My Fingers on Your Skin Calm Your Rapidly Beating Heart

Chapter 1 - Caress

A dark room, lit only by the dim light of the full moon that shone in from the large window and cast the room the eerie blue hue of night. There stood a man, just a silhouette in the darkness. Having set down a small pile of books when he entered, the man sat down at an elegant desk. A pale hand went up to gracefully rest behind a head of chestnut hair. The other hand went to the desk's surface, where a red feather lay forgotten. He picked it up, having found it on the floor earlier resting under the drapes it had fallen from. Lightly trailing it across his lips, he sighed and closed his eyes feeling its caress against his skin.

'A caress so calming,' he thought wistfully as he began to reminisce about the event that sent the feather to the ground in the first place. 'No wonder he feels the same,' he thought as he lost himself in the memory.

The boy had confronted him. In his dorm, no less. This belligerent pawn created just a bit too much of a stir. He was meant to be quite and protect Yuuki; that was Kaname's sole interest in him. At this moment, however, he was being a problem and had to be taken care of. This problem had a not so simple fix though. He was falling to a Level E and needed to be placated by blood, pureblooded blood, and Kaname had groomed this pawn too much to kill it and start anew. So he would have to let, no coax, this ex-human, so angry and hateful to all vampires for what one of them had put him through, drink from him.

The ex-human was talking. He did not have time for this.

He grabbed Zero by the throat and slammed him against, and through, the nearest wall. Plaster dusted the floor like snow as he pinned the boy against the tub in the next room that they had found themselves in. The teen's normally lilac eyes were glowing red under soft silver hair.

'Yes, he was quite beautiful and soft at such a stark contrast to his hard expression. Like an angry child. So irate, yet so fragile… ,' Kaname thought, recalling the expression on the boy's face as he strained for control. The boy was not weak, no not at all. Strong arms pressed the boy's gun firmly to Kaname's forehead as his leanly muscled frame tensed below Kaname standing above him.

'Not weak…,' but Kaname had sensed something in that moment, a touching fragility of the boy who had been through so much… Sinking back into the memory, Kaname felt a tiny warmth fill his chest - an unfamiliar compassion, empathy…

As he stood above Zero another drop of blood dripped from his already healed wounds onto the boy's pale cheek. Kaname drew his fingers roughly through the skin at the boy's neck making him gasp and shudder. This and a few choice words had convinced Zero to drink from the pureblood. Cutting, taunting words Kaname had not regretted saying to Zero at the time. Words about Zero not being able to protect Yuuki, about Zero's descent into insanity. Reflecting back on his words, Kaname felt a touch of remorse having taunted him so. Kaname was jealous of the despised ex-human's proximity to his Yuuki, but his expression had been so hurt after those words…

He felt Zero's fangs pierce his slender neck. This was the first time he had given his blood to anyone in the recent past, much less had he ever fed an ex-human. The boy still had his gun pressing against Kaname's collar bone and was sucking roughly and clumsily from his neck. Though Kaname was somewhat comfortable in this position, Zero was tense and trembling as he stretched his head up to meet the pureblood's neck and his wrist was held tightly by Kaname. This puzzled him. Even though he was receiving such a healing gift from Kaname and his face held such malice towards the pureblood, Kaname could hear Zero's heart race as if in fear and stress, not relief or anger. Kaname had never thought of the young hunter as having such delicate feelings, and he was shocked by this revelation. Everyone in the vampire world wore an unbreakable mask, never showing signs of distress. The only one he knew who was so fragile as to show their emotions was his dear Yuuki. Could this insolent pawn be showing similar signs of vulnerability?

'Are you truly fragile, Zero?'

The silver strands of Zero's hair were tickling Kaname's neck and making him itch. Reaching up the hand that wasn't holding Zero's wrist, Kaname brushed lightly at the troublesome strands that clung to the boy's slightly sweaty face. As he did this, his fingers swept gently over the soft skin of Zero's cheek in an accidental caress.

The boy's trembling stilled.

Just for a moment, Kaname felt the hunter relax in the twisted embrace they were sharing. He felt Zero calm and retreat back to long-ago innocent times when he had shared an embrace and a caress from loved-ones, family perhaps. Just for an instant, but this reaction had surprised Kaname, mesmerized him.

'How long has it been since you could truly relax in another's arms? Since you could express your true struggles and doubts, and be comforted by another?'

Kaname had found himself wondering these things about the boy long after Zero had coldly finished drinking and left without a backward glance, leaping gracefully out of Kaname's window into the abyss of night. Leaving only a red feather, knocked down from the curtains, in his wake.

Coming out of his memory of the night before, Kaname passed the feather once again over his lips.

'It must have been years,' Kaname thought, 'Sure the boy had the tame pats from Yuuki as a young girl, but he had masked his true self from her, never really releasing his tension.'

A soft sigh and quite, forlorn chuckle escaped the pureblood's lips. He could say the same for himself, having been so lonely. He had the nobles, but he could not be truly be open with them, and as for having a affectionate confidant to help him ease his burden… His only recollections of that were in a past so distant he could barely retain the bloodstained memories.

Minutes later he stood, letting the feather float gently to the floor as he left the dark room.

Nearby, a young man calmed from a restless sleep, unconsciously recalling a gentile caress.

a/n

Hello,

Hope you all enjoyed RBH so far. Keep voting on the poll on my profile!

I'll continue this ( If you review! ) and start the leader in the poll, a Shizuka x Ichiru story ( but you must vote on which one ).

This chapter reminded me of the old motown song Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye, lol just imagine Kaname listening to that in his dorm room LOL. Next chap will have Zero's PoV too.

Summary: Kaname gets a surprising reaction from Zero after an accidental caress, leading him to think differently about the young hunter. Maybe they are not so different after all. What will they do in reaction to this revelation and how will their relationship change? ZxKxZ

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners, I created only the writing.