Chapter 2: The Bond

by lightpathetic

Kaname sat in the tub of the beautiful, glass and chrome, post modern bathroom they had remodeled together i.e Kaname had picked the interior decorator and Zero had said he didn't hate what she had come up with. He stared unseeingly as the water flowed freely over his body from the overhead shower and down the drain of the translucent glass basin. He had already tried soaping himself several times but it hadn't helped. He still felt… dirty. He began to scratch at his neck compulsively, absently, noting only that the water now had a slight pinkest tinge as the smell of his blood filled the air.

"Zero… Zero… What have I done?"

He couldn't even bring himself to locate him to feel closer. Connected. He felt like Zero would be contaminated by his even doing this. He was alone. But yet…

Kaname moaned as he felt it. Her. He could feel her excitement about something. He could feel her presence as if she where in the same room and not a couple hundred miles away. Her heart seemed to echo his. She was under his skin, crawling around there in places he couldn't get to. He felt like taking a knife and carving away the outer layer of his skin to see if he could be free. But he knew it wouldn't be that simple or he would have tried it. She would be there… until he died.

Kaname threw his head back and keened softly; sliding down into the tub as the water on his face effectively covered the evidence of his misery. He had only wanted to keep Zero with him but in the end it was the worst betrayal. He hadn't been prepared. Hadn't been prepared for feeling so utterly… devoured. He could never tell Zero what he had done. He would lose him completely. But it had seemed like the best solution…

"That is my price. Take it or leave it. We both know why you are here. Why you are so desperate to make this deal. Your little pet is yanking at his chain and you want to quiet him.

"Oh, Kaname, how far you have fallen. If only the Council could see you now. You know as well as I do that if they believe Zero is a threat to our union they would kill him. His being so close by would raise many, many eyebrows. Don't look at me like that. I wouldn't dare harm him. Instead I want to sweeten the deal. You form a bond with me and I will help you to protect him. What do you say to that? You play the happy, doting, husband, including the bond and I will protect Zero with my life."

He hadn't fought as she reached for him. All he could think of was Zero. All he could feel was relief that he would be always with him. But now, as the taste of her blood lingered in his mouth despite how many times he spat, he cursed his weakness bitterly. Cursed his not having the strength to tell them all to go to hell and stay with just Zero by his side. How could he even look Zero in the eye again? He couldn't even face getting out of the tub…

Kaname started as he heard Zero's footsteps on the carpeted floor of their bedroom. Zero had been blessedly asleep when he had returned from Sara's. He had hoped to have a quick shower and just go to bed…

"Kaname?"

Zero tried the handle and finding he was having trouble turning it, said in a low voice.

"Cut it out and let me in. That water has been running for an hour. Are you okay?"

"Yes… Yes I am fine…"

"Then let me in. I could wash your hair for you."

Normally Kaname would have jumped at that offer. He would have had Zero massaging his scalp for an hour before relenting. He loved when Zero's fingers were in his hair, rubbing him. It was the second best thing in the world. But now Kaname shuddered at the thought of Zero touching him.He would know, came his irrational thought, he will feel her like I do…

"No… No thank you. I… have to leave shortly."

"What? Now?"

"Yes! I am getting married you know! There is a lot to do!" Kaname snapped before he could stop himself. He just wasn't in the mood. His skin. It wasn't his own. He didn't want Zero near him.

"Okay! Obviously you are feeling the pressure."

Zero was surprised at Kaname's behaviour, but he put it down to just nerves and his hatred of being forced to do something he wanted no part of. He put his hand on the door, torn between insisting Kaname open it, and giving him his space. After some struggle Zero chose the latter.

"Kaname…" Zero didn't want to say it. His entire being wanted to keep Kaname to himself but he had to face reality. He gathered his breath forcing sincerity into his voice.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry so much. I… I'll see you later."

Zero turned and went back to bed. He too was leaving in the morning. On assignment. He had no intention of even being in the same region while the wedding was going on. Maybe he could cope if his mind was on other things. He couldn't bring himself to tell Kaname though. He would leave a note before he left.

Kaname heard as Zero walked away and laid his head back on the tub's edge. The water had long run cold but still he did not move. His misery paralyzed him. He didn't think he could ever be happy again.

KANAME returned home having spent the day in a nearby hotel, raiding the mini-bar of its chocolates. It was only after he had gotten well and truly drunk did he finally sleep. Now he missed Zero, feeling bad that he had taken his disgust at himself out on him. Sara wasn't going to come between them. It was why he had made that damnable bargain. So they could always be together. And, as surely as he was a Kuran, he was going to see it through.

His wedding was the following evening, with rehearsals early tomorrow morning. Kaname was going to wait until Zero came home and then make love to him on their last night of freedom until his toes curled. Afterwards he would hold him as he told him about the agreement he had come to with Sara. Omitting, of course, the bond. He would never mention it and had sworn Sara to secrecy. He would concentrate on the other details such as Zero's new home, his being welcome always at theirs. They would always have access to the other. Kaname allowed himself a smile forcing himself to concentrate on this and not the insistent feeling that his body was no longer his own. Sara was miles away. She couldn't know what he was doing. Not yet anyway. Soon she would know exactly and with whom.

Kaname waited an hour in his study, going over paperwork and emails he had missed while he had stayed at the hotel. When he was finished it was well after mid-night and still there was no Zero. Kaname rose from his desk and went to check the private phone for messages. There were none. Kaname released an irritated breath at his plans being thwarted like this. He would soon have to go to rehearsals. He picked up the telephone and dialed Zero's cell.

"Please leave a messa…"

Damn. Kaname was left no choice. He "located" Zero, sustaining it until he got the message to return his call. He had been unconsciously resisting doing that but now, as he did it, it seemed fine. He exhaled a breath as if relieved that that had not changed at least. His connection to Zero. But then…

"What! What is he doing …?!"

Kaname was suddenly furious. Zero was at the international airport the same day as his wedding?! Kaname paced impatiently waiting for the call. Fifteen minutes passed. Nothing. Kaname tried again. In his anger he didn't realize that something extra had crept into his effort. Something that nearly floored Zero who was at the receiving end of the "location". One moment Zero was going through the metal detectors and emptying his pockets, the next he was gritting his teeth and shaking, gripping the edge of the table for support.

"Ojii-san!" cried the young attendant at the gate. That scared Zero even more. Was he having a heart attack? He fought nausea as people helped him to a seat, shouting for a doctor all the way. So embarrassing. With his wrinkled face and graying hair he must look at death's door…

It stopped. As suddenly as it had started it had stopped. Zero raised his head from where he had been holding it between his knees and observed the concerned looks of the personnel and fellow passengers near him. Boy did he feel stupid. How could he say he was fine now?

"Arrrggghh!!!" Zero doubled over again.

"Where is the doctor?"

"Is he going to die?"

"Call an ambulance!"

"No wait!" shouted Zero. He raised his hand to stop the person from calling. "I am fine. Just winded. At my age it happens occasionally."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. This has happened many times before. It can be a real pain the ass. I am sorry. But I'll just go call my doctor to be sure. Don't worry yourselves."

Zero rose and walked towards the nearby restrooms, leaving the concerned faces to return to their activities. He had been telling the truth. It has happened many times before. He had somehow unconsciously timed the episodes and realized it was similar to the signal Kaname normally gave when he wanted Zero. It was just that it was unusually strong. A glance at his cell phone confirmed it. The pain in the ass wanted him.

"ZERO! What the hell are you doing at…?"

"Didn't you see the note? I am going to Bahrain on assignment."

"Bahr…? Have you lost your mind?! I am getting married today! You can't possibly get back in time!"

"In time for what? You didn't expect me to come to your wedding?"

Kaname took the telephone from his ear, took some deep breaths, and replaced it after some measure of calm came back.

"Zero. Get into a taxi and come back here this instant. We are going to the rehearsal and then to get the suits…"

"No. And stop "locating" me like that. I don't know what you did but you made me ill. I thought I was going to die. It was the only reason I called."

"What…?! Look Zero. You cannot be serious. How can you expect to miss my wedding? Such a significant event in my life and you want to skip it?"

"Yes. And if you had any decency you would let me. Do you think I want to see you pledge yourself to another? I will be back in a couple weeks. That should be enough for a honeymoon. Now goodbye, my plane is boarding…"

Zero realized too late that Kaname wasn't on the telephone any longer. Shaking his head he closed his cell phone and hurried back towards the boarding gate. Kaname could be so immature sometimes. Did he really expect him at his wedding? And what would that be like? Zero, sitting there in the midst of all Kaname's friends and associates; them watching closely as he witnessed his lover's nuptials. He would have no privacy. And it would definitely detract make the new couple's ceremony, making it some sort of side show. Nothing would make him go. Nothing.

ZERO SAT in the holding cell and quietly seethed. He plotted all manner of evil that he could exact from his so called significant other. He should have known. He should have put a charm on himself and disappeared quietly. But nooooo. He chose to do it this way thinking that Kaname had a decent bone in his body and would respect his wishes. Besides he hated doing that to Kaname. Kaname didn't take it very well when Zero couldn't be located. He could be such an immature, spoilt, domineering jerk…

Zero felt the sensation in his neck just as the door opened and admitted two people. One was the suave officer that had almost charmed him off the plane and into the holding cell. But Zero hadn't been fooled. He knew he had had no choice and the man was accompanied by several security personnel. But he was scrupulously polite as he seemed to beg Zero's indulgence in being locked in a cage until this mess with his clearance could be sorted out. Of course it was still embarrassing as old ladies clutched their purses tighter and mothers grabbed their children as he walked past. Let's see, he thought, he did know a spell that could melt skin off of bone…

The other person was the object of his thoughts himself. Kaname entered the room and barely looked at the small obsequious figure as he motioned to be left alone. The man bowed and left quickly, closing the door softly behind him. Kaname looked at Zero and realizing that the ex-human had not looked up to see his entrance, stood by the door hesitantly and then looked away uncomfortably as if waiting for something. It was a stark contrast to the lord-of-all-he-surveyed manner he had had just earlier, becoming almost timid in the face of Zero's obvious speechless fury. He knew better than to try speaking to him when he was this angry. He had learned from hard experience when Zero would either try very hard to take his head off or just get more and more furious and just look at him with pure hate for days, not letting Kaname touch him or worse, not touching Kaname…

Neither of the couple moved nor spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Then Zero grew tired of the silence and the fidgeting pure-blood.

"I'll never forgive you for this," Zero said quietly. Too quietly. "You have absolutely no respect for my feelings or my wishes. I feel sorry for the poor woman that is going to marry you. You selfish, immature, blood-suck…"

"I want you there. I need you there," Kaname said simply, ignoring the irony of Zero insulting him by calling him a blood-sucker, merely relieved that Zero had calmed down enough to talk. Zero reverted to his human insults sometimes when he was well and truly pissed and pointing out such things only made matters worse.

"I told you! Hell would freeze over first! You want me to come and see you married. Married! Are you mad!! I thought you would at least have the decency to let me slink off and lick my wounds while you pledged undying devotion to another. After all these years you would deny me one simple salve to my pride. My God! Can't you imagine for a moment the position I would be in at all? Seeing you do that? Saying everything to her that you once said to me? Not to mention my sitting there as all those people watch for her reaction as she notices me there at her wedding, like some desperate, desperate person… Kaname are you listening to me?"

Kaname had looked off to the side at the huge mirror that sat on the wall. He seemed to be coldly holding the gaze of someone as the temperature seemed to drop in the room significantly. A distance door closed and a small crash could be heard as if some small gadget had hit the wall in the next room before Kaname turned back to Zero who was holding his head in his hands looking decidedly green…

"Zero! What is it?"

"You. What you did just now really affected me. It was the same as earlier. Something has changed about you. You seem more powerful. As if you…"

"Don't be ridiculous. Maybe you are just getting old."

A light went on in Zero's head. He sat back and stared at Kaname. Really stared. Kaname never voluntarily acknowledged that Zero was aging. He liked to ignore it and just took the changes in his body as if they were just natural. He would grab Zero's small "love handles" teasingly and comment that he liked the laugh lines on Zero's face, but he hated acknowledging what it ultimately meant. So for Kaname to say that…

"Did you talk to Sara as I had asked?"

"Yes. That was what I wanted to tell you. She is fine with us now. We came to an understanding…"

"Did this 'understanding' involve blood?"

"Zero… We have to hurry. I have already missed the rehearsals and now we need to go get ready. I haven't the time for being interrogated like this!" Kaname snapped, suddenly unable to control his anger.

He felt like he was being torn apart. For the better part of two hours he had been trying to ignore Sara's anger, which he suspected was directed towards him, and this strange feeling, almost a compulsion to go to her. He knew what it was. The stronger equivalent to the location sense he shared with Zero. But he absolutely refused to obey it, wanting instead to stop Zero from abandoning him. The consequence was that his will and his body were at constant war with each other. Now this ungrateful ex-human was questioning him as if he was some sort of criminal. He had done what he'd had to do, dammit! What he'd asked for! Sometimes Zero got him so angry he could cheerfully rip his head off!

Kaname turned away and planted his fist into the wall before he could stop himself. He almost jumped back in surprise staring at his bloodied hand and the hole as if they had appeared by themselves. Oh my God, he thought, I am losing my mind…!

"Kaname!" Zero jumped up and reached for Kaname, putting his hands up on either side of his head and into his hair. "What on earth…!"

Kaname fought and won against the urge to flinch as Zero touched him. He still felt so contaminated, but it was as if his body suddenly remembered the unique salvation that was Zero's touch and melted into it, grabbing hold of Zero as if he was the one harbour in turbulent seas. Zero started as Kaname began to sob. Kaname was scaring him!

"Kaname! What is wrong…?!"

"Don't leave me, Zero. Please don't leave me. I need you so much. You keep me grounded. You keep me sane. And now… and now I need you more than ever. You have always been there for me. I can barely remember a time when you weren't there. And now, even if it will tear you apart, I am begging you to stay with me. Because I am scared and because all of this is tearing me apart too."

"Kaname…" Zero lost both his words and his anger. He just stroked Kaname's hair as the sobbing vampire settled into his arms.

It didn't have to be said. They both knew that Zero would be there.

"KANAME, you have to hurry. It is customary to wait for the bride you know."

"Stop nagging, Zero. Besides Sara is nowhere near ready herself."

Zero smiled and folded his arms as he watched Kaname adjust what he had called a "cummerbund". He felt it was best to ignore Kaname's sweeping statement about Sara's state of readiness. Zero suspected that they had formed the bond and tried hard not to show how upset he was. Even more so than the wedding, their tying themselves to each other in that manner showed that Kaname was well and truly hers. Zero pretended to look out the window at something, trying to cover the sudden pain in his heart at the thought of losing Kaname. Their unique relationship was no longer so. And as Sara was a pure-blood as well their tie was probably stronger. He could see that Kaname was barely coping. Zero saw as he would suddenly become distracted by something and would have to force his concentration; saw as he would suddenly become moody and intolerant at Zero where before he would have been indulgent. Then, there was that episode at the airport… Zero thought it best to let him not have to worry about his own feelings as well, pretending he didn't know or didn't care, even though it ate at him like a rapidly spreading cancer. There was another thought he didn't want to examine. One he didn't want to confirm. That maybe Kaname had subjected himself to this, for him…

"Zero! Stop spacing out and come help me. I swear I will throw this thing out the window…!"

"Calm down, Kaname. Maybe if you had shown up at the fitting you wouldn't be so uncomfortable now. Here, let me…"

Zero stepped close to Kaname and reaching around him fastened and adjusted the cummerbund and then reached up to pull the tie loose before retying it properly. They were face to face. Their breaths mingling as Kaname tried to relax and Zero concentrated on his task.

"You look so handsome. If you weren't so late I would undress you," Zero said, turning to reach for the fresh carnation that Sara insisted he wear. Kaname's hand reached out and stopped him.

"So do you. I like the low neck on your suit. It is so inviting…"

Zero smacked Kaname's hand away, but was relieved to hear the old Kaname coming out again.

"Now is not the time. We have eight minutes to get downstairs…." Zero said turning away. Kaname could take care of the carnation himself. If he didn't go now…

Too late. Kaname grabbed Zero's hand and yanked him back towards his chest.

"This is my last few moments of freedom Zero. I can't think of a better way to spend them than with you."

"Kaname…" Zero said warningly, putting his hands up to try to stop Kaname from undoing his suit.

"Yes?" Kaname answered innocently, as he thrust his fingers inside the collar to stroke Zero's neck, all the while brushing his nose and lips against Zero's. They hadn't had the time to make love today with all the preparations. But now they had a few minutes.

"You can't be serious…" Zero moaned aloud as Kaname pressed into him, feeling as he did the evidence of just how serious Kaname was.

"This is your fault. If you hadn't run off we would have spent last night screwing the hell out of each other. Now I am so frustrated…"

"And getting married in five minu…"

Kaname crushed his mouth into Zero's and parting his lips impatiently with his tongue delved into Zero's mouth. Zero moaned immediately at the onslaught; bringing his arm up to throw it around Kaname's neck to hold him there and to stop himself from slipping to the floor. Kaname instantly forgot the occasion in the face of Zero obvious pleasure and brought one hand up to cup him through his trousers. Zero made a curious noise and pulled away.

"No! Dammit Kaname! Don't do this…"

"Zero, you are just wasting time. I mean to have you now. Stand still or something will rip…" Kaname's lips returned to Zero's as his hands came up to undo the Neru neck on Zero's suit. Then his head dipped to where his fingers had been earlier.

Zero tried to push away as he realized Kaname's intent, but it was too late. Kaname had him in a vice like grip as he drew deeply from Zero neck. He needed to make sure it wouldn't heal… Zero's eyes widened as a further realization dawned.

"You bastard! You are marking me at a time like this!!!"

Kaname moaned at just the thought. His bite marks on Zero for all to see. At his own wedding. It was all he could do to stop himself from undressing Zero right now. He urgently pushed his hand into Zero's hair to stop him from moving around…

Zero reacted at the knock on the door, then the sound of foot-steps down the hall. It was time. Kaname drew a couple more draughts then, after licking Zero carefully, lifted his head. Zero looked back at him with barely contained fury. Kaname chuckled and turned towards the mirror to wipe his face with his kerchief, replacing it inside his suit pocket carefully. The scent will drive Sara crazy, thought Kaname, smiling happily.

"There is a seat reserved for you in the front row in my line of sight. Be there or the wedding will come to a halt while I come get you. That will be more embarrassing, trust me," Kaname turned and left, leaving Zero to compose himself. Damn bastard! He knew Zero couldn't drink the tablets nor would he go to anyone else but him. Zero thought briefly about just going to the car, and then thought better of it. Who was he kidding? He pulled a long black scarf from his travel bag and wrapped it around his neck. When he had set himself to rights again he left the room to face his ordeal head on.

to be continued

lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. I am grateful to "Vampire Knight".