A/N: Alright guys, here's a few notes. I don't own Vampire Knight, or the characters Yuki, Zero, and Kaname. I only borrowed them from Matsuri Hino. And if I can ever figure out the cover picture, Hino drew that too. It was from the manga. And, spoiler alert, I felt this should of happened instead, or something close to it. Matsuri Hino would have done a better job, of course, but I gave it a shot anyway ;). And I apologize to those who are bigger fans than me and see through my inconsistencies with the manga. When I wasn't sure about something, I may have fudged the details. I also decided, for the sake of my story, that Yuki was still a human and still refusing to call Kaname by Lord Kaname (Kaname-sama). Another important apology I need to make: Yes I'm American, so my character's probably sound and act American when they are originally Japanese. C'mon people, it's just a fun, side project! Don't take it so seriously :). Sorry, I wanted to make it longer, but this is what you get. And it's cheezy, too. Enjoy!
"Come with me." Kaname held out his hand to me, waiting patiently. He looked as glorious as ever. His white, Night class uniform offset by the bright moon shedding it's pale light on the darkened courtyard.
I stood frozen. I battled with indecision. I have always loved Kaname since I was a little girl, since he saved me from the bad vampire. I will always feel indebted to him. And I had always thought I would do anything for him... But now, even as he asks me to join him and even as I had wished for this moment, I can't move. There's another part of me that wants to stay. After all we have been through, how can I leave Zero?
I broke my gaze away from Kaname and glanced back at Zero standing behind me. His eyes were downcast, head half turned away. His posture was stiff with his arms at his sides and his hands balled into fists. I could see he was trying to hide his feelings, and failing miserably. He had always seen how much I cared for Kaname. He has seen how I always wanted to be closer to him and how sad I looked when I never could. But if he has seen that, how could he not see that it was the same way with him? Every time he walked away from me and shut me out, he left me with that same sad look on my face, wishing I could be there instead, next to him. From the hurt and pain written all over his face, I could clearly see that he believed I had already made my choice, that I had already cast him aside. Zero...
I faced Kaname again, "Kaname..." My voice came out only as a whisper.
"Yuki." Kaname continued to glance at me with a gentle, yet fervent intensity. He smiled reassuringly and he turned to face me fully. "Yuki, it's alright. You will be safe with me. I will always protect you."
"Kaname." I tried to put some force back into my voice. I tried to brace myself. I pretended to possess the strength that I truly lacked. "I'm sorry, Kaname, but I can't. "
A look of surprise crossed Kaname's face. Then his brow furrowed with confusion, hurt, anger?
"Yuki, I don't understand. Do you have such low confidence in me?" He dropped his hand down to his side, and continued to gaze at me with a frown on his face.
"No, Kaname! That's not it at all. I think only the best of you, you must know that. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't saved me. I will never be able to repay you for that, but...I can't...I can't leave...Zero..."
I could feel my heart tearing in two, but I believed what I said. I could not leave Zero. After all the nights I spent trying to comfort him and encourage him, when I knew he was having a hard time dealing with his fate of becoming a vampire. All those times when I offered him my blood to give him strength. All those experiences created something that I can not walk away from. But, it still hurt to walk away from Kaname.
"I'm so sorry, Kaname! " I had reached my limit, I could not take any more. Before I could see how much I had truly betrayed Kaname, I turned my back and ran towards Zero. He was still frozen, shocked that I had refused Kaname. Before he had a chance to say anything, I grabbed his hand and continued to run, pulling him along behind me. I continued running, with tears steaming down my face, not caring where we went as long as it was away from here.
"Yuki!" I could already tell, Kaname's face would haunt me. I tried to shove it from my mind, but it was all I could see.
"Yuki, wait!" I realized Zero was calling out to me and pulling back, trying to slow me down. We stopped running. We had reached the Sun dorms and stood next to the building's brick wall, which was lined with closed windows that were all dark inside. I dropped Zero's hand and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. He grabbed both of my shoulders. "Yuki." He stared into my eyes with an incomprehensible look. In the next moment, he had wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.
"I was sure that I had already lost you." Zero was still holding me tightly against him, his voice whispered lightly in my ear. I returned his embrace, grabbing his shoulders and pulling them close.
After a moment, Zero released me and pulled back. His gray eyes looked directly into my own. "But I don't understand, Yuki. I thought you loved Kuran. I... I was sure you would have gone with him. How could you have picked me?" Zero lifted his hand to softly brush the side of my face. I grabbed his hand and held it cupped to my cheek.
"Zero, of course I couldn't leave you. Don't you remember? I promised to always be by your side, and I will." I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath to try and steady myself.
"But what about Kuran?" Zero used his thumb to gently stroke my cheek back and forth. I could tell he was worried. I opened my eyes and let go of his hand, which he let fall to his side. I looked away to watch the stars twinkling in the sky.
"Yes, I do still love Kaname and I'm sorry to cause him grief. But I don't belong next to him." I looked back to Zero's face, he was still watching me, his eyes still focused on mine as if trying to read something there. "There is a distance I cannot cross..." My voiced trailed off, I didn't know what else to say.
Zero reached out again to grab my shoulders and pull me close, but this time he closed his eyes and leaned in slowly. I could feel his breath as he moved closer. I could tell he was hesitating, but why, I could not fathom. "Zer-" was all I could say before he pressed his lips against mine. His lips pushed against mine, not at all with the hesitancy that I saw before, but with a wild intensity. He moved his left hand to hold me around the waist and moved his right hand to curl in my hair.I leaned in to return his kiss, moving my lips against his. He began to kiss me more passionately. I leaned back to steady myself against the building and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was glad to finally share with him the strong feelings that had been building up inside me. I was also glad that it seemed that Zero shared the same feelings. I felt Zero slow his kissing, until it was just a soft brush across my lips. He held his face close to mine, we were only inches apart, our breaths crashing into each other. He was looking into my eyes with that same intense, wonder-struck look. I wondered what he was thinking, did he still not believe I was committed to my choice? Then he smiled, his eyes shining, and he whispered, "I love you." And before I could respond, he kissed me again.
