Chapter Text
“Zero?” Alia opened the door of the command room to find the red hunter standing there, watching the screens. “You’re not supposed to be in here while on standby, you know that.”
“I do know that,” he replied as Alia walked past him to her desk, turning around.
“You are here, though. Is everything alright?” She reached out to his shoulder with a soft smile.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” He nodded towards one of the monitors, which was displaying X. “I’m just watching him.”
Alia wasn’t confident in his response, but trusted that he was, as he said, fine. However, as much as she wanted to let Zero watch his husband fight, she also knew it was her duty as their Navigator to keep them out of trouble. “Are you needed on standby right now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
This wasn’t the warbot’s first time doing this, so he had prepared for this. He wasn’t about to get extra nighttime patrols again. “I talked to Signas already. He said he didn’t expect to have to send me out tonight.” X was only still out because there happened to be reports of Maverick activity near the area he had been about to finish patrolling, and Alia knew this, but she wanted to make sure he had checked first.
On the screen, X was firing Buster shots at a target out of view while jumping off of the side of a building. It made them proud to see him fighting with such little trouble, and it made Zero especially proud to be able to call the strong Hunter his husband. X started to charge his Buster, which usually meant that he had just about taken out the enemy. It was time for Alia to get ready to Navigate.
Dashing the opposite direction, X called in. “Alia, I’ve taken out the Maverick. I’m ready to transfer back.”
Alia sat down in her chair, beginning to type into the computer. “X, we are ready for transfer.”
“Initiating transfer.” The telltale explosion of a retired Maverick began to come from the right side of the screen.
At the same time, the telltale sign of Zero being low on charge came in the form of him leaning over, clutching his right arm. As soon as Alia finished preparing the teleportation system, she spun around in her chair to look at Zero.
“Zero.”
The android in question flushed at having been caught in a state of low charge.
“Zero, everything is not alright. Go to your recharge capsule.”
He averted his optics. “But-”
“When was the last time you charged?” Alia was getting more concerned.
“...Thirty-three hours.”
The Navigator stood up promptly, wrapping her arm around the shorter robot’s shoulders, and walking out of the room. “You can’t stretch yourself out like this. I know you used to, but your batteries will decay faster if you keep doing this.”
“You’re right. I just…” His voice trailed off. It was difficult for him to vocalize his feelings, so they walked in silence towards his quarters so he could process the right words to say.
When they arrived, he began to speak. “Do you remember how hard it was on him when I was gone, Alia?”
The blonde nodded sympathetically. “It was very hard.”
He looked down at the floor. “It was hard on me, too. Every night, I didn’t know if I would be able to see him again. I am thankful every day that I lived, and every day I want nothing more than to keep seeing him.”
She leaned over to hug him. “I know, Zero. But you can’t neglect yourself while doing that.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.”
He got into his recharge capsule, eagerly awaiting the return of X, and Alia kissed him on the cheek. Walking out of the room, she closed the door on her way out. “Good night, Zero.”
--
Alia ran back into the command room, also awaiting the return of X, but for different reasons. A thin light began to materialize in the teleporter, and she typed a command into the computer.
“Welcome back, X. How was your mission?”
“Same as usual.” He took the tablet she offered to him to input his data. “I had to retire them, they were too damaged when I got there.” What was about to come next was the hardest part of X’s job, and Alia was about to be there for him.
“I tried to talk him down, Alia. I really tried.”
“I know. You always do.”
The blue Hunter was beginning to spiral. “I hate that it doesn’t always work. I don’t want to retire them, Alia. They deserve a chance just like we do.”
“Sometimes, they’re causing too much harm, and are beyond being able to be helped. You give it your all when it comes to trying to help them peacefully, but it’s not always going to work like that.”
He chuckled. “I know. I guess I just… have trouble accepting that, even though I’ve known that for fifty years.”
Alia reached out and patted his arm. “That’s because you’re a good person, X. You want to believe it’ll always work like that, because you’re a good person. It doesn’t always work, but because you try, it works more than if you didn’t try. That’s what matters.”
“Thank you for being here for me, Alia.” He opened his arms, and Alia took the opportunity to embrace him.
“Thank you for all that you do, X.” They stood there for a few more moments in silence.
Eventually, X let go. He felt he had to do something for her, so he walked over to her desk. “I’ll finish the report. Good night, Alia.” In response, the Navigator in question kissed his cheek, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Once X had finished inputting his mission data, he logged out of the computer, and left the room to go to his own. He had a husband to be with.