AN: Um. I have this whole sort of established head canon where Zero's an android that was built specifically to wield Grandark, and that he's trying to learn what it means to be alive, I guess. So um. Yeah. On another note, I am probably not going to be writing from Zero's POV too often. It's hard trying to describe things in this sort of...factual way. My writing style relies heavily on the character's emotions, so writing from the POV of a character that doesn't fully understand even the concept of emotion is extremely difficult and just a little bit boring. Oh well, moving right along!

Zero's POV

You wake up before he does today so you decide maybe you should try to make breakfast. You toss on one of his shirts. It's too big for you (he's only an inch taller than you. However, he likes wearing baggy clothes at home so it's practically hanging off of your only slightly smaller frame), but it smells like him so you don't really mind. The morning is crisp and not-warm. It makes little bumps appear on your skin and you think that maybe this is what cold feels like, but you can't really remember if that's the right word. You'll have to maybe ask Dio later, you think. For now, though, you focus on not waking him up and soundlessly slip out the door, carefully shutting it behind you before padding down the stairs and through the living room to the kitchen. That's when you notice you can see your breath and you are immediately fascinated, momentarily forgetting your goal. You inhale and exhale deeply a few times just to see the air in front of your face mist up. You think that later you are going to have to ask Dio about this, too.

But maybe you shouldn't. He already does so much for you. He lets you stay in his house for nothing at all and he's given you clothes and taught you what it means to "feel" ( although you still don't really understand what it means to have feelings) and that pain shouldn't just be ignored. He's taught you it's okay to feel nervous about going out to battle because sometimes people feel anxious about things like fighting and dying (fear, he called it, you think). Your expression remains as blank as ever, but your mind isn't anything near as calm. You aren't really too sure what the word "scared" means, but you think that you basically understand it and you think you are probably scared that Dio thinks that you aren't useful and doesn't want you here and that you are only a bother (you think there's probably a word for that type of feeling, too, but you can't really remember at all).

When you feel a hand on your shoulder you instinctively jump out of the way and reach for Grandark. Once you've calmed a bit though, you think it's very fortunate you left your sword in the bedroom, because if you had accidentally hurt Dio you think you'd probably be very sad and maybe a little angry with yourself. He asks you why on Earth you put an empty pan on the stove at the same time that you spot the clock on the wall behind him and realize that you had been standing in the middle of the kitchen for over an hour, your plan to make breakfast completely forgotten. When you tell him that you were going to make breakfast but forgot he starts laughing and your face flushes. You think you are probably embarrassed, and you are certain you don't like it.

But when he finally stops laughing, he tells you not to worry about it and says that he'll do it instead, and, you can't help but feel happy. You think smiling now would be appropriate.

You wish you could remember how.