Hi I absolutely adore your blog. I just got back into vk and have an intense crush on zero. Could you do fluffy fanfic about him. Just him out on a date. A head cannon would do to.
Pairings: Zero x OC; Kaname x Yuuki
Summary: A year after Yuuki leaves the Academy to join Kaname, the Association assigns partners. Zero’s newly appointed partner, Mai Higuarshi, is determined to teach Zero a lesson in moving on and readiness.
The town was almost dead at five in the morning, but Zero didn’t mind the silence. What he minded was the downright exhaustion that threatened to drop him where he stood. He had accepted yet another week long hunt that involved more than one vampire that filled their list; and he was feeling the effects. His eyes were dry, itchy, and burning from lack of sleep. He knew from experience that rubbing his eyes only made it worse. What he needed was obviously sleep, but he wasn’t going to get it. He still had to go back to the Association and write out a report of his job before he could head home.
The chime of a bell distracted him as he made his way down the street. The smell of coffee wafted out of the open door. As if on auto-pilot, he moved toward the door. The sign on the door miraculously said open. He pushed the door open.
“Welcome!” The girl behind the counter greeted. A groan threatened to escape Zero’s throat whenever he realized just who she was serving at the moment. The woman turned. Her light brown eyes widened in surprise.
“Geez, Kiryuu, you look like death!” The filter-less woman blurted, holding her caramel coffee in one hand. The girl behind the counter giggled even as Zero turned his attention to her. He ordered his coffee–black, one sugar–and waited, attempting to ignore his kind-of friend. “You should at least take a partner with you on those week long hunts.” She scolded quietly. “Even seasoned hunters don’t take jobs like that alone.”
“Get off my back, Mai,” Zero grumbled as he payed the way too amused girl behind the counter for his coffee.
“Oi!” She exclaimed. “Respect your elders!”
“You’re only two years older than me,” he pointed out with a sigh as he moved toward the door. She followed him as he knew she would. They were after all going to the same place.
“Still older than you,” she sang. Zero rolled his eyes; and they fell silent. It was another thing Zero enjoyed about Mai. She didn’t try to fill the silence with chatter; she was comfortable just walking beside him. After a block, Mai looked over at him and said, “the Association is starting to assign partners to all free hunters.” Zero almost choked on his coffee. “I figured I would let you know.”
“Thanks,” he coughed. “Do you know who I’m assigned?” He asked once his throat had stopped burning. Mai shrugged.
“I don’t know any more on it. I just overheard Yagari and Cross talking about it,” Mai informed. Zero sucked his teeth. Damn it. Those two nosy bastards were assigning partners because of him; he just knew it. “Who would you want?” Mai asked.
“You,” Zero said automatically without thought. His cheeks reddened while her mouth dropped open.
“Awee, Zero! You do like me!”
Zero chose not to argue. He knew any argument he made would dig him deeper. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her because he did. It was just embarrassing to admit.
Mai was an exceptional hunter. He had been on a couple of jobs with her to know that she could hold her own better than any of the other hunters he had ever had the displeasure of working with. She was quick with her knives and quiet. One flick of the wrist and the opposing vampire was dust before they knew what hit them. If she was spotted, she could fight her way out of a sticky situation with little to no help from him. Despite her soft appearance, she was ruthless and did not hesitate.
If he had to have a partner, he would chose her.
Mai smiled at his statement as she walked down the street, but cut the poor boy a break. She truly was flattered to know that he would want her out of all of his coworkers to be his partner.
Make no mistake, she knew she was one of the best. Her swiftness with her choice weapons and ability to wield any class of blade made her sought after, but she had been turning them down. Because she wanted Zero.
There was something about him that she was drawn too. A certain kindness shown from him even though his face was always so severe. It was all in his peculiar, stunning eyes. He was a gentle soul in their world of blood and nightmares; and she wanted to protect him.
Mai looked over at him out the corner of her eye. He had that far away look on his face again. She knew what that meant. He was thinking of her–his anchor. The one he had lost. Mai didn’t know the story, but she certainly knew that look. She had seen it in the mirror for months after she lost her anchor. Her anchor had been her fiance; he had been her start as a hunter. What happened with him…had made him her first kill. She’d felt broken for months after she killed him; and then, methodically, she started to pick up and fit together the broken pieces. It was hard and there were days bits of her still chipped off, but she was recovering.
She wanted to help Zero recover too, but she didn’t want to be his new anchor. No, she wanted to help learn how to stand on his own as she had. She sipped the last of her coffee and tossed it in the garbage can in front of the Association building.
Maybe, if they became partners, she could start showing him how.
Their partnership was odd at first. Zero had never had such a partner as Mai. She would jump in front of a hit meant for him ((and deflect it easily)), but then she would allow him to wander off without her. She wouldn’t hound him about his absence later. It took him about four weeks to realize what she was doing…and why it felt so strange.
She was treating him like an equal. His only partner before Mai hadn’t known how to do that. She had only seen someone she needed to protect; Mai saw someone capable yet stepped in whenever it looked like he was going to take damage. It was strange and refreshing.
His eyes wandered again to Mai, who sat on the couch in their hideout–bandaging her arm. She had taken a nasty cut from one of the Level E’s nails and had dug her First Aid Kit out of her pack to tend to it. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air, thankfully smothering out the interesting scent of her blood. Zero turned his gaze away from her again.
This mission had turned out much more dangerous than Zero was used to. The reports only told of two Level Es in the area, but it had turned out being more. Over fifteen Level Es had been hunkered down in the abandoned chapel, fighting over travelers and haphazardly sharing their meal. It had been disgusting. They had barely managed to clear out the infestation with minimum injury.
He could feel Mai’s eyes on him, watching his own cuts close up. Zero clenched his jaw. He had been able to hide his nature from her; it had been difficult since she wasn’t an average human, but he had managed to divert her suspicions. Tonight was confirmation. He was waiting to see how she would react.
A sigh echoed through the room, followed by the sound of her repacking the First Aid Kit. And then, Zero felt a brief yet comforting touch on his arm.
“You aren’t as slick as you think, you know.” She teased as she sat down beside him on the window ledge. “I knew from the moment I met you that you were a vampire.”
“And you still accepted me as your partner?” Zero asked, unable to keep the incredulity he felt out of his voice. Mai smiled.
“Of course I did. It doesn’t change who you are,” She leaned slightly against his shoulder. “The others were idiots.” She sniffed. “You are an asset to the Association and anyone who sees it differently can go jump into the river.” Silence fell over them as Zero accepted her words.
“Jump into the river?” Zero teased after a while.
“Hush.” Mai murmured. Her light brown eyes dipped closed. Zero didn’t bother telling her to get off if she wanted to sleep; he just shifted his position so that she could be more comfortable.
It was a late night a year after Mai’s admission of finding value in Zero as he was that a realization slapped him about the face. It came in the familiar form of Yuuki on one of the rare jobs he took alone. He had just finished his work and was leaving the building whenever he spotted her, walking with Kaname Kuran.
She had stopped as if sensing him too, but as Zero looked upon them, he realized the longing he felt for her had changed. He didn’t crave her presence; he didn’t want to be where she was. He furrowed his brow. When had that changed?
He watched her lips part and form his name, but he was too far away for the sound to reach him; and he was too lost in thought to realize she was approaching him.
Zero hadn’t even noticed that the craving for her blood had died down to a faint tickle. The itch caused simply by the remembrance of how delicious her blood had always been to him.
He was pulled from his thoughts by her scent embracing him. He blinked and found himself in her arms. Her tiny hands clasped at his back and he could hear her muttering his name against his throat. She pulled away from the hug first, dropping down onto her tiny heels. Heels? That was new.
He studied her. Her hair was longer now, a little past her hips. She was fashionably dressed and her feet were clad in heeled winter boots. Her eyes still shined in the way he remembered though, but it caused no stirring in his heart. He just felt happy to see her happy. He allowed himself to smile for her.
“Hi,” she muttered awkwardly, blushing. “I’m sorry to overstep. I…just…it’s been so long since I last saw you and…you aren’t going to try to kill me right?” She said it all in a breath. The habit he used to find adorable now only caused him to chuckle.
“Why would I try a thing like that, stupid?” He asked. Yuuki’s mouth fell open; a shout of indignation stuck in her throat. But he could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that she wasn’t really offended. Kaname was, but when had that ever mattered?
“What are you doing here?” Yuuki asked as she pulled his arm to get him moving. Zero gently brushed her hand off of his arm once they started moving. Her eyes gave a slight flicker, but she didn’t react otherwise.
“Finished a job.” Zero didn’t linger on specifics. She didn’t need to know them.
“Still working for the Association then?” Kaname interjected himself into the conversation. Zero didn’t bother answering him. “I heard they’ve started assigning partners. Where is yours?”
“I didn’t need her assistance for this job; she doesn’t hover,” Zero said, giving him only the minimum information about his partner.
“It’s a woman?” Yuuki cut back in, almost elbowing Kaname for his attempt at riling him.
“You sound fond of her,” Yuuki commented. Her voice was slightly sad in a way that made Zero give her his attention. “I haven’t heard you sound so soft when speaking of someone.”
“I suppose I am,” Zero muttered. If it had been just Yuuki, Zero wouldn’t have minded talking more about Mai; but he did not trust Kaname.
“Yuuki, we must part ways with Kiryuu here. We’ll miss our play if we keep walking down this street,” Kaname told Yuuki. Yuuki blinked.
“Oh, yes! The play!” Yuuki said happily. “We’re going to see Wicked!” She told Zero excitedly. Zero couldn’t help but smile. He remembered that she had loved the soundtrack and had always dreamed to going to the play; it was nice to see that now she was. “But I’ll see you again, right?” Yuuki asked. Zero didn’t miss the way Kaname tensed. A smirk crossed his lips.
“Of course,” he answered as he accepted Yuuki’s parting hug.
“How was the hunt?” Mai asked on Monday whenever Zero and she met at the coffee shop before going in. Zero eyed his curious partner as she sipped her caramel coffee and came to a decision.
“Meet me after work at my apartment,” he said. Mai blinked then that smile Zero knew meant bad news spread across her lips.
“My, my! How forward, Zero! You could at least buy a girl dinner first!” Even prepared, Zero felt his ears burning. Mai laughed.
“Not for that!” Zero spluttered. “I just…I need to talk to you about something and I would rather do it in private.”
“Sure, sure. Whatever you say,” Mai teased.
That night, in the silence of his apartment, Zero told Mai about Yuuki. For the first time since Yuuki left, he opened up to someone; he told her everything. He told her about his family’s slaughter, his brother’s betrayal, his relationship with Yuuki, and how he ended up a full vampire.
In return, she broke the silence of the apartment with her own story about how she became a hunter.
In a quiet voice, she had spoke of her fiance. She told him how in love with him she had been since they were children, but how blind she had been to his true nature. He had been a vampire, but not just any vampire–a Pureblood. He had been there through every phase of her life, teaching her, and grooming her without her knowledge. She hadn’t known until they had moved in together.
Mai didn’t have the same upbringing most vampire hunter children did. She wasn’t raised by a hunter; instead, she had been raised by two normal human beings under her fiance’s father’s control. Her parents hadn’t cared whenever she had gotten engaged at sixteen and moved in with a man two years older than her at seventeen.
She would have never known anything was wrong if she hadn’t found the pictures hidden away in a locked drawer in his study. It was an entire album of her biological family. It seemed that the Pureblood family had stalked her family for months, waiting for her to be born, and then mere days after her birth they had slaughtered her mother and father and stolen her from her crib. She was implanted in her mind-controlled family almost immediately.
He had tried to control her like her false family had been whenever he had found her with the album, but she had been too aware of his powers to allow him back in; but he hadn’t known that. The longer she stood there, struggling to compose herself, the more certain he had been that it had worked. So, he came closer and closer. His cockiness, his certainty that she was his puppet had sickened her. The entire relationship had been a lie; the fact ripped through her heart like barbed wire. Whenever he came close enough, she snapped. Moving as quickly as she was able–and certainly faster than she ever had before–she plunged one of her throwing knives deep into his heart and used the short-sword she kept on her hip to severe his head from his body. Ironically, it had been his own sword and his own teachings that lead to his death.
The silence in the room then felt choking. Zero didn’t know what to say. He was both in awe of her and horrified that she had been through something so traumatizing. Mai surprised him by smiling.
“Well, that’s it,” she said. “That’s my whole story.” Zero wasn’t the hugging type, but the slight hollowness behind her smile hurt his heart. Though she tried to play it off, Zero could see how badly her past still hurt her. He reached across the table, grabbed her hand, and slid from his own seat. Her eyes widened as he jerked her to her feet and into his arms.
“Hey! I told you buy me dinner first,” she joked through what sounded like a closing throat. Zero held her tighter and scoffed quietly.
“Maybe later,” he muttered. She gave a wet laugh and buried her head into his shoulder. Her hands came up; she had intended to gently return to the hug, but she had ended up grasping at him. Zero didn’t even flinch, though she knew the holsters strapped to her wrists must have been digging into his back.
Their relationship went through yet another shift after that night, but it was for the better. Their partnership was more fluid; they worked better together and covered one another’s opening easily. At least, things had been. Now nearly a year since that night, Zero was worried he was mucking it up with these new feelings.
Zero had always noticed that his partner was gorgeous with her light brown eyes, long black hair, and fit figure; but now, the awareness of her seem dialed up. He felt his heart do that funny lift whenever she touched his shoulder, felt the heat from her fingers long after they were gone.
Whenever they were on jobs that required guarding, like tonight, he had started searching for her first and the ones they were to be protecting second. He spotted her in a skin-tight dark red dress at the other end of the room. Her long black hair was pulled back into an elegant bun. Red lipstick was smeared across her plump lips perfectly; her eyes dusted with just enough mascara and eye shadow to make the light brown color pop. Her weapons were nowhere to be seen, but he knew she had a few within reach. Two throwing needles held up her hair and a slim holster of knives were underneath her dress. His ears heated slightly whenever her eyes met his. Her lips curved in a slight smirk. He turned his eyes away before he gave himself away.
He focused instead on the people they were supposed to be protecting. Yuuki and Kaname Kuran. This protection order didn’t bother him as much as it would have a few years ago. He could admit without pain that Yuuki looked beautiful in her long baby blue dress. The sparkling diamond on her finger was now accompanied by a band; it’s mate now resting on Kaname’s finger. They were married now; and the thought didn’t bother him in the slightest.
He swept the room, looking for any person of suspicion and found Mai was missing. His brows rose. Toga stood in her place. He gave Zero a two finger salute whenever he met his eyes. Had Mai just slipped out to the bathroom and asked Toga to fill her spot or had she seen something that needed investigating? He looked back out into the room, trying to find answers.
None were obvious. He furrowed his brows and scanned the room again. The tension in his shoulders released whenever he spotted Mai re-entering the room, not a hair out of place. Instead of retaking her spot from Toga, she approached the Purebloods stiffly. Zero moved closer, knowing it was important if she dared seek them out.
He arrived just in time to hear Mai tell Kaname, “the protesters have started. You and your wife need to leave.”
“Thank you, Miss. Hunter,” Kaname said as he took Yuuki’s hand. “I’ll see to the guests before we go so that no one stands in your way.”
“Protesters?” Zero asked as he came to a stop beside them.
“Surely you didn’t think our marriage would stand unopposed, did you, Kiryuu?” Kaname asked, amusement filled his voice. Zero ignored him.
“They’ve been trying to break up our marriage since we announced the date,” Yuuki said sadly. “They set a bomb off underneath our car just a few months ago and nearly killed Aidou. Before that, they tried to blow up Ruka and Kain’s house just because she was helping us with wedding planning…” Zero frowned. So, they weren’t so much protesters as they were terrorists.
“How many are we looking at?” Toga asked.
“At least twenty. Easy numbers,” Mai dismissed. “As long as the herd is clear.” She ignored Kaien’s squawk at her comparing the vampires in the room to sheep, but Zero noticed Kaname’s lips quirking upward. Yuuki tugged her husband’s hand. Together, they addressed their guests.
“I’m afraid our celebration will have to be cut short,” Kaname announced; his voice somehow carrying throughout the hall as Zero and Mai moved away from them in favor of guarding the only door in (but not the only door out) to the party.
“He certainly knows how to woo the crowd, doesn’t he?” Mai commented once they stood in front of the doors. The tension in her shoulders spoke of her discomfort at the thought of turning her back on the Purebloods. Zero stepped behind her to erase the feeling. Her shoulders eased only a little.
“Must be a natural thing,” Zero shrugged. Yuuki certainly had gotten better at charming a crowd.
“Maybe he’s born with it, maybe it’s vampirism?” Mai joked as the first pound came from the locked door. Zero snorted.
“If that were true, I would be charming,” Zero returned as the guests were clearing out just a little faster behind them. Kaname and Yuuki had already swept away in that way only they could. Bats and butterflies weaved through one another as they shot through the door–as if they were sharing the dance they had neglected.
“You are,” Mai argued, ignoring what she was certain was a fascinating spectacle. “In your own special kind of way.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds like an insult,” Zero commented as he unfastened his vest for easier access to his gun. He noticed with a thrill that Mai’s eyes fixed on his fingers as he undid each button. It didn’t matter that he clearly wore a button up underneath; he still felt as if she were undressing him with her eyes. When had that started? He kept his eyes on hers as he drew his gun from his hostler.
“Why, I’d never,” she teased, though the effect was somewhat ruined by the slight breathlessness to her voice and the heat he could see in her eyes.
“Alright, you two, stop flirting,” Toga growled, breaking through the moment. “They’ll be coming through those doors any minute.”
“Awe, Toga~,” Kaien whined. “Don’t interrupt! Our boy is growing into a man!”
“Shut up!” Zero growled, bringing his fist down onto the silly President’s head. Mai laughed. And then the doors gave way.
One would think that they would realize the ones they were there to protest were not in the room, but these vampires were apparently stupid. They attacked the hunters with gusto as if the ones they sought were just behind them.
Mai weaved in front of Zero like water, throwing throwing knife after throwing knife into vital parts of the vampires pouring into the room; while Zero shot around her form, knowing instinctively where she would step and where she wouldn’t. They easily took out their half while Toga and Kaien proved just why they were so feared. Where Kaien left an opening, Toga filled it with a hail of gunfire, cutting down any idiot that dared try lay a hand on the goof. Together, the four of them wiped out wave after wave of violent terrorists.
After the second wave, Zero noticed something. They were sending in Level E vampires first. His eyes tracked the bodies that had fallen and felt sickened as it occurred to him.
“Mai,” he called, “cover me.” Then, he was in motion. He moved in front of her, trusting her completely. She took out the newer members as he moved closer to the ones fallen by the door. Her blades were frighteningly accurate as they sank into skulls, jugglers, and hearts. He knelt down and opened the coat of one of the fallen. His blood ran cold. “EVACUATE!” He shouted as he shot away from the body.
A bomb was strapped to his chest and likely to the chest of every fallen vampire. This wasn’t an unorganized attack driven by rage; this was a Pureblood’s carefully constructed plan to blow the wedding hall sky high. It’s a miracle he nor Toga had triggered one of the bombs with their shooting, but they were trained to take head shots since one wasted less ammo that way. This Pureblood likely knew that. Fuck.
Kaien cursed and darted backward. Toga covered the path of his retreat while Mai covered Zero’s. Together, the four of them worked their way to the back door that opened out to the balcony. The vampires and nobles could easily traverse it. It was the human guests, Zero realized, that the vampires intended to trap. Double fuck. He looked over at Mai.
“I can make the fall,” Zero told her as he swept her into his arms. “With minimum injury.”
“Okay,” Mai said. He could tell by her tone she wasn’t exactly thrilled with by thought of dropping down the cliff edge into the water, but she would do it. He looked over at Kaien and Toga to see Kaien already lifted his partner into his arms. Toga didn’t meet any of their eyes and gave a long suffering sigh as Kaien pitched himself over the edge. Mai tightened her arms around Zero’s neck as he stepped over the edge after his mentor and his former headmaster.
As they fell, the building blew. Zero curled around her to the best of his ability to keep any debris from hitting her even as they plummeted toward the water. He felt rather than heard her gasp as they hit the icy surface. Her breathe had been soundly knocked from her; Zero forced through the pain as he kicked upward to air.
She could swim once she got her barrings. Zero tensed whenever he saw someone else in the water with them, moving toward the quickly. His eyes widened when he saw the light blue dress. The idiot had come back.
She looked Zero in the eye as she folded her hands over both of their shoulders. A dizzying feeling swept over them both and then they were on dry land. Yuuki reformed in front of them. A few feet away, Kaname appeared and dropped Kaien and Toga in front of him.
“Z-Zero,” Mai’s teeth chattered and he felt her breath against his cheek. “Can’t breathe.” He realized now that he was still curled around her. He leaned back and allowed her the room to breath. She gave a chest rattling cough as he released her slowly. His heart gave a slight twinge to see the finger shaped marks his hands had left, but it had been necessary. She could have easily flown up out of his arms during the fall.
“Thanks for the save,” Mai addressed Yuuki for the first time since the wedding. She smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Yuuki laughed.
“Yes, Kaname, thank you,” Kaien said as he rang out his hair. “We could have gotten out of the water, but we likely would have frozen to death before we reached shore. Didn’t think that one through I’m afraid.”
“Well, it was either drowning or death by explosion,” Mai grumbled.
“I prefer drowning,” Toga added, mirroring Mai’s sentiments.
“I can always throw you back,” Kaname pointed out. Zero rolled his lips together. He had never been amused by anything Kaname said; he would be damned if he was going to be now. Mai and Yuuki both quirked brows at him as if they heard his rather petty thought. He ignored one of them.
“You alright?” He asked Mai.
“I’ve taken harder falls than that, Zero,” she reassured him. “I’m freezing, but fine.”
“I’d offer you my shirt, but I’m afraid it’s soaked too,” Zero told her. Mai smiled.
“I thought I told you, buy me dinner first before you start trying to get me out of my clothes.” Mai teased. Yuuki squeaked.
“You’re a married woman,” Zero turned his attention to Yuuki because he just knew she would say something to take the heat off of him. “Why on earth are you embarrassed?”
“We haven’t done it yet!” Yuuki all but shouted.
“Oh goodness,” Kaien muttered. Toga coughed and looked the other way. Mai rolled her lips together and Yuuki turned an interesting, never before seen shade of red. Kaname looked toward the heavens as if praying for patience. For the first time in years, Zero let out a true laugh.
“You know what, I take it back,” Toga grumbled. “Those two are made for each other.” He jerked his thumb toward Mai and Zero as he walked away from the younger bunch. Kaien giggled.
“And you doubted me when I paired them,” Kaien teased as he stepped closer to his partner. “Mind sharing your coat?”
“It’s just as wet as yours, doofus.”
“Maybe I am just trying to get you out of your clothes.”
It took Mai a week and a half to fully recover from her cold; in that time, Zero found out Mai was not a charitable patient, but he took care of her like he promised he would whenever he took her home from work that previous Monday. She was honestly a little selfish, pulling him into her bed and keeping him there whenever she got cold; rudely booting him from her bed whenever she was hot. He discovered just how foul her mouth could be whenever she got sick; she cursed better than any hunter he had ever met.
Her reaction to sickness amused him just as much as it frustrated him; and he found himself endeared by her honesty. She told him whenever she was sick instead of trying to hide it for his sake…and told him loudly. Though Zero admitted that could just be him at this point. He could admit that he was enamored with her–not blinded by her but enamored.
Zero chewed his cheek as he walked up the steps that lead to her sparsely furnished apartment. His hand clenched impulsively around the take-out bag. He knew she meant something else each time she said he had to buy her dinner, but he didn’t know if she was well enough to go out to a diner and he hadn’t exactly asked her on a date. But maybe she would understand what he was asking and only tease him a little. He honestly hoped delight would distract her from his awkward attempt. He had gotten from her favorite diner and ordered their caramel cheesecake that he knew she adored.
Now, he just hoped he was reading all of the signs right. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He knew she would be home. She always was since Wednesdays were their usual day off. He heard the deadbolt scrap free and tensed.
His heart gave a slight skip whenever he saw her. She looked as she did every other day, but his nervousness did not care for that. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a huge grey T-shirt with the words “I don’t do advice. Care for some sarcasm?” across the front in large green letters. Her hair was pulled up in a quick bun. Her light brown eyes studied him and then moved down to his hand. Her eyes lit up at the take-out bag.
“I thought we could have dinner together?” He hated how it came out a question. Mai smiled and opened the door wider.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said. Zero fought off a sigh of relief as he stepped inside her apartment that somehow managed to be cozier than his. She helped him set the table and then sat across from him.
Mai smiled as she watched him eat; his eyes kept darting up to her and then back to his plate. His nervousness was adorable. Truth be told, she had been a little nervous too at first; now, she just couldn’t help but find him cute.
She had truly been teasing him all those times she joked about dinner first, but he had used her joke as a way of asking her on a date. It made her want to giggle in a way she hadn’t since her teenage years. Instead, she smiled brightly.
“I know it’s probably not the date you imagined,” Zero apologized once they were finished eating and he was helping her with the dishes.
“Are you kidding?” Mai countered as she pointed a soapy fork at him. His eyes flickered down to it for a moment before returning to her. She swirled the fork around in the air as she exclaimed, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me to dinner since that night in your apartment a year ago!”
For a moment, she didn’t think Zero was going to say anything; but she knew he was bothered. He was just thinking. So, she let him. Together, they did the dishes in silence. She washed; he rinsed and put them in the strainer.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Zero finally said after the last of the silverware was put away. Mai unplugged the sink and dried her hands off on the hand towel. She passed it to him and turned to face him. Her elbows came up against the edges of the sink as she confessed:
“I just wanted you to come to me….I knew when you did that…you would be ready.”
“I could tell the moment I met you, Zero, that you in a bad way. At first, my only thought truly was to help you move past the pain. I didn’t plan on being anything to you other than a friend; but the more I got to know you, the more I understood just what that girl must have seen in you. And, before I knew it, I wanted you too. But I knew you wouldn’t be ready until you could stand on your own.” Zero was silent after her confession. Mai waited, suppressing the urge to play with the hand towel.
Finally, Zero asked, “Am I ready now?”
“What do you think?” Mai asked, feeling slightly breathless as Zero stepped closer to her. His hands folded around the edges of the sink. She could feel the heat of his body and feel the pass of his breaths against her lips. Mai felt her own lips tremble with the desire to feel his, but neither of them moved.
“I believe I am,” Zero confirmed. Mai stared into his eyes. She could see he thought that; and over the two years they had been partners, Mai had watched as he let Yuuki go. She didn’t know when exactly he had, but he had given her the proof a week and a half ago when he watched her marry another man. There had been no pain in his eyes whenever she met them and then…the way he had been looking at her at the after party was the same way he was looking at her now. Like a man hungry and only she could satisfy him. His eyes kept darting down to her mouth and then back up to her eyes; but he didn’t move forward. Mai’s eyes widened slightly as she read his meaning in his eyes. He was waiting for her now. He was returning the question: was she ready?
Mai answered him with a silent yes. She tilted her chin upward and pressed her lips to his.
