X looked under his bed, a class three regenerative device.

The storage unit under his regenerator was singular among the Maverick hunters. Most stored weapons, armor, and dirty magazines under their beds.

X had books. Lots of books.

It was very true that the blue bomber possessed an incredibly deadly array of weaponry, including several full suits of powerful ability-enhancing armor. X, however, left most of it in the care of his navigator, secretary, and sometime-sweetheart, Alia.

He tossed aside his limited edition "Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Across the room flew the complete works of William Shakespeare.

His roommate, Zero, dodged several books on robotics co-authored by doctors Light and Wily, and caught a rare hard-back copy of "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

"Which one did you lose this time?" Zero smirked, setting the precious book on the shelf next to his friend's bed.

X just growled and made an obscene hand gesture.

He was grouchy when he couldn't find a book he wanted to read. Zero pulled him up by his armored shoulder.

"C'mon. Let's spar. It'll help you cool off." X had become rather adept at fencing. While Zero preferred forms of the art that involved less finesse and more smashing things, he was more than happy to assist X in practicing his swordplay.

X had yet to win a match against the master swordsman.

"Later." X brushed him off and went back to shuffling around under his bed, this time with an visually assistive visor lowered over his eyes.

Zero sighed and climbed into his own bed. If X didn't find it soon, he'd have to be restrained by the hunters to prevent him from turning the entire base upside-down.

As the chamber closed over his head, and he awaited the silence of sleep, he pulled from behind his pillow X's prized 20th century leather-bound copy of "Pride and Prejudice."

He opened the book. The ancient parchment curled under his fingertips and he inhaled deeply. He loved the smell.

He called the food replicator to make him a cup of hot chocolate. He brought it to his lips and sipped.

"Let's see. Now, where were we?"

A /n: I thought this was cute. I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to write something like this for quite a while. I might have one more chapter in me if someone wants to read it.