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You opened your eyes, vision blurred a bit. You lifted your right arm to wipe your eyes, but a tug in your skin stopped that and you winced.

Lifting your left arm instead, you wiped away the sleep dust and looked to your right to see a needle in your arm. It was distributing blood.

A quick look around let you know that you were in the academy’s infirmary. Briefly, you were confused as to why you were in here, but flashes of last night cleared away all of your confusion and you gasped. Just then, Kaien Cross entered the room.

“____, you're awake!” he exclaimed happily. “Y-Yeah” you stuttered, not quite sure what to make of this situation. “Is Zero okay?” you asked.

The headmaster sobered a bit, but kept a kind smile on his face. “He’s fine, but he’s been worried about you” he said, taking a seat in the chair next to your bed. You sat up, so that you were level with him.

“I know that he’s angry with himself. Last night, he refused to drink my blood, but I forced him to...”The guilt was bone crushing. Because of you, Zero was no doubt bashing on himself for giving in and drinking your blood. Not only that, you knew that the friendship between you two was severed. He wouldn't feel comfortable being near you anymore. The thought was suffocating.

“I’m sure that Zero understands that you were only trying to help him.” said Kaien, trying to appease your slowly, arriving depression. “You should talk to him once you're up and moving.” He smiled a kind smile at you then suddenly diverted back to his bubbly self.

“I'll see you later____! I have a lot of work to do” he pouted, adding “get well soon!” He waved, exiting the room soon after.
‘
That man’, you thought playfully. He really knew how to cheer you up. As soon as you were allowed to leave, you would go talk to Zero, you thought determinedly. Suddenly, thoughts of your last words to the hunter flashed through your head. “I love you, Zero.”

Your cheeks flushed bright pink and you slumped a little. “Oh yeah, there’s that” you said aloud in a weary voice. Maybe he didn't hear it. It was whispered after all, you thought, trying to claim back your diminishing determination.

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Later that Afternoon…

You headed to the gates, after spending most of the day in the infirmary. The nurse just wouldn't let you leave. She was insistent about you eating there and taking a nap. You appreciated her worrying about you, but the need to see Zero was strong.

Once you were right at the gates, you positioned yourself in front of the fan girls. As usual, they were loud, but you weren't focused on them. You still didn't know what to say to Zero. In situations like this, Yuki would know what to do, you thought bitterly. It wasn't your fault that you didn't know how to console people. You group up in a household where everyone kept to themselves, and so didn't need consoling.

Also growing up, you never really had many friends. They were only acquaintances, who you occasionally talked to, but did not associate with out of school.

You sighed in frustration, deciding that you would do and say whatever it takes to stop Zero from putting himself down.

The gates creaked open and the Night Class poured out in groups. Immediately, Aido started to flirt with the Day Class girls, causing a few to actually faint. ‘Wow’ you thought ‘these girls will fall for any pickup line.’

Aido caught you staring at him and smirked, sauntering over to you. The moment he got with five feet of you, you turned to him and held up a hand to his face. “Stop right there Romeo, you're not my type.” Aido looked like his pride was hurt, before he put on that “charming” smile again and walked closer to you.

He leaned about ten inches too close for comfort then spoke in a seductive tone. “Oh? I’m sure that I can get you to change your mind.” He started to lean down closer, to place a kiss on your lips, but was suddenly yanked back by his collar.

You looked up to see who your savior was and were pleased to see that it was Zero. “You should get to class” said Zero, glaring at Aido slightly. Aido jerked away from Zero and glared right back. He humphed, holding his chin up arrogantly, then headed back to the faraway Night Class.

“Thank you,” you said, sighing in relief. Zero simply nodded with an unreadable look in his eyes and headed back to his side to start clearing out the fan girls. You frowned, but began clearing out the fan girls as well.

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Patrol…

As soon as you and Zero jumped onto the balcony to patrol, you walked over to the silver-haired man and cut to the chase. “Okay, look Zero.” You said this in a firm tone, which slightly surprised Zero.

“What happened, yesterday, doesn't bother me and frankly, I don't think it’s worth you sulking over. You were not in control of your actions, in that state, so don't waste your time agonizing about it.” The hunter was silent for a moment, and then. “That’s the problem isn't it? I can't control myself.” His eyes narrowed a bit. “It may not bother you, but it bothers me. I can't help it. When I get like that…I just…” he took in a shuddering breath.

‘Okay’ you thought ‘time to comfort him.’ “Zero…” you whispered, wrapping your arms around his torso like yesterday. “Tell me about it.”

He wrapped his arms around you before he spoke next. “I feel like I’m losing myself in madness. When I’m near blood or I smell it, my senses go wild and I can’t control myself. Then the pain comes and I…” he took another shuddering breath and held you tighter. You did the same, rubbing soothing circles on his back. “It’s okay, Zero, I’m here,” you cooed in a gentle voice. The both of you stood there just holding one another, allowing all the pain and sorrow to escape into this hug.

“Thank you, ____, I think I'm okay now,” he whispered, his breath close to your ear.
You nodded then slowly started to release him. When you looked at his face, you saw a faint blush painting his cheeks. You smiled, thinking that he looked adorable. It must be embarrassing for him to finally express his emotions, you thought.

“____,” Zero mumbled quietly. You snapped out of your thoughts and looked into his beautiful, amethyst eyes. “Yes, Zero.”

He was staring at you with a look that you couldn't quite comprehend. “Yesterday, before you fainted…I thought I heard you say something” he said, watching your reaction closely. You gave nothing away, only giving him a confused expression, as to hide the fact that you knew what he meant.

“What did I say?” you asked, heart pounding in your chest.

“You said that…you loved me” he answered, blushing a little, but keeping his gaze on me, watching for signs on whether it was true or not.

You debated with yourself on whether you should tell him the truth. To Zero, your silence was answer enough and he looked away from you, bangs covering his eyes.

You saw how he reacted and smiled bitterly to yourself. You knew it, you thought. He really did only have eyes for Yuki.

“You don't have to say anything, Zero. I know how you feel about Yuki.” With that, you turned around and jumped off the balcony, landing on your feet. You, vaguely, heard Zero calling your name, but you were too hard broken to try listening. You didn't want Zero to see you cry because if he did, then he would most likely start apologizing and you didn’t want to hear that. It would be more painful than it already is.

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You slumped against a large tree, panting from the running and still crying your eyes out. “Zero…” you whispered through your sobs “I love you so much.” But once again, you thought of his love for the brunette and wept harder, burying your face in your knees.

Meanwhile, Zero was running at full speed, tracking your scent the best that he could. “Damn” he cursed, under his breath “where'd she go.”

Unbeknownst to you, Zero harbored feelings for you as well. He'd thought that he loved Yuki when all along, he just loved being hugged/touched. And when compared to your hugs, which made his heart beat rapidly, Yuki’s simply made him feel comfortable, with no romantic feelings attached, mind you.

After a minute or two of searching, Zero finally found you, head resting on your knees and held close to your chest.

“____” you heard a deep, slightly breathless voice say. That voice could only belong to Zero, you knew, but you didn’t look up. You heard him move, and from the rustle in front of you, you knew that he was kneeling before you. “____” he called again, voice more leveled than before.

“What?” you answered. Your voice cracked when you spoke.

“Please, look at me.” You thought about ignoring him and not looking, but his gentle voice pierced your heart so, you looked up. Your cheeks were wet with salty tears.

It broke Zero’s heart to see you sad. Lifting up his hand, he used his thumb to wipe away your tears then licked the salty liquid off of his thumb. Soon after, his gaze landed on you and he stared straight into your (e/c) orbs that by now; had stopped leaking the sad water.

“I think I might love you” he said, momentarily looking away.

“You think?” you asked, not sure what he was trying to say. Did he love you or not?

Zero hinted at the question behind you words and faced you again. “This transition from thinking that I loved Yuki to loving you, is a little confusing for me” he admitted, watching your reaction.

You smiled. “I understand. As long as you continue to love me more, then that’s fine” you said, a pink blush tinting your cheeks. Zero smiled as well and cupped your cheek in his left hand. He then started to lean forward, so you closed your eyes and waited for his lips to connect with yours.

The moment that your lips touched, your heartbeat accelerated and your cheeks turned as red as an apple. You lay your legs flat on the ground so that Zero could wrap his arms around you properly and pull you close. You were on your knees now and so was Zero. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you melted into the kiss and thought about how much you loved him and how glad you were that he was now yours. He was still confused a little, but you knew that it would work out in the end, because with you two working together, there was nothing that would be able to break you two apart.