Chapter 4: Love and Lies 2

[Recap: Zero briefed everyone on the Neo Arcadian Army. Everyone left but Protoman, and here we are]1

  'Zero, something's bothering you.'2

  'Which scanner told you that?' Zero asked. It came out more sarcastic than he had meant it to. What was with him today? He could barely control his own voice. Protoman's expression told you Zero had offended him.3

  'I'm sorry, Protoman. That came out wrong.'4

  'That's alright. But . . . it's written all over you.  bothering you. I want to know what it is.'5

  Silence.6

  Protoman lowered his voice a might. 'Z,' he said, using his long-time nickname for Zero, 'I understand if you don't want to talk to me. But you haven't been acting like yourself since we left on that assignment. If you decide you want to talk about it . . . I'll listen.'7

  He waited a moment upon finishing, to see if Zero would respond. When Protoman realized Zero wasn't talking, he got up to leave. He reached the door and as it slid open:8

  'Ciel and I . . .' Zero began, but he was unable to finish. Regardless, he closed the door, and went to sit down on the bed.9

  'Ciel and you . . .' he prompted gently, coaxing Zero to sit down next to him.10

  'Ciel and I kissed. In the conference room after you left,' Zero managed, after a few deep breaths. Protoman just sat, as if waiting for the rest of what Zero had to say.11

  'She looked on the verge of tears, and she told me she was worried about me. She said our mission wasn't what it appeared, and that the board had been talking about something dangerous for our team. She seemed genuinely afraid. I took her into my arms to try and calm her down, and . . . we kissed.12

  'Proto, it was beautiful. But even as I reveled in it, I knew I shouldn't have been there. I have a job to do here, and I can't let romance get in the way of that. Let alone romance with a coworker. But I . . .' Zero let the thought trail off, ' . . . I love her. As much as I hate it, I love her . . .' Protoman was silent for a moment.13

  'Z, my old friend,' he said, 'You and Ciel shared something amazing. And you do have feelings for each other,' he paused a moment, trying to gauge Zero's reaction, ' . . . Zero, I can't tell you what to do. Only you can decide that,' he got up and moved toward the door, wanting to give Zero some time to himself, 'But you'll make the right choice. I have faith in you.'14

  As the door closed behind Protoman, Zero felt sealed in with no choice but to stew in his emotions. He suddenly felt fatigued; and not without reason, his digital clock showed it was no past one in the morning. He collapsed onto his bunk, and was asleep before he hit the pillow.15