Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.

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Curled up on the spacious window seat, Yuuki sat pondering her lot in life and wondered why everything was always so complicated. When she was younger - and human, her mind supplied - it was complex as well, dealing with the existence of supposedly mythical creatures, helping to protect their secret, and discovering the horror of Zero's own place in vampire society - or lack of it.

Double-checking that no one was around, she allowed herself an unladylike snort. Her younger self would have never dreamed of the intricacies that currently dominated her life. Not only was she a vampire, a pureblood one at that, her beloved onee-sama was practically the oldest vampire in existence, and loved her with a passion she could never dream of matching.

And in addition to the hopeless task of matching his love, she found that her heart was split in two - one part always longing for someone other than Kaname.

. . . Zero.

A wry smirk and short, bitter laugh left her unintentionally. Did he know of the havoc he was creating in her life? Did he know about how immediately she felt a sense of incompleteness when drinking Kaname's blood? Did he know how much she tried to convince herself that onee-sama is enough to no avail? How her heart ripped into a million pieces every time she drew back and looked in nearly-concealed despair at Kaname's pained and knowing and deep eyes? Did he?

Her hands clenched, bunching the blanket beneath her as her vision blurred and silent, unbidden tears raced down her cheeks, each falling with a near-silent plop on her hand. She shuddered with the effort to contain them, but they only fell all the more. Sadness and despair overwhelmed her.

Tilting her head back against the wall, she willed the tears to stop.

With time her breaths evened and her tears fell more slowly as she calmed down. Finally. She let a heavy breath out in release and froze when she heard muffled but telltale steps coming closer.

Kaname silently pushed aside the curtain partially veiling her from the world and sat next to her feet on the bench.

She knew her face was splotchy and red from vain efforts to wipe the tears away, and her still-glazed eyes looked down in shame a second after meeting his.

Leaning over, Kaname reached out his hand and lifted her face.

"My love," he greeted her.

Yuuki's eyes filled again at his words and her recent meditations, and a quick blink was enough to make the tears tumble down her cheeks once more.

In an awkward shifting of legs and torso, Yuuki threw her arms around Kaname's waist as the emotions she had just bottled up came rushing back to the surface. I'm sorry. I don't deserve you. The words repeated over and over in her mind, but she couldn't catch her breath enough to let them out.

Ever perceptive, Kaname held her and said nothing, running his fingers through her long hair until her sobs subsided and she drifted off to sleep.

When her breathing finally evened out, Kaname slid his arms under Yuuki's limp body, gathering her to his chest. He made his way through the house, expertly avoiding the nobles, until he could place her sleeping form on their bed. Lying next to her, he contemplated his past and their future.

Long days and nights of planning, strategic maneuvers, making enemies he liked and friends he hated, and it all led up to this, to the small woman sleeping heedlessly beside him.

Later, Kaname asked himself if it was worth it, and his mind whispered a resounding Yes.

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The End.

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Thank you to everyone who read, favorited or altered this story! And a very special thank you to all of you wonderful reviewers! Your thoughts, exclamations, and feedback have made this story a joy to write.

I hope you enjoyed this last bittersweet chapter. I wasn't planning on wrapping this up so soon, but with the current manga arc so unresolved and this story sticking fairly closely to cannon, I decided to end it here and see what happens next. Look for more VK stories from me in the future!