With the halls ringing to the tune of quiet chatter, Yuuki wandered towards Yori, who leaned gently against the doorframe. She looked faintly amused by some overheard tidbit of rather scandalous gossip, but she wore patience as easily as she wore the flattering school uniform. Yori wore her hair short and slightly curly, but she appeared unconcerned by its rumpled condition when she turned to pin Yuuki with a joyous smile.
"Finally! I was beginning to think you were going to be missing class again. Where have you been?" Yori exclaimed sharply. Her nose twitched in amused betrayal by her best friends sudden disappearance for the past two days.
Yuuki tried to dodge her piercing manner by just shrugging it off and change the topic to whatever gossip had the whole class unsettled. This was a failed attempt. Yori saw right through her sad acting skills and her eyes widened in exaggerated shock.
"You've been with Zero again, haven't you?" She whispered mockingly as they entered the classroom and sat down. York knew on no uncertain terms what Yuuki's weak spots were and teased unmercifully with good spirit.
Yuuki had the grace to blush furiously when Zero slipped in quietly behind them. She hoped he hadn't overheard Yori's irresponsible comment. When she nervously glanced up at him, he wore his usual neutral mask.
"Of course not! I've just been really sick. I'm fine now though," Yuuki murmured, sounding slightly mollified. She attempted to cough convincingly.
The real reason why she had been removed from class was much more fatal. Zero hadn't been able to control his need for blood, and she had lost far too much blood for someone of her size. However, she wasn't worried about that; she was anxiously trying to think of reasons for him to even consider drinking from her again. Yuuki knew that seeing her so fragile and pale had done some serious damage to his already brittle self-esteem.
xxx
With class finished, the students streamed away to dorms and the common rooms to chat with friends. Zero took off quickly, heading back to his room, with Yuuki trailing. She ran to catch up when he wouldn't slow his pace for her. Catching his sleeve, she forced him to stop on the quiet landing of the stairs.
"Please, talk to me. You haven't said a word to me since –" Yuuki faltered as she saw the unfurling pain in Zero's eyes.
"Stay away! I can't be near you, I'm a danger!" Zero smacked her hand away, angry with himself for allowing her to come so near. He wouldn't repay her kindness with the pain of being slowly sucked dry by a dirty vampire.
He soon recognized what a mistake it was to physically push her away. Yuuki's eyes filled with tears, and Zero realized that he had underestimated his vampire strength once again. Going against his earlier vow, he tried to apologize.
"Yuuki! I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" He gently grasped her hands, trying to soothe the pain. Zero laughed, a terrible, sad sound. "I told you, I'm a danger…"
What I would do to brush away those tears, make them go away forever… Zero thought as he looked into her immense brown eyes. He knew he could fall right in and drown if he gazed for too long, and die happily, but he wrenched himself away.
Quickly, Zero softly wiped away the drops from her face, focusing on them rather than the feeling of her porcelain skin. When the last one had fallen and been smoothed away, he moved his hand to Yuuki's hair. He stroked it slowly, knowing she was watching him.
Yuuki closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of his fingers tangled in her hair. It was so calming. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that it wasn't a smart idea when waves of dizziness consumed her. Yuuki swayed, revolved, and finally fainted.
When she reawakened, she was wrapped firmly in strong arms. Zero stared down at her, ready to sweep her off her feet if she blacked out again. Yuuki frowned as she felt a headache coming on. She tried to draw back, knowing she needed to appear strong to be allowed to walk back to her room.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have gotten dehydrated –" Yuuki began, but was cut off by Zero's glare.
"You know as well as I do that you shouldn't have pushed yourself today. If I hadn't drank your blood, you wouldn't be like this!" Zero spat each word out, furious. Who he was angry at was undecided. Without further acknowledgement, he picked her up like a sack of potatoes and walked briskly back to her room. He ignored her outraged excuses about how she was well enough to walk, thank you very much.
When they got to Yuuki's room, he fumbled with the doorknob but eventually got it open. Zero dropped her on the bed and looked her firmly in the eye. He knew that getting her to rest was going to be like trying to wrestle with a large, wild cat.
"Can I get you anything?" He asked, changing his voice to be soft and soothing. "Water? Soup?" Zero waited, unruffled, at the end of her bed. His arms were crossed and he looked patient enough to out-wait a rock.
Yuuki unknowingly pouted, understanding that she was caught in his very attentive snare. She said nothing, willing to fight with silence. Suddenly Zero's arms flexed, and then he was abruptly much closer than before. He kneeled beside her on the bed, and his arms were reaching for the buttons on her coat.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she tried was too stunned to brush his fingers away. Zero had undone three buttons before she managed to regain her senses and firmly push his hands away to unfasten them herself, revealing her thin white blouse underneath. He smiled and moved away to turn down the covers for her, silently acknowledging that he had won.
After releasing herself from the confines of her jacket, she went to hang it up and gather fresh pajamas from her dresser. Yuuki went to the bathroom to change, and when she returned, he was sitting at the desk with his back to her. She stealthily moved behind him, knowing she could never outwit his superior senses, but willing to give it a shot anyways.
He almost killed her when Yuuki wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Zero had been so wrapped up in reliving the memory from the picture in his hands that he hadn't even heard Yuuki's return. He mentally kicked himself at his mistake, and dropped the picture back onto the polished wood table.
Her hair whispered over his skin, and he relished every moment it stroked his skin. Zero spun swiftly, and the surprised Yuuki fell straight into his lap. He snaked his arms around her when she almost dropped right off. This movement abruptly brought her face much closer than he had expected, and she was looking straight into his amethyst eyes. Their noses bumped softly as Yuuki sucked in air.
When she breathed out, Zero smelt the sweetness of cinnamon. Before he could stop himself, he was leaning in closer, just to smell more of what made up Yuuki. She couldn't draw away with his arms wrapped so tightly around her, but Yuuki wasn't even sure she wanted to. His silvery soft hair was brushing against her face, and the distance between their mouths was fast diminishing. So she closed her eyes and did something quite uncharacteristic.
She tousled her hands into his hair, and drew his inviting lips down for a kiss. Zero's eyes flickered wide, shocked by the way her mouth pressed against his. Completely astounded, he unfroze slowly. Then his lips were moving against hers, encouraged by the way she moved closer. The marvelous sensation spread a feeling of warmth from his chest, plummeting downwards, traveling faster with each second.
Yuuki lost herself in the rhythm of their dance, sluggishly opening her mouth to his tongues advances. Her breath was coming faster now, and she felt his tickling her cheek, rapid like hers. His arms loosened, but his hands still lifted and arched her back. They began to travel downwards, smoothing the fabric of her silk pajamas against her. When Zero's hands reached her buttocks, she gasped at his advances, breaking their lips apart.
He jerked, and the glazed look of his eyes cleared. Zero stood up hastily, barely comprehending what had just happened. Yuuki dropped the short distance to the floor, startled by the sudden events. Her mouth fell open in an 'o' as she saw the stiffness in his pants directly perpendicular to his body. When he looked down, he flushed brightly, and stuttered.
"Y-yuuki. I'm sorry!" Without a backwards glance he fled the room, trying to hide his body's reaction to his overwhelmed senses.
