Akari called after him but Kaname refused to turn to her until he was at his bedroom door.
"Why did you let him get away with that?" He asked annoyed, trying to maintain a calm exterior.
"He's not getting away with anything." She told him, gently placing her hand on his arm. Kaname moved back. He didn't understand why she was so harsh on him and not Senri. At that moment, it hit him like a ton of bricks. She was harsher on him because she didn't want her heart broken again, but with Senri she didn't have to worry about that because she wasn't in love with him. Kaname gave her a small smile before pulling her into a hug.
"I'm sorry. I just seem to lose control around you." He admitted as he tucked her head under his chin. He loved doing that, he could just bury his nose into her hair. He loved breathing in her scent.
"It's OK, at least I can see your emotions instead of you hiding them behind calmness." She told him, mumbling a little into his chest. Kaname smiled and pulled her into his room, closing the door behind them.
Akari looked up at him a little bit nervous, she was unsure what he might have planned for her now. She had practically accepted him as her partner. She wasn't sure if he thought that was enough for to think he could take her to bed. Kaname seemed to be able to read her face as it fell slightly.
"I won't do anything you don't want to." He quickly reassured her before leading her to his bed. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. She blushed lightly as he reached around her and gently pulled her hair tie from her braided hair. "I like your hair down and free, I think it suits you better." He told her as she pulled her hair free of the loose braid. He ran his fingers through it, marveled by its softness. His hands slowly loved to her hips, holding her in place as they sat face to face. She blushed again, a deep shade of pink. Kaname smiled and quickly captured her lips.
She was a little startled but soon kissed back. Every time she had do something with Kaname, she had to think about Rido. But she had to make sure she didn't say his name out loud instead of Kaname's. She could never relax and Kaname had also seemed to noticed. "Akari, is this making you uncomfortable?" He asked her as they pulled away for air. She shook her head.
"No, I'm not sure what it is." She told him, knowing full well it was because he wasn't Rido. It had been the reason why many of her relationships had failed in the last forty years or so. No one could take Rido's place. She sighed and rested her head on Kaname's shoulder. His arms wrapped around her tightly. He knew she had fallen for Rido, she was also the closest thing to a friend Rido had. He could see her struggle; he had figured that she never knew how her emotions played readily on her face. A part of him knew she would always love Rido. He would just have to make her see he was the better choice in case Rido returned.
"It's Rido, isn't?" Kaname asked, he felt her tense, that was the only answer he needed. She looked up to him and wondered if he knew about Senri. "I know you have feelings for him and I understand that you have had them for quite a while. I also know you have started to have feelings for me. Are these feelings because as Kuran's we have similarities?" He wanted to know exactly what attracted her to him, that way he could use it to make her his. He knew that his uncontrolled outbursts of emotion towards her had helped bring her closer to him, behaviour he would link to Rido. She refused to look at him, again this was all the answers he needed. "Akari, it's OK, I understand. Sometimes we can't help who we love. But we also need to choose who is better for us and care for them." He then reasoned with her and she nodded. She knew what game Kaname was playing, he was trying to reason with her, make her think that he was the right choice. The correct Kuran. But she would never fall for a snake. Rido may be curl and mean, he may not be kind or peaceful but he was still a good person. At least to other purebloods and maybe a few nobles. He was good to her anyway. Kaname on the other hand, he hid his intentions in the shadows and played every one like they were a piece on a chess board. She felt like a marionette around him and she hated it.
"Kaname, I know you are right choice. My heart however is making it difficult." She told him after taking a deep breath.
"Then let me show your mind, body and soul how much of a good choice I am. And then your heart won't get in our way." He told her with a smirk, something she never thought she would see him do. It shocked her almost.
Suddenly, she was on her back with Kaname on top of her. She looked up at him shocked by his actions. He threw his jacket across the room, not caring where it landed. His tie and waistcoat soon followed. She watched him make quick work of his clothes. He slowly unbuttoned her jacket, waiting for her to stop him.
He could see her nerves; he could see the internal fight she was having. She was fighting with the feeling of betraying Rido and the need to feel close to someone. She let him take off her jacket before kisses her with all the passion he could. He wanted have to feel everything he had for her. He wanted to leave her begging for his touch. If he could manage that, he could keep her under his thumb.
"Please, not now." She whispered.
"Akari, relax." Kaname tried to reassure her. "You need to know how much I love you." He added, pulling her closer to him. She shook her head and pushed him away again.
"It's too soon, we haven't even agreed upon our relationship at this time." She told him before getting off of his bed.
"You don't have to leave yet." Kaname told her as he looked her up and down.
"We should still keep up appearances." She told him as she continued to get dressed. Kaname sighed and walked up behind her, her back against his chest.
"Don't worry about appearances." He whispered. Akari huffed annoyed and turned around to face him.
"Let me go." She added, stepping away from him. Kaname frowned. He hadn't expected her to be like this after he had attempted to show her his need for her.
"What's wrong? What is making you like this?" He asked her concerned.
"I'm ashamed of myself." She finally admitted. He looked at her confused. She was ashamed that she had given into him so easily. She just wanted to run to Rido and apologise, beg for forgiveness. She knew he gave her permission but she still wanted to. "We're not technically together. I can't believe I gave into myself." She covered her face with her hands. Kaname pulled her into a tight hug, again, her back to his front.
"Akari, as far as I'm concerned, we agreed to see how things would go. From that agreement, you could count that as the start of our relationship." He told her, trying to make her feel better. He had never expected her to care so much about relationships and sex. Then again, he was finding out that despite her aloof and somewhat childish ways, she was very old fashioned with her views on status and relationships. This had surprised him as she was Rido's friend with the way he acted. He had noticed that she could also be a cold towards people, even cruel maybe.
Akari sighed and nodded.
"I guess so. But for now, I'd rather keep our appearances. I don't want rumours running wild before we know what we have." She then reasoned while she finished getting dressed. Kaname ran his fingers through his hair before agreeing and letting her go. It bothered him to no end at how she could flip on a dime about things. It was like she was always at war with herself and her actions were a result of which battle had been won by whatever side. For now, he would let her think things through, allow her to win the war. But he wouldn't wait forever.
Akari practically ran back to her room, she wanted to scrub herself until her skin was raw and then scrub it even more. She stepped into her room and was greeted by the sight of Senri lounging on her bed. She smiled when she noticed he had been kind enough to take his shoes off beforehand. But her smile quickly vanished when he opened his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but now words came out. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, that she never meant for it to happen.
Senri sat up silently before closing the door and pulling her into a hug. He didn't need her to speak to see what she wanted to say. Turmoil was etched into her features.
"It's OK." He quickly reassured her, holding her tight. "I told you, you could if wanted and needed to." He continued, it hurt him deeply, more than with the men she had had in her life before. This time it was Kaname taking her rather than some random aristocrat. He hid his pain from her, it was the last thing she needed. "Besides, you've been celibate for nearly twenty years." She smacked him in the side, not enough to hurt him but enough to warn him about his cheeky behaviour. He could tell she was smiling. "At least we now know he thinks you're all his." He told her as they pulled apart. She looked at him curiously, how could they know that already?
"But I didn't go all the way, just made out and flashed my bra..." She started. "I'm going to take a shower." She suddenly spoke up before he could answer her. Senri grabbed her arm before she could take off to the bathroom.
"Akari, none of what you do with Kaname will affect our relationship." He told her, looking into her eyes. He knew this was eating at her. "It has become a necessary evil. I hate it as much as you do. Just only do it if you're willing to, don't let him take advantage of you." He tried to reassure her again. "If you don't want to do this anymore then that's fine, we can leave together and we'll come up with another way to get rid of him." He didn't want her to think or feel that she couldn't walk away from the plan he had formed. He wanted her to be happy, not destroying herself from the inside to get him what he wanted. He may use over people but she wasn't just someone he could walk all over. He wanted them to be equal at the same time he wanted to treat her like a queen. She was the love of his life and he would damn well sure to keep it that way.
"I know, I just want to scrub him off my skin." She told him, looking away.
"Then allow me to help." He said with a smirk, the cheeky gesture caused her head to fly up to look at him.
"Rido!" She hissed at him quietly, he always had to joke around like that.
"I'm only joking and you know that." He reassured her with a smile. She smiled back before slipping into her ensuite.
Senri sighed to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. He sat on her bed and thought through every little thing. He didn't like this one bit, he wanted to call it off but he wouldn't have the information he needed to defeat Kaname. The stress of this was going to kill him before he could kill Kaname at this rate. He was asking so much of her; he could see the strain of it all. He wanted to follow her into the ensuite and show how much he appreciated her and everything she was doing for him, for them.
He lay down and closed his eyes. He had to come up with a plan to allow Akari to escape when he had the information to kill Kaname. He wasn't sure what he would do yet, but before he could think much more, he fell asleep.
Akari came out of the ensuite and smiled as she saw Senri snoring softly. She quickly changed into an emerald green silk nightgown before laying down next to him. Right now, she didn't care if she got caught with him. She just wanted someone she truly loved next her, by her side.