Zero looked out his window dazedly. He was still sore from the last treatment, and shifted so much when he tried to sleep, he figured he might as well stay awake. Every part of him was aging and sore. He'd managed to live to twenty-eight, but retained the outward appearance of a forty year-old. He remembered snippets of conversation between physicians when they'd tried to put him under several times (as a hunter, it was recommended he become immune to poisons and sedation serums.) After hearing them speak, it seemed everything going on inside him was under a much deadlier contract.
He heard the door open quietly, turning his head and catching Yuki's sleeping face in the small cast of light. It must've been three days since she'd last slept. The door closed, and the light disappeared, her face again becoming a silhouette against the hospital wall. He didn't even want to look at who'd entered, let alone speak to him. And, for once in the past few weeks, it seemed Kaname was beyond words as well. Zero slowly changed his view back to that of the window, hearing a rustling of clothing and a small, irritated grunt. A nurse from outside the glass opened the door again and Kaname carried Yuki outside the room. She slept so heavily, her excellent ears didn't even catch the click of the handle when it shut again, when even Zero would have woken in his 'old age'.
He had explicitly refused to speak unless absolutely necessary. His doctors hadn't yet told him to write his will, but a wise man knows when it's his time. His hands shook too much when he attempted to write off his life's work and possessions, so Kaname had routinely come, scribbling their names in his exemplar calligraphy. Yuki would have done it, but she was an inpatient, too. Zero felt a souring mixture of dread and anger when he thought of how he would never get to see her child, but he realised it must have been part of the game. They could all smell the death on him. It covered the entire wing in a Shroud that let no visitor escape his miseries and frustrations. Not only was he going to die, but he was going to die alone. He had no one to miss him. No one that was his. He knew he should've married off at some point, but there had always been a few extra things on his list always floating above that horrid little question. It was almost like a constant, pre-midlife-crisis. He never let himself forget it, and neither did Kaname and Yuki.
The woman came every day, adamant to keep him in good spirit, even though the walk up and down the stairs between their floors was getting harder as her condition began to ripen. Her sensitivity to loneliness was sharp, but she was ignorant to his woes. Zero was a proud man, and it showed even in his Spartan style of living. He didn't want to have to chain her down so irresponsibly. The thought of her weeping over his death furthered his bitterness to the world. She was taken. It was written all over her belly and, occasionally, her eyes. It didn't sicken him as much as it had before but, then again, they weren't so close anymore. His dark humour made it a joke that she felt so indebted to him, her husband standing supportively at her side, making sure she didn't overdo anything at such a delicate stage of their lives. He wasn't surprised when the door opened again-that same, creeping quiet-and her light, feminine footsteps were nowhere to be heard. Kaname closed the door and sat down, looking at the same window.
"She ordered me to watch you." He explained simply. Zero smiled blandly, but he couldn't help as his knuckles whitened to conceal his laughter. Kaname was so devoted and dutiful, it was uncanny he wasn't yet dead.
"I don't need to be watched. " And then more silence. What he really wanted was a good, long session at a bar, maybe five hours, lightly. Kaname didn't move, so nothing happened.
He itched his hand, glad they'd taken out the IV unit. They'd probably wheeled it into some other poor sukcer's room. He realised he was hungry (he had a couple of ticks when he wanted something) and leaned to his right to grab a knife from the drawer. Kaname was instantly by the bedside, grabbing the man's wrist with a distrusting gaze. Zero angled his eyes at the apple on the nightstand, and Kaname released him, walking back to his chair. The sickly man did not wish to meet Death with the same deluded admiration and hope so many others succumbed to in Life. Especially not in front of Kaname-desperation wasn't his favourite word. Zero wanted to laugh at everyone's paranoia, almost hoping he would cough so hard he splattered the sheets with blood so as to make them more anxious and worried. He was losing care for this world, and his coming senility was easily showing when he glanced at some of his doctors and nurses and said things even he hadn't known he could put together. He began peeling the apple, watching over his perfect handiwork with the same glazed look as when Yuki had been there. When he was done, he offered some to Kaname, who took it reflexively, looked at it, and smiled through his eyes at the small symbol carved onto it. Zero really must have shipped with the sailors to learn it.
They ate with Silence sitting next to them, each knowing it carefully observed their movements and worked with the Shroud to keep the scene a place of the same Death and Decay happening in Zero's slowly withering frame. When Zero opened his mouth, its lips tightened;
"Yuki told me she's going to wait to see the sex, but you already know, don't you?" They often played games like this in boredom: tests of talent and skill, as well as wit and quickness in response. Kaname answered briefly,
"A girl. She hit me over the head to get me quiet when I was talking to he doctors." Just like their girl. Zero smiled so hard he showed his teeth, a sign Kaname took with a deep, satisfied breath.
"It must be tough knowing you're going to be a father. Have you given a thought to naming her?" Kaname seemed dreamy as Zero for a moment before he spoke again,
"I'm not sure what Yuki's planning, but if she names her 'Sara', I'm going on a rampage." Zero's smile wasn't fading, and Kaname's breathing got a little faster, "You know her plans for you, right?" He said, still twiddling at least half his slice in his hands. Zero popped a bit into his mouth and worked on carving into another,
"I had a feeling, but I'm afraid a dead man doesn't make the best godfather. You should get Takuma to do it." The boy's choice about Shiki and Rido in the end led to a devastating recognition of the hopelessness of his desires. He lived a good life and had enough little girls to keep him happy, but his demeanour had changed drastically then. Shiki had disappeared into his father's arms.
"Her second choice is Cross-"
"But he's in his fifties." Zero finished for him calmly. Kaname finished his piece with a nod, and Zero handed him another one, this time with a few jacked strokes and a sweeping line,
"I'm not partial to the name, 'Daphne', actually." Zero grinned as the man ate it just like the last, savouring each bite of a fruit that had grown straight from the hunter's brother's body. Zero's single apple tree yielded a fruit that could tempt even the Serpent, but he kept it closed behind his fence in his own small garden, inviting his few friends and past friends for tea and the juicy delicacy.
"You can obviously tell what type she is, already, right?" Kaname bit into his second piece thoughtfully, and replied with a careful,
"I have several thoughts. Her scent is fused with her mother's, as of yet." Zero smiled quite broadly now, and Kaname had to give his heart a strict order to calm itself before they were noticed.
"You truly are in love with her, then." 'If you can't even sniff out the scent of your own child beneath the sunflowers.' Kaname's automatic defensiveness caused his throat to tighten, but he knew Zero knew what he was talking about. He ate quietly after that, every so often reaching out again to grab a new slice and therefore a new, tiny message inscribed in the apple's skin. Slowly, as Kaname counted them out, he noted new words of blessing, eating them soundlessly in acceptance of Zero's small prayers for strength and cleverness. Silence grinned fantastically in the darkness as their conversation lessened from the mechanical stage of speaking, and the room was permeated with his sweet, toneless voice. Until Kaname started up, watching Zero carve another small phrase upon the apple's surface.
"Are you trying to make me like you before you die?" The brunette broke out with a small smile as Zero hoarded the last message from his impeccable eyesight. He listened to the scratches and watched the angles of Zero's quick, determined hands as he carved up the small masterpiece. Zero's smile had not faded in those minutes of quiet, and Kaname's words were double-edged, causing the line of the sickly man's lips to lengthen and open to reveal teeth that still gleamed with youth.
"I doubt either of us could learn how to 'like each other' before I go under for the last time." His hatred for the sedations and sleep medicines he was forced to take intensified the frustration in his voice, but he remained light about his plight.
Kaname really looked at Zero then, at the tired eyes and their descending crows' feet. At the silver hair speckled with hundreds of white streaks and the shrivelled skin of the man's hands. Zero was aging faster than the speed limit, and Kaname could only wish what little time Yuki had left with him could be filled with the same happiness as school. Zero finished his small inscriptions, and then did something that made Kaname's eyes widen just a little, and then much more.
Zero kissed the slice two times. Then, with the knife, poked his finger and spilt one drop on it, kissed it once more, and held it out to Kaname with the four fingers of his right hand. He had to lean at quite an angle to get it that far in his stiffness, so Kaname made an effort to stand. He plucked the slice slowly, watching Zero quizzically. His heartbeat skyrocketed and Zero's eyelids slid down a bit in a gentle, encouraging look. Kaname read over the message and beautiful signature, smeared as they were with a redness that remained thick even with age and medication. He stared stupidly at it, and a blankness crossed him when he consumed it whole. Zero looked away, then. Kaname shivered when he felt it slide liquidly down his throat. They zoned for some seconds before Zero piped up,
"I learned that a few years ago, when Yuki gave me a portfolio of bridal offerings. I figured if she was starting to want to hook up friends, it was getting pretty close to the time when she'd become a real mother."
"Women can be easy to read, in situations like that." Kaname commented with a wistful smile. Zero almost glared at the wall, the smile still plastered on his face. He started chuckling when he remembered how mercurial she had been before the pregnancy, as if she were going through every stag of hate, love, and depression before the entire thing even began. She'd swiped the booklet of proposals with claws out when he simply smiled and offered her some fruit. Almost sliced him open, and certainly ruined his shirt, but Zero had refused to approach the subject. Kaname was startled by the sudden raise in the general mood, then shared Zero's peaceful smile as he gazed at the other male.
"I can't remember that last time we talked so easily,"
"August fifth, four years ago. Yuki had that party arranged at the beach. Everybody got drunk and started showing off birthmarks." Zero's eyes held his taunt well, and Kaname consciously rubbed the small, nearly un-noticeable patch of silvered skin on his hip. His skin was so white it was almost impossible to see the thing, but it glowed like an ember in firelight. The group had quieted when Zero-after much nagging from Yuki's part-rolled up his shorts to the inside of his thigh and a small, sweeping line of angry pink flesh appeared. It seemed to be the last spiteful tether to his brother, who he explained had had the same mark, in the same place. Mentioning the dead twin was taboo even to drunks, but when Zero managed to break the mood by staring down Kaname, the brunette sighed and pulled down his own shorts a few inches, turning the strange fix upon the fire, by which it glowed with a ruthless light that Zero now contemplated.
"How'd you come by it, Johnny Tremain?" Kaname snorted, relaxing into the dismal environment with their illuminating memories,
"My father said it proves I'm a true royal. Everybody at the party said it was shiny and"
"And made you dance." Zero finished for him. Any normal man would have blushed in remembrance of the moment, but it had all been in good fun. The interesting part was why they were finishing each other's sentences.
Yes, he'd done a drunken sexy dance in front of a bonfire and a collection of other drunken people. The group refused him his partner, arguing it would hinder the path of light, and Yuki urged him to go solo. Zero had watched him idly, snickering when both Aidou and Ruka had snuck up close to get a better look. But the man had started near Zero, and finished his fire-circling dance in that same place. He sat down and they consumed more alcohol than humanly possible, finally collapsing into the sand in a heap of naked limbs that resembled on orgy. Their faces had been so close together, Aidou, even in his stupor, had managed to pick up on their drunken motive when they all woke groggily. The blonde had kept silent since then, and did not offer even his cousin this delicate piece of information. Now, the brunette and silver-haired men sat comfortably near each other, reminiscing before Zero was too far gone to do so.
Zero looked at Kaname, and the chocolate-eyed man caught the gaze. The initiator asked no question, but Kaname waited patiently for an explanation. Those silver eyes had lost much of the haunted sadness that had consumed the fellow, but as it deadened further, Kaname saw the small flash that crossed them as Zero leaned a little into the incoming light, pulling the blankets off his tired legs. He stood with help, steady as a rock as he knelt before Kaname, their heads nearly on the same level in Kaname's uncharacteristic slouch.
They had not give up their mutual gaze, and Zero's hand reached up to brush some of the man's growing hair from his face, his other resting on a side chair. He smiled genuinely, his eyes red from little sleep and their colour ever-so slightly hazy and bluish with age and bad veins. Kaname's blood had saved him, the few times he drank it, but it had destroyed him in he long run, mutilating his circulatory system and messing with the marrow until he could no longer supply enough blood for even treading the stairs in his house. His anaemia ascended, however, and took him nearly to fainting spells. The scents of wars, death, flowers, and sand came from old memories Kaname had saved, and impregnated the scene with a sense of hopeless acceptance.
"For some reason, I feel I should start confessing things," Zero said absentmindedly as he stroked Kaname's cheek. The taller sat stiff in his chair, watching Zero without the distaste of years before.
"I'm certainly no priest, but I'll listen." Kaname said in a hush. Zero's thumb stopped as it swept just under a piece of the man's hair, high on his cheekbone. Three times, they had met and 'exchanged'. The first two were during the Rido days. The next… the medicine wasn't working by itself.
Zero closed his eyes for a moment and cherished the short-lived peace he felt. Kaname's skin felt warmer than the day he'd been married, and Zero leaned in to touch his lips to the smoothness. Kaname's breath, for reasons unknown to him, grew calmer than it had been when Zero had simply looked at him, and he waited for the man to move to the other cheek, then back to the bed to finish one of his last assurances.
But he didn't do that.
Zero left it at that cheek, and came back so as to look at Kaname, "You lot really aren't going to die, are you?" He asked with wonder. The Death had crawled away from his bluish lips when they touched the ever-youthful man. It was a strange phenomenon, and he leaned in yet again, this time up where his thumb had been, watching as Kaname's eyes closed and his fists uncurled on the chair.
Unhurried, Zero took time, each small kiss lasting several seconds before they separated and he chose another patch. He kissed the man from his chin to his forehead, and then drew back and made to stand. The brunette winced as he heard the acute sound of creaking bones, and urged himself to help the man, but some sort of strange spell kept him where he was sitting, even when the man struggled back into bed with barely enough energy left from the seals to sit up. His blood had dried and evaporated, and now he was left only with his dying will to live, which had never fused with his quaint sense of perseverance, something most people cannot accomplish.
Kaname's face flamed in the shame of having not assisted the dying man, and he refused to make eye contact for a while, even though Zero stared him down like an impatient grandfather. The silvery man finally scoffed and said,
"I'm only twenty-eight. Don't treat me like I'm ninety." Even though his bones were on a fast track to that and beyond. He shifted in bed, getting as comfortable as possible, then asked Kaname, "If you want to go, the nurse is going to come in and give me my sleeping pills any minute, now." True enough, there was a teal streak running the course of the sky. The orange city lights grazed the horizon, each shutting down street by street, and traffic began to grow thicker as people woke and greeted the September morning. Kaname stood and walked over to shut the blinds, and the lock clicked shut as soon as the light faded from the room. They'd been talking to each other warmly for about two hours, with all the pauses for remembering.
Zero eyed him tiredly, his smile long gone since the time he'd had to stand. Kaname's mouth opened, but he didn't speak right away,
"Zero, I think there's something Yuki and I could do to-"
"Oh, I think you've done enough." Zero said, surprising himself at how calmly he'd issued the warning. He wasn't an invalid. No hospital could take away his gun when he knew there were going to be vampires visiting him at one time or another. Kaname seemed slightly stumped, but he was determined to get across Zero's stubbornness.
"I know you don't want to die," Zero shot him the nastiest glare he could, and Kaname stared him straight on,
"I signed off my soul, working for you. You don't own my life, and neither does Yuki, for that matter." Kaname began to get angry,
"We are only trying to help,"
"I've had enough of this bullshit," Zero mumbled very much like an old man, "Get your coat and go see if your wife's alright. No doubt she needs you more than I do." Kaname froze by Zero's bedside. Then, suddenly, he punched him. Zero flew out of bed and Kaname looked at the thin smear of red on his wrist, quickly wiping it on one of the towels and sitting on the bed while Zero got up, anger pushing his veins to their limit.
"You have no right to say that." The brunette said seriously. Zero watched him from the ground, then sprang up and tackled him. Kaname didn't fight, but grimaced when Zero's bony form ground into his skin. His hands were like ice and his look was rabid,
"I've been fighting with you people about this for more than a dozen goddamned years! I'll be damned if you're going to bring it up again!" When Kaname's hardened eyes showed no apology, Zero fumed and pushed a hand to his chest, drawing quick line with the blood on his fingers and then punching the small insignia. Kaname gasped when he felt it hit him. Zero looked down proudly: the design had turned itself into a pretty gash that now bubbled with blood. His hand dripped with it, and Kaname twisted as Zero's blood mingled first-hand with his own.
"So this is what a dying man feels, eh, Kuran?" Zero said with a wild grin and sunken eyes, "Feels like it's rotting your bones, blood, 'n heart, doesn't it?" Kaname spluttered, unable to cover the oozing wound. It felt like pure poison, and he felt the small amount of Zero's blood worm its decay through his circulatory system. The silver-haired man kept his manic look, but he took his hand to Kaname's wide eyes and kissed the blind man's chest, shortly after getting up and away. The pain faded in pangs, and Kaname looked down to see his perfect skin, fine as he redid his perfect shirt. Zero was leaning against the opposite wall, legs and arms crossed.
"Get out before I put some of those on your feet, you spoiled brat. I don't ever want you two to meddle with my Death again, you hear me?" The Shroud beamed proudly in its corner, slowly wrapping its smoky tendrils tightly around the two men, "You may have known Death, but clearly, it's been beaten out of you by your wonderful wife." His chest still hurt. "Now get out, Kuran." His face burned in shame. "GET OUT, KURAN!" His fists tightened.
He lunged for Zero.
He punched him again.
And again.
And he was punched.
Again.
And again.
And then they were all-out brawling on the floor. Kaname's block on the door with the help of the Shroud and Silence worked magic on the people outside their fight. When the elder saw his opponent struggling to breathe, nose trickling and face bruised, he stopped, breathing hard, bruises healing, eyes still red and wet.
"You have no idea, Kuran." Zero spat venomously. "I hope you go to meet your goddamned uncle in Hell and he fucks you again, just like you dream he does." Kaname was looming over Zero, holding the other's hands against the blue wall while their feet scuffled on the tile. The excitement proved to be a bit much, however, and Zero calmed down more out of exhaustion than anything. They stayed like that, panting on the floor, until Zero stopped and realised Kaname hadn't, and that there were many more reasons to be breathing harshly at the moment.
He groaned at the pain, but smacked Kaname's hand from his face, trying to get a good look at the man. He didn't have enough energy to deal with this level of psycho.
"Get off of me before I bruise more, you rhino." Kaname moved and helped Zero up, soon after walking to the chair and crumpling in it. "Yuki's going to smell that fight on you. You might want to shower before you go." Kaname looked up at him then, and Zero finally got the full, mussed, haven't-slept-well-in-months image the businessman had been hiding for so long. His eyes were moist and his dishevelled hair cast a shadow that almost made him look demonic.
"Zero," He said shakily, "You say nobody understands…" His breathing was heavy, and the moistness in his right eye grew into a tear, "You tell us not to help you, and you fight anyone who hands you a pill…" There were two fine streaks on his cheeks, his eyes shining as Zero listened in mesmerisation, "I don't care if you want to die, but I'm not going to let it happen, and neither is Yuki." He stood up now, and Zero held his ground with the same pride he had in high school, "If you want to fight, we're welcome to that, but whatever the cost, we're going to keep you alive." If you're going to give people memories like this, then you should damn well have the ability to take them away, you sick bastard. Kaname didn't think this, but he took off his shirt and cornered Zero in the bed, crawling on, pinning him down, and focusing on that pale, bloodless face so flushed of colour, it didn't look real. Then he really had done this to him. Kaname had… Zero's fingers found the silvered flesh on his hip, index and middle pointed at it in a warning that those bloodied palms would defend him, if nothing else. They were both quick and, even in Zero's greatly weakened state, he managed to hold ground well under Kaname's crushing strength. The brunette pulled those hands up soon enough, so as to completely disarm the other male. It was then that Zero shot up and caught him in another kiss, biting his lip and letting the viscous blood pour over Kaname's, who sighed sharply, eyes closed, then came very alert when his slack grip allowed his 'enemy' time to make a simple sign, and carve it in with a ruthless, poignant efficiency.
Kaname howled, grabbing his wrist and shooting away. He fell on his back, trying to rip the infected skin as the seal traced scars around his hands. Intricate, beautiful, painful scars. The designs showed Zero's hate for him at the moment, and as the silver-haired man sucked on his stopping lip, he viewed the morning entertainment with a sadism he had maintained since he'd first been introduced to true purebloods.
"You disgust me, Kuran." He said in mockery of Kaname's usually cool tone. Kaname fidgeted on the bed, twisting and writhing in pain while his adversary spoke, "All these years, we've wanted each other dead. So long, we've been dedicated. But you…" He leaned in close, eyes closed and peaceful, really taking in the scent of those tears and satisfying himself like he hadn't in years. He opened his eyes again, "You're breaking the rules again." He'd even used Yuki to his benefit. Zero tolerated little, but this offence was unlike any other.
He lightly ran his finger over the twining scars on Kaname's shaking hand, deliberately studying the man's relief beneath the swat, salt, and blood. He removed a seal for the second time that night, also for the second time releasing the man from pain.
"I want you out before I shoot you. My aim's gotten better over the years, so I promise I won't just graze you." Kaname surveyed the other man, still trembling vulnerably from the dissipating pain. The more intense it was, the more it took his mind to recover. Zero was a clever guy: he went straight for the brain. Mental torture was his specialty, and Kaname should have been glad the man hadn't decided to dig around and find something he could use against him.
Zero stood by the door, hand on the knob, waiting for Kaname to get up and get out. "Kuran," he said with grinding teeth, "leave." Kaname stayed where he was, shirt askew. He wasn't going to leave any time soon.
"Why do you keep telling us to leave you, Zero?" He asked morosely. The Shroud beamed with an eerie, invisible light, and Silence sat smugly in the corner as things quieted down again. "What the Hell do you have against us anymore?!" His fists clenched the sheets, and Zero watched him with broken patience, his smile thin and dull, like that of a corpse's
"You two-your race-and your fucking goddamn uncle are killing me. I pity your child for having a mother and father like you." He walked over to the night table, circling the bed and keeping his predatory eyes on Kaname. "I hate you, specifically, though," He gingerly picked up the knife, and slit his wrist. Kaname saw a glutinous, blackish fluid rise from the wound. It dripped to the floor with a sickly slowness, and Zero sat on the bed as a small puddle formed.
"You killed me personally. You own my Death Certificate. I can't hate you enough." His hand reached up to stroke Kaname's cheek with an unreal gentleness, smearing the dark liquid on his face. "However," He leaned in, happy to see that the man was so still, and bit his ear playfully, "I would like to thank you for the fucks. It was nice to have that over you. That healing of yours is a wonderful thing to play with, my eternal virgin." Kaname swatted his hand away and shot for his mouth, But Zero grabbed his hair and pulled him to the bed. The man looked up at him with a type of sadness Zero could understand. It scared him; he didn't want to have to deal with something like this. He didn't want to understand this person, anymore. If Kaname wasn't going to die by himself, then there was only one other way to get out.
"Zero, I won't ever tell you to do something again, but we're not letting you give up, right now." Zero stared at him blankly, then brought his hand back to Kaname's face. His lips grew thin, as if he didn't know what to do. Kaname appeared calm, simply asking him to make a move. When he closed his eyes in thought and trust, it cinched it.
Zero took the knife from the side of the bed, holding it close to his own throat. Kaname's eyes snapped open, and he made to take it away. Zero pressed just the slightest bit, and the hunting-grade edge slit the papery surface of his skin easily, a thick line oozing more quickly than his wrist. He looked down at Kaname with a manic mix of sadness and hatred in his eyes, still stroking his cheek, still perched above him. Kaname watched him in terror,
"Zero, don't y-" Zero's hand covered his mouth and Kaname's voice hung in the air,
"You fucking idiot. Lived this long, and you still don't get it?" The knife pressed ever-closer into his throat, the line growing furiously. He looked tired, as if it were just another chore. "Your uncle should have beaten you harder." And with that, he pulled the knife in and across as hard as he could, the blood unable to staunch in its torrent, and Kaname sprung into action. He flung Zero on the mattress beneath him and immediately went to work wrapping a sheet around Zero's neck. Humans died much more easily than purebloods, but Zero was still a hunter with amazing genes, and he still managed his tired, selfish look,
"Bastard," he croaked as Kaname effectively convinced the blood to stop. Close to fainting from the loss, Zero stared at the ceiling blearily as Kaname panicked. The brunette bit into his wrist, and Zero chuckled, closing his eyes as Kaname desperately sucked and bent down to meet his lips. The sickly man didn't refuse him, and merely waited for his wounds to heal while Kaname went and threw the knife out the window.
-
Zero kept looking at the ceiling for some time, still sloshing some of Kaname's blood around his mouth in boredom. He started smelling the tears a while ago. Swallowing the last bit, he sighed, and tried to get up. Kaname was still by the window, the orange light of the morning pouring in, city lights almost completely put out. Zero stood beside him, leaning on the sill with his chin in his hand, a definite example of how carefree and hard-to-shock he'd gotten since faced with his Death; relaxing in front of a vampire-much less a Kuran pureblood-was simply unheard of in is bloodline. Again, he sighed, looking over at the brunette, who hadn't bothered to conceal himself for once.
"Hey, don't cry in front of a dead man. It makes him feel uneasy." After this encounter, the hopelessness had grown. Zero figured he'd either die, or die painfully, and at Kaname's hands, more than ever. The other man stirred, but didn't comment. Zero watched him with mild irritation,
"If you're going to stay, I don't care anymore, but save your tears for your wife, okay?"
"God, when are you going to stop?" More of a remark than a question, Kaname sniffled and wiped his nose on an initialled handkerchief. Yuki's handiwork, Zero presumed dryly.
"So the stone speaks," Zero leaned out a little further, eyeing the ground, four stories below. At that moment, Kaname's arm shot out and pushed him back into the room, after which he shut the window, had it lock and the blinds drawn. Zero felt more suffocated than ever. His scars were ugly and sore,
"Look," He said as he scratched the back of his head, "I honestly don't care anymore." He opened the blinds a little, just so he could see the sun. The Shroud shrank in fear, and Kaname was still as a statue in a cemetery. Zero turned around and smiled at the back of his head,
"Why don't we go somewhere? The three-four of us, maybe? We can take Yuki back to Paris, or something. Maybe get there in time to see the Noel lights?"
"Why are you being so cheery, now? You just tried to kill yourself." Kaname hadn't looked at him yet, but Zero shrugged anyway,
"I knew it wouldn't happen, you're here anyway. I die when you want me to, with the leash you've got on me-"
"STOP IT!!" Kaname shouted, punching the wall and making a large whole in the plaster. Wires mingled with pipes and bits of them stuck in his hand. Zero squinted,
"'Stop' what? Of course you know it-I can't easily die with you here. You can drag it out another year, but I'm always going to be trying." He started laughing exasperatedly, "Of course you don't get it, but won't you just try to understand the inevitability of true mortality? There's nothing you can do to stop it! I'm just going to miss appointment after appointment until Death gets tired and just takes whatever!" Kaname shoved him against the wall and seemed to debate about whether to hit or kiss the man. His desires were at a stalemate.
"Kaname," Zero wheezed, the blow to his tender back having bruised him. "It doesn't matter what you want in this case. The longer this goes on, the more painful it's going to be. I'm going to drag you, your family, and your empire down with me if you keep up about this." Zero had accepted his death that night, sixteen years ago. He'd been prepared to kill himself with Shizuka, or be slaughtered by Rido. But Kaname had stolen each of those moments in succession, and now he'd taken probably the last semi-honourable way Zero could've died. What was he supposed to do now? Bite his tongue, wait for Death to come, and then have Kaname save him and put a bit in his mouth to stop him? By the end of the road, Zero would be strapped down in some institution, with fifteen-minute checks, waiting every day to have some insane suit to waltz in and tell him how wonderful the outside world is.
Kaname probably spent more time thinking about him than his own child.
Zero closed his eyes and went limp. He chuckled when Kaname panicked again and tried to keep him on his feet, and slapped away the shaking hands. The man was such an asshole. "Kaname," he started, wobbling as he made his way back to the bed, "You didn't know the sex, did you?" Kaname started, looking at Zero with that haunted panic still soaking him. Zero smiled, sitting down and keeping his eyes closed, comforted by the thin darkness. "You were just guessing like any other midwife. You were probably relieved when I wrote the name, 'Daphne', weren't you?"
"Ze-"
"Shut it. You've probably been tuning Yuki out this entire time, am I right?" Kaname looked immensely alarmed and unsettled, reopening his connection with his beloved wife with a horrified gasp. She'd been calling him in the throes of labour for at least an hour.
He rushed for the door, then, running down the hall and leaving Zero in his room, with a knife, without strength, and in the company of three interested individuals.
"Asshole," The old man muttered as a hand reached out to him. He took it like a breath of fresh air.
It was a boy.