Author Notes: Part 2 of 2.

-- Start --

It was around four o'clock in the morning when Zero next awoke. He opened his eyes, frowning a little to find his face buried in something soft that tickled his nose. He was lying spooned around somebody, and his arm was thrown around that person's waist.

It was Kaname's waist.

And it was naked.

And his arm was around that silky smooth warm skin under the blanket, and not above it…

Oh… hell.

Kaname's body was pressed against him from neck to bare feet, both their knees comfortably bent, one of Zero's legs trapped between the pureblood's knees and the other thrown over the latter's hip. Wonderful.

Well, double hell then.

Zero now realised the softness against his face was actually Kaname's long dark wavy hair, and the smooth skin underneath that was the back of Kaname's neck. Well - if nothing else, Zero was now very familiar with the pureblood's scent and would be able to identify it from a mile off, it was that ingrained in his senses.

Now he wished he hadn't thought of that, it was… disturbing… I mean, why would he want to be able to identify Kuran's scent anyway? OK, so it would be useful if the pureblood decided to lie in wait for him and attack him one fine day… after they had both recovered from this incident… although it would make the fact that Kaname had saved him now somewhat pointless.

Getting a little agitated despite himself, Zero lifted his head off the pillow a little, wondering if he could slide his arm off Kaname's naked waist without waking him up. And, flushing hotly, wondering if he could also extricate his trapped leg with the same success. He realised that they had both drifted off to sleep some hours ago and wondered what time it was now.

Zero hesitated, then strangely enough, decided to wait a bit. He felt warm, comfortably so, and despite a lingering weakness in his body, mild throbbing in the very newly healed wounds at his neck, chest and wrists, and the fact that he could do with a hot and cleansing shower, it didn't really feel too… bad… where he was right now. And Kaname was sleeping so soundly, his body most likely repairing itself and producing much needed blood to counteract the amount it'd lost. The amount that was now coursing through Zero, making him strangely weak, but alert… tired, but awake…

Unconsciously, Zero snuggled closer to Kaname, burying his face once more in the long dark wavy hair and closing his eyes resolutely, trying not to think. But it was impossible not to – each breath he inhaled now came with the pureblood's scent, each moment that passed just made him more and more aware about how intimately their bodies were positioned.

Zero was just too aware of the fact that he was, in fact, lying spooned around Kaname Kuran - Moon Dorm leader, revered pureblood, and his hated rival. He found himself imagining the disgusted and furious looks on the other Night Class students should they see him lying so intimately with Kuran like this, or the utterly shocked and disbelieving look on Yuki's face should she find him like this, snuggled up in bed with the very person she'd been infatuated with for years…

His face burning, Zero shifted his upper body slightly away. The slight movement aroused Kaname who stirred and mumbled something under his breath, making Zero freeze. Kaname turned onto his back, or tried to, and stopped immediately when he felt another body pressed against his, an arm around his waist, and someone's legs tangled up with his own.

What the…?!

In an instant, Kaname was fully awake, sitting up and leaning over Zero. One hand was clamped tight onto the ex-human's throat, the other on the bed supporting his weight as the pureblood looked down into the face of his unexpected bed partner, a fiercely predatory look on his face.

Zero stayed very still, startled silver eyes looking up into dark brown. They stared at each other for a long moment, reading the emotions in each other's faces – Kaname's had surprise, disbelief and dawning mortification, while Zero's just had mortification. The pureblood recovered swiftly, his eyes moving from Zero's face to his own hand at the latter's throat. Slowly, he removed his hand. "Sorry" he found himself mumbling, wondering if he'd hurt the boy's newly healed throat. It looked OK though…

Zero swallowed, his own hand sliding up to ensure his throat was still in one piece. "It's OK" he said, rather more huskily than he would've liked. After looking at him a couple of seconds longer, probably assessing if Zero was going to retaliate that almost attack, Kaname's eyes swept over the room and fell on the clock on the night stand – it was time he went back to his room in the Moon Dorm to avoid any awkward questions about where he'd been tonight, and why so much of his blood had been spilt. He tried to swing his legs onto the floor but couldn't and belatedly realised they were still entwined with Zero's. Zero uttered something that sounded like shit as he hurriedly extricated his legs from Kaname's. It was a damn lucky thing they were both still wearing their trousers…

A moment later, the pureblood had slowly but gracefully gained his feet as Zero sat up, leaning back against the wall. There was another awkward silence as the two vampires looked at each other, feeling unaccountably like two strangers who'd woken up only to find themselves in bed with each other after a rather drunken night. The fact that they were both shirtless only pressed home the point even more.

Zero's silver eyes glanced away, then back at Kaname. "Well…" he started, his still bloodstained fingers clutching the blanket like a lifeline. "Are – are you feeling better?" he asked quietly.

An eyebrow lifted and Kaname's sculptured lips quirked. "I'll live…" he said. "And you, Kiriyu?" he murmured, resisting a sudden impulse to bend down and check Zero's newly healed neck from a very close range. Check… and perhaps… Quickly, the pureblood stepped back. He needed to get blood tablets. Now.

Zero had seen the sudden flash of hunger in Kaname's face. Tamping down a sudden and completely irrational desire to offer his own blood to Kaname, he muttered "Yeah, I'm fine…" It sounded horribly ungrateful after he'd practically drained the pureblood and Zero forced his gaze to remain on Kaname's as he added "Thank you", his tone hesitant but sincere.

Kaname looked at him then nodded silently. You're welcome, his gaze said. Zero saw the red hue in his eyes and the glint of fangs between those devastatingly skillful lips and he quickly looked away, trying hard not to remember just how skillful they were, but a small shiver ran through him nonetheless. "You need blood tablets, Kuran…" he murmured, trying to force his brain to focus on a slightly less disturbing thought.

Kaname was still staring at him intently. "Yeah" he muttered at length before picking up the black silk shirt he'd dropped on the floor earlier. Shrugging into it and buttoning it up halfway, he made his way to the door. "Sleep well, Kiriyu…"

He unlocked and opened the door, then paused and looked back at Zero who was still staring at him. For some reason, the sight of that ex-human, sitting up in bed shirtless, with his hair mussed and his expression soft and a little vulnerable, caught Kaname's attention.

Time seemed to slow down for a very, very long heartbeat as their eyes met… and held… then with a rather visible effort, the pureblood quickly turned around and let himself out of the room, closing it quietly behind him.

Zero blinked and swallowed, wondering if he'd imagined the look of sudden and very different hunger that had flared in those compelling red tinged eyes.

Surely he must have done, he decided as he lay back down on the bloodstained sheets and drifted off to sleep again with Kaname's intoxicating scent on the sheets surrounding him, and the pureblood's equally intoxicating blood coursing through his still healing body.

-- End --