Author's Notes; University AU. A little more plot. Fluff precursors. The two groups meet at the university and end up going deep into the Swiss countryside..Something I failed to mention is that the town X and Light are supposed to be in is Zurich..because I've heard tell of lots of universities and research areas in that vicinity..German translations; "Wohin fahren sie?"=Where are you travelling to?(My attempt at trying to get a German taxi driver to say 'Where to?'), "Zur U-Bahn"=To the Metro/Subway, "Bitte"=Please, "Die Universität und die U-Bahn"=The university and the metro..Please enjoy..
The next day, father and son went out to go find the university X was enrolled in. As luck would have it, it was only a few blocks away from the restaurant they had encountered Zero in. The university building was tall with an arch and water fountain in the front. The housing complex was just across the street from the campus. As they looked around, Dr. Light could see some taxis pulling in a dropping people off. He stopped X when he saw a familiar face. "X, look, there he is." X turned to look behind him and was plesantly surprised. There was Zero, getting out of a yellow taxi's passenger side. The taxi's back passenger side had opened too. Zero helped a redhead woman with freckles, blue eyes, and glasses out of the car. The woman pushed up her glasses before paying the taxi fare. The taxi drove away as Zero and the woman walked under the arch, looking at the building. X tilted his head at them. "Red hair..I wonder if that's his mom."
Zero and the woman drew closer. Zero was soon able to see X and Light clearly. "Mother, there are two people here I met just recently." The redhead looked at X and Light as they came closer. "No..that's not him..is it?" Zero and the woman stopped just before X and Light. "So, we meet again." X blushed, seeing the blond. "You're going to go here too?" Zero nodded. "Ja..but I won't have to use a dorm thankfully." The woman blushed looking at Light. "Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be the famous Dr. Thomas Light, would you?" Light was surprised. "Why yes. It sounds like you've heard about me." The woman nodded shyly. "Yeah, I'm a big fan of yours. I love your work. Your Laws of Roboticism are incredible. Uhmm..I'm Nikole Keller. I've been teaching English and Biology here for almost 5 years. This is my son, Zero. He's going to be going here for a Bachelor's in Physics. Oh, who's this? Is this your son?" Dr. Light nodded. "Yes, this is X. He's here for a Bachelor's in Biology." X nodded shyly. "A pleasure to meet you, Nikole. Are you married?" Nikole shook her head. "I'm divorced. That was maybe 12 years ago. I raised Zero mostly by myself. His father kept trying to mistreat him. To this day, sometimes he comes and tries to beat him for no good reason. I don't know where he hides out." X looked at Nikole and then Zero. "That sounds terrible. Have you called the police?" Zero nodded. "Mother has a restraining order on him, but he doesn't seem to care." Light looked at Nikole. "Where is it you live?" "We live in the countryside. We're way on the outskirts of town. The only means for us to get to town is by train. We had to wave a taxi over." Nikole answered. X smiled shyly. "We're in a hotel for now. We wanted a house on the countryside, but couldn't find one for sale." Nikole blushed more. "We have two empty bedrooms. You can stay with us if you want." X looked at Light. Dr. Light could tell X was thinking the same as him. "Would it be ok if we paid a visit to your home after the university tour?" Nikole smiled and nodded. "Certainly. That's no problem."
After their tour of the university, Zero waved down another taxi. When one stopped for them, X, Light and Nikole sat in the back while Zero sat in the front. "Wohin fahren sie?" Asked the taxi driver. "Zur U-Bahn, bitte." Zero answered. The taxi driver nodded, driving away from the university. "I hope you like trains because we have to a near 4 hour trip to our area." Zero warned. X was surprised. "4 hours? I've never been on a train for that long." Nikole grinned. "We get up very early for such an occasion everyday. Zero stays around the vicinity of his work while I'm at the university." Zero nodded. "If the restaurant is short on staff, I can help out while I'm around." X grinned. "Clever and sweet of you." Light agreed. "You seem like a good boy." Nikole smiled. "He is. He's a better man than his crazy father." Light looked at Nikole. "Pardon my asking, but why is it that your son's hair is in such a strange way with the bottom half red?" Nikole sighed. "Can it wait until we get home? The town isn't the place for such a private conversation." Light nodded. "That's fine. But then, who was his father? Something in his eyes is so familiar...but I can't quite put my finger on it." Nikole looked at Light. "I believe you used to work very closely with him." Light paused for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "No...He's...Is he Albert Wily's son?" Nikole nodded. "He is." Light looked at Zero. "Then...why is he trying so hard to attack his own son?" Nikole shook her head. "This isn't the place to explain."
After Nikole bought extra tickets for X and Light, it was a short wait before the train arrived. Light found a seat as did X. Nikole shyly sat with Light and Zero with X. X felt flustered being next to Zero. "Uhhmm..is that girl Iris your girlfriend by any chance? She seemed a little more cheerful when you came to our table the other day." Zero sighed gently. "She's my ex. She's more demanding and demeaning than she looks. She acts kind and innocent at the job, but its just a mask for the sake of her job. We split because I couldn't stand her anymore. Its dumb luck that we work at the same place. Did you have a girlfriend where you came from?" X shook his head. "There was one girl who crushed on me, but I never really saw her as a girlfriend..To be honest..I think I like men more.." Zero chuckled. "Isn't that interesting? I'm starting to think the same of myself." X blushed brighter. "What kind of guy do you want, if I may ask?" Zero blushed a little. "I haven't really thought about that...Just one I can connect with...I want something deep, if that makes sense." X nodded. "It makes sense. I'd like something like that too. It sounds very beautiful." Zero nodded a little, making sure X was able to look out the window. "Will you miss your homeland?" X shrugged. "In a way, I suppose. We came from an English city that was very crowded. We came to find peace in the countryside and also because my father's workplace changed and I had enrolled in the university here." Zero grinned slightly. "I think we can provide you the peace you seek for the most part."
