[the closest thing to fluff you'll ever get from me. present tense because fuck you.
the second scene probably takes place during a story arc that I didn't actually read, so let's just call this an AU or something. yeah.
Rated T for violence, and because this fic sucks balls.
Enjoy?]
Zero sneers and snaps his teeth, a hunter's defiance and a vampire's instincts surfacing all at once, making him the only ex-human to ever disobey a Pure Blood. The Bloody Rose is in his hand, pointed straight without the slightest hint of hesitation.
But there wouldn't be, would there?
Kaname snarls back, his aura flying out and wrapping around Zero so tightly that Kaname is honestly surprised the boy does not collapse under its pressure. Instead, he struggles even harder, fights back with an angry sort of passion, the intensity of which Kaname has never seen.
Zero must really hate him.
It's no secret; Zero has never done anything to hide it. On the contrary, Zero is constantly looking for opportunities to show it. He draws his gun at the slightest hint of threat, and bares his teeth when there is none. He is the most disrespectful creature Kaname has ever had the displeasure of knowing.
Kaname hates him too.
It's often been said the opposite of hate is indifference, and that the opposite of indifference is love.
Kaname thinks he may be in love.
Zero fights. Without the aid of fire to burn his enemies or ice to freeze his assailants, Zero fights. He is no Noble. He fights with claws and teeth; the Bloody Rose only wounds, but a torn out throat kills instantly, and Zero would much rather kill than maim. Zero abandons cleanliness for effectiveness. He has priorities, and staying blood-free is no longer one of them. He is already a monster, a beast of bloodlust. Why not embrace it? He has people to protect. People much more important that his efforts to stay human. His humanity is nothing compared to him.
Him?
The thought catches Zero off guard. Yuki. He is fighting for Yuki. She is what's worth fighting for. She is the reason he fights...
She is...
But so is he.
The realization startles him, and in his moment of distraction, his defenses fall. An anonymous vampire's teeth find their way into his shoulder, digging in deep and tearing back skin when Zero moves to knock the creature away. The pain helps him focus, sharpens his reflexes rather than dulls them, but Zero still can't help his mind from working it over.
Zero hates Kaname; he's never once tried to deny that. He would be a fool to deny it.
But then again, where would he be? Where would he be without Kaname's help, without the blood that keeps him on the edge of sanity? Where would he be without Kaname?
Out of the corner of his eye, Zero sees the object of his thoughts. Stationary and indifferent amongst the chaos of all-out war. Comrades are killed, friends hurt; it's all for his sake, yet the man does nothing.
A vampire lunges to attack him (a particularly stupid vampire at that - who would in their right mind would try to hurt a Pure Blood? Other than Zero himself, of course), and still Kaname does not move. But Zero does.
In an instant, he is there. Zero catches the vampire by its neck and throws it to the ground. He tears into its throat; messy, disgusting, monstrous. But effective. He doesn't care what he looks like, so long as the damned creature is dead.
Chest heaving, heart pounding, blood dripping, Zero turns to face Kaname.
Zero really hates him. The opposite of indifference is love.
The opposite of hate is indifference.
Zero thinks he may be in love.