This is for YenGirl. Hope it's what you wanted! If not, sorry….
A few words: The beginning is not what it appears to be. It's yaoi, or at least as much of it as I dare insert with my parents breathing down my back, lol. ZeroYuuki fans, you can read the first quarter without wincing, but after that you may run for your life if you want to.
…So much for 'a few words'.
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.
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.;"Liquefied Pleasure";.
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Once upon a time, there lived a boy in denial.
His name… Kiryuu Zero.
….
His room door closed with a soft click. Turning, he brushed away stray strands from his forehead, though his hair remained as messy as ever. It was not his nature to be tame, he mused as he tugged at a particular knot in his hair. Wild is good.
The evening threw long shadows behind him as he strode down the corridor. Feeling at ease, he allowed his mind to wander, idly listening to the click-clack sound of his shoes and admiring the warm hue of the building cast in dying sunlight. The wind must be quite strong; he could hear it streaking past the leaves even through the glass.
Ah, there's Yuuki.
Zero found himself watching her almost ruefully. His heart beat with longing for her, although he would never take any steps to fulfill that desire. Yuuki was too precious to risk. Unconsciously, he placed his hands on the window to look at her better.
Yuuki tucked away some of her wayward hair, ignorant of her invisible observer. She seemed to be looking for something. Or someone, Zero amended.
He allowed a brief smile to tease his lips, relishing the coolness of the glass against his palms.
He could not help wondering what – or who – she was searching for, and for a short while entertained the notion of helping her. She looked anxious and flustered. Not very uncommon when it came to Yuuki, but then again everything about Yuuki intrigued him in the most curious of ways.
He saw her walk into an overhead branch, smirking when she squealed and batted the offending protrusion with blind vengeance. She should open her eyes, he thought. Then she can see.
Besides, he liked her eyes.
They were a shade of the most beautiful brown God could bestow, mixed with speckles of red and gold and perhaps even black, on occasion. The semblance between her eyes and the fallen leaves around her was striking, he noticed fondly. Autumn and Yuuki go hand in hand.
Though on second thought, Yuuki was more magnificent than any season could be.
Snorting, Zero closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to the glass. He was getting cheesy.
Ah, yes, there was no doubt about it: he loved Yuuki.
He loved her the moment she expressed her concern about his bloodied condition years ago, when she led him into the bathroom and cleaned his neck with a damp towel. He had felt a tug at his heart back then.
Her touches were gentle and soothing – a motherly trait he did not get to experience often with his own mother. Not that he blamed her; it must be hard to juggle hunter and motherhood duties in one's life. He wouldn't know. Now he never would.
At that time, having Ichiru waiting for him in the desolate Kiryuu household was more than enough. But that wasn't true anymore. Ichiru was gone, and in the gaping void he left in Zero's heart, a sinful greed festered.
The boy sighed and ran a hand through his silvery hair. His thoughts were running away again. They tend to do that. Sad, really; he couldn't even control his ruminations. He was about to walk away when he espied something that made his irritation boil. A scowl marred his face.
Someone was teasing Yuuki. Badly, by the looks of it – she looked ready to cry.
Casting away all thought of leaving, he opened a window and jumped, ignoring the fact that he was on the second floor. The wind whipped his face as if to reprimand his recklessness.
Powerful leg muscles tensed and rippled as they took the brunt of the fall. Zero was up in an instant, striding with deadly grace towards the pair obscured by trees and leaves, tense and angry.
Yuuki was trembling like a leaf in the wind, fisting her hands to keep her composure. She looked at her tormentor. He was laughing still, pointing blatantly at the red slash across her cheek, attracting more unwanted attention. It was very embarrassing. Yuuki felt her cheeks colour and ducked her head, willing the earth to swallow her up.
But that wasn't possible, was it, when it had belched its own withered kin in colourful multitudes onto the ground?
"What are you laughing at?"
Instant silence. Yuuki stiffened at the familiar voice.
If Zero's voice hadn't turned the bully's laughter into frozen icicles – indeed, the look on his face was priceless – his glare certainly had.
Yuuki backed into the comforting warmth Zero exuded, feeling less afraid. Zero always seemed to bring out this submissive and reliant side of her.
It wasn't beneficial, she realized upon reflection, but she just couldn't help it. So much for being a good Prefect.
"Apologise," Zero said to the other boy.
"Er, um, that's okay," Yuuki interrupted, but Zero was having none of that. She supposed she had her lucky stars to thank that the bully didn't put up a fight.
When he was gone, Zero turned her round and looked at her, almost as though he were summing her up. She felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Nervously, she started fidgeting with her hands. Would he not stop?
"Not hurt, are you?"
"Huh? Oh, no." She fingered her bruise. It burned, but she knew it would fade without scarring in a matter of hours so she wasn't worried.
Relief spread to the tips of his fingers. Zero made a small sound of acknowledgement, stuck his hands into his pockets and turned to leave.
Unaware she was being left behind, Yuuki frowned. She was forgetting something…she knew she was. Why had she come here in the first place?
Oh, yeah.
"Zero! Wait up!" she cried. "The Chairman wants to see you in his office."
"Aa."
"Hmph, that Zero," Yuuki huffed. She then walked deeper among the heavily-laden trees to savour the scent of autumnal leaves – some of them gave off a nice smell, the maple trees for instance. The book she would use to press them would be perfumed with it too. Smiling, she reached for a maple branch, shaking it so that the smell wafted towards her. The leaves rustled in reply.
Would Kaname-senpai like them? She wondered.
Behind a few saplings some distance away, deep brown eyes watched her appraisingly.
Yes, he would, he answered in his mind. How could he not when they reminded him of autumn and of her, in the way they all bore an uncanny similarity in colour?
….
The fine trickles of time continued to flow, but still the boy refused to acknowledge what was rightfully his.
The threesome suffered in silence.
….
Now that his anger had simmered down, Zero wondered if he had been too harsh earlier. His voice was naturally sonorous, even more so when he yelled, and all the boy did was to tease Yuuki a little after all.
The memory of her so close to tears fanned his resentment, however, and he retracted his doubts. That boy deserved what he got.
Maybe you're jealous, some part of his unconscious whispered.
Nope. No way. Kiryuu Zero did not do jealousy…though Kiryuus were known to be very possessive of things they hold dear. Their vice-like grips were legendary.
What did you think started the feud between them and a rival hunter clan? A bride, of course – apparently studs from both families had vested an interest in the same girl.
Needless to say, the Kiryuu clan triumphed over their rival and up to four years ago continued to best them in a world where talent and skill weighed as much as gold.
The very same lady bore twins – him and Ichiru – a rarity amongst the vampire hunters. Despite the timeless belief that twins were taboo, she cared for them, cradled them in armfuls of boundless love. A pity she was swayed by her husband. His father's foresight caused much pain and suffering on all parts.
Like with his mother's case, Zero didn't blame his father either, though he resented the Kiryuu patriarch for a good while. The traditions and beliefs of the vampire hunters had deeply ingrained themselves in the Kiryuu clan; no one grew up without them, not even those whose physiques were unsuited to assume the job of a vampire hunter.
He wouldn't lie – learning that his and Ichiru's birth was frowned upon wasn't painless. He had nothing to cushion the fall except for the presence of his own twin, which he clung to with a childish vengeance. He knew Ichiru did the same.
Zero licked his dry lips and wiped away the sheen of cold sweat on his forehead. He stiffened, knowing that the brief gust of wind had nothing to do with it.
Taking a deep breath, he hastened to the Chairman's office, black shoes clacking briskly against the cement floor.
He refused to lose himself again.
The door was open just a crack. That's weird. Zero frowned. The Chairman loved his privacy (despite his loud, boisterous attitude that suggested otherwise) and he seldom left his doors open, however small the gap.
A passing breeze made him shudder. He could smell humans somewhere in the building…their warm, rich scent wafted up enticingly with the wind.
Without further ado, he stepped into the Chairman's room, barely refraining from slamming the door behind him.
"It's rude to enter without knocking first."
Zero froze. That voice….
He spun round just in time to see Kaname step partially into view, leaving half his body still shrouded in shadow. Deep brown eyes watched him, contemplated him. Then the corners of his mouth lifted in what Zero might call a smirk. But Kaname being Kaname, the expression was so miniscule it could hardly be categorized anyway.
"Why are you here?" Zero said. Perhaps it was too sharp a question. Ah well, it didn't matter – it was Kuran he addressed.
Kaname shrugged elegantly. "I summoned you."
"I thought it was the Chairman."
"He gave me permission to use his name; you would not have come otherwise."
Zero stared at him, his expression mutinous. How dare he!
Then again, he was the Kuran Kaname; he could do the most unthinkable things and get away with it.
A long, tense silence filled the room. Neither spoke.
It was Zero who broke it first. The heels of his shoes clicked as he turned to leave.
"I have no business with you," he shot over his shoulder, still fuming. His blood debt couldn't possibly extend to servile obeisance!
…Right?
"Oh, but you do." Kaname's voice was a husky purr. "I can hear it."
He tapped his neck for emphasis. Zero growled, his anger escalating to new heights.
Why must the pureblood know everything about him? It was downright unfair.
"Then your hearing must be off," he bit out coolly. Inside, though, he knew his heart was racing. He could hear Kuran's pulse beating underneath that delicate alabaster skin too. It wasn't lost on him; rather, it taunted him, snared him in its webs. Angrily, he fought down a groan.
Kaname smiled.
He bloody smiled.
"I know you need it," he said. Zero glared at him with pure loathing, unconsciously drinking in the sight of his aristocratic looks…and his eyes drifted down to that pale neck, so vulnerable and open, framed by locks of dark hair.
"I do not," Zero snarled, tearing himself away from the beautiful sight.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaname recline on the Chairman's table.
"Suit yourself. I can wait."
Well, not really – he had things to do, but Zero needn't know that.
Very pissed off now, Zero stalked to the door, intending to leave.
The door wouldn't budge.
Zero tried the knob again, with no better results. He stared at it in disbelief. Kuran did not just lock the both of them inside.
This just cannot happen.
His grip on the doorknob tightened as an invisible breeze imbued with Kaname's smell rushed past him. It stretched his tolerance paper-thin.
His anger bubbled up like lava.
"KURAN!" he roared. "Let me out!"
"No."
The simplicity of his answer fuelled the vampire hunter's rage.
How dare he, Zero seethed for the umpteenth time. How dare he do this to him!
"My debt to you will not be repaid with servitude!" he snapped. He punched the door, making the room's artifacts rattle in their places.
Kaname watched him with an unreadable expression. "No," he said softly. "No, it will not."
His quiet tone stunned Zero and quelled his anger. Now he felt miffed. What was that manipulative, backstabbing person thinking, changing his expressions like that?
They all flowed so seamlessly Zero was tempted to believe it was sincere. But he knew better – Kaname was nothing if not sly – and so he stood his ground, wary of the pureblood vampire.
Kaname sighed. Even that was executed with grace; it belied his upbringing, the tinkling sound music in Zero's ears. Zero found himself resisting it with some difficulty.
A drop of doubt started to grow in his mind.
"It will not," Kaname repeated, slowly closing the distance between them. "I demand payment of a different form."
"Such as…?"
A flicker of amusement flashed in Kaname's eyes and he leaned closer, capturing Zero's gaze in his.
"That can be saved for another time," he said smoothly. "Come now, you are not deceiving me – your own eyes betray you."
Indeed, his rubicund eyes were a dead giveaway.
Something akin to a growl rumbled in Zero's throat and he looked away, face burning with simultaneous shame and lust. His breath hitched when Kaname ran a finger along his firm jaw.
"Don't do this to me," he hissed through clenched teeth. Kaname merely smiled.
"Ah, your fangs are showing."
"SHUT UP!"
Zero furiously slammed Kaname into the wall. Plaster crumbled off the ceiling and spidery cracks appeared at the focal point of impact, showering the floor with debris, peppering their hair with fine dust.
His grip on Kaname's neck tightened. Zero forced himself to look away from the smirking pureblood – if Kaname ever smirked that is.
Then his calculative brown eyes darkened and he looked at Zero with all seriousness.
"I will not let you drink Yuuki's blood again," he breathed near Zero's ear. The hunter shuddered.
"I said shut up," Zero said thickly.
"Don't deny it." Kaname raised his hand and wiped away the blood trickling down his nape, seemingly nonchalant. Zero's forehead creased when Kaname grazed his skin. "It will only hurt you," he continued as though he hadn't seen Zero struggling with his control.
But now I'm hurting you, Zero said in his mind. His long fingers were buried so deep in Kaname's neck he could feel his blood rushing in the veins; he was surprised the pureblood didn't – at the very least – wince. He tightened his hold out of spite.
Kaname bore his eyes into Zero's as though in askance. Something shot right through his mind, and with a whimper, the silver-haired hunter released his grip and fell to his knees, shaking.
"Stop denying yourself," Kaname said with an iota of impatience. "Stop denying me."
"Back off," Zero hissed. His arms trembled, shaking with the effort needed to support his weight. More colour flooded his irises.
Kaname went down on one knee and cupped Zero's chin. "Stubborn, aren't you." He brought his free hand up to Zero's eye level and squeezed.
Blood gushed in abundance from Kaname's fist, glistening under the light, pooling on the floor in huge red drops.
Zero stared at the rapidly bleeding hand with a pained cry.
He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't.
Zero's eyes rolled back into his head as he choked, adamantly refusing to drink. Oh, how he hated that pain! It blinded him, strangled him, killed him with its insatiable needs. He just wanted it to stop.
One hand flew to his throat, intending to claw it raw. He didn't expect Kaname to intercept it; he struggled against his own mind's orders, but the momentum couldn't be stopped. Zero's claws imparted five rather impressive slashes on his arm, tearing his black sleeve to shreds. He seemed to care not, though Zero moaned and fell forward, his energy depleted by that one act of rebelliousness.
He was caught, of course, and shaken back to semi-consciousness with a gentle but firm insistence. Blood flecked his face and neck as Kaname shook him with his injured forearm. He closed his eyes, refusing to give in.
Kaname traced Zero's lips with his bloodied hand without observing kindness, and in a moment of dominance, made sure to push a finger right into Zero's mouth.
The weakened hunter bucked and struggled against Kaname's grip at the taste. "No," he moaned. "Let go…."
"You're like a baby compared to me," Kaname said as he held Zero easily. "I can force you, but I won't. So drink from me."
Zero forced himself to look away. His chest heaved with laboured breaths, pale skin straining as his ribs heaved strenuously under its surface. Everything about him was in utter disarray – his silver hair was dyed red, his shirt was half torn off his body and his body was drenched in sweat. It sucked.
Oh, and let's not forget the nasty pureblood, shall we?
"Zero." Kaname's timbre voice cut through his haze of lust like a knife. "Look at me."
When Zero refused to comply, Kaname reached out and jerked his head back, so that his silver hair fanned his face and stuck to the sticky blood there. His cry of pain was blatantly disregarded.
Kaname pried his jaw open, taking a split second to admire the canines there – two long, crescent-shaped fangs, dripping with saliva. Zero had obviously been salivating at the scent of his blood even if he wasn't aware of doing it.
Smirking a little, he applied more pressure, forcing further entry, then jammed his injured arm into Zero's mouth, making sure he got the fangs embedded in his flesh.
Zero's protests died down.
Kaname allowed him to suckle on his wounds, basking in the sensation of Zero's soft lips working on his skin. He closed his eyes.
Ah, this was bliss. Demented, true, but still bliss.
"Yes…drink, Zero," he murmured, coaxing the hunter. "Drink more – it is what marks you as mine."
He smiled in satisfaction when Zero neglected to object.
With a hint of sorrow, he conceded that it was so merely because Zero was too drowned in bloodlust to care.
He wondered when Zero would recognize his attraction towards Yuuki for what it was – a brotherly love, nothing more. He himself was like that too.
It took him months of soul-searching and nerve-wracking moments, yes, but now he knew who he truly wanted.
Showing it, however, need not be done conspicuously. He had his own ways.
Zero chose to break away from his arm just then, though Kaname was well aware of the hand that still clamped it in a possessive manner. Red eyes observed him hungrily.
Smirking, Kaname lowered himself to eye level then attempted to nip Zero's labium, pleased when Zero lashed out to bite his tongue. The bloodlust he induced clearly hadn't disappeared.
He drew back and Zero almost followed him if not for Kaname's restraining hand. The pureblood checked his injured forearm lazily. It was badly lacerated, with long, raw strips of flesh hanging by a mere sinew to his bones. Blood dripped, slick and thick, in streams, coating his arm a beautiful crimson.
Kaname had to hide a grimace at the extent of the damage. It wouldn't heal for a while yet, not until the chemicals injected by Zero's fangs were broken down by his system, his blood triumphing over the impurities the way it always did be it poison or panacea. The blood of a pureblood tended to do that.
"How am I supposed to hide this?" he mused out loud, looking at Zero with a small smile.
"Oh, shaddup," Zero said hoarsely before claiming Kaname's lips.
"You missed my neck by a long shot," Kaname remarked, but Zero just took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
"Nope. Bulls-eye," he said as he explored Kaname's warm mouth. His fang nicked the pureblood's tongue and he sucked on it with relish. "Gotta be blind before I miss at such a distance."
"Hm."
Zero pulled back and ended the kiss with a tired caress. "Interesting way to confess, I must admit."
It wrung a lot out of him, that simple sentence. Zero never thought he would live to see the day where he actually complimented Kuran Kaname. Kuran, his rival, his nemesis, and his--dare he say it?--secret admirer.
It was baffling. Mind-blowing. Heart-shattering, even.
He supposed he should be touched that Kaname considered him a friend at all. He was an ex-human, a Level-D vampire, the lowest in the vampire pyramid and a hunter-bred prodigy to boot. And yet him, of all people, was the one Kaname felt enamoured to.
Kaname. The charismatic, mysterious dorm leader; the eye-candy everyone vied for, the one who kept to himself and sometimes confided in his small circle of nobles. Most importantly, he was a pureblood, one at the top of the vampire pyramid.
He felt like chuckling at the sheer irony of it.
But now that he knew Kaname's true feelings, some part of him - despite how reluctant he was to admit it initially - started to reciprocrate. Of that he was sure, because his mind screeched to a standstill the moment the pureblood chose to lock eyes with him in concealed rapture. Like now.
Kaname smiled mysteriously. "I'm full of surprises."
Zero snorted and wiped the blood off his mouth. "Pompous boaster."
"You'll regret that."
"Probably. I don't know how to act around Yuuki now."
Silence fell with Zero ignorant of the significant impact his words packed.
Kaname was upon him in an instant, straddling the hunter's thin body with his legs. Idly, despite his rapid, painful heartbeats, Zero marveled at how Kaname's eyes changed intensity at every shift of emotion. They were a very deep brown now, almost black, aided by the shadows that fell on his face.
Kaname's light breath was cool on Zero's face. "I can make you forget," he offered, staring down at the boy below him with an impassiveness that could freeze anything. His grip on Zero's shoulders tightened a fraction.
Zero could only stare, shaken by the unexpected benevolent gesture. Still, beneath the thin veneer of ice lay a sea of hurt, waiting to ram its way through at an opportune moment when no one was there to see. It was something he was familiar with; it struck a chord within him.
A tentative hand reached up to rest upon Kaname's sturdy chest. Unlike his pulse, the palpitations of his heart were hard to detect, appearing and disappearing at random. It surprised Zero. He continued to feel it with dazed fascination, absentmindedly synching Kaname's pulse with his faint heartbeats. It put to rest his unease.
That, and the sensation of having Kaname's length pressed on his stomach – it was indescribable by words alone – brought forth an uncharacteristic smile.
"No." Zero lay quivering fingers on the pureblood's thigh, close to his erection. "I'll find a way."
He didn't complain when Kaname leaned further down until their noses were inches apart. It made it possible for him to better admire the flawless, porcelain-like face that looked as if it had been sculpted to resemble that of a god's, and the way Kaname's satisfied smirk cast his features in a brand new light.
Indeed, he – and his arousal that seemed aphrodisiacal in nature – snatched Zero's breath away.
Kaname trailed a finger from Zero's lips, sensuous and slow, then ran it down Zero's neck and under the sorry remnants of his shirt, all the while keeping his eyes on the boy.
"Don't make me forget," Zero almost begged, desperate to extract some form of promise.
"I won't."
With that, he claimed Zero as his.
….
And so, over the course of an hour, the boy achieved the impossible – he accepted the last of three, turned hate into love. They were finally united as a whole.
The threesome lived happily ever after.
The End.
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EDIT 1(8/10/08): Added in some words ff (dot) net kindly gobbled up during the uploading process...grr. Not pleased.
EDIT 2(10/10/08): Added some bits to suit YenGirl's tastes. I hope it sounds better now!
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I've a feeling I'm telling, not showing. Tell me if you find any instances in the story where it shows at all and I'll try to find a way around that. Tsk.
…well, any instance except for the fact I neglected to elaborate further on their…er…pleasures. Still too young to venture there yet!
That aside, was the ending too abrupt?
Should this be T- or M-rated? Do tell. And yeah I quoted a few lines from the original manga. I do not claim to own them. Those who have read the manga will know which ones they are; I used them for extra significance in the story. I hope you don't mind.
Please read and review! All kinds of reviews – especially criticism – are welcomed, so send them rolling my way! Hehe.
Until next time, then.