In Sickness

She felt her muscles tense and constrict and contract as she panted for air. The woolen blanket tucked around her neck kept her warm, hot even- trapping the cool air outside, not allowing it to touch the porcelain of her skin. Small beads of sweat trickled down her neck and forehead, her cheeks rosy and damp, her breathing, uneven and gasping. Her hair were in knots underneath her head, splayed across the light green of her pillow, her fringe swept to the side of her face. Eyes unfocused and hazy as she tried to fight the light playing on her retinas, seeping through the small blinds.

With all the strength she could muster, she arched her back up to meet against the post of her bed, her head leaning against the wall. She clutched at her sheets as she felt the cold attack her skin, creating goose flesh to spread across her exposed arms and legs.

'Shorts and a singlet, Smart' She thought to herself in a mocking way

She placed her feet against the harsh coolness of her wooden floors, balancing herself towards her bathroom. A steaming hot shower followed.

She slowly put her petite uniform on and attempted to cover up the paleness of her skin. She was always pale, but she held no colour right now. Her skin was as white as a blank paper, the only colour came from her autumn drowned eyes. But even then they held little to no life. She took deep breaths as she made her way out her dorm and into the hallways of Cross Academy.

Class was excruciatingly long. Seconds and minutes felt like years and millenniums to her, every mere word sounded like a slow blur of sound. She tried to the best of her ability to focus her eyes on the task at hand, math, but all she saw was the numbers jumping all over the page. Merely holding a pencil was near impossible, her fingers would tremble and shake as the lead met paper. She closed her eyes, attempting to force out the constant heartbeat in her head, the pounding of each second.

"Kaito-Sensei, can I- Yori to the-" A muffled sound tickled buds of her ears

She tried to turn her head around, attempting to figure out who was the source of the sound. But before she could even blink, she felt a pressure on her shoulder, a hand. She looked up, pale eyes. He leaned in, close enough to feel the heat exert itself from her body, her breath.

"Yori, lets go" She could barely make out the words

He slowly nudged her out of the chair with an arm around her shoulder to keep her up. They slowly made their way out the classroom and into the empty corridors. He looked down at her, studying her with his eyes. She was a bit delirious, her mind going haywire.

"You need to go to the nurse's office" He said as he began leading her down to where it was, but she resisted, or attempted to resist

"N- no-" She took a breath, "I just want to lay down"

"You can lay down in the nurse's office"

"I don... like the… nur… office…" She mumbled

He stopped and looked down at the frail girl, a little surprised. He couldn't help but chuckle inside. He gave in.

"Where do you want to go then? I can take you back to your room,"

She shook her head as an indication to 'no'.

She was being stubborn he concluded, but she was sick, and the sick always got their way. He chastised himself but nevertheless lead her down the hallway, strong arms gripping her shoulder. He stopped in front of a door and unlocked it with his key before maneuvering Yori to the white unmade bed. He briskly set her down and helped her take her shoes off before telling her to go to sleep. Tucking her into his bed, he started for the door, only to feel small hands capture his wrist. He turned around and looked down at the helpless girl.

"Can you stay…?" She said in an almost inaudible whisper. "Please?"

He looked like he was contemplating, but really he was in almost a shock. He gave her a small curt nod, squeezing the small of her palm reassuringly.

"Of course"

Slumber caught her not long after, falling asleep to the reassuring thought of having someone by your side when you woke up. She dreamt a blank dream, but she didn't need a dream when she felt his presence lingering beside her. Because really, reality is better than dreams. She shifted, tossed and turned in her sleep, throwing the blanket on and off, exposing a fair deal of her legs, her skirt and shirt hiked up more than usual. The top few buttons of her blouse were undone in a fit of restless heat in her sleep, tugging at her small red bow until it was just a string around her neck, falling down the crevice of her breast.

He didn't return to class for he made a soundless promise to the girl lying before him. He threw his tie off and made himself comfortable, undoing the buttons of his top to reveal a plain white singlet and running his hand restlessly through his hair. He stifled a yawn and busied himself with brainless homework. But his eyes always lingered back to the 'sleeping beauty'. He smiled at himself as she tossed and turned, vigorously attacking her constricting clothing. It wasn't until she somehow undid her blouse did he feel himself invading her privacy. He knew staring at her was already doing that, but when he could see the outline and shape of her chest, he felt his blood rush a bit. He quickly adverted his eyes back to the stack of paper in front of him, making an effort to read the one sentence that he kept rereading. His peripheral vision could still see the rising and declining of her chest with every intake and exert of air. He sighed, or rather grunted at his distress. He heard a stir and panicked, scared that he woke her up. Which he did.

"Zero," She mumbled in between yawns, her arms reaching a peak as her back arched, stretching the knots in her body. Her chest was protruding outwards, leaving little to the imagination. But she was naïve and innocent, completely oblivious of her body. He, however, drank in the sight guiltily, almost disgusted by his own actions but his male instinct said otherwise.

"Yeah?" He finally mustered up his voice

"Did I sleep long?" She inquired, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, her hair messy and gorgeous.

"Just two hours," He paused and looked over to his clock "Its seven now, are you feeling better?"

"A little. Still don't have an appetite, and my head still hurts," She explained

"Do you want to sleep more? You can have my bed. I don't use it much anymore anyway,"

"No its okay, I'm feeling better. I'll just go back to my room" She said swiftly, hurriedly hopping off the bed only to feel the weight of the world on her, her legs giving in.

She felt his grasp against her hip, holding her up. Then she felt her feet leave the ground as he carried her back onto the bed, setting her down with a swift plop.

"You need rest Yori" He chastised with a faint smile on his lips, his hands patting the crown of her head.

She gave in with an almost guilty nod.

"Okay I'll stay put, but I'm not tired yet so can I do something? Work maybe?"

"I didn't bring your stuff with me"

"Oh.- do you need help with anything then…?" She shifted a bit,

He gave her a quizzical look "Not really,"

"Oh, okay."

The room fell into an awkward silence. Yori shifting uncomfortably on the bed while Zero was working on his paper, appearing to work on his paper. He wrote down a few words before he finally felt the awkwardness nibble at his head.

"Okay, so I might need some help with this" He waved the sheet of paper in the air in defeat.

She smiled as he shifted over to the bed, half his body leaning uncomfortable against the edge as he placed the paper down. She slid along and patted down next to her, motioning him to join her. He looked at her hands then back to her, his face a bit surprised at her actions. She studied the look on his face and something clicked.

"Oh, sorry, you shouldn't get close to me, I might get you sick" She started scooting further and further.

He laughed. That was what went through her mind? Of all the things, inviting a Vampire, let alone a boy into bed with you, especially when you're in a weak state, and she thought of infecting him?

She looked at him with a small frown, confused. Which he found adorable.

"No, no" She waited for him to further explain. "Fine fine," he said as he sat down next to her, his back leaned against the wall.

She smiled and leaned slightly over to him explaining the paper, using her delicate little fingers to show what he did wrong, trembling every so now and then. He took little notice of the little tremor in her fingers until they grew more aggressive. He placed his palm over hers, calming the nerves. She looked up at him thoughtfully, whispering a 'thanks' with her eyes. She looked back down to the paper and continued to explain the paper without moving her hands from his. They soon became oblivious that skin was on skin, his thumb mindlessly rubbing small circles on her palm. And when she finally finished helping him, the silence reimbursed back into the room, making them realize their hands were still entwined. Zero was the first to remove his, almost cursing himself at the loss of warmth and sensation of soft skin under his rough exterior.

"Need help with anything else?" She asked softly

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, its just- you're the sick one, yet you're asking if I need help when I should be asking you" He answered rather cryptically

"Well, you never asked me" She pouted ever so slightly

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Okay then Yori, do you need help with anything?" He asked, traces of teasing in his voice

"Cure me"

He gave her a questioning look and before he could voice his confusion she cut him off.

"Make me healthy again"

"I'm not a magician," He answered,

"I know, but you asked if I needed help, and I do" She said in a playful unreasonable tone,

"Well… I could get you medicine?" He was about to get up when she stopped him with her hands again,

"No, that's cheating." Pause "Besides, that would I have to eat something. And I don't think you can cook…"

He smirked at her like he had just won.

"Sit tight, I'll make you feel better in no time"

Thirty minutes later, Zero emerged back into the room with a bowl of hot congee, lines of steam flowing off it. The fresh smell drowning the room in an awe. He sat himself next to her, fluffed a pillow and placed it behind her before helping her sit up. The bowl in his lap with a spoon in his hand. He gave her the spoon only to see it tremble uncontrollably in her hands. He slowly brought his palm around hers and took the spoon from her. He scooped a small portion of the meal into it and blew at it, cooling it down.

"Here" He said in a soft voice as he brought the spoon to her pale pink lips.

She looked up at him before opening her mouth slightly to accept the food. She smiled as she swallowed it, giving him the seal of approval.

"Its good," She said

"And who said I couldn't cook" He mocked,

She nudged his side playfully as he continued to spoon feed her.

When the bowl was empty, he placed it on his side table before tending back to Yori. A little bit of colour was back in her cheeks and she generally looked healthier. He couldn't help but feel a little accomplished.

"Thanks Zero, it was delicious"

He gave her a small nod of acceptance.

"Are you feeling better now?" He asked,

"I think so,"

He slowly moved his hands towards her cheeks, lightly lingering at the warmth it, finally resting his palm against her forehead. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't back to normal either. He let his hand linger for a second longer than necessary.

"You're fever is better" He stated

"Thanks to you," She smiled up at him

He didn't move his hands though, he let them linger against her cheek, the palm of her hands grazing at the soft rosy pink of her skin. He felt like he was going to break the porcelain paleness with every lingering second of contact. But she didn't feel her reject him, flinch or even move. If anything, he swore he could feel her lean in further to meet his hand. He moved a little closer to her, feeling the warmth of her body. Her lips parted softly at the anticipation of not knowing what was happening, and he took that as his opportunity to dive in. His lips met hers in a soft clash, a small lingering peck of the lips. He breathed in all of the air from her lungs, taking in all of her, his hands meeting the back of her neck to hold her. And a second longer until he broke away, looking into her eyes full of warmth. She smiled.

The next day crawled along. Yori felt at her peak, rejuvenated, her strength back at its highest. She walked to class with an extra bounce to her step and could feel the colours radiate itself from every being and object that encompassed colour. It wasn't until she stepped into the class did she realize not everything had colour. She took her seat and took down a few notes before raising her hand up to grab the attention of Kaito. He looked skeptically at her.

"Yes Yori?"

"Kaito-Sensei, can I- Zero to the-" Was all a certain white haired male could hear.

She stood up and walked over to Zero, placing her hand on his shoulder, whispering "Lets go Zero," in his ear.

Once out of the room, she tugged him down a bit until just a bit above her height. On her tippy toes, she leaned her forehead against his, their eyes looking at each other. His lazy and tired smile playing at his lips, and hers teasing him.

"Cure me" He said.

Okay, very delirious. Spent an hour writing this. Really rushed this, like, speed racer rushed this. But I got to get to sleep now, I actually have school tomorrow. But hope you enjoy this, my expression isn't at its peak, but I was trying something- what I like to call 'spontaneous' writing. Hope it worked. Tell me if there are errors, because really. I did not read through this. Didn't spell check or anything. I'm the worst writer. Okay peoples, enjoy your monthly.. yearly dose of Yori/Zero.

And how interesting is Vampire Knight getting? Every time I see Yori my little heart just flutters. Then I see Yuuki, and I sort of get bummed. Not that I hate her, don't call the village on me, but you know- theres some people you like to see more than others.

Enjoy yourself now. Take it easy. Goodluck. Have fun. Eat veges.

V