Sometimes your love is so pretty I just want to sink in

At last, the night that Yuki had been begging herself to hold out for had arrived. The soirée would be held at midnight tonight. Yuki's feelings throughout the early evening were a mix of nerves and excitement. This was usually the case for her before a soirée, but tonight the difference was knowing that she would see Zero again in only a few hours. The nerves were coming from wondering how she would contain herself in a room full of vampires who could not be allowed to find out how she knew him. It meant she would have to pretend not to know him. Yuki wasn't sure how well she would be able to pull that off – but if she wanted to protect Cross Academy, and her place there, then no vampires outside of Kaname's inner circle could find out that she'd been living there.

She had to admit, she was really feeling the pressure.

But it had been five days since she'd last seen Zero, and tonight he would be there! They had been inseparable for too long for her not to be thrilled by that prospect. Her heart was already speeding just thinking about it. Still, with several hours to get through before they even had to leave the manor, Yuki had to do her best to keep her enthusiasm to a more normal level.

The Kuran Manor was so far away from any towns or cities that Yuki still had to get up earlier than usual that evening in order to get ready. They had a long way to drive to get to Aido mansion, where the soirée would be held. Ruka had come over the night before, and stayed in one of the rarely used guest bedrooms so that she could be around early enough to help Yuki get ready. The final touches to her dress had been made and a matching pair of shoes had been acquired. So there was only the matter of hair and makeup to see to in the few hours before they had to leave. Yuki began by showering, and as she washed her hair, she wondered what Kaname would be doing while she was undergoing her usual painstaking grooming process. It certainly couldn't take so long for him to get ready. He could roll up to the soirée in his everyday attire and she doubted that anyone would question it.

Now that she thought about it, she wondered if Zero was making any special effort to get ready for tonight. What were hunters expected to wear to vampire soirées, anyway? She couldn't recall ever seeing them in anything too different to the formal attire worn by the vampire nobles. It was an interesting thought; she had never seen Zero in anything more formal than his school uniform.

The daydream about her favourite hunter kept Yuki going well into her soirée preparations. She was barely there as she let Ruka make the decisions about her makeup. Kaname did not particularly like her wearing it, but this was one thing Ruka did not agree with him on. She seemed to find the idea of going to a party without it totally unthinkable. Yuki didn't really mind either way. Ruka never went overboard, so it was fine by her. In fact, spending time with Ruka made it feel all the more necessary. Ruka was mature, elegant and extremely beautiful. While Yuki rarely gave much thought to her appearance, she couldn't help feeling a little inadequate next to her.

By the time Ruka had finished with her, however, that feeling was very nearly gone. She'd done such a good job. While Yuki was sure that she wouldn't want to look this way every day, she couldn't help but admire the skill that had gone into the transformation. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun and her fringe swept aside by a few pretty diamond pins. Her makeup was subtle but artfully done. Yuki actually found herself looking forward to putting on her new dress and seeing the full effect of the makeover.

The dress was still hanging in its bag on a hook on Yuki's bedroom door. They had double checked last night that it fit properly, but after that Yuki was forbidden from trying it on until they were about to enter the soirée. This meant they would have to arrive a little early so that Yuki could be ushered into one of the back rooms to change. Nobody seemed to trust her to survive the whole journey there without wrinkling or somehow spilling something onto the gown. Yuki supposed she couldn't blame them. The soirée was being held a good hour and a half away, after all.

Time dragged by and Yuki came to the definite conclusion that, nervous as she was, she couldn't wait to get there – because it didn't matter what might happen, she just wanted to be in the same space as Zero again. She would find a way to talk to him. Somehow. Even if only for a few minutes; even if it was only enough to let him know that she was okay after their talk yesterday. Being able to talk to Zero and knowing that she would see him tonight, along with the success of her outing with Kaname, had left Yuki feeling happier and so much more confident than she had done all week. She had even put aside her worries about the much dreaded conversion she needed to have with Kaname. It couldn't happen tonight, so tomorrow it would have to be. Tomorrow there would be no time left to put it off. She would simply have to go through with it.

If she thought about it, there was still a feeling of dread surrounding the idea, but after last night she didn't feel quite so hopeless. Things could change between Kaname and her, she felt sure of it now. And it was enough that she could afford not to think about it for one night. Still, Yuki was glad to have Ruka's company during the drive to the Aido mansion. Once, it might have been strange to share the car with Ruka and Kaname, and perhaps it still was, a little, but tonight Ruka was providing the perfect buffer between Yuki and her brother. As well as things had gone the night before, she didn't entirely trust that it wouldn't have become awkward if they'd had to make the journey alone together. Besides, Yuki's mind was occupied with other things this evening. She hoped that Ruka would be able to keep Kaname from noticing that.

They arrived at the Aido mansion with time to spare. Yuki recognised the place, having been to one or two other soirées there. The Aido family seemed to own a few properties, each one as grand as the others, she assumed. This particular mansion was hidden deep within a vast woodland, much like her own home. After the first visit, it had ceased to be of much interest to her; so vampires liked to appear mysterious by hiding their mansions away in remote forests. The idea would have seemed more romantic to her if the reality of it wasn't so boring.

Yuki's appraisal of her surroundings was cut short as she was swept from the car, straight into the mansion. The Aido family was already there to greet them. Yuki recognised her tutor Hanabusa standing behind his father, giving her some quite pointed disapproving looks whenever Kaname was looking elsewhere. Yuki had not seen or heard from her tutor for at least half a year, so she couldn't think what she might have done to deserve his glares, and she was sure she didn't want to know. She did her best to ignore him and continue smiling politely at the rest of her hosts. Pleasantries were exchanged only briefly and then Tsukiko, the youngest of the three Aido sisters, offered to show Yuki and Ruka to a room where they could change.

A little less than an hour later, it was finally time to go in to the soirée. It felt so strange to Yuki, as they approached the ballroom, to feel the presence of so many noble vampires. It had been such a long time since she had been around her own kind. With so much going on, she couldn't yet make out if Zero was here. Her stomach was tying itself into knots with the anticipation.

The soirée looked about the same as any other she'd been to. It was held in a huge, lavishly decorated room, packed to bursting with aristocratic vampires. Yuki entered on the arm of her brother and all eyes turned to them at once. Yuki, who had become so used to going unnoticed, blushed heavily, and knew she was likely to be scolded by Ruka for it later. But it really was so strange to be here! It was strange in a way that was different from how it used to be so. Every other soirée she'd attended had been a rare opportunity to leave the house. But since then, Yuki had learned that life at Cross Academy was much more her cup of tea than vampire gatherings. In that respect, the whole event had now lost its charm. Where before there had been excitement, there were now mostly nerves.

Yuki plastered a smile onto her face as the aristocrats bowed to Kaname and her, but her eyes were already searching the crowd for one particular face. She found it easily. Zero was far across the room, not bowing, of course, but leaning against a wall, simply observing. Their eyes met and Yuki's lit up, turning the false smile on Yuki's lips into something real. And she saw the corners of his mouth turn upwards in response. The way he smiled made him look so gentle, but the feeling it gave her was quite the opposite. The butterflies in her stomach weren't just fluttering; they were in an uproar, threatening to carry her all the way across the room to him. She wished it was an urge she could follow. She was already trying to figure out the best way to arrange to meet him in secret.

All of a sudden, Yuki was being assaulted by greetings and inquiries into her well being and she was forced to tear her eyes away from Zero and face the party. She felt, as the night went on, that she had turned into quite the predictable lovesick teenager. Just knowing that Zero was so near but not being able to go to him was close to unbearable. But she kept it up, nonetheless, as Kaname led her around the room, greeting one noble family after another. She tried to keep herself from stealing too many glances at Zero, not wanting to raise questions if she was caught staring. She was not supposed to know him, she kept reminding herself. She also tried not to think too much about how unfair it all seemed.

After a short while had passed, Yuki noticed that, though Zero was often moving around as he monitored the soirée, she hadn't passed close by him once. She began to suspect that this was Kaname's doing. And the more it went on, the more obvious it seemed. He was manoeuvring her around the party in such a way that she and Zero would not cross paths. It was absurd, Yuki thought. What on earth did Kaname think she would do if she got close to Zero? Did he really think she couldn't be trusted to keep her stay at Cross Academy a secret? Yuki began to grow more and more exasperated as conversations abruptly ended if Kaname saw Zero begin to head even remotely in their direction. But there was little she could do to stop it. She could hardly confront him about it here, in front of everyone.

It was a relief when finally they were approached by Lord Aido and his son, Hanabusa. The older Aido said a few quiet words to Kaname, which she couldn't make out over the din of the party, and Kaname nodded once then turned to Yuki. "Would you excuse me for a short while Yuki? There is something important I must discuss with Lord Aido. His son will escort you while I'm gone." Yuki nodded. Kaname leaned in close and lightly brushed a lock of her hair with his fingers as he whispered in her ear, "Please try to behave."

What's that supposed to mean? Yuki wondered indignantly, staring after Kaname as he walked from the room. Then she turned to her tutor with a wary look on her face "Aido," she nodded in greeting.

"Hello, Yuki Kuran," replied Aido, and his tone, as it often did, contained a smug note, though Yuki could not for the life of her think what he might have to be smug about. She remembered the way he had looked at her when she'd arrived earlier, and figured that she was probably about to find out what that had all been about after all. Aido was the person who Yuki had spent most of her time with before the Academy. And despite the many years the two of them had spent in close company, they had never quite learned to get along. So whatever this was, Yuki didn't think it could possibly be good.

"I would say," began Aido, "That I've missed being your teacher after so long, but I must admit, it is a relief to no longer have to recite so many lessons that never seem to stick."

Yuki scowled. "Yes, well the feeling is mutual, Aido," she huffed.

"And it seems that you've been causing problems for Kaname-sama recently."

"What?" Yuki began to exclaim, then quickly checked herself, looking around at the potential eavesdroppers surrounding them. A few nearby vampires were giving her curious looks, so she smiled brightly at them, then grabbed Aido's arm and dragged him to an empty corner, where there was less chance of being overheard. There, Aido pulled his arm free with a humph and Yuki turned on him, "What do you mean, causing problems?"

"All I know," Aido said airily, "Is that since you've been away, Kaname-sama – when he's at home – has taken to spending a lot more time alone in his room. He's upset. It's not difficult to guess whose fault that is."

Yuki dropped her gaze to the floor, guilt rearing up inside her at his words. But this was Aido, and Yuki did not like the idea of giving such a pompous know-it-all the satisfaction of knowing he'd struck a nerve with her. She pushed her guilt away. "That's ridiculous," she told him. "I hardly got to see Kaname for more than a week at a time while I was living with him. What could he possibly have to be upset about?"

Aido gave her an accusing look, "You really can't think of anything?"

And Yuki's eyes betrayed her because they had already flickered up involuntarily to where Zero stood, about ten metres away, scanning the crowd with a bored look on his face. Aido's face cracked into an evil grin and Yuki knew she'd made a mistake, because Aido may be socially inept – he was obnoxious and had a special talent for putting his foot in his mouth – but he was exceptionally clever. Nothing got past him.

"Is that it, Yuki Kuran? Something to do with you and this–"

"I don't know what you're talking about Aido!" Yuki cut him off. Then realising that there was little chance of him believing her denial, she whispered fiercely, "Okay, yes. I know him. But Zero and Kaname have barely said two words to each other. What possible quarrel could Kaname have with him?"

Aido looked annoyed. "If you believe a word of what you're saying right now, then you really are dim. Let me ask you this: just how long have you been on first name basis with a vampire hunter?"

"How do you know–"

"What his full name is? I've looked into the matter." Yuki thought that Aido was looking a bit too pleased with himself considering that she was about to strangle him.

"You nosey–" Yuki had to stop herself. She took a deep breath. "You know what? It doesn't matter what you think you've found out, because if Kaname ever discovered that you'd been snooping around in my private affairs then I'm sure your punishment would be a lot more unusual and terrifying than mine." And – typical Aido – it looked to Yuki as though this was the first time he'd stopped to consider that possibility. She smiled as an idea occurred to her, "In fact… if you enjoy being a busybody so much then I've got a favour I need you to do for me."

Aido scoffed. "Kaname-sama asked me to escort you around the soirée, Yuki Kuran. He did not appoint me to be your errand boy."

Yuki gave an irritable sigh. "Well, then I'd like you to escort me to somewhere I can talk to Mr Hunter, over there, in private."

Aido blinked down at her for a moment and then suddenly looked about ready to implode. "Are you out of your mind?" he snapped. Then a little more quietly he added, "I mean really, are you an idiot?"

Yuki looked up and, sure enough, Aido's outburst had turned quite a few heads in their direction. Yuki saw Zero looking at them now, eyebrows raised. She rolled her eyes back at him. Aido noticed. He looked back and forth between the two of them quickly and hissed, "Stop that," managing to draw Yuki's attention back to him. Before she could respond, she saw another movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked round and saw Ruka making her way over to them.

"What are you two doing over here?" she asked as soon as she was standing in front of them. Though her voice was hushed, the exasperation in her tone was evident. "Are you planning to spend the rest of the night bickering in the corner like children? What do you think Kaname-sama would say if he came back to this?"

Aido grumbled, "Well I just don't know what else to do. She's being impossible."

Yuki opened her mouth to retort, but Ruka beat her to it, "Hanabusa, would you please – if possible – just grow up?" Yuki couldn't help but smirk, until Ruka turned to her instead, "And please, Yuki-sama, surely you know better than to encourage him."

"You know as well as I do that Aido doesn't need any encouragement to be a nuisance. He does it all by himself."

Ruka grimaced. "You aren't entirely wrong…"

Aido looked furious and was clearly about to complain very loudly, until the two girls shushed him. Then Ruka went on, "You two need to stop this now and get back to the party before any more guests notice how inappropriately you're behaving."

Aido sighed. Yuki nodded. "Yes Ruka," they mumbled, more or less in synch.

As Ruka turned back to the party, possibly to begin damage control, Yuki turned to Aido and smiled at him sweetly, "Do you have a pen and paper?"

Aido gave her a look. "Why would I have those things with me now?" Yuki could tell that he was making a real effort to moderate his tone.

The smile did not leave Yuki's face. She kept her voice hushed so not to draw Ruka back over to them. "If you're not going to help me then I want to write Zero a note. Maybe I could slip it into his pocket."

Thankfully, Aido managed not to burst out angrily this time. He put his head into one of his hands, looking suddenly very weary. "You're just not going to give up until you get us both into trouble… am I right?" He peered at Yuki out of the corner of one eye. She blinked up at him innocently. "I'll set up your meeting," he grumbled. "Just follow me… Why do I know I'm going to regret this?"

Aido led her to a quiet part of the house, far from the soirée and the other guests. He left her there, in one of the rooms, telling her to stay put and he would come back with Zero. And it was not long before she heard the knock at the door, signalling his return. Aido poked his head around first, "Yuki-sama… I've brought him." Then the door opened wider and Aido stepped aside to allow Zero to enter.

She had been worrying before that he might not be able to leave his work. Now all the feelings she had been working to keep under control all evening came rushing to the surface in her smile."Zero… hi… I hope it's okay that I asked you here like this."

Zero nodded. "I can't be away long, but it's fine. Are you alright?"

She could see the glint of worry in his eyes and knew that he'd been thinking about their conversation last night. But she didn't have to pretend this time. She was so full of happiness, just at seeing him again. "I'm fine," she told him, with a smile.

Aido was still waiting at the door, behind Zero, giving him a particularly unsavoury look. Yuki was too happy to care what he thought right now, but she didn't particularly want him listening in on her while she talked to Zero. "Thank you, Aido," she said gratefully. "Would it be okay if you left us for a moment?"

Aido turned his disapproving gaze onto Yuki. For a moment she thought he might refuse, but all he said was, "I'll be standing guard in the hall."

With that, he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. She heard the sound of footsteps heading down the hall and was relieved that, despite his complaints, he seemed willing to give the two of them some privacy.

Yuki turned her gaze back to her beautiful hunter, finally no more than a few paces away from her. She'd been wondering how he would dress for the soirée and she was not disappointed, seeing him. She discovered that Zero wore a suit with more care than he ever wore his school uniform, and she had already been stuck several times throughout the night by how handsome he looked in it. "You're all dressed up," she commented. Then, shyly, she added, "You look so good."

She smiled at how awkwardly he took the compliment, his mumbled thanks. Or maybe it had less to do with her words and more to do with the way that, now that there was no one watching them, she simply couldn't keep her eyes off him. There was silence as his eyes bored into hers and now there was a cool intensity in them that she didn't think she had ever seen before. It made butterflies rise up once more inside her. Then, after a short sigh – a sound like some internal debate had been settled, one way or the other – he closed the distance between them.

Somehow it didn't matter that there had never been any precedent to this moment. She must have known what he wanted anyway, because she was already turning her head up to him, ready for the hands that cradled her face, and for the lips that lowered onto hers.

She'd wanted the kiss so much that it took a moment to register surprise that he'd been the one to initiate it. But her surprise melted away quickly into her happiness. She thought her very bones might be melting away with it. She reached up to hold onto him, her fingers touching the back of his neck, the soft strands of his hair. All the while, his mouth was warm and soft on hers. Though this was the smallest taste of him she could allow herself to take, she didn't care, because it was already sweeter than she'd ever imagined.

After a blissful moment, she felt him pull back, his fingers caressing her cheek as he moved. She opened her eyes to communicate that he shouldn't stop, but the look in his was so tender she found she couldn't speak. It seemed she didn't need to, though. She glimpsed that look of his for no longer than a second before he kissed her again. A kiss somehow more dizzying than the first. His hands dropped now to her waist, pulling her in closer as the kiss deepened. It was everything she had needed all those times that being near to him hadn't been near enough. It was difficult not to get lost in him. She could feel herself wanting to forget where they were, that they would be missed if they stayed away too long. None of that really mattered to her. If it wasn't this boy before her, who she loved more than anything, then right now she simply didn't want it.

He stopped her before she slipped away entirely. The kiss slowed until they were just barely touching; just their noses, and his breath tickling her face. "Zero," she whispered when she could finally bring herself to speak. "Can we stay like this? I don't want to be apart from you anymore."

Now they were barely more than an inch apart and she could just about make out his smile. She moved a little to see it better. She didn't want to miss any of his smiles.

"I'll stay a little longer if you will."

"I don't want to cause you any trouble. I know you're working."

"I'll head back soon. Don't worry."

Yuki looked up at him, full of wonder, as she was stuck again by the knowledge that he'd really kissed her. She'd wanted this for so long. The reality of it was still sinking in. She'd been ready for it, yes, but she hadn't seen it coming. Her lips still tingled with the proof of some wonderful change that had taken place in her absence. She wanted to ask him what had caused it, but she didn't know if it was a conversation they had time for.

She told him, "I'm sure there were things that I was planning to say to you when I came here, but I can't remember a thing right now."

Zero smirked. "I'm sorry for distracting you."

Yuki smiled at the joke. "Don't be," she gently touched the side of his face as she murmured the words.

"Are you… are you really alright?"

She gave Zero a puzzled look. "Of course I am." She had already made her feelings for him clear. He had to know how happy she was right now.

"I mean, after yesterday. That's what I wanted to ask you before… but then I saw you and I just…" He'd kissed her instead – hadn't been able to help himself. Yuki felt another stir of excitement inside her at the thought.

"I'm okay. I'm really sorry I worried you like that. I think… all that stuff I said – it's going to be okay after all. I just let it get to me yesterday… I was missing you too much."

The concern in his gaze hadn't eased, despite her reassurances. "I wish I could have helped."

"You did help." Yuki pulled him into a hug. "But I'll admit, I wished I could have just done this."

He folded his arms around her again as she leaned her head against his chest. The feeling was… like the world was right again. Like she was home. The sound of his heartbeat filled her head. She wanted to fall into it, to let herself get lost again. She didn't want to think about what she'd have to go back to soon. She just let the sound soothe her as she relished in the feeling that, after the long week, she was finally exactly where she wanted to be.

Zero gave her some time, because perhaps he knew what she was thinking about, but eventually he said to her quietly, "I have to go back soon."

Yuki allowed herself to be released from the hug. As much as she hated having to let him go again, she couldn't help but smile up at him. She only had to endure one more day without him and she felt sure that this meeting, however short, would be enough to get her through that day. The gaze he returned to her, that gentle, tender look of his that she knew was reserved for her alone, only made her smile wider.

Zero's fingers touched her face. "You look beautiful," he told her softly.

Yuki blushed. "You can thank Ruka for that. She spent about two hours making me look presentable before we came here."

"That's not what I meant." Yuki gave him a slightly quizzical look and he added, "I really… like it… when you smile like that."

Yuki's blush deepened, but her smile returned all at once. "I um… I feel the same way about you. I like seeing you smile."

Her words sounded so inadequate… she knew that part of it was just shyness, because they were both still new to this, but another huge part of it was that words simply couldn't encompass the way that seeing him happy made her feel. Yuki gave herself a moment to appreciate it – the way he was looking at her… but it only made another feeling stir inside her. She gave in to the desire to kiss him again, reaching up for him on tip-toes, head reeling with joy that she was finally allowed to do so.

The kiss was sweet, but it was cut short by sounds from outside the room. Yuki's first thought was Kaname, that he'd discovered her gone from the soirée and sought her out. The fear of it made her pull quickly away from Zero. But the sound was Aido protesting and, with it, Yuki realised she had jumped very quickly to the wrong conclusion. The presence she sensed was unfamiliar and, besides, Aido would never talk to Kaname in such a way.

"Come back! You can't go in there!"

But the door was already opening, giving Yuki and Zero barely a moment to move apart before an unfamiliar face appeared in the doorway. A silver haired girl, about the same age and height as Yuki, stood before them. The decadence of her black Lolita style dress indicated that she was a guest from the soirée. Yuki couldn't think why she had ended up in this room. And she was too startled to find the words to ask. How obvious was what she had been doing with Zero only a moment earlier? She had no idea how to begin explaining herself. She looked to Zero in case he had any ideas. But she was startled by the look on his face. In the few seconds since this girl had entered the room, he'd turned paler than Yuki had ever seen him - and something about the way his eyes were locked on that girl told her it had little to do with being caught here with Yuki.

The sound of Aido complaining distracted Yuki momentarily from Zero's odd reaction. He began to explain, "I told her not to come this way. But she just ran right past me!"

"I'm sorry," said the girl in a small voice. "I was only curious to see who was in here. I didn't mean to upset anyone."

"Of course you're going to upset people if you just go barging into places uninvited!" Aido griped.

Yuki wondered why she'd ignored Aido in the first place,if only to let herself be chastised now. Before the girl could apologise again, Zero spoke, "Who are you?" His tone chilled Yuki. There was something dark in it that she hadn't heard in a long time. Not since she'd first met him.

"I'm Maria Kurenai," the girl replied shyly. "I'm pleased to meet you." There was something off about her body language. Under normal circumstances Yuki probably wouldn't have noticed it, but the way this situation had come about, and Zero's strange behaviour, had her on edge. She couldn't miss the way Maria pulled the door back towards her, as though cowering behind it from Zero's hostility, yet the look on her face was all wrong: there was not one drop of fear in her pale eyes.

"I didn't mean to cause any trouble," Maria simpered.

"Um… it's okay," Yuki said, finally finding her voice again. "We were just about to head back to the soirée anyway."

"Oh really? Then I'll go ahead of you." Maria perked up, far too suddenly. "Thank you for being kind to me, Yuki-sama! It's so nice to meet a cute pureblood like you. I hope I can talk to you again soon!"

"Um… yeah…" Yuki murmured in utter bewilderment as Maria turned to leave.

"Goodbye," she called softly before turning back to them and adding, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what you were doing here."

With a giggle, she left the room.

"What just happened?" Yuki wondered aloud, pressing her hands to her suddenly burning cheeks. She followed as Zero stepped out to the hallway to watch Maria turn the corner, heading back to the soirée.

"She's gone," murmured Aido. "And I have no idea."

Yuki peered up at Zero. He was still staring at the spot where Maria had just been and he had regained none of the colour to his face. "That girl… do you know her?" he asked Yuki.

"I've never seen her before. Though she must have figured out who I am… Zero, are you okay?"

It took him a moment to answer, "Yeah… I just… got a weird feeling from her."

"Me too, though I've no idea what it was. I wonder why she just left like that." Yuki watched Zero, and felt her concern for him rising. There was definitely something strange about that girl; they'd all noticed it. But it seemed to have affected Zero a lot more than her or Aido. "You don't look so well, Zero."

Finally, Zero looked at her, and he seemed to snap out of whatever strange feeling had taken over him – at least enough to reassure her slightly. "It's nothing… I'm okay."

She peered up into his face and wondered if she was imagining the slightly haunted look in his eyes. "Do you mean that?"

He placed a reassuring hand over her head, giving her hair a gentle pat. "I'll be fine, Yuki. Don't worry so much."

"If you say so…" Truthfully, she wasn't convinced, but they had already been away from the soirée for too long. There wasn't time to discuss it any further.

Zero seemed to be aware of this too. "I have to get back to work." Yuki nodded sadly up at him and for some reason the gesture made him smile just a little. "I'll see you in a couple of days, right?"

"Yeah…" Yuki murmured. And then she couldn't help it; she smiled back at him. "Bye Zero."

She watched him go and tried to let go of the worried feeling she had. There was too much she had to get through still for her to let those thoughts take over. She felt a stab of annoyance that Maria had interrupted them – things had been going so well until that point. Those few stolen moments with Zero had been so utterly perfect. In fact, just thinking about it helped. It made it difficult to keep worrying about anything else. That was how she would get through the rest of the evening, and the following day. She didn't know what Zero's problem with Maria was, but she could ask him when she got back to the Academy. Unless she somehow managed to talk to Maria on her own before the end of the night. She wasn't sure how likely that was to happen though. For now, she just needed to keep hold of her confidence.

"Yuki Kuran… Are you just going to stand there daydreaming while I wait for you?" asked Aido with a hint of annoyance. Yuki had almost forgotten he was still there. She looked to him, expecting to see many levels of judgement in his eyes, after everything he'd witnessed tonight. But she saw no such thing. In fact, he wasn't properly looking at her at all. "Come on," he sighed. "Let's hope Kaname-sama hasn't come back to notice you gone, yet."

"Yeah," Yuki agreed and began mentally preparing herself to face the party again. "Let's go."

A/N: I really hope you'll feel that that was worth the wait, and worth those painful Kuran Manor chapters… and the interruption from Maria… I know I certainly feel like the fluff was necessary after everything that's been going on with Kaname lately.

Thank you all for reading and thanks especially to those who have stopped to show this story some love. I love you all!

(Chapter title from Valium by Lisa Mitchell)