Let Me Help You - Zero Kiryu

Chapter 24

A lot has happened in the time I'd been awaiting a reply from my parents. I made sure in my letter to tell them not to put their address on the back as my father would recognise it much too easily and start interrogating me.

Zero would occasionally stop me when we were alone at points and shower me with affection which only made me feel even more guilty about what was going on.

At current, he had disappeared earlier and I set out to find him. I looked in the stable to find him laying in a hay stack with his eyes closed.

"You know we're supposed to be on duty soon right? Even though there's not that many we can't slack off."

"Yeah I know." He replied.

I looked at him briefly. "You show no intention of moving." I walked over and stood before him, peering down.

"We've still got ages before the gates open. You may as well sit unless of course you're happy standing there the entire time." He said opening one eye.

I sighed and sat down beside him in the pile of hay. His horse looked over and hung her head down to sniff me. I raised my hand, reaching over to pet her. She accepted the attention and went back to munching on the feed in the stall.

"So how have you been sleeping lately?" He asked.

"It's the same as before. I only get about 1-2hrs. If that."

"I don't know how you do it. You're busy all day with school work and then you go on patrol. Then you don't sleep and you get up the next day only to repeat the cycle."

"You get used to it once it becomes routine." I replied.

"But don't you feel worn out?" He asked.

"A little." I admitted.

His hand reached up to my shoulder and pulled gently. I laid back in the hay with his arm around me. I instinctively placed my hand on his torso and rested my head on his chest. His hand began playing with the ends of my (h/l/c) hair. He soon began to stroke it.

"You know, when I first showed up here father used to pet my head like this to help me fall asleep." I yawned. "I'm afraid that if you keep doing this I'll doze off and I won't wake up on time."

"Why? You're not hurting anybody."

"Yeah but I can't leave Yuki to deal with those girls by herself." I spoke with my heavy eyes struggling to stay open.

"I guess you're right." He sighed and stopped petting my head. "Then what should we do instead to pass the time?"

"Must we do something?" I asked drowsily as he continued with raking his fingers through my hair gently.

We stayed in that position the entire time, whilst I couldn't get to sleep I did close my eyes and tried to relax a bit. At one stage Zero asked if I had fallen asleep but I sighed with a 'no' in reply.

I lifted my watch half opening one of my eyes. "We have about ten minutes left." I said then rubbing my eyes and sitting up. "We should probably get going." I stood up and looked down at him. He let out a small chuckle and stood up with me. "Why are you laughing?" I asked.

"There's straw in your hair." He said plucking it out.

"You're one to talk scarecrow." I retorted as I snaked my arms around his neck and ran my hands through his silver locks to get rid of the yellow hay. He took this as his chance to take me in his arms once more and snuck in a cheeky kiss.

We walked out of the barn and stood guard in front of the moon dorms gate. While a vast majority of the students went home there were still a few lingering which meant that we weren't completely free of our duties as guardians.