-- Chapter 3 - Your room or mine - part 2--

Thirty minutes later, Yuuki put down her chopsticks with a sigh of satisfaction. By unspoken consent, the Chairman’s dishes had ended up in the rubbish bin and they’d enjoyed a simple meal of steaming noodles in soup with fried eggs.

Yuuki had quickly changed to a clean shirt then cleared the dining table. She was busy washing the dishes at the sink while she waited for a pot of water to boil for the noodles. She’d just started rinsing the dishes when she heard the rustle of plastic and turned around to see Zero, wet hair slicked back and wearing a clean sweater and pyjama pants, silently emptying 2 packets of instant noodles into the boiling water. He ignored her look and she kept silent, instinctively knowing he didn’t want to speak… he was always a little more withdrawn than usual after drinking her blood, as though embarrassed that she’d seen him vulnerable under the wicked control of the bloodlust, as though he was unsure of how to face her despite it not being the first time he’d drunk her blood.

In any case, he cooked a better bowl of noodles than she did… The companionable silence had lasted while they ate. Yuuki was feeling comfortably full and as well as tired and sleepy. She should get more rest, the last thing she wanted was to faint again in front of Zero and cause him even more guilt.

She checked a yawn and roused herself. “Well, let’s clear up” she said, reaching for his empty bowl. His hand closed over hers. “I’ll clear up since you washed up earlier” he offered. Seeing her about to argue, he continue “And you get your homework, I know you’ve not done your algebra yet…” She looked annoyed. “I can do it later” she tossed her head. Standing up, she realised her legs were a little shaky as well although she wouldn’t have admitted that for the world. She now forced herself to sound flippant “… after all, tomorrow is Sunday, no classes, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m here now in case you have any questions. Go get your book” he repeated, looking at her sternly. Well, Yuuki reflected, biting her lip. It was better than struggling on her own, even though it galled her that he breezed through Math….and pretty much every other subject as well. “OK, OK”, she grumbled, not wanting him to know how much she actually appreciated his offer of help.

Zero cleared the table then returned to the kitchen to get started on the dishes after making sure Yuuki was sitting down at the freshly wiped dining table with her book open at the first question. Well, yawning and staring at it at least…Five minutes later, he wiped his hands dry on the dish towel and walked out to the dining room only to find Yuuki fast asleep, left cheek on her open book, right hand still holding her pencil loosely.

That girl…! Scowling, he walked over and glanced down at her book. She’d only gotten the first question done. He shook her right shoulder. “Hey Yuuki, c’mon, wake up. You’ve barely started…” Another glance at the absurd figure she’d written as the answer and he shook her a little harder. “And your answer’s wrong too!” Her only response was a gentle snore. “Hey…” he broke off abruptly as his shaking caused her hair to slide off her neck, exposing the two fresh puncture wounds on her pale milky skin. He swallowed hard, unable to keep from staring at the marks. He’d done that… despite the Chairman’s implicit warning earlier… despite his resolution to keep away from her… despite the fact she’s only just gotten well… He bit down hard on the knuckles of his clenched fist. Dammit…!

He couldn’t wake her up now… Oh well, he’d just have to spare some time from cleaning the stables tomorrow to help her get her homework done. He… owed her. Even more than ever now…

“All right, Yuuki, time for bed” he murmured. Placing her pencil on the table, he bent down, slipped his left hand under her left arm and his right arm under her knees. He lifted her out of the chair easily, cradling her against his chest with her head against his left shoulder, then bent slightly to grab her book and pencil with his right hand. She stirred in his arms but didn’t wake up.

Outside her bedroom door, he managed to twist the doorknob with one hand and pushed it open. Entering the room, he nudged the door shut with his foot. The streetlamp across the road illuminated her room although he didn’t actually need it to negotiate past her desk to the bed. He tossed both her book and pencil onto her desk, littered with papers of her random sketches she liked to do in whatever little spare time she had. Striding over to the bed, he bent his tall frame to place her gently on the bed, with her head on the pillow. He slid out his right arm from under her knees then started to ease out his left arm from her neck, well aware of the powdery softness of the skin on the back of her neck sliding against his inner arm. Abruptly, her right hand reached out to grip his left one, keeping his arm pinned under her neck.

“Yuuki? You awake?” he enquired, bent awkwardly over her. “Stay here…” she whispered. “Go to sleep now, I’m going back to my room…” he said softly, trying to pull out his left arm again. She tightened her grip. “No, Zero, you sleep here…” she insisted, turning her head to look imploringly into his eyes. “Please…”

He hesitated for a moment. “Alright, until you fall asleep then…” he relented. Dammit, he was just putty in her hands… “C’mon, move over” he added. It was a rather narrow bed, he thought, but if he kept still enough… She shifted closer to the wall, her eyes drifting shut again, her slender fingers still gripping his hand. Zero eased himself down, supporting himself on his elbows and kicked off his slippers, then swung his legs up onto the bed under her blanket, resting his head next to hers on the same pillow. His left arm still pinned under her neck, he reached down with his right hand to pull the blanket out from under her legs to cover them both.

He thought Yuuki had fallen asleep again but she turned around to face him, shifting down until her head was pillowed on his shoulder. He froze in place. She placed her left arm on his chest and threw her left leg over his, turning her face into the soft wool of his sweater. “Goodnight, Zero” she said. He swallowed then whispered back “Goodnight, Yuuki, sleep tight…” His own face turned towards her, he brought his left arm up to hug her close to him, burying his face in the sweet fragrance of her hair. Despite everything else, his heart filled with peace and his own eyes drifted shut…

Hours later, Yuuki stirred and opened her eyes sleepily. She was back in her bed, turned to face the wall. It was still dark but the light from the street lamp spilled onto her bed, a nightly occurrence that no longer interfered with her sleep. She brought up her left hand and squinted at her watch – six o’clock…good, she thought drowsily, heavy eyelids closing, there was still time to sleep some more… Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Wait a minute, how had she gotten here? She remembered staring at her open algebra book, the incomprehensible figures blurring as she yawned repeatedly, then impatiently scribbled an answer she’d plucked out of thin air… Perhaps the Chairman had carried her here, as he had in the past when she was still a little girl…

She felt very comfortable and warm… and suddenly realised she wasn’t alone in bed but was being held by someone. Her back pressed against a warm chest that rose and fell with deep even breathing, warm air stirred the hair on her forehead and an arm lay across her waist, palm flat on the bed. Alarmed for a moment, she lifted her head slightly then recognised the familiar wristwatch on the other arm, illuminated by the streetlamp. Oh, it was Zero’s left arm her head was pillowed on…

It’s funny… in the four years they’d know each other, they had never slept together on the same bed despite the fact she’d soothed him to sleep almost every night in the first year he’d been here. But he felt so good to snuggle against. Zero really has more body heat than me, she thought sleepily. She relaxed against him once more, her movements slow and cautious, not wanting to wake him.

He’d grown so tall in the four years she’d known him… she mused… towering well above her now, although they were the same height when they’d first met. Looks like I’m destined to be a midget, she thought drolly. Her glance shifted again to his left hand, resting on the bed. Zero has really nice looking hands, she thought, noting the clean graceful lines, long lean fingers and clean short nails… she really should sketch them one day… Then she frowned a little; there was a short jagged line across his knuckles. When did that happen, she wondered. Did he cut his hand while washing the dishes earlier?

Curious, she pulled his hand closer to her face for inspection, forgetting her earlier resolution of not waking him up. She stared at the cut, suddenly realising it was caused by … someone’s…teeth… Absently, she stroked the pad of her thumb over the cut. It couldn’t have been because he wanted to draw blood right? After all, how much blood could you get biting your own knuckles? But now she recalled doing the same thing when she was much younger and so frustrated with her homework she could scream. So did that mean…

Yuuki started suddenly when she heard Zero’s voice, low and sleepy. “Stop that, it tickles…” Her hand froze but remained on his. “Zero, you awake?” her voice sounded small, even to her own ears.

“I am now…”

“Uh…sorry to wake you up…” she squirmed uncomfortably, “I - thanks for…carrying me to bed. You – you should’ve woken me. I can walk, you know…” her voice still came out breathy and soft rather than the annoyed tone she was striving for. She tried again in a stronger tone this time, “And what are you doing in my bed, too tired to walk to yours?”

Zero wasn’t sorry at all to be woken up since it was to find himself warm and cosy in a bed that smelled of Yuuki’s soft scent and with her in his arms, completely without alarm and holding his hand to boot. He heard her chuckle softly in her hair “You begged me to stay with you, remember?” he drawled.

“I… did?” Yuuki’s cheeks flamed as she now recalled her words spoken in sleep slurred tones. Shit!

As he felt her squirm against him in apparent embarrassment, Zero’s amusement vanished. He shouldn’t be in her bed, it was too dangerous! What if the Chairman walked in to check on Yuuki? What if… what if… he got hungry again and attacked her in his sleep? He should get out. Now. Perhaps if he got her annoyed enough, she’d kick him out of her bed…

“Yup, you begged me to…you’re such a baby, Yuuki…!” he repeated, forcing a mocking note into his voice. Inwardly, he winced when she stiffened in his arms, inhaled sharply then opened her mouth to deliver a stinging retort. He waited for it, hardly breathing.

Yuuki closed her mouth abruptly. He’s doing this on purpose, she realised suddenly. Trying to make her angry again… “Well?” he goaded her after hearing no reply. Surprised, he felt her body relax against him once more.

“Yes, I did, didn’t I… Thank you for carrying me here… and staying with me, Zero…” was all she said, her tone deliberately soft and gentle.

There was a stunned silence this time, and she grinned to herself. Then, she heard him sigh heavily as if to concede defeat. “You’re welcome” he said, then added reluctantly, “you must’ve been really tired huh…” She heard the guilty tone in his voice.

“It’s not because of you, Zero…”

“It is” he said with finality. He shifted up onto his elbow, trying to get up and dislodging Yuuki’s head onto the pillow in the process. “I’d better go to my…” he began. But Yuuki clamped her right hand over his and trapped it against her stomach. He stopped, looking down at her uncertainly. She returned his look steadily. “I’m warm now… if you go, I’ll be cold” she said, her tone as steady as her gaze. “But…” he objected, his mind looking again for reasons why he shouldn’t stay.

“Do you want to…go? Zero, honestly?” she asked softly and saw his shoulders slump. “No…” it was almost a groan.

“Good!” Yuuki smiled. She shifted against him until her head was on his arm once more, tucked his arm even tighter around her stomach, and laced the slender fingers of her right hand with his, letting both their hands rest on the bed. Aahh, this is heaven… thought Zero. Then, as Yuuki snuggled her hips even closer against his - aagh, hell…! he mentally groaned, shifting his hips slightly away from her. He knew she didn’t notice that subtle movement either. She – she didn’t seem to be aware of anything but the fact that he should stay with her, Zero thought with something akin to pained amusement. Shutting her eyes, Yuuki yawned. “Let’s sleep some more, Zero…” she murmured sleepily.

“Alright…” he agreed, burying his face once more in the soft fragrance of her hair and closing his eyes.

-- To Be Continued --