Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not mine. This is merely a fan-made fiction
Pairing: Kaname Kuran x Zero Kiryuu
Other Notes: MPreg
"Good morning Zero-sama!" a cheerful Takuma greeted as he ate in the Moon Dormitory dining area. Today was a weekend, and Kaname was off to some meeting or another that Zero hadn't bothered to ask about.
"Your breakfast Zero-sama," Rima set a tray in front of the carrier as he sat down on his chair.
"Thanks," he murmured.
Rima and Shiki proceeded to sit down on either side of him with trays of food of their own. Today's breakfast was simple and a commonly served meal in the dormitory. Freshly-baked bread, slices of bacon, sausages and poached egg. It seems that the chef was in a British mood this morning, too bad he was banned from tea or coffee. He was banned from caffeine in general.
He was nearly finished with breakfast when a maid came in with glasses of water and a familiar white pill. Without missing a single beat, the servant promptly dropped the tablet in the water in Zero's glass and walked away. He barely bat an eyelash at dissolving tablet. While he wasn't fond of the tablets due to their unsatisfying taste, he knew they were necessary. At least he could drink them now.
Zero grabbed the glass, now fully red, intending to drink but his hands stopped midway.
'Wha- it smells...' Zero scrunched his nose at the glass. Was it a bad batch? He swears it smells... fishier than normal. Like fresh blood that has been sitting for hours in the hot weather.
'It stinks!'
The carrier placed the glass back down the table with a little more force than necessary, catching the attention of others in the table.
"Zero-sama?" Rima asked. "What's wrong?"
"I... This-" Zero felt a rush of nausea as his senses inhaled more of the smell. He quickly brought a hand on his mouth trying to keep his breakfast down.
"Zero-sama?"
Bad idea. With his hand in his mouth, he was forced to take a breath through his nose and now that he was noticed the smell, he became hyper-aware to it and mind could register nothing else. Just one intake of breath and he could already feel the bile from the back of his throat.
The carrier quickly stood up, rattling the table and toppling his chair down in the process.
"Zero-sama!" He did not hear Rima's cry nor did he hear the girl following him as he ran to the nearest toilet room. All he could think of was to try and keep himself from vomiting on the Moon Dormitory's carpeted floors.
Zero was not surprised about the sickness. Truth be told, he had expected it. He may have been new to this whole pregnancy situation being an uninterested male teenager, but even he did not have to read a book to know that it occurs during pregnancy. It doesn't matter that he is a male, it was the fact that he was carrying at all made him expect that it would occur to him as well.
It's normal. His mind supplied, as he threw up, face above the toilet. He made it after all. At least he could save the maids the trouble of cleaning his puke from the floor though he was pretty sure that they have cleaned far worse than half-digested human food.
It'll settle soon enough.
"Today's lesson is about…" Zero tried to listen to the lecturer. He really did. Now that he was no longer in the Day Class and no longer a Guardian, he no longer falls asleep in his classes. The only reason for that really is because he was always tired being awake at ungodly hours in the morning. Unlike before, he could focus and actually listen to his lectures now but most of them were things that he already knew. He was a former hunter after all and a damn good one. However, that wasn't the reason why he's having trouble paying attention in class.
Ever since he became pregnant, the Night Class kept his eyes on him in what he hope to be, an unconscious observation. It was pretty annoying. Oh he was pretty sure they weren't looking at him in malice but all the stares had become uncomfortable for the carrier. It was like when he first joined the Night Class, or, actually, it was even worse than that. And he heard their hushed whispers as well. Zero would wager that with all the hype around his pregnancy, they all had forgotten that he was a vampire as well and that he could hear them crystal clear. They weren't bad per se, but the mutterings were all about his pregnancy, him, Kaname and babies in a never-ending loop. It was getting on Zero's nerves.
Haven't they seen a pregnant vampire before? He thought to himself.
But then his traitorous mind replied.
They haven't seen a male pregnant vampire before.
Zero frowned. Sometimes he himself forgets that even in the world of vampires, he was different and he wasn't sure if he liked it. The gazes in his direction felt heavy, daunting and suffocating. His head was starting to hurt, his vision was blurring and he could feel bile rising up from the back of his throat-
"I'm sorry, I need to go to the toilet," Zero muttered quickly and dashed out of the room before the teacher could even reply. He never saw the worried gaze of his mate nor did he notice him follow.
Zero threw the contents of his stomach again in the sink. He felt sick. He was sweating but he doesn't feel hot and his head still throbbed with a dull ache. He blinked his eyes tiredly and only managed to see a hazy blur. Putting a hand into the wall in front of him, Zero shook his head in an attempt to regain his sight but the haze continued and there was a mild pressure in his ears like he was drowning…
"Zero!"
Said vampire looked up and slowly, his vision cleared to saw the worried face of his mate.
"Are you alright?"
And suddenly, Zero's senses was back again. He could see Kaname frowning at him and could smell the lingering bile in the sink. He blinked for a few seconds and turned off the faucet, noticing that he had forgotten to close it off.
"I'm fine… Just morning sickness."
Kaname looked like he didn't want to believe it. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Truth be told, Zero wasn't sure if it was only that. But what else could it be?
"Kaname... can I?" Zero found himself asking even before his mind could comprehend the words. With his stomach empty, all he could feel was the hunger creeping in on his nerves. Unlike other foods, blood was something he could intake with little to no problem. And it had the great advantage of soothing down his burning throat.
The pureblood's lips twitched a little. "Of course."
Zero took the invitation without complaint. Drinking blood on the school grounds was actually against school rules. Being a former guardian, Zero knew this quite well. However, ever since they discovered the return of his bad reaction to blood tablets, they had no choice but to provide a leeway for Zero. He was carrying after all. He needed to drink both for his health and the health of his unborn child.
Kaname refused anybody to even think of feeding his mate. Vampires were possessive creatures after all, and Kaname was no exception. Drinking leaves the drinker vulnerable to attacks. It was mainly due to hunger, but drinking pretty much puts vampires into a trance-like state and the fact that Zero was carrying makes all the difference. Logically, the pureblood knew that none of the Night Class will ever betray them but his senses and instincts tells him otherwise.
"Take all that you need Zero,"
He doesn't know how many days it had been but Zero felt like utter crap. Sitting at the floor of his and his mate's shared bathroom, he tried to reign in another wave of nausea, wanting to keep his dinner inside his stomach for a change, not that he had a lot inside anyway. He's been having trouble eating lately. He couldn't eat much, well, as much as what he should be eating. He was pregnant, he was supposed to eat for two wasn't it? But there was not much he could do with his appetite.
Maybe he wasn't ready for it. He knew it was going to happen but it was not enough to prepare him for the constant onslaught of nausea and vomiting. It's been happening multiple times a day. Was it even normal to be vomiting so much? He wasn't sure but he never told Kaname about the extent of it.
"ACK! *COUGH* *COUGH*" There goes his dinner.
"Zero?" Kaname's voice was quietly heard beyond the bathroom door.
And there goes his secret as well.
"Zero?" He quietly opened the door. Zero stopped locking it after Kaname found out about his morning sickness which was something the pureblood was thankful for.
Kaname frowned at the smell of vomit and quickly approached his mate.
"Zero... Are you okay?" He asked as he absentmindedly rubbed the carrier's back.
"N-no…" Zero muttered, too weak to retort anything. He had been throwing up a lot for the past few days and it has taken up its toll on the ex-human. He had always said that he was alright but today was different. His long silver hair and his clothes clung to his skin because of sweat, his arms and knees were shaking slightly and his throat felt like it was burning from all the times he had threw up. He was dehydrated, hungry and the he could feel beginnings of a headache invading him.
The pureblood's frown deepened.
Kaname grabbed a clean towel, put down the toilet lid and made Zero sit on it as he knelt on the ground, "I know… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I can't do anything to help you," he whispered lovingly as he wiped the sweat from his lover's face.
Zero's face was set in a frown but accepted his mate's ministrations without complaint. "K-kaname… W-water,"
The pureblood quickly did what was asked of him. Ever since Zero's morning sickness, he had ordered the maids to always leave a pitcher of water in their quarters. It didn't hurt that the doctor recommended it as well in order to avoid dehydration.
Kaname was back in their bathroom in a second, "Zero, here,"
Zero tried to grab the glass as Kaname was directing it to his mouth. He wasn't used to being taken care of or relying on others. Truthfully, he wanted to glare at the pureblood for his actions however, he really couldn't complain since he found out that his hands were still shaking. He would probably drop the glass if he held it. The carrier barely had a gulp before he was coughing loudly again.
"Zero?" Kaname placed the glass of water down and grabbed the forgotten towel to wipe his mate's mouth.
Zero however never noticed his actions and kept on coughing loudly. It could be heard from the sound and from Zero's contorted face that it hurt his throat badly. But his coughing fit would not stop and the carrier had started tearing up from the pain.
"K-kaname," Zero coughed, "I-it hurts…"
Kaname felt helpless. He was a pureblood! He was supposed to be protecting his mate and not let him be harmed. But here he was kneeling in their bathroom floor as he watched his mate cling to his shirt in pain.
"M-make it… stop…" Zero coughed and grimaced as he felt bile go up his throat once more.
The carrier quickly removed himself from the toilet and opened the lid just in time for another wave of his vomiting session. But this time, was different. As he stared at whatever was left of his meal go into the toilet, his vision started to blur and sway. Zero squinted his eyes trying to focus and clutched his head as if it could help stabilize his vision. He gripped his mate's shirt, hoping to anchor himself as he tried to will away the darkness creeping at the corners of his vision but to no avail.
"Zero!"
Zero barely noticed his mate's actions and his grip in Kaname's shirt slowly gave away as the darkness swallowed him, "Ka…name…"
"Zero!"
Kaname looked at his mate's pale face resting on his shoulder and tried to shake him awake. "Zero!"
He immediately hooked Zero's legs in his arms and carried him out of their bathroom. Kaname barked orders left and right to vampires blocking his way while carrying his mate to the infirmary as fast as he could where a doctor has been brought to oversee Zero's pregnancy.
"Where is the Doctor?!" Kaname all but snarled as he reached the infirmary.
Said doctor immediately led him to one of the infirmary beds.
"What's wrong with him?!" Kaname asked in a hurry.
"Kaname-sama we will find out,"
The pureblood looked at the doctor in the eye, "You will or else, your life is forfeit."
With a firm nod, the doctor turned his attention back to the unconscious carrier with two nurses in his side.
Kaname felt horrible. It was the first time he saw Zero like this – weak and unconscious. It didn't suit the ex-human at all. For the first time in his life, Kaname felt fear creep in his whole body. This was unnatural. Something was wrong with Zero and he couldn't help but link it to his pregnancy. Despite this he desperately hoped that it was not the case. He couldn't lose his unborn child but he couldn't lose Zero as well.
"Kaname, come let the doctor do its job." The fact that he never noticed Chairman Cross entering the room is a testament on how out-of-it Kaname was. "He'll be fine."
Kaname wasn't sure if that was supposed to reassure him or if Cross was reassuring himself.
"Hyperemesis gravidarum or severe morning sickness." The doctor said.
Zero was still lying in his hospital bed, sleeping, with an IV stuck in his arm.
"What caused it?" Kaname immediately asked.
The doctor sighed. "Up to this date, the cause is unknown. There are many researches about it of course and it has been suggested that a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG has something to do with. Some also suggests that it's genetic but nobody knows for sure. Though it is not common in humans, it is not unheard of as well. With vampires, I am not too sure since our kind normally don't record cases like this."
Kaname inhaled deeply to control his irritation. "So what is the treatment?"
"For now, I have Zero-sama with an IV to re-hydrate him as well as restore electrolytes, vitamins and nutrients that he lost. Has he been eating?"
Rima was the one to answer. "Not much." She said sadly. "I tried my best to make him eat as much as possible but his appetite has been bad."
The doctor nodded. "I thought so. It seems he cannot keep food down so we'll restrict him to a liquid diet. We'll start with blood since it would be the most effective and most important one and once he's looking well enough, we'll re-introduce human food."
With a nod, Kaname dismissed the doctor and went to his mate's side. Zero looked pale, paler than normal, nearly blending in the crisp white sheets of the hospital bed.
"Be strong Zero." He whispered. "For me and for our child as well."
END NOTES:
The symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum may not be 100% accurate since it's something I have no knowledge of. I relied on google for the most part and described them in a way when I have attacks of low blood sugar since there were a few similar symptoms.