Chapter 25: A Gentle Heartbeat
Zero looked at the bowl of soup with a raised brow before directing his attention to the brunette sitting in the chair next to him.
"Is this editable?"
"It's not filled with poison if that's what you're asking?" Kaname answered quite solemnly.
Zero looked at the soup again. A sense of dread was settling in the pit of his stomach for some reason, the soup itself was no doubt chicken noodle and looked decently made. The aroma was enticing to say the least, yet Zero's instincts were on alert. May be it was the hunter in him that was incapable in believing that a dish made by a pureblood wouldn't be anything but dangerous if eaten. Yet Zero's kind hearted nature, despite the fact he doesn't show it much, couldn't refuse a generous deed, even if the good deed came from a vampire. Plus Zero couldn't deny the fact that he was very much hungry.
Zero took a deep breath before reaching for the spoon beside the steaming bowl. Zero leaned forward and blew gently at the morsel before finally putting it in his mouth.
"Mmm…" Zero moaned contently when the burst of flavor touched his tongue. "This is really good!"
Kaname allowed a hint of a smile display across his lips before he answered. "I may not look it but I can cook at least basic meals. Yuki would often complain that the chiefs at the Kuran manor lacked the 'homely taste' that she liked from the meals you made for her and the chairman back when she lived at Cross Academy."
"So you learned to cook because of her?" Zero asked in between a spoonful of soup.
Kaname nodded. "I wanted to make her feel at home."
"You must really love her to go that far."
"Of course, she's my sister."
"And your fiancé." Zero added.
Kaname remained silent for a moment, eyes scanning the hunter's face for any sign of contempt. Yet Zero's face remained unchanged as he continued to eat the soup in front of him. Kaname didn't understand why the lack of emotion from the silver haired hunter bothered him so, but it did. Not that Kaname would ever admit to it since it just proved how little of an effect Kaname had on him.
Did Zero truly care for the blonde noble far more than he did for Kaname? The thought swirled around Kaname's head like a buzzing bee. It caused an unnecessary sting in both in his pride and his heart.
"She's no longer my fiancé." Kaname divulged to the hunter.
Zero stopped mid-way from his last spoonful to turn and stare at the pureblood looking back at him. From the expression on the brunette's face it was clear that he had spoken the truth.
"I'm sorry…" Zero apologized after his last spoonful of soup.
"There's no reason for you to apologize for." Kaname answered back, grabbing the tray from Zero's lap and placing it on the night stand beside him. "It was a decision I decided would be best for the both of us."
"What made you come to that conclusion so suddenly?" Zero asked slightly curious to know.
Kaname had to hide the glee that enveloped him at the hunter's curiosity. "There just wasn't romantic love between us anymore."
"Is that coming from the both of you or just you?"
Like that the feeling of glee was gone. Replaced by a sense of bewilderment at the silver haired boy's defensive remark and attitude.
"It was a decision we both decided."
"Yeah right." Zero said scornfully. "I'm sure Yuki had no choice on the matter."
"What is your deal Zero?" Kaname asked sternly. "Whether this was my decision or hers has nothing to do with you!"
"Your right Kuran, it doesn't. But I still care for her nonetheless."
Kaname eyed the hunter closely. "Are you still in love with Yuki?"
Zero shook his head. "I'm not in love with Yuki, but I still have love for her as any man would for a friend. Yuki was my first love, a love that I had given up when I knew that she belonged to and loved someone else. I gave up a year ago when she chose you. Yet here you are telling me that the man she chose has decided to call it quits after all she had sacrificed to be with you. I just don't understand it. I thought you loved her too?"
Kaname sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I did…or at least I thought I did."
Zero turned to the brunette and saw for the first time the emotions the pureblood hid behind that indifferent mask he wears come to light. It was bewitching to watch to say the least.
"Yuki is my family. The family I was lucky to be given when I woke from my slumber." Kaname began to say. His hands were intertwined and laying on top his lap as he recalled the memories of his past as it sprung forth from the dark recesses of his mind.
Zero suddenly recalled the day the young ones first appeared at Cross Academy and how Hitoshi had mentioned Kaname being the Kuran ancestor. Zero didn't know much about Kaname's time as an ancestor during the climate change and great vampire war in the past but hearing the confirmation that everything that was mentioned or said was true from the person them selves was utterly surprising. Zero couldn't stop the need to know more of the men beside him as he continued to listen to Kaname speak.
"I was never shown the love and affection that was given to me by the Kuran couple when I lived as an ancestor to my clan. So when I made the decision to live as the Kuran couple's son, to whom they lost, was a decision I am grateful I made. I was loved like a son and was able to experience things I've never felt. When Yuki was born I was hopeful that she would show me what it was to love, not only as a family, but also as a lover. Yet I couldn't." Kaname's smile from the happy memory soon faded when he recalled his life as an ancestor. "In the millennia of years I spent as an ancestor I never experienced what you human's refer to as love. No women was able to sway my heart nor did I feel joy when I had my first offsprings."
"First offsprings?" Zero questioned surprised.
Kaname flashed Zero a sad smile before explaining. "Kazuki, Kano, and Zakuro aren't the first kids I've help bore into this world."
"So you've been married before?" Zero asked somewhat irritated.
Kaname shook his head. "I've never wed in my past ever. Which to say is why I was so surprised to find out I will wed you in the future." Kaname admitted honestly.
Ignoring the sudden tug at his heart from the angelic wonder displayed on Kaname's face as he stared at him, Zero narrowed his eyes and berated the man before him. "So sleeping and baring children with those you slept with were nothing to you?"
"I never had children with the women I slept with."
"Then explain to me where your kids came from?"
"Offspring…please refer to them as offspring." Kaname corrected.
The word itself offended Zero to no end and more so for the fact that Kaname seemed so cold toward the idea. "You heartless asshoe! Why does it need to matter what they are called?"
"They were my descendants, different to how I see Kazuki, Kano, and Zakuro."
"Regardless they are still your flesh and blood!"
"Please Zero, I'm sorry if the idea offends you but this is how it was in the past." Kaname tried to explain. "Purebloods never valued love in the way we do now. Back then we cared more for preserving our linage than for love. Grant it there was some who did find eternal love but for the most of us we were simply concerned with cementing our place in a vastly changing world. And believe me when I say that I never bore offspring-…I mean children with the women I slept with."
Zero stared at the brunette vampire for a long while trying to see if he could spot a sign of deceit, but the pureblood was holding nothing back. Honesty rang truth as he spoke and for the first time Zero felt he could trust in Kaname's words.
"Then please explain to me how you had offspring if you yourself never impregnated a women you slept with."
"Artificial insemination." Kaname said matter of fact. "I may not have impregnated women the natural way but I have used this method."
'I see…' Zero thought to himself. "So…how many?"
"How many what?" Kaname repeated. His head tilted to the side in confusion.
Zero needed to look away to avoid the pureblood's child like adorableness that no doubt Kaname had no idea he was doing. "I-I'm asking how many women you needed to use this method on."
"Just one." Kaname answered. "She gave me enough diversity of offspring to begin inbreeding when they were old enough."
"That's right, vampire's have a different genic make up than human's do." Zero added.
Kaname nodded. "Inbreeding among vampires is the best way to strengthen one's bloodline and remain pure."
"You make it sound like you were breeding cattle and not children."
"I'm sorry." Kaname apologized. "I know my saying this seems heartless but that was my reality at the time. It was how the Kuran clan remained the purest and strongest of all the purebloods. I had to think logically and do what was best than to let my emotions and own personal opinions get the better of me."
Zero could see the remorse and pain behind Kaname's eyes as he spoke this and even though Zero would never really know the depth to which Kaname had to sacrifice in the past, Zero felt that he could forgive the pureblood even just a little. Yet there was something that still bothered him, the woman in his dreams, the girl with the black hair and violet eyes. Did Kaname love her? Or was the love he sensed the same love Kaname felt for Yuki? A love you give and get from a family? But then why kiss her?
Zero looked up at the brunette who was anxiously waiting for Zero's next response. Zero knew it wasn't his place to ask but he needed to know. Who was this woman and why did Kaname kiss her? Why did he show various emotions that he never showed to anyone else? But most of all…why did it bother him that she knew a Kaname that he never knew?
Yet before Zero could attempt to ask the brunette some of these questions, Zero was hit with a sudden surge of dizziness unlike any before. Zero felt himself falling over and braced himself for the impact that was sure to come, but when it didn't Zero looked up to see Kaname holding him tightly in his arms.
"Are you okay?" Kaname asked looking down at Zero who was leaning against his chest.
"I'm fine." Zero answered with a slight blush to his cheeks. "Just a bit dizzy though."
Kaname rubbed his thumb across Zero's cheek. "You look pale and a bit feverish."
Zero could feel himself blush deeper at the gentle caress from Kaname. The warmth his body was feeling was no doubt the result of the sensation of Kaname's touch, which Zero was becoming too aware of with how close the two were.
"I'm feeling a lot better now." Zero said as he tried weakly to push himself away.
Kaname found himself smirking when he realized he was the cause of the blush sporting Zero's pale cheeks. Leaning close, Kaname whispered near Zero's ear. "You shouldn't move too much Zero, you wouldn't want to get dizzy again."
Zero's body shuddered as Kaname's breath brushed against his ear. It was one thing to have the brunette caress his face but it was a completely different matter having the pureblood cradle his upper most body close to his chest. Zero was certain he was redder than he's ever been. Being this close to Kaname, Zero could feel the warmth of his torso, the smell of his shampoo, and hear the pounding of his heart against his chest. Zero was even certain he could feel the very flow of blood running through his veins, smell its sweet nectar, and taste the velvety thickness on his tongue.
Zero tensed, his heart hammered against his chest. His throat was dry as if he ate a box of crackers. Zero knew this sensation all too well. He was thirsty…he wanted blood and lots of it. Zero found himself pulling the brunette closer until he was leveled with Zero's sitting position. What was once a need to flee became a need to become one. Zero leaned his head close and buried his nose between the brunette's neck and shoulder.
It was Kaname's turn to shudder when Zero's tongue ran across his neck and shoulder. Kaname muffled a gasp when Zero sucked gently on a pulsing vein near the crook of his neck. The sensation was new and exciting to say the least. Kaname could feel his stomach turn in anticipation, as he pulled Zero closer. Kaname wasn't sure what he wanted to happen but he knew he needed to be closer to Zero.
Zero hummed in bliss when the pureblood brought himself closer. Zero couldn't explain why he was suddenly acting this way, but he just needed to somehow quench this need, this desire, and this hunger.
Kaname gently eased Zero and himself against the bed, bringing the two even closer together. Kaname's breath was becoming uneven as Zero expertly licked and sucked his neck. Zero's fingers were tangled in the brunette's hair tugging so that Kaname's neck was exposed even more.
Unable to control himself any longer, Kaname allowed his hands to wonder. Touching Zero's face, his neck, every inch of his new feminine body. With each caress was granted with a pleasured whimper that encourage Kaname to go further, slipping his hand underneath Zero's nightgown and touching the warm skin underneath.
Zero jerked involuntarily when Kaname cupped his right breast in his palm; to which caused Zero to scrap his fang against Kaname's skin drawing blood. The taste was enough to lose whatever control Zero had over his hunger before he sank his fangs into Kaname's neck.
Kaname hissed at the momentary pain but that didn't detour the pureblood in his venture in mapping out every inch of Zero. The sensation of wanting to monopolize the being beneath you was a sensation unlike any other Kaname had ever experienced. Every thought was full of Zero, a desire that gripped the pureblood to near insanity.
'More…' The brunette thought. 'I want more!'
Kaname hungrily trailed his fingers along Zero's cleavage and down his torso, only to stall in his movements when the pureblood's palm was above Zero's stomach.
Zero had swallowed his fifth mouthful of blood when he felt Kaname stiffen in his hands. The sensation of the pureblood's hands on his skin was long forgotten, much to Zero's distaste. Zero tightened his hold on the brunette to urge him on but Kaname wouldn't budge.
Zero reluctantly unlatched his fangs from Kaname's neck before glaring at the man frozen in place.
"Is there a problem?" Zero questioned harshly. Zero wasn't sure why he was so desperate for the pureblood's touch but the need was so strong he couldn't help himself.
Kaname finally allowed his eyes to meet Zero's.
Zero's annoyance made way to mild concern as he watched the brunette's surprised expression go from his face to the spot where his hand remained still. Without any warning, Zeros right hand was guided to the spot where Kaname's hand once was and at first Zero was confused as to what the pureblood was trying to get at by doing this until finally Zero noticed something he had not before.
It was faint at first but it became clear as Zero moved his hand further to the lower of his stomach. A soft thumping sound that was no doubt a heartbeat. Zero's eyes went wide when he realized what this meant.
"Kuran…I'm pregnant."
TBC…