Author's Notes; University AU. Some Drama. Fluff. Shounen Ai. German translations; "Sohn? Was denkst du machst?"=Son? What do you think you're doing?, "Ich füttere meinen kranken Liebhaber, Mama"=I am feeding my sick lover, Mom, "Kranken? X ist krank? Warum hast du uns nichts gesagt?"=Sick? X is sick? Why didn't you tell us?, "Ihr habt schon gegangen. Und..."=You were already gone. And.., "Wir hatten einen unerwarteten besucher"=We had an unexpected visitor, "Unerwarteten? Nein..Du meinst..Wily?"=Unexpected? No, you mean..Wily?, "Is er noch da?"=Is he still there?, "Nein, ich habe ihn weggeschickt."=No, I sent him away., "Ich sehe..Entschuldigung"=I see..Sorry/Excuse me..Nikole and Light have a long day, though not together and X and Zero will start collaborating in work..Please enjoy.

Nikole and Light came home later that same night. Zero had gotten boxers and pants on, as had X, and moved to the living room to give X more air. X had been wrapped in Zero's wings and laid across Zero's lap with another hot bowl of soup. Zero was giving X teaspoons of soup when their parents came home. Nikole smiled at the sight. "Sohn? Was denkst du machst?" Zero looked up at them. "Ich füttere meinen kranken Liebhaber, Mama." Nikole's smile faded. "Kranken? X ist krank? Warum hast du uns nichts gesagt?" Zero watched his mother come closer. "Ihr habt schon gegangen. Und.." Nikole was looking a little annoyed now. "Und?" Zero sighed a little. "Wir hatten einen unerwarteten besucher." Nikole's eyes grew serious. "Unerwarteten? Nein..Du meinst..Wily?" Zero nodded. Nikole shook her head. "Ist er noch da?" Zero shook his head. "Nein, ich habe ihn weggeschickt." Nikole nodded gently. "Ich sehe..Entschuldigung.." With that, she walked quickly to her room and slammed the door.

Light looked at Zero puzzled. "Zero..what's going on? Your mother had a rough day." Zero nodded. "I can tell. X is sick. And we had a visit from Wily again." Light's eyes widened as he came closer. "So, you boys have had it hard too, I see. Did Wily hurt you?" X shook his head. "No, father, Zero gave him a piece of his mind." Light couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm pleased to hear that and I think your mother will be proud, Zero. You should've said something earlier though. We both would've stayed." Zero sighed gently. "We would've, but you two were already gone." X sniffled with a smile. "Don't worry about me, father. Zero's taking great care of me. Maybe you can calm Nikole?" Light was a little puzzled. "Won't you get sick too though, Zero?" Zero shook his head. "Mother and I are immune to human illnesses. No cause for concern." Light sighed with relief. "If you say so. I'll see what I can do for her."

Light walked to Nikole's room and knocked on her closed door. "Weg mit dir!" Nikole shouted. Light sighed. "Nikole, don't be like that. I only wish to talk to you." Nikole sighed and got up, unlocking and opening her door. Light held her shoulder and walked her back into the room, closing the door behind them. Nikole and Light sat down on the bed. "I feel so stupid, Thomas. Wily was the worst mistake I've ever made. Almost to the point where I nearly regret having his child. But-" Light held a finger to Nikole's mouth. "Hush. I know how much of a pain Wily can be. I used to work with him. He certainly had his hotheaded moments and I see that hasn't changed a bit. X tells me that when he was here, Zero gave Wily a piece of his mind." Nikole's eyes widened as she moved Light's finger away. "He did? So Zero's truly just as annoyed with him as I am." Light nodded. "That speaks for itself. Why would you regret having Zero? Zero is much more rational than Wily, from what I've seen. He's more gentle, grounded, and in my eyes, more creative than Wily is." Nikole lowered her head. "I love my child dearly, Thomas. It sometimes surprises me that he's Wily's seed. Anyone would expect him to mirror his father and cause trouble, if not more trouble than Wily does now." Light smiled. "Yet he doesn't. You raised him well and he has his own reasons not to follow his father's ways. The only way he mirrors Wily is his interest in Robotics and the ways he tries to design robots. I see much of Wily in that, though he's more willing to listen to guidance than Wily. The way I see it, as those of your kind would say, Zero is a blessing in disguise. I had my doubts with my previous wife too. But I've come to view X in a similar way." Nikole nodded. "Ja, I guess that does make sense. X isn't a troublemaker either. He's more modest and sensitive than other boys." Light chuckled. "Where might that have come from?" Nikole hugged Light tightly. "That has Thomas Light written all over it." Light chuckled more, hugging Nikole back. "You'd be correct."

When X was better, he and Zero started their next semesters at the university. As before, the only time he and Zero met was between classes in the student lounge. Sometimes, though, X would have lunch with his father in his new office. Zero would be there, tinkering with robot parts before stopping for lunch. The redhead enjoyed his internship with his lover's father and Light found Zero to have a knack for Robotics and Engineering. Zero viewed it as a hobby, still wanting to be a Physicist. X was still interning under Nikole at the local nursing home. He still didn't know which he wanted to pursue more, Biology or being a nurse there.

Nikole grew worried when most of the cafeteria staff at the nursing home decided to quit. There was less food for the elderly and the nursing home staff was getting plenty of complaints. One day, X stopped by Nikole's office instead of going to the nursing home. Nikole was on her way out when she spotted him. "Is something wrong, X?" X shook his head. "I was thinking about the nursing home's cafeteria staff leaving like that..What if Zero could help out?" Nikole shrugged as she pondered a little. "Maybe he can. He'd have to take it up with the manager and the manager isn't always charitable. Go see what he thinks."

X nodded and stopped by his father's office. Light and Zero looked up when they heard the door open. "You're early. Is something wrong?" Light asked. X shook his head again. "No, dad. Can I borrow Zero for a few minutes?" Light nodded. "Certainly." Zero put down his tools and lifted up his safety goggles as he got up and walked to the door. He closed the door behind him before looking at X. "Was passiert, liebste? Ist alles klar?" X looked down bashfully. "Well, I guess you heard about the cafeteria staff at the nursing home. I was hoping maybe you could help out." Zero tilted his head. "That depends. I can't be in two places at once, nor can anybody. What did you have in mind?" X leaned in closer to Zero. "I was thinking perhaps a delivery service. You could send some menus to the nursing home and then the nurses could call in the orders. Then the restaurant can deliver them." Zero pondered. "I like your idea, don't get me wrong, but not everyone in the restaurant cooks the same way I do. We don't usually do delivery, but I'll see what my manager says about it." X gently hugged Zero. "Thank you, Zero." Zero hugged X back. "I'll tell you what my manager says this evening."

Later that evening, X eagerly awaited Zero's return in the living room. He, his father, and Nikole had gone to the market for produce before their train home. X had chopped avocadoes waiting on the living room table for his nephilim lover. Soon, Zero finally came into the house, locking the door behind him. X quickly got up and ran to him, tackle hugging him. Zero giggled when they fell to the floor. "I see I've been missed." X giggled. "I always miss you when we're apart." Zero chuckled. "As do I, liebste. I have some good news for you." X looked at him with a grin. "Oh yeah? What?" Zero craddled X in his arms as he got up. "My manager likes your idea too. So much so, that she wants more details and to talk with you about it. She wants to setup a group to take care of cooking for the elderly and the delivery people." X smiled as Zero carried him to the couch. "That's great." Zero nodded, sitting down on the couch with X in his lap. X fed him a few pieces of chopped avocado with a grin. "When does she want to meet?" Zero ate the avocadoes X fed him. "Whenever you find it possible. When that happens, she'll call all the staff in the restaurant over. Everyone working there needs to hear about it and she wants to figure out the cooking and delivery system obviously." X nodded. "What's your manager's name?" Zero pulled X back against him. "Sandra. She's seen you around before. She thinks you're cute. Don't let her try to charm you." X giggled. "I'm yours, Zero, but we do need to make it official." Zero smirked. "Indeed, but let's just say..I'm working on that part."