-- Chapter 14 - Going too far part 6 --

When Chairman Cross opened his eyes the following morning - Friday - he decided that he would have to have a heart-to-heart talk with both his children. This cold war between them couldn’t continue; they both looked so miserable - Zero in particular - and he was sure it was just over some triviality that could easily be straightened out when he sat the both of them down and got to the heart of the matter.

Filled with fatherly determination and still in his pyjamas, he shuffled from his room, past his study, through the living room and dining area. Yuuki’s sudden squeal coming from the kitchen made him pause for a moment, wondering if things had somehow come to a head.

“Zero – quick, the toast! It’s burning!”

Yuuki’s excited voice was laced with laughter and the smell of burnt toast in the air drew their Father quickly to the kitchen door and he looked in curiously.

Both Yuuki and Zero were already dressed in their school uniforms. Yuuki was at the counter absently stirring one of two steaming mugs and looking at Zero who was deftly fishing out two slices of blackened bread from the smoking toaster on the other end of the counter.

“Well, Miss Forgetful, tell me whose fault it is now?” he drawled as he tossed both slices into the rubbish bin.

“Do you even need to ask?” returned Yuuki at once, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “Yours, of course…” she added under her breath.

“It’s always my fault, isn’t it?” Zero rolled his eyes, a small smile playing about his lips.

“Well, I’m making the coffee, the least you could do is keep an eye on the toast…” Yuuki brought both mugs to the table as Zero stuck two more slices of bread into the toaster.

“… which you put in, by the way” he finished calmly, walking to the window over the kitchen sink and pushing it open a little more, to let the smell out. “And I only just came in here, you know… actually, now there’s not enough toast to go around…” he added, glancing at the plastic bag which contained the last two remaining slices of bread.

Yuuki tossed her head. “Then I’ll go without, no big deal” she said.

“No way are you missing your breakfast” said Zero immediately. “I’ll grab something later…” he looked up to see the Chairman staring agape at them, both eyebrows well up, wondering if he’d somehow tumbled into a time warp during his sleep and surfaced at a past time when Zero and Yuuki were still on speaking and bantering terms.

“’Morning…” offered Zero, with his usual solemn expression, but it was obvious the bleak and miserably wretched look of the past few days had disappeared.

Yuuki swung around. “Good morning, Father!” she sang out and started giggling at the astonished look on his face.

“Good – good morning. Well… ” the Chairman was still looking in surprise at them before he pulled himself together. It looked like things were now back to normal although he had no idea how it’d happened…

“Want some toast?” asked Zero, wanting to smile despite himself, at the look on his Father’s face.

The Chairman blinked. “I need to go out soon, so I’ll grab something in town… you two had better hurry and get on to class…”

“OK” they chorused back and he walked off, shaking his head bemusedly. Storm in a teacup… he finally decided.

- o -

Yori was already waiting outside the classroom when she saw Yuuki and Zero walking towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise – they were talking again and Yuuki was back to her exuberant and bubbly self, laughing at Zero and punching him in the arm for something he’d said. The tall silver haired prefect was also back to his normal reserved self although his customary frown and scowl were absent, as was the miserable look of the past few days. He looked… quietly happy, thought Yori.

“Hey, everything OK now?” she asked Yuuki quietly as they sat down in their seats. Yuuki smiled happily back at her. “Yup, it’s all good” she said. Yori’s eyebrows lifted, then she glanced over her shoulder. Zero was staring at Yuuki with a strange expression on his face but he looked away immediately.

“Guess you won’t be needing me as your lunch partner anymore, huh?” smiled Yori teasingly.

Yuuki shook her head and smiled before she reached over and squeezed Yori’s hand. “Thanks for putting up with me over the past few days. And sorry I was such a dope”

Yori grinned. “You are not a dope, Yuuki… and I’m sure Zero doesn’t think so either…” Her remark caused Yuuki to blush a little.

But she ended up eating lunch with Yori after all. Just as the last morning lesson ended, Yuuki felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. “I have something to do during lunch. See you later…” Zero’s voice was quiet in her ear and she looked up to see him striding out of the classroom. Yuuki stared after him in surprise – she’d have thought Zero would want to spend some time with her after the rather emotional scene in her room last night, and especially in light of what he’d said…

- o -

As Yuuki and Zero waited outside the Moon Dorm gate that evening, eyeing the deliriously excited Day Class students, she remembered his earlier words. “Where were you during lunch, Zero?” she asked.

“In town… running an errand” he said briefly, causing Yuuki’s eyebrows to lift in surprise. Zero hated to go out to town, she was the one who enjoyed these outings…

“What?” she asked curiously.

Luckily for Zero, the Moon Dorm gate opened at that moment and Yuuki forgot about it as she reached for her whistle.

Some of the Day Class girls started squealing and a few shouts of “Idol-sempai!” were heard. Zero caught sight of Hanabusa Aido, walking a few steps behind Kaname. The young vampire noble yawned tiredly before he caught Zero’s steady gaze on him. They looked at each other for a moment.

Zero saw that Aido was looking paler than usual, with dark circles under his blue eyes due to lack of sleep. Aido noticed that the miserable and wretched look in Kiriyu’s eyes had disappeared even if he still looked like he’d lost a bit of weight, same as the Cross girl, actually… That reminded the tousle-haired blond of the strange conversation he’d had with Kiriyu the other day, and the book Kain had unceremoniously dropped on him that evening. It had a chapter inside that had helped Aido cut down his raking time from an agonising three hours to a mere hour. Catching Kiriyu’s eye once more, he gave a slight nod of thanks.

Zero’s lips quirked a little and he nodded once in return. He turned to see Kaname exchanging words with Yuuki – the pureblood appeared to be asking her about her much improved mood this evening and Yuuki looked like she was smilingly parrying his subtle questions. Zero saw the brand new cufflinks in the snowy cuffs of Kaname’s school uniform and shrugged a little to himself.

Aido glanced to his side at the screaming girls still calling out his nickname. His face lit up and he moved towards them. Two steps later, he hesitated, then looked back at Zero. As if sensing the blond’s look, the moody School Prefect turned to regard him, his hands still in his pockets. After a moment, Zero turned silently and walked off in the opposite direction from Aido, towards where a small group of girls were excitedly trying to get the Assistant Dorm Leader’s attention.

The young vampire’s mouth fell open for a moment - wasn’t Kiriyu going to breathe down his neck as usual? Apparently not. And for some unfathomable reason, Aido found himself being a little more reserved than usual with his fan club… something Kaname and Takuma both noticed, even if they didn’t say a word.

- o -

After dinner that night, in which Yuuki had cheerfully contributed her prawn salad as well as her exuberant chatter, and the Chairman had happily noticed all the cleared dishes in front of him – well, almost all – but there was a good portion of his signature liver and vegetable dish eaten – Yuuki cleared up while the Chairman towed Zero away for patrol duties.

When Zero returned, Yuuki had finished clearing up the kitchen and apparently shut herself in her room for the night. He frowned a little and knocked on her door.

There was a pause before Yuuki answered, looking a little flustered. “Yes, Zero?” she asked, giving a quick glance behind her as if she were in the midst of doing something.

Zero hesitated. He was hoping Yuuki would invite him in for a bit… he wanted to talk with her, maybe even hold her for a while. But it looked like he’d interrupted her, and he shook his head instead. “It’s nothing… good night, Yuuki” he murmured before turning and walking to his own room.

He didn’t notice that Yuuki was looking at him with a small and secretive smile on her lips, which faded when she closed her room door and looked back at what she was doing. She sighed heavily and shook her head. After making sure Zero had entered his room, she opened her door very quietly once more, leaving it slightly ajar.

Zero read for a while in his room. Then, still feeling a little restless, he grabbed his towel and went to take his shower. He wanted to give Yuuki something… but it looked like it would have to wait until tomorrow. After his shower, he walked back to his room, toweling his hair absently.

Even before he opened his door, he sensed Yuuki’s presence. And there she was - sitting at his desk chair and facing the door, obviously waiting for him, looking a little apprehensive and excited at the same time.

Zero’s eyes widened when he saw her. In that dress. The spring green dress she’d worn to Kaname’s surprise party about a week ago. The dress he’d all but torn from her during that fateful night. She was even wearing same gold high heels. Zero swallowed past a suddenly aching throat.

“Yuuki? What are you…”

“Shh… close the door, Zero… and switch off the light” Yuuki interrupted him as she stood up. There was a CD player on his desk which Zero recognised as their Father’s, normally kept in his study. Yuuki placed her hand on the top of the player, looking down at it as Zero closed the door and flicked the light switch. Moonlight filtered in from the partly drawn curtains at the window.

Zero walked over to Yuuki, looking down at her a little uncertainly. After a moment, Yuuki looked up and smiled.

“Zero - that night, during Kaname’s party… I could feel you looking, as he and I danced…” Yuuki’s large brown eyes were luminous and soft and Zero couldn’t stop gazing into them as she continued, “I know you wanted to dance with me too, only it didn’t happen… what with Aido and all…” she stopped to swallow suddenly, wondering if she was doing the right thing. But she knew Zero had been hurting so much this past week, even after last night’s apology and revelation… and she wanted to set things right and heal whatever wounds that still open. For him and for herself as well.

Zero glanced away for a moment. “Yeah, I wanted to…” he said quietly.

Yuuki smiled tremulously. “Well… now’s your chance” she said softly. She pressed on the Play button of the player and after a moment, a love song started. It was the second last song they’d danced to, at the school dance, which she knew would invoke a much sweeter memory than the waltz at Kaname’s birthday party.

“Yuuki…” Zero broke off and took a step closer. He stopped breathing as Yuuki stepped close to him, her slender arms sliding trustingly around his waist. Zero slowly closed his own arms around her. With her high heels on, the top of Yuuki’s head was almost at his shoulder and she pressed her cheek against the soft cotton of his pyjama shirt.

“I-I’m not dressed the part…” but God, she smelled gorgeous…

“Like I care”

“But how did you – I – I tore it…” Yuuki closed her eyes at the guilt in Zero’s voice.

“Silly… I mended it, of course…” Her voice was soft… teasing… and it belied the hours she’d spent last night and just now, removing the zip and reattaching it with small careful stitches to hide the long rip that ran along one side of the zipper, cursing under her breath as she pricked her finger numerous times. It made the bodice of the dress a little narrower than before but as she’d lost a bit of weight in past week not eating much, it still fit. It would be fine as long as she didn’t inhale too deeply…

So that was what she’d been doing earlier…

“Yuuki, I – ”

“Zero, are you going to dance or not?” Yuuki tried hard but couldn’t stop the slight quivering note in her voice. Zero sighed and bent his head to bury it in Yuuki’s shining auburn hair. “Dance, of course…”

He could feel she was pressed close to him again and he wasn’t sure if it was by accident or if it was deliberate. He took a half step back just to be sure. And knew it was the latter when Yuuki moved forward again.

“Zero, you’re not afraid of me, are you?” came her soft voice against his shoulder, along with a very soft giggle which told him she knew what he was doing.

There was another pause. Then Zero placed his hands on her shoulders to pull back slightly and looked searchingly into her eyes. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that, Yuuki?” he asked, seriously.

Yuuki smiled. “I already told you, Zero. I was never afraid of you” Then, as he continued to look adorably uncertain, she whispered “Hold me, Zero, please… and dance with me…” For both our sakes’… she added silently, wanting to take away the bitter incident of that night with this memory for them both.

And he did.

“Thank you, Yuuki” he breathed, tightening his arms around her. They continued swaying for a minute. “You always know how I’m feeling, don’t you?” he asked quietly.

Yuuki shook her head gently, feeling the soft warmth of his shirt against her cheek, breathing in the familiar scent of the soap he used. “I thought I did, but now I realise I didn’t always” she confessed softly. She hadn’t known how Zero felt about her. She hadn’t known how long he’d suffered, seeing her always speaking of Kaname, seeing her always running to Kaname like that…

Zero inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. “Well, I guess now you know everything about me, don’t you…” he said softly. And felt no embarrassment or shame in admitting the fact.

Yuuki peeped up at Zero and smiled. “And you know everything about me as well, Zero…” she returned just as softly.

Zero gave a small smile in return. Then Yuuki burrowed her face into his shirt again, feeling him rest his chin on the top of her head.

The song ended and another one started, it was the last one they’d danced to and they continued to dance, swaying gently. And even when the two songs ended, Zero didn’t release Yuuki, continuing to hold her even as his body reacted to her nearness, treasuring the hushed silence between them.

When Yuuki finally yawned, Zero gave her a little squeeze then reluctantly released her. “It’s time for bed, Yuuki” he said. She returned the hug and stepped back.

“Oh yeah, before I forget…” Zero released her to rummage in his desk drawer, taking out a small plastic bag. He pulled out something that sparkled in the moonlight. “This is yours, I believe…”

Yuuki’s breath caught as she recognised her bracelet dangling from Zero’s fingers. “It’s fixed now, I took it to the jeweller’s in town earlier…” he said, his tone a little awkward.

So that was what he’d been to town for during lunch…

Zero reached for her right hand and turned her palm up to drop the bracelet onto it but Yuuki pulled her hand away and shook her head. He paused, puzzled.

Wordlessly, Yuuki held out her left wrist instead. “Why don’t you put it back on for me?” she suggested softly, her eyes filled with trust and affection.

Zero looked searchingly into Yuuki’s eyes for a long moment before he nodded and fastened the bracelet around her slender wrist, his fingers shaking a little. He moved his thumb gently over the delicate skin, relieved to see that the abrasion made from the bracelet last week had already healed. Then his warm fingers closed around her hand and he brought it up to his lips, pressing a kiss onto each delicate knuckle, then the back of her hand, and finally her soft palm.

“Thank you, Zero” murmured Yuuki, blinking back tears.

“Why are you thanking me? I’m the one who broke it…” Zero started but Yuuki shook her head and pressed gentle fingers against his lips. “Don’t say anything more of that night” she said.

Zero swallowed. Even if he tried, he could never say enough…

“Please?” Yuuki whispered.

Zero looked into her eyes and nodded silently. “I won’t…” he promised.

Yuuki hesitated a moment then she reached up and pulled Zero down to brush a soft kiss on his cheek. He caught her left hand in his right, and brought it to his lips again. I love you… he said silently.

Perhaps Yuuki read what he said in his eyes. Because she smiled and reached up again, this time kissing him gently on the lips. “Goodnight, Zero” she murmured, willing her tears not to well up.

“Goodnight, Yuuki” Zero said, hating to release her. Hating to let her go from his room.

Yuuki turned to go but found Zero’s hand still holding onto hers. She glanced up from their joined hands to his face. He smiled a little ruefully and gave her hand a final squeeze before releasing it.

Yuuki smiled back at him and swung around, catching up the CD player as she walked to the door. She didn’t look back when she opened the door to let herself out, not wanting Zero to see the tears that had finally started to slip down her cheeks.

-- End --