The moon was rising to meet the stars in the heavens, but the haze of the horizon tinted it a strange orange. Icy snow layered the ground, not appearing to plan on melting anytime soon, even around Yuki's bare toes. A slight breeze tugged at the ends of her hair that swirled around her waist. She'd considered cutting it shorter- like it was before. Before she'd become a vampire.

"Merry Christmas, Yuki."

She turned to accept the handsome vampire's kisses and hugs, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up. Kaname's kisses became stronger, hungrier, and Yuki had no choice but to kiss him back.

This was no different than any other evening. The kisses, the love. She heard a soft hum of contentment escape his throat as she dipped her head down to his neck thirstily, but she stopped. The same as every other night. She couldn't even bring herself to part her lips and draw her fangs.

Why? She asked herself tonight. Kaname could drink from her so freely, without guilt, so why couldn't she bite him? It's not guilt, Yuki stated the fact silently to herself. She felt guilty of nothing. Nothing she'd done to Kaname.

She felt his lips on her neck, kissing, not biting. He'd stopped asking questions a while back, when he saw she held no answer for him.

Yuki's bare feet flattened on the balcony floor, and she shrank down to her normal stature. Shorter than Kaname. But her arms encircled his waist in one last tight hug before she stepped back.

"I can't do this anymore, Kaname." She whispered into the wind, staring at the prints she'd just left in the snow. Questions crossed his eyes, but he only spoke an answer.

"You don't love me." He stated, setting Yuki off with shakes of her head.

"No- I do-!" She closed her mouth. She did love Kaname… so what was it?

"You still love him." He said, his voice falling to a mere whisper. And with those words, Yuki froze, inside and out. What?

"Who do you mean…?" She asked quietly, but as she asked, the answer slipped through her mind like the breeze slipping through her hair.

Zero.

"There are no walls here." Kaname stepped forward and tucked her hair behind her ear and out of her face. "There is nothing keeping you at this house. You're capable of leaving now."

Her eyes found his, and when she stood on her toes to kiss him goodbye, he turned his head to the side, preventing her lips from finding his.

"Goodbye, Yuki."

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He lived in an apartment—no, it was more like an attic—now that he'd graduated school. From where Yuki perched on the roof of one of the town building, Yuki could see Zero through a small window. Snow was landing in her hair, but the cold wasn't bothering her as she remembered the burning coldness her awakening as a vampire had brought. The same coldness Zero would have felt the night that pureblood sank her fangs into his neck.

Yuki found herself prepared to look away when she saw him shed his coat and start unbuttoning his shirt, but he stopped after three buttons, leaving the rest of his shirt on as he laid a hand on his neck and sat against the window. Pain filled both of their eyes as he opened his container of blood tablets and swallowed at least six. She had never seen him take more than two at one time.

He ran elegant fingers through his moonlit hair and closed his eyes. Yuki could see him flick the blood tablets to one side- likely onto a table, Yuki guessed.

She sighed. This is where Zero lives. Alone, in this little room. While Yuki had lived with Kaname in that extensive house filled with luxuries, but she'd always missed Zero. Now she realized that.

As Zero turned toward the window, Yuki froze. He leaned his shoulder against the glass before opening his eyes and sighting her.

And he only blinked. The smile had barely crept onto Yuki's lips when his back turned to her without another sign of recognition.

No.

Yuki lowered herself slowly to the icy street and embraced the snow that had resumed falling. Zero glanced over his shoulder once more before moving away from the window and out of her view. He ignored her. Yuki didn't even know what to make of this… She stood there on the side of the road opposite the apartment building, facing the door.

It wasn't going to be this way.

She had just decided to step forward when the door opened, and a familiar silver-haired boy stepped out into the snow. His eyes met hers, grazed over her snow-covered self, but his face dropped as he turned slightly to shut the door.

His feet left a shuffled trail behind him as he trudged down the empty street. Yuki didn't understand what she was seeing. Why… Where's he going?

He was almost out of sight before Yuki started after him, hesitantly at first, but as he rounded the first corner, she sped up.

"Ze-" Yuki called as she rounded what seemed to be the hundredth turn. But he wasn't there. Her face fell as she considered that she'd lost him. But she hadn't- she could… smell him.

A crunch of snow whispered in Yuki's ears, pulling her to turn around. She stepped backward into the courtyard as Zero stepped toward her. She paused in the middle of the protected courtyard, waiting for him to look up. He stopped some ways from her and tilted his head up to catch her eye. He looked her over again, from her snow covered boots to the amiable smile that she wore on her lips.

"Hi, Zero." Her voice shook, but not from cold, nor from any threat of tears- her throat was clear. The wind had picked up above the rooftops, above the shelter of the alleys and the courtyard.

"Yuki." Barely a whisper left his mouth, a whisper Yuki couldn't answer to. His feet shuffled through the snow and eliminated all but two feet of the space between them. A hesitant hand rose to brush the snow out of her hair, but he stopped himself.

"So, it's really you this time?" Guilt gnawed at Yuki when these words left his mouth. What… had he hallucinated about her coming back? Often? Was it dreams? Nightmares? Her gentle fingers enclosed his hesitant hand firmly, touching it to her cold cheek. Zero remained stiff, but only his palm relaxed and melted into the warmth he found at her touch.

"Yeah." Yuki choked, shoving aside tears as the guilt sank in. "It's me, Zero. I'm still me."

As his body relaxed slightly, Yuki took the chance to enclose her arms around his waist in a hug. He stiffened again at first, but as a minute dragged on, he eased up and rested his chin on her head. She'd grown taller.

"Merry Christmas…" Yuki released him to place a fragile hand on his cheek, to smile up at his doleful eyes… "…Zero."

He continued to gaze down at her, but when he started to close the space between their faces, Yuki froze. When Yuki didn't react to his lips brushing hers, he turned his head and muttered an apology.

"No-" Yuki took his hand in hers, turning his head back toward her. She stood on her toes to kiss him back, eventually bringing her hands up behind his neck to pull herself closer. And as she did so, regret and nostalgia coursed through her as well as the scent that suddenly seemed too real, so thick in front of her…

She ended the kiss abruptly to brush her fangs against his neck, asking for his permission, in a way. But they both knew that his blood, once strengthened by Yuki's, belonged to her. She pierced him hungrily, but not roughly. She could hear Zero whisper something and lower themselves to his knees, but when her fangs receded, she didn't pull away.

"Zero- I…" She trailed off and pulled herself closer.

"Yuki. Yuki. Yuki…" His breath was cold on her neck as he hugged her close, but he didn't bite her. Not then. The blood quit flowing from Zero's neck the moment Yuki had released him, and only a little had dripped onto his shirt. They sat there for some time, just holding each other.

"Merry Christmas… Yuki." She smiled into his shoulder, secretly willing the moment to freeze just as the snow had.

"Yeah." She murmered. "I guess it is, Zero."

\/

A/N: Realized I've been misspelling Yuki's name for some time now. I'll do it right from now on :) Merry Christmas everyone! I decided to challenge myself to a Christmas special this year… So, here it is.