Author Notes: These are some AU scenes I couldn't help but think of, while reading (for the umpteenth time) Blackened Wing's excellent VK fanfic Crimson Door. I've finally decided to post them up with kind encouragement and permission from Blackened Wing – thanks dear, hope I've done them justice!

Pre-requisite: Needless to say, you should be familiar with Crimson Door for the AU scenes to make sense!

Disclaimer: The honour of owning Vampire Knight and the characters of Kaname Kuran, Zero Kiriyu & Yuki Cross belong to Matsuri Hino. The honour of owning Crimson Door belongs to Blackened Wing.

Me? I just own these AU scenes…

Summary: In Chapter 5, Asato Ichijo's henchmen broke into Cross Academy to kidnap Kaname Kuran, after setting off a chain of events that they knew would leave him seriously weakened. This AU explores what might have happened if those assassins had somehow gotten the dates mixed up and never arrived that night.

Excerpt from Crimson Door Chapter 5:

"Hey… you're not gonna die on me, right?" Zero's soft, raspy voice broke the silence, managing to sound both concerned and irritated at the same time. His voice was still hoarse, his neck injury needing more time to fully heal, but his wounds now were at least survivable, even if he was still very weak. He was only a little better off than Kaname was doing right now though.

"And let people think I was bested by an ex-human? I think not…" Kaname murmured back faintly, with effort. "I need to rest, recover a little. Then I shall leave."

Kaname needed to get back to the point where he could move. Then he needed to get the hell out of here and flee back to the Moon Dorm before the bottomless hunger unfolding inside of him took over and he killed one of the hapless day students just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Safe in his own rooms, he could down blood tablets until he couldn't take anymore and find a willing donor from among his friends to help him get over the worst of it. Aido had done it for him before… perhaps his friend would do so again. If he couldn't find Aido… he knew Ruka would. He hated to do that to her, again, but even understanding that no deep affection went with it, he knew she'd do it for him. Kaname knew any of them would if he asked them. Anyone in the dorm would consider it a privilege, but it was all a matter of who did he feel safe being weak in front of. The numbers in that group were very, very small. Even with help, however, Kaname knew he was going to have a killer blood-loss hangover to deal with. A faint smile tugged at his pale lips. He didn't think he'd have any problems getting the Chairman to excuse him from classes tonight. Possibly even tomorrow night, depending on how long it took him to recover.

-- Start --

There was silence in the room as Kaname rested heavily on top of Zero. After a while, perhaps not knowing what else to say, Zero started his tentative ministrations on Kaname's torn neck again. He guess he should express his gratitude to the pureblood… but it's not like he asked for this. The person he should actually say thank you to was Yuki. And he was grateful to her.

As Zero continued to lick and caress Kaname's neck, he supposed this in itself was a form of gratitude… if he didn't look at it too closely… or consciously realise that he was actually kissing the neck of his hated rival, the arrogant pureblood, Kaname Kuran… who was currently employed with licking the tattooed side of his neck again. Zero felt the warm lips weakly tracing the lines of his tattoo and he would have squirmed with embarrassment if he weren't so weak, and pinned in place with the pureblood on top of him, their bare chests pressed together. Embarrassed all the same, he pulled away from Kaname's neck, where the blood was still seeping slowly. Zero felt the pureblood's lips pause on his neck as well.

"Don't stop" murmured Kaname very softly against Zero's neck before the pureblood's lips and tongue started their strangely disturbing caresses again. Zero hesitated, but he could see blood still leaking slowly from the multiple bite marks he'd made on the pale skin and he couldn't stop himself from licking off the blood, his lips unintentionally caressing the torn skin at the same time. Had he really bitten Kuran that many times? he thought, guilt washing through him. That… that had to have hurt. A lot. It did when Shizuka bit him deeply and mercilessly so many years ago…

Unbidden, a part of Zero's mind now started to recall the way Kuran had been breathing against his hair and ear as he drained the pureblood earlier – rapid panting hissing through his teeth, as if he were containing severe, nerve-wrenching pain…

The two vampires continued to lie on the bed, their lips and tongue working and the faint rise and fall of their chests as they breathed the only movements in the otherwise silent room. It felt oddly and disturbingly intimate to be lying close together like this, tending to each other's necks so gently and breathing in each other's scent so deeply.

But although the silence between them felt strangely comfortable, Zero was feeling very uncomfortable. After all, it wasn't as if lying half naked in bed with your worst rival on top of you were an everyday occurrence. Kaname was feeling much the same - he was lying on top of the presumptuous ex-human, for goodness' sake, and licking his neck, which wasn't absolute necessary. Zero was doing the same thing to him, but that was different – Zero had all but mauled his neck after all, and was just trying to make amends…

But Kaname was still feeling very cold… and Zero's body underneath him felt so much warmer by comparison. He found himself sagging completely on top of the Zero, letting him take all his weight, even though he knew the ex-human wasn't much better off than him…

Drifting off, Kaname suddenly heard Zero's voice below his ear. "Kuran? Hey, you still awake?" the ex-human's voice sounded like he would have liked to shake Kaname to find out, if he wasn't so weak he could barely move.

"Unhh" mumbled Kaname rather groggily. He wanted nothing more than to down glasses of blood tablets - of course, biting someone would've been a much preferable alternative - then sleep… or was it sleep, then bite… someone… Kaname's eyes remained closed and his upper body started slipping off Zero. Since he was still kneeling beside the bed, it was possible that he might hit his head on the floor if he actually fell.

"Kuran? Hey…" Zero's voice was still weak but he braced himself and pulled his lips away from Kaname's neck. Placing his hands on the other's bare shoulders, he tried to keep him there but Kaname's body was still slipping from his grasp. Hell… Zero knew he couldn't let the pureblood knock himself out cold like that… not after what he'd done for him.

Zero now slid his hands to the Kaname's upper arms as he shifted up onto his elbows, wincing as the movement pulled sharply on his barely healed wounds, sending stinging pain shooting through his chest and wrists. Gritting his teeth, he inhaled deeply again, then pulled the pureblood up onto the bed with all his strength, knowing he didn't have enough in him for a second go, shifting back towards the wall at the same time. Kuran weighed about the same as him, and in that awkward position, with the condition he was in, Zero almost passed out from the exertion himself. As it was, his strength gave out, causing both of them to slump back onto the bed.

Zero's head spun and he found himself on his back beside Kaname, head turned to face the pureblood who was lying on his stomach, face turned towards him. As he caught his breath and stayed still, willing the sharp pains in his chest and wrists to recede, Zero found himself staring at the pale sculptured lines of his saviour's face beside him, unintentionally studying him as he listened to their shallow breathing. After a moment, the long lashes flickered and the dark eyes looked back at him.

"Should've… told me… you were… going to… could've… helped…" Kaname murmured faintly, his voice soft and sounding oddly sensual. That was weird – what was he thinking?! Zero decided it must be due to his mind spinning under the sheer power and quantity of the Kuran blood he'd ingested.

"Forget it" he dismissed. Kaname's eyes closed again. Zero closed his eyes as well, gathering his remaining strength, then he slowly struggled up onto one elbow, hand groping for the blanket at the foot of the bed.

"What are you doing?" mumbled the pureblood faintly, his eyes opening again.

Zero ignored him; the pain from his multiple healing wounds made him gasp but he gritted his teeth and continued to stretch out his hand. Nearly there… ah, got it! His bloody fingers closed around the blanket – luckily he hadn't folded it this morning, and he somehow managed to clumsily and slowly draw it over his and Kuran's bodies, up to their chests. It would get bloodstained of course, but that was no longer important now – keeping warm was. With a muted groan, Zero sank back onto the bed beside Kuran.

Kaname's eyes fluttered once more as he felt the warmth of the blanket over him. "So… so cold…" he mumbled. Weakly, he shifted a little closer to Zero, seeking the warmth of the body he'd been lying on just now.

Zero's silver eyes widened a little as the pureblood managed to weakly roll over towards him and snuggled close, his back towards Zero.

"Kuran? What – " Zero broke off as Kaname snuggled closer, burrowing against him. Instinctively, Zero found himself turning slowly to face his bed partner. He realised that Kaname must be feeling cold due to severe blood loss, and that had been his fault. He was the one responsible for draining the pureblood like this…

Hesitantly, Zero pulled the blanket higher up over Kaname's arm. In order to share the warmth of the blanket actually meant for one person, Zero had to move up very close to the pureblood, his face practically touching the back of his neck. The long dark hair felt soft against his cheek, surprisingly soft, in fact.

"Better…" said Kaname, in a hoarse whisper, snuggling even closer to the ex-human. If he had enough strength – or blood – Kaname might have flushed with mortification at the way he was snuggling so close to his hated rival.

Zero tried hard to think of a sarcastic return… and came up with nothing. Closing his eyes and praying the door was locked, he buried his face in the pureblood's neck, trying not to think how… intimate… they were now placed… and trying not to think how strangely intoxicating the back of Kaname's neck smelled…

"I – I'm sorry…" he offered after a while into the strangely comfortable silence.

Kaname didn't move and Zero wondered if he'd fallen asleep. Well, that made the rest of the words that much easier to say…

"About biting… you, like that. So many times…" he mumbled awkwardly.

The pureblood's body stirred a little and Zero froze in place.

"Well, don't do it again the next time you bite me" Kaname said wryly, then froze. Zero had stiffened as well, as the implied meaning of Kaname's words became clear to both of them. The pureblood suddenly shifted around to face Zero, supporting himself on his elbow and catching the surprised and horrified look on the ex-human's face, which he was sure mirrored his own.

Oh no, I did NOT just give Kiriyu permission to bite me again…

Zero rolled his eyes. "Like I want to" he said, to disguise the fact that he was strangely… tempted… by the pureblood's words.

Kaname found himself smiling faintly. "Good…" he said.

Zero stared at him a moment longer, then he sighed. "Turn around, Kuran" he said, not even realising he'd practically issued a command to the pureblood. Kaname had noticed though, and he looked like he was on the verge of telling Zero off but strangely enough, he didn't. He just turned back and snuggled closer to Zero again.

And despite the strange situation they were in, despite Kaname's hunger, both pureblood and ex-human were soundly asleep within minutes.

-- End --