Thanks for the reviews! I think you compensated for my terrible summary!

Chapter 12: The Price

by lightpathetic

ZERO hopped down from the air-taxi practically as soon as it landed, ignoring the instruction from his boss to wait. He marched across the grass to the house, not waiting for anyone. He couldn't stand to be near him a second longer, couldn't stand to have his touch on his skin, and… other things. He needed a shower. He needed to pack and leave.

"Zero!"

Zero began to run as he heard Kaname coming after him. Soon, he was at the front entrance and pressed his palm to the panel, the door opening to him immediately. Kaname had programmed the house to allow him access to various places, inside being one of them. Kaname caught up to him as he started up the stairs.

"Zero! Will you stop behaving like a child and let us discuss this?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let go of me."

"I'll fix you something to eat and bring it up. We can…"

"Don't come into my room!" Zero screamed, yanking himself away. "If you do, I swear I'll kill you!"

Zero continued up the stairs at a jog and Kaname made to follow when he heard someone clear his throat behind him.

"Sir?"

Kaname covered his irritation and turned back to the waiting pilot. What must he think of all this? Not that it mattered, really...

Zero had said nothing at all to him since he returned to the camp site. He'd gone into the tent with Kaname hot on his heels and started to dress, pulling on a T-shirt and jeans…

"You're bleeding! Zero…!"

Kaname had rushed to him and tried to examine him. There were drying smears of blood on the inside of his thighs. But Zero had pushed him away violently then punched him as he had insisted on looking him over. Kaname had been determined to thwart his efforts until he has looked at his face: the ominous glare in his eyes and… the angry flush along his cheeks. He'd stayed away then, his own eyes showing his dawning realisation as Zero continued to dress and throw his things into his bag.

Zero was furious and embarrassed enough to kill at having been made love to by Kaname, a man, and to make matters worse the blood from his torn hymen was drying on his thighs, torn by Kaname's own...

He could try to understand what was going through Zero's head. The regret he was feeling, the confusion. But, to his surprise, he felt no remorse. As he watched Zero throw things around the tent and stuff his bag in a silent rage he felt a sense of pride and determination. He was the first and he would be the last. The only. Zero would be completely his…

But he had a long road ahead of him. He'd slipped up a little in the taxi, had tried to hold Zero's hand when he had seemed calmer, hating the distance between them, but only soliciting another slap. Kaname caught the glimpse from the pilot as he nursed his lip. Great. He was sure the pilot had no doubts about what was going on between them. But Kaname also found that… he didn't care who knew. Not one bit.

"There you go," Kaname said to the pilot, leaving him to let himself out. The door was open.

"Thank you, Sir!" The tip had been generous, but Kaname was already on his way up the stairs.

ZERO went directly to the shower. Now he rubbed his skin vigorously, trying to get the feel, the scent… everything off of him.

He was in tears again, sobbing a little as he raked the bath foam back and forth between his legs and down his thighs with little regard for comfort. He was livid. So much so he trembled. But not at Kaname. That would be childish. He hadn't been raped, hadn't been drunk. He had been in full control of his faculties when he had kissed Kaname: his lips, his neck, when he had run his hands all over his body, had sank his fingers into his hair, gripping his head to him, to his… body as his world dissolved into pure pleasure…

Zero threw the scrubbing foam across the cubicle and sank against the stone-grey tile, sliding down to sit in the shower. He could still feel his touch; his tongue on his skin, his hands on his chest or avidly massaging his erection. He covered his eyes and sobbed harder, hating himself and his weakness, the part of him that still wanted him, that had made his mouth water when he'd come back to the camp site and seen that tousle-haired gorgeous confection of a man, dressed in a skin hugging black T-shirt and jeans, looking at him with concern and…

What was happening to him? What was wrong? Was it permanent? Could he stop it?

Zero pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes and tried to stop himself from bawling like this. It was easy to blame his hormones, he told himself, but it was harder to stop the instincts that came with them. It required some concentration, some will, some strength. He had to walk away. Distance himself. Maybe then he could begin to think on what to do. Right now it was too hard. Right now he wanted nothing more than to stay.

ZERO came out of the bathroom to see Kaname sitting on his bed. He had changed his clothes, his hair still damp from his bath; his dark eyes regarded him with just the merest edge of sadness before he looked away to the tray beside him.

"I've brought you some food. You haven't eaten since yesterday…"

"I'm not hungry. Now will you please leave?"

Zero pulled his robe tightly around him and went to the clothes chest in his room to remove some, effectively dismissing him. Zero turned with his selection to the scent of a warm wrap, the sight of the steam rising from the carton and Kaname standing much too close. Zero's mouth began to water again and his stomach reminded him, loudly, it was still there and empty.

"There's coffee as well," Kaname edified simply as half the wrap disappeared into Zero's mouth.

Zero nodded, his mouth too full to say anything, as he walked over to the bed and sat beside the tray. Kaname was already there by the time he'd settled handing him the tall plastic container. Zero took a long swig and sighed. How could he miss that he was this starved? The poor babies must have headaches by now.

Kaname waited silently, even as Zero took up another wrap and bit into it – he'd made three, an obvious attempt at bribery – trying to read Zero's state of mind. He had eavesdropped in his room and heard him crying in the shower. That's when he'd decided to let him have some time to himself while he showered and prepared the meal. Now, he deliberately ignored the command to leave as he waited. They needed to talk. He could predict Zero's next course of action as if it had been written in stone.

"I need a little time off. A week. Maybe two." Or eight.

There you have it. Zero was going to run away.

"Where are you going?"

"To visit a friend," Zero said calmly. That's it. Speak reasonably. Ignore the fact that you both had just had some fairly mind-blowing sex. "I haven't seen her in a while. I think I need to go see how she is." Nudge his mind and his libido in the right direction.

"Yuuki Cross?"

Zero made the mistake of looking up from the floor to Kaname's face when he'd said this. He caught a glimpse of frustration and anger, a twist of soft lips before looking down again.

"It's none of your business! The babies will be fine if that's what you're worried about."

"You know that's not it!" Kaname growled, thumping the bed in a fit of temper. Zero placed the empty cartons on the tray and stood, walking away from him.

"Please go. I need to get dressed."

"Not yet. Not just yet. I have something to say."

"By all means, Mr. Kuran. Fire away."

Kaname took a moment to run his hands into his hair and take a deep breath. All Zero had to do – and the youth knew it very well – was to refer to him formally when they were arguing and Kaname would just come very close to losing it. He took another deep breath as he counted backward from ten to one before he looked up to where Zero stood with his arms folded, staring out of the window.

"I'm not sorry about what happened. I find you very attractive…"

"Oh please. Spare me…" Zero scoffed, heading around the bed again for the clothing he'd forgotten in his hunger.

He looked and felt like a mutant: a plump man with a growing baby-bump, tender breasts, long masculine limbs and a vagina. All he needed to complete the Humpty Dumpty look were the suit, top hat and wall. Attractive, his ass. If Zero had seen himself coming he'd have run the other way, not... Kaname rose to follow him.

"It's the truth. If you'd had any self-confidence about your pregnancy, you'd have noticed I've been flirting with you practically from the moment you started to show. And the way you were touching me... kissing my neck… I gave in to temptation. There is no sinister plot to trap you."

Oh God. He remembered. He remembered the sweet scent, the warmth, the way the muscles had bunched beneath his teeth, the soft, low rumble in his throat before...

"However, if you go, remember that I will not be there to take care of you. You will be on your own. You have few resources and your pregnancy will continue to progress. It will be harder to hide then. You may become bedridden; even go into labour at any time. You will need expensive, specialised care because of the unusual circumstances or your life and that of the babies will be at risk. Can this Ms. Cross handle that?"

"Don't think I don't know you are trying to scare me..."

"I am simply laying out the facts. You constantly spit at me but I take care of your travel, housing, food, expenses – medical and otherwise - and protection. You've 'chipped' in once since you came to work for me…"

"At your insistence!"

"… And you've never had to worry about enforcers. If you stay I can promise you that the status quo will continue. I will do everything in my not inconsiderable power to keep you and protect you until you deliver and for at least five months afterward. Then you will be able to walk away, completely free with… fifty million dollars."

Zero's eyes opened wide at this, turning to stare at Kaname as if he was wearing a fluffy, pink boa. Fifty million dollars?! Was he serious?

"It is the going rate for 'unofficial' surrogacy. You did say you didn't want them? That they were 'Devil's spawn'?"

Zero winced. "I was angry, Kaname. Confused. I didn't mean that..."

"What do you mean, then? It is hard to figure it out from one moment to the next."

Kaname couldn't help it. He was too upset to stay detached, the sarcasm rising like bile in his mouth. If there was a hell, this was it: wanting something badly, having it right in front of you and not able to touch it lest it slipped away, lest you lost it forever. Here he was trying to bribe, beg, bully when all he wanted to do was kiss him, to see him tremble with need, to lose himself in him.

Kaname ran his fingers into his hair and met one of several tender spots where Zero had been gripping his hair not too long ago as he'd came repeatedly. Geez, his taste was still in his mouth. All Kaname wanted to do was rip that silly robe he was hiding under away from his body and back him onto the bed and not stop until dinnertime. Yep, Kaname was far from detached about this situation. But he had to pretend to be. Why? Why couldn't Zero see what was right in front of his face? Because he wanted to be a man? But Kaname would let him. Kaname would let him be or do anything he wanted. As long as he let him love him.

"Forget it," Zero ground out, bristling at Kaname's tone. Smug son-of-a-bitch! Let him try making decisions while several potent chemicals were whizzing through his body, four wriggling beings were pressing up on his ribcage and down on his cervix and after having just been gloriously fucked by his male boss. Zero was sure even Kaname would be a tad fazed by having WGB Chairman Asato Ichijo up his...

"Thank you for your kind offer but I'll be fine. This is my problem."

Zero made to walk around Kaname to the bathroom but didn't make it. He was pounced on, his shoulders grabbed. Then he was shaken. Zero managed to yank himself away and push Kaname hard against the dresser.

"Get out!" he yelled pointing towards the door.

"Don't be stupid. You can't do this on your own!"

"Watch me…!"

"This is our problem. Those babies are as much mine as yours!"

"Go ahead and prove it. See what else comes out in public," Zero threatened. Or tried to.

"Indeed. What else? You having a perfectly functioning womb? The fact that two of the children you are carrying might be healthy girls? You may be able to scream assault to whoever wants to listen but I will be able to raise two boys while you, Emily and Charlotte disappear. Even before they took statements for the trial."

Zero's lips parted in horror. The thought of being forced to… and the girls as well…? Kaname walked forward to stand right in front of him, his voice low, conciliatory.

"All I am saying, is that you need to stop thinking of only yourself now. There is much more at stake. What happened was interesting but it is over. We've realised our mistake and we can go forward, like adults. After all, I am certain this isn't your first one night stand and I am equally sure it won't be your last. I promise you if you stay you will be safe, including from... unwanted attentions from me."

Zero came out of his stupor at this. Unwanted?

Unwanted?!

He closed his eyes. The word seemed to echo in his mind just to taunt him. Along with the rough edge to Kaname's voice that he hadn't quite hid. Unwanted. Oh God. Couldn't he tell he was trying to get away because the opposite was true? Was it so well hidden how his insides quaked when he came near? Or when he touched him? This… This situation was unbearable.

But those things weren't important. Not really. Not… really…

"Fine. I'll stay," Zero whispered, looking defeated, only rubbing his stomach where Dean seemed to be stretching a bit, reminding him of what was important, what should matter.

Kaname nodded, not trusting his voice at that point. He gestured as if to suggest that Zero should get on with what he was doing and turned to leave, his face collapsing in relief and anguish only when his back was turned. It was a hollow victory. He could see how unhappy Zero was, how trapped he felt. With him. He decided to say what normally cheered most people up when such... unpleasantness must be endured.

"I'll have the details arranged for the money. The contracts…"

"No…"

"No?"

"There is no need," Zero was staring out the windows again, avoiding his gaze. "I… trust you."

Kaname touched the door panel and left without another word. He couldn't stay. The temptation to prove him wrong had just become too strong to resist…

"OH LOOK! That nice looking lady has come back."

"I sure hope she has permission. Otherwise you'll have to call the boss."

"Me? Why me? You're the supervisor!"

"I have a family to support. Didn't you see how he fired half the eastern construction point for being behind schedule a few days?"

"Yes. I did! I'm already on borrowed time because I dared to ask if he enjoyed his trip! It's been almost a month and each time he sees me he still scowls."

"You shouldn't have said anything. You see, when I saw his face I went over to another station. Common sense. Understanding there's a time and place for everything. That's how you get ahead in life…"

"I'm not calling hi…!"

"Excuse me?" the "nice looking lady" in question asked, a little hesitant to be breaking up the heated argument but not willing to stand there all day. "Sorry to interrupt, but if you could just let me through you can continue your scintillating conversation."

"Do you… have permission?" the younger officer asked with some fatalism, thinking his day of reckoning had come.

Yuuki smiled and lifted her hand to 'chip' as the older officer wandered off to empty a very important wastepaper basket.

"He said he has given my I.D. the appropriate clearance."

"Yes! You do have permission! From Kaname Kuran himself!"

"What?" His supervisor came over to supervise this. "Well, that's a slice of good fortune…"

"May I go now? He's expecting me."

"Sure. Replace your visor and head over to that building on the left. Top floor."

"Thank you."

"It was our pleasure. Have a good one."

Yuuki smiled in acknowledgment of the good wishes and pulled down her visor as instructed. She headed out the door and into the heat, conscious of the four eyes watching her go.

"Nice ass. Now that's what I'm talking about. A man's got to have diversions. Let some steam off."

"Maybe that will finally lift his foul mood."

"One can only hope. Okay! Back to work! We're not paying you to watch tail!"

"Yes, Sir."

to be continued

lightpathetic wrote this as DramaticPause on AO3 but these are not my original characters. They are based on a manga called Vampire Knight.