From there, things have developed where initially the replica was sort of the stray that Zexion fed now and then and kept educated and not totally retarded. Over time, through this, the replica began to trust Zexion and view him as a person fully -- he hadn't exactly before, not because of the Nobody thing (given Namine, to the replica, Nobodies are more real than he is most of the time) but because of just... how he views the world, which is an essay in and of itself. But yeah. And months and months passed with Zexion hanging out with the replica, feeding him and playing with him (if ...letting the replica have a rivalry with a tiny heartless counts as playing) and encouraging the replica to be a person. As months passed like this, the replica came to trust him -- Zexion is probably the replica's most trusted person right now. Namine's his most loved, and Sora's the one he's most fond of otherwise, but neither of them are trustworthy. It's too embarrassing for him to say things like that, but the replica would follow Zexion to the ends of the world -- Zexion's pretty much his owner.
He also considers Zexion a friend, as much as the replica's capable of it -- the replica's ideas of friendship are fucked up, honestly, and his heart isn't exactly undamaged, so for him friendship comes as package deals with other things, like with rivalry (adell) etc. He wouldn't call Zexion a friend, but he does think that way, which is why he also makes fun of Zexion. He did inherit that trend from Riku -- he's cuttingly sarcastic to the people he doesn't like (as well as hysterical, more something of his own) but fondly sarcastic or mocking to the ones he does. Every time he's called Zexion wife or mom or dad or anything in front of other people? He's done it deliberately, to make Zexion's life a little rough, because that's how he expresses affection.
Of course, the terms it comes through are always familial -- "wife" isn't any object of romanticism, as I saw you pointed out to Kurogane, it's just a shortened way to call Zexion an overly domestic "housewife" type, and a way that gives a lot of people the wrong idea in ways the replica finds funny. (If he thought it was actually bothering Zexion, he'd stop doing it, though it'd be hard for him to do so). Mom, Dad, etc -- it's all ways of addressing the dual role of owner-friend which comes across as "caretaker". He doesn't actually think of Zexion as close family per se -- if asked to think about his parents, he'd be thinking about Vexen, and Zexion wouldn't come to mind. But that's not necessarily exclusive from the familial role, because the replica is, obviously, outside the normal family structure by nature. Zexion can't be "like a parent" to him, because the replica just doesn't have those bonds. However, Zexion is family and friend and caretaker, at least from the replica's side of things. The replica has threatened Zexion before with "if you betray me, I'll kill you" and he means it. I don't know if he'd be able to act on it, but I think he would. Zexion is the one person in the world who could utterly destroy what's left of the replica's heart if he tried, because he is the first person -- and only person -- the replica's come to trust utterly. Or at least, as much as he's capable of trust after everything, since he always has a deep-down awareness that the people you trust and devote yourself to can always betray you.
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He also considers Zexion a friend, as much as the replica's capable of it -- the replica's ideas of friendship are fucked up, honestly, and his heart isn't exactly undamaged, so for him friendship comes as package deals with other things, like with rivalry (adell) etc. He wouldn't call Zexion a friend, but he does think that way, which is why he also makes fun of Zexion. He did inherit that trend from Riku -- he's cuttingly sarcastic to the people he doesn't like (as well as hysterical, more something of his own) but fondly sarcastic or mocking to the ones he does. Every time he's called Zexion wife or mom or dad or anything in front of other people? He's done it deliberately, to make Zexion's life a little rough, because that's how he expresses affection.
Of course, the terms it comes through are always familial -- "wife" isn't any object of romanticism, as I saw you pointed out to Kurogane, it's just a shortened way to call Zexion an overly domestic "housewife" type, and a way that gives a lot of people the wrong idea in ways the replica finds funny. (If he thought it was actually bothering Zexion, he'd stop doing it, though it'd be hard for him to do so). Mom, Dad, etc -- it's all ways of addressing the dual role of owner-friend which comes across as "caretaker". He doesn't actually think of Zexion as close family per se -- if asked to think about his parents, he'd be thinking about Vexen, and Zexion wouldn't come to mind. But that's not necessarily exclusive from the familial role, because the replica is, obviously, outside the normal family structure by nature. Zexion can't be "like a parent" to him, because the replica just doesn't have those bonds. However, Zexion is family and friend and caretaker, at least from the replica's side of things. The replica has threatened Zexion before with "if you betray me, I'll kill you" and he means it. I don't know if he'd be able to act on it, but I think he would. Zexion is the one person in the world who could utterly destroy what's left of the replica's heart if he tried, because he is the first person -- and only person -- the replica's come to trust utterly. Or at least, as much as he's capable of trust after everything, since he always has a deep-down awareness that the people you trust and devote yourself to can always betray you.