Author's Note: I just want to thank all of you that have reviewed, followed or faved this story! I love seeing them! I don't have much to say, so on to the next chapter!

Chapter 3 Discussions

Mahiru just continued to stare at Kuro. He was still trying to process the fact that his lazy rescue vampire had been able to produce food that looked like this! He hadn't even had a taste of it yet! His first instinct was to start berating the vampire for never helping out in the kitchen when he could obviously make food like this but he stopped himself. 'No…that isn't the way that I should treat him. Yes, he's extremely lazy and he could have helped me earlier, but yelling at him is not going to put him in a good mood, nor will it help us in the future…' Mahiru thought before he glanced at his untouched ramen. He glanced back up to Kuro a moment later and really looked at him. The Servamp had gone back to quietly eating his ramen, but Mahiru could tell from his posture, which had slumped even further the longer he sat, that he was waiting to be yelled at. He was expecting Mahiru to start yelling at him because he had kept this hidden from him. Kuro's eyes were hidden behind his bangs now, but Mahiru knew that if he could see them, they'd be shining in hurt. He wasn't sure why they would be, but it bothered him. 'I…I want to get stronger but… I want to get to know you even more than that, Kuro. I want you to be able to trust me enough that you'll open up to me… I want us to grow stronger together…' Mahiru's eyes widened slightly as he watched Kuro as he continued eating…continued waiting for him to start yelling… 'Oh! This is so simple… Why didn't I think of this before...?'

"Kuro…this is pretty good. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't that bad in the kitchen?" Mahiru asked after he had taken a few bites of ramen. It was probably some of the best tasting ramen he had ever had, but he didn't want to startle the vampire too much. He had a feeling that his complimenting would do such a thing, and he had been right. Kuro had lifted his gaze and Mahiru was able to see the shocked surprise reflected in his red orbs. "It's good, Kuro," he repeated with a smile. He could tell that Kuro did not know just how to take this new development. The vampire probably already had his defenses up to weather his yelling, but this new tactic of his had completely thrown him off.

"…I can't deal with you right now…" was Kuro's reply as he hid his eyes again.

Mahiru continued to smile at him gently. "Kuro…I'm not angry with you. I'm just surprised is all. I didn't know that you knew how to cook. Why didn't you say anything earlier?" he asked again. He had now put the ball in Kuro's court. He knew that the vampire knew that if he replied with a "You never asked" it would open the field for him to be able to ask all sorts of questions. Mahiru was pretty sure that Kuro wouldn't open himself up like that any time soon, so he was curious to see what kind of response that he would get in return.

It took a long few minutes before Kuro decided to stop ignoring him again and to answer him. "…You seemed to enjoy cooking…" was his response. It was feeble at best, but Mahiru let it slide. At least Kuro was speaking, and that was all that Mahiru wanted at the moment.

"Of course I enjoy cooking. I used to make things to bring to school for my friends all the time. It's nice to be able to share simple things like that with friends," Mahiru replied. "I can't do such things as much as I used to any more though… There's just so much that I have to do now that I don't have the time liked I used to… But, now that I have you, I'm able to make things and share them again," Mahiru replied with a smile on his face.

Kuro glanced back up to Mahiru when he heard him say that. There was a sharp tug on his heart when the vampire saw that his Eve was being sincere in his words. It had been an extremely long time since someone had looked at him like that. Try as he might, he couldn't squash the warm sensation that settled in his chest when he realized that Mahiru had called him a friend. It had been a long, long time since someone had called him that, and the vampire found that he didn't quite know how to respond.

"You're such a pain," he sighed quietly, but without his usual annoyed tone.

Mahiru's smile widened at his words. He definitely felt that he had made the right decision this time. 'Kuro and I will get stronger… But we can't do that if we don't trust each other. I haven't exactly been a very good partner to him in the past, but I'm going to try harder be that someone that he can depend on.'

"Kuro…thank you…"

Mahiru watched as his Servamp shied away from him slightly. It was obvious to him now that Kuro probably had not heard too many nice words directed at him all that often, or at least not for a long time.

"For what…?" the vampire asked, looking a bit lost and bewildered.

"For taking care of me. Not just for today, but…for all of the times that you've looked out for me. I haven't really told you this before…and I need to start doing so more often. I seem to have forgotten lately that you're a person too…and that your feelings and thoughts on things matter just as much as mine. We're supposed to be partners after all," Mahiru replied.

Kuro continued to watch him after he had finished speaking. Mahiru still could not get any sort of read on his Servamp, but he hoped that he had been able to leave an impression on him. He watched as the vampire lowered his eyes again before he spoke up, "…would you really listen…to what I had to say, Mahiru…? …if I asked to run…would you run…?"

Mahiru's first impulse was to say that they couldn't just run away! But, he had just told his Servamp that he would listen to him. So, the answer was simple. "Yes, Kuro. If you asked for us to run, then we'd run. I'll admit, it'll be difficult for me to do so but…I also trust that you'd have a good reason for wanting to get us out of there," he replied.

He could tell by the look on Kuro's face that the vampire had adopted a "wait and see" policy. Kuro was probably thinking of all of the other times that he had asked Mahiru to get them out of some place or to run and him ignoring the vampire's words. Kuro wouldn't trust him completely until he took his words into consideration. It was a start and it was enough for now. He also knew that Kuro had not missed his words about trusting that the vampire would have a good reason for wanting to run. He had basically given Kuro the power in their partnership. The vampire would now make the important decision on whether they fought or if they fled. 'Kuro…I hope you don't see this as me being underhanded… I really do want you to trust me, and the only way that I can think of to do that is to give you some control over our situation.'

"Oh! Hey Kuro, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you!" Mahiru suddenly blurted out. How could he have forgotten?!

Kuro sighed heavily when he heard that. 'And here I had thought that he had forgotten… I don't think I can take much more of this conversation.' He looked back up to Mahiru's eager face and couldn't help but to slump fully onto the table. He really, really did not want to argue about training right now. He was just so exhausted. Mahiru's little speech had completely drained him. He was worn out both mentally and emotionally. He did not want to make any more decisions…but Mahiru had basically just shoved all of the responsibility on to him. But…how was he supposed to tell Mahiru to take it back? If he did, Mahiru would pry, and he could live without that. He'd…think of something…later…preferably before they got into another fight. 'Might as well get the yelling over with now,' he thought tiredly before speaking. "What…did you want to ask?" he sighed heavily. He really wasn't looking forward to this.

If Mahiru took any notice of his less than enthusiastic tone of voice he didn't give it any heed. "It's nothing really big but…I was wondering…where did you learn how to cook from anyways? The ramen that you made was really good!" the Eve said as he smiled at the vampire.

Kuro's exhausted gaze looked up at Mahiru in bewilderment. That had not been what the vampire had been expecting. He wasn't sure if the topic of training would come up at all now, but he'd still be on guard for it regardless. However, he now had a completely different dilemma. Was it safe to answer this question? It wasn't like Mahiru was prying too deeply and it was a rather valid question… He couldn't help but to yawn tiredly as his eyes met Mahiru's again. "…I know how to cook…because it was necessary… There didn't…always used to be instant meals," he replied. There, that was close enough to the truth that Mahiru wouldn't read too much into it.

A light bulb seemed to have gone off in Mahiru's mind. The exhausted vampire could see his eyes light up at that revelation. "That makes sense! You've been around for a really long time, right? I guess you would have to know how to cook if you didn't want to starve," the Eve said as he continued smiling. He was happy that Kuro was starting to tell him things, even if they seemed inconsequential. His smile suddenly fell from his face though, and that instantly put Kuro on alert. "Hey…Kuro…how did you…pay for things when you didn't have an Eve?" Mahiru suddenly asked. Somehow, he couldn't imagine Kuro working small odd jobs to obtain some money to pay for things like food but…he had been proven wrong before.

"Does it really matter?" Kuro asked back. Mahiru blinked in surprise when he heard the slight frostiness to Kuro's tone of voice. It was a clear warning that the vampire did not want to speak about the subject any longer.

As much as Mahiru wanted to push for answers, he was now really curious as to what Kuro was hiding, now was not the time to do so. "I guess not… I was just curious was all."

Kuro sighed almost inaudibly when he heard Mahiru drop the subject. He was certain that if his Eve found out he would be disappointed… Well, maybe not so much disappointed as he would be horrified. Mahiru had the habit of making a mountain out of a mole hill. He had just gotten up to place his bowl in the sink when Mahiru spoke up again, "You didn't steal to survive, did you?!" he asked. Clearly Mahiru could not let this one go. Kuro sent a slight glare toward his Eve but didn't reply. "You didn't, right Kuro?!" Mahiru asked again a little more loudly this time. It was a valid question to Mahiru! After all, he had found Kuro helping himself the day that he had seen him in his human form for the first time!

Kuro sighed heavily before he flopped back down onto his chair. Mahiru was not going to let this one go. "Stealing sounds like a lot of work," was his exhausted reply. Was it so much to ask for Mahiru to shut up so then he could go and slink away to go to sleep?

"Then…what did you do to get food?" Apparently, it was too much to ask for.

"Mahiru…what…am I?" Kuro eventually asked him.

Mahiru blinked at the sudden question. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion as he answered, "A vampire. But I don't see wh-!" he started to say before his eyes widened at the implications. "You mean, you drank blood?! You didn't kill anyone, did you?!"

Kuro couldn't help the annoyed expression that crossed his face at that insinuation. "I don't even wanna drink your blood! Why would I go after someone else? That's a crime!"

Mahiru sighed in relief at that response. However, it still did not explain just what Kuro did to get money when he was not bound to an Eve. "Then…just what do you do, Kuro?"

Kuro really did not want to answer. It was very tempting to just poof into his cat form right about now. At least then he could go and hide somewhere, even if it was uncomfortable to be in that form for long. Oh, he knew that Mahiru would eventually find him and badger him then, but at least he would get a break from this conversation. Glancing at Mahiru's concerned face crumbled his will to do that though. He sighed heavily again before he felt his bangs cover his eyes. "This has gotten so troublesome that I could just die…" he complained. The vampire paused for a moment before he finally decided to answer. "…I'm a vampire, Mahiru. I'm immortal…" he said in a soft tone. "Going without food…will not kill me…" he finished in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

Mahiru's eyes widened when his mind caught up to what Kuro had told him. 'He literally starves?! But why?! That has to be more troublesome than finding some kind of work! …Right? No, I'm sure of that. So…there has to be another reason. …but…I've pried too deeply tonight to even entertain the thought of asking him why. I shouldn't have even pried this much to be honest…' Mahiru thought as he watched Kuro. The vampire was clearly exasperated and annoyed with him. He was also clearly done with this conversation and he was clearly done with him for the night. 'I guess…that was probably why I found you while you were in cat form. You had clearly not eaten for a long while and had finally run out of stamina… I guess that's also why I found you eating so much when I came home from school too…'

This time when Kuro stood up from the table Mahiru didn't stop him. He watched as his Servamp placed his bowl in the sink and started washing it. Mahiru felt awful when he saw that. 'I've clearly dragged up some bad memories if he's actually washing his dishes without complaint…' Kuro must have realized what he was doing as well because he suddenly stopped and just looked blankly at the dish that he had been washing. After a moment he continued to wash it and when he finished he set it off to the side to dry. With his hands dried, Kuro shoved them into his pockets and silently started to make his way down the hall to the room that he was using. Mahiru hadn't been able to see the vampire's eyes since Kuro had told him that he basically starved when he didn't have an Eve. He was hurting and Mahiru knew that he was the cause of that hurt.

Kuro was about half way down the hall when Mahiru found his voice again. "Kuro…wait…" he said as he stood up from the table. He watched as Kuro slowly came to a stop. He didn't turn around to face Mahiru, but he hadn't completely ignored him either. Mahiru took a few steps closer to him, but still left Kuro some personal space. "…I'm sorry, Kuro… You clearly did not wish to talk about this…but I continued to pry anyways. …I didn't…mean to bring up any bad memories… I just…wanted to get to know you better…" he apologized.

Kuro didn't say anything, but Mahiru did see him nod slightly before he continued on to his room. Mahiru sighed guiltily. He wasn't quite forgiven. Kuro's body language told him that much. He'd leave Kuro alone for a little while before checking in on him later. He had just turned around to go and wash his own dishes when he heard a loud crash come from down the hallway. "Kuro!" he yelled when he reached the vampire's room. He flung the door open but was only assaulted with darkness. He quickly found the light switch on the wall before flicking the lights on…

Author's Note: Ahh, it's been a while since I've written a cliff hanger chapter. I forgot how satisfying it is to do so. I also just want to let everyone know that updates are now going to be when I find the time to write them up. It's back to student teaching for me! Don't worry about the next chapter taking too long to get out though, I do know where I would like for it to go, it's just sitting down and getting it written. If you're enjoying the fic so far, please leave a review, fav or follow! See you all in the next chapter!