Author Note: Like I said, I'm trying to finish this up, but not rush the story along. It's late and I have ideas and crap to do today, but I figured I should do a few more fanfiction stuffs for you guys. Here we go...

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.


That night, my parents went to bed early, and I snuck back into Shiki's room. We didn't do anything except curl up together, hold onto each other, and sleep.

The rest of the weekend, and the school day of Monday, went by in a blur, and suddenly Shiki, Takuma, Ruka and Kain and I were gathered at my house after school. We used to hang out on weekends, but I had been absent from the group, and Shiki was new to it.

"So, Shiki, how are you feeling?" Takuma asked, ever present smile back. But even I could tell he was hurting from the whole Shiki suicide attempt thing.

I was just about to tell Takuma to shut it, but then Shiki replied, "Much better. Staying with Rima has really helped."

Ruka gave me the 'are you guys doing it?' look, and I shook my head at her.

"We're all glad that you're feeling better, Shiki." Akatsuki said from the wall behind Ruka. "Ruka and I don't know you as well as Takuma and Rima do, but we're glad that you're feeling better nonetheless."

"Mhm." Ruka said, leaning back against Akatsuki. She hadn't made much input and seemed to be observing how Shiki and I acted near each other more than anything else.

Of course, she was probably getting all the wrong signals. Where I was protective of Shiki, she probably saw possessiveness. Where I stayed close to Shiki to make sure he was ok, she likely saw obsession.

Since Saturday, Shiki and I hadn't kissed, but it had become a rarity for us to leave each other's side. Whenever possible, I would sleep in his bed with him, and either my parents hadn't figured it out, they didn't care, or they understood.

"So are you two together?" Takuma finally asked, looking at Shiki and me. "I'm just asking what the people are all wondering." The blond smiled at us.

I didn't say anything; I just looked up at Shiki and waited for him to answer. We traded a look for just a second, and then his gaze returned to Takuma.

"Yes." Shiki squeezed me up against his side.

Ruka squealed in delight. Akatsuki smiled a bit. Takuma flashed Shiki and I a grin.

And Shiki and I? We just looked at each other and smiled.


"You're still scared of getting too close, aren't you?" Shiki said when everyone had gone and we were alone in his room. My parents had gone out on date night, Monday nights were their night, and we were alone.

"I'm sorry." I said automatically. "You're so much better and I'm just stuck."

"Why are you still so scared to get close to me?" Shiki wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "I'm never going to do something stupid like try to kill myself again. Why are you still scared?"

"It's just a reflexive wall, I guess." I shrugged a tiny bit, not enough to knock his arms off of me. "It's going to take a while to go away."

"Rima..." Shiki whispered and spun me around, and then we were kissing, and his lips on mine were like fire on ice, and I could feel the wall starting to crumble. It was like using a blowtorch on an igloo. This wasn't the same type of kiss as the first one had been, this was passionate, the kind of fire that could melt your very heart if you weren't careful.

The wall wasn't gone, not completely, but the cement that held it together so perfectly, had started to disappear. Brick by brick, it was starting to come apart, brick by brick, my fear was falling apart.

All of my experiences, everything I knew, were tearing that wall down with everything it had.

And I knew I would be ok soon, as long as I had Shiki... and I would always have Shiki.


Author Note: I have an idea for an epilogue if you guys want it. On another note, the soundtrack to this chapter was "Ours" by Taylor Swift, which by the way, I do not own. I love reviews and PMs about my story, and if you want an epilogue, go ahead and ask for it. Thank you for reading!