Hey peoples! I missed you! I bet you thought I was dead, right? Well too bad! I'm alive and very happy about it!

I haven't posted a fanfic in a while, so I thought I'd write a little Mamotte! Lollipop fic to celebrate the coming of Summer Term! I can't wait until the six week holidays!! :D

Zero Is Nina's Hero

2013, in the Human World (Please bear in mind that they'd be older because the manga was originally published in 2003)

"Hey, Zero," Nina called from the kitchen. Zero poked his head round the door.

"What is it, Nina?" he asked, entering the room. He was carrying lots of cardboard boxes in from the garage, which he was clearing out.

"Oh, you're cleaning?" she said, staring at the boxes. "I was just wondering… when about was it you decided that you wanted to become a wizard?"

"Hmm… when?" he scratched his head in thought. "I can't really remember. But when I was really small. I remember as a child I used to watch Jeff practise with his magic, and I loved how I never knew how well the spell would go."

"Oh, that's right. Jeff's your older brother," Nina said, remembering her brief encounters with him during the magic exams. Then she smiled. "But I bet you never thought you'd be

saving the world in a couple of years time."

"I never thought that I'd meet someone like Ichi either, or someone like you. I guess that was the privilege of becoming a wizard."

"I've always envied you guys, you know," Nina said, smiling at him. "You know, doing magic. It just seemed to come to you guys naturally. I was forever having to clean up your mess."

"And I always had to clean up yours," grinned Zero. "Lets see… the dough and cake-mix off the ceiling, the makeup off of the dresser, the water off of the floor when you were having Rei… I seem to have cleaned up after you far more than you have cleaned up after me."

"Well, it's not like I could help that," Nina replied, blushing. "I mean, can you tell the sun not to rise, or whatever? You can't tell a lady to hold on when her baby's going to pop out any second. Guys just don't seem to get that."

"Well, you shouldn't complain," Zero retorted, "seeing as I was kind enough to drive you to the hospital. Plus all the times I've had to drive you, Rokka, Sun, Hatsuka and Youka around to cafes and shopping centres and cinemas and all sorts."

"You know, you really don't deserve a girl as nice as me," giggled Nina, patting his head. He stuck out his tongue.

"Well, you don't deserve a guy as cool as me," he smirked. "But it's a bit late to pull out now, seeing as Mina is soon to arrive."

"It's still six months away, Zero," Nina said dryly. "It's not like you'll be driving to the hospital any time soon."

"Hey, does Ichi know yet?" asked Zero, tapping his fingers off of the table. Nina sighed.

"Nope. And I'm not sure how to break the news to him either. I mean, I swore that I wasn't going to have another baby until we were both ready."

"Do you think that we're incapable of caring for her?" Zero said, his gelled spikes drooping.

"Of course not. You're still a child yourself, Zero!" Nina retorted, angrily. "You barely even knew how to hold Rei upright when he was born! I had to do everything all by myself."

"Well excuse me for that!" snapped Zero, his anger rising. "It was your fault for even wanting to marry me! If we'd taken things slower maybe we would be ready!"

They stopped shouting, both silenced by these words. Nina knew that Zero hadn't meant to put it that way, but that fact alone made her feel sick; he was right. If they had let themselves mature before getting married, there would be no child to look after, no baby in Nina's belly that they'd soon have their hands full with.

"…I don't really think that, you know," Zero said finally. "I was just upset. I want to be a dad, I enjoy it. Okay?"

"Hey, Zero… do you remember that time when I was kidnapped by Kingdom?" Nina asked suddenly. Zero nodded.

"Yeah, of course." How could I ever forget? "What about it?"

"Well, you swore that you'd get me back and always protect me. It was around the time that we confessed our love for each other."

"Hmm… I suppose it was," Zero said, tapping his chin in thought. Then he grinned. "We were young and foolish back then, huh?"

"Definitely," laughed Nina. "I can't help but feel like if we'd done things differently we might have never met each other."

"That's not true," smiled Zero. "I once met a fortune-teller that was staying with my brother Jeff. She offered to read my fortune for me when I was eight, and I accepted. She told me that I was going to marry young and would have a childhood romance."

"So I guess that fortune-teller was right, huh?" sighed Nina, resting her elbows on the table. Zero nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." Then Nina smiled broadly and stood up.

"Well, this is a good thing! Lets not be mopey! We're going to have fun telling our kids our story when they're older!"

"Hey, where is Rei, anyway?" asked Zero, suddenly remembering. Nina winked at him.

"He's round Rokka and Ichi's place. Don't worry about it. Ichi said that he was going to be teaching Rei a bit of magic so that I could get some work done." Her face fell a bit. "Of course, I don't know why he should do that, if I'm being so secretive…"

"Don't worry about it, you weirdo," said Zero, patting her head. Nina slumped.

"Even when you're sitting down you're almost as tall as me," she said mournfully. Zero began to laugh.

"If something as simple as that can bug you, you really are a moron!" he smirked, standing up. He began to pick up the boxes again. "Hey, you gonna help me out?"

"Of course," Nina giggled. "You know, Zero, I think that you've been more of a hero than a boyfriend sometimes."

"Well, I'm no good at the romance thing," Zero said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I like that. Guys that get all mushy aren't my thing. You're better as the Hero Guy."

"That's what I do best," laughed Zero, stealing a kiss from her lips before taking the boxes upstairs.

Nina, with a spring in her step, followed him.

There you have it. Some short fluff for the summer. I was really inspired by the Side-Story about the children. I should probably write a fic about Itsuki, Rei and Mina soon, right?

Review, review! Please! I'm begging you!