Hanabusa Aido looked up from the book when he heard his companion in the limo headed for his home mumble in his sleep. Zero Kiryu was sitting beside him dead to the world. They had left the school in the early afternoon, so the sliver haired male had fallen asleep not long after they had hit the road. He could almost hear Lily nicker in the trailer that was being pulled by the truck behind them. The blonde looked out the window to see they were getting close to his house.

"Zero," he said gently shaking the other male, "Zero wake up."

Zero groaned, "I'm up…I'm up…"

His eyes were still closed and after a few moments Aido could hear soft snoring as they pulled up.

"Zero, breakfast," he said remembering how Zero had complained a bit about being hungry and there was no food in the limo's mini fridge which he had snooped in before nodding off.

Zero opened one eye, "Are we there or are we stopping somewhere?"

Aido rolled his eyes opening his door to see his family waiting, "We're here, so wake up."

Zero got out too, yawning.

"Big brother!" cried a little blonde girl running to Aido with a huge smile.

"Hi Momo!" he said hugging her, "I missed you."

"I missed you too. What's in the trailer!?"

Zero blinked wondering if she was sugar high, this was normal, or if he was just tired, "My horse, I didn't want to leave her behind."

"We'll let you meet the horse after we eat, you can help her get comfy if that's alright with Zero," said a strawberry blonde woman Zero guessed was Aido's mother.

"I don't see why not, though there is a trick to getting her to trust you," his stomach growled loudly causing him to blush, "In the meantime we're starving!"

This made the woman laugh as Nagamichi rolled his eyes, a clear signal to Zero that he was not happy to have the silver haired teen in his home as he was lead in, servants taking his bags to a guest room. Zero found himself in awe of the large house, it was fancy but there were signs it was lived in such an askew pillow or a toy or book left out.

He looked down feeling someone grab his hand to find a pair of big blue eyes looking up him, it was Momo.

"Sit with me!" she urged him tugging him to the dinning room with a huge smile.

"Momo, remember your manners," her father chastised.

"Please sit with me?" she corrected, looking at Zero pleadingly.

"Okay, okay," Zero said caving in, "Just stop with the Puss in Boots impression."

This made the younger members of the family laugh and the laughter doubled when Momo meowed like a cat. Zero couldn't help but smile, this sort of thing was what he missed about his own family and Yuki.

"You know, Momo-chan, you and Lily have something in common," Zero said, looking at her as they sat down to eat.

"What?" asked the child excited.

Aido smiled, "It's something you both like, and it's a food."

"Marshmallows?" Momo guessed.

"That was the little horse in Barbie and her sisters a Pony tale," pointed out Tsukiko, "She loves Barbie movies."

"Oh yeah! His name was Dash and he tried to eat Chelsea's hair cause of her shampoo which had real marshmallows in it."

Zero snorted, "Ironic since I learnt what Lily loves because of a shampoo."

"Your horse tried to eat your hair?" guessed Tsukiko, surprised.

Zero nodded, "It was a little scary at the time, but I can laugh about it now. So, any new guesses?"

Momo thought, then shook her head.

"She loves peppermint, she'll be your friend if you feed her one because only myself, Hanabusa and now you all know that she likes them."

"How did you wind up using peppermint shampoo?" asked Noriko, sipping her drink.

"He grabbed the wrong bottle," replied her brother with a shrug as more servants served hot pancakes to everyone, "He said it happened around Christmas."

"So, Zero," said Sayaka deciding to address the elephant in the room, "Hanabusa has informed us about your condition. After you get your horse settled into our stables I would like to give you a look over if that's alright."

Zero who was putting fresh cut strawberries on his looked up, "If you feel the need to fine with me, I was looked over by the nurse the night before we left."

Sayaka nodded, "I understand that, but I just want to take my own notes."

The sliver haired male nodded before adding strawberry syrup to the flapjacks, he didn't mind strawberries, they just weren't his favorite but now he couldn't get enough. He couldn't help sighing in bliss as the flavor rolled over his tongue. The strawberries were fresh, plump, and ripe while the syrup seemed to be home made. His sheer bliss was interrupted by giggles and what sounded like someone coughing. He opened his eyes to find the Aido daughters giggling at the look on his face and their brother trying to not choke on his juice from his own laughter or maybe shock.

"Interesting face," commented Nagamichi causing Zero turn red.

"I didn't know you liked strawberries to the point they would cause a foodgasm," commented Hanabusa with a grin.

"I'm craving them…" Zero muttered eating another forkful, "It's not my fault these strawberries and the syrup are amazing."

"I remember with Hanabusa I wanted watermelon a lot…and with Noriko I wanted everything blueberry except for just plain blueberries. The loveable goofball that is my husband wound up with a bowl of them on his head when he was trying to fulfil my cravings," explained Sayaka smiling at Zero, everyone else snickering at the idea of the vampiric aristocrat with an over turned bowl of blueberries on his head.

"Did you have to share that story my dear?" he asked.

"One it's funny, two it's obvious that Zero isn't fully at ease with us so I'm trying to help break the ice and three I saw the way you were looking at him," the matriarch of the family said giving her husband a dirty look.

"He's a vampire hunter! He kills our kind!" Nagamichi protested.

"He's only killed Level Es and Rido who was insane and dangerous," Hanabusa pointed out, trying to keep his voice calm but his eyes were as cold as the ice he was known to produce, "He's a good guy who's suffered a lot and you're not helping his currant condition by picking on him."

"Thanks, Hanabusa," Zero said giving the younger blonde male a small smile.

Hanabusa blinked, why did he find Zero's smile so attractive? Maybe because it was rare, yes that was the reason, he was sure of it. After breakfast as promised Hanabusa and Zero let Momo help them lead Lily to the Aido family stables. Luckily Lily and Momo seemed to have hit it off since the horse hadn't shown any aggression towards the child much to both teen's relief.

"Okay," Zero told his horse fighting back a yawn, he needed a nap, "Now I'm going to trust you to be a good girl and not give the stable hands any trouble because they will tell me, and you will not get any treats. Momo, if I say Lily can't have a treat that week that means no treats."

"What kind of treats does she like besides mints?" asked the little girl petting the horse's mussel as the owner stroked her ears.

"Well besides mints; which I usually only give her once a month, she like carrots, apples, oats, raisins and strawberries. She doesn't like celery or grapes for some reason," Zero said letting lose a yawn.

"When did you get to bed yesterday?" asked the older blonde.

"I was up until 10 am double checking I had everything," the silver haired male admitted before feeling his arm being grabbed and his body pulled towards the house.

"You're taking a nap, you should have said something sooner and I would have handled Lily," Hanabusa told him as his little sister trailed behind them waving goodbye to Lily.

"I'm fine," Zero started to protest.

"You need your sleep. You may be used to staying up crazy amounts of time but it's not just your body any more and you need rest."

"But your mother-" Zero tried to protest again.

"Can examine you after you take a nap," Hanabusa said heading to the room he knew Zero would be using for his stay.

"If I didn't know any better big brother, I'd say you're acting more like a mother then he is," said Momo making her brother turn pink.

"I'm going to lie down now…" Zero said slipping into his room and shutting the door.

His temporary room was spacious, there was a dresser he found most of his clothes in along with a vase holding dried flowers, a king sized four poster bed. A pair of night stands with lamps that looked so expensive Zero figured he might as well use a flash light to get up in the evening and turn on the over head lights. There was an in-suite bathroom with a shower and jacuzzi tub along with a linen closet containing several fluffy towels and wash cloths as well as a robe in his size. Honestly Zero felt more like he was in a hotel the someone's home but then again these were noble vampires. With one last yawn, he climbed into the bed, got comfy and nodded off.

He grumbled and pulled the sheets over his head when he felt someone shaking him again, couldn't these darn blonde vampires let him sleep?

"Mom said to wake you up for your exam, you've been asleep for three hours and its nearly lunch time. Don't make me yank the sheets off you," came the voice of Noriko.

Zero grumbled but sat up and rubbed his eyes, "It seems like none of you want to let me sleep."

Noriko giggled, "If you sleep for much longer you won't be tired when the it's time for bed. Drink some water and you should be more awake."

"Because I can't have that much caffeine anymore?"

"No because it's been proven that water wakes you up better," said the blonde as they walked to a room her mother used as a medical room.

Sayaka Aido smiled, wearing a white doctor's coat sitting on one of those rolling stool by a medical exam bed, "How are you feeling?"

"More awake…though I need to pee," he admitted.

"Oh good, if your bladder is full we can do an ultrasound, hop up," she told him patting the exam bed, "Shirt off please."

Zero did so slightly pink at having his…he guessed he and Hanabusa were friends, so his friend's mother see him half naked. The vampire doctor listened to his heart, his lungs and his belly.

"Everything sounds good, lie down please."

Again, Zero did as he was told, turning red as she adjusted the waistband of his sweatpants to feel his belly.

"Any pains?"

"Not in my belly…my chest's been bugging me though…" he told her knowing that since she was his doctor now he had to be honest, but it was still embarrassing, "My nipples are sensitive."

She nodded, "It's not unusual for male vampires who get pregnant to also produce milk for the children they carry."

Zero sighed, another thing to add to his humiliation.

"If you don't want to physically breast feed there are pumps so you can bottle the milk for them, also shuts up those assholes who think nursing mothers should go into the bathroom to feed their babies, that's gross!" she said her face now angry.

"I'm guessing you've dealt with that before," he said cautiously.

"Oh yeah, honestly some people are so rude. I would like to make all those who say that eat a meal in a bathroom themselves and see how they like it," she told him spreading a cold gel over his stomach, causing him to shiver slightly, "Sorry, the gel works best when cold."

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

"Giving you your first look at your twins…There they are," she told him pointing at the screen, "There's baby number one, the head, there's the spine, the feet, the arms and there's baby number two's head. If we go over here there's number two's body. Both are healthy and growing great."

Zero however, was only half listening, his eyes fixed on the tiny beings on screen…they were inside him…his babies… Then and there he swore he would protect them. After he left the room Nagamichi came in.

"I can't believe Hanabusa talked back to me!" he started to rant.

"You were implying that we should kick a pregnant teenager who needs our help just because he was born to a family of hunters," she said not looking up from the notes she was taking, "And if you keep it up you're going to wind up alone."

This made her husband choke on his spit, "What!?"

She finally looked up, "You heard me, if you don't stop acting like an over grown child I'll leave you. That poor boy has no biological family other the twins he's carrying. If he stayed at that school people would have started to notice and eventually figure it out which would lead to investigations and possible exposure. He needs someone who not only know how to care for him but teach him how to care for his babies when they come. So, either man up or get out."

She then got up and walked out of the room leaving her husband utterly stunned…was she right? Was he being too harsh on someone who needed his help?

TBC