(I thought I'd do a fic with a Gray and Ashe pairing since no one has never done up till now. I don't own them. Get the picture.)

Gary was lying on his bed inside his room of the Hunter Base staring at the ceiling. It's been three days since he and Ashe, with some help from Vent and Aile, defeated Master Albert. Though he should be relaxing, he still couldn't shake of the reason why Pandora tried to kill him when he awoke.

"You… are like me… a MegaMan. But you were awakened before the mind control sequence was completed. Defectives must be disposed of…"

Although Pandora was destroyed along with her brother, Prometheus, those words still haunt ever nook and cranny of his mind. He knew that mind control was not a good thing, but he wondered if he was really defective.

'Am I really just a faulty?' he thought silently to himself, 'What if I am just a mistake? Do I even have a purpose in the world?'

His thoughts were broken when his door opened and a human girl with sapphire hair peeked in, "There you are, squirt! I was wondering where you were."

"Oh, hey Ashe," Gary said with a slight blush on his face. He remembered back when he found himself in the company of the hunters. That was the first time he met Ashe. She slipped a playful kiss on his cheek, exclaiming that he was the most "cutest little shrimp" she ever laid eyes on.

"What's got you down?" she asked as she sat down beside him, "You look bummed."

"It's nothing, honest."

"Nothing? Or something?"

Gray sighed. She was serenading him again; tricking him to tell her what she wanted, "Okay you win. I was thinking about when I first awoke."

"You mean when Pandora attacked you, right?"

"Yeah, I still can't shake off this feeling about what she said. She said that I was defective and because of that, I had no purpose… if I am just faulty, then what good am I?"

"Gray, relax," she said as she ruffled his hair, "You aren't faulty, it's just that reploids like Prometheus and Pandora just think that they're superior to all others. That's why they're labeled as Mavericks. Reploids like you, Prairie and all our other friends are all willing to help other people, ya know? Don't let Pandora's words get to you."

"Sound like you're really sure of yourself," Grey said as he lifted his head.

"That's because I am," she replied softly as she went on top of him with her arms around his shoulders.

"A…Ashe…?" he stuttered as her eyes locked closely with his. Normally, Ashe is ecstatic, bouncy and as sneaky as a snake. But now she was being gentle and soft. The loving look in her eyes made Gray want to faint.

"You're my best friend Gray, you know that? You're the closest friend I have. And that kiss I gave you when he first met wasn't just to tease you… it was also because I meant it."

'Oh, man. Is she going to say what I think she's gonna say?'

Ashe slowly brought her face closer with his and rested her forehead on his.

"…I love you."

She tenderly bruised her delicate lips against his warm ones and kissed him gently. Gray's eyes widen slightly but slowly closed them and enjoyed the kiss as he warped his arms around her waist. Thirty-two seconds later, Ashe slowly broke it and looked into his eyes again.

"So, did you like kissing a cute girl?" she smirked.

"Yeah, I really did," Gray chuckled.

"Hey, Gray, can I rest with you?" Ashe asked as she cuddled against him.

"Why not?" he smiled as he held her closer, "After all, we both deserve it."

Twelve minutes later...

"Hey, Gray! Aile and I ne-"

Vent quickly shut his mouth when he and Aile saw their younger counterparts both sleeping in a more-than-just-friends embrace. Not wanting to wake them up, they both closed the door quietly and stalked away.

"You know, I had a feeling something like that was going to happen sooner or later," Aile smiled.

"Yeah, those two are so much like us when we were that young," Vent grinned back.

"So, how about we do some cuddling of our own, hm?" she winked as wrapped her arms around him.

"Yeah, we'll need it," he laughed.