Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or any of the characters.

The young girl sat down quietly at her desk, looking down at her feet, and forced her auburn eyes to stay open. Only lifting her gaze to raise her hand and look at the teacher during attendance, her focus immediately returned to remaining alert in her classroom after her name had been called. Stifling a yawn, she slowly bent down to reach for her history textbook as a hand brushed against hers.

"I'll get it for you," whispered the silver-haired male who always sat next to her.

"Thanks."

"You stayed up late again after the campus patrol finished, didn't you?" he continued, a hint of worry slipping into his voice.

The girl shook her head, sweeping her shoulder-length brown hair out of her face in a half-hearted attempt to rid herself of the bed head that she had been too tired to take care of that morning.

"Of course not..." she began, only to be interrupted by a yawn.

He sighed. "Both the headmaster and I are concerned about how little sleep you've been getting lately."

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine, honestly..."

All of a sudden, the room began spinning. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she closed her eyes and let herself collapse into the boy's strong and sheltering arms.

After getting their teacher's permission to take her to the school nurse, he carried the unconscious brunette to the infirmary as fast as his feet would take him.

The brunette slowly opened her eyes, confusedly looking at her surroundings, and was greeted with her protector's relieved smile.

"Good morning, Princess. Did you have a nice nap?"

Her cheeks immediately turned to a shade of bright pink.

Pulling the bed sheets over her flushed face, she asked, "Where am I?"

"The nurse's office," he replied. "She's out right now and she hasn't had the chance to give you a check-up yet, but I figured I should let you rest in the meantime."

After reaching for her classmate's hand and gripping it tightly, she paused and took a deep breath before mustering up the courage to express her thoughts.

"Thank you for looking after me all the time. Even though I don't always tell you, I really appreciate it."

It was his turn to blush. He cleared his throat, muttering, "It's the least I could do for the one I love."

The girl stated at him, eyes wide. "...Pardon?"

Realizing what he had said, the silver-haired shook his head and avoided her gaze. "N-nothing, it's not important."

"Hmm... Is that so."

After a moment of silence, she laid back down on the bed, getting comfortable under the covers once more.

"It may be selfish of me to ask, but will you lie down by my side as I fall asleep?"

He gently ruffled the girl's glistening hair. "Of course I can, I don't mind at all."

Once his body was next to hers, she wrapped her pale arms around his waist, pulling him close to her.

"You're so warm..."

"I'm glad. Now you go and get some sleep, alright? I won't leave your side, no matter what. I'll always be here for you, Yuuki."

Grinning from ear to ear, she leaned over him to kiss his cheek and sweetly murmured, "I love you, Zero."

Placing her head on top of Zero's chest and closing her beautiful brown eyes, Yuuki's breaths began to match the rhythm of Zero's heartbeat as she drifted off into the soothing dreamland that she so longed to pay a visit to.

A/N: Hey there, Author-chan here! *waves* This is my first upload to this site, so I hope I'm doing this properly! Anyway, this is a Zeki fanfic I wrote for a close friend back in December 2013. This is her OTP and she's been getting me into Vampire Knight, so I really wanted to write something for her. I hope you like it, and hopefully there'll be more stories on the way soon! Reviews are appreciated, I always love feedback and knowing how I can improve my writing!