Light Family Memoir

Oneshot 2 - Family Trouble

A/N: Minor mentions of abuse, but nothing more than just a mention that Zack's parents aren't the best of influences.

Five knocks, two door bell rings, and both scratching and barking from Rush at the front door finally brought Xavier to it on this one Saturday morning.

Dad and Rock had already gone to work, and Roll had taken Blues with her to shop for groceries, leaving him to sleep in without any disruptions. Until now.

As he went for the doorknob, an itching feeling told him it wasn't probably one of them who had just forgotten a key to get back inside, and that feeling had been right. Outside the door, stood his childhood best friend with lengthy blonde hair and a ticked off expression on his face, Zack.

"Hey Zero," X greeted a bit nervously, using his childhood nickname which they still used commonly, "Everything okay?"

"...Do you mind if I stay here?" This caught X off-guard. He spent almost all of his hours at home taking care of his younger brother in-between his training to become a police officer. At that moment, he thought he wanted to move in for some reason, but quickly shook it off, trying not to jump to conclusions.

Besides, he didn't see any luggage anywhere or anything like that.

"Like…" He tried to get the other to elaborate.

"Just for a few hours. Just until I… calm down." Something must've happened at home, X figured. He was no stranger that his family wasn't exactly the kindest of people, and Zack had spent way more time with the Light family then Xavier ever had with Zack's.

"Alright, come on in, then." He motioned for him to step inside as he followed instruction with a thankful nod. Rush, who had been fussy before, sat happily beside X, wagging his tail and following Zero with his digital optics. "Everyone's out doing stuff, so it's just you and me."

"That's good." With an almost silent mutter, he added as a tip, "I don't really wanna be bothered about what happened at the moment."

"Will do," Xavier responded, whether he was supposed to or not. Zack didn't seem to care either way.

They headed into the living room and situated themselves on the plush couch. Zero, after boredly looking around the room and staring at the floor, pulled his smartphone out and X could only suppose with all the scrolling and occasional tapping he was doing, he was most likely looking at social media.

Or, he could be reading fanfiction for all he knew. X really didn't have a clue what Zero did on his phone, nor did he ever bother to glance over. It was his business, after all, and he had enough people intruding into his life as it was.

As X grabbed his handheld gaming device and turned it on, Zack's phone rang. He quickly shut it up by what Xavier supposed was the 'decline' button. He had a feeling they weren't calling to apologize.

Zack looked like he wanted to throw his phone as his phone as it beeped with a text not long after due to his negligence to answer the call. A few times, actually. His face was tensed up into a scowl and he was gripping his phone in such a manner that could crush it instead of throwing it if it was more flimsy.

Neither, however, would be wanting to explain to Xavier's dad about why the TV was busted or the wall was dented, nor did he have the money to pay for another one, regardless if it was a moderately priced phone.

The room grew quiet, and as X waited for the game to load the next part of the game, he glanced over at Zero. He could tell the silence of the room was killing him. X went to speak, but before he could say anything, his friend met his eyes and spoke up

"My parents want to move Bass in with my uncle."

Though friends and business partners with Xavier's father, both the children of the Wily family and the Light family weren't exactly the most comfortable around Dr. Albert Wily, but it was more specifically Zero and his younger brother, Bass, who had to deal with him. Though obviously uncomfortable, at the very least the Light family respected their father and his relationship, as Dr. Light had hope in him.

X knew the same didn't apply for the other two.

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Zero ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I dunno why though, I hated him when I was younger. But, I guess I just don't want him to go through the same he…" His voice trailed off, and then a pause, avoiding the harsh language he almost slipped out.

X was used to language by now, and probably wouldn't be as harsh on him as his dad would be, but Zero refrained from it nowadays for both the youngest Light children's innocence and to put up a good example for Bass.

He continued, changing his wording. "...stuff I went through."

"Yeah. You don't want to see him turn out like the rest of your family." He only nodded in response.

"I've just done so much for him and I feel like I've made progress of making him a better person. But if he really does move in my uncle, one of the people I swore not to see ever again…" Zero didn't even have to finish the thought for X to get what he was saying.

Bailey, Bass's real name before adopting the nickname after their childhood names, was still only a kid at the age of 9, around the same age Rock and Roll had been designed to be. His mind could still be molded in either the right or wrong direction, unlike his younger siblings who were pretty much bound by their programming.

X had a feeling that if Bass moved out of his parents' house, who for some reason still put up with Zero, and into Wily's, who Zero had a huge falling out with a few years back, it was possible that Zero wouldn't get enough impact on Bass while he was still moldable.

Bass could still have positive interaction at school, but knowing that he was already having a disciplinary issue at school, both knew it wasn't likely.

"I don't know if you want to tell Dad and the others about all of it, but we're here for you."

"I dunno yet. But, thanks." A small smile appeared on his face, causing X to smile back. All he needed was to vent and know someone, somewhere was willing to help in any way they could. In this case, it was X and the rest of the Light family. "You've always been like a second family to me. I don't know where I'd be without you guys."

"Probably in a gang or something, that long hair of yours waving in the wind as you ride your motorcycle," X joked. Zero couldn't help but imagine it and laugh. The mood changed quickly.

"My hair can wave in the wind on my bike without being in a gang." He retaliated with a smirk.

"Says the guy who always ties his hair up and wears a helmet while riding one." Zero jokingly looked offended.

"You only know it's to keep it out of my face." He commented, X obviously aware. "And safety first, right?"

At that moment, the door swung open. Roll rushed down the hall with groceries, yelling, "I'm making lunch!", making X wonder if she had noticed them. Blues came in moments later and walked into the open living room.

Cocking a brow, he questioned, "Why is Zack here?"

Zack took a deep breath, and responded. "It's… complicated."

"Family issues?" Blues surprisingly read him like a open book, but it wasn't so much of a surprise when Xavier thought about it. He'd been around for some of the earlier issues that Zack had as a young teenager.

The twins had been introduced later, and by then, they were both wrapped up in high school, X himself in academics, clubs, and the occasional helping hand at his father's lab, and Zero in his own academics and athletics, having little time to hang out.

Luckily, Zero avoided a lot of issues with his parents in those years, but most of them that happened pertained to Bass and how he was raised.

"Yeah. I'll talk about it more later, I suppose." Blues nodded understandably as X felt relieved. He was lucky to have a understanding family.

Roll popped her head through the open frame. "Will you stick around for lunch, Zero?"

"Yes," He gave a charming smile, "I'd love to."

"Great," And with that, she was off, back to the kitchen.

"I'll help Roll," followed Blues as he left the room as well.

Distant talking and noises filled the once silent house. After a moment of silence between them, Zack spoke up with a smile on his face.

"Hey, X?"

"What is it?" X wondered what he had to say, smiling as well.

"I'm glad we became friends all those years ago."

Almost like a flashback, the memory of their first meeting faintly played in his mind. He wondered if Zero ever did the same.

He glanced over at an old picture hanging on the wall, one of both of them at the lab one day after they had officially met at the same lab all those years ago. X looked back at his best friend, who was staring at him with anticipation to respond.

"Me too, Zero. Me too."