jessica499499's Zak/Francis Challenge!

I took the challenge because, to my knowledge, there are exactly zero Zak/Francis fan fictions. Nada. Quite sad, actually XD While it may not be my OTP, it's workable.

Words: pending

AU-ish because of the various time skips and creative liberties.

The time-line may seem skewed, but this is all in chronological order. I swear.

"blah" is speaking

'blah' is thoughts

Zak drummed his fingers against his side, the feeling of unrest settling deep in his stomach.

'There's no reason to be nervous. It's just Francis, for Pete's sake! Besides, there's the emergency switch behind me, I have my Claw… Why do I keep thinking this is a trap?'

"No need to be nervous. I want to talk. Nothing more."

Zak shuddered slightly. 'It's like he can read my mind.' This motion of discomfort went unnoticed, as Francis continued unperturbed.

"I came to apologize."

Needless to say, Zak was shocked. "To… apologize?"

"It's been a while since we've last spoke, and I'm afraid we didn't end on good terms, so to speak."

"You could say that." Zak joked, though his deadpan voice held no humor.

"Let's start over. Leave our childish antics in the past."

Zak gave an incredulous look, "Childish antics? You tried to kill me! Multiple times!"

"Fine. Leave our misguided antics in the past. I think we can both agree that we've... grown up since then."

"I certainly hope so."

"So what do you say, Zak Saturday? Forget and forgive?"

Francis stood before him, his hand held out in a gesture of friendship. It was an unusual sight, made even more so by the fact that it was completely genuine.

Zak gave a slight smile, cocking an eyebrow, "I think you mean 'forgive and forget'."

Francis shrugged, "Same difference, really."

Zak opened his mouth to object, but decided against it. His joking expression faded as he leaned against the wall, massaging his temples. "Why now, Francis?"

Francis tilted his head, his confusion apparent, "What do you mean?"

"Why do you want to make up now? It's been almost an entire year since the Atmospheric Jellyfish incident. The only time you've even acknowledged me since then was in Paris…" His sentence trailed off, leaving a pregnant pause.

Francis sighed, lowering his arm, "Zak, I know that I haven't exactly been the nicest person to you. And I know it may seem strange for me to ask this of you after all this time. But… I'm tired. Tired of all this."

Zak hesitated, sensing the concern in his voice, "Of what?"

"The bickering. The fighting. The rivalry. It seems kind of useless now, don't you think?"

"You're right. It is." He grew silent, his gaze not leaving the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look into Francis' shaded eyes.

Francis gave a curious look at his silence. "So…"

"So what?"

"You never did answer my question, Zak."

Zak smirked, turning up his head before responding. "Sure. I'm willing to put it behind us."

"You mean it? You're willing to give it a shot?"

"There's just one condition."

"Name it." Francis chuckled.

"No more jellyfish, alright?"

Francis smiled. Another unusual sight. He extended his hand, and Zak took it with a shake.

"No more jellyfish."

"Fisk, stop cheating!" Zak whined, dropping his controller in an attempt to pry his "brother's" hand from his face. Fiskerton mumbled with mock indignation, repositioning his hand to cover the protesting teen's mouth. With the other, he controlled his virtual fighter, using his brother's incapacitated state to gain a lead. Francis sat on the couch behind them, caught in a fit of laughter.

Zak looked to the green-haired teen, "Don't just stand there, Francis! Get him off of me!" He yelled, voice muffled by the furry appendage.

"Technically," Francis quipped, "I'm sitting, not standing."

"Francis…" He growled in annoyance.

"Oh, relax. I was kidding." He stood, brushing his mint bangs from his face. Fiskerton, having won the match, released Zak from his grip. Zak dropped to his knees, gasping for breath while glaring daggers into the back of the Lemurian's head.

A grin was still plastered on Francis' face, "Are you alright?" Zak took Francis' outstretched hand, lifting himself off the ground.

"Now then I can breath, I'm just fine." As Zak brushed himself off, Francis picked up the discarded controllers.

Holding one out to Zak, Francis smirked, "Would this be a bad time to ask for a rematch?"

Zak laughed, starting the match with a flick of the switch. "Don't expect me to go easy on you this time!"

"You weren't before?" Francis mocked, causing a laugh to erupt for the other teen.

"It's so on!" All of his attention was now focused on the flashing screen. Concentration played across both of their faces, accompanied by frantic button pushing as the timer counted down the final seconds.

"Alright!" Zak pumped his fists in the air, "Victory!"

"Congratulations. You're now slightly less pathetic then you were before."

"Hey!" Zak pouted, crossing his arms.

"Kidding, kidding. You really can't take a joke!" Francis lightly punched his shoulder, making to leave the room.

"Well, you just-" Zak followed, about to make his retort when his foot caught the edge of the living room rug. He gave a small yelp as he fell, knocking into Francis on the way down. The air was knocked from Francis' lungs as he hit the carpet. The frazzled teen attempted to lift his head, but quickly set it back down as it throbbed from the impact. Reopening his eyes, he looked at Zak, who had begun to sit upright. As their eyes met, they gasped, realizing the "compromising" position that they were now in.

"You're such a klutz." Francis murmured, a deep blush forming across his face. The Saturday quickly stood, hiding a blush of his own.

"Are... are you okay?" Zak stammered, helping Francis to his feet. His eyes skipped around the room; left, right, anywhere but in his eyes

"I'm fine. No need to make-" He paused at the sound of Drew's voice in the hallway.

"Zak! Francis! Will you come here a moment?"

"We should go, I think that was your mother calling." He started out of the room, turning back when Zak did not follow.

"You coming?" He asked quizzically.

Zak snapped out of his reverie, "Yeah... give me a second. I'll be right there."

'What's going on with me?' Zak sighed, the heat in his cheeks dying down. 'The last time I felt this way about someone was with Wadi... But I was 11. It was just a crush.' He shook his head, hoping to clear his mind. 'This is different. Francis is a guy! I can't be...' He couldn't even think the word. It was just too much. 'No big deal. No problem at all. Besides, it'll pass... I think.'

The sun was slowly setting over the hills as the Saturday van tore across the dirt road, kicking dust in its path. The wipers squeaked with their attempts to keep the windshield dry. Zak felt a yawn escape his lips, repositioning himself against the car door.

'Oh. My. God. Five hours. We've been in the car for five hours. How much longer until we get there?' Zak leaned his head against the window, his breath fogging up the chilled glass.

'We could have been there by now. I could be asleep in an actual bed. But no, Mom said we couldn't take the airship.' He stared blankly into the mountain landscape, leaning back into his seat. The tip of his index finger absentmindedly traced hearts into the chilled glass. There was something about five hours of travel that made Zak insanely tired.

'It doesn't really make since, seeing that I've been doing absolutely nothing all this time.' He thought with a tired smile. Another yawn, deeper this time, broke the silence. 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little sleep.' Zak gave in to the temptation, allowing his eyes to flutter closed.

Francis sat beside him, his mind reeling in similar thoughts of boredom. 'Just kill me now.' He thought with a sarcastic smirk. He turned his gaze to the scenery speeding past, droplets of rain now darkening the roads. He searched for something, anything, to keep his mind off the crushing restlessness.

He felt an unusual pressure on his left shoulder, but was so engrossed in the passing cars that he paid it no mind. When his curiosity got the best of him, he turned his head. Zak's sleeping form leaned against his own, light snores escaping his lips. He debated whether to shift positions, wanting to be more comfortable but not wanting to wake the dozing Saturday. After a few futile wriggles, he resigned his fate with a small sigh. Propping his arm against the car door, he gave a small smirk.

It was odd. It all felt odd. But somehow, he didn't really mind.

Francis leaned against the railing, eyes focused onto nothing in particular. He was lost in thought until the wind picked up, causing him to clutch his trench coat closer to him. 'Why is it so bloody cold out? It's the middle of July!' Tentative footsteps sounded on the wooden planks. Francis turned, his eyes meeting those of none other than Zak Saturday,

"Hey Francis." Zak approached the brooding teen, standing next to him on the balcony.

"Hey."

Zak frowned, "What's going on? You've been pretty down recently."

"It's nothing. Really." His non-committal answer bothered Zak, so he continued.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Zak's concern for him was surprising, and intrigued him enough to answer. "It's just that, ever since Father stopped letting me go on missions, I've been feeling..." He paused, searching for the right word, "Restless."

The Saturday paused, then gave a knowing smile, "You're scared for him, aren't you?"

Francis' eyes widened, "How did you..."

"Trust me, I've been there." His face fell as he recalled the unpleasant memory, "When the Secret Scientists found out what I was... what I am... they banned me from going on missions with my parents. They experimented on me, kept me in isolation." He plucked a leaf from a nearby tree, crumpling it between his fingers.

He gave a humorless laugh, "They seriously expected me to attack them. I was just a wild animal that had to be chained." He turned his head towards Francis, sympathetic tears shining in his eyes, "I bet that's how you're feeling now. Trapped. You want to help your father. You want to do anything that might keep him safe. But you can't. You just can't." He let his head fall, tears flowing freely. His voice trailed off to barely a whisper, "And it kills you."

Francis opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak. He was right. Completely right.

"Zak, I had no idea..."

"Your dad will be fine." Zak interrupted, "It takes time to get used to. A lot of time."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so." Zak smiled sadly, staring into space.

"Thank you. I really mean it."

"No problem. Anything for a friend." He patted the taller boy's hand in comfort. Slowly and nervously, Francis' hand turned over, its fingers intertwining with Zak's. The latter gave a small gasp, breaking the contact.

Zak backed away, the blood draining from his face, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Francis sighed, "Zak, don't-"

"It's not that I don't like you. I do. I really really do. I'm just..." He put his head in his hands, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyelids, "I'm scared, Francis."

"Zak..."

"What about my parents?" He cried, "Your parents? We don't know how they feel about this kind of stuff!"

"Zak." Francis reached out, grabbing Zak's hand, "Forget them. They don't matter. All that matters is you."

Zak's breath caught in his throat as he stared into Francis' bespectacled eyes, "What do you want, Zak?" he asked, almost pleadingly.

The shorter teen grew beet-red as he stepped closer, bridging the gap between them. "I... I want..."

The butterflies. The fear. The unrest. The flight. In that moment of insight, Zak knew his answer.

"You." Before the syllable had fully left his lips, they were crushed with dizzying force. Zak felt an arm wrap around his waist and leaned in, his heart melting at the prolonged contact. This was it. Zak's first kiss. All lingering thoughts and doubts were thrust from his mind in those few breathless moments. Zak reluctantly broke the kiss, letting his lips linger for a few seconds before separating. He couldn't hold in a smile at the older teen's slight pout.

Zak took a step back, taking Francis' hands in his. For a moment, both boys stayed silent, letting the glory of the moment wash over them.

Zak gave a contented sigh, a joking smile growing on his face, "Francis?"

"Yes, Zak?"

"What the hell just happened?"

"I have no clue." Francis chuckled, "But I think I liked it."

"You dork." Zak teased, giving Francis a light shove. The sliding door creaked as he stepped through it into the hushed hallway.

Zak didn't know what came next. Do they tell their parents? Keep this a secret? Go on as if nothing had happened? His raging thoughts were silenced as Francis' hand brushed his own, lingering for a moment before clutching the bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Zak."

"Night, Francis." As the door clicked shut, Zak made his way towards his own bedroom, flopping down onto the bed.

'It's been quite the night.' Zak groaned, 'I can barely understand what just happened. It's all so... new. Weird.'

But he knew that, somehow, it would all turn out for the best. Whatever hell may come for this, Zak knew he was ready for it.

'Besides,' He grinned, his eyes shutting closed in exhaustion and contentedness, 'I'm a Saturday. Things always work out for a Saturday. They just do.'

AWW! I love a happy ending... especially when I write it! XD If I have any embarassing typos, tell me so I can fix them! Comments, suggestions, just no flames please 0////0

If you read, please REVIEW.

Thankies :)

-UltimateShipper2009