Crescent Road

Chapter 1 - In This World and Time

Warnings- Possible spoilers up to fairly recent chapters. M/M pairing. Un-betaed.

Disclaimer- I do not own Vampire Knight or its characters. This story was written for enjoyment and no money is being made of it.

Chapter Notes- This chapter concerns the blood drinking scene between Kaname and Zero in chapters 30 and 31 in the manga. The whole chapter is in Kaname's POV. We'll see Zero's POV with the same scene in the next chapter. I will not include all the dialogues or details in the manga, simply assuming that the readers of this story know what's going on there. There are several lines of dialogue later in this chapter that I kept very similar to the manga so to distinguish it from my own writing, it is the part that goes like… "italics." I give full credit for the conversation to the author of Vampire Knight. And another thing… I know a lot of the fanfictions use the idea of 'blood-bonds.' I've read many and enjoyed them greatly but right now, it doesn't fit with my plot. I might have my own slightly different version of it later on, but no bonds will be formed in this situation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The richly furnished room was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the argent beams of the moon. But such darkness was not bothersome to the sole occupant in the room. Rather, he welcomed it as he sat in the shadows, silently contemplating the task he had set for himself.

He stirred only when he felt the stormy aura quickly approaching the Moon Dorms. There was no surprise or anger as he left his room to greet one Kiryuu Zero, inviting the other up to his rooms. The hallway was no place to talk, as he mentioned to the prefect, but there were other things on Kaname's mind as well. A part of his well laid plans concerning the ex-human would be carried out this night. The pureblood knew he held the cards here, and all he had to do was to ensure the prefect responded accordingly. Not a very difficult task considering how predictable Kiryuu could be when it came to certain matters. The well concealed bloodlust in the violet eyes would also work in his favor.

Kiryuu was asking him questions but he did not answer. He knew the sort of words that would make the prefect furious and used this knowledge to the fullest. He was skilled at this, but it did not make him feel good. The pureblood did not relish the anger, hate and pain reflected in the other's eyes as they glared at him. It was logical that he should have been glad to see the ex-human's anguish after all the other had done to his precious girl but he did not. He could not. In fact, he had to control himself to exude only a cold, calm fury as he slammed the boy into a wall. Slashing at the silver haired prefect brought him no satisfaction either, despite what Kiryuu seemed to believe. Kaname was almost glad for the dull pain the Bloody Rose had caused, for it kept him grounded and he had to remember why he was doing this in the first place.

Only when the pureblood felt fangs sinking viciously into his neck did he allow himself to close his eyes. There was an imperceptible hitch in his breath before he managed to calm his breathing once more, though it was now slightly rougher than before. He was glad the prefect could not face him at the moment and that the other was too far gone in his bloodlust to feel the slight change in Kaname's aura. There was little fear of the ex-human tasting any of his thoughts in his pure blood either, the rich and intoxicating flavor too overwhelming for the other to notice anything else. If Kiryuu had been more aware he would have balked at the gentle grip that held his side and the hint of longing in Kaname's blood. The current situation, however, gave the latter a chance to let go a bit.

As a pureblood, he had always been taught to guard his blood. Kiryuu was the first to take his blood and the first to sink his fangs into his neck. It hurt even more than he had expected, but at the same time, it also felt strangely good and he had to still the tremors born not of blood loss or pain. There were unexpected tendrils of heat that subtly snaked through his blood. Aside from the physical pleasure, it also felt more freeing than anything else he had experienced in his life. Perhaps only a pureblood could truly understand why the feeling and sounds of their lifeblood being sucked away by another was freeing. How the simple fact that his blood was his own to give to whomever he wished could make him feel alive. He was certain nearly every vampire he knew would be scandalized if they knew what he was doing. A pureblood letting an ex-human feast on his neck? Losing respect would be the least of his worries if word got out. But he had no choice, did he? For Yuuki, his dear girl, his sister and fiancé, he had to do this. Her safety came before any other concerns…

A humorless grin ghosted across Kaname's sculpted lips as he stopped his trail of thought. He couldn't even begin to convince himself of that logic. Yes, she would be much safer if Kiryuu was sane and alive. And he had other plans regarding the boy in the future. But was that all? Did he truly have no other choice? The fact was that he could have forced the ex-human to drink his blood out of a cup. It would have been far more difficult to get him to drink, but he knew it would have been possible. He could have convinced or forced the other. Why then did he choose to let the younger vampire bite him? He had, in fact, earlier considered the other option but had immediately rejected it without much thought. It could have been that he wanted to feel this closeness that came with a bite. The hunter would not know it, but a vampire biting another vampire was considered a very intimate act. Perhaps the pureblood had craved this brief moment of warmth with someone, no matter how fake it was. Perhaps he had craved for some warmth from Kiryuu…

It would be a falsehood if he were to say the silver haired boy was nothing but a pawn to him. Kaname was fond of the boy. Actually, this was still not being completely honest, for 'fond' was too mild a term for what he felt. He was drawn to the hunter. Yuuki had his love but Kiryuu, no, Zero… called to his soul. It was different, what he felt for those two.

For dear Yuuki, he wanted nothing more than her safety and happiness. What warmth she granted him, he accepted with near desperate want for affection. But he could never get too close for fear of breaking her. Even if she were on longer human, he doubted he'd feel any different. The little girl was so pure and innocent; he could not risk changing that. There were things about himself and his past that she never should nor would find out.

Zero, on the other hand, was not so fragile. It wasn't that the pureblood didn't want him to be safe and happy as well but the boy had more inner strength than most gave him credit for. And Kaname did not have to fear tainting him with his darkness. The hunter would not break. In some ways, he, more than any of the nobles or high ranking vampires, was the pureblood's equal.

He couldn't remember when exactly he had started viewing the other vampire in such a different light yet somehow he had ended up realizing just how greatly they resembled one another. If one were to take away their respective positions and expectations in life, leaving them as just Kaname and Zero… they were so very much alike. They were nothing more than two lonely souls desperately seeking what comfort and hope they could in this cruel, cold world. That understanding had led to respect and some affection before developing into something more over the years. If Kaname were to believe in 'soul mates' he now knew with certainty his would be Zero. But he didn't believe in that. There was no place for such whimsical fancies in the reality they lived in.

Though he knew this… knew that longing for whatever it was he might share with the hunter was incredibly foolish, he acted impulsively at times. He recalled the evening when he and the nobles had returned to the academy. He had given Yuuki a rose preserved in resin and Zero a cursed doll. Aido, Kain, Ruka, and Rima had simply believed he was making the latter's life miserable but Takuma had glanced at him strangely. They both knew it was highly uncharacteristic of him to do so without cause. And there was no logical reason for him to purchase the doll. He had to admit he was relieved though, that despite Takuma's curiosity at his behavior, the blonde would not be able to discern his true intentions behind the strange action. Among the Night Class, only Kaname understood enough of how Zero's mind worked to know that the ex-human would not be disturbed by such a gift. It was not Kaname's intention to make the prefect's life more miserable. The pureblood's reason was actually quite pathetic. When he had gotten the rose for Yuuki, he had wanted to get something for Zero as well. It had to be something that wouldn't invite suspicion from the nobles or the hunter himself. Hence, the cursed doll. A small part of him had also wanted the hunter to know he had thought of him over the break and be acknowledged in return. He was absolutely pathetic. Of course, there was no way anyone other than himself knew any of this and that was how it would remain.

He opened his eyes again as he truly began to feel the effects of blood loss. He knew his eyes were turning crimson at the scent of Zero's blood still in the air from the injury he had earlier inflicted. It was one of the times when his exceptionally keen senses were not an advantage. None of the nobles in the dorm would notice it. Yet despite the rich scent of pure blood in the air he could smell the other's blood clearly as if it had been freshly spilled. Unconsciously, Kaname took a deep breath. Because of how he regarded the hunter, his blood had always been appealing but now that he was close to succumbing to blood lust… The older vampire realized that he had to stop this quickly before he completely lost control.

Tilting his head to the side, he leaned down so that his breath lightly brushed the ex-human's neck. If he were anyone other than Kuran Kaname, he could have wept at how hard it was to hold back from simply sinking his fangs into that delectable neck. The temptation was greater than any he had felt before, even more so than that night he had nearly bitten a younger Yuuki. Fortunately, he was now more used to keeping his thirst in check.

"Kiryuu."

The husky whisper that all but purred out the name would have been unacceptable in any other situation. Right now, though, Kaname could pass it off as blood lust and he guessed Zero was too alarmed at the pureblood's proximity to his neck to notice in any case. Even so, the pureblood did not call the other by his given name. That would happen only within the safety of his thoughts. He could very well imagine what the hunter's reaction would be if ever he knew.

The softly spoken word against his neck indeed did have the effect of making the silver head jerk backwards. Buried fangs tore at sensitive flesh and the brunette clenched his hands as he moved them away from the other. For the next few minutes, both vampires strove to regain control over themselves, albeit for different reasons. Still bleeding from his temple and neck the pureblood foisted unreadable eyes upon the prefect before him. It seemed like the other was still reeling from the amount of pure blood he had taken, his body struggling to absorb all that power. His amethyst eyes were dazed but cleared of impending insanity. Kaname accurately deduced that for once in the past four years, Zero would enjoy some time without hunger always lurking in the back of his mind.

He was an idiot to be comforted by the thought of his blood giving the hunter some reprieve.

Deciding they could not remain silent like this for much longer, for the night would soon start to fade, the older vampire spoke. This time, his voice betrayed nothing but calm and mild annoyance. Inwardly he mused that if Zero were in the condition to care, the tone and words would drive the hunter up the wall.

"The wound where you shot me still hurts. Thanks to it, your bite marks aren't healing either. This is why I don't like hunter weapons… And you bit quite mercilessly, Kiryuu."

"Annoying? I should be the one who should be annoyed."

"Is my blood truly that distasteful to you?"

"You should taste your own blood sometime. It's poison."

"The Kuran line has the purest blood amongst our kind and my blood will be buy you time against the descent into insanity."

Kaname had quickly learned over the years not to let the ex-human's acerbic comments affect him. It was just a part of who the other was. And it was not that he could not understand why the hunter was lashing out at him nearly every time they interacted. But there were times when it wasn't so easy to brush aside the hurt that the hateful words inflicted. Right now, after that bit of closeness he had felt with the other, he could not stop the sharp pain that twisted his heart. Forcing himself not to let it show, he wondered sardonically that despite knowing better, maybe a part of him had hoped for a little less hatred from the hunter. Apparently, he was a masochist.

Zero's behavior towards him was a double-edged sword. He appreciated the chance to be treated as someone not to be constantly revered and feared. There was no one else who did so. At the same time, however, he often felt both pain and anger from such unjustified loathing and rudeness. He couldn't help being a pureblood but Zero acted as if it was the vampire's fault. His control and defenses being lowered at the moment, he was more inclined towards the latter situation and this in turn fueled his hunger for the hunter's blood. Kaname found his eyes unintentionally straying towards that pale, graceful neck…

Even his iron control had its limits and it was being sorely tested. Unwilling to complicate situations any further by giving into temptation, Kaname spoke again.

"The other members of the Night Class will have noticed the riot and the scent of my blood. You should leave by the window to avoid detection."

With one last heated glare, Zero left as suggested. But the scent of his blood lingered… Ignoring the hunger flaring in his chest, Kaname calmly stood up from his seat and mixed a glass of blood tablets. The pale crimson liquid was a poor substitute for actual blood yet it was still a substitute, nonetheless. It would eventually calm his bloodlust. He would need to suppress his bloodlust more tightly until then.

He downed the glass before quickly mixing himself another. It seemed his hunger would take longer to abate than usual.

Stepping over the remains of what used to be a wall, Kaname made his way to the window, his garnet eyes immediately drawn towards the retreating figure of Zero. Silver hair glinted in the moonlight before the figure soon disappeared out of sight. Minutes later, the pureblood still stood by the window. He needed to clean up and then go reassure the nobles that he was fine. They had been lingering outside his door for a while now.

But he couldn't bring himself to act the part of a composed, impersonal pureblood again. Not yet. To do so was to firmly put this incident behind him as nothing but a memory. He wasn't ready to do that. Though his wounds had healed by now, Kaname could still feel an echo of the earlier bite. His hand lightly covered the bite marks no longer discernable to the eye. It ached softly… very much like his heart. If they did not have to live in this society… if they had not been born as who they were… if they could simply be 'Kaname' and 'Zero'… perhaps things could have been different between them. Perhaps…

A wistful sigh left his lips as he closed his eyes in an effort to center himself. He was a fool for uselessly longing for things that could not be. Because no matter what happened… in this world and time they were not meant to be. Here and now, this was all that he could hope to have.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N- I caved into my muse's whims and started writing this story. It's the first time I've ever written romance (and that's counting everything, not just fanfiction) so please be gentle with me. ^^ As mentioned before the next chapter will be basically the same scene in Zero's POV. There's little action or plot in these two initial chapters so they may seem a longwinded and boring. I wish it were not so, but I had to introduce the situation and background for the story so I hope you still enjoy. The story will at least have two chapters… though I do have an idea for about 10-15 chapters in all. Such a multi-chaptered story is a little daunting so I find myself hesitating now and then about going through with the plan… but when it comes to this pairing, I crave happy endings too much to leave them hanging and apart. Let's just hope my bunnies nip persistently at my heels. XD

Thanks for reading. And please do leave a wee comment. Reviews and criticism will be greatly appreciated!