Delicate Soul

A series of Zero x Maria oneshot drabbles

A/N I know 'Zeria' is an unpopular pairing for Vampire Knight, so if you dislike it, just turn back now. If you do enjoy the Zeria pairing, then please read on.

She always noticed that pained expression on his face, eye full of distress and hiding behind that usually stoic gaze was hurt.

He was always hurt by her, the pureblood princess, Yuuki Kuran. It was plainly obvious that he valued her, treasured her, and was willing to go to great lengths to protect her, but at what cost to him?

Maria could only quietly observe in the background. Yuuki was a pureblood so, she could never raise her voice against someone that was considered royalty in the vampire realm...and Zero -

A soft sigh always escaped her whenever she thought about how cold the man acted towards her whenever she tried to get close. It seemed like he held true to his words that he would never be able to get along with vampires, namely her.

She knew that whenever he looked at her, he would be reminded of Shizuka, the pureblood woman that had left his life in shambles. Not only was she a distant relative to the white haired pureblood, she was also used as a vessel for her when she had first stepped foot into Cross Academy. So of course Zero would have such a negative impression of her.

But still - she wanted to at least try to get closer to the hunter.

It was snowing. Soft blankets of snow covered the Cross Academy grounds with more still falling from the light gray skies.

Maria walked through the outdoor corridors, occasionally stopping now and then to look out at the various courtyards that were decorated in the white fluffy snow. She twirled her lacy white parasol languidly, shielding herself from the dim sunlight. The other vampires in the Night class could very well easily step outside on a day like this with such little direct sunlight, but unfortunately, Maria was frail. She still felt light headed without her parasol.

As she approached another courtyard, she stopped when she spotted a certain silver haired hunter sitting near one of the fountains.

Maria's breath faltered, her soft lavender eyes widening at the discovery. She quickly kept herself hidden behind a pillar, hiding herself from Zero.

She knew that if she didn't approach him cautiously, he'd probably lash out at her or give her one of his signature cold glares.

Maria nervously twirled her parasol, her head bowed in contemplation as to how she would try and approach him. Curious as to what he was doing, she peeked out.

Zero didn't seem to take notice of her, yet. He was staring towards the direction of the frozen fountain, at the little brown finches that were pecking at the snow covered ground nearby.

He looked calm, perhaps even gentle. An expression that Maria barely witnessed.

She continued to observe him from afar, taking in this other side of the vampire hunter that he barely showed.

Maria saw puffs of his breath escape past his slightly parted lips as he pulled on the scarf that was wrapped around his neck. He pulled it up so that it covered the lower part of his face.

'He must be cold,' Maria observed, curiosity tugging at her mind. She wondered what he was doing out here all by himself in the first place. Surely he wouldn't go out of his way to venture outside in this weather just to go bird watching.

The female vampire decided to use this as a conversation starter and started to boldly approach the hunter.

However, as soon as she took several steps towards him, Zero spoke up.

"Do you make it your hobby to follow me around?" he asked, never really turning around to face her.

Maria jumped a little, startled. "U-Uhm," she stammered shyly, caught off-guard.

"Just because I helped you to your dorm that time you collapsed, doesn't mean you could approach me so freely."

There it was. That icy cold personality that Maria had grown to be accustomed to hearing.

"I-I'm sorry," she breathed out, feeling anxiety well up in her chest. "The last thing I want to do is come off as rude..." Maria trailed off slowly when she realized that Zero had not turned around even once to face her.

Her mood turned somber quickly. Her grip on her parasol went cold.

Of course - he would never want to look at her. Maria knew he only had eyes for Yuuki.

Her soft lavender eyes turned to the ground. There was only so many times she could try to chase him, only to be turned down or ignored every time. She felt dejected and the sinking feeling that lingered inside of her stomach only grew.

A cold wind chill blew through the small courtyard and Maria let out an involuntary series of coughs.

Zero turned his attention towards her, giving her sideways glance. He got up from the cold stone bench and stood over her. "Why do you keep coming out in the day time when you know your body can't handle it?" he muttered under his breath.

"Eh? We-Well, I -" Maria squeaked a little when Zero took her up in his arms, taken off-guard. She tightly held onto her parasol with one hand as she used her other hand to cover her mouth, still coughing.

As Zero walked her back to the Moon dorms, Maria glanced up at him quickly, then looked away. She then leaned her head against his chest, closing her eyes and letting out a soft, inaudible sigh at the warmth he provided.

True, Ichiru carried her in the same manner, a long time ago. He was much gentler with her, more soft, kind, and loving towards her. She fell in love with him, but now -

"This is the last time you're going to venture out during the day, alright?"

Maria looked up at Zero and just gave a slight nod.

But now- her feelings for his twin brother, Zero, was growing, perhaps bigger and faster than her feelings for Ichiru had been. With Ichiru, it felt like he was the one that had to save her, but now, she felt like she had to save Zero. She had to save him from being hurt, from Yuuki, from Ichiru, from the other vampires, and from himself.

Despite the fact that Zero acted rougher than Ichiru, he was much more fragile.

Maria leaned in more, placing her hand on his chest as soon as Zero got inside of her dorm room.

Zero felt her hand against his chest. "Don't touch me so freely-"

"It's trembling," Maria whispered, weakly. The last time Zero carried her, Maria could sense the fragments left behind by Ichiru and Shizuka, but now, the only fragment she could focus on was Zero's.

"What are you talking about-?"

"-Your soul. It's trembling," Maria replied, looking up at him.

Zero lowered his lilac eyes and furrowed his brow. He quickly set her down on her bed, trying to get away from her, but she stopped him.

Maria took hold of his dark red necktie, preventing him from leaving.

"She hurt you a lot, didn't she? Yuuki..."

The silver haired man widened his eyes and tried to pull away from her.

But before he could, Maria brought one of her hands up to the back of his head and held him gently as she leaned up to plant a soft kiss on the smooth planes of his cheek.

As she pulled away, she avoided his eyes shyly. "I know you hate me," she whispered under her breath, her voice sounding like she was about to break down in tears. "I know you hate me for what Shizuka did to you and I know - you said you will never trust a vampire, but - if you can trust a pureblood to break your heart, can't you trust me to fix it?"

Zero stood there, bent over slightly as she continued to hold onto his tie. He looked down at her with an impassive gaze. He felt the grip on his tie loosen slowly as he heard her cry quietly. Finally, he pulled away from her and muttered, "you're not thinking straight."

Suddenly Maria lashed out at him. "I am!" she yelled, "I wish you'd stop treating me like someone who doesn't have a heart!"

He didn't know she was capable of showing that kind of emotion. It took him back a little, but he felt his own anger and annoyance bubbling up inside of him.

"Then stop treating me like I'm a replacement for Ichiru."

Maria's breath faltered, stopping at the base of her throat. She looked at him, her lavender eyes widened and still spilling over with tears. "...I-Is that what you took my feelings for? You thought - I was projecting my feelings and thoughts for Ichiru...onto you?"

Zero remained silent.

The young female vampire looked away from him and quickly wiped up her tears. "I-I loved Ichiru. He took care of me when I was ill all the time. He showed me that the world isn't such a cruel place after all." Maria sniffed softly, before continuing. "I won't lie. In the beginning I only saw Ichiru when I saw you, but now - I know you two are completely different people."

The hunter stood there for a while, as if he was taking in everything that she said. He took in a soft inhale of breath, looking as though he was getting ready to say something to her...but he didn't. Instead, he walked away from her.

Maria sadly stared at the foot of her bed, wanting at least some sort of response from him instead of being shut out again. Her hands tightly gripped the fuzzy edge of her long winter coat, her nails digging into the soft fur.

However, just before Zero left her room, his hand lingered on the door knob.

"Yuuki never broke my heart. I never gave it to her to begin with."

Maria looked at him as he exited her room. As soon as the door lock clicked shut, she looked back down at her hands again and saw the tension from them was gone. Her lips turned into a little smile and she whispered with a slight dry laugh, "what a terrible liar you are, Mister Hunter." Maria wiped away the last of her tears from her eyes.

A/N Just a slow start because I want to put some sort of "understanding" to the Zero x Maria pairing.

This story won't be connected chapter by chapter, but there will be some sort of continuity between each one.

Anyways, hope you Zeria fans enjoy! I notice that there aren't a lot of fanfics for this pairing (thatarewellwritten), so the more the merrier I suppose.