Call Me Zero (Frerard)

28: Where do we belong? Anywhere but here.

A/N: ok originally these next two were just one big chapter but i split em up bc it was way long and also i wanted to be able to use both these chapter names so yea.

enjoy!

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Frank opened the door at the exact second Zero stumbled out. They nearly fell to the floor, but he caught them just in time, gripping them under the arms and luckily not letting anything touch their wound. They looked up at him with scrunched up eyebrows, and their lower lip poking out.

"Frank," they said in a pouty tone.

"What are you doing out here, sweetheart?" Frank asked, doing his best not to sound frustrated that Zero had gotten out of bed. They knew they were supposed to be resting.

They ignored him as he stood them back up and looked over his shoulder.

"Ray!" they exclaimed with a smile, catching sight of him.

"Hey, buddy," Ray laughed back.

Frank moved his fingers under Zero's chin and brought them to look at him.

"What are you doing out of bed, baby?"

Their face turned into a pout again.

"Frank," they whined.

He brushed Zero's red hair out of their eyes and sighed.

"You need to lay back down, Zero, you're still getting better."

They exhaled hard through their nose and leaned into Frank, resting their chin on his shoulder and watching Ray. Frank knew the exact second they had realized what he was doing, because their body tensed up and they shouted just a moment later.

"No!"

Zero tried to make a dive for Ray and the ship, but Frank caught them again.

"Hey!" he snapped, tugging them back up, "You're gonna rip your stitches out!"

They squirmed in his grasp and made an angry face.

"Frank! No," they pointed at Ray again, where he sat near the ship. Their expression was one of pure anger.

Frank hadn't seen Zero this angry since the day they'd first met.

"Zero..." he had no idea what to say.

Instead, he tried to go through the plan in his mind, as well as the reasons why, hoping they were reading it. Zero's face softened and Frank watched as their eyes became watery. Their thin lips tightened into an even tighter line and they continued to watch Ray over his shoulder. Ray cautiously went back to his tinkering and the three of them stood there silently for a good few minutes, the only sound being the clinking of metal and tools.

"Come on, sugar, let me take you back inside," Frank said quietly.

No response came from Zero, but they didn't protest as Frank scooped them up carefully and began to carry them back into the house. Their limp body hung like a dead weight in his arms, and their head rested gently on his shoulder. He brought them all the way back into the bedroom and set them down on the bed, taking the fluffy blanket and draping it over their body again.

"You need to rest, Zero, you're not all the way better yet."

Zero didn't look at Frank; they kept their eyes trained blankly on the wall in front of them. Their eyelids were drooping, and they looked like they could fall asleep at any moment.

"Babe..."

Again, Frank was at a loss for words. Zero exhaled and slowly turned so they were lying on their side, facing away from Frank. They pulled the blanket up so it covered their shoulders and tucked under their chin.