As ya'll can tell I hate Kaname and barely gave him any lines. I realize that in those lines, I made him very abusive… oh wait HE IS. Am I really that off-character?

Chapter 5 – Losing Control

Yuki and Zero start living together and preparing for the baby. Zero swears to raise the child whether it's his or Kaname's. Zero's apartment is quite small for two people, but since they were a couple and shared a bed, it wasn't that bad, but they intended on upsizing for the baby. At first, Yuki is very sad and feels immense guilt about the affair, but eventually, she adjusts to the circumstances. She figures it's better off this way, being with a man she truly loves and would never harm her. Zero notices that she's starting to act like herself again when she purchases nicer furniture and more room décor for the apartment. Yuki was used to a more lavish lifestyle, so this was her way of making the place her own. Things start lighting up, and the two are irresistibly in love again. Yuki is two months into her pregnancy now and isn't showing yet, so she still attends Cross Academy like usual, despite the glooming rumors floating around about her. Zero works like usual as well, but now he's excited and overjoyed to come home to Yuki. He loves to make her food and listen to her belly to hear the baby's heartbeat. Yuki often has heightened bloodlust as well due to her pregnancy, and he's happy to scarf down blood tablets so that she can feed off more of his blood. The two hold onto hope that things are going to work out and that everything will be okay. Zero even goes ahead and buys a car so that when Yuki gets deeper into her pregnancy, he can drive her here and there, since they don't have a chauffeur like she would at the Kuran Manor. Zero feels inadequate that he cannot provide housemaids and such to Yuki, but she reassures him that he's all she needs. "All this baby needs is me and you," she presses her forehead against his and they fall asleep in each other's arms.

Things were going too well for these two, their bubble had to burst. Word spreads that Kaname wishes to throw his heart into the furnace. Yuki thinks it's because of their separation and she tries to stop him, but she's too late. She falls into a depression, convincing herself that it's her fault that Kaname is gone. She's no longer able to return Zero's feelings. She doesn't allow herself that happiness. She's ridden by guilt and forces herself to feel the pain. She often thinks about ending her life to bring Kaname back as a human. The only thing that keeps her going is her pregnancy. When the child is born, it's a pureblood, therefore Kaname's child. She names her baby girl Ai. For a decade, she just focuses on Ai and barely lets Zero in. Zero and Yuki still feed off each other for blood and share some intimate moments here and there, but it's not the same as before. Yuki is a lot more reserved and continues to punish herself for a long time. Zero feels frustrated and neglected, but he tries to understand Yuki and gives her space to heal. He loves her and only wants the best for her, even at the expense of his mental health. But it sure is hard. He feels sad that their relationship can't progress. He's happy to raise Ai as his own and to have Yuki in his life, but sometimes he feels very lonely. All he wants is to love Yuki and see her smile from the heart, but she spends most of her days in the basement at Cross Academy, mourning the loss of her brother. It's as if she trapped herself there to torture herself. It pained Zero to see her like that. He made sure to reassure her whenever he had the chance – that he'd always be there for her when she was ready. He loved her truly. The word "love" couldn't even describe what he felt. He would harbour all her pain on his shoulders if he could. He patiently waited as the days, weeks, months, and years went by.

One day, Zero has a day off work, and he goes to the bar alone. He doesn't want to admit it, but he hopes to run into Elle. Like clockwork, she's there. He makes eye contact with her as he enters the bar. She's with a group of friends in the corner booth. She smiles at him and bats her eyelashes. He sits down alone at the bar and gets a drink. Once he finishes, he sees her in the corner of his eye. She gets up from her table. He looks over and they make eye contact again. There's a look in her eyes. The only way to describe it is lust, desire, and trouble. She heads to the bathrooms. Zero's hand turns into a fist, and he closes his eyes, cursing at himself. Moments later, he gets up and heads for the bathrooms as well. The bathrooms are unisex, therefore individual rooms. He reaches for the doorknob to the room Elle entered, and the door is unlocked. He opens it and slips inside, ensuring he doesn't open the door too wide for people to potentially look in. Once inside, he sees her standing there in her typical attire – tight, skimpy clothes with a fur coat. He locks the door behind him. They're now looking directly into each other's eyes, Zero's eyes full of lust with a hint of anger, as if he hates himself for what he wants to do next. Then their lips lock. Zero lifts Elle up to bring her onto the sink counter. She throws off her coat onto the ground. Zero stops kissing her and takes a moment to grab her coat off the ground and hang it on the hooks behind the door. "What are you doing?" she laughs.

"It looks very expensive. You shouldn't just throw it on the dirty ground," he comments.

She's laughing at the top of her lungs now, "Zero you're nothing like the guys I've been with."

He doesn't say anything back. He just kisses her, and that turns into taking off her clothes, and that turns into an irreversible deed which leaves regret lingering on his entire body.

The next time Zero and Elle meet is months later at Kaito's birthday. Kaito decides that he wants it at the strip club, which Elle conveniently owns. They are accompanied by some other younger friends from work. Zero has no interest in coming to strip clubs. He found the idea of them stupid. But he wanted to celebrate with his best friend, and this was what Kaito wanted. They are seated near the stage and served drinks immediately. Zero sighs to himself… why am I here? Before coming, he had to reassure Yuki that he was strictly going for Kaito and would not be receiving a lap dance of any sort. He would not even look at the girls for long. He would much rather pay attention to his drink and the birthday boy. At least he's having fun Zero thought as he looked over at Kaito. Zero was having the opposite of fun. At the door, they confiscated all their weapons at the security pat down. "You hunters won't be needing these anyways! Our job is to protect the club, don't worry!" says the security clerk.

This annoyed Zero to the max, but he complied for the sake of making it in.

"The owner is pretty hot," says a fellow at their table.

"Oh, you didn't know? Zero's in bed with her," Kaito says, clearly drunk out of his mind.

"Must you tell everyone?" Zero punches him at the arm.

Zero is now having the worst time possible and contemplates leaving. Then he sees Elle behind the bar. She's checking on her staff. She notices the gentlemen, specifically Zero, and makes her way over.

Upon approaching the table, she puts her arms around Zero from behind his seat. She squeezes her breasts into his back and lowers her head down to his. She speaks into his ear, "Am I crazy, or have you come to see me?"

"It's Kaito's birthday. That's the only reason I'm here," Zero says bluntly and points to his friend.

She sees this and replies, "You ought to be nicer to me Zero. I'm nothing but sweet to you." She extends her arms down his torso, covering him further in her fur coat, and he feels a cold barrel near his chest. "I know you don't like to go anywhere without your weapon."

He says nothing but takes the gun and hides it. The sexual tension is oozing everywhere at this point and everyone at the table feels it. Can they get a room? is the thought going through everyone's mind.

"Well any friends of Zero's are friends of mine. Let me get another round for the table, on me! Cuz I'm the owner hehe," she skips towards the bar and the entire table cheers her on.

When Elle gets back, she hands everyone a drink and has a special one for Zero. "A special one for you," she hands it to Zero and kisses his neck.

"What is it?" he asks.

She smiles, says nothing and walks away. Zero takes a sip and is instantly disgusted. It tasted oddly sweet with a hint of salt. He stays for a bit longer and tries to enjoy some of the night, but then he feels a little odd. A bit loopy. He turns to Kaito, "I think my drink is roofed. Elle drugged me."

Kaito just laughs and tells him to be a man. "I'm going to go talk to her," Zero says.

"Okay, whatever" Kaito replies, brushing him off.

Zero gets up and he clearly feels… wavy. But he can still walk. He makes his way over to the bar, and Elle is not there. He follows her scent to her office, located near the secret champagne rooms. There is a security guard there closing off the hallway. "You can't pass here sir, unless you have a reservation," he asserts.

Elle pokes her head out of her office, "He can come see me."

Zero stares down the security guard as he passes to her office. He sits down and automatically starts with the accusations, "You drugged my drink. I feel unbalanced or something."

She laughs, a genuine one, and says, "Oh Zero! You're six foot something, that amount should do nothing to you."

"So, I was right!" He's enraged.

Elle changes the topic and asks, "how are things with Yuki?"

She leans over her desk at him, exposing her breasts (totally on purpose). "They're okay… she lets me in sometimes. Like when Ai started primary school, she felt lonely and-" Zero pauses and changes his tone, "hold on! this is none of your business." All the liquor and whatever Elle put in his drink had him rambling.

"Expect it is… what's got your heart in a knot?" She places a finger under his chin and pulls his lips up to hers. "You two haven't defined your relationship in any way. What's to stop us from having fun?"

Zero glares at Elle but says nothing. "Come with me," she grabs his hand.

Zero is hesitant and pulls back. "Come on. You owe me for getting you your gun," Elle persuades.

And next thing he knows, his feet comply and he's following her, hand-in-hand, to a champagne room at the end of the hall. Once they enter, he looks around at his new surroundings. There's a chandelier, a huge leather sofa, some nice glass side tables, soundproof walls and a killer sound system. He's never been anywhere like this. Elle sits him down on the sofa. "This is one of my most premier champagne rooms. Wealthy aristocrats come in through the back all the time to spend a whole lotta money. Usually, the girls strip here, and the guys throw hundreds to get them to take off each article of clothing," she says while giving Zero a tour of the room.

She locks in Zero's gaze, and he sees in her eyes that she is completely and utterly up to no good. "I want to strip for you Zero Kiryu. I haven't stripped for anyone in decades. But there's something about you. I want to," she says, her voice erotic.

Zero replies logically, "Well I only have a couple $50s and $20s on me," he reaches for his wallet and starts counting the bills. "I don't know how far I can get with this experience."

Elle almost falls to the floor laughing, "No silly, it's for you. Put your money away."

Zero argues, "But it wouldn't be right if I don't follow the customs of the strip club." He refers back to the stories she just told him.

"Sit down and relax," she directs him, hands sliding down his shoulders.

Elle turns on some music and starts her act. Her experience shines through. Like riding a bike, she's flawless with her dance as if she never stopped stripping. With every dance move, she swiftly removed another layer of clothing. It looked effortless but intentional with the beat of the music. Zero was mesmerized, and although he didn't ask for a show, he couldn't look away. He knew nothing about stripping, but this was no doubt hard work. She certainly had talent and he commended the discipline and art of this profession. To honor that, he watched the whole thing. Then, the song ended, and she was fully naked in front of him. He didn't realize it, but his erection had risen and was peeking through his pants. There was no hiding it. This sight pleased Elle. She got onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. His body responded and he put his hands on her hips, rocking her back and forth so she could feel his hard length. This made her moan out loud. It was over. Next thing his clothes were off, and she was kissing him all over. She rode him on the couch, gripping onto the seat behind him. They migrated to the ground where Zero lifted Elle's legs to rest on his shoulders and he berated that p… Elle's moans and almost screams fill the room. Thank goodness it's soundproof. He then lifts her up and slams her against the wall. Thrusting in and out while their tongues danced with each other. Finally, they moved back onto the couch, this time Elle's knees were on the seat, and she was facing the wall. Zero went in from behind, holding her waist tight and his other hand on her breasts. He moves his hand up to cup her chin while he kisses her neck. She maneuvers her face around to gain access to his thumb in her mouth. She sucks on it lightly. This must be some fetish for Elle because it sends her over the edge, and she orgasms. The walls of her vagina tighten up and this in turn causes Zero to climax. Both are panting and moaning, unable to catch their breath. After, they just lay there on the carpet passing a bottle of scotch back and forth.

"The bar is under renovations. I want to show you the new look and idea for it. Meet me there next Thursday at sundown," Elle requests. Zero nods. Zero feels that it's nice to be wanted and pursued for once.

Once they're back out at the main area of the club again, Zero reunites with Kaito and the crew. "At least brush your hair man. We all know what you did," Kaito jokes.