Cold.Cold.Cold.
Karin shuddered violently as the wind, decorated with fat flakes of snow, whipped across her face as she ran to throw the trash out. She scurried back into Julian and squealed as she shut the back door firmly behind her. Her frilly uniform had no insulation, so it was rather useless in keeping her tiny body warm. Usui looked up at her as she walked into the front of the café. No one was here tonight, bad news for the two waiters, whose paychecks relied primarily on tips. They couldn't blame their customers though. A terrible snowstorm was brewing outside and many were advised to stay indoors. Julian was closing early and Usui and Karin were the only two who volunteered to close up. Usui was reluctant to leave the heating of the café to go home to a cold apartment and Karin had forgotten to pay the electric so a similar fate awaited her at home. So they stood there, closing the shop up for the night.
"Are we ready to close, Maaka?" he asked.
"Um, yes. Everything is cleaned up and we shut down the registers. All we have to do is change and lock up," she replied tiredly. Today was one of her bad days, so her blood was wearing her down.
"That's good. We should hurry; it's getting really bad out there," he commented.
Indeed, it was getting progressively worse outside. The wind whistled loudly through the cracks of the door as the snow whirled by the windows. Karin groaned and nodded. She slipped into the locker room quietly to change. Usui was piling the last few chairs when a loud, splintering crash came from outside. Following the crash was a light popping noise and following that was the immediate loss of light in the café. Usui looked around in alarm, realizing the power was out. Then panic set in as he rushed to the door. He pulled. It didn't budge. He tried again. Nothing. He cursed. The door was electronically opened and closed. It was sealed tight.
A loud shriek erupted from the back room. He jumped when he realized Karin was in the locker room. He ran through the darkness of the back to try to find the door. After a few moments of fumbling against the wall, he felt the metal handle of the door. He opened the door and struggled to see in the dark.
"Maaka?!" he cried. He heard soft sobs from somewhere in the room and followed the sound. He called her name a few more times, a bit more softly, but received no response. After the fifth or sixth call, a meek voice responded.
"…Usui-kun?" it whimpered. Usui let out a soft sigh of relief. At least she hadn't fainted. He followed the sound until he saw a faint glimmer of light in the far corner of the room. He hurried over to it to see Karin balled up in the corner, using the light from her cell phone to usher him over. He crouched down to see her face illuminated in the soft, violet light. Her cheeks shone where tears had fallen. She blinked at him, stray tears falling from her eyelashes.
"What happened, Maaka?" he asked calmly, trying not to worry her. Karin sniffled as she looked at him.
"The lights…they just…went out and…it startled me…and..," she spluttered, but ducked her head at the end of her sentence. The light went out a moment and she scrambled to click it back on. Usui knew immediately.
"You're scared of the dark, Maaka?" he asked softly. Karin's head nodded and a soft squeak came from her throat. One hand slowly shot out to grasp the bottom of Usui's shirt tightly. Usui studied her features. She looked terrified, her eyes shut tightly as she gnawed on her bottom lip. He sighed.
"Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the front door is locked shut. Is the back door still open?" he asked gently.
"…I locked it," she said quietly. Usui cursed the electronic doors and locks in the café. Karin checked her phone a moment and her face fell further.
"I have no bars," she said with a dejected face.
Usui sighed again and stood up. He reached out for Karin's hand and felt her small one fill it in seconds. He pulled her up and slowly pulled her along the wall, feeling for the door. His hand was practically wrapped around her entire one, but she was holding onto him tightly. Usui had never seen Maaka so frightened before, except for the one time he had helped her from that sketchy guy.
"If I can ask, why are you so scared of the dark, Maaka? You're a vampire," he asked, making a light point. Silence. He panicked at this. "I-I mean, well not like that's what makes it weird or anything, there's a lot of vampire things you don't agree with completely. I mean, that's not weird though!" he added quickly. Crap.
"I didn't gain the ability to see in the dark like the rest of my family. So I just would sit in the dark with them and not tell them I couldn't see. Ren found out soon and he played a trick on me. It was really scary and ever since, I've been afraid of the dark," she explained quietly. Usui said nothing, feeling bad for asking. His hand hit the door and he opened it, leading her to the front where some light was shed through the windows. Karin let go of him quickly, noticing how tightly she was holding his hand.
"I'll go find the portable heater!" she offered loudly and dashed off to the supply closet. Usui watched her and let a light laugh escape his throat. Karin's face blushed violently as she shuffled through the closet at the other end of the front room. She was locked in at work with Usui. Her blood was rising.
"DarnitDarnitDarnit..," she muttered under her breath. Her luck was terrible. She finally grabbed the handle of the metal box and scampered down to where Usui waited. He had taken down one of the curtains in the window and was laying it on the floor for the two of them to sit on. Karin brandished the heater and pulled it out of its case, setting it up for the two of them. They huddled by it on the end of the curtain, a few feet from each other. Silence reigned for what seemed like hours before Usui spoke.
"Where I used to live, we had storms like this pretty bad. We lost the power a lot and my mom and I would have to sit in the dark for hours. We would sit really close to each other though so we could keep warm. I used to be terrified of the dark, but when my mom was close to me, it didn't feel as dark anymore. You should try that when you feel scared, like with your sister or something..," he said softly. Karin looked at him for a moment, a look of awe on her face as a blush flushed her cheeks. These were the moments she realized why she loved Usui so much. He was just so mature. She shivered a moment, unable to shake the cold that had sunk into her bones. She hadn't been able to change, so she was still in her uniform that offered no warmth. In a second, she felt something warm drape across her shoulders. She looked up to see Usui had moved closer to her and lifted the other end of the curtain over both of them. He looked at her, their eyes meeting. Her blush grew redder. Her pulse quickened. He blood raced. Her hands flung up to cover her mouth in alarm. Not now! Please, not now! Usui noticed immediately.
"Do you need to bite, Maaka?" he asked in a concerned voice. She shook her head violently, but they both knew she was lying. He pulled down his collar and leaned towards her. "Just go ahead, it's okay," he insisted. She shook her head again, trying to hold it back. His eyes narrowed. "If you don't, you'll either get a nosebleed or snap, Maaka," he warned. Karin's face was pained at the thought of biting him. He smiled reassuringly.
"It's okay, really," he said in a low voice. Karin looked at him and slowly dropped her hands. She panted lightly and leaned forward. She hesitated when she was less than an inch away, breathing hard. She saw a smile cross Usui's lips a moment and knew he was really okay. She gently bit into his neck, blood rushing out. Usui flinched in pain, but he pushed it aside for Karin's sake. Strangely though, he didn't feel like he would pass out, like the other people Karin had bit. He looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw that Karin's face was completely flushed. She was too embarrassed to release. He knew something would happen if she didn't get rid of her blood. So, he quickly wrapped his arms around her tightly, trying to make her relax. Karin felt the heat rise in her face, but she received his message and released. Usui could only flinch and shut his eyes.
Within seconds, it was over. Karin let go and looked up at him with an alarmed face. He smiled at her and tried to laugh. "I told you it was fine," he said, but his voice was weak. He slowly slumped down and Karin quickly grabbed hold of him to keep him from hitting the ground. She looked down at him, loose in her small arms, and could only stare at the bite marks. She bit her lip and held him tightly.
"I'm really sorry Usui-kun…that I can't be normal for you. I want you to be that light when I'm scared, really," she whispered, a tear slowly dripping down her cheek. She sat there in the silent dark, holding him close, listening to the whistling wind outside.
Sometime later, Usui slowly managed to open his eyes groggily. He was sitting up already, though. He went to move, but he felt something move next to him when he did. He noticed Karin had propped him up against her shoulder and she, in turn was leaning up against him. She was sleeping soundly, her face set into a peaceful expression. He blinked at her with a confused expression, but then he remembered. His hand touched the marks on his neck lightly. He noticed the heater had died as well. He slowly pulled away, letting her fall in his arms lightly. She didn't make a sound. He smiled, his cheeks flushing a little. He rested her against him and wrapped them tighter in the curtain. He could only grin and blush at the sight of her sleeping. Karin really was adorable. He looked at her face once more and blushed a bit more. It's not wrong if I do it once. He leaned over her face and placed a slow kiss on her lips. He pulled away and quickly shifted his attention to the dead heater, the blush a deep pink.
Usui did not notice a tiny black bat hanging from the window outside. A few miles away, nestled on her bed in the Maaka home, Anju smiled as her doll Boogie sat on her lap.
"Why're you smiling Anju?" he asked in his loud voice.
"No reason, Boogie-kun. I should go tell everyone Karin won't be coming home. She's trapped at work," Anju replied softly.
"What a useless girl!" Boogie commented.
"I don't know about that, Boogie-kun. She's in caring hands, though," she said with a small chuckle.
I think I'll keep this a secret Kenta Usui. That's only because you seem to be the only nightlight for her in a time where she's completely immersed in darkness.