[KH/FF] Treachery of Fate: Imperfect Imposter

Chapter 30

You were still outside a half hour later, mindlessly staring at the city. It occurred to you at some point that this was in a different portion of Midgar you were in than last time-it was cleaner here, more business oriented, and even flourishing under the elements of a downtown environment. But, even that thought lasted only a moment, as your mind wandered back off to what Noctis had said; it shouldn't have gotten to you, but it did in a way you couldn't ignore, especially because he did-and you hate to admit-had proof of his opinion. Your gaze shifted to the dark skies, and you reached out a palm, feeling the raindrops fall upon it like little needles.

"...Am I...a liability?"

Someone sighed behind you, the sliding door you hadn't even heard opening, shutting with a soft thud. "No, you're not."

 "...Why aren't you sleeping?" you asked absentmindedly, closing your hand and retracting it, turning around.

Zero was leaned against the sliding door casually in a long sleeved black shirt and matching pajama bottoms, hands behind his back; he spoke softly, gazing at you carefully. "I could ask you the same. You shouldn't have paid any attention to our conversation-it's as pointless as girl gossip... Besides, I came to check on you."

You nodded slowly, turning around, leaning forward with your hands gripping the metal railing," How did you know I was awake?"

"From the little part of your bunk curtain that was open, I could see you," he answered, mimicking your actions. "...I saw you try to ignore the conversation...then break down slowly. In between, I tried to stop it but...well, you heard me fail."

"Why DID you bother though?" you cocked your head to the side, gazing at Zero from the corner of your eye. "I thought you hated my guts."

He smiled faintly," I learned that I misjudged you. You were hesitant and lied about a few things in order to protect your identity as a princess-that's understandable... I have to admit though, you're still a bit suspicious to me, but I noticed a few things about you in Edo, and I think I'm the one who made the bad impression."

"You sure did," you laughed lightly. "But, since you learned something from it, I accept your half-assed apology."

He frowned," Just when my impression of you turns, you ruin it."

Your eyes widened," You can't be serious!"

Zero chuckled lightly this time, shaking his head," I'm just kidding, Amaya-I'm trying to lighten you up here."

"Ah..." you smiled in embarrassment, nodding, then looked up at the sky. "Well...thank you."

It was silent for a while, until Zero spoke again," How...did you know it was me on the airship and not Fai?"

"You have dimples," you shrugged. "Even though you don't smile at me," you turned to him, finger hovering over his face," I can kind of see the little depth it has on your laugh lines. I noticed them when I first saw you." Zero nodded slowly then stared at you for a moment, making you look away," What?"

"Nothing," he smiled-wider this time-shaking his head. "I'll...leave you alone now. Don't think too much on what the guys said. Keep in mind that we're a team regardless of what we think of one another."

"Wait," you called out, the pale haired teen looking over his shoulder. "Um...does this mean we're friends?"

"Do you want to be?"

"Well...yeah-if it's not too much trouble."

He smirked to himself, heading inside," I guess we're friends then."

You decided to follow Zero inside, and went to sleep as he did, making sure not to disturb the other boys as you climbed back into bed. You were woken up hours later, around eight in the morning, to get ready for the day though, and as one of the first to do so, you gave in to the luxury of taking your time. You then exited the bathroom in a pair of dark green skinny jeans, and a dark blue shirt, drying your hair with a towel.