Okay. Here's a little something that was requested by Lady Shockbox. She wanted something with Grappler and Zapper having a little heart-to-heart moment. And this is what I came up with. This is my first request, so I'm nervous. But, if you like it, enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review!

Hear Me Out

Zapper Zaku scoffed as he studied the skyline of Neotopia. It wasn't that often that the maroon mech secretly left the Magna Musai to get some peace and quiet. One of his biggest secrets was the fact that he often came here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Dark Axis…and Grappler Gouf's annoying remarks about him.

He found it quite silly that he came here to the very dimension they had been assigned to invade to think.

But he didn't complain. Back on the ship, there were very few places he could go to get some alone time. The only place on board would be his own room, but Grappler's room was one level above, so that was no good.

Zapper wasn't a poetic one, but he sometimes found the city's skyline to be actually quite beautiful. The light made the sea shimmer with a radiance of fire, almost like the flames of the ship's engines, or like an optical sensor flaring with rage.

His onboard radar suddenly acted up, alerting him to an unknown presence. He tensed. How had the Gundams found out he was here? Did they detect the Zakorello Gate? If so, how could he fight them all off? He was only one mech…

"Zapper?"

Zapper suddenly spun at the voice, his hands flying for his machine guns. The digits had barely curled around the butts when he recognized that voice.

"Grappler Gouf!" he hissed. "I should've known."

"What's it to you?" the blue mech asked as he stepped out of the trees to stand beside his partner.

"Just tell me what you're doing here," Zapper muttered.

"I came to see where you were," Grappler remarked. He casually leaned back against one of the trees and folded his arms. "You weren't in your room, so I searched all over the ship for you. When I discovered you weren't there, I asked one of the Zakos where you were, and he told me that you sometimes came here." He snorted. "I didn't think it to be true until now."

"Yeah, right," Zapper grumbled, rolling his optic.

"What I don't understand is why you come here, of all places! This dimension is our target!" Grappler said as he stood up and unfolded his arms.

"I sometimes need someplace quiet to think, that's all," Zapper said.

"And you come here?" Grappler was confused now.

"Look. There's a lot that's on my mind sometimes, and I need a place to sort out my thoughts! Is that a bad thing?" the red mech hissed.

"No. It's just very unusual for you."

Zapper sighed. "Well, it's a good way to forget about the war, and about what we're doing so far. I know that Neotopia is our target and that the Commander wants it conquered. But it's a good place to think and let your mind wander. Pitt knows how many times it's helped me after a particularly nasty fight."

Grappler somewhat understood what he meant. He knew how close Zapper was to the Zakos, and that he was constantly worried for them in battle.

"You always try to reflect and come up with new ways on how to fight the Gundams?" he asked.

Zapper nodded. "Yeah. It's…it's my way of coping."

"Coping with what?"

The red mech shifted his position before looking at Grappler. "With the very fact of war," he murmured.

Grappler raised the corner of his optical ridge. The war itself? "Why try to cope with war? The Dark Axis is involved in wars all the time," he said.

Zapper nodded. "True, but sometimes even I feel like breaking down." He looked back at the city's skyline, now lit aflame by the setting sun. The glass windows shimmered with fiery radiance. "That's why I come here. To forget the horrors of war and focus on something else."

Grappler shrugged. "Such as?"

The red mech turned to face him. "Such as you."

Grappler's face flushed red slightly, and Zapper was surprised to find himself thinking that it was cute. "Why me?" Grappler asked.

"Well, you're my partner. And we tend to have our differences, but we always work to get the mission done. And our differences somehow cancel each other out." He then shook his head. "Not even I know how that works, but it does somehow."

The other squad leader scoffed. "Yeah, right. We can't even stop arguing during missions."

"But we somehow get the job done," Zapper pointed out.

"What does this have to do with trying to cope with the war?" Grappler asked, bringing the subject back on topic.

"It helps me forget the horrors and keep my wits about me," the maroon warrior said. "By focusing on that, it helps me forget the war's horrible aspects."

"So, in short, by coming here it helps you keep your sanity," Grappler mused.

Zapper nodded. "Yeah. And it's done wonders for me."

He turned to face his partner. "How do you try to cope with the war?"

Grappler shrugged. "I don't. I've been involved in combat so much it's like a part of me," he murmured, glancing down at his claws. 'Even though I was a medic once.'

"Eventually it will start to get to you," Zapper said softly.

"Yeah. Maybe," Grappler remarked sarcastically.

For a long five minutes, the two were silent. When the silence was broken, it was by Zapper. "Seriously. How do you cope with it?"

Grappler frowned. How did he cope with it? He made a face. "Well, I guess by training," he remarked. "It helps me let out my anger and frustration more than anything else."

"It does?" Zapper looked at him, confusion present in his optic. Then he chuckled. "Well, I guess we both have our own methods then."

"Yeah. I guess so," Grappler murmured.

He turned to look at the skyline of the city, and to his own surprise, he found himself studying it and memorizing it. The way the light shone reflected the fiery red of the Dark Axis in its own way, but at the same time, it hinted at the city's defiance to falling to them. The very colors were what caught his attention and he was impressed.

"You know, Zapper, I think that maybe next time, I'll come here too," he said.

"You will?" Zapper asked.

Grappler nodded. "Yeah. The city at sunset is really quite impressive, now that I think about it," he said simply.

The other mech smiled. "How about after the next mission, we'll come here to talk?"

Grappler smiled back. "It's a deal."