranks. X's eyes, on the other hand, were more focused on Alia at the present time, mostly because of what was said and done earlier on. He really felt better around her…and he did ponder about asking her something special later. Pallette felt really bad about what she did, but she was determined to make the best of the vacation regardless. As for Axl, Layer, and Alia….well, they had some good ideas of their own in mind. And perhaps it was their own time to have a little fun!
