Title/theme: ZERO
Genre: angst
Approx time line: After GS
Summary: "You miss him too, don't you,"

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The young captain of the Archangel wandered around the hangar, watching the crew unload various pieces of machinery.

They have already landed in Orb, and were getting ready to disembark, but not before the equipment has been unloaded.

Her eyes fell to a corner of the hangar, where the Strike used to be. She suddenly felt choked up as her eyes took in the pieces of scrap metal—all that was left of the once-powerful machine. So she quickly turned her head away and headed in the opposite direction.

Her feet took her to a remote space, where unused equipment lay. A flash of white caught her eyes. She did a double take, and felt choked up again as she recognized the broken Skygrasper.

Slowly, carefully, she wound her way over to it, placing a hand gently on the white body, the cool metal calming her beating heart.

The blue-and-white plane sat there silently, forgotten and broken. They never bothered to fix it, because they no longer needed it after Alaska. Why they still kept it on board when they were in outer space, she had no idea. Probably because they were all too busy to pay attention to such minor trivialities.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the plane softly, feeling guilty that they've left it behind, tucked away in a remote place gathering dust, after all that it had done for them. It stared back at her silently, neither blaming her nor forgiving her.

She sighed, and almost laughed at herself. She was talking to a plane, of course it wouldn't respond!

"Maybe we'll fix you up someday," she mumbled absentmindedly, though she knew it probably wouldn't need to fly again.

She gave its metal body a final pat, before walking away.

As she was about to leave, something orange peeked out at her from behind the Skygrasper, as if beckoning her. Mesmerized, she found herself drawn to it.

She made a noise that sounded halfway between a laugh and a cry as she saw what it was.

The Mobieus Zero stared back at her, studying her with its hawk-like eyes.

"So that's where you were hiding." She went over to it and patted it fondly. The Zero answered with a metallic sigh.

"I know," she whispered as her pressed her forehead against its cool side, "You miss him too, don't you."

She was answered with silence. She sighed.

"Prep the Zero for me, I'm going out again!"

At the time, she scolded him for being so ridiculous, because all she wanted was for him to come back safely to her.

"You know, we're pretty similar," she spoke up again, her voice echoing in the hangar. She laughed mirthlessly and shook her head. "He said he'd come back for you, and you waited faithfully for him, just as I did," the laugh suddenly turned into a strangled sob, "But he never did, did he?"

The Zero didn't answer, listening quietly to her tearless sobs instead.

"Heh, look at me, I'm talking to machines now." As she said that, she suddenly felt silly, and there was a strange impulse to laugh at herself.

She used to tease him when he spoke to the Zero, who would've thought she'd do the same thing someday.

"He's fond of you, you know?" she told the orange mobile armour. "Even after getting the Strike, he hadn't really forgotten you."

She laughed as she remembered the way he used to brag about his Zero. Like a proud father.

"So, now that you got a new toy, you've gotten tired of the old one?" she peered into the cockpit of the Strike where he was busily testing out its various functions.

He stopped and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

She laughed. "I'm talking about the Zero," she answered, "Or have you forgotten it already?"

He looked offended. "Who says I'm tired of it?" He exited the cockpit and stared at her accusingly.

"Well, you don't use it anymore," she answered nonchalantly. "Besides, aren't you always insisting to me that you are a 'mobile suit pilot' now?"

"Hey, that doesn't mean I'm tired of it," he protested, laughing. "I still go see it sometimes. I'm very proud of it you know. After all, I'm the only one capable of using it, and—"

"Yeah yeah, I know," she cut him off with a wave of a hand, "You've told me a million times, o great Hawk of Endymion."

He pretended to look like his ego was hurt, before laughing along with her.

"So, I guess the Zero is your precious darling still?" she asked sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope," he surprised her by pulling her into his arms and kissed her brow, "You are."

She couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head. "You're so cliché Mwu."

He didn't answer, kissing her instead.

She wanted to cry at the memory, but her tears have run dry by now. Instead, she kept talking to the silent Zero.

"You were fond of him too, right?" she caressed the orange metal slowly. Even though the Zero was simple and outdated compared to the new mobile suits, it had always managed to keep him safe somehow. "So thank you."

She suddenly got the impulse to look inside, to see the cockpit, hoping to discover a trace of him, his presence.

Using the lift, she climbed on top of the mobile armour. Opening the hatch door, she carefully peeked inside.

This was actually the first time she had ever looked into the belly of the machine. And what she saw…she was sorely disappointed.

The cockpit was clean. Too clean. All she could see where buttons and controls. No memorabilia, or any sign that he'd ever been in there at all. Maybe if she went inside…

Slowly, carefully, she found her way into the seat. She looked around at the unfamiliar surrounding. The cockpit was tiny compared to the Strike's.

She brushed her hand against the controls, telling herself that his hand had been here once, and trying to draw any lingering feelings that she thought she'd get.

Nothing.

She leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes against the metal embrace of the Mobieus Zero. She was hoping to feel something. But she couldn't feel his presence at all. And instead of feeling at home, she felt cold.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You really aren't here anymore, are you…"

A single tear trailed down her cheek and landed on the armrest of the seat.

"I wonder what's going to happen to us now that..." she stopped herself and swallowed, "Now that our future is so uncertain."

"I wonder what he would've wanted to do with you," she sat up and looked around. "I've never asked him. But I guess we didn't really talk too much about 'after the war'. It seemed so distant then. But now..."

"What am I suppose to do with you?" she asked the Zero. Her own voice echoed back in answer.

"I suppose...since there's no one else who could use you now..." she felt choked up again, but continued. "And besides, we probably don't need mobile armours now that the war is over. I suppose we could always put you in the aviation museum or something."

She paused and considered her idea. "Yes, I think we'd better do that, or else they might turn you into scrap metal."

She patted the armrest, as if assuring the mobile armour. "Don't worry, I won't let them do that to you. In fact, that's the last thing I'd let them do."

After all, the Zero was one of the few things that he'd left behind, and she swore she'd take good care of it for him.

AN: I always did wonder what happened to the dear old Zero. In the manga, Mwu wanted to use the Zero after his Strike was damaged, but the Zero pretty much disappeared in the anime after getting the Skygrasper.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Oh yeah, on a side note, I'm building a Mwurrue shrine, and I want to know, why do you guys like this pairing so much? If you want to participate, please PM me.