Chapter Nineteen: Enjoy The Silence
X paced outside of the newly-constructed medical bay, wringing his hands and, once in a while, stopping to look at the door where Zero was. Axl had come running when X burst out of Zero's dorm, screaming for help, panic driving the elite Hunter to hysteria. With Axl and Double's help, they had managed to get Zero to Lifesaver, who quickly got him attached to a pod. The last thing X heard was that Zero was adequately charged, so the collapse was still a mystery.
"What could have happened…?" X muttered to himself as he paced. "Why did he fall like that…?"
"Pops, you're going to mark the floor," Axl called from his seat. "Come here and sit down. Try to be calm."
"There was no reason for him to short-circuit like that," X said as he did what Axl requested. "He wasn't low on power, he isn't due for a cleaning, he…"
"X," Axl touched his arm. The foregoing of the usual parental term got X's attention. "Quit trying to come up with a conclusion with so little information, or you'll short-circuit yourself. Just keep calm until Lifesaver comes out."
Double leaned forward from his bench across the way. "What was he doin' before the collapse?"
X ran a hand through his hair, even as Axl rubbed his shoulder. "He just finished cooking."
"Zero cooks?" Double raised an eyebrow at that. "The hell…since when?"
That made X look at the ground. "It was a recipe Iris had given him. In fact, that's why he stays cooped up in his room. I think, in a way, he's going into a denial phase… he made the recipe and put some away to give to them later. I saw that he was watching a movie earlier, one he was supposed to give back to Colonel, and he had all sorts of other things from them out that I've never seen him use or mess with."
Double scratched his chin. "That could be a good sign. He's going through the phases. Just means he'll get over it eventually."
X winced at Double's tone. Is that what everyone was waiting for? For Zero to just 'get over it' and be better? That wasn't how it goes; even X knew that. Was he really the only one who understood and gave Zero the peace of mind, the time and the love he needed?
X got back up to resume his pacing, but the door slid open and Lifesaver stepped out, Zero behind him, now functioning.
"Zero!" X pushed past Lifesaver, pulling the blond into his arms. "What happened? Don't you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?"
Zero patted X's back, shaking his head when X pulled away to look at him. Lifesaver cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself.
"All is more or less well… just an emotion chip overload. Typical response." Lifesaver handed Zero a small box, who took it with a look of confusion. "Plug this into your recharge pod."
Zero held the box in the light, then shrugged and put it into his pocket. X was still clinging to him when Lifesaver turned back to his office, and Axl bounded over.
"Feel okay, Dad?" Axl asked.
Zero ruffled Axl's hair, making him chuckle. The blond glanced at Double, his expression pinching in confusion as the round Reploid regarded him with a dark look. Before Zero could draw attention to it, Double turned and walked away, Axl and X not noticing in the least.
Zero shuddered slightly, mentally admitting to himself that the look made his skin crawl for some odd reason.
The entire way to Zero's dorm, X hung on one of Zero's arms, Axl on the other. If things were normal, Zero might have found the attention a bit on the annoying side, but all considering, he relished the positive attention. The few times he had ventured out of his room, people regarded him with open-faced pity and tried to step around him as if he was threatening to shatter at any given second. He didn't need pity or babying… Zero just needed time. Axl and X seemed to have understood that concept, and acted as themselves in a respectable amount when with him.
When he could speak again, Zero would make sure he'd let his living family know how much he appreciated them. Words on paper or instant messages could never convey the emotion a voice carried.
At his dorm room, Axl and X let him go, watching him with undecided faces. Zero himself felt at a loss of what to do now. He felt so drained and yet knew if he bothered to try, sleep would elude him and taunt him as memories surfaced and threatened to tear at his heart and mind all over again.
Zero wrapped an arm around X and Axl and pulled them into a hug, holding them tight, as if their presence would force the guilt and sorrow away for just a little longer. When they returned the embrace, Zero felt relaxed and, in a twisted way, like he was okay.
"We should go out," Axl said suddenly. "Oh! I know!"
His parents gave him mirrored looks of confusion as Axl disengaged himself from the hug and dug around one of the pouches he carried on his belt. After several seconds of intense searching, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and held it like a trophy.
"We still need to go house hunting!" Axl beamed. "Remember? Pops promised to buy it if we found a good one."
"Hey now," X frowned a bit, although already a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You get paid like me; why not do the nice son thing and help?"
"Cause you said you would." Axl grasped Zero's hand, tugging on it like a four-year-old. "Please, Dad? Can we? Can we?" He pouted for all he was worth.
Zero seemed to look thoughtful. He really didn't have the energy to do a full-on house hunt, but would hiding in his room, surrounded by memories and guilty consciousness, be any healthier?
Zero patted Axl's head, ruffling his hair with a smile on his face. Axl cheered, and X took a picture of it, his own face blossoming into a full smile. A family outing would definitely do Zero good.
"Let us get ready," X said, pointing between himself and Zero. "You go fix your hair and change, Axl. We'll meet in the garage; we can take Dad's car."
Zero actually managed to pull off his hilarious 'Excuse me?' look at X's large grin.
~*~
/ Are you sure you can drive a car? /
X huffed in annoyance. When facial expressions and hand movements failed, Zero resorted to instant messaging to get his point across.
"I can if you quit making me go into half-interface," X muttered.
X stomped on the gas pedal, and Axl threw his hands into the air with a yell of delight, even as Zero braced himself against the dashboard. For all the times X had teased Zero for driving his car fast, the brunette was driving as if he were hyped up on insanity. The top was down and Zero's hair whipped in the wind from the passenger's seat, Axl behind X's seat, thoroughly enjoying the fast speeds.
For once, Zero didn't feel depressed, but he surely felt his life was in danger with X behind the wheel.
"So," X shouted over his shoulder, "what are we looking for in a house?"
"A biiiiiiig yard!" Axl replied promptly.
"I'll be happy with a study." X glanced at Zero. "What about you, love?"
Zero shrugged, and then patted the dashboard with a nod.
"That's it? Most houses have a garage… what else?"
Zero opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and he closed it a bit forlornly. He tried to wave his hands around in some sort of fashion before he finally sent an instant message to the two in frustration.
/ Honestly, I don't know. A pool? A gym? /
Axl laughed. "So, a large space for Dad to do some sort of workout."
Zero shrugged one shoulder, knitting his hands over his stomach as he slouched in the seat even as X swerved a left turn. He stared at the road ahead, eyes blank. X hoped it was more in thought over the house selection than darker thoughts.
X parked outside of a shopping mall, the car angled only somewhat crookedly into the spot. When they all climbed out, X pulled the top back on, locked the doors and pouted when Zero took the keys from him. A real estate agency was located next to the mall, and Axl ran to it excitedly. Zero and X linked arms as they followed at a more casual pace, X absent-mindedly glancing inside windows of shops. One in particular made him giggle, and Zero stopped to look to see what was so funny.
"Remember when you joked about getting a ring to get Cain to calm down?" X pointed into the window and Zero peered in. A jewelry store. "Look, wedding rings on a ten-percent sale."
X expected a smirk or even a raised eyebrow, but Zero stared into the window with the blankest expression he'd ever seen on the blonds' face. X's mirth died and he sighed, beginning to walk again, until his arm was held back due to Zero not budging. X tugged Zero, but the blond didn't move, just staring at the rings on display.
"I was kidding, Z." X grabbed the belt loops of Zero's jeans to try and get him to walk again.
Zero glanced at him, and although his expression didn't change, there was a new twinkle in his eyes. X blinked, but the moment was interrupted with Axl's impatient shouts for them. Zero hurriedly started to walk again, this time dragging X with him.
Inside the office, X managed to get a hold of an agent relatively quickly, and soon, the trio was seated in the agent's office discussing what they were looking for. Well, X and Axl were; Zero was staring at the ceiling, not paying attention in the least.
"My only requirement is a backyard," X said.
"What's your price range?" the human woman asked. X glanced at her desk to read her name as Loanna Merezo.
"This will sound surprising, Miss Merezo, but we don't have one. We'll go as low or high as needed."
Loanna shrugged, as if such rich customers came in all the time. "How about location—any preferences?"
X looked thoughtful. "If not in the city itself, than at least the city limits. Near a public teleportation would be convenient, but isn't required. I would like somewhere that isn't cramped, where the neighbors would be a nice space apart. No condos, please."
Axl was starting to look as bored as Zero, his eyes wandering around as well. Unfortunately, Loanna had a very boring office, and not even magazines to thumb through as she spoke with X. X rattled off other convenient things, although Axl found it rather amusing that, for having so much money to spend, X didn't seem to be asking for more than a simple flat.
"Lots of space," Axl spoke up. Loanna and X glanced at him. "I'm a hyper kid, Pops… you're gonna wanna give me a lot of space to run around and not knock things over."
X smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's true…"
Loanna chuckled and typed some notes onto her computer. "Give me a moment and I'll get a list of houses. You can check them out on your own, or I can go with you."
As Loanna paid attention to her computer, X glanced at Zero, whose eyes were glued to the ceiling. He couldn't tell if Zero's expression was one of boredom or if he was depressing himself right now.
X sent him a message. // What's on your mind, sweets? //
/ Well, now that you mentioned sweets, I'm thinking of ice cream cake. /
The forced smile on Zero's face caused X to feel a little guilty. Here Zero was, trying his damnedest to at least look okay and seem like it, and X had failed to keep him distracted.
// If you smile wider, I'll buy you one. //
/ You should indulge Axl too. Don't worry about me, X. I'm not going to drop to my knees in a crying fit at the drop of a dime. /
Although he was sure Zero didn't mean it, X felt curtly dismissed with that message. The last thing X wanted was Zero's depression to cause a rift to form between them. Truth be told, X was working hard not to let Zero do the lone wolf isolation thing, and he could only hope he was succeeding in some way. Even sitting next to him, X felt he was miles away from Zero.
X grabbed Zero's hand and gave it a squeeze. Zero took his eyes off the ceiling to look at him, but he squeezed back, and his smile was a little less forced.
"All right, here we go. All these houses are for sale and are having an open house now." Loanna reached over to her printer, picking up a couple pieces of paper and handing them to X. "Would you like me to go with?"
"Nah, we'll go check these out and give you a call when we're done or have questions," X smiled at her.
"Of course. Oh, can you tell me your names again?" She got out a pen and a pad of paper.
X looked slightly unsure before he blurted out, "Xavier."
"Xavier…?"
"Light. Xavier Light. The house'll be in my name."
Loanna wrote the name down and smiled at him. "Well, thank you, Mr. Light. You do bear a rather striking resemblance to the Hunter X…"
X forced his smile. "Ah, well, my creator liked the design so… yeah, we better get going."
Zero gave his boyfriend a confused look as X shoved them out of Loanna's office. X sighed as they were again out on the sidewalk, looking at the papers.
"The last thing we want is everyone to know the famous Hunters X and Zero now live outside of Maverick Hunter HQ," X explained. "Would sort of defeat half the purpose of getting an outside home, wouldn't it?"
Axl snickered, even as he linked his arms with X and Zero's. "Sure, but really? 'Xavier?' The fact she didn't see through it is totally because she was dumb."
X glowered at him, but the dark look was broken when Zero let out a sort of strangled but amused sound. The semi-shocked Reploids looked at him, and although, now, no sound came out, Zero's mouth was open in a laugh.
The silent laughter was infectious, and soon, X and Axl joined in on the merriment. Zero felt some relief in the action and the sound of their mirth, and he pulled them in for a hug to express his gratitude.
Back at the car, Zero was silently adamant in being the one to drive, leaving X to sulk in the back seat as Axl directed them to the nearest house for sale. The instant they reached it, however, Zero backed out of the driveway and looked pointedly at Axl. X glanced at the house, wondering why Zero wouldn't even bother to go in. He then chuckled, realizing he had forgotten to tell Loanna that, along with a yard, the house needed a garage…
A little further out from the city, Zero decided the next house was worth his inspection. As X and Zero strolled through the inside, Axl bounded to the backyard to see if it was suitable to his tastes. Inside, Zero noted the house looked much bigger inside than he figured from the outside—it almost felt as if the empty spaces of the huge rooms would devour him. The living room alone was bigger than his entire dormitory, the kitchen bigger still.
"Seems a little excessive…" X muttered as he walked through the kitchen into the adjacent dining room. A breakfast bar separated the rooms, and the dining area sported large French glass doors leading to the outside.
Peeking out, X erupted into laughter and motioned a confused Zero to come look. Zero approached and peered out, and a wide, genuine smile spread across his face. Although the yard wasn't huge, it was a nice enough size and sported a large, well-aged natural oak tree. Hanging from its thick branches was a sturdy swing, on which Axl was perched happily on, swinging high.
"That's…" X managed between his bouts of laughter. "That's just too cute. I think Axl picks this house."
Zero shrugged but kept his smile, even as he pulled away from the doors to finish his viewing. A short hallway led to a decently-sized bathroom that was adjoined to a bedroom roughly the size of the one in his dorm. Up the stairs was similar room, but the walls were covered with shelves. Instantly, X was sold on that room, already muttering about how there may be just enough space for all of his books.
The master bedroom made Zero gawk just a bit at its sheer size. Tall windows dominated half of the walls, the other half free for any mounted equipment. Despite his earlier disinterest, Zero could envision much of his electronic knickknacks situated here and there, and the bathroom was certainly worth whatever price tag was on the house. Zero meandered his way downstairs and found the doors to the kitchen pantry, which was actually disappointingly small, the garage that could hold his car and three Chasers, and a finished basement that could hold all three of their recharge pods and any other maintenance equipment.
The place was excessively large, Zero would admit. But as X finally met him downstairs, Axl now also inside looking around, Zero dared to think if they ever retired, such space could come in handy.
Plus, with the way Axl was running up and down the stairs and in and out of rooms, they'd probably be thankful for it in the long run.
Zero sent over to them both, / I like it. /
X blinked. "Really? It's so large though… I don't think any of us have enough stuff to fill it."
"Who says we have to fill it?" Axl asked as he returned to them. "I like it! Dad likes it! Do you like it, Pops?" He gave X his best puppy look. "The yard isn't as big as I wanted, but it's got that awesome tree, and it's real!"
"You want me to buy a house 'cause it's got a tree?" X laughed. "Do I look like I'm made of money?"
"Aw, c'mon…" Axl whined. "Please? It's so awesome, and even if we don't fill it right away, that's a good thing! Means we can get more stuff in the future and not hafta worry about space!"
Zero smiled, and X felt as if he already lost. X sighed, but covered one of his ears as he dialed Loanna's number.
"Hi, Miss Merezo? It's X…avier. Yeah, we picked one; you got time for us to come back? Yeah? Awesome, see you then." X glanced at his boyfriend and son, trying to glare, but ending up smiling anyway. "Okay, let's go sign the papers."
Axl pranced back to the car, and Zero lightly kissed X's lips. X wrapped his arms around Zero's waist and closed his eyes, picturing the house filled with their things, and them just living like a normal family.
It felt right and wrong; so close, yet out of reach. When X opened his eyes and looked at Zero, he wondered if the blond felt the same.
"Think we can grow here?" X asked Zero, eyes downcast. "With the jobs we have, who knows if we'll ever have a tomorrow…"
Zero's sudden tenseness made X's face heat up, and he realized his error. "Oh, jeez…! I'm sorry, Zero! I just… I didn't mean… I shouldn't…" X turned away, pulling himself away from Zero.
The blond instead mutely pulled him close in a fierce hug, crushing X into his body. X winced as the tight pressure grew a little uncomfortable, but considering how horribly his words might have hurt Zero, he leaned into the embrace and returned it. He got an instant message and faded into interface view to look at it.
/ They died for our tomorrows. The very least we could do is live them. /
<--- PREVIOUS CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER --->
X paced outside of the newly-constructed medical bay, wringing his hands and, once in a while, stopping to look at the door where Zero was. Axl had come running when X burst out of Zero's dorm, screaming for help, panic driving the elite Hunter to hysteria. With Axl and Double's help, they had managed to get Zero to Lifesaver, who quickly got him attached to a pod. The last thing X heard was that Zero was adequately charged, so the collapse was still a mystery.
"What could have happened…?" X muttered to himself as he paced. "Why did he fall like that…?"
"Pops, you're going to mark the floor," Axl called from his seat. "Come here and sit down. Try to be calm."
"There was no reason for him to short-circuit like that," X said as he did what Axl requested. "He wasn't low on power, he isn't due for a cleaning, he…"
"X," Axl touched his arm. The foregoing of the usual parental term got X's attention. "Quit trying to come up with a conclusion with so little information, or you'll short-circuit yourself. Just keep calm until Lifesaver comes out."
Double leaned forward from his bench across the way. "What was he doin' before the collapse?"
X ran a hand through his hair, even as Axl rubbed his shoulder. "He just finished cooking."
"Zero cooks?" Double raised an eyebrow at that. "The hell…since when?"
That made X look at the ground. "It was a recipe Iris had given him. In fact, that's why he stays cooped up in his room. I think, in a way, he's going into a denial phase… he made the recipe and put some away to give to them later. I saw that he was watching a movie earlier, one he was supposed to give back to Colonel, and he had all sorts of other things from them out that I've never seen him use or mess with."
Double scratched his chin. "That could be a good sign. He's going through the phases. Just means he'll get over it eventually."
X winced at Double's tone. Is that what everyone was waiting for? For Zero to just 'get over it' and be better? That wasn't how it goes; even X knew that. Was he really the only one who understood and gave Zero the peace of mind, the time and the love he needed?
X got back up to resume his pacing, but the door slid open and Lifesaver stepped out, Zero behind him, now functioning.
"Zero!" X pushed past Lifesaver, pulling the blond into his arms. "What happened? Don't you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?"
Zero patted X's back, shaking his head when X pulled away to look at him. Lifesaver cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself.
"All is more or less well… just an emotion chip overload. Typical response." Lifesaver handed Zero a small box, who took it with a look of confusion. "Plug this into your recharge pod."
Zero held the box in the light, then shrugged and put it into his pocket. X was still clinging to him when Lifesaver turned back to his office, and Axl bounded over.
"Feel okay, Dad?" Axl asked.
Zero ruffled Axl's hair, making him chuckle. The blond glanced at Double, his expression pinching in confusion as the round Reploid regarded him with a dark look. Before Zero could draw attention to it, Double turned and walked away, Axl and X not noticing in the least.
Zero shuddered slightly, mentally admitting to himself that the look made his skin crawl for some odd reason.
The entire way to Zero's dorm, X hung on one of Zero's arms, Axl on the other. If things were normal, Zero might have found the attention a bit on the annoying side, but all considering, he relished the positive attention. The few times he had ventured out of his room, people regarded him with open-faced pity and tried to step around him as if he was threatening to shatter at any given second. He didn't need pity or babying… Zero just needed time. Axl and X seemed to have understood that concept, and acted as themselves in a respectable amount when with him.
When he could speak again, Zero would make sure he'd let his living family know how much he appreciated them. Words on paper or instant messages could never convey the emotion a voice carried.
At his dorm room, Axl and X let him go, watching him with undecided faces. Zero himself felt at a loss of what to do now. He felt so drained and yet knew if he bothered to try, sleep would elude him and taunt him as memories surfaced and threatened to tear at his heart and mind all over again.
Zero wrapped an arm around X and Axl and pulled them into a hug, holding them tight, as if their presence would force the guilt and sorrow away for just a little longer. When they returned the embrace, Zero felt relaxed and, in a twisted way, like he was okay.
"We should go out," Axl said suddenly. "Oh! I know!"
His parents gave him mirrored looks of confusion as Axl disengaged himself from the hug and dug around one of the pouches he carried on his belt. After several seconds of intense searching, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and held it like a trophy.
"We still need to go house hunting!" Axl beamed. "Remember? Pops promised to buy it if we found a good one."
"Hey now," X frowned a bit, although already a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You get paid like me; why not do the nice son thing and help?"
"Cause you said you would." Axl grasped Zero's hand, tugging on it like a four-year-old. "Please, Dad? Can we? Can we?" He pouted for all he was worth.
Zero seemed to look thoughtful. He really didn't have the energy to do a full-on house hunt, but would hiding in his room, surrounded by memories and guilty consciousness, be any healthier?
Zero patted Axl's head, ruffling his hair with a smile on his face. Axl cheered, and X took a picture of it, his own face blossoming into a full smile. A family outing would definitely do Zero good.
"Let us get ready," X said, pointing between himself and Zero. "You go fix your hair and change, Axl. We'll meet in the garage; we can take Dad's car."
Zero actually managed to pull off his hilarious 'Excuse me?' look at X's large grin.
~*~
/ Are you sure you can drive a car? /
X huffed in annoyance. When facial expressions and hand movements failed, Zero resorted to instant messaging to get his point across.
"I can if you quit making me go into half-interface," X muttered.
X stomped on the gas pedal, and Axl threw his hands into the air with a yell of delight, even as Zero braced himself against the dashboard. For all the times X had teased Zero for driving his car fast, the brunette was driving as if he were hyped up on insanity. The top was down and Zero's hair whipped in the wind from the passenger's seat, Axl behind X's seat, thoroughly enjoying the fast speeds.
For once, Zero didn't feel depressed, but he surely felt his life was in danger with X behind the wheel.
"So," X shouted over his shoulder, "what are we looking for in a house?"
"A biiiiiiig yard!" Axl replied promptly.
"I'll be happy with a study." X glanced at Zero. "What about you, love?"
Zero shrugged, and then patted the dashboard with a nod.
"That's it? Most houses have a garage… what else?"
Zero opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and he closed it a bit forlornly. He tried to wave his hands around in some sort of fashion before he finally sent an instant message to the two in frustration.
/ Honestly, I don't know. A pool? A gym? /
Axl laughed. "So, a large space for Dad to do some sort of workout."
Zero shrugged one shoulder, knitting his hands over his stomach as he slouched in the seat even as X swerved a left turn. He stared at the road ahead, eyes blank. X hoped it was more in thought over the house selection than darker thoughts.
X parked outside of a shopping mall, the car angled only somewhat crookedly into the spot. When they all climbed out, X pulled the top back on, locked the doors and pouted when Zero took the keys from him. A real estate agency was located next to the mall, and Axl ran to it excitedly. Zero and X linked arms as they followed at a more casual pace, X absent-mindedly glancing inside windows of shops. One in particular made him giggle, and Zero stopped to look to see what was so funny.
"Remember when you joked about getting a ring to get Cain to calm down?" X pointed into the window and Zero peered in. A jewelry store. "Look, wedding rings on a ten-percent sale."
X expected a smirk or even a raised eyebrow, but Zero stared into the window with the blankest expression he'd ever seen on the blonds' face. X's mirth died and he sighed, beginning to walk again, until his arm was held back due to Zero not budging. X tugged Zero, but the blond didn't move, just staring at the rings on display.
"I was kidding, Z." X grabbed the belt loops of Zero's jeans to try and get him to walk again.
Zero glanced at him, and although his expression didn't change, there was a new twinkle in his eyes. X blinked, but the moment was interrupted with Axl's impatient shouts for them. Zero hurriedly started to walk again, this time dragging X with him.
Inside the office, X managed to get a hold of an agent relatively quickly, and soon, the trio was seated in the agent's office discussing what they were looking for. Well, X and Axl were; Zero was staring at the ceiling, not paying attention in the least.
"My only requirement is a backyard," X said.
"What's your price range?" the human woman asked. X glanced at her desk to read her name as Loanna Merezo.
"This will sound surprising, Miss Merezo, but we don't have one. We'll go as low or high as needed."
Loanna shrugged, as if such rich customers came in all the time. "How about location—any preferences?"
X looked thoughtful. "If not in the city itself, than at least the city limits. Near a public teleportation would be convenient, but isn't required. I would like somewhere that isn't cramped, where the neighbors would be a nice space apart. No condos, please."
Axl was starting to look as bored as Zero, his eyes wandering around as well. Unfortunately, Loanna had a very boring office, and not even magazines to thumb through as she spoke with X. X rattled off other convenient things, although Axl found it rather amusing that, for having so much money to spend, X didn't seem to be asking for more than a simple flat.
"Lots of space," Axl spoke up. Loanna and X glanced at him. "I'm a hyper kid, Pops… you're gonna wanna give me a lot of space to run around and not knock things over."
X smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's true…"
Loanna chuckled and typed some notes onto her computer. "Give me a moment and I'll get a list of houses. You can check them out on your own, or I can go with you."
As Loanna paid attention to her computer, X glanced at Zero, whose eyes were glued to the ceiling. He couldn't tell if Zero's expression was one of boredom or if he was depressing himself right now.
X sent him a message. // What's on your mind, sweets? //
/ Well, now that you mentioned sweets, I'm thinking of ice cream cake. /
The forced smile on Zero's face caused X to feel a little guilty. Here Zero was, trying his damnedest to at least look okay and seem like it, and X had failed to keep him distracted.
// If you smile wider, I'll buy you one. //
/ You should indulge Axl too. Don't worry about me, X. I'm not going to drop to my knees in a crying fit at the drop of a dime. /
Although he was sure Zero didn't mean it, X felt curtly dismissed with that message. The last thing X wanted was Zero's depression to cause a rift to form between them. Truth be told, X was working hard not to let Zero do the lone wolf isolation thing, and he could only hope he was succeeding in some way. Even sitting next to him, X felt he was miles away from Zero.
X grabbed Zero's hand and gave it a squeeze. Zero took his eyes off the ceiling to look at him, but he squeezed back, and his smile was a little less forced.
"All right, here we go. All these houses are for sale and are having an open house now." Loanna reached over to her printer, picking up a couple pieces of paper and handing them to X. "Would you like me to go with?"
"Nah, we'll go check these out and give you a call when we're done or have questions," X smiled at her.
"Of course. Oh, can you tell me your names again?" She got out a pen and a pad of paper.
X looked slightly unsure before he blurted out, "Xavier."
"Xavier…?"
"Light. Xavier Light. The house'll be in my name."
Loanna wrote the name down and smiled at him. "Well, thank you, Mr. Light. You do bear a rather striking resemblance to the Hunter X…"
X forced his smile. "Ah, well, my creator liked the design so… yeah, we better get going."
Zero gave his boyfriend a confused look as X shoved them out of Loanna's office. X sighed as they were again out on the sidewalk, looking at the papers.
"The last thing we want is everyone to know the famous Hunters X and Zero now live outside of Maverick Hunter HQ," X explained. "Would sort of defeat half the purpose of getting an outside home, wouldn't it?"
Axl snickered, even as he linked his arms with X and Zero's. "Sure, but really? 'Xavier?' The fact she didn't see through it is totally because she was dumb."
X glowered at him, but the dark look was broken when Zero let out a sort of strangled but amused sound. The semi-shocked Reploids looked at him, and although, now, no sound came out, Zero's mouth was open in a laugh.
The silent laughter was infectious, and soon, X and Axl joined in on the merriment. Zero felt some relief in the action and the sound of their mirth, and he pulled them in for a hug to express his gratitude.
Back at the car, Zero was silently adamant in being the one to drive, leaving X to sulk in the back seat as Axl directed them to the nearest house for sale. The instant they reached it, however, Zero backed out of the driveway and looked pointedly at Axl. X glanced at the house, wondering why Zero wouldn't even bother to go in. He then chuckled, realizing he had forgotten to tell Loanna that, along with a yard, the house needed a garage…
A little further out from the city, Zero decided the next house was worth his inspection. As X and Zero strolled through the inside, Axl bounded to the backyard to see if it was suitable to his tastes. Inside, Zero noted the house looked much bigger inside than he figured from the outside—it almost felt as if the empty spaces of the huge rooms would devour him. The living room alone was bigger than his entire dormitory, the kitchen bigger still.
"Seems a little excessive…" X muttered as he walked through the kitchen into the adjacent dining room. A breakfast bar separated the rooms, and the dining area sported large French glass doors leading to the outside.
Peeking out, X erupted into laughter and motioned a confused Zero to come look. Zero approached and peered out, and a wide, genuine smile spread across his face. Although the yard wasn't huge, it was a nice enough size and sported a large, well-aged natural oak tree. Hanging from its thick branches was a sturdy swing, on which Axl was perched happily on, swinging high.
"That's…" X managed between his bouts of laughter. "That's just too cute. I think Axl picks this house."
Zero shrugged but kept his smile, even as he pulled away from the doors to finish his viewing. A short hallway led to a decently-sized bathroom that was adjoined to a bedroom roughly the size of the one in his dorm. Up the stairs was similar room, but the walls were covered with shelves. Instantly, X was sold on that room, already muttering about how there may be just enough space for all of his books.
The master bedroom made Zero gawk just a bit at its sheer size. Tall windows dominated half of the walls, the other half free for any mounted equipment. Despite his earlier disinterest, Zero could envision much of his electronic knickknacks situated here and there, and the bathroom was certainly worth whatever price tag was on the house. Zero meandered his way downstairs and found the doors to the kitchen pantry, which was actually disappointingly small, the garage that could hold his car and three Chasers, and a finished basement that could hold all three of their recharge pods and any other maintenance equipment.
The place was excessively large, Zero would admit. But as X finally met him downstairs, Axl now also inside looking around, Zero dared to think if they ever retired, such space could come in handy.
Plus, with the way Axl was running up and down the stairs and in and out of rooms, they'd probably be thankful for it in the long run.
Zero sent over to them both, / I like it. /
X blinked. "Really? It's so large though… I don't think any of us have enough stuff to fill it."
"Who says we have to fill it?" Axl asked as he returned to them. "I like it! Dad likes it! Do you like it, Pops?" He gave X his best puppy look. "The yard isn't as big as I wanted, but it's got that awesome tree, and it's real!"
"You want me to buy a house 'cause it's got a tree?" X laughed. "Do I look like I'm made of money?"
"Aw, c'mon…" Axl whined. "Please? It's so awesome, and even if we don't fill it right away, that's a good thing! Means we can get more stuff in the future and not hafta worry about space!"
Zero smiled, and X felt as if he already lost. X sighed, but covered one of his ears as he dialed Loanna's number.
"Hi, Miss Merezo? It's X…avier. Yeah, we picked one; you got time for us to come back? Yeah? Awesome, see you then." X glanced at his boyfriend and son, trying to glare, but ending up smiling anyway. "Okay, let's go sign the papers."
Axl pranced back to the car, and Zero lightly kissed X's lips. X wrapped his arms around Zero's waist and closed his eyes, picturing the house filled with their things, and them just living like a normal family.
It felt right and wrong; so close, yet out of reach. When X opened his eyes and looked at Zero, he wondered if the blond felt the same.
"Think we can grow here?" X asked Zero, eyes downcast. "With the jobs we have, who knows if we'll ever have a tomorrow…"
Zero's sudden tenseness made X's face heat up, and he realized his error. "Oh, jeez…! I'm sorry, Zero! I just… I didn't mean… I shouldn't…" X turned away, pulling himself away from Zero.
The blond instead mutely pulled him close in a fierce hug, crushing X into his body. X winced as the tight pressure grew a little uncomfortable, but considering how horribly his words might have hurt Zero, he leaned into the embrace and returned it. He got an instant message and faded into interface view to look at it.
/ They died for our tomorrows. The very least we could do is live them. /
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