Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of the characters but I love VK to pieces!

This is a sequel of sorts to The Art of Studying. I wasn't sure I could manage an ongoing story as opposed to a one shot so I thought I'd start it on its own as opposed to attaching it to the original story. I'm going to try and keep this going and hope it comes out well. Any reviews are greatly appreciated and thanks in advance for giving my story a shot.

Kaname kept his eyes closed as Yuuki began to stir. He thought that maybe she would need some time to herself in the morning, to go over in her head what had happened the night before. He would need some time to himself too. The night before had been so incredible, everything he had been waiting for, but he wasn't sure how Yuuki was feeling about everything.

She'd tossed and turned through the night, restlessly trying to get to sleep. As the night progressed it had gotten worse and Kaname began to become concerned. Was she in pain? Physically or emotionally? Did she have regrets about what happened?

He tried once to speak to her, but she turned away from him when he touched her shoulder. It was like she had stabbed him through the hand.

He felt her weight disappear from the bed and heard clothes rustle as she began to collect her things. He heard her tip toe towards the couch where her bag was. It was senseless to tip toe, he could hear her perfectly, and even if he'd been asleep her movements would have woken him up for sure.

The sound of the doorknob turning echoed in the sparsely furnished room and it quietly closed. He listened to her pad down the hallway until the sounds of her footsteps became silent. It was then he opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

He was uncomfortable with the feeling he was left with- not knowing what was going through her head- but he didn't want to confront her about it so soon. He'd never been involved with a human before, in that way, and he wasn't sure what the normal reaction was supposed to be. Did they normally have this reaction after their first time?

He rubbed his temples, wishing he hadn't grown up in such a tight bubble so he'd have a better idea what he was supposed to do.

A soft knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," he grumbled.

The door opened and Aidou slipped into the room. "I take it things didn't go well," he said quietly.

Kaname motioned with one finger for Aidou to come closer. He did, hesitantly, and stood at the foot of the bed. Kaname leaned forward, he fists tightly gripping the sheets as he spoke.

"You heard nothing last night. Are we clear on that? I do not want this getting out amongst the other vampires, or around the humans. I won't have you putting Yuuki's safety in jeopardy with your errant gossip."

"Of…of course. I would never talk about what happened last night." He shifted his weight to his other leg, looking uncomfortable. "What happened?"

"She left," Kaname answered dejectedly. "She didn't even try to wake me up. She just got dressed and left."

Aidou's eyes grew wide. "You mean, the two of you…last night you…"

Kaname groaned, "Well what were you talking about when you asked if things went well?"

"I meant the studying. I thought maybe you two didn't really get anything accomplished in the way of studying. I never would have thought you two…you know."

"This is not how I want to start my morning." Kaname wrapped the sheet around his nude body and climbed out of the bed. "I'm going to get in the shower. This conversation never happened, Aidou. Never."

Aidou nodded and turned to walk out of the room.

"Aidou," Kaname called. His friend paused and turned back around. "I mean it. We never discussed this."

He nodded again and exited the room.

It was nearly impossible for Kaname to function as he walked around the dorm. He couldn't sleep but was still exhausted from the previous night. He couldn't talk to Yuuki since the day class would be swarming around the campus, and there was no one he felt he could talk to amongst the other vampires. He was alone with his thoughts and he hated that. He hated having extra time to think but no ability to act. He decided to retire to his room and wait until the sun was gone and Yuuki went on her patrols.

He replayed the night in his mind. His fingers tingled as they remembered what her skin felt like- damp, quaking, burning, flushed with her blood and excitement. What he wouldn't do to touch it again. He had to touch it again. Now that he knew the pleasure of being with her, the idea of going back to what they were before, just friends engulfed in sexual tension, was unacceptable. He would find a way to make everything okay. He would find a way to get what he wanted.

Night fell and he made his way to the front door.

"Are you skipping class again today?" Akatsuki asked, standing by the staircase.

"I just have a few things to take care of," Kaname said, reaching for his coat. He didn't really need it but somehow he felt safer in it. He chuckled at the idea.

A vampire feeling protected inside a jacket. How ridiculous

"You shouldn't pursue this." Akatsuki stepped closer to him, his large frame lumbering over the smaller, yet dominate vampire. "I don't think it's a good idea, for either of you."

He was shoved against the wall in an instant, Kaname's forearm like steel against his neck.

"I don't recall asking your opinion," he said harshly. It was the first time he had flashed his fangs at Akatsuki. Normally he wouldn't have reacted so harshly, but clearly this meant Aidou had been running his mouth and this infuriated Kaname.

Akatsuki didn't react at all. He didn't even try to push Kaname away. He remained still against the wall, waiting for the pureblood to calm down and release him.

As he thought, Kaname did. "I'm sorry, Akatsuki." He began to button up his coat. "I didn't want this to get around, but apparently there is no way to avoid that. I just want to handle this without interference."

"Have you thought about what you will do if she doesn't want to take things any further?" Akatsuki rubbed his neck gently, trying to dull the pain in his throat. For a small vampire Kaname had a fearful amount o f strength.

"She will." With that, he left the dorms in search of Yuuki.

It didn't take long for him to find her. She was standing against a wall of one of the buildings seemingly lost in thought. He watched her for a few moments, just enjoying the vacant, unaware look on her face.

I could have her this instant if I wanted to. She would never hear me coming. She wouldn't even have time to call for help.

"Stop it," he scolded himself. Patience was not something he was good at. As a pureblood he never truly had to wait for anything, nor was he accustomed to being denied the things he wanted. On the rare occasions when he was denied, he would usually just take what he wanted, but he wouldn't do that to her. He wanted her to want to be with him.

"Yuuki", he called. She turned around but seemed not to see him. When her back was to him, looking for him in the opposite direction, he walked up behind her.

"Kaname!" Yuuki screamed as she turned back around and was face to face with him. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her feet and nearly falling over, but Kaname caught her before she could connect with the ground. Having her back in his arms sent his body into overdrive and he leaned down to kiss her.

"Stop." She covered his mouth with her hand and made her way back to her feet. "Stop it"

Kaname could feel a slow anger begin to burn inside of him.

Denied once.

"Why didn't you say anything to me this morning? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" He heard the irritation in his voice, but hoped Yuuki did not.

"What should I have said?" she asked, looking cautiously behind her. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to catch them out together in the middle of the night.

"I don't know," he answered nervously. He smiled slightly. He hadn't felt this kind of nervousness before. The night before had been excited nervousness, excited for each step they took, excited for each new thing they learned about each other's bodies. This type of nervousness, the feeling of not knowing what he did wrong, not knowing what to do to make it right, was making him sick to his stomach.

"I can't talk about this right now. I'm supposed to be on patrol," she began to walk away but Kaname quickly grabbed her by the wrist.

"I can't have this weighing on me. I need to know what happened between last night and this morning."

"Later, Kaname."

Denied twice.

His anger rose a degree. "Did you not enjoy what we did last night? Do you regret what happened?"

He felt her pulse race through the veins in her wrist, and felt ashamed by the fact he was getting turned on by it.

"I don't…I don't regret what happened. I just…" She stopped speaking and stared straight passed him.

Kaname turned around to see Zero standing in the distance. Even though he wasn't close enough to hear what was being said, Kaname could see the fury in his eyes.

Zero approached them quickly, only a few steps below a full run, and within moments he was standing between the lovers.

"We have work to do," he said sternly. He removed Kaname's hand from Yuuki's wrist and replaced it with his own. "Let's go."

"I wasn't done speaking with her," Kaname growled.

"Go on ahead Yuuki. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes.

She looked nervously at the two of them. "Zero I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Go."

Further instruction wasn't necessary. She walked away, relieved that her difficult conversation with Kaname had been delayed, but worried about leaving the two of them alone. If two people hated each other more she didn't know who. Nothing too drastic would happen as they were both on school grounds and wouldn't want to draw undue attention to themselves, but that didn't mean she had walked away from a dormant situation.

She didn't know how to explain her feelings to Kaname about what happened the night before. She didn't regret what happened. In fact, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since they'd curled up with each other in the bed. But as the night set in, as the dark set in, she began to have doubts about her decision. What would Kaname expect from her now? Was she supposed to want to do that every time they were alone with each other? Would he always be so patient with her? Was he going to tell other people about it?

She thought of how Zero would react. She cared for Zero, a lot, and wasn't sure exactly to what degree. Would he ever speak to her again if he found out what had happened?

Back by the building, Kaname and Zero began a tense conversation.

"What did you do to her?" Zero asked through grinding teeth.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"She didn't show up in class today. She only showed up for patrol. She won't talk to me, she won't talk to anybody, and the fact that she clearly doesn't want to talk to you leads me to believe you have something to do with her behavior. So I will ask you again, what did you do to her?"

"You are so certain of everything, Kiryuu. But if you and Yuuki were as close as you wish you were, you would already know what was going on with her. I do know, and that's why I need to talk to her."

"So it was you." Zero's hands balled into fists.

Kaname looked down at Zero's clutched anger and laughed. "You wouldn't be able to do anything to me with those hands, Kiryuu. You might as well tuck them into your pockets. Besides, I'm not looking for a fight with you."

Unconsciously, he put his hands in his pockets. "Just leave her alone, Kuran. She doesn't want you around her right now. And to be honest, for Yuuki to get to the point where she doesn't want to even to talk to you, I don't want you around her either. You'll only upset her more." He turned and walked in the direction that Yuuki went.

Final denial.

Kaname sighed. He knew what he was going to do, what he had to do, but he really didn't want to do it.

Yuuki turned as she heard footsteps coming up quickly behind her. She was relieved to see it was Zero and not Kaname, and that fact made her sad. What had she done to their relationship? Had she damaged it so fully that seeing Kaname was now a bad thing?

"Sorry I took so long," Zero apologized as he fell in step with her.

"Well you aren't covered in blood and nothing is broken, so I take it the conversation ended without incident?"

Zero smiled. "Kaname isn't a fighter. Of course if he had to fight he could, but violence is never his first choice."

"Yeah. He's good that way," Yuuki said quietly.

They continued walking in silence, not really patrolling anymore, but staying together so neither one would have to be alone. It was Zero who finally broke the silence.

"You and Kaname…what's going on with you two?"

"Nothing," she replied, almost too quickly.

"Yeah…it seemed like that kind of nothing." Zero sighed. "Yuuki listen, I-"

"Wow it's getting really late. We should get back to the dorms," she said cutting him off. She definitely couldn't deal with this right now. It was presumptuous of her to think Zero was talking about any feelings he might have for her, but she decided to err on the side of caution.

"Um, okay. Will you be in class tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I will." Yuuki turned towards her dorm.

"Hey, Yuuki?"

She turned around and was caught off guard by Zero wrapping his arms around her body, pulling her into a tight embrace. "If you need anything, just let me know."

She nodded.

Zero continued to hold on to her, burying his face into her neck.

"Zero, are you okay?"

He straightened up quickly. "Yes I'm fine. I guess I just feel a little bit dizzy."

Her heart rate picked up quickly. She knew what that meant. She knew what Zero wasn't asking. Without a second thought she brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Go ahead, Zero."

Before the guilt could set in, he plunged his fangs into her neck.

She jerked forward, the feeling of him draining her blood intense and tiring. A few minutes passed and he continued to drink.

"Zero…Zero that's enough. I still need enough energy to walk back to my room."

He pulled back slowly, embarrassed by his eager feeding. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

She pulled her collar up around her neck and started the long walk back to her waiting bed.

She was incredibly tired by the time she made it back. Luckily the night class was occupied in school and the day class was in for the night. It was a brief moment of peace and quiet she enjoyed.

She rested her forehead on her door as she slowly turned the handle. "All I need is a good night of rest. I can think about everything tomorrow."

She walked into the dark room and tossed her coat carelessly to the floor.

"You let him feed from you again."

The voice startled her and she fell back against the door, slamming it shut in the process. Now she didn't even have the light from the hallway to direct her. She fumbled for the lights and her fingers touched a hot palm.

"I can smell the blood on you. I can smell him on you." Kaname's voice was dark and threatening.

"Kaname, what…what are you doing here?"

"I told you I wasn't done talking to you." His hand fluttered to her neck, slowly caressing the puncture wound Zero had left. "Why did you let him do it?"

"He…he was…he needed to."

"He didn't need to. We have medication for his condition. He did it because he wanted to, because he knew you would let him."

"He wasn't feeling well. And you know he doesn't do well on those pills."

"It disgusts me," he said harshly, "the idea of his dirty fangs in your perfect neck."

"It's my neck," she said firmly, surprising even herself. "If I allow Zero to do that it's my business, not yours."

"It's my neck." Kaname leaned down and brushed his lips over her ear. "And this is mine." He ran his hands down to her waist and pulled her tightly against his body. Her heart throbbed against his chest and the sound of rushing blood excited him.

"And this is mine." He pressed his face against hers, capturing her lips.

She pushed her hands against his chest, but it was useless. She wouldn't be able to budge him if there were seven of her pushing against him.

He shoved his tongue into her mouth, pulling her body still closer to his.

"Kaname, wait, my hands," Yuuki protested in muffled words. He parted their bodies long enough for her to move her hands from his chest, then continued his assault on her mouth.

He pulled away after a few moments, completely out of breath. The small amount of light from the moon outside was enough for him to see her face and he could see she was absolutely terrified.

Do I care that she's terrified? Is it enough to make me back off? Is this face enough to make me accept the denials I've gotten all night?

He sighed. "Yes…yes it is."

"What?" Yuuki asked, her voice quivering. She pulled her arms in and pressed them tightly against her chest.

"Yuuki…" He reached out for her and she slid away from him, her back pressed so tightly against the wall she could have burrowed into it.

He dropped his hand. "I don't…I don't know what I'm doing. I've never had to deal with someone telling me no." He shoved his hands into his pockets as they began itching for her skin again. "That must sound horrible."

"Yes. It does."

He turned around and walked to the window. He stared out into the darkness and spotted something in the distance. He smiled to himself.

Hello, Kiryuu.

"I'm good at a lot of things, Yuuki. I'm good at school, I'm good at being in charge, and I'm good at being in control. I'm used to being in control." He turned to face her. "I'm not in control anymore, and I don't know what to do with that. The only way I know how to fix a situation I've lost control of is to take that control back, to force whoever is in my way to give up their control. But…that won't work here. That shouldn't work here."

She stared back at him, her silence thundering in his ears. He shoved his frustration down- it wouldn't do him any good. In fact it would only cause this situation to get worse.

"I loved what happened between us last night. I'd love for it to happen again. I'd love for you to want it to happen again…"

Still, nothing from Yuuki.

"I'll leave. I can see that I'm not going to accomplish anything tonight. I've…done too much bad to highlight any good."

He walked to the door, where Yuuki was still cowering against the wall. He brought his hand to her face and gently stroked her cheek. She didn't recoil from his touch. It was some measure of progress, some sign that maybe he'd only destroyed the chance for them to be together, and not the entire friendship. He gripped the doorknob and pulled it open.

"Kaname," she said suddenly. The sound of her voice made his heart jump. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Yuuki." He closed the door softly behind him as he left.