A/N: So, I'm rushing off to class, but I finished this last night and wanted to get it up as quickly as possible. As the title suggests, this chapter is going to be a turning point for our heroine's relationship with Laito. Please enjoy, and as always, favorite/follow and comment! ~Nique

Ch. 07: A Turning Point

It had been a week since I realized I was in love with Laito Sakamaki, the Pervert Prince. I'd begun to adjust to his voracious sexual appetite, and I'd come to realize my own need for the man. Still, I'd come no closer to solving my problems or getting Laito to admit his true feelings for me.

Sometimes, he'd be the sweet, sexy boy I'd fallen in love with, the one who continued to feed me and soothe me when I woke up screaming from my nightmares... And other times, he'd be the violent, selfish, sadistic Prince that I loved to hate. When he'd discovered that if he kept me fed that any bruises or scars would heal within a few hours, our nighttime sessions became increasingly more painful and violent.

Just over the last week, I'd been introduced to Laito's 'red room of pain' in the basement. The room contained a jail cell and chains that hung from the ceiling, among other things, and I could actually smell old salty tears, blood and semen that had soaked into the floor. I spent more time hanging from those chains or locked in that jail cell than I cared to admit. Yui had become my only confidant.

"He did WHAT to you?!" she screeched, her fangs flashing in the lamp light as she sat perched on the edge of Laito's bed, helping me put a salve on the open lashes across my back. I sighed and pulled my shirt down over the wounds caused by Laito's whip, turning to face her with a weak smile.

"To be honest, Yui-chan, I don't even mind it. He's got some... strange sexual tastes, to be sure, but I actually do too. Some part of me really enjoys the things that Laito-san and I do. But there is one thing that spoils it for me. Don't get me wrong, it's great in the moment, but after Laito's finished for the last time and is snoring away next to me on his bed sheets... I find myself lying awake and just gazing at him, thinking about how much I love him, and how oblivious he is. He says he loves me every once in a while, but I know he doesn't really mean 'love' the way I mean love. And Yui-chan, I love that sweet, sadistic, sexy little pervert more than anything. I would die for that boy. And I don't think he even understands what that type of love feels like, you know? I just don't know what do anymore. I'm so tired of crying myself to sleep at night..." I sobbed, resting my head against Yui's shoulder.

The blonde vampirette hushed me soothingly as she stroked my hair and let me cry.

"No, you're right. Listen, it's not really my place to tell you, since it's not really my story to tell, but the triplets had a rough childhood. Their mother was... She was pure evil, and she hurt each of the boys in a very serious way, perhaps Laito most of all. I can't say anything else about it, you'll have to ask him yourself. But the reason why he doesn't understand your love for him is because even now, after all these years and after her death... She's still haunting him. Trust me, it's something that even now, Ayato-kun and I are working through. But I know that even when it doesn't seem like it, deep down he cares about me, even when he can't always tell me or express it properly. And I make sure to tell him my feelings every day. Have you spoken with Laito about this? When was the last time you actually told him that you love him?" She asked me. I'd long-since stopped crying, but I rested against Yui's frame comfortably, thinking about what a great friend she was to me, and how wise her words were.

"Tch! Don't be so stupid, Chichinashi. I more than care about you. You know that I love you, geez!" Ayato's voice startled us both into falling off the edge of the bed. Ayato scooped Yui up off the floor, cuddling her close to his chest, his face burning with a blush. He and Yui locked together in a soul-searing kiss that had me smiling, even as I shut my eyes at the sweetness of their moment, a single tear slipping down my cheek.

Still sitting on the floor, I looked down at my hands and swallowed hard. I pushed myself into a standing position and smiled up at my friend and her doting boyfriend, my heart aching in my chest for Laito to once, just once, look at me the way Ayato looked at Yui. He looked at her like she was more precious than his next breath (and considering they were both vampires who technically didn't need to breathe, she probably was), like she was his whole world. I gave Yui a watery smile.

"You're right, Yui-chan. I haven't told Laito-san that I love him, not even once, I don't think. How can I expect him to love me if I won't tell him how I feel about him? And just so you know, even if he can't always tell you, Yui-chan, it's clear by the way he looks at you that Ayato-san is totally and completely in love with you. I'll talk to you later, Yui-chan, Ayato-san," I said, heading for the door. An arm blocked my way, however.

"You- you love me, Neko-chan? Why didn't you tell me?" Laito asked softly, his forest-green eyes gazing into my soul. My eyes grew wide and my heart pounded in my chest.

"L-Laito-san, I... How long have you been standing there?" I asked, unable to meet his gaze. He reached out, tilting my chin so that I stared up into his face.

"Answer my question, Neko-chan," he said almost tenderly. My eyes began to tear up again as I shook my head helplessly.

"I love you, Laito-san. I don't think you understand what that means, but I love you. And I promise to spend every day, for as long as I can, telling you that and trying to prove to you that love is more than sex, that it's more than butterfly feelings in your belly, that it's sacrifice and compromise, it's being willing to die for one another, it's... It's the way that your brother looks at Yui. I want more than anything else to have you look at me like that, and I will spend every day of the rest of my life waiting for that look. That's what I meant when I said I love you, Laito-san," I said in a rush, looking for any glimmer of hope in his eyes, but finding nothing but confusion and underlying anger.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Neko-chan. Isn't my love enough for you? I've been giving you love every night for more than a week, Neko-chan. I've even given you enough love to fill your tummy," he said, his voice getting progressively louder as he placed one hand on my stomach, demonstrating where he'd been leaving his seed every night. My shoulders shook as I sobbed, looking back up into his eyes and cupping my hand over his on my tummy.

"Laito-san, that isn't love. I really enjoy our time together. You can be so sweet and tender, or you can be violent and dominant and I honestly love both sides of you. I love it when you make love to me, and I love talking to you," I said, reaching up to cup his cheek, even as tears streaked my cheeks. I continued, "I didn't think I would fall in love with you so quickly when I first got here, I thought you were irritating and perverted, honestly, but I've come to see the heart of the man beneath this face you show the rest of the world... And you have a good heart, Laito-san. I know it. You can learn to love me the way I love you, you just don't know how to yet. Won't you let me show you?" I whispered. Ayato cleared his throat, Yui still in his arms.

"Laito-kun, listen to the girl. If she's worth even half to you what my Chichinashi is to me, then you're a lucky man, as I am. Love... it's a different feeling, Brother. It's not what She told us it was... Don't let Her mistakes keep you from the best thing that will ever happen to you. Because in my Yui-chan, I've found true happiness," he said, gazing down at my friend with such adoration in his eyes that it made me want to weep all over again. Laito scoffed.

"We may be twins, Ayato-kun, but we're clearly nothing alike. You are weak," he hissed, letting me go and stepping away from me and towards his brother, who clutched Yui tighter, pushing her behind him slightly to keep her out of harm's way lest his brother lose it.

"No, Brother, she has made me strong enough to see clearly. All this time, we have been so wrong. I wish you could learn to experience such love, such power," he said, shaking his head at his twin sadly. I tried to grab Laito's hand..

"Laito-san, look, it's not something you need to feel right away. It can come over time. Why don't we just go-" I tried to change the subject, but Laito was angry and he couldn't understand what was going on.

"How dare you turn my own twin against me, Neko-chan? This 'love' that you speak of, I want no part of it! Stay away from me. Don't get in my way, or I'll have to kill you," he growled, shoving me out of the way roughly, so that my head hit the wall behind me and the man I loved stalked out of his own bedroom furiously.

My vision went black as I crumpled to the floor. I laid there, not moving, not seriously injured, but heartbroken unto death. Curling into a ball on the carpet, my body felt numb. I had no more tears left to cry as I stared at the door Laito had left through.

Yui and Ayato took care of me, taking me back to the bed and tucking me in, asking if they could do anything else for me. Ayato said he'd talk to his brother, but I just rolled over to face the wall, the darkest parts of the room more appealing to me than the light.

They left me there, shutting the door quietly behind themselves when they left. I closed my eyes and willed for sleep to overtake me, wishing vainly that I would never wake up unless I awoke to Laito's face. But you know what they say about wishing: Be careful what you wish for.

I did not wake again for quite some time. When I did, I immediately realized that something was wrong. These weren't Laito's sheets beneath me and I was no longer in the Sakamaki manor. I was back in my childhood home, in my own bed. But how had I gotten there? Where was Laito? I sat up quickly, searching for his familiar frame in the dark room, but sensing only a presence I'd thought would only haunt my dreams for the rest of my life, yet here he stood in front of me, as real as could be. He grinned evilly, his sharp fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

"Why, hello, Princess," he said, stepping into the light. My eyes widened and my breath caught as I saw my father's face for the first time since the night of my mother's death. I screamed.