This one was supposed to be a Christmas special…but it didn't make it out till now (^_^;) In any case, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and make the year ahead be a fruitful and exciting one!
Chapter rating: M
Note: Rating applies for this chapter only, due to sexual references.
It was really cold, now that it's winter. But tonight was extra special, for it was Christmas Eve.
Wrapped up tight in her sweater and a pair of comfortable long pants, Yui settled down at the dining table. Seated right next to her were Ayato and Shu, and opposite her was Laito. Everyone else was there too, all with the exception of Subaru.
"Unbelievable, where has Subaru gone now? He knows it's a family occasion tonight," said Reiji while pushing up his glasses, visibly annoyed.
"Who knows," Shu said, having no interest in the topic.
"He's probably gone back again. Recently he's been like that, no?" Laito beamed in Yui's direction, although Yui had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
"Gone back?" she piped up.
"Back to the demon world of course. Subaru disappears off sometimes as he pleases. There's a little place his mother used to stay at during the holidays when she was rehabilitating. He's probably there again, I reckon~."
The conversation was interrupted when Reiji cleared his throat and demanded that everyone to begin dinner. A bountiful feast laid in front of them; Fried chicken and Christmas ham, Eggnog and Christmas cake. It was spectacular, and perfect for the festive season. As Yui watched the triplets bicker over pie (which was rather hilarious, considering that they were vampires after all), her mind couldn't help but drift to where Subaru might be.
She considered the things that she knew about him and all of them, and then realised that despite living with them for several months now, under the same roof every single day, the things she did know about them were embarrassingly few. She had no idea about the place they came from, the sort of life they've led in the past and what they were even doing here, in the human world. She only had a general idea and probably a ton of misconceptions but she was aching to know more now. She wondered if Subaru was doing all right back home in the demon world.
After dinner was done, Yui helped to clean up. By the time she was done, she realised everyone has already gone back to their own devices, so she guessed she was free too. With a flask in one hand and a mug in the other, she made her way to the living room, where she settled down comfortably in front of the fireplace. To be able to watch the fire crackle in front of her felt relaxing.
"Yo!" a voice came from beside her.
"Ayato!"
She was surprised, although not startled. These days, she'd gotten so used to him that little things like such no longer get to her. At most she would be taken aback, but no longer fearful.
"What's this inside?" he asks, watching Yui unscrew the cap to the flask.
"Hot chocolate," she replies, "Do you want to try a sip? Be careful, it's hot."
"I'm a vampire. Just worry about yourself, Chichinashi."
Yui watched with large eyes as Ayato took a drink, and just when she thought he was truly unaffected by how hot it was, he spluttered, his eyebrows furrowing. He probably wasn't as invincible as he thought he was.
"Dammit!" He cursed. Yui couldn't help but giggle.
"Was it good though?" she asked.
"It was hot! And way too sweet," Ayato complained while wearing a look of disgust. Instantly, Yui looked downcast. It didn't slip by him and he thought quickly.
"...I guess your blood is still better than any hot chocolate, eh."
Yui heard this and a tint of red instantly stained her cheeks. To encourage it, Ayato then bent forward to kiss her and he didn't forget to leave out the tongue. If he wasn't full, he might have taken some blood from her too, but the moment right now was satisfying enough for him.
"Say, let's go outside," Ayato spoke as he pulled away first.
Yui, who was still reveling a bit in the kiss, wondered, "It's going to be cold. What do you want to do outside?"
"You'll see when we get there," Ayato grinned.
Minutes later, Yui was being dragged outside. Even though she made sure to go grab an extra down jacket, with the wind picking up, it feels even colder than usual. But of course, just as expected, such a temperature meant nothing to Ayato. He was cold-blooded and his species could be said to even thrive in chilly weather. Already, Yui was regretting her decision to tag along but could say nothing.
Silently, she tailed behind him, watching him swing two bulky-looking bags in his hand as he went ahead. It didn't take long for Yui to realise that they were going to the nearby lake. Ayato had wanted to ice skate.
"Ayato, but I can't skate…" Yui looked worried, even after she'd put on the pair of skates as Ayato had commanded her to.
"Are you serious, its just ice. You can't be scared of a little frozen lake."
"But I really can't skate. I've never ice-skated in my life before."
Ayato followed Yui's gaze to the lake and broke out in a chuckle. "C'mon, it's ain't that hard." He then grabbed Yui by the hand and pulled her towards it, causing the girl to let out a short scream.
Try hard as she might, and it being her first time on the ice as well, Yui was beyond frightened. She was having so much trouble keeping her balance already, talk about skating-
"I really can't, Ayato. I think I'm going to fall," she whimpered.
"Relax, Chichinashi," he replied, "I'm not gonna let it happen."
Although Yui had some doubt at first, surprisingly, Ayato kept to his word. He never let go of her hand and steadied her whenever she seemed about to fall. Sometimes he'd pull her along so fast that it scared her, but it was just for the adrenaline; Afterwards, he would slow down and they'll laugh, but not once did she fall down or did he let go.
"This might actually be fun!" Yui exclaimed after a while.
"You getting the hang of it?"
"I…I think so."
"Right, then I'm gonna let go now."
Yui realised that she can't possibly have Ayato holding onto her hand and keeping her from falling forever, so she nodded. He released her, and almost immediately, skated off to have some fun while Yui, now on her own, tried to balance herself. It was tougher than she'd imagined, even with a crash course. She was barely on her own when she felt herself about to fall.
"Ah!" Yui screamed. But she didn't land hard on the ice at all. A pair of hands had encircled themselves around her body, holding her up steadily. Looking up, she found herself in Ayato's embrace.
"Tsk. What are you gonna do without me?" he grinned his usual boyish grin at her, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Snapping out of it, Yui said, "I think I'm getting a little tired. Would it be okay if I waited for you at the side?"
"Suit yourself, but I'm not done yet," Ayato declared. He saw Yui to the snow bank, before dashing off on his own. It suddenly dawned on Yui that it must seem extremely peculiar, to know that a vampire would enjoy ice-skating and sports, but it's Ayato. She's finding out more things about him to appreciate each and every day.
Just when Yui was having fun, looking at Ayato go and changing out of her skates, she heard some shuffling sounds come from behind her. They appear to be coming from amongst the trees or bushes nearby. None of it stuck her as out of the ordinary, for animals such as deers or birds do lurk around the area, until she stood up and saw footprints in the snow. Human footprints. And they still looked fresh, as if someone had just been there.
She heard the slight shuffling again from a distance. "Hello?" she called out softly, but there was no answer. Hugging herself, Yui inched closer toward the thick woods. She didn't know who or what is it, but she was about to find out-
At the same exact moment she made up her mind, she felt something cold slide down her back. Yui lets out a scream, swirling around instantly.
"Hah! Look at you!" All she met with was Ayato's face, who was practically bowling over with laughter. With snow trickling down her bare back, Yui wriggled about uncomfortably, annoyed. It was really cold!
"Wha- How could you, Ayato!" she scolded.
"Couldn't pass that up," he laughed some more, ignoring how miffed Yui looked.
"That's mean! It's cold!" Although the bit of snow had melted against the warmth of her skin, it now felt wet and cold and every bit uncomfortable.
"Well, yours truly shall be kind then and help you warm you up."
Ayato snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace, snickering. He had put snow down her back, only to later proclaim his faux kindness for her. Sometimes, she truly didn't know what to do with him, but she decided she'd just worry about that later. Right now, there were more troubling things at hand.
"Ayato, I think I heard someone. I think someone was just here."
Hearing the tone of her voice, Ayato stopped short too, looking in the same direction into the woods. "What, are you sure? I don't see anyone."
"I know…but I really have a feeling that someone was here. Look!" She pointed at the footprints on the floor, but to her dismay, she found that the footprints she had been following were all messed up during her earlier fray with Ayato. Looking up, the trail that'd gone further into the snowy woods have also disappeared.
It was most puzzling. Could it be that she was just over-reacting?
"Geez, you're getting paranoid these days. There's nothing. Anyway, I'm done so let's go," Ayato said, already turning heel to head back to the mansion.
"You coming?" He called out when he saw that Yui wasn't following.
Yui hurried up ahead. Maybe it's just the winter night. Maybe she overexerted herself while skating. It seems that the cold must've really gotten under her skin.
Back at the mansion, the first thing Yui did was to enjoy a hot bath. The feeling of just being able to relax and have warm water rinse through her skin felt so satisfying that she almost didn't wish to get out, if not for the fact that she could catch a cold if she dared stay any longer. As she changed into her usual pastel pink nightgown and peignoir, her eyes caught sight of the clock nearby in her room, and she saw that it was already past midnight. It's now Christmas day.
In the past, she had always spent Christmas with her father. They'll be busy with church activities of course, with a lot of people to meet and things to prepare, but she always felt blissful, never once thinking it was a chore. It was tough to think that those days were now in the past. Looking out through the window, her fingers glazing along the cool glass, an immense wave of sudden loneliness and unfamiliarity hit her.
"I miss you, daddy," she whispered quietly. She almost wished her father would reappear before her. But of course, that were impossible.
It made her jump, when a sudden voice came from directly behind her. "Yui. You aren't crying, are you?" the voice asked.
She instantly recognised it to be Ayato's. She didn't even know she had been crying. Yui quickly wiped her face and spun around, keeping her eyes to the ground and forcing herself to look normal.
"Ayato! Why didn't you knock?"
"Since when do I need to knock?" he said rudely. All he wanted was to grab a quick drink and yet he finds Yui here, like this, which puzzled him. He reached out and used his hands to wipe her tears away.
"Hey, why were you crying?" he asked, his voice firm, but softer than he'd intended.
"I…I'm not-," Yui thought about denying it, just push it all aside, but when she saw Ayato's concerned expression, illuminated by the dim table lamp from a side, she cast it all away.
"I just really miss my father," she said quietly.
Ayato looked as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he asked why.
"Why…?" she was puzzled.
"Why do you even miss someone like that? He gave you away. He didn't want you anymore."
"Because-," said Yui adamantly, "He's my father. Even if he isn't my real father, he's the person who raised me. This…it's my first Christmas without him." She was shocked to think she even had to explain.
A look that was part-frustration part-anger shrouded Ayato's face.
"What, Christmas in this place that terrible for you, huh?" he spat. For some reason, whether she meant for it or not, he felt as though she had been comparing the life that she once knew and the one she's got right now. But of course, she was a prisoner here. No more being in the home she knew, no more Christmas carols and no more family. They, no, he had robbed her of whatever happiness she knew. This situation would've been different months ago; He would have laughed, antangonised, drowned in the sheer delight of her misfortune. But now, he didn't feel up to it at all. For the first time in his life, Ayato was fighting with feelings and thoughts he never knew he'd have.
So it surprised him when Yui took a step closer to him. She was looking right at him, her eyes empathetic and tender.
"You know that's not true," she insisted.
"But you'll prefer to spend Christmas with your father, isn't it?"
"I do miss him and miss spending Christmas with him. I want to see him again, of course. But-," she looked down shyly, as she slipped her hands quietly into Ayato's, "I was happy to be here. Eating dinner with everyone, spending time with you…I don't dislike it. I really enjoyed today, Ayato, being with you."
Her heart was pounding and she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. But she couldn't take it any longer. Trying to hold these feelings back, the ones that have been bent towards that one person for a while now, felt suffocating. She had to tell him how she felt.
"Ayato," Yui said as she looked up at him again, "I…I think I'm in love with you."
His eyes widened. Even if he had taken everything away from her, including her hopes and dreams, she still smiled for him, a cruel, sadistic vampire. He didn't understand, not really. The only thing he knew was that he had been afraid to lose her, which he nearly did last time, and these feelings, they never went away.
All these thoughts and feelings swirling inside were driving him insane, so when it became too much to bear, Ayato tossed them aside. There was only one thing he wanted to do at this moment, and that was to kiss the hell out the girl before him.
"S-shut up," he said, before pulling her in and crushing his lips against hers, forming a bruising kiss. He didn't care if he was being too rough or that he scared her. He kissed her fast and he kissed her hard as he backed them up towards the bed, stumbling, until they fell over, with him on top.
Yui could feel her heart pounding against her chest as Ayato attacked the pale skin on her neck, sucking hard to make sure to leave hickeys that he was confident wouldn't disappear for a while. He then proceeded to push the peignoir off Yui's shoulders, along with the straps of nightgown. When he lowered his mouth to kiss at the area right above her breasts, he could feel a shiver run down Yui's body.
"Just this-," he said breathily, "Just this isn't enough."
Yui could only look at him through glazed eyes, as Ayato tugged her nightgown lower, until her chest was exposed to him. He worked his hands expertly, and when he bit down on the ball of her breast, she couldn't help but let out a pleasured cry. He drank from her in harsh gulps, feeling the way she was running her hands in his hair while he, in turn worked his hands all over her body. With the taste of her blood still lingering in his mouth, he reached up to kiss her again.
Only when she pulled away for air did he get to see the lustful expression on her face. It was then when he knew he had to have her.
At first, Yui had been apprehensive but the way he touched her, kissed her, made her feel things that she had never felt before, creating a want that she never knew existed. She could still feel her heart race when he aligned himself before her; everything was new to her, these feelings and sensations, but it was all perfect.
He was perfect.
Her eyes fluttered close as Ayato lowered himself onto her, swallowing her screams with his mouth as he bent forward to press their hips together. She was so warm, so tender on the inside that it was enough to drive him mad, but most of all, it was the way she looked at him, like she had nothing but complete faith in him. Such a thing was new to him and at that moment, he genuinely thought she looked beautiful, more beautiful that anything else he had ever laid his hands on.
"You're mine, Yui," she heard him say, "Every part of you, is mine."
She remembered how she'd silently acknowledged that her person would belong to no one else but him. She remembered letting out pleasured cries as she clung onto him and heard the pants that resounded into her ear, like a melody playing itself over and over again. She also remembered seeing a smile on his handsome face as their fingers intertwined, and for the thousandth time that night, how he'd leaned in to kiss her passionately.
She screamed his name, and him, hers. Soon, they both reached a euphoric high together, with no worries of what makes one human and the other, vampire. As he collapsed against her, Yui wrapped her arms around him, stroking his hair quietly.
Exhaustion would soon overtake them, they knew, but before he is to completely drift off, Ayato shifted himself to press a small kiss onto her forehead.
"Merry Christmas, Yui" he said softly, before closing his eyes.
Yui smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Ayato," she said, before falling asleep herself, in happiness and warm beneath the covers.
