ABS0LUTE ZER0 (TW0): A Collection of Zero Two/Hiro One-Shots

From Hostility to Love

The memories flowed through his mind like water. Each image flashed before his eyes, a vivid memory unlocked in his vast mind. The pieces and gaps felt as if they were fitting together quickly, as if this was meant to happen at some point. Happiness flooded his subconscious as he saw all of these memories of Zero Two, down to their last minute of time together. Her last words to her were imbedded into his brain. "Darling! Darling!" The only word she was capable of saying at the time. It broke his heart into a million pieces. Moreso the fact that he never remembered any of this until she was trying to kill him, of course.

Hiro slowly came back to his senses, feeling the clutch of the hands down his neck. He remembered everything, to every last detail. The suffering, the escape, the joy, the smile on her face. The look when she was torn away from him. It all came back. He heard her growl out loud, Strelitzia in active stampede mode. Tears began running down Hiro's cheeks, while he barely made out a smile in the struggling hands of Zero Two.

Strelitzia's cabin was locked from the inside, as if she was intending to kill him. All radio communication was silent as she slowly led Hiro to his doom. "T-t-the...p-pict-ure...book." He said in an attempt to get her attention. The hands slowly released from his neck, Zero Two turning her head. Her red eyes pierced the darkness of the cabin, staring straight through Hiro's eyes, into his soul. They were somewhat glossed over, as if she was possessed. Her teeth were on display, a grimace plastered on her face.

"I...I remember. Everything." Hiro quietly said. Zero Two's eyes widened in shock. She realized everything she had done within the past few weeks, immediately regretting it. She was making a conscious effort to distance herself from him. She had been intentionally. She didn't know that he was her darling from back then. She had seen him as fodder, a tool to become human for her darling. At that moment, she realized how wrong she was. She realized that her darling was truly the one standing before her. The one who declared her love for her. The one who did everything in her power for her. The one who saved her from imminent destruction.

She immediately cut off Strelitzia. She got up as fast as she could, practically getting over to him at the speed of light. She embraced him, hugging Hiro as hard as she could. Tears began rolling down her face, a small display of the emotion rolling through her mind at this very moment. "You were my darling from back then. That was you, Hiro. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." She burst into sobs, her head nestled into Hiro's shoulder. He embraced her afterward, despite doing everything to her. They stayed like this for a few moments.

She then suddenly broke away from him. She was still crying. She opened her mouth. "No, I don't deserve you! I'm a disgrace!" She fell onto her knees. Hiro ran over to her, pulling her back into a hug. She tried to break away. "Zero Two, stop! Please!" He sternly said. "I called you fodder! I said you were nothing to me, even though all along, you were the one!" She yelled in between sobs. "I don't care, Zero Two! I don't care what you called me! I understood everything you were going through from the start! That doesn't change any of the feelings I have for you, or anything I'm willing to do for you. I love you, Zero Two!"

She kissed him on the lips, putting as much emotion into the kiss as possible. Her lips pressed against his for an indefinite period of time, Hiro doing the same for her. They broke apart once more, her chin resting on his shoulder. "Darling, darling, darling, darling." She said over and over, as she soothingly rubbed his back. Slams were heard in the entry point to the Franxx, but neither of them cared. Not as long as they were together. "I love you. No matter what." Hiro said, playing with her hair as she was held in his embrace. "I feel the same, darling." She replied, finally releasing her grip from Hiro. "And I'm sorry for everything else, too. My mind wasn't in the right place. I shouldn't have tried to kill you." She said, putting her hands on her knees. "I forgive you. You didn't have control over yourself." Hiro said, standing up. Zero Two did the same, giving him a playful look.

She leaned over to his ear, her breath felt on the side of his face. "I'll definitely make all of this suffering worth it later tonight." She seductively said, causing Hiro to shudder. She licked his earlobe, receiving a shocked reaction from Hiro. He then turned it back toward her, a smile gracing his lips. "You better make it worth it then, darling." She gave him a smile equivalent to his. "We'll see about that one, darling. Hehe." She beckoned toward the door soon after. "I think we should let them know we're okay." It felt as if she forced that out of her mouth. "Yeah, you're probably right." Hiro said, walking over to the door.

Zero Two grabbed his hand, a passionate smile on her face. She pressed some buttons, releasing the lock mechanism and opening the door. The two were met with Ichigo and Goro, both with faces of desperation. Ichigo immediately charged at Zero Two, Hiro grabbing her from her stomach in an attempt to hold her back. "You bitch! You almost killed Hiro!" She screamed. "Ichigo, shut up! You know nothing of what was going on, just relax and stop talking for once!" Hiro equally screamed. Goro and Zero Two awkwardly stood there.

Ichigo and Hiro continued to fight. Meanwhile, Zero Two walked toward Goro. "Everything okay, or better I should say?" He asked the pinkette. "Yeah, everything's better between me and my darling. Thanks." She replied, putting her arms behind her head.

"So when do you think my darling and Ichigo are going to stop?"

"Meh, give it like ten minutes, then they'll be best friends again."

"Sounds boring. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yep. Let's go."

Goro and Zero Two begin to walk back, Hiro and Ichigo in the midst of argument.

This one was really fun to write. I had begun writing a different one shot, then the whole idea of "holy crap I hated that one scene where Ichigo pulls my favorite couple apart and it made me really angry and sad for the next three episodes, hmm maybe I should rewrite that!" spawned this story. It came out really well, and I tried to spice it up near the end.

Second day into the new year, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm somewhat dreading school, but that's really it. Hope yours is going great as well.

Anyways, take it easy.