Chapter 14

Iris awoke from a dreamless slumber, and for a few blissful seconds enjoyed the feeling of peace and comfort. Her processor then resumed full functions, forcing her to recall her predicament. She groaned softly and sat up to glare at the source of her problems.

Zero was propped against the wall, still fast asleep. His right arm rested on one of his knees, while his left arm hung loosely at his side. His hair spilled onto the floor around him like a golden waterfall, and his expression was peaceful.

How did he manage to sleep like that? It didn't look at all comfortable. Of course, the only other option was for them to share her bed, and that was out of the question. In any case, it was better for him to be asleep. Iris slipped out of bed as quietly as she could, but she underestimated Zero's hearing.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Ack, don't look!" she exclaimed, hiding her hair with her pillow.

"What's wrong?"

"I look awful! I haven't brushed my hair yet!"

"You look fine to me."

She gave him a look of disbelief, but his expression was as serious as ever. She rolled her eyes and grumbled, "You are such an idiot."

Privately, she was relieved that he did not make fun of her, but she did not approve of his poor taste. With a grunt, she walked over to her vanity and began to tame her bedhead.

"Do you do this every morning?" Zero asked.

"Of course. Maybe you don't care, but I personally don't want to look like a slob," she replied. "Hold up. Are you saying that you don't brush your hair?"

"I never saw a need for it."

Iris almost dropped her brush. She stomped over to him and yanked him upright. "Take it off."

"Huh?"

"Your helmet! Take it off!"

"But―"

"NOW!"

Zero looked confused, but obeyed. Iris then ordered him to turn around, and he stiffened as she attacked his hair with her brush.

"Hey!" he exclaimed when she hit a knot. "Iris, what are you doing? And why are you so mad?"

"You idiot!" she snarled. "How DARE you treat hair this pretty so poorly!"

She supposed she couldn't really blame him. After all, being male and a combat model, he probably didn't give a lick about what he looked like. But the fact that he didn't take proper care of his hair struck a nerve. She had to spend a lot of time and effort to keep her hair looking good, and Zero's hair was still prettier when it was unkempt. She pouted, thinking about how unfair it was.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," said Zero. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"It's a mess!" Iris exclaimed. "There're a million tangles in here! I can't believe I never noticed them before!"

"The tangles haven't given me any issues," said Zero.

"I don't care!" yelled Iris. "I won't tolerate a rat's nest in my room!"

"There are no rats living in my hair, though."

"It's a figure of speech, damn it!"

Thirty minutes later, Iris managed to tame all the tangles. Considering that more than a hundred years had passed since Zero's hair was last groomed, she was surprised that it was in such good condition. She took some of it into her hand and stroked it, feeling a stab of envy at how soft and silky it was. Why would a combat Reploid have hair like this in the first place? It served no purpose, and it looked like it would get in the way in the midst of battle.

"Are you done?" asked Zero.

"Uh, yeah!" She let go of his hair just as Zero glanced behind him. "See, don't you think that looks so much better?"

"Not really."

"You're hopeless," Iris sighed, shaking her head. She returned to her vanity as Zero put his helmet back on. It only took her a few more minutes to brush and tie back her own hair. Then she put on her beret and popped an E-crystal into her mouth. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Or are you?"

Iris shrieked as she felt something yank the tip of her ponytail. Before she could blink, she found herself pinned against Zero. The former Maverick Hunter held her close with one arm while using his free hand to point the Z-Saber at her offender.

Lumen held her hands high in the air as she stared at the green blade resting an inch from her neck. "Bro, you really need to chill out." Her tone was calm, but her expression betrayed her terror.

"Don't ever do that again," Zero growled. He turned off the Z-Saber and tucked it into its holster, and Lumen sighed in relief.

"Whew, I thought I was a goner," she mumbled.

"Lumen, what on earth are you doing?" Iris asked as Zero released her.

"I wanted to see how the two of you were getting along," Lumen replied. "Surely all this time alone together would have done something for your relationship. And it looks like I was right."

"What are you talking about? And how did you sneak in here?" Iris demanded.

"I hid in your hair last night," said Lumen. "It wasn't fun, but hearing you yell 'Take it off!' at Zero was totally worth it."

Iris flushed crimson and swiped at Lumen, but the Cyber Elf giggled and dodged the blow.

"And you, Zero!" Lumen continued. "You're awfully protective of little Rissy-poo. You almost killed me just because I pulled her hair."

"What are you getting at?" asked Zero.

"You two are adorable," said Lumen. "You need to hurry up and kiss already."

Iris almost choked. She sputtered for a few seconds before screeching Lumen's name and chasing after the Cyber Elf. Lumen was faster, however, and escaped the room, and Iris's attempt to pursue was thwarted when her annoyingly diligent jailor restrained her arms.

"Let me go, Zero! I'm going to kill her!" she yelled.

"She's not worth it," said Zero. "Besides, you're under house arrest, remember?"

After a few more seconds of struggling, she gave up. "Fine," she grated.

"Lumen seems to enjoy making you angry," Zero noted. "What did she mean by "hurry up and kiss already'?"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, please don't make me explain that!" cried Iris.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes! So shut your mouth and forget about it unless you want to get smacked!"

Zero let her go, and she plopped on her bed with a huff. She was so angry she could hardly think. First Aigel, and now Lumen. Why were they convinced that she had a thing for Zero? Today convinced her more than ever that he was not for her. His ever so nosy stare wasn't helping matters, either.

"I am in a very foul mood right now, Zero, so do me a favor and get lost," she grated.

"And let you stumble into trouble again? I don't think so," he said.

"Would you knock that off already?!" snarled Iris. "It's one thing to be protective, but you're smothering me! Lumen was right; you do need to chill out."

Zero looked confused and troubled. "I don't understand."

"I'm telling you to give me a little space!" she exclaimed. "It's not like I'm gonna keel over just because you weren't watching me. If you're that worried, just park your butt outside and I'll holler if I need you."

"Will that make you happy?" asked Zero.

"Absolutely."

He turned around and left the room without another word. Iris stared at her door for several seconds after it shut behind him, hardly believing her eyes. It wasn't like Zero to give in so easily. Something had to be going on with him. She frowned, wondering why that thought bothered her so much, but she shook it off. She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Time crawled by at a painfully slow rate. Iris relished the peace, but she was bored out of her mind. She had already polished every inch of her room to a shine, and there was nothing else to do. It was official: even without Zero, house arrest sucked.

Speaking of which, she was surprised he hadn't come in to check on her. While she had told him to get lost, she hadn't expected him to listen. His unusual obedience was beginning to freak her out. Determined to find out what he was up to, she hustled over to her door and opened it.

She found Zero leaning against the wall beside her door, looking mildly surprised. "Iris? Is something wrong?"

"Um, no," she replied, feeling suddenly bashful. "I was just bored."

"So you aren't happy?" he asked.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean— Ugh, I don't know how to explain it! Why are you even asking me that?"

"I want you to be happy."

Iris gasped.

"What's wrong?" Zero asked.

"Okay, that's enough!" she snapped. "This isn't funny, Zero! I don't know what scheme you're trying to pull, but I'm not falling for it! Get out of my face!"

She ducked back into her room and slammed the door behind her. She took several deep breaths and tried to calm her racing core. She was afraid; almost as afraid as when she had been caught in the spider Reploid's web. She could not believe Zero had said something so sweet. Even more frightening was how easily his words pierced her core. Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar feelings stirring in her chest, she feigned anger and made up an excuse to escape.

Iris heard Zero apologizing from the other side of her door and felt a sharp sting of guilt. For once, he hadn't done anything wrong, but she had still managed to find a way to put the blame on him. His distress bothered her more than she cared to admit, but she was too much of a coward to face him. She laughed bitterly. At least this proved she wasn't in love. How could she be when all she wanted to do was run away from him?

Only she couldn't run forever. She would have to confront him again before long. She buried her face into her hands, unable to contain her frustration. To make matters worse, she could feel a headache coming on. Her processor, still recovering from its massive overload, was being heavily taxed by her emotional strain.

The last thing she needed was another stay in the infirmary, so Iris performed a quick self diagnostic. A couple of her neural circuits had overheated, but it was nothing that normal maintenance couldn't handle. She would simply have to shut down for an hour or two while her auto repair system worked. So she settled herself on her bed, programmed herself to reboot after two hours, and quickly sank into unconsciousness.

"That was way too close. A second later, and she would have destroyed everything. And that was only a cheap imitation."

"No. It rejected the host because it didn't recognize her. I see now that it isn't enough to just replicate the body and programming. I need the soul."

"But Professor Dahlia, that's a forbidden art!"

"So you'd rather die at the hands of that monster? I don't care if it's forbidden. If it will give us a chance at setting things right, I'll do it. No matter what happens to me, I have to stop—"

Iris's eyes flew open as a loud beeping filled her head. It took her a moment to remember where she was at, but then she sighed and shut off her internal alarm. It was just her luck that she would dream about her past again, only to wake up before she could learn anything important.

Her head didn't hurt anymore, but there was still the issue of Zero. She would soon have to let him escort her to the infirmary, but she was still afraid to confront him. Even now she could hear his words in her head, and that alone was enough to make her core behave erratically.

"Why did you say that, idiot?" she asked softly. "It's not like you know anything about being happy."

A second later, her eyes widened and she slammed her palm into her forehead. Letting lose a long string of curses, she leapt out of bed and burst out of her room.

Zero looked as surprised as she felt. "Iris? You—"

"I'm sorry!" she cried.

Zero's jaw went slack. "What?"

"I'm sorry," Iris repeated slowly. "I blew you off all day after promising to help you. I was acting like a brat and I don't blame you if you're mad at me."

A long silence passed. Iris stared at the floor in shame, but Zero lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.

"I'm not mad at you," he said.

"But why? I treated you like dirt today. Hell, I've treated you like dirt since the day we met. You could've kicked my ass seven ways to hell and back by now, but you didn't. Why do you put up with me?"

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, but when you walked out of your room just now, I became certain of it."

Iris's stomach was doing somersaults. There was an emotion in Zero's eyes that she couldn't identify, but it both excited and terrified her.

"You make me happy," he concluded.

Her mind went blank. She couldn't have heard that right. This was Zero, for crying out loud! He was rude and crass, not sweet and affectionate. Yet those words made her core feel like it had sprouted wings.

"Zero, I—" She faltered, and then tried again. "I have to go now."

"Go?"

"To work, idiot!" Iris yelled, snapping out of her stupor.

"Oh, right."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. The Zero she knew was back. She at least knew what to do with him when he was like this.

"Come on, let's go already!" she exclaimed, offering her hand.

Even as her usual annoyance returned, Iris knew something had changed. The strange sensation in her core lingered and grew stronger when Zero took her hand.

This time, she wasn't so sure she disliked it.

Well, here we are, two months later. I can explain, I swear! I started working part time, and my laptop's hard drive went kaput, so I had to type most of this chapter on my tablet. Work in particular made my motivation take a nose dive. And this chapter was a bit on the short side, but I had the hardest time with it! I rewrote one part three different ways before I was happy with it. Well, I at least hope this was worth the wait, and I hope it didn't turn out too corny.