A/N: I'm sorry for the extra few days wait! I got horribly stuck with this one, I wasn't sure whether I wanted Zero to be as cute as he is or if I was going to keep him in his usual character. SO WARNINGS FOR A SLIGHTLY OUT OF CHARACTER ZERO! Though I believe it's justifiable, considering what's happened to him and the bonding and closeness he's experiencing with Kaname, so please don't be too upset! I think you'll like him OOC ;D
This isn't as long as I hoped, but I had to cut off where I did or it would never get completed/updated =_=
OH! Also, this chapter goes out especially to LuanRina, who reviews every chapter with an opinion and lovely comments and is extremely polite! Thank you, LuanRina, for being my motivation! Also awanbiru, for understanding that it's not always easy to juggle work, life and fanfiction!
Disclaimer: these things are stupid ;A;
Zero went from shocked to outraged, his eyes flashed a dangerous red as he balled his fists. "What the hell makes you think I'm going to tell you anything!"
"You don't need to. I've read the file," carefully watching Zero, Kaname intentionally remained calm. Arguing with the unstable prefect would only serve to make matters worse.
That the hunter was already showing some of his previous attitude made Kaname realise that Zero was always going to be Zero, wounded or not. A small ba-bump in his chest cherished the realisation, while a frustrated hmph said he didn't care. Which was a lie, he did care, and quite a bit, too.
Kaname had had plenty of time while reading the file to think over why he was concerned for the ex-human. Blood bond or not, he had admitted that he felt something akin to care, or admiration for the bold hunter. Now, he had to make Zero see that he truly meant him no harm.
Mentally smacking himself for being so naive, Kaname spoke gently, and earnestly, keeping his eyes locked with Zero's,
"I already know, Zero, about what happened. I don't intend to further hurt you in bringing it up now, we may never have gotten along, but I'm not heartless, Kiryu." Forcing a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Kaname held Zero's emotional gaze, "I need to ask you about the... how you... you know, live."
Zero swallowed. The look in Kaname's eyes said that he didn't really have a choice, and he highly doubted that the pureblood would let him refuse.
Kaname relaxed a little, snuggling back under the covers, discreetly inhaling the warm scent of the hunter. He inclined his head to suggest that Zero did the same, not at all surprised when the other opted for pulling part of the covers across to his corner instead. Clearing his throat, he started off small.
"Does Kaien know?"
"He thinks I'm still at the Association," when Kaname opened his mouth to protest Cross being unaware of his dismissal, Zero shook his head, "Yagari promised he'd keep what happened quiet, and the President was all too happy to, uh, help." He spat the 'help' out vehemently, his eyes burning with hatred.
Kaname frowned a little, "Okay. But didn't he ever come visit you?"
"Two apartments. One I share with another hunter, Kaito. He knows, and he lets me crash there when I'm not... Not working."
"Why do you do it?"
The second the question fell from his lips, Kaname wished he had asked anything but that. As Zero's eyes met his finally, they were the same dull and emotionless orbs he'd been so unsettled by, and his face wore a mask of nonchalance.
"Why?" Zero tilted his head curiously, "because I can, Ka-na-me." He drawled the pureblood's name, liking the way it rolled off his tongue, and how it brought a stricken expression to the face across from him.
"Zero..."
"You see, Kaname," yes, he definitely liked the way it felt, "people want me. People and vampires alike, they pay through their teeth for a night with the ex-human, ex-hunter whore." Zero smiled a gruesome smile, and in that moment, Kaname cracked.
With inhuman speed he was over Zero on all fours, the younger vampire struggling beneath him to no avail. He gripped Zero's biceps hard enough to leave bruises while his flashing sorrel eyes were staring down into Zero's silver-lilac ones.
"Don't say that, Zero." Kaname spoke softly, the words barely more than a whisper. "Don't you ever refer to yourself like that in my presence, or even out of it." At this he dropped his gaze, clenching his eyes tightly as he gripped Zero's arms more forcibly, "you're so much more than a," he struggled to find the strength to say it, "than a, than that!" His voice cracked, and he forced himself to breathe in before opening his eyes to look at Zero once more.
Zeros face remained stoic, and Kaname belatedly realised that this was how Zero 'coped'. He knew that abused and traumatised people often go into shock. Some never speak, some blame themselves and self-injure, some lash out at others, and some find a way of denying it ever occurred.
Zero must fit into the latter; he shuts himself off, dissociates himself from anything that threatens to remind him of what happened. So how was Kaname supposed to get him to let go?
Not sure of how Zero would react, the brunette lowered his lips to the younger boy's temple, planting a chaste kiss there before moving to whisper against the cold metal that adorned his ears.
"Trust me, Zero, I want, no, I need you to trust me."
As the pureblood hovered uncertainly above him, Zero remained still and uncaring beneath him, but there was something tearing in his chest, screaming for his attention. Trust him, trust him, please trust him. Over and over and over again in his head, pounding louder and louder with every beat of his heart, and Zero realised he wanted to do as the strange warmth told him to do.
But why? Why was he feeling like he wanted to trust the pureblood prince who had once manipulated his every action, taken away his only comfort, and dismissed his existence before turning up unexpectedly and fucking with his thoughts? Why did his body want to be closer and closer still to the brunette's lean frame? Why did he want the arms that had held him once before, however briefly, to hold him again? Why, why, why, why, why, why?
Even as he questioned himself, he knew that right now, he needed Kaname. He needed to trust Kaname because the thing inside him needed him to. With a strangled cry, Zero's mask crumbled, and he lunged himself at Kaname, the force of his movements knocking the pureblood onto his side.
Staring at Zero with bewildered eyes, Kaname held his breath, unsure of what was going through the other's head. His eyes only widened further when Zero curled into his chest, his arms seeking a grip on the pureblood's back.
Zero's heartbeat was erratic and he shook as he fought to bite back the sobs that threatened to once again reveal how weak he was. He was weak and pathetic and fucked up. He tightened his hold on Kaname, refusing to accept that some part of him was afraid that the pureblood would find his behaviour disgusting and try to leave.
The idea of being alone scared him more than he cared to admit.
Kaname froze for a moment in Zero's desperate embrace before shifting slightly to allow the boy further purchase. Tentatively, he moved his own arms to wrap around the hunter, his palms sliding in a gentle caress across the soft skin of Zero's back. He could feel the boys' vertebrae, each one so close to skin it felt that it would tear if Zero curled any further. Was he always this fragile?
His caretaker nature flared, and he wrapped himself protectively around the shaking frame. Those sobs seemed to undo the pureblood, making him want to banish every sorrow from their creator.
Sensing the fear and vulnerability rolling off the ex-human in waves, and Kaname instinctively lowered his lips to the shell of Zero's ear, "you're okay now Zero, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, you're safe."
As Zero's breathing slowed down, the small pulse of trust that flared across the bond shocked Kaname. It crept into his chest, twisting its way up to his throat before resting in the hollow at the base of it, where the bond was located. His breath caught in his chest before he once more whispered in Zero's ear,
"I'll never leave you."
The words sent a shiver down Zero's spine, and he pulled away from Kaname's hold to stare at him with disbelieving eyes, and the earnest promise he saw in their depths made his heart stutter before resuming it's pounding beat.
Without even being aware of what he was doing, Zero leaned up and touched his lips gently to Kaname's, before pulling away as though he'd been electrified.
Kaname was frozen. His eyes were saucers, his mouth slightly open, and his cheeks dusted with the most delicious pink Zero had ever seen. Leaning forward again, he kissed the brunette's cheek before scrambling out of bed and hurrying towards the bathroom.
"W-why...?" The hesitation and uncertain stutter in the usually smooth and commanding tone caught him just before he closed the door, and he turned to face the bed.
"I don't know, Kaname," he met the brunette's confused, but open and trusting gaze, "I don't know why I did it, but," his brow furrowed, and his eyes darted away, "but t-thank you."
And with that the bathroom door slammed shut, the silence lasting only a few minutes before Kaname could hear running water, snapping him out of his shocked state. His lips were burning, the bond was thrumming with life and his heart was pounding. He'd just been kissed by none other than Kiryu Zero and he'd done nothing but act like a schoolgirl.
Tugging at the covers, he huffed at his own inability to predict the ex-human's movements before drifting off to sleep, the warm presence radiating through the bond calming him.
A few metres away, huddled in the corner of the shower with the warm water cascading over him; Zero was staring at the wall, a small smile on his face. He'd just kissed Kuran Kaname. He'd just kissed Kuran Kaname on the lips and he didn't regret it. He knew he probably should, but he didn't.
Zero's thoughts drifted back to the strange spark he'd felt ignite in the base of his throat. It confused him, the warmth was not unwelcome, but the fact that it only seemed to react when Kaname was around made him curious. His fingers brushed over his lips softly and he huddled further into himself, not out of fear or revulsion at his own actions, but in an attempt to calm his racing heart.