I'm sorry that I have been gone for so long (again). A lot of stuff happened and, well, nevermind all that. I am now back with more awkward writing! Yay!...awkward, awkward... *slinks away*

[Dedicated to God-d-e-ss Eternity]

I wanted to thank you for the support, yet I took this long to finish the update! I am very sorry about that. Please don't hate this unreliable author! Orz

Is Love Really this Ridiculous?!

by: TheseScarletDropsofINK

Part Two:

A Divided Heart

The whispers mingled in the shadows of the room, interrupted by a feathery gasp and sharp hiss from the two occupants currently tangled in their sheets. Heavy breaths broke against lips as fingers skimmed over skin in soft kisses and lingering touches. The rhythm of their hearts beat in tandem as they released a final sigh and their muscles went limp. Silently, the pace of their hearts slowed, their breaths evened out, and their bodies cooled. Even then, fingers continued to hum amongst skin and lips lazily fluttered over each other; the symphony of their passion had quieted to a soothing sonata.

*.｡. o ~o .｡.*

Zero Kiryu sat up in the large, king-sized bed. His body was still reveling in the afterglow of their love making, even while his mind was weighing down with worry. He spotted his clothes cluttered on the ground beside him, their silhouettes visible in the dark of the silent room. He stared at them for a moment, knowing he'd be reaching for them, but wanting to put it off a bit longer.

"Zero?" He heard the frown in Kaname's voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The answer was followed with more silence.

It felt heavier somehow.

Kaname studied the toned back of his lover. His eyes ever so quick to notice the tension in his shoulders, and his heart even swifter to want to put it at ease. That, however, was second to his desire to question Zero further. That was the problem between them: Kaname always wanted to know when something was wrong, to push for an answer; and Zero, well, he never wanted to talk about it.

The pureblood sat up, brushing his long hair back as a heavy sigh fell from his lips. The sound made the other body tense further, not that Kaname felt blameworthy for it. No, he was not the one who should be burdened with guilt. He watched morosely as the hunter began dressing, but said nothing when Zero leaned across the bed, kissed him good night and then left his room. It seemed, however, that Zero didn't need to hear any of Kaname's words to know Kaname wasn't happy.

The fact that he had avoided Kaname's gaze was proof of his lover's guilty conscience.

The night class students were quietly conversing amongst themselves in class while they waited for the professor to show up. Aidou, of course, was the loudest as he was teased by the usual group of nobles. Kaname ignored them all in favor of staring out the window at the dark skies. He could sense Yuuki running around on the school grounds, but Zero was not with her. In his stead was the chairman, who was covering for the missing prefect. Again.

Kaname knew Zero was a very private person. He constantly needed his space and time alone, but he was infuriatingly stubborn, as well. Instead of simply telling Kaname that he needed time alone for whatever reason, he said nothing and left Kaname to imagine the worst. In order for their relationship to stay strong, they needed to communicate. Hadn't they learned this lesson already? Why did it feel like they were only getting further apart?

Because Kaname had been raised in the radiance of love between Juri and Haruka Kuran, he knew what a perfect relationship looked like. Yet, his own love life hardly compared. Not once had he been fooled into believing that he could ever attain the love that had belonged to them. Kaname was much too tainted for the purity of that type of love, and Zero too damaged. Still, despite how rocky his relationship with Zero was, Kaname truly believed he could attain a small fraction of that love. Of that happiness.

At the moment, however...

The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly dropped like a heavy weight, strangling the noise into a stifling and gloomy silence. Ignoring the suddenly dispirited night class students around him, Ichijou turned to his friend with a shaky smile. "Kaname, is everything all right?"

"Ah, so refreshing~" Yuuki sang as she walked out of the bathroom in the chairman's residence. The warm bath had eased the stress of her sore muscles and had done great to relieve her stress. Over on the couch, she spotted Zero lying down with a hand resting over his eyes. She had wanted to yell at him earlier for ditching her-again! But after that relaxing bath, she decided it wasn't worth the effort.

"The bath's free," she called as she shuffled over. He must have fallen asleep waiting for her to get out, she thought as he laid there, completely dead to the world. She poked his side. "Did you hear me?"

Zero didn't stir.

"Are you sleeping?" she asked, trying to peek under his arm. When Zero's lips parted, Yuuki jumped back, startled by his sigh. He was awake, she realized with a bit of embarrassment.

"Yuuki?" His voice sounded worn. "Is there a good way of comforting someone?"

"Hm?" Was Zero asking her for advice? Yuuki straightened up, her eyes suddenly ablaze as her fists clenched in determination. She gathered her wits about and gave a small, but very perceptible nod. This was her chance to help Zero out with her woman's intuition! Clearing her throat, she lifted a finger- her smart one- into the air and began to establish her great wisdom in Zero's life.

"Everyone is different, so there are different ways of comforting people! Some people like to be held or embraced, while other people might like it if you're just there to listen to them. And sometimes a pat on the back or..." she faltered a bit, recalling memories of their past; her expression grew tender. "Or stroking your hand through their hair. It really depends on the person, but as long as you're there, I think that's what really matters."

Zero's arm shifted to reveal soft eyes with dark circles marring the skin beneath them. Yuuki's smile sunk. Was something wrong between Zero and Kaname-senpai?

"Small touches..." Zero murmured quietly as he sat up, paying Yuuki's concerned look no mind."Thanks, Yuuki."

He patted her head as he walked away.

Kaname sat impatiently across from Kaien Cross in the chairman's office as they discussed a new policy that would be taking effect in the night class. Despite trying to stay focused, Kaname's mind had wandered a few times, tempting him to let words spill from his mouth in the hopes of getting answers. If Zero wasn't telling him what was wrong, maybe the chairman knew?

"Now that that is settled," Kaien said, nudging his spectacles back in place as he sat back. "You seem to have something on your mind. Is there something worrying you?"

As much as he longed to ask whether Cross knew anything on the matter, Kaname found himself responding in the negative. However, his response only seemed to affirm the chairman's suspicions and the old hunter began to chuckle.

"Ah, a lover's spat." Kaien stood up, casually strolling over to his desk. The drawer popped open, his hands searching for something as he gleefully mentioned, "Zero seems to be upset over something, as well. I know you two must have your differences, but so long as you l~o~v~e each other-" A flash of light had tension running through every muscle in Kaname's body. He watched in annoyance as the machine in Cross's hand made a whirring sound and spit something out.

"-love will make everything better..." Shaking the photograph in his hand, Kaien peeked at the image of Kaname pouting. He ignored the look the pureblood was giving him as he snickered and began to fuss over the photo in his hand. "Ne, if Zero saw this, he'd know how much you love him! Your face expression screams-"

"I think I'll take my leave," Kaname interrupted, already standing. The long strands of his dark hair hid away his expression as he fought the urge to break that camera and walked out of the office while he could still refrain from murderous actions. He ignored the chairman's pleas to stay and shut the door with a bit more force than necessary. That man played too much. It was bad enough that he teased him about Yuuki. Kaname took a moment to compose himself.

"It was a good thing Kiryu-kun was there to calm Lily down. To think what might of happened if he hadn't been there..."

Kaname's gaze trailed after the pair of girls down the hall who had unwittingly caught his attention. Casually following after the students, Kaname listened in on their conversation while making sure to keep his distance (and paying the gawking day class students who noticed him no mind). Fortunately for Kaname, there weren't many students.

"Isn't Kiryu-kun so cool?" Inori asked with a grin that was splitting her face as she clutched her books to her chest. Just thinking of the prefect made butterflies kick up a storm in her belly. Her friend's rich laughter interrupted the feeling.

"Ever since that kiss with Kaname-senpai, everyone seems to be less intimidated by him," Mayumi stated while brushing her long hair behind her ear. "So now people aren't afraid to say things like that."

"But he's always been cool," Inori insisted. "I think its amazing that he's able to calm Lily down so easily! Even she must be in love with him!"

They were only gossiping, Kaname realized as the tension at hearing his lover's name earlier slowly ebbed away. As annoying as he found it to hear that others had eyes for his hunter, it was nothing to be concerned about. So he turned away.

"Well they do spend a lot of time together. I bet they're super close! I even heard he spends the night with her in the stables."

"Aww, don't say that! I think I'm getting jealous..."

The tension returned.

"I heard the grooms call Kiryu Lily's boyfriend! I wonder why~" Mayumi sang playfully, clearly unaware of the atmosphere that was terrifying the other students down the hall.

"Guess Kaname-senpai better be careful or she'll take Kiryu-kun away from him~"

Kaname's eyes were hard as he watched the girls disappear around the corner of the hall. Their peals of laughter were now muffled against the plethora of voices around him, yet they continued to ring in his head.

Zero didn't bother knocking as he entered the moon dorms, paying the glancing nobles no mind as he climbed the staircase two steps at a time. He made a beeline for Kaname's room, giving the door two quick raps before walking in. Honestly, he didn't even know why he knocked in the first place. He knew Kaname was alone and Kaname always knew the second he arrived anyway. It wasn't like he wasn't welcomed to just walk in.

"I heard you were looking for me," he said without preamble to the pureblood who was standing at his window, bathing in the moonlight of the night sky. It was his favorite spot, Zero assumed, seeing as his lover tended to brood there a lot. Kaname glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. His expression, Zero noted with some hesitancy, was too somber for comfort.

"Where were you?"

There was a silent accusation in his voice that made Zero stiffen defensively. "I was busy," he stated cautiously. "Is there a problem?"

Kaname looked away from Zero, forcing himself to stay calm by staring out the window. Unfortunately, he only managed to catch his own reflection, and while it seemed composed, he could see the cracks around his own mask. He was being a fool for getting so worked up over a few gossiping girls. There was no way Zero was cheating on him. All he had to do was ask Zero and then he could be at ease. Taking a moment to gather himself, he turned towards Zero, trying for a graceful and casual expression.

His murderous glare ruined the attempt. "Who's Lily?"

The question took Zero by surprise, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. The look didn't sit well with Kaname in the least. He tried not to jump to conclusions. At least not until Zero pled his case.

"Who?" Was Zero's clever reply, his voice drawling over the word like he was reluctant to let it leave his mouth.

Not quite what Kaname was expecting. His eyes narrowed to a dangerous spire. "Lily," he repeated firmly, "from the stables. You don't know her?"

"Of course I know her," Zero stated, his brows knitting together in confusion. "How do you know about her?"

"Did you believe you could conceal it from me?"

Kaname's voice was low- the dangerous kind of low that made the ingrained hunters' instinct for Zero to reach for his gun seethe. Just what the hell was Kaname so worked up about anyway? Zero wondered, eyeing the obviously angry pureblood like Yuuki eyed math problems. "I didn't think you'd care, what's the big deal?"

There was a sudden crack as Kaname's ink bottle shattered over the surface of his desk. "Kaname!" Zero shouted rushing forward and trying to contain the mess, but with nothing on hand, it was pretty useless. Although, Kaname didn't seem to care. In fact, the bastard seemed pretty content glaring at him from his little corner behind the desk while the ink dripped down the edges of his mahogany furniture.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You have been really distant lately, Zero," Kaname pointed out, ignoring Zero's question. "You're skipping classes and your prefect duties; feeding me excuses about why you can't stay the night- yet you seem to be spending quite a lot of time with this 'Lily.'"

For a moment- a really, really long one-, Zero gaped at Kaname as the pureblood glared back. Zero couldn't believe that he was actually throwing a fit because Zero was spending time with Lily. He really couldn't. Over the time he'd spent with Kaname, Zero had come to understand that his lover was very (very) possessive, but this...He sighed. "Kaname, I don't have the energy to keep up with your insanity right now."

"Have you slept with her?"

"What of it?" The words fell from his lips before he could stop them. It wasn't that Zero had a problem with admitting that he'd slept with Lily countless of times. Personally, he saw nothing wrong with it, but Kaname was practically royalty. What would he think if he knew his lover slept in a stable the whole night? Not even the nobles would consider lying at the side of an animal, no matter how much it meant to them.

"There's nothing wrong with it," he grumbled defensively, unable to meet Kaname's cold, disbelieving gaze.

"Are you openly admitting to cheating on me?" Kaname growled, looking very much like the dangerous threat Zero's instincts constantly warned him about. "And you don't think there's anything 'wrong' with it?"

"There isn't-"

Wait...

"What?"

Aidou entered the main foyer of the dormitory after having finished his latest research paper on dietary organic chromium supplementation. Working out the kinks on his neck, he wordlessly collapsed onto the sofa between Shiki and Kain and gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done. He let out a rather sudden yawn and only just now realized he was exhausted. It was still too early to go to bed, however, so he'd kill time with the others till then.

"Did you hear?" Ruka asked from across the coffee table. She was eyeing Aidou with cruel amusement sparkling in her rose colored eyes, putting him instantly on edge. "Hear what?"

"Kiryu-kun is here."

"So?" Aidou petulantly crossed his arms and slouched in his seat a little. "What do I care?"

"You were spending an awful lot of time with him during Kaname-sama's absence, I figured you might want to catch up with the hunter," she teased.

Aidou was ready to snap a retort only to have it cut off abruptly at the sudden sound of a loud slam. Everyone tensed. The noise was shortly followed by angry voices as the causes for the commotion steadily approached.

"Don't walk away from me." Kaname-sama's voice was firm and clear as Kiryu suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase, not slowing in his stride down each step.

"Don't order me around you stupid bastard!" Zero snapped, spinning around half way down the stairs as Kaname-sama appeared at the top, glaring down at his lover. The night class watched with wide eyes as the two stared each other down. Angry glares and unspoken words passed between them before Kiryu scoffed and turned away. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stormed out of the dormitory in a horrible mood.

Kaname-sama glared through the front door before turning way and heading back to his room. Even after he was gone, the silence continued between the nobles who were almost afraid to talk. Aidou coughed into the almost awkward atmosphere that was swallowing them whole.

"So..." Shiki frowned, tilting his head a bit as a thought occurred to him. "Do you think the prefect wanted to top?"

"Shiki!"

Stupid bastard, what the hell was he thinking? Zero wondered in frustration as he walked into the stables where White Lily was currently lying on the floor. To think Zero had actually been looking forward to seeing that possessive blood sucker. He'd been happy to hear Kaname had been looking for him. The past few days had been stressful. The white mare tossed her head in what seemed like greeting. Well, at least she was looking better. He strolled over to her, giving her a small smile.

"I hope you ate something," he mumbled as he ducked under the framework of her stall. As he sat besides her, he began to bring out the bag from under his jacket. He had 'borrowed' some carrots from the chairman before coming here. Sensing something, White Lily began nuzzling her muzzle against his chest.

With a smile, he scratched at her forehead and fed her the carrots from his hands. A few days ago the stable's head groom had sought Zero out before class. Because of how distracted Zero had become with his lover and the whole chaotic mess he started by publicly kissing him, Zero had not had time to visit Lily in the stables. After a particular tantrum a week ago, Lily had almost trampled over the girl tasked (or cursed) to ride Lily. The day afterward, Lily refused to eat and had gotten sick. The head groom had said it was just her way of throwing a fit. Especially when they discovered Lily would only eat if Zero was present. As punishment for being away, he got teased by the grooms about having a 'bad break up' between him and Lily. So now Zero was stuck making things up to her.

Sighing, Zero stroked along the horse's crest and wondered when things had become so difficult to manage between two ill tempered creatures. If Lily was in a good mood, Kaname was in a bad one and vice versa. Zero couldn't spend all his time with them. As if reading his thoughts, White Lily snorted against him. Obviously scoffing at the idea.

He was agitated. Kaname was so irritated, he couldn't bring himself to stay still without having to calm himself as his anger manifested. Thoughts of what this Lily girl looked like kept rushing through his mind. She had to be something special for Zero to be so adamant about spending time with her. From what those girls said, she apparently shared Kiryu's temperament. Quickly fed up with his thoughts, Kaname stood to his feet and left the moon dormitory.

When Kaname found no sign that his lover had entered his dorm, he knew there was only one place he'd be. He headed directly to the stables, approaching them quietly. The horses were sleeping and, apart from a single person, the place was (thankfully) empty. That fact didn't stop the extra glance around the place to make certain of it. Kaname stepped towards the stall that his lover was so precariously lying in. He'd heard horses were dangerous and lying besides them was extremely tactless. Just what was Zero thinking? The fool.

Sighing, Kaname moved forward to pick the prefect up, only to be intercepted by a bulk of white. The horse that shared the stall with Zero stood between him and his lover, fixing Kaname with an insolent look that was very familiar. In fact, he was sure he'd seen it in the eyes of the sleeping hunter.

Kaname stared at the mare, curious at the animal's lack of fear and show of audacity. As he tried to step closer, she gave a violent toss of her head and pawed at the ground. The pureblood was surprised by this. Was this animal challenging him? Or was it, perhaps, that she was protecting Zero from...

Kaname's eyes narrowed. "Lily?"

Lily snorted.

In the end, after being yelled at by Zero for being an 'insecure, arrogant bastard' and having the hunter explain the situation, Kaname understood. Everything had been a ridiculous misunderstanding over a harmless animal throwing a tantrum for Zero's attention. There was nothing to worry about. Besides, the horse was better and his lover was once again at his side. Even if he was still a bit irritated over everything.

"Are you still pouting?"

"I'm not pouting!" Zero snapped, turning to glare at Kaname from the bottom step as the vampire approached him. The pureblood raised a finger to his lips, telling him to keep his voice down. It was early and all the blood suckers were sleeping, leaving him and Kaname alone in the foyer. One of the reasons the pureblood had volunteered to walk Zero out, despite Zero's many protests.

Kaname slid his hand down the banister, taking each step calmly, until his hand touched Zero's and he stood before the hunter. Running his fingers over the back of Zero's hand, Kaname leaned down and kissed his (pouting) lips. "I've already apologized to you dozens of times. Would you have me tear my heart out and lay it at your feet, as well?"

Zero scoffed, not having any of it. "You're nothing but trouble, Kaname."

The corners of Kaname's lips curved up into a seductive and dangerous smile that made a shiver run down Zero's spine, even before the feel of wispy finger tips on his jawline.

"Mm," Kaname agreed, rubbing the pad of his thumb over Zero's bottom lip "I am a terribly insecure man. So don't let your gaze stray from this troublesome person, Zero. Look only at me."

"Zero! Zero!" The crash from the door of the moon dorms slamming against the wall startled both hunter and vampire as the little human ran in, her eyes wide and frantic as they landed on her partner.

"Zero!"

For the first time in his life, the pureblood, Kaname Kuran, watched as Yuuki completely ignored his presence and ran over to his lover, clinging to the sleeves of his shirt as she explained, "White Lily's going on a rampage!"

In an instant, the two prefects were gone and, as Kaname Kuran was abandoned without a word, he suddenly came to a definitive solution to this unprecedented issue:

He was going to kill that horse.

Waa, Kaname-sama was in one of those moods *A* I swear I didn't mean to write him this way, but then again I've never been able to control either Zero OR Kaname when writing. Why do I even bother trying? T^T

Requests that will be found in: Is Love Really This Ridiculous?!:

Drunk Zero.

More White Lily.

Jealous Kaname.

A stupid idea.

Animal lurf :3 (NOT bestiality) lol*

Fluff.

Picking on Aidou.

Next up is 'Let the Church Bells Ring' and 'A Dangerous Love.' I promise those wont be weird and crack-ish. Okay, no, I'm probably lying, but they will have hints of seriousness in them so look forward to that. :D