C is for Candle

Candle, n., v.t., cylinder of wax, etc. with a central wick for burning

As pale as ivory and perhaps as cold, the body Kaname Kuran had taken from its coffin lay atop a marble slab, covered to the waist by a white sheet and nothing more. It had been on its way to the Kain House, presumably to be cremated, but one look at the boy's face and he was suddenly having it driven to his house, unmindful of the results his impulse would give him. And now here he stood, admiring by candle light the boy's features.

He'd died because of a natural sickness that saw no cure, the same sickness, it seemed, that his brother had suffered from. Kaname had looked over the chart that was stuck in the coffin he'd been in, and he sighed wistfully when he saw that the boy was only seventeen, still young and still so beautiful.

Silver hair still smooth and soft, he hadn't been dead for more than a day, Kaname presumed. His skin was by far perfect and unblemished, save for the tattoo on his neck. Somehow, that made him look more appealing, as if by being marked by such a symbol destroyed the innocence he harbored even into death. His lips were full and inviting, almost begging to be kissed and Kaname thought, he would get to that in a while.

His wine red gaze lingered on the boy's well sculpted chest, at his shoulders and his collar bones and the astounding paleness that his skin had. Kaname knew that death had not yet taken the boy's features, that this was probably what he looked like if he were asleep. Pale pink nipples and a flat stomach, a slim waist and everything else covered by that white sheet-- the vampire lord licked his lips in anticipation. Such a feast should not go to the next world without the proper ceremonies.

He lit the candles set into the tapers that stood near the corners of the table, taking a bit longer than he intended as he admired the boy's body from several angles. He finished by putting the candle he held into the last taper, and turned to gaze at the boy once again. He stood at the boy's feet, finding him lovelier by the second. It seemed that he'd have to put more effort into this one, he had the strangest urge to see the boy enjoying himself as he pleasured him. Sex with a lifeless corpse got boring after a few years, and he'd experimented with that temporary way to re-call a soul from the other world and had proven quite good at it. It was time to work that magic touch once again, even for just a few hours.

He brought out the agnos that hung around his neck and regarded it almost fondly. Brought from a far off dying country, the legend that had gone with it told of a gentle woman who was caring enough to give it to a leper who had been holding out a basket for alms. Her friends had frowned at her actions, but she replied that she had nothing else to give, and the leper promptly uttered a cry of thanks before bowing down to kiss the ground the woman walked on.

Years later the leper gave it to a young doctor who cared for him, and in turn the young doctor gave it to his lover. The events after that were hazy, a revolution happened upon the young couple, and it was whispered that the agnos was taken back by the woman's lover, who had come back to avenge her. They said he died, clutching it and vowing upon it that there would be life once again, because his soul would bridge the other world and the one he suffered in, so that those who would wield that power would bring about the change they sought for in the world [1].

Kaname was thankful for this, as it had proven itself well-worth the price he paid. So many times had it saved him and his friends, the people he held close to his immortal heart. And now, it would demonstrate its magnificent power once again, and bring to life this beautiful boy he intended to escort into peaceful death with a smile.

Onyx stones embedded carefully in artistically molded bronze, a single ruby in the middle, all this aged with time and use. He pressed his lips against it, and the ruby glowed with recognition. He'd given it blood to satisfy it for a good decade or two, for it wasn't a picky item at all. Anyone's blood would do, though he treasured it enough to feed it with the blood of several nobles, sometimes from himself. All he had to do now was speak the words of the woman's lover, a jeweler, they said...

He leaned over the boy, holding the agnos above his lips as he spoke.

"Here in my hands lie a stone that would change the fates of man as I wish it to be changed; here I hold the bridge between life and death, a poison and a cure, one capable of sending a country into the throes of revelry and subsequently drown it in the tears of its people... here in my hands I hold a soul... return to your vessel and be with me, fair one, draw breath and live..."

And when it touched the boy's lips, a bright red light blinded the pure blood, causing him to close his eyes for a moment as the agnos did his bidding. In a world beyond the one it was in, the agnos called upon the soul that recognized this body, pulling it with him and sending it back inside the cold shell it had left behind. The soul did not struggle, but confusion welled up within it as it felt the familiar presence of its physical self. What was happening? Why was he brought here once again?

Kaname pulled back to look at the boy once again. Lilac eyes fluttered to stare blearily up at him, and he could see an alluring uncertainty lurking in them. He smiled, another success it seemed. He brought a hand up to caress the boy's porcelain cheek, finding it warm and supple. The boy colored faintly at his touch, and it looked as if he hadn't woken up much yet. Kaname perched himself at his side, waiting for the inevitable break down that would soon occur. He didn't mind them too much, for a certain part of him had always liked to comfort the souls he'd brought back. Their vulnerability entranced him more than he would care to admit.

The boy frowned as his vision cleared, showing him a handsome auburn-haired boy, perhaps the same age as himself. The muted glow of candles did not help him to ascertain where he was, and he could only let the boy continue to caress his cheek like that because for some reason, he was having trouble moving his limbs.

His lips parted and Kaname stifled a low moan at the sight. "...where... am I...?"

His throat was dry and tongue seemed to have grown twice its original weight, making it difficult to speak. Kaname noticed his dilemma and smiled. "You're at my house. Don't try to speak yet, wait and I'll get you something to drink." the pure blood did just that, returning with a pitcher of water and a glass on a moving low table.

In his short absence, the boy had attempted to rise from the table, supporting himself unsuccessfully with his hands and breathing quite raggedly. He laid back down, acknowledging defeat, and turned his head to see the pure blood smiling warmly at him.

"You haven't been using your body for a bit, don't expect it to suddenly be able to do all the things you used to do. Here, have some water." Kaname sat back on the marble, gently helping the boy to sit up and holding the glass to his lips. He drank warily at first, gasping for more when the glass was empty. His body needed to rehydrate itself, and the water felt like salvation to his parched throat.

The feel of the boy leaning heavily against him stirred the pure blood, and he bit his lip to keep himself from making any sound as the boy unconsciously placed his hand on Kaname's thigh to support himself. Three glasses of water later and the boy's thirst had been quenched. He continued to lean against the other boy, feeling the warmth of his body through his shirt and flushing at the thought that they were this close.

"Are you alright?"

Kaname's voice broke his train of thought, and he looked up to a pair of wine red eyes. He looked away and nodded, finally removing his hand from Kaname's thigh when he noticed that it was there. Fisting his hands in the white sheet that seemed to be the only thing that was covering him, he asked again quietly, "Where... am I?"

The auburn-haired vampire ran a hand through his silver locks, smiling at how silky they felt. "As I've said before, you're at my house. Do you remember anything?"

These seemed to be the magic words as black spots danced in the boy's eyes and he groaned before burying his face in his hands. The memories were slow to come, as the agnos had little control over them, but they inevitably arrived. The most recent ones, the ones that still tied the soul to this earth, the memories of death and what came before, these were the ones that the boy saw first.

He'd been convalescing in the house of his Mistress, a beautiful woman with a deeply tender gaze, the one who'd been taking care of him and his brother who had died not so many years ago.

Shizuka Hiou, yes, that was her name. He'd fallen sick again, and a girl from his school had brought him back to her house. He had a fever, and most of the time he'd been asleep. He'd overheard snippets of conversation between Shizuka and several others, the doctor and the Headmaster of his school.

And then one night, he'd woken up to see Shizuka sitting on his bed, looking so sadly at him that he felt that he had to comfort her. He reached out for her but his arms were as heavy as lead. A tear ran down her cheek and she placed a hand on his cheek.

"I don't want you to die..."

He wanted to tell her that he was going to be alright, that it was just another bout of his sickness, he had them sometimes. He and Ichiru were the same, except that he'd inadvertently robbed his brother of his life. He wouldn't die yet, Ichiru promised that he'd come to see him before he did. He hadn't come yet, so it wasn't his time.

"I'm so sorry, Zero..."

Shizuka kissed his forehead, and for a moment they were both very still. Then, he began to cough, blood trickled from the side of his mouth, his breathing became ragged and it tore at his Mistress' heart. He wanted to speak, to tell her that it wasn't her fault-- but his chest felt as if it were being crushed and he couldn't even get a word in between his coughs. She held him, her tears falling onto his shirt, and she whispered words of love and comfort to him, as she always did when either he or his brother were sick in bed. His chest constricted one last time before it finally closed up and he fell forward into an abyss...

He was dead. The awful realization hit him like a ton of bricks, paralyzing him as he stared sightlessly at his hands. He was dead. But why could he remember? What was this? Why was he able to speak, to move, to even taste the water that sated his thirst? He began to tremble, ever so slightly, and he moaned as he felt the cold marble underneath him, the heat of the body next to him, as he heard the beating of his own heart-- proof that he was alive, that he could feel and breathe like this...

"...why..."

Kaname wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed his temple. "Don't be scared, fair one, don't be scared. You're safe here, I won't hurt you..." he crooned softly to him, trying to reassure him with his words and his touch. The boy shivered against him, and he knew it wasn't because of the cold.

"...Why am I alive again?" he couldn't understand it, why was he alive? What had happened? Was it all a dream? Where was Shizuka? Questions filled his mind and he didn't notice the other boy that was slowly laying him back down on the marble table. He hissed as his now warm back hit the table top, ice on his nerves and he belatedly realized that he was naked under that white sheet.

"Because I thought you were too beautiful to have died the way you did..." the pure blood replied. He'd glimpsed the boy's death, the agnos showed it to him but for a moment, and yet he felt the pain this boy had suffered. His body had been decaying on the inside, eating at him until finally he drew his last breath. He wanted to please him, perhaps see a smile on that haunted face, shower him with kisses and finally let him go to the otherworld with a happy memory at least.

The boy blushed a deep scarlet, both from the late realization and the auburn-haired boy's words. Shizuka often called them that, a pair of beautiful twins that she was lucky to have. But while he felt secure when she said those words, now he felt uneasy and bashful-- the older boy was far more suited to the description than he was.

Kaname smiled, coming to straddle the boy's waist and towering over him with his hands as support. "What's your name?" the chart contained only his cause of death, and he wanted badly to know this boy's name.

What was his name? The boy thought, panicking slightly when he found that he could not remember. But then, Shizuka's voice came to his mind, a voice laden with sorrow, calling him--

"Zero..."

He licked his lips and fought the tears that pricked that back of his eyes. He wouldn't cry, it was pointless, Shizuka probably thought he was dead and gone now. He opened his mouth, noticing how riveted the older boy's gaze was. He was looking straight into his eyes, and he was so close. He felt embarrassed, and he squirmed a bit under the sheet before replying.

"...It's Zero. My name is Zero..."

Kaname breathed his name, a whisper of awe in his voice. Honey on his tongue, he wondered if the boy himself tasted sweeter than his name. He was flushed, the scarlet a welcome contrast to his pale skin, and Kaname's fingers twitched as he yearned to touch it more freely. At the moment, the caresses on the boy's cheek and that hug awhile ago were the bare limits of his restraint.

He leaned back a bit, giving the boy some space. "My name is Kaname."

Zero blinked, for some reason the name had tickled his memory. "Kaname..." Had Shizuka mentioned him before? He wasn't sure. He watched as the boy --Kaname-- lithely jumped off the table and walked towards the end of it, coming to stand at his feet. What was he doing?

The pure blood let a bit of smirk into his smile. He couldn't hold it any longer, if he did he might end up hurting the boy. Zero was precious-- he didn't know why he suddenly thought this, but he was. Infinitely precious, that gaze full of sorrow and uncertainty, he would soon make aglow with pleasure and ecstasy. Before he let him go once again.

"Zero..." his voice was a low purr, a flicker of heat to Zero's senses and he sat up, watching him cautiously.

"Would you let me take you?" his hand came to rest on the white sheet, as he looked at Zero with a pleading, ardent gaze. For his part, Zero colored even more before sputtering, "T-take me??" He didn't mean what he thought he meant...? Kaname looked like a nice person...

Though, Zero's mind thought wryly, looking at him now, he looked like a husband patiently waiting for his wife to let him strip off her wedding dress. The silver-haired boy shook those thoughts away as Kaname playfully tugged on the sheet. Zero's hands flew to grab them, currently unwilling to bare himself to the other boy.

"Yes. I want you, Zero. I want to make love to you, if you'd let me..." Kaname was serious about this, if Zero refused him, he wouldn't push the boy. He'd simply let him rest again, contenting himself with a simple glimpse of the boy and maybe a chaste kiss. He'd be back to square one, which was as good as his right hand went. The idea of having sex with an unresponsive partner --specially considering it was this boy-- gave Kaname a feeling of extreme unsatisfaction. He was sure he'd be a pretty annoying bastard for a couple of days after he let Zero go without doing anything to him (alive or dead), but for now, he'd see if his beauty would allow him anything. Pessimism was fine, but optimism didn't kill. It just hurt a lot.

Zero could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, that feeling of dread that had threatened to overcome him before now disappearing into the background of his mind as he tried to come up with a coherent response for the other boy. He glanced at his face, seeing the same patience tempered with desire, and discreetly shifted the sheet. What if he said no?

Kaname would probably kill him again-- though, for some reason, he couldn't think of what the other boy would do as 'killing', because he was actually just going to return Zero to the state he'd been in before he woke him up. Right?

"What if... I said no?" he asked hesitantly, daring to meet the pure blood's gaze. Kaname blinked and sighed internally. Yes, optimism really did hurt a lot. "Well... I would let you rest in peace. I only wanted this night from you, and nothing more, but if you are unwilling I won't force you." while you're alive, he added somewhat reluctantly to himself. Kaname wondered if there was anyway he could have Zero made into a Doll --surely, Takuma would know something about it, his grandfather ran that type of business fairly well-- but the thought of it made him grimace. No, he would probably have to content himself with his right hand after all. For some reason, he didn't want to take advantage of the boy's body the way he did with the others that came before him.

"Oh..." it was just as he'd thought. He would die again, without Shizuka knowing that he lived for a brief moment. He'd been given a second chance, little though it was, and he couldn't even comfort the only person left to grieve for him. He was an idiot. He'd have given anything to see her again, to make sure she was alright and that she wasn't entertaining any thoughts of joining them soon. If only...!

Lilac eyes widened-- could it be possible? Would Kaname be willing to make such a deal? The word 'whore' popped into his mind, and the taste it left in his mouth made him want to gag-- but then, if it was to see Shizuka, perhaps he could live with it. Then again, his mind supplied, he wouldn't live for much longer after that, won't he?

Kaname was about to ask the younger boy if he wanted to go back to 'sleep', when a hand grabbed his wrist and his eyes flew to Zero's face. His cheeks were still pink, but he had a determined look in his eyes that surprised the vampire. What was Zero doing?

The silver haired boy swallowed before saying, "I'll let you..." his voice trailed off into a murmur, but Kaname heard him nonetheless. He was still for a moment, trying to wrap his head around the sudden change in the boy's demeanor. Almost dumbly, he repeated, "Let me...?"

Zero groaned in his head-- must he make this that difficult? Steeling himself, he met Kaname's confused gaze head on. "I'll let you..." --dammit, he had to say this!-- "...make love to me..." he bit his lip, immediately turning his face away. He didn't want the other boy to see his face for he was sure he was blushing like a ripe tomato at the moment.

Kaname raised an eyebrow. That was unexpected. He reached out to make the boy face him, seeing the hesitance --however small-- in that firm, somewhat desperate, look on his face. The boy had a plan and he was uncertain.

"And for what would you have this done?"

Clutching the sheet with his free hand, Zero let out a shuddering breath before replying. "...I want to see Shizuka again, even if it's for a short time... I want to comfort her, even in her dreams... she's done so much for me and my brother, I simply can't leave her like this..." he steadied himself and the hesitance appeared to have vanished, or at least, gone under the surface. "I'll give my body to you, if you grant my request..."

The pure blood considered this for a moment. The body he raised back from the dead remained so until he bid the agnos return it to its proper resting place. And to visit this woman in her dreams, the repercussions weren't much to deal with, after all, even the holy boasted of souls coming back from the other side-- surely there would be no trouble if he were to say yes?

Zero was beginning to think that he'd made an irreparable mistake, when the pure blood smiled.

"As you wish..."

Warm lips pressed swiftly against his, and a hand rested on his hip, while the other stroked his throat, his shoulder, the side of his face. Blood rushed through his veins at the contact, the sound that was music to the vampire lord's ears. Fingers danced on his leg before slipping under the sheet and dipping into his inner thigh and running over it teasingly, making the younger boy gasp and squirm, though it was debatable whether or not he was trying to get away from that insidious hand.

A tongue slipped into his mouth, running against the roof of his mouth and sliding against his own. Zero moaned, panting into the kiss and reaching up to tangle his fingers in Kaname's hair. All too suddenly the older boy pulled away, leaving him breathless and slightly dazed.

Kaname took a few steps away, taking in the sight of the boy on his table, skin flushed red and eyes glazed over-- and that was just a kiss! He smiled languidly, murmuring Zero's name as if it held all the admiration he had for the boy at the moment, fisting his hand in the white sheet. In one swift motion he pulled off the sheet, exposing his silver haired beauty completely.

Zero shivered as the cold air hit his body, and he looked down at the marble, not daring to meet the vampire's gaze. He felt a little like a plate of food being served to his master, and the low growl that Kaname let out fueled his imagination. Apparently, his master was hungry.

Wine red eyes raked over the boy's form, narrowing at the sight of an almost girlish waist, long and lean legs and the stirring manhood in between. Perfection, as he had thought before, and what was now being proven to him. He'd take his time with this boy, savor every sound, every sensation, every breath he would take before he drowned him in his ardent ministrations.

Reaching out towards the silver haired boy, Kaname's gaze strayed to his flushed face and indulged the sigh that caused Zero to tentatively look up at him from beneath a pair of impossibly long lashes. "...Kaname...?" The vampire lord's eyes gleamed with desire and he wasted no time in lifting the boy's right leg so that it went over his shoulder. Feeling more than a bit bold, he let his fingers whisper down the boy's inner thigh, earning him a shudder and a repetition of his name, though in far more breathy tones.

"...Kaname..."

Carefully, the auburn haired vampire moved the hand that was not lingering on Zero's thigh over his smooth stomach, the heel of his palm pressing into the boy's flesh while he raked his nails over the unmarked skin. Zero hissed at the contact, his knuckles going white as they gripped the edges of the marble table, then slipping as Kaname suddenly pinched a pert nipple. The older boy twisted the bud until it peaked, circling it with his finger once he was satisfied. He did the same to the other, drawing a faint cry from his silver haired beauty.

With a smile, Kaname released his leg and leapt onto the table to pin Zero down, giving him a swift kiss before lowering his head to the boy's nipple. He smirked as he flicked his tongue over the rucked nub, teasing it for a few seconds before closing his lips over it and suckling tenderly. Zero's moan echoed off the walls of the chamber, as he tilted his head back and arched his flushed body against Kaname's mouth, aching for those lips to travel somewhere else, perhaps lower...

He almost whimpered when Kaname stopped moving, pulling back to gaze at his face before mirroring his earlier actions on his other nipple, and he sighed happily at the return of that much needed contact.

Slowly, he let a trembling hand trail up the older boy's arm, moving over his shoulder and coming to rest on his neck, urging him lower. He felt a hand massage his hip and roam up his side, then move to his back, to hold him in place as Kaname followed the pressure on his nape, planting butterfly kisses on the pale skin before him, biting and sucking and marking the boy as his.

After what seemed like eternity, Kaname's mouth finally reached Zero's straining erection, closing over the head and making the silver haired boy groan by taking his sweet time sucking on it. A hand curled itself around the base, and the vampire lord bent his head to take more of the boy in, whilst driving him through the roof with the way his tongue repeatedly went over and under his length.

Zero's breaths came in short, quick gasps as his hand buried itself in Kaname's hair and as the other scrabbled at the marble surface, desperate for something to hold onto, something to focus on besides the immense amount of pleasure the vampire lord was giving him with his tongue and his mouth and his hand. Though the boy needn't worry about such a thing, as Kaname resolved to drown the boy in ecstasy, letting his free hand trail under the boy, long fingers teasing the puckered entrance beneath.

His silver haired beauty threw his head back at the onslaught of sensations, gasping and fighting for breath, pushing himself further into that moist cavern, desperate as he was for more. Kaname smirked and took the boy deep into his throat and began to hum, simultaneously leaving his entrance and coming back to palm his balls in time with his strokes.

Zero bit his lip as the pure blood concentrated on driving him to the edge, soft whimpers and pleas spilling from his lips. When Kaname started to hum, he let out a full-fledged cry of the vampire's name, arching his back and thrusting madly into Kaname's mouth. He could feel his release coming soon, could feel his muscles tensing as they prepared to fall into that blinding white abyss.

Kaname sensed this as well and pulled back, keeping only the head in his mouth as he gave his length one firm stroke, and as Zero came with a long sigh into his mouth. As the boy fell back on the table, limp and flushed from the recent release of pleasure he'd succumbed to, Kaname had nothing else to distract himself from his very evident need to be inside the boy. He simply bit his lip, though, and contented himself -for the time being- with rubbing large circles over Zero's stomach and up and down his thigh.

Though still a bit dazed from the mind-blowing orgasm, Zero still had the presence of mind to notice the pure blood's problem. Without a second thought, Zero sat up and urged Kaname to do the same. When the pure blood had followed, a raised eyebrow being his only resistance, Zero took his face in both hands and pressed their lips together. Zero frowned internally at the taste, but decided that stopping now would result in something more than a bad after taste.

Needless to say, Kaname was surprised at the kiss, his eyes wide even as Zero kept his resolutely closed, but it wasn't bound to be so for long, as the silver haired boy pulled away before their tongues could join in.

He blushed as he drew his hands down to Kaname's shoulders, then to his chest where he flicked the erect nipples briefly, to gain a hiss of his name from the pure blood. Zero paused, but quickly remembered his intentions and continued on his way, down to the vampire lord's pants. The button was undone and the zipper pulled down just as nimbly, but before he could proceed any further, Kaname leapt upon him again, his mouth crashing against Zero's and drawing a muffled sound of protest from the boy, which soon eased into a low moan as the kiss by-passed lips and went straight for tongues.

Kaname had no idea what the boy was planning, but if he intended to kiss him and run his hands over him like that, he wasn't about to hand it to him easily. Besides, they'd had a deal. Kaname was the one who was supposed to be pleasuring Zero, and most definitely not the other way around. His own hands wandered over the boy's body, clawing and pulling him closer, holding as if he were an illusion soon to disappear.

It took some effort, but Zero finally succeeded in pushing the pure blood away, panting for breath as he did so. Kaname looked down with a frown on his lips, and he was about to protest when a slim finger was held up to them. As his voice was far lower than normal because of Kaname's earlier actions, Zero's words came out sultry and intimate, sending a stab of desire through the vampire lord.

"Let me..."

With amazing flexibility that Kaname hadn't known of, the boy managed to turn himself so that he was able to reach for Kaname's 'problem' without any problems. He deftly pulled his pants down his hips, getting his first look at what being born a pure blood could give to one's anatomy. His cheeks flushed a deeper red, but he ignored this as he carefully took Kaname's arousal and gave it an experimental lick.

The pure blood let out a low growl, his fingers digging into Zero's hips as the boy began to close in on his head, soft pink tongue laving at him with a sensual innocence it was mind-numbing. A thought came through Kaname's desire-fogged mind, and he smirked. If Zero wanted to play this way, who was he to stop him?

As the silver haired boy began to suck him in earnest, he dimly registered his hips being lifted up from the table, and warm breath over his buttocks. He paid this no mind as he took more of the pure blood into his mouth, a hand on Kaname's hip to keep him in place. After a few moments, he pulled back to take in some air, leaving his hand to stroke the vampire's arousal, and that was when Kaname parted his cheeks with his hands and ran his tongue over the puckered ring of Zero's anus.

Zero shrieked, almost banging his head against the marble surface, his breath hitching as the vampire lord continued to rim him with nary a care for the way his body was pushing against him, and the way his own member was becoming erect once again. Nevertheless, Zero turned his head back and engulfed Kaname in his mouth, treating him like one would a favourite lollipop. Kaname bit back his groans at the attention Zero was giving him, instead focusing on doing the same to the younger boy. He drew back a bit, reaching down between their bodies to caress the boy's arousal, then stiffening his tongue and pushing it inside the boy.

A cry was torn from Zero's lips as Kaname drove into him, muffled by the length that he was pleasuring. Pulling himself together as best as he could, Zero sucked and licked on Kaname's member, drawing his orgasm closer.

Both worked ferociously to bring their partner to completion, which came just moments after Zero gave a particularly hard suck to Kaname's arousal, and as Kaname gave his a long stroke in time with a hard push of his tongue. The silver haired boy came first, coating his stomach with his release just as the vampire lord came in his mouth with a low growl.

As Zero was yet to come down from the high of pleasure he'd just experienced, Kaname was free to get off the table -steadying himself for a moment- before walking towards one of the many shelves lined with all kinds of stoppered bottles and jars. Zero's lilac eyes followed him tiredly, even as the boy lay motionless on the table, one arm thrown over his head and the other limp by his side. A leg dangled from the side of the table, his toes almost touching the cold stone floor. Zero probably wouldn't have noticed if it did, dazed as he was.

At last, Kaname returned and Zero had gathered enough of his wits to look at the older boy with something akin to confusion on his face. He held a small jar on his hand, uncorking it with the other. He smiled patiently at Zero, as he set the jar at the corner where it would -hopefully- not be thrown off while he got his silver haired beauty worked up again.

"Zero..."

His name on that tongue felt like a touch of velvet, and Zero's eyes went half-lidded as he murmured, "Yes?" Kaname had to hold himself back, reminding himself sternly that the boy could very well be a virgin and that he might scare him -or worse: hurt him- if he went too fast.

"Stand up, love, and lean over the table for me..."

The silver haired boy blinked and nodded, sitting up using his arms for support and then lithely getting off the table to plant his feet onto the floor. He shivered at the contact but did as he was told, placing his hands on the table and trying to relax himself. He felt Kaname's clothed chest press against his back, and the vampire's arousal was clearly evident as well. An arm snaked around his waist and warm breath tickled his ear.

"You don't seem so nervous..."

He shuddered and pushed his body back, tilting his head so that he spoke into Kaname's ear as well. "It's been a while since... I last did this..."

The vampire lord blinked. What...?

"Zero, are you telling me you're no longer..."

The boy's head bowed at the change of tone in Kaname's voice. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned it, but now that Kaname was asking, he couldn't very well lie to him, now could he? He drummed his fingers on the table, self-consciously looking to the side and attempting to avoid noticing the presence so close to him.

"...No, I'm not."

It was the truth, Kaname knew. He was close enough to the boy to feel his heart beat, slightly faster than normal, but that wasn't because he was lying. He was nervous, the scent of fear was tickling his nose ever so slightly, and already he hated it. Coming from anyone else, it might've made him smile-- what better was there against the foolish aristocrats other than fear? But to have it come from this boy... Kaname fought back a shudder. He'd hear him out first.

Instead of letting him go, Zero felt Kaname tightening his grip around his waist, could feel the vampire's breath on his neck. "Who?"

Lilac eyes fell to the floor, half-lidded and distant, as the boy spoke in a soft voice, "My brother."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

caesura

.

.

.

.

.

Author's Notes: Why am I suddenly cutting you here? Because twincest is hard to write while you're thinking of Synthetic Division and the imaginary numbers in the factors of a given equation. And because I want it to be kick-ass kinked. And that takes time and time-alone.

Kaz, I posted something else. You might want to read it, or you may want to kick my Sick-butt to Hitsuzen, I don't know. Just don't kill me, kay? ... Uhm, I have your balls...

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. Nor do I own Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo.

Yes, this is from SACRIFICE. Though I'm branching it out into another fic cause it's long. The continuation of this in the next few chapters of SACRIFICE won't be as conclusive as everyone will like. So if you want more of necrophilic-KanZe love with a bit of Kiryuucest thrown in for good measure, review!

Happy (one-day late) Valentine's Day! :D