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Bloody Nurse

Chapter 16

Yuuki's heart pounded relentlessly against her ribcage. She clutched at her chest, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs, as if she'd run a marathon she was ill prepared for. Her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing straight ahead of her, yet seeing so much she did not want to see at all.

A dream. That's all it was, a dream. All that blood…

Her heart rate began slowing down a fraction. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed thickly, her throat dry and sore. She took deep breaths through her nose, trying to calm down, still feeling shaky and weak.

Yuuki loosened the grip she had on her chest and for the fist time noticed the cool material sliding between her fingers. She looked down at herself.

A cream coloured silk shirt covered her torso and arms, dwarfing her small frame. Her eyes travelled further and perceived the black silky sheets twisted around her legs.

Not hers. Not her bed. Not her shirt.

She tried swallowing past the pain again and closed her eyes.

Think. What do you remember?

Rain. Mud. Cold. Bare feet. Wet hair. Eyes. Red eyes. Hungry eyes…

"Yuuki?"

She gasped and swivelled her head to the left.

Kaname stood in the doorway to what she now recognized as his bedroom. He wore dark slacks with a matching shirt, open at the neck, and his feet were, she noted, still bare. She looked up at his pale face, where a surprised and hopeful expression settled.

She licked her dry lips.

"Kaname…" She winced at the sound of her voice and the scratchy feel of her throat.

He was upon her in a second. Kneeling on the bed beside her, he pulled her against his chest, one hand against her back, the other at the back of her neck, burying his nose in her hair.

Yuuki felt awkward leaning against him, her legs still tangled up in the sheets. Not fully understanding the situation, she held still.

After a moment, she tried her vocal chords again. "What…"

"Shhh," immediately soothed Kaname. He pulled away from her, trailing his fingers from behind her neck along her jaw and down the column of her throat as if to say he understood. He then leaned across the bed towards his nightstand, picked up a porcelain mug, and brought it back to where she was sitting.

"Drink this," he said, pushing it into her hands.

Yuuki took a tentative sip. It was lukewarm chamomile tea and tasted as though someone went a little heavy handed when adding honey. She drank half of it, and lowering it from her lips, looked down at the bright blue mug that had the words "Get Well Soon and Make Us Swoon" written in white cursive on it. A smile pulled on her lips.

"The Chairman sent it," Kaname said softly.

Yuuki took another sip and tried clearing her throat. "Thought so. Not really your style," she rasped, peering up at his face.

He was as handsome as ever, albeit perhaps a little tired. He was gazing down at her, his wine coloured eyes searching her face as if he was looking for a confirmation of something. It unnerved her, the way he was so completely focused on her.

She drank the rest of the tea and handed the cheerful mug back to him.

"Kaname-sama," she started again, her throat already feeling infinitely better. "What…" She left her words hanging between them.

Kaname leaned away to deposit the mug back on the nightstand. When he came back, he once again pulled her to his chest, and clutching her to him, slowly lied down on the bed.

Yuuki's face was buried against his shirt, her cheeks warming slightly, but his arms around her offered no room for pulling back.

He sighed into her hair. "You got sick, Yuuki," he murmured. "You had a fever, you weren't waking up."

Yuuki's brows furrowed. She didn't get sick very often, especially not so drastically.

"I felt helpless," he admitted. "I've seen you with a cold when you were a child, but…" He signed again. "And then that doctor came," he all but sneered into her hair.

Yuuki blinked.

"I didn't like it. I hated it. It tore at me that I couldn't help you. I almost considered-" He broke off suddenly. He ran his fingers through the ends of her hair and remained quiet after that.

His ministrations felt soothing and she found herself closing her eyes and relaxing in his hold.

Kaname pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I'm so tired," he all but whispered.

Yuuki felt tired, too. Slowly she snaked an arm from between their chests and slipped it under his elbow and around his waist. So many lines were crossed already, what was one more?

"Then sleep," she murmured into his silk covered chest.

They did.

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The next time Yuuki woke, it was with much less drama. At first, she didn't even realize what woke her but then she felt it.

Stupid tea.

She tilted her head up to look into Kaname's face. He was still asleep. His long black eyelashes lay on the tops of his cheeks. His elegant straight nose pointed down to his lips, which were slightly parted. Several strands of his hair framed his jawline. He looked totally out of it. And totally beautiful.

Stupid, stupid tea.

Yuuki pulled her hand back from around his waist and slowly scooted back away from his body, watching for any signs of him waking up. Seeing none, she proceeded to detangle from his long limbs. Sometime during their nap, she managed to free her legs from the confines of the blanket, but now her ankles were crossed with his.

Yuuki blushed. That was a first.

Then she blushed harder when she realized she wasn't wearing pants.

She bit back a groan.

No time for embarrassment, nature calls.

She gently scooted to the edge of the bed and let her feet down to the floor. Pushing up from the bed, she immediately sat back down again. Her head spun and her legs felt weak. She gritted her teeth against the dizzy spell and looked over her shoulder at Kaname. He was still lying on his side, his arms extended in her direction, fast asleep.

How long did he go without sleeping? Or better yet, how long was she out of it? She looked towards the heavy drapes covering the windows, then she took a quick look around the room but found no clock. No way of telling the time, either.

She took a deep breath and tried standing up again. Better. It would have to do. Bent at the waist slightly, she made her way towards one of two closed doors in the wall opposite to the bed. She slowly opened it and heaved a silent sigh of relief. A bathroom. She let herself in and closed the door behind her softly.

When she was done taking care of business, she walked towards the sink and washed her hands. She looked up at herself in the mirror and frowned.

Greasy tangled hair greeted her, along with purple circles under her eyes and chapped lips. Wonderful.

She looked lower and her gaze snatched on the cream silk shirt she was wearing. Her frown deepened. Hadn't she put on a dark red one? And she clearly remembered putting on pants, for that matter.

Embarrassment, she thought, is definitely something she was good at.

She dried her hands on a towel folded by the sink. She felt uncomfortable, looking at herself in the mirror. For a split second, she remembered the white-clad red-eyed reflection from her nightmare and shivered. She was not coming out of that bathroom looking like death incarnate.

Kaname's personal bathroom appeared a lot more lived in than the other bathroom she previously visited. The wall by the door had a counter running along its length, holding two sinks and several cupboards. She looked down at the sink she was standing by and saw an elegant glass cup holding a single black toothbrush by the side of it. Simple. Clean.

She looked to the other sink and did a double take.

There, lying on the counter on top of what she guessed were several fluffy red towels, was a bright red toothbrush still in its packaging, and a tube of toothpaste.

She slowly walked towards the pile and gingerly fingered the edge of the package.

"That's all yours."

Yuuki jumped and turned to look at a still sleepy looking Kaname. "Oh. I'm sorry I woke you."

Kaname took all but three steps and was beside her. He reached for the package and swiftly tore of the top, pulled out the toothbrush and handled it to her. He then reached over for his own and deposited a healthy glob of toothpaste on both of their brushes.

He popped his in his mouth and started brushing.

Yuuki could only stare. She never saw Kaname doing something so… domestic. Personal. Normal, really.

She shook her head at her own thoughts, wet the toothpasted brush under the tap, and started on her own way to feeling cleaner.

She turned back to Kaname and their eyes met. For a while, all they did was brush away, until Yuuki couldn't take it anymore.

She snorted.

Kaname's lips stretched into a crooked smile around the toothbrush.

He was more beautiful to her than ever before in that moment. It almost hurt.

When they finally both rinsed and dried their mouths, Yuuki looked down at herself and fidgeted with the hem of her borrowed shirt.

"Um, Kaname-sama," she began uncertainly, at which he took a step towards her. "I don't remember much from… the time I was sick. But I feel like I should thank you. I think… I think you were there – "

"I never left your side," he said in a deep voice, moving even closer. "I was protective of you, almost to a fault. I'm afraid I didn't make it easy on your father. Or anyone, for that matter."

Yuuki looked up at him. "No matter what happened, thank you," she smiled.

"There is no need for your thanks, my Yuuki," he said and reached out a hand towards her hair.

Before his fingers could touch a single strand however, Yuuki pulled away.

"There is. You didn't have to do any of that and yet, you did. Thank you for your incredible hospitality. For your time, care, efforts. Shirt," she added, plucking at the loose collar.

"Yuuki."

"I mean it. Thank you," she said firmly. She looked at him one more time. He seemed adorably dishevelled, if you could ever even call Kaname dishevelled. She would commit that picture to memory. She nodded as if to herself and said, "I should be getting back." She made to walk around him. "There's a lot to do, I'm sure, and school –"

A hand shot out and caught her upper arm.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"There is," he began, "absolutely no plausible enough scenario where I'd let you go."

At this he pulled her close again.

"You are not yet fully recovered."

"I feel - "

"Better is not recovered," he spoke over her.

"I will have to go back to school at some point, you know," grumbled Yuuki.

"I'll determine when that will be." Before she could protest, he went on. "I've warned you I was selfish."

True.

"In any case, it's Saturday."

Two days.

"And haven't you said you wanted to be useful to me?"

Yuuki's breath caught. Did he mean…?

"Then be useful. Stay with me. Calm me. Ground me. Let me make sure you are alright," he breathed, cupping her face in his elegant hands, gazing down into her eyes.

Yuuki was speechless. For what seemed like the hundredth time she wondered what he saw in her. This wouldn't last, she thought. She should move away now before it all became unbearable later, but she couldn't do it. This too, she would commit to her memory. And treasure it forever.

"Ok," she said softly.

At her acceptance, Kaname exhaled in relief and she smelled the fresh mint of the toothpaste on his breath.

"Ok," he repeated uncharacteristically and buried his nose once again in her hair.

"Wait," she said hesitantly. "My hair's all gross, I need to wash it."

"Hmm," he mumbled noncommittally.

"I'm serious, I need to take a bath. Or a shower. Or something. Please?"

Kaname signed and without looking at her, moved around her in the direction of a generously sized bathtub. "We'll bath," he said, turning the water on.

It took Yuuki a few seconds to register his choice of words. "Um, we?"

He added something to the water and foam began to rise. He straightened up and turned to look at her. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Yuuki blinked. "What are you – "

Her bare pale legs limply stretched out in front of her, submerged in cold water.

Another pair of legs, long, clad in dark damp material, bent at the knees, caging her in, the bare feet planted by her knees.

"You'll get better soon," he rumbled behind her.

The flashback ended and she gaped at him. "You… you bathed me?" she all but squeaked.

Kaname walked slowly towards her. "I had little choice. Your temperature spiked and the doctor advised – "

"That you bath me?" she exclaimed incredulously.

"It was the fastest way to cool you down. It helped," he said simply, cupping her chin in his fingers. "Do not expect me to apologize."

"B-but that was – "

"Needed."

Yuuki squeezed her eyes shut. "You're doing it again, you're embarrassing me!"

"You were sick, there was absolutely nothing to feel embarrassed about."

Yuuki gave a little wail.

"Even so, I protected your modesty. I let you keep your shirt and remained dressed myself."

Kaname let go of her chin and Yuuki let it drop to her chest. "That was… considerate of you," she murmured.

"Either that, or I was in too much of a hurry. Take your pick."

Yuuki laughed softly despite herself, opening her downcast eyes and observed their bare feet only inches apart. Hers were tiny. His, elegant.

"Your embarrassment is wasted on that situation," he said, lifting his hands to the first button of his midnight shirt. Freeing it from the hole, he proceeded to the next one.

Yuuki's eyes bulged. "What are you doing?" she asked, taking a small step back.

"As you would certainly put it, embarrassing you," he replied, moving to the next one. "I, however, would call it undressing."

Yuuki gulped.

Kaname stepped around her and walked towards the door. "It's something I recommend you do as well before getting into the tub this time," he said neutrally. "I'll only be a moment." And with that, he closed the door behind him.

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Another line crossed. Or soon to be, at least.

Yuuki sat in Kaname's tub, knees tucked under her chin, arms wrapped around her legs, trying to make herself as small as possible. When the rising foam almost reached her shoulders, she turned the water off.

For the tenth time she wondered if she made the right choice.

Only for this weekend. A memory. That's all it is.

The door to the bathroom opened and closed. Yuuki placed her forehead against her knees and closed her eyes. She could hear Kaname moving across the tiled floor almost silently. Then a rustle of fabric.

A pause.

Now what?

She heard a soft sigh and then suddenly he was climbing into the tub behind her. The foam rose over her knees as he settled down, forcing her to raise her head. She kept her eyes closed, scooting even closer to the drain at the front of the tub.

Another pause.

Another sigh.

"Are you determined on ignoring me?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"Ah. With that one word you've undermined your own game, I'm afraid."

"It's not a game, I'm just – "

"Embarrassed, I know. I begin to tire of that word."

"Well, sorry to hear that, but I'm tired of feeling that way."

Kaname sighed a third time.

"Yuuki," he said softly, and she could feel him leaning forward towards her. "May I ask you a question?"

Yuuki bit her lip. "Of course."

"Are you repulsed by what I am?"

"No," was her instant indignant answer.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Then, is there something you find abhorrent about me specifically?"

At this, Yuuki laughed into the foam. "I told you not to be ridiculous."

"I am sincere."

This time it was Yuuki who sighed with exasperation. "Kaname-sama, how in the world did you come up with these questions?"

"Through observance and deduction."

"Then you're blind and silly."

At that his chest moved closer to her back and he stretched his long lean legs along her hips on either side of her towards the front of the tub.

Yuuki stopped breathing.

"Observance: when I move closer to you, you tense up. You look away from me. You try moving away. You attempt to distract me. Deduction: I repulse you."

Yuuki opened her eyes in disbelief.

Shaking her head, she whispered, "For someone as intelligent as I know you to be, you can be pretty dumb."

Yuuki pressed her lips together, silently cursing her boldness. She could bet that's not something Kaname heard very often.

After a beat, he leaned even closer, his chest almost touching her back, his chin above her left shoulder.

"Elaborate," was all he said.

Yuuki took a deep breath and let it out through her nose loudly. "You've got it all wrong. Well," she hedged, "at least the deduction part. I'm not in any way repulsed by you. And the reason why I'm uncomfortable is because I find you… intimidating. I mean you're you, and I'm… I just don't understand why you'd… I mean we can't ever…" She sighed again and admitted, "Looking at you hurts."

Another moment of silence followed. Elaborate, he said. She couldn't even file away all of her own thoughts.

"I never meant to cause you any pain, Yuuki. It pains me to hear you say that. All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy for as long as humanly possible, which is why I've kept my distance from you, alienating you in the process. I'm done with that now. You may find me intimidating, but I find you irresistible."

Yuuki blinked at the wall in front of her in confusion, her head spinning again, her brain fuddled.

Suddenly, Kaname bent his head down and placed a soft butterfly kiss against her bare left shoulder.

"Don't tense up," he rasped against her skin. "Please."

"It's kinda hard not to."

"Then we'll practice."

"Kaname-sama," she started.

"Please." He kissed her shoulder a second time. "I want to be useful to you, too. Allow me to wash your hair."

He pulled away from her shoulder and gathered the damp ends of her hair in his hands.

"I promise not to get any suds in your eyes."

Memories, she thought. Make them.

Yuuki smiled, determined to let go of their argument for now. "Ok," she said softly and tilted her head back.

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As it turned out, Kaname was exceptionally good at washing hair. True to his promise, her eyes didn't sting once. His long graceful fingers gently massaged her scalp, sending shivers down her back. After a while, she was even able to relax.

He fell quiet during the task, and she didn't particularly want to break the comfortable silence with any more heavy questions, nor idle chatter.

When he rinsed her hair for the last time, he announced, "All done," and gently wrung out the tresses.

On an impulse, Yuuki suddenly blurted, "Would you let me reciprocate?"

Silence followed, this time not so comfortable.

"You don't have to, of course. I'm not saying your hair is dirty, or anything; it's perfect as always. It's just that you said earlier you wanted me to calm you down, and having your hair washed is one of the best ways to calm your nerves, in my opinion. Then again I've only ever washed my own hair, so I might be bad at it, or – "

His warm wet hands landed on her shoulders.

"I would be over the moon delighted to have my hair washed by you, Yuuki," he said into her ear, squeezing her shoulders gently. "But only if you truly want to. I'd hate to intimidate you."

She rolled her eyes at the jab. "It can't get more intimidating than this," she said, waving her hand in the direction where their knees were now visibly side-by-side.

Kaname chuckled behind her. "As you wish," he uttered, pulling his legs back from around her and turning around in the confines of the tub.

Yuuki waited in the gently bobbing water until he settled before she too turned around to face his back.

It totally was more intimidating.

She had never seen so much of Kaname's skin before. She followed the line of his broad shoulders with her eyes, down his spine to where it disappeared in what remained of the bath foam. His skin looked pale, smooth, healthy, damp from the steam.

She swallowed. Definitely intimidating.

Kaname turned his head to the side, not quite looking over his shoulder. "Anything the matter?"

"No! No, everything's perfect."

Yuuki groaned internally. Shut. Up.

She cleared her throat. "It's just that you're tall, even sitting down, if that makes sense."

"Of course," was all he said before he scooted his hips forward and leaned back towards her, supporting his weight by placing his elbows on the rim of the tub. "Better?"

"Sure," she said, staring at his silky hair that was suddenly at her eye level. She reached for the wooden ladle he used to rinse her hair and warned softly, "Close your eyes."

As she poured water over his scalp, her hands shook. She was by no means as skilful as him, the water trickling over his face several times, but he never complained.

Next, she rubbed some shampoo between her hands and finally began to massage it into his scalp. She did so gently at first, terrified of pulling his hair by accident, but as she got the hang of it she began to add more pressure.

Memories. Yup, she was currently in the process of creating a rather powerful one. Washing Kaname's hair. In the tub. Both naked. Who would have thought? Who would – "

Kaname let out a pleasure filled groan.

Yuuki's cheeks heated at the sound. At least she knew she was doing it right.

"I believe you said this would calm me down," he rasped with his eyes still closed.

Yuuki blinked in confusion. "It's not working?"

"It's working, only not the way you planned, I'm afraid."

She didn't want to ask.

"It's almost done anyway, just let me rinse it off."

She poured fresh warm water into the ladle from the tap and poured it over his hair again several times.

"All done," she echoed his words from before.

He straightened his back, reached behind him, grabbed her hand, pulled it towards his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you," he said and let go of her hand.

Suddenly, swiftly, Kaname stood up.

Yuuki squealed, slapping her hands over her eyes, burying her forehead against her knees. "Jeez, a little warning next time!"

Somewhere above her, Kaname chuckled, and proceeded to get out of the tub. "Next time, I'll let you go first."

"Funny," she snapped and he laughed again.

She heard more fabric rustling and then him approaching the tub. Yuuki chanced a peek through her fingers. He was dressed in a black bathrobe, holding another one in red open to her in invitation.

She pulled her fingers away but remained seated.

"You'll make me say that word again," she hissed through her teeth.

"I promise to keep my eyes closed."

"Leave it on the rim and turn around."

"You've been sitting in a tub full of hot water for quite a while, I'd hate to see you getting dizzy as before in the bedroom."

She frowned. Nothing escaped his notice, apparently.

"Kaname-sama, this is – "

"For your own good. Do not say the e-word," he warned. "I will hold the robe in front of you as a screen." With that, he opened the robe wider and lifted it high enough his face disappeared behind it.

Yuuki steeled herself and slowly stood up. The robe didn't move. She slipped her arm in one sleeve and turned her back to it to do the same with the other. When her arms were through, Kaname set the robe on her shoulders and she hastily tied it together in the front.

He then slid his right hand down her right arm and grasped her hand, coming to hold her elbow with the other. She took his firm grip as a silent order to step out of the tub. Thankfully, she didn't slip or stumble. When she was safely up on her two feet, he exchanged his right hand for his left and silently pulled her back towards the bedroom.

They however didn't stop there, as Kaname led her towards the other door she previously saw. He opened it, ushered her inside, and turned on the light.

Yuuki gasped. It was his closet. And it was huge.

Rows and rows of shirts, slacks, coats, elegant leather shoes, and wide drawers appeared before her. He even had a section dedicated solely to his Cross Academy white school uniforms. He had many. She owned only two sets.

In the meantime, Kaname walked towards a section holding his patent silk shirts and slid one off its hanger. He brought it back to where she was still standing, staring around the room with her mouth open in surprise.

"I'm still not in the possession of women's clothing, I'm afraid," he said, extending the clean silk shirt towards her. "Although, I do like the way my clothes look on you."

Yuuki looked from the shirt to him.

She couldn't help it. She blushed.

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A/N: Two years. Two years it took me to update. During that endless period, I managed to graduate from university. Again. Does that count as an excuse? I think not.

I never forgot about this story. If you're out there and reading this, I'm sending you a master's degree in patience. You deserve it.

I decided to give Kaname and Yuuki a vacation from the rest of the world in this chapter, so don't be too mad.

One more thing, I was reading through the first chapters of this story again and I'm torn between leaving them as they are, faults and all, and rewriting them to fit my current style. It's wonderful to see improvement throughout the chapters, after all it's been going on for almost seven years. But at the same time I feel like it could potentially turn away new readers. I don't know. I'm torn.

Any advice regarding this issue would be much appreciated.

Take care,

Matylda