Chapter 13

The sun rose slowly and the couple watched quietly as the burning sunlight began to dance across the white bed sheets that now reaked out of their sickeningly sweet sweat and passionate lovemaking. The aftermath of the situation was overwhelmingly intoxicating, for both of the vampires were spun into a headspace of pure lust and overcoming satisfaction. Yuki's belly was full of warmth from the suckling of Zero's blood and though she hadn't drank from him for hours now, the sensation of his juices slivering down her throat stuck to her permanently and she was laying in a careless bliss. For the first time in a long time, she was completely at peace. A feeling she never expected to come across in the arms of the notoriously hotheaded Zero Kiryu.

By the time it was eight o'clock and the morning bells were to be ringing, Yuki came to the happy realization that it was finally the weekend and her weekly responsibilities had come to a temporary end. She curled up even more gleefully in Zero's arms, who was finally asleep, and snuggled herself underneath his stiff comforter. She was strangely giddy after her discovery earlier in the night, where she had cried and bawled for what she thought would be endlessly, and even found herself holding back school girl giggles as she stirred in his arms. Her movement was quickly stopped when she felt Zero's arms squeeze around her slightly and she bit onto her bottom lip, trying to pretend that she was asleep as well. She even puffed out heavier breaths to give the illusion she had been passed out just as long as he had. "I want you to come back to the day class," he said. His voice was sleepy but somehow stern. Yuki's heart dropped and though she attempted to stay in her pretend sleep, she finally caved, as she knew her quickened heartbeat would surely give her away to the silent vampire. "What?" She said. For some reason, she had been completely caught off guard and never expected for him to ask such a thing. "It's where you belong," Zero said, "I don't want to do it alone anymore." Yuki's excited mood had come to end and she slowly began to sulk in his arms, laying her head back down to the crook of his neck and laying her hand to his chest. His heartbeat was slow and steady, she could feel it on her cool skin, as she curled in closer and gazed into the darkness between the two of them. They were so close she could practically taste him. "They talk about me," she whispered, "I know they do. If I go back, they'll talk about me even more. Where I can see it, hear it maybe." Zero's arm tightened again around her small frame and she was shocked to feel him jiggle a few times, clearly attempting to hold back a chuckle or two. Yuki quickly sat up and pouted out her bottom lip as she looked down to Zero, who was covering his face apart from his mouth which was formed into a smile as he began to laugh fully. "What is it?" Yuki said, "it's true and you know it." Despite her words, he continued to laugh and only stopped after she had pulled his hands away and his icy eyes met hers. He grinned up at her, causing the girl to blush automatically, and he said softly, "It's silly to care about what those mortal girls think of you." Yuki stared at him for a long time before cracking a smile and saying, "I was a mortal girl, you know." Their eyes stayed connected, even as Zero said even softer, "No. You were different."

There was an abrupt knocking on the door that immediately snapped the vampires out of their loving trance and sent Yuki out of the bed. She leapt to her feet and immediately ran to the closet, a sight that Zero never thought he would be seeing, and she motioned for him to go to the door as she began to shut herself in. Both confused and amused by her actions, Zero slowly rose to his feet and dressed himself in the clothes that had been carelessly thrown onto the floor the night before. The closet door was open only a crack but with his unnatural senses, he could hear the uneasiness of her breathing and it made him grin even that much wider. Another knocking erupted from the door before the voice of their adoptive father cried out, "Zero! Zero, I want to talk to yoooou!"

When he opened the door, Zero was greeted by Kaien Cross, who immediately threw his arms around the white haired boy's shoulders and hugged him tightly. "Good morning!" He sang as he finally backed off and strode past Zero, invading his bedroom without another thought. Kaien pretended not to notice the panties that were peeking out from underneath the bed and turned to his son with a wide smile, clapping his hands together and earning himself a grimace from Zero. "What do you want?" Zero said blankly. He rarely spoke to his adoptive father in any other tone and with each word, he couldn't help but hear the quickening heartbeat of Yuki who was still hidden in his closet. "It's been a while so I figured you may be thirsty," Kaien chirped, "I'm always here to offer my services!" The vampire's neutral expression dropped into a look of annoyance and he gestured towards the door, which Kaien skipped towards without a word. As he grabbed onto the doorknob to close the door behind himself, he said innocently, "Glad to see you and my Yuki are getting along again." As he closed the door, Zero slowly turned to face Yuki, who's eyes were wide as saucers.

Visibly shaken by the close encounter, Yuki slunk down onto the edge of the bed and proceeded to dress herself back into her clothing from the night before. The tides of the atmosphere had completely turned and Zero sat down beside her, his smile now gone as he said, "Are you alright?" Yuki quickly assured him that she was fine, followed by an awkward quietness that neither of them could ignore. "You don't sound alright. Why did that worry you so much?" Her chocolate eyes met his and she faked a half smile, shrugging her shoulders and lying, "It's just weird, you know? My father being here this morning." She had finished dressing herself and then stood up from the bed, exhaling a loud sigh and shrugging her shoulders. Zero rose from the bed and grasped onto her hand quickly. "How about we go out to town today?" He said quickly, "Or just for a walk. Whatever you'd like." Her small hand slowly slipped from his grasp and she clutched onto her own hand, shrugging her shoulders again and saying with a fake smile, "Not today. I need to get dressed in fresh clothes." But that wasn't the case and Zero knew it.

"You know I'd wait for you to go back and freshen yourself up," Zero said slowly. He stood up straight and despite trying to remain frozen, his voice cracked as he said, "You're ashamed of it. Being with me." He turned away from her, ashamed of himself for being so naive and foolish, and opened the door abruptly. They stood in silence as he hung his head down and Yuki slowly walked towards the door. "I'm not ashamed," Yuki finally said in a small voice, "I'm afraid of what they will think." Zero's head remained bowed down and he refused to look at her. The silence was like a plague that they desperately wanted to get away from yet Yuki just stayed in the doorway. Zero said slowly, "You're afraid of what he will think."