Good Morning, My Groom!
Chapter Two: Mister Bloodbank
Cagalli felt a nervous breakdown coming when she tried to think of possible ways of saying the happenings to her twin, Kira. She shuddered involuntarily. She didn't want to face her twin's rage. Kira can be quite overprotective and irrational when it comes to her, more specifically, her welfare. He would formulate safety measures for her, bordering ridiculous sometimes, just to make sure that she is well-protected. It is a good thing that he and his bride, the ever beautiful Lacus Clyne, went to a trip on the other side of the world, so she is somewhat safe from Kira's wrath for the time being. She was thankful for she really needed the time to think; she had never felt more reckless in her life. She sighed.
Cagalli never felt this more stupid in her eighteen years of living. She had been advised, almost warned, by Kira, as well as Shiho, to go home as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary mistakes to happen. She was half-blaming the urges for keeping her from going early, for she needed to control herself first otherwise she might lash out in public. And, she was also half-blaming Athrun Zala for being there on that tragic night, making her pounce on him unconsciously. She looked at the sleeping man occupying her huge bed—his midnight blue hair fanning out graciously on her plump white pillows where his head is currently resting, his body half-covered with Cagalli's thick blanket, his face relaxed and peaceful like a baby's. Cagalli's golden eyes wandered on his neck; there was a patch of gauze covering the flesh where his carotids lie underneath. She blushed, and then scowled, remembering the happenings that had transpired the night before. She now has a groom, a human groom. She didn't know whether she should be happy or not. Her scowl deepened and then decided to leave the room.
***
Athrun Zala is one of those well-rounded guys that exist; he's got the looks as well as the brains and the gentle demeanor that can make girls swoon. Almost everyday, a student from the Girls' Division would come over to their building, the Boys' Division building, after class hours to confess their undying admiration towards him. He never took interest in them, his admirers. Even though he is every bit the gentleman, he is also responsible the broken hearts of a fair part of his school's female population. He thought that a man should be the one who runs after the girl and not vice versa, that is why he turns down every confession, every proposal, he had received. There was still no one from the opposite sex who have captured his attention, even a bit—that is until that morning.
He was walking to his favorite bench in the school's courtyard. It was somewhat hidden by some small trees and bushes making it a decent study area for him for he cannot be disturbed since the students barely knew that part of the courtyard. Approaching the said spot, his eyes narrowed when he saw a patch of blonde hair, the owner of which is probably sitting on his beloved bench. He frowned and walked faster.
He was quite surprised to see a blonde-haired girl with eyes closed and clenched fist sitting on his bench. He was actually planning to bully the person stealing his beloved bench from him, and eventually seeing a girl, a schoolmate, sitting on the said bench made all his hostile thoughts go down the drain. The blonde girl seemed to be meditating, or probably not, her flawless face looked strained, her golden eyebrows furrowed. Is she sick? Athrun blinked, her face was still unchanging. Is she somewhat constipated? Athrun closed his eyes.
It only lasted for a millisecond but when he opened his eyes he was greeted by darkness. He can feel his back pressing on the hard ground beneath him, a hand was holding his hair and another was roaming on the exposed skin of his chest, he could feel someone kissing jaw, then went lower to his neck and then he felt the pricking sensation, and then the wet spot on his neck, and then Cagalli, the blonde-haired girl, sitting on top of him, her face stained by a dark liquid. It all happened so very fast, he felt that his head was already spinning.
And then a sudden flash of his own blood-stained hands made him bolt out, gasping, eyes wide, from the soft bed.
Athrun's hands automatically flew to his neck and felt a patch of gauze covering a spot on his flesh. So, his dream was true then? That Cagalli, that blonde girl he barely knew but her name, somewhat managed to wound him while they were making out in the forest floor then? He blushed like a lovesick schoolgirl when he relieved the thought of receiving his first kiss, a rough one at that, on that night. That night—wait, what time is it anyways?
Athrun looked around the room, it was not his, he was sure, for the soft bed was a dead giveaway, his bed at home is firm. The room is huge, much like the size of his, but it felt cozier, more inviting, because of the furnishings scattered inside. He looked at his left and found open double doors leading to the balcony, the lightweight curtain helplessly being carried by the wind. He shivered involuntarily when he felt the cold wind prickling his exposed skin, with this he looked down under the thick blankets and flushed like a ripe tomato; he is naked.
Did anything happen last night, something much, much more? He didn't even know how he got here in the first place. And then realization dawned on the inquiring mind of his—Cagalli. That blonde girl, Cagalli, tackled him last night on the forest floor and then she started kissing him, he kissed back and then right now, he woke up in an unfamiliar room, naked as the day he was born. Putting two and two together, he couldn't help but blush more than ever. "Oh my God."
He tried clearing the perverted thoughts currently processing in his mind and decided to find Cagalli. He assumed that he's in her house, in her room. He stood up, the cold wind tickling his whole exposed body, and then he tried to find his clothes probably scattered around the room, much to his dismay, there was none, the floor is spick and span. He was about to open one of the dressers inside the room, to find something that he can probably wear, when he heard someone cough, he froze on his spot, his hands suspended in the steel handles of the said dresser. "I know it's much more comfortable prancing around without clothes on, but you should have waited for me." It was Cagalli, her voice seemed playful, amused even.
Athrun did what his mind can only think of this time; in a mad dash, he dove towards the bed, took hold of the blankets and tried covering himself with it. And, in his frantic movements to cover himself up, he accidentally fell of the edge of the bed. He muttered a string of curses when his head hit the carpeted floor first, and then he heard a laugh. He scowled and decided to sit up from the slump his currently in, he then saw Cagalli, who is currently wearing a black tank top and boxers, one hand wiping the tears from her eyes, due to laughing, and one hand holding clothes, his clothes. It was the first time in his life that Athrun Zala lost his cool, in front of a girl nevertheless; his scowl deepened, "It's not funny you know."
Cagalli looked at him, her eyes still amused, "What do you mean it's not funny? That was hilarious!" She tried to suppress the laughter from erupting once again and started approaching Athrun's spot on the floor. She was smiling and then she held out her free hand to him. "Get up, take a bath, and change." He took her hand and stood up with one hand clutching the blankets to him like a lifeline. Cagalli handed him a bunch of clothes afterwards.
"You know, we need to talk." Athrun said apprehensively as he looked at the girl in front of him, her smile fading. Did he say anything wrong?
"I agree." Cagalli turned around and pointed to him the adjoined bathroom. She said she'll wait by the room's balcony with a hefty breakfast for him.
***
Athrun ran the towel on his wet hair and used a comb placed on the sink to arrange his locks in its usual manner. He straightened out the red shirt and readjusted the khaki shorts, both garments given to him by Cagalli. He looked at his reflection on the bathroom's mirror; two small crescent-shaped wounds decorated his neck. He never thought that Cagalli can be that rough when it came to those things, his face reddened at the idea and he sighed. They really need to talk about what had transpired between them. With one final look at the mirror, he stepped out of the bathroom and walked across the room where the balcony is located. Cagalli's back was facing him; she was probably relishing the fantastic view from the balcony.
Cagalli instantly whipped her head backwards when she sensed that Athrun was approaching, she gave him a small smile and invited him to sit on the chair across her. Athrun sat comfortably on the chair and was kind of happy to see an assortment of food laid out on the table in front of him and Cagalli. He chuckled to himself thinking that Cagalli never joked that a hefty breakfast would be served.
"Dig in." As soon as Cagalli said the words, Athrun wolfed down the food in front of him. He knows that it's not proper to eat so fast but what the heck, he didn't know that he was this hungry. Cagalli quietly sipped her hot chocolate and casted a sideways glanced at the guy sitting across her, "Athrun Zala, am I right?"
Athrun nodded, he momentarily put his fork down, "Cagalli Yula Attha, correct?" She nodded and bit a piece of toast. Athrun devoured the food on his plate as fast as he can, the sooner they talk, the sooner he'll be enlightened. He gulped down the glass of milk and placed the empty glass beside his also empty plate.
"So… uh… what happened last night to you, to us? I don't remember much." Athrun stuttered to break the silence. Cagalli looked at him, and she sighed.
"Last night… last night was a huge mistake on my part." Cagalli said, her cheeks slightly invaded by a blush.
Athrun couldn't help but blurt out, "It hurts my male pride to say this but, that was my first kiss and you stole it…" He flushed a bit, and added quietly, "…as well as my virginity."
"WHAT?!" A flustered Cagalli was now looking at him as if he had grown three heads, "YOUR VIRGINITY?! For your information, Mister Athrun Zala, we did not fucking do what you had in your perverted mind!"
"We didn't do it?" Athrun was a bit dumbfounded, and was a tad bit disappointed too. So nothing happened, eh? "So, uh, why was I naked this morning then?"
"I needed to get you out of your dirty clothes, the forest floor was a bit damp last night and your clothes unfortunately got wet. And, I did not want my beloved bed to be soiled."
"You are not the one who stripped me, right?" Athrun raised an inquiring brow; he was kind of amused on how their conversation's going. His current companion, Cagalli, is quite entertaining.
"I asked someone to do it, you pervert."
"By the way, where am I?" Athrun looked around the room as well as the spectacular view from the balcony.
"You are currently in the Attha Manor, specifically, in my room." He wasn't a bit surprised when she answered, his assumption was right. Truly, almost all of the students in ORB International High School belong to the higher strata of the society. He also lives in a mansion, the Zala Manor, somewhere in the uptown villages in the city. And then it hit him—he didn't go home last night, his servants must be worried about him! His face crumpled a bit.
"Don't worry, I had someone take care of informing your butler that you are staying overnight on one of your friends' manor." Cagalli gave him a small reassuring smile. He sighed, relieved, "Thank you."
Cagalli cleared her throat, a frown etched on her face, "I need to tell you something, I need to."
Athrun noticed the serious tone carried by her statement and he nodded for her to continue.
"You see, last night was a mistake, a very troublesome mistake. I am really sorry, Athrun. What happened last night was something unspeakable." Athrun raised an eyebrow as if urging her to elaborate further. "I… I marked you. I marked you as my groom."
"Huh?" Athrun didn't understand it one bit. Marked as a groom, what? Cagalli sighed, "Maybe, I should tell you a secret, Athrun." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A long pause, "I am a vampire."
"A vampire?" Cagalli opened her eyes only to see Athrun suppressing a snigger, "Are you kidding me? Vampires don't exist!" With that, Athrun's laugh filled the room.
"Damn you, Zala." Her eyes narrowed at the person who sat across her.
"You have an awesome punchline." Athrun laugh subsided, now, only an amused smile played on his lips. "Seriously, Attha, you are funny."
Cagalli gritted her teeth for she was nowhere near being funny right now, "Do you want a proof, Zala?"
"I told you, Cagalli, there are no such things as vamp—"
"You were saying?" Cagalli was now behind Athrun, her head poised on his neck, on the specific spot where the two crescent-shaped wounds lay. "I wouldn't mind doing it again."
Athrun turned around from his seat and instantly placed a hand over the wounds, Cagalli was nowhere behind him. "Were you looking for me? I'm here, Zala." Athrun's eyes widened and slowly turned around. Cagalli was back in her seat, her arms crossed in front of her chest, and was grinning wickedly, her white teeth showing. And then he noticed something unusual, her canines were longer, like a wolf's deadly fangs. He felt a shiver run up his spine.
"Do you believe me now or do I still have to draw out some of your blood?"
Athrun scowled, he currently didn't trust himself to move or to even speak. He just looked at the baffling girl, no, vampire in front of him. Cagalli took Athrun's silence as a signal to continue, "So, as I was saying, I am a vampire. Vampires do exist, Zala, we mingle with humans, and yes, we drink blood.
"Last night… last night was one of those nights, days, when vampires hunt, not for food, but for a mate. Our pheromones can get off the hook during those days which can make us ravage civilians recklessly if we don't control ourselves. The pheromones affect the vampire's whole being, case in point, when a vampire is a loner, in much simpler terms, single. Loner vampires are greatly affected by this since they do not have a mate, a bride or a groom, to satisfy their desires. Yesterday morning, when you saw me at the courtyard, I was trying to control myself, I was fighting the urges. I thought that that was over, but come dismissal time, the urges, the pheromones started to act out again. One of my friends, a vampire of course, told me to go home already to prevent accidents, however, I didn't. I stayed in the girl's comfort room, locking myself inside one of the cubicles, to again control myself. When I felt fine, I proceeded to the parking lot at the back of your building, but then I saw you, and the urges came back again."
"So, that was why you ran away?" Athrun was slowly being convinced, he was kind of scared but he tried to understand Cagalli's condition at the same time. He is slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together through Cagalli's accounts. She nodded at his inquiry.
"I was so scared. I didn't know what to do; I was already craving for blood so I ran to the small forest to find some animal to feed on. However, you followed me. Your scent, your blood, was just tempting, Athrun. I'm so sorry." Cagalli's head lowered, her bangs now covering half of her face. "The pheromones took over me. Almost everything was a blur, all I remembered was me pouncing on you and kissing you senseless. I didn't even notice that I bit you already and was already drinking your blood if you haven't stopped me. Thank you, Athrun, for stopping me and saving yourself," Cagalli looked up and gave him a small smile, "if you didn't stop me, it is either you are already dead or you are already a vampire."
"So what does that got to do with me being your groom?" Athrun asked for he needed to know. A blush spread across Cagalli's face.
"I… I already drank at least fifty percent of your blood Athrun, about three liters—"
"THREE LITERS?!" Athrun was shocked and enlightened at the same time; he now knows how the hell he managed to wolf down a table full of food in a few minutes. She nodded pathetically.
"That percentage of the blood I drank is enough for me to mark you as mine, as my groom." She blushed again; in the back of his head, something tells Athrun that he is stuck in a very bad situation. Cagalli continued, "When a loner vampire bites another loner vampire, even a drop of blood is enough to mark each other as a bride and a groom. However, when a loner vampire bites an unsuspecting human, a huge amount of blood is needed for marking, a bit more would turn the human into a vampire, and a bit more can be fatal."
Cagalli already said earlier that he saved himself from turning into a vampire so that means, he was just marked as her groom. It somewhat makes sense to him somehow, "Does this mean that you are already my bride? And how does this bride-groom thing works?"
"No. I'm not your bride for you are not a vampire at the first place. The bride and groom couple name calling is only applicable to vampires, and since you are human, you are just my groom, that's it." Cagalli was somewhat relieved at the fact that Athrun was catching up with the whole vampire concept and also thankful at the fact that he is taking the information sensibly. If it was another man, he might have jumped off the balcony right now thinking that she was mad or something. "The bride-groom relationship entails both vampires to give and take, which means you feed off from each other, you only drink each other's blood, well, they can still feed from animals though but they say that it will still not come at par at the satisfaction they get from feeding off their mate. In our case, it more of an all take relationship. I need you to supply me with blood so I can live."
"This is irreversible, correct? I can't back out?" She nodded at his questions, "So, you're treating me as a blood bank, is that it?" Athrun laughed nervously, "And I thought vampires are immortal?"
Cagalli was now uncomfortable on how Athrun valued himself in their new relationship of sorts, "Don't worry, I won't be treating you like a blood bank. I would only drink if necessary, that is at least once a week, is that okay?" He nodded nervously, he is now scared, Cagalli laughed inwardly. "Well, vampires are immortal, but there are certain ways that they can die. One is from starvation, which only works when his or her mate dies, the vampire experiences extreme depression and somewhat forbids himself to feed from other sources. It is a sad way to die. Another one is vampire wars, not really wars but somewhere along the lines of killing your own kind. I really don't know how the other vampires did it but it was one of the reasons why there's only a few of us left."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Athrun was now looking at a frowning Cagalli, for some reasons, he did not want to see her sad, "It's okay." Cagalli reassured him with a weak smile.
"By the way, if I can't call you my bride, what can I call you, or at least what do you want me to call you?" Since their accidental relationship is irreversible, Athrun thought that he might as well go with the flow destiny was taking him.
"Cagalli. Just Cagalli." She smiled a genuine smile that Athrun, her groom, deserved.
"So we're like in a girlfriend-boyfriend sort of relationship right now?" Athrun asked uneasily, he never had a serious relationship with a girl before.
"Somewhat like that but not really. Feel free to flirt with other girls, your admirers most specially. The only thing I own is your body, your blood, but not your heart." Well, at least not yet.
"I think we should call it a day, even though it is still bright and sunny, don't you think?" Cagalli stood up from her seat and stretched her arms upwards. Athrun also stood up from his seat and sighed, "Yeah. I think I should go. I still need to digest what we have discussed so far and what kind of ruse I got into."
"I'm really sorry, Athrun, for getting involved." It was also your fault you were there, Cagalli frowned a bit, "I'll try to make it up to you, I promise."
"Hey, it's okay. As long as I don't get harassed like last night on a daily basis, it's fine." Athrun joked to lighten up the mood, Cagalli hit him squarely on the arm, he winced.
"Let's go, I'll drive you home."
***
Much to Athrun's surprise, Cagalli didn't even change her clothes; she was still wearing that black tank top and her ridiculous chili-printed boxers. Athrun sighed; he was now on the passenger seat of Cagalli's car gripping the car handles for his dear life. Cagalli drove like a madman, driving the car as if it was a space ship, and ignoring the speed limits of the road. He's thankful that they haven't been caught yet. With his free hand, he rearranged, for the umpteenth time, the things cradled on his lap, his school bag and his washed and neatly pressed school uniform he wore yesterday. He looked at Cagalli, her fingers were drumming on the steering wheel while waiting for the stoplight to turn green. "Cagalli, can you please drive slower? It's a nice Saturday morning for a leisurely drive."
"I'm driving leisurely, Athrun. I'm more relaxed when I drive fast." Cagalli gave Athrun a mischievous smirk.
"You know, girls usually drive slower…" Cagalli raised her eyebrows at Athrun's statement, he coughed, "On second thought, you're not an ordinary girl."
"Wow. Thanks for pointing that out." Cagalli remarked sarcastically and refocused on the road. Athrun didn't miss the frown slowly forming on her lips, "I'm sorry."
Cagalli nodded but never looked back at Athrun. The drive became more silent, Athrun wanted to talk more but then Cagalli ignored him like a speck of dust. He was a bit surprised when she informed him that they've arrived in his manor, true enough, her car was currently parked by the humungous gates of his house.
Athrun gripped the car's door, hesitating if he should already get out, "Thank you for the ride, Cagalli."
"You're welcome." Cagalli didn't even look at him, he wanted to scream, and he did inwardly. He did not want any awkwardness to end this day, he decided to speak up, "So—"
"Athrun, I'm really sorry about what happened." Even though he got cut off by Cagalli, he was happy that she now looked at him albeit a little guilty due to the events that had transpired, "I'll make up to you, I promise." She smiled.
"It's okay, Cagalli. You don't have to do anything." He smiled back, and got out of Cagalli's car. "You don't have to apologize every single time. I kind of understand, really. We're both new to this thing." He gave another reassuring smile and closed the car's door gently. Cagalli watched Athrun from the inside of her car; he walked across in the front of the said vehicle and punched a button on a small device attached to the stone wall by the gateway. She slid down her car door's window and called Athrun's attention, "Athrun," he looked back at her, "Thank you." He nodded with a smile, a subtle whirring noise made him and Cagalli look forward, the gates were already being opened. He looked back at her, a smile adorning his face, "So, see you on Monday?"
She nodded gladly and took this as a cue to leave, not before adding something that have been imprinted on her thoughts since earlier this morning, with an amused tone in her voice, she said her thought out loud.
"By the way, Athrun. Nice ass!" And with that she drove off leaving a flushed Athrun Zala.
End of Chapter Two
Author's Notes: So, I have to clear up that the accident happened on a Friday thus making this day on the story a Saturday. I'm kind of rereading the previous and the current chapter and I can't help but notice how much I suck at sentence construction and other grammatical thingamajigs. I'm sorry for my writing deficiencies, dear readers. But please, still do continue reading and reviewing, it makes authors happy. Believe it!