Title: Crimson Silk

Pairing: ShizukaxIchiru

Drabble #1: Saviour

He leaned against the wall, watching her as usual. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

His nocturnal goddess.

His savior.

His love.

But of course, he could not tell her that. He knew she saw him only as an interesting toy, a faithful servant; something to occupy her during her self-imposed exile.

It had been two years since he had first seen her, two years in which he had slowly matured. He was much taller now, his features beginning to transform into those of the man he would one day become, but that couldn't alter the fact that he was still a human - weak, tainted, unworthy.

She hadn't changed at all. A pureblood vampire, timeless, ageless and immortal.

Tonight she sat on the floor beneath the window, legs gracefully curled beneath her, her flowing gown spread out around her like a pristine field of snow, matching her moon-colored hair. Her attention was currently focused on a scrap of cloth, her slim fingers deftly weaving brightly-hued threads into a picture. A hummingbird, he noticed. She worked without a pattern, capturing the image directly from memory. The needle moved through the fabric in a hypnotic dance, faster than his human eyes could track. To him, it was as if she painted rather than sewed.

She ceased suddenly, her eyes raised from her work to meet his, cherry-blossom meeting pale violet.

Her smile seemed to illuminate the room.

"Ichiru. Are you enjoying yourself?"

He could only nod.

"It pleases you that tonight I am in my own body. You don't look at me the same way when I'm Maria."

His gaze dropped to the floor. Of course he didn't look at her the same… it wasn't only the body. She acted differently when she used Maria as a conduit, almost as if the childishness of the body imprinted itself upon her consciousness and she was no longer his Shizuka.

She held out her hand, beckoning him to come closer. He complied, now standing before her. She grasped his hand, making his heart race, then pulled him down so that he was forced to kneel.

He kept his eyes down, afraid of what she would see in them. A cool finger found his chin, tilting his head upwards.

"Look at me, Ichiru."

He could do nothing but obey.

"Such sadness in your eyes… why is that?"

Why? She asked him why? When every day he felt his strength failing, the weakness he had carried since childhood threatening to overwhelm him. When he was unable to protect her, the one precious thing he had left. When she meant everything to him, and he meant so little to her that she even refused to take his blood. All these things, he wanted to tell her, but the words wouldn't come.

"Never mind. I know a way to make you feel much better…"

Her hand moved to cup his cheek for a moment. If only she knew what sweet torture her casual touch was to him. Already his heart sped up once more, his skin flushing.

Her hand left his skin, and he felt the loss of contact keenly.

She picked up her sewing needle, turning it over in her hands. He watched as if mesmerized, the glint of silver flicking against her porcelain skin, faster and faster… when she stopped, he noticed several lines of glittering red crisscrossing one of her flawless palms, blood beginning to seep freely and pool in the centre of her hand.

"Shizuka-sama, you've cut yourself…"

Her laugh was like rippling water.

"Sweet boy. It is only a little blood."

He took hold of her hand, cupping it carefully so that none of her precious life would spill.

"Let me help you…" his voice was soft, concerned.

"No… it is I who will help you."

He looked at her, uncomprehending.

"Drink it."

He froze, not knowing what to think. Was she teasing him? He was not a vampire… did she wish to emphasize his weakness?

"A pureblood's powers are numerous, and they are concentrated in the blood. Take what I offer you, it will make you stronger than you can imagine…you do wish to be strong don't you?"

His eyes focused on her hand, on her gift. The blood drew him like a magnet, and he wanted it so much he could barely breathe - some sign that she cared, that he wasn't invisible. Slowly, he leaned forward, fearing she would stop him at the last moment, that it would be a cruel trick or a vivid dream… but her pale eyes only watched him calmly.

His lips brushed against her fingertips briefly before descending, dipping into the scarlet pool, his tongue flicking out tentatively to taste it. It was honeyed fire, richly seductive and wickedly hot. A small moan escaped him, his grip on her hand tightening as his lips sealed around the small wounds and he began to suck… each mouthful coated his tongue like liquid silk, caressing his throat as he swallowed it.

More - he had to have more…

His eyes slid shut as he savored the sensation… the power infusing him, every nerve illuminating, strength flooding his body in a tidal wave… his soul was ablaze, brimming with more life than he was capable of containing. Starbursts of color shot across his vision, a momentary flare of light; and then… darkness.

--x--

Shizuka caught him as he went limp, laying his head in her lap. She had let him take much more than she should have, but she hadn't wanted him to stop… not when his lips caressed her palm in a such a sensual frenzy, sending delightful shivers traveling up her arm. She used her tongue to clean the remaining blood from her hand, delighting in the faint taste of him that still lingered there.

When it was done, she rose, lifting him effortlessly and carrying him over to the bed. After placing him carefully next to the comatose form of Maria Kurenai, she stroked his hair gently, placing a soft kiss on his cheek, unable to resist stealing one more moment of forbidden intimacy before he woke.

She had known for quite some time now that her feelings for this quiet, silver-haired angel were far from platonic. Of course, she would never risk letting it show.

So many times he had offered himself to her; begged her to take his blood. Beseeched her for the one thing she could not bring herself to grant him because she was afraid she would repeat the mistakes of her past and he would be taken from her by malicious fate.

He probably thought her cruel and uncaring for declining, but then, he didn't know the real reason behind her refusals.

For two years, she had resisted the urge to give him her blood. She knew it was the only way to strengthen his failing body, but she'd been scared of the bond it would create; the intimacy of the sharing. Terrified that if she did this, she would want so much more, and eventually give in to his requests.

She couldn't quite say why she had let him to do it tonight, it had been something in his eyes, some dark despair within him that she couldn't bear to see.

It was taboo of course, giving her pure, untainted blood to a human… but she had never set much store by rules and laws. They were insignificant things, and she refused to be bound by them.

Her palm was still tingling, a silent reminder of the pact she had now sealed with him. In vampire terms, she had given him a promise. A promise to treasure him above all others.

Yet another secret she would keep, one more thing he must not know.

A gentle sigh before returning to her place under the window, continuing her embroidery.

It wasn't the same though, without his gaze.