-- Chapter 10 - Falling part 3 --

The older man’s eyes widened and he opened and shut his mouth at least half a dozen times with no words coming out. It was painfully obvious to Zero what he thought, though.

Zero stood there, unconsciously gripping the edge of the door once more until his knuckles showed white, butterflies multiplying crazily in his stomach. He felt unaccountably like he was about to be sentenced.

To death.

By an enraged father.

His own adopted one, no less.

Behind him, he could hear Yuuki trying very hard to creep out of bed as silently as she could. Well, it was too late for that now…

Zero turned his head slightly. “Yuuki…” he said, and heard her soft gasp. Turning around more fully, he saw the confused look of astonished betrayal in Yuuki’s wide eyes as she moved up behind him, unconsciously still trying to avoid being seen by her adopted father. “Zero…?” she breathed.

Zero dipped his head for a moment. I’m sorry, Yuuki… but it’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to him…

Then he lifted his head and hardened his voice. “Your Father’s waiting, Yuuki.”

Yuuki closed her eyes for a moment when she heard the tone in Zero’s voice. He may have sounded uncaring, callous even… but she knew him too well too think of it as being anything other than a pretence. He was distancing himself, closing up, hiding behind his walls again. But the Chairman had shoved the door open now and even though the edge hit Zero rather painfully in the elbow, neither men said anything.

Yuuki looked up into the disbelieving eyes of her father. Even though she was fully clothed this time, which was better than the many occasions when she hadn’t been, and in her own pyjamas, which was definitely better than Zero’s sweater which she’d worn for a while last night, it was still enough for a somewhat guilty flush to creep up her cheeks.

She opened her mouth to say something, to alleviate the unfounded fears she could see swimming in the eyes of her father but he spoke first.

“Yuuki – go to your room. Now.” his voice brooked no argument. Yuuki glanced sideways at Zero – he was staring at the wall beside him instead of at her. His entire body radiated a final sort of distantness… remoteness… as though he no longer considered himself a part of this family.

She turned back to face the Chairman. “Father?” her voice came out smaller than she’d intended. But it had the desired effect of getting him to look down at her.

Yuuki crammed her knuckles against her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to say so many things right there and then…

“Nothing happened” was at the top of the list. Followed most likely by “Zero was upset last night” and “We just slept together”, then perhaps “We really didn’t do anything!”.

But although those phrases would cover this time, or at least the time after her shower last night, they couldn’t cover the numerous other occasions they’d slept in each other’s arms and the little situations that had occurred then. She knew she had to say something that would cover all the times, not just this one. And she only had one chance to stop the mounting anger and disbelief that was now sparking in her adopted father’s eyes.

Struggling briefly with herself, Yuuki opened her eyes to glance once more at Zero’s tense back before she looked back at her father. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she said simply “Father, no matter what Zero tells you… no matter what you think we did… I trust him.”

Zero’s body jerked a little at her words and she heard his sharp indrawn breath but her gentle gaze stayed on her father’s. Believe me… Zero would rather die than break my trust or harm me in any way… her large eyes silently beseeched him.

“I trust Zero. Always…” she said, speaking past the sudden lump in her throat, her voice hardly above a whisper. Then she turned and slipped past both of them. The Chairman watched until Yuuki had unlocked her door and slipped inside. Her door closed with a very soft click.

There was another moment of silence before the Chairman turned to look at Zero, who was still staring silently at the wall. “I’ll be waiting in my study. Come over when you’ve had your breakfast” he told Zero before stalking off.

Zero swallowed painfully, then bent forward to lean his forehead and palms on the cool surface of the wall he’d been staring at. Well, he’d done it for sure this time. He’d gotten himself in trouble and he’d gotten Yuuki in trouble too, despite the fact she was always and forever only trying to help him. Take away ten – no, a hundred points from Zero and give them to Kuran… At this rate, the pureblood must be close to the finish line in the race to win Yuuki’s heart by now, he thought bitterly. The pureblood had, to his credit, never been in Yuuki’s bed as far as he knew…

Many gut wrenching minutes later, Zero straightened up with a sigh. He wasn’t going to bother with breakfast - his churning stomach would have refused anything right now anyway. He brushed his teeth, got dressed then left his room. Yuuki’s room door was still closed but he just gave it a glance before forcing himself to walk down the corridor towards the Chairman’s study.

A mirthless smile twisted Zero’s lips. Was he going to be expelled from Cross Academy? Was he going to be chased out from this place, which was also his home? Perhaps the Chairman would just tell him to go back to his room, get his Bloody Rose gun and end his worthless, miserable and pathetic life. In the bathroom if you please - bathtub preferably - so that the resultant mess wouldn’t be too difficult to clean up …

Zero didn’t even realised his thoughts had blown somewhat out of proportion, nor did he make any allowances that this mess could quite easily be straightened out with a rational and mature discussion between him and his adopted father. He wasn’t conscious of the fact that he was building walls around himself again, stacking the bricks of denial and guilt hastily and carelessly.

Perhaps unconsciously he knew there was no way his pride would allow him to explain his actions, that he was already reverting to the sullen and defensive person he’d been when he’d first been brought here. Brought here and enveloped in the unconditional loving warmth of a family, with a kindly (if sometimes silly and a little irritating) father figure, and a loving and generous (if sometimes pushy and determined) sister. And he’d grown up with them, found himself a part of that love and warmth… and somehow, cleverly managed to ruin it all.

Zero found himself standing outside the Chairman’s study without knowing how he’d gotten there and he actually raised a hand to knock on the heavy wooden door before realising it was already wide open. The older man was sitting behind his desk, obviously waiting for him. His face was unsmiling, stern. It was a complete departure from the normal cheerful, slightly scatterbrained one Zero was used to, and his heart sank from rock bottom to… well, whatever was lower than that.

“Sit down, Zero” said the Chairman, gesturing to the chair opposite him. Zero’s gaze slid away as he walked to the chair and sat down.

Another awkward silence fell. Zero was gazing fixedly at the wall on his right as if it was superimposed with the most interesting art in the world, his arms folded across his chest.

The Chairman rested his chin on his clasped hands, his eyes drawn to the flowered tattoo high up on Zero’s neck. He’d been full of righteous protective fatherly anger just now when he’d heard Zero’s words and saw with his own eyes the guilty flush on Yuuki’s face. But in the short space of time between then and now, he’d had time to think a bit. Think about how much of that anger was actually just envy at the closeness between Zero and Yuuki. Think about Yuuki, his gentle princess, and how much she meant to him and to Zero. Think about how much she loved both of them with all of her generous if sometimes still child-like heart. Think about how much Zero loved Yuuki in return, although he was beginning to suspect not entirely in the same way. Think about how he loved them both, from the moment he’d brought them to his home and thought of them as his own. Yes, even Zero - this angry and tortured young man sitting in front of him who was again hiding behind that expressionless face and unreadable eyes. And most of all… think about what to say to Zero now because no matter what, he was a part of his life. They both were his family.

Zero was still grimly staring at the wall and the tightly clenched jaw told the older man he wasn’t going to say anything. He wasn’t going to explain his actions, he wasn’t going to defend himself. He looked like he fully expected the worst sort of punishment.

The Chairman sighed. “Is this the first time Yuuki slept in your bed?” he asked.

Zero’s jaw clenched tighter but he didn’t turn his head. “Yes” he said.

Something about the way he said that jogged the older man’s memory. About a couple of mornings when he’d knocked on Yuuki’s door and she’d sounded flustered. Agitated even…

“What about you sleeping in Yuuki’s bed?”

Zero swallowed. He was being inquisitioned, no doubt about it. “Twice” he bit out.

The Chairman’s eyebrows shot up. How long had this been going on?

Zero turned to look at him with bleak amethyst eyes. “It’s not Yuuki’s fault, it’s mine. Don’t – don’t be angry with her…” he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat before turning to stare at the wall again, ignoring the sudden tightness in his throat and the heat creeping up his face.

The older man shook his head, then realised Zero didn’t see that. He sighed again. “Zero, would you please look at me, there’s nothing on that wall…”

Zero complied silently.

The Chairman phrased his next question carefully. “Is it because those were the times you drank her blood?”

Zero started to nod his head, changed his mind then shook it instead. He did drink from her during one of those times but he might as well be thoroughly honest about it… and it wasn’t as though holding back would make a difference now.

The Chairman’s lifted eyebrow caused Zero to flush anew, feeling miserably guilty. “Sort of…” he muttered, looking down again. Drank her blood and more… he thought.

The older man hesitated. “Zero, Yuuki is the most precious thing to me” he said in a slightly softened tone. “The last thing I want is for her to get hurt …”

Zero’s head jerked up. “I would never hurt her. Never.” he spoke vehemently. Didn’t the Chairman already know that? he thought angrily. Even if he weren’t in love with Yuuki, even if he really only thought of her as a younger sister, he would never hurt her. His eyes flashed with pain at the fact that the Chairman actually believed him capable of it.

“I know… I know” said the older man softly. Then, as Zero looked very slightly mollified at this, he added “And I’m not angry with Yuuki. I know how much she loves you, how much she wants to help you” He uttered a heavy sigh. “And… I’m not even really angry with you… somehow.” A somewhat rueful smile appeared on his face as he stared at an astounded Zero.

Something hung in the silence – it was a “but” just screaming to be heard at the end of that sentence. So Zero asked it for both of them. “But?”

The older man sighed. “But I don’t want it to happen again.”

Zero glared heatedly at him. “Nothing happened” he said. Steadily. Evenly. Ignoring the damning heat he could feel washing over his cheeks again because he knew what he said wasn’t one hundred percent accurate.

The Chairman couldn’t help a rush of relief that it wasn’t as serious as he’d initially thought even though the blush on Zero’s face also told him it wasn’t completely nothing either. He held up his hands, as though warding off the searing heat radiating out from Zero’s eyes.

“OK, OK, point taken… ” Then, as Zero relaxed slightly, he added quietly “But what if something did get out of hand? Zero, you’re a boy. Almost a man. And Yuuki… she’s still a child sometimes. You’d be responsible for that… that… breach of trust Yuuki has in you.”

Zero swallowed; the meaning behind the Chairman’s words were crystal clear. Would he do that? Would he go that far? He wanted to for sure, but only if she… suddenly, he didn’t know. Zero forced a laugh that sounded completely mirthless, even to his own ears.

“Don’t worry. Yuuki… doesn’t see me that way” he grated, his throat closing even tighter with pain. The Chairman had nothing to fear on that score.

There was a sudden pause as both the Chairman and Zero realised the latter had practically confessed his innermost secret. Colour draining suddenly from his face, Zero looked as if he would have liked to bite his own tongue. Despite his surprise at this rather unexpected confirmation of what he’d already begun to suspect since the night of Yuuki’s nightmare, the Chairman couldn’t help but smile a little at the horrified look on Zero’s face.

“Uh… I mean…” Zero trailed off and muttered a curse under his breath. Oh God…

As the embarrassing pause lengthened, Zero looked up hesitantly, surprised to see the Chairman smiling a little. “Well, it’s hard not to love her…” he said. “We all do…”

The amethyst eyes widened in shock.

“Besides, Yuuki doesn’t know herself yet… so we shouldn’t either” said the older man next, causing Zero’s mouth to actually drop open for a moment.

Then the Chairman sighed again and stood up. “Well… I should go check on her. You go ahead and have your breakfast and change into your uniform, otherwise you’ll be late for class.”

Zero sat there, frozen to the spot. Stunned. “That’s it?” he asked, his tone as disbelieving as the look on his face.

The older man shrugged. “What did you expect?” he asked, looking a little surprised.

Zero made a vague gesture with his hand, stopped, then ran it shakily through his hair. “I thought…” he muttered, then broke off.

“You thought what? That I’d chase you out of here?” said the Chairman, smiling once more at the look of surprised chagrin on Zero’s face mixed with disbelief that he wasn’t about to face the firing squad. Dawning relief appeared next.

“But – ”

The look of intense relief disappeared as Zero’s expression became guarded once more. He didn’t quite like the sound of this ‘but’.

“But you had best drink from me from now on…” finished the Chairman. He didn’t miss the sudden and intent look of mingled dismay and disappointment in Zero’s eyes before he glanced away. Not ever drink from Yuuki again…? Only from the Chairman? Zero pressed his lips together to keep from grimacing. He should be grateful, it was more than he’d expected, wasn’t it? After all, the Chairman had offered him his own blood. And he still had a home here, he could still see Yuuki, talk to her, be with her, protect her…

He didn’t see the older man smiling a little before he sobered up. Reaching out, he squeezed Zero’s shoulder. “You’re a good boy, Zero” he said softly. “I don’t want you to go…”

Zero looked up into his adopted father’s careworn eyes, seeing the understanding and love there. He knew he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Once again, the sudden inexplicable urge to throw his arms around the older man threatened to overwhelm him.

“Father…” Zero stopped, unable to say more. He settled for placing his hand over the hand on his shoulder and giving it a brief hard squeeze in return. Then, he shot up from the chair and practically fled the room before the older man could see the humiliating weakness that filled his eyes.

- o -

Yuuki had already gotten dressed in her school uniform and was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees, gazing at her blanket but not seeing anything. In a way, she was glad her father knew. It was rather worrying and stressful always having to tip toe around him even if she suspected he already knew Zero drank her blood.

And she always somehow felt a little guilty that she was keeping something from the Chairman. She owed him so much; he’d taken her in when she didn’t have a family to look after her, when she didn’t even know who she was. And he’d not only taken care of her, he’d adopted her and given her his name and protection. And a home and education and as much fatherly love as she could have wished. And if she never felt a mother’s love, the Chairman was sometimes that well. A small smile tugged at her lips at the memories of how irrepressible her father could be. And she also had Kaname-sempai and Zero watching over her, beside her, as she grew up. Kaname, whenever he could spare time from his busy life and the responsibilities that came with being a pureblood. Zero, everyday for the past four years… when he wasn’t hiding from her in one of his sullen moods.

Yuuki’s smile faded. Zero… She prayed her father would see it the way she did – see him the way she did. She trusted Zero implicitly. Even though sometimes…

Yuuki caught at her lower lip again. Even though sometimes, Zero behaved in a less than brotherly fashion towards her. She supposed it must be somewhat normal for a healthy teenage boy… After all, look at Aido – that playboy vampire seemed to live for the moments when the Moon Dorm gates opened to a horde of screaming Day Class girls…

But she treasured the quiet moments when Zero took from her what he needed. What she was willing to give him. The moments of perfect silence when he would hold her in her arms, making her feel cherished, protected and loved. Somehow, she just couldn’t picture those moments if the Chairman were to insist that all future blood drinking took place only in his presence. Like in his study for example… A wry smile twisted Yuuki’s lips as she wondered how willing would Zero be to drink from her neck right in front of the Chairman’s watchful eyes… He’d probably only take from her wrist then… Another memory arose now, causing her smile to surface before fading once more. And he wouldn’t ever be able to clean her fingers the way he liked to. And she knew he liked that very much indeed. If she were completely honest with herself, she’d admit that she liked that too.

Still…

The knock on her door startled Yuuki out of her confused musings. “Come in, Father” she called but didn’t move from her bed. She looked up as the Chairman opened the door and walked into her room. She tried a smile but it wasn’t a very successful one although she was very relieved not to see any anger on his face.

The Chairman sat down on the edge of her bed. Before he could say anything, Yuuki asked “Father, what did you say – or do – to Zero?”

He frowned a little and peered at her over his glasses. “What do you think I did?” he asked a little exasperatedly. “Chase him out of Cross Academy, waving a shotgun?” Yuuki’s smile was genuine this time. She even gave a watery giggle at the mental picture his words invoked.

The Chairman regarded her silently for a moment. “I trust Zero too, Yuuki” he continued in a more gentle tone. Then, as Yuuki’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, he continued “But perhaps… it’s best if he drinks only from me from now on.”

Yuuki blinked even though she had suspected it. “You know about… about Zero and – and I - ” she asked, faltering a little.

“Yes, I know” her father said a little dryly. And have known for some time actually… he thought inwardly.

Then Yuuki recalled his actual words and her eyes widened. “Drink… your blood?” she whispered, eyes wide.

The Chairman looked slightly irritated. “Is it so hard to believe that I would give my own blood to Zero? To my own son?” he asked in that aggrieved tone Yuuki knew so well.

Almost automatically, she started to shake her head but her father ranted on. “Oh, I know my blood isn’t as sweet as yours, Yuuki. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it either, do you?” His eyes dared Yuuki to say anything other than agree with him.

“No, no, of course not…” she murmured placatingly, distractedly wondering what Zero would say to this surprising turn of events. Even assuming he agreed… she didn’t realise she had tuned out her father’s further words and she didn’t realised he had stopped talking and was now looking at her intently.

“Yuuki…”

Yuuki started, then shot a guilty look at him. Oh dear, how much had she missed? Was it her cue to say something now?

“How do you feel about Zero drinking your blood?”

Yuuki’s blush intensified - this was the first time they’d actually discussed Zero’s ‘problem’ without him being there, and she wondered what to say. “Er… I – I don’t mind…” she finally stammered. “I – I mean, I’m helping him, right…” she trailed off under the rather knowing gaze of her father.

“Just don’t mind?” he asked.

Yuuki hesitated, staring at her bedsheet, cheeks flaming by now. This had to be, without a doubt, the strangest conversation she’d ever had with the Chairman, and she wasn’t at all sure how to proceed. She wanted to answer him honestly – she’d never kept any secrets from her father before. He even knew about her infatuation with Kaname-sempai. In fact, the only things she’d kept from him were Zero drinking her blood… and the fact that they’d kissed… But at the same time, she didn’t want to make things worse.

The Chairman lost track of how many times he’d sighed this morning. “I doubt Zero will be any more enthusiastic about taking my blood than you are at him not taking yours…” he said dryly. Yuuki bit her lip – was it that obvious? She peeped up at him, surprised to see the resigned and slightly amused look on his face as he looked at her.

After a moment, he got off the bed. “Well, I’ll just be a backup then… But, Yuuki, make sure he doesn’t take too much each time, or you’ll get dizzy…”

Yuuki’s mouth fell open. “Father…” she breathed. “Are – are you saying…?”

The Chairman continued walking to the door. As he reached for the doorknob, he hesitated a moment, then turned to look at her.

“But no more locked doors, Yuuki… and no more sleeping in each other’s beds…” he eyed her sternly for a moment, seeing the sudden chagrin that threatened to wipe out the astonishment in the wide chocolate eyes. He turned to open the door.

“Father!” The Chairman had barely turned around when something ran full tilt into him. Yuuki flung her arms around her father’s waist, hugging him tightly for a moment. Then she pulled away to look up into his face. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears but she smiled happily. “Thank you” she said simply.

The Chairman sniffed, trying to look as unaffected as possible. “Don’t know what you’re thanking me for… it’s Zero who should be grateful…”

Yuuki blinked hard, then smiled again. “He is, Father… I know he is” she said softly. She inhaled when she felt her father’s gentle hand on the top of her head for a moment, the way he used to when she was much younger. Then he turned and left.

Yuuki stood there for several minutes, almost unable to take it all in. He knew… he knew what they’d been doing… probably much earlier than this morning… and it was OK… it was somehow astoundingly unbelievably OK… Well, except for the sleeping bit… she shook her head – that wasn’t important… well it was but still… A happy grin lit her face again. They were probably horrendously late for class… they would probably get detention for a week… they hadn’t even had breakfast… and she wanted to see the look on Zero’s face. Now.

Still barefooted, Yuuki flew down the corridor and into the dining room, skidding to a stop at the entrance to the kitchen and clinging onto the door jamb to keep her balance. Zero was in the kitchen, sitting at the table in his usual seat with his back towards the door, a sandwich in his hand. He turned his head to look at her when she appeared, still chewing. Then he looked down into his mug of coffee. And Yuuki was suddenly and extremely inexplicably furious.

“Ow!” A punch landed on his arm. Zero looked up in alarm as Yuuki started pummelling him hard with her small fists. He’d gotten them before but not so many and all at once. And for all her petite size, Yuuki’s punches actually hurt. He threw up his arms, warding off the blows. “Ow, hey, stop that! Stop…!” He tried to catch her flailing fists one handed but failed. “Yuuki, have you gone crazy?!”

“Zero… you… jerk!” panted Yuuki between punches, before finally stopping to catch her breath. Angry tears shone in her eyes.

Zero stared at her. Was she angry because he’d told the Chairman she was in his room? “I’m sorry, I - ”

“I thought you didn’t like us anymore… that you didn’t want to stay with Father and me anymore…” Yuuki interrupted accusingly.

Zero inhaled sharply. “No! No, I never said that…” He looked astounded at this. “Yuuki, I – I just…” he broke off, shrugging helplessly, not knowing how to continue. Sighing, he dropped his sandwich back onto the table.

Yuuki glared at him again. “Thanks to you, we can’t – we can’t – ” she broke off, aghast that she’d almost blurted out the fact that she was actually disappointed they couldn’t sleep together anymore. Sleep, she meant of course, and not… not anything else…

Zero misunderstood her. “Well…” he hesitated. “I guess you’ll be free of fainting spells from now on” he said, trying for sarcasm but not really succeeding. Yuuki raised her eyebrows in surprise.

He glanced away then added tonelessly “I’ll have to drink Father’s blood from now on…”, feeling a sharp twinge of disappointment twisting in his gut. He made a small grimace of disgust, wondering how it would feel to drink from his father’s neck instead of Yuuki’s. Ahh… Yuuki’s neck. Her irresistibly sweet scent. Her creamy soft skin and her enticing curves. The way she threaded her fingers through his hair, holding his head to her neck… the way she trustingly leaned against him in his arms after that…

Yuuki was staring at him. One part of her mind acknowledged the surprising fact that Zero had called the Chairman ‘Father’ without realising it, the other part registered the fact that Zero didn’t know what her Father had said to her. That Zero thought he could no longer come to her for… “Did Father tell you that?” she asked.

“Yeah…” he said rather bleakly, staring at the table.

There was a pause.

Then a soft laugh sounded and Zero’s head jerked up, his eyes narrowing. Well, someone was happy not to be a blood donor anymore… and he felt the knife in his gut twist again.

Yuuki saw his look and laughed again, shaking her head at him.

Something in Yuuki’s impishly sparkling eyes… those beautiful wide eyes that could never hide what she was thinking… a small frisson of hope blossomed in Zero’s heart. “Why, what did he tell you?” he asked. Then, as Yuuki didn’t say anything beyond giving another merry peal of laughter, he twisted in his seat to face her fully and reached out, holding her upper arms.

He shook her slightly. “Tell me!” he demanded. Yuuki laughed harder, still shaking her head.

“Tell me, Yuuki!” groaned Zero, torn between wildly surging hope and absolute disappointment.

Yuuki finally stopped laughing. “Just… not to drain me too much each time, that’s all…” she confessed, smiling through sudden tears.

Zero’s mouth fell open. “He said that?” he asked, stunned. Yuuki nodded, enjoying the look on Zero’s face. After a moment, he let go of her arms to push his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe it…” he murmured almost to himself. Then he looked up at Yuuki again. “Did you ask him to let me…let me…” he drifted off.

“No, I didn’t” said Yuuki, now enjoying herself hugely.

Zero swallowed hard, then gave a rather disbelieving laugh. He half stood up, reaching for Yuuki again, but familiar footsteps were approaching the kitchen and there was no time now to do what he actually wanted to do. Yuuki had heard them as well. She reached for the loaf of bread but they both looked up when the Chairman entered the kitchen.

“What, still here?” he asked mildly. “You two are late for class as it is…” His shrewd eyes didn’t miss the fact that Yuuki was smiling happily and Zero was looking astounded as if he’d just only received a very good piece of news. The Chairman’s words caused both of them to start eating at top speed, Yuuki for once eating without speaking.

The Chairman waited for a moment then he delivered another piece of good news, feeling unexpectedly benevolent at this moment, after the rather stormy episode a few minutes earlier. “I’ve just been to see your teachers, they will excuse you if you are on time for your next class in…” he checked his watch “… 15 minutes.” He didn’t wait for a reply before walking off.

Yuuki and Zero stared at his back, then at each other. Zero’s gaze was intent, and Yuuki looked down, suddenly shy of meeting his gaze. She knew what he was on the verge of doing just now, if the Chairman hadn’t walked in. They cleared up then walked back to their respective rooms.

Zero paused outside his door. “Yuuki…”

She glanced at him.

“I’m going to shower, wait for me?” he asked.

Yuuki smiled. “Of course” she said. Zero didn’t smile this time but his eyes did, and it was enough.

Yuuki hummed to herself as she took her time running a comb through her hair and pulling on her socks and shoes. Then she left her room and leaned against the wall to wait for Zero, he was already back in his room. Barely a minute later, he opened his door and stepped out, pulling on his jacket, silver hair damp from the shower.

They started walking back down the corridor, Zero pushing the knot in his tie snugly against his collar. Halfway, he stopped and held her arm.

“Yuuki…” he said. There was a tender longing in that low voice and Yuuki couldn’t help the soft blush that crept up her cheeks again. “Yes…?” she whispered, turning to face him.

Zero pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “I wanted to do this just now…” he confessed, leaning down to bury his face in her hair and inhaling deeply.

Yuuki smiled and wrapped her own arms around him, under his jacket. She pressed her cheek against his shirt, loving the sound of his heartbeat next to her ear. “I know” she said softly.

They stood there in silence until the bell rang to signal the next class then they broke apart reluctantly.

“Let’s go…”

“Yeah…”

Zero held Yuuki’s hand as they ran out of the main building and down the path to their classrooms, letting go only when they reached the classrooms.

-- End --